Full Armor Of God

Full Armor of God
During my devotional this morning I read Ephesians 6:10-18--The Whole Armor of God as it is called in my Bible. These verses have been ringing loud in my head for a few days now, and I have wanted to sit and write something however my carnal self just wouldn't sit and take the time to relish in His word--I put my flesh aside today and would like to share with you how these verses spoke to me.

"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your free with the preparation of the gospel of peace, above all, taking the shield of faith which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints."

Wow, if only we as His children would do this more often! We are absolutely in a spiritual war each and every day, every moment! It's not a war against "flesh and blood" but against the powers within, the powers that are all around us--Satan's powers and his demons powers. We often become so focused on the "wars" throughout the ages, throughout the countries and we pay no attention to the wars that are within us as His people. The apostle Paul makes it abundantly clear that we absolutely must wage spiritual warfare.

As His followers, we are called to "gird our waist with the truth"--we must commit our emotions to the believe the truth. We often knowlngly allow ourselves to belive a lie because of fear or self pity. Believers must hold a commitment to the truth regardless of what the reprecussions may be.

We must "put on the breastplate of righteousness"--this is the place where the soul resides. The heart must be kept pure and righteous because sin gives foothold to the enemy. Confession and forgiveness on the basis of the blood that Christ shed will cleanse our heart.

We must "shod our feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace"--proper shoes enable the feet to go from place to place. We as believers must do the Father's business, which is to spread the gospel of peace and reconciliation. This mission will help keep us head in the right direction.

We must "take the shield of faith"--The Wicked One is the "accuser of our brethren" (Rev 12:10) and will send his fiery darts to instill doubts, fear, guilt and shame. Faith acts as an invisible shield that will deflect false accusations.

We must "take the helmet of salvation"--A helmet protects the head from harm; the brain and the thoughts. Assurance of salvation is a mighty defense against doubt and insecurity and the kinds of works bred by them.

We must "take the sword of the spirit"---The Word of God, the only offensive weapon in this armor, was used by the Lord Jesus against Satan and should be used by us as well. The living Word is powerful, effective, instructive and THE TRUTH.

and Finally we must PRAY ALWAYS!!! Prayer opens channels from us to God. In the midst of battles, we must keep in constant communication with our leader for direction and encouragement.