Ephesians 6:16; the armor of God

The next part of the armor of God that Ephesians 6:16 encourages us about is, “In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.”Again I have found amazing resources that help me to appreciate this more and more...which I have cut-n-pasted a lot here.The Roman shield of the time was called a scutum. This type of shield was as large as a door and would cover the warrior entirely. Such a shield was not just defensive but could also be used to push opponents. When fighting as a group, a band of soldiers could position their shields so as to form an enclosure around themselves, called a testudo (“tortoise”). This was especially helpful to protect against arrows launched from the walls of cities they were attacking. Shields, often made of wood and then covered in hide, WHEN WET/SOAKED, could extinguish flaming arrows.To keep their shields “battle ready”,warriors would soak their shields in water as part of their preparedness for whatever the day’s battle(s) might be...an experienced warrior knows that surprise attacks are one of the most effective tactics any enemy has and therefore keeps his shield soaked & ready all the time.We keep our Shield of Faith ready to extinguish flaming arrows by soaking in God’s Word;in Prayer;in personal Worship;in Application of God’s Word;and keeping our hearts/minds/lives aware and sensitive to The Holy Spirit.A shield is vitally important to a soldier. It provides a blanket of protection. It is meant to be taken up in ALL circumstances. It is the FIRST barrier against the enemy’s attack. Often, shields were painted with identifying marks; a Christian who takes up the shield of faith identifies himself as a foot soldier who serves the Commander of the Lord’s army (see Joshua 5:14).Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”And verse 6 stresses the importance of faith: “Without faith it is impossible to please God.” Satan’s attacks can sometimes cause us to doubt God. Faith prompts us to believe God. We give in to temptation when we believe what it has to offer is better than what God has promised. Faith reminds us that, though fulfillment of God’s promise may not be readily visible to us, God is true to His Word. When Satan attempts to plague us with doubt or entice us with instant gratification, a soaked shield faith recognizes the deceptiveness of his tactics and quickly extinguishes the arrows. When Satan accuses us, faith chooses to believe that Jesus has redeemed us and that there is no more condemnation (Romans 8:1, 34; Revelation 12:10–12).Faith is one of the greatest gifts (1 Corinthians 13:13), and it is the means by which we receive grace and come into right relationship with God (Ephesians 2:8–9). It is because we have been justified through faith that we belong to God and have peace with Him (Romans 5:1). Faith is the doorway to hope in God (Romans 5:2). Because we have faith in God, our suffering need not faze(to disturb the composure of :DISCOURAGE,DISCONCERT, DAUNT)us; in fact, we can persevere under it (Romans 5:3–5). The things Satan attempts to use to discourage us can actually become tools in the hands of God when our shield of faith has been soaked and readied.All believers have this promise: “Everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith” (1 John 5:4). Faith is a protective barrier between us and the schemes of Satan. When we believe God and take Him at His Word,we remain grounded in truth...the lies of the enemy lose their power, and we become overcomers. In that way, faith is our shield.All followers of Christ are given a “shield of faith”!Many of us let our shields dry up,and then when flaming arrows come at us our shield is unable to extinguish the arrows of doubts;temptations;lies;discouragement;etc.When our shields dry up,not only are we made vulnerable to the flaming arrows,but we may even then expose those closest to us to the dangers of the flaming arrows also!Dear Lord,even though You have given me faith and endless reasons to believe You & every letter of Your Word...I have not appreciated the importance of soaking my faith in Your Word;in Prayer;in Application of Your Word;in dependence on You only.May Your Spirit living in me remind me and inspire me and strongly encourage me to Soak my Shield of Faith regularly...and please help those around me to do the same...so our Shields of Faith can together protect each other from the flaming arrows of the enemy.

Ephesians 6:14; the armor of God

The next part of our armor that Ephesians6:14 instructs to put on us is the breastplate of righteousness! While studying this I found a resource that helped me a lot...which I did a lot of cut-n-pasting of here...so I would remember and be reminded the depth of what these WORDS are meant to teach me.The imagery is of an armed Roman or Israelite soldier, prepared for battle. A typical armed soldier wore a breastplate made of bronze or chain mail. It covered the vital organs, namely, the heart, and was fitted with loops or buckles that attached it to a thick belt. If the belt was loosened(our belt of truth), the breastplate slipped right off.When Paul compares the armor of God with military gear, each piece represents a part of God’s strength that He extends to us when we become His children. The breastplate of righteousness refers to the righteousness purchased for us by Jesus at the cross (2 Corinthians 5:21). When we turn from our old ways of thinking/living/reasoning/justifying,etc.and place our trust in Christ for our thinking/living/resining/justifying,etc., a “breastplate” is issued to each of us. It is specially designed by God to protect our heart and soul from evil and deception. Our own righteous acts are no match for Satan’s attacks (Isaiah 64:6). The breastplate of righteousness has Christ’s name stamped on it, as though He said, “Your righteousness isn’t sufficient to protect you. Wear mine.”Putting on the armor of God requires a deliberateness/a decision on our part. But,to put on the breastplate of righteousness, we must first have the belt of truth firmly in place. Without truth(revealed only by our Father God through Jesus Christ), our righteousness will be based upon our own attempts to impress God. This leads to legalism or self-condemnation (Romans 8:1). We choose instead to acknowledge that, apart from Him, we can do nothing (John 15:5). We see ourselves as “in Christ” and that, regardless of our failures, His righteousness has been credited to our account.We “put it on” by seeking God and His righteousness above everything else (Matthew 6:33). We make Him and His ways our dwelling place (Psalm 91:1). We delight in His commands and desire for His ways to become our ways (Psalm 37:4; 119:24, 111; Isaiah 61:10). When God reveals an area of change to us, we obey and allow Him to work in us. At the point where we say “no” to God, we open a little crack in the armor where Satan’s arrows can get through (Ephesians 6:16).As we wear Christ’s breastplate of righteousness, we begin to develop a purity of heart that translates into actions. Wearing this breastplate creates a lifestyle of putting into practice what we believe in our hearts. As our lives become conformed to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29), our choices become more righteous, and these godly choices also protect us from further temptation and deception (Proverbs 8:20; Psalm 23:3).Dear Lord,I have not appreciated the significance of,nor the full meaning for my life that having the breastplate of Your Righteousness must mean for my life.Its no wonder that so many times in my life the arrows of the enemy have made there way through to my heart/mind/life.Lord Jesus,help me to be deliberate and decisive in putting on the belt of truth,and then putting the Breastplate of Your Righteousness in place-THE PROPER PLACE-in my life every day & throughout every day.

Ephesians 6:10-18

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.

Ephesians 5:18-20

Whether we appreciate it or not...,acknowledge it or not,there is always “noise” n our hearts.This “noise” comes n many forms,including thoughts about our wants;our stresses;our passions;etc.These “noises” have a definite impact on how we treat others;what we think of others;and how we ourselves are shaped into the “who we are” & “what we are”!These “noises” also directly impact the kind of conversations we have with those around us,and whether or not we have opportunities to have eternally significant conversations with others or not!This is one of the reasons that Eph5:19-20 says,”Speak to one another with psalms,hymns & spiritual songs.Sing & make music n your heart to the Lord,always giving thanks to God the Father for everything,in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”This comes at the end of the paragraph that begins with,”Be very careful then how you live-not as unwise but as wise,making the most of every opportunity,because the days are evil.”The implication is that we must be deliberate about what kind of “noises”/music there is rattling around n our heart!And that a the kind of “noises”/music there is n our heart will somehow make its way into our conversation and into the ways that we socialize.We are deliberate about what we allow to rattle around n our beads&hearts.We May not appreciate this truth,but is is a fact that we have at the very least some component of responsibility for what kind of music there is n our heart!If we only make the initial decision to discipline the initial “channel select” for what kind of “noises”/music we tune our hearts to,Jesus can be trusted to make the music come in clearer and stronger...,so our lives can be encouraged and changed from the inside out by His Word and His Spirit(Eph5:18b,”Instead be filled with the Spirit.”).What we tune our hearts to will have impact on how we shape our attitude;our emotional state;our conversations;the state of our “hope”;the condition of our relationships with those around us,& even more significantly the state of our relationship with The Lord.Dear Lord,I seldom appreciate the significance of the “noises”/music going on n my heart/mind/life.Help me to be aware of these...and help me to trust Your Help to deliberately “change the channels” to select the noises/music that Your Word&Your Spirit have given us to sing to and to hope on and to trust in...& may these things be what drum the beat and strum the strings of my heart...my head and my life.

Ephesians 6

After giving us 5 chapters of truths,answers to life’s most meaningful questions,instruction,forewarnings,encouragement,etc., n Eph6:10 Paul says,”FINALLY,be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.”Ultimately,our dependency on The Lord is the POWER for our putting one foot in front of the other into the RIGHT footsteps..in all things,especially challenges that have Eternal implications.Often,we wait to rely on The Lord for the “bigger things/the bigger battles”,instead of realizing the significance of the every day “smaller steps” we take as we make our way through every day.The language Paul uses in his “Finally statement” paints the picture of a soldier that must prepare for the challenges of every day...every step that he/she takes every day.To do anything else would be AWOL-“absent from one's post but without intent to desert.”This is what we effectively do with our lives when we do not seek to “be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might” every morning/every day.Not only does this make us ill prepared for our day,it also increases the potential for us to place the steps of our day in the wrong footsteps throughout our day-the steps of our thoughts;our actions;our words;our emotions;our efforts,etc.-we go AWOL.Paul says that we must get FOCUSED every morning/every day on where our only trustworthy dependence can be placed...and let that be what sets the attitude & direction for every day.If we do not,we will more than likely be AWOL->have a drift away(without intent) from The True Source of the only Powerful and Trustworthy “attitude & direction” which may slowly lead us away from an honest & intimate relationship with The Lord that gives us the Strong Peace of knowing His Grace&Mercy in all things.So! If we r to not go AWOL,then we must b intentional(opposite of AWOL) about seeking The Lord’s Strength & Direction for every step of every day.Dear Jesus,I am so unaware of this most of the time! Help me to have the mindset of the soldier picture Eph6 is describing....making me more aware that my life has all sorts of battles to be addressed with Your Power every day.Most of these I am typically unaware of.I pray for Your Power to be what I depend on from the start of ever day,and through every step I take n every day.