Tuesday November 29, 2005

Equipment of a Christian
  Knight: Serving the King – Part IV (Part III)

    Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 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 saints.
    Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

— Ephesians 6:10-20 (NIV) —

    Are you already down for the count or are you ready to do battle? If you knew that each day, there was an invisible spiritual war going on. What would you do differently? Wouldn’t our mornings be spent putting on our armor? And not just a little bit of protection, but everything and the kitchen sink? Satan’s a wiley opponent and if you’ve got a weak spot, I’m sure he’ll hit you there. Satan probably invented the low-blow, no such thing as good sportsmanship. He’ll flank you. He’ll drive wedges into the ranks. What were you expecting? a nice leisurely walk through a war-zone?
    Now… how about an inventory of equipment? Belt of truth. If you’re going to put on equipment, you’re definitely going to need a good belt, well-tested and throughly examined to hang it from. (Can you imagine Batman w/o his belt? and his pants around his ankles to boot?) Breastplate of righteousness. Protection for the heart and other internal organs. If your heart is always out of wack, maybe your need to further develop personal purity and to do whatever is good & right regardless of the price. Gospel of peace to speed up feet. Where are you going? Wandering does no good, set your feet onto the path of peace-making. The greatest of which is making peace between God and man. The shield of faith. Believing that God is working through you, even when you can’t see it. Affirming the importance of the unseen spiritual realm by the way you live. It makes quick work of blocking that nasty little barbs Satan likes to shoot at you. Helmet of salvation. Protect your mind, keep salvation on it. Last and not least, the sword of the Spirit, which is God’s word. If you’re going to go in spiritual battle, you’re going to need a weapon. The sharper the sword and the better your technique… the better spiritual fighter, you’ll be. The best defense is a good offense, yes?
    But just having equipment isn’t enough. You’ve got to put them to good use. Training and building up your spiritual muscles. Learning how to pray for and with people. Protecting the weak and defending the helpless. Doing good can only be learned by doing. Just talking about it won’t help you progress. And the Word. Think of it as your sword… you can upgrade it from a shortsword all the way up to a two-handed broadsword. And not only that, but you’ve got to develop technique. Iron sharpening iron takes on a whole new meaning in this context. Just like a sword can be used to poke, slice, slash and smack… the word can do wonderful things as well. Keep your armor and sword in good working order. Maintain it so that when the battle comes to you, you’ll be ready. Ready to battle for friends, for family and most especially, for God.

Battle on, fellow knight !

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