Armour

If you've been reading my blog for awhile you know I'm an armour girl. I believe God gave us Ephesians 6 for our daily use. I believe it is an essential tool to be able to walk in the daily freedom Christ purchased for us. Lately, the Lord has been overwhelming me with deeper insight into the value the armour holds.

Have you ever noticed that by putting on the armour we are actually putting God on us? Let me share Scriptures with you that confirm this thought:

Helmet of Salvation
I Corinthians 2:16 "We have the mind of Christ."
Philippians 4:11 "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
When we put on the helmet of salvation I believe it is an invitation for us to put on the mind of Christ. The only way we can walk in the freedom He has purchased for us is to think like Him:
2 Corinthians 10:5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."

Sword of the Spirit: The Word of God
Deuteronomy 33:29 Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD ?
He is your shield and helper
and your glorious sword.
Who is our glorious sword? He is. Still not convinced? See how Jesus is described by John in John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.
Jesus is the Word of God. When we lift up the sword of the Spirit in times of battle we are lifting up Jesus Christ.

Shield of Faith
Genesis 15:1 I am your shield, your very great reward.
(Look back at Deuteronomy 33:29)
2 Samuel 22:31 He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.
In the book of Psalms God is described as our shield 14 times.

Belt of Truth
John 14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life."
John 15:26 When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me.

Breastplate of Righteousness
Psalm 97:2 righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
Isaiah 45:24 In the LORD alone are righteousness and strength.
Jeremiah 23:6 This is the name by which He will be called: The LORD our Righteousness.


Feet fitted with the readiness of the Gospel of Peace
Isaiah 9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
2 Corinthians 13:11 And the God of love and peace will be with you.
Ephesians 2:14 For he himself is our peace.
Colossians 3:15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.
I Thessalonians 5:23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through.

So there you have it. All the pieces of armour that God has provided for us are God Himself. He is our shield, our Peace, our Righteousness, the Truth, our Salvation and the Word. Why wouldn't you want to wear God? If I still haven't convinced you by now that there is great value in putting your armour on everyday, I give up (for today).

Warning: Do NOT Attempt Alone

Most items today have warning labels attached to them. This lets the user know what dumb and stupid things they should NOT do with the item in order to not get hurt. If Christianity had a warning label attached I think it would say:

WARNING:

DO NOT

ATTEMPT

ALONE

I believe Christianity is best walked out in relationship, not only with God but in partnership with others. Before I go off on my personal opinions let me list a few Scriptures that support this:

• Galatians 6:2: Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.


• Hebrews 10:23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.


• James 5:16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.


• Titus 2:4-5 Then they (older women) can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.

These are just a handful of Scriptures to support what I am saying that Christianity isn't meant to be lived out ALONE. Now many of you are saying, "I don't walk my faith out alone, I attend church service every Sunday." Sunday church is a great way to worship in a corporate setting and to hear the word of God preached but I don't believe the 2-hour event on Sunday morning is enough. When there are 500 people in a service, I don't believe you will be bearing each other's individual burdens, taking time to confess your sins to one another and taking time to train one another.

Now I know we all have busy lives and to add one more "thing" to our plate might break us. I am not saying that one more "thing" be added to our plate, but rather take into consideration being in real relationship with other Christians in whatever it is you are already doing. I am sure you already have events that you are involved in and that there are Christians at those events. Find someone who is trustworthy and begin to cultivate a relationship where you can be real with them.

I believe it is vitally important for you to be looking into another Christian's eyes and being real with each other. Life is HARD and even harder if you try to live it on your own. How many times have you looked at other Christians and said, "Their life must be perfect, I can't be real with them, they have everything together." Then months later you find out that individual is getting divorced, they didn't have everything together. Believing the lie that everyone else has it together causes us to hide in our individual pain and sorrow afraid to share it with others and the result is that we end up crushed, dazed and confused. I've heard enough people's individual stories and I can tell you I have yet to meet someone who "has it all together." We all have areas of weakness, they may not look the same, but everyday everyone ends up having to lean fully on the cross of Christ for guidance, healing and help. One of the ways God ordained for this to take place is in relationship with each other.

I have personally experienced the blessing of being in relationship with others. I am finally at the point where I will swallow my pride and call one of my friends if I am feeling overwhelmed and say, "Pray for me." Every time, I have stepped out in this way I have found relief. Why? Because sometimes we get so stuck in ourselves, we can't see the truth, often times those outside of us can see, hear and minister God's truth to those wounded areas faster then if we did it on our own. The teaching I've heard on the shield of faith states that the Roman soilders' shields were full body but they also could lock together with others. They could literally lock together in a circular shape and then they would be protected on all sides. So when you are putting your armour on, the shield of faith is not only for your individual benefit but it is also to be used for the benefit of those around you!

The Bible describes satan as a roaring lion, wandering around looking for someone to devour. Do you know who lions like to attack? They like to attack the sick ones, the ones that are away from the crowd, the ones out on their own. When animals are in their herd the lions don't want to attack, the lion could get trampled and injured by the herd; their powerful in one on one situations. Please take to heart the analogies the Bible offers us and understand that satan operates in the same way. If you have yourself in the group, in relationship with others, he isn't going to be able to devour you.

The final argument you may have against relationship is that you've tried relationship before and you ended up getting hurt. Brian White always says, "If you are involved in ministry just assume that you are going to get hurt; it will happen." When you are close to someone you will get hurt and you will hurt others. It is inevitable because we are still sinful, selfish people. That is when we have to apply the truth of God's word, through forgiveness and love (love keeps no record of wrong). I have hurt people and I can't think of a person who hasn't hurt me. That doesn't make me shut the door though. What it has helped is to keep my eyes on the right person, Jesus. If you choose to venture out into relationship it is key that you keep Jesus as Jesus in the center and keep others right next to you. The picture I have is this, Jesus is on the cross and we are kneeling with our brothers and sisters in Christ around the cross. We are equals with one another at the foot of the cross. If we spend time staring and critiquing one another, we will take our eyes off of Jesus. Our job in relationship, is to encourage and help one another because this race is hard and we can't do it alone. When you are in relationship with others they are not Jesus, but they are a vessel Jesus will move through. There will be times, however, when it isn't Jesus ministering through them, and to be able to recognize that and let those times fall to the ground is needed. It is better to be wounded by a friend then an enemy (Proverbs 27:6 Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.)!

If you liked this, you might also enjoy reading:
Loving Your Neighbor
How Do You Taste?

Smorgasbord Tuesday: Distinguishing through taste

“But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.”

James 3:17-18

One of my favorite sayings by John Eldredge is, "You will know them by their fruit." If you are unsure whether the things happening in your life are from God or from the enemy you can figure it out by looking at the fruit of what is happening.

James 3:17-18 provides a glance at the some of the "evidence" that would show us things are coming from heaven. God provides us a "check-off" list to see if things came from Him or from the enemy. Is it pure, is it peace-loving, considerate, full of mercy, impartial and sincere? If you can answer yes to these questions, then you know it is from Him.

The verses prior to this section state some of the evidence we can look for to see if it comes from the enemy:

James 3:13-16

Who is wise and understanding among you?

Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility

that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and

selfish ambition in your hearts,

do not boast about it or deny the truth.

Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven

but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have

envy and selfish ambition, there

you find disorder and every evil practice.

I think as Christians we sometimes hurt ourselves by assuming that since we are children of God everything that happens in our life comes from God. We get involved in a situation where we are being hammered and we are surrounded by disorder and evil and we embrace it. The Bible says in Romans 12:9 "Hate was is evil, cling to what is good." I think it is time we start calling things by their face value: evil is evil, we can and should hate it and we can cling to the things that are good and from the Lord.

If you are having trouble defining which category something falls into then run it through the checklist: You will know them by their fruit. I firmly believe we are in a spiritual battle. If we keep running around with our eyes closed thinking the enemy who hate us and is making war against us can't touch us because we are God's children then we will keep getting blown out of the water.

Revelation 12:17

"Then the dragon was enraged at the woman

and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring—

those who obey God's commandments

and hold to the testimony of Jesus."

The sooner we open our eyes and realize that God says we are in a battle and that He has equipped us and has given us the ability to say some things are right and some things are wrong, the sooner we can start fighting effectively.

James 1:2-5

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

1:13-17

When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me."

For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;

but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire,

he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has

conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin,

when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
Don't be deceived, my dear brothers.

Every good and perfect gift is from above,

coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights,

who does not change like shifting shadows.

If you find yourself caught in a situation where the evidence is from the enemy, don't give in to him. Instead of embracing it and trying to put God's name on it, call it what it is: evil. Then invite Him in to do what only He can do: redeem it and bring good from it. Put Your Clothes On and fight the battle.

Smorgasbord Tuesday

Since I'm new to blogging, I've been looking at other people's blogs to see how to effectively do this thing. It seems a popular thing to do with blogging is to have a Theme Day. It gives the readers something to look forward to and gives the bloggers something to blog about. So I've decided to start a theme day called: Smorgasbord Tuesday.

As I've looked through my posts I have seen a food theme emerging. I had Everlasting Gobstopper, Cream-filled Doughnut and How do you Taste. As you can tell I enjoy food and I like God's Word, so I guess I also like putting the two together hence the emergence of Smorgasbord Tuesday.

Smorgasbord Tuesday will simply be "delicious Scripture" passages for you to meditate on during the week. I will probably add a few comments, etc. I do recommend if you enjoy the Scripture that you write it down on a 3x5 index card and post it somewhere for you to look at later.

Finally, you are always invited to "feast" with me. Food is always more enjoyable when shared with others. So there is an "open invitation" on Tuesday's for you to add your two cents to the Scripture shared or if you have a Scripture burning on your heart to post it, too. So thanks for joining and enjoy!

Isaiah 59:16-20 (a combo of NCV &NKJV)

And He saw that there was no man,

and wondered that there was no intercessor;

therefore His arm brought salvation unto Him,

and His righteousness, it sustained Him.
for He put on righteousness as a breastplate,

and a helmet of salvation upon His head;

and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing,

and wrapped himself in the coat of his strong love.

According to their deeds, accordingly He will repay,

fury to His adversaries, recompense to His enemies;

to the islands He will repay recompense.
So shall they fear the name of the LORD

from the west and His glory from the rising of the sun.

When the enemy shall come in like a flood,

the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.

I love the book of Isaiah, because you see Jesus so clearly portrayed 300 years before He was even born on earth. The Jesus who is described here is the same yesterday, today and forever! Our Saviour is our Intercessor and he intercedes for us daily (Hebrews 7:25 Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them).

And guess what, do you remember Ephesians 6 (discussed in Put Your Clothes On), don't these clothes Jesus dresses himself in sound familiar? Jesus offers to dress us in the same clothes that He wears when He goes out to battle!

One of my favorite parts from this Scripture is that "he wrapped himself in the coat of his strong love." Wow, what a beautiful picture. Our Redeemer is coming cloaked in love and not just any love but his STRONG love and He is wrapped up in it ~it is not going anywhere!

He will be paying back our enemies!

My last favorite part is "When the enemy comes in like a flood the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against Him!" I don't know about you but sometimes I do feel like the enemy comes in like a flood. I am going to rest (or hide) behind the standard the Lord lifts up against him.

Back to Eph 6 it says after we've done everything we are to just stand. I believe we are in a battle but I also believe we have the ultimate Warrior fighting for us and sometimes He asks us just to stand firm wrapped up in His clothes while He steps out and fights on our behalf.

If you find yourself in a battle against the enemy this week hide yourself this week in the Man described in this Scripture and allow Him and His strong love to take vengeance against your enemies.

Enjoy, I'm full!

Put your clothes on!

Okay, I've decided to share with you my greatest secret to success in my Christian walk.

About 4 years ago I started struggling with anger or lets just say it was fully exposed and it wasn't going away without God doing His complete work in me. Maybe someday I will share with you my full story in that regards (Uprooting a Besetting Sin). However, the biggest key to my success in this area and in my day to day Christian walk is putting on my armor.

Ephesians 6 says "Our battle is not against flesh and blood but against the principalities and powers of this dark world." I take this verse to heart and is probably one of the banners over my life. I think one of the main reasons Christians get so land blasted all the time is they are not aware of the battle we are in on a daily basis. The awesome thing, however, is that God provided us clothes to wear in this battle.

So, as I've named this particular blog I think it is essential to "put your clothes on everyday." Really think about it, how many of you would go for a walk outside without your clothes on? However, so many Christians walk around daily, weekly and yearly without ever putting their clothes on.

So for the last 1 1/2 years, I have made it a point to intentionally put my spiritual clothes on everyday. And let me tell you, I definitely can tell the difference between when I did and when I didn't take the time to get dressed.

I find it easiest to start at the top of my head and work down (which is not the order it is in the Bible ~ but I think that is okay). God has given me revelation around the different pieces and I like to think about them as I do it. My favorite place to do it is when I am laying in bed thinking about getting out to start the day. So here is how I put my clothes on:

The helmet of salvation: We are saved by grace and this is a gift from God lest any man should boast. This reminds me that my Christian walk is based upon who God is, not who I am.

The Breastplate of righteousness: God sees me through the cross as the redeemed. I also ask it to guard my heart because my heart is the wellspring of life.

The Shield of Faith: That it would put out the fiery darts of the enemy. In the Lord's prayer Jesus also asked us to pray daily to be delivered from the evil one. So we can be spared from many of the attacks of the enemy just by simply asking!

The sword of the Spirit which is the word of God: The word of God is living and active sharper than any double edged sword. This is the only weapon in our armor so it is important to use it. So whatever you are struggling with make sure you find Scripture with the truth to help you battle it.

The belt of truth: Everything I am saying and praying is based upon who God is and his truth. I will not be shaken by trusting in it.

Feet fitted with the readiness of the gospel of peace: This took me awhile to figure out what exactly this meant but here are the thoughts I have. One is that Joshua talks about taking every place you put your feet. The Bible also talks about trampling the enemy. So my outlook is that in the process of my daily walk I can trample on the enemy and replace what he has done with PEACE. I like bringing peace into my home.

So there it is. It sounds so easy and actually it is but the difference it makes is incredible! So I encourage you if you don't put your clothes on everyday to try it! You will be pleasantly surprised how much better life is being dressed.