Wednesday, June 23, 2010

ESSENTIAL #23 The Whole Armor Of God

Ephesians 6



As Christians we forget far too often the battle we're supposed to be fighting. We don't put enough stock in the spiritual realm, and specifically our enemy, the devil. We think that going to church every Sunday and listening to "Christian music" during the week is enough to carry us and keep us from sinning. But Paul warns us that "our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, authorities, powers of this dark world, and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."

In other words, there is a battle raging RIGHT NOW for our souls. Even if we are saved, the enemy is still alive and trying to do whatever he can to thwart the plans and purposes God has placed over our lives. He does this in a myriad of ways on a daily basis, even to those of us who think we are "safe." Paul reminds us here that we are not safe and in fact, we are at war! So let's make sure we have our uniforms on and our gear in place, and that we are trained for what's about to come our way. In the midst of battle, soldiers don't sit around on the battle field joking about their weekend, but instead they are crouched down and ready for the next bullet that may be coming their way. A wise soldier isn't going to walk into a mine field, where he knows there are bombs about to explode. He will avoid them. So why do we walk into mine fields in our lives, right into the traps the devil has set for us, and don't' even realize it?

The Bible says the devil is cunning and knows our weaknesses. So we need to be proactive in making sure that he doesn't succeed in pulling us away or distracting us from our purpose -- to glorify God. So lets get on that gear and go fight this battle!

By Lisa Brown

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