Ever wonder why you keep getting hit on the same side? Are you wearing All of your protection? Let's go deeper into this familiar Ephesians scripture,
"Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against rulers, against authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."
That's a lot of demons and fallen angels...how can we fight them all? That's a lot of officers in the army of evil… all with different assignments to steal from you and eventually destroy your mind, and your body.
How can we identify them all?
The crazy thing is in Christ the enemy can never destroy our Spirit. Our spirit is safe, off limits, it has already been saved. However, don't forget your armor. As we live this life we have to fight daily to protect our soul (mind &emotions) and our body. God gives us armor to put on every single day. But hey we are human and flawed. Sometimes we forget a piece and sometimes we may forget the whole thing. The enemy; like a hungry wolf can sniff out our weak side, the side that's off guard and attack with his pack. Be sure you leave no side uncovered. Here are your suiting up essentials:
Belt of Truth
Buckle up with truth. Walk in the light. Stay away from the dark side. We can tell the difference. Always yearn to know more about The Kingdom of God and not the Kingdom of this world. Ask for godly wisdom everyday. And tightened that belt!
Breastplate of Righteousness
We are the righteousness of God. Christ has made us right not by our own good because we are not that good and will never be. But Christ is and will always be so it's all good. Stop thinking it's wrong. There's nothing we can do to earn his goodness. So stop trying and just put on your breastplate. Everyday “say I am the righteousness of God.” And it is so.
Gospel of Peace
Do you know everywhere we tread there will be peace? But we have to acknowledge that peace and speak it in the atmosphere. “Great is my peace! Everywhere I walk I'm bringing peace in this place. I’m walking into peace.” I don’t care what the situation looks like or sounds like General you are in God's army now. So anoint your feet. These feet were made for peace!
Helmet of Salvation
Our mind, our mind, our mind is so precious. There rests our emotions and thoughts, our creativity and the very image of God. People think our bodies are created in the image of God but that's just our shell. An earthly spacesuit to dwell in this world. But its what's behind the Astro suit that is Godlike, the soul. We are the only ones on the earth that possess a soul. Our souls were saved when we gave our lives to Christ. But what are we doing after that? Are we feeding our soul with good healthy food to help it grow or are we filling our minds with high fructose self destroying toxins and tonics that grow tumors of fear, lust, vanity and anxiety and then some? Stuff we already have that we are trying to shrink. Our salvation should be the focal point of gratitude not the focal point of glutton-tude.
Sword of the Spirit
The Holy Spirit has a sword it's called the Word of God. Use much? It's there to fight our battles. It's the grenade that will set off when the enemy is advancing. But how can the Spirit do His job if you don’t speak up? Use the word of God for any and all of your situations and that sword will appear. Just what you need to slice and dice the superficial distractions of our not so low enemy.
Shield of Faith
Sure we may come out of the attack with a few battle scars but we are stronger, wiser, better for the next time. Without our battle scars we wouldn't have experience, we wouldn't get to share our testimony, we wouldn't be able to teach others. It wouldn't be a real fight without a few cuts and bruises. I actually think my battle scars makes me look like a tough chick. But remember to hold up your shield of faith and protect that beautiful face of yours. The battle is won.
Let's be grateful we get to tell our story.
What have you survived?
P.S. Don’t forget to pray in the Spirit we always forget that part.