Are you being deceived? How would you know, you’re deceived! Our enemy, the devil prowls like a lion seeking us out to devour us. He is the father of lies, and if it were possible he would deceive the very elect.
God has been making me aware of the deception of Satan and the world that I have been buying into. And to be honest the more I see the way of sin and darkness around me, and the more I see myself stumble towards it in my fleshly desires, the more I feel trapped. I’m taking all the right steps into the wrong directions. It scares me. I read descriptions in the Bible of the wicked and their folly, and it mirrors my own thought life. Friends would you pray for me! I had such an encouraging time Sunday and Thursday to come together with the body of Christ and be reminded of God’s character, but I spend nine hours a day, five days a week trapped in the fog of the world. It is so hard to stay burning for Christ when everything around you is trying to snuff it out. Going to public school is so much harder than I realized.
That being said, I know my redeemer lives! God is by my side and never leaves me. The Holy Spirit can see through the fog. He guides me. “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for you are with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.” God moved Berea’s dad to warn me of the pitfall Satan uses to try to get godly Christian girls off track – wanting to be accepted by our peers and particularly that certain young man. God has used my friend Alex to keep me in God’s word by waiting for me at my locker every lunch, and by sharing what God has taught her in His word. God has used our Thursday night bible study to show me encouraging verses that spoke of God’s righteous character and how He will never leave me. God never gives up on me, and though I feel crushed by my own weakness to stand against temptation, I know He is stronger and will keep me.
The last few weeks I’ve been reading Ephesians, chapter six, about the armour of God. I thought I would share with you what I have learned.
“…Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armour of God that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” – Eph6: 10-11
· Loins girt about with truth
As Satan is called the father of lies, it’s fitting that we defend ourselves with truth. Where do I find truth and how do I girt myself in it?
- John 8:31-32, 36 we need to stay constantly in the word of God. The truth we find in the Bible will set us free from the confusion that entangles us in the world.
- John 14: 6 the truth is Jesus Christ. He is the way, the truth, and the life. All truth comes from Him. Jesus is the truth we need. It’s through His sacrifice on the cross that we can draw near to God, for He has set us free from the bondage of Sin.
- John 16:13-14 the Holy Spirit is truth. He will guide us in all truth. How do you know it’s Him guiding you and not Satan deceiving me? The Spirit will glorify Jesus, Satan won’t.
- 1Timothy 3:15 The Church is the pillar and ground of truth. Meet with Christians regularly and be established in truth.
· The breastplate of righteousness
- John 8:31-32, 36 we need to stay constantly in the word of God. The truth we find in the Bible will set us free from the confusion that entangles us in the world.
- John 14: 6 the truth is Jesus Christ. He is the way, the truth, and the life. All truth comes from Him. Jesus is the truth we need. It’s through His sacrifice on the cross that we can draw near to God, for He has set us free from the bondage of Sin.
- John 16:13-14 the Holy Spirit is truth. He will guide us in all truth. How do you know it’s Him guiding you and not Satan deceiving me? The Spirit will glorify Jesus, Satan won’t.
- 1Timothy 3:15 The Church is the pillar and ground of truth. Meet with Christians regularly and be established in truth.
· The breastplate of righteousness
- Psalm 85:10, Isaiah 32:17 Righteousness and peace go hand in hand. To work righteousness is to reap peace, quietness, calm. Satan will create strife and turmoil, but to us who wear the breastplate of righteousness, who practice righteous, we will dwell in the peace of God and in assurance.
- Romans 3:10, Isaiah 64:6 Apart from Christ we are not righteous. Our righteousness is like a filthy rag a leper wound use to wipe his pussy wounds. We are corrupt in and of ourselves. Satan will try to use pride to make us fall. To make us look to ourselves or to each other for the standard of righteousness. We cannot be self-righteous. I am but a worm, and Christ saved me.
- Romans 3:24-26 Christ’s righteousness was applied to my account that God can look on me with favor and call me good. It is because Christ saved us from our slavery to sin that we can begin to practice righteousness. Satan will try to make us think we need to earn our right standing with God. We cannot be more loved by God whether we sin or not.
- Proverbs 11:5, 6, 8; 12:28 those who practice righteousness will receive direction in righteousness, deliverance from sin and its consequences, and deliverance out of trouble. Righteousness leads to life.
· Feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace
- Romans 10:15, Isaiah 52:7, Nehemiah 1:15 the feet of those who bring/preach the gospel of peace are beautiful. It is a privilege to share the gospel with others and it is something God will bless you for. It’s beautiful that God would use our broken vessels to be the transportation of God glorious message. It shows God’s power is so much greater! Satan will try to do anything to keep this gospel from being heard.
- 1Peter 3:14-17 Persecution will come, but if you suffer for the sake of doing good, “happy are ye”! Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts and be ready to give an answer to them that ask of the hope that lies within you, with meekness and fear. Fear? Yes, fear. Not because of how they might react to you, but fear to keep you from speaking foolishly. Let them accuse you of your good conversation and not of your own stupidity.
- 2Timothy 4:2-3 preach the word. In season and out of season. Reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. Paul was addressing the letter to Timothy a pastor/teacher, but it is a good reminder for us to be ready. Not to compromise the gospel so that people will accept it because it makes them feel good about themselves; but to share truth and sound doctrine. I believe Satan works in this way to get you to fear the responses of people. If he can’t get you to stop sharing the gospel, he will try to make you compromise it.
- Romans 3:10, Isaiah 64:6 Apart from Christ we are not righteous. Our righteousness is like a filthy rag a leper wound use to wipe his pussy wounds. We are corrupt in and of ourselves. Satan will try to use pride to make us fall. To make us look to ourselves or to each other for the standard of righteousness. We cannot be self-righteous. I am but a worm, and Christ saved me.
- Romans 3:24-26 Christ’s righteousness was applied to my account that God can look on me with favor and call me good. It is because Christ saved us from our slavery to sin that we can begin to practice righteousness. Satan will try to make us think we need to earn our right standing with God. We cannot be more loved by God whether we sin or not.
- Proverbs 11:5, 6, 8; 12:28 those who practice righteousness will receive direction in righteousness, deliverance from sin and its consequences, and deliverance out of trouble. Righteousness leads to life.
· Feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace
- Romans 10:15, Isaiah 52:7, Nehemiah 1:15 the feet of those who bring/preach the gospel of peace are beautiful. It is a privilege to share the gospel with others and it is something God will bless you for. It’s beautiful that God would use our broken vessels to be the transportation of God glorious message. It shows God’s power is so much greater! Satan will try to do anything to keep this gospel from being heard.
- 1Peter 3:14-17 Persecution will come, but if you suffer for the sake of doing good, “happy are ye”! Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts and be ready to give an answer to them that ask of the hope that lies within you, with meekness and fear. Fear? Yes, fear. Not because of how they might react to you, but fear to keep you from speaking foolishly. Let them accuse you of your good conversation and not of your own stupidity.
- 2Timothy 4:2-3 preach the word. In season and out of season. Reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. Paul was addressing the letter to Timothy a pastor/teacher, but it is a good reminder for us to be ready. Not to compromise the gospel so that people will accept it because it makes them feel good about themselves; but to share truth and sound doctrine. I believe Satan works in this way to get you to fear the responses of people. If he can’t get you to stop sharing the gospel, he will try to make you compromise it.
· Above all the shield of faith
With this shield, we can quench the fiery darts of the wicked.
- Hebrews 11:8-10 how do we gain this faith? It is God who quickens and draws us in faith. We cannot muster up more faith on our own. When God draws us that is when the walk of faith takes place. Yet, we must be careful not to say God is calling us or drawing us to do something when it is actually just our own heart’s desires or even Satan luring us away.
Satan will also try to make us reason instead of trust God in faith when He calls us to do something. Faith in light of reason sounds ludicrous and reckless. It certainly seemed ridiculous that Abraham would leave everything he had built up and accomplished in life to go to a place he didn’t know, based on a promise. But it wasn’t just a promise; it was a promise from God. We have faith and trust in the character of God who always keeps His promises, and that outshines human reasoning.
With this shield, we can quench the fiery darts of the wicked.
- Hebrews 11:8-10 how do we gain this faith? It is God who quickens and draws us in faith. We cannot muster up more faith on our own. When God draws us that is when the walk of faith takes place. Yet, we must be careful not to say God is calling us or drawing us to do something when it is actually just our own heart’s desires or even Satan luring us away.
Satan will also try to make us reason instead of trust God in faith when He calls us to do something. Faith in light of reason sounds ludicrous and reckless. It certainly seemed ridiculous that Abraham would leave everything he had built up and accomplished in life to go to a place he didn’t know, based on a promise. But it wasn’t just a promise; it was a promise from God. We have faith and trust in the character of God who always keeps His promises, and that outshines human reasoning.
Faith has an eternal perspective. We look and then we walk. If we look on material possessions and the things of the world that Satan will try to distract us with, we won’t get far. But if we are heavenly minded, we will walk towards Christ.
Satan will try to make us doubt or get us distracted, but we must take hold of the shield of faith, look straight ahead towards Christ and eternity, and trust in the character of God to believe and act on what He says.
· Helmet of Salvation
Satan will attack our minds and thoughts. If He can make us doubt our Salvation in any way he has succeed. Put on the helmet of salvation.
- Philippians 2:12 First we should work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. Are you a Christian?
- Ephesians 1:3-14 our identity in Christ cannot be changed. We stand in Christ complete. In Christ we have all spiritual blessings, we are accepted, we are redeemed from sin, God has forgiven all our sin according to the riches of His grace, He has revealed to us the mystery of His will in the Holy Scriptures, He will one day return and gather us to Himself, we have obtained Christ’s inheritance, and we are sealed by the Holy Spirit as a down payment until Christ’s return so we can never lose this salvation.
Satan will try to make us doubt our salvation and make us forget who we are in Christ. He will try to make us feel guilty, and feel like we must earn God’s favor. He will try to make us feel like we are nothing, feel confused about the will of God, feel like unless we confess our sin we cannot be forgiven, or feel a lack of joy in our salvation. Beware and combat in with right thinking regarding our salvation and our identity in Christ.
· The sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God
- John 12:30-33; 16:7-14 Jesus came to judge the world (but not of people), He came to cast out the prince of this world (Satan). And when Christ left, the comforter was sent to reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgement: of judgement because the prince of this world is judged. Satan has no power over us. Christ defeated him and He alone is the victor. The Holy Spirit is here to lead us in all truth. How can we use the sword unless the Spirit wields it! We don’t even know how to pray as we ought, how much more to defend against the devil (Romans 8:26). Thankfully God didn’t leave us on our own. The Holy Spirit guides us in truth as we read God’s word, and brings it to mind when Satan attacks.
- Hebrews 4:12 In this verse the word of God is also described as a sword, but more to cut through our own should and to expose the truth of what we believe, out thought, intents, will, and motives. Nothing is hidden from God and He reveals to us our sins and flaws through the reading of his word to keep us from falling and to sanctify us. So we don’t need to be afraid of Satan because greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world. If we stay rooted in God’s word and have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, we can never be so deceived by Satan as to fall away from Christ. If Satan whispers lies we cannot detect and we begin to change our thoughts and intents, God through His word will cut it open and reveal it to us, so we may repent and draw close to Him. (2Timothy 3:16-17, 1John 4:4)
· Praying
Satan will try to make us doubt or get us distracted, but we must take hold of the shield of faith, look straight ahead towards Christ and eternity, and trust in the character of God to believe and act on what He says.
· Helmet of Salvation
Satan will attack our minds and thoughts. If He can make us doubt our Salvation in any way he has succeed. Put on the helmet of salvation.
- Philippians 2:12 First we should work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. Are you a Christian?
- Ephesians 1:3-14 our identity in Christ cannot be changed. We stand in Christ complete. In Christ we have all spiritual blessings, we are accepted, we are redeemed from sin, God has forgiven all our sin according to the riches of His grace, He has revealed to us the mystery of His will in the Holy Scriptures, He will one day return and gather us to Himself, we have obtained Christ’s inheritance, and we are sealed by the Holy Spirit as a down payment until Christ’s return so we can never lose this salvation.
Satan will try to make us doubt our salvation and make us forget who we are in Christ. He will try to make us feel guilty, and feel like we must earn God’s favor. He will try to make us feel like we are nothing, feel confused about the will of God, feel like unless we confess our sin we cannot be forgiven, or feel a lack of joy in our salvation. Beware and combat in with right thinking regarding our salvation and our identity in Christ.
· The sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God
- John 12:30-33; 16:7-14 Jesus came to judge the world (but not of people), He came to cast out the prince of this world (Satan). And when Christ left, the comforter was sent to reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgement: of judgement because the prince of this world is judged. Satan has no power over us. Christ defeated him and He alone is the victor. The Holy Spirit is here to lead us in all truth. How can we use the sword unless the Spirit wields it! We don’t even know how to pray as we ought, how much more to defend against the devil (Romans 8:26). Thankfully God didn’t leave us on our own. The Holy Spirit guides us in truth as we read God’s word, and brings it to mind when Satan attacks.
- Hebrews 4:12 In this verse the word of God is also described as a sword, but more to cut through our own should and to expose the truth of what we believe, out thought, intents, will, and motives. Nothing is hidden from God and He reveals to us our sins and flaws through the reading of his word to keep us from falling and to sanctify us. So we don’t need to be afraid of Satan because greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world. If we stay rooted in God’s word and have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, we can never be so deceived by Satan as to fall away from Christ. If Satan whispers lies we cannot detect and we begin to change our thoughts and intents, God through His word will cut it open and reveal it to us, so we may repent and draw close to Him. (2Timothy 3:16-17, 1John 4:4)
· Praying
And what does the armoured saint do? He prays. Always. This verse doesn’t usually get included as a piece of armour, but Paul doesn’t seem to pause or take a breath when adding this to the list. We must pray with all kinds and types of prayers and supplications. We must pray for all the saints and be alert at all times with perseverance for the deception and attacks of the devil.
- Matthew 26:41, Luke 21:36, 1Peter 4:7 Praying and watching seem to be correlated. To be on the watch, to not fall asleep, to not fall into the cares of this world, to not fall in the temptation and deception of the devil, we must pray.
- 1Thesselonioans 5:17, Romans 12:12 Pray always, without ceasing, continuing instant in prayer. Give yourself to prayer. It is a privilege to pray and something God requires us to do. It is something God uses mightily in His holy will. God delights in our payers.
- 1Thesselonioans 5:17, Romans 12:12 Pray always, without ceasing, continuing instant in prayer. Give yourself to prayer. It is a privilege to pray and something God requires us to do. It is something God uses mightily in His holy will. God delights in our payers.
I hope this helps give a little more clarity and help to what it means to put on the armour of God and how we can defend ourselves from the devil. I barely touched on this and I hope you take the time to study it out more fully on your own.
Something I hope you noticed was how the armour can only be put on and used effectively in the power of Christ. We cannot do it on our own. The Holy Spirit must guide us in truth; it is only because of Christ we are righteous before God and can practice righteousness; it is God who empowers us to share the gospel; it is God who quickens us and draws us to Himself in faith; it is God who gives us our salvation and has made us who we are; it is the Holy Spirit that reveals to us the truth in God’s word; and it is the Holy Spirit who makes intercession for us and Jesus Christ who is our mediator.
It is God who keeps me on my feet and keeps me close to Him throughout the day. I put my trust in Him. I don’t have to be afraid of the world or of Satan.
You don’t have to be either.
Sincerely, Brooke
It is God who keeps me on my feet and keeps me close to Him throughout the day. I put my trust in Him. I don’t have to be afraid of the world or of Satan.
You don’t have to be either.
Sincerely, Brooke
Comments
Post a Comment