"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 be able to 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 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." (Ephesians 6:10-17)With all my wife and I have been through over the last few years this has been such an empowering piece of scripture! We live in a fallen world sadly, but yet we are no longer to be of this wold as Christians. This is a fight to the finish and God has not left us unarmed! God is strong and He wants us to be strong as well. We are up against so much more than we can handle, or even see, on our own in this life. We must take all the help we can get. All the help God has granted us with His great love and mercy.
Truth: The belt of Truth buckled around your waist.
Righteousness: The breastplate of Righteousness in place.
Peace: The feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of Peace
Faith: Take up the shield of Faith.
Salvation: Take the Helmet of Salvation and the Sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
"Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes" (Ephesians 6:11). It is vital for us to be fully clad with our spiritual armor day in and day out, because it is our only way of defeating and revoking the enemy’s strategies against us. Just as a soldier cannot enter the battlefield half-armed, neither can we begin our day without our spiritual armor fully shielding us from the cunning works of the enemy. Being half armed will leave us partially vulnerable to being wounded, and not being armed at all, would leave us in total peril (think of stepping out of your house during a snow storm undressed for a day) this is why it is a MUST to always have on our...
1. BELT OF TRUTH
Our belt is equivalent to knowledge of our identity in Christ Jesus. Knowing what He says about us, feels about us, and has promised to us in His word. The devil is a liar and the father of all lies…and because this is true of him, he constantly seeks ways to whisper lies laced with fears into our ears, and plant them in our hearts in hopes that a manifestation will bloom in our lives. He will often inject negative thoughts about ourselves into our minds, magnify small (temporary) problems that we encounter throughout the day as huge and permanent, and often "hits us below our belts" bringing up hurtful mistakes of our pasts etc. Just as a belt upholds a pair of jeans--preventing them from falling, and also gives shape to a beautiful dress, so does our spiritual belt shape our minds with the truth, transforming it with the Light of the word.
Wearing the belt of truth protects us from being engrossed in the enemy's lies and allowing them to distract us from our main focus - Jesus! When we view ourselves from God's perspective, have extensive knowledge and BELIEF in what HE says, WANTS for, and THINKS of us, the enemy's lies will be nothing more than a mere annoying fly on a summer day. We will SQUASH it with GOD's truth.
So! Is your belt fastened?
2. BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
In the ancient times, soldiers never stepped out on the battlefield without a protective armor fully shielding their frontal body and back. This amor was usually made of an impermeable material such as brass or bronze, and covered the soldiers’ most sensitive and vital organs (Heart, Intestines, Kidneys, Liver etc...). Our spiritual breastplate does the same. It first and foremost covers our heart.
Our heart is what regulates our life. Without it, we die. With a corrupted one, we get ill. Knowing this,our opponent, the enemy, often likes to stir up situations that will spew negativity such as bitterness, anger, envy, unforgiveness into our hearts, and when the heart is spiritually contaminated with these things, it then spreads to the other vital organs, causing our spirits to slowly decay with sin...which eventually leads to a spiritual coma or death. Donning the breastplate of righteousness is equivalent to living in God's TRUTH and in HOLINESS. By meditating on His word and harboring it in our hearts, we prevent the filth and venom the enemy spits out from penetrating it and destroying us.
"I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you." (Psalm 119:11).
Not 'wearing' the breastplate leaves us very vulnerable to spiritual 'heart attacks'. In our natural physical condition, we are said to be healthy when our heart is. And, just as maintaining a healthy heart requires water, exercise and healthy foods, the same is true of our spirit. We must feed it DAILY with the Word of God, in order to keep the unhealthy things the enemy feeds from clogging up our arteries. "Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life." (Proverbs 4:23)
So! How is your heart?
PART 2 COMING SOON..!!!!
Learn how to apply them and live with them as your armor! Pray long and hard. Don't let anyone fall behind or drop out. Hold on to your brothers and sisters in Christ and fight united! And, fight the Good fight!
