Dear
Friends,
The
following message was written by my friend Deborah Mac Manes. It's an
excellent meditation on Paul's metaphor about our spiritual armor that we need
to wear daily for, as the apostle writes in his epistle to the Ephesians, "we wrestle not against flesh and
blood."
_______________
Debby's
Message
Scripture
tells us that a Roman guard was stationed with Paul in his prison cell. Paul
must have seen this guard put on his suit of armor many times, which is why he
wrote the metaphor about winning the spiritual battle with spiritual armor.
I would
like to elaborate on my, daily, prayer with a more in-depth meaning behind each
piece of armor:
I wear the
helmet of salvation to filter my thoughts ... The spiritual battle begins with
a thought that enters our mind. If it is an evil thought and we dismiss it, we
have won that fight. If we retain the thought and dwell on it, we are
entertaining Satan's whisper. Finally, if we act upon this evil thought, Satan
has won this particular battle, we have sinned, and we have grieved the Holy
Spirit who dwells inside of us. The helmet of eternal salvation is to protect
our thoughts right from the start.
I put on
the breastplate of righteousness to protect my heart ... The old testament High
Priest would wear a breastplate of judgement. Inside this pouch were two stones
called the Urim and Thummin that he would, sometimes, use to determine God's
will. Since Christ is our Lord, Savior, High Priest, and King, our breastplate
is of righteousness in Christ Jesus and our hearts are protected in Christ
Jesus from this unbelieving and evil world.
I am
protected by the shield of faith from the flaming missiles of Satan .., Satan
attacks us with fiery darts and our steadfast faith in Christ Jesus is the
shield that protects us against anything that he is allowed to throw at us. We
need to fight the good fight of the faith.
I carry the
sword of the Holy Spirit, the Word of the living God ... A sword is both an
offensive and defensive weapon. We carry the sword of the Scriptures or Bible
which is God's Word. We need to live and breathe God's Word so that we will be
strong and effective in helping to save souls, along with strengthening the
souls who have been saved. We need to be able to wield the 'truth' in whatever
direction the Lord leads us. We can, only, do this with a firm understanding of
His Word.
I am belted
with truth and righteousness, to glorify you, Holy Father, while walking in the
Gospel of peace ... Our fight is a spiritual one; not physical. The bible tells
us to live a quiet and peaceful life, and we are to mind our own business. Our
responsibility in this life is to walk in the shoes of peace and be the light
of the world. We are to carry His teachings in our minds and hearts, spread and
abide by His Word wherever we go, and give all glorify and honor to our Holy
Father through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. All glory to Him!
The author
of this message, Deborah Mac Manes, is a bible study teacher and servant of the
Lord Jesus Christ. As captain and founder of the Spiritual Elegance Team, she
moderates this online ministry group which is part of the Etsy marketplace.
Deborah is the creative artist and owner of Designs by DM Candles located at
designsbydmcandles.etsy.com.
Unto The Least of These "Put On Your Spiritual Armor" © 2016 Deborah Mac Manes All Rights Reserved. Illustration Roman Soldier © 2016 Suzanne Davis Harden All Rights Reserved.
