SUIT UP! Combat Boots & Shield

… and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.  In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  (Ephesians 6:15&16)

In the midst of combat, our feet must be protected. Ancient warriors were known to lay devices on the ground that would disable the enemy should they walk upon them. This passage may be understood within that context. And the idea of peace speaks to being prepared to engage any and every thing that we come upon with a resolve to adhere to the gospel. The Living Bible says this: Wear shoes that are able to speed you on as you preach the Good News of peace with God. Awesome.

Similar to the breastplate of righteousness, the shield of faith can protect our vital organs. More importantly though, this shield is what anchors us in the truth of God. Our faith in God allows us to combat the weapons of the enemy because the truth reveals that the enemy is a lie and is already defeated. When our faith is rested in the truth, we are not tricked by the lies of the enemy and he loses his power. With our faith, the tactics of the enemy are reduced to impotent schemes.

SUIT UP!

SUIT UP! Belt and Body Armor

Ephesians 6:14-18 - Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.  In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

“It was prophesied of Christ (Isa. 11:5) that righteousness should be the girdle of his loins and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. That which Christ was girded with all Christians must be girded with. God desires truth, that is, sincerity, in the inward parts. This is the strength of our loins; and it girds on all other pieces of our armour, and therefore is first mentioned. I know no religion without sincerity. Some understand it of the doctrine of the truths of the gospel: they should cleave to us as the girdle does to the loins, Jer. 13:11… Righteousness must be our breast-plate. The breast-plate secures the vitals, shelters the heart. The righteousness of Christ imputed to us is our breast-plate against the arrows of divine wrath. The righteousness of Christ implanted in us is our breast-plate to fortify the heart against the attacks which Satan makes against us.” – Matthew Henry

SUIT UP!

Are You Ready to Rumble?

Micah 5:1a - Marshal your troops now, city of troops, for a siege is laid against us. They will strike Israel’s ruler on the cheek with a rod.

This militaristic directive is totally appropriate for the believer today. Marshal your troops... assemble your soldiers... rally your armed forces...prepare for battle…gather your warriors. Why? Because he who desires our destruction is at hand. His focus is solely about our destruction (see John 10:10) so we must rally our troops and be prepared for combat.

Now, first I have to point out that Jesus died on the cross in order to reconcile man to God. If we have accepted Christ as our Savior, if we’ve believed in Him for the forgiveness of our sins, then we are already victorious against the devil. We will spend eternity with God and we have the blessing of living on this earth with the powerful grace of God. If we have not accepted Jesus as Savior, then that would be the preliminary step in this process. If you have questions about that or want to receive Jesus as Savior and don’t know how, I welcome you to inbox me on Facebook and we can either chat about it or I can point you to an online resource. If you scroll through the Simply Christian teaching blog or our Facebook page, you will also see that a resource of that type has been posted a couple of times.

Ok, so marshaling our troops involves suiting up with God’s armor and also calls for connection with other believers. The concept of “strength in numbers” truly applies here. In Ephesians 6, we are given the directive to be strong in the Lord and told how to do that. In Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, we find a couple of scriptures that summarize some of the benefit of connecting with believers in order to strengthen us in our journey.  In the next few days, we will look at these concepts more closely.

Ephesians 6:10-13- Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

Ecclesiastes 4:12 - Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Proverbs 27:17 - As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.

WELCOME SPRING!!!!!

It is the first day of Spring and here in Southern California it certainly feels like it. But in other parts of this country, it still feels like winter. How about in your neck of the woods? What does Spring look like for you?

Well, no matter where you are and what your Spring looks like today, be encouraged…