Saturday 18 January, 2014

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 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. 13 Therefore put on the full armor 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. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Stand is the repeated word in this passage.

The imagery of the Roman soldiers’ uniform is used by Paul .. the people of Ephesus were familiar with what the soldiers wore, they saw them every day – it’s the word association Paul is wanting them to grab hold of so that they can live their Christian lives in a spiritually hostile place in victory.

Truth, righteousness, proclaiming the gospel, faith, salvation and the word of God is what will give them the ability to stand.

A timely reminder in my struggle at the moment – it’s not against people but spiritual forces and walking out these 6 things with enable me to stand also.

Thank you Lord that your word is timeless.

Written by Suzie Hodgson