Keep it up; part II

Tweet

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 6:16

Let’s hover over this verse for another day, shall we?

I said the following yesterday:

“The shield.  Body armor defends particular parts of the body against personal assault, and provides one type of defense.  A shield is different.  It can be moved, it can defend against broad, sweeping attack, such as flaming arrows...”

Let’s think about that a little more.  Other parts of the armor, the parts we wear, stay on us, stay in place, guarding particular areas. We put it on, and we move on. The helmet goes where the head goes, the shoes with our feet, and so on.

But the shield requires intentional decisions and actions.  One must face the enemy, determine the mode of attack and its trajectory, and move the shield into the proper defensive posture.

So then, when we know we are about to be attacked, whether days in advance or split seconds before, we must then lift up our faith!  We must take our faith in Christ Jesus and put it in between the enemy’s launch and ourselves.

When we sense an imminent attack, we must lift up our shields, lifting up by praying, studying the Word, seeking wise counsel, etc., and then hold up our faith to the onslaught that will come.  The arrows of temptation  or attacks on the integrity of Scripture or…whatever…  Properly positioned, the shield will protect us!

Questions:

1. How do you see faith as a shield?

2. What arrows are the most dangerous to you? 

3. How do you position your shield?

May we lead with our shield.  Jim

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Faith is to believe what we do not see, and the reward of this faith is to see what we believe."

Augustine

"Faith never knows where it is being led, but it loves and knows the One who is leading."

 Oswald Chambers

"Faith is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted in spite of your changing moods."

C.S. Lewis

Keep it up!

Tweet

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 6:16

The shield.  Body armor defends particular parts of the body against personal assault, and provides one type of defense.  A shield is different.  It can be moved, it can defend against broad, sweeping attack, such as flaming arrows...

Add caption

The shield of faith provides that type of spiritual defense.  Philosophy, logic, intellect, scientific 'facts', political correctness...and more...are all flaming arrows launched at Christians today. 

We may be smart enough, we may have learned enough, and we may have read enough to deflect some of those arrows.  However, if we do not start the battle with our faith strong before us, then some of those arrows will get through...and how many does it take?

But if we lead with our faith...if we start with our ultimate faith in Christ Jesus...that He is Lord of all...the one and only path to salvation...that God's word is indeed the Word of God...that we are forgiven through and saved by the blood of the Lamb...then we can move forward, deflecting those arrows of doubt, disbelief, guilt, and more.  Amen!

Questions:

1. How do you see faith as a shield?

2. What arrows are the most dangerous to you? 

3. Are you able to move through this world, confident in the Gospel?

May we lead with our shield.  Jim

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Faith is to believe what we do not see, and the reward of this faith is to see what we believe."

Augustine

"Faith never knows where it is being led, but it loves and knows the One who is leading."

 Oswald Chambers

"Faith is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted in spite of your changing moods." 

C.S. Lewis

Put Your Shoes On!

Tweet

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. 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 saints.  Ephesians 6:10-18(NIV) 

Stand firm then...with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. (v. 15)

What made a soldier's footwear different than everyone else's?  During that time, many went barefoot or wore simple sandals.  A warrior's footwear, however, had to be a bit more durable, heavier duty.  A warrior had to walk on city streets and country roads, soft green meadows and creek beds full of stone, level ground and rocky crags.  If the ground was hot, and the battle raged on, he could not wait for the cool of the evening to press on.  He had to be able to move forward regardless of what the earth lay in front of him. 

Whenever, wherever the battle cry sounded, his feet were properly fitted and he was ready to go.

So then, are we to be ready.

 

The footing before us may be rough, hard, sharp, or slippery.  But it matters not!  We are able to walk wherever, whenever we are called.

 

We have this capability because of the gospel of peace which protects us, regardless of what the world lays in front of us.  The knowledge of our salvation, and that salvation is available to all we encounter, gives us the peace needed to move to and fro through this world with confidence.

 

Questions:

1. What is your take on this verse?

2. How do you protect your 'feet'?

3. Are you able to move through this world, confident in the Gospel?

Guarding Your Heart

Tweet

Stand firm then...with the breastplate of righteousness in place... Ephesians 6:14

The next piece of armor Paul mentions, is the breastplate.  The item that protected the vital organs, protected the heart, protected what was on the inside.

So, what then, is the purpose of  the breastplate of righteousness?

Paul is speaking to the church here...we do not expect righteous behavior from the world.  However, once we become a saved we are directed to live righteously.  To live the life that God would have us live.  To live right.  To do right things.  To see right things.  To read right words.  To listen to right words.  To yoke ourselves with right-thinking people.

Living a righteous life then, protects our hearts.  Living a righteous life protects what is on the inside.

Seeking out the world...watching, reading, and listening to wrong things...seeking out the company (and I don't mean for evangelistic purposes) of nonbelievers...exposes our hearts to danger.  What danger?  Sin, shame, being an ineffective witness...

God expects us to live righteously.  The Body of Christ needs us to live righteously.  The Holy Spirit equips us to live righteously.

And to protect our hearts.

After all...that's where Jesus lives.

Questions:

1. What do you think?

2. How do you protect your heart?

3. How has righteous living helped you in a time of spiritual battle?  How has unrighteous living hurt you as a Christian?

May we protect our hearts.  Jim

"He who has a pure heart will never cease to pray, and he who will be constant in prayer shall know what it is to have a pure heart."  Pere la Combe

Keeping it Together

Tweet

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist… 

Ephesians 6:14

You have probably heard someone say that a story 'unraveled', or 'fell apart', or 'came undone', once a lie was revealed. 

Conversely, the truth is 'ironclad'.

Picture multiple layers of clothing and equipment.  Once donned, it needed something to hold it all together. 

It needed a belt. 

The belt, once buckled in place, kept everything else in its place and allowed everything else to function properly.

...the belt of truth...

And so it is with the belt of truth.  When preparing ourselves for the Christian life, to do battle in His Name, it is the truth that motivates us, is it not?  Will a man offer up his life for a lie?  No!  But knowing the truth, and knowing the Truth, moves us forward into battle.  It is the truth that keeps it all together.  It is the truth that allows all the other components of our armor to function properly.

"I am the Way and the Truth and the Life."

"I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever--the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.”

Questions:  What is the truth?  Why is the truth listed first among all these components?  Have you gone through a battle in your life, relying wholly on God?  How did the truth help?

"Truth is so obscure in these times, and falsehood so established, that, unless we love the truth, we cannot know it." Blaise Pascal

Still standing...

Tweet

Continuing our study on Ephesians 6:10-18. Jim

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.  Ephesians 6:13

Brothers and sisters, this is a call to arms! The battle is raging around us!  We are expected not to fall; you are expected not to fall -- but to stand your ground!

In the verses we will study in the next few days, we will see what our weapons are. For now suffice it to say that they will enable us to have done everything.

Everything.

Avoid temptation. 

Rebuke its' deliverer. 

Be kind. 

Share. 

Serve. 

Proclaim the Savior.

Fight injustice.

Forgive and ask for forgiveness.

So that it can be said that we have done everything.

Then, when that particular battle has ended and the enemy has retreated, when the alarms have been silenced and the roar of the battle has ebbed, then you can look around in amazement that you have been able, through the power of His Spirit to stand your ground, and are still able to stand.

Amen!

What do you think of this passage?  Is this overly dramatic, or is the battle that real?  Have you gone through a battle in your life, relying wholly on God, and come through standing? How did that feel?

Are You Ready for the Day Ahead?

Tweet

Ready for the Day

Today we continue our study on Ephesians 6:10-18, “The Armor of God”.

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. Ephesians 6:13

"Therefore put on the full armor of God"...once again, we are admonished to put on the full armor..."so that when the day of evil comes"...

What then, is this day of evil? Some have interpreted it to be the last day -- the day of Armageddon, and this certainly sounds like appropriate preparation. But I believe there is also a day-to-day use for this advice.

I think Job faced his day of evil.

As did Peter when he denied Jesus.

Judas when he was offered the bribe.

Stephen at his trial.

Jesus, His forty days in the desert.

Jesus, when confronted with the adulterous woman.

Jesus, on Good Friday.

When a loved one dies unexpectedly. When your spouse leaves you. When you lose your job. When you are faced with pronouncing or renouncing your Savior. When an old addiction awakens. When your strongest temptation finds you alone…

We all face days of evil...

But we do not have to face them unarmed and we do not have to face them alone!

Questions:

What do you think of this perspective? What do you see as your personal days of evil? Do you feel prepared?

Whose side are you on?

Tweet

Whose side are you on?

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. Ephesians 6:12

This verse bears looking at a bit further.

We can certainly get into struggles with other “flesh and blood” people, from wars, to fistfights, from border disputes between nations to yard disputes between neighbors. We can get awfully angry with our parents, our kids, our bosses, and our pastors.

So what exactly is Paul saying here?

God is a God of unity and peace, He offers freedom from fear and anxiety. Satan is the opposite (importantly, not an equal opposite!) and he is the author of division, fear, anger, and anxiety. Christians, particularly those who actively seek to share the Gospel, will come under attack, and often from those neighbors, friends, parents, kids, bosses, pastors, etc… Our first response to an attack in the flesh may be a response in the flesh but we must soon fall to our knees, in recognition of the forces behind the attack and call upon our God.

This is not to say that the people on the ‘other side’ are evil.

In fact, they may think you are!

The truth is, however, that evil forces in the spiritual realm are at work. Christians must lock arms, cry out to our God, and fight – but not each other, 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. This I know, for the Bible tells me so!

"When a man is getting better he understands more and more clearly the evil that is still left in him. When a man is getting worse he understands his own badness less and less." C.S. Lewis

"Many do not recognize the fact as they ought, that Satan has got men fast asleep in sin and that it is his great device to keep them so. He does not care what we do if he can do that. We may sing songs about the sweet by and by, preach sermons and say prayers until doomsday, and he will never concern himself about us, if we don't wake anybody up. But if we awake the sleeping sinner he will gnash on us with his teeth. This is our work - to wake people up." Catherine Booth

Is seeing believing?

Tweet

Today we continue our study on Ephesians 6:10-18. Jim


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. Ephesians 6:12


Look around you...right now as you read this...what do you see? Our physical senses limit us to what we can see, touch, hear, smell, and taste. But there is so much more to the world than what our senses can detect. Consider all that you can see with a microscope that is invisible to the naked eye. Spiritual beings are just as real; our inability to see them makes them no less real than sub-atomic particles.

The spiritual realm does not consist of an 'up there' Heaven and a 'down there' Hell. It goes on, in and around us, all the time. The good and evil forces intermingle. The Scriptures describe the Archangel Michael in direct dispute with Satan (Jude 1), and Satan sitting down in council with God (Job 1). We also know that Jesus, while here on Earth in the flesh, was able to see demons, and they knew who He was.

We must remember...Satan studies us, he knows our weaknesses, the things that tempt us the most. His desire is to make Christians fall...to make us look hypocritical and make our witness ineffective.

Ignoring this battle will not make it disappear.

Questions:

1. What images does this verse bring to your mind?

2. How do you see this in terms of your every day life?

3. Do you feel yourself as part of this struggle?

May we not underestimate, or overestimate, our enemy. Jim



Quote of the Day
"One may be theologically knowing but spiritually ignorant." Stephen Charnock

The Full Armor

Tweet

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. Ephesians 6:10-11(NIV)

Wow...when we look at single phrases and verses, the power of the message really jumps out, does it not?

Put on the full armor...Paul has not yet described the armor, that is in the verses that follow...but do we see the importance here? Put on the full armor...part of the armor won't do! We cannot pick or choose what we will 'wear' and what we will not. To succeed, we need the full armor.


...of God... We cannot rely on our own talents, strengths, ideas, or capabilities. We are fighting in the spiritual realm and need the full armor of God.



...so that you can take your stand...Though we are using His weapons, with His strength, we each have our own place on the front lines. We are each a vital warrior in His battle plan.



...against the devil's schemes. This is so important to remember! It is no mere mortal who plots against each of us, but that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray.


Questions:

1. What images does this passage bring to your mind?

2. How do you see this in terms of your everyday life?

3. Is this helpful to you, breaking down passages this way?

May we prepare daily. Jim



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Quote of the Day: "A light glow began to shine and a warming sensation filled the cell and enveloped my weakened, starved frame. I felt strong arms around me, cradling me in the arms of Christ Himself." Haralan Popov

The Battle Belongs to the Lord

Tweet

The Battle Belongs to the Lord

Scripture reading: “The Armor of God”

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. 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 saints. Ephesians 6:10-11(NIV)


Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

Paul is giving instruction for war, laying out the battle plan...for spiritual warfare.

It is the nature of human beings to be afraid in battle, and particularly afraid of things in the spiritual realm. Devils, demons, Satan! How can we stand, how can we fight an enemy we cannot even see? Our muscles…our weapons…of what use are they?

But it is not our strength that we need. The physically strongest has no advantage over the physically weakest in this battle, for we are merely vessels for the power of the Almighty. As II Chronicles 20 says: "You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you.... Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you."

So then, yes, we must be strong...but it is the strength of the Lord beating in our hearts, pumping up our muscles, coursing through our veins...making us strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. May we accept His strength.

Questions
1. How do we find this strength?

2. How do we know we can rely on it?

3. What images does the term 'spiritual warfare' bring to mind?