Dear Church,
Let us hold 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 During the days of Apostle Paul, the enemy would shoot arrows tipped with fire in battle, and the Roman soldiers would use shields to protect themselves from these fiery darts. Fire blazing from a speeding arrow would have been a spine-chilling sight for the Roman soldiers, so it is not difficult to imagine them dropping their shields and running in fear. Eventually, the Romans used a shield that was made of a combination of wood, leather, and twigs. The shield was made of wood, the side facing the enemy was padded with leather, and the inner side was padded with twigs. When the enemy’s arrow was shot, it would first pierce the leather before penetrating through the wood and in the process the flame at the tip of the arrow would be extinguished to protect the soldier’s life. Fear is the greatest and the primary weapon used by satan, and faith alone can conquer fear. For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. During times of spiritual attack, faith is the only virtue that can quench the flaming darts shot by the evil one. In the midst of a raging battle, the Christian 3 soldiers expected to use the shield, (exercise their faith) against the intimidation of the enemy. Faith that is ignored nearly always breaks and falls apart during a conflict with the enemy. The biggest mistake we make as believers is, thinking they count on our past experiences with God to carry us through. The problem with that is that we cannot rest on our past. We have to push forward! Each morning a soldier would pour oil onto a rag and the soldier would rub it onto the leather shield to make it soft and pliable. If the soldier didn’t do this daily, then his shield would become brittle and not give the protection that he needed when the enemy’s arrows hit his shield causing death to the unfortunate one behind the shield. If that soldier wanted to live a long life, it was very important for him to pick up that oil on a daily basis and apply it thoroughly to his shield. Play it safe and assume that your faith needs a daily application of the anointing oil in your life. Another thing the soldier did was to soak his shield in water until it was completely saturated. The water-soaked shield put out the fiery arrows coming from the enemy. So, their shields had daily applications of both water and oil. We MUST make certain that we are allowing the Holy Spirit to freshly anoint our lives on a daily basis as we regularly saturate our faith with the water of the Word. Word saturated faith will always extinguish the devils’ attacks!!!! God Bless, Amutha
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Dear Church,
Why do we exist? A church consultant surveyed members of nearly a thousand churches asking the question: "Why does the church exist?" Of the members surveyed, 89 percent said, "The church's purpose is to take care of my family's and my needs." For many, the role of the pastor is simply to keep the sheep that are already in the "pen" happy and not lose too many of them. Only 11 percent said, "The purpose of the church is to win the world for Jesus Christ." The early church knew why they existed. And they were unified about that purpose. "Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and soul . . . And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was on all of them" (Acts 4: 32, 33). Jesus entrusted his ministry in the hands of the apostles to continue proclaiming the gospel that belongs to one God in one faith being together in oneness. They were from different backgrounds, and they had different ways of approaching the ministry but to fulfill one Great Commission to community around. They had one leader - Jesus, one purpose - to communicate the gospel to the multitudes. These early disciples did more for the spread of Christianity than any generation of followers since. What was the secret? All the believers were unified in one Spirit. To be one in heart and mind is to be unified in every fiber of their being. They were family in a relationship. They shared a common spiritual birth - they were born again into the family of God. They shared their lives and their possessions with one another. As they have received freely all the gifts from God, they were freely sharing it with others. Chuck Swindoll wrote, "Churches need to be less like national shrines and more like bars …. less like untouchable cathedrals and more like well-used hospitals, places to bleed in rather than monuments to look at . . . places where you can take your mask off and let your hair down... place where you can have your wounds dressed." They were partners in reaching the world for Christ. They linked arms not just for their convenience and comfort but to reach out to those not yet linked up with them. Their purpose was deeply rooted in Jesus and hence the ministry of God was widely branched to the community. This can happen only when we cooperate with one another. This can happen only when we know the importance of salvation we have received. This can happen only when we cherish the precious gift of grace we have received. Until we understand our foundation and purpose, we will have no idea of why church exists. God Bless, Amutha |