Armored Up. Battle Ready. When Our Head's in the Game, It Changes Everything.

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Armored Up. Battle Ready. When Our Head's in the Game, It Changes Everything.

I met with a dear friend yesterday and she challenged me in such a God ordained way. We quite literally had a conversation that covered the history of humanity, the tenets of Christianity, and why the world we live in daily tests our sanity.

And while evil is running rampant, God is still running the show. He is sovereign over all. He will have the final say. He has made a way, and He will continue to show us the way as we stay in His Word. There, he has laid it all out, from cover to cover. He tells us how to live, how to love, and how to treat one another.

As Rachel and I were journeying from Genesis to Revelation by way of conversation, we discussed hermeneutics, history, and theology. Cover to cover, we see God continually cover His people with His protection and His provision.

God’s expectations of His people, both in Bible times and for those who have been grafted into the vine, have not changed, and are in place to keep us safe.

Speaking of safety, the one thing my friend said to me that I had never really thought about (but now I can’t stop thinking about) is the way we view the Armor of God.

We’re taught that we must put it on everyday, much like a uniform at game time — suit up before we hit the field, or in this case, armor up before we hit the battlefield.

But the words Rachel spoke to me yesterday, made me view God’s safety and protection in a different way. When she hears Christians say “We have to put on the Armor of God every day,” her response is “Why do we ever take it off?”

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Sound the Alarm. Remove from Harm. Equip and Arm.

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Sound the Alarm. Remove from Harm. Equip and Arm.

Three things God dropped in my heart this morning as I spent time in His Word. As stern as they seem, they’re three things I believe every Christian must learn to do and teach others to do, too. They encouraged and challenged me. If you are a Christ follower, I pray they do the same for you...

  1. Sound the alarm. Don’t grow weary or be silent. Stay alert and on guard.

  2. Remove from harm. We are not saviors, but we can be harbingers.

  3. Equip and arm. (Ephesians 6:10-20) God equips us with His whole armor. Each piece plays an important role in the battle plan. It is not enough to just know about it. We cannot live without it. Armor up, and teach others to do the same.

As I was reading in James 4 this morning, I was reminded that as believers, we cannot be “friends” with the world. To be a friend with the world is to be an enemy of God. It’s adultery. I’m not being hyperbolic. That’s what the Word says. (James 4:4) We can love our neighbors (Mark 12:31) and even love our enemies (Matt 5:44) without getting into bed with them. As Christians, we are to be set apart. To be set apart is to be different from the world. The ways of the world and the ways of the Word are not the same. We must live by God’s standard, lest we be enamored by the world’s glamor. We cannot be Christians in name only. We must bear fruit (Matt 6:17).

We are either following God and living by His Word (walking with Him) or we are chasing things of this world (turning our back on Him). We cannot do both.

As I read the Word this morning (James 4 and Ephesians 6 specifically), I couldn’t help but think of a time years ago when God illustrated these truths for me through a real life experience. When our oldest son was young, maybe 2 or 3, we had just returned home from somewhere that he had gotten a balloon. If you’re a mom, I’m sure you remember those days well, or maybe you’re living them now. We had on street parking at our house in town, so we were teaching him to get out of the car on the side of the sidewalk and house as opposed to getting out on the side of the street. We had gotten him out of the car and he was standing on the sidewalk with his ballon, when suddenly, he let go of this prized possession. Instead of taking off into the air, the balloon hovered low to the ground and danced down the sidewalk and out into the street. Like most toddlers would, Joshua naturally just chased after the balloon. And this is where the split second scary situation transitions to the slo-mo “Chariots of Fire” pace as my husband raced to the rescue shouting, “Stop!” He saw a car coming down the street straight toward this oblivious little boy enamored by his runaway balloon, and this father did everything in his power to...

Sound the alarm. (Shout.) Remove from harm. (Pick him up and carry him to safety.) And equip and arm. (Talk to him about future dangerous situations.)

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An Ode to Sundays

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An Ode to Sundays

I love Sundays. Time for church days. Family meeting days to hear the Word preached days. Time to worship together in spirit and truth days. Take authority against the enemy days as we come together and pray with power days. Time for the family of God to gather days, so the enemies of God can scatter days. Oh how I love Sundays.

“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” ~ Hebrews 10:19-25 ESV

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” ~ Ephesians 6:12 ESV

It’s time to go to church, so we can be the Church because without church, the world can not see the Church.

C’mon Church. Now is not the time to idly sit by, withdraw, or retreat. Now is the time to rise, come alive, and remind the enemy of his defeat. We have work to do, and although it may not all be done in a church pew, I’m convinced that the beauty of the bride of Christ grows deeper and fuller, and her call becomes clearer and louder as she comes together and gathers.

We gather for our marching orders — straight from the uncompromising Truth of the very Word of God. We gather to prepare for battle — fully equipped and armored up so God can send us out to take back what the god of this world has run amok.

We don’t gather to hear a word just to scratch our itching ears. We don’t gather to receive a pat on the back and then walk away still gripped by fear. Sundays aren’t some social club to puff us up as we pay our dues. Sundays can build us up, yes, but Sundays need to rebuke us, too.

God’s Truth transforms us beyond societal norms. It disrupts the evils allowed by cultural reforms. When we stand up for God’s Truth, we must not yield. And when that Truth seems a little rough around the edges, It’s merely the sharpness of the Sword we wield.

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” ~ Hebrews 4:12

As Pastor Joe Green of St. Paul’s Missionary Baptist Church in Harrisburg, PA said on Sunday, “The more dangerous the situation, the sharper the Sword,” and I completely agree, the more evil our iniquity, the sharper the Sword must be!

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