Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 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. (Ephesians 6:10-12 ESV)
In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, (Ephesians 6:16-17 ESV)
These two passages really stuck out to me for their metaphors for strength and faith in the Lord and their use in fighting off the evil one. It is often not flesh and blood that we are fighting but rather a powerful evil force who is too much for us but pales in comparison to God.
Hey broskies! I have a propositions for you guys, what if we had one person be the lead blogger each day and had everyone else make comments on the verse that he chose? Of course if someone felt that there was another verse that needed to be talked about, they could do so. The purpose of this would be to turn this more into a discussion with some give and take. What do you guys think?
ReplyDeleteAs for today's passage:
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 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.
(Ephesians 6:10-12 ESV)
I chose this passage because it is a reminder that we are not struggling against each other, but against something that we cannot see, hear, or feel, but that we can see the affects, hear the thoughts it makes, and feel the temptations it creates. Earlier in Ephesians he was referred to as "the prince of the power of the air" in Ephesians 2. He is all around us constantly trying to pull us down. I think this passage is trying to say that our conventional means of fighting will not work. You can't cut air with a sword. We must fight in God's way, using his armor which is then listed out in the sentences after this passage.
So I wrote a lot about this verse and my browser freaked out on me so I lost it all.
DeleteSo...
TL;DR
Everyone fights for what they care about.
As christians we should know what it is we truly fight for and against.
We fight for the truth: that is for God's glory and the gospel.
we fight against the lies that infect our minds and communities and cultures.
"Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withsatand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, havign fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To taht end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints"
ReplyDeleteEphesians 6:13-18
Sorry that the verse is kinda long. I just like this passage because our college group talked about how people try to hide their faith and try to fit in certain groups. Maybe, we are people-pleasers or have certain pressure from outside to be someone. We often try to define our identity based on what others think of us. But, as followers of Jesus Christ, I think we already have the true and best identity that anyone can ask for. God is the only one who truly knows us and He should be the one that we define ourselves around. And, in order to do that, we must have firm belief and faith in God that He is the almighty God who will provide you with strength, knowledge, discernment, and boldness. The world may not like it and Paul talks about this in this passage and you can also read it from other books: "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account" (Matthew 5:11). But, as Paul says, if we are strong in the Lord, put on the whole armor, have fastened on the belt of truth, and pray continuously in faith, we will be the humble servants and body of Christ to others.
"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people." Ephe 6:18 and all the armor/fighting verses. There was some cool imagery in there.
ReplyDeleteThis was a nice little reminder and a way to wrap up this chapter and all the things I thought about while reading it. I really dont do this enough, in fact I hardly do it at all. It comes from a notion that I can take care of myself and dont really want to be asking God for every little thing, otherwise what good am I if I need to depend on God for everything. Its uncomfortable for me to ask things of God, in my rationale, it doesn't matter what I ask for since He decides and I don't. But even in this simple exercise I find I keep rationalizing why I should/shouldn't pray and end up with a nothing but a half-completed post. Half of those thoughts are truth but I think the bigger half are lies. And just as these lies had the better part of eighteen years to grab hold, I don't expect them to be shaken off so easily. However, the more I read, the more I think (along the lines of the bible, otherwise thinking can be extremely dangerous), the more I can recognize these lies and be armed with the truth to fight this battle we all fight. In short, go pray. Its good for you.
SInce I'm always reluctant to pray, and I might forget later, I'll do it right now. Here's mine: God, I thank you for the blessings you have placed in my life in the form of people and experiences. For these have shaped me to be as I am today: flawed and destined to fall time after time, but with the will to get up after every fall, to keep fighting, to seek you, and to finally join you once all is said and done. I know the road is hard, but without your hand that moves pieces together to eventually get me to where I need to go, the road would turn into a precipice and I'd fall. I thank you for your blessings, the kindness you've shown to me and everyone else I know, and I can't ask for anything else. Thanks.
"Finally, draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power. Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil. For our struggle is not with the flesh and blood but with the principalities, the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens." Ephesians 6: 10-12
ReplyDeleteThese verses speak to the core of my Manhood. I want to put on the armor of God and stand strong with not my own strength, but with God's. It is so inspiring to know that we have infinite strength through Jesus Christ, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit. I also find it extremely important to note that our struggle is not with human beings, but against the spiritual powers of evil. Satan is real. We need to keep that in mind and be on alert.
"WIth all prayer and supplication, pray at every opportunity in the Spirit." Ephesians 6: 18a
Pray constantly. In all things, we have the opportunity to glorify God with our thoughts and actions. We always have an opportunity to praise God, to ask God, and to spend time with God. Quiet time is important, but just as important is keeping God as a priority in our lives and at the forefront of our minds. Constant prayer does this.