[Monday's Devotional] - The Belt of Truth

Therefore put on the full armour 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.  Ephesians 6: 13-17 [NIV]

 

This week I want to look at the well-known “armour of God” passage in Ephesians.  This is all about being equipped to stand firm against the powers of darkness which would tempt us, seduce us, deceive us and generally try to throw us off course.  Are you standing firm currently?  For many, including me, there are times we feel that we are under attack and that our armour is weak and we are ill-prepared to resist the “flaming arrows of the evil one”.

 

Firstly, let’s think about the Belt of Truth.  Truth is the belt, because most of the rest of the armour hangs off it or is fastened by it.

 

Jesus said:

“I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father, except through me.” John 14:6 [NIV]

 

Sometimes we are deceived into believing that our happiness can be found in some of the lies (un-truths) that Satan would have us believe:

 

“Because you have done something evil, God won’t forgive you, so you might as well quit”

“You deserve to reward yourself, keep your time and money for yourself”

“It doesn’t matter what you believe or who you follow – all roads lead to paradise”

“There is nothing absolute about truth, everything is relative – do what feels good”

“I feel so rubbish at the moment, so God couldn’t possibly love me”

 

We must resist the lies of Satan and see them for what they are – our salvation does not depend on our emotions, our resources, our behaviour or our friends.  We have hope because of the truth that Jesus came to share with the world 2000 years ago.

 

Thank you Father for sending your Son Jesus to show us the way, the truth and the light.  Help us to be guided and directed by your Holy Spirit – keep us from evil and lies. 
In Jesus name, Amen.

 

Dave MacLellan