Which piece of your team uniform or sports equipment do you consider the most important? What piece, if any, could you do without?
Imagine if your opponents where invisible! How would that alter the competition? What special equipment, might you need to win? The Whole Armor of God!
Paul tells us that our real invisible opponents are invisible. What does this means? Read Ephesians 6:10-20
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.
And pray for me, too. Ask God to give me the right words as I boldly explain God's secret plan that the Good News is for the Gentiles, too. I am in chains now for preaching this message as God's ambassador. But pray that I will keep on speaking boldly for him, as I should.
Examine each piece of equipment in this list. How does each item ( helment, shield, etc. ) help the Christian in daily life? What would happen to a Christian if any item were missing?
What is needed for you to put on the full armor of God this week?
1 comment:
I believe all the "armor essentials" are very important. The two most important to arm ourselves against Satan is:
Shield of Faith
Sword of Spirit
Without the shield, we're extremely hopeless. I saw several movies that involves bows and arrows and shields. When the archers shoots their arrows in the air, their opponent braces for the impact of the flying arrows. Those without the shield are gone! Those with a smaller shield will be protected in a small way. Those with a bigger shield will live but may be shot in the leg or arm which is a minor infraction. But when an arrow hits your heart, that's the place where a blood is processed to the whole body.
We stand against Satan with the "shield of faith". There's no other "faith" but Jesus'. We pray to One Lord with One Faith and with One Baptism (Eph. 4:4-5).
The Sword of Spirit is probably the most powerful and the most needed spiritual weaponry a Christian must have. The Sword of Spirit is the Word of God, the Bible. Without it, we're gone! Satan attacks us almost instantly. Arguments destroys us. False teachings plagues our minds. We begin to accept whatever looks appealing without the use of the Sword of Spirit.
I love the rest: breastplate of righteousness (protects the heart), belt of truth (keeps us with Truth), foot with readiness (keeps us standing on Truth), and the helmet of salvation (protects our minds against the poison of false doctrines).
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