A Fight To The Finish
A Fight To The Finish
Regardless of where we are in our faith; in this world, there is a constant battle for our mindshare, time, talent and money. The barrage is constant on television, radio, texts, emails, and social media. There’s an assault on our faith, values, and standards in all age groups irrespective of what faith you hold to.
Jesus followers have an obligation, mandate, and command. In Matthew Jesus lets us know what is the most important and the foundation of what we are called to do, it is this:
“...Love God with all your heart, mind and soul...and love your neighbor as yourself..." Matthew 22:36-40
So, how do we stand? How do we filter through all the messages and overcome the challenges? Paul clearly identifies familiar obstacles such as hatred, persecution, jail, and famine. His list goes on and on including his own personal shortcomings and limitations. In order to overcome them he gives us these instructions:
Paul tells us in Ephesians:
"God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no afternoon athletic contest that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.”
Ephesians 6:10-18 MSG
A more common version tells us:
“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. 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. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish 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. 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.”
Ephesians 6:10-18 NIV
When we choose to deliberately put on the armor we are making that decision from our will. This is where our heart is and the breastplate of righteousness, Christ righteousness, that is what protects our will.
But, we start with the belt of truth so we use that belt of truth to be a plumb line to base all of our decisions against. Next, we have the breastplate of righteousness that protects our will, our decisions, and our heart. Then, we cover our feet, meaning we are to be on the move, with the Gospel of peace. The Gospels are the life of Jesus, who He was, what He did, how He did it and His relationship to God, His father. We next pick up the shield of faith. This tells us we have things that will be attacking us and we have a shield to protect us. It is when we pick up the shield of Faith that we are acknowledging that Jesus is who He said He is and that God is faithful and true. Then we come to the helmet of salvation. This one is one of the most essential because it covers our thoughts, which feed our emotions that begin in our brain and affect the other parts of our body. Finally, we have the sword of the Spirit, which is the whole and entire word of God.
One morning while I was still in bed saying good morning to God and putting on my spiritual armor I had the most humor-filled images in my mind. As I was putting on the helmet of salvation and I saw all these wiggly white things crawling out from under the helmet. They represented my emotions. I didn’t realize how full of emotion I was but I truly identified quickly. However, I was in the process of getting ready for the day and these emotions were a problem. They needed to get under the helmet of salvation and be under the authority that Jesus bought for me. As I was trying to stuff them up under the helmet I found they were not going to submit. Then in my mind, I pulled out a huge mallet and starting smashing them until they stopped moving. I scooped these "quiet and still" emotions onto a platter and raised them up to God when one jumped off the platter. I squished it under my foot. Then, I was remarkably at peace.
The visual is great but there is a huge lesson for us.
It isn’t that those emotions were destroyed or eliminated but submitted to God. They could not control my actions when under God’s authority.
Putting the humor-filled scene aside, how often do we let our emotions make our decisions, determine our actions, and run rampant with our moods? Will we decide to let our mind, thoughts, emotions have free reign or decide that they will be brought into control. We choose no one else makes that decision for us. Emotions when under the authority of Christ don’t determine our actions, they exist, have meaning and feeling but they don’t determine our actions. Emotions are real, God made us with them; they are a part of who we are. Emotions out of control are destructive but when under control provide texture, color, and value to our personalities and passions.
Putting on the armor of God doesn’t mean we won’t have stress, trouble, and challenges. It means we will be prepared to face them with our will in charge, not our emotions. God wants us strong, full of His Spirit ready to face all things, good, bad or indifferent with wisdom, strength, and hope. He not only sent the Holy Spirit to direct us but also gave us tools to use to become strong, full of grace, with meaning and significance. Our lives filled with purpose.
But, we have the freedom to choose what we focus on and what influences we allow in our lives: How we meet the day and all that comes with it. This world is full of trouble, heartache, disasters, financial hardships, persecution and bullies. So how do we face these things and become better, stronger, and full of purpose?
Take control...before you get...out of bed!
Are you willing to take control by putting on the armor so you can fulfill the two commands; Love God with all your heart mind and soul and love your neighbor as yourself?
