Converse First Baptist Church

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. (Ephesians 6:13)

God has a need for soldiers to stand for Him in spiritual warfare. Paul uses the picture of the Roman legionary to show you & I to be prepared. Whether we like it or not, we are involved in “spiritual warfare”. There is a battle for the hearts and minds of men, women, teens and children, and you and I had better be in the thick of it! Without the “armor” which Paul enumerates, we are naked and defenseless, and without any hope of surviving the “spiritual warfare environment”.

After all, we fight not against flesh and blood but against principalities, powers, and spiritual wickedness in heavenly places. That’s a bit too much for me to attempt on my own. Put on the armor of God, and make a stand against the devil! [First make sure you have some armor, then make sure it is oiled, polished and the Sword is sharp!]

Happily, this armor is provided by the Father. Most of the time however, the problem is not in our possession of spiritual armor, but our desire to be part of spiritual conflict. Most of us would just as soon not be involved. That may be the besetting sin of the late 20th and early 21st century; no one wants to be involved. Not only does no one want to “put on the armor of God” and prepare for spiritual conflict; no one really desires to “take up the cross and follow Jesus”.

We can take the stand, pick up the cross, but only if our heart is fixed on Jesus. Our lives can’t be fixed and centered on the church, fixed or centered on our children and grandchildren, our homes, cars or any other activity or thing! Our lives and love must be centered on the person of Jesus. THEN, we will be able to “be the church”, have the homes and families that honor God, and we will never lack for the necessities of life.

Oil it well, keep it sharp, be prepared to stand, as we “look unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith”.