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. Ephesians 6: 16

I am a huge superhero fan.  I know...but...there's something about having super powers that speaks to me... One of my favorite is Captain America (yeah...I'm not into capes).  I like him because he has core values and he represents what's good about America and about humanity.  And, I LOVE that shield.  I mean, really!  It defies all laws of physics!  It is a super shield.  It's indestructible.  It is tossed, smashed, burned, pounded, and it withstands it all with just a few scratches.  What an incredible tool!  Without it, Captain America is left unprotected.  Of course, he is strong enough to survive, but, his mission is much easily accomplished when his trusty shield is at hand.  It even protects others.  I've seen him cover Black Widow with it more than once.

At any rate, the shield is Captain America's trademark.  He can't truly be Captain America without it.

It is the same with us.

Christians cannot be fully Christians without our shield. 

Yes!  We have a shield!  Isn't it amazing?  And it is made of something stronger than vibranium.  It's made out of faith.  And our faith on the One and Only not only protects us, but it leads us to victory! 

This shield of faith has the power to extinguish the flaming arrows, bullets, cannon balls, bombs, missiles, lazers, nuclear warheads and all the arsenal the enemy might throw at us.  None of the weapons of the devil can penetrate the shield of faith God has handed us down in the person of Jesus the Christ.  It's covered on His blood and His flesh and nothing can ever possibly break through that.  With His arms stretched out wide on the cross, Jesus forms the perfect shield of protection and as long as we remain in His shadow, nothing can touch us.

Our shield defies all the laws of this world, and at the soft whispering of His very Name we have it in our hand, covering us...protecting us...keeping us alive...making us victorious!

Like Captain America, let's suit up, and never walk around without it.  May the Lord increase our faith so we are always shielded from the relentless attacks of the one who seeks to destroy us and separate us from our source of power and strength.  Amen!