2003-01-03
Good Morning Treasured Readers,
The Holy Spirit wants us to be convinced that God has given us specific “how-to’s” for being worthy of receiving the blessings He has been eagerly giving us since our salvation. The very first one is our faith itself, that faith that led us to recognize our former lives led by the flesh weren’t fulfilling us. It was that faith, which led us to accept God’s invitation to salvation and to join Him in His work. We did this by repenting and coming to faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. That decision was quickly followed by our salvation and our justification, being deemed righteous in the eyes of God. And the blessings then extended to receiving the gift from God of His Spirit to indwell within us and being given the same power God used to raise Christ from death to life to combat the forces of evil and their leader, Satan [EPH 1: 18-20]. I remind us of this, because these were only the first of a long and continuing list of blessings our Deity showers upon us, blessings of which we want to be worthy.
Those of you who have been reading this series of messages on spiritual warfare know that I am frequently led back to the list of items of God’s full armor that we are to don in preparation for spiritual warfare found in EPH 6: 10-20. I’m not the least bit ashamed to return to that list today, only this time it will be in the context of the “how-tos” that are contained in it. Please reread this passage, if you feel the need. JN 14: 21 gives us an important key to unlocking the door to being worthy from Christ’s own words. “Whoever accepts My commandments and obeys them is the one who loves Me. My Father will love whoever loves Me; I too will love him and reveal Myself to him.” And now, look at the list of commandments, our “how-tos” in EPH 6: 10-20. 1) “Put on the armor that God gives you, so that you will be able to stand up against the devil’s evil tricks” (11). 2) Be truthful and believe the truth, which is having the belt tightly strapped on (14). 3) Be righteous, which is wearing the breastplate (14). 4) Spread the Gospel, which is wearing the shoes (15). 5) Be faithful, which is carrying the shield (16). 6) Acknowledge our salvation, which is wearing the helmet (17). 7) Pray as the Spirit leads (18). 8) Persist in prayer (18). 9) Pray for all of God’s people (18). 10) Speak boldly, making known the Gospel’s secret (19-20). The last one in this list of ten is actually encased in a prayer request on Paul’s part from his prison cell for himself. However, if we look at it, it is what we should all do. That is why I’m including here as part of our list of “how-tos” in this passage. Notice that each item on the list begins with an action verb, something we should do continuously. The number in parentheses is the verse of this passage in which this directive can be found.
There are two more directives that we must see in this passage. Put on all the armor God gives you prayerfully. Also, stand firm, hold your position, against the devil. I see this as preparing ourselves for the battle and then waiting for God’s orders as to what action to take and when to take it. Because, we do all of this in prayer, we keep the channel open between ourselves and the Great Commander, listening so we won’t miss His direction when it comes and trusting that He knows the best time and what is the best direction to give. We must not forget JN 15: 7, “If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, then you will ask for anything you wish, and you shall have it.” Can there be any question in our minds as to what to do? I don’t think so!
PRAYER: O Lord, what wonderful assurances You give us through writers of the Bible like Paul in RO 8: 33-34, 38-39. “Who will accuse God’s chosen people? God Himself declares them not guilty! Who, then, will condemn them? Not Christ Jesus, Who died, or rather, Who was raised to life and is at the right side of God, pleading with Him for us!…No, in all these things we have complete victory through Him Who loved us ! For I am certain that nothing can separate us from His love; neither death nor life, neither angels nor other heavenly rulers or powers, neither the present nor the future, neither the world above nor the world below-there is nothing in all creation that will ever be able to separate us from the love of God which is ours through Christ Jesus our Lord.” When we think about the use of the words “nothing in creation,” we realize that includes Satan and his followers. We are being told straight out that when we don Your full armor prayerfully, Satan is rendered ineffective in his mission to put distance between You and us. What comfort that brings us, when we realize that we don’t have to battle evil alone, with fear of abandonment, or with the feeling that we are on the losing side. Unlike the “father of all lies,” Satan [JN 8: 44], You always tell us the truth. You have said that we will be victorious in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ. When we have prayer concerns, we have two of Your personalities working to carry them to You. Christ pleads our case to You in the heavenly Holy of Holies [HE 8: 1-2; HE 9:12]. The Holy Spirit groans in His special way, a way we can’t convey without Him [RO 8: 26-27]. We were not born with the ability to perceive the unseen forces working against us, but You sent a final solution to that problem. It came to us the moment that Your Son gave His life on the cross for us and then, we repented and came to faith in Him. With the gift of the Holy Spirit given to us, we are now able to know these unseen evil forces exist, recognize them, and fight against them to victory in His name. None of this would be possible without the great love You bless us with every day. PS 18: 1, “I love You, Lord; You are my Strength.” PS 145: 20, “The Lord watches over all who love Him.” PS 48: 9, “Our god, here in Your temple we think about Your love.” We come before You with heads bowed to humbly offer confession of our sins, to thank You with all our heart for the clear direction You give us, to beg for Your continual presence in our lives, and to offer You our heartfelt adoration, worship, loyalty, diligence, glory, honor, trust, obedience, thanks, and praise for all You are and all You do for us. In Christ’s name, amen.
Tomorrow, I am led to begin a new segment titled “God’s Word.” Since it is the sword of the Spirit, it is God’s word that in a clash interfaces with the enemy. If someone were to ask me what my life is all about, I would have to answer, “conveying God’s word” and the living the life it espouses. Thirty years ago, if anyone had asked me that question, I would have never believed I would be saying that from my heart today. Our Lord loves us so much that He takes people who seem totally wrong for the task of ministry, people like Moses who wanted nothing more than to enjoy his life in Midian with Zipporah and their two sons, people like Jeremiah, who thought he was too young to do this task, people like Paul who was once one of the most feared persecutors of Jewish Christians ever known, and people like you and me. God loves us so much that He calls us to partake of His word daily, keep open the two-way channel of prayer, watch for Him in our lives and the lives of others around us, battle Satan, and serve Him in our families and congregations. Our loving Abba wants us to keep in mind His big picture, the salvation of as many people as possible. To Him, we are not expendable. Each of us is His treasured child whom He loves. Be comforted by that even in our darkest hour of trouble. Our awesome God loves us more than we can perceive. Peter and I send each of you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn