Spiritual Armour

Discipleship Journal, issue 40, 1987

…Go into the battle equipped

Finally the Lord reminded me that I am in a battle.  To go into it without the “full armor of God” (Eph.6:11) is as foolish as walking onto the front lines dressed for a game of tennis.  I need to pick up and use the defensive weapons God provides for my protection.  So every morning, for the past ten months, I’ve been “praying the armor on”.  It’s become as much a part of my morning routine as getting dressed and brushing my teeth.

The belt of truth. “Lord,” I pray, “help me to gird myself with Your belt of truth” (Eph.6:14).  “Give me discernment that I might immediately recognize the enemy’s lies and half-truths.  Help me to refuse to receive or believe them.”

The breastplate of righteousness. Next I mentally pick up the breastplate of righteousness (Eph.6:14).  It protects my most vulnerable area—my heart, the home of my feelings and emotions.  It is so easy for me to be wounded by others, to allow myself to be influenced by fear of what they might say or think.  “Lord,” I pray, “help me today to consistently choose to do what is right in Your eyes.  Thank You for protecting me from the judgment and criticism I may receive.”

The shoes of the gospel.  Just as I would not walk out of the house in the dead of winter barefooted, I take the time to have my “feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.”

     John MacArthur, in his study notes for The Believer’s Armor, describes a common military practice of the Roman soldiers:  “planting sticks in the ground which had been sharpened to a razor-point, and concealing them so that they were almost invisible.  This was a very effective tactic because, if the soldier’s foot was pierced, he wouldn’t be able to walk—and if he couldn’t walk, he was totally debilitated.”[1]

     To protect their feet, Roman soldiers wore boots with heavy soles.  Pieces of metal protruded from the bottom of the boots, acting like today’s football cleats, to give the soldiers firm footing.

      The shoes God provides for me give me a solid foundation upon which to stand.  He readies me for His work by instructing and teaching me in the way I should go (Ps.32:8).  When I choose to follow His plan instead of asking Him to bless my plans, I find my feet do not become bruised and weary from going places He never intended for me to go.  I also find that when I say “yes” to what He wants me to do rather than to what others tell me I should do, I am filed with peace instead of tension.

The shield of faith. Next I prayerfully pick up the shield of faith to stop the “flaming arrows of the evil one” (Eph.6:16).  I ask God to make me mighty in spirit—to help me walk by faith, not by sight.  I also ask Him to help me not to lower my shield by nurturing doubts. A soldier can be fatally wounded if he lowers his shield for only a moment.

The helmet of salvation.  This piece of the armor (Eph.6:17) protects my mind.  As I ask God to fit it snugly over my head, I am protected from indulgence in the negative thinking that tears me down.  Each morning I thank God that I do not have to be bound by old habits and thinking patterns.  I ask Him to continue His work of transforming me by renewing my mind (Ro.12:2).

The sword of the Spirit. Finally, remembering that God has not provided any armor to protect my back, I ask Him to help me stand and face the enemy in His strength.  I know that God does not intend for me to turn and run.  Rather, He wants me to take the offensive by picking up the “sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Eph.6:17).

     Just as Jesus defeated Satan by quoting Scripture, I can speak God’s promises and see the enemy flee.  When I’m exhausted and the pressure is on, I can claim Phil.4:19—God will meet all my needs.  Or 1 Cor.1:7-8—I do not lack any spiritual gift; He will keep me strong to the end.  There is a promise for every lie Satan would use to try to intimidate me.  I may still feel overwhelmed, but when I go into battle praising and thanking God, I am victorious.

     There are still days when I feel completely drained —when I fear I have nothing to give.  If I fail to recognize I’m being tested, if I do not rely on God’s power, and if I go into the battle unequipped, I suffer and my family suffers.  But praise God, it doesn’t have to be that way.  I can know the joy Paul wrote about.  I can “delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.  For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor.12:10).  Feelings of exhaustion and defeat will flee as I choose to draw closer to the Source of my strength.

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[1] John MacArthur, The Believer’s Armor (Panorama City, Calif.:  Word of Grace Communications, 1982), p.41

Taken from an article by MARLENE BAGNULL who writes for Christian periodicals and leads small group Bible Studies.  She lives in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania.

How to restore a relationship pt 2

Here is the second half of last week’s article [only in the Russian blog - go to last week's blog for the link]. If you are having a conflict with someone, especially if it is on-going, I would appeal to you to do everything you are able to do in order to resolve that conflict as soon as you can.  Broken relationships are caused by sin.  If you are in a broken relationship and are not taking steps to mend that relationship, then you cannot expect God to bless your ministry.  God will not bless sin.  

(There are times when you are doing everything you can, including the things listed below, to mend the relationship but the other person is not willing to respond.  As long as you have genuinely confessed to God and turned from your part in the conflict and if you are taking the initiative to restore that relationship, then you know that you have done all that you can do (“If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.” - Romans 12:18).  God will not hold against you the refusal of the other person to respond.)

Steps to restoring a broken relationship

There is a familiar saying, “ministry would be easy if I didn’t have to do it with people!”  Have you ever felt this way? One area that satan uses to get our eyes off of the Lord and onto ourselves is through our relationships with one another.  We can’t stop his attacks on our relationships, but we can determine whether or not we allow him to have victory.  Two ways we can allow him to strike winning blows is in the area of unforgiveness and bitterness (2 Corinthians 2:10-11, Ephesians 4:25-27, Galatians 5:15).  

 I recently came across an article that I wanted to share with you which addresses how to deal with conflict among one another.  If you are not in a relationship that has some conflict, I can promise you that you will be sometime in the near future.  This week I am sending out the first half of the article and next week I will send out the second half which talks about the Biblical steps to restoring a relationship.  

Check it out! [of course I didn't save the link directly to Rick Warren's article, but this one will take you to another blog with the 7 points.]

[In my Russian blog I divided Rick Warren's article into to parts, so next week's blog might not make much sense unless you know what I did.]

Holy Spirit and Mission, part 2

Acts 1:8 - But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

I have been studying the book of Acts this year.  I looked at the Greek definition for the word, “witness,” in this verse.  I found that when Jesus used the word, He meant that they were to be His mouth pieces, His instruments.  He was telling the disciples that He was going to speak the words of salvation through them.

Witnessing is a sacred work!  It’s not just me all by myself trying to think of all my best arguments to convince someone to cross over to the “right side”…it’s not that at all!  If I am to be Jesus’ instrument or mouthpiece, then that means that Jesus is there with me to speak through me, giving me His words.  He is at work drawing and wooing people to come to Him (Acts 2:37-38).  Even then it’s not me and Jesus (through the Holy Spirit) “alone” talking to someone about the “good news”, there’s a whole realm of angels (Luke 15:10) waiting, watching, anticipating the time for them to rejoice when someone comes into God’s kingdom!  Amazing!

Evangelism should not be seen as a heavy burden or discipline (although I sometimes have to discipline myself to do it).  Rather it is a sacred moment when the Lord of the universe has chosen to use your mouth as an instrument for Him to speak through.  Just imagine – when you are allowing Him to speak through you, it’s the very words of God flowing out of your mouth!  God is expressing His longing through you for that person who is at that moment far away from Him to understand how to come into His presence to find forgiveness and eternal life!

So how do you make sure that it is God’s words coming out of your mouth and not just your own words?   The following is a brief summary:

• Take a few minutes to ask the Holy Spirit to show you any sin you have in your life (John 16:8). 

• Confess those sins specifically and thank Him that He already forgave you when He died on the cross (1 John 1:9, Romans 4:7). 

• Simply ask the Holy Spirit to be the Lord of your life, to direct it and control it (Eph.5:18 – it’s God’s will for us to be filled with the Holy Spirit).  

• If you are sincere in asking this, then you can be assured that the Holy Spirit will be the power in your life (1 John 5:14-15). 

Prayer defeats Satan

(Here is another encouragement for prayer from the article, Your prayers matter - Things happen or don't happen because of prayer, by Alvin J. Vander Griend)

Prayer defeats Satan.

Two powerful forces work in the world today—the power of God and the power of Satan. The power of God is infinitely greater, but we are affected by both.

Since Satan's power is greater than that of humans, we are constantly at risk. Paul reminds us that we struggle "against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil" (Eph. 6:12). In order to stand, we are challenged to put on the whole armor of God and to "pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests" (v. 18).

In response to prayer, God brings His power to our defense so we are able to stand against the devil's schemes. When the Israelites, on their way to the Promised Land, were confronted by the devil-inspired Amalekites, Moses' intercession moved the hands of God to intervene and give the battle to Joshua's army (Ex. 17:8–13). Today, Jesus Christ sits on the throne of glory and lifts holy hands in behalf of embattled believers. And we, His saints, stand and pray with Him even as Aaron and Hur stood by Moses to support him.

When Peter was being severely tested by Satan, Jesus came to his defense with prayer and then explained to Peter what and why He had prayed: "I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail" (Lk. 22:32).

The devil dreads our prayers more than anything. A mighty prayer warrior once said, "Satan laughs at our toiling, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray." It's no wonder Satan trembles. By means of prayer, the power of the omnipotent God of heaven and earth is brought against him. He doesn't stand a chance.