The Armor of God!

As any of you who know me, you already know where this post is going just by the title!  My favorite verses in the Bible are Ephesians 6:10-18

10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.
12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.14 Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness.15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.16 In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.
17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.

Going into this weeks National Day of Prayer on Thursday, I’d like to take a good look at these verses.  Our nations is at a critical time in history with its relationship with God.  The forces of evil are pressing in our her and are making inroads with our government that is pushing God out.  As a nation that was formed with the blessing of God, and now I’m afraid many are turning their backs on Him.

…the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them…

… they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights …

… with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

Anyone recognize the above lines?  If you don’t take some time to look up the Declaration of Independence and read it again.

Those who argue the separation of Church and State in my opinion are stretching the intent of our founding fathers.  They all were very aware of the power of Almighty God!

Now back to my favorite Bible verse!

In verse 10 Paul tells us to “be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power”  Do you really think the founding fathers could have made the courageous move and statement of the Declaration without being strong in the Lord and his power?  At the moment they signed that document, they knew there fortunes, their homes, their families and their very own lives were in peril, but yet they knew and had faith that God would be with them.  We need that type of courage and leadership today, we need leaders who are strong in the Lord and will trust in Him and His power, not mans!

Verses 11, 12 & 13, states – Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.  For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.

The following verses will describe the armor of God, but in the three verses above, in essence Paul is warning us, if we don’t prepare ourselves for battle and the battle strategies of the devil, we are in jeopardy of losing everything.  Our ancestors from the found fathers to our not that distant past, have always had a strong faith and made time every day for time with the Lord in prayer and worship.  In the past this type of faith had pleased the Lord and He has blessed our nation with prosperity and abundance.  Our recent history does not look as nice, God is being pushed out of our government buildings, our courts, our cities and towns.  Even our holidays that originated with Him have dropped Him from mention! The evil one is using every effort and method to squeeze in between the Lord and us.  If we are not careful, God will be erased from all mention in our society and the devil will have won!  We need to go back and make sure we have that armor on and secure!

Let’s now look at what Paul tells us is our armor!

Verse 14 – Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness

We need to stand in the “truth” that is the Lord God, and we must live righteously. We need to be truthful in all our dealings, the Lord despises deceit and dishonesty. We are also to live righteously – that is to act in an upright, moral manor.  Look in the news and form your own opinion; how well do you think we as a nation and a government are doing in these areas?

Verse 15 – For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.

I feel we are being urged here to go forward with a peace that comes from knowing the Good News which is our salvation in Jesus Christ.  We are to live the example of Jesus Christ, to be at peace, to spread peace and to love, not just our friends but also our enemies.  He would be very pleased if we could show His peace and love to all the world.

Verse 16 – In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.

We must maintain our faith, that is what will protect us from the devil.  He is relentless, in his battle plan – to steal, kill and destroy.  If we don’t keep our shield of faith at the ready, his arrows WILL find their mark.  I pray that somehow our nation will find its way back to the “Faith or our Fathers” – sounds like a great hymn! 🙂

Verse 17 – Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

In all of this, remember to put on salvation, the salvation in our belief in Jesus, as our helmet, and alway have your sword ready!  The sword of the Spirit, the word of God – the Bible!  Spend quality time reading and studying the word.  The Bible is the best instruction book for Life, it has ALL the answers, but we will never know them without opening the book!  The more we know this book, the better prepared we are for our battle with Satan!

If we take God and the Bible out of our nation, the outcome is not going to be good!

Finally, in verse 18, Paul is giving us one final instruction – Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.

Prayer, such an important item, we need to pray often, persistently and for each other as believers.  We need to stay alert for the temptations and deception of the evil one.

If prayer is missing from our schools, our government, and our workplace, I’m afraid for where we are heading.

I will leave you this week with these thoughts and prayers.

I pray that we as a nation and our leaders, take a hard look at the true intentions of our founding fathers and our fathers and grandfathers.  They had a strong faith, they wore the “Armor of God” with pride and conviction! We need this conviction again!  We need to live the example they have set.

Heavenly Father, I ask that you continue to bless our nation and our people.  May we stay strong in our faith, may we wear Your armor with conviction.  May we stay true to Your word and resist all the battle plans of the devil.  May our faith be an example to others to bring this nation back to You, so that we can continue to enjoy the many, many gifts You have given us.  We thank You for Your loving care and protection. May the example of Your son Jesus, enable us to shine like a beacon to the rest of world. I pray all of this in Jesus name. Amen.

Have a blessed week everyone!