To see previous/ other Bible Nuggets, click here.
This is Nugget 3 of a series to follow, submitted by yours truly...Tina. Please pray that God will give inspiration and revelation to all contributors, using them to His glory and for the edifying of every reader.
Nugget #3: Background Passage: Ephesians 6:10-20 Focal Passage: Ephesians 6:15
15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
3. Have your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace (v. 15)
Shod- to bind on-to fasten round about, to make secure by tying, to confine, restrain, or restrict as if with bonds, to put under an obligation, to become hindered from free operation, to exert a restraining or compelling effect-
Preparation- a base, foundation
Just reading the above definitions alone makes me so excited! It is such a blessing to know that the Word of God (the gospel of peace, the gospel of Jesus Christ) constrains us! What does it constrain us from? From sinning, from doing what and going where we should not, from running. It hinders our sinful nature from free operation. When we have that gospel that brings peace, once we believe and receive the gospel of Jesus Christ and Him crucified, how He rose again with all power, how He ascended to heaven to prepare a place for us, and how He will soon return again for a CHURCH without spot or blemish, we have the necessary preparation to keep us from the wiles of the enemy(Read Ro 10, Acts 2, John3)! When the enemy comes against us, we have a knowledge of the gospel that sets us free from any entanglements he may try to lure us into. Even when our flesh wants us to do wrong, to follow that broad road of destruction, there is something within us, the Spirit of the living God, that binds our feet, restrains our actions, hinders that sinful nature from taking over. Ever been confronted with a sin, and though your flesh was bucking to be allowed free course, something within you constrained you? Ever stood and cried because you wanted to retaliate concerning some wrong done to you, but something just wouldn't let you? That was the Holy Spirit, the knowledge of the gospel of peace so rooted in you and alive within you that it overpowered the sinful desire that tried to overtake you! And this gospel is not called the gospel of peace for nothing! When you allow the Word of God to get into your spirit man, when you allow God's Spirit to overtake you and control you, God's peace, a peace you might not even understand, will begin to guide you. You can look adversity, hurt, even death in the face and not be moved by it, no longer want to turn to the sinful ways of the world in response. Praise the name of Jesus for a love that shods our feet and prepares us with the gospel of peace, so that we are ready for whatever the enemy throws our way!
Our feet should always be prepared to proclaim the gospel of peace! How can feet talk? Through the way you live! We should have the word so rooted in and on us that it binds and constrains our feet from going the way of the enemy. We should constantly let our light shine, showing as well as telling of the good news of having the peace and confidence in our soul of knowing Jesus and His redemptive power operating in our lives. It’s not only a call to be prepared to preach the gospel or even fight with the Word, although both of these are necessary. But the gospel of peace needs to be our base, our foundation on which we stand and by which we order our lives and our every step. Isaiah 28:16 says: Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste. Jesus Christ is that stone, that sure foundation. He is what makes the gospel of peace, what separates that gospel from any other. The gospel is good news. But not all good news can bring the peace that constrains us from making haste, feeling hurried, panicking, acting too quickly. Only the gospel of Jesus can curb the tongue that once lashed out at the hint of a confrontation, or can stop the fist that once swung out at the hint of anger. Luke 6 puts it like this: Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great. As I stated in Bible Nugget #2, your foundation WILL be found out, and if it is not the foundation of truth, which is the gospel of Jesus Christ, God's Word to you is this: Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even rend it with a stormy wind in my fury; and there shall be an overflowing shower in mine anger, and great hailstones in my fury to consume it. So will I break down the wall that ye have daubed with untempered mortar, and bring it down to the ground, so that the foundation thereof shall be discovered, and it shall fall, and ye shall be consumed in the midst thereof: and ye shall know that I am the LORD(Eze 13:13-14). (Read also 1 Corinthians 3:10-15) Whew! 'Nuff said!
Of note, the foot is uniquely designed so that every toe, every muscle and ligament, plays an important part. Lose a toe, and notice the difference in your walk. Lose the big toe, and you can't walk at all! So it is with the whole man. Every part of the Word of God is important. Having a large gap missing can severly alter or hinder your walk. Missing the "big toe" in it, Jesus Christ, can end your walk altogether! We must make sure that our foundation is the WHOLE Word of God, not just a portion of it, or what Momma taught us, or what Pastor gives us on Sunday, or what we hear on the tv/radio, or some doctrine that is based ON the Word but not the WHOLE Word. The teachings of the Preacher are great, for how then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher( Ro 10:14)? TV/Radio Minstries are great, for they help to spread the word to those who otherwise would not hear. We know that the end will not come until the Word is preached everywhere(Matt 24:14). Doctrine is great, a needed guide in a world full of false teachings. A man with no doctrine, no premise for what he believes, is a man to be wary of. Mark 4, for example, describes Jesus's teachings as his doctrine. His response in John 7:16-17, is this: My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. We know from 2 Timothy 3:16 that all scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. But that's my point: scripture is good FOR doctrine, the premise OF it, but doctrine is NOT the scripture. Be sure that no teaching replaces Jesus as the focus of your walk.
We need a firm foundation (Zech 5:11), a strong knowledge and understanding of the Word of God. By our diligent study, we can show ourselves approved unto God (2 Tim 2:15). Then our feet will be guided in battle, and our every step will fall on solid ground, and we can have and spread the peace of knowing our footing is sure. Having the Word of God as our base and guide, we can go boldly before the enemy. Even in the midst of a raging battle, you can have the peace of God in your soul.
...to be continued in our next Bible Nugget.......
|
