Can you imagine going to war right now?  Like many of you, I have watched the movies depicting the real-life situation that many of our soldiers have faced.  Movies like Lone Survivor, 13 Hours, and American Survivor have given us all a glimpse into the horror that is war. I would like to say that I would have the same courage at these who face death all day long.  There is no way for me to know how I would respond within, but I can tell you one thing…I would put on every bit of protective gear the military would give me. I’m not going out there without my M27 rifle, sidearm, body armor, or even my night vision goggles.  In fact, I might wear two pairs of socks and I am lacing the boots up tight. I might be scared to death, but I know I would be prepared for battle. And that brings us to our Verse of the Day:

Ephesians 6:11

Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.

(NIV 1984)

We could take an enormous amount of time going through all of the armor, but let’s briefly touch on each piece mentioned here in Ephesians 6:

• Belt of truth – The was key to the armor of the day because it held the tunic in place and the scabbard for the sword.  Without the belt, their tunic would flop around and get in the way and they would have no place to keep their sword. Now, let’s talk about the truth.  If there is a truth, then there is a deception. Jesus said He was the truth. Everything God promises is found by following the directives of Christ.  The devil promises the same things as God (success, love, happiness, etc.), but He deceives us and leads us into destruction if we follow the ways of the world.  Truth is walking in the directives of Christ.
• Breastplate of righteousness – The breastplate covered the very vital organ, the heart.  In Scripture, the heart represents our feelings, emotions, and thoughts. For these to be righteous, we must learn how to take captive our thoughts and keep them in line with the truth so we are not led by our emotions into traps of the enemy.  We must not allow emotions and thought patterns that go against truth to remain. We must use our words speaking truth to pull our hearts into a better place when we are struggling.
• Feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace – This is a reference to the footwear.  In those days, a common practice would be to place a harsh brush that would pierce the feet of an oncoming army in a line of defense so good footwear was necessary to move forward.  This footwear is the readiness of the gospel. The Gospel is Good News. We must be ready to always give our testimony without shame or embarrassment.
• Shield of faith – The enemy comes at us with the shadow of death.  Shadows make things look dark. This is what the enemy does. But also, shadows have no substance.  They are not true. When we are in a dark place, we protect ourselves from this attack by exercising our faith that things are not what we see, but the truth is found in what is unseen.
• Helmet of Salvation – The helmet covers the head, the mind.  Our thoughts must originate from our state of salvation. Our salvation washes away anything that would prevent the power of God from working in us and through us.  Our salvation makes us children of the Good Father who always wants to do good and give good gives to His children so in times of darkness, our faith is born out of our salvation.
• Sword of the Spirit – This is not the Bible and it is not the Holy Spirit.  It is both combined into one. We attack the enemy by listening to the Holy Spirit and checking how we believe the Holy Spirit is leading us with the Word of God.  We need the Spirit to help us understand the Bible and we need the Spirit to give us direction in specific moments. He promises to do this, but there are other voices in our head and this is why we must check the Word of God to make sure we are listening to the right voice.  I once had a man tell me that God had put a woman in his life and that she was a gift from God. The problem though is that he was married. I said to him, “God would never give you anything that would tempt you to sin. The Word says God does not tempt (James 1:13).
• Prayer – Prayer releases the power of God.

Now, let’s get back to today’s verse.  We have to put on the WHOLE armor.  We can’t go into war with everything but a gun.  We can’t go into war with everything but our body armor.  We can’t go into battle fully armed, but without boots. We need the whole armor of God.

Why?  Because the enemy does not walk out in the open where we can just sit and fire at him.  No, he schemes. He plots. He is the expert in guerilla warfare. He doesn’t play fair.  We have to be ready at all times in every direction. We need to put on the WHOLE armor of God.

Leave me a comment.  Do you put on the whole armor each day or are you leaving some equipment back at camp when you go out into battle?

Live Blessed and Be a Blessing!

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