Randy Green's Blog, page 429
September 27, 2013
Hard Hat Area - Part 2
And take the helmet of salvation [Ephesians 6:17].
Hats and helmets! Hats and helmets! How to decide which to wear? Ah, that is the question. If we’re on the sidelines during the football game, we would choose a hat, or more specifically, a cap to wear. But if we’re out in the trenches of the football field with the big uglies, well, we had best be wearing the helmet!
You see, the context determines what to wear, does it not? Yes, it does. We mustn’t forget Rule #1 for Bible study, “A text without a context is a pretext.”
If I am going to the office in a suit and tie, a helmet would be rather odd-looking on my head…unless I drove a motor cycle to work. But if I worked atop the frame of a skyscraper welding steel beams together, a baseball cap or a top hat would be out of place. In that location under those conditions a hard hat is called for.
So what is the context of Ephesians 6? Well, Paul itemizes the pieces of “the full armor of God”, to be used by the Christian in conducting spiritual warfare. Okay, then what sort of outfit is suitable for going to war? Should the soldier bedeck himself in a tuxedo and top hat? You think? Wouldn’t we expect to see him outfitted in camouflage attire with a helmet on his head? Yep, I do believe that would be the likelihood.
The Christian is to march off to conduct spiritual warfare. The fifth piece in “the full armor of God” is “the helmet of salvation”. Marching off to war with a helmet protecting the head: that seems about right.
Oh, but this is not just any old helmet. This is “the helmet of salvation” with which we have to do.
Someone is befuddled, “Huh? What in the world is ‘the helmet of salvation’? Never heard of the thing!”
And that is not surprising, kind sir, because it is a special piece of armor developed by the Lord for exclusive use by His soldiers, as they conduct spiritual warfare on His behalf. The Lord even owns the patent on this helmet. No one else can make use of it.
In order for us to get a handle on what “the helmet of salvation” consists, we would do well to press F5 and refresh the old noggin a bit. In Scripture the Holy Spirit employs visible physical realities to teach invisible spiritual truths.
In the case of Ephesians 6 the visible physical reality is physical warfare, while its counterpart in the spiritual realm is spiritual warfare. Other visible physical realities are the pieces of armor worn by the Roman legionnaire. The spiritual counterparts to these are “the full armor of God”, as Paul enumerates them in Ephesians 6.
Oh, dear. Not again. We are out of time. We’ll have to wait another day to learn more about this matter. But we can still grow from what we’ve already devoured today. Just sit a while with Jesus and see for yourself.
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...
Hats and helmets! Hats and helmets! How to decide which to wear? Ah, that is the question. If we’re on the sidelines during the football game, we would choose a hat, or more specifically, a cap to wear. But if we’re out in the trenches of the football field with the big uglies, well, we had best be wearing the helmet!
You see, the context determines what to wear, does it not? Yes, it does. We mustn’t forget Rule #1 for Bible study, “A text without a context is a pretext.”
If I am going to the office in a suit and tie, a helmet would be rather odd-looking on my head…unless I drove a motor cycle to work. But if I worked atop the frame of a skyscraper welding steel beams together, a baseball cap or a top hat would be out of place. In that location under those conditions a hard hat is called for.
So what is the context of Ephesians 6? Well, Paul itemizes the pieces of “the full armor of God”, to be used by the Christian in conducting spiritual warfare. Okay, then what sort of outfit is suitable for going to war? Should the soldier bedeck himself in a tuxedo and top hat? You think? Wouldn’t we expect to see him outfitted in camouflage attire with a helmet on his head? Yep, I do believe that would be the likelihood.
The Christian is to march off to conduct spiritual warfare. The fifth piece in “the full armor of God” is “the helmet of salvation”. Marching off to war with a helmet protecting the head: that seems about right.
Oh, but this is not just any old helmet. This is “the helmet of salvation” with which we have to do.
Someone is befuddled, “Huh? What in the world is ‘the helmet of salvation’? Never heard of the thing!”
And that is not surprising, kind sir, because it is a special piece of armor developed by the Lord for exclusive use by His soldiers, as they conduct spiritual warfare on His behalf. The Lord even owns the patent on this helmet. No one else can make use of it.
In order for us to get a handle on what “the helmet of salvation” consists, we would do well to press F5 and refresh the old noggin a bit. In Scripture the Holy Spirit employs visible physical realities to teach invisible spiritual truths.
In the case of Ephesians 6 the visible physical reality is physical warfare, while its counterpart in the spiritual realm is spiritual warfare. Other visible physical realities are the pieces of armor worn by the Roman legionnaire. The spiritual counterparts to these are “the full armor of God”, as Paul enumerates them in Ephesians 6.
Oh, dear. Not again. We are out of time. We’ll have to wait another day to learn more about this matter. But we can still grow from what we’ve already devoured today. Just sit a while with Jesus and see for yourself.
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...
September 26, 2013
Hard Hat Area - Part 1
And take the helmet of salvation [Ephesians 6:17].
One of my favorite books—well, actually two books—are Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” and “Through the Looking-Glass”. The books regale both our intellect and fantasy with a farrago of memorable characters, each one well developed by the author. Not a one seems able to tire us out in the repetition of reading.
In the first-named book, two such characters function as a couple. I make reference to the Hatter and the March Hare. Another character, the Cheshire Cat, labels the both of them as “mad”. This has added credence to an elaboration of the name “Hatter” to “the Mad Hatter”.
Well, still one more character in the story, the Queen of Hearts, heard the Mad Hatter sing at her celebration. Being unable to find anything good in anyone, the Queen of Hearts barked her usual order against the Mad Hatter, “Off with his head!” His crime according to her was that he “murdered time”!
The Mad Hatter escaped with his head nonetheless, but Time retaliated by bringing himself to a halt vis-à-vis the Mad Hatter and the March Hare. This meant that, for those two characters, time stood still at 6:00 PM forever. This was tea time for the British, which is why the Mad Hatter sporadically exclaims “Tea Time!”.
We won’t analyze the story or interpret any of the characters. That is not our goal in this study. I bring up these characters, or more specifically, the Mad Hatter, because of our Bible text. The Hatter, aka the Mad Hatter, derived his name by the distinctive hat he wore.
Our Bible verse has to do with a hat too, which is why I thought of the Mad Hatter, a most famous character with respect to hats. In our Bible verse the Apostle Paul notes the fifth piece in “the full armor the God”, which the Lord furnishes the Christian for conducting spiritual warfare. Paul depicts it as “the helmet of salvation”.
No doubt you are thinking, “A helmet isn’t a hat, teacher.”
Oh, but I beg to differ. Both items are worn on the top of the head to cover the skull. A helmet is simply a hard hat used in war rather than peace time. It is meant to serve as armor which protects the vital organ known as the brain. Man would have a difficult time functioning sans the brain.
Yikes! Time certainly hasn’t retaliated against us by standing still. We’ve run out of time today. We’ll have to wait on the morrow to arrive, to continue this analysis. Use your time wisely now. Jesus is waiting.
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...
One of my favorite books—well, actually two books—are Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” and “Through the Looking-Glass”. The books regale both our intellect and fantasy with a farrago of memorable characters, each one well developed by the author. Not a one seems able to tire us out in the repetition of reading.
In the first-named book, two such characters function as a couple. I make reference to the Hatter and the March Hare. Another character, the Cheshire Cat, labels the both of them as “mad”. This has added credence to an elaboration of the name “Hatter” to “the Mad Hatter”.
Well, still one more character in the story, the Queen of Hearts, heard the Mad Hatter sing at her celebration. Being unable to find anything good in anyone, the Queen of Hearts barked her usual order against the Mad Hatter, “Off with his head!” His crime according to her was that he “murdered time”!
The Mad Hatter escaped with his head nonetheless, but Time retaliated by bringing himself to a halt vis-à-vis the Mad Hatter and the March Hare. This meant that, for those two characters, time stood still at 6:00 PM forever. This was tea time for the British, which is why the Mad Hatter sporadically exclaims “Tea Time!”.
We won’t analyze the story or interpret any of the characters. That is not our goal in this study. I bring up these characters, or more specifically, the Mad Hatter, because of our Bible text. The Hatter, aka the Mad Hatter, derived his name by the distinctive hat he wore.
Our Bible verse has to do with a hat too, which is why I thought of the Mad Hatter, a most famous character with respect to hats. In our Bible verse the Apostle Paul notes the fifth piece in “the full armor the God”, which the Lord furnishes the Christian for conducting spiritual warfare. Paul depicts it as “the helmet of salvation”.
No doubt you are thinking, “A helmet isn’t a hat, teacher.”
Oh, but I beg to differ. Both items are worn on the top of the head to cover the skull. A helmet is simply a hard hat used in war rather than peace time. It is meant to serve as armor which protects the vital organ known as the brain. Man would have a difficult time functioning sans the brain.
Yikes! Time certainly hasn’t retaliated against us by standing still. We’ve run out of time today. We’ll have to wait on the morrow to arrive, to continue this analysis. Use your time wisely now. Jesus is waiting.
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...
September 25, 2013
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...
September 24, 2013
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...
September 23, 2013
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
September 22, 2013
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...
September 21, 2013
War and Peace – Part 4
Stand firm therefore…having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace [Ephesians 6:14-15].
Jesus won the victory over the flesh, the world, and the devil. We are “in Christ”, so we too have won those selfsame victories. Isn’t that fantastic?
We have to remember that the battle is not ours to fight and win. The battle belongs to the Lord. We are not to live our own life. We are to be the Body of Christ on earth and allow Him to live His life in and through us. We are not out to accomplish our plans. We are servants of Christ, doing His work to accomplish His plan.
The Lord Jesus is the perfect military commander. He is the perfect master. He never sends any of His people into the world to do a job, without first equipping them to succeed in achieving His goals. He never dispatches any of His troops to the battlefield, without first furnishing them with the weaponry needed to succeed and obtain the victory.
The Lord displayed this truth to the Israelites in Egypt. He defeated Pharaoh and his armies on Israel’s behalf, forcing Pharaoh to surrender and release Israel from slavery to him. He defeated Pharaoh at the Red Sea, when Pharaoh tried to force Israel back into slavery to Egypt.
The Lord went ahead of the Israelites into Canaan, defeating the inhabitants of that land for Israel. Israel wasn’t allowed to sit back and watch the action, mind you. They did have to go forth and fight. But the Lord went first and whupped the heathen folks. Israel simply had to obey the Word of God to them to follow behind Him and do mop up duty. In other words the Lord equipped the Israelites to accomplish the chore which He assigned to them.
Though the Israelites fought against physical troops and employed physical weapons, the fight was first and foremost spiritual warfare. The Lord was in control. The battle belonged to the Lord. Israel’s part was to hear the Word of God to them, obey the Word of God to them, and win the victory which the Word of God guaranteed them. Voilà! spiritual warfare in a nutshell.
The same applies to us Christians today. No, we don’t conduct physical warfare against physical enemies by employing physical weapons. We aren’t out to inherit a physical country as the spoils of war. We are strangers and pilgrims on the earth, who desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one.
But we do walk with the Lord in order to arrive at our heavenly country. And we can only do so on the basis of obedience to the Word of God. This journey is one of daily spiritual warfare. This warfare is conducted on the basis of the Word of God. It begins with grace through faith, and it ends with grace through faith. Everything in between is also grace through faith.
That is what we are learning by the individual pieces which comprise “the full armor of God”. Are you putting on each piece daily? Are you wearing “the shoes of the gospel of peace”? Praise the Lord for his armor. Let us go forth to war, being strong in the Lord and in the power of His might!
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...
Jesus won the victory over the flesh, the world, and the devil. We are “in Christ”, so we too have won those selfsame victories. Isn’t that fantastic?
We have to remember that the battle is not ours to fight and win. The battle belongs to the Lord. We are not to live our own life. We are to be the Body of Christ on earth and allow Him to live His life in and through us. We are not out to accomplish our plans. We are servants of Christ, doing His work to accomplish His plan.
The Lord Jesus is the perfect military commander. He is the perfect master. He never sends any of His people into the world to do a job, without first equipping them to succeed in achieving His goals. He never dispatches any of His troops to the battlefield, without first furnishing them with the weaponry needed to succeed and obtain the victory.
The Lord displayed this truth to the Israelites in Egypt. He defeated Pharaoh and his armies on Israel’s behalf, forcing Pharaoh to surrender and release Israel from slavery to him. He defeated Pharaoh at the Red Sea, when Pharaoh tried to force Israel back into slavery to Egypt.
The Lord went ahead of the Israelites into Canaan, defeating the inhabitants of that land for Israel. Israel wasn’t allowed to sit back and watch the action, mind you. They did have to go forth and fight. But the Lord went first and whupped the heathen folks. Israel simply had to obey the Word of God to them to follow behind Him and do mop up duty. In other words the Lord equipped the Israelites to accomplish the chore which He assigned to them.
Though the Israelites fought against physical troops and employed physical weapons, the fight was first and foremost spiritual warfare. The Lord was in control. The battle belonged to the Lord. Israel’s part was to hear the Word of God to them, obey the Word of God to them, and win the victory which the Word of God guaranteed them. Voilà! spiritual warfare in a nutshell.
The same applies to us Christians today. No, we don’t conduct physical warfare against physical enemies by employing physical weapons. We aren’t out to inherit a physical country as the spoils of war. We are strangers and pilgrims on the earth, who desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one.
But we do walk with the Lord in order to arrive at our heavenly country. And we can only do so on the basis of obedience to the Word of God. This journey is one of daily spiritual warfare. This warfare is conducted on the basis of the Word of God. It begins with grace through faith, and it ends with grace through faith. Everything in between is also grace through faith.
That is what we are learning by the individual pieces which comprise “the full armor of God”. Are you putting on each piece daily? Are you wearing “the shoes of the gospel of peace”? Praise the Lord for his armor. Let us go forth to war, being strong in the Lord and in the power of His might!
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...
September 20, 2013
War and Peace – Part 3
Stand firm therefore…having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace [Ephesians 6:14-15].
We conduct spiritual warfare by proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Gospel is God’s proclamation to sinful man that he cease from his hostilities against God, repent of his sins, and turn to God for forgiveness. In doing this the sinner renounces his sin of rebellion against God’s kingship, and he submits himself to God as His King. In this way the sinner becomes a saint, an adopted son of God in Christ Jesus.
This scenario is made possible by the death of Jesus on the cross. Jesus died our death, thus paying the penalty for our sins. He rose out of death without sin, thus providing us with a new resurrection life without sin.
When the sinner believes this message of the Gospel and accepts God’s offer, he is no longer the old sinner at war with God. He becomes a saint, a new creation in Christ Jesus who is a part of God’s family. He isn’t at war with God any longer. He thenceforth has peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. He can live in the peace of God thereafter. This is “the gospel of peace”.
In conducting spiritual warfare, this translates thusly. Satan accuses the saint of sinning, trying to evoke guilt feelings in the saint and drive him to hide from God. It worked in the garden of Eden when the man and woman sinned, didn’t it? Who’s to say it’s not a successful ploy still?
When we put on “the shoes of peace”, it amounts to proclaiming that we are in a state of peace with God because we are “in Christ”. Satan’s accusation dissipates into thin air by this revelation. We cannot exactly feel guilty and run away to hide from God, if we clearly know that we are at peace with God. Can we? Methinks not!
In case you haven’t noticed, as we’ve studied each piece in “the full armor of God”, we’ve basically been identifying different aspects of Christ Jesus’ Person and ministry. We’ve proclaimed the Gospel in its various aspects. The Gospel is the answer to any guile and bile which Satan employs against us.
We can do all things through Christ Who strengthens us, dear friends. We can overcome the world because Christ overcame the world and we are “in Christ”. We can rebuke the flesh because of Christ in us, the hope of glory, and He was victorious over the flesh. We can overcome the devil because we are “in Christ”. Didn’t He overcome the devil in the wilderness for forty days and forty nights?
Yes, Jesus sure did! Let’s go to Him now and congratulate Him on His sterling victory. We’ll finish our topic in the 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...
We conduct spiritual warfare by proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Gospel is God’s proclamation to sinful man that he cease from his hostilities against God, repent of his sins, and turn to God for forgiveness. In doing this the sinner renounces his sin of rebellion against God’s kingship, and he submits himself to God as His King. In this way the sinner becomes a saint, an adopted son of God in Christ Jesus.
This scenario is made possible by the death of Jesus on the cross. Jesus died our death, thus paying the penalty for our sins. He rose out of death without sin, thus providing us with a new resurrection life without sin.
When the sinner believes this message of the Gospel and accepts God’s offer, he is no longer the old sinner at war with God. He becomes a saint, a new creation in Christ Jesus who is a part of God’s family. He isn’t at war with God any longer. He thenceforth has peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. He can live in the peace of God thereafter. This is “the gospel of peace”.
In conducting spiritual warfare, this translates thusly. Satan accuses the saint of sinning, trying to evoke guilt feelings in the saint and drive him to hide from God. It worked in the garden of Eden when the man and woman sinned, didn’t it? Who’s to say it’s not a successful ploy still?
When we put on “the shoes of peace”, it amounts to proclaiming that we are in a state of peace with God because we are “in Christ”. Satan’s accusation dissipates into thin air by this revelation. We cannot exactly feel guilty and run away to hide from God, if we clearly know that we are at peace with God. Can we? Methinks not!
In case you haven’t noticed, as we’ve studied each piece in “the full armor of God”, we’ve basically been identifying different aspects of Christ Jesus’ Person and ministry. We’ve proclaimed the Gospel in its various aspects. The Gospel is the answer to any guile and bile which Satan employs against us.
We can do all things through Christ Who strengthens us, dear friends. We can overcome the world because Christ overcame the world and we are “in Christ”. We can rebuke the flesh because of Christ in us, the hope of glory, and He was victorious over the flesh. We can overcome the devil because we are “in Christ”. Didn’t He overcome the devil in the wilderness for forty days and forty nights?
Yes, Jesus sure did! Let’s go to Him now and congratulate Him on His sterling victory. We’ll finish our topic in the 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...
September 19, 2013
War and Peace – Part 2
Stand firm therefore…having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace [Ephesians 6:14-15].
We are to conduct spiritual warfare and defeat the devil in his wiles. Symbolically, the Word of God keeps our feet unencumbered by the pitfalls and stumbling blocks of the flesh, the world, and the devil. God’s Word is like the belt which anchors the tunic away from the feet so we don’t stumble. God’s Word is “the belt of truth”.
The second piece of armor is “the breastplate of righteousness”. Man in his own strength cannot stand against the devil. We will fall for his guile in no time flat. The devil will remind us of whatever weakness and failing we have, which is as simple as pie for him.
Satan might point out the last time we sinned, and we will be speechless, unable to refute him because he would be right. Or Satan might butter us up with some supposed achievement which we accomplished, should our weakness be pride. Our head will swell to the size of Rhode Island, and we will be defeated outright.
No man, including the Christian, is righteous in his own right. We all sin and we all fail. Ergo, we cannot confront Satan in our own righteousness. We need “the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus”, if we are to be victorious in spiritual warfare.
That is “the breastplate of righteousness”. As new creations in Christ Jesus, we don’t stand on our own righteousness. We stand on the Rock, Christ Jesus. We have His righteousness ascribed to us by God.
Satan can point the finger at the old sinner’s lack of righteousness until the cows come home. God isn’t impressed. His Son Jesus names us as His own, as having His righteousness. God declares us “Not guilty!” Satan goes away ashamed.
The third piece of armor for us to put on can be identified as “the shoes or sandals of peace”. And that identifies the “war and peace” we made note of earlier. On the one hand we are going forth to conduct spiritual warfare. On the other hand we are fitting our feet with the gospel of peace.
Isn’t that peculiar? Are we to conduct war or are we to hold peace talks? Which is it already! Well, it’s both. How’s that for decisiveness, huh?
Permit me to explain. When we conduct spiritual warfare, we don’t do so by pushing our own agenda. We serve the Lord Christ, not ourselves. We conduct spiritual warfare by proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Ah oh. Just when we were getting to the nitty gritty, the sand in the clock has filled the bottom. Oh well. We’ll be able to roll the good things of today over our tongues a bit, as we sit at the feet of Jesus. Tomorrow we will continue down this trail.
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...
We are to conduct spiritual warfare and defeat the devil in his wiles. Symbolically, the Word of God keeps our feet unencumbered by the pitfalls and stumbling blocks of the flesh, the world, and the devil. God’s Word is like the belt which anchors the tunic away from the feet so we don’t stumble. God’s Word is “the belt of truth”.
The second piece of armor is “the breastplate of righteousness”. Man in his own strength cannot stand against the devil. We will fall for his guile in no time flat. The devil will remind us of whatever weakness and failing we have, which is as simple as pie for him.
Satan might point out the last time we sinned, and we will be speechless, unable to refute him because he would be right. Or Satan might butter us up with some supposed achievement which we accomplished, should our weakness be pride. Our head will swell to the size of Rhode Island, and we will be defeated outright.
No man, including the Christian, is righteous in his own right. We all sin and we all fail. Ergo, we cannot confront Satan in our own righteousness. We need “the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus”, if we are to be victorious in spiritual warfare.
That is “the breastplate of righteousness”. As new creations in Christ Jesus, we don’t stand on our own righteousness. We stand on the Rock, Christ Jesus. We have His righteousness ascribed to us by God.
Satan can point the finger at the old sinner’s lack of righteousness until the cows come home. God isn’t impressed. His Son Jesus names us as His own, as having His righteousness. God declares us “Not guilty!” Satan goes away ashamed.
The third piece of armor for us to put on can be identified as “the shoes or sandals of peace”. And that identifies the “war and peace” we made note of earlier. On the one hand we are going forth to conduct spiritual warfare. On the other hand we are fitting our feet with the gospel of peace.
Isn’t that peculiar? Are we to conduct war or are we to hold peace talks? Which is it already! Well, it’s both. How’s that for decisiveness, huh?
Permit me to explain. When we conduct spiritual warfare, we don’t do so by pushing our own agenda. We serve the Lord Christ, not ourselves. We conduct spiritual warfare by proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Ah oh. Just when we were getting to the nitty gritty, the sand in the clock has filled the bottom. Oh well. We’ll be able to roll the good things of today over our tongues a bit, as we sit at the feet of Jesus. Tomorrow we will continue down this trail.
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...
September 18, 2013
War and Peace – Part 1
Stand firm therefore…having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace [Ephesians 6:14-15].
Leo Tolstoy’s novel “War and Peace” is acknowledged as one of the longest novels ever written. Its fame is not based on its length though. Tolstoy is a wonderful writer, who should be appreciated by readers until Jesus comes again.
His style is engaging, but his subject matter often makes the novel difficult for modern Americans to enjoy. We aren’t much given to reading today, what with TV and movies and PCs and smart phones and the internet all working in unison to steal our time from us. Reading has become a lost art, unless we buy into the synoptical alternative to the real thing.
Tolstoy’s “War and Peace” portrays Czarist Russia circa 1805, when the French invaded the land. It continues into the Napoleonic era and his invasion of Russia. The historical setting is not one with which many Americans are familiar. This makes his novel distant and irrelevant for many of us. I personally enjoyed the book quite a bit, though it did have the side effect of heavy lifting on the brain.
You might want to read Tolstoy’s “War and Peace”, if you haven’t already done so. It may afford you a blessing in the reading. But there is another “war and peace” for us to consider. This one will indubitably shower us with blessings. So we mustn’t skip it for any reason in the world!
In our last several studies we have descanted on the topic of spiritual warfare. In order to conduct spiritual warfare successfully, we must needs “put on the full armor of God”. We learned that already, as I am sure you recall.
The first piece of armor is “the belt of truth”. Jesus is the truth, and the written Word of God is the truth.
In order to work or go to war, the folks of the ancient world needed to wear their belt or girdle or sash around their tunic. The tunic dragged along the feet and tripped them up, if they tried to work or fight a battle in it. They had to pull the tunic up away from the feet and tuck it into the belt, to keep it off the feet and out of the way. Then they could successfully work or fight the war.
Only by adhering to the Word of God can we Christians successfully conduct spiritual warfare and obtain the victory over the wicked one. The battle is not ours. The battle belongs to the Lord. The Word of God is the truth about who the devil is, what sin is, how to resist the devil on the spiritual plane, and important topics like that.
Now that is good stuff! I can’t wait to taste some more…but we’ll have to wait because our time is up for today. Let’s spend time with Jesus a while. We’ll meet back here tomorrow.
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...
Leo Tolstoy’s novel “War and Peace” is acknowledged as one of the longest novels ever written. Its fame is not based on its length though. Tolstoy is a wonderful writer, who should be appreciated by readers until Jesus comes again.
His style is engaging, but his subject matter often makes the novel difficult for modern Americans to enjoy. We aren’t much given to reading today, what with TV and movies and PCs and smart phones and the internet all working in unison to steal our time from us. Reading has become a lost art, unless we buy into the synoptical alternative to the real thing.
Tolstoy’s “War and Peace” portrays Czarist Russia circa 1805, when the French invaded the land. It continues into the Napoleonic era and his invasion of Russia. The historical setting is not one with which many Americans are familiar. This makes his novel distant and irrelevant for many of us. I personally enjoyed the book quite a bit, though it did have the side effect of heavy lifting on the brain.
You might want to read Tolstoy’s “War and Peace”, if you haven’t already done so. It may afford you a blessing in the reading. But there is another “war and peace” for us to consider. This one will indubitably shower us with blessings. So we mustn’t skip it for any reason in the world!
In our last several studies we have descanted on the topic of spiritual warfare. In order to conduct spiritual warfare successfully, we must needs “put on the full armor of God”. We learned that already, as I am sure you recall.
The first piece of armor is “the belt of truth”. Jesus is the truth, and the written Word of God is the truth.
In order to work or go to war, the folks of the ancient world needed to wear their belt or girdle or sash around their tunic. The tunic dragged along the feet and tripped them up, if they tried to work or fight a battle in it. They had to pull the tunic up away from the feet and tuck it into the belt, to keep it off the feet and out of the way. Then they could successfully work or fight the war.
Only by adhering to the Word of God can we Christians successfully conduct spiritual warfare and obtain the victory over the wicked one. The battle is not ours. The battle belongs to the Lord. The Word of God is the truth about who the devil is, what sin is, how to resist the devil on the spiritual plane, and important topics like that.
Now that is good stuff! I can’t wait to taste some more…but we’ll have to wait because our time is up for today. Let’s spend time with Jesus a while. We’ll meet back here tomorrow.
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...
