Devotional

Ephesians 6:10-17 (NIV) ...Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armour 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 armour 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 round your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 


The verse is written as follows in the NASB: and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace. What does 'having shod your feet' mean? Since the full armor of God is necessary for us to engage in spiritual battle or warfare, we must be prepared for all things by protecting our body. Our feet are no less significant and must be protected and not slow us down or make us lose our concentration. It would be difficult to maintain our focus on the Lord or the gospel of peace if we have an ill-fitting shoe or if we are grounded in the wrong foundation. Our shoes must fit correctly so we will not stumble at the feet of the enemy. We  must be able to stand firm in the foundation of the gospel of peace and go forward prepared and confident in the Lord, rather than afraid. 


What is 'the gospel of peace'? Gospel actually means good news in the Greek. So, we will head into battle with a foundation in the good news of the peace of God through Christ Jesus. If you turn to John 14:27 in your Bible, you will read: Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. (NIV) As witnesses of the gospel, we have the peace that only faith in God gives us. This is further illustrated in Romans 5:1. Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. (NASB) We can rest assured that no matter what challenges we face in life, through Christ Jesus the battles have already been won. We can stand firm and go forward boldly with peace in our hearts to share the gospel with all we encounter. In the heat of battle, we can pray the gospel.


Dear Heavenly Father, We praise and glorify you for loving us and extending the opportunity to experience and express our faith in your Son. Please help us to always remember our beginning where we first knew your love and your peace. Help us to remain confident no matter what we face, as we shine the light of your Word where ever we may travel. Let us always be mindful of the fact that the enemy who engages us in spiritual battle is under our feet. Our feet are prepared and founded in and readied by our faith in you. We thank you and honor you for these precious gifts and for the authority you have afforded us over all that is dark and evil through your Holy Spirit's power and in the precious name of Jesus. Amen.

Poetry Page

Conservation, The Choice

Father God cradles His children

Each one requiring quality time.

He affords them a garden  sublime,

With sustenance, attention and space,

A refuge to dream, thrive and create.

God’s gentle discipline nurtures poise,

Through His living Word, His own voice.

A symphony of energy and synergy,

Mobile abundance and variety,

Moving precisely within the bounds

Of abundant reserves. An ecologic legacy

Created with His love and integrity.

Addicted to knowing - a controlling obsession,

Men idolize the power of possession.

Predator, sucking dry to the bone,

Neglecting, rejecting. polluting his home.

A dreaming, thriving paradise gone awry.

Man's substitutions risk biologic solutions:

Sanctioned killing, deforesting, oil spilling,

Mutating, irradiating, over planting yet starving, 

Geneticizing, pesticiding and ghettoizing,

With intoxicating denial and utter destruction.

God’s human child is a rebelling fetus,

Dreaming of thriving, while aborting.

Mother nature's womb strains with labor -

A breach in her belly of balance, while man

Still ignores the bounteous land

And perfects environmental murder.

She inhales and expels her offspring -

God's children with great riches and genius

Into the void with the power to choose

To create heaven or hell on earth.

Devotional

Ephesians 6:10-17 (NIV) ...Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armour 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 armour 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 round your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place. 

The first piece of the full armor of God described by Paul was the belt of truth, which we studied previously. Today, our focus will be on the breastplate of righteousness, which protected the vital organs of the Roman soldier's body. The heart and lungs are no less significant for us as Christians than for Roman soldiers of Biblical times. Since we know we are not talking about an actual breastplate, what are we referring to in this scripture? The protection that righteousness provides to us on a daily basis. To be righteous is to be in divine will. That is, to live according to the laws of God. We do our best to live in such a way and when we fail to do so, we know we must repent our sins to God. This was the reason Jesus died for us -- to forgive us for our sins. 

Proverbs 4:23 tells us: Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. (NIV) Here we see that the wellspring is the source and beginning of all life. In Philippians 4:7 we read, And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (NIV) In other words, although we are in battle and we may not know the reason, we go with the peace of God. We know our hearts and minds are guarded in Christ Jesus. He is our protection, our breastplate of righteousness, in essence. As such, He guards our hearts and minds, which we know to be closely connected.

The breastplate of righteousness also protects the lungs. According to Genesis 2:7,  Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. Likewise, we read in Job 33:4: The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life. The Bible affirms the importance of our lungs. Without breath, we have no life.

Therefore, we must protect our vital organs by donning the full armor of God every day. Why every day? Because we know the dark forces of this world are not on holiday. They assert themselves into our lives whenever, however and where ever they can. We have the authority through the power of God to withstand those attacks. It is our responsibility, since God's word tells us the importance of doing so, to put on the whole armor of God to keep ourselves protected. If we give evil an inch, it will surely take miles of liberty with our lives. That is why we stand our ground and stand firm. We do not turn and run in fear. There is no need to be afraid, because we stand firm in the might of the Lord. We know this is a spiritual battle and our enemy uses us to get to our Creator.

Father God, Let us always remember the price you paid with the life of your precious Son, Jesus. On our behalf, He suffered and bore the burden of our sins, because we are human and totally incapable of doing that for ourselves. Thank you for your love, your mercy and grace and for listening to us as we repent for our sins. Embolden us in your power, Lord, through the gifts of your written word, your living Word, your Holy Spirit and our ability to prepare ahead of time for each day by putting on the full armor. Thank you, Heavenly Father, for all of these gifts and for hearing our prayers and showing us through the example of your Son how we can live and best overcome the issues we deal with in everyday life. In the precious name of Jesus of Nazareth, I pray, and by the power of your Holy Spirit. Amen.

Devotional

Ephesians 6:10-17 (NIV) ...Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armour 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 armour 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 round 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.


In previous blogs, I discussed betrayal and forgiveness, as well as boundaries and trust. I also mentioned our need for the armour (armor) of God. It is clear from the scripture above that spiritual warfare is very real. That's why we are instructed to put on the armor. We need to stand against the devil's schemes; the powers of this dark world; the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. We can rest assured the day of evil has definitely come and has been here since day one in the Garden.


Let's look at one piece of armor at a time. Why do you believe the belt of truth is to be buckled around your waist? Do you ever use the term "gut feeling"? Is it possible that our gut feelings are sometimes wrong? Absolutely, if we are discerning in and of our own wisdom and conviction. We should be convicted by the Holy Spirit about what is true and trustworthy. 


Our gut feelings need to be based in spiritual discernment as directed by the Lord God Almighty. We need to study God's truth daily. That means our truth is to be based on studying and knowing the written Word of God. Allowing Him to guide us daily while praying and meditating on His Word is how we are meant to walk His truth in each situation and relationship we encounter. 

Devotional

Let's revisit the existence of evil in our world. There are religions that flat out deny that evil exists. They believe that God is good and created all things; He is omnipresent and omniscient; and, therefore, evil cannot exist. I believe that God is good and created all things, however, He is more than just good. The Bible tells us He is also Love, the Almighty, Salvation, Creator of all there is (including all beings given the gift of choice), Counselor, Wonderful, Prince of Peace, God with us, Lord of Lords, God who sees us, King of Kings, the beginning and the end, etc. 


I also believe that the King of Kings and Lord of Lords is omnipresent and omniscient. However, I do not believe for a second that satan or his minions can read our minds or be anywhere and everywhere and all knowing. Their power exists within the will of the Lord God Almighty to allow it, as He did in Job and many other Bible stories referred to below. In other words, our Heavenly Father (not satan who is the earthly father, the father of lies), has within His all-knowing power the ability to remove the ability for any creation to go about the earth seeking to kill, steal and destroy. 


However, God's Word tells us in story after story about God-created humans who behaved in a most evil way, such as Cain, Pharaoh, Jacob, Herod, Saul of Tarsus and Judas, to name a few.  Just the characters in these stories alone give a birds-eye view of murder, deception, mass murder, enslavement, deception, thievery, cheating, ungodly order in the home, confusion, mass murder, fear, hatred, greed, hardening of the heart, imprisonment of innocents, greed, betrayal and, of course, major deception and greed again and loads of pride. Also, notice the absolute destruction of families in all of these examples! What better way to destroy mankind than to attack the basic structure for which he was created - propagation, submission to God, and relationship.


Although there has been lots of discussion about whether the serpent was Satan or a cherub or ruler of this earth or Lucifer, it is clear that men have been given the freedom by our Heavenly Father to make choices. Those choices have been very wicked and sinful against God and our fellow humans. He has also allowed what satan meant for bad to be used for good, so that we know that all things work for good for those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).

Recommended Reading

Have you wanted to understand the Bible better by learning more about Hebrew?


Go to www.Heart2Heart Ministries.com and download the first issue of Christian Roots Magazine, by editor Joan M. Brown. The online issue is free, however, you can choose  home delivery via the mail by purchasing a subscription, as referred to on the web site. 


Joan was impressive in an interview that I watched recently on a Christian television network. Watching to see what she has to share with us in the future will be exciting. I found the first issue to be very informative. For a first effort, I believe it is very good, although I can see areas where improvement are needed.


Let's watch together to learn what we can from this new information source and grow in our understanding of God's word. God's word is filled with much to learn and understand in relation to concepts and contexts, and this may be just one way to get us closer to the truth. What do you scholars out there think?

Devotional

Ephesians 6:10-18

New International Version (NIV)

The Armor of God

 ¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² 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. ¹³ 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. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. ¹⁸ 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 discussion of betrayal and forgiveness and truth and trust occurred in my last two blogs. Referring to the scripture above, we can see that we need to be strong in God's power, not our own. No where in the scripture does it say that we are to resort to our own power, wisdom and truth. Nor does it say that we are to cloak the full armor of God in such pride. That is one good reason for paying close attention to this passage.

We also see that spiritual warfare is a very real occurrence that the Lord is instructing and warning us to stand against. It is described, specifically, as the devil's schemes; the rulers, authorities and powers of this dark world; and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. If we think that the devil takes a day of sick leave or goes on vacation, we are sadly mistaken. The day of evil has been with us since the serpent came on the scene in the Garden, and we need to armor up each day to stand our ground. We will discuss this scripture more in additional blogs. We will look more closely at each of the individual elements of the armor God provided for us.

Father, God: We thank you for the gift of your word, salvation and instruction about your armor. Dear Lord, please help us not to take lightly that evil is very real everyday in our world. Please also help us not to give the devil more than he is due. Help us to remember that you are greater in us than the devil is in this world. Help us to take seriously your warning to be ready to stand against him. Thank you for giving us the tools to do just that and do it well. We love you, Lord, and want to serve you and follow your will in all things. In the precious, holy name of Jesus, we pray, and by the power of His Holy Spirit. Amen.