The Armor of God

Ephesians 6:10-13 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 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. 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.

One of my favorite quotes is attributed to John Wayne. “You got to be tough if you’re going to be stupid.” It implies that if you are going about your life without thinking, you are going to suffer the slings and arrows of ridicule from those who live thoughtful lives. I can honestly say that I have not always lived a thoughtful life. But I have learned, sometimes painfully to think before acting. How about you?

The Ephesians 6 verses above carry a strong reminder that we must be cautious at all times. We tend to think of our adversary in this world as mere flesh and blood. Sometimes we try to put a face to evil. We might go so far as to say “So and So is the personification of evil.” The reality of the situation is we are standing against the powers of the dark world. We are reminded in verse 12 that we are up against “the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” How many times have you seen someone who is struggling mightily against an addiction, or sin issue? They are worn down, exhausted from their struggle. And in all likelihood they are casualties on the field of battle. They may have tried, with all the essence of their being, to defeat that which they struggled to defeat and ultimately lost. It is not a mortal being, they are spiritual forces. Alone we stand as much of a chance as an ant does when stepped on.

So, what are we to do? Obviously we cannot stand alone. The answer is found in verse 13. We must "put on the full armor of God." The reference the Apostle Paul uses is drawn along the lines of a soldier in the Roman Army. The component parts are a belt, breast plate, boots or heavy shoes, shield, helmet, and a sword. We will explore in greater detail how each of these parts is used in the battle with evil. The key to victory is we must not try to defeat evil by ourselves. Having God on our side is imperative. For if God is with us, who can stand against us?

PRAYER: Almighty and Everlasting God, You stand alone as our source of strength. Our mortal efforts are feeble in the face of the evil one and his minions. Help us to remember to stay close to you, as a child stays near a parent. Keep us safe from harm. Guide us on the field of battle we call our daily lives. Let Your Spirit fill us to overflowing and let that love flow out to those who struggle on their own. Direct us to reach out to those who are in need of Your help. This we ask in the name of Your Son, who reached out from the cross to us. Amen

Seeing is Believing

Matthew 20: 29-34 As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked. “Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.” Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.

Back on track today. It is like the fog has cleared. Maybe I had a brain-cloud? I hope you can see clearly what our Lord has planned for you.

Seeing is believing. How many times have you doubted something until you saw it with your own eyes? Seeing is believing is an idiom first recorded in 1639 that means “only physical or concrete evidence is convincing.” Our faith is based on believing that the words in the bible, which we can actually see, are all the evidence we need. We did not actually see the events unfold, as the disciples did. But we believe them to be true. Our faith flies in the face of the phrase seeing is believing. Maybe that is what makes having faith so difficult for some people. They truly have to see to believe.

Have you ever stopped to think that you are just like the blind men in Matthew Chapter 20? Think about it. The blind men had never actually seen Jesus. They had never physically been able to gaze upon his miracles. They had only heard about him from those who had seen him, or who maybe had only heard of him. And yet there they were sitting beside the road calling out to Jesus. “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” The blind men were shouted down by the nearby crowd, yet the shouting of the crowd only inspired the blind men to shout louder. “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

Now, what about you? Here you are. You have not actually seen Jesus. You have only heard about him, or read about him. Yet there you are shouting at Jesus to have mercy on you. The world around you is trying to drown out your cries, doing its’ best to distract you so that you will miss Jesus as he passes by. The world may try to convince you that your sins are too great and that Jesus will just pass you by so stop shouting. However the truth is that we need to be just like the blind men. We need to have their faith that Christ can heal us. We need to be able to see the love God has for us. We who are broken in sin need to see that our Savior is always there for us. We need to have the faith of the blind men because we who have not seen still need a Savior we have only heard about or read about. John Chapter 20 relates how Jesus tells Thomas “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen yet have believed.” We belong to the group that has not seen, yet believe. We are truly blessed by our awesome Savior. We need to hang on to the faith that makes us just like the blind men in Matthew 20. We need to shout to Jesus.

Prayer: Lord and giver of life, help us in our lives to see what we must see. Help us to overcome the blindness that grips us. Show us what we need to see. Help us to find the lost and those who are blind to Your love. Guide us along the path of Your choice. Help us to drown out the crowd shouting down those who are searching for You. This we ask in the name of Your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

A Bit Distracted

Matthew 21: 12-13 Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. “It is written,” he said to them, “ ‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it a ‘den of robbers.’’”

I'm seriously distracted this morning. Clarity of thought needs to get here by 7:00 AM. So I thought this might be a good devotional.

Living in a society where multi-tasking is the norm can be very frustrating. Can you remember when the last time you were not preoccupied? We have computers with software that is designed to allow us to use more than one application at a time. Our drive time usually includes listening to the stereo, talking to the family, all while holding a conversation of the cell phone. No wonder we look distracted. I once heard multi-tasking described as the ability to make more than one mistake at a time.

There are a couple of takes on what this scripture means. There is the literal warning to churches that you should not be selling goods in the lobby of the church. The other take on this scripture is more personal in nature. We have many scriptural references telling us our bodies are a temple. And the head of the temple is the mind. And when we look at our scriptural reference we can consider the implications of having a busy mind. How many times have you tried to worship with lots of distractions in your own mind? Thinking about work, home, kids, relatives, health, finances, etc. All these distractions diverting your focus. All of these things robbing your attention from what it really needs to be focused on. They are literally robbing you of your ability to hear the voice of God.

I am reminded of the words from Psalm 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God.” What wonderful words to help keep things in perspective. Be still and know that I am God reminds all of us that at times, we need to just be still. Shut down the multi-tasking. Turn off the cell phone, Blackberry, iPhone, mp3 player or whatever electronic device you have that distracts your focus. Place the problems of the world aside in your mind. Close the door on them. And just focus. And pray. Yes, pray. Pray for peace of mind. Pray for Jesus to come in and turn over the tables in your mind to drive out the distractions. Ask him to help you focus your mind on what is really important. I can hardly keep from chuckling at the image of Jesus walking into the temple and cleaning house. The look on the faces of those people must have been priceless. All I can say is Go Jesus! Come into our lives and turn over some tables!

Prayer: Almighty God, there are many things in our lives that divert our attention from You. We have many things we call problems that jump to the forefront in our lives. Help us Dear Lord to turn over the tables of the money changers and robbers in our own lives. Help us to remember your precious words. Be still and know that I am God. Let those words ring clearly in our hearts and minds. This we ask in the name of Your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen

Walk According To The Spirit

Romans 8: 3-5 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 

When the temperatures dip down into the below zero degrees range it can be difficult to see the benefit of leaving the house. And this winter, we here in southeast Idaho have seen quite a few days of those cold temperatures. Yet, when the sun comes up there are few days where the sky is more blue than on a crisp clear morning.

If it were up to me, leaving the house when the temperatures are as cold as they are today (5 degrees below zero) would be optional. Working from home would be acceptable for all. I do not want anyone to have to go out into the cold, risk frostbite, just to earn a living. As simple as that sounds it is also a good analogy for the flesh being weak.  All too often we of the flesh do not want to do something because it can be inconvenient or uncomfortable. Conversely, we also chose to do something that feels good at the time, but is wrong. In a nutshell, the flesh is weak. If we stay in that mind set we have no opportunity to correct ourselves and we close the door on the Spirit will can change us. The reality is someone has to go out into the cold if any of us are to continue to live. Food has to be delivered to the stores, electricity has to be generated, gasoline has to be dispensed, newspapers delivered, and so on and so forth. There are things that have to be done regardless of the temperatures or weather conditions outside. When we set our minds on the Holy Spirit and open our hearts to the change that can be made in each of us, the possibilities are endless. The desire to stay in-the-flesh can be strong. Sin has a tight grip on each of us. We are sinful by our very nature and that can be difficult to overcome and by ourselves we are lost. The Apostle Paul reminds us in Romans 8 of the need to rethink our lives for in the flesh is sin and in sin is death. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 

We who are truly lost and dead in sin are saved by the grace and mercy of our Father. His own Son paid that price by overcoming the weakness of the flesh. When we set our minds on, and live according to the Spirit we are one with Christ. We who were dead in sin have been given a new life in Jesus Christ. Let us all remember to set our minds on things of the Spirit today and everyday in our lives.

PRAYER: Almighty God, Your Son paid the horrible price for us on the cross. His sacrifice, in our stead, reconciled a lost world to You. Help us Father, to stay close to You. Help us by Your Holy Spirit  to walk in the footsteps of Jesus. Help us to have the faith to resist the temptations of the flesh in our lives. These things we ask in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ, who with the Father and the Spirit are one God now and forever, Amen.

The Second Angel

Romans 8:5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.

Taking a break from writing for a few days between Christmas and New Years was nice. After the great shopping trip for post-Christmas sale items I have been reflecting on the role the Holy Spirit has in  my life, faith, and believe system.  The second angel holds a dove in her hands. The dove brings to mind, for me, the Holy Spirit.  This is drawn from Matthew 3:13-17 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" But Jesus answered him, "Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased."

The dove reminder of the Holy Spirit is an important element in my faith walk. I know that the faith I have been given is from God the Father through the Holy Spirit. This faith that I rely on in times of trial, sadness, and strife holds me together and keeps me on the path a follower of Jesus Christ needs to stay on. The temptation to deviate from that path out of anger, depression, or resentment can be strong and for some overwhelming. But the faith, all the faith we need to stand strong in the face of adversity is what we are given by the Holy Spirit. I have found an important part of that staying strong is staying closely connected to fellow believers, staying closely connected in the Word of God, and writing.

Staying connected in the word can come from a traditional bible reading plan. Many are freely available on the web or at your place of worship. Another is a great study guide I enjoy from Concordia Publishing House (cph.org) called "Treasury of Daily Prayer. It is a very good devotional and bible study tool.  This book is also available as an app "Pray Now" for my iPhone & iPad.  Sorry, but it is not yet available in the Android operating system. There is also an interesting tool available via social media on Twitter. A few Twitter sources for daily scripture posting are @Bible_Gateway, @BIBLE_Psalms, and @BIBLEHolySpirit. Each posts several versus daily to help keep Twitter followers connected in the word. One more than one occasion I have found these to be very timely in my life and faith walk. I also post links to this devotional and an occasional bit of scripture on Twitter @IDBoater.  Social media is not the sole answer for keeping your faith, but it is a nice tool to add to your tool box. The bottom line to this whole devotional is when we set our minds on spiritual things by staying connected with fellow believers, in worship and in the word our ability to live by the Spirit is easier. It seems more nature to me. I hope that you will take the time to stay connected and explore the word today & everyday in your life.

PRAYER: Lord You have given us the faith we need to persevere when times are good and when times are tough. Your Holy Spirit fills us with the faith we need to stand firm in our walk with Jesus. We offer our humble thanks to You O God for the love You pour out upon us. Amen.