Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.  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

1. belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the
2. breastplate of righteousness in place,  and with your
3. feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.  In addition to all this, take up the
4. shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the
5. helmet of salvation and the
6. sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

 Piecing together the study of our armor, I have found that certain pieces of this armor must be paired with another in order for it to have the full effect.  It’s truly amazing! The shoes must be worn along with the breastplate, the shield must be used with the sword and the helmet must be worn with the belt. You can’t just put on one piece.

  Peace (shoes) and Righteousness (breastplate)

I previously did a study on Peace and Righteousness. I found that they truly do protect us and they work together- in protecting us. Peace and Right living , together, are our spiritual armor that protects us. It was truly amazing to see the two paired together so often in scripture. You absolutely cannot have one without the other, you can’t have righteousness without peace and you can’t have peace without righteousness.  Check out a few scriptures and see:

•  Mercy and truth are met together ; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Psalm 85:10
• And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever. Isaiah 32:17
• O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea: Isaiah 48:18
• To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace; Hebrews 7:2
• And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace James 3:18

Faith (Shield) and God’s Word (Sword)

   Another interesting discovery! Just as Righteousness and peace work together and cannot work without each other, so I have found the same with the shield and sword. You cannot have faith without the Word, impossible! For faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of the Lord. I cannot protect myself against the wiles of the devil and his tactics without the help of God and His word. Faith in our Holy Father and His word protects me. God’s word crushes and destroys the enemy’s plan of attack – that’s my sword. The bible says that our enemy throws fiery darts at us- those darts are thoughts, doubts, fears- we hold up the shield of faith knowing we can trust in God. All those darts fall and will not touch you BUT if you get lazy and forget the Word, all those wrong thoughts will settle in your mind, fall deep in your heart and it will become part of you- we can’t let this happen.

•   Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord, The shield of your help And the sword of your majesty! Your enemies shall submit to you, And you shall tread down their high places. Deut 33:29

Keeping scripture close at hand is key. When you trust in God, you trust in His word. When the enemy throws fears, discouragement, depression, wrong thoughts, and hopelessness your way you must hold up the shield of Faith- No weapon formed against you shall prosper! For this is the heritage of the saints of the Lord. Speak it out- How interesting it is, I have found, the power of the spoken word. Notice that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Why doesn’t is say faith comes by reading and reading by the word of God? Maybe, or wait- not maybe- when we speak God’s Word and hear it – our faith grows and is strengthened. So I wonder, if we would begin speaking out in faith, we could really shake this wicked world up. If I can overthrow a mountain with faith just the size of a small mustard seed – whoa! Can you imagine what we can do in this world? I’m not talking about naming your Bentley, come on – I’m talking about making our world a Holy Nation. Instead of complaining about the wicked songs, lyrics, movies, shows, books – I will speak out in faith and prayer. “God will protect my children, In Jesus Name, crush this wicked agenda that seeks to destroy our youth. Let every wrong and wicked movie crash to nothing and be destroyed before it touches the precious hearts of our children and….. here I go- May the new movie Divergent that is targeted at the youth be cast out and thrown into the sea” Sidetrack:    My daughter and I had a conversation yesterday about the movie ‘catching fire’. My husband and kids watched it while I fumed up a furnace.  I prayed that God would take care of it so I didn’t act like an angry monkey on crack. The next day I was reading Imitation of Christ by Thomas Kemper with my daughter (part of her literary reading for high school) and it sparked a conversation   “Not every desire is from the Holy Spirit, even though it may seem right and good…. And Whatever the mind sees as good, ask and desire in fear of God and humility of heart” Me:“Look, just because you want to watch a movie and it seems good and right- doesn’t make it good and right before God” She replies “there’s nothing wrong with it” I say,” really? Killing? Sexuality? Kids slicing each others throats? Would you watch that movie if Jesus walked in here? Silence….. Then we kept reading the book: “Not every desire is from the Holy Spirit, even though it may seem right and good” I said,” You see, not everything you desire and think is okay, is okay with God.” She replied “but mom, what if I watch it and it doesn’t affect me” I said ”The bible says everything you see, hear, think, and do goes in your heart. Of course it affects you- and everyone else who watches it. Everything in that movie went into your heart and the only way you can clean it out is through the Word of God” Silence Yea mom, your right…. and we continued reading. I thought this was interesting because #1God answered my prayer, took care of this for me and gave my kids understanding #2 I had faith God would take care of it when I prayed and tried my best to keep peace – and true enough, my prayer of faith went out and God took care of this better than I could have (and btw…. I’m quite well aware that I am one of the last standing Christians who oppose this movie and all the other stuff out there- I don’t have to agree with the world and I’m not going to – even if I’m the last person on earth who stands up to disagree, so if you like the movie, fine – I’m not judging you and you’re not judging me – I’m just saying it how it is, I know there is more to this movie -and I’ll tell you what else- I know without a doubt these movies (and books on child mutilation) that have become the new obsession and required reading in schools absolutely have an underlying agenda of molding, shaping and desensitizing our children)   Moving Onnnn…. Now where was I…. the reason I wanted write you today is about faith- can you believe this? 4 pages into this post and finally I’m getting around to the subject. I’ve got so much to tell you! Ugh, maybe I should rename this or start a new post…..I’ll have to put it in another post because now I have something new….. If peace and righteousness must be paired together and now I have found that faith and the Word must be paired together ( or shoes + breastplate = protection, sword+shield destroys and kills your enemy and their attacks) Well then! Let’s see if we can find a link between the belt of truth and the helmet of salvation……… Truth (belt) and Salvation (helmet) Yes! It’s true! You cannot have salvation without the truth- this is so cool! Salvation comes through the Spirit through our belief in the truth.- ( a tie in with faith). The truth and your salvation in Jesus keep you grounded, unshaken and standing firm!!!  Wow, it’s all piecing together like a puzzle. Salvation comes through the truth and it helps you stand firm. Jesus is the truth of our salvation. The word of truth is the gospel of salvation. It’s Jesus! He is the truth and our salvation. Okay, here’s an overview of all our armor- Jesus , God’s Word and right living- those three together are the foundation of all this armor. I can see it! I’m jumping up and down- piecing a super cool puzzle together.

• [ Believers Should Stand Firm]As for us, we can’t help but thank God for you, dear brothers and sisters loved by the Lord. We are always thankful that God chose you to be among the first to experience salvation—a salvation that came through the Spirit who makes you holy and through your belief in the truth. 2 Thessalonians 2:13
•  Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day. Psalm 25:5
• I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy lovingkindness and thy truth from the great congregation. Psalm 40:10
• But as for me, my prayer is unto thee, O Lord, in an acceptable time: O God, in the multitude of thy mercy hear me, in the truth of thy salvation. Psalm 69:13
• In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Ephesians 1:13
• 

You see, God has given you 6 items for you to use in this war. (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)    Did you notice that complaining about the annoying tactics of the enemy is not a weapon or a shielding  piece of armor? If it was, I’d be quite a warrior, but it doesn’t work this way ( I’m preaching to myself here) Are you just fending off the enemy or are you destroying the enemy with the Sword of God? We can march around with our helmet of salvation on and still get side swiped and crushed if we don’t stand firm on the Word of God. Get your sword out, remember who you are in Christ and don’t take any more garbage from the enemy because the name of Jesus is higher and more powerful than anything that may come against you.

For He put on righteousness as a breastplate, And a helmet of salvation on His head; He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, And was clad with zeal as a cloak. ¹⁸ According to their deeds, accordingly He will repay, Fury to His adversaries, Recompense to His enemies; The coastlands He will fully repay. ¹⁹ So shall they fear The name of the Lord from the west, And His glory from the rising of the sun; When the enemy comes in like a flood, The Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him. ²⁰ “The Redeemer will come to Zion, And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,” Says the Lord. Isaiah 59:18-20

  What’s the point? Why the armor and the sword? (from Jeremiah 17:7-8) Listen up!  Blessed are you mighty and strong man of valor because you have put your trust and hope in the Lord. You have found your confidence and security in the Most High God.  You shall be like a tree transplanted along the refreshing waters of the river that sendeth out its roots by the river.  Because you have put all your trust in the Lord and not put your trust in your own strength or wealth, you stand unshakable, for the Lord is with you.            When heat or drought comes, you shall not be concerned or worried because you are always bearing fruit and your leaves will always be green. Attacks and storms may come your way, but not a branch shall be moved. You will prosper and flourish through all your storms, in drought, in valleys and through all the troubles that try to come against you. Even in times of drought or destitution, though the rain not fall for a period of time, you shall be unshakable, you will not be anxious or worried. You will prosper in perfect peace without fear. You trust fully in the Lord. You will not be sorrowful when troubles arise for you know that the Lord protects you. He is your rock and your fortress. Though these times come and go, you will never stop yielding fruit, you will accomplish all the Lord has planned for your life. You will always be provided for and your life will produce much fruit.      You count it all joy when troubles come and you know that we are destined for such troubles. You can rejoice in your problems and trials for we know they help us and strengthen us. We can remind ourselves as David did “ I see that the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for He is right beside me.” related articles: catching fire cult programming Put on the shoes of peace