Where in the Word are you today? I’m in John, chapter 1. If you really want to get to know someone you need to know their back story – where they came from, what makes them who they are today. To help us know Jesus, John’s Gospel starts in the beginning – when the Word […]
Have you ever thought about how you pray? Do you pray as Jesus taught us to pray? Do you pray like Paul prays in Ephesians 1 and 3? Do you pray in Jesus’ name? Do you pray in the Spirit? In Ephesians 6, Paul not only instructs us to pray at all times but “in […]
We’re going to talk today about praying at all times with an open 2-way comms channel between here and heaven – but first, let me ask: have you ever been to a concert with an all access pass? That’s really what God is giving us when we pray in the Spirit and in the name […]
Remember sword drills? I asked my Sunday school class of 7th and 8th graders a few weeks back if they remembered sword drills and many said yes. Then one student added, “I remember sword drills, testing our ability to be quick on the draw. The problem is we needed to be taught fencing. What good […]
With all the armor covering our legs, chest, feet and arms, what’s left exposed is our head. So Paul says, in Ephesians 6:10-20, “take up the helmet of salvation.” That’s right, in the same way the breastplate guards the heart, the helmet protects the head. And this isn’t just any helmet, this is the helmet […]
The shield of faith is an essential piece of the whole armor of God described by the apostle Paul in Ephesians 6:10-20. He says “the shield of faith” is that “with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one”. Flaming arrows or flaming darts sound terrifying so let’s consider two images […]
Having put on the belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness and the gospel shoes of peace, Paul now instructs us in Ephesians 6 that “In all circumstances,” we should “take up the shield of faith.” We’ll talk next time about what the shield of faith does but today let’s note: it’s not an optional accessory. […]
As we armor up with Ephesians 6 we have donned the belt of truth and the breastplate of righteousness and today we put on shoes which Paul describes as “the readiness given by the gospel of peace.” So how does the gospel ready us to stand firm against the wiles of the Devil? Think here […]
Continuing in our daily effort to live into Ephesians 6:10-20, having fastened the belt of truth around our waist, today we put on the breastplate of righteousness. There are two levels to consider here: Christ’s righteousness imputed to us and the righteousness we demonstrate as people who are sanctified by one degree of glory to […]
The first piece of the whole armor of God we are instructed to put on is a belt – that seems counter-intuitive for those of us who might fasten a belt as the last piece of clothing, not the first. So, bring to mind the most foundational of garments here and imagine how a man […]