Day Thirty-Seven : (The Sword of the Spirit)

Take … the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. – Ephesians 6:17

Just as we had to keep moving our shield, we need to keep moving our (S)word.  We have gaps in our armour.  If it were not so, we would not be able to move.

Sometimes the enemy might be able to penetrate those gaps.  We need to know beforehand where they are, and move our Sword to protect them.

If I know that I might doubt my Salvation, I need to be prepared with verses that assure me of it.

If I know that I might doubt the power of Righteousness, I need to be prepared with verses about it.

If I know that I am easily led into doubt, I need to be prepared with verses to give me hope.

We need to keep moving our sword around, and using it where it is most needed.  We cannot assume one position, and hope the enemy will throw himself on our sword.  Just as we can’t assume that one verse about Salvation will solve all our problems. 

Every verse is used in a different way, or position.  And we need to be prepared to keep using them, until the enemy is defeated.

Day Thirty-Six : Hold onto it. (The Sword of the Spirit)

Take … the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. – Ephesians 6:17

Just like our Shield, our Sword can get quite heavy sometimes.  We need to build our strength by using it all the time.

We also can’t afford to put it down.

If we don’t carry our Sword all the time, we might not know where it is when we need it.

In the same way, if we don’t keep going into the word, we might not have any words to use when the time comes.

Jesus was inspired to fight the Devil with words from Scripture.  I have been inspired to fight temptation and evil with Scriptures, but only scriptures I already knew.

If we have never read certain passages of the Bible, it is harder for the Spirit to bring them to our minds.

So keep hanging onto the (S)word, and know where to find it.

Day Thirty-Five : Taking lessons (Sword of the Spirit)

Take … the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. – Ephesians 6:17

Do you know how to use a sword?

Yeah, me neither.  I mean I know the basics – Handle goes in my hand, pointy end goes in the enemy.  But I think there might be more to being a great sword-fighter than that.

Roman soldiers received training in using their sword, and they practised all the time.

We are lucky, because the Sword we wield is the Sword of the Spirit.  It is a weapon used by the Holy Spirit Himself. 

So sometimes we might not know how to use it.  We might need some instructions.  But that is cool, because if we ask him to, he will show us how to use it.

So I always pray before opening my Bible that the Spirit will open my heart and mind, and show me how to use the word that I am reading.

In the same way, sometimes the Spirit might lead us to a verse to be used in a situation.  Because He not only trains us in times of peace, but also helps us in times of war. 

 

So practise with your sword, and listen to what the Sword-master tells you.  One day it might save your life.

Day Thirty-Four : Get in close with (The Sword of the Spirit)

Take … the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. – Ephesians 6:17

We spoke yesterday about not needing any other weapons.  Our (S)word is enough.

The reason Roman soldiers carried other weapons, such as spears and darts, was so that they could engage the enemy from afar.  Defeat them before they got close enough to do damage.

We don’t get to do that.  The sword is a close up weapon.  It doesn’t do us any good from far away, we can only use it once we are face-to-face with the enemy.

We need to be ready to pull it out and use it at a moment’s notice.

Is your sword ready?  Do you know how to use it?

Day Thirty-Three : All you need is (The Sword of the Spirit)

Take … the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. – Ephesians 6:17

The Sword of the Spirit.  Which is the word of God.

The sword is a weapon.  With it we can not only defend ourselves, but also fight back.  In the wilderness Jesus not only matched the Devil with scriptures, he bested him.  He fought back.

A Roman soldier would carry many weapons:  The Sword, spears, daggers, and even darts.

As Christians, we only need one weapon.  The (S)word.

 

Because it is the only weapon we will ever need.  Everything we ever need is in the word.

Day Thirty-Two : The Sword of the Spirit

Take … the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. – Ephesians 6:17

It doesn’t matter how good your armour is, if you don’t have an offensive weapon, you are just a large, well-armoured, moving target. 

Taking up the Sword is important, because it takes the fight to the enemy.

Day Twenty-Five : Push (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)

I mentioned 300 yesterday.  Have you ever seen it?

It is a pretty bloody movie, but it was quite educational.  How did 300 men hold off millions of trained soldiers?

They positioned themselves well, and they let the enemy exhaust themselves.

In the first major battle scene, the Spartan warriors don’t attack the Persian soldiers.  They crouch down behind their shields and let the Persians wear themselves out attacking them.  Then at a signal, they all push back.  Hard.  The Persians fall over, the Spartans advance, stab the fallen Persians with their swords, and then crouch down again.

And again.

And again.

Until the Persians are all defeated.

 

Sometimes we come under attack, when people throw things at us that we don’t know how to deal with.  We know we should respond with an appropriate scripture or bible verse, but we can’t think of one.  We don’t know how to use our sword at that moment.

So we wait.  We hold onto our shield, and let them batter themselves against our faith with their doubts and questions.  We can’t let them win, just because we don’t know the answer.

Then, we push back with our faith.  We say (to them, or ourselves) “I don't know the answer, but I have faith that there is one.”  Then we “fight back” with a scripture.  It might be about the situation, or it might just be “Trust in the Lord with all your heart.”  or “I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you.”

We use our faith to shield us from attack until we are ready to fight back.  So we don’t lose courage and back off under constant attack.

Day Twenty-Four : Cover up (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)

Have you ever seen the movie 300?  Or that scene in Gladiator where Maximus and the gladiators defeat the charioteers? 

What makes the shield work well in these moments is that the soldiers use their shields to protect themselves, and the guy next to them.   Shields can be used like that.  You can use it to cover other people as well.

Same as faith.

Our faith can be used to cover others as well, especially when theirs might be weaker in areas. 

When the Devil tells me I am worthless, I might lose faith in my own worth.  However if all those around me have faith in my worth, it makes it easier for me to believe it.  I get cover from your over-lapping shields.

Day Twenty-Three : Strong enough to lift (The 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)

Faith is not easy.

When everything in the world tells you to believe one thing…  When everyone says you are crazy to believe something else…
When you can’t see what you hope for…

How do you keep it up?  How do you hold onto your faith?

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

Sometimes having faith is hard.  Your faith feels heavy.

Just like I am sure the huge shield was heavy.  A solid sheet of steel, covered in wood and leather, is no joke to lift. 
It was hard!

So how did the Roman soldier get better at lifting it?

By lifting it every day.

At first it was heavy, and clumsy, and kept feeling like it was holding him back.  It would be easier to just drop it and run.
But he kept lifting it, day after day.  And only by doing the heavy lifting, was he able to strengthen his shield arm to carry the shield.

 

We need to strengthen our faith, but doing some “heavy lifting”.  The more we choose to hold onto our faith, and keep holding onto it, the stronger our lifting arm will become, and the easier it will be to have faith. 

The more we rely on faith, the more our faith is rewarded.

Day Twenty-Two : Move, move, move (the 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)

So we have taken up the Shield.  Now what?

Well, the Roman shield (or Scutum) was quite large.  Large enough to hide behind, but not large enough to cover your whole body while you were standing.

You had to actively move it between yourself and enemy attacks.

You had to be conscious of your shield, and keep moving it to where it was most needed.

In the same way, we need to be aware of the attacks that come against us, and be actively holding onto our faith, and putting it between ourselves and the attack.

“The world is telling me that … but I have faith that…..”

“Satan tells me that I am weak, but I know that I am strong.”

Where do you most need faith today?  Where is Satan attacking you?  How are you going to shield yourself with faith?

Day Twenty-One : Take up (the 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)

Up until now, we were told to “put on” the armour of God.  To wear it, to strap it on.  Now we are told something different.

To take it up.

Faith is like a Shield.  It is not passive.  A soldier could go into battle carrying his shield on his back or his arm, but it could do him no good there.

He had to hold onto it.  He had to take it up.

In the same way, we need to hold onto our faith.  We need to constantly take it up.  If we don’t hold on to it tightly enough, we could lose it.  If we lay it down to rest for a while… no-one is helped.

Faith is not easy.  We can’t just say “I have faith.”  We  have to daily have faith.  We  need to hold onto it. 

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 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.