Battle Gear/The Helmet

Take the helmet of salvation…Ephesians 6:17a

     Many of our battles take place in our own minds. The thoughts that go through my head can be damaging to myself and to others. Our minds can move us from our places of victory into a place of hopelessness and helplessness, right where Satan wants us.

     The greatest gift ever given is the Gospel of our salvation. No matter what life holds, we are going to heaven. Once we belong to Jesus, it is a done deal. We are seated in the heavenly realms, written in the Lamb’s book of life, set to live forever in our new glorious immortal bodies on a new heaven and a new earth!

     It is no wonder this reminder of our forever guards our minds. This helmet protects our heads from damage. There is nothing better than changing our perspective from our earthly worries to our eternal hope. Wear your helmet every single day. Consistently bring your thoughts back to heaven and to the powerful God who sits on the throne.

Since then you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. Colossians 3:1-2

Father,

Set our minds on You every single day. You are seated in our true home, where we will live with You forever and ever. Our Spiritual helmets cannot be removed. We have been saved by grace. We have the Gospel of our salvation.

In Jesus name,

Amen

Battle Gear/The Shield

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 love the thought that our faith is usually all we need to fight our battles. God is the one to wage war. He is the conquering hero. Our spiritual armor belongs to and comes from Him. When we hold up Jesus, all knees bow. Satan flees. Faith trumps all. The flaming arrows Satan throws at us have no power.

     When you doubt, place your faith in Jesus. When you fear, place your faith in Jesus. When you don’t understand, place your faith in Jesus. When you are sad, place your faith in Jesus. When you are scared, place your faith in Jesus.

     Let’s hold high our shields today and extinguish those arrows. Christ has power over all of it. It is all about Him.

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. James 4:7

Jesus,

It is our faith in You that makes Satan flee from our presence. We hold high our shield of faith. No arrows may hit us with You on our side.

Amen

Battle Gear/Shoes

And with your feet filled with the readiness that comes from the Gospel of peace. Ephesians 6:15

     Ahhh, shoes of peace. Walking in peace, being filled with the peace of Jesus. Following and walking in the Spirit leads to peace. When you have a decision to make, follow peace. Being right with God brings peace. Knowing Jesus brings peace. Being filled with the Holy Spirit brings peace.

     Are your feet ready to share the Gospel of peace? As we walk through life, our peace will make others ask; How do you remain peaceful? Where does your joy come from? And we walk from place to place with the Gospel of peace. The truth of Christ, that belt around our waist, the fact that we are right with God because of Jesus, that breastplate of righteousness over our hearts. Today we add our footwear. Shoes of peace. Walk in peace. Share this peace. The Gospel of truth is with us wherever we go.

He called you to this through our Gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord, Jesus Christ. 2 Thessalonians 2:14

Lord,

We praise You for our spiritual footwear, the Gospel of peace. We take the Good News with us wherever we go. Keep us peace-filled and peaceful. Keep us walking in the Spirit, representing Your Son, Jesus.

Amen

Battle Gea/The Breastplate

...with the breastplate of righteousness in place. Ephesians 6:14b

     Our next piece of spiritual armor covers our heart. This piece of spiritual armor, our breastplate, reminds us we are no longer covered with sin. We have been made right with God. Our hearts are cleansed from the punishment of death and darkness. Jesus overcame everything and now our heavenly Father only sees us through the image of Christ.

     Wow! That is something to hold onto! When you are filled with guilt or shame, when your past comes back to haunt you, remember your breastplate of righteousness. Your heart is covered with the blood of Christ. He made it right. He brought us back to God.

God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21 

Jesus,

How can we thank You for exchanging our sins for Your righteousness? We remain humbly grateful to You for all You have done. We are covered with the spiritual breastplate, placed right over our hearts.

Amen

Battle Gear/The Belt

     We begin to look at the armor God has given us to wear. We are already clothed with it. We just need to remind ourselves of our Spiritual armor.

Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. Ephesians 6:11

     The first piece of armor listed holds everything together.

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

     It is no surprise that part of our armor is truth. Jesus is the truth and the life and what He has done for us is also true. The world of darkness wants to place doubt in our minds. It goes way back to the garden of Eden when the serpent asks Eve, “Did God really say…?” (Genesis 3)

     His wily ways continue to plant doubt in our minds. Is it true? Is the Bible true? Did Jesus walk the earth, was He crucified, was He buried, and did He rise again? And we can answer the doubt with a resounding, “Yes!” as we pull tight the belt of truth and remain steadfast in your faith. He is real and He is truth.

Jesus,

Thank You for true faith, for being our living, personal, loving God. Remove doubt from our minds and cinch up our spiritual belts so tight we will never forget.

Amen

Battle Gear/Holy "Spirit Power

     As soon as we receive Jesus as Savior, His powerful Holy Spirit begins to reside within us. This Spirit gives us power to move in the world and to make a difference and to make good decisions for Jesus. As we learn to focus on Him and learn how to wear the armor He gives and to walk in step with the Spirit, we can become confident and able to do the work God planned for us to do. Listen to what we have been given:

For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and a and self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7

     Power, love and self-discipline. I need all three of these attributes of the Spirit. How about you? As we read the Word, and pray to our heavenly Father with the power of the Holy Spirit, we can keep in step with Him.

Sinc we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Galatians 5:25

     Sounds so easy, but our steps falter every day. We make a wrong turn. We go backwards in our faith. We doubt. We trip. We fear. We stumble. We worry. We fall. And God picks us up, and makes the ground steady beneath our feet. Keep your foundation firm and He will guide your steps.

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it.” Isaiah 30:21

Father,

We want to keep in step with the Spirit. We want to hear Your voice above all of the other voices around us. You offer us love and power and a way to keep in step with the Spirit. Show us the way and we will walk in it.

In Jesus name,

Amen

Battle Gear

     Everything we see happening around us, everything we deal with in our own lives, stems from a battle. The battle between good and evil. As Christians, we do have an enemy. Over the next two weeks we will disclose who he is and learn to rely on all of the armor God provides for us.

     This armor gives us every single thing we need to live victorious lives of spiritual power, of peace and joy, of freedom. We need not fear.

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8

     Satan knows our weaknesses. He knows just when to pounce, when we are tired or stressed, when we are encountering difficult people, when we lose faith, when we are anxious. Be alert. Our battle is not against flesh and blood.

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. Ephesians 6:12

     This dark world in the heavenly realms is active and the armies of Satan have their greatest enemies in you and me. But be of good cheer. Jesus has already defeated Satan. In fact, Satan was created originally as an angel. He and God are not equals. God is allowing evil to run its course. And we can hold it back. We’ll look at just how to do it in the days to come.

Father,

You provide all we need to have power over the enemy of our souls. We are already seated in heaven with You. Allow us to have victory and to live the abundant lives you have in store for Your children. Keep us alert and protected.

In Jesus name,

Amen

Family

     Even when children are raised in impossible situations, in addictive or abusive homes, Jesus offers new life and transformation. He redeems the stolen years and brings blessings through His love. He promises not to leave ua as orphans.

I will not leave you as orphans. I will come to you. John 14:18

     Allow God to be your loving father, even if you did not have a loving earthly father. He loves unconditionally. You will inherit a family of believers to love you, to encourage you, to build you up. A Bible-believing church will surround you and teach you about the love of Christ and the peace that passes all understanding.

     Learn to love. Love your family, follow the path of righteousness for Jesus’ sake and let Him lead you home.

Father,

Yes, You are our loving Father. Through Jesus we can come directly to You, to listen to us, to teach us, to guide us, to discipline us and to nurture us as a loving Father should. Thank You for our loving earthly families. And when we need one, You are there. You will not leave us.

Amen

Family

     Faith in God is a heritage often passed down through the generations. The apostle, Paul, looked at Timothy as his son in the faith. He taught him, mentored him and guided him into continuing the missionary work he had done over his lifetime. Timothy was raised by Godly women and Paul acknowledged this in his letter.

I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother, Lois, and in your mother, Eunice, and I am persuaded now lives in you also.  2 Timothy 1:5

     Raise your children in the faith. Many, even most, may stray for a time, but the Bible holds this promise for us to hang onto and I have seen it play out time and time again.

Start children off on the way they should go and even when they are old, they will not turn from it. Proverbs 22:6

Father,

Thank you for the opportunity to raise children in the faith. We trust you will guide them into faith and turn them back to You and to Your Son, Jesus. Build in our families the foundation of faith and we will not depart from it.

In Jesus name,

Amen

Family

     Our plans don’t always unfold the way we think they should. Marriage and children may not be for everyone. But God does have a plan for each and every person on the planet. Believing in Jesus will put us on the road to passion and love and purpose.

     I was part of a group listening to a funny, passionate speaker, about 40 years old and happily married. She was filled with enthusiasm and light. As she spoke about her journey, there came a time for tears. Thinking back to the moment she and her husband realized they were not able to have children.

     Now, years later, she is the leader of a middle-school youth group, the group she calls “her kids.” Their home is often filled with crazy teenagers and they love every minute of it. They continue to make a huge impact on one group after another of teenagers, growing them in the faith that is so important to them.

     Jesus has a way through darkness, through unfulfilled dreams, through doubt, into a life lived with Him and for Him. Your family may be part of the body of Christ and, from experience, I know these brothers and sisters can be as close and even closer than our family of origin.

     Open your heart to what God has in store for you. It will be made just for you, for your gifts and for your blessings. And it will bring glory to God.

Lord,

Open our hearts to Your ways and Your plans. These plans may look different than our expectations, but they will give us more deep joy than we can imagine. Thank You for the family you put in our lives, through our birth, through our marriages, through the body of believers.

In Jesus name,

Amen

Family

     Our culture has changed dramatically over the last 100 years, from Christ-centered family life, Christian education in the schools, believing as a country that we are all “under God” to a nation willing to say, “anything goes.” The family unit is no longer deemed necessary and children can be looked at as an inconvenience or a burden or an appendage to an overly-busy life. There is confusion and there is chaos swirling around us.

     God loves the family. Marriage was created by and for Him. Old-fashioned? The Bible is truth. It is our plum line. We are not the Creator. He is. His plan is perfect and good and beautiful. The greatest gift God can bestow on us is a healthy and fulfilling marriage and children. If you have it, give thanks.  Not everyone is meant to be married or to be a parent. God has a perfect plan for each one of us. Count on it and ask for it. More on that tomorrow.

Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from Him. Psalm 127:3

Lord,

Thank You for family, for a man to leave his mother and father and to be joined to his wife. The two shall become one flesh. Bless Christian marriages and families and turn us back to You once again. Be with us now as we witness changes that are unhealthy and disobedient to You. And give us boldness to stand firm.

In Jesus name,

Amen

Family

     My mom has been gone for thirty years now. It is impossible to believe and I still miss   her terribly. Each Mother’s Day I treasure time in the garden, reminding myself of the renewal of life and the resurrection to come. As a mom myself, my greatest desire for my daughters is for them to know, love and trust Jesus. It has been my most fervent prayer and both of them are believers. I am humbled and grateful for God’s faithfulness in my life and in my family’s life.

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. 3 John 1:4

     Let this be your prayer for your family, for your friends, for your neighbors, that they may walk in the truth of Jesus.

Lord,

Thank You for the people you put in our lives. Give us the heart to share the Gospel with those we know. Let it become our greatest desire for others to come to a saving faith in Jesus.

Amen

Love And More Love

     All you need if faith. And all He gives is love. His love and His faithfulness are given out in great measure with grace and mercy. As we accept His sacrificial love, we, too, can learn to love unconditionally. Everyone needs it. None of us deserve it. Can we learn to love with God’s kind of love?

     What did Jesus consider to be the greatest commandments?

He answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and love your neighbor as yourself.” Luke 10:27

     Love and more love sums it up. Jesus asks us to love God first and out of that great love will bring love for others. Accept His gospel of grace, His mercies and compassion, His faithfulness, His glory and His love and out of that we will love. How can we not love?

Jesus,

You died for us. You gave up everything for us and you continue to love us. How? We don’t understand it, but please teach us how to love like You. With You, we can do all things. You are our strength.

Amen

Mercy And More Mercy

      Grace gives us what we do not deserve. Mercy removes the punishment and puts in its place, compassion. God’s mercies, His compassions are new every day. Need forgiveness? Want to forget yesterday? God wipes the slate clean as we turn back to Him asking, once again, for Him to be merciful to us.

Because of the Lord’s great love, we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning, great is Your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22:23

     The faithfulness of God is not of this earth. We give up on others. We get angry and bitter and are filled with unforgiveness. Not Him. His compassion and His mercy know no bounds. They are new every morning. Great is His faithfulness.

Lord,

We return to You time and again with our sinful natures, but You keep encouraging us, building us up with Your kindness, Your grace, Your faithfulness and Your compassion. Here we are again, Lord.

Amen

Glory and More Glory

     Our foundation of faith, along with God’s grace, brings us face-to=face with His glory. We want to live in order to bring glory to our God. Our lives can begin to mirror the image of His Son as we learn His ways and study His Word. The Words of eternal life are etched in our hearts. And our faces reflect the light of the Son.

And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:18

     Did you see the promise? We will be made more and more into His image with ever-increasing glory. Count on it. Glow with it. Fill up on it and reflect it in your own life. The image of Christ. Imagine that!

Jesus,

We don’t understand the work You continue to do in us. It is miraculous and often cannot be seem until years later when we realize we have changed. Your Holy Spirit within us brings us into Your heavenly truths. Teach us and guide us and grow us into Your glory.

Amen

Grace And More Grace

     God’s grace is sufficient for us each day. The definition for grace is “undeserved favor”, which God offers to us through the free gift of salvation. And he offers us enough grace to meet the challenges of everyday life.

Out of His fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. John 1:16

     His grace never runs out. We don’t deserve it. We fall short all of the time. But God continues to love us unconditionally. There is nothing we can do to make Him turn His back on us and He continues to turn us back to do things right, to follow Him, to learn more from the God of heaven and earth. Grace upon grace out of His fullness. That is all we need.

Father,

You sent Jesus when we didn’t deserve it and You continue to love us and guide us through the events of life. We rely on Your grace time after time and it never runs out.

Amen

Faith And More Faith

     God’s love, His faithfulness, His grace and His mercy will never fail. He will never, ever leave you. His promises are eternal and all will come true. His plans for you are good and His will is pleasing. All He asks of us is to trust Him, to have faith in Him above all else.

For in the gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed-a righteousness that is by faith from first to last-just as it is written, “The righteous will live by faith.” Romans 1:17

     We become right with God when we believe in Jesus as Savior. That is it. The verse above tells us that it is all about faith, from first to last. Faith is the foundation of it all. God will remain faithful to you and to me. Let’s trust Him above all else with faith and more faith. When doubt and fear raise up, have faith. When grief overcomes, have faith. When loss comes, have faith. He will overcome all.

Father,

The gift of faith in You is a miracle that will keep us secure until we reach heaven. Show us Your love as we continue to trust and have faith in Your Son, Jesus and in His name we pray.

Amen

Trust The Spirit

     I love the 8^th chapter of the book of Romans. There are deep truths for us within this chapter. One of my favorite verses will remind us today that the Holy Spirit not only dwells within us, but He intercedes for us. He presents our requests to the Father. He understands our deepest needs in ways we, ourselves, cannot.

In the same way the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. Romans 8:26

      The Spirit takes our needs and our weaknesses and presents them in heaven and the following verse lets us know, it is done according to God’s will. That gives me reason to have peace at all times. Trust the Spirit to know what is best. Pray with all of your might and with all of your thoughts and let the Spirit deliver it to the Father.

Lord,

We thank You for the intercession of the Holy Spirit, who groans right along with us and delights with us and presents our needs to You. We offer our gratitude today for the Holy Spirit.

In Jesus name,

Amen

No More Fear

    The Father sent His Son to die for us and because He lives, the Son sent His Spirit to live within us as believers. We are sealed forever, never to die. Do not fear death. Death was God’s greatest enemy and it is now defeated!

When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true. “Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory:? Where, O death, is your sting? 1 Corinthians 15:54-55

     The fear of death no longer applies. A new beginning awaits, and it is forever. Peace and joy will be ours in eternity with Jesus and with our loved ones. Rejoice today. Because Christ lives, so will we!

        Our purpose is this, to bring glory to God. With humble hearts and willing spirit, we can do the work He has called us to do, until the beautiful day when He call us home.

Father,

Remove our fear of death. Our short lives are nothing compared to forever. Thank You for the gift of salvation and for allowing us to work for You while we wait.

Amen    

The Spirit of Christ

     I need to remind myself, consistently, daily, that I now have the righteousness of Christ. My sins are forgiven, past, present and future. God’s love is not conditional on the works we do or how “good” we are. None of us are without sin.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:21

     Yes, all of us, every single one of us fall short. But God…

But God demonstrates His own love for us in this; while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

     He paid a high price to save us. Let’s not take it for granted. He can and will use us for His higher purpose during our short lives on earth. The call is real and it is powerful. He energizes us with passion and we have the very Spirit that raised Christ from the dead at our disposal!

And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of His Spirit who lives in you. Romans 8:11

     As believers, we are made right with our beloved Father in heaven. Jesus continually intercedes for us and we have the very Spirit of God within us to give us heavenly power. All of the Spirit’s work continually points to Jesus, just as our lives should continually point to Jesus. The world can see what God is like through our lives!

Father,

It is hard to hold onto the amazing truth of Your love and what You offer through Jesus. This free gift of eternal life and the ability to be filled with the very Spirit that raised Christ from the dead is almost too much for us to believe. But we do! Remind us of our salvation each day.

In Jesus name,

Amen

Sanctified

By faith we are forgiven, we are justified and we are sanctified. It is “just as if” we never sinned. The sanctification process is life-long and it is God’s work. We were and are sin-filled, but God sent His Son.

And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. 1 Corinthians 6:11

Believing in Jesus as Savior finds us living with a new kind of peace and joy, soul-deep and eternal. The Holy Spirit will continue to guide us into less worry, less anger, less bitterness and into more kindness, goodness, love, joy and peace. Sound impossible? Ask the Spirit to fill you today, to guide you today, to empower you today. And He will do it!

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22023

Lord,

We ask for Your help as we continue to be sanctified through the work of the Spirit within us. The peace and joy you offer are available to us now and forevermore. Help us to accept this soul-deep peace and embrace it.

In Jesus name,

Amen

The Righteousness of Christ

     Soak in the freedom that Jesus offers. He paid the full price for us. He became sin and we became righteous. There is no work involved on our part, just receiving the gift with our faith. We make it complicated. We want to work for it. Guilt creeps in. We aren’t worthy. We aren’t enough. We’ve done too many awful things in our past.

God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21

He became sin. All of the world’s sins were laid on His shoulders. His holy blood shed for us. We can’t do it. Righteousness and holiness are impossible feats. Only one perfect man was enough. And He finished the work.

God now sees us as righteous because of Jesus. And that is why we pray in His name. We are allowed into the throne room of heaven as our inheritance, freely given. Accept the gift through faith and be set free.

Father,

We need constant reminders of this gift. We are unworthy and you make us worthy. We sin and You forgive. We are confident in Your son and in His righteousness and we receive it freely.

In Jesus name,

Amen