A reminder on my desk of God's total armor that I should wear all the time.
Ephesians 6:10-20 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints. Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak.
I love the logo and shirts of a company called Under Armor. I know their products are not really armor, but it seems cool to wear something that implies you're protected. Paul knew the full protection of God and he also knew and saw the armor used by the Roman army. I chuckle for this passage was the favorite of a dear layman from one of my churches, Solomon Marroquin, longtime chief aide to Congressman Kika de la Garza, and devout Christian man. He had put together a man in armor he called Román, playing on the name and era from which he came, and many a time he lent it to me for use in sermons. Román had it all as found in this passage; the whole armor of God. We could see what Paul was describing as the different parts of his armor were added. Paul knew the fierceness and strength of our enemy, but he also knew the POWER of God to defeat the devil and how we should also arm ourselves to win our spiritual battles. For us to stand and stand firm we need to claim the truth that says we belong to God and God is with us. As a belt held together the soldier's armor and garments together, so should truth hold us together as we fight against evil and the temptations that may come our way. We should protect our hearts and vital organs with a breastplate of righteousness; seeking always for ourselves and as we share with others that which is right and pleasing to God. Our shoes should protect our feet as we move always forward with the gospel of peace. In the last two weeks I have experienced personally the need for good shoes. I won't bore you with details but two words, three actually: poison ivy on my right foot; a week later a thorn from a mesquite tree on that same foot. Whatever may be thrown our way towards us, we can defend ourselves with our faith which is a shield. A strong faith is strong defense agains the offensives of the devil. Our head and our brains should be covered with the protection of salvation; God rescued us in the nick of time from certain death and pulled us into life and the abundance of life through salvation in Jesus Christ. With that as our central and constant thought, what can come against us? And with the Word of God always on our mind and lips, we can use it as a sword against lies and falsehoods that may come against us. As we allow Scripture to have authority in our lives we can defeat those things that come with less than the truth to try to break us down. With prayer "at all times in every prayer and supplication," who can possibly defeat us? To sum it all up, Paul stresses for us to "keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all believers everywhere.
God provides under, over, and overall armor - all we need to do is claim it for our lives.
PRAYER: Loving God, clothe us with this armor. Ready us for battle. Equip us with love. This we pray in Christ Jesus' precious and powerful name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
