Gifts from God: Part 3

The Breast Plate of Righteousness

Ephesians 6:14b

and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, (ESV)

Remember the over riding theme here is that the Armor of God
is a gift. Looking at the Breast Plate we see clearly that
righteousness is no exception to the theme.
Lets look at this in two parts to see how righteousness is a gift.

                    A             B   

Romans 3:10-12 & 21-24

None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands;
no one seeks for God. All have turned aside together they have 
become worthless; no one does good, not even one."(ESV)
Part A
We see in the passage above that no one is righteous!
I know that sounds really bad! That is what sin has done to our lives.
Throughout Scripture there are more verses written of how our sin
has moved us away from God, away from righteousness.

Isaiah 64:11-12
" None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands;
no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they 
have become worthless; no one does good, not even one."(ESV)

Because we in our nature are not righteous, something had to be
done. Something had to be given to us.
Which is why Part B is so important!

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, 
although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God 
through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,  and are 
justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, (ESV)

Here we see the gift of redemption given in Christ Jesus.
By accepting Him into our heart we live to righteousness.

1 Peter 2:24-25
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that 
we might die to sin and live to righteousness.
By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, 
but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. (ESV)

Without the Breast Plate of Righteousness, given through accepting Christ,
we are helpless in battle. Nothing we do apart from Christ will ever be good enough.
No dart or weapon will be stopped without it. We will be vulnerable.

Don't allow yourself to be knocked down in battle.
Be equipped and ready. Put on the Breast Plate of Righteousness.
Its another gift received only by accepting Christ!
Don't wait another day. The battle is already waging against you!

Gifts From God: Part 2

The Belt of Truth:

Ephesians 6:14

Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth (ESV) 

In order for us to understand how the belt is a gift we need to define Truth.

Webster defined Truth as: the real facts about something: 

the things that are true: the quality or state of being true:

a statement or idea that is true or accepted as true

So many people debate what Truth is, and how its measured.

Many define truth through the world or their circumstances. 

I.E. The things that they see. I believe this is a mistake. 

We cannot look at something that is inherently flawed and try 

to derive some kind of truth from it. What you get is merely misdirected.

And in that we fall, are left confused, and ultimately frustrated.

We need to look to something that is not flawed. 

There is only one place to look for that, and that is God.

He is the measure and definition of Truth.

But how do we get truth from God? 

We simply need to look to his Word for our answers. 

The Bible is the Word of God. Our road map for all intensive purposes.

Only from studying His Word, with the help of the Holy Spirit, can we find real Truth.

The Spirit was given to us after Christ ascended into heaven.

Act 2:1-4

When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place.

And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, 

and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 

And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them.

And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit 

and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. (ESV)

Here we see the Spirit was sent. He gave utterance. It was not something

they did. It was something given. And because it was given, they were equipped.

Direction, wisdom, purpose... All given by Lord through the Spirit. 

In order to have something revealed, we need to know of it and study it.

A life dedicated to the pursuit and study of the Word of God is never wasted.

A man can be a great Dad if he dedicates to this pursuit.

A woman can be a glorious treasure if she so dedicates to the same.

We can be a better society if we wholly dedicate to the study of the Bible.

God's Word is another gift given to us. A way in which we are able to learn and

grow closer to the Lord. And in that, from the Spirit, Truth is revealed to us.

Truth is a gift. We need to wear it like it were our underwear. 

Something you wear everyday.

Keep it close like a most valued treasure.

Buy into it, without a shred of doubt.

Don't spend your life defining truth for yourself. 

Look to God for Truth. He never withholds that Gift from a heart

 that is dedicated and seeking Him.

He wants to reveal Himself to us so that we will know what Truth is.

Put it on. It will hold you up, ground you, 

and give you a firm foundation in which to build all things.

Gifts from God Part 1

I'm sure you have heard a sermon on the Armor of God.

Every time I hear it, I want to elaborate on it myself.

So...

I will be starting an 8 part series on this subject. 

So hang on as we study each part,

and I will bring it all together in the final post.

Ephesians 6:11

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to 

stand against the schemes of the devil. (ESV)

For those who don't know all the pieces of armor, here is a list:

Belt of Truth

Breast Plate of Righteousness

Shoes of the Gospel of Peace

Shield of Faith

Helmet of Salvation

Sword of the Spirit

As you saw in the title, I consider these all gifts.

Which is the reason why I want to elaborate on the 

subject of each piece in an 8 part series.

Yes there is only six parts, but

it will take 8 posts to pull it all together.

I will show you in scripture how each piece is considered

a gift, which by definition, is something given.

As we look at the pieces and really understand them,

I believe we will end up better equipped to use them.

I may use Lego pictures to illustrate, but don't let

that diminish the importance of being fully dressed in this 

armor every day. Winning the battle against sin 

depends on how well dressed we are.

Thank you in advance for following me through this series.

I hope you find it as interesting and useful as I do!

Father, thank You for giving us armor, 

protection against the evil one and this world.

Grant us the discipline to wear it, use it, and hold fast to it.

Before ALL Things!

Colossians  1:15-17 

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities — all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. (ESVST)

We are not in control of this world.
The earth spins, not because we will it to.
Time does not stop when we cry out.
Events happen in life whether we wish them to or not.
We are born, and we die.

Are you asking why things are the way they are?

A common question, asked as we go through life.

Have you ever asked who or what holds this world together? 

This world would be destroyed and consumed if we were left to ourselves. 

Fortunately, the Lord holds this world together
That's right... The Lord.
He set the foundations of the earth. 

Take a moment and ponder the might and power of God, 

knowing that He holds all things in His hands.

It's helpful to keep all things in perspective, remembering our place in this world.

Today's Christian can have such hope and security, when we remember

that what we do is for the Lord, not ourselves.

You may work for your employer,
but I would challenge you to dedicate all you

do in your workplace, to the Lord. For His glory.

He holds you together. In the palm of His hand, He guides you.

There is nothing He cannot see. Nothing He cannot help with.

He created you. His arms are open wide waiting for you to come home.

Trust in Him for all things.
When it's hard...Give it to the Lord.

When life falls apart...Dedicate life to the Lord.

Change the way you think about life events.

Our goal every day should be to give God glory in all that we do.

With the Lord centered in all things,
you will experience true purpose and joy!

He is might and strength.

In Him are all good things!

Is your life without direction? Purpose?

Give it to the Lord today..
Trust Him.
He will make straight your path!

Gratitude From Humility

Humility Required

Colossians 1:21-22

And you-- once being alienated, and enemies in the mind, in the evil works, 

yet now did he reconcile, in the body of his flesh through the death, 

to present you holy, and unblemished, and unblameable before himself, (YLT)

On my knees again! Darkness all around.

I cover my eyes in shame. For only I am to blame.

A life of sin. As I run from Him.

All I see is failure. A wasted life.

I don't follow as I should.

Where is the Light, my help in time of need?

Can restoration be found?

Down on my knees, my heart cries out,

Abba Father! Daddy Daddy!

Help me please! Rescue me!

Forgive me Please!

I uncover my face and open my eyes,

There's light all around!

My sin ... cannot be found!

Here you are my child! At last you can see!

The value you have in Me!

Open your eyes so you can see,

For your heart is Mine, You gave it to Me!

Now when you stumble, I will catch you.

Dust you off and make your path new.

You need not fear, I will always be true!

I can see your heart, your desire is for me.

Your humility is a gift, presented for me.

When you pray, I can hear you.

I will watch and always guide you.

For when on your knees, I will give you wings!

And you shall fly with me for all eternity!

When we are the Lord's. We are blameless. He has paid that price.

Restored us to the Father. Because of Him, we are holy.

Give your life to Christ. Experience healing.

Be blameless before Him.

He will care for you!

Restart!

Restart! Reset! Renew!

Pick your favorite. Which one speaks to you?

For me?

All of the above...

Looking back at several of my past posts...

I feel like I'm preaching to myself most of the time.

So lets get real!

Life is a struggle. Sometimes I wonder if I will ever stop failing.

No matter which way I turn, there is failure. Either I'm letting down the ones I love, 

or I'm letting down my Father in heaven.

So how do we move on everyday knowing that we will fail?

The answer lies in how we define failure.

fail-ure

noun

Lack of success

Synonyms: non-fulfillment, defeat, collapse

So lets break this down a bit.

Non-fulfillment - This is all perspective based. If our eyes are fixed on the

Lord, our lives will not feel un-fulfilled.

Defeat - Being rooted in the Lord makes us "more than conquerors". 

Anything that does not go right is only a building block,

placed by the Lord to make us into His image.

Collapse - Old torn down, new built in it's place. Our lives are made

new when we accept the Lord. 

We can no longer be torn down!

I truly believe the only real failure in this life is to reject the Lord.

We will make mistakes. But that does not mean we fail!

Ask yourself if you truly believe the next verse.

 Romans 8:28

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, 

for those who are called according to his purpose. (ESV)

All things work together for good. So our mistakes, should help us grow.

A mistake is not the same as failure.

The Father picks us up from mistakes. 

He sets us up on the path when we fall or stray.

He forgives us when we ask.

Failure is judged only by God when we stand before Him.

Have you ever tried to pick up a child who was screaming and throwing a fit? 

It's hard! Rejecting the Lord is much like that.

If we don't have Him as central in our lives, I.E. Reject Him,

 how can we expect anything good to happen?

Or, how can we even expect to understand Him when we don't know Him?

The Lord will change your life, if you will let Him.

He can take desolation, and make something new!

But you have to make the decision to have Him in your life.

There is no failure when you know the Lord, Only mistakes.

And in our mistakes, we experience:

Grace, Love, Patience, Kindness, Forgiveness.

And that's just the beginning!

Decide today where you stand.

Accept, trust, obey!

And then...

Praise God for making all things new!