Dressed for Battle
Many years ago, John Molloy wrote, Dress for Success. The book popularized the concept of power dressing and the part it plays in a person’s success. Executives and business types were instructed to put their best foot forward as they faced the world.
This week at Sugar Creek is Vacation Bible School week. The kids and the leaders learned the importance of being dressed for battle. In his Letter to the Ephesians, Paul the Apostle instructed believers how to face the world and be equipped to stand against the wiles of the devil. In his letter, he told the believers to put on the whole armor of God.
The pieces of the armor, from top to bottom are, the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the shield of faith, the sword of the Spirit, the belt of truth, the shoes, and prayer. The shoes are called the preparation of the gospel of peace.
There are several particular facets about the armor. First, we see the material. It is not linen or lace, cotton, or silk. Much of the material is called armor because the battle is serious. Next, we can see the source of the armor. It is the armor of God, meaning it is from God. He provides it for our protection.
Even though we do not walk around dressed like this, why do we need this spiritual armor of God? One reason given is – to stand against the wiles of the devil. To stand means to stand a post; to hold a critical position while under attack. It means to stand firm.
The wiles of the devil refer to his methods, schemes, and plans to defeat us. The devil’s methods are many. But, for you and me, he often uses the same ones over and over and over again because he knows where we are weak, and he is very persistent.
If we know where we are week and are suited up for battle, we can defeat him with truth. That’s the way Jesus defeated him during His 40 days and 40 nights in the wilderness.
Let me be clear, Satan hates God. Satan hates Jesus and opposes all who stand with Him. This enemy’s tactics are basically two. One for the believers and one for the unbelievers. His goal for the unbelievers is to keep them lost. To keep them thinking everything is okay between themselves and Holy God. He blinds people to the truth and the effectiveness of the Gospel so they cannot see it nor understand it.
His goal for the believer is to put us back in bondage and keep us in bondage with lies and deception. He wants to steal our joy, kill us if he can, and destroy our testimony; destroy our effectiveness for the cause of Christ. These are evil days in which we live. It is very important that we remain dressed for battle. God Bless!
