Sunday, June 12, 2016

Your Daily Armor

"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 saints." Ephesians 6:1-18


Did you put on your armor today or did you forget you are in a war?

You face a powerful and relentless enemy who never rests. He constantly attacks on several fronts with the singular goal of defeating you so he can destroy you!

This important portion of Scripture is no doubt familiar to you, as it is with me. It is a reminder that you are in a daily battle for your soul and your eternal destiny. And it identifies the true enemy of your soul and how powerless you are in resisting him in your own strength so that you will understand your need to take up the spiritual weapons that accompany your salvation.
You have:

1) The belt of truth - the soldiers belt held all his armor and weapons in place for the battle
2) The breastplate of righteousness - this piece of armor protected the soldier's heart
3) The shoes of a soldier - light, flexible, nimble assisting him in his mission as a soldier
4) The shield of faith - to knock down the fiery arrows of the enemy
5) The helmet of salvation - this guards the soldier's mind so he can think clearly in battle
6) The sword of the Spirit - the only offensive weapon is the Word of God

Essentially, this portion of Scripture promises that if you will put on your armor every day you can win the spiritual batttles. If you forget or fail to do so will doom you to defeat. It is that simple.

Let me up the ante on this already important Scripture. Not only are you fighting for your own spiritual survival, but if you will back up to the previous section, Ephesians 5:21-6:1-4, you will see that you are also fighting for your marriage and your children!

As often as I have read and studied and taught and preached on Ephesians 6:10-18, I had never noticed it's larger context - the spiritual battle is waged against you AND your marriage AND your family!

With that in mind, let me ask you again, "Did you put on your armor today?"