The good armor (5)

Truth, righteousness, and the willingness to be a messenger of peace, I mentioned these weapons in the previous blog posts about the spiritual armor.

Let's read a little further in Ephesians 6 until we arrive at verse 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. The TLB translation says: In every battle you will need faith as your shield to stop the fiery arrows aimed at you by Satan.

Flaming, fiery arrows of the enemy? Faith as a shield? So, how exactly does this work in our daily lives? Faith is the assurance of things we hope for and the evidence of things we cannot see (Heb. 11: 1). Faith basically means that we do not doubt the existence of God, that we accept the Bible as His Word, and that we know He keeps His promises. If we can see that kind of faith (assurance) as a shield, we will understand that it will ricochet everything that brings doubt or goes against God's Word.

Everything yes, because flaming arrows are fired at us on a daily basis; thoughts that suddenly enter our heads or our hearts ... Is it all true? Does God Really Love Me? Have I been forgiven? Is the Bible actually true? etc. etc. We can extinguish those fiery arrows (meant to set our thoughts and feelings on fire) with faith.

The kind of faith that makes us say aloud: Jesus is the truth, God loves me with an everlasting love, Jesus has completely forgiven me of all sin, and His Word endures forever. I dare you to raise that shield when all kinds of lies and doubts about God and His Word are coming your way. Go right against it, proclaim the truth. This is how we fight the spiritual battle.

This time of darkness will not go on forever

The other day I was praying for a word of encouragement to share with the members of the Christian Nonfiction Lovers Book club on Goodreads. Just something more than a regular Christmas greeting...

The Lord reminded me of a scripture I had read just days before. So, I shared it on Goodreads and it triggered a lot of positive responses. Then I shared the word on Facebook as well and last, but certainly not least,  I want to share it with my blogging friends! Take it to heart, it might be exactly what you need to hear today!

"I was reading Isaiah 9 in my NLT Inspire Bible and verse 1 says: Nevertheless, that time of darkness and despair will not go on forever. I took that as a rhema word for today and it is my hope that sharing it with you will bring joy to your heart and encouragement to your soul.

God has designed the times and seasons. According to Genesis 8:22 there will always be seasons as long as the earth exists. Seasons in nature, seasons in life. A new spring is coming. Amidst this ever circulating cycle of life, God remains faithful and His love endures forever. He knows the past, present, and future… and yet, He is concerned with every detail of your life.

It is this amazing God who inspires us today and tomorrow and in the year to come. May His love guide you, His grace compel you, and His peace surround you."

MERRY CHRISTMAS & A HEALTHY NEWYEAR!

The good armor (4)

"We use God's mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments," writes the apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 10:4.

He understood spiritual warfare like no other. And you know what, God's weapons are just as much for us today. In my previous blogs, I wrote about truth and righteousness.

Let's continue to read about the armor in Ephesians 6:15, where it says that we should wear as our shoes the readiness to announce the good news of peace. Other translations speak about sandals of willingness, shoes of preparation.

👉We put on shoes when we are about to go out of the house. On a shelf they have little value. Knowing we can bring peace in a situation is not the same as actually doing it! The willingness to be a messenger of peace is much more than a good intention, it is something that must be put into practice.

Let's make it practical. Part of our armor is to be peacemakers in difficult situations, to offer God's peace when someone is troubled, to settle arguments that have been going on far too long, and to share the good news about the Prince of Peace... Jesus.  Easy? No. Possible? Yes!

Jesus had a good reason for saying: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. (Matthew 5: 9).

I want to be blessed. What about you?

The good armor (3)

Being encircled (girded) by truth, what a nice thought from my previous blog. We can survive in a world full of lies when we are protected by the truth!

Let's continue to read about the spiritual armor as described in Ephesians 6. Verse 14 speaks about a breastplate of  RIGHTEOUSNESS.

Now, in general, most of us don't walk around in medieval clothing items anymore, but I think the idea of our righteousness being able to take a beating (attack) is quite clear.

The Bible says that no one is righteous by nature, not one! (Romans 3:10). Only God is righteous. Jesus is also called the Righteous One. Why? 👉Because He came to earth to present His righteousness in exchange for our failures and mistakes, for our sins.

Righteous means as much as: good, virtuous, upright, worthy, ethical, principled, moral, high-minded, just, honest, innocent, faultless, sinless, uncorrupted, pure, noble... well, you get the idea, it ain't about us! Within Christianity, as well as in all major world religions, we can see people trying to achieve some form of righteousness by working hard and following all kinds of rules. But then again, the more people try, the more they feel like failing.

This is exactly why Jesus' offer is so crucial. Our sins in exchange for His righteousness. What a deal! He offers forgiveness for our iniquities and thereby declares us righteous. 💓That righteousness (knowing that we are forgiven!) is our armor; it protects our whole being. In Romans 3:221-2 it says:  But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. 

Not because of good deeds, but because of faith we are declared righteous before God. This eliminates guilt, shame, failure, fear, and judgment. Knowing that we are forgiven... we should wear it like impenetrable armor. If you have made the choice for Jesus, don't let anyone tell you that things are not right between you and God. This is an area where many spiritual battles take place.

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21).

The good armor (2)

Thank you for joining me in this new blog series. Spiritual warfare, oh my goodness, such an important topic.

There are different ways to arm oneself in the battle between good and evil. Some people opt for aggression, others for cynicism, and still others for campaigning. Defense, attack, or run away, it is all possible.

The Bible also speaks of armor that we can reach for. His weapons are of a completely different order, a spiritual order.

You can find the basic text for this series in Ephesians 6:10-13. It will help you to read it regularly, as a reminder that 1) there is a spiritual battle, 2) God gives us weapons, 3) we do not fight against people and 4) we can stand firm (yeah!).

If we continue reading in Ephesians 6, we come to verse 14, which is a strong appeal: Stand ready, the Good News translation says. In other translations: Stand firm! Be prepared! The message is clear: get off the couch!

The first weapon God gives us is TRUTH, to wear as a belt. We must gird ourselves with truth. To gird means to encircle or bind with a belt or band, to surround; enclose; hem in, frame, encircle, encompass.

We live in a world where the opposite will happen if we are not careful, we are surrounded (girded) by lies. I hear it almost daily in conversations ... who speaks the truth? How do I know if this is true? Why do people lie under oath? etc. etc. In order to have a somewhat clear understanding of the thousand things that come our way each day, it is crucial that we are enclosed by the truth, that we have embraced truth.

When we are encircled (girded) by truth, we look to the outside as through a filter. A truth filter. And you know what, Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. Apart from Him, apart from the truth, we cannot stand in battle. If you believe in Him, He will give you the Spirit of Truth, who comes to live in you and will be with you always. 👉 He gives truth counsel.

PS: In my book Spirit of Truth I go deeper into the root cause of deception, which is twisted truth. I believe it is a must-read for such a time as this. Kindle and paperback are available on Amazon.