Racking the Slide of Your Faith

There are times when you have to make your intentions crystal clear. If not, hell will try to violate the borders of your life.

A friend of mine lives in a very large and expensive home overlooking our valley. His paved driveway travels up a steep private driveway traversing several switchbacks finally arriving at a large parking area. At the base of his driveway is a steel gate coded for entry with an intercom system.

A number of high-end residential burglaries were taking place in his area. The burglars would park at the entry gate of these expensive homes and if an occupant were home, they would engage them in a ruse to gain entry. My friend was afraid his home might get hit. His wife was frequently left home alone while he was away on business. He asked me for a few suggestions.  The ex-cop in me rose to the surface.

I asked, “Can you transmit a recorded message through your entry gate intercom system?” He replied, “Yes.” I said, “Record the sound of someone racking the slide on a pump shotgun followed immediately with, ‘Can I help you?’” He smiled and said, “Thanks.”

In the life of every healthy believer there are borders in place to protect our financial commitments, our sexual purity, the words we choose to speak and every other area of importance in our lives. They fences need to be in place and defended in order to protect our intimacy with God and our witness before the world.

In order to survive and flourish in your faith it is important to develop a response at each border when hell attempts to gain entry. When hell begins to investigate the security of your perimeter make an announcement in no uncertain terms the cost of trespass.  It is too late once a border is breached and entry is made. When that happens you will become a victim.  God can redeem those painful times, but why would we ever allow ourselves to become vulnerable in the first place? There is a time and place for a very bold and demonstrative faith – a faith that has the ability to scare off the enemy once he hears us rack the slide of our faith.