Skip to main content

Flaming Arrows


In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish
all the flaming arrows of the evil one. (Ephesians 6:16) 

         The shield is the first piece of the armor of God that is active. The belt, the breastplate and the boots  all get put on, and they do their job. The shield can be shifted around as it is needed. That means that it is more versatile than the other pieces of armor, but it also takes more skill. You have to learn to put a breastplate on, but you have to learn how to anticipate your enemy and keep your shield between his weapons and your body. You can even learn to use your shield to so deflect your enemy's attack that they are more open to counter attack. The other thing about shields is that they are the first line of defense, but not the only defense.  
       Our shield is faith. Faith is taking God at His Word, which  is rather difficult if you don't have His Word. Like a shield, our faith must be active. It is faith in God, but it can be directed with respect to specific circumstances.  This is the first time that Paul has mentioned our enemy's means of attack: flaming arrows. They pierce and burn. Perhaps more importantly, while an arrow can be used at close range, the whole idea of an arrow is to injure from a distance.  Since there's no person and they are comparatively small, it is harder to defend against them. They can come from any direction. 
       In fact, one of the two types of shields used by Roman soldiers in Paul's day was a large rectangle. The soldiers would line up shoulder to shoulder and hold the shields together to form a wall all the way around their group, then the soldiers on the inside would hold their shields over their heads. This ceiling prevent them from being injured by arrows show into the air to rain down on their victims.  It was a tactic named after the turtle or tortoise. This suggests to me that my shield of faith may not only involve my faith, but the faith of those around me. Their shield of faith may depend on mine. This is the first piece of armor with which we can protect someone else.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Four Chaplains Day
Birthday of...
     Elizabeth Blackwell - first woman to receive a medical degree in America 
   
        "Our school education ignores, in a thousand ways,
the rules of healthy development"
- Elizabeth Blackwell

       

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The List

              Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,   through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;   perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. (Romans 5:1-5)           Think about it. We have been justified. At least, we could be justified if we stopped insisting that our justification be based on our merits. We have peace with God, or could have peace if we stopped throwing temper tantrums. We have gained access into grace i...
Post a Comment
Read more

Listen!

  While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” (Matthew 17:5)            Do you like roller coasters? I don't. You spend forever climbing a hill. You get to the top and have half a second, then you race down to a low point. Sometimes the racing down involves tying your insides into knots. At the bottom, you either have to be dragged up another hill or you get off the ride. Peter's life was a roller coaster from the time he met Jesus. There would be miracles, and then Jesus would teach things that didn't always make sense, and then they'd go out and perform miracles, and return to be taught. Peter was praised for giving the right answer to "Who do you say that I am?" Jesus said that said answer came from God. Peter was at the top of the hill.            ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Prayer Lists

                 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. (I Peter 2:2-3)   In connection with what I wrote yesterday about the possibility that I’m wrong, I’m feeling the need to go back to basics - craving spiritual milk because somehow, I missed something. It’s a little embarrassing, craving milk like a newborn, but the truth probably is that we are newborns many times in many ways in our lives. From God’s perspective, we may never be anything more than newborns, forever needing that milk. On the other hand, being a newborn can also be exciting because so much is new. My mind is playing pinball - ricocheting from one idea to the next and through six more before it happens to hit the third again. The main topic is prayer. I have at least seven organizing structures all somewhat influenced by the movie War Room , which I’v...
Post a Comment
Read more