Day Twenty : Shield of Faith

In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
(Ephesians 6:16)

 

The shield of faith.  My favourite item on the list I think.

What is faith?

… faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
(Hebrews 11:1)

“sure of what we hope for….”

Without hope, there is no faith.
Without being sure of that hope, there is no faith.
Hope comes in the morning, but faith gets you through the night.

What do you hope for this Lenten Season?
Where does your faith lie?

Day Nineteen : Keep your balance

and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.

Look at your feet right now.  Are you wearing shoes?

One shoe, or two?  Are they both the same?

 

It is silly to wear two different size shoes, or to wear only one shoe.  You need to be equally balanced over the whole shoe, on both feet.

In the same way, we need to be balanced in the Gospel. 
The whole Gospel.  We don’t get to pick and choose which parts we like, and which parts we don’t.

Jesus told us to feed and clothe the poor, he also told us to spread the good news, he told us to do good works. 

He didn’t tell us to pick and choose which we would rather do.  He wanted us to do it all. 

A gospel that gives preference to social welfare at the expense of evangelism, or one that focuses on loving our neighbours without feeding them, or one that spread the Good News about the next life, but not this life… these are unbalanced Gospels, and we can not stand on them.

We need to be equally aware of all aspects of what we have been taught, and make an effort to be balanced in our reading of the Good News.

Day Eighteen : Stand by me (shoes of Good News)

and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.

We spoke the other day about how the Gospel of Peace (Good News) keeps us from injuring our feet, by keeping us at peace with our fellow man.

But it also keeps us at peace with our God.

If we didn’t have the Good News of our salvation through Christ to stand upon, we would be pretty much at war with God.  Our sinful nature would be at war with his Holiness.  Our spirit would contend with His Spirit. 

We would have nowhere to stand, and nowhere to hide.

 

Luckily for us, we have the Good News.  We are reconciled to our God, and we are able to wear the Helmet of our Salvation, thus we can stand up straight in his presence.

Not because we deserve it, but because we can rely on our shoes.

Day Seventeen : Stand firm

and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.

Often times we associate readiness with being ready to spread the Gospel.  We think of this as mission work.

But Paul was talking about Spiritual Warfare, and attack.  Not mission.

Readiness here meant ready as in “standing on ready ground” or “standing steady.”

The Roman boot was shod with spikes of steel, so that the soldier could stand on loose ground.  With all that heavy armour on, it would be so easy to slip and fall at the best of times.  On shifting ground, such as the sands and hills of the Middle East…. it would be impossible without good shoes.

In the same way, we often find the ground shifting under our feet in this modern age.  We are told that morality is changing, and what was once taboo is acceptable.  Truth has become flexible, and we don’t know who or what to believe.

We need to stand on something firm, something ready, in order to keep our footing.

 

The Gospel never changes, it never becomes relative.  It is our firm footing.   We need to stand on it daily, and trust in our footing.

Day Sixteen : Shod (with Gospel of peace)

and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.

The original word was also translated as “under-worn.” 

A Roman soldiers feet were protected not by sandals, but a steel hobbed boot.  The thick leather, with metal studs, was tied tightly to the bottom of his foot.

Unlike the Greek greave-boot, which aimed at protecting the leg, the Roman caligul aimed at protecting the sole of the foot.

 

Because Romans knew that the enemy was likely to attack them in their most sensitive spot.

Have you ever stood on a stone, or even a sharp stick?
It hurts.  The bottom of your foot is very sensitive.

In Roman times, soldiers used to put spikes and sharpened stick on the road to try and hobble attacking armies.  Spikes that would go right through a soft shoe.

So the Romans wore toughened boots, to protect their most sensitive place.

 

In the same way, the enemy will throw annoyances in our way.  He will try and make us angry with our loved ones, and lose our temper.  He will make is unforgiving, and cruel.  He will throw these little traps in our path, and we will cut our feet on them.

How do you stand firm in the face of an attack when you are limping on an injury to your soul, like a hatred you are harbouring for your brother.

The Good News calls us all to be at peace with one another, so that we can stand in righteousness.

Day Fifteen : Don’t do something, just stand there. (Shod with the Gospel)

¹¹ Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³ Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.

The shoes, like the belt, do not seem like cool weapons.  After all, they are only shoes.

But without shoes, how do you stand.

It doesn’t matter how well armed you are, if you can’t stand, you will fall down.

 

The Gospel (good news) of Peace helps us to stand.

Because it reminds us why we are standing.

It gives us a purpose.  To stand.

 

Otherwise why are we even bothering to stand and fight?

Without the Good News, our Righteousness mean nothing.
Without a risen saviour, we have no faith to hold onto.
Without a Christ, we have no salvation.

Day Fourteen : Boots of Gospel of Peace

and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
(Ephesians 6:15)

I read somewhere that the average person spends more on their feet than on their head.  A person will think nothing of spending a fortune on good shoes for their feet, but will begrudge every cent spent on books and material to nourish their heart and mind.

Our Christian walk is a walk.  And to walk properly, we need to take care of our feet.

Just saying.

Day Thirteen : Make it Shine (Breastplate of Righteousness)

It doesn’t help to get given a breastplate, and leave it lying in your tent at camp.  In the same way, we can’t accept righteousness, and then not put it on each day.  We need to keep it on, and keep it well oiled and shined.

We need to be seeking righteousness every day, even though we know we can not earn it.

Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” (Galatians 3:6)

Abraham was held to be righteous, not because he was, but because his faith in God allowed God to make him so.  He put on the righteousness daily, by walking with God.

We need to be shining our armour everyday.  Not because we can make it any stronger, but because not doing so will cause it to rust and weaken.

In the same way we need to work on living lives worthy of our righteousness.  Not so that we can earn it, but if our lives do not reflect the righteousness to which we have been called, we will weaken it.

It is harder to say “I am righteous!” in a loud clear voice when you know there are things you are doing wrong.  It tarnishes our righteousness.  It doesn’t take it away, it just makes it harder for the world (and us) to see it.

Day Twelve : Keep it on. (Breastplate of Righteousness)

Do you know what I like about the breastplate as an item of armour.  You can put it on, and forget about it.

If you are fighting with a sword and a shield, you need to be constantly swinging away with them, and trusting in your abilities.

But eventually you will slip, and a blow will get past your defences.

Then you better hope you are wearing a breastplate. 

Because it doesn’t matter how bad a soldier you are, and how weak you are.  If you are wearing a breastplate, it will stop the sword for you. 

Righteousness is awesome like that as well.  We don’t have to be good Christians, or strong.

We just need to put it on every day.

 

 

 

Day Eleven : Look out behind you. (Breastplate of Righteousness)

Stand firm then, ….. with the breastplate of righteousness in place…
(Ephesians 6:14)

 

A breast plate covers your chest.

It is strongest at the front.

 

If you are wearing one, you don’t want to be caught turning your back on the enemy.  Because your protection is strongest when you face him/them.

Righteousness is like that as well.

We need to be confidently standing up to the lies and attacks of the devil, and standing our ground.  If we try to run… if we try to hide… if we try to deny the person of the Christ who we put on each day…

We can not rely on his protection, can we.

Think about that one for a moment.

Day Ten : Do-It-Yourself (Breastplate of Righteousness)

Stand firm then, ….. with the breastplate of righteousness in place…
(Ephesians 6:14)

Soldiers going into battle would be very careful about putting on the right breastplate.  They might all look the same, but sometimes you might get one with cracks in it, or a weak spot.

In theory a soldier could make his own breastplate.  He could find a piece of metal, and beat it into the right shape.  But however much it might look like a real breastplate, it would be weak and useless.  The first thrust with a sword would go clean through it.

It might actually be worse than wearing nothing -  a glancing blow might cause the “breastplate” to crumple and stab the soldier.  The very thing he tried to use to protect him might hurt him.

In the same way, we could try and make our own righteousness, but it would be worse than useless.

All of us have become like one who is unclean,
   and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
we all shrivel up like a leaf,
   and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
(Isaiah 64:6)

Our own righteousness is no better than a filthy rag.  If you use a filthy rag to try and clean something, you just make it more filthy.  If we try to use our own righteousness as a breastplate, the slightest knock might kill us.

We need to put on someone else’s righteousness.

We can never start thinking that we can be righteous in our own strength.  Any more than we could make a breastplate of righteousness out of aluminium foil. 

And if we try, we will lead ourselves into pride and walk down paths that take us straight into Satan’s clutches.

Our righteousness comes from the Lord.

End of story.

Day Nine : Cover it up! (Breastplate of Righteousness)

Stand firm then, ….. with the breastplate of righteousness in place…
(Ephesians 6:14)

 

The Breastplate covered the most important part of a soldier – His heart.

It gave him confidence to go into battle, knowing that his softest parts were covered.

Satan will attack us in our hearts, and cause us to doubt ourselves.  He will tell us our heart is impure, and we can not approach God with confidence.

Nonsense.

Righteousness is about being right with God.  We have been justified through faith, and we are free of condemnation.

Jesus opened the way for us to be righteous, by being our righteousness. 

We put on his righteousness, just as we put on a breastplate.  It is not our own, we borrow it from Him.  He gives it to us a free gift, and it covers us and protects our heart.

 

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, … if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness.
(Romans 8)

If we were not wearing such a shiny and bright breastplate, we might be ashamed to approach God.  But because of His righteousness we are put right with him, we can stand with confidence before all men, demons, and GOD himself.

That is all.

Day Eight : The Breastplate of Righteousness

Stand firm then, ….. with the breastplate of righteousness in place…
(Ephesians 6:14)

 

We have spent a week looking at the Belt of Truth, and now we move onto some shiny stuff…. The Breastplate of Righteousness.

Righteousness in mentioned over 300 times in the Bible.  In Isaiah 59 (v17) we are told that GOD himself “… put on righteousness as his breastplate.”

So why do we need Righteousness?  And why is it compared to a Breastplate?

Righteousness implies being right with GOD.  How do you even do that?

Day Seven : All together now (Belt of Truth)

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist… (Ephesians 6:14a)

The belt is the first item of armour that is mentioned, but it is also the last to be put on.

Because it keeps everything else in place.

The belt would go over the Breastplate of Righteousness.  It kept the tunic tucked away.  It gave somewhere to hang the sword.

Truth needs to cover everything, and keep it in place.

How can you use Righteousness as a breastplate, if you don’t know the truth of right and wrong?

It holds our whole armour together.

Satan will try to confuse us, and tell us we are doing things wrong.

“You aren’t forgiven.”  or “You aren’t using the Bible properly” or “You aren’t righteous.”

These are lies, but we need to keep truth buckled around us at all times.  As we said before, we need to accept the Truth of God’s promises.

"You have been forgiven”
”I love you”
”I have given you a way to resist evil”

Unless we are able to accept these Truths, we will never be able to use the rest of our armour.

It all starts with the Truth.

Day Six : Let it show (Belt of Truth)

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist… (Ephesians 6:14a)

The cingulim, or soldiers belt, was worn for functionality, but also as a badge of office.

A soldier wore his belt proudly to show who’s army he belonged to, and higher ranking officers would wear different colour belts, some with a sash or special designs.

And nobody doubted for a moment what it meant.

The belt told a story.

Does our belt tell a story?

Do people see that we are wearing the belt of Truth, or do we let lies and half-truths slip in as well?  Do we show the world who we belong to, or compromise our witness?

 

Am I speaking about someone in a way that I would not if they were in the room?  Would I want my friends, mother, or children to hear what I am saying?

If not, then I am probably not showing the Truth.  Truth is more than an absence of lies, it is saying what is right at all times, and never saying what is wrong.  It is being the same person in front of all people, and hiding nothing.

It is about proclaiming Truth by my actions, and wearing it proudly on my belt.

What Truth are we showing to the world?

Day Five : Tucked away (Belt of Truth)

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist… (Ephesians 6:14a)

 

Belts were useful for keeping our pants from falling down, but they were also used for something else.  If you wanted to run in a flowing robe or tunic, you might trip over your own clothes.

So soldiers, and other people, would reach down, and pick up the trailing material, and tuck it into their belt.

The belt kept them from falling over anything, and allowed them to move faster.  (Even if they looked like they were running in baggy pants.)

 

I heard a saying once.  “Always tell the truth, it is easier to remember.”  I often see that in practise.  People get caught up in lies, telling themselves things like “It is for her own good” or “It doesn’t really matter” or “Sometimes the truth hurts more than a lie.”

The problem with a small lie is that it is like being a little pregnant…. sooner or later it will show, and give birth to something bigger.

“If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.  Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
(John 8:31-32)

We need to live in the light of the Truth, always.

There is no excuse to depart from the Truth.  God is Truth, Satan is the Father of Lies.  When we tell lies, we are speaking his language.

We need to always tuck ourselves into the belt of Truth, so that nothing will hang down and trip us up on our path.

Day Four : Keep it up (Belt of Truth)

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist… (Ephesians 6:14a)

Have your pants ever fallen down?

Mine have.

I blame it all on my belt.  If I had tightened it more, it would have kept my pants up.

So we come to the second use for a belt.  It keeps your pants up.

 

It would do a soldier no good to wave his sword at Satan with his one hand, while he held up his pants with the other.  Satan is just going to laugh at him, and so is the rest of the world.

 

I am a child of the Living God.  Satan needs to fear me, not be amused by me.  He needs to run when he sees me coming, not point and laugh.

 

But until I accept this Truth, I will always be afraid of him.  I will be afraid that my pants will fall down when I confront him, and I will expose everything.

 

But I do not need to be afraid.  God has told me the truth.  About me, and about Satan.  I know who I am.  I know who he is. 

I just need to keep that Truth firmly buckled around my waist.

Day Three : Hang on (Belt of Truth)

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist… (Ephesians 6:14a)

Soldiers wore a belt for a number of reasons.  But the most important was this… to have somewhere to hang their sword.

Most of us would rather talk about the Sword of the Spirit, and say that we need to know our Bible to use it. The Sword is much cooler than the belt.

But have you ever tried to carry one?

Those things were not light.  If you tried to carry your sword in your hand for a full-day march to face the enemy, your arm would be so tired when you got there, you wouldn’t be able to lift it.

In the same way, we need to have the knowledge of God’s truth to hang our knowledge of his word on.  Otherwise we might get tired.

One of the first things Satan always attacks with is doubt.

• “Did God really say you couldn’t have the apple?”
• “Surely God won’t mind if you turn some stone into bread?”
• “The Bible is old, it doesn’t really mean you can’t….”

We need to keep reminding ourselves that the Word (The Sword) is God’s truth, and inspired for us today.

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,  so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work”
(1 Timothy 3:16-17)

We need to know the Truth of this.  The Truth that allows us to hang the Sword when it gets too heavy for us.  When we don’t know what to believe, we don’t have to worry.  We have decided in our minds (and hearts) that God’s Word is TRUTH.  So we have something to hang our weapon on.

Day Two : The Belt of Truth

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist… (Ephesians 6:14a)

I don’t know about you, but I tend to think of the belt as being the baby-brother of all the armour.  Kind of like the black sheep of the family.  A belt is okay…. but it is not a sword, or a shield.  Give me the cool bits with sharp edges.

Yet Paul starts with the belt.  He says “Stand firm… with the belt of truth buckled around your waist.”

So obviously there is more to this belt thing than meets the eye.

 

Over 80 times in the Gospels, Jesus starts a sentence with the words “I tell you the truth.”  That’s a lot of truth.

Truth comes in many varieties:  Truth with ourselves, truth with others, truth with GOD.

Over the next week we will be looking closer at truth, and why it is mentioned first.  And why it is compared to a belt.

Day One : Ash Wednesday

Today is Ash Wednesday, and the start of Lent.

I will be doing daily (I hope) posts on this blog to help me with my Lenten discipline.  As I struggle over the next 40 days to draw closer to GOD, I know that I will come under spiritual attack.  My faith often takes the biggest knock over Lent.

So this year I want to focus on what I need to do to protect myself.  I have decided to focus on Ephesians 6.

¹¹ Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³ Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

This passage contains some pretty awesome spiritual truths that we often overlook.  So each Thursday I will be looking at a different item of armour, and then spending the rest of the week discussing it. 

I hope you are will stick around, or at least pop in every now and again to leave a comment.  I love feedback.