The Shield of Faith

            I was walking down the street, as I do often, looking for who I might bless, I saw a man in the distance upon whom the Holy Spirit was resting. I rode my trike up to him praying, praising God for whatever was about to happen, asking for the words to speak.


            I noticed the man, we will call 'C',was loaded down with bags, so I offered to help him carry his belongings in the basket of my trike. 'C' was leery at first, but relaxed and took me up on the offer. He was going about ten blocks down the street, so I walked beside him pulling the trike. He told me of his recent conversion, so we praised God together.


          He had, that day, been released from prison, and was full of scripture. Yet I noticed the majority of the scripture he was using, he was using to shield himself. The Bible itself calls the Word of God a sword, not a shield. He seemed to think that his time 'inside' was enough to prove his election and calling. I felt led to discourage this thinking, to show him that today was a test of his faith in and of itself.


           He asked why I became a minister, and I proclaimed the effects of the Gospel in my own life. I was led to tell 'C' a story, which will be the testimony within this testimony. It started one morning when I was still driving Taxi, I went to a certain apartment complex to pick up a customer. At the gate of the complex was a bridge which had been washed out by some floods we had endured at the time. I set there a moment or two, wondering what to do, when I heard a loud thump on the window beside me.


          I looked to my left, to find myself staring into the barrel of a 9 millimeter pistol.


       I traced the outline of the hands gripping the pistols and made eye contact with a young man who was staring intently at me without blinking.


         Now I must interrupt this second story, to return, for a moment, to the first that you may see the connection. As I got to this very part of the story we ('C' and I) were walking in an area which was very secluded. I saw 'C' stop and bend over to pick something up from the ground. It was a box knife, and he looked up at me with a grimace, pushing the blade out of it's mouth with his thumb.


        As this happened, I didn't skip a beat with my story, but spoke even more passionately, testifying that I am sold out for Jesus Christ! I told him how I had stared into that young man's eyes looking past the pistol in his hands. I told of how I had began to pray, Lord, I have had a good life and I have placed it in your hands. If this young man pulls this trigger I will be in heaven, for that I am grateful, but he will be forever hunted and haunted. Save him Lord!


           I witnessed the young man's eyes looking all around me in fear, I believe he could see the angels around me. Whatever he saw, I am certain he was scared and not scared of me, the pistol lowered and he ran off. I proclaimed the Gospel in that moment to the man with the box cutter through this story!
He dropped the knife and we walked on.


          We didn't speak much after that incident, I never saw 'C' again, though I had invited him to church and gave him my phone number. I cannot say one way or the other, my hope is that he has finally surrendered to God. When we parted ways, he had reunited with an old 'friend' on his street so I left the two of them to carry his belongings.


           One way or another the Gospel is never preached in vain.
“For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish:
To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?”-II Corinthians 2:15-16


          There is protection when we are yielded to the Holy Ghost, he that dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide in the shadow of the almighty, so bless the Lord and forget not all His benefits. Yes, there are benefits if you walk about Jesus...