Belt of Truth

Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth - Ephesians 6:14 NKJV


Truth is having sound doctrine. Satan tells half truths or lies that those who don't have sound doctrine think are true. The purpose of the belt is to hold together the other parts. Heart right, motives have no malice, bitterness. Truth means nothing is hidden. Truth equals honesty.

William Gurnall, a Puritan who lived in the 17th century in England. These points have been rewritten in modern day English.

1. Be sincere in seeking the truth. Approach it with a sincere heart. This will make all the difference - 1 Tim 1:5
2. Receive the ministry of the Word from those God has equipped to serve it. God has given gifts to the body of Christ. A sincere heart will aid you in discerning the truth - Eph 4: 11 - 12
3. Accommodate the whole body of Christ. Don't restrict yourself to the teachings or doctrines of any one particular group or denomination in your quest for the truth. God has not given the totality of His truth to any one particular group. We must discern the body if we are to grow.
4. Beware of curiosity 2 Tim 4:3
   Strange and sometime obviously wrong doctrine will appear. Witchcraft, New Age and all kinds of teachings will be repackaged as Christian doctrine. Don't let curiosity take you beyond the bounds of your hearts warning.
5. Be a humble seeker. Never assume perfection in any doctrine or teaching. Watch out for pride. Pride can make you a stranger to the throne of grace and turn humble praying for the truth into ambitious arguments.
6. Do not be offended at different opinions. It will only allow bitterness and malice to fester.
7. Know the value of truth in your heart. When you find truth embrace it and keep it. Let nothing tear it away from you. More importantly live it.

William Gurnall
The Christian in Complete Armour


OK
What do I do with the above?
Hmm...
Let's take Gurnall's points one at a time.

1. Sincere in seeking truth. This must be where my motives come into it. Sincere in seeking truth. I must seek truth without trying to make it fit into what I want, to hit other people over the head with it, to judge others. I need to seek truth sincerely.

2. I need to keep in mind who is telling me. Do they have an understanding of God's character and ways? Why would I listen to worldly advice and think it is true? Why do we listen to what the world has to say about anything important? OK so if the person is a Christian I can believe them, right? Use some judgment. Is this person living the faith? Is this person in the Word?

It still comes down to your own heart and your own sincerity. God will give you discernment if you are seeking with sincerity.

Hold on a minute. I know a lot of sincere people who are wrong. Yes, that is very true. What is the rule? Always check it out against God's Word.

3. The whole body of Christ. This is not saying all religion or all religious groups. Gurnall is not saying to check out other faiths. He is not saying to accommodate cults. He says the whole body of Christ. Again... the rule? Always check it out against God's Word.

4. Listen to that small voice warning you to stay away or even run the other way. My grandmother was a very Godly woman. Yet in her later years she let curiosity take her away for a while. She dabbled in some new age thinking and started to doubt what she knew was truth. She began to question what was true. But Grandma knew deep down that she should have run the other way. She shared this with me after one of her strokes. She warned me to listen to the warnings the Holy Spirit gives us. It is sometimes just an uneasy feeling. Sometimes it is stronger but often we can ignore it or justify our curiosity and enter into an unwise or unsafe place.

5. Humble. I am not God. I am not God's Son. I am not the Holy Spirit. I don't know it all. I really don't know much at all in the entire scheme of things.
I am a child of God. I am His creation. I am worth much in His eyes. I have the Holy Spirit to guide me.
Keep it in perspective...

6. Don't allow someone else to derail you in your quest for truth. They may be closer to the truth than you. They may be farther from the truth than you. Unless the Holy Spirit tells you to correct someone, let it go. Pray if you really think they are less correct. Allow the Holy Spirit to work in them. Allow God to fight the battle.

7. Know the value of truth in your heart. When you find truth embrace it and keep it. Let nothing tear it away from you. More importantly live it. Very well said.

So make sure that belt is on. It keeps your pants up. What happens to your mind if your pants fall down? It is there to hold your sword. It keeps your hands free to hold your shield.

If you made it through this one I am amazed. I warned you that this is where I share some of the ponderings in my heart... Know that I pray and love all of you.

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.

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.

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.

Joy Comes in the Morning

So when does morning come?

Have you ever been surprised by the depth of a sorrow? I would expect deep sorrow and grief if a person close to me died. I would expect grief to continue if I had lost a child. I would expect sorrow and grief in a time of local disaster. I know that a break in a close friendship causes deep grief. I know that loss can cause deep sorrow.

I have lost special pets before...Snowball, Frisky, Joe. Why is this little one so hard to get over? Was I this sad before? Does the sorrow fade away from the memory? Did I become too attached to a small furry creature this time? Is it because he was so young? Or is it just a snowball effect, one straw too many for the camel?

God promises Joy in the morning. When does morning come?

Does it come each day when the sun rises? Is morning a metaphor for after a period of darkness?

These are the questions that I have pondered in the last few days.
I can tell you with absolute confidence that morning will come.

God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. He cannot lie. His word says joy will come in the morning and joy WILL come in the morning. I know this without doubt. Joy will come...

Better yet while in the darkness of grief and sorrow I have the comfort that only God can provide. He doesn't mind that I am sad right now. He wipes the tears from my heart. He holds me close to him and whispers words of comfort and promise in my ear. He reminds me that everything is His and he gives and takes away. There is purpose in everything we experience. He is God.

I exist because God created me. I live to have a relationship with my creator. My God gave His own Son for me. He gave up His own Son even if just one came to Him. I am not worthy of this great sacrifice however I gratefully and joyfully accept it.

Do I see morning coming? I see the bright glow of the sun beginning to rise in the east. It is coming with colorful rays glowing red and orange in the clouds. You must look to the east to see the morning arrive. If you are still looking to the west you will only see the darkness of night. Look up! Keep your eyes on the Father and He will bring you through your grief and sorrows.

Joy Will Come in the Morning

My Little Spit is Gone

Spit/Henry passed on Monday. He had liver failure. He was not in pain but starting to feel uncomfortable. I was not there. Chuck was the brave husband who took him in when he started to seem to be in pain. The Vet said it was congenital and that orange cats are predisposed to liver disease. He probably was born with this. His under color was always yellow, not the pink you see in most other cats.

I got home yesterday. The house is so quiet without him. Charlie, Peaches and Orion miss him too. It is so strange to walk into the bedroom and no Little Spit. His dishes are gone. His litter box put away. He is buried in the backyard with his collar on. We will miss him. He was the best cat ever.

My Little Spit

 

I am already missing my Little Spit. He has cancer. We have been nursing him for about 2 months now. He is not going to make it. He is only 3. I knew something was not quite right with him since he was a baby kitten but hoped he would be ok. He is the sweetest cat ever. He loves to cuddle and is always there when anyone in the household needs a little extra love. We will miss him so very much.