We have been studying the armour that God suggests we wear,
listed in Eph. 6, and we have seen the importance of the belt of truth, the
helmet of salvation, and the footwear, the gospel of peace. In addition to
these, we are encouraged to take up three additional pieces of armour: A shield,
a breastplate, and a sword. The first of these is referred to as "the shield of
faith": "In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you
can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one." (Eph 6:16 NIV)
Faith is required in order to bungee jump. Interestingly, bungee jumping
originated in New Zealand, near the town of Queenstown, which is renowned as the
"Adventure-tourism capital of the world." It all started in 1988. AJ Hackett was
inspired by land divers at the Pentacost Island Vanuatu, who had nothing better
to do than to tie vines around their ankles and jump into nothingness during
religious ceremonies. He decided to open the first commercial bungee jump site
from the Kawarau Bridge, 43 metres (141 feet), above the Kawarau river.
For those who have jumped before, this is no big deal. But for those who
haven't, not only do they pay 150 NZ$, they also need to trust a long, elastic
cord attached to their ankles or to a harness. If something happens to this
cord, there will be nothing to keep their faces from hitting the rocky bottom of
the Kawarau river!
Well, at least there IS a river under them, unlike the bungee jumpers who tried
to jump from the Eiffel tower!
Once these adventuresome folk experience the thrill of bungee jumping, they are
usually hooked, and they seek out opportunities to experience it over and over
again.
Faith is similar to these adventure seekers. It takes a lot to put our trust in
something or someone, but when that something or someone proves themselves
trust-worthy, a bond is created that can never be broken. We can never
experience such thrilling trustworthiness, however, without first taking a risk.
We have to first PUT our trust in that something or someone!
One problem though, the things we rely upon can sometimes be proven unreliable!
Take computers, for example. Need I say more? And people aren't much better! If
you don't believe me, read the newspaper!
Only One has proven to be continually trustworthy, and boy, He is much more
reliable than a bungee cord! He willingly faced death on a cross so that we
could be set free from the ravages of sin.
Who else that we know would be willing to die for us? And now Jesus offers
victory to those who put their trust in Him! "Do not let your hearts be
troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me." (John 14:1-2 NIV).
Eph 6:16 refers to faith as "the shield of faith". This reference leads us to
consider the Roman shield of that time period. Made out of wood and covered with
leather and sometimes with metal, they were essential for protection. In fact
the Romans had two kinds of shields: A small round one, ideal for hand-to-hand
combats, and a larger rectangular one, referred to as a "door", which covered
most of a soldier's body.
Once these shields were covered with water, they could withstand the fiery
arrows of any enemy. All the soldier had to do is kneel and hold his shield over
him. And if the soldiers stood shoulder to shoulder behind those shields, they
could move forward in relative safety.
You can already see where I'm going with this. Faith is essential to
"extinguish" the "flaming arrows of the evil one". All we have to do is kneel in
prayer, hold our faith over us, and trust in the One who guarantees our victory!
And if you want to put the evil one on the run, unite yourselves with fellow
believers and stand firm in your advance against the devil! He will have no
choice but to retreat!
Remember God does not respond according to our needs, but according to our
faith. And there is no part of faith that includes what we can do for God, but
rather, what God desires to do for and around us! It's not "our way", but "His
way"! Perfect faith is believing that what you've asked for is as good as done!
That kind of faith can only be obtained by relying on Jesus!
"Before this faith came..." (Gal 3:23 NIV) Paul here refers to faith as a
Person, and that Person is no other than the One who willingly died for us! "You
are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus..." (Gal 3:26 NIV)
It was too bad that the "bungy" jumping site over the Kawarau river was closed
when we reached it on Christmas day. Or at least, that's what my wife thought. I
personally don't get adrenaline rushes from such thrills. My adrenaline rush
comes from God Himself, who fills my days with wonder and amazement! And to be
perfectly honest, I don't know if I would trust those elastic cords, anyway.
What if there was a manufacturer's defect? What good would the warranty be?
But I do trust my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ!
Rob Chaffart
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
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