Ephesians 6:11-20

 Hello My Friends!  Today we are in Ephesians Chapter 6.  There is so much to unpack here, but today I will just skim the top.  

Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil.  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens.  For this reason take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand.  Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest, and your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace.  In every situation take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit--which is the word of God.  Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints.  Pray also for me, that the message may be given to me when I open my mouth to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel.  For this I am an ambassador in chains.  Pray that I might be bold enough to speak about it as I should.

We've all heard this and read this a million times...Put on the whole armor of God.  I use the Christian Standard Version for this blog, and I have to say it makes things a lot clearer when it comes to the armor and it's purpose.  

For this reason take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand.   The NIV tells us this way:  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.  But I like "having prepared everything, to take your stand." This tells us to prepare everything.  We cannot just go up against our enemy, who Paul tells us is "not flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens."  Each and everyday we must prepare for battle, if we don't prepare, we will lose and lose big.  

How do we prepare?  With truth like a belt around our waists, with righteousness like armor on our chests, sandaled with the readiness for the gospel of peace.  In EVERY SITUATION take up the shield of faith so that we can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  We can do nothing at all in this battle if we do not have a shield of faith over our hearts that will stop "the loser's" flaming arrows.  

Then the helmet of salvation and the SWORD OF THE SPIRIT...the Word of God.  Without knowing God's Word, we are left to flounder around from idea to idea, not knowing anything that is good.  There will come a time, dear friends, when we may not be able to open our Bibles and read the Word like we do now.  It is our job to "write these words on our hearts".  It is this truth that will get us through.  Why?  Because Jesus is in those Words...Jesus IS the WORD.  Every time we open the Word, we draw near to Him, sitting in His lap like a child waiting for a story.  We are His children and He longs for those times.  May each of us long to open His Word, sit in His lap, and listen to the stories of His love and kindness, fierceness and strength.  He is all we will ever need.  He longs to be with us.  Longs to be your last thought at night and your first thought in the morning.

We are also told by Paul to pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints.  Paul wants us to be aware of all around us and continually pray for them.  That is my goal for this week.  Move away from ME and toward THEM.  Pray constantly for all around me.  

May each of you have an incredible week.  I pray that you find Jesus in all you do!

Until next time,

Terrie

Ephesians 5:8-11

 Hello Friends!

Today we are in Ephesians Chapter 5.  According to Strong's, Ephesus was the capital of the chief province of Asia.  It was located about one mile from the Aegean Sea.  The temple of Diana (Artemis) was important to the commerce of the city because the Mediterranean world considered it to be such a sacred and impeccable institution that it became the chief banking establishment in all of Asia Minor (which modern day Turkey).  The great number of pilgrims that came to worship at the temple also bolstered the economy in Ephesus.  In fact, the population of Ephesus is believed to have exceeded a quarter million.

In his second trip to Ephesus, Paul stayed for three years.  He was forced to leave by a mob of merchants who were making and selling statues of Artemis and, seeing so many of the population turn from that cult and follow THE WAY, became fearful of their income.   

When I take into consideration where he was teaching and the number of people he was teaching to--all of them in the dark the first time he entered--I can't help but be amazed by him.  He had no fear.  He truly lived by scripture.  In Psalm 118:6 we read, "The LORD is for me, so I will have no fear.  What can mere people do to me?"  He paraphrased this scripture in Romans 8 when he said, "If God is for us, who can be against us?"  I wonder:  Did he quietly pray Psalm 118:6 each time he stepped before a crowd and faced down evil in its own territory?

                                                                                                      

Look what he writes:  "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the LORD.  Live as children of light--for the fruit of the light consists of goodness, righteousness, and truth testing what is pleasing to the LORD.  Don't participate in the fruitless works of darkness, but instead expose them.  

darkness - Greek 4655:  Moral darkness, the absence of spiritual light and truth 

light - Greek 5457: to shine, make manifest especially by rays 

light - Greek 4151:  breath, light, spirit, Holy Spirit

goodness - Greek 19:  active goodness; benevolent  

righteousness - Greek 1343:  character, conduct:  being just as one should be, uprightness

truth - Greek 225:  what is not concealed, but open and known; true

in - Greek 4790:  to share in company with; to partake; to participate

"For you were once (the absence of spiritual light and truth), but now you are (shining) in the LORD.  Live as children of the light--for the fruit of the (Holy Spirit) consists of (benevolence), (uprightness, being just as one should be), and (what is not concealed, but open and known) testing what is pleasing to the LORD.  Don't (share company with) the fruitless works of darkness, but instead expose them."                                                                                                                          Ephesians 5:8-11

Friends, this message is very real today.  We live in a nation that says it is alright to kill a baby (in some states) up to the day of his birth!  There is great darkness in our land...but we have the Light!  We must be the goodness, the righteousness, and the truth that the people around us see.  (Believe me...I know it's hard.  In fact, I'm struggling with this now.  I am so weak when it comes to this.  I can only pray...over and over and over again...that everyone I cross paths with sees those things in me.  NOT what they've been seeing.) If we don't show them who Jesus is through our actions and our love...our goodness, righteousness, and truth...how will they ever know?  

We're searching for Jesus...we know we need Him in everything we do and say and experience...but most of them don't.  It is my prayer that as we go out into the world armed with the goodness, righteousness, and truth we were gifted by the Light Himself, we will be so different that people will want what we have.  We have Christ...they need to have Him, too.  Remember, "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it." (John 1:5)

Until next time, My Friends!  May you seek AND FIND Our Savior!

Terrie