The Armor of God

I did a little study recently on the armor of God.  I don't know how many times I've read Ephesians 6:10-18, which says to put on the full armor of God so we can stand our ground when we're faced with trials and temptations. 

That's an encouraging verse, but I wondered what that means.  How do I "put on" this armor?

The Bible describes the Christian life as a battle against sin and Satan. We are soldiers of Christ in a spiritual warfare.  God knows we will face attacks, and He's given us weapons to fight with.  It's our duty to learn how to use these weapons.  I wanted to know more about the weapons, so I did a simple Internet search and learned a little more about each of the weapons.

Belt of Truth
There is liberating power in truth, and the one who walks in the truth in all his ways will be set free. A lie, no matter how little, gives the powers of darkness an opening for attack, but the truth chases them far away.

Breastplate of Righteousness
The breastplate of righteousness is entirely the righteousness of Jesus which He gives us freely when we accept Him as our Savior. It is Christ’s righteousness — not our own righteousness — that covers and protects us.

Shoes of the Gospel
As soldiers of Christ, we must put on “gospel shoes” that will allow us to march wherever God leads.  Satan will try to place obstacles in our path, but in Jesus’ strength we can walk forward, following the Lord, obeying Him and advancing the gospel.

Shield of Faith
This faith is God’s gift to us. He gives each of us a measure of faith.  As we walk with Him, our faith grows and develops until it becomes a shield, protecting us and allowing us to live a victorious life in Christ.

Helmet of Salvation
When we have a sure knowledge of our salvation, we will not be moved by Satan’s attacks. When we are certain that we are in Christ with our sins forgiven, we will have a peace that nothing can take away.

Sword of the Spirit
God’s Word is truth. That is why it is so powerful. That is why it is so important that we study the Bible and become familiar with its truths and its power.  The sword of God’s Word both protects us and destroys our enemy — the devil and his temptations.

Prayer
Even when we are clothed with the armor of God, we also have to pray.  Prayer brings us into fellowship with God so that His armor can protect us.

The bottom line is this: All the pieces of the armor are found in a relationship with Jesus. Paul said “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ.”  When we come to Jesus and “put on” His righteousness, we are clothed in the whole armor of God.

All In

I'm All In!  Jesus gave His all for us.  He demands our all.

I go to Briarwood Church, where the theme for this year is "All In."  (You nay have noticed the All In yard signs around town.)  Pastor Lynn Hancock began a series at the beginning of the year challenging people to give their all for God in 2019. 

He is teaching from Luke 15 -- The Parable of the Prodigal Son.  Like the prodigal son, we all may go astray and decide to go our own way.  We all may hold back part of our lives.  We don't give Him our all.  God can't bless us unless we give Him our all.  The prodigal son suffered loss when he left his father's house and went off on his own. 

The son strayed, and he lost everything.  The good news is he didn't stay there.  The Bible says he came to himself and returned to his father.

There have been times in my life when I went out on my own.  I didn't give my all in living for God.  I wasn't All In.  Like the prodigal son, I strayed and lost out on ALL God had in store for me.  I've decided that this year I want to be All In for God.  I want to give Him everything. 

When the prodigal son decided to return to his father's house, the father welcomed him home with open arms, and he lavished his love on the son by giving him the best robe and a ring.  He had a feast because his son "was lost and is found."  That's what the heavenly Father does for us when we come to Him and give Him our all.  We become a child of God, and He gives us His best.

I'm All In.  Are you? 

Through It All

It was five years ago today that I had neck surgery to repair and prevent further damage from spinal stenosis.  It was quite an ordeal.  The surgery turned out to be the easy part.  It was the months of recovery and therapy that followed that proved to be the most challenging time for me.

I want to thank God today for bringing me through it.  I can testify that God is good!  In one of the hardest times in my life, God was with me through it all. 

Thinking back on that time, it reminds me how important it is to live life to the full and make the most of the time we have.

"Too many people die at 20 and are buried at 80,” said Robin S. Sharma, the best-selling author of The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari. "We start life with great hopes for our future, but sometimes the pressure of the life causes us to lose our dreams or just settle for less."

John 10:10 says, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”  We all face unexpected challenges as we go through life, but God is here to help us, to lead us and to give us life to the full. 

Life Verses

Do you have a "life verse"?  Do you know what a "life verse" is?  The Dictionary of Christianese website defines a life verse as “A Bible verse that a Christian believes to be specifically representative of his life."

Each morning, I get to sit around the table after breakfast with a group of other residents here at the nursing center while the activities director reads us the headlines from the morning paper.  The paper has a verse of the day each day.  Suzanne reads that to us and then we recite these four verses together:

• "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." -- Philippians 4:13
• "If God is for us, who can be against us?" - Romans 8:31
• "Be ye doers of the word and not hearers only." - James 1:22
• "Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice." - Philippians 4:4

All four of these verses are great life verses, and put all together, they are great words to live by.  If you don't have a life verse, think about one of these or go to the Bible and find one that speaks to you personally and carry it with you throughout life.  It will bring you much comfort and strength as you go through life.

I'll end by sharing my own life verse.  It's 1 John 1:9:
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

Political Bickering

I like to follow politics, but I just don't get it sometimes.  Politicians can act like such crybabies!  We elect them to represent our interests in Washington, but when they get there, they forget about we, the people, and push their own agendas.

It becomes like a sporting event.  Republicans against Democrats.  Us against them.  Two teams competing against each other where one team has to win and one has to lose.  It shouldn't be that way.  Lawmakers should work together for the good of the whole country.  In the end, it should be about making America better and stronger.

This whole government shutdown is completely unnecessary and could have been avoided if Republicans and Democrats would just try to work together.  Both sides need to be willing to compromise.  There has to be a little give-and-take to come up with a solution.

They're not even trying to cooperate.  President Trump wants a border wall, so Democrats oppose it.  If Democrats wanted a wall, I can promise you the Republicans and Trump would oppose it.  Democrats supported a wall back in 2013.  But when Trump made it a campaign promise, Democrats became determined to make sure he doesn't keep that promise.  The Republicans did the same thing when Obama wanted to pass the health care bill.

It's like spoiled children when they don't get their way.  They kick and scream and hold their breath until they get what they want. 

That's how we ended up in this showdown over the wall.  Neither side is willing to give an inch.  They just want to make sure the other side doesn't win.  It's about their pride.  The real losers are the ones caught in the middle.  The federal workers who have been furloughed without pay are the ones feeling the pinch.  They're the ones who are suffering right now.

I don't know if a wall would stop illegals from crossing the border, but it couldn't hurt to try it.  Why not try the wall?  It might actually help. 

Let's put politics aside for once and all work together.  We might be surprised how much we could get done.  So, come on, politicians, can't we all just get along for the good of the country?

Pooh On Philosophy

We can learn a lot from the great philosophers.  A list of the greatest philosophers includes Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Confucius, Albert Schweitzer and C.S. Lewis.  They have revealed some great insights through their deep and intellectual writing.

Can you remember any of their famous sayings?  I can't either.  But I bet you'll remember these sayings:

• “I’m so tired my tired is tired.”
• “The things that make me different are the things that make me.”
• “People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day.”
• “Doing nothing often leads to the very best something.”
• “I’m not lazy, I’m just on standby.”
• “I must be thinking too hard.”
• “Always look for the rainbow.”

These words of wisdom are from none other than the great thinker Winnie the Pooh!  His outlook on life is simple.

We often make life more difficult than it needs to be.  Pooh and his friends Christopher Robin, Piglet, Tigger, Eeyore, Kanga, Roo, Rabbit and Owl remind us not to take ourselves too seriously. The KISS concept of life is “Keep it Simple Stupid.” Pooh kept it simple but was not stupid. He said things like:

• “Life is a journey to be experienced, not a problem to be solved.”
• “Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart.”
• “Sometimes we need to simply be there...not to fix anything or to do anything in particular, but to just let us feel we are supported.”
• “Don’t think too much. You’ll create a problem that wasn’t even there in the first place.”
• “Nobody can be uncheered with a balloon.”
• “Birthdays mean cake!”

Pooh always tells it the way it is:

• “I always get to where I’m going by walking away from where I’ve been.”
• “You can’t stay in your corner of the forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes.”
• “It makes a difference to have someone who believes in you.”

Pooh describes friendship this way:

• “As soon as I saw you, I knew a grand adventure was about to happen.”
• “We didn’t realize we were making memories, we just knew we were having fun.”
• “Good friends will stick with you until you’re unstuck.”

Winnie the Pooh had a simple view of relationships:

• “Anyone can show up when you’re happy, but the ones who stay by your side when your heart falls apart, they are your true friends.”
• “We will be friends forever, just you wait and see.”
• “Sometimes all you really need is someone to hug you tight and refuse to let you go until you feel better.”
• “Any day spent with you is my favorite day. So, today is my favorite day.”

 There's a few quotes that can change our outlook on life:

• “Only look back to see how far you’ve come.”
• “We only regret the chances we didn’t take.”
• “You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, smarter than you think, and loved more than you know.”

 

At the start of a new year, it's the perfect time to read Pooh's sayings and maybe put them into practice this year.  Life doesn’t have to be as complex as we make it.  Take time to enjoy the journey!

Hail to the Chief

The calendar hadn't even turned to 2019 before the political frenzy began over who will challenge Donald Trump in 2020. 

There has been speculation for weeks with names like Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Beto O'Rourke, Michael Bloomberg, Cory Booker and dozens of other left-wing loons considering a run for the Democratic nomination.

One name that has risen to the top of the list is Elizabeth Warren, or as President Trump calls her, 'Pocahontas.'  She claimed she has a Native American ancestry so she could list herself as a minority.  Maybe Trump should call her Pinocchio instead of Pocahontas! 

A DNA test showed about the only Native American heritage she has is when she drives her Jeep Cherokee.

The Indian maiden had a powwow on New Year's Eve to announce she is forming an exploratory committee to run for president.  That means she's all in... unless she turns out to be an Indian giver, too.  Trump says he hopes she does run, and I do too!  In fact, I have a little advice for her.

First, the little squaw will have to raise money -- a lot of money -- so I suggest she get a giant teepee and have a fundraising dinner.  It would cost 1,000 wampum to attend, and she can serve her famous Powwow Chow.  She can write out all her campaign promises on . . . what else . . . a Big Chief tablet!  (Or she could just send smoke signals.)

She can travel around the country holding rallies where she can pass around the peace pipe to try to calm any 'reservations' voters may have about voting for a minority. 

She definitely marches to the beat of a different tom-tom.  I wonder if Tonto is available to be her running mate.

Imagine the debates between Ms. Wigwam and President Trump.  He would scalp her!  Which is exactly what will happen if she runs against Trump in 2020.  Instead of commander-in-chief, a better title for her would be Sitting Bull.

2019

Happy new year!  I like New Year's Day because it gives us a fresh start.  A new beginning.  New hope.  Whatever happened last year, we can put it behind us and look to the future.

This year will be whatever we make it, and it starts with having the right attitude.  I came across these quotes about how we should live our lives.  Let them help you jumpstart your life into the beginning of a new year:

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”  -- Ghandi

 “You don’t get to choose how you’re going to die. Or when. You can only decide how you’re going to live. Now.” -- Joan Baez

 

“Life is what happens to you when you’re busy making other plans.” -- John Lennon 

 

“You can’t have a better tomorrow if you are thinking about yesterday all the time.” -- Charles Kettering

 

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.” -- Oscar Wilde

 

 “We are not here merely to make a living. We are here to enrich the world.” -- Woodrow Wilson 

 

“Half our life is spent trying to find something to do with the time we have rushed through life trying to save.” -- Will Rogers

 

“The only man who makes no mistakes is the man who never does anything.” -- Theodore Roosevelt

 

"Don't be defined by what life throws at you and that you cannot control.  Accept the hand you are dealt with grace and then go on to play that hand as joyously and as vigorously as you can." -- Charles Krauthammer