Be of sober spirit, be on the alert.
Your adversary, the devil,
prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
1 Peter 5:8
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The Full Armor of God
Finally,
be strong in the LORD
& in the strength of HIS might.
Put on the full armor of GOD
so that you can take your stand
against the devil's schemes.
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.
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.
Stand firm then,
with the belt of TRUTH
buckled around your waist,
with the breastplate of
RIGHTEOUSNESS
in place,
and with your feet fitted with the readiness
that comes from the Gospel of Peace.
In addition to all this,
take up the shield of FAITH,
with which you can extinguish
all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
Take the helmet of
SALVATION
& the
SWORD OF THE SPIRIT,
which is the WORD OF GOD.
And
pray in the SPIRIT
on all occasions
with all kinds of prayers and requests.
With this in mind,
be alert & always keep on praying for all the saints
Ephesians 6: 10-18
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The Bible teaches that Satan has waged war against God and those who follow Him.
This means that all Christians are on a spiritual battlefield.
In any conflict, soldiers should be given the right equipment and training in how to use it.
Otherwise, it would be foolish to expect success.
In a similar way,
we should follow God’s directions on how best to utilize the effective spiritual armor He has provided for us.
Let’s explore each component.
First, the belt of truth indicates that we should operate according to Scripture, which keeps us in the safety of God’s will.
Second, the breastplate of righteousness protects our heart from wrong emotions.
Third, we should have feet that are ready to stand firm against the Devil and bring the good news to others (Isa. 52:7).
Fourth, the shield of faith stops the Enemy’s flaming missiles. Faith
—or trust in Jesus—
allows us to fight doubt, fear, and confusion.
Fifth, the sword of the Spirit is the actual weapon used to cause damage to our opponent.
Specifically, this is the Word of God. Scripture is “sharper than any two-edged sword” (Heb. 4:12),
transforming us to be like Jesus, shedding light in a dark world, and enabling the spiritually blind to see.
And finally, the helmet of salvation is protection for our thoughts.
Do you truly realize that you have a living Enemy?
He continually attempts to draw you away from Jesus. Satan’s path seems comfortable and good, but it leads only to destruction. There is no middle ground; either you are battling the Enemy, or he is deceptively pulling you away from the truth.
Dr. Charles Stanley
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What then shall we say to these things?
If God is for us,
who can be against us?
Romans 8:31
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