Wednesday with the Word: The Whole Armor of God

I love the book of book of Ephesians! It is one of the most encouraging books of the New Testament,

Ephesians is actually a letter to the church at Ephesus,  written by the Apostle Paul, probably about 60. A.D., when he was imprisoned in Rome.  The letter talks about the Lordship of Christ and the position of the believer as a member of the body of Christ. Paul admonishes the Ephesian Christians to “to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.” (Eph 4:1). He encourages them to walk in love; giving instruction in matters of husbands and wives, parents and children,  and master and slaves. Today that might mean employers and employees.

In the last chapter (chapter 6), Paul says this

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.  Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 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.” Eph 6:10-17. (NIV)

Paul reminds the Ephesian Christians, and us, that there is a supernatural battle going on all around us, all the time. In order to withstand the attack of the enemy, the soldier of God must be prepared and protected as he or she goes into battle.

Paul says to put on the whole armor, every bit of it, not just a few comfortable pieces. We can't be protected with just the belt of truth, or the footwear from the gospel of peace, and the helmet of salvation. We have to wear that heavy breastplate of righteousness. Righteousness is not easy. It takes effort, and while no one in this life will do it perfectly, we have to work at it, every single day. The good thing about that is that we have the indwelling Holy Spirit to help us. We must pick up that shield of faith. Its what protects you from Satan's attacks. Sometimes, in the midst of a battle, hanging onto faith is one of the most difficult challenges you can face. However, this isn't just a defensive position. We are also instructed to take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. A sword is used to attack. The Amplified Bible says it this way:

“And take the helmet of salvation and the sword that the Spirit [d]wields, which is the Word of God.” That “d” refers to a footnote that says:

“Charles B. Williams, The New Testament: A Translation in the Language of the People: Subjective genitive—a type of genitive of possession. Thus here the Spirit is the subject or agent of the verbal action.”  In other words, the sword that we are to take, belongs to the Holy Spirit. He wields it, and it is the Word of God.  Jesus himself used scripture when he as being tempted by Satan. A thorough knowledge of the scriptures is a tremendous asset, and it will always be brought to mind just when you need it. That is, I believe, another working of the Holy Spirit.

Writer Beth Moore says in her book “Believing God”

“It’s about learning that we don’t have to put down the Sword of the Spirit (the Word of God) to raise up the Shield of Faith. The way I see it, that’s why God gave us two hands. If we want to live abundantly and victoriously, we must pick up both. To pick up the Sword of the Spirit without the Shield of Faith is to shrivel and dry up in the desert of legalism. To pick up the Shield of Faith without the Sword of the Spirit is to try walking by faith on quicksand.”

Can you see the illustration? A fully armored child of God  protecting herself with the shield of faith, while wielding the sword of the Spirit. She stands her ground, and when she has done everything, she still stands, and waits with anticipation to hear her Lord say, "Well done!"

Reference:
Moore, Beth (2004-09-01). Believing God (p. ix). B&H Publishing. Kindle Edition.

See ya tomorrow!

Connie

Wednesday With The Word: The Gospel in a Nutshell

Our winter storm is over, but it left us nearly 10 inches of the powdery white stuff. Now we are supposed to go back into the deep freeze. The low temperature for tonight is supposed to be -10, which means we will be bringing our dogs inside. The cats will be thrilled.

Ed finally got home about 1:00 this afternoon. He is tired and thankful that he has the next two days off. I am too.

Because I know that God is in control, I can experience stressful times like the last few days with an internal peace. When Ed remarked that I had a fire going today, I told him that the Lord started that one, because I didn't have to work nearly as hard to get it going. When I realized I had a good fire, I gave credit where it was due, and thanked Him profusely.

Non-Christians usually react to that kind of remark, as they would to someone they believe is mentally deficient. Thats ok, because the Bible says the unsaved can't understand. 1 Corinthians 2:14 says:

"The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit."

The "Spirit" in question is the Holy Spirit, the third part of the God-head, which is given to the believer when salvation occurs. How does salvation occur?

One must 
Hear the Gospel (or Good News)
Believe it
Repent of sin
Confess faith
Be Baptized
Walk the Walk

So what is the Gospel?

The bare bones of it is found in what is probably the best known verse in all of the Bible: John 3:16.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

Sin is disobedience to God. A literal usage of the word is "missing the mark" like an archer who misses the target. Adam and Eve sinned when they disobeyed God in the garden of Eden, and every human being on the planet has followed suit, except for one, but we'll get to that in a minute! The Bible says that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Rom 3:23.

The problem is that God cannot tolerate sin. Now, he could have just left us like this and banished us all to the lake of fire dscribed in the book of Revelation (Rev 20: 14-15), but He loves us, and wanted to redeem us from our sinful state. I Peter 3: 9 says "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."

"The wages of sin is death..." (Romans 6:23) When God sent Jesus into the world as a human being, his job was to remain sinless, and sacrifice his pure and blameless life for the sins of the entire human race. He did exactly that.  Only three days later, God raised him from the dead, and now he sits at God's right hand waiting for the time to come back and get those who accepted his sacrifice on their behalf.

That is the Good News! Jesus died for you!  Do you believe it? Well then you're going to need to repent. That means you're life is going to change directions. Then you need to confess. That means you need to speak out and tell what you believe! Baptism is how we show that our old sinful selves are dead and buried, and we come out of the water a new creation! (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Lastly, you have to walk the walk. That dosen't mean you won't trip and fall, because you surely will. You have to keep getting up. It dosen't mean that your life will be perfect. You still live in the world, and you are still going to have problems, but you won't ever be alone again!

One more thing. There is nothing you can do to earn salvation. We have all "earned" eternal damnation, just like it says in Romans 6. but there is more to that verse (remember what I said about taking things in context?) "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." It's a gift! 

Will you accept it?

See ya tomorrow!

Connie

Wednesday With the Word: Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled

With all that has gone on lately, with so much sickness and death,  my mind has often gone to the scripture that was my grandma's favorite: John 14:1-3. She, of course, recited from the King James, and although she has been gone for over thirty years, I can still hear her voice saying:

“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”

When the time came for her to go, like Miss Betty, Grandma was more than ready, because she absolutely believed the words of her Lord.

The New International Version (NIV) says it like this: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. “

John 14 is part of a lengthy discourse that ends in chapter 18 with Jesus' arrest.  Jesus was trying to prepare his disciples  for what was about to happen. Of course, they were pretty clueless, and promptly forgot everything he said in the horror of the events in the following days. Even with the joy of the resurrection, they might have forgotten much of what was said that night. However, Jesus made them another promise.

 “All this I have spoken while still with you.  But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”  John 14:25-26 NIV

On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit did come, and did remind them of everything that Jesus' had told them. The disciples, now apostles, would spread the good news which brings life to all who accept the gift of grace.

For over 2000 years, believers have held on to the promise of His return. The promise that He is coming back to take us home with Him.  For us as well, the Holy Spirit teaches and reminds us of those things the Lord would have us know.  In this life, we will experience disaster, heartbreak, and even death, but His promises still hold for us today.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 NIV

May you find peace today in Him.

See ya tomorrow!

Connie

Wednesdays in the Word: An Introduction

Starting today, Wednesday's blog posts will be about the Word.  The phrase “word of God” is often used to describe the Bible. The phrase is accurate, because the Bible is the word of God. Yes, these blog posts will be Bible studies. However, the Bible itself, in the Gospel of John talks about another “word”, and He is the Word that should always be the focus of our study.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:1-5

Who is The Word? Jesus of course! That in itself will be a great study, but its a little deep.

So who am I to write Bible studies?

Nobody. Just some one who loves the word of God, and wants to share what I learn.

I grew up in the Independent Christian Church/Church of Christ. My grandfather was a preacher whose focus was the wrath of God. To be fair to him, I think the fear that he might miss someone that he was supposed to tell, that person would be lost, and God would hold him accountable, was the driving force behind everything he said and did. He was not fun to be around.

Mom (his oldest daughter) got pregnant with me in her first year of Bible college. That pretty much ended her college career. She married my dad and the marriage lasted about four years. I spent a lot of time with Mom's maternal grandmother. She was Lutheran, and didn't get to church much, but her focus was on the love of God. 

My mom remarried when I was about eight years old, and the true nightmare began. My second stepfather was a  cruel man. He was a mean drunk, and a child molester.

I”m telling you this so you can understand what I bring with me to our studies. Please understand that I am not making any inferences about any denomination, just these individuals who happened to be members of them

One thing I have learned in my fifty years is that I should not ever take the word of anyone else about what the Bible says, and I am asking your to do the same thing. We need to be like the Bereans.

“Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” Acts 17:11

One other thing that is probably my “pet peeve” when it comes to studying the Bible, and hearing/reading what others have said/written, is taking verses out of context. You can make the Bible say anything you want, if you take what is written out of it's context. Did you know that the Bible says there is no God? It sure does. However a closer examination of the the context (like the whole sentence) shows what it actually says is 

“The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.'” Psalm 53:1

Yes, I know this is silly,  but people do it. We have to be on guard. That is why it is so important that we know for ourselves what the Bible says.

So I am going to do Bible study posts on Wednesdays. I am going to study the word so that I can know the Word.

Are you coming with me?