The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. - John 10:10 (NLT)
A lot of peoples favorite treats have soft, chewy centers. They enjoy the feeling of breaking through the outer shell to feel the explosion from the middle of the treat flow into their mouth. Whether its chocolates, hard candy, or any other treat with this characteristic, most people savor and enjoy that experience. Some have harder shells than others, and some are just down right hard and almost impossible to get to the middle of.
Compare your life to these candies. Everyone in my opinion should have a soft heart. Always ready to spring into action and help those in need. However, we need to have an impenetrable outer shell that the enemy can not break through. We need the armor of God protecting us.
Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. - Ephesians 6:13-17 (NIV)
If you were about to walk out into a battlefield (whether dark ages or modern), would you want to just walk out to fight in a t-shirt and blue jeans? What about a three-piece suit? Don't give me that look, it's a legitimate question. Of course none of us would go out to fight like that. We would try to find the best armor from the greatest military cache we could find. So answer me this, why to we walk out our doors every day, onto the largest battlefield ever, without a hint of protection?
Too many people don't rely on God's armor to help them through the day. They think it is silly nonsense that someone would be serious about using it everyday. For most, the armor of God is only needed in the worst of circumstances, when we've lost everything. If those people would realize that had they only worn God's armor from the beginning, they might have never had to face the dark situations they are in.
They need truth in their hearts, and not the worlds version of the truth. They need to be righteous and walk the path that only the Bible can give in their lives (lamp to my feet and light to my path kind of stuff). They must have faith to block all of the lies and attacks that come from the enemy. You must be saved and have God's word with you all the time (whether it is memorized or physically in your hand). How many of these characteristics do you possess and use daily? I'll admit, I have many days where I will forget a piece of my armor, and those days are always a fight to get through.
In Matthew 11:30 Christ says, "For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." What that tells me is his armor is easy to carry. Ephesians 6 tells me that if I wear it all, everyday, it is impenetrable. The enemy, Satan, wants to hurt and even kill us. That is why we must wear the armor. Putting it on is a daily discipline that far too many people lack.
The battle is raging, and you are in the midst of it. Whether you are consciously fighting or surrendering by not doing anything, you are in the middle of a war. The question is this: will you prepare yourself with an unbreakable armor, or will you be run through by the world everyday because putting on the armor is a hassle or unpopular? The choice is yours! You have been challenged. What are you going to do with that challenge?
Thanks for stopping by and God Bless...
A lot of peoples favorite treats have soft, chewy centers. They enjoy the feeling of breaking through the outer shell to feel the explosion from the middle of the treat flow into their mouth. Whether its chocolates, hard candy, or any other treat with this characteristic, most people savor and enjoy that experience. Some have harder shells than others, and some are just down right hard and almost impossible to get to the middle of.
Compare your life to these candies. Everyone in my opinion should have a soft heart. Always ready to spring into action and help those in need. However, we need to have an impenetrable outer shell that the enemy can not break through. We need the armor of God protecting us.
Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. - Ephesians 6:13-17 (NIV)
If you were about to walk out into a battlefield (whether dark ages or modern), would you want to just walk out to fight in a t-shirt and blue jeans? What about a three-piece suit? Don't give me that look, it's a legitimate question. Of course none of us would go out to fight like that. We would try to find the best armor from the greatest military cache we could find. So answer me this, why to we walk out our doors every day, onto the largest battlefield ever, without a hint of protection?
Too many people don't rely on God's armor to help them through the day. They think it is silly nonsense that someone would be serious about using it everyday. For most, the armor of God is only needed in the worst of circumstances, when we've lost everything. If those people would realize that had they only worn God's armor from the beginning, they might have never had to face the dark situations they are in.
They need truth in their hearts, and not the worlds version of the truth. They need to be righteous and walk the path that only the Bible can give in their lives (lamp to my feet and light to my path kind of stuff). They must have faith to block all of the lies and attacks that come from the enemy. You must be saved and have God's word with you all the time (whether it is memorized or physically in your hand). How many of these characteristics do you possess and use daily? I'll admit, I have many days where I will forget a piece of my armor, and those days are always a fight to get through.
In Matthew 11:30 Christ says, "For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." What that tells me is his armor is easy to carry. Ephesians 6 tells me that if I wear it all, everyday, it is impenetrable. The enemy, Satan, wants to hurt and even kill us. That is why we must wear the armor. Putting it on is a daily discipline that far too many people lack.
The battle is raging, and you are in the midst of it. Whether you are consciously fighting or surrendering by not doing anything, you are in the middle of a war. The question is this: will you prepare yourself with an unbreakable armor, or will you be run through by the world everyday because putting on the armor is a hassle or unpopular? The choice is yours! You have been challenged. What are you going to do with that challenge?
Thanks for stopping by and God Bless...
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