I encourage you to keep reading Acts in the coming days. I encourage you to keep praying. But after today definitely re-regulate your diet to something more sustainable before we head down! I will continue to try to post on here, but it probably won’t be everyday! Too much to do!
Today I wanted to focus on the ARMOR OF GOD! Now more than ever we need to suit of armor up and get ready for battle!
Ephesians 6:10-18
Christian Warfare
10 Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by His vast strength. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the tactics[a] of the Devil. 12 For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens. 13 This is why you must take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand. 14 Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest, 15 and your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace.[b] 16 In every situation take the shield of faith, and with it you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is God’s word. 18 Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert in this with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints.
[a] Ephesians 6:11 Or schemes, or tricks
[b] Ephesians 6:15 Ready to go tell others about the gospel
The funny thing is, I felt led to do the Armor of God devotional, and hadn’t even read that passage recently. Reading it I understood the importance of it in preparation for a trip like this! If you aren’t going on the trip, pray that we are all able to put on each piece, and just cover us in prayer while we are gone! I think this is important on an everyday basis here too!
As the passage starts, the Lord’s strength is VAST! Pray for His strength in each one of our team members. If we rely on our own strength, then we might not even make it past the Mexican border on Wednesday! In preparing for this trip, the image that keeps coming to my mind is that of a wrecking ball. Not against the physical, the flesh and the blood, but against the powers of darkness. I think we will be tearing down the strongholds the devil has spent so long building. In fasting this week, I felt like we were just winding that wrecking ball up a little higher, increasing the momentum we will bring with us, and we will destroy anything that gets in our way.
As you pack and prepare- don’t forget to bring the full armor of God. Today, make sure your armor is in good shape and ready for battle!
Do you have your belt of truth? What does the belt do? It keeps everything in place. We must be rooted in the truth of the Gospel. I would argue the importance of a strong grasp of biblical doctrine when it comes to this particular article of armor. If the sword is the word of God, then the sword rests on the belt, and is ready at a moments notice.
Do you have your chestplate of righteousness? Think of this like a bullet proof vest in the modern day. Your righteousness will protect you from anything that gets past the shield. But wait- we don’t have righteousness of our own, but we have the righteousness as described in 2 Corinthians 5:21- God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. One interesting thing about the old school breastplates is that most warriors had very little armor on their backs. These were the true warriors that were not running from the battle, but facing it head on! James 4:7 says we are to resist the devil and he will flee from us! So let’s tackle him head on!
Do you have your shoes of peace and the gospel? Isaiah 52:7 says “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!’” Our goal in traveling to Mexico is to bring nothing but the gospel and the peace that can only be found in Jesus to the people! The devil better hear our footsteps and flee though!
Where is your shield of faith? Doug Batchelor said it well; “The shield was not held loosely in the soldier’s hand, but was firmly strapped to his forearm so he could resist the mighty blows of an enemy’s sword without fear of dropping it. Likewise, Christians cannot afford to have a flimsy faith while in the heat of spiritual battle.” Like we read in the first day’s devotional, sometimes our faith is weak, but God can grant us faith to continue! In 1 Corinthians 12, we see faith listed as a manifestation gift of the Holy Spirit! So when we are weak, the Holy Spirit can give us supernatural faith!
How about your helmet of salvation? The head and the brain are powerful tools we have been given, and we need to protect them, especially from the confusion of the world’s logic! Many would consider that naive, but we know better. We know that it doesn’t make total sense to go to a place like Nuevo Laredo instead of a nicer place somewhere else that may be safer- but we know we go with God. Sometimes faith defies logic, and that is ok. Faith will win out in the end every time, as long as it is rooted in the truth of the Word of God! Human logic would say that you need to work to be worthy of salvation. Human logic would say that you aren’t prepared to go to Mexico- you don’t even know Spanish! God’s promises say that our salvation is not based on our works! It is based solely on what Jesus did for each one of us! His death was more than enough to bring us salvation!
And make sure you pack your sword! Get ready to yield it like never before! All of this prayer, fasting, reading the Bible, all of that is just getting better and better with the sword! Hebrews 4:12 says “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”
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| Mexico on the Left, America on the Right Here we go! |
YES, YES, YES...in God's power and His strength!
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