Stand Firm

I was leafing through my bible looking for a reminder of the Armor of God.  I haven’t thought about it for a while and needed a little refresher.  No matter how many times you read the bible, truths always spring up new and fresh!  This really hit me, again!

Ephesians 6:10-12

A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.  Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.  For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

Wow!  I have been rather grumpy lately.  Like a brick of despair was sitting on my chest.  Things are getting on my nerves that I am usually able to brush away.  I have been getting frustrated with people in my family and even games I have played.  This verse refreshed and reminded me – it is not the people around us that we are fighting against.  That is just one of Satan’s tricks.   He sows discord and wants us to focus on the people and the issues rather than facing and recognizing what he is doing to us and fighting him.  Don’t give Satan that foothold, don’t let him steer your emotions and shake your faith through the actions of others.  He is what is wrong, not ‘flesh-and-blood’ people.

The shield of faith is to turn away the “fiery arrows of the devil”.  What are your fiery arrows?  Lies that you are no good?  Actions of others or yourself that make you angry?  (The devil likes us to be angry, it is hard to do God’s work when we are angry.)  Lies that you are a failure?  Lies that you can’t control your own thoughts or emotions?  God equips us with that shield to protect us from those arrows.  He has also given us a way to fight back – the ‘Sword of the Spirit’ – the word of God.  The bible!  In the bible holds the answers and truths to fight back against all the tricks Satan uses to pull us down!  Use the word to counteract the lies of Satan and words or actions of others that are aimed to hurt you or knock you off of your firm stance. 

Take your stance in faith and trust.  Put on the shoes of peace, knowing you are saved, and preparing yourself.  Don’t let Satan run you down, stand strong.

Turn to Ephesians 6, verses 10 to 18, and stand firm in your faith.

Branded

Have you noticed the Under Armor craze around us?  I am not sure about other parts of the country, but kids around here look like they are drowning in the Under Armor logo.  It is ‘the brand’ to wear.  I have never understood how having a certain label or symbol on your clothes made them worth 5 times as much money.  Kids seem to think they will only be cool or accepted if they are wearing that symbol.

Let me ask you this.  Do you want to be accepted, to be in God’s ‘in crowd’?  That brand is free.  That brand gets you relationships that are not based on how much your clothes cost.  That brand is worth devotion and praise.  The brand Jesus puts on your heart when you repent of your sins and accept him is the only brand that keeps you out of hell and guarantees eternal life in heaven with him.  Now THAT is a valuable brand.  People tried selling it years ago, but they were wrong.  You can’t buy this brand with money, it is much too valuable for mere money. 

No one can take their special clothes they buy here on earth with them when they die, or when Jesus returns.  You can’t run up and pack all of your Under Armor.   Clothing brands cannot change who you are, or make you beautiful to God.   Only Christ’s brand can do that.  Only Christ’s brand on your heart.  Wouldn’t it be great if people worked as hard for Christ as they do to acquire certain things or brands of things?  We would live in a different world!

Ephesians 1:13 ----And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,

Revelation 7:2-3 ----'And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.'