God sets us up for trying experiences to shape and mold us. He is the potter and we are the clay. He wants to put us through the fire so that we are refined into what He wants us to be. Not every trial we endure is from the enemy, though we like to blame him a lot. Only God knows our future and how we will be used by Him to set up His kingdom and our struggles are key in helping others see God for who He is, that is, if we endure them with faith and grace and come out the other side a stronger person... because we have learned so much about God through the experience. However, there is a break down in this formation from a child like follower to an on fire believer, when we sit and do nothing when put in the fire, when we fail to seek Him and fail to learn what He is setting us up to learn. He WILL keep dangling you off the cliff again and again until you get it! He WILL keep you in the fire until you change, until you are refined.
Christ has already given me one ultimate free gift and the rest of the promises come with responsibility. God wants me in His army, and I can not be soldier ready for battle if I am not conditioned. He puts us through trials to test our faith. Recently, I have felt targeted and have been tested physically, emotionally, and spiritually. My armor has proven weak during this time of testing. As I was praying one night, distraught over some things, asking God "why?"....God asked me, "where is your breastplate?" Honestly, I hardly remembered the passage enough to answer. Um, I'm not sure God....? So I began to read about the "full armor of God" again. Yes, that passage from your church vacation bible school when you were a kid. I asked God to speak to me over each piece of armour, explain it, and here is what I got...
Ephesians 6:10
10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For 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. 13Therefore 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. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And 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.
The Belt of Truth:
We need to “provide for honest things not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.” II cor 8:21
Ok, its time to tighten my belt. Search my heart, oh God, for any impurities, any moments of untruthfulness and make me clean. Am I standing on Your truth? When I go through tribulations, help me stand on the truths in the word of God.
The Breastplate of Righteousness
Whenever the enemy tries to accuse you, the breastplate of righteousness is your trusty defense. If the Spirit of Christ dwells in you, then God receives you as His son or daughter no matter what the devil says.
"For he hath made Jesus to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him" (II Corinthians 5:21).
The righteousness of Christ in you is what matters — not your shortcomings and failures. This does not mean that your heavenly Father is indifferent to your sin or regards it lightly. Rather, as a loving father corrects his child, so the Lord corrects you (see Hebrews 12:5-11). At times His chastening may seem stern and unfair, but He is working to mold me into the likeness of Christ. He desires that "the peaceable fruit of righteousness" (Hebrews 12:11) be produced in my life.
In Isaiah 59, the Lord put on righteousness as a breastplate and went out to fight evil and corruption. "And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him. For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloke" (Isaiah 59:16-17).
The Lord shares His righteousness with His children, for they, too, must encounter evil and corruption. The world we live in is full of sin and spiritual darkness. People all around us are in desperate need of the light and life of Jesus Christ. ….you must learn to defend yourself. Walk around like you have been given righteousness through Christ, not like you are defeated! You’ll be shocked how fast the Devil will run with that kind of attitude! His righteousness protects us!
Sandals of Peace
How beautiful the feet that share God’s word (Romans 10:15) It is interesting to me that along with all the other armor spoken of in Ephesians, ready "feet" is included in that. But God expects us to share our faith with other people and to be ready to do it at a moments notice. Yet we are sent forth "as sheep in the midst of wolves; so we must be wise as serpents and harmless as doves."(Matthew 10:16). God will place us in situations when we need to stand in faith, and knowing that it might be hostile, He has provided us the rest of the armor to protect us, to protect our "feet". How cool is that?
Shield of Faith
"Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked."--- Ephesians 6:16
In Romans 10:17 Paul writes: "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God." We increase our faith by reading the Bible. If you want to live a life without fear you need to read, study, and meditate on the Word of God.
Helmet of Salvation
This is the salvation provided for us by Christ on the cross. It is the protection over my head...knowing that Christ has already won and taken victory over Satan. It is my promise that "it is finished!"
Sword of the Spirit
"For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing assunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." --- Hebrews 4:12
The Sword of the Spirit is the Word of God,
" By speaking the Word, your words become energized (Hebrews 4:12)....cool!
By speaking and praying the Word of God (our sword of the spirit), strongholds are broken down in the heavens....wow, even more cool.
Just as Jesus the living Word defeated Satan at the cross, the spoken word now gives that same victory. Remember, it is not the Sword of the Spirit until you speak it. And you have to know it to speak it!!!
So put on the FULL armor of God and watch the enemy run.
I have failed at each one of these at some point. Right now, my armor could use some maintenance...some polishing....some mending. Now that God has mercifully reminded me of these truths, my prayer tonight is start the repair.
Christ has already given me one ultimate free gift and the rest of the promises come with responsibility. God wants me in His army, and I can not be soldier ready for battle if I am not conditioned. He puts us through trials to test our faith. Recently, I have felt targeted and have been tested physically, emotionally, and spiritually. My armor has proven weak during this time of testing. As I was praying one night, distraught over some things, asking God "why?"....God asked me, "where is your breastplate?" Honestly, I hardly remembered the passage enough to answer. Um, I'm not sure God....? So I began to read about the "full armor of God" again. Yes, that passage from your church vacation bible school when you were a kid. I asked God to speak to me over each piece of armour, explain it, and here is what I got...
Ephesians 6:10
10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For 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. 13Therefore 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. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And 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.
The Belt of Truth:
We need to “provide for honest things not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.” II cor 8:21
Ok, its time to tighten my belt. Search my heart, oh God, for any impurities, any moments of untruthfulness and make me clean. Am I standing on Your truth? When I go through tribulations, help me stand on the truths in the word of God.
The Breastplate of Righteousness
Whenever the enemy tries to accuse you, the breastplate of righteousness is your trusty defense. If the Spirit of Christ dwells in you, then God receives you as His son or daughter no matter what the devil says.
"For he hath made Jesus to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him" (II Corinthians 5:21).
The righteousness of Christ in you is what matters — not your shortcomings and failures. This does not mean that your heavenly Father is indifferent to your sin or regards it lightly. Rather, as a loving father corrects his child, so the Lord corrects you (see Hebrews 12:5-11). At times His chastening may seem stern and unfair, but He is working to mold me into the likeness of Christ. He desires that "the peaceable fruit of righteousness" (Hebrews 12:11) be produced in my life.
In Isaiah 59, the Lord put on righteousness as a breastplate and went out to fight evil and corruption. "And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him. For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloke" (Isaiah 59:16-17).
The Lord shares His righteousness with His children, for they, too, must encounter evil and corruption. The world we live in is full of sin and spiritual darkness. People all around us are in desperate need of the light and life of Jesus Christ. ….you must learn to defend yourself. Walk around like you have been given righteousness through Christ, not like you are defeated! You’ll be shocked how fast the Devil will run with that kind of attitude! His righteousness protects us!
Sandals of Peace
How beautiful the feet that share God’s word (Romans 10:15) It is interesting to me that along with all the other armor spoken of in Ephesians, ready "feet" is included in that. But God expects us to share our faith with other people and to be ready to do it at a moments notice. Yet we are sent forth "as sheep in the midst of wolves; so we must be wise as serpents and harmless as doves."(Matthew 10:16). God will place us in situations when we need to stand in faith, and knowing that it might be hostile, He has provided us the rest of the armor to protect us, to protect our "feet". How cool is that?
Shield of Faith
"Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked."--- Ephesians 6:16
In Romans 10:17 Paul writes: "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God." We increase our faith by reading the Bible. If you want to live a life without fear you need to read, study, and meditate on the Word of God.
Helmet of Salvation
This is the salvation provided for us by Christ on the cross. It is the protection over my head...knowing that Christ has already won and taken victory over Satan. It is my promise that "it is finished!"
Sword of the Spirit
"For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing assunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." --- Hebrews 4:12
The Sword of the Spirit is the Word of God,
" By speaking the Word, your words become energized (Hebrews 4:12)....cool!
By speaking and praying the Word of God (our sword of the spirit), strongholds are broken down in the heavens....wow, even more cool.
Just as Jesus the living Word defeated Satan at the cross, the spoken word now gives that same victory. Remember, it is not the Sword of the Spirit until you speak it. And you have to know it to speak it!!!
So put on the FULL armor of God and watch the enemy run.
I have failed at each one of these at some point. Right now, my armor could use some maintenance...some polishing....some mending. Now that God has mercifully reminded me of these truths, my prayer tonight is start the repair.
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