2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Readers,
Today, I am led to take a closer look at the “belt of truth” referred to in EPH 6: 14. Our Lord understands exactly what each person is capable of understanding. That’s part of His omniscience. He has obviously imparted to each person who teaches His way, including His own Son, the ability to convey to others what God wants said. This is the explanation for why Christ used parables (stories about [people and things familiar to his audience) to transmit the word. It is also the reason that Paul used the metaphor of a Roman soldier, a familiar personage of his time, to pass along the concept of God’s full armor. Once again, I consulted Kay Arthur’s book on spiritual warfare for information she had shared about the typical garb of a Roman soldier. They wore at least one of three types of belts: a leather apron to protect the lower abdomen, a sword belt with scabbard-as a decisive step in preparing for battle, or a special belt or sash-designating them as an officer or high official.
Since his weapons were attached to his belt, would it make sense for a Roman soldier to leave for battle without it or to have it strapped on loosely? Of course not! His life depended on him putting on his belt to do the job for which it was designed and to have it tight to his waist so as to bear the weight of his weapons without coming off in the middle of the battle. The belt also secured the breastplate, just as truth secures righteousness. EPH 6: 14, “So stand ready, with truth as a belt tight around your waist, with righteousness as your breastplate.” All of our lives until we accepted Christ, we were prisoners of Satan’s lies, believing them. It was only when we came to faith in Christ that we were set free. JN 8: 31-32, “So Jesus said to those who believed in Him, ‘If you obey My teaching, you are really My disciples; you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’” I was once asked what that freedom meant in view of the fact that we become covenant partners with God when we come to faith. To my questioner’s mind, that meant the new Christian would now live under a long list of restrictions. My answer was, “And so we do. However, when one lives ‘in Christ,’ one is free to live a life filled with love, with the confidence of God’s protection against Satan, and with the hope of eternal life close to God-one of joy and fellowship.” I quickly added that the alternative was torment in the lake of fire and sulfur, the fate of Satan and anyone, human or angel, who persists in following him. Oh how very much the truth really does matter to both mankind and to God!
JN 17: 14-17 gives us a gorgeous insight into the loving heart of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is His prayer for believers and potential believers on the night of His arrest. Remember it was uttered when He knew He was facing the most painful death imaginable. [Christ praying to the Father], “I gave them your message, and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but I do ask You to keep them safe from the evil one. Just as I do not belong to the world, they do not belong to the world. Dedicate them to Yourself by means of the truth.” If we examine this prayer, we see that Christ understood that just as the world had rejected Him, so believers would experience opposition, rejection, and maybe even some would be martyred. We would always be the proverbial fish swimming upstream against the current. Christ wanted us to know He understood this, but He was also indirectly asking God to equip us to handle this predicament. He knew we needed to keep from losing sight of why it is worth it to us to hold firmly to God’s truth and to endure whatever was necessary to forward both our sanctification and God’s work on earth. He wanted us to understand that we are “tent-dwellers” living in temporary residence here on earth; our permanent citizenship is in heaven. Christ’s plea to the Father is for our protection from Satan and his cohorts, rather than to take us out of this world. On first inspection that may seem illogical, but we mustn’t forget just how important the believers are to God’s work. We are His “ambassadors,” set apart in faith to transmit God’s truth to those who have the potential to come to faith. This work can’t be done if God takes all believers, before His perfect time, to be with Him.
A question might arise here that needs comment. Recently, a wonderful little boy, Sammy Picotte from our congregation, went home to be with the Lord at the age of six. He had been so full of life and had so many little friends during his short time in preschool. When he developed a malignant brain tumor, all the surgery and wisdom of doctors were not enough to save his physical life. The obvious questions come up over and over again. Why does the Lord take people so very early in their physical lives? How can God’s work on earth be accomplished when then this happens? Our senior pastor, Dr. Dean Nadasdy, who spoke at Sammy’s funeral, gave what I think is the closest answer I have ever heard to these knotty questions. “God decided that most of Sammy’s work for Him will be done in heaven.” Sammy’s life might have been short, but he must have known God well enough for God to hold him in such high esteem. Sammy must have known that God’s truth matters. It’s food for thought.
PRAYER: O Lord, throughout Your word, You impart truths that You know are vital to us. There are times, Dearest Abba, when the noise of Satan’s lies almost drowns out our ability to recognize and believe the truth when we hear it. Only Your supernatural power is great enough to grant those You choose a way out of this auditory morass. You have done this through granting faith and through the sacrifice of Your only begotten Son. We do not understand why some people will listen for the truth and others won’t. But, in Your infinite wisdom, You know why. We stand before You today to acknowledge our eternal thanks and praise that You chose us to believe. In humility we confess our sin, present ourselves to You with spiritual vessels emptied of human agendas, and plead for You to fill them with the Holy Spirit. We yield control of our lives to Him with the deep-seated desire to join You in the work for which You set us apart. We understand that only the Holy Spirit can bring a non-believer to faith, but we also know that we can have a big part in setting up the conditions by which this work can be done. Today, we pledge to remain daily in Your word, to overcome our personal reticence and boldly proclaim it with accuracy, and to put our natural shyness behind us enough to witness to our faith within the circumstances we find ourselves. Just as You are sensitive to our weaknesses and needs, so we promise to model that with those to whom we witness. In JN 13: 34-35, You guided Christ to direct us to say, “And now I have a new commandment: love one another. As I have love you, so you must love one another. If you have love for one another, then everyone will know that you are My disciples.” We will obey that new commandment in everything we do and with everyone we encounter. David said in PS 27: 11, “Teach me, Lord, what You want me to do, and lead me along a safe path, because I have many enemies.” That is our supplication too. We offer You our adoration, worship, trust, obedience, glory, honor, loyalty, diligence, praise, and thanksgiving eternally. In Christ’s name, amen.
The Holy Spirit leads me to discuss how Satan’s favorite point of attack is our minds tomorrow. God is very aware of this and gives us effective defense, but we must be on our toes and ready as the Roman soldier whose belt [truth] is tightened before the battle. God’s protection and the power to be victorious in Christ are two more manifestations of His profound love for those who trust Him and obey His commands. HE 4: 15 speaks of how our Savior was prepared to feel real sympathy and understanding of our suffering before going back to the Father to serve as our High Priest, our Advocate and Intercessor, in heaven. God’s sensitivity in preparing the Son this way is another way that He shows us His love. There is no better place to be than under the umbrella of God’s protection by living in freedom as believers in Christ, our Messiah. We Messianic Jews call Him by His Hebrew name, Yeshua Ha-Massiah Adonai, Jesus, our Savior, Messiah, and Lord. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn