WEEK 5 — DAY 5
Morning Nourishment
Eph. 6:16 "Besides all these, having taken up the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming darts of the evil one."
Heb. 2:14 "Since therefore the children have shared in blood and flesh, He also Himself in like manner partook of the same, that through death He might destroy him who has the might of death, that is, the devil."
We need truth to gird our loins, righteousness to cover our conscience,peace as the standing for our feet, and faith to shield our entire being. If we live by God as truth, we have righteousness (Eph. 4:24), and righteousness issues in peace (Heb. 12:11; Isa. 32:17). With all these, we can easily have faith as a shield against the flaming darts of the evil one [Eph. 6:16]. Christ is the Author and Perfecter of such faith (Heb. 12:2). For us to stand firmly in the battle we need to be equipped with these four items of God's armor.
The shield of faith is not something that we put on, but something that we take up in order to protect ourselves against the attacks of the enemy.Faith comes after truth, righteousness, and peace. If we have truth in our living, righteousness as our covering, and peace as our standing, we shall spontaneously have faith...[to] safeguard against the fiery darts, the attacks, of the enemy. (Life-study of Ephesians, pp. 543-544)
Today's Reading
We need now to consider the shield of faith in detail. We certainly are not to have faith in our own ability, strength, merit, or virtue. Our faith must be in God (Mark 11:22). God is real, living, present, and available. We need to have faith in Him.
We also should have faith in God's heart. Every Christian must know both God and the heart of God. God's heart toward us is always good. No matter what may happen to us or what kind of sufferings we may undergo, we must always believe in the goodness of God's heart. God has no intention to punish us, to injure us, or to cause us to suffer loss.
Along with faith in God's heart, we should have faith in God's faithfulness.We may change, but God does not change. As James 1:17 says, there is no shadow of turning with Him. Furthermore, He cannot lie (Titus 1:2), but is always faithful to His word.
God is not only faithful but also able. Therefore, we need to have faith in God's ability. In Ephesians 3:20 Paul declares that God “is able to do superabundantly above all that we ask or think.”
Still another aspect of our faith is faith in God's word. God is bound to fulfill all that He has spoken. The more He speaks, the more responsible He becomes to fulfill His own word. We can tell Him, “God, You have spoken, and Your written Word is in our hand. Lord, You are bound to fulfill Your word.”
We also need to have faith in God's will. Because God is a God of purpose,He has a will. His will with respect to us is always positive. Hence, no matter what befalls us, we should care not for our happiness or our environment,but for God's will. Our environment may change, but God's will never changes.
Furthermore, we must have faith in God's sovereignty. Because God is sovereign, God could never make a mistake...When we are wrong, we need to repent. But there is no need for us to regret, for that means we are lacking in faith. After we repent for a mistake or shortcoming, we must still exercise faith in God's sovereignty. We could not have made that mistake if He had not sovereignly allowed us to do so. Hence, there is no need for regret.
We all need to have a full faith in God, in God's heart, in God's faithfulness, in God's ability, in God's word, in God's will, and in God's sovereignty. If we have such a faith, Satan's flaming darts will not be able to damage us. The flaming darts are Satan's temptations, proposals, doubts,questions, lies, and attacks....The devil's flaming darts come as thoughts injected into our mind. These thoughts may seem to be our own thoughts,but they are actually Satan's....Never confess thoughts injected into you by Satan in his subtlety. (Life-study of Ephesians, pp. 544-546)
Further Reading: Life-study of Ephesians, msg. 65; CWWN, vol. 50,“Messages for Building Up New Believers,” ch. 43
Morning Nourishment
Eph. 6:16 "Besides all these, having taken up the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming darts of the evil one."
Heb. 2:14 "Since therefore the children have shared in blood and flesh, He also Himself in like manner partook of the same, that through death He might destroy him who has the might of death, that is, the devil."
We need truth to gird our loins, righteousness to cover our conscience,peace as the standing for our feet, and faith to shield our entire being. If we live by God as truth, we have righteousness (Eph. 4:24), and righteousness issues in peace (Heb. 12:11; Isa. 32:17). With all these, we can easily have faith as a shield against the flaming darts of the evil one [Eph. 6:16]. Christ is the Author and Perfecter of such faith (Heb. 12:2). For us to stand firmly in the battle we need to be equipped with these four items of God's armor.
The shield of faith is not something that we put on, but something that we take up in order to protect ourselves against the attacks of the enemy.Faith comes after truth, righteousness, and peace. If we have truth in our living, righteousness as our covering, and peace as our standing, we shall spontaneously have faith...[to] safeguard against the fiery darts, the attacks, of the enemy. (Life-study of Ephesians, pp. 543-544)
Today's Reading
We need now to consider the shield of faith in detail. We certainly are not to have faith in our own ability, strength, merit, or virtue. Our faith must be in God (Mark 11:22). God is real, living, present, and available. We need to have faith in Him.
We also should have faith in God's heart. Every Christian must know both God and the heart of God. God's heart toward us is always good. No matter what may happen to us or what kind of sufferings we may undergo, we must always believe in the goodness of God's heart. God has no intention to punish us, to injure us, or to cause us to suffer loss.
Along with faith in God's heart, we should have faith in God's faithfulness.We may change, but God does not change. As James 1:17 says, there is no shadow of turning with Him. Furthermore, He cannot lie (Titus 1:2), but is always faithful to His word.
God is not only faithful but also able. Therefore, we need to have faith in God's ability. In Ephesians 3:20 Paul declares that God “is able to do superabundantly above all that we ask or think.”
Still another aspect of our faith is faith in God's word. God is bound to fulfill all that He has spoken. The more He speaks, the more responsible He becomes to fulfill His own word. We can tell Him, “God, You have spoken, and Your written Word is in our hand. Lord, You are bound to fulfill Your word.”
We also need to have faith in God's will. Because God is a God of purpose,He has a will. His will with respect to us is always positive. Hence, no matter what befalls us, we should care not for our happiness or our environment,but for God's will. Our environment may change, but God's will never changes.
Furthermore, we must have faith in God's sovereignty. Because God is sovereign, God could never make a mistake...When we are wrong, we need to repent. But there is no need for us to regret, for that means we are lacking in faith. After we repent for a mistake or shortcoming, we must still exercise faith in God's sovereignty. We could not have made that mistake if He had not sovereignly allowed us to do so. Hence, there is no need for regret.
We all need to have a full faith in God, in God's heart, in God's faithfulness, in God's ability, in God's word, in God's will, and in God's sovereignty. If we have such a faith, Satan's flaming darts will not be able to damage us. The flaming darts are Satan's temptations, proposals, doubts,questions, lies, and attacks....The devil's flaming darts come as thoughts injected into our mind. These thoughts may seem to be our own thoughts,but they are actually Satan's....Never confess thoughts injected into you by Satan in his subtlety. (Life-study of Ephesians, pp. 544-546)
Further Reading: Life-study of Ephesians, msg. 65; CWWN, vol. 50,“Messages for Building Up New Believers,” ch. 43
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