Ephesians 6:10-18; the armor of God
Rebecca Lightfoot
Christian are the most persecuted “religious group” n the world.A simple internet search about this gives a huge amount of data verifying this fact.There is a seen AND UNSEEN battle for the hearts & minds of those that seek to know and follow Jesus with every thought they have;every emotion they feel;every decision they make;every step they make.This compelled Paul to write n Eph6:10,-18,”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.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.”The first thing that Paul calls us to is to “be strong in the Lord & His mighty power.”In calling us to a dependency on anything other than ourselves, this is a call for an absolute humility that is the only way to “be strong in the Lord and His mighty power”.When even a smidgen of our own strength is what we turn to for strength we are turning ourselves away from “His mighty power” n those smidgen areas.And an enemy as wily as the devil will strategically look for these smidgen areas of personal dependence/strength as the very areas of weakness to attack our hearts/minds/lives.An absolute dependency on The Lord is our only hope to take our stand against the devil’s schemes!Recognizing all areas in our heart/mind/life that lack humility is the initial step in defending ourselves against the devil’s schemes,so we can shore them up with “His mighty power”.With this absolute humility we realize that we must begin every day by daily getting dressed appropriately for the battle of facing the devil’s schemes.Whatever the attire of our life for each day,we must buckle up our hearts/minds/lives with “the belt of truth buckled” and supporting everything about who&what we are every day!This means that The Foundation of all Truth must be what we seek to buckle up our hearts/minds/lives with every morning as we prepare/get dressed for every day.If not,we may get caught poorly prepared for a scheme of the devil that could potentially create a kink or crack in our “full armor of God”.And be certain that the devil’s wilyness includes exceptional patience and endurance that gets him excited about every little kink and/or crack he can scheme into our lives.The belt of Truth is a strategic imperative start for every day.Dear Lord,I pray for Your Mighty Power to draw me to knowing the importance of girding my heart/mind/life with Your Truths every morning as I get ready for the day.May Your Spirit remind me of the ways You have expressed Your Great Love & Mercy to me through Your Word,as well as the precepts and principles that Your Word convey for my protection and for my GOOD.May I indeed buckle up my heart/mind/life with Your Truths every morning.