DEVOTION
EPHESIANS
ON ALL OCCASIONS
Eph 6:18
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
So I come down to the real weapon I have against the enemy of my soul. I get all dressed up and have all the armor in place, got my sword and I am ready to stand my ground and do battle with Satan. I have all of God’s armor and power at my disposal in order I may do be captured, maimed, or even killed by Satan. But I must always keep in mind it is God’s armor and power which protects me. That is why I should pray in the Spirit in all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. This keeps my focused on who is my shield, who is my rock and my provider and the defender of my soul. When I lose sight of this, when I get catch up in the course of just living my life, doing my thing, I may not always remember to pray in the Spirit on all occasions and is that when I feel those temptations more intensely? I think so. Sometimes I wonder if I am just plain stupid or so self involved I forget to pray in the Spirit. I know better and yet I fail at even the simplest things. Prayer is so easy and so simple and so needed if I am going to survive. Sure, I do pray, but I do not think I pray on all occasions enough and especially with all kinds of prayers and requests. Do I think God won’t answer? Not hardly! This I know for a fact, he has done so much already in answer to my prayers. So why do I forget? Why do I just not remember? I am always aware of him, I am always thanking him for such a great day like yesterday out on the golf course, I was talking to him, thanking him for allowing me to enjoy such wonderful weather, sunshine and straight shoots, but I was not asking, no requests, no prayers of all kinds. Yet, maybe I was still in prayer in the Spirit. Maybe I was just listening for his voice, rather than bombarding him with requests. Maybe being thankful is prayer also. When I contemplate over this, I do think I spent the majority of my prayer time in thanksgiving and reserve those requests when emergencies arise. That may not be the best thing here because I still could be open to attacks although I have the armor but am missing the requests part. Perhaps I need to be always asking for his protection. I should be seeking his power and might to the fullest extent, because even fully armed I am still weak without his mighty power at work on my behalf. Yep, that is it in a nutshell; I will make this portion of his armor my top priority. I will on all occasions!
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Monday, November 29, 2010
Stick It To Him
DEVOTION
EPHESIANS
STICK IT TO HIM
Eph 6:17-18
17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
NIV
After I have placed all of God’s armor on myself which of course protects the front of me, because I am taking my stand, holding my ground, not retreating giving the devil my backside to stick those flaming arrows into, I finally get the sword. While actually I got all of them at the same time, but I can only deal with one at a time, what am I thinking? So anyway I now have the sword which is the word of God. I immediately think of Jesus using the word to defeat Satan in the desert during his forty days. Of course, Jesus was the Word made flesh, he knew every word which God the Father had every spoken to every man in all of history. Yet at the present time of his temptation by Satan, he was a man too and thus capable of yielded to those temptations. Now I am sure Jesus had all the armor on being protected, but here he used that sword to beat on Satan and chase him away. How can I do this unless I have the word hidden in my heart? I know God tells me the Spirit will teach me what to say when I have to defend myself against attacks from rulers and authorities and this is the case, as my battle is not against the rulers of this earth but rulers and authorities in heavenly realms. So I do have the sword of the Spirit, he who will teach me what to say when Satan comes tempting. Yet I believe he will teach me what to say from the Word which is hidden in my heart. If I have read all the word from front to back then it is in my memory somewhere and the Spirit can teach me which words to use when according to the type of attack. Jesus used different words for each attack and thus I think I am in need of that same type of defense and offense against such a foe. If I am to win the battle I must stick it to him!
EPHESIANS
STICK IT TO HIM
Eph 6:17-18
17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
NIV
After I have placed all of God’s armor on myself which of course protects the front of me, because I am taking my stand, holding my ground, not retreating giving the devil my backside to stick those flaming arrows into, I finally get the sword. While actually I got all of them at the same time, but I can only deal with one at a time, what am I thinking? So anyway I now have the sword which is the word of God. I immediately think of Jesus using the word to defeat Satan in the desert during his forty days. Of course, Jesus was the Word made flesh, he knew every word which God the Father had every spoken to every man in all of history. Yet at the present time of his temptation by Satan, he was a man too and thus capable of yielded to those temptations. Now I am sure Jesus had all the armor on being protected, but here he used that sword to beat on Satan and chase him away. How can I do this unless I have the word hidden in my heart? I know God tells me the Spirit will teach me what to say when I have to defend myself against attacks from rulers and authorities and this is the case, as my battle is not against the rulers of this earth but rulers and authorities in heavenly realms. So I do have the sword of the Spirit, he who will teach me what to say when Satan comes tempting. Yet I believe he will teach me what to say from the Word which is hidden in my heart. If I have read all the word from front to back then it is in my memory somewhere and the Spirit can teach me which words to use when according to the type of attack. Jesus used different words for each attack and thus I think I am in need of that same type of defense and offense against such a foe. If I am to win the battle I must stick it to him!
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Thinking Faith
DEVOTION
EPHESIANS
THINKING FAITH
Eph 6:17
17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
NIV
I have heard it said that Christianity is a heart issue, but I think here it is clear Christianity is a thinking man’s faith. Why else would I need a helmet other than to protect my head, my mind, and my thoughts? Certainly God’s helmet has that purpose. He desired this helmet so the enemy of my soul could not bash my head in. Now I would suppose this helmet serves to protect my understanding from getting away from me. That is I have clarity of thought regarding my position in Christ. I have a full understanding of my place in the body of Christ and the forgiveness of my sin through the blood of Christ. This helmet gets my understanding from being darkened by the Satan with thoughts of my own abilities. He would have me to believe I am not in need of that blood or of the cross. I also believe this helmet protects my judgment from being confused by any of those temptations Satan hurls my way. If I am not careful and forget to place this helmet upon my head, I may not be able to tell something is a temptation for I do believe they can come in such a disguised manner it could slip past my judgment. They could get me thinking, “Well this isn’t really sin” or “God doesn’t really care about this or that thing”. My judgment could be clouded, or I should say has been clouded at times, I must have forgotten my helmet. Then there are those subtle arguments of the sophisticated ungodly. Some of them can twist the Word of God is such ways it might make some sense if I were not wearing my helmet. I have a fairly simple mind, and am I not extremely smart. I certainly lack skillful debating abilities. So, if I cannot rely on God’s helmet I am in deep trouble. But I am so thankful for what God have provided for my protection. I would have already been dead upon the battlefield of life if it were not for his armor. Maybe David did not need Saul’s armor, but I certainly need God’s. But then perhaps it was David’s faith which was God’s armor no one could see and that which fit David perfectly. And this armor of God is all about God not about me. It is his armor, his protection, his provision, his power and greatness to keep me safe from harm and of being destroyed by the evil one. But it does require my faith. I have to believe it is there for me. I must believe God has given it to me. Although it cannot be seen, it fits me perfectly. This helmet is so comfortable and so useful in protecting my thinking, my faith.
EPHESIANS
THINKING FAITH
Eph 6:17
17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
NIV
I have heard it said that Christianity is a heart issue, but I think here it is clear Christianity is a thinking man’s faith. Why else would I need a helmet other than to protect my head, my mind, and my thoughts? Certainly God’s helmet has that purpose. He desired this helmet so the enemy of my soul could not bash my head in. Now I would suppose this helmet serves to protect my understanding from getting away from me. That is I have clarity of thought regarding my position in Christ. I have a full understanding of my place in the body of Christ and the forgiveness of my sin through the blood of Christ. This helmet gets my understanding from being darkened by the Satan with thoughts of my own abilities. He would have me to believe I am not in need of that blood or of the cross. I also believe this helmet protects my judgment from being confused by any of those temptations Satan hurls my way. If I am not careful and forget to place this helmet upon my head, I may not be able to tell something is a temptation for I do believe they can come in such a disguised manner it could slip past my judgment. They could get me thinking, “Well this isn’t really sin” or “God doesn’t really care about this or that thing”. My judgment could be clouded, or I should say has been clouded at times, I must have forgotten my helmet. Then there are those subtle arguments of the sophisticated ungodly. Some of them can twist the Word of God is such ways it might make some sense if I were not wearing my helmet. I have a fairly simple mind, and am I not extremely smart. I certainly lack skillful debating abilities. So, if I cannot rely on God’s helmet I am in deep trouble. But I am so thankful for what God have provided for my protection. I would have already been dead upon the battlefield of life if it were not for his armor. Maybe David did not need Saul’s armor, but I certainly need God’s. But then perhaps it was David’s faith which was God’s armor no one could see and that which fit David perfectly. And this armor of God is all about God not about me. It is his armor, his protection, his provision, his power and greatness to keep me safe from harm and of being destroyed by the evil one. But it does require my faith. I have to believe it is there for me. I must believe God has given it to me. Although it cannot be seen, it fits me perfectly. This helmet is so comfortable and so useful in protecting my thinking, my faith.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Powerful Weapon
DEVOTION
EPHESIANS
POWERFUL WEAPON
Eph 6:16
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.
NIV
In addition, ok I have got a lot already but here is something which really does a great job of not only protecting me from the schemes of the devil, but also actually puts out his attacks. This shield of faith extinguishes all, not some, not just a few, but all the flaming arrows of the evil one. The thing is I have to carry this shield around with me all the time; I can’t leave it behind, or simply drag it behind me. I have to have it in position guarding my inner being at every moment of every day. Satan never stops, never rests in his assault on my being, my soul. He is determined to destroy me. If I let my guard down, if I step out from behind my shield, splat an arrow, a flaming arrow hits it mark. God has made this shield of faith for me so I do not have to go up in flames. But I also know if I stand out in the battlefield all alone, the devil might be able to outflank me. I would have to be continually spinning around in order to stand my ground. I would be always anxious about which direction is he shooting from now. But, I think I am supposed to rely on some of my fellow believers with their shields of faith to stand side by side with me and me with them to form a wall of defense, a circle of defense so together we can move forward in our march on evil, and in our defense from his attacks. Now I know this is not about playing church. I know there is more than that, in fact church seems so shallow and hollow most of the time. I feel most of my fellow believers aren’t really standing at my side with their shields nor for that matter am I for them. No, I think God intended a deeper relationship to exist between believers. If I am going to trust my flank to another, or they to me, something far more then church has to exist between us. How? I am perplexed about this. Yet until I am able to solve this with the help of the Holy Spirit, I must, I will stand my ground, I will acknowledge the truth about myself, I will wear his breastplate, I will not be a man of bias, I will march on with my feet protected and I will hold his shield high guarding myself from those attacks. Faith is a powerful weapon.
EPHESIANS
POWERFUL WEAPON
Eph 6:16
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.
NIV
In addition, ok I have got a lot already but here is something which really does a great job of not only protecting me from the schemes of the devil, but also actually puts out his attacks. This shield of faith extinguishes all, not some, not just a few, but all the flaming arrows of the evil one. The thing is I have to carry this shield around with me all the time; I can’t leave it behind, or simply drag it behind me. I have to have it in position guarding my inner being at every moment of every day. Satan never stops, never rests in his assault on my being, my soul. He is determined to destroy me. If I let my guard down, if I step out from behind my shield, splat an arrow, a flaming arrow hits it mark. God has made this shield of faith for me so I do not have to go up in flames. But I also know if I stand out in the battlefield all alone, the devil might be able to outflank me. I would have to be continually spinning around in order to stand my ground. I would be always anxious about which direction is he shooting from now. But, I think I am supposed to rely on some of my fellow believers with their shields of faith to stand side by side with me and me with them to form a wall of defense, a circle of defense so together we can move forward in our march on evil, and in our defense from his attacks. Now I know this is not about playing church. I know there is more than that, in fact church seems so shallow and hollow most of the time. I feel most of my fellow believers aren’t really standing at my side with their shields nor for that matter am I for them. No, I think God intended a deeper relationship to exist between believers. If I am going to trust my flank to another, or they to me, something far more then church has to exist between us. How? I am perplexed about this. Yet until I am able to solve this with the help of the Holy Spirit, I must, I will stand my ground, I will acknowledge the truth about myself, I will wear his breastplate, I will not be a man of bias, I will march on with my feet protected and I will hold his shield high guarding myself from those attacks. Faith is a powerful weapon.
Friday, November 26, 2010
Beautiful Feet
DEVOTION
EPHESIANS
BEAUTIFUL FEET
Eph 6:14-16
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. NIV
So after seeing the truth about myself and God and having him protecting my heart, and my being without bias, I now have to get my footgear on. I know how important the feet of a warrior are. If my feet get hurt, how can I take my stand? If my feet are injured how can I advance on the enemy? I need to stand on solid ground with my feet protected my in the same way those Roman soldiers were, with footgear having metal plates covering the top of the foot and up the shins. It would seem as though my feet would be the part God’s armor was designed for to be able to stand my ground against the devil and his schemes. But I think there may be more here than meets the eye. I am to have a sense of readiness which comes from the gospel of peace. I am seeing something here which causes me to pause and contemplate the idea of not getting rattled by all the attacks and schemes of that powerless enemy of my soul. I have the Gospel, the Gospel of peace:
Phil 4:7
7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding , will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. NIV
It appears it also guards my feet and I do not have to get anxious about these attacks because I can be still and know that he is God. Now should I also be marching out proclaiming the gospel with my feet? Should I be moving forward in my journey with my God? Should I be going onward Christian soldier marching on to war? Absolutely! I cannot get anyway in my walk with Christ if my feet are not protected and ready to stand firm, not giving the enemy a foothold, and in fact advancing the cause of Christ. Taking back ground already gained by the enemy. Taking back ground in my own life, where I may have slipped some form of sin, but also taking back ground in the life’s of others by proclaiming the truth of the Gospel.
Isa 52:7 How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!"
EPHESIANS
BEAUTIFUL FEET
Eph 6:14-16
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. NIV
So after seeing the truth about myself and God and having him protecting my heart, and my being without bias, I now have to get my footgear on. I know how important the feet of a warrior are. If my feet get hurt, how can I take my stand? If my feet are injured how can I advance on the enemy? I need to stand on solid ground with my feet protected my in the same way those Roman soldiers were, with footgear having metal plates covering the top of the foot and up the shins. It would seem as though my feet would be the part God’s armor was designed for to be able to stand my ground against the devil and his schemes. But I think there may be more here than meets the eye. I am to have a sense of readiness which comes from the gospel of peace. I am seeing something here which causes me to pause and contemplate the idea of not getting rattled by all the attacks and schemes of that powerless enemy of my soul. I have the Gospel, the Gospel of peace:
Phil 4:7
7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding , will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. NIV
It appears it also guards my feet and I do not have to get anxious about these attacks because I can be still and know that he is God. Now should I also be marching out proclaiming the gospel with my feet? Should I be moving forward in my journey with my God? Should I be going onward Christian soldier marching on to war? Absolutely! I cannot get anyway in my walk with Christ if my feet are not protected and ready to stand firm, not giving the enemy a foothold, and in fact advancing the cause of Christ. Taking back ground already gained by the enemy. Taking back ground in my own life, where I may have slipped some form of sin, but also taking back ground in the life’s of others by proclaiming the truth of the Gospel.
Isa 52:7 How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!"
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Equity
DEVOTION
EPHESIANS
EQUITY
Eph 6:14-16
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.
NIV
So now after being truthful with myself and with God, I have been given, as part of his protective armor, a breastplate of righteousness. I do think it is interesting in that the Greek word used here has a twofold meaning. I wonder if God desires for this breastplate to be applied to my character or my position. This word means in the human sense equity of character having a freedom from bias or favoritism. Or does he mean I am justified, that his breastplate of righteousness is my justification. I can’t help but think it is the first meaning in the sense the devil would like nothing more than for me to be a bias person with favoritism for some, or prejudices against others. This would be one of his schemes, his attacks against my very being. For me to act in a different manner toward some people, to treat some people better then I treat others. To even treat myself better then I treat others would be in a certain sense having bias. It definitely would not be righteous or have anything to do with righteousness. No, the more I contemplate this, the more I am convinced it is all about having an equitable character free from bias. It is his character and Satan cannot win over God, thus God has provided me with the protection over my heart against those attacks. God has given me his protection, his righteousness, his equity of character, his freedom from bias as my breastplate. But I must put it on, I must desire to have my heart protected and my inner being free from bias as well. I cannot take his breastplate and then go on treating some, treating myself, showing favoritism to one, or me over another. I must see each person as God does. I must treat each person as God does. I cannot allow my prejudices to override my actions, although I am afraid there are times when they do. How can this be, if I am wearing his breastplate? Maybe I simply take it off or forget to get dressed in the morning. Maybe I should post all the armor I am suppose to put on over my mirror I shave in, then I can remember. But maybe I want to forget, maybe I like have prejudices. Maybe they make me feel better than others, but that is wrong, wrong, wrong! No, I must not think more highly of myself then I ought to. I must wear all the armor, every last bit of it. I want to, I need to.
EPHESIANS
EQUITY
Eph 6:14-16
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.
NIV
So now after being truthful with myself and with God, I have been given, as part of his protective armor, a breastplate of righteousness. I do think it is interesting in that the Greek word used here has a twofold meaning. I wonder if God desires for this breastplate to be applied to my character or my position. This word means in the human sense equity of character having a freedom from bias or favoritism. Or does he mean I am justified, that his breastplate of righteousness is my justification. I can’t help but think it is the first meaning in the sense the devil would like nothing more than for me to be a bias person with favoritism for some, or prejudices against others. This would be one of his schemes, his attacks against my very being. For me to act in a different manner toward some people, to treat some people better then I treat others. To even treat myself better then I treat others would be in a certain sense having bias. It definitely would not be righteous or have anything to do with righteousness. No, the more I contemplate this, the more I am convinced it is all about having an equitable character free from bias. It is his character and Satan cannot win over God, thus God has provided me with the protection over my heart against those attacks. God has given me his protection, his righteousness, his equity of character, his freedom from bias as my breastplate. But I must put it on, I must desire to have my heart protected and my inner being free from bias as well. I cannot take his breastplate and then go on treating some, treating myself, showing favoritism to one, or me over another. I must see each person as God does. I must treat each person as God does. I cannot allow my prejudices to override my actions, although I am afraid there are times when they do. How can this be, if I am wearing his breastplate? Maybe I simply take it off or forget to get dressed in the morning. Maybe I should post all the armor I am suppose to put on over my mirror I shave in, then I can remember. But maybe I want to forget, maybe I like have prejudices. Maybe they make me feel better than others, but that is wrong, wrong, wrong! No, I must not think more highly of myself then I ought to. I must wear all the armor, every last bit of it. I want to, I need to.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
The Truth, Nothing But The Truth
DEVOTION
EPHESIANS
THE TRUTH, NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH
Eph 6:13-16
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.
NIV
So here I am, finally at the armor of God. But first I am instructed one more time to stand firm then. I needed to take my stand, stand my ground, do everything I can, and then stand, and now just one more time I am told to stand firm. I wonder if God is trying to tell me something. That is an inside joke, I jest with myself, I know without any hesitation at all, he is absolutely wanting me to not give way to the enemy of my soul. And the first thing I need to do this is to be completely honest with myself. If I am to wear the belt of truth buckled around my waist, than the truth has to start with me. I cannot allow myself to be lulled into a false sense of righteousness. I cannot for one moment think I have any good in my own being. I have to accept the truth about myself. My heart is deceitfully wicked. There I have said it; no God has said it and I have to admit it. If left to my own ways I would not be able to enter the Kingdom of God. But thanks to him I do not have to be left to my own ways. I can buckle up that belt of truth around me and in doing so know that I need Jesus Christ not only as my Lord and Savior but also as my righteousness. I know the truth about me, and about him. I know he is my only way to the kingdom of God. It would look funny of I wore the bible buckled around my waist, but in a sense that is exactly what I am doing. It is the only truth, the absolute truth, the whole truth, the complete truth which exposes all lies, starting with my own and including all others every spoken by men. It even exposes those words men claim their gods said. I know it sounds really bold and maybe some might think unkind for me to say I have the one true and real truth, but it is not, it the most humble and kindest thing I can say, in hopes others may find the peace and joy within knowing this truth, being able to buckle it up around their waist as well. Then they will be able to see the schemes of the devil for what they actually are, not being deceived by them and therefore missing out on the ability to enter the Kingdom of God. Thank you Father for giving me your truth.
EPHESIANS
THE TRUTH, NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH
Eph 6:13-16
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.
NIV
So here I am, finally at the armor of God. But first I am instructed one more time to stand firm then. I needed to take my stand, stand my ground, do everything I can, and then stand, and now just one more time I am told to stand firm. I wonder if God is trying to tell me something. That is an inside joke, I jest with myself, I know without any hesitation at all, he is absolutely wanting me to not give way to the enemy of my soul. And the first thing I need to do this is to be completely honest with myself. If I am to wear the belt of truth buckled around my waist, than the truth has to start with me. I cannot allow myself to be lulled into a false sense of righteousness. I cannot for one moment think I have any good in my own being. I have to accept the truth about myself. My heart is deceitfully wicked. There I have said it; no God has said it and I have to admit it. If left to my own ways I would not be able to enter the Kingdom of God. But thanks to him I do not have to be left to my own ways. I can buckle up that belt of truth around me and in doing so know that I need Jesus Christ not only as my Lord and Savior but also as my righteousness. I know the truth about me, and about him. I know he is my only way to the kingdom of God. It would look funny of I wore the bible buckled around my waist, but in a sense that is exactly what I am doing. It is the only truth, the absolute truth, the whole truth, the complete truth which exposes all lies, starting with my own and including all others every spoken by men. It even exposes those words men claim their gods said. I know it sounds really bold and maybe some might think unkind for me to say I have the one true and real truth, but it is not, it the most humble and kindest thing I can say, in hopes others may find the peace and joy within knowing this truth, being able to buckle it up around their waist as well. Then they will be able to see the schemes of the devil for what they actually are, not being deceived by them and therefore missing out on the ability to enter the Kingdom of God. Thank you Father for giving me your truth.
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