Stand your ground! In His Word 4-1-2024
Paul writes a final word to the Ephesians in chapter 6. He
wants to remind us to get geared up. He wants us not to just get geared up physically
with nice clothes for the day but also for the fight we need to get geared up
spiritually!
A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all
strategies of the devil. For we are not
fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and
authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and
against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:11-12
So how do we do that? How do we be strong in the Spirit ready
to fight against the ‘unseen’? We get into His Word, our Bibles and read up on
how to fight! First of all, we put on
every piece of the armor so that we can be protected! We get prepared to stand strong and do battle!
Our battles are in the world itself, but also in our mind.
The thing is a soldier the helmet won’t really do anything
if it’s not on and protecting the head
it is put on. In other words, it does nothing on the closet shelf! It has to be
used for its purpose. The person inside has to be physically ready but also in
the right mindset to do the battle. They study to show themselves approved by
the superiors to be ready for battle too!
They are trained mentally as to what to do when the battle
comes. We train in the Bible by studying to show ourselves approved rightly
dividing the Word in truth! 2 Timothey 2:15
That is a great place to gear up for our spiritual battle as
well!
The Word and Prayer!
Then work on the rest of it. The belt of truth, the breastplate
or body armor, the shoes, and the shield of faith! All of those will do nothing if we do not
prepare our hearts and minds.
Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be
able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will
still be standing firm. Stand your
ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness.
For shoes, put on the peace that comes
from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of
these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put
on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the
word of God. Ephesians 6: 13-17
Pray in the Spirit at
all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers
for all believers everywhere. Ephesians 6:18
When we pray until we are ready to take up that sword of the
Spirit, we are ready to do battle!
Do you have the Gospel peace? Then tell someone! Have you got the gear on? Then get ready
because the battle is on its way! The
world around us is a mess, we know this,
but if we walk into work after focusing on His Word we will have
prepared our hearts and minds to accept the things we cannot change!
I wrote before about being ‘prepped and ready’ for the
battle of life itself. Let’s get ready and then stand our ground today!
Do not give a foothold to the devil and his cronies (Ephesians
4:27) but instead be geared up and spiritually
prepared in the Word to do battle against these things. We have peace that
comes from keeping our mind on Him, (Isaiah
26:3) and the full armor on so now we can put up that shield of faith we have built
up in the Word as well and stand firm! Stand strong, do not move! Do not allow
the enemy to control you! You wont sink if you don’t step in the quicksand!
In a movie I watched when I used to teach I saw a line of
soldiers in battle with these huge shields. They were more than head to toe!
The line would stand close enough together to create a wall of shields that were
not able to penetrate. It was amazing to see them just stand there, then with
just a small space they would shoot arrows or put their swords out eventually
to stop the continuance of the enemy. Then they would slowly walk a few more
steps, and then stand in the wall again.
Today this is what I thought of, with our armor of God and
standing firm, standing … not moving! Not running away, not smacking back but standing
ready for anything the enemy tosses at us. Then I thought of the unity of other
believers standing with us and how we can protect one another with our linked
or locked in groups of strong shields of faith! If one shield fails we as a unit
can protect the other one while the battle rages! (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12)
So, when politics, or people being rude or worse comes up in
life, if work gets harder than usual today I want you to think of these things!
The armor is on so think on the things that are lovely, pure, kind, etc.
Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything
we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in
Christ Jesus. And now, dear brothers and
sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and
right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are
excellent and worthy of praise. Keep
putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard
from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you. Philippians
4:7-9
But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly
in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good
News. The Good News has been preached all over the world, and I, Paul, have
been appointed as God’s servant to proclaim it. Colossians 1:22-23