Read: Ephesians 6:10-18 and James 4:7
Some time ago, I went through a Spiritual Warfare 101 Bible study (by Chip Ingram) with a small group/community group that met every other week.
I really gained a lot from the Bible study and I wanted to share some brief thoughts with you about it as it's not a topic that we often talk about in The Church but none-the-less it's in His Word and a very real battle. (See Ephesians 6:12-13 and other passages)
Also, as a word of caution, some often over-spiritualize spiritual warfare and we have to remind ourselves to be in God's Word and seek Him often as not everything is "spiritual warfare". (I have very real examples of this but to keep this post brief, I won't take the time share here.)
We need to look at and treat spiritual warfare Biblically and not let our emotions overshadow what is or isn't spiritual warfare. We need to guard against over-spiritualization of important and very real matters such as this.
Ok, side note/disclaimer stated, now let's get into what I aim to briefly share. :-)
Friday, April 12, 2019
Wednesday, April 03, 2019
Remaining Sharp In A World That Aims To Keep You Dull.
Knives need to remain sharp:
Many times we may have gone to use a knife to cut something. It may have been a pocketknife to carve something; or maybe a kitchen knife to carve your Thanksgiving turkey or some other food item.
There have been times when you went to use the knife of your choosing and you may have found that the knife was so dull that a butter knife would have probably been more effective.
You then either had to sharpen the knife, maybe taken it somewhere to get it sharpened, or see if you had another knife you can use instead.
Even after we have sharpened the knife, it will likely becomes dull again because most knives need constant maintenance to stay useful for their given purpose.
Believers need each other to stay sharp:
Like these knives, we need constant sharpening in order to stay useful and to actively grow as we strive to become complete in Christ.
As believer's we seem to have a built-in God given ability to sharpen each other as we utilize the tools and relationships that God has given us such as:
-A growing relationship with The Lord.
-Abiding in, reading, studying and living out God's Word.
-Being active in prayer.
-Allowing The Holy Spirit to work in your life.
-Growing with The Body of Christ doing life together as each of us play our individual parts as part of The Body serving God and each other.
God has given us all the tools and resources we need and as we actively utilize these tools and people God has placed in our lives no matter through times of trial or times of peace, we will continued to be sharpened.
As we do life together, God allows friction to take place and with this friction we should become sharpened as the dull edges we have in our lives are smoothed away.
Being used in each other's lives is a privilege:
What a joy and privilege it is to be used in helping sharpen others and to be sharpened by others. It is sad though, that many choose to remain dull just because they don't want to put out any effort and would rather remain isolated from others and thereby miss-out on the growth they can experience or help others experience!
One of the many blessings about our walk with the Lord is that He uses people around us, right where you and I are, to sharpen us.
Are you a sharp or dull knife?
We can think of a "sharp" Christian as a believer that isn't perfect but is actively growing in their relationship with the Lord, helping others grow...being a disciple who makes disciples. Someone who is on the alert against satan's attacks. Their faith and walk doesn't begin and end on Sundays, rather, they actively live out their faith in Jesus and strive to help others do the same day-to-day.
On the flip side, we can think of a "dull" Christian as a believer that has become ineffective or stagnant in their relationship with the Lord and others and may have become satan's prey as they have given in to this world and his influence. They may be a "Sunday only Christian" that does their "Sunday thing" but leaves church like a "check of the box" of weekly activities and they rarely live out their faith in Jesus.
The choice is yours:
The truth is that we either do things God's Way or we don't. Furthermore, the world and the enemy of your soul is more than happy to distract you from staying sharp.
I pray you strive to remain sharp in a world that aims to keep you dull.
The choice is up to you and I pray that you will allow Him to sharpen you for His Kingdom, Glory, and the good of The Body of Christ!
Strive to be sharpened and to help sharpen others in Jesus name.
Questions To Get Started With:
-Are you a sharp or dull Christian?
-Which would you rather be?
-How do you become sharpened?
-What will you do to stay sharp?
-Do you help sharpen others?
-Do you allow God and others to help sharpen you?
-Do you need sharpening?
-Is all of the above important to you?
-As a Christian why should this matter and why should these passages matter?
In Christ Alone,
Your Brother and Servant in Christ,
Randolph Koch
Monday, March 25, 2019
Faithfulness In A Quiet Season.
Psalms 31:21-24 ESV
"Blessed be the Lord , for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me when I was in a besieged city. I had said in my alarm, "I am cut off from your sight." But you heard the voice of my pleas for mercy when I cried to you for help. Love the Lord , all you his saints! The Lord preserves the faithful but abundantly repays the one who acts in pride. Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord!"
Do you feel a separation from God like the text says the psalmist felt while saying "I am cut off from your sight"? I encourage you to look where you put your trust and control. If it is in yourself and your own abilities this could be the reason for the disconnect. It says " He abundantly repays the one who acts in pride." It can be a form of pride for us to think we can control our way back to hearing Him.
Take hope though! If you are truly seeking the Lord in everything and there is still a disconnect, it could be God putting you in a place to learn something to be revealed later. That could be deeper reliance on Him, Contentment in Him, and many other things.
Whatever He has you in this season for remember He is faithful! His timing is amazing, God will show you His power in ways that you couldn't imagine. Do you know why? Because He is God and we cannot plan His ways.
His Truth, Grace, Power, and Character stay consistent. All we can do is "Be strong, and let your heart take courage" as we wait in hope and excitement of His great plan. The biggest thing to understand is that God can be silent for a season, but He is still there!
It is crazy to me how He works! He can stay silent so we His children can turn back to Him stronger and more at peace than ever, knowing He is in control! So "Love the Lord , all you his saints!" Because "The Lord preserves the faithful". What a peace we can find in Him.
I pray you all have a blessed day and week, may we hold our thoughts captive to God's word and be faithful so He can show His loving character and plan. Lord, thank you for your wondrously steadfast love.
Stay Steady,
Noah Koch
We're blessed to introduce Noah Koch as a new guest contributor to A Shepherd's Heart. He hails from the Pacific Northwest in the USA where he actively and passionately lives life on purpose for The Lord. He's very creative and talented as a communicator, photographer, musician, and writer. He has a true servant's heart. We prayerfully look forward to further guest posts from Noah in the future!