Tag: Faith

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Battle Ready: The Shield of Faith

On By Ben JenningsIn DevotionalLeave a comment

Highlight:

(16)  Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

Ephesians 6:16

Explanation:

The Roman soldiers shield was an important tool at his disposal during battles.  Much has been written on what these shields were like. The word for shield here is “thureos”. The word comes from a root word “thura” which means ” a portal or entrance (the opening or the closure, literally or figuratively): – door, gate.”  It is connected with the word door because there were different kinds of shields.  This “thureos” was a large door shaped shield that could cover the whole body. One commentator wrote this about the shields:

“Before a battle in which flaming arrows might be shot at them, the soldiers wet the leather covering with water to extinguish the arrows. The Roman legionaries could close ranks with these shields, the first row holding theirs edge to edge in front, and the rows behind holding the shields above their heads. In this formation they were practically invulnerable to arrows, rocks, and even spears.”

NET Bible Notes

How is faith a shield?

Is it faith or trust in God or faithfulness to God that is the focus of the shield of faith?

We do trust in God as our shield. Certain psalms refer to God as our shield:

(3) But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.

Psalms 3:3

Interestingly, like a shield, there is protection when we trust in it.

(11) For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. (12) O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.

Psalms 84:11-12

If you do not put your trust in the shield by getting behind it, then it will do you no good. Do you see that in verses 11 and 12? “The Lord God is a shield… Blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.”

Application:

Obedience brought about by faith protects us all the time. Isn’t the obedient child protected because of his trust in his parents? He may not understand why he should stay out of the road when playing, but when he obeys, he’s protected from the traffic. We must learn to understand that when God says “Do not” it is for our good. He does not want us to hurt ourselves or others. We must trust His Word. We must trust his law. We must trust Him implicitly.

When we do not trust in God, and when we disobey, we will find our selves in battle without protection. Flaming arrows are headed our way. These arrows are the “methodias”, or wiles, or strategies, or our enemy. We must depend on the Lord to protect us by trusting in Him.

Response:

Lord, please help me not to trust in anything more than I trust in you. Amen.

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Where’s the lamb? F260- Week 3- Day 3

On By Ben JenningsIn Devotional, F260Leave a comment

Today’s Scripture Reading: Genesis 22

This week’s memory verse:

(20)  He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;

Romans 4:20

Highlight:

(7)  And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?
(8)  And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.

(14)  And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.

Genesis 22:7-8, 14

Explanation:
God calls on Abraham to do something that seems really irrational. God had promised that through Isaac nations would be born. He had promised that Abraham would be the father of these many nations, and that through these nations all the world would be blessed. Yet, God calls Abraham to take his son, Isaac, to Moriah and offer him as a burnt offering.
He gets up early and heads toward the mountain. Isaac, here in verse 7, asks Abraham where the lamb was for burnt offering. What an expression of faith that Abraham declared in verse 8! He believed that God would provide the lamb.

Of course, God did provide the lamb. It was caught in the thicket by its horns, therefore unblemished and an unmarred sacrifice. God provided the substitute. Abraham had shown that He believed God and would not withhold what was most precious to him from God. God’s gifts were not more important than God Himself.

So, Abraham named the place “Joehovajireh” which means God will see (to it). God sees and provides. God saw Abraham’s faith and provided a substitute.

Application:
What a beautiful and challening story. There are a few ways that it applies.

  1. Have I trusted in Christ? This is a picture of God’s substitutionary atonement found in Jesus Christ. John said about Jesus, “Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world”. Have I acknowledged Jesus Christ as my substitute and trusted in Him for salvation?
  2. Am I willing to sacrifice what is most precious to me to be obedient to God?
  3. Am I more in love with the gifts from God than the God who has provided those gifts?

Response:
Without faith it is impossible to please God. Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” Lord, help me to depend on you, trust you, and obey you today.

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Is anything too hard for the Lord? F260- Week 3- Day 1

On By Ben JenningsIn Devotional, F260Leave a comment

Scripture Reading- Genesis 18-19

This Week’s Memory Verse:

(20) He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;

Romans 4:20

Highlight:

(9) And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent.
(10) And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.
(11) Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.
(12) Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?
(13) And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old?
(14) Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.
(15) Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh.

Genesis 18:9-15

Explanation:
A key question needs to be answered about this passage.

Who are they?

For sure, at least one of the trio is a theophany, a term we use for an appearance of God in the Old Testament. Abram calls him Lord, which some would say was just a respectful greeting. Yet as you see Abram interact with this man in this interchange, it becomes abundantly clear that this is Jehovah. The man speaks authoritatively about Sarah having a son. He speaks authoritiatively about judgment of Sodom. In verse 17 the name that is used for Lord is Jehovah. Later in chapter 19 two angels head toward Sodom. Is this Jehovah accompanied by two angels? That seems to fit.

What happens in chapter 18?
We see that God affirms his covenant with Abraham, especially that Sarah would conceive and bare a son. When he declares it yet again, Sarah, who is listening in responds in laughter.

(12) Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?

Genesis 18:12

Another evidence that this is the omniscient God is that He perceived the internal doubt characterized as laughter that Sarah expressed. He challenged her doubt with a relevant question:

Is any thing too hard for the LORD?

Genesis 18:14a

Application:
What an incredible question! Allowing to be asked in our own lives will generate an incredible answer. No! There is nothing too hard for the Lord. He can do anything that is within His character to do, and since He is holy, righteous, just, omniscient, ominipotent, ominisapient, and omnipresent, He can and will do everything that must be done for His own glory and for the good of those who trust in Him! When God makes a promise He keeps it, even when that promise seems impossible.

What should that cause us to do? We should want to know the promises of God, and to trust God to complete those promises!

Response:
Lord, help me to trust you today with my family, with my time, with the direction of our church. Help me not to go out on my own, but to follow you.

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The Faith to Try. Luke- Week 10- Day 2

On By Ben JenningsIn DevotionalLeave a comment

(18)  And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him.

(19)  And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus.

Luke 5:18-19

Explanation:

Here we are introduced to a few more of the people involved in this narrative.

The paralyzed man.

The verse describes the man as “in a bed” and “taken with the palsy”.  This would have been someone who had no ability to get up and walk.  The theology of the day taught that people in that condition were that way because of their sin or the sin of their parents.  Where our culture tends to show compassion to the disabled at some level, showing compassion to the disabled in this culture would have been seen by the religious elite as going against God, since God was “obviously judging” this person.  This could be why when the man came to the house filled with at least some level of the religious leadership class, they were kept out.  No one deferred to them.

Is it possible that the man was in the state he was because of sin?  Of course!  There are times when our suffering comes because of our own sin.  Still at other times, we suffer because of those who have sinned against us.  Sometimes our suffering comes because we live in a world marked by sin.  This man had sins in his life, and this will be made clear from the story.

The men who carried him

The gospel of Mark tells us how many of these men there were. 

And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four.

Mark 2:3

These men believed that if they brought their friend to Jesus, that Jesus could do something for Him.  Did the man plead with these men to bring him?   Were these men strangers that heard his pleas, neighbors, family members, or people from his past life?  We could speculate, but we do not know.  What we do know is that they were tenacious.  When people would not let them into the house through the normal means, they went to the roof.

Roofs in those days were flat.  They often served as a porch for people to go on and sit in the cool of the evening.  Access to the ceiling would often be made by stairs built on the side of the house to go up.  So, you can just see these four men, each with their corner, carrying their friend to the front door, people denying them entry, and one of them saying, “Up to the roof!”.  They get to the top.  I can just hear their conversation.

“Now what?” 

“Let’s lower him to Jesus.” 

“Are you serious?  You want to rip open the roof?  What about the owner?” 

“I’ll pay him back or fix it myself.  It is worth a shot.  What if Jesus heals him?”

“Alright.  Good thing this ceiling is tile.”

“You guys be careful with me!”

So, they start ripping off the tile, and then they attach ropes, and begin to lower the man in right in front of Jesus.

Notice the faith of all of these guys.  It is a pretty simple idea, but it is profound. 

The paralytic man was willing to let these four people carry him to Jesus and lower him through a roof.  He was willing to be seen by all of these religious and good people who thought he was a sinner, and they may well have been right.  He was willing to take the chance that Jesus would confront him about his sin and not forgive him.  He was even willing to be lowered through a roof. 

The men were willing to take the chance, make the effort, and pay the price maybe even for the roof to get their friend to Jesus.  Why?  They believed that Jesus could do something for this man that they could not do themselves.  They believed that Jesus could do something for this man that no one else could do.

Application:

What you believe about Jesus is paramount.  These men had the faith to go to Jesus for what they needed.  They recognized their need for Jesus, and it drove how they saw their circumstance.  Does the condition of the roof matter now to the paralyzed man?  No way.  The roof is long gone.   But His sins, as we will see, are forgiven today and He is in heaven with Christ.

When we believe Jesus is the Son of God that can forgive sins, we will see our world differently and respond accordingly.  First, we will respond in faith and go to Jesus ourselves.  Then we will do whatever it takes to get people to Jesus.

Response:

  • Are you looking for hope outside of Jesus, or apart from Jesus?  Go to Jesus by faith!
  • Who is someone that you need to get to Jesus?  How can you help him get to Jesus today?