The Helmet

 DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE EPHESIANS

THE HELMET

Eph 6:10-18

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12 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. 13 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. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 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.

NIV

Our heart, as it relates to the inner man, rather than to a muscle that pumps blood, is protected by the breastplate of righteousness. Because of the gospel of peace, we can stand firm even in the muck of this world, and we also have our shield to extinguish all those attacks of the enemy of our soul. Now we can be assured that as we place the helmet of salvation upon our head, we can also be confident our mind is protected. We know that our mouth speaks from what is in our heart, but our mind controls our heart, so to speak. Our thought life can be hidden from all examination, except not from God. He knows our thoughts, and so He has provided a helmet of salvation to protect our minds, and to keep our thoughts focused on the importance of our salvation, which of course is Jesus Christ. He is our salvation, as he redeemed us with this blood. It is interesting how our minds can wander through so many things in this world. Although we are told not to be anxious, and not to worry about tomorrow, if we consider the birds of the air, who do not sow or reap or store away in barns and the lilies of the field dressed even finer that Solomon in all his glory, we can be confident that God will provide for us. Our life is more than clothes, houses, cars, and all those other material things, as well as the array of other worldly areas, like our jobs, sports, hobbies, entertainment, and any other leisure time activities we can get distracted by. Then we have all those attitudes of jealousy, envy, pride, disappointment, discontentment, resentment, unforgiveness, and so many other thoughts that can destroy us from within. We would think that we can guard our thoughts against anything that detracts from thinking about God, but if we are honest, we know our thoughts wander off the beaten path all too often, but we do live in the world and must engage in the normal everyday life which requires some thinking. But it is because of those evil thoughts, God has provided the helmet of salvation, to guard our minds. But we also know because of this helmet that our salvation is secure in Jesus. Let us make sure we are completely dressed in all the armor of God.