[Friday's Devotional] - The Helmet and Sword

Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Ephesians 6: 17 [NIV]

 

It doesn’t seem right to compress these two into one day, but for the sake of fitting them into one week, please forgive me for not giving them the space they deserve. 

 

First the helmet – it protects the head, the brain, the eyes, nose, ears and mouth.  Perhaps you have seen the image from the Bayeux Tapestry of King Harold at the Battle of Hastings with an arrow in his eye?  The helmet protects some our most vulnerable parts.  Salvation needs to be kept at the forefront of our minds.  Did Jesus doubt his salvation, when he was tempted by Satan?  Should we doubt our Salvation when we are attacked?  Remember the Belt of Truth from Monday.  Our Salvation is fact, truth, unchangeable – if we are “in Christ Jesus”

 

Second the sword – this is an instrument of defence and attack.  In a sword-fight or fencing bout, the sword is used to parry blows from the enemy and to strike back to inflict damage on them.  The Spirit is our defender and the sword of the Spirit (the Word of God = The Bible) is what we can use to defend or attack when we are tempted.

 

I particularly find these verses helpful:

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

Romans 8:1-2 [NIV]

 

God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ
1 Thessalonians 5:9 [NIV]

 

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
Hebrews 4:12

 

Lord, keep my mind clear and secure in the knowledge of my salvation.  Help me to learn how to wield the sword of the Spirit which is your word. Amen.

 

Dave MacLellan

[Thursday's Devotional] - The Shield of Faith

In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
Ephesians 6: 16 [NIV]

This verse, to me, conjures up images of police in riot gear facing rioters throwing flaming bottles of petrol – or perhaps some dark scene from the Lord of the Rings Trilogy.  Somehow the “good guys” are always the one facing the fire-throwers, holding up the shields.

How strong is your Shield of Faith? The shield is something we don’t just strap on and forget about – we need to pick it up, hold it up and put it in the way of any arrows.  As long as we hold our shield up (hold our guard), we will be able to deflect the evil attack.  When things are going badly, and it seems like we are under severe attack, there is nothing we can rely on more than our faith.  It is by faith that we can hold on to the truth we talked about on Monday.  We are believing in “things unseen”, but we have the Bible, our Christian friends and the life-experience and teaching (discipleship) we have received – these all help us to deflect the flaming arrows.

If you want to strengthen your shield of faith, Hebrews 11 is a good place to start – it includes some examples of people with faith in the Bible including Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Sarah.  Read Hebrews 11 online if you have time.

Lord, strengthen my faith, let me use the Shield of Faith to ward off the attacks I face this week.  In Jesus name, Amen.

Dave MacLellan 

[Wednesday's Devotional] - Shoes of the Gospel

…and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
Ephesians 6:15 [NIV]

 

Shoes are made for walking, and we are called to “walk the talk” of the gospel of peace.  Our shoes are also where the “rubber meets the road” - they enable us to stand firm, and to maintain grip on slippery surfaces.  Sometimes our path in life is like walking on an icy path – we can slip up and fall, injuring ourselves as a result of slipping in the face of temptation.

 

It is quite easy to have a theoretical faith – to know what the gospel says and have all the answers to questions that people ask.  But we are called to have a practical faith; to act as Jesus did – healing the sick, spending time with the homeless, those in prison, the disadvantaged in our world.

 

How well-worn are your armoured shoes?  Do you get enough gospel-exercise?  Are you an active advocate of truth, peace and the good news of Christ?

 

Lord, help me to be active in sharing the good news of Jesus.  Keep my feet steady when the road is slippery and pick me up whenever I slip and fall.  Amen.

 

Dave MacLellan 

[Tuesday's Devotional] - The Breastplate of Righteousness

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,… Ephesians 6: 14 [NIV]

 

The breastplate is the piece of armour that protects our heart, lungs, and many other vital organs essential for life.  Righteousness means keeping “right with God” and “right with other people”.

 

Are you feeling righteous today?  If I am honest, I am much better at sounding and looking righteous than being righteous.  The problem is sin gets in the way – every day.  The solution is to daily make things right again – to “keep a short account with God”.  Now here again, I am not good at prompt repentance. 

 

Perhaps you might think of sin like the kind of nasty gunk that from time to time blocks up the drain of the kitchen sink.  Some people regularly flush the sink with cleaning fluids and hot water, and don’t allow nasty sticky stuff to enter it – as a result, they might find that the drain doesn’t often (or ever) get to a fully-blocked crisis point.  However, if one leaves the stuff to accumulate, there might be a need for an application of some intensive sink-unblocking material, and you might find that the job is a lot more messy and difficult!  The same goes for sin and repentance – keeping the drain clear might be less painful and messy than accumulating sin until the crisis point is reached.

 

Lord, help me to come to you in repentance daily.  Thank you that Jesus paid the price for my sin and that no matter what I have done, there is always a way back to you.  Amen.

 

 

Dave MacLellan

[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