The Armor of God - 6

 The sixth piece of God's armor is the sword of the Spirit, which is identified as the Word of God. Many have understood that the Sword of God is the only offensive weapon listed in God's armor.  I would also like to note that the Sword is not identified with, but is closely associated with prayer in Ephesians. In other words, Paul encourages the Ephesians to use God's Word as a weapon, and, in the same breath, pray for the gospel to go out.

The Word is a weapon against Satan, because it proclaims truth. And Satan is the father of lies. And when we wield this Sword, especially in prayer, we disrupt, and destroy, Satan's lies, and his kingdom of evil.

Of course, the war we wage is different. In normal war, the result is the death, and defeat of your enemies. In the war God's family wages, the lies of the enemy are destroyed. Members of the enemy, 's army are defeated, but they turn around, and become part of God's family. The overall result is greater obedience to God's word, greater love for God, greater faith in Jesus, and greater love for people.

We are in a war, but we do not seek the destruction of our enemies. We seek their surrender, and allegiance, to the King of Kings. We use the armor to complete God's mission.

And a vital part of that mission is prayer, reminding God of his promises, so that his Spirit will bombard the hearts of those on earth, and they come to know the God of creation, and turn to him.

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The Armor of God - 5

The fifth piece of armor is the helmet of salvation. Again, we are applying truth to our lives. Since, this is a helmet, we are applying truth to our thinking.

Our cognitive processes are important. Satan attacks our thinking by whispering false ideas about standing with God, morality, and God's nature. Knowing, and understanding, God's Word, and appropriately reviewing God's Word, are protection against the lies Satan spreads.

Our thinking, and our hearts, work in union. When the ancient Greeks, and ancient Israel, referred to the heart, they referred to all the inner parts of a person. Ie. emotions, logic, the will, morals, etc. So, we affect our hearts when we choose to focus on God's word. The choice affects our emotions, our memory, as we process what we are reading, thinking, and hearing. What we engage in also affects our actions. And our actions affect our practices, our habits, and our lifestyles.

Directing our thoughts toward God's Word, we protect our walks with God, and, step by step, grow into God's image.

As our walk, and lifestyle, grows, we live more in agreement with God's nature, and God's mission. We fulfill our roles in God's family. We learn to love more. And God's kingdom, and family, advances grows, and moves toward completion of God's plan.

The Armor of God - 4

The fourth piece of armor is the shield of faith. Scripture says when we use this piece of armor, we can snuff out the arrows Satan fires at us.

Satan's ambition is to bring dishonor to God. One of the main ways he does this is to highlight the sin, and failures, in God's family. It especially works when he can provoke sin in God's family. So, he tempts. He lies. He whispers. He seeks to promote actual thoughts, words, and actions of sin. He also works to promote doubts, and fears. And members of God's family do fail, and succumb to all these.

The truth is: God provides for all our needs. Sin will not satisfy us. God is totally faithful, so we do not need to fear, or doubt. His truth, and promises, are our shield. And like Armor #3 -- where we review the gospel -- we need to hold his truth, and promises, so we can place them between our hearts and his lies, accusations, and temptations. 

Definitely reason to read, and meditate, on God's word. And it is a strong argument to memorize Scripture, and to use Scripture in our prayers.

And it works most effectively as a shield, when we apply the appropriate Scripture to Satan's attack.

Here are a few of God's promises:

• There is no separation from God's love.
• There is no condemnation for those in Christ.
• There will be perfect peace.
• God will not leave you.
• God will give guidance.
• God will give wisdom.
• God will make you new./

The Armor of God - 3

The third piece of armor is to have the right shoes. We can see from sports how important the right footwear is. Football, basketball, and ice hockey all need very different types of shoes to succeed.

The shoes, we are supposed to wear, is the "preparation of the gospel of peace." We are protected by knowing, understanding, and receiving God's gospel.

When Satan attacks, one of the first steps we need to take is to review the gospel. We need to remember God's heart, Christ's work, and our response. Satan's main assault is intended to cause doubts about God. If we remember Jesus, his death, and resurrection, and the work of grace he accomplished, we can appropriate peace in the midst of trouble, because we remember God's heart toward us, and for us. We remember Jesus' love given to us. We remember the Holy Spirit in our hearts, as a guarantee, and the one who enables our ability to love before God.

And as we walk in remembrance, we are also ready to share the message that gave us peace, with anyone we meet. And they can experience the same peace, we experience.