Bills vs. Souls Part 2

I was hitting my normal routine at the gym last week, going about my business as normal.  As I was working out I reflected on the previous week’s lesson God taught me; “Greg if you cared half as much about souls as you do paying your bills, you might get somewhere.”

I am going to let you in on a little secret I need you to keep to yourself.  Sometimes when I go to the gym, I stick my headphones in my ears but don’t have any music playing.  It’s all for looks.  I found that people won’t interrupt your workout as much if you have ear buds in, I know I have tried it.  The thing that bothers me at the gym is, to some people, the gym is like the barber shop; you come more for the social environment, to talk, catch up about the weekend’s mayhem with the grandkids, or the macaroni you cooked for dinner on Saturday night, than they do to workout. 

For me the gym is exactly what it is there for, to workout, 45 minutes on weights and 45 minutes on cardio.  I don’t factor in “talk time” into my routine. If I do entertain a conversation at the gym, then my workout becomes much less effective. Therefore I have no problem sticking ear buds into my ears with no music piping through them as I am protecting what I am paying for at the gym.

With this mentality, I was working out last Monday on the assisted dip machine.  I was doing a set of 8 workouts on this machine.  On my third set, I noticed in my peripheral vision an elderly woman awkwardly staring at me. I played it off as if I didn’t see her.  But I could only manage to do that for two more sets as she caught me glancing back at her.  In that fifth set I was challenged with, “Greg, if you care more about souls than you do…”  “Ugh, I just want to work out God, would you stop with this conviction stuff at inopportune times.”

After my fifth set, I took out my ear buds, and I turn to the lady who has now moved to an uncomfortable two feet from me and is staring at me without blinking.

“Ma’am, do you need help?”  I said.  Those words rolled off my tongue with a compassion that surprised me. I found in that moment that I truly came to a place where my assisted dips could wait in order to talk to this woman who clearly had something on her mind.  But I did not know that until I set the weights down and turned to the lady to engage her.

“I just came from the gym down the street and they didn’t have one of those machines, I wonder if I could do it, being as fat as I am.”  (Those were her words!).  “Let me help you try”, I replied as I adjusted the assisted weight to the full amount (which equaled about half her body weight).  “I am scared, I don’t think I can”, she uttered back with a tone that implied that she wanted to at least try.  “Ma’am, I’ll help you out, you can do it.” 

She was right; we barely made it through one rep together.  “Well I guess this machine just isn’t for fat people” (her words again! Don’t judge me) “Well”, I replied, “I guess that is why we are all here.” 

She thanked me and left. 

Then I thought, WEIRD!

I’ve never seen that woman before, she pops up at a time in my life that I am working through some God moments, and then disappears.

She was clearly a test for me to reveal where I was at with this lesson God was teaching me about caring more for souls than bills or other pointless things in life like ripped out triceps.

God has tested his children from the beginning.  We see this in Exodus as God tests the nation of Israel, in order to reveal their adherence to the Sabbath law or not.   

Exodus 16:4; Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not.”

This test would reveal Israel’s trust and reliance upon God for their daily bread, even on the Sabbath when it didn’t rain bread.  Some failed the test and revealed their lack of faith in Yahweh; others nailed the test as they truly learned to walk in faith.

God will often test you in life, like he did the Israelites.  The thing about the test is, they aren’t for God to know where we are at in our journey with Him (for God knows the words that come from our lips before we speak them as seen in Psalm 139:4), rather tests are indicators for us to determine weaknesses or strengths in our life.  God knew the outcome of this encounter with this woman at the gym before it ever started, but I didn’t.  After it culminated, I was more aware of the fact that I can set things down in life that have very little meaning in order to get to love someone.

Maybe right now you are being tested in life.  It could be a financial decision, or a relational decision.  Maybe it’s similar to my test.  Either way, these tests are the grace of God poured out onto our lives in order to give us mile markers in which we can gauge our Christian maturity.

If you call yourself a Christian, then tests will come along the way.  It’s not necessarily a matter of passing or failing them, rather it is a matter of learning from them.  The question is, will you? 

I hope I do.  I truly want to be more receptive and open to people throughout my day, caring less about things that have no eternal value in them.  The Lord showed me last week, through that small test at the gym that I can do this. 

Bills vs. Souls Part 1

 

I have hesitated to write this post for about two weeks now as this topic is one I am currently working through.  There has been a lot of prayer and searching God’s Word for peace in this area, yet there is still some rocky road for me to travel as I find the Father’s will in this matter.

But I decided to write about because, who am I fooling?  I need the Lord’s grace day by day as much as you do, and this is one area in which he is revealing it to me. So maybe I can be an encouragement to you if you are working through a similar situation.

 Matthew 6:33-34

³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

³⁴ “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

That can be a tough passage to live by.  Placing our devotion to God over our devotion to take care of our physical needs seems backwards.  When I am hungry, I go to the fridge, open it up, pull out something to eat, and close it, not thinking much about what just happened.

But what happens when the fridge is empty and the cupboards are bare?  I go into crisis mode and begin to find a way to take care of my needs and my family needs.  I get anxious and I begin to look for a way to fix the situation, instead of moving forward in life, seeking the Kingdom of God and trusting that all my needs will be given to me according to God’s plan.

Being a fairly young pastor, the Lord has given me some great opportunities to work out this area of weakness in my life: that is to fully trust in him to provide for all of my needs.  Lately, as the church I am pastoring hits a small financial setback, I have been stressing over the bills that have to be paid at the church, and the paychecks that have to go out at the end of the month.  This anxiety has begun to consume my mind and my thoughts, and it had begun to consume my prayer life.  I thought and prayed, “Lord, I am simply doing what you called me to do, you wouldn’t leave us out to dry would you?  Why then are you allowing us to struggle right now with our finances at the church?”  His answer was hard to swallow, but a reminder to seek first His kingdom and all these things will be added unto me and the church.  He said, “Greg, my desire is for you to pray for and care for souls as much as you pray for and care about paying bills.  You have it backwards.  Seek me first, and my Kingdom, and the other stuff will come as I see fit.”  He continued graciously chastising me, “Greg if you care half as much about people becoming my disciples as you did about paying bills, you might begin to get somewhere with the church.”

As he spoke that to me, my conscience was pierced with the guilt of my sin, as I realized that I was stressing over things I really had no control over to begin with, things that belonged to God.  This stress was taking up to much room in my mind, leaving very little energy to do the thing that I was called to do, seek God’s Kingdom first.

When we put God’s Kingdom over the consuming fear and anxiety of your physical needs, two things happen.

1.      We begin to shift our focus off of us and our needs to others and their needs.  When I focus on God’s desire for me to build his Kingdom, then my mind doesn’t naturally always think about my personal issues.  But this takes discipline.  It means I need to re-train my mind to put Christ and His example for me back at the center of my mind, which takes daily and some times, constant reminders of my purpose as a Christian.

2.      Secondly, the other stuff in life begins to take care of itself.  I am not saying that someone will mail you the winning lottery ticket to the half billion dollar jackpot, but I am saying that God, in his mysterious ways, begins to provide for our needs (not our wants, which we can easily confuse as our needs).  This usually begins with Him re-shaping our way of thinking about our needs, teaching us to become more content with the bare necessities.

As a pastor, I want to think I have it all together, thus the reason I was hesitating to write this.  But I am only fooling myself.  My prayer is that somewhere in this life lesson, you can be encouraged to refocus yourself back on to the Kingdom of God.  I believe the entire church can be much more effective if we trusted more in the Lord for our daily needs while focusing more on the souls of those around us.

 

Status Update

“My life’s ambition is to make other people’s lives miserable” read my profile status on my yahoo page about 14 years ago.

I was in a tough spot in life, and at the pits of my immorality.  I truly found joy in making other people miserable.   I can’t tell you how often I cringe over what I used to be, and how I treated people.

I have nothing and no one to blame but myself.  It was what made me happy at the time.  It’s how I got my thrills in life.

But, 3 years after I wrote that post, I would be erasing it physically and symbolically forever.

Something died in me when I was 19. That was my desire to live only for my enjoyment at the costs of other people’s comfort and peace.  I died to myself and came alive to Christ.

There was nothing special about the moment.  No fireworks, no audible voice, just a whisper in my heart on Easter morning 2000, that said, “Greg, let’s turn your life around.  Starting today, you will have a new profile status, and it won’t be focused on you.  You are going to live for me now.”

Later that day, I erased my status and replaced it with a new mental status that reminded me constantly that I was now a disciple of Christ, living in obedience to him, loving him and others with all my heart, soul and mind.

What a change!  A change I could not manage or accomplish on my own.  I was set on a course of destruction and misery when the Lord rescued me from it and placed me on a path of life.

2 Corinthians 5:17 reveals what exactly happened to me, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”  My status update today continues to read “Disciple of Christ”.  But, I don’t post it on Facebook, or my twitter account. Rather, this is something that is posted on my mind and heart, as I remember daily that I am his disciple, longing to fulfill the command to love one another just as myself.

How about you?  In one sentence, what would you say your life’s status is?  Write it out if you need to.  Think about it for a minute, but summarize your life’s ambition in one crisp, clear sentence.

Now compare that to the two ways of living in 2 Corinthians.  Does it match up with the old way of living (which is outside of Christ and is summarized by a life that is aimed to please only oneself)?  Or does it fit with the new way of living that aims to follow Christ and to live in obedience to Him?

The Lord can update your status to a new one that has real purpose in this life.  If you are tired of living for yourself, listen for God to whisper in your heart saying something like, “Today you are going to start living for me.  Let’s update your status to disciple of Christ.”  In fact, he might be speaking now.

The Blankie

 

“It’s cold in here” I thought to myself as I tossed and turned in my spacious bed that night.  My bed was roomier than normal as my wife had left to go on a trip for a week.

One thing is for sure, it’s hard to sleep when you are used to having someone next to you in bed for the last 7 years.  But the past few nights were harder than normal.  Something just wasn’t right, and I could not put my finger on it.  So I pulled the sheet up to my chin and stared at the ceiling as I thought about what my wife was doing half way across the nation (probably sleeping is what I concluded).

There was another quirky thing I was dealing with while my wife was absent.  There was a misplaced folded blanket on the ground on my side of the bed. 

“What is this blankie doing here and why is it in my way?” I asked myself every morning and evening as I walked around it getting in and out of my bed.  I was not going to bend over and pick it up, that was too much work for me, I’d rather walk around it; that seemed easier to me.

So the week went on, and the nights were sleepless as I wondered what was missing, besides my wife in the bed.

Finally, my wife was due home and I rushed with excitement to the airport to pick her up.  We met up, got some dinner out, and came home.  I was so excited to show her the projects I had been working on, and the fact that I had cleaned the house for her so she would not have to worry about it, as I knew she would be exhausted from traveling.  But, I was still too indolent to pick up the blankie on my side of the bed.

As she walked in the house, she beamed with joy as she saw a kitchen that was clean, and a house well taken care of.  As she walked in the room, she immediately saw the blankie on the floor, and it all began to make sense to me.  “How’d you sleep while I was gone, Greg?”  “Not that well.” I exclaimed.  “Do you want to know why?”  “Uh, take a shot at it! You weren’t here, so I don’t know how you would know.”  She responded, “Look at that blanket, nice and folded on the floor on your side of the bed.  Do you remember the last thing I said to you on my way out of the house?”  “I guess not”, I replied.  “It was, ‘Greg here is the blanket that I cover you with every night.  I am putting it on the floor on your side of the bed.  You walking around it will remind you that it is there.  If you do not use it, you won’t be able to sleep.’” “OH….Yeah…that makes sense now.”  My mind unlocked that buried memory of her saying those things to me before she departed.

That blankie stood in my way for an entire week.  I saw it as a nuisance, but in reality, it was a blessing.  I kept looking at it as if it was the problem, and yet it was my solution.

Funny how our perspective on things are not always correct.  My perspective on the blanket was, “That thing is in my way.”  My wife’s perspective was, “I am going to put this blanket in Greg’s way so that he remembers to use and therefore will be taken care of at night.” 

I wonder how often I have the wrong perspective on life.  What areas of my life am I looking at wrongly?  What are those things that God is doing in me right now that seem to cause frustration, yet, are being used to strengthen me and build me up?

Take a moment and take an inventory of those things in your life.  What are those things that are nuisances to you?

Later today, after you compile your list, ask God to give you His perspective on them.  You might just be walking around something that God has placed in your life to grow you and strengthen you.  Maybe it’s something that God wants to bless you with.  Regardless, ask God for his perspective on those issues.

James 1 says to consider it all joy my brothers when you face trials of many kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness, and let steadfastness have its full affect so that we may be perfect and complete,  lacking in nothing.

Some of those nuisances in your life, maybe the trials you are facing, are designed to mature and perfect your faith.  They may also be designed to make you sleep better at night as you learn to trust in Jesus for all of your needs.

But the first step in this process is changing your perspective on those things, which can be done, through prayerfully seeking God’s will in each matter.

As for me, next time I see a blankie in my way, I am going to pick it up and cuddle with it, assuming my loving wife was thinking of me and knew I needed it to sleep.

Double Stuffed Forgiveness *W.A.B*

*A WIFE APPROVED BLOG

Let me give this disclaimer before I proceed.  About 1/3 way through this blog you will be thinking, “this guy is insensitive, and needs help.”  As I reflect on what transpired between my wife and I, I write to point out the foolishness of my mistakes, but (with the wife’s permission) set up the scene by pointing to a recent grocery store trip she made in which she made a minor mistake in one purchase. We have sense then sought forgiveness from each other and moved on ;)

***

I was horrified at what I saw in my cupboards the other day.   I honestly could not believe that my wife would do such a horrific thing to me.  Maybe it was to get back at me for something I did to her; maybe it was to save money.  Either way, this purchase during her last grocery store visit really took a toll on me.

My wife had the gall to buy the single stuffed Oreos when she had clearly been instructed many months before that the only Oreos we buy in the Harris house is the double stuffed Oreos.  In my mind, there is no reason to eat Oreos if they are single stuffed because if I wanted to eat crackers, I would buy crackers. The whole point to buying and enjoying Oreos is to enjoy the fluffy filled cream on the inside that perfectly complements the chocolate wafers on the outside which is only perfectly proportioned in the double stuffed Oreo.

In a single stuffed Oreo, the balance of sugary cream and wafers is all off.  The ratio of the cookie to the cream in a single stuffed is 3:1 (that is 3 part wafer to 1 part cream).  The devastating effects results in losing the flavor of the cream on the inside to the overwhelming taste of cookie on the outside.  On the contrary, the ratio of a double stuffed Oreo is perfected at 1.734 part wafer to1 part cream.

Think about it for a moment.  Why do all the little kids take their single stuffed Oreos, open them up, scrape off the cream and combine the cream from multiple Oreos on to one set of wafers?  Because, they get this principle all too well; it’s like we are born with this instinct to know the perfect blend of cookie with cream inside of an Oreo.  This strong preference which I developed as a kid, has carried well into my adult life, only now, I am too lazy to the extra work, I’d rather just buy them from the store pre-double stuffed.

But my wife must have skipped that class in elementary school or is simply missing this vital instinct to the survival of mankind.  (or she was trying to be wise with our money, get the most Oreos for the buck -  you get an additional 8 Oreos per package when you buy the single stuffed over the double stuffed.)

Regardless of her reason for buying these inadequate cookies that barely deserve to carry the name Oreo, I have a dilemma to work through.  What will I do?  I guess I have a couple of choices.  I could  hold this over my wife’s head for the rest our lives.  Every time she makes a mistake, I could tell her, “This is just like that time you were out to get me with the Oreo incident.”  This tactical approach would result in a wedge being driven into our marriage and into my love for my bride. 

I could also put my love for double stuffed Oreos over my love for my wife, and command her to return the single stuffed Oreos, less she becomes like the single stuffed Oreo, emphasis on single (read the disclaimer again).

Or, I could see how ridiculous I am being, how I am putting the desires of my flesh (my taste buds) over my desire to love my wife.  I could forgive her for the mistake she made, regardless of the reason, and humbly eat the single stuffed Oreos with appreciation that she thought of me while at the grocery store. 

And if you are thinking what I am thinking, I should ask for a serving of double stuffed forgiveness.  I should seek forgiveness for such a mean spirited attitude towards my wife, and for not loving her as I ought, as her husband.  I should seek her forgiveness for not leading her as a husband ought to in the Lord, by grace and mercy, and for demanding of my wife to do things for me that are absolutely absurd.

Seems like Colossians 3:12-14 speaks well to this.  “¹² Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, ¹³ bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. ¹⁴ And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” 

But before I make the walk of shame to my wife (better referred to as the walk of humility) I need to get a glass of Whole Milk to wash down these wafers that have been lodged in my throat since I started writing this…..….COME ON! YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME, ONLY 1% IN THE FRIDGE…UGH…here we go again.

 

 

 

HYDRANT

A couple of days ago, I was left scratching my head as I was faced with a moment from God.

It started with a crazy idea to ride my new mountain bike from my house to the end of a main road, where I would get on a levee system and ride for 16 miles, turn around and come back.  There were several elements that added to the craziness of this idea:  I am new to biking and my longest non-stop ride so far has been only 14 miles. Just the thought of this 32 mile trip was a stretch for my atrophied legs.  Also, I live in central Florida and we were forecasted to have a heat index of 100 degrees that day.  I was planning on leaving for this adventure around 12:30 in the afternoon, placing me on the shadow less levee at the hottest time of the day.  Lastly, I brought only 20 ounces of water with me.

As I pedaled the levee, taking in the Florida wildlife within the 30,000 acre refuge, the sun pounded down on my back.  The SPF 50 sun block was doing its job, and my speed was fast enough to dry the sweat as it rolled down my back, giving me the illusion that I was not losing as much water as I was.    With each slug of my water bottle, I knew I was getting closer to putting myself in a dangerous situation and before I knew it, I had sucked down all 20 ounces of water at mile 6 of my 32 mile ride.

I reached the half way point of my trip and sat down for a few minutes, viewing the vast horizon of palm trees and lakes.

When I got on my bike to return home, I stumbled as I tried to get going.  My thirst was starting to get the better of me as I had already been biking for about an hour with no water in near 100 degree temperatures. I had another hour and a half in front of me, most of which was within the refuge with no viable drinking water.

As I pedaled back, I began to get light headed, further signs of dehydration. I prayed to God that when I made it back to the entrance of the levee, there would be some water source that I could revive myself at.

Ten miles later and desperate for water, I finally neared the end of the dirt path and was closing in on the paved road that would lead me back home. I scanned the area for some type of safe water source and found nothing.  By now it was 3:30 in the afternoon and I was spitting dust while the sun continued to scorch my skin.  As I persevered in my quest to complete my ride, I again prayed, “God, I really need some water, please, give me something to drink.”

Shortly after this prayer as I was exiting the final dirt road and entering the paved main road, I heard the sound of water gushing from somewhere.  I stopped, and I looked around not knowing what I would find. What I saw was an answer to my prayer.  A fire hydrant that was closed on my way into the trails was now open, and spewing fresh drinking water all over the place.

THE ACTUAL HYDRANT

This was literally an oasis to me as the heat and lack of water had made my adventure turn into a moment of desperation.  My body was riddled with goose bumps as I stuck my head under the flow of the crisp cool water flowing from the open hydrant.

I drank so much water that my stomach began to hurt, and on top of that, I was able to completely cool down, now completely drenched head to toe in water.

This open hydrant was a direct answer to prayer, as God reminded me that he cares about all of my needs.  It also reminded me that God knows my every need and that often times, if we simply ask of Him, he will provide. 

Philippians 4:19 rang loud in my head as I quickly drank the water that God provided for me in my moment of need.

“And my God will provide every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus”.

Sometimes we need these vivid reminders in life that God will supply our needs, every single one of them.  The day he chooses to stop providing our needs is the day that he chooses to bring us home as his children. 

But sometimes, this is a lesson that we need to learn the hard way.  For me, he chose to take care of my need for water around the 27^th mile of my trip, when I was asking for it since the 12^th mile.

If you are worried that God is not taking care of your needs, maybe you have a few more miles to travel before he does so.

ARMED and READY

Picture this scene for a moment.

The United States Marines has sent you into some of the fiercest fighting in Afghanistan.  Bullets are whizzing over your head, bombs are exploding all around you, while you are tucked away in a fox hole, praying for that your enemy doesn’t toss a grenade in there with you. Yet due to budget cut backs, they were only able to equip you with a short sleeve camo T-Shirt, a knock off brand of Nike Running shoes, a 7 round .22 caliber handgun, an Atlanta Braves Baseball cap to help keep the sun out of your eyes, and a 20 ounce bottle of water.

How comfortable would you feel about this battle?  Would you feel confident enough to engage the enemy?  My guess is no.  If it was me, I would get my use out of those running shoes while they lasted and take off as fast as I could.

Yet, this picture is where many Christians find themselves on a day to day basis.  They strap on only part of the armor of God then find themselves battling the foxholes of temptation, praying this temptation will slip by them without harming them. 

If you find yourself asking this question a lot, “Why do I keep screwing up in the same areas of life?” then you need to ask a second follow up question, “is there a piece of God’s armor I am not suiting up with?”

Read through this passage from Ephesians 6 taking note of the pieces of the armor and the role each one plays.

The Armor of God

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. ¹¹ Put on the whole armor of God, (that’s the verse we overlook a lot) that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. (With the whole armor of God on, we can withstand the enemy’s attacks and his manipulative ways to tempt us to sin)  ¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. (This is why we need more than physical boundaries and protection in life, we need spiritual protection.  For example, if you struggle with alcoholism, it is not enough to say, “I won’t go to bars anymore”, rather the battle primarily takes place in your mind, soul, and heart and needs invisible protection as well as physical boundaries to withstand the devil’s schemes.) ¹³ Therefore take up the whole armor of God, (Paul says it twice, it must be important not to leave any piece off) that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. ¹⁴ Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; ¹⁷ and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, ¹⁸ praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,

“Well”, you might say, “I try to recite Bible verses when I am struggling, but it still isn’t enough to overcome temptation.”  Or, “I listen to Christian music or pray as I am being tempted, but I still fall in certain areas constantly.”  These are only part of the armor of God and when you rely on only these measures to withstand the powers of darkness, you are left vulnerable in other areas.

Our struggle is against an enemy who deploys war strategies that mankind is incapable of using, as he creeps into the minds and hearts and captivates our emotions as he slowly manipulates them until we believe a lie, that God is not worth our full worship and that our adversary can satisfy us more by giving us the desires of our flesh.

So, here is a summary of what the whole armor of God looks like.

BELT of TRUTH – This is the ability to see right from wrong through the illumination of the Word of God.  This equips you to see the enemy’s attacks before they come against you.  You know how to recognize those certain situations in life which lead you down a path of evil, so you know to stay away from them.

Breastplate of Righteousness –

This piece of armor identifies you as a child of the righteous God.  It is a great reminder, in the midst of battle, that you are already named righteous because of the work of Christ.  This protects your heart from the false guilt that the enemy may try to condemn you with.

Shoes of your Feet – These are not meant to just run from temptation, but to run into the darkness with the message of Hope.  Part of the battle we fight daily as Christians, is the battle of bringing the message of the Gospel to those who are also struggling.  A good pair of shoes gives us confidence in our step as we walk towards evil in order to overcome with the message of the gospel.

Shield of Faith – It takes faith to say no to temptation.  As Satan launches his fiery arrows at us, we must have faith that Jesus will reward us for denying our flesh and worshipping him.  It takes faith to say no to temporary pleasure of the world and to embrace the full pleasure of our Lord. 

Helmet of Salvation - This piece of armor protects our mind from the false guilt that Satan will use against us.  He will try to tell you that you are not good enough, that no one loves you and that Jesus did not die for you.  This piece of armor protects our mind from these lies as we are constantly reminded that Jesus Christ will perfect the work he began in us.

Sword of the Spirit – This is the Word of God that is given tremendous power to defeat the enemy when it is wielded by the Holy Spirit within us.  We don’t have the proper technique or training to use this sword rightly, but when the Holy Spirit picks it up on our behalf, we become dangerous to the powers of darkness.

Once you have armed yourself, you can begin to protect, not only yourself, but your brothers and sisters in Christ who are battling next to you.

If you’re in the foxhole of life and feel ill-equipped, ask the Lord to reveal to you what pieces of armor you have left hanging in your closet at home, and then when he shows you, put them on, and walk back into the battle with boldness as the Lord as now equipped you in every way to overcome our opponent.