Suit Up - Part 3

Still with me?  Fantastic.  Let's look back over the gear we've already discussed:

The Belt of Truth - the Truth of Jesus holds it all together.
Breastplate of Righteousness - living a Righteous life will protect our heart.
Readiness of the Gospel of Peace - not a physical piece of armor...but just as vital.  Know the story.


Today we will look at the Shield of Faith and the Helmet of Salvation.  In the movies Captain America has an amazing shield made of a fictitious metal called vibranium.  It's capable of repelling bullets, energy weapons, and all sorts of devastating stuff.


Our shield is so much cooler.

The Shield of Faith
"...take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one."

The shield. An ancient weapon known throughout most of history. Some were small, some large but all had the same purpose. To prevent weapons of the enemy from getting to you. Shields would take the brunt of the initial attacks. Be it stones, arrows, swords, or spears...the shield, if made well would deflect these things. Epesians 6 says that it will extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

How cool is that?! Not only does it stop them, it puts out the fire!

Fire consumes.

When used as a weapon fire is devastating. But when you pick up the shield of Faith, the flames are quenched. What did we already establish our faith in? Jesus. Our trust in him as our Savior, our King, our God. It is our faith in Him the creates this shield, this barrier protection. Something God has consistently told us He is.

"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.I will say of the Lord, 'He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.'"

Psalm 91:1-2

Another thing about the shield, it has to go in front of you or it is useless. So, our Faith in Jesus should go before us, otherwise we are vulnerable to attack. Keep your Faith before you, keep Jesus as your goal, and He will protect you.  A shield of faith...think about it.

Now for the helmet.  It can be as practical as a motorcycle helmet or as intense as a Spartan soldier's.  Simple or elaborate.  The goal is the same.  Protect the head.  Some are iconic like Thor and Loki's.  Kids all over can spot Loki based on his golden horned helmet, or Thor with his silver wings.  Once again, our helmet, way better.

Helmet of Salvation
"...Take the helmet of salvation..."

The helmet protects our head. And what is inside out head?

Our mind.

So Salvation is what protects our mind...if we keep it on. When we think, remember what Jesus did. Hebrews 2: 3-4 says:

"...This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord(Jesus), was confirmed to us by those who heard him. God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will."

When our minds start to wander. When we think of the nasty response. When we think of yelling and swearing...remember Salvation. Remember Jesus. Even when he was dying on the cross for us, bearing all our sin...he forgave us. All wrongs have been righted in his death. All blood owed has been paid. All the things we feel we are justified to have...have already been given.

"Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid.  The Lord, the Lord, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation..."

Isaiah 12:2

Not only should we guard our thoughts from evil, but allow it to Trust and not Fear. God has already won. The only things we can loose (if we cling to him) are our earthly possessions, and our earthly body.  The helmet protects more than just our skull, brain and faces.  The knowledge of Salvation guards our thoughts.  Keep it on!  In this, our thoughts will be different.  People will notice this and we will be recognized as followers of Jesus.  It will be obvious.  The same way a kid can spot their favorite helmeted hero.

Tomorrow, the Weapons.

grace, peace + hope
-Jesse

Suit Up - Part 2

Alright, so the Belt of Truth is on.  Let us continue to suit up!

The Breastplate of Righteousness

"...with the breastplate of righteousness in place,..."

The breastplate covers and protects our vital organs. Not least of which is our Heart. Paul is telling us that we cover and protect our heart with Righteousness. How do we get this Righteousness?

"...the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it."

-Romans 9:30-31

Through faith in Jesus, in what he taught, lived, died and resurrected for, we can be covered with Righteousness. It is defined as: 'acting in an upright, moral way; virtuous." How do we do that? How does that protect our heart?

We strive to live upright, morally, virtuous...we do so by living like Jesus, and having faith in Him that he is the ultimate example of righteousness. This protects us because Jesus didn't do things that would hurt his heart. He wasn't sneaking around doing things that were questionable. He didn't talk back to his parents. He spent most of his time seeking God. The rest of the time he was teaching what he knew to others, helping them, caring for the poor, healing the sick.

And isn't that exactly what he told the disciples (and us) to do? And look what word is used at the beginning of this verse:

"Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’"

Matthew 25:37-40

When we seek to serve others, and not ourselves, we guard our heart by living in righteousness. Righteousness that comes from Jesus.

Readiness from the Gospel of Peace

"...and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace."

Peace. The Gospel or Good News of Peace. It's the story of Jesus. What he accomplished on Earth, through the Cross and Resurrection.

Paul says in Ephesians 2:14-18

"For he himself (Jesus) is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit."

So this piece of weaponry is not as "obvious." The readiness comes from the Good News, the Cause if you will. The whole story of Jesus. By knowing it we should be eager to share it, eager to move and proclaim it. We should not be content sitting still in our office chairs, pews and recliners! We should be ready to move to go when the opportunity comes to share Jesus.

We should know that story inside and out. Not just in our heads, but our hearts. To know what Jesus did for all mankind and for us individually. Know your story. Let it be ready to share with others so that they can encounter (maybe immediately, or in time) Jesus, and be restored to the Father.

Belt, Breastplate, Gospel...back for more tomorrow!

grace, peace + hope
-Jesse

Suit Up - Part 1

This weekend "The Avengers" opened in theaters.  As a comic book and movie fan I really enjoyed this movie.  It's a hodge podge team of heroic individuals that have to come together to stop a maniacal villain from conquering the world.  Each member has different skill sets and abilities that they contribute to the whole.

One of my favorite moments (not a spoiler) is when Captain America asks a potential member of the team if he has a suit (Cap has a patriotic uniform, Iron Man is a techno-suit of armor, Thor has a mythical type of armor, and there are a few more that I'll leave out.)  War is breaking out and it's time to fight, time to get the suits and do battle.  When the character responds with a yes Cap says, "Well then, suit up."

That's the same thing I'm saying to you.  Cap said it.  Barney Stinson says it.  And a bloke named Paul said it thousands of years ago:

"Suit up."  (my paraphrase)

Did you know that as followers of Jesus we are called to war?

Well, we are.

But we are not called to fight with guns and bombs. We do not fight against other people, or religions, or nations.

"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."

-Ephesians 6:12

But we do have an enemy. The Enemy. He's been our enemy since the beginning in Eden. He's been working against God ever since. Jesus said this in John 8:44

"...He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies."

There are many other places in the Word that give other descriptions of the Enemy and his character. One other I'll mention here is also from Jesus

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy..."

-John 10:10

So we know we are in a battle. We know who are Enemy is. What now?

We take up arms.

Paul lines out in Ephesians 6 what these arms are. (verses 10-18)


The Belt of Truth

"...Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist,..."

The belt. It holds everything together. And what does Paul call it?

Truth.

"A verified or indisputable fact, proposition, principle, or the like" is one of the definitions in the dictionary. But truth being verified, is not where it stops for us. Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life..." So for us, Jesus is Truth. Jesus is a verified or indisputable fact. He is what holds everything together.  He holds us together.

So if we are buckled with truth, we must live in truth. Lying does not become a follower of Jesus. We must live out what we claim to be. If we are Christians, let us be Christians. And to do that we have to know who Jesus is. How?

Well that's coming up later.

Check back Monday for Part 2!

grace, peace + hope
-Jesse