Arm Yourself, Thursday, April 28, 2011

Arm Yourself
 
 Reading:Ephesians 6:10-17, 10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For 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. 13Therefore 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. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

I love the story of David just before he defeated Goliath. Saul pulls out his armor and tells David that he should wear it to fight the giant. David, reverently, tells Saul, “No thank you”. Yet, when David walked out to meet Goliath on that battle field, he had all the armor that he needed to win the battle. Although the battle appeared to be extremely physical with all the focus on Goliath’s size and intimidation, it truly was spiritual, which David was well aware of. It is so easy to confuse the physical battles with the spiritual battles. May I humbly state, men, as a Christian, there is no such thing as a physical battle. Every battle that we face as a Christian is a spiritual battle. So, how are you prepared to fight your battles today? Next to each piece of armor, write how you will arm yourself in preparation for your battle today.
Belt of Truth:
Breastplate of Righteousness:
Feet covered with Readiness of the Gospel:
Shield of Faith:
Helmet of Salvation:
Sword, the Word of God:
REVIEW
 
Did you start your day wearing the armor in preparation for your spiritual battles?

What battles did you fight today and did you notice a difference by wearing your armor?