Take unto you the whole armour of God

Bible Reading: 1 Kings 9; Ephesians 6; Ezekiel 39; Psalm 90

Ephesians 6:13 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.

We are engaged in a spiritual battle and we need spiritual armour and weapons to stand against the wiles of the enemy. This armour is the armour of God. It is not a man made armour or something that man has dreamed up. It is armour provided for us by God himself. Going into battle without armour is foolish.

Ephesians 6:14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness. Truth is that which girds the loins of the soldier. A belt that holds all the other pieces in place is the truth of God and his Word. Jesus said: John 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. Do you know the truth of the Word of God? Do you base all of your battle decisions on this truth? Including the most important truth that righteousness is a gift from God received by faith in Jesus Christ. The breastplate protects the heart with which you believe unto righteousness (Romans 10:10). The enemy wants to steal your heart so that you don’t believe God’s truth!

Ephesians 6:15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. A soldier’s feet must be protected. If he is crippled, the army is at a standstill. For the soldier of Jesus Christ we must be shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Not only must be believe the gospel ourselves, but we must be prepared to share it with others. Do you know how to share the gospel of Jesus Christ?

Ephesians 6:16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. The shield of faith is the defense against the enemy’s arrows. Too many soldiers have been wounded by the fiery darts of Satan and have doubted the promises of God.

Ephesians 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. The helmet of salvation protects the mind. Salvation for the believer is a present possession. We can KNOW that we are saved and the enemy will try to convince us otherwise.

The weapon that we must learn to wield is the sword of the Spirit – God’s Word. Are you proficient with it? Do you know how to handle the Bible? Do you practice with it? Do you fight with it? It is the offensive weapon of the Christian in the spiritual battle that we are engaged in. Put this armour on today and raise the shield of faith against the onslaught of the enemy.

In Christ,

Rody

A sweetsmelling savour

Bible Reading: 1 Kings 8; Ephesians 5; Ezekiel 38; Psalm 89

Ephesians 5:2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.

The Christian life is a life of walking in love. It is a life of living as Christ lived. The Bible says:

1 John 2:6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.

Jesus lived a life of love and he has given us the example of what the God-kind of love looks like. First, the life of love is a voluntary life. It is not imposed upon someone. You must bring your love as a free will offering. Christ did not have his life taken from him. No he freely offered his life on our behalf to the Father.

John 10:17-18 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.

Second, the life of love is a sacrificial life. It must me lived with others in mind. Christ did not die for himself. He had no sin to die for nor did he gain anything by his death for himself – he is God. No he gave his life as a sacrifice. Love is always sacrificial. God loves, so he gives:

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Throughout the Bible, God calls people to love as Christ loved by giving sacrificially. One instance is that of calling husbands to sacrifice for their wives:

Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it.

A willing sacrifice lays down its life on the altar for the sake of someone else.

1 John 3:16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

Thirdly, we see that the life of love is pleasing to the Father. The Bible tells us that God receives the sacrificial life of love as a sweetsmelling savour. He received Christ’s sacrifice and he will be pleased with your sacrificial love as well. God loves the smell of the Christ-life!

In Christ,

Rody

Grieve not the holy Spirit of God

Bible Reading: 1 Kings 7; Ephesians 4; Ezekiel 37; Psalms 87 & 88

Ephesians 4:30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

What could possibly make God’s Holy Spirit grieved? To be grieved is to be sad or full of sorrow. Why does the Bible tell us not to grieve his Holy Spirit? The answer lies in the fact that as believers we can hurt one another with our sinful attitudes and actions. When God’s children fuss and fight, it grieves his Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 4:31-32 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

When believers are bitter and filled with wrath and anger it makes the Holy Spirit sorrowful. When we clamour and speak evil of one another it literally breaks the Holy Spirit’s heart. The Bible says we must put these things away from us. Any malice that a believer has must be put away because we are to live in peace with brothers and sisters. God wants his children to live in unity.

Psalms 133:1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

The Bible never tells us that because we are children of God that we will not have disagreements anymore. Nor does it say that we will always do what is right. It does say that we must react differently than the lost world when these things happen. We are to be kind to one another. We are to treat others with kindness and be respectful. We are to be tenderhearted toward brothers and sisters in Christ and realize that everyone is dealing with different things in life. When we are wronged we must not grow bitter and get angry. We must forgive one another.

How can we do this? Sometimes we are wronged in a big way by people claiming to be Christians! We are not able to do this on our own. We must remember the cross of Jesus Christ and the fact that God in Christ has forgiven us. Our debts that we owed to God have been paid in full by Jesus Christ. Now, he tells us to forgive others. He has empowered us by his Holy Spirit to do this and we are sealed unto the day of redemption.

The key to not grieving the Holy Spirit is to walk in kindness and forgiveness to others. Remember what God has done for you.

Matthew 10:8b freely ye have received, freely give.

In Christ,

Rody