Ephesians 6:10-18 “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.”
This awesome passage of scripture is loved by, and has provided so much strength to, so many Christian brothers and sisters that I know. It was obvious, early in my walk of discipleship and serving the Lord that the vision and my goal was working in the ministry fields, where Jesus said that the harvest was plentiful, but the workers are few (Luke 10:2). But the Lord equips the saints with this whole armor for use because, the road is not always smooth and evil lurks along the sides (& sometimes smack in the middle), in living out our faith and reaching those who do not know the love of God in Christ and His salvation, which is the harvest. We are not sent defenseless, nor without the power of the Spirit of God behind our pilgrimage here. The armor is real, yet spiritual, to "stand firm" in the attacks that will, and do come, to extinguish (not some, but) all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Warring attacks come in various forms from Satan, the sinful world and our own sin nature of the flesh - darkness against light. Opposition to evangelism, contentions toward faith, hostility towards biblical truth, but also direct spiritual assaults. A good example is that our home personal computer was infected by a massive attack of virus’ and killed the hard-drive, but that will not stop this blog for the Lord by His worker. Not to fear. It was a blessing that we received this laptop lately, and this ministry shall stand firm. The home computer is replaced with a newer model now. The pen is mightier than the sword, but nothing is mightier than the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Hey, it’s good for each of us to revisit (or even for the first time) this affirming passage of holy Scripture and take a deep & delightful look at the full armor of God (the true spiritual battle meaning and application and implementation today) and use each part for the glory of God and the advancement of His kingdom righteousness, remembering that in the end is "saved souls" and victory.
In Christ, Brian
3 comments:
"A good example is that our home personal computer was infected by a massive attack of virus’ and killed the hard-drive, but that will not stop this blog for the Lord by His worker. Not to fear."
I love the last line...Not to fear...Because of Him, we are strong and can do everything by His strength, might and power! Glory be to our good Lord! God bless and protect you.
Hi Brian,
How sad! I hope your home computer is up and running again soon.
Blessings,
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RCUBE's & Child of God, thank you for the well-wishes on the computer, which is replaced and even better. The Lord told us that in this world, we would have trouble. I read an article by CSI Director Tom DeRosa where he said "As long as we are on this earth, we know there will always be a battle between good and evil. Because of this, it is extremely important for us to know the Word of God and to believe in the righteousness of Christ and not in our own." Pastor and Theologian R.C. Sproul writes, "Man-centered thinking minimizes our radical corruption as sinners and God's powerful plan to rescue His people for His glory. When God is not the center of our thinking, the rest of our theology is poisoned. The only antidote is a truly biblical view of God, His attributes, and His mighty work of salvation from start to finish." In Christ, we can put on the whole armor and stand firm in this world, knowing that the battle is the Lord's and there is victory in the end. That's what counts and that's what really matters. Glory to God. Thank you are writing.
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