Put On the WHOLE Armor of God!!

11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

In the last post, we talked about how we are in a fight.  The enemy is not our brothers or sisters but the devil, principalities, power, rulers of the darkness of this world, and spiritual wickedness in high places.  The enemy may be using those around us (and even us if we allow him to), but ultimately, it is the enemy.  We cannot win this war in our own strength.  

As Paul says, we need the WHOLE armor of God.  We can't go into battle half-dressed or not equipped. We need all parts of the armor.  The whole body needs to be armed and protected. We need the Holy Spirit to defeat Satan.  We fight in God's strength and from a place of victory, "But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

We need to have the helmet of salvation - to guard our thoughts.  Our minds need to be transformed and renewed. We need to keep our mind on God to be in perfect peace. 

We need to be armed with the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God.  We need to have the Word of God in our hearts and mind to be able to withstand the attacks of the enemy. This is our weapon, God's Word.  

We need the belt of truth - girded with the truth of God.  The Word says in John 8:32, "32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."  We are made free through the truth of God and His Word.  John 14:6 "Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."  

We need the breastplate of righteousness - guarding your heart and keeping it pure.  David says, "10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me."  We need to have a pure heart.  Jesus said in Matt. 5:8, "8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God."  

We need our feet shod with preparation of the gospel of peace - walking for God and with peace.  The shield of faith is needed to endure the fiery darts (attacks) of the enemy.  In order for us to endure the warfare, we must have on each piece of the armor and they must be in full operation. We need God's strength and power to win.  We win through Christ Jesus!!

The enemy is out to defeat you, but God is greater than any enemy that you face. 1 John 4:4 says, "You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world." (NKJV)  You must surrender your life to God and He will fight for you.  He is for you because you belong to Him.  He takes care of His own.  He has overcome the world and all our foes. 

Maybe you are saying that you haven't accepted Jesus as your Lord and protection.  You can accept His love and salvation any day, any time.  Here is a simple prayer:

A Simple Prayer

Dear God in heaven, I come to you in the name of Jesus. I acknowledge to You that I am a sinner, and I am sorry for my sins and the life that I have lived; I need your forgiveness.

I believe that your only begotten Son Jesus Christ shed His precious blood on the cross at Calvary and died for my sins, and I am now willing to turn from my sin.

You said in the bible that if we confess the Lord our God and believe in our hearts that God raised Jesus from the dead, we shall be saved.

Right now I confess Jesus as my Lord. With my heart, I believe that God raised Jesus from the dead. This very moment I accept Jesus Christ as my own personal Savior and according to His Word, right now I am saved. Amen. (paulbarksdale.com)

Accept Jesus today and put on the WHOLE armor of God.  Pray for the Holy Spirit to endow you with power and you will have on your armor.  Only with the armor of God can we withstand the enemies attacks.  

Be blessed!

 We Wrestle Not Against Flesh and Blood

10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.  11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.  13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day,

There is so much going on in the world today. Every day there are stories of violence, hatred, harm being done to innocent people, relationship issues, wars, and cyber-attacks. Times are changing and acts of crime are being committed against all races, ages, and creeds of people. Sometimes a calm discussion can turn into something else quickly.

We often ask ourselves, why? Well, the enemy of our souls is always fighting against us and the devil does not care who he uses to do it. It can be our family members (i.e. spouse, children, etc.), friends, co-workers, acquaintances, and even people we don't even know. He does not have a respect of persons. He is just warring against us. At times, he will even use our thoughts, actions, or deeds against us.

We get so angry with the person or individuals and want to retailiate or handle them. We have to remember that it is not the individual (even though they are being used) but ultimately it is the enemy - the devil. It is the principalities, powers, rulers of darkness, spiritual wickedness in high place. When the waged fight is spiritual, we have to use spiritual tactics to fight.

Paul admonishes us to put on the WHOLE armor of GOD!! We cannot fight this battle in our own strength. We need the armor to quench all the fiery darts of the enemy. We need to be covered. We are facing armies that have come out to defeat the children of God. They are demonic forces waging war against our souls.

We need the Holy Spirit to defeat the enemy. We need to have the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, our feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith to quench the fiery darts of the enemy, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. We need it all to be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. We have to pray with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit.

These are evil days and we need the armor of God to be able to stand. We need to depend on God's strength and be equipped to use every piece of the armor. All of us need to be armed, every day. We must fight in the strength of the Holy Spirit, not our own strength. Our strength will not win this warfare.

As we lean and depend on the Holy Spirit for strength and guidance, He will give us strategies to pray to defeat the enemy. Ask God to give you how to pray against whatever you or your family are facing. The Holy Spirit knows how and what to pray. God will give you insight into how to pray and defeat the enemy. Is. 54:17 tells us that "No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, And their righteousness is from Me,” Says the LORD."  

God is able to deliver us from the attacks of the enemy.  We may have to go through but He will give us strategies and strength to endure like "a good solider".  Don't get caught up in who is fighting you, seek God and ask Him how you come against those spiritual battles.  But you must be suited up and ready to fight in prayer.  Prayer is where battles are fought and victories won!!

Be blessed.