It’s Not Over
Isaiah 26:4 (NLT)
“Trust in the LORD always, for the LORD GOD is the eternal Rock”
I often wonder to what extent the words “It is finished” cover, I mean Jesus said “It is finished” at the cross before He died as our perfect sacrifice to restore that which He never stole in the first place. What does this phrase really mean “It is finished”? I mean my struggle feels like it’s just getting started yet I am told It is finished. 
The more i think about this, the more hope I get, and it actually gives me the courage to laugh at my struggle because hey, It is finished before it even starts, there’s an assured victory for every situation I will ever face, that’s what Jesus declared at the cross for all of us, and yes, that’s what He declared for you at the cross. 
I mean this is one delightful life to live in, an assurance that no matter what I go through, no matter what I face, no matter how painful, how scary, how dark, how hopeless, how impossible it may feel or appeal to me & you, the truth is, YOU ARE ASSURED VICTORY over everything way before that challenge came knocking at your door. 
I’ve heard people say when the going gets tough, the tougher get going. But I say when the going gets tough, the rested get going. And the only place we find this rest that leads to victory is in, through and only with Jesus who died at the cross and made a full payment so you can live in complete victory over everything. And we have to understand that rest (In Jesus) is not complacency, resting is knowing that “It is Finished”.
See it’s not a matter of whether or not you will face challenges, because truth is, you will go through some things. But the beautiful and powerful thing is, you are already VICTORIOUS no matter how bad it may look or feel like. And it’s simply because the one who paid for your victory is God, the one who paid for your victory is the creator of all thing, seen and not seen, nothing was created without Him, everything in Heaven and earth was created through Him and for Him.
So no matter how bad it is, look at it and tell it, “Jesus finished you at the cross, I am walking in Victory)

Love

It's Not Over

WHAT’S FAMILIAR TO YOU?

A while ago there was a game on one of the radio stations, where they played snippets of famous actors talking and asked the listener to identify who the actors were, and the winners prize was money. You would be surprised to find out how hard this game is, I mean you must be a fan of the actor to identify their voice through a 2 second clip. You had to be so familiar with them to win this game. There was no way you would win this game if you had seen & heard them just a few times. 
Familiarity doesn’t come natural, familiarity is cultivated. Parents who aren’t consistently choosing to spend time with their children won’t be as intimate with them. Spouses that aren’t consistently choosing to love one another and spend time together, will eventually become strangers to each other. 
The same principle applies to our relationship with Jesus. Jesus says in John 10:27 “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them and they follow Me” & John 10:4 “And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and they sheep follow him, for they know his voice”. These two statement are monumental but often misinterpreted, because we think that Jesus talks about all of us here, but the truth is, this statement doesn’t include everybody by default although everyone has an opportunity to be that sheep that knows His voice & the sheep that hears His voice and being the sheep that follows Him. The Greek word used in John 10:57 as sheep here actually means a fully grown (matured) sheep, not a lamb. It means that this sheep that has spent enough time with the shepherd to know His voice, to know the shepherd, to be intimate with the shepherd. There’s time in this relationship, not only time, there’s consistent choices made to cultivate this intimacy.  
Familiarity comes through consistent exposure. This level of familiarity is built by consistent choices. Consistently making a choice of heeding to His voice, consistently choosing to believe His word & consistently choosing to talk (pray) to God. 
Some of us are in terrible situations and seasons because we consistently chose to do the wrong thing. Some of us are stuck in the same place because we consistently doubt God and His word. Some of us aren’t growing because we consistently choose to disobey God. Some of us are still in bondage because we consistently choose to hold-on to the hate & resentment. This list can go on and on. We have consistently chosen the wrong thing to a point where we are more familiar with the darkness than we are with light. We are more familiar with hate than we are with love, we are more familiar with doubt than we are with faith, we are more familiar with quitting than we are with being faithful & persevering, we are more familiar with fear than we are with courage, and we are more familiar with the devil than we are with Jesus. 

To know His voice, we must consistently choose to listen to His voice, to obey His word, to seek Him. To be intimate with Him, we must consistently choose to seek Him. These things don’t just show up, we have to consistently choose the right thing. Please don’t get me wrong and think I am prompting works here, because I am not, everything that we do is a response to what He has already done. Whatever consistent choice we will make, it’s all a response. He reached out first, He called us first, He loved us first, and He spoke to u first. 

Maybe in this season, you need to forgive, you need to let go, you need to be courageous, you need to hold-on toy our faith, you need to obey, whatever it might be, the breakthrough is in your choice.
Familiarity and intimacy is built by our consistent choices. No matter how bad we’ve messed up, we still have a chance to turn things around and get to that place of oneness with our God, a place of intimacy with Him, a place where people look at us and see the God in us. We just have to make the right choices, Godly choices, the ball is in your court. 

-God bless you.

What's Familiar to You

IN LIGHT OF ETERNITY
All lifestyles and beliefs have one thing in common. They all point to a central figure. And this little fact may not be obvious to most people, but it is a real fact nonetheless. Whatever lifestyle or beliefs we have, they all point to a central figure in that particular belief or lifestyle. 
Sadly enough, most of our beliefs & lifestyles point back to ourselves as the central figures of our lives. 
Most of us live our lives as if the life here on earth was it. As if this life is the best we will ever get. Tragic thing about this way of living is that, your life will point back to you, it will revolve around you and you alone, and you will be the central figure of your life. Since you’re the central figure then you do what’s best for you. And this is tragic because you were not designed to take that central position, your life was not meant to point back to you but God. 
The truth is, ETERNITY AWAITS US ALL, and no one is exempted from eternity. You only have two realities, you either spend eternity with God, enjoying everything good He has prepared for you or you spend eternity in pain and torment. This is just a fact, it’s not meant to implant fear in us. But it’s meant to point back to the one who deserves the central place in our lives. It points back to our creator. It points back to the Author of our salvation, Jesus Christ through whom we freely receive the gift of eternal life through faith. It points back to how good and gracious God is. 
The danger of Living this life ignoring the fact that there’s’ eternity is that it points back to you, and this will lead to eternal disaster. But living life embracing the reality of eternity, your life will point back to Jesus Christ, who is the ONLY way we can have eternal life through faith. 
Now, acknowledging eternity alone is not enough, we have to live our lives in light of eternity. And when you adapt this eternal mind-set, one thing becomes the ultimate priority. That is love. Loving God with all your heart, mind and soul. Exalting God to the central place of who you are becomes your number one priority in this life. Obeying, trusting, surrendering to God becomes a priority. Second is like it, loving your neighbour the way you love yourself, being gracious and merciful to everyone, to forgive those who hurt us, to put others first, to respect and honor others and many others. All these spring up from love, Loving God above all else, and loving those around us the way we love ourselves. Living in light of eternity points to Jesus, it points back to love. 
So I want to challenge you to adapt this mind-set and make every decision in your life in light of eternity. 

God bless you

Ben Owden - In Light Of Eternity

IN THE PROCESS (Part 1)
Many of us have different ideas, expectations and beliefs when it comes to our view of God and our walk with God. And most of all, we have different ideas on what Faith is. To some faith is like an ATM and God is the provider. To others faith is the heartbeat of their relationship with God. And to most faith is simply a childish & a rather stupid thing to say the least. 
But the word of God says in Hebrews 11:6 (NKJV) “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him”
After reading this scripture, you realise how significant faith is, most importantly in our relationship with God. It’s obvious that faith is a big deal to God. But what is faith? I mean, everyone has their view of what it is, and this view mostly is revealed when we are in the process. 
Now, for you to clearly understand what I just said, I need to explain what I mean by the-process. In the process is the time that happens between your prayer and God’s manifestation of the answer, some people call it the waiting period, some call it the in-between, but I like to call it the process. 
This in-between, waiting, in-the process time is when the nature of our faith is truly revealed. And no one has to analyse and tell you what the nature of your faith is, you just have to take time and asses the decisions you made when you were in this process (waiting) period. 
Some people give up on God in this in-the process (waiting) period. Some of us take matters in our own hands in this period. And some of us live in constant panic in this period. And yet we somehow call this faith. But see, this conflicts with the Bible’s definition of faith, in Hebrews the bible defines Faith as the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Yet when we can’t see, we give up, we take things in our own hands and yet have the audacity of calling it faith, while believing when you can’t see is the whole point of faith. 
And some of us live our lives stuck in the same place not because God has changed because He never will, but because we need to change our view of God, faith and our view of the process. 
Now one thing that is obvious is this, there will always be a period of waiting between most of your prayers or most of God’s promises and His manifested answer. This is simply how God operates. And when you look at all the people we consider faith giants, most of them spent a lot of time in these in-the-process moments yet we somehow think God will exempt us of these periods. 
Now all this points back to two major things. What is the right view of the process & faith? And why does God take us through these periods when He can simply make it happen instantly? 
I will dedicate two podcasts to deliver this message. Please be patient with me and I guarantee you, when you apply this scriptural truth. Your life will be one that truly pleases God.

Ben Owden - In The Process (Part 1)

BLESSED TO LAST

Habakkuk 2:3 (AMP) “For the vision is yet for the appointed [future] time It hurries toward the goal [of fulfillment]; it will not fail. Even though it delays, wait [patiently] for it, Because it will certainly come; it will not delay.

Sometimes it is so hard to even comprehend the idea of eternity. I mean half the time I think I get it but then when I hear myself say things like “Yes, we’ll be with God till the end of time” I realise I really don’t fully understand this concept of not having an end, of not having a finish line. 

And what this does it expose my mentality. Time is essential to me, key word being me. And this self-based attitude of me is what leads to a lot of problems and chaos in one’s life. Because we are running out of time, because we are not getting any younger, because life is passing us by, we want things done and done in our time. We don’t fully understand the concept of “built to last” or rather “blessed to last”. 

When God made Adam & Eve, they were perfect, they didn’t have a gap between where they were and where they were supposed to be, their now and then was the same. They were fully set apart for God’s purpose. But ofcause this only lasted for a while and sin came into the scene and what sin did was create that gap between where we are and where we are supposed to be. But greater news is that when Jesus came and took our place at the cross, He became the way from where we are to where we are supposed to be.  Being saved by grace means we don’t have to qualify to be saved because Jesus already did that when He took our place. Through Him we are continually being set apart for God’s purpose, and this act is an on-going, it will be completed when we go to heaven. 

I am saying all this as a set up for this simple truth. God is a good God and His time is the best time. Time began in Him and time will end in Him. He doesn’t work in our time and He doesn’t work in our urgencies. 
When we find ourselves waiting on God for a lot of things He has promised us or we have prayed for to Him, it’s very easy to go into thinking that maybe God doesn’t care about this the way i do. Maybe He doesn’t get the urgency of this issue. Maybe God doesn’t get the fact that time is running out and I am not getting any younger and responsibilities are piling up etc.
This most of the times leads to us taking matters in our own hands and running with them, losing sight of the beautiful reality, that, all this time, God was building our characters up so we can enjoy what He has prepared for us for His pleasure and glory. We forget that God is good and He knows what the future holds and He is not interested in the now alone, but He is interested in the now in connection to the future. God infact wants what’s good for us more than we want what’s good for us. 

There are two groups of people, those who are blessed to crumble and those who are blessed to last. What differentiates these two is character. The one who is blessed to last is full of obedience and surrender to God, He is resting in God’s grace, and he knows that Jesus will make it happen in His perfect time. This person is not super spiritual, s/he just understands that Faith is a choice, and they choose faith in every day and season of their life. 
For us to be blessed to last, we must live our lives by fully believing that God is who He says He is and will do exactly what He says He will do And not live by believing God through what is already in front of us. To live our lives believing that God will manifest whatever He has promised or whatever we have asked Him in His perfect time. Without faith it’s impossible to please God. And faith is a life lived with the focus placed on Jesus all the time. This focus is a choice. Choose well. God bless you

Ben Owden - In The Process (Part 2)

A SEAT AT GOD'S TABLE

Romans 8:15-16 (NLT) "*So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children.[a] Now we call him, “Abba, Father.”[b] 16 For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children."*

Fear is a terrible thing. Any kind of fear that is, except the fear of God. The fear of God is the only one that leads you and draws you to God, it's the only one that produces rest and peace. 

Fear blinds us from seeing God's love toward us. Fear blinds us from seeing and understanding our place in God's kingdom. The word of God says we are sons and daughters of the Living God. We call God, Abba, Father yet most times He doesn't feel like a Father to us but more like a supreme being (which He is) who is not that much interested with our lives. 

But the truth is God is a good Father and all those who are made sons and daughters through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ call Him Abba, Father. 

But what does it mean to be a son or a daughter of the Living God? Well it simply means through Jesus we have been given the full privileges of sonship in Gods family. A Father takes care of his own, protects his own, provides for his own, looks out for his own and supports his own. Are you enjoying these privileges, or are you allowing fear to get in the way? 

I think some of us still have that Adam attitude, heeding to the voice of satan, thinking we'll find satisfaction in sin, thinking there's life outside the person of God, thinking we'll flourish if "we" run the show instead of surrendering all that we are and do to God, thinking pursuing God is a waste of time, I mean I got work to do and bills to pay and a family to spend time with. Living our lives as orphans, away from His presence, doing it our way--still feeding to the original lie that led to one thing, Death and misery. 

The great news is Jesus paid the price for our lives at the cross and through Him we are redeemed and set free from bondage to sin and we have a restored relationship with God. 

I've found myself at a place where I didn't want to obey God because I didn't believe He had my best interest at the time. I felt that He simply didn't understand the situation. But who am I to think that? How dare I think that of God? He sacrificed His son so I can have life and be set free yet I dare think He doesn't have my best interest? How dare I doubt what He tells me to do while He has loved me from the beginning? He has never given up on me, He has been nothing but loving, gracious and merciful to me, How dare I succumb to the ways if this world thinking that's what's good for me and not what He is giving me? 

Now I'm not judging nor condemning anyone, not even myself but what I'm trying to say is that, there's an open door, Jesus has set a seat for you before God. Even when you fall, His grace abounds even more, even when you think you've failed Him, your seat is present at His table waiting for you to come back. 

We are not guests in Gods family, we are sons and daughters and our Father is a good God. 

Let's find rest in Him. Let's realise that what He offers us is good, that faith is not complacency but courageous, that fearlessly obeying Him is not missing out on anything but it's going deeper with Him, that unconditional selfless love is far more precious, that sin is nothing but trouble.

Ben Owden - A Seat at God's Table

THE PURSUIT

Psalm 42:1-2 (AMP) As the deer pants [longingly] for the water brooks, So my [a]soul pants [longingly] for You, O God. 2 My soul (my life, my inner self) thirsts for God, for the living God. When will I come and see the face of God?

Animals don't have as many luxuries as we do. They live very simple lives. Deer's in particular are very unique animals, they need water more than anything, and in fact majority of the food they eat contain 80% water. Water nourishes a deer. Deer’s yearn for water streams so much that hunters build fake ponds just to attract deer’s easily. The deer doesn't end up at the stream by accident. The deer is intentional about finding a stream.

The more I look into this the more I realise why the psalmist used the illustration of a deer to explain his thirst for more of God. Deer’s live for that sip by the water stream. Do we know God for ourselves or do we wait on others to tell us of who God is? Do we thirst for God ourselves or do we thirst for what others have to say about God? God is infinite, God is eternal, and God is so big and deep that no created being can fully know Him. The tragedy is that while there is an infinite God waiting for us to pursue Him and know Him, most of us are busy saying we already know enough of Him (But how can you know enough of the infinite???). We are content with our experience with Him. Any more than what we already know will just be radical, and we’ll leave the radical stuff to the “super spiritual”. But God desires for a relationship with you, God wants to show you more of Him, He wants you to see His beauty, to hear His voice, to feel His touch, to smell His scent, to enjoy Him. But are we thirsty for more of Him? Are we excited for more of Him? Are we pursuing Him? Do we long for Him? Is God all we need?

As the deer pants for the brook so do I pant for you oh God,
As the deer draws to the water stream with such joy and excitement so am I drawing close to you oh Jesus,
As the deer is nourished by the water so may I find nourishment and fulfilment in your presence oh Lord,
As the deer lives for the sip by the stream, may I also live for the joy found in your presence,
As the deer longs for the sweet taste of the spring, May I long to see and taste how good You are!

A deer is never too busy to drink water and a deer is never exhausted to drink water. A deer finds nourishment by the brook. Are we too busy for more of God? Are we too exhausted for more of God? Are we trading the nourishment, the joy, the fulfilment, the peace for things that offer us absolutely nothing compared to what we experience when intimate with Him?

We were created to be intimate with the Lord and intimacy is cultivated. Intimacy doesn't happen without pursuit, intimacy doesn't happen without surrender, intimacy doesn't happen without obedience, intimacy doesn't happen without trust. As you get on with your life, ask yourself a few questions. How intimate are you with God? Are you intentionally pursuing God? Do you long for more of Him? Have you tasted and seen how good He is? 

Ask yourself, if the created is this good and sweet, how much more the creator, of all that exists?

God bless you

Pursuit

Ben Owden  - The Pursuit

Let me paint a picture for you. Jesus comes down from Heaven, lives as a sinless Man and He dies at the cross, carrying all our transgressions, paying the price for our lives. So He dies at the cross, and He says “It is Finished”, boom, freedom is unleashed, and freedom is now a reality for all who believe in Him. 50 days later the Holy Spirit shows up on the scene, believers are empowered and commissioned to go unto the world to display God’s perfect will, to bring heaven down, to display how powerful it is to be one with God, to preach the gospel, to shape and influence culture, to heal the sick, to love everyone, to be selfless, to model how to do business the Kingdom way, to model how to serve your company, your boss, your spouse, to model how we should treat each other, to model what it means to lead, to model creativity the Kingdom way, to be the light of the world. To display the fearless character of God in us. Jesus even says we will do ever greater things than He did. THIS BECAME THE REALITY OF EVERY BELIEVER. 
But when freedom was won at the cross, to claim that freedom we have to die to self. When you believe in Jesus, your-self dies with Him and you rise up a new man or woman, you become a new creation. Why die to self? Because it is the sinful nature we are born in, self is the part of humans that listens to the satan, it’s the part of humans satan has mastered to manipulate. So to claim this new freedom, we must die to self and rise up as new creations, a born again person, who is influenced by God and not the enemy. Now this sounds like the end of the story right? Die to self and rise up with Jesus and boom, you live in the glorious new reality for all believers right? I mean the enemy’s got nothing on you right?
The word says the devil is like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour (1 Peters 5:8). But we all know no one is stupid enough to approach or throw themselves to an angry roaring lion, I don’t know anyone this stupid. But you see the angry roaring lion doesn’t draw you to himself by roaring, he knows it’s not going to work. He instead uses a trick to manipulate you. He uses the ghost of your-former-self to draw you out, and the moment you engage, you are prone to lethal danger, because you don’t see the devil in this conversation, you see & hear your-self. You are engaging in a conversation with the father of deceit and lies but you’re thinking you are talking to yourself. The word says Submit yourselves to God, resist the devil and he will flee (James 4:7). Since now you know the enemy comes in the face and voice of your dead self, resist him and he will flee from you. I don’t know if you are getting this, I really hope you get it. The voice that’s been telling you “You are a failure” “You are a loser” “You don’t have it in you” “You are not ready” “You are not qualified” “You will never overcome this” “You will never heal” “God won’t use you” “Freedom from bondage is not your reality” “You can never this…” “You will never that…” “What makes you think you’ll be the first to do this” “You’ll be a laughing stock, so don’t even try this” “It’s too late for you”. All this time you’re thinking these are your sound, smart, calculated and wise ideas, while all along you’ve been engaging in a conversation with the devil, he’s been whispering to your mind using your own voice. Stealing your joy, your peace, your freedom, your fearless nature, your Christ-likeness, stealing the life and future God has for you, and just like that, men and women give up their freedom to live out the glorious life Jesus died so we can have. But no more, I say no more, I challenge you to say no more.
God bless you

The Pursuit

Ben Owden - Burry Your Dead Self

OWN YOUR EXPERIENCE
John 14:26
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you”
I personally think one of the realest reality checks God gave humans is found in Job 38 when God said to Job things like “19 “What is the way to the abode of light? And where does darkness reside? Can you take them to their places? Do you know the paths to their dwellings?
Surely you know, for you were already born! You have lived so many years? “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? “Can you raise your voice to the clouds and cover yourself with a flood of water? Do you send the lightning bolts on their way?
Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’? 
I think this alone should shut our doubting God right up. We miss the whole point of trusting a sovereign God by being consumed with our little lives and our problems and challenges. We miss who God is and we cement what our brokenness and problems are. 
God is sovereign, God is all knowing and perfect in all of His ways. His word doesn’t change, His counsel is the only path to life and victory. The day of Pentecost is one of the most significant days in our existence on this earth. Because on that day, God sent us His Spirit, the all-knowing, all-wise Spirit of God. Which means that we now live day by day, hour by hour with direct counsel from God. The creator of all things. The one who created this detailed beautiful earth and all its inhabitants. That’s why Solomon said “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding”. Solomon knew something about the wisdom of God, the power of God, the love of God, the faithfulness of God that we sometimes miss. We desert this perfect guidance and counsel for the mediocre conventional wisdom we can comprehend with our canal minds. 
Let’s talk about free will for a minute here. Free will is a problem and a blessing at the same time. God made us and gave us free will so that we choose to worship, be in a relationship Him and obey Him because Yes has no power and significance if you don’t have an option of saying No. Our choice of following Jesus is only powerful because we have an option of saying No. 
So then the big question becomes, what is the basis of our choices and decisions? Where do we draw wisdom, guidance and counsel from? Is the ways of this world and pop culture the basis for our choices and decisions? Or is it the word of God? Do we draw wisdom, guidance and counsel from the world or from the Holy Spirit? 
If life was like a big soap opera, a lot of characters would be killed off the show because they’ve become so boring and common. They’ve started living in other characters shadows, there’s no sense of adventure in their life. But glory to God for He is love and He loves us too much to cut us off, He gives us brand new days, pursuing us daily hoping that we would make the choice to pursue Him and be in a relationship with Him. Hoping that we would walk with Him into every stage of this life, into every conversation, into every opportunity, into every relationship, into every dream and into our destiny. But it comes down to choice (free will). There’s power in our choices, there’s also power in our outcomes. This power can elevate us or knock us down. And if we are to be honest, we are down more than we are being elevated. And this has a lot to do with our choices. Choosing disobedience instead of obedience. Choosing your way instead of God’s way. Choosing your-self instead of surrendering to God. Choosing to trust your friends or family instead of trusting God. Today could be the day that you embark on this adventure with The Holy Spirit, the choice is all yours. 

God bless you

Ben Owden - Own Your Experience

Death to Anxiety

Matthew 6:19-21(NIV)
19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Ben Owden - Death To Anxiety

The word says “without faith it’s impossible to please God” which only means “It’s impossible to please God when we doubt”. Now this might be a hard truth to swallow but it’s the truth, because we might be thinking, “But God I can’t even help it, I just find myself doubting, it just creeps in there” and this is true to a lot of us, doubt just somehow creeps in there. So what are we supposed to do now? We can’t quit that for sure, even though some have. But see the bible does offer us a solution, because the one thing doubt can’t co-exist with is faith, which means faith is the only thing that can kick doubt out of our lives. But this is not new information to most of you, you already know this. You also already know that faith comes by hearing the word of God, which means without consistent devotion on the word of God our faith wont be built and if our faith wont be built, doubt will remain in our hearts.  There are no shortcuts to get rid of doubt; we have to be full of the word of God, which build our faith, which eliminates doubt. But you already know this. I know this, yet we somehow don’t take this process too seriously. 
I hope what I say next will challenge you to take this extremely seriously. In Ephesians 6 Paul talks about how we don’t fight against the flesh but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. He then goes on to describe what is called the Armor of God and he instructs believers to put this on so we are equipped to resist the devil, now before I go any further, yes he says resist not defeat, because the enemy was already defeated, all we do is resist and the enemy will flee (James 4:7). Paul then goes on to describe individual pieces to carry, but I will only focus on one, the shield of faith, which has the power to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Now here’s where I want you to imagine a little. Imagine yourself carrying this shield of faith, and then somehow doubt creeps into your heart, and we know doubt and faith can’t co-exist, what’s going to happen?
If faith is the shield then doubt is the suicide mission. Because faith is the weapon ordained by God to stop the fiery (burning strongly) arrows of the enemy the doubt is pretty much giving up that shield and allowing the arrows to go right through you. And I’m not making any of this up, this is just the truth. 
And that’s why the enemy has managed to accomplish so much damage and death with doubt. Doubt can kill your dreams. Doubt can kill your marriage. Doubt can kill your relationships. Doubt can kill your progress. Doubt can kill your breakthrough. Doubt can accomplish so much damage. Look back at the scripture i stated with, Matthew 14:31 (NLT) Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?” When Peter started doubting, he started sinking, because he had gave up his shield, he gave up his weapon and he started sinking. And most of us can attest to this, most of us are living in this doubt in this moment. 

This could be a life changing truth if we take it seriously, if we believe it, if we apply it. God is good, God I never changing, which means these rules of battle will not change, the shield will remain to be faith, and faith comes by hearing the word of God, and faith is what can kill doubt. When we refuse the spend personal devotional time with God or when we excuse ourselves because we are busy, we have a lot on our plates, we are tired, we are simply bit by bit putting down our shield, leaving ourselves open for the fiery darts to burn and pierce us. 

I don’t want to induce into you, I just want to tell you the truth and encourage you to open your bible and talk to your Creator everyday. It’s for your own good.

Ben Owden

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