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The sword is an ancient weapon carried by people across the world from peasant foot-soldiers to kings. Sometimes the sword would be worn and used, and dirty from battle in the hands of a knight defending the kingdom. At other times the sword would be gold-plated and full of precious jewels showing the wealth and power of a king. The impact of the sword as a weapon shaped history and many kingdoms rose and fell at the edge of a sword.
There are many named blades across history. The Sword of Mars, the sword of Attila the Hun. The Sabre of Charlemagne (early 10th century), an early saber of Hungarian-type reputed to have belonged to the ruler Charlemagne. The Tenka-Goken ("Five [Best] Swords under Heaven"), a group of five famous Japanese swords.
While these earthly blades may have made an impact in their time, all of these swords are limited by the power of their wielder. Even the strongest blade made by earthly hands can do nothing at all without someone carrying it forward into battle. There is a sword that has transformed the world and has the power to remake all things new! This sword, that is available to us all, the sword that we can carry with us wherever we go! We can carry this sword on our person every day and it will make us stronger than we could ever be on our own and more confident to face the fights of this life than anything else!
This sword we are told about in Hebrews chapter four, a sword unlike any other sword. It does need to be wielded by human hands but rather it is alive and active, and it will wield the one who holds it and will use them to carry the message of Hope in Christ to all people of the world! The Sword is the Word of God! Sharper and more powerful against our Enemy than any blade you have ever seen or touched! The Word of God cuts through what we can see and reaches into the very soul of those who hear its words! We cannot deny the Power of the Word and we cannot put on any armor that will stop the Word of God from reaching our hearts.
The Enemy of all people has tried all that he can do to stop the Word of God from reaching our hearts but that is precisely what God has made the Word to do! We can be tools in the hands of this Mighty Sword of the Lord! We are able to become agents of the Lord who carry this Sword and see the lives of everyone we meet transformed and changed because they have heard and believed the Word of God! Arm yourselves not with sharp and heavy metal blades this day, no arm yourself with the Word of God that makes all things new! Transformed and changed by the Sword of the Lord His Word!
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Finding Faith is written by area pastors. This week's column comes from Pastor Matt Kinley of First Church of Christ, Lock Haven.