The armour of God

Our family has been going through tough times recently and so a fellow believer  challenged me to read about the armour of God everyday for a week. They felt it would be a source of encouragement and of guarding against what the enemy was trying to destroy in my life, and that of our family. So I thought I would take up the challenge and document my thoughts each day as I read this section of scripture daily for the week. Some days I may spend 5 mins reading, others may be more like half an hour of reading and contemplation, so join me if you will on my adventure of delving into these verses from Ephesians 6;

*The Whole Armour of God*

*10*Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. *11*Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. *12*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. *13*Therefore take up the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. *14*Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, *15*and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. *16*In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; *17*and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, *18*praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, *19*and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, *20*for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak. 

Ephesians 6:10–20.

Day 1

The first thing that stood out to me was the word ‘stand’. Sometimes, there is nothing more to do in life other than stand. When it feels like the battles of life are raging around you, you just need to stand. No movement required, God will give you the strength to do just that, stand. This ability to stand does depend on the strength of faith you have built beforehand. When you can do nothing else, you need to rely on what you know to be true about yourself and God when the warring season comes. There are often no indicators that it’s on it’s way, so you always need to be ready. To be building your faith through prayer, fasting, Bible reading, meeting with other believers and praying in the Spirit. 

Day 2

“Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might’. It is ok if we are not strong in ourselves. Before this section talks about putting on the armour of God, it speaks about God being our strength. We need to have strength in and through God because, this suggests that it is not for us to be strong. It is for us to depend on God being strong for us. 

It is an invitation or a command that we ‘be strong in the Lord’. This requires work on our part to depend on Him - to rely on God to be strong for us. Therefore it is ok to be weak, because then we can rely on his might and strength. 

Day 3

Today as I read these verses I see how important it is to be ready. Before you can stand firm, before you can stand and fight, you have got to be ready. As a soldier, equipped for war, before you get dressed and collect the appropriate equipment, you need to know what you are facing. This passage shows us that we face, everyday, ‘the schemes of the devil’. This is why you need the armour, this is why you need to fight, because you are daily battling, ‘the spiritual forces of evil’. This is why it is important to have the armour of God. That is why you need to pray, fast, read the Bible, declare the truth, belong to church. As this is how you can learn to stand when tough times come, and how you gather and realise the strength and might of the Lord. Are you getting yourself ready for the battles you will come to face in life? You do not need physical training, military schemes, but you do need a relationship with the God of heaven who will strengthen and hold you as you prepare to stand in the storm. Are you getting ready?

Day 4

No matter what you face in life, ’take up the shield of faith’. Faith can protect you and cover you ‘in all circumstances’. Without faith, you’d be unprotected and vulnerable. Therefore it is important to know what you believe. What are the foundational truths that you hold onto? If everything else falls apart in life, what happens to what you believe? Is your faith shaken, shaped or solid when troubled times come? The shield of faith needs to be taken up - are you working on your faith, are you losing it or are you taking it for granted? This sentence tells us to ‘take up the shield of faith’ it is your choice whether you pick it up or not. Are you developing and trusting in the faith you have?

Day 5

Prayer is essential. Is it part of your armoury?

‘praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints’. The armour of God is not complete without prayer. Praying in the Spirit, worshipping and requesting of God, praying to be prepared and praying for others of faith - all are covered in v18. 

Praying in the Spirit allows your spirit to connect with God’s Spirit - no wonder we need that! When we connect with God we connect with His power, His love, His strength, His mercy… 

We are invited to pray, which is a form of worship and to ‘supplicate’ - we are allowed to ask God for things. Not only asking, but asking as well as covering all the other things prayer is for.

Prayer can help us get ready for what’s coming, even if we don’t know what is, and it can help us persevere.

We are also encouraged to pray for one another. We are in these battles together, this is teamwork, therefore we need to work together in prayer too. 

So, today, I shall pray, being grateful for what I have, asking for what I need and praying for the grace to persevere as well as praying for friends of faith to have the same. We are in this together, and God wants us to talk to Him about what is going on, He wants to share His Spirit with you, it will help. How can you pray today?

Day 6

Paul writes that he is an ambassador in chains for the gospel. I know that he was imprisoned for his faith, tortured and persecuted for preaching that Jesus is the son of God. Many still are today. 

Yet for most of us, do we see the seriousness of this? Do you feel as if you are chained to the gospel? I think that is the point that is made here, not so much that Paul is in prison, but that he is chained to the gospel and that has led to his whereabouts. Do you live your life chained to the gospel? Wherever you go, does the gospel go with you? Are you acutely aware that the gospel is with you whatever you are doing? For Paul, and for others imprisoned and punished for their faith the gospel being chained to them is a reality. Can you live your life recognising that if you believe in Jesus, then you too are permanently connected to the good news of who Jesus is? If so, this will effect the way you walk, talk, work, play and rest. 

God, help us to realise that we are chained to you, and allow it to effect and influence us everyday no matter where we are or what we are doing. Amen

Day 7

Speaking boldly about who Jesus is is a real challenge, Paul found it so otherwise he would not have asked for the Ephesians to pray for him to, ‘boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel’. Therefore do not feel bad if you struggle with feeling nervous, or even terrified about sharing about your faith - you are in good company! Yet, there is something you can do about it. Like Paul you can ask people to pray for you to have courage. If you are someone that finds this easy, then please pray for those of us who find it difficult. 

Law v Jesus

In the 7th chapter of Hebrews, we are told that The Law is, ‘set aside because of it’s weakness and uselessness (for the Law made nothing perfect); but on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.’ (Verses 18-19) What do you make of that?

This is key for christianity; that the Law - the set of instructions from God that the Jews worked hard to live by - is here referred to as weak, useless and set aside.

To understand the relevance and impact of this, we first need to realise the purpose of The Law.
The Law is an extensive set of instructions given to the Israelites as a standard of perfection that they were to aim to live by in order to make themselves right and acceptable before God. It gives clear guidance about everyday life and sets a clear standard. By doing so it shows the many ways in which we all can offend God and separate ourselves from Him. Even in ways that we have no control over.
The Law also makes clear that we need to make amends for these offences and how we can do that.  Every human being that’s ever lived has done something offensive to God - that's why we needed The Law - to show us what was wrong, and how, eventhough we are separating ourselves from God in a  myriad of ways, God still yearns for a positive relationship with us. God doesn't want us to be separate from Him, yet we are.
This is the problem.
So, God made a way for mankind to be able to seek and enter His presence -  He put together The Law and gave it to us. The Law reminds us not only of the awesomeness of God, how holy and pure He is, but also the standard required by Him. We, then sadly see ourselves in stark contrast to that.
When we read The Law, it doesn't take long to realise that it seems unattainable. Due to our imperfections and sin, it is so easy to see how we do not measure up. We can never be fully righteous according to The Law - there is always the necessity for some restitution requiring an offering to be made, and not a one time offering either, the sacrifices and offerings required are continuous. Every time something comes along to remove us from God's perfect standard, another sacrifice is needed.

Yet, The Law did provide a way to get closer to God.
It gave us a standard to live up to, a manner in which to repent of our wrongs, a way in which to show worship and gratitude to God,  but it never completely made up for our iniquities. There was always the need for more sacrifice. Every time we sin, another sacrifice is required, every time we become impure, another offering needed.
The Law, as incredibly prescriptive and clear as it is, still does not allow us to obtain full perfection or full restoration with God. It does supply a temporary fix, but the offerings need to be repeatedly given and the rules constantly obeyed. Even then, humanity could still not attain complete perfection or holiness.

Therefore the Law is weak and useless.

It cannot repair what we have broken, it cannot put together God and mankind as they were intentioned to be at the beginning of creation. Therefore, even in it’s complexity and thoroughness, the Law is weak. The Law is useless at providing an eternal solution to the problem of sin separating us from the holiness of God.

Thank God for Jesus!

Now, because of the perfect son, the perfect, holy, and pure sacrifice of Jesus, we can realise that, ‘a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.’

Wow!

We now can, ‘draw near to God’.

All because of Jesus!!

The Law no longer has the power to separate us from God. When we put our hope and trust in Jesus; perfect, pure, Jesus, who offered his own life as the unblemished, holy sacrifice to atone for all of our weakness and sin; He makes a way for us to be made perfect in the eyes of God. He has restored the relationship between us and God forever. Nothing can diminish or destroy what Jesus has done. Jesus sacrifice is the once and for all sacrifice that was needed. Jesus has achieved what we, and The Law could never attain - He has brought about the hope that we can draw near to God!