This free church bulletin article was written by Brian Humek from Irving, TX. You are free to use this in church bulletins, church emails and on church websites. No credit needs to be given. Simply clicking the book link at the end of this free bulletin article will help more content to be placed on this site. Donate your own bulletin article here.
Bible Passage: Philemon 4-5
That precious heirloom from Grandma is protected from all kinds of harm. You never let the children play near it. It is enclosed in some type of protective case. If that heirloom is some type of glass object, it might be placed in a locked cabinet. If that heirloom is a quilt; it may be placed in a wooden chest and hidden away. There are so many things that need protected at any cost. Often times that protection necessitates hiding away that precious object. Sometimes we think the same thing about our faith. Our faith is so precious we sometimes feel the need to protect it as if it were a jewel.
A few years ago, there was a little girl I knew who had lost her puppy in a small town. I had so much wanted to tell her that my wife and I would pray that she’d find her puppy. Did I do it? No! I didn’t tell her because I wanted to protect her faith. How weak would her faith be if I prayed for her puppy to show up and it didn’t?There I was in all my glory, “Brian, Protector of Faith.”
Later that night, we found out that an over zealous dog catcher had taken the puppy to the nearest pound thirty miles away. Her puppy was found! My thoughts quickly turned to the sadness of a lost opportunity. How strong might her faith have grown if I had only told her we were praying for her puppy to be found? As I now think of it, God gives us second chances. I may just go back to Crowell, TX one day soon and tell her about the big part God played in bringing her puppy back.
Please don’t ever forget that faith is something that needs to be exercised. It needs to be used and expressed, not hidden like a precious jewel that can only be taken out of its case once in a while.
Allow me to close with the following Bible passage: “I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus…” –Philemon 4-5
Let your faith out of its box once in a while! Take it for a walk! Let it shine so bright that people everywhere hear about it, and see it.
—> Support our free content ministry by purchasing the 5 Star rated Leave it to God on Amazon today.
Related posts:
Moses felt he wasn’t a good enough speaker. I guess we could call that an infirmity. He tried to use the fact as a way not to do what God wanted. I met a man named David years ago, an evacuee from.......
My mouth fell open the day I heard a student in a Christian campus ministry pray, "Dear father God, we are terrible people." I thought that person was incorrect and then had to go to the Bib...
You might know the phrase, “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” This phrase is inscribed on the James Farley Po...
Husbands or males in general, have a bad reputation. There’s something that we usually do that gives us that reputation. O.k., maybe there’s more than just one thing that gives us that bad reputation,...
The city of Venice is one of the most beautiful places in the world. Have you ever wondered how happy the people in Venice must be? They can never be depressed or unhappy can they? After all, they liv...
A question arose the other day, “How can I be doing wrong if things are going good for me?” This question has been asked for thousands of years and I’ve come to realize that life is simply hard to und...
You’ve heard that saying, “Where one tree is cut down, God will provide another.” What? You haven’t heard that saying? It’s true. I’ve witnessed it personally in my own front yard.
Work is hard sometimes, one may even say it is unbearable. We have a savior that can identify with us in so many ways. He was hungry. He was thirsty. He was angry. He was tempted. He had a pretty dema...