Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Put On The Armor

Ephesians 6:10-18

Amplified Bible (AMP)
10 In conclusion, be strong in the Lord [be empowered through your union with Him]; draw your strength from Him [that strength which His boundless might provides].
11 Put on God’s whole armor [the armor of a heavy-armed soldier which God supplies], that you may be able successfully to stand up against [all] the strategies and the deceits of the devil.
12 For we are not wrestling with flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the despotisms, against the powers, against [the master spirits who are] the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spirit forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) sphere.
13 Therefore put on God’s complete armor, that you may be able to resist and stand your ground on the evil day [of danger], and, having done all [the crisis demands], to stand [firmly in your place].
14 Stand therefore [hold your ground], having tightened the belt of truth around your loins and having put on the breastplate of integrity and of moral rectitude and right standing with God,
15 And having shod your feet in preparation [to face the enemy with the firm-footed stability, the promptness, and the readiness produced by the good news] of the Gospel of peace.
16 Lift up over all the [covering] shield of saving faith, upon which you can quench all the flaming missiles of the wicked [one].
17 And take the helmet of salvation and the sword that the Spirit wields, which is the Word of God.
18 Pray at all times (on every occasion, in every season) in the Spirit, with all [manner of] prayer and entreaty. To that end keep alert and watch with strong purpose and perseverance, interceding in behalf of all the saints (God’s consecrated people).

Tonight I talked with someone who reminded  how much we need to put on the whole armor of GOD everyday. We basically are in a battlefield as soon as we open our eyes in the morning. Satan is right there waiting for us so he can start with his attack. The only way to win is by being prepared...have a plan and stick to it. The best thing we can do is to start our day off with reading the WORD and talking to the LORD. 

When I looked this up to read it tonight I could hardly get past verse 10. Be strong can be translated as..."be made strong".  Right there that tells you that "you" can't do it by yourself. Only the LORD can make you strong. Without HIM, and the help HE gives, we are nothing. Without HIM I am weak.
As Christians the armor of GOD is what protects us from the evil one. I need this protection daily and so do you. 

As I have told you...recently I have been failing big time. I haven't been reading the WORD or praying as much as I should. Because of that I have been a mess. Satan has come in and repeatedly filled my mind with lies. He is so good at it that for awhile I didn't even recognize the fact that it was him and that I was falling into his trap...his bed of lies. I was going down that long dark tunnel of despair that I have went down way too many times. Isn't it something how satan can twist your thoughts around until you don't even realize that it's him messing with you?! Thinking about it now I just get mad about all the days I have wasted listening to the evil one. I know now that all I have to do is ask the LORD to forgive me...and HE will...and then start again. Every day is a new day for us to begin again. 

Lamentations 3:22-23

22 It is because of the Lord’s mercy and loving-kindness that we are not consumed, because His [tender] compassions fail not.
23 They are new every morning; great and abundant is Your stability and faithfulness.

It is said that with everything you go through there is something to be learned. Well...I have definitely learned some things. One thing is...

Know who's voice you're listening to. If you are staying strong in the LORD by reading HIS WORD everyday...talking to HIM and listening to what HE has to say...you will know when it's not the LORD speaking! I only want to listen to the LORD! 

I hope what I have written has made sense. The main thing I needed to get across to you tonight is about the armor of GOD. Put it on everyday so you will be protected! don't give satan even a crack to get through. Be fully covered!

As for me...my plan is to do this daily. I know that the evil one will continue to attack and it will probably be even more fierce the next time. None of us can afford to lose in the battle that he wages. Stay strong. Keep up the fight. Read the WORD and pray...not only for your self but for other Christians. We all need all the support we can get. Don't try to fight your battle alone.

Still learning....

 

 

1 comment:

child of God said...

Hi Chelle,

I have a really visual outlook and see things in pictures and colours so much better than in words. What I have learned to do is take God's word and make a picture scene in my mind and then I 'walk about' in the picture feeling all the things that I cannot feel with words. So, with the armour of God, I love to imagine a battle field. Usually I go to the King Arthur days with horses and knights and castles and I imagine myself a knight of Lord in the Lord's army fighting and defending the castle wall. My God has placed me on the front line, in the thickest of battles so my senses must be very alert. Then I imagine what my armour looks like and I place it on myself. I often picture myself fully armoured up fighting back to back with Jesus, just like they did during the times of King Arthur. This helps me to really understand what kind of battle we are in. This spiritual battle is more real then what we see here on earth. This is happening in the dimension we cannot see. God's way to war is upside down to how we war in the earth. Satan uses doubt, God uses truth. Satan uses hate and deceit, God uses love and honesty.

I just thought I would share with you how I can grasp this armour we need to be wearing 24/7.

Blessings hon,
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