Shipwrecked Faith

Does your faith ever falter? Apparently Timothy’s faith was on the verge of doing just that. Paul wrote to young Timothy concerning faith and said some, in “good conscience”, had rejected the faith and thus had “suffered shipwreck” (1 Tim. 1:19). It is important to understand that a shipwreck is not necessarily fatal. One can survive a shipwreck without being drowned or lost. In fact, Paul had done so three times (2 Cor. 11:25). So this is not about losing one’s faith. It is about losing one’s grip on faith. And it has to do with conscience. Conscience, like a computer, is programmed with the will of God. A clear conscience allows God’s will to direct. A violated conscience sets off a warning signal – the computer is under attack, a virus is attempting to invade, faith is in trouble. So how do you keep the faith? I saw a piece of graffiti once that had been altered. Originally it read, “Keep the faith baby!” Someone had added one word, making it read, “Keep sharing the faith baby!” We are channels of faith, not reservoirs. One way to avoid shipwrecked faith is to keep sharing it.

Join me this week in remembering the following global concerns:
• Pray for those who minister in the Ukraine as the Ukrainians celebrate their Independence Day this week, marking 19 years as a sovereign nation.
• Pray for relief workers who are risking their lives to help an estimated 8 million people in urgent need of assistance in Pakistan.
• Pray for missionaries who now follow-up on the results of summer mission teams.
• Pray for the six new University community church plants in metro Vancouver that begin this fall.