Armor of God

After not having posted anything for almost a month, it's about time to submit another one.

And one verse that has really been on my mind lately has been Psalms 19:14, which says: "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer."

Our every thought, word, and action is known by God. Whether we admit thinking them, speaking them, doing them or not. He has known what you will think and say since the beginning of time. Is this not reason enough to guard our hearts, eyes, tongue, hands, and feet?

Ephesians 5:15 "See then that you walk carefully, not as fools, but as wise,"

Philippians 4:7 "And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

Proverbs 4:23 "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life."

Proverbs 14:2 "He that walketh in his uprightness feareth the LORD: but he that is perverse in his ways despiseth him."

Micah 6:8 "No, O people, the LORD has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God."

Proverbs 4:25-26: "Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you. Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path."

These are some very direct verses and commands from the Lord that we need to follow to keep our thoughts pure and our actions God-honoring. Because God did not give us tongues to speak slanderous things, nor did He give us hands to commit unlawful acts. Neither did He give us feet to run their own way. Rather, God meant for us to trust in Him and stay strong in Him, in order to fight against the Spiritual battles and temptations of this world. So, I will ask you. What guideline did God give us in the New Testament for keeping ourselves blameless in His sight (Deuteronomy 18:13)? It is found in Ephesians 6:14-18, when He said: "Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 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, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

1. Truth

What is truth without God? Without Him, there is none. With Him, there are no lies. When we speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15), we honor Him and bring glory to His name. Lies are completely of the devil and have no business in a Christian's life.

2. Righteousness

Merriam-Webster defines "righteousness" as "as acting in accord with divine or moral law: free from guilt or sin". We will never be "free from sin" until we are in heaven; however, in Titus 2:12, we are told what is expected of us: "...deny[ing] ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world". We honor God when we deny worldly lusts and temptations and look to those eternal things that last (Colossians 3:2).

3. Gospel of peace

We should be ready to share the gospel whenever we are confronted with a situation. Christ commands us to be prepared and to take it to those who need to hear the good news. Mark 16:15: "And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation."

4. Shield of faith

The shield of faith protects our hearts from Satan's darts of depression, loneliness, uselessness, and self-pity. By using it, we are guarding our hearts from thinking what the devil would like us to believe. Proverbs 4:23 "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life."

5. Helmet and sword

We are now told to put on the helmet to protect our heads and pick up the sword to fight our way through the battle. The sword, God's Word, is what we are given. It's the most powerful weapon to fight the evil one with. Christ did not defeat Satan at the cross with a shotgun or a Glock handheld. His Word alone is power enough to defeat the devil. And we are given His helper (the Holy Spirit) to overpower all of the devil's tricks.

And this leads us directly into the heart of the last portion of that verse: "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;"   With perseverance and supplication, we can walk this earth living a life for Christ. It doesn't matter what happens in the world--although we continually pray that our authority figures make the right decisions--but more importantly, we should focus on living our lives for Christ because this life is not all there is. We are guaranteed an eternal home with our heavenly Father and that is what we are looking forward to. Not how much we can earn or spend, but on living our entire lives for Christ--Who gave Himself up for us, that we might have life (Titus 2:14).

In closing this post, it would be wise to end with Philippians 4:7 "And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Keep walking this life along with your Savior with each and every step you take. Keep every piece of your armor on and never let your guard down, because Satan will take advantage of those times just when you think it's safe. We need to walk with Christ--not without Him. We must rely on His strength and not our own.

Proverbs 4:25-26: "Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you. Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path."

 

God bless,

Anna