Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Breastplate of Righteousness

"Stand therefore having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness."--- Ephesians 6:14


Why do I need to put on the Breastplate of Righteousness? If I have my shield of faith aren't I protected? People will think I'm self-righteous if I put this one on. Aren't Christians supposed to be humble?

I need righteousness to fight evil. It is not of my own self. Christ gives me his righteousness so that I am ready for the battle. When I accept and obey I am better equipped to battle in the spiritual realm. When I obey the commandments of God - To love God with all my heart, mind and soul and to love my neighbor as myself - I am better equipped to serve God on this earth.

To put this breastplate on does not mean that I have become sinless. To know that Christ is giving me his righteousness does not mean God turns a blind eye to my sin. It does not mean I can go my own way and continue in sin. God will gently chastise his children. When I wear the breastplate of righteousness I am open to God's chastisement and gentle leading. It is not self. It is Christ.

Righteousness is a goal we as Christians attempt to achieve. I think perhaps that we need to accept and put on righteousness every day.

Our responsibilities
To love God - that's the easy part
with all of my mind - that means to know Him, read His Word every day

with all of my heart - pray, communicate, allow Him to reach into the depths of my heart and allow myself to respond to Him from my heart

with all of my soul - this is when you find that you are obeying His commandments without rebellion, this is when you find that you thirst for His Word, this is when you realize that you communicate with Him continually

love my neighbor as myself - generally we all love ourselves, this is not wrong, we were made to care for ourselves. The key here is to love our neighbor the same as we love ourselves. Take that self-preservation and apply it to others. Put others first.

God loves us so much. He will take each of us right where we are and give us His righteousness to protect us in the battle.

The breastplate protects the heart. When we obey God's commandments the breastplate protects our hearts. How much more can we love God and our neighbors when our own hearts are protected? This is an amazing part of the armor. Don't forget to put it on today.

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Helmet of Salvation

How important is the Helmet of Salvation? Can't I get along in life with just faith?

What? Faith in What? The helmet of salvation is a very important part of the armor of God. Without salvation what is the point?

Think a moment about what part of your body is protected by an helmet. It's your mind! Your mind is protected by the Salvation that God provides through His Son. When someone claims to be a Christian but does not see the need to be saved they are only fooling themselves. They have been deceived.

You cannot be a Christian because your mom or dad or grandparent are Christians. You don't inherit your Christianity from your ancestors. You are not a Christian just because you do good things or because you are a nice person. You must be saved.

It is really quite simple. You realize that everyone has sinned against God. We cannot be perfect on our own. We need help.

God provided a way for us. He sent His only Son down to earth in the form of a man. Actually he started out as a baby. All we have to do is believe and accept the free gift.

The helmet of Salvation is simple. Believe and accept the Jesus is God's son and that he died for your sins. That's it. That's all. Simple.

Now the rest of the armor helps you grow in Christ and live in this fallen world but the helmet is simple. Now put that helmet on if it's not already on... If you need help ask someone who you trust and already has their helmet on.

Monday, March 1, 2010

Shield of Faith

How many times have you heard about the shield of faith that quenches the fiery darts of the evil one? Do you ever wonder why those fiery darts still seem to get past the shield and get you?

How big is your shield? In the time this was written the shields were large, very very large. They were made of wood with wet animal hides stretched over them. The shield was so large that the warrior was completely shielded. Is your shield large enough to completely hide behind it?

Are you stepping behind the shield? It won't do you any good to stand next to it or peek out. Are your hands securely holding it up? The enemy can shoot a whole lot of flaming arrows at one time and if you just lean against your shield it could fall over. You must hold onto it firmly.

Are you wearing the rest of the armor of God? You need the entire armor to be ready for battle against the enemy. This is a spiritual battle.

What is your faith based on? It must be based on the Word of God. The devil loves it when we discount God's word or doubt that what He says is absolute truth. The devil likes to confuse and twist truths until they are no longer truths but lies. He wants us to be confused and give up. There is no source of absolute truth other than God's Word. Your faith must have a solid foundation or it is just like the smoke from a fire, turning and drifting whichever way the breeze blows.

Let's get practical.
What do I need to do about this shield of faith?

I need to stay grounded in God's Word. Every day I need to be reading and meditating in the Bible. Meditating means thinking about it.

I need to check my own thoughts and motives against God's Word. Why am I doing what I am doing? Am I using my own intellect exclusively to reason my way through life? I am checking my conclusions with God's entire infallible Word to see if they line up?

I must remember that God cannot lie. He says I have a shield that will quench the fiery darts of the enemy. He also tells me that I have to pick it up and use it. It won't do me any good to leave it at home. I can't use another person's shield to protect me. I am responsible for the maintenance of my own shield. I am responsible to hold it up and stand firmly behind it.

Don't start looking around at other people's shields. Maybe their shield looks bigger or thicker than yours and you start to doubt if your shield can handle those fiery darts. Maybe they have bigger darts or more attacks coming. God says to pick up and use YOUR shield of faith. Jesus said that if you have the faith of a mustard seed you can move a mountain. Your shield is sufficient for you.

What do you think the soldiers in the battlefield did if they did get hit? Did they drop their shields and run away? I don't think so. I think they hunkered down behind their shield even more tightly and held on till someone came to help them. It happens.

We are not perfect and sometimes we get hit. We can learn from the hit. Don't drop your shield and run when the pain from a fiery dart hits you. Learn from it. Examine yourself for sin. Was there pride? Were you relying on God fully?

Don't allow the enemy to win or get you down. Get up the best you can and hunker down behind that shield and hold firm. Stand your ground. I can tell you that God didn't want you to get hit. He does not want to see you his precious child in pain. He will be there with you and for you. Ask for help while you heal. Learn to maintain your shield better. Find out what happened and use it to do better the next time.

There will be a next time. It's OK. Satan will continue to attack those whom the Lord loves and who obey His commandments. This is life on this fallen planet. You are the Lord's beloved and He will never leave you.

It's really pretty simple. Love God with all your heart, mind and soul. Put on that armor. Know that you are God's beloved child. Do it again tomorrow.

Privilege

Note I wrote this years ago but am only now brave enough to post it. I have taken time to examine my own attitudes and to listen to people o...