A New Look at the Armor of God

"A final word: Be strong with the Lord's mighty power. Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies and tricks of the Devil." (Ephesians 6:10-11)

Although I have read Paul's description of the armor of God many, many times, it recently struck me very differently. In the past, putting on the armor was more of a mental exercise: speaking or thinking the scripture and picturing myself putting on each piece. Although this exercise has its purpose and place, as I read this familiar passage this week, I saw it in a whole new way.

I don't think Paul had mental exercises in mind when he exhorted the Body of Christ to gird themselves with truth, put on the shoes of peace, and lift up a shield of faith. The armor Paul described is one that grows and expands as we mature in our spiritual walk. Take the belt of truth, for example. Exactly how does truth protect us? It is not so much by just believing that truth exists, but by knowing and holding to what is true in the midst of the battle.

I remember a life-changing conversation I had with my son, Sam, when he was a teenager. We discussed the difference between truth and fact. In the dictionary, they mean basically the same thing. But to those of us who are in Christ Jesus, they become distinctively different.

Facts are all around us. They are what we perceive with our five senses. The fact is that people are hurting and hungry, enslaved in addictions and circumstances. The fact is that the world is full of unanswered questions and unsolved problems. The fact is that we all know people who are sick, even dying, and many who don't have hope for a future.

But in the midst of these facts stands truth. The truth is God's perspective. The truth is God's plans. The truth is God's love and faithfulness and Word, and truth always triumphs over facts. Jesus lived a life of consistently bringing the truth of God into the facts around Him, and the facts changed.

When we put on the belt of truth, we don't just do a mental exercise. Instead, it is a daily walking out of the truths of the Word, through trials and joys, and coming to know that they are indeed irrefutable. When we put on truth, we turn our gaze away from the facts around us, choosing instead to stand firmly on the character and faithfulness of our God. We feed our hearts and minds with the Word and the testimony it manifests before us. We hold onto it in spite of feelings or opinions, believing that it cannot fail. Believing God's love, wisdom, and power cannot fail.

Jesus said in John 8:31-32 that if we obey His teachings, we will know the truth and the truth will set us free. Free from what? Free from the lies and snares of the Devil. Free from fear and anxiety. Free from confusion and doubt. Truth takes us from the realm of earth's impossibilities into the realm of heaven's possibilities. Truth releases joy in the midst of pain, and hope in the midst of darkness. Truth releases the Life of Christ that has conquered death. This is the truth that covers and protects us.

Putting on the armor of God is an amazing journey of growth. Putting on God's armor is walking in truth, pursuing peace, understanding righteousness and salvation, immersing ourselves in the Word, and growing in faith. It is coming to know the One Who is our armor. When we put on God's armor, we desire one thing: the fullness of Christ in us.

  

Calculated Abandonment

In no other area but toward the will of God is abandonment such a calculated path of perseverance. In contrast to the worldly idea of abandonment being a single carefree act, abandoning ourselves to God's will is a moment by moment, intentional, and sacrificial choice: my life for His Life.

"Then I said, Behold, here I am, coming to do Your will, O God - to fulfill what is written of me in the volume of the Book." Heb. 10:7 


Only the recognition and acceptance of a continual flow of His love to us and through us will sustain us on a journey such as this.

  

Unfailing Expectation

"O my God, my life is cast down upon me and I find the burden more than I can bear; therefore will I earnestly remember You... " Ps. 42:6

How often we find ourselves looking at our burdens, our problems, instead of looking at the Answer. There is no problem that does not find its solution in the wisdom of our Creator God. No issue too great; no frustration too complicated. Look up and you will see the confident, smiling face of One Who is ready to take the burden, take the cares, take your hand and lead you through.

"What, what would have become of me had I not believed that I would see the Lord's goodness in the land of the living! Wait and hope for and expect the Lord; be brave and of good courage and let your heart be stout and enduring. Yes, wait for and hope for and expect the Lord!" Ps. 27:13-14

     

Prayer of Thanksgiving

Excerpt from  This Beloved Road

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For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.

John 3:16 (AMP)

And this is eternal life: [it means] to know (to perceive, recognize, become acquainted with and understand) You, the only true and real God, and [likewise] to know Him, Jesus [as the] Christ, (the Anointed One, the Messiah), whom You have sent.

John 17:3 (AMP)

Father, thank you for the eternal life you have given me. It is not a gift we open after we die. It is poured in and upon us the moment we trust, cling, rely, believe. No man can fully understand or grasp it except in brilliant pieces, over and over again.

Thank you for your Son. Thank you for your Spirit. Thank you for the security I have found in you.

I hear the ocean of your voice roaring inside me. I feel the thunder of your presence vibrating in my soul. I know the stability of the truth on which I stand and I am again shaken to my depths. You are beyond words. You are beyond all human thoughts can contain.

Stretch my thoughts. Stretch my mind. Open me up. Open my understanding to know you more, my God and Father. Let me see as you see. Let me love as you love. Let me be as you are, even a true ambassador.

Oh holy Father, let me grasp anew the depths of your love. Let me see afresh the heights of your thoughts. Let me taste again the sweetness of you, knowing you never change. Deepen my love. Widen my perspective. Broaden my understanding. Don’t leave me in this place, although it is one of great splendor. Take me deeper into your chambers. Draw me across the rocky slopes and into your secret places. Take me closer into you.

Father, I long for your thoughts to be my thoughts and your ways to be my ways. I long to be renewed completely. I long to walk and live in your grace and mercy without interruption. And as I long, you also long. As you draw, I will come. I will step across deep crevices, climb up steep cliffs, walk through tough places, and swim in rough waters as you teach me and train me in your goodness. And I will rejoice again and again in the abundance of your life in me.

    

Core Desire

We have a black lab named Ruby. She has more personality than any other dog I've ever known. She absolutely loves company, be it human or canine. She always acts like it's her birthday. She rarely has a foot on the ground as she hops and leaps and pounces and spins her way through the day. She loves life. And she absolutely loves the river.

Three times this summer, Ruby disappeared. Each time we received a phone call: She had gone to the river. Twice she swam over a mile beside a boat or tube until the fishermen pulled over at a campground and called the sheriff to come pick her up. Her only thought was to be in the water, and preferably with company.

I have been taking her on my morning walks more lately. Although it can be a bit distracting for my prayer time, it seems that the Spirit often uses her as an object lesson. One thing I can't help but notice is how she acts every time we start in the direction of the river. She gets more and more attentive. Then, when I let her off of the leash at the bridge, she stops every 5-10 yards to stick her head under the bottom rail to get a quick look at the water below. It has her full focus.

I love this picture. There is no doubt that God made her with a core desire to swim, and she has discovered it. She loves to fetch and play and explore, but it is all better in the water. She found her passion. It then begs the question: What core desire did God put in us as humans, and have you discovered it? 

I guess that our talents and gifting and activities pursued could be a part of that core desire. I have a deep love for music and writing, people and traveling, walking and exploring. And yet, I don't think any of these are my foundational passion. Rather, I believe that they are simply avenues to express and explore my true core desire. I believe the one desire that our Creator put in each and every one of us is to know Him. Not to know about Him, but to know Him. To make memories with Him. To spend time talking together and living together and sharing those activities that we love to do.

I almost always talk to God as I'm cooking, asking what ingredients to add or how long to cook something. (He is an amazing cook! Just ask my kids.) I love to tell Him how much I am enjoying the landscape or the song I'm writing or the friendship that I've made. I know He already sees and knows all things, even before they happen, but that's not the point. The point is that He wants to spend time together. He wants us to learn how He thinks and what His voice sounds like and what He sees that we would have missed without Him. He wants to give us new wisdom and ideas that we would have never found otherwise. He also wants to bring the words of the Bible to life in our very own lives - for us to know what love and grace and faith and hope really look like when we live them out deeper each day.

This isn't always an easy process, this getting to know God. Sometimes we make mistakes when we are learning to hear His voice. Sometimes we misunderstand what He says. Sometimes we let our emotions and own ideas get mixed in and He has to bring us back to the truth - usually through the Word. But this doesn't frustrate Him in the least. Just as loving parents get excited to see their children learning to talk and walk, so is God with us. I believe He laughs and rejoices over each attempt made, over each lesson learned. I know His grace covers countless mishaps. As long as we stay soft and teachable before Him, there is no limit to the places He will take us into Himself.

When Jesus prayed in John 17 that we would be one with the Father just as He is, it was not just wishful thinking. God the Father has been arranging for all of time to bring you to this place, today, to know Him as Creator and Father and Friend. To know Him in the most intimate and majestic ways possible. This is that thing that keeps nagging at you from your core. This is what you were created to do. Believe me, it will make everything else in your life come alive.
    
    

If You Believe

I'm reading an amazing book: The Heavenly Man by Brother Yun with Paul Hattaway. I was drawn to it the first time I saw it , like I am to most books about Christian martyrs or the Chinese Church. I passed it by at that time, though, I think because I didn't have the money. Now, a year later, it crossed my path again and I quickly ordered it.

I had barely read the introduction and my heart was burning. Again I saw a depth of passion and resolve that is the unmistakable mark of the Life of Christ. The opening paragraphs tell of Brother Yun being arrested in 2001 for his involvement in spreading Christianity in China; he was beaten nearly to death and sentenced to seven years in prison. A message that was carried out of the prison to concerned family and friends did not reflect pain or loss, however. Instead, it read, "God has sent me to be his witness in this place. There are many people here who need Jesus. I will be in this prison for exactly the length of time God has determined. I won't leave one moment early and I won't stay one moment too long. When God determines my ministry in prison is complete, I will come out." Only faith refined in the fire of God could answer this way.
I remember a day last fall while walking by the river. The sound of the cold water and the crunch of fallen leaves spoke of the approaching winter. As I looked up at the bare cottonwood trees around me, the Holy Spirit asked, What do you see? I answered back in my mind: Death. No, hibernation. No... Then before I could go on, the Spirit answered His own question: In season. I had to pause and think before the words sunk in. The stark, naked tree in front of me that looked like death wasn't really dead; it was perfectly in season.

Those simple words have come back to me so many times. Often outward appearances can lead one to think that circumstances are against us. And, without Christ, they may well be. John 10:10 does warn us that the thief's purpose is to steal, kill, and destroy. But the second half of the verse gives us the more accurate picture when we are trusting in Truth: "My purpose is to give life in all its fullness." Jesus is Life. There is no death in Him, and He has conquered death for all who believe this. Therefore, no matter the circumstances we find ourselves in, there Life will be when Christ is in us.

Brother Yun found himself bloody and bruised, but still proclaimed the Life of Christ that resided within him. He knew that wherever he was, Jesus was with him bringing hope and joy, peace and victory. Circumstances that look negative on the outside will prove only to be stepping stones for the glory of God to those who believe that there is no place where Life cannot push through. Just like a bare tree looks pretty bleak but still carries life within that will break forth in spring, our lives will also burst forth with hope and promise as we believe and trust in the purpose of each season.

May the words Jesus spoke to Martha moments before raising her brother, Lazarus, from the dead, be with us always:

"Didn't I tell you that you will see God's glory if you believe?" (John 11:40)

Quiet moments

The last six months have taught me a lot about myself. I stepped back from some activities and relationships that have been profoundly important to me for years and spent most of my days in my own company. I read more books in this short time than I had in the last five years combined. I walked a lot, sat on park benches, listened to the creek, thought, prayed, played my keyboard, and came back to the basics of who I am. And I realized that it is truly the little things that give me the most pleasure. Sure, I'm like everyone - I love those extravagant surprises that come along, like unexpected vacations or surprise birthday parties. But I find the deepest joy in the little details of the day that can get lost if the lighting is wrong.

One of my truest joys is to make someone smile. I find myself driving the eight miles into town pretty much everyday, not that I always need to, but just to be around people. I don't always engage in long conversations, but I just want to be around other humans. I enjoy seeing their personalities come out in little, unplanned pieces. I love to walk into the post office and connect with someone's eyes long enough to smile and let them know they are important. It always amazes me how quickly a tired, tense face can melt to reveal who is really inside. On the other hand, it has also been fun to see the gentle, appreciative smiles of many who walked by as I was reading in a sunny spot. They didn't give me the "you should be doing something!" look, but instead seemed to take pleasure in the fact that I had found a quiet moment of enjoyment.

Another great fascination with me has to do with nature. I walk pretty much every day and I live in an amazing place. Literally hundreds of thousands of people come through this valley every year on their way to see Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. At any given moment, I can look out a window or across the horizon to see breath-taking landscapes. But for some reason, I have become obsessed with the little details: a leaf hanging like a gold coin from a wet, chocolate branch; the almost countless varieties of grasses, all reflecting the sunlight a little differently; the eagle that sits on the same branch at precisely the same time everyday; the smell of the morning fog. These are the treasures my mind has stored up.

Although it was a very lonely break in some respects, I feel more grounded. I feel that I now have so much more to give; so much more to offer. In the quiet, I allowed myself to go deeper into the One who is my anchor. I quieted the nagging voice of my needs and realized again that I need but one thing: to be close to my Creator. Once there, I find myself full. I find hope. I find a calm and joy that I can now take back to the relationships and activities I treasure.

Warm Liquid Joy

Why do berries hanging on a bush and moonlight in the middle of the night and grass waving in a breeze make my heart skip a beat as I burst out, “Oh, Father! You do that so well!” How is it that waves pounding the shore echo a sound deep within me and the rising sun means so much more than just a new day? Who is this One who has so captured my attention that He rarely leaves my thoughts? I find myself talking to Him all of the time about everything. I love the sound of His voice, the feel of His touch, the intensity of His gaze. I am consumed with being close to this Friend whose smile is like warm, liquid joy; to know His opinion, to glimpse what He sees, to ask His direction.