As a eating enthusiast, I enjoy cooking and baking a great deal. The quality of ingredients used plays a key role in creating an edible masterpiece. I appreciate an omelet packed with delicious contents, a well-formed Snickerdoodle, or sweet zucchini bread with a crack down the middle. Though I have met with relative success in the kitchen, there have been occasions where everything seemed to go very wrong - like the time I put in a cup of sugar instead of a tablespoon in the pancakes. Sometimes failures in the kitchen are not the fault of the cook. When the oven will not heat up to the correct temperature, baked goods will not rise property. If baking powder or yeast is very old, it will affect the amount of rise and texture. Both ingredients for baking and medicines have a "use by date" because their effectiveness is directly tied to their freshness.
But what about faith? Is old faith just as good as new faith in Jesus Christ? No way! Our faith is to be renewed day by day as we affirm our belief in Christ and trust in Him. Jesus commended a woman in scripture for her great faith, and chastened his disciples for their lack of faith. We walk in faith and exercise gifts according to proportion of faith (Rom. 12:6), and people also have faith of varying strengths (Rom. 14:1). Even the smallest amount of faith in Christ is real faith. Genuine faith in Jesus is saving faith indeed. As we are to grow in grace, Christians are also called to grow in faith (2 Cor. 10:15). Faith is not work to be done but a gift to be received.
1 Peter 5:8-9 reads, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world." Faith helps us to stand and trust in Christ but also to resist attacks from Satan. When Paul talks about spiritual armor in Ephesians 6:16, every believer in Christ is exhorted to put on the whole armor of God: "...above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one." Every believer has been given a shield of faith to aid and protect us from satanic attacks. A shield used in a battle by a Roman Hastati would be battered by stones, burnt by flaming arrows, chipped from slashes of spears and swords. The leather straps used as handles over time could become brittle or snap. Needless to say, shield maintenance and replacement was a part of life for a soldier.
I have a great burden for Christians who have gone into battle and fought valiantly for Christ and the Gospel, yet their faith has grown old and stale. The spiritual fight has whittled their shields to the size of a dinner plate! They can be more focused on fighting and contending than abiding in Jesus! More and more arrows find their mark and cause pain. Instead of finding strength when a man reads God's Word, his mind becomes more focused on difficulties. He picks over theological bones in online forums rather than drinking the wholesome milk and eating the meat meant to nourish in God's Word. This is a real danger for all believers. Instead of trusting in God has a child, we can have intellectual hindrances that keep us from taking God at His word. We can carry the same genuine shield of faith, but it can be old faith built by things God said or did years ago - rather than what He has spoken to us today! God is showing me I need renewed faith in Him. Won't you wait on the LORD to renew your strength by renewing your faith? He is our Refuge, our Help in trouble.
Isaiah 40:29-31 reads, "He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, 31 but those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." Take a moment to inspect your faith. Is it out of date or in dire need of maintenance? It is time to purge our pantries and have God restore our shields of faith. Fresh faith will give us renewed effectiveness for God's glory!
But what about faith? Is old faith just as good as new faith in Jesus Christ? No way! Our faith is to be renewed day by day as we affirm our belief in Christ and trust in Him. Jesus commended a woman in scripture for her great faith, and chastened his disciples for their lack of faith. We walk in faith and exercise gifts according to proportion of faith (Rom. 12:6), and people also have faith of varying strengths (Rom. 14:1). Even the smallest amount of faith in Christ is real faith. Genuine faith in Jesus is saving faith indeed. As we are to grow in grace, Christians are also called to grow in faith (2 Cor. 10:15). Faith is not work to be done but a gift to be received.
1 Peter 5:8-9 reads, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world." Faith helps us to stand and trust in Christ but also to resist attacks from Satan. When Paul talks about spiritual armor in Ephesians 6:16, every believer in Christ is exhorted to put on the whole armor of God: "...above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one." Every believer has been given a shield of faith to aid and protect us from satanic attacks. A shield used in a battle by a Roman Hastati would be battered by stones, burnt by flaming arrows, chipped from slashes of spears and swords. The leather straps used as handles over time could become brittle or snap. Needless to say, shield maintenance and replacement was a part of life for a soldier.
I have a great burden for Christians who have gone into battle and fought valiantly for Christ and the Gospel, yet their faith has grown old and stale. The spiritual fight has whittled their shields to the size of a dinner plate! They can be more focused on fighting and contending than abiding in Jesus! More and more arrows find their mark and cause pain. Instead of finding strength when a man reads God's Word, his mind becomes more focused on difficulties. He picks over theological bones in online forums rather than drinking the wholesome milk and eating the meat meant to nourish in God's Word. This is a real danger for all believers. Instead of trusting in God has a child, we can have intellectual hindrances that keep us from taking God at His word. We can carry the same genuine shield of faith, but it can be old faith built by things God said or did years ago - rather than what He has spoken to us today! God is showing me I need renewed faith in Him. Won't you wait on the LORD to renew your strength by renewing your faith? He is our Refuge, our Help in trouble.
Isaiah 40:29-31 reads, "He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, 31 but those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." Take a moment to inspect your faith. Is it out of date or in dire need of maintenance? It is time to purge our pantries and have God restore our shields of faith. Fresh faith will give us renewed effectiveness for God's glory!
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