P-DUB

 

There are endless lessons we can learn from God's word, there are so many treasures hidden that are ready to be discovered. This passage is part of our memory work list, it is the Armor of God!

Ephesians 6:10-18 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For 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. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all of this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And 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.

We are told to be strong in the Lord,(notice in the Lord)we usually want to be strong on our own, we need to be strong in his mighty power. Next we are told to put on the full armor of God. If we are missing even just one piece we are vulnerable. You know that the devil will find the weakness and try to destroy us. We must always put on the full armor of God, we can never let down our guard. It is also important to remember who our enemy is, the devil wants to confuse us, he wants us(Christians)to fight against each other. With God's help we should stand together against the devil and his schemes. Now we come to the armor of God, all of the armor is connected by God's word. The belt of truth is God and his word,(John 14:6) we need to know the truth, if we don't study the truth how can we defend it? A knowledge of the truth will also help us to make right choices and this is all that righteousness is. The gospel of peace is the peace that God gives us in any given situation. When trouble comes God will give us the peace we need to get through what ever life throws at us. God's word will comfort you, if you know where to look(Philippians 4:6,7). Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see(Hebrews 11:1). Faith is just believing what God has told us. We need to know what he has said in order to believe it. Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ(Romans 10:17). Knowing that you are saved will give you confidence when you go into battle, and that's exactly what life is. And you can know, that's again where a knowledge of God's word is important(1John 5:13, Romans 8:1). The last piece is the sword of the Spirit, and it is God's word. The sword is the only piece that can be used to attack as well as defend(Hebrews 4:12). Here are a couple more passages about the armor of God(1Thessalonians 5:8, Romans 13:12, Isaiah 59:17) Just one final passage.

1Corinthians 16:13,14 Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. Do everything in love.

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