Put On Your Spiritual Armor

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."

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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. 

God Is My Refuge

GOD IS MY REFUGE

In Psalm 91:2 the Psalmist wrote,  

 "I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust." 

The word here used for "refuge" according to the Strong's Bible Concordance is מחסה makh-as-eh'

The word means a shelter (literally or figuratively).

The Psalmist is saying that God is his place of hope, place of refuge, his shelter, and trust. 

No matter what trial we may face along our life's path, if we make God our refuge from the storm, from danger~ even when it comes pouring down like rain all over our lives, He will shelter us and keep us safe.   

But there is also another interesting aspect about the word  "makhaseh" ~ God can be our refuge from falsehood or deception. 

In John 10:4-5 Jesus Christ said, 

"And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. 

 And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers."

The word for "know" according to Strong's means "to understand, perceive, have certain knowledge of, are sure of."

Predators abound on the Internet who try to deceive unsuspecting people all the time. There are many false teachers today who are teaching error concerning the Bible. Straying from the foundational Truths of the Christian faith, yet calling themselves Christians, they are leading many astray who are not abiding in the word of God nor making Christ their Refuge.

The only way we can come to know our Good Shepherd's voice is to spend time with Him, to make Him our Refuge. That choice is up to us.

When we make Him our refuge He will be a shelter from every storm we face and protect us from every deception of the enemy that tries to lead us astray. 

The Lord gives His children His Holy Spirit. Jesus said in John 16:13,

 "But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth."

The Holy Spirit gives us discernment as we abide in Christ, read God's word, pray, and worship regularly. This is daily making God our  Refuge.

This is how we get to know Him as our Good Shepherd and learn His voice. And He makes this promise to us in John 10:27-30 

"My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” 

Prayer

Heavenly Father, I pray you will be my Refuge, my Fortress, my God in who I trust today and every day. 

Lord Jesus, my Good Shepherd, teach me to know Thy voice, shelter me from every storm, protect me from every deception, and keep me always close to Thy heart, filled with Thy love and light, in Jesus' name, amen. 

"God Is My Refuge" © 2015 Suzanne Davis Harden All Rights Reserved. Scripture Illustrations via Pinterest

Take Captive Every Thought

But you, dear friends, use your most holy faith to build yourselves up even stronger. 

Pray with the help of the Holy Spirit. 

Keep yourselves safe in God’s love, as you wait for the Lord Jesus Christ in his mercy to give you eternal life. 

~Jude 1:20-21 

Prayer is not only one of our greatest spiritual blessings because it is our means of communion with our precious Creator and it unites us as believers, it is also one of our most effective weapons in our arsenal against the enemy of our souls. 

As we use prayer along with studying the Bible which St. Paul calls the sword of the Spirit, we grow strong spiritually and closer to God. We also become a source of Christ's light to those around us. 

The book of Proverbs says that the righteous is a guide to his neighbor. Our lives become a blessing as we follow Christ each day through prayer, bible study and obedience to His word.

The Lord Jesus rebuked Satan in His wilderness temptations with God's word when He said,  “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:4)

St. Paul says we are to pray every kind of prayer and at all times.

 Pray in the Spirit at all times. Pray with all kinds of prayers, and ask for everything you need. 

To do this you must always be ready. Never give up. Always pray for all of God’s people. ~Ephesians 6:18

St Paul wrote that we must be careful how we think. 

"For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ..." ~2 Corinthians 10:4-5 

Often the enemy attacks us in our thought life, discouraging us, filling our minds with accusing or condemning, depressing or hopeless thoughts. But Philippians 4:4,8 exhorts us to rejoice in the Lord always, no matter what our outward circumstances are and to think about good things in ourselves and others!

Philippians 4:4, 8 

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! 

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. 

God is light and God is love. He is looking at all those good things in you and me in that list in Philippians 4:4-8 or He would not have inspired Paul to have us to think about those things.  

God tells us to be like Him in His word. 

St. Paul wrote these scripture verses under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit--a man who was often severely beaten for his faith, put in cold, dirty prison cells and left to languish, and persecuted mercilessly. 

I imagine that he might have often been tempted to feel sorry for himself under such conditions but his epistles are the writings of a victorious warrior for Christ! 

I too want to be a victorious warrior for my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! I pray the declaration prayer in the scripture picture above to take captive every thought that exalts itself against the wisdom and knowledge of God and I ask the Lord to make my will line up with His. 

I pray to be led by His Holy Spirit always for His word declares in Romans 8:14 that all who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 

Amen and amen!

1 Thessalonians 5:16-22 

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; 

for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 

Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. 

Test all things; hold fast what is good. 

Abstain from every form of evil. 

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, teach us to pray without ceasing, thank You, Lord, we love You, in Jesus' name, Amen.

Unto The Least Of These/ "Take Captive Every Thought" Copyright © 2015 All Rights Reserved. Scripture Quotation 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 (ERV) Easy To Read Version Bible © 2006 World Bible Translation Center /NKJV ©1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc/Scripture Picture&Prayer~SD Harden 

New Year's Prayer 2014

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus, Holy Spirit, please bless all Thy children in the coming year.

Fill us with rivers of peace and hope from the eternal springs of heaven. 

Scatter all our fears and anxieties to the four winds and whisper a song of assurance deep

in our hearts that all will be well. 

Lord, draw us closer to Thy heart. Let the light within us not be darkness. 

Fill us with a holy passion for Thy word and help us to hide it daily in our hearts that we might not be deceived by false teachings.

Good Shepherd Jesus, teach us to distinguish Thy voice above all the voices that daily compete for our attention; all the false voices that pretend to represent You; Lord give us great powers of holy discernment. 

Precious Lord, help us to always abide in You, to learn to pray without ceasing, to give thanks in all circumstances, and to rejoice always. 

Help us to never give up, no matter what challenge may come our way, knowing that You are always with us and will never leave or forsake us.

Lord, help us to remember that You are the Eternal Light and that no darkness has ever or can ever overcome You, and that as long as we abide in You, no darkness can ever overpower us either.

Thank You, Lord. I love You. In Jesus Name. Amen.

John 1:4-5 (Christ) was the source of life, and that life was the light for humanity. The light shines in the dark, and the dark has never extinguished it. 

Unto The Least of These, New Year's Prayer 2014, © S.D. Harden 

Illustration Source/Internet