God's Spiritual Warefare
I love fairy tales. I am a huge Disney fan. No seriously...I LOVE Disney. The princesses (Rapunzel and Belle are my favorite), the handsome prince as their knight in shining armor fighting evil to save them. I love a good fairy tale story.
Have you ever viewed yourself as a knight in shining armor? Me either. I always saw myself as the beautiful princess. But God calls us to be knights. And that is where we will begin our devotional.
Ephesians 6: 13
This is why you must take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand.
Let's talk bluntly...this world is evil. It has corrupted what God created beautiful. As His children, we are called in Romans 12:2 not to conform to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our minds. In order to fight against the evils of this world, we are to be knights and put on our armor of God.
But what does this have to do with our marriages? I am glad you asked. The
devil will try every tactic he can to destroy our marriages because they represent Christ. By putting on the armor of God, we can take on the enemy's deceit and lies with confidence and courage.
devil will try every tactic he can to destroy our marriages because they represent Christ. By putting on the armor of God, we can take on the enemy's deceit and lies with confidence and courage.
Ephesians 6: 14-18
Stand therefore,
With truth like a belt around your waist (14)
1) The Belt of Truth: Equip ourselves with God's word. It is amazing what God will do when we follow His commands to treasure His word in our heart.
John 15:7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish; and it will be done for you.
By studying and knowing God's word, we are pursuing our relationship with God and protecting our marriages from the enemy. When hard times hit, God's word provides comfort to us and we can cling to His promises.
Righteousness like armor on your chest (15)
Stand therefore,
With truth like a belt around your waist (14)
1) The Belt of Truth: Equip ourselves with God's word. It is amazing what God will do when we follow His commands to treasure His word in our heart.
John 15:7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish; and it will be done for you.
By studying and knowing God's word, we are pursuing our relationship with God and protecting our marriages from the enemy. When hard times hit, God's word provides comfort to us and we can cling to His promises.
Righteousness like armor on your chest (15)
2) Breastplate of righteousness: A breastplate protects our heart from danger. The breastplate of righteousness is obedience to God by living a life that reflects Him. When we accept Jesus as our Savior, we will want to live our life glorifying Him. Our lives will not be perfect, but we can choose daily to put God first and to trust Him with our life. And as for our marriages...this applies to the way we treat our spouse daily.
And your feet sandaled with readiness for the Gospel of Peace (15)
3) Gospel of Peace- God is the only one who can fill us with His everlasting peace and truly set us free. In order for us to receive His peace, we have to lean on Him. In our marriages, seeking to be a peacemaker is vital for a marriage that will be successful.
In every situation take the shield of Faith (16)
And with it you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one
4) Shield of Faith- Faith is what our trust in God is based on. It is believing that God's plan is best for our marriages and for our life. It is completely lifting our hands to Him and giving Him everything. We can use this shield to ward off any negative thoughts, fear, advice or people who try to derail what God has created.
Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God. (17)
5) Helmet of salvation- Our salvation is the foundation of our faith. When we accept Jesus as Lord over our life, it frees us from the bondage of sin because He has forgiven us. We should extend this forgiveness to our spouse. God shows us mercy and grace, which we don't deserve, so we should do the same for our spouse.
6) Sword of the Spirit- The Word of God is our strongest weapon in this life. It is comfort to us and we can learn from it, memorize and meditate on it. The bible is alive and active and when we continue to study it and learn all we can about our awesome God, our faith grows.
By putting on this armor daily we can prepare for whatever comes our way in our life and in our marriages. Along with the armor of God, we can pray. Prayer is our communication with God and keeps our focus on Him.
Challenge for this week: Memorize all the pieces of armor of God!
Questions to ponder:
1) What are some ways life and the enemy throw flaming arrows at your marriage?
2) How do you think the armor of God will benefit your marriage?
And your feet sandaled with readiness for the Gospel of Peace (15)
3) Gospel of Peace- God is the only one who can fill us with His everlasting peace and truly set us free. In order for us to receive His peace, we have to lean on Him. In our marriages, seeking to be a peacemaker is vital for a marriage that will be successful.
In every situation take the shield of Faith (16)
And with it you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one
4) Shield of Faith- Faith is what our trust in God is based on. It is believing that God's plan is best for our marriages and for our life. It is completely lifting our hands to Him and giving Him everything. We can use this shield to ward off any negative thoughts, fear, advice or people who try to derail what God has created.
Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God. (17)
5) Helmet of salvation- Our salvation is the foundation of our faith. When we accept Jesus as Lord over our life, it frees us from the bondage of sin because He has forgiven us. We should extend this forgiveness to our spouse. God shows us mercy and grace, which we don't deserve, so we should do the same for our spouse.
6) Sword of the Spirit- The Word of God is our strongest weapon in this life. It is comfort to us and we can learn from it, memorize and meditate on it. The bible is alive and active and when we continue to study it and learn all we can about our awesome God, our faith grows.
By putting on this armor daily we can prepare for whatever comes our way in our life and in our marriages. Along with the armor of God, we can pray. Prayer is our communication with God and keeps our focus on Him.
Challenge for this week: Memorize all the pieces of armor of God!
Questions to ponder:
1) What are some ways life and the enemy throw flaming arrows at your marriage?
2) How do you think the armor of God will benefit your marriage?
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