Put On Your Armor

What a wonderful job the children did on Sunday as they shared with the congregation what they have learned in the past year. It is so encouraging to hear them not only explain the concepts, but also tell how they apply those concepts to their lives in real life situations.

It's really pretty simple, and yet so profound!

If the worship service did anything for us, it should have pointed us in the direction of applying the word of God to our daily lives.

Ephesians 6:11-18 "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 the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints."

How many of our daily struggles are more difficult because we forget to put on our armor?

Without the belt of truth, we are much more likely to succumb to the lies of the enemy. We must combat lies with the truth of the Word of God.

Without the breastplate of righteousness, we are more likely to be timid in our battle with the enemy. We may not see ourselves clothed in His righteousness and it may make us vulnerable and weak.

The shield of faith protects us from the fiery darts of the enemy. When our faith is solid (like the Roman soldier shield) no fiery dart can penetrate it. In fact, the shield extinguishes the fiery dart.

The helmet of salvation is what protects our very lives. A severe head wound can be a mortal blow. With our helmet of salvation, we know we are secure in Christ. It can add to our confidence in battling the enemy who would like to deal the mortal blow.

While the shield of faith is our defensive weapon, the sword of the Spirit is both an offensive and defensive weapon. With the sword, we can defend ourselves, but also deal some blows to the enemy. Wouldn't it be a nice thought that through the Holy Spirit we can do some damage to the enemy?

That's really all I have this week. The kids said a lot and gave us much to think about. What are your thoughts? What did you hear from our little ones?