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Archive for the ‘The Armor Of God: A 7 Day Devotional’ Category

Day 7: My Reflections

Posted in The Armor Of God: A 7 Day Devotional, tagged , , , , on December 10, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Armor of God

 

 

As Christians, we are soldiers in a spiritual war. It is important for us to put on our spiritual armor every morning to prepare for the attacks of the enemy throughout our day. Satan is real and he will stop at nothing to separate us from our heavenly Father. This is his mission. Believe me, he doesn’t let the busyness of daily life keep him from carrying out his mission. He prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). Don’t allow yourself to fall prey to the Devil. Stay alert and sober minded. Put on the Armor of God every morning as you dress:

1. The Belt of Truth- Jesus is our role model in living a Christ-centered life. Walk in the truth of Jesus.

2. The Breastplate of Righteousness- Do what is right in ALL things. Listen to the whisperings of the Holy Spirit. He is our conscience, sent by God to lead us in doing what is right. If we seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we will know what is right.

3. The Shoes of the Gospel of Peace- Walk in peace, living in the peace that God brings into our lives, no matter what the circumstances. Walk out peace, taking peace to the world, so that others may have that peace that you have found. We are to be mediators in the world, bringing peace wherever we go.

4. The Shield of Faith- Protect your heart. Believe that God is real. Believe that God wants nothing but the best for you. He is everywhere, but we must choose to believe.

5. The Helmet of Salvation- Protect your mind. Jesus died to save us from eternal life in Hell. Don’t fall for the lies of the devil. Believe that Jesus died for the sins of the world.

6. The Sword of the Spirit- Dig into the Bible. Immerse yourself in God’s Word, so that you will be able to be victorious in the spiritual battles that we all face. Don’t let Satan win. Hide God’s Word in your heart. Be prepared!

This has been a wonderful journey for me. I have learned the importance in preparing daily for the spiritual battles that I face. We never know when Satan will strike, I want to be prepared. I invite you to walk with me as I make a habit of putting on my spiritual armor every morning as I dress. If you have any creative ways of doing this, I would love for you to share them with me.

If you need prayer, encouragement, spiritual support, contact me. I am here for you always! Remember my friend, that God loves you and so do I!

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Day 6: The Sword Of The Spirit

Posted in The Armor Of God: A 7 Day Devotional, tagged , , , on December 8, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Armor of God

 

 

Ephesians 6:17 tells us that the sword of the spirit is the word of God.

Psalms 1:2-3

2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields it’s fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.

At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, He was led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit, where He was attacked by Satan. Jesus’ weapon against him was God’s Word – which is the “sword of the Spirit.” We will NEVER be able to win a spiritual battle without our greatest weapon- the Word of God. 

In order to be victorious in any spiritual battle, we have to know God’s Word. We have to delight in our Bible study time. We have to meditate on the Word day and night. We have to be prepared with the “sword of the spirit,” so we may be victorious in our battle against Satan.

Below, I have listed 5 ways to meditate on God’s Word:

1. Hear God’s Word- We can hear God’s Word at church, on T.V., on the radio, on the internet, and at conferences. We need to keep our ears and hearts open to the voice of God and the whispers of the Holy Spirit.

2. Study The Bible- The main avenue for meditating on God’s Word is putting aside some time each day to study the Bible. You can read through the Bible in a year, pick one book each month to focus on, study a specific topic or a particular person in the Bible. Make your daily study time in bite size increments. The goal is not how fast you can read through the Bible, but how much you learn from the Bible. If you try to take in to much, you will soon be overwhelmed. Even a chapter a day is great, if you are really understanding and can apply what you learn.

3. Pray Scripture- Praying scripture is a wonderful way to allow the Word of God to penetrate the deep recesses of your heart. There are scriptures on every trial or issue we can face and every one of those scriptures can be turned into a prayer. Make it personal and pray God’s Word back to Him. If it comes from your heart, you can not go wrong.

4. Memorize Scripture- This is the hardest one for my 43 year old brain to get a grasp of. One idea that I found on the internet was buying small photo albums ($1.00 at Wal-Mart) and 4×6 index cards…write one scripture that encourages you or has some personal meaning to you on each card, decorate the cards if you want, make them colorful, place the cards in the albums and place in your car, purse, or in several different places. When you are waiting in the school line to pick up the kids, when you are waiting in the doctor’s office or anywhere else, you can take out your albums and memorize God’s Word. Brain-storm to find ways that work best for you. Let me know what you come up with!

5. Begin A Bible Study Journal- Get a composition book, spiral notebook, etc. to take notes in as you study the Bible each day. Write down anything that really speaks to you as you read. Ask the questions who, what, why, where, when, and how to give a better idea of what’s going on in the story. Write down verses that are commands from God that He wants us to obey. Write down ways to apply what you read in your daily lives. Open your heart to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

God gives us His Word as a weapon against the attacks of Satan. In order to fight Satan and have any chance of winning, we must arm ourselves with the “sword of the Spirit.” We must meditate on God’s Word and hide the Word in our hearts (Psalms 119:11).

I know how hard it is to get into the habit of studying the Bible. I realize that parts of the Bible can be boring. I am not an expert. I struggle with this, as much as the next person. If you need encouragement in this journey, if you want to share what you have read, if you have questions, contact me. I am here to help you in any way I can. I am always willing to research and find an answer for anyone who is seeking to understand the Word. God is waiting for you, my friend!

 

 

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Day 5: Helmet Of Salvation

Posted in The Armor Of God: A 7 Day Devotional, tagged , , , , on December 3, 2013| Leave a Comment »

 

Armor of God

 

According to Dictionary.com, Salvation is:  1. the act of preserving or the state of being preserved from harm: 2. a person or thing that is the means of preserving from harm.

Romans 6:23

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

When a soldier goes into war, they wear a helmet to protect their head from injury. As a christian, we need to put on the helmet of salvation every morning to protect our minds from the lies of Satan. Satan is the great deceiver and wants nothing more than for you to believe that you are worthless, that you will never amount to anything, that no one loves you, that you are unimportant, that you are bad, and that you are hopeless. Satan plants these lies in our minds to keep us from believing in the mercy and love of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

The definition of salvation tells us that it is an act of preserving from harm. It is also, a person or thing that is the means of preserving from harm. Romans 6:23 tells us that the wages of sin is death. What can be more harmful than death? Who is that person who preserves us from harm? What is that thing that keeps us from dying in our sin? Romans 6:23 tells us that the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Our salvation is Jesus. Jesus and only Jesus keeps us from dying in our sin. He is the ONLY one that can give us ETERNAL LIFE!

When you put on that helmet of salvation in the morning, you are putting on the identity of Christ. Not that we will EVER be Christ, but can become Christ-like in our daily lives. Satan lies, but Jesus is truth (John 8:32). When you dig into the Bible and the truth of Jesus starts to penetrate your mind, you will realize that you ARE worthy! You WILL amount to something! Jesus loves you! You ARE important to God! You are good! You are HOPEFUL! This is the truth of Jesus.

Put on the helmet of salvation. Know that Jesus loves you so much that He died for your sins. He loves you so much that He wants you to have eternal life with Him. Jesus loves you so much that He does not want you to die in your sin. He gave His life for you! He gave His life so that YOU may live. Jesus is our salvation. Believe in Him and you will have eternal life (John 3:16).

Put on the helmet of salvation. Know who you are in Christ. Let go of the lies of the enemy. You are AMAZING because JESUS says so!

If you are searching for the truth. If you are seeking a relationship with Jesus. If you have been torn down by the lies of Satan and you are ready to break free, contact me. I would love to get to know you and pray with you. Jesus loves you, my friend. I am here to help you in whatever way I can.

God loves you and so do I!

 

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Day 4: The Shield Of Faith

Posted in The Armor Of God: A 7 Day Devotional, tagged , , , on December 2, 2013| Leave a Comment »

 

Armor of God

 

 

Hebrews 11:1

11 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Faith is believing in something that you can’t see. In my life, I have not seen the physical form of God (none of us could ever withstand the radiance of His presence), but I HAVE seen the manifestation of His presence in the natural wonders of this world, I HAVE seen the outpouring of His love through the obedience of His children, I HAVE seen His provision for those who choose to abide in Him. I have seen enough to know that He IS real and present in my life.

If we are tuned in, we can also, feel God through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God’s ambassador to this fallen world. I feel God’s presence through the gentle stirrings of the Holy Spirit. I feel comforted by reading the Bible, I feel peace when I pray, I feel encouraged by the whispers of the Holy Spirit, I feel convicted by conscience. It is all the Holy Spirit acting on God’s behalf. We can not see the Holy Spirit. We have to choose to believe. It is a choice. We will never be tuned in enough to feel God’s presence unless we make the decision to believe and to do what we need to do to grow in our relationship with Him. We need to be diligent about growing our faith. We can do this through prayer, Bible study, serving others, and taking up the shield of faith.

Medieval soldiers carried shields to protect their main organs: liver, kidneys, lungs, etc. Today I want to focus on the heart.

Ephesians 6:16

In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

We need to take up the shield of faith every morning to protect our heart from the poison arrows and darts of our enemy, Satan. Satan will stop at nothing to get us to turn away from God. Our hearts are his target. Even we are physically disabled, we can still live joyful lives, as long as our hearts are still connected to God.

Satan will pierce our hearts with discouragement, fear, confusion, anger, jealousy, pride, envy, identity issues, hatred, unconfessed sin, and the list goes on. It doesn’t have to be this way. God has provided us with a way to deflect those deadly arrows. Faith in God will send Satan packing. If we hold on to our faith in God, no matter what circumstances we find ourselves in, the arrows of the evil one will not be able to hit their mark.

I have been dealing with comparison and jealousy lately. I have found myself jealous over the time my daughter’s in-laws spend with our granddaughter. I have found myself comparing their time with her to my time with her. I know that I have entered the danger zone and that Satan is gleefully waiting for me to sin. I will not sin, because I have taken up my shield of faith and I know that I can not allow this heart issue to cause me to sin. I have to dig into the Bible and dig out the root of this issue before it hardens my heart. I need to be in prayer and believe me I have been.

If your heart has been pierced by the poison arrows of Satan, contact me. Let me pray with you and walk with you through this time. You can get through this. My prayers are with you, my friend. God loves you and so do I!

 

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Day 3: Shoe Your Feet With The Gospel Of Peace

Posted in The Armor Of God: A 7 Day Devotional, tagged , , on November 24, 2013| Leave a Comment »

 

Armor of God

 

One of the first things we all do when getting dressed is put on our shoes. We all wear shoes, why? Most of us wear them to protect are feet from injury. Athletes wear shoes specific to their sport to protect their feet. As a diabetic, one of the most important parts of maintenance is to examine our feet on a daily basis. I was scolded by my doctor at a routine doctor appointment for wearing flip flops. It was Summer and I hate wearing shoes, period! She told me that I need to wear supportive shoes and socks.

In the same way that we need to wear shoes to protect our feet from injury, we also need to shoe our feet with the gospel of peace. We do this in two ways:

1. We must walk IN peace

2. We must walk OUT peace

Philippians 4:7 

7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

As long as we remain in Christ Jesus, we will experience the peace of God. Walking in peace means that no matter what chaos the enemy throws at us, we know that greater is He that is in us, than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4). God is in control. We can live our lives without worrying about what might happen, because we know that the God that created the universe is in control of everything that happens in HIS creation. Nothing escapes His notice. We can walk in peace, knowing that Satan has already been conquered.

Romans 14:17-19

17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, 18 because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.

19 Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.

Another way we can shoe our feet with the gospel of peace is to walk out peace in the world. One of our main objectives on this earth is to be the hands and feet of Jesus. Jesus walked in peace. Jesus brought peace to those He ministered to and we need to do the same. When people walk away from us, they should walk away with a sense of peace, not chaos, anger, or fear. We are to be experts in conflict resolution, finding a way to bring a resolution to an issue, not adding fuel to the fire. When we look at a situation the way Jesus would, we are more willing to let go of selfishness, anger, hatred, bitterness, greed, etc. We become willing to look at a situation from someone else’s perspective, instead of just our own.

I encourage you to remember to, shoe your feet with the gospel of peace, every morning as you get ready for the day. Walk IN peace, knowing that God is in control and walk OUT peace in your sphere of influence, bringing peace where there may otherwise be chaos.

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Day 2: The Breastplate Of Righteousness

Posted in The Armor Of God: A 7 Day Devotional, tagged , , on November 17, 2013| Leave a Comment »

 

 

 

Armor of God

 

Jeremiah 9:23-24

23 This is what the Lord says:

“Let not the wise boast of their wisdom
or the strong boast of their strength
or the rich boast of their riches,
24 but let the one who boasts boast about this:
that they have the understanding to know me,
that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness,
justice and righteousness on earth,
for in these I delight,”
declares the Lord.

A breastplate is an item worn by warriors/soldiers over their torso to protect them from arrows and/or bullets that are fired at them from the enemy.

As Christians, we must get in the practice of putting on our breastplate of righteousness every morning to protect our hearts from the arrows of confusion, chaos, sin and negative emotions that Satan fires at us. It is our heart that he aims for, so we must protect our hearts with the breastplate of righteousness. How do we do this?

We must know God on an intimate level. God is righteousness. We must learn how to be righteous from Him through His Word, the Bible. Get into the Word. Make a commitment to read the Bible through. You don’t have to read it through in a year. I want you to really study the Bible, looking for hints as to who God really is. I want you to soak in what He is saying to us, His children. I want you to really understand the characteristics of God and build that intimate relationship with Him.

We must be open to the Holy Spirit as we go throughout our day. God has used a situation with my 20 year old daughter to open my eyes to how He parents us. This last year has been rough as I try to parent her through some tough times, but through this process, I have felt how much God loves me, even when He may be frustrated with me. He never gives up on me. He deals with me tenderly, with love and patience. Feeling that love, I in turn have dealt with my daughter in the same way. I put on my breastplate of righteousness in this situation. The arrow that Satan meant to cause chaos and heartache, I turned around and used as a growing tool. I didn’t do it alone. God sends the Holy Spirit to guide us, every step of the way.

Protect your heart. Be aware that Satan may be using a situation to get you to act in sin. Make the choice to act in righteousness. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you, giving you the strength to do what is right.

Know that you are never alone in this struggle to be righteous, in a sinful world. If you find yourself in need of encouragement, contact me. I am here and I understand. Be Blessed, single mom!

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Day 1: The Belt Of Truth

Posted in The Armor Of God: A 7 Day Devotional, tagged , , , on November 10, 2013| Leave a Comment »

 

Armor of God

 

Ephesians 6:10-18

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood,but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

John 8:32

Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

My ex-husband is a former Marine and decorated Veteran. He received the Bronze Star Medal of Valor when he returned from the Persian Gulf War in 1991. He has shared many war stories from the time he spent in Iraq and Saudi Arabia and I understand that his survival depended on his preparation.

We are in a spiritual war. The devil is lurking around every corner, in every doorway and under every rock, trying to trip us up. He will stop at nothing to get us to turn away from God. He has declared war on God and wants us to join him. It is a real spiritual battle and we need to be prepared!

How do we prepare for spiritual warfare? We put on the armor of God.

The first step is to put on the belt of truth.

John 8:32 tells us that the truth will set us free. What is the truth?

John 14:6

6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Jesus said that He is the truth. Without Jesus, we don’t have access to the Father. We need to know Jesus, really know who He is. We need to communicate with Him, serve Him by serving others, and love Him by loving others. We need to read the Gospels until we exude the heart and soul of who Jesus is.

When a weight lifter is preparing to lift weights, he girds his waist with something that gives him strength and support so he won’t hurt the core of his body. When we put on the belt of truth, we are providing support and strength to our spiritual core.

Jesus is that strength and support that we need in our spiritual core to survive the attacks of the enemy. When we buckle the truth of Jesus around our waists, we will be prepared to deflect the arrows of Satan.

I am challenging you to gird your waist with the belt of truth every morning, carrying Jesus with you wherever you go. Do this and Satan will have to flee!

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