Category: Shield of Faith

Faith: Living beyond the labels of good and evil. 

For us to truly live by faith is to do our best to live a life beyond the labels of the knowledge of good and evil, success and failure, right and wrong, male or female, jew or gentile, black and white. 

To live by faith is to live a life led and guided by the Holy Spirit. And the HS will always show us which path to take. It is a Spirit of God’s will and order.

Romans 8:28 NIV“And we know that in ALL THINGS God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

One may say, “Wouldn’t living a life beyond the labels of good and evil just make us like a bunch of idle zombies?”

I prefer the term like “sheep” vs. zombies. Lol

The goal is to be reverend and still like sheep to be led by love versus what we are use to in being led by fear, anger, vengeance or hate.   The ability not to prove who is right or wrong, but rather to be a light of God’s promises. 

It is simply about maturity. Maturity may NOT always change the circumstances in your life, however it does change our hearts and how we process the circumstances and how we respond to them.

Living a life of “labels” will eventually produce compassion when it will eventually fail.

The difference in our life of living beyond these labels simply places our compassion first vs. last.

Galatians 3 NIV

“23Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. 24So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. 25Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.

26So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, 27for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

2 Corinthians 3:17 NIV

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”

Acts 2:38 NIV

“Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

We can rationalize and argue this verse about baptism all we want, but sooner ot later our “faith” has to line up with the “Word”. 

Only one was given the honor to hold the keys of Heaven, and it was Peter. If there was someone I would listen to, it would be the one Jesus gave the keys of heaven to.

And there is NO Pastor or church organIzation that has the right to change it.

It is the “name above all names”, let us honor it in baptism where it is literally our testimony of our marriage between Christ and the sinner. 

Brotherly love, 
Ray Evangelista

Producing Fruit in 2017. 

Isaiah 55:11 NLT

“It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.”

Ecclesiates 7 NLT

“13Accept the way God does things, for who can straighten what he has made crooked. 14Enjoy prosperity while you can, but when hard times strike, realize that both come from God. Remember that nothing is certain in this life.”

To the genuine believer, what God had taught us in life either by experience or revelation will not be taught in vain.

The Holy Spirit’s discipline is about giving us the courage, faith, hope and love to “connect the dots” and formulate a means to minister to others by word or deed. 

We only have a small window during a crisis in a person’s life to minister to them the gospel of Christ as gentle and as loving as we can.  

And we have to treat every opportunity to preach the gospel as if it was our last.  

Remember, SIN will always be mankind’s default place of comfort. Unless we bring the love of Christ, people will not be curious to draw out of their darkness.  Why should they?  

Satan has made it extremely comfortable for us to simply remain in sin.

So we pray for a Father’s love, that He will either give us the faith to trust someone to lead us out of our “sin” or to make our “sin” so uncomfortable that we are forced to leave on our own.

Finally, the scriptures say that those who have heard the Father and learned from him will come to Jesus Christ. And this is what we preach. We preach Jesus Christ as HE was preached in His entirety by the Apostles.  

A gospel that remains sharper than any two edged sword with the power to separate one’s soul and spirit.

Now a sword that sharp does us no good if we are not in range to fight!  

This is why we live by the shield, God’s protection like a fortress will allow us to draw close enough to the enemy where we can eventually draw our swords and utilize them effectively.   Similar to the Apostle Paul who was a Benjamite, a tribe literally of experienced swordsman.  

Similar to a paper cut that we recognize way too late, a sword so razor sharp that it will penetrate any armor and flesh so quietly and unnoticed that before they realize what has happened, it had already pierced their heart and soul.  

So let us “Be wise as serpents, yet harmless as doves”, brothers and sisters as we become experienced fishermen and swordsman for our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Lastly, remember me, brother Rory and brother Darren in prayer as we cast our nets on the northwest part of town on Wednesday nights.

God’s grace be with us always,  in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. 

Ray Evangelista

Brotherly love. 

Hopefully this personal text message will remind us of the power of fellowship in the name of Jesus Christ. 

A: Hey fellas…I’m thinking about terminating my fast. As I sit back check the fruit…What’s being produced is more negative than positive. What do you think?

B: We will always be persecuted for bringing what is written to life.

But it is NOT the love it produces around us that matters BUT the love that it produces in our hearts to forgive others on what is happening around us that matters.

Evil will always be around us and we will always walk thru this valley, however we fear no evil for He is with us.

“Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort us.”

That is in reference to the Holy Spirit brother. 

There is no failure in grace.  

But if we have to live by the labels of good and evil then failure is best defined as simply not trying brother.

We all have suffered for what we have done wrong. So wouldn’t it be honorable to suffer for what is good? 

Remain in your fast brother. Finish the race. 

Finish your mission soldier.

C: I’ve got compassion for you bro and have definitely had my share of trials fasting these last few years. Lead your heart, don’t think there’s a wrong answer here.

I say this knowing the enemy has been attacking my wife as well as myself, but if you have the inclination to continue I’ll offer this encouragement.

My harvest and fruit has been slow growing, which is hard to endure if I compare to others. But God has been kind to show me the sweetest fruit growing with patience… His time isn’t always in line with our expectations or seasons.

A: Amen. I needed all of that.

B: Remember this valley of the shadow of death is simply a bluff and deception. For it is not death, but only a shadow of it.  

Let us stay the course and walk thru it together.  

Walk by faith and not by sight.

I have found Psalm 23 to be wise to be read daily on fasting. 

Let us pray, 

King James Bible
The Lord is My Shepherd

{A Psalm of David.} The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

3He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

4Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

5Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

6Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

In the name of Jesus Christ, 

Amen. 

A: Amen. 

B: 1 Peter 2 NIV

“19For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God. 20But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. 21To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.”

Because of all the love Jesus had internally, He was able to endure all the hardships and pain externally. And this is the example that we should follow in His steps.

Truly our “hearts” require spiritual conditioning so we may endure this type of unforgiving terrain.  

1 Peter 3:17 NIV

“For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.”

D: The valley of the “shadow”. Man that’s fire right there. It’s not even death it’s just a pump fake. Absolutely nothing to fear. I’m stealing that one brother.

B: Can’t steal what was givin freely brother. Lol

This is the reason why King David speaks of this valley as simply a “shadow of death”.

And if anyone knows death, it would be David. 

Revelation 1:18 NIV

“I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.”

You see, Satan does not even hold the key to his own home!  

C: Yeah, “he’s homeless! 😂

D: Lol!!! Perfect parallel!!  

SUMMARY:

Everything is a spiritual battle.  However it is very easy to lose sight of this.  Reminders are a key element in our daily lives as Christians.  When something loses it’s value, it is simply forgotton.

So let us not forget the power of fellowship at any level whether it is in person or via a simple text message because the only thing that separates us from meeting anywhere is faith.  

The Fate of Faith in Perfection. 

John 1 NIV

“45Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”46“Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip.”

People will always go and listen to God where they have the faith to listen to Him. 

Whether it is a priest, ordained bible scholar, or even someone non-ordained (like a simple son of a carpenter).  It solely relies in one’s child-like faith to lead us into a more intimate relationship with God. 
Now the entity that takes the greatest FAITH to hear the gospel is what is pleasing to God.  For what we often deem FOOLISH,  God holds very great in His heart.  

It takes great FAITH to be reverend or to be still and to “hear” God in creation. How can something that is temporary point to something eternal? 

But this is the FATE of FAITH, it will always take great FAITH to receive a gospel of perfection from imperfection or a gospel of maturity from us who are immature.  However this is God’s will. 

The TRUE meaning of PERFECT biblically via Hebrew/Greek translations is simply about being mature. 

“The word “perfect” that we often use in religious conversation is frequently misunderstood. We tend to apply an unqualified philosophical meaning to it and have it mean “without flaw” or “without error” or put it into other absolute categories. It then becomes easy to say that Jesus’ command in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5:48), “Be therefore perfect, even as your heavenly Father is perfect,” is a laudable goal, but one that is impossible for human beings to achieve sicne we cannot possibly be perfect. That is even easier to do from certain doctrinal or theological positions that assume human beings can never respond to God beyond their contaminated sinful nature (see Body and Soul).

The problem in this thinking is that the Hebrew word (tam or tamim) does not carry the meaning of “without flaw” as does the term “perfect” in English. It normally means complete or mature or healthy (for example, Lev 22:21). That meaning of mature dominates most use of the equivalent Greek term in the New Testament (telos). Something, or someone, can be complete or mature yet not be “without flaw.” In fact, it is much easier to be mature and still have flaws, than it is to be without error or without flaw. Many people are mature, but few if any are “without flaw.” A six year old can be mature, and still have a lot of growing to do, just like a person can be “holy” and have a lot to learn about spiritual maturity.” – Dennis Bratcher, PhD

Dennis R. Bratcher: Is a Treasurer and Executive Director – A retired professor of Old Testament; he has earned the PhD in Biblical studies from Union Theological Seminary in Virginia, and has served as a educator in the church for more than 25 years. He is an ordained minister in the Church of the Nazarene, and has recently served on staff at a United Methodist church.

So hopefully this short note had planted a seed of compassion, love and an open mind to how God can truly use anyone and anything to draw us nearer to Him.   

It is simply a matter of faith and where we choose this relationship with God starts and ends.   

So to truly grow as a Christian, is to desire to be more intimate and mature on the things of God.   And as we grow, the less offended we become because there is something about feeling loved that inspires, encourages and produces confidence and compassion.

If we are to be the light and salt of the world, I pray it is because of our maturity and compassion in Christ.  

As always, God’s speed and love.

Ray Evangelista