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Greetings in Jesus' Precious Name, Praise the Lord for another week of new challenges ahead. Some of you must be wondering why I could still say such things in times like these. Yes, it is precisely because of such tough and difficult times that we need to acknowledge all the more that we can face the challenges ahead not on our own strength but leaning on the strength of Someone who can carry us through. Very often, we forget who we are in eternity and allow the situations around us to dictate our lives. No wonder some of us feel down, discouraged. This should not be. We should constantly remind ourselves of the rich inheritance we have in Jesus and this inheritance is to be drawn on even today and we need not wait until we arrive in Heaven to do so. It is for the 'here and now'.
I am sure Paul must have been looking through the iron bars in his prison cell at the Roman guards and studied their armor in great detail. The armor that the Roman soldier puts on is able to protect him from all danger; likewise, the armor of God will be able to help us stand against all kinds of attacks that the devil will try and throw at us. It is interesting to note that Paul starts the description of the armor in verse 14 with the belt. You would think that he starts with the top of the head but he chose the belt as the first piece of armor. I asked the Lord why the order was such and He reminded me that Jesus said in John 14:6 "I am the way, the truth and the life; no man comes to the Father but by Me". You see, the belt holds all the pieces of garments together. I used to avoid wearing a belt in the past but about four years back, I started having to wear one to hold my pants up otherwise I would be most embarrassed. Paul calls the belt - truth - because Jesus our Truth has set us free and we need not feel embarrassed or ashamed of who we are or what we have done because He through His Blood has cleansed us from our sins. The breastplate is that piece of armor we wear to protect our body and in particular it definitely covers the area over our hearts. Paul calls this piece of armor righteousness because where Jesus dwells there is holiness. Also whenever God looks at us, He no longer sees us in our sins but He sees us as He sees Jesus the Righteous One of God. No wonder the Heavenly Father can love us so much. So if God sees us righteous, why then do we at times condemn ourselves? This must not be so. Our feet are to be shod with the gospel of peace. Some versions of the Bible put it as the sandals of the gospel of peace. In the Bible you will notice that our feet is always associated with our walk - and in this instance, Paul was reminding his hearers that their Christian walk must be one of peace and not just any peace. If the peace we are to apply in our daily walk were any humanly crafted kind, then it is doomed to failure because it will never last. However, if the peace that we have in our daily walk comes through the good news (gospel) that Jesus had done all for us and that there is no lack, we have peace with one another and most important, we have peace with ourselves. By that one perfect act of dying on the cross for all mankind, Jesus is able to free us from all our sins - even our future sins. Sometimes we have a guilty conscience because we think we have committed the unpardonable sin and that spoils our walk. No Christian can commit that unpardonable sin - only those who reject Jesus as the Savior have committed the unpardonable sin. If anyone rejects Jesus in his heart rejects the only Way back to the Lord God and there is no more hope for that person. The very fact that we have believed and received Jesus into our hearts automatically means that we cannot commit that unpardonable sin. Therefore, if you have Jesus in your hearts, relax and tell your conscience to stop bothering you and then you will have peace - peace with yourself. The shield that a Roman soldier carried in the first century is a large one. It protects the soldier up to his eyes and it is made of hard leather. I used to think that the shield was made of metal so that it is strong but then I could not reconcile how the shield is able to quench the fiery darts. A metallic shield will be too heavy and may even hinder the soldier's effectiveness in battle. Also a metal shield will deflect the arrows and if the arrows are tipped with fire, the deflected arrow may hurt his friend. No, the shield had to be made from something that is hard and yet does not deflect arrows. Hard leather would be able to do just that. In fact every evening before the soldiers retire to bed, they will soak their shield in water and it is precisely because it is wet can the shield then be able to quench the fiery darts shot at it. Now that is very interesting isn't it? Water in the Bible usually refers to the written word; therefore we are to be so immersed in the word of God that our faith becomes strong and we will be able to stand against all that the devil throws in our direction. It is also interesting that the Romans maximized the use of the shield. History tells us that the Roman army invented the 'box strategy' - with this formation, the army is able to advance and conquer much more ground. What does it entail, this box formation? Solders stand together side-by-side, row-by-row with the soldiers on the outside facing outwards so that the sides of their shields touch each other. For those who are on the inside, they will place their shields over their heads and these too will be placed side by side, end to end so that they are no gap. Each soldier has a part to play in this formation and together they become a formidable force. Each Christian has a certain amount of faith and collectively the church will be a strong force against the devil. Paul, in Hebrews 10: 25, exhorts the readers not to neglect their regular meetings but to meet more often especially in these last days so that we can encourage each other in faith. Next, Paul talks about the helmet of salvation. What is the function of the helmet? If you watch movies of Roman soldiers, you will see that some helmets are rather colorful and decorated. The colors represent ranks but that is not what Paul was referring too here. Paul reminded his readers that the helmet protects the head area and specifically the brain. Paul calls the helmet the helmet of salvation because only when we are convinced in our minds that we are saved by faith in Jesus that the mind can then direct the rest of the body. Do not doubt your salvation because that is one of the first things the devil loves to do. I remembered when I was a young Christian I used to get this "doubt-attacks" - are you sure you are saved? What make you so sure you will go to heaven? And on and on the questions would come. Next time, if you receive a thought and it makes you doubt your salvation, reject that thought in Jesus' Name. The sword is the only piece of the armor that can be used for the offensive. Before Jesus started His earthly ministry, He was tempted in the wilderness three times and each time He used the word of God to rebuke the devil. Likewise, we too need to have the word of God ready to be used at any time to ward off any attacks from the devil. We need to study God's word and apply it in our daily lives. It must not only be head-knowledge but it must also be heart-knowledge. If you count the number of pieces of the armor in the portion of scripture above, you will notice that there are only six pieces. The number six in the Bible is usually associated with mankind. So I asked the Lord why He only mentioned six pieces and not seven (which in the Bible represents perfection) and He reminded me that the seventh piece of armor is the Lord Jesus Himself. You see, Christians have Jesus in their hearts and that is the most powerful piece of the armor. Therefore, be encouraged! Chin up! You have every reason to be victorious in your daily lives. With Jesus, you cannot fail. Best regards, Dated : 27 August 2001
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