Randy Green's Blog - Posts Tagged "shield"
Shields and Fire Extinguishers – Part 1
In addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one [Ephesians 6:16].
In my humble opinion, one of the best historical movies of all time has to be Mel Gibson’s “Braveheart”. It doesn’t get any better than this. Gibson is astounding in his portrayal of the Scot William Wallace.
The timeline is the late 1200s A.D. in Scotland. England to the south is ruled by King Edward I. King Eddie marched into Scotland and conquered the land. He proceeded to dole out portions of the real estate to his nobles. That way they were obliged to him and he strengthened his hold on the throne.
A vulgar legal manipulation allowed for the English nobles in Scotland to violate the sanctity of the marriage bed, in direct violation of the Word of God. According to this law, any Scottish lass who got married in a noble’s domain belonged to the ruling noble on her wedding night. The noble was legally entitled to steal her virginity. Her husband was powerless to say no to the sordid ordeal.
Understandably, this didn’t sit too well with the Scottish folk. Some of the Scottish elders met in secret and decided that war with England was unavoidable. William Wallace was but a small boy at the time, so he didn’t participate. His father did though, and he and the entire family paid for it with their lives, William alone excepted.
When he grew up, William returned to his family property. He had been staying with relatives who raised him. At the family farm he met his childhood girlfriend, and soon they married. Alas, but the infamous sordid legal maneuver was set in motion by the reigning noble of the area, who insisted on having William Wallace’s bride for himself on the wedding night.
The village folk sided with William and attacked the noble’s compound. In the end William’s bride was killed and William became the military genius of a marauding guerrilla group of Scottish rebels. Whereas William covered his face with blue coloring and was highly successful against the English troops, he acquired the name “Braveheart”, an epithet endearing to the hearts of his fellow Scots who loved his sacrifice on their behalf.
I was reminded of this movie when I read the Bible verse for today. The warfare of that period employed flaming arrows and shields in the battle strategy. One scene in “Braveheart” had the opposing armies (English vs. Scots) on the open battlefield. The archers were behind the foot soldiers, who formed the vanguard.
To loosen up the opposing army and prepare the way for the foot soldiers, the archers shot their flaming arrows over the heads of the foot soldiers smack dab into the center of the opposing army. As a counter measure against these flaming arrows dropping from the sky onto their heads, the opposing army situated their shields above their heads like umbrellas.
We will continue with the Bible verse in our next study. For now we would be blessed to go to Jesus. He is calling us to come apart with Him for a while. See you on the morrow.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
In my humble opinion, one of the best historical movies of all time has to be Mel Gibson’s “Braveheart”. It doesn’t get any better than this. Gibson is astounding in his portrayal of the Scot William Wallace.
The timeline is the late 1200s A.D. in Scotland. England to the south is ruled by King Edward I. King Eddie marched into Scotland and conquered the land. He proceeded to dole out portions of the real estate to his nobles. That way they were obliged to him and he strengthened his hold on the throne.
A vulgar legal manipulation allowed for the English nobles in Scotland to violate the sanctity of the marriage bed, in direct violation of the Word of God. According to this law, any Scottish lass who got married in a noble’s domain belonged to the ruling noble on her wedding night. The noble was legally entitled to steal her virginity. Her husband was powerless to say no to the sordid ordeal.
Understandably, this didn’t sit too well with the Scottish folk. Some of the Scottish elders met in secret and decided that war with England was unavoidable. William Wallace was but a small boy at the time, so he didn’t participate. His father did though, and he and the entire family paid for it with their lives, William alone excepted.
When he grew up, William returned to his family property. He had been staying with relatives who raised him. At the family farm he met his childhood girlfriend, and soon they married. Alas, but the infamous sordid legal maneuver was set in motion by the reigning noble of the area, who insisted on having William Wallace’s bride for himself on the wedding night.
The village folk sided with William and attacked the noble’s compound. In the end William’s bride was killed and William became the military genius of a marauding guerrilla group of Scottish rebels. Whereas William covered his face with blue coloring and was highly successful against the English troops, he acquired the name “Braveheart”, an epithet endearing to the hearts of his fellow Scots who loved his sacrifice on their behalf.
I was reminded of this movie when I read the Bible verse for today. The warfare of that period employed flaming arrows and shields in the battle strategy. One scene in “Braveheart” had the opposing armies (English vs. Scots) on the open battlefield. The archers were behind the foot soldiers, who formed the vanguard.
To loosen up the opposing army and prepare the way for the foot soldiers, the archers shot their flaming arrows over the heads of the foot soldiers smack dab into the center of the opposing army. As a counter measure against these flaming arrows dropping from the sky onto their heads, the opposing army situated their shields above their heads like umbrellas.
We will continue with the Bible verse in our next study. For now we would be blessed to go to Jesus. He is calling us to come apart with Him for a while. See you on the morrow.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Shields and Fire Extinguishers – Part 2
In addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one [Ephesians 6:16].
In our last study we presented a brief synopsis of the movie “Braveheart”, starring Mel Gibson. We noted how the method of warfare back in the day, circa 1280 A.D., included flaming arrows and shields.
Now if you would, read the Bible verse once more. Does that not remind you of the military skirmish I just depicted from “Braveheart”? So you see why I was reminded of the movie, and why I shared this information with you.
The Apostle Paul employed the imagery of the Roman legionnaire in his armor, as he prepared to defend his beloved city of Rome or to conquer other lands for glory and honor. In doing so Paul followed the approach used throughout Scripture by the Holy Spirit. He employed visible physical realities to teach invisible spiritual truths.
The visible physical realities in Paul’s case were the Roman legionnaire and his pieces of armor. This also included the act of physical warfare. The invisible physical realities included spiritual warfare, and each piece of armor typified an aspect of invisible spiritual truth in conducting spiritual warfare.
We’ve already considered three of the pieces of armor and learned their spiritual counterpart. All of the armor together pointed to the Word of God as the Christian’s defense against the wiles of the devil. We cannot withstand the devil’s assaults, much less oppose him by open assault against his forces, apart from the Word of God.
The belt of truth was noted first. The Word of God is truth. It keeps the Christian from stumbling over his own feet. It removes the entanglements which lead us to fall.
The breastplate of righteousness was second. Our hearts can hold up against the devil’s assaults because we don’t stand on the basis of our own righteousness. We stand on the basis of being “the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus”. Satan can never penetrate that piece of armor.
The third piece of armor was known as the shoes of peace. Satan cannot cause us to doubt and faint, once we fasten our hearts and minds onto the fact that we have “peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”. This leads us to enjoy “the peace of God which passes all understanding”. Satan simply loses every time.
Today’s Bible verse furnishes us with the fourth piece of armor for the Christian to put on, before he goes out to conduct spiritual warfare in the service of the Lord Jesus Christ. This piece of armor is “the shield of faith”. We use it “to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one”.
This particular piece of armor is good stuff, dear friends. We will expatiate on it in our next study. Let’s visit the prayer closet at this time and converse with Jesus.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Categories: Church Age
In our last study we presented a brief synopsis of the movie “Braveheart”, starring Mel Gibson. We noted how the method of warfare back in the day, circa 1280 A.D., included flaming arrows and shields.
Now if you would, read the Bible verse once more. Does that not remind you of the military skirmish I just depicted from “Braveheart”? So you see why I was reminded of the movie, and why I shared this information with you.
The Apostle Paul employed the imagery of the Roman legionnaire in his armor, as he prepared to defend his beloved city of Rome or to conquer other lands for glory and honor. In doing so Paul followed the approach used throughout Scripture by the Holy Spirit. He employed visible physical realities to teach invisible spiritual truths.
The visible physical realities in Paul’s case were the Roman legionnaire and his pieces of armor. This also included the act of physical warfare. The invisible physical realities included spiritual warfare, and each piece of armor typified an aspect of invisible spiritual truth in conducting spiritual warfare.
We’ve already considered three of the pieces of armor and learned their spiritual counterpart. All of the armor together pointed to the Word of God as the Christian’s defense against the wiles of the devil. We cannot withstand the devil’s assaults, much less oppose him by open assault against his forces, apart from the Word of God.
The belt of truth was noted first. The Word of God is truth. It keeps the Christian from stumbling over his own feet. It removes the entanglements which lead us to fall.
The breastplate of righteousness was second. Our hearts can hold up against the devil’s assaults because we don’t stand on the basis of our own righteousness. We stand on the basis of being “the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus”. Satan can never penetrate that piece of armor.
The third piece of armor was known as the shoes of peace. Satan cannot cause us to doubt and faint, once we fasten our hearts and minds onto the fact that we have “peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”. This leads us to enjoy “the peace of God which passes all understanding”. Satan simply loses every time.
Today’s Bible verse furnishes us with the fourth piece of armor for the Christian to put on, before he goes out to conduct spiritual warfare in the service of the Lord Jesus Christ. This piece of armor is “the shield of faith”. We use it “to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one”.
This particular piece of armor is good stuff, dear friends. We will expatiate on it in our next study. Let’s visit the prayer closet at this time and converse with Jesus.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Categories: Church Age
Shields and Fire Extinguishers – Part 3
In addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one [Ephesians 6:16].
So there were the English foot soldiers on one end of the battlefield, and the Scots on the other. The calvary flanked the English foot soldiers, while the archers gathered behind them. Suddenly the flaming arrows were released from the bowstrings and the sky took on the appearance of huge fire flies in the night.
Without hesitation the Scots raised their shields above their heads, forming a solid canopy to shield the soldiers from the arrows. The assault of the English archers had been repelled by the shields of war in the hands of the Scot soldiers.
So is it with the Christian in repelling Satan’s assaults. We have this fine piece of armor given us by our Lord. It is called “the shield of faith”, and it functions in a most simplistic manner.
“Faith comes from hearing the Word of Christ” (cf., Romans 10:17). Faith is defined as taking the Lord at His Word and conducting ourselves accordingly. God speaks to the Christian by means of the Bible, as the Holy Spirit interprets it to him.
The Christian receives his marching orders and does what again? Maybe he goes to the movies and ignores his marching orders? Uh, I hope not! Oh, then perhaps he goes to prayer and argues with the Lord about it? That would be a “No!” The child of God responds to his marching orders by OBEYING his marching orders! That is known as faith in marching boots.
Let’s envision this battlefield where the Christian conducts spiritual warfare. On one end is Satan and his minions, on the other the Christian under the banner of the mighty Shekinah cloud of glory.
Satan’s archers are assembled behind his foot soldiers. Satan gives the order to draw the bowstrings. Every dirty demon with a bow responds in unison. Moments pass and Satan shouts, “Shoot!” Again each and every dirty demon lets go of his bowstring, and the flaming arrows fill the sky.
On the other end of the battlefield is the Christian. He stares across the field at all the “giants” in the land, at all the hoards of demon dogs assembled against him. On his end of the field he stands alone, like Elijah on Mt. Carmel against the 850 false prophets of Ahab and Jezebel.
Fortunate it is for this solitary Christian that the Lord is on his side. He need not fear. What can man—or demonic hosts—do to him? He looks up to see countless flames of fire zooming through the sky, making a beeline for his vital parts. There are countless different fires involved. Let’s enumerate some of them, shall we?
1. he had a wrong thought
2. he was less than enthused in serving his Lord
3. he failed to obey one of his Lord’s orders
4. he did something his Lord forbade him to do
5. he lied
6. he cursed
7. he lusted
Well, we could go on interminably, but seven is a good number for Bible purposes. So let us cease at seven types of flaming arrows which the evil one enjoys shooting at soldiers in the Lord’s army.
Not only will we cease at seven flaming arrows, but we will cease this study. The night is coming on. The shadows are lengthening. We must needs pitch our tents and have our quiet time with the Lord, before it gets any later. We will finish this topic in our next study.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
So there were the English foot soldiers on one end of the battlefield, and the Scots on the other. The calvary flanked the English foot soldiers, while the archers gathered behind them. Suddenly the flaming arrows were released from the bowstrings and the sky took on the appearance of huge fire flies in the night.
Without hesitation the Scots raised their shields above their heads, forming a solid canopy to shield the soldiers from the arrows. The assault of the English archers had been repelled by the shields of war in the hands of the Scot soldiers.
So is it with the Christian in repelling Satan’s assaults. We have this fine piece of armor given us by our Lord. It is called “the shield of faith”, and it functions in a most simplistic manner.
“Faith comes from hearing the Word of Christ” (cf., Romans 10:17). Faith is defined as taking the Lord at His Word and conducting ourselves accordingly. God speaks to the Christian by means of the Bible, as the Holy Spirit interprets it to him.
The Christian receives his marching orders and does what again? Maybe he goes to the movies and ignores his marching orders? Uh, I hope not! Oh, then perhaps he goes to prayer and argues with the Lord about it? That would be a “No!” The child of God responds to his marching orders by OBEYING his marching orders! That is known as faith in marching boots.
Let’s envision this battlefield where the Christian conducts spiritual warfare. On one end is Satan and his minions, on the other the Christian under the banner of the mighty Shekinah cloud of glory.
Satan’s archers are assembled behind his foot soldiers. Satan gives the order to draw the bowstrings. Every dirty demon with a bow responds in unison. Moments pass and Satan shouts, “Shoot!” Again each and every dirty demon lets go of his bowstring, and the flaming arrows fill the sky.
On the other end of the battlefield is the Christian. He stares across the field at all the “giants” in the land, at all the hoards of demon dogs assembled against him. On his end of the field he stands alone, like Elijah on Mt. Carmel against the 850 false prophets of Ahab and Jezebel.
Fortunate it is for this solitary Christian that the Lord is on his side. He need not fear. What can man—or demonic hosts—do to him? He looks up to see countless flames of fire zooming through the sky, making a beeline for his vital parts. There are countless different fires involved. Let’s enumerate some of them, shall we?
1. he had a wrong thought
2. he was less than enthused in serving his Lord
3. he failed to obey one of his Lord’s orders
4. he did something his Lord forbade him to do
5. he lied
6. he cursed
7. he lusted
Well, we could go on interminably, but seven is a good number for Bible purposes. So let us cease at seven types of flaming arrows which the evil one enjoys shooting at soldiers in the Lord’s army.
Not only will we cease at seven flaming arrows, but we will cease this study. The night is coming on. The shadows are lengthening. We must needs pitch our tents and have our quiet time with the Lord, before it gets any later. We will finish this topic in our next study.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Shields and Fire Extinguishers – Part 4
In addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one [Ephesians 6:16].
In our last study we enumerated seven examples of Satan’s flaming arrows, each of which gives him such enjoyment to shoot at the Christian soldier on the battlefield of spiritual warfare. If even one of those arrows should find its mark, it could prove critical to the Christian soldier’s spiritual vitality, rendering him useless in his Lord’s service. And on that battlefield the sky is filled with them! Oh, dear. What to do?
Well, that is where the Word of God comes in, dear friends. Remember, every piece of armor points us to some aspect of the Word of God and the Christian’s relationship with God’s Word.
In order to “extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one”, what is it again that the Lord furnishes to the Christian? Is he to panic and cry hysterically? No way. Is he to hightail it outta there in precipitous flight? That would be a no. Ah, now I remember. He is to obey the Word of God.
So, then, what does the Word of God instruct the Christian to do, in order to “extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one”? The answer is…is…is…“take up the shield of faith”. Again, “faith” is defined as believing the Word of God and conducting oneself accordingly. Let’s consider how this works itself out on the battlefield of spiritual warfare.
One flaming arrow accuses the saint of having sinned. Ergo, he’s not really a saint at all. He’s still the same old sinner. The saint’s response of faith to this charge goes something like this:
Yes, the old sinner still exists in me, and he did get the upper hand on that occasion. But I confessed my sin to the Lord Jesus, and He is faithful and just to forgive me my sin and to cleanse me from all unrighteousness. He can do this, Satan, because the blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanses me from all sin. So begone with you, Satan!
We could go through the other six flaming arrows of Satan’s accusations against the saint on that battlefield, and we could enunciate the saint’s answer from the Word of God for each one. But it would be good exercise for each person to do this for himself. The investment of time will earn valuable spiritual returns for us.
With that we will bring this study to a close. In our next study we will continue descanting on spiritual warfare and the next piece of “the full armor of God”. For now let’s sit at the feet of Jesus and ponder “the shield of faith”. It is the fire extinguisher which smothers the flaming arrows of Satan’s assaults, an invaluable weapon in the arsenal of God’s army indeed!
And isn’t that odd…a shield that is a fire extinguisher? Leave it to God to invent such a contraption! But I’m sure glad He did.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
In our last study we enumerated seven examples of Satan’s flaming arrows, each of which gives him such enjoyment to shoot at the Christian soldier on the battlefield of spiritual warfare. If even one of those arrows should find its mark, it could prove critical to the Christian soldier’s spiritual vitality, rendering him useless in his Lord’s service. And on that battlefield the sky is filled with them! Oh, dear. What to do?
Well, that is where the Word of God comes in, dear friends. Remember, every piece of armor points us to some aspect of the Word of God and the Christian’s relationship with God’s Word.
In order to “extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one”, what is it again that the Lord furnishes to the Christian? Is he to panic and cry hysterically? No way. Is he to hightail it outta there in precipitous flight? That would be a no. Ah, now I remember. He is to obey the Word of God.
So, then, what does the Word of God instruct the Christian to do, in order to “extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one”? The answer is…is…is…“take up the shield of faith”. Again, “faith” is defined as believing the Word of God and conducting oneself accordingly. Let’s consider how this works itself out on the battlefield of spiritual warfare.
One flaming arrow accuses the saint of having sinned. Ergo, he’s not really a saint at all. He’s still the same old sinner. The saint’s response of faith to this charge goes something like this:
Yes, the old sinner still exists in me, and he did get the upper hand on that occasion. But I confessed my sin to the Lord Jesus, and He is faithful and just to forgive me my sin and to cleanse me from all unrighteousness. He can do this, Satan, because the blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanses me from all sin. So begone with you, Satan!
We could go through the other six flaming arrows of Satan’s accusations against the saint on that battlefield, and we could enunciate the saint’s answer from the Word of God for each one. But it would be good exercise for each person to do this for himself. The investment of time will earn valuable spiritual returns for us.
With that we will bring this study to a close. In our next study we will continue descanting on spiritual warfare and the next piece of “the full armor of God”. For now let’s sit at the feet of Jesus and ponder “the shield of faith”. It is the fire extinguisher which smothers the flaming arrows of Satan’s assaults, an invaluable weapon in the arsenal of God’s army indeed!
And isn’t that odd…a shield that is a fire extinguisher? Leave it to God to invent such a contraption! But I’m sure glad He did.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Shields and Fire Extinguishers – Part 1
In addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one [Ephesians 6:16].
In my humble opinion, one of the best historical movies of all time has to be Mel Gibson’s “Braveheart”. It doesn’t get any better than this. Gibson is astounding in his portrayal of the Scot, William Wallace.
The timeline is the late 1200s A.D. in Scotland. England to the south is ruled by King Edward I. King Eddie marched into Scotland and conquered the land. He proceeded to dole out portions of the real estate to his nobles. That way they were obliged to him and he strengthened his hold on the throne.
A vulgar legal manipulation allowed for the English nobles in Scotland to violate the sanctity of the marriage bed, in direct violation of the Word of God. According to this law, any Scottish lass who got married in a noble’s domain belonged to the ruling noble on her wedding night. The noble was legally entitled to steal her virginity. Her husband was powerless to say no to the sordid ordeal.
Understandably, this didn’t sit too well with the Scottish folk. Some of the Scottish elders met in secret and decided that war with England was unavoidable. William Wallace was but a small boy at the time, so he didn’t participate. His father did though, and he and the entire family paid for it with their lives, William alone excepted.
When he grew up, William returned to his family property. He had been staying with relatives who raised him. At the family farm he met his childhood girlfriend, and soon they married. Alas, but the infamous sordid legal maneuver was set in motion by the reigning noble of the area, who insisted on having William Wallace’s bride for himself on the wedding night.
The village folk sided with William and attacked the noble’s compound. In the end William’s bride was killed and William became the military genius of a marauding guerrilla group of Scottish rebels. Whereas William covered his face with blue coloring and was highly successful against the English troops, he acquired the name “Braveheart”, an epithet endearing to the hearts of his fellow Scots who loved his sacrifice on their behalf.
I was reminded of this movie when I read the Bible verse for today. The warfare of that period employed flaming arrows and shields in the battle strategy. One scene in “Braveheart” had the opposing armies (English vs. Scots) on the open battlefield. The archers were behind the foot soldiers, who formed the vanguard.
To loosen up the opposing army and prepare the way for the foot soldiers, the archers shot their flaming arrows over the heads of the foot soldiers smack dab into the center of the opposing army. As a counter measure against these flaming arrows dropping from the sky onto their heads, the opposing army situated their shields above their heads like umbrellas.
We will continue with the Bible verse in our next study. For now we would be blessed to go to Jesus. He is calling us to come apart with Him for a while. See you on the morrow.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
In my humble opinion, one of the best historical movies of all time has to be Mel Gibson’s “Braveheart”. It doesn’t get any better than this. Gibson is astounding in his portrayal of the Scot, William Wallace.
The timeline is the late 1200s A.D. in Scotland. England to the south is ruled by King Edward I. King Eddie marched into Scotland and conquered the land. He proceeded to dole out portions of the real estate to his nobles. That way they were obliged to him and he strengthened his hold on the throne.
A vulgar legal manipulation allowed for the English nobles in Scotland to violate the sanctity of the marriage bed, in direct violation of the Word of God. According to this law, any Scottish lass who got married in a noble’s domain belonged to the ruling noble on her wedding night. The noble was legally entitled to steal her virginity. Her husband was powerless to say no to the sordid ordeal.
Understandably, this didn’t sit too well with the Scottish folk. Some of the Scottish elders met in secret and decided that war with England was unavoidable. William Wallace was but a small boy at the time, so he didn’t participate. His father did though, and he and the entire family paid for it with their lives, William alone excepted.
When he grew up, William returned to his family property. He had been staying with relatives who raised him. At the family farm he met his childhood girlfriend, and soon they married. Alas, but the infamous sordid legal maneuver was set in motion by the reigning noble of the area, who insisted on having William Wallace’s bride for himself on the wedding night.
The village folk sided with William and attacked the noble’s compound. In the end William’s bride was killed and William became the military genius of a marauding guerrilla group of Scottish rebels. Whereas William covered his face with blue coloring and was highly successful against the English troops, he acquired the name “Braveheart”, an epithet endearing to the hearts of his fellow Scots who loved his sacrifice on their behalf.
I was reminded of this movie when I read the Bible verse for today. The warfare of that period employed flaming arrows and shields in the battle strategy. One scene in “Braveheart” had the opposing armies (English vs. Scots) on the open battlefield. The archers were behind the foot soldiers, who formed the vanguard.
To loosen up the opposing army and prepare the way for the foot soldiers, the archers shot their flaming arrows over the heads of the foot soldiers smack dab into the center of the opposing army. As a counter measure against these flaming arrows dropping from the sky onto their heads, the opposing army situated their shields above their heads like umbrellas.
We will continue with the Bible verse in our next study. For now we would be blessed to go to Jesus. He is calling us to come apart with Him for a while. See you on the morrow.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Shields and Fire Extinguishers – Part 2
In addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one [Ephesians 6:16].
In our last study we presented a brief synopsis of the movie “Braveheart”, starring Mel Gibson. We noted how the method of warfare back in the day, circa 1280 A.D., included flaming arrows and shields.
Now if you would, read the Bible verse once more. Does that not remind you of the military skirmish I just depicted from “Braveheart”? So you see why I was reminded of the movie, and why I shared this information with you.
The Apostle Paul employed the imagery of the Roman legionnaire in his armor, as he prepared to defend his beloved city of Rome or to conquer other lands for glory and honor. In doing so Paul followed the approach used throughout Scripture by the Holy Spirit. He employed visible physical realities to teach invisible spiritual truths.
The visible physical realities in Paul’s case were the Roman legionnaire and his pieces of armor. This also included the act of physical warfare. The invisible spiritual truth included spiritual warfare, and each piece of armor typified an aspect of invisible spiritual truth in conducting spiritual warfare.
We’ve already considered three of the pieces of armor and learned their spiritual counterpart. All of the armor together pointed to the Word of God as the Christian’s defense against the wiles of the devil. We cannot withstand the devil’s assaults, much less oppose him by open assault against his forces, apart from the Word of God.
The belt of truth was noted first. The Word of God is truth. It keeps the Christian from stumbling over his own feet. It removes the entanglements which lead us to fall.
The breastplate of righteousness was second. Our hearts can hold up against the devil’s assaults because we don’t stand on the basis of our own righteousness. We stand on the basis of being “the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus”. Satan can never penetrate that piece of armor.
The third piece of armor was known as the shoes of peace. Satan cannot cause us to doubt and faint, once we fasten our hearts and minds onto the fact that we have “peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”. This leads us to enjoy “the peace of God which passes all understanding”. Satan simply loses every time.
Today’s Bible verse furnishes us with the fourth piece of armor for the Christian to don, before he goes out to conduct spiritual warfare in the service of the Lord Jesus Christ. This piece of armor is “the shield of faith”. We use it “to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one”.
This particular piece of armor is good stuff, dear friends. We will expatiate on it in our next study. Let’s visit the prayer closet at this time and converse with Jesus.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Categories: Church Age
In our last study we presented a brief synopsis of the movie “Braveheart”, starring Mel Gibson. We noted how the method of warfare back in the day, circa 1280 A.D., included flaming arrows and shields.
Now if you would, read the Bible verse once more. Does that not remind you of the military skirmish I just depicted from “Braveheart”? So you see why I was reminded of the movie, and why I shared this information with you.
The Apostle Paul employed the imagery of the Roman legionnaire in his armor, as he prepared to defend his beloved city of Rome or to conquer other lands for glory and honor. In doing so Paul followed the approach used throughout Scripture by the Holy Spirit. He employed visible physical realities to teach invisible spiritual truths.
The visible physical realities in Paul’s case were the Roman legionnaire and his pieces of armor. This also included the act of physical warfare. The invisible spiritual truth included spiritual warfare, and each piece of armor typified an aspect of invisible spiritual truth in conducting spiritual warfare.
We’ve already considered three of the pieces of armor and learned their spiritual counterpart. All of the armor together pointed to the Word of God as the Christian’s defense against the wiles of the devil. We cannot withstand the devil’s assaults, much less oppose him by open assault against his forces, apart from the Word of God.
The belt of truth was noted first. The Word of God is truth. It keeps the Christian from stumbling over his own feet. It removes the entanglements which lead us to fall.
The breastplate of righteousness was second. Our hearts can hold up against the devil’s assaults because we don’t stand on the basis of our own righteousness. We stand on the basis of being “the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus”. Satan can never penetrate that piece of armor.
The third piece of armor was known as the shoes of peace. Satan cannot cause us to doubt and faint, once we fasten our hearts and minds onto the fact that we have “peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”. This leads us to enjoy “the peace of God which passes all understanding”. Satan simply loses every time.
Today’s Bible verse furnishes us with the fourth piece of armor for the Christian to don, before he goes out to conduct spiritual warfare in the service of the Lord Jesus Christ. This piece of armor is “the shield of faith”. We use it “to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one”.
This particular piece of armor is good stuff, dear friends. We will expatiate on it in our next study. Let’s visit the prayer closet at this time and converse with Jesus.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Categories: Church Age
Shields and Fire Extinguishers – Part 3
In addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one [Ephesians 6:16].
So there were the English foot soldiers on one end of the battlefield, and the Scots on the other. The calvary flanked the English foot soldiers, while the archers gathered behind them. Suddenly the flaming arrows were released from the bowstrings and the sky took on the appearance of huge fire flies in the night.
Without hesitation the Scots raised their shields above their heads, forming a solid canopy to shield the soldiers from the arrows. The assault of the English archers had been repelled by the shields of war in the hands of the Scot soldiers.
So is it with the Christian in repelling Satan’s assaults. We have this fine piece of armor given us by our Lord. It is called “the shield of faith”, and it functions in a most simplistic manner.
“Faith comes from hearing the Word of Christ” (cf., Romans 10:17). Faith is defined as taking the Lord at His Word and conducting ourselves accordingly. God speaks to the Christian by means of the Bible, as the Holy Spirit interprets it to him.
The Christian receives his marching orders and does what again? Maybe he goes to the movies and ignores his marching orders? Uh, I hope not! Oh, then perhaps he goes to prayer and argues with the Lord about it? That would be a “No!” The child of God responds to his marching orders by OBEYING his marching orders! That is known as faith in marching boots.
Let’s envision this battlefield where the Christian conducts spiritual warfare. On one end is Satan and his minions, on the other the Christian under the banner of the mighty Shekinah cloud of glory.
Satan’s archers are assembled behind his foot soldiers. Satan gives the order to draw the bowstrings. Every dirty demon with a bow responds in unison. Moments pass and Satan shouts, “Shoot!” Again each and every dirty demon lets go of his bowstring, and the flaming arrows fill the sky.
On the other end of the battlefield is the Christian. He stares across the field at all the “giants” in the land, at all the hoards of demon dogs assembled against him. On his end of the field he stands alone, like Elijah on Mt. Carmel against the 850 false prophets of Ahab and Jezebel.
Fortunate it is for this solitary Christian that the Lord is on his side. He need not fear. What can man—or demonic hosts—do to him? He looks up to see countless flames of fire zooming through the sky, making a beeline for his vital parts. There are countless different fires involved. Let’s enumerate some of them, shall we?
1. he had a wrong thought
2. he was less than enthused in serving his Lord
3. he failed to obey one of his Lord’s orders
4. he did something his Lord forbade him to do
5. he lied
6. he cursed
7. he lusted
Well, we could go on interminably, but seven is a good number for Bible purposes. So let us cease at seven types of flaming arrows which the evil one enjoys shooting at soldiers in the Lord’s army.
Not only will we cease at seven flaming arrows, but we will cease this study. The night is coming on. The shadows are lengthening. We must needs pitch our tents and have our quiet time with the Lord, before it gets any later. We will finish this topic in our next study.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
So there were the English foot soldiers on one end of the battlefield, and the Scots on the other. The calvary flanked the English foot soldiers, while the archers gathered behind them. Suddenly the flaming arrows were released from the bowstrings and the sky took on the appearance of huge fire flies in the night.
Without hesitation the Scots raised their shields above their heads, forming a solid canopy to shield the soldiers from the arrows. The assault of the English archers had been repelled by the shields of war in the hands of the Scot soldiers.
So is it with the Christian in repelling Satan’s assaults. We have this fine piece of armor given us by our Lord. It is called “the shield of faith”, and it functions in a most simplistic manner.
“Faith comes from hearing the Word of Christ” (cf., Romans 10:17). Faith is defined as taking the Lord at His Word and conducting ourselves accordingly. God speaks to the Christian by means of the Bible, as the Holy Spirit interprets it to him.
The Christian receives his marching orders and does what again? Maybe he goes to the movies and ignores his marching orders? Uh, I hope not! Oh, then perhaps he goes to prayer and argues with the Lord about it? That would be a “No!” The child of God responds to his marching orders by OBEYING his marching orders! That is known as faith in marching boots.
Let’s envision this battlefield where the Christian conducts spiritual warfare. On one end is Satan and his minions, on the other the Christian under the banner of the mighty Shekinah cloud of glory.
Satan’s archers are assembled behind his foot soldiers. Satan gives the order to draw the bowstrings. Every dirty demon with a bow responds in unison. Moments pass and Satan shouts, “Shoot!” Again each and every dirty demon lets go of his bowstring, and the flaming arrows fill the sky.
On the other end of the battlefield is the Christian. He stares across the field at all the “giants” in the land, at all the hoards of demon dogs assembled against him. On his end of the field he stands alone, like Elijah on Mt. Carmel against the 850 false prophets of Ahab and Jezebel.
Fortunate it is for this solitary Christian that the Lord is on his side. He need not fear. What can man—or demonic hosts—do to him? He looks up to see countless flames of fire zooming through the sky, making a beeline for his vital parts. There are countless different fires involved. Let’s enumerate some of them, shall we?
1. he had a wrong thought
2. he was less than enthused in serving his Lord
3. he failed to obey one of his Lord’s orders
4. he did something his Lord forbade him to do
5. he lied
6. he cursed
7. he lusted
Well, we could go on interminably, but seven is a good number for Bible purposes. So let us cease at seven types of flaming arrows which the evil one enjoys shooting at soldiers in the Lord’s army.
Not only will we cease at seven flaming arrows, but we will cease this study. The night is coming on. The shadows are lengthening. We must needs pitch our tents and have our quiet time with the Lord, before it gets any later. We will finish this topic in our next study.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Shields and Fire Extinguishers – Part 4
In addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one [Ephesians 6:16].
In our last study we enumerated seven examples of Satan’s flaming arrows, each of which gives him such enjoyment to shoot at the Christian soldier on the battlefield of spiritual warfare. If even one of those arrows should find its mark, it could prove critical to the Christian soldier’s spiritual vitality, rendering him useless in his Lord’s service. And on that battlefield the sky is filled with them! Oh, dear. What to do?
Well, that is where the Word of God comes in, dear friends. Remember, every piece of armor points us to some aspect of the Word of God and the Christian’s relationship with God’s Word.
In order to “extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one”, what is it again that the Lord furnishes to the Christian? Is he to panic and cry hysterically? No way. Is he to hightail it outta there in precipitous flight? That would be a no. Ah, now I remember. He is to obey the Word of God.
So, then, what does the Word of God instruct the Christian to do, in order to “extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one”? The answer is…is…is…“take up the shield of faith”. Again, “faith” is defined as believing the Word of God and conducting oneself accordingly. Let’s consider how this works itself out on the battlefield of spiritual warfare.
One flaming arrow accuses the saint of having sinned. Ergo, he’s not really a saint at all. He’s still the same old sinner. The saint’s response of faith to this charge goes something like this:
Yes, the old sinner still exists in me, and he did get the upper hand on that occasion. But I confessed my sin to the Lord Jesus, and He is faithful and just to forgive me my sin and to cleanse me from all unrighteousness. He can do this, Satan, because the blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanses me from all sin. So begone with you, Satan!
We could go through the other six flaming arrows of Satan’s accusations against the saint on that battlefield, and we could enunciate the saint’s answer from the Word of God for each one. But it would be good exercise for each person to do this for himself. The investment of time will earn valuable spiritual returns for us.
With that we will bring this study to a close. In our next study we will continue descanting on spiritual warfare and the next piece of “the full armor of God”. For now let’s sit at the feet of Jesus and ponder “the shield of faith”. It is the fire extinguisher which smothers the flaming arrows of Satan’s assaults, an invaluable weapon in the arsenal of God’s army indeed!
And isn’t that odd…a shield that is a fire extinguisher? Leave it to God to invent such a contraption! But I’m sure glad He did.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
In our last study we enumerated seven examples of Satan’s flaming arrows, each of which gives him such enjoyment to shoot at the Christian soldier on the battlefield of spiritual warfare. If even one of those arrows should find its mark, it could prove critical to the Christian soldier’s spiritual vitality, rendering him useless in his Lord’s service. And on that battlefield the sky is filled with them! Oh, dear. What to do?
Well, that is where the Word of God comes in, dear friends. Remember, every piece of armor points us to some aspect of the Word of God and the Christian’s relationship with God’s Word.
In order to “extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one”, what is it again that the Lord furnishes to the Christian? Is he to panic and cry hysterically? No way. Is he to hightail it outta there in precipitous flight? That would be a no. Ah, now I remember. He is to obey the Word of God.
So, then, what does the Word of God instruct the Christian to do, in order to “extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one”? The answer is…is…is…“take up the shield of faith”. Again, “faith” is defined as believing the Word of God and conducting oneself accordingly. Let’s consider how this works itself out on the battlefield of spiritual warfare.
One flaming arrow accuses the saint of having sinned. Ergo, he’s not really a saint at all. He’s still the same old sinner. The saint’s response of faith to this charge goes something like this:
Yes, the old sinner still exists in me, and he did get the upper hand on that occasion. But I confessed my sin to the Lord Jesus, and He is faithful and just to forgive me my sin and to cleanse me from all unrighteousness. He can do this, Satan, because the blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanses me from all sin. So begone with you, Satan!
We could go through the other six flaming arrows of Satan’s accusations against the saint on that battlefield, and we could enunciate the saint’s answer from the Word of God for each one. But it would be good exercise for each person to do this for himself. The investment of time will earn valuable spiritual returns for us.
With that we will bring this study to a close. In our next study we will continue descanting on spiritual warfare and the next piece of “the full armor of God”. For now let’s sit at the feet of Jesus and ponder “the shield of faith”. It is the fire extinguisher which smothers the flaming arrows of Satan’s assaults, an invaluable weapon in the arsenal of God’s army indeed!
And isn’t that odd…a shield that is a fire extinguisher? Leave it to God to invent such a contraption! But I’m sure glad He did.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
