How is your spirit feeling? Are you filled with Him? I certainly am being moved and led by Him each day. Praises be to God!
Pray, pray, pray---did you try the 20 minutes today? If not, you can pause now and Praise, Thank, Intercede and Sing unto the Lord. If not, go to bed 30 minutes ealy tonight and get on your knees for twenty minutes--that tv box will be there, no worries, just put it aside for today and take a vow not to focus on the worldly and to focus on the eternal blesings of God.
Do you have on your gear? Are you ready for battle? Are you feet shod with the gospel of peace? Have you taken up your shield of righteousness? Did you check for weaknesses or holes in your gear? If you found any repair it now before the enemy comes in like a flood!
Pray, read the book of Ephesians and Praise the Lord!
STUDY VERSE:
6:17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,
STUDY QUESTIONS:
1. How do you put on the helment of salvation and ensure you take it with you into battle?
2. Do you have salvation? Can you be sure? Check out the books of Romans and John to discover the most awesome gift from God.
3. How do you treat the sword of the Spirit? Do you have it firmly in your hand and ready at all times? Are you ready to give a word in season and out of season?
4. If you don't regularly study the Word to show yourself approved, you are going into battle without all of your equipment. What can you do to take the sword with you?
5. Visualize all the pieces of armor that God has provided for your safety, protection and growth. Can you wear them? Are they too heavy for you? What do you need to do to prepare, be ready and stand fast when trouble comes?
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Commentary from ESV:
Eph. 6:16–17 flaming darts. Burning arrows were designed to destroy wooden shields and other defenses, but the shield of faith is able to extinguish the devil's attacks. the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. The spiritual nature of the church's resources is nowhere more plain than in its reliance upon God's Word, which is the only offensive weapon mentioned in this list of spiritual armor. The Word of God is to be wielded like a sharp two-edged sword, in the mighty power of his Holy Spirit (see Heb. 4:12).
Commentary from Chuck Missler:
Why Helmets?
Helmets are a form of security. Most of us have used a helmet of one kind or another. In sports,on a bicycle or motorcycle, in the factory or on a
construction site, or in the military. Failure to have the proper helmet can prove
fatal.
There's also a difference
between wearing a helmet and simply owning one. When things start
falling, you can always tell the person with the helmet on from the one who
merely possesses a helmet. One is on his feet; the other can be distinguished by
all the bandages!
Our most critical "helmet" (whether we realize it or not)
is the one that is absolutely essential for the combat we are presently engaged
in! It is the helmet designed by God:
17 For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon
his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance[for]clothing, and was clad
with zeal as a cloke.
18 According to [their]deeds, accordingly he will repay, fury to his adversaries, recompence to his enemies; to the islands he will repay recompence.
19 So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.Isaiah
59:17-19
frustration of psychology which,Salvation"Salvation" is a very common topic, and yet still subject to much confusion. Salvation is received, not earned.
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of
yourselves: [it is] the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should
boast. Ephesians 2:8-9 It
is His gift; not wages. His salvation is for a purpose: to restore mankind to
Himself. And it flows from a heart of love. (Have you ever wondered why He
bothered? The answer is in the verse just before the one above):
That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in [his] kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:7
Salvation is not an optional extra. The classic passage is John Chapter 3, where Nico-demus comes to Jesus by night.Nicodemus
We know a great deal about this influential character. The Talmud indicates he was one of the four richest men in Jerusalem. He was a Pharisee and a ruler-a member of the Sanhedrin.
He was a member of the aristocratic family that had furnished the
Hasmonean King Aristobulus II with his ambassador to Pompey in 63 B.C.
His son apparently was the man who negotiated the terms of surrender to the
Roman garrison in Jerusalem prior to the final destruction of that city in
A.D.70.1
Nicodemus outranks
each of us in every respect: he was among the most wealthy in that society;
he had stature; he had knowledge-in fact, he was theteacher.2 Nicodemus was among the most respected and religious among the professionals of his culture. He was certainly ahead of any of us. Yet he was in desperate need. Jesus declared to him, "Ye must be born again."3 If he had a spiritual
need, where does that place us?Our Most Urgent Need
Why should God let you into heaven? You say, "I am as good as the next guy." Strike
one."I am doing the best I can." Strike two."I'll try harder." Strike
three.
"Nobody's perfect." That's the problem. Sin is a genetic
disease; it has contaminated our very nature. Children never need a
lesson in being bad. This genetic disease, sin, makes us ineligible for
perfection; ineligible to be in the presence of a holy God.
Eternity
Every one of uswill exist forever. The real you-call it "soul," "spirit," whatever-has no mass. It is "software" not "hardware." Having no mass, it has no time dimension
limitations. Time is a physical dimension.You are eternal-whether you are
"saved" or not!The problem is, where will you spend eternity? If you are
perfect-totally free of sin-you will spend it in the presence of God. If not,
you will be denied His presence. You and I cannot begin to grasp what that
implies. For eternity: that's a long time.Who Will Perish?
What separates those who will spend an eternity in hell from those who will not? Heaven will be full of people who have committed all kinds of sin.
Hell is a real place for real people.4 The one who told us
the most about it was the Lord Jesus Himself. There are only two
categories-those that perish and those that don't:For the preaching of the
cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it
is the power of God. 1 Corinthians 1:18
Salvation is an arrangement by which His eligibility is substituted for our lack thereof. It is available to us because our debts have been fully paid. Our complete pardon has been purchased and paid for.
Even killing the Son of God was not severe enough to put those men
outside the boundaries of God's offer of forgiveness.5
[Is there anything keeping you from accepting God's free gift of salvation right now? If there is any doubt in your mind, bring it to the Throne right now. You don't need
an appointment. Don't even read on without nailing this one down... with
Him. It's your highest priority over anything-everything-else.]
We don't become saved by acting saved. We don't become married by acting married.
Faith bridges the gap between our need and God's provision. Faith is simply
the way we say "yes" to His offer.What are you trusting in?
Christ, plus something?
Or is your hope and your trust in Christ alone? He did the whole job. To imply
something must be added is a form of blasphemy!Your helmet
was purchased just for you. You are entitledto it because of Him.Wearing Your Helmet
With a helmet on, you're noticeable. If you just possess one, it won't be as obvious. Life after death is not the issue. Life after "birth" is. Are you living as if
youare saved? Many of us don't live as if we're saved... We are difficult
to recognize because of "blending in." We exhibit fear, anxiety, doubt, and
hesitation.And we know that all things work together for good to them
that love God, to them who are the called according to [his] purpose.Romans
8:28
What are the most important words in that verse? The first three: "And
we know." Not just "suspect," or "hope," etc. Realize who you are and
that Christ paid the full price for your redemption. You have been redeemed,
you have been paid for; you are no longer your own.Put on your helmet;
protect your thoughts by realizing who you are in Him. Nothing protects you
more from a blow to your head than our "helmet of salvation." Each time you
step out your door each day, realize that you have been redeemed.
You already have eternal life. No one can take that away from you. So Satan's
darts can't reach you.Nothing, by any means, can hurt you. Re-read Romans
8:28-39.
Take your helmet off and you're vulnerable. Satan will put lying thoughts in your head.Remember this: How many of your sins were yet future at the cross? All of them.
Take the eternal perspective. When did God first start dealing with your
problem? Before the world began!6 What a staggering
insight! He knew and planned for your destiny from before the beginning of
time!
(We often joke: I'm glad he picked me back then. Looking at me now, He
might change His mind!)
There are a number of
insights in this verse. First, it highlights the fundamental
at best, can deal only with the psyche, or soul level; it has no ability to
reach into the pneuma, or spirit of man. Only the Word of God
can.
Only the Word of God can discern the thoughts and intents of the heart. There is much confusion today concerning the existence of the "subconscious"-those areas of memory which seem to be out of reach to our own conscious effort. The Scripture clearly indicates that the
heart is beyond our knowing.
The sword
is the offensive part of our armor. Notice also that the sword is two-edged: it
is intended to be used defensively as well as offensively. In addition to the
"pulling down of strongholds," it was to be used in defense of the faith.
It is,
of course, impossible to adequately characterize this fantastic element of our
armor in this brief article. Psalm 119,
the longest psalm in the Bible, is entirely devoted to describing the "Sword of
the Spirit"-the Word of God.
The Enemy's Stratagem
It comes as no surprise that Satan's`most desperate stratagem is to cast doubt on the veracity and authenticity of`the Word of God. His first attempt in the Garden was, "Yea, Hath God said?" It was all downhill from there.
And`thus it continues to this day. We live in an age where pseudo-scholarship has
made it fashionable to demean the Bible. Self-styled experts, with`PhD's behind their names, have disparaged, demeaned, and mutilated the`sacred Scriptures in the mind of the uninformed. And yet, never before has there`been more evidence of its true origin!
Supernatural Origin`As most of our regular readers know,
the two great discoveries that are the underpinning of this ministry are, first,
that the Bible is an integrated message. Even though it consists of 66 separate
books6 which were`penned by about 40 different authors-over thousands of years we now discover that it is the product of detailed and`skillful engineering: every detail, every place name, even the mathematical`properties of the text are the result of deliberate and careful design.The`rabbis have a quaint way of expressing this idea. They often say that they`really won't be able to interpret the true meaning of the Scriptures until the`Messiah comes. "But when He comes He will not only interpret the passages, He`will interpret the very words, the very letters, He will even interpret the`spaces between the letters!" I used to dismiss this as just a colorful`exaggeration, until I re-read Matthew 5:17, 18:
"Think not that I am come to destroy the Torah, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one yot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled."
Now a yot and a tittle are the Hebrew equivalents of our dotting an "i" or crossing a "t." I then realized that those rabbis were apparently closer to the truth than I had ever imagined! The realization that the Bible is a skillfully designed message system significantly altered my understanding of the whole and my respect for the details. But it also involved a second discovery: the Bible demonstrates that its origin is from outside our time domain.
Outside Time Itself
Since God has the technology to createus in the first place, He certainly has the technology to get a message to us. The question is, How does He authenticate His message; How does He let us know that it is really from Him and not some kind of a contrivance or a fraud? One technique He uses to demonstrate that the origin of this message is from outside our time domain is by writing history before it happens. He alone knows the end from the beginning and there is no way to
counterfeit this characteristic of the Biblical text. We call this "prophecy."
And, of course, there are ample materials available exploring this
topic.
Today's Technology for an Unbelieving World
It has
recently been discovered that the Biblical text has secret codes hidden among
the letters. Numerous articles have been published highlighting the incredible
discoveries that appear to be emerging from computer analysis of the
text. This was originally discovered by
Jewish researchers and widely published in the professional literature, as well
as disseminated throughout Israel. It also has now been revealed that the name
Yeshua seems to be hidden behind virtually every Messianic prophecy! The Jewish
researchers now have a problem!
It is interesting that in this modern world
of skepticism, God has raised up a technological insight essentially unavailable
to researchers of the past: our modern information appliances are revealing new
discoveries daily which demonstrate properties of the text itself that are
impossible to duplicate synthetically.
Our Sword
Paul's use of the idiom "the Sword of the
Spirit" carries some other suggestive characteristics. Most of the ancient
armies favored a long sword with a single edge. The Romans developed a short
sword-the Machira-which, with its associated techniques, enabled them to conquer
the world. It was only 24 inches long and was sharpened on both edges.
But
there was a secret to its effectiveness: training and practice. Its uniqueness
was a liability unless it was used with the proper techniques, which required
extensive practice. Is there a lesson here for us?
Let's look at an example:
What Bible study was given by seven different people, on twelve separate
occasions (in just one book of the Bible), always yielded remarkable results,
and yet is rarely given today? The Answer: Presenting Jesus Christ as
the Messiah entirely from the Old Testament.
In the Book of Acts, when they presented Jesus from the
Scriptures, they were using only the "Old Testament." Could you present Jesus to
your Jewish friends using only these references?
The proper use of our "Sword" requires training, and practice,practice, and more practice, if we are to be effective for our Lord. There are(at least) four highly effective techniques to acquiring the essential skills:
1. Serious study, with a core set of tools in your home library.
If you're serious about your Bible, invest in it: acquire a resource base of
your own. Pick up a good study Bible, an exhaustive concordance, Biblical helps,
etc.
2. Discover the amazing results available through audio sources. You can be personally
tutored by whomever you best relate to. Some have indicated that they have
learned more about their Bible in six months with tapes than they have after
twelve years of Christian schools plus seminary! This is one reason that our
ministry has emphasized these remarkable resources (Romans 10:17). See the following article in this issue.
3. Join a home Bible study. Thedynamics within an intimate group is where the real action is!
4. The biggest secret of all: teach a home Bible study. The way to really learn a book is
to teach it. It is not hard to collect some competent background materials and
stay a week ahead of the group. Few things are as rewarding.
A Sound Foundation
One of the biggest challenges is to maintain a balance, free of serious error. It is so easy to focus on a few pet areas at the expense of the whole. Avoid "Bible Bytes," or doctrinal snippets on which to hang some deviant notion. Attempt to embrace "the whole counsel of God," comparing Scripture with Scripture. Invest time in preparation and practice with your sword:
"So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not
return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall
prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." Isaiah 55:11
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Wow! All that life in so few words. There is a lesson for our tongues here. I praise God for the opportunity to study, prepare, read and meditate on His Word. Thank you Jesus for my friends and family who are faithfully coming along with our studies. I welsoem suggestions for our next study. Be prepared Beloved, go out covered with all your weapons and share the gospel. Love Sister Lisa
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