Put It On, and Keep It On

 Most of us have clothing for all different occasions. We take off our clothes for sleeping to put on the clothes for our daily activities. Sometimes, we change clothes during the day, because of the weather or other factors. The clothes we wear need to be appropriate for the situations we will go through. Those of us in the military have to have special clothes that protect us from attacks and enable us to defeat any enemies that might try to harm us. The spiritual reality of our lives is that all believers are in a spiritual war with Satan and his demons. We need to be dressed in the right way to win the battles we will have with the forces of evil. If not, we will live defeated lives, instead of abundant lives. Paul wrote to the Ephesian Church about the full armor of God. (Ephesians 6:11) We are commanded to put it on, so we will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. I am afraid many of us, as Christians, do not keep it on, though, so we get defeated by Satan's forces on a daily basis.

God inspired Paul to describe the full armor of God for us in Ephesians 6:13-18. Each piece is vital for our well being. We can't defeat Satan without God's armor. We can't defeat the devil without all of God's armor, either. In our own strength we are no match for the forces of evil. We must put it all on and keep it on all day, and even at night, so Satan's schemes will not harm us. We must be saved and use the mind of Christ God has given us. We must be righteous before God and have the right heart. We must know Jesus, who is the Truth, and live by the truth. We must stand firm in the shoes of the gospel, telling others the good news of Jesus. We must operate by faith in Jesus, not by works. We must know the Word of God and use it against Satan as our sword. Then, we must pray all of the time. When we do these things constantly, Satan can't harm us, and we defeat him every time he tries.

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Tomorrow, I intend to read Philippians 1-4.