Last Sunday, during our worship service, I provided a space of time to ask everyone to share what God had been doing in their lives. I like to give time for this during worship because it is beneficial to one another. The Apostle Paul certainly thought so which is why he urged the Corinthians to come to the gathering ready to share with a verse or maybe a song or at least a prayer. It helps each other to hear what God is doing, and often we even stop to pray right then about what the person is dealing with, or to celebrate what God has told them.
So, when I asked the group to tell what they had heard from God, I wanted to share the following. I didn’t though, mostly because I get to talk all the time. But, on Monday, the day after, God prompted me to write this down for everyone to see. Maybe this will be a blessing to you as well in your life.
On the previous Friday, I was sitting in my truck. Some of you know that I have Bible verses around in my truck and both of my office spaces. The more of the Word I can see every day, the better (I hope you do the same). However, like with anything, familiarity breeds contempt and if you don’t change it up, you stop really seeing it. It (whatever you have placed in your surroundings) starts to blend into “the normal” and thus becomes invisible.
So, I was looking around my truck and found where I had stashed an old list of several verses I have studied over the years. Its all folded up so that only one verse shows at a time, and when I pulled it out, this is what I saw:
Eph 6:10-18 A final word: Be strong with the Lord’s mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies and tricks of the Devil. For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against those mighty powers of darkness who rule this world, and against wicked spirits in the heavenly realms. Use every piece of God’s armor to resist the enemy in the time of evil, so that after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the sturdy belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News, so that you will be fully prepared. In every battle you will need faith as your shield to stop the fiery arrows aimed at you by Satan. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray at all times and on every occasion in the power of the Holy Spirit. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all Christians everywhere.
It is worth your time to read and really meditate on it. Nothing new here, but then that’s another good reason to read it again. Many of my friends, certainly most of my church family, has expressed a current challenge of feeling pressed, stressed with issues coming from all sides (pressure at work, poor working conditions with others, financial tightness, too many activities with too little time, and other individual things). That is a description of spiritual warfare. It is not unique to us, nor necessarily unique to “This time.” I won’t say such a feeling is necessarily a constant, but it may be. I think Paul says much of that in II Cor 4:7-18. However, I and those around me that I know all seem to really be feeling it greater, with more magnitude.
Why tell it now? Well, I was reading my Bible plan in my iPad and noted that I had not read my plan yesterday (so on that very Sunday). So, I went back a day to read. Guess what the Bible reading was focused on?
Yep….Eph 6:10-18.
The whole armor of God:
- Truth—I think the focus here is my own grasp of truth of God, of who He is, of His revealed word, of His sending Jesus, of His way of life….that all holds my pants up, it allows me to go forth (no belt, especially on regular pants that aren’t too tight, and they are coming down impeding your progress)
- Righteousness—of course not my own…as we are studying now in my church, I have no real righteousness, so I am putting on God’s righteousness, but as I do, I am then living IN THAT righteousness, just like you live IN THAT armor. It surrounds you, becomes like your second skin….you do well, live well, live with righteousness in an unrighteous age.
- Preparation/Readiness/Peace of God—the shoes are tricky in the Greek, which is why different translations put in different emphasis on what the idea is—-a preparation to be ready to share the peace of, and the peace that comes from, God’s Good News—shoes take me out into the world, protecting my feet so that I can walk for days and days, always going forward, always ready, always prepared in His peace, to share His peace
- Faith—at 50, I can tell you the deepest attack of the enemy, perhaps the overwhelming total strategy of the enemy, is to break down your faith…eliminate that, and the rest falls apart easily. I mean, if I really have no faith in what God says, then why fight to remain righteous…might as well go ahead and live like everyone else? Why fight to defend God’s truth….might as well throw up my hands and agree with others that it might NOT be true. Why choose a life of denial…might as well eat, drink, and be merry for soon we will die and then the darkness. NO! I must hold to faith, and that shield then takes on the enemy’s fiery darts of lies….the shield does take a beating, so at times I must shine it, rebuild it, clean it and prepare it again for another day….but I never lay it down and I never let it fully get broken.
- Salvation—I don’t know that he means here the act of being saved…he might. He might, however, instead mean the knowledge that I have been saved and/or that Jesus came to bring salvation to me, to me personally. I always like to think that because it is on our helmet, protecting my mind. When my mind starts to wander, questioning such things like truth, righteousness, peace and even faith, I hold onto my helmet, the knowledge that God has not left us alone, but rather provided a path for my saving. Regardless of how distant He feels, I know He cares….He came to save me.
- Word of God—and this closes the loop on my story…I have the verses in my truck and in my office so that I have build up my sword, build up and sharpen the only weapon I am allowed. Jesus modeled it for us when we read His interaction with the enemy during the temptation of the early point of his ministry. And we know that tempting didn’t stop there….at every point, He responds with the Word. We must too….but how can I respond if I do not know His word?
Go forth today; you don’t really have any choice, of course. You are called out into the world. You will go to work, to the store, around the neighborhood, to the school. When you go, do not go out without the armor.