Dear Brothers & Sisters in Christ,

            I decided for this month’s newsletter I would reach back into the files and bring back something from the depths of my High School Youth Newsletter devotions.

            What would you say is one of the most useful inventions ever to be thought up? I’m sure there is a long list of things we could come up with, however what I’m thinking of can be quite universal. Good ole fashion DUCT TAPE!!!

            Duct tape can be used for a whole host of different things. You can use it to patch up a hole in your ripped up jeans. You can use it to hold your shoes together. You can use it to hold plastic in place for a makeshift window. You can also use it for the sealing up of boxes.

            Duct tape can also be used for decoration as there are so many different patterns out there. You’ve got camo, neon colors, cheetah print, Hello Kitty, basic colors, and of course the standard gray. My brother in college actually made a coffee table with plywood and duct tape. After four years of college, he cut a piece out and you see about ten different colors of duct tape.

            So here’s a crazy question for you to consider …

What does duct tape have to do with faith?

            On a servant trip many years ago, my work boots had a blowout. If you held my shoe up, the front sole was hanging down and just a flappin’ in the wind. There was nothing I could do at the time to fix it, except for using the bright orange roll of duct tape. I wrapped that bright orange tape around it several times to hold my shoe together.

            In the same way, faith holds our lives together. Faith is the basis of our relationship with God. It is believing that the Bible is true, no matter what others may say. Faith keeps you together when you feel like you are falling apart. Our faith is what keeps us going and reassures us that we will make it, regardless of what is going on around us. Take a look at these words from Hebrew 11:6.

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.”

            Faith, like duct tape, can be used in a variety of situations. You might be faced with a problem. You can pull out your roll of faith and patch it together with what the Bible says. Faith can be used anytime and in any situation. Faith in God is always the answer to whatever situation you’re facing.

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1

            Faith is like duct tape because you can rely on it. If you need to patch something or hold something together … duct tape will do the job. You can say the same thing about faith. Faith is trusting that God is going to bat for you, that He’s going to be with you, that He’s going to provide for you what you need.

            Duct tape is awesome … but faith in God is even more awesome! Duct tape will lose its stickiness over time and will become brittle and break … but faith, trusting and believing that God is with you … that will never wear out or break. The next time you see a roll of duct tape … think about your faith in God and how your faith can be like duct tape.

            God’s Blessings!

Pastor Mike