I mentioned before that I go to a support group for those with chronic illness…It’s a ministry I started 2 years ago, called Never Alone.We don’t sit around talking about our illnesses or having pity parties for each other…We gather together to study The Word of God.We know it is the only way we can overcome, and it just happens to be that we’re studying about Spiritual Warfare.There are six pieces of armor mentioned by Paul in Ephesians 6:14-17, each dealing with a specific area of our life…
The first piece of armor to put on is The Belt of Truth.
Remember, this was written 2000 years ago; so think of how the ancient Romans were dressed; a belt (or a girdle) was one of the most important parts of their wardrobe.It was a 6 inch belt worn around the waist, and Romans (soldiers or not), used the belt to tuck their flowing robes up so that they could move quickly when necessary.Without this belt (or girdle), a soldier might trip, fall, and become a casualty in battle instead of a victor.So, this has to be the first piece of armor that we need to “put on.” Without it, we can become a casualty in the Spiritual War.
Do you know that Satan’s greatest strategy is to make you believe he doesn’t exist?He will hide wherever he can – in religion, in art, in music, philosophies, ideologies…etc. If he can convince you that he’s just a cartoon character or some creepy Halloween ghoul, his mission is accomplished.He is a liar.The Bible calls him, “The Father of lies.”
He entices us with little lies. Once we fall for them, he goes in for the kill. He counterfeits God’s truth.Sometimes we’re led to believe something is good for us: “After all,” we say, “it looks good”, or “it sounds true.”We believe lies about ourselves: We hear, “you’re a mess”, “you’re not good enough”, “nobody will ever love you”, “what you’ve done is so awful, God will never forgive you.”Lies…all lies.
“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.”John 10:10
What does God say about you?What does He say about certain things?What I am trying to get across is…”If you don’t know what The Bible says, you’ll fall for anything.”Check this out:“There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.”Proverbs 14:12
Tomorrow we’ll look at… The Breastplate of Righteousness
*Some words were taken from The Spiritual Warfare Study Guide by David Jeremiah
(This may be a hard truth…but I love ya…and you deserve the truth.)