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Standing your grounds as a believer

Written by Jiloml.

"Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness.”. (NLT) Ephesians 6: 14

Bible reading: Ephesians 6: 13-18

As followers of Christ fighting a necessary battle which we ought to win at all costs, it is important to learn all the essential techniques there is to win this battle of life. And as per every fight, one needs to identify and strategize to defeat the opponent. In our case as Christians, the devil is our opponent at the battle front. Now, as an order from above, we ought to stand our ground and put on the whole Armor of God. Every part of the armor is equally vital in our quest to overcome the devil and his schemes.

The first important thing to do is to put on the BELT OF TRUTH. For a soldier, the belt is to hold his garment in place and to keep him from stumbling over a lose uniform. Without the belt, a soldier will not be adequately fit to go to battle. The sword and other important weapons are hanged on the belt of truth and this suggests its prevailing importance. Again, truth is important because we are fighting against the father of all lies (the devil). He easily deceives and if we do not know the truth, we can easily fall prey to his schemes as is stated in John 8:44; “… he was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him… for he is a liar and the father of lies”. For us to defeat him, we need to safeguard our lips from telling lies as we are admonished in Ephesians 4: 25 – “So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body”. The belt of truth can also be likened to the seats belts in our cars. It protects us from every other hard fall thrown us by life challenges resulting from any hit from the devil (Job 1: 8-11).

When we are sure our belts are tight, we need to put on another equally essential part: THE BODY ARMOR OF GOD’S RIGHTEOUSNESS also known AS THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. As in the stories of all men that walked with God, they were characterized by an attribute very important to God; righteousness. Righteousness made Job survive the wicked acts of the evil one. It also gave David, Abraham, Noah, Enoch, and many others favor with God and victory over their enemies. In every battle, a soldier needs his breastplate to protect him from any attack made on the vital organs of its body. The chest houses all the organs like the heart, lungs etc., vital to our very survival. It is not surprising that God requires that we put on righteous acts as a protector. We need his favor to protect us and we can gain that through our acts of righteousness.

God has set the example for us as it is written in Isaiah 59:16-17:

He saw that there was no one,

he was appalled that there was no one to intervene;

so his own arm achieved salvation for him,

and his own righteousness sustained him.

He put on righteousness as his breastplate,

and the helmet of salvation on his head;

he put on the garments of vengeance

and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak.

Are you ready for battle? Do not forget your belt of truth and breastplate of righteousness.

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A gift from God

Written by Mantebeah Elizabeth Matilda Abena.

“Meaningless! Meaningless says the teacher. Everything is Meaningless!” (NIV) Ecclesiastes 12: 8

The life we live today is full of meaningless activities. There is so much evil on the face of this earth and it is expected to increase with time. Wicked men abound and will forever abound as the world exists. There is so much injustice in this world. Imagine a righteous man experiences what is expected to be experienced by the wick and vice-versa. What do we make of this life?

Also there are instances where God gives a man so much wealth and possessions, but he doesn’t live long to enjoy them, instead others benefit from his wealth. Honestly speaking these circumstances and others not mentioned causes us as Christians to ask so many questions.

Solomon says all is meaningless, because trying to understand these things (unfair situations as is described by us who have no understanding of God’s ways) in the world can make us unappreciative of God’s gift to us. The search for pleasures in this world is meaningless because the world itself is meaningless. However God has provided a life that is eternal and this life is in His Son Jesus Christ. No matter our lot in this world my friend, if we will understand that God works in us to our own good and that all is done to bring us to an expected end, we will see that God has indeed given us a gift , that is a gift of being a part of His Kingdom with His Son.

Solomon writes in Ecclesiastes 5:18-19 “then I realised that it is good and proper for a man to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in his toilsome labour under the sun during his few days of life God has given him- for this is his LOT. Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his LOT and be happy in his work—this is a gift of God.

Simply put beloved brethren in the LORD, no matter our LOT, let us not overlook the fact that we must enjoy and be happy with our work. Let us work hard to improve our condition but we should never try to be who God has not made us to be. Special text: Job 14.

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MY SALVATION, HIS WILL I DO

"Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere. ”. (NLT) Ephesians 6: 17-18

Bible reading: Ephesians 6: 13-18

In Matthew 28: 19, Jesus told us that we can be His disciples only when we give ourselves to baptism. However that is just a ticket to entering the Kingdom. As a Disciple in the kingdom, we ought to be taught the kingdom rules. And as part of the rules we learn to fight the Christian battle.

Our commitment to the teachings of Christ and right living favors us before God. He then gives us his free gift of Salvation. In 2 Thessalonians 2: 13 we witness this truth (As for us, we can’t help but thank God for you, dear brothers and sisters loved by the Lord. We are always thankful that God CHOSE you to be among the first to experience salvation- a salvation that came through the Spirit who makes you holy and through your belief in the Truth). The child of God born of the Spirit must acknowledge daily this truth of the free gift of salvation. As we do this, we put on the HELMET OF SALVATION. This is how we protect our faith & thoughts from the attacks of the evil one.

Finally and not the least, we ought to TAKE THE WORD OF GOD AS A SWORD. For effective battling, our swords must be very sharp. God’s word is sharper than the sharpest double edge sword, cutting into every soul and spirit… (Hebrew 4: 12). It is able to destroy everything and anything. We only need to believe this. The verse 13 of Hebrew 4, says everything is naked before God. He knows the tactics of the devil so we have already won the battle if we do as He asks us.

The writer Tom Smith wrote the article: PRAY FOR ONE ANOTHER. This is God’s final words to us as we go for Battle. Yes we have put in all that we need to do to survive but what make us winners in this battle are our Prayers for the other BELIEVERS. That is actually our BATTLE. Dearly beloved, let us stay alert and be persistent in our prayers for all believers everywhere.

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FAITH: SHARE YOURS THROUGH HIS WORD

"For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good news so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. ”. (NLT) Ephesians 6: 15-16

Bible reading: Ephesians 6: 13-18

No one can best equip us for battle like our Lord Jesus Christ. And as a perfect example to us, He advises us to equip ourselves with His word. We must WEAR THE GOOD NEWS AS SHOES, ever ready to tell others of his words. Colossians 3: 16 says “let the message about Christ in all its richness fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives…”. We see that Christ was able to defeat the devil with the word of God (Matthew 4: 1-11- temptation of Jesus). Let us not forget that, the devil can also quote the scriptures and interpret it to suit him so we ought to let Christ dwell richly in us and prepare us for this battle. Constant evangelism, teaching and sharing of His word with others prepare us for success in the battle

In addition to telling others of Jesus, we must have faith in God. Put on THE SHIELD OF FAITH. A shield has various uses, for example, it protects a fighter from any arrow thrown at him. In Hebrews 12: 2, we are to focus on Jesus Christ, who is the author and finisher of our faith. Our faith in Christ can move mountains and stop any arrow thrown by the devil. The challenges may come but our hope in God’s word builds in us a strong Faith capable of winning the battle. Romans 10: 17 shows us how to build our faith. As we hear God’s word and share it with others, we build faith in the Mighty Power of God.

As we battle, lets us remember that, the just will live by FAITH and God will not take delight in one who turns away (Hebrews 10: 38). God bless you for being a soldier for Christ. May He help us all as we remind each other to keep our armor on always and be battle ready to conquer our enemy.

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IS OUR FOUNDATION FOR BATTLE RIGHT?

"A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his might power.”. (NLT) Isaiah 49: 15

I have never been to a physical battle so I may not be in a good position to say exactly the words the superiors give to their men before battle. However as a Christian I believe we are all aware of the many preparations we undertake for battle.

The nitty-gritty is what goes into what Ephesians 6: 11-17 describes as putting on the full armor of God. The sins and challenges that come our ways are the battles we need to fight every day. Many a times we just put on the armor just like it says and go for battle and most of us fail. We then begin to ask ourselves: HOW DID THIS HAPPEN? I did all that is said in the bible. Why can’t overcome this sin.

The little secret I have come to discover about battles in any form is the psychological aspect of it. It is the most important aspect of our battle that most of us ignore. As an individual seeking to undertake a project, the moment you see yourself as a failure in life, you will remain a failure no matter how well you prepare in life.

It is the same with our Christian battle. God is admonishing us to first of all be strong in Him and his might power (final words of a Captain to his colleagues). Before we put on the full armor and set for battle, we need to trust in whose name we are fighting. The foundation for putting on the armor must be set right. We become dead meat if we don’t know who we are fighting for and for what cause. A battle without a leader is a defeated battle.

How well is our foundation in Christ? Is your faith in Christ based on the right ingredients (who He says He is)? Do you believe you will overcome life challenges in His name? Beloved if you have not set this foundation right then no matter how well you put the armor, you are sure to fail.

Your success in life and the Christian battle is how well you TRUST GOD’S POWER to save you in ALL SITUATIONS. Beloved if your foundation is right, then join me together with Christ, put on the Full Armor of God and stand firm against all the strategies of the devil (Ephesians 6: 11).

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