Focus
Slow your breathing and become aware of the taking in and letting out of your breath. Focus on putting things aside so you will be open to what God is saying to you today.
Read
The Armor of God
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 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. 13 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. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. 19 Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
Reflect
I grew up in the car seat belt awareness era, yet I recently realized that I had developed a dangerous habit of not fastening my seatbelt on short trips around the small rural community of Arkansas where we moved a short time ago. It wasn’t that I really ever made a conscious choice to not wear my seatbelt. It was just that, unlike when we lived in town, there was very little traffic to remind me of the dangers posed on the seemingly peaceful roadways. I had become complacent and, quite simply, had forgotten to practice due diligence in taking every precaution even though I knew the importance of wearing my seatbelt.
Our text today is the often-taught text about the Armor of God. I have attended Bible schools where we created the various elements of the armor out of cardboard. I have studied it in Sunday School. I have preached sermon series on it, and I have heard sermon series on it. Yet, I find it all too easy to become negligent in remembering the need to “put it on” daily. The dangers we face will not always be readily identifiable. We need to be prepared.
Pray
Holy God, we often forget that we exist in a spiritual realm as well as a physical one. By the power of your Holy Spirit, help us be diligent to practice the spiritual practices that will prepare us for attacks of the enemy. In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen
Go with God!
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