2002-10-22
Good Morning Treasured Ones,
If that greeting seems a bit too flowery for you, it isn’t. That’s because it’s how God thinks of each of you and how I do too. From the time I began writing these messages several years ago, it dawned on me that God would be my main topic as long as He allows me to write them. I’m not forced into this; He has placed the desire that I have to make it so in my heart as part of His stamp of loving ownership on me. He places a stamp on the hearts of all who love Him. Considering the alternative-being a slave to Satan, driven sin-it’s a privilege and a blessing to have God’s love showered on us the way it is. Anyone who gets to know God through daily study of the Scriptures soon realizes that the Bible is a couple of very important things to us. It’s God’s love letter to His children. It’s also B =basic, I = instruction; B = before, L = leaving, E = earth. All that we read in its precious pages is to prepare us to make godly decisions, to teach us how to behave toward each other, to teach us reverence for our Creator Who deserves nothing less, and to prepare us to occupy one of those “mansions” in heaven that Christ has told us He is preparing for us in JN 14: 2.
Today, I begin a new segment of this Spiritual Warfare series on the next weapon that God has given us in His full armor that we are to put on [EPH 6: 10-20]. It is the helmet of salvation found in EPH 6: 16. It shouldn’t be lost on us that the helmet of a soldier in battle is designed to protect his head. Satan’s favorite point of attack with his fiery arrows is the head. The head is the most vulnerable place on the body, the place where it is easiest to deliver a death blow. Hence, protecting it becomes a very high priority. Kay Arthur gives the following description of a Roman soldier’s helmet in her book on spiritual warfare. “The soldier’s helmet was usually made of bronze. Equipped with cheek pieces to protect the face, the helmet covered the whole head. Because of its weight, the helmet was lined with felt or sponge. Only and axe or hammer could pierce a good helmet.”
Those of us who spend considerable time with the Scriptures get the joy of recognition that the Bible is a book of many layers of understanding to be seen. One of the most significant verses in this “love letter to believers from God” is GN 3: 15, the Protevangelium. [God speaking to the serpent in the Garden of Eden] “I will make you and the woman hate each other; her offspring and yours will always be enemies. Her offspring will crush your head, and you will bite their heel.” While I have written about this before, it bears repeating. God tells a lot in this one place. 1) He tells us that Satan and mankind will be enemies. This speaks profoundly to His sovereignty and supremacy over Satan and his followers. If mankind is to be the enemy of God’s adversary, then He intends to save mankind from slavery to sin, thus making them His friends. RO 5: 10-11 certainly supports this, as do many other verses. As for God’s sovereignty and supremacy, there are a myriad of verses that demonstrate the truth of that, PS 110:1, DN 2: 34-35 & 4: 17, IS 9: 6, ZECH 14: 4, MT 1: 22-23, JN 3: 16, AC 1: 8-9, 1 COR 15: 1-8, 2 COR 5: 17, HE 10: 10, REV 19: 19-20 & REV 20:10 for example.
If we look at GN 3: 15, we can see in it the fact that while Satan is going to “bite mankind’s heel,” bringing them pain, suffering, and loss to challenge their faith, he cannot destroy them (unless a person is weak and gives into the Satan-driven desires of the flesh). On the other hand, mankind will crush the serpent’s head, meaning mankind will find a way out from the destruction Satan intends for them, which God will provide. That way is Jesus Christ-salvation that comes from repentance and faith in the Son. The Atonement [At One Ment] with Christ is what brings our salvation. It is a gift to us through God’s grace in sacrificing His Son on the cross. Christ becomes a satisfactory substitute sacrifice for all the sins of mankind. Satan is thwarted in his attempt to bring destruction. From the book of Revelation, which is simply put, the story of how Christ will wrest dominion over the earth from Satan and place it back in God’s hands where it belongs, we will also see the eternal torment-fate of Satan and his cohorts in the lake of fire and sulfur. This, Dear Ones, is not just a story. It’s the revelation of why we have every reason to endure in our faith and know that the hope God has given to us for joy and eternal peace with Him in the permanent Kingdom Christ will establish is real.
The helmet of salvation spoken of in EPH 6: 16 is a symbol of God’s claim of ownership on us. It protects us against Satan’s fiery darts aimed at our heads and our hearts. Remember that the fiery dart is anything that challenges our faith. If we are good soldiers of Christ, we already have the shield of faith, the breastplate of righteousness, the belt of truth, the Gospel shoes (so we can go and witness to the truth), and the sword of God’s word to help protect us too. Isaiah made this claim of ownership abundantly clear to us in IS 43: 1, “Israel, the Lord Who created you says, ‘Do not be afraid-I will save you. I have called you by name-you are Mine.” Since Gentile believers have been grafted on to the roots of this olive tree [Israel-RO 11: 16-24], this Isaiah verse means all who believe, not just Jews. Remember RO 1: 16, “I have complete confidence in the Gospel; it is God’s power to save all who believe, first the Jews and also the Gentiles.” Praise be to God!
PRAYER: O Lord, it is too easy for us to take for granted the blessings You bestow on us. That’s reason enough to spend time daily in Your word. We stand before You today as sinners, acknowledging our utter need for Your presence, guidance, compassion, wisdom, protection, provision, and encouragement in our lives. We are in awe at the magnitude of Your love for us in sacrificing Your Son on the cross, giving us salvation through repentance and faith in Him. How perfect a sacrifice His physical life was! Christ took on the pain of all mankind’s sins, so that we might walk that hard path that leads from a narrow gate to eternal life [MT 7: 13-14]. Our poverty of spirit is filled when we choose to shut the door to it on Satan and open its door so that Your Spirit can fill it. We confess our sin today, emptying our spiritual vessels of human agendas and asking You to fill us with Your Spirit. We know that our salvation from slavery to sin and certain spiritual death is a act of Your grace. Therefore, we bow our heads in heartfelt thanks for what You have done and continue to do for us. Such love is not available from any other source. We thank You for opening the channel to You of prayer, for giving us the many lessons and encouragement found in Your word, for causing the Holy Spirit to indwell in us so we can understand and know You, for revealing Yourself and Your mighty justice to us, for showing us the leadership of Jesus Christ is the greatest blessing of our lives, for teaching us how to love one another and You, for granting us access to the peace that goes beyond human understanding [PHIL 4: 7], and for giving us hope that we will inherit Your Kingdom as joint-heirs with Christ for eternity [RO 8: 17]. We adore, worship, trust, obey, pledge loyalty and diligence, thank, and praise You eternally. In Christ’s name, amen.
When God claims ownership of a person, He showers that person with the blessings of His presence in his life. When Satan tries to wrest that ownership away from God, he does so in dishonorable, evil, and mean-spirited ways. God knows about Satan’s agenda and will protect us from it, if we will always look first to Him for guidance and support. God’s love for us is so profound that His plan for us is not disaster, but prosperity [JER 29: 11-13]. We must place our trust in Him and know that our direction comes from Him through the Scriptures, prayer, the circumstances of our lives, and our congregations. The last two are directed by His most sovereign power, so we must be alert to that and listen for His messages to us. Only a Deity that loves His children the way our Lord does would do so much to care for them. Remember the story of LK 15: 4-7 where Shepherd displays joy at finding the one lost sheep in His flock of 100. That joy is felt all the way in heaven. Tomorrow, we will look at salvation’s value to us. How very loved we who endure in our faith are! Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn