Strength of His might

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil." (Ephesians 6:10-11)

What does it mean to be "strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might"? It comes down to one word... trust. Jesus is asking, 'will you trust me; will you trust and love me enough to do what I ask'?

Trust depends on faith to "believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek him" (Heb. 11:6). Christ is asking those who seek Him to trust Him through the action of obedience. As Jesus said, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments" (John 14:15).

He says then, "Put on the full armor of God." Why armor? Soldiers, the police, and SWAT teams need armor to protect them... does the believer in Jesus need protection? Are we under attack... are we at war? I hear often that the Gospel is love, peace, kindness, and gentleness... hardly anyone speaks of warfare... Why is that?

Our Heavenly Father provides the armor but we are instructed to 'put it on'. That means, yes, the Christian actually has 'to do something'? God wants us armored-up because each day and at every moment we are at war; we are in a spiritual battle. The enemy of heaven and of our souls, the devil, continually seeks "to devour" us, to destroy us (1 Peter 5:8).

What then is this armor?

Heavenly things or earthly things

"Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God." (Col 3:1-3)

There are things that are heavenly and things earthly. There is right thinking and wrong thinking; right living and wrong living. If our conscience is not "seared with a hot iron" (1 Tim. 4:2) then we can discern between the two and choose... yes choose, the way of righteousness (Prov. 12:28).

The way of Christ then requires effort on our part; in fact a great deal of effort on our part. Living for Christ demands faith to keep looking up when circumstances or people all around you are looking down on you... looking up... looking to Jesus Christ. It means turning from base thoughts to thinking on those things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and good (Phil. 4:8). It means turning from self to Christ and repenting when you've missed the mark and doing so over and over and over again until pride is crushed and self-will is in shambles and in your weakness--the character of Christ is formed.

Should not the Christian be like Christ? Have we died to self and our life hidden with Christ in God? If so, then why do we care so about the world? Why are Christians angry so at the leadership that God instituted? Does not God raise up one and bring down another? Is not the king's heart in the hand of the Lord-can't He turn His decisions however He chooses? (Prov. 21:1)

And what of the Kingdom of God? While the world rules your thoughts and anger your emotions what of those suffering for the sake of Christ? Do we remember them in our prayers? Can we pray in sweetness for their sake while cursing the king... I think not (James 3:11). And what of our brother who suffers need? Do we say, "Go in peace, be warmed and be filled"? Are we not our brothers keeper? Or, will we hoard our treasures up for ourselves as we see even more precarious days approaching or will we meet a need?

"Will we set our mind on the things above" or things on the earth?

Give thanks to the Lord

"Oh give thanks to the LORD, call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples." 1 Chron 16:8

There is, it seems, a great deal of ungratefulness in our lives. We are numb when it comes to giving thanks; true, heart-felt thanks to the Lord. This hardness of heart is seen in our daily lives and the priorities that we have. Who is it that wakes up and gives the Lord thanks? Who is it that rises and turns to His Word for help, guidance, protection, and the giving of thanks?

We have forgotten the Lord and so we have failed to give thanks to Him for His goodness, mercy, and grace. We focus, instead, on the evil overtaking the land. We blame our leaders, we blame greed, we worry, we fret, and our hearts turn bitter. We wonder at the iniquity taking place all around us and see not the sin in our own hearts and lives. We ask God, why, why, when trouble strikes or when pain inflicts us never realizing, never turning our hearts to the Lord, and seeing that our troubles show the mercy of the Lord. God's momentary chastisement seeks to return our hearts back to Him so that we live for Him and not ourselves.

Because our hearts are darkened we cannot nor will not proclaim His deeds and

His name. Those unbelievers around us watch us and watch our ineffectiveness,

our uncaring, and our dishearten walk with God. They see a people laden in

sadness and iniquity, with selfishness, greed, anger, and they reject the Lord of mercy and grace because they reject us... as we represent Him.

A prayer - Lord, may our hearts turn to you and may we love you with all our heart, soul, and mind. Forgive our iniquities and wash us clean through the

blood of Jesus. Turn our hearts to you and return to us the joy of your salvation. Return, so that we may give thanks and bless your name and proclaim you good deeds and righteous name to a dark and dying world.