Month: May 2024

“with the breastplate of righteousness in place,” Ephesians 6:14b

The breastplate was a part of a soldier’s armor used to protect the soldier’s heart, lungs, kidneys and spine, all vital organs to survival.  Also, in Jesus’s time, the heart was considered to be the center of a person’s character, so if your heart was good, you were good. No matter how it was looked at, the heart was an organ that needed protected. Our hearts need protected as well, both physically and emotionally.

When we love someone, we don’t say “I love you with all my mind”, no we say “I love you with all my heart.” When we talk about believing something to be true, we don’t believe it only with our thoughts or mind, but we know it to be true when we believe it with all of our heart. As a child, we feel loved by our family and a sense of belonging to them in our heart, not just as a fact that we know.

I believe Paul used the breastplate for the concept of righteousness because knowing that we are the righteousness of God through Christ is one thing, but feeling it in our hearts is something that is on a deeper level. The devil also knows that we carry our feelings in our heart and if he wants to attack us then he comes after our heart. When we have negative thoughts about ourselves and how imperfect we are, we can dismiss them easier when they are only thoughts, but when we put emotion to those thoughts, it becomes very hard to stop feeling those emotions. We need to protect our heart from all the arrows of lies that the devil will shoot as us in an attempt to have us doubt how much we are loved by God. He would love for us to believe that we are too far gone to be forgiven.

We should put on the breastplate of righteousness every morning to protect ourselves, our hearts, from the enemy who sneaks around only wanting to steal our peace, kill our hope and destroy our eternal life. Don’t let the devil win, make sure and wear your breastplate of righteousness today.

“Stand firm then with the belt of truth buckled around your waist,” Ephesians 6:14a

The belt was an important part of the soldier’s armor as it held the breastplate in place as well as carried the sheath for the sword. It is no wonder Paul mentions it first. In John 14:6, Jesus is comforting His disciples as He talked about leaving them by telling them that He is the way, the truth, and the life. So what does Jesus mean when He said he was the truth? Jesus is telling His disciples and us that He is The Authority regarding spiritual wisdom and reality. If you want to know how to live a spiritual life that is focused on the truth, then following Jesus is the answer.

Through His word, God teaches us how to think, how to feel, how to react to situations and how to live in accordance to His will. He made us to be in a relationship with Him, to live in such a way that we are walking in His will. We can only do that when we know the Truth about who God is and we find that out by studying the Bible and commentaries. The truth is very important, it is where we all need to begin in our walk of faith and without the truth, the rest of the armor falls apart. It is hard to know who we are in Christ, which we will talk about tomorrow, if we don’t know the truth about who Christ is. Our armor needs the belt of truth to connect the rest of it together.

Do you know who God is? God is the creator of heaven and earth, He is the reason we are alive and able to seek Him. He created us to be in fellowship with Him, He is our Father and we are His children. Following God is the only true way to live and is the only way we are able to live in eternity forever with Him.

I implore you this morning, to dig into God’s word and find out for yourself who God is and what the truth means to you. For me, knowing that the devil is the father of lies and that God is the father of truth helps me to stay focused on making sure my thoughts line up with what I know is in God’s word about who He is and how He wants me to live my life so that I can glorify and honor Him in all that I do. Trusting God, who is the truth, is the best and only path that we should be on in this life. I pray that as you search God’s word, that you find out the wonderful truth about God and build your walk with Him on that truth, which is a sure foundation. Have a wonderful day.

“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.” Ephesians 6:10-11 NIV

In this chapter of Ephesians, Paul was giving instructions to the people of Ephesus about how to behave but also about how to fight when it comes to the devil and the fight for our souls. He begins in verse 10 to encourage them to be strong, to rely on God and His power because God is all powerful and can do anything. As a child of God, we each are able to ask God for help knowing He is there for us. Paul also warns the Ephesians about being aware of the devil and his schemes. The devil was just as active in Paul’s time as he is in our time, and we have a God who is just as strong today as He was in Paul’s time.

God knows the devil and what the devil wants, which is to take everyone away from God. So in addition to the Holy Spirit, God gave us tools or weapons that we can use to defend ourselves against the devil. In the following verses, Paul explains the tools/weapons that God gave us and he does it by pulling them all together and calling them the armor of God. The armor that Paul is describing is spiritual in nature, which is what we need when we are going up against the devil, a spiritual being. Sometimes spiritual concepts can be too abstract for us to truly grasp so God has Paul use an analogy to help clarify all of the spiritual ways we can defeat the devil’s plans to lure us away from God.

Paul uses something the people of Ephesus would have understood all too well, the armor of a Roman solider. This analogy is still useful today because although we do not have Roman soldiers walking around us all day long, we do know what the armor looked like. Also, we know that our soldiers today wear armor or pieces of gear which protect them in much the same way as the pieces of armor that a Roman soldier wore, protected him. In the verses that follow verses 10 and 11, Paul then links each weapon to a piece of the armor in a way of taking the spiritual tool/weapon and making it tangible so that everyone could visualize how to use that spiritual tool.

How blessed are we that our God is willing to give us the tools we need to fight against our enemy after all the times that we have let Him down. I am amazed at how God keeps forgiving me, a sinner, each time I ask for forgiveness and He hasn’t walked away from me saying He has had enough. We are all imperfect but we are not too much for God to deal with. He created us, loves us and is willing to support us, as a loving parent does, each step of the way. He will walk beside us and guide us, if we let Him, which is the key to all of it. We have to let Him, because God did not create robots, He gave us free will. Free Will enables us to be able to choose to have a relationship with God or not, to choose to want Him in our lives or not and choose to love Him or not.

So, which choice have you made? I have made mine and I have chosen God! You still have time to make a choice, which one will it be? Have a wonderful day.

“Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32 NIV

What truth is John telling us about? Earlier in the 8th chapter of John, he is recounting the interaction between Jesus and some Jewish leaders. They were trying to test Jesus, hoping that He would make a mistake so that they would have cause to have Him arrested. However, as they usually did, they were not able to accomplish what they set out to do and as Jesus usually did, He used this interaction as a moment to teach them about their sins, Himself, and what the Son of Man came to earth to do, save mankind.

When Jesus tells them that when they know the truth, it will set them free, they became upset stating that they were not in need of being freed from anything. They could not see that they needed freed from their sin. Unrepented sin keeps us in bondage to that sin. The truth Jesus is speaking of is the spiritual truth of how sin is separating us from God and how believing in Jesus as the Son of God leads us to forgiveness, which is the way to bring us closer to God. Believing in Jesus, repenting of our sins and accepting the gift of forgiveness enables us to move closer to God.

By asking for forgiveness for our sins, we are acknowledging them and bringing them out of the darkness and into the light. The devil wants to keep our sins in the dark because when we keep our sins in the dark, we stay focused on hiding the sin from others and sometimes ourselves. When we bring our sin into the light and talk with Jesus about them, they lose the level of control that they can have on us. As darkness has to flee when light enters a room, the devil flees when we move closer to our Light, Jesus.

Knowing the truth, which is that Jesus is God and came to save us, all of us, and that we can be released from the bondage of sin, is true freedom. I pray that you have that freedom, that you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior and that you are now a co-heir with Christ.

Have a beautiful day!

“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” Philippians 4:7 NIV

Yesterday I wrote about Philippians 4:6 and today I want to continue with the next verse and talk what happens when we follow verse 6 and give our anxieties and worries to God. Philippians 4:7 tells us that when we are willing to let go of our worries and give them to God, that we can receive peace, peace that only God can give us. When the world talks about peace it is referencing peace that is based on circumstances and is only temporary.

Peace from God is different, it is permanent because it isn’t based on circumstances in the world, it is based on Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross. When Jesus died for our sins, He removed the barrier between us and God, our sin. Our sin was stopping us from having peace with God.

Until we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we are at odds with God and His will, we are not following His will because we don’t know it. When we are at odds with God, we are not at peace with Him and until we are at peace with God, we can’t receive peace from God.

The peace that God gives us is truly beyond our explanation. Being at peace when everything around you is in chaos is not natural in this world but it is for God. In Matthew 8:23-27, scripture tells of the time when Jesus was at peace in the boat while the storm was going on around Him and everyone else on the boat thought they were going to die. Jesus’s peace came from God and we can have that same peace as well. We simply have to do our part – bring everything to God in prayer with thanksgiving.

When you are in communication with God today, try giving thanks for who He is and everything He has done for you before you tell Him what you need or desire. Then sit quietly and wait for the peace that is truly indescribable to fill you, it is an amazing feeling to know that God is in control and that no matter what happens, He has you in His hands.

Have a wonderful day.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Philippians 4:6 NIV

I love this verse because it makes it sound so easy. Just don’t be anxious. That is so much easier to tell someone else to do than to hear yourself or try to do sometimes. For non-believers, it can be very hard because they are trying to not be anxious, all on their own.

When we struggle with worry and anxiety, we are actually stepping back away from our faith. When we worry, we are trying to figure out how to control the outcome of a situation that we are either in or believe we may be in sometime in the future. The only true control we have over things is the control of how we respond to our own feelings, how we respond to others, and how we respond to the events that are occurring either around us or to us.

We do not have control over what someone else thinks, feels or does. We don’t have control over the situations that are happening around us. We only have control of ourselves and there are times when we don’t have very much control over that. However, the wonderful news is that as believers we are not on our own, we have God to help us. God is right there with us and will give us strength to do things we do not believe we can do, such as not worry or be anxious.

In Philippians 4:6, God, through Paul, has given us the very method that we are to use to calm ourselves, to take our faith and exercise it by giving the worry or anxiety to God. Paul wrote that we are to not be anxious about anything, but in every situation we are to pray. We are to pray and ask God for what we need. There is an extra part in the verse that we may find difficult to do while we are praying and asking God for what we need and that is the part of the verse that says we are to do this with thanksgiving.

Who is thinking about being thankful when they are in the middle of feeling anxious? Not many of us but that is what we are instructed to do, be thankful. What are we to be thankful for? That varies from person to person, but a good place to start is to be thankful that God wants to be and is your God. That He wants to be involved in your life and that He loves you. Those are some very large things to be thankful for. This may be hard to do at times but being purposeful in expressing our thankfulness to God in prayer is a step towards exercising our faith and giving our worries and anxieties to God.

I pray that as you go about your day today, that you are able to express your thankfulness to God for who He is and how much He loves you. Have a great day.

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever” Hebrews 13:8 NIV

How many things in our world change everyday? The amount of things that stay the same from day to day is smaller than the amount of things that change from day to day. The weather changes, our bodies change, our emotions change, and our interactions with others change, just to mention a few things. There is even a saying about change, “the only consistent thing in life is change” Thankfully, we have a Savior who does not change.

Jesus is the same today as He was yesterday. He loves us just as much today as He did yesterday and as much as He will years from now. He forgives us today just like He forgave us yesterday. Jesus has not changed His mind about us and has not decided to abandon us, He is always there with us, walking along side us each step of our lives.

If anyone changes in our relationship with Jesus, it is us. We can go from being on fire about our relationship with Jesus to being complacent and only pray when we need something, only read His word when we have time and only worship Him when we feel like it. Jesus doesn’t only forgive us when He feels like it, He forgives us each time we repent and ask for it. We need to be consistent in our relationship with Jesus because He deserves to have our constant admiration, devotion and faithfulness, after all, He died in our place so we can live in Heaven with Him for eternity.

As we go about our day today, I pray that we have an awareness of how often we think of Jesus and talk to Jesus. That awareness can help us in being purposeful in our efforts to grow in our relationship with Jesus, thereby maturing in our faith.

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank You for not changing and for being our Constant in a world where things change all the time. Thank You for loving us and being willing to send Your Son to pay the final price for us so we can spend eternity with You in Heaven. Help us to be consistent in our worship with You, our communication with You and our study of Your word. I pray this in Jesus’s precious name. Amen.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16 NIV

As mother’s day was yesterday, I thought of this verse. This was my mother’s favorite verse. She told me before she passed that this verse “says it all”. I believe it truly does.

John is telling us how much God loves us, what we mean to Him. He loves us so much that He did not want to spend eternity without us. Our sin blocks us from being with God and all the sacrifices that were offered to atone for those sins were only temporary fixes.

Humans would sin again and need to offer another blood sacrifice. God changed all that when He was willing to give up His Son so that the final blood sacrifice would be offered. There is no longer any need to offer sacrifices to God because Jesus paid the final price, He paid the final blood sacrifice for each one of us.

“So whoever believes…” makes me excited. There is no one excluded in “whoever”. It includes every person, no matter their religious background, their gender, their nationality, their ethnic background, the color of their eyes, the color of their skin, whether they can see, talk or hear. Everyone is included.

The only thing we have to do is believe that Jesus died for our sins, confess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord and accept the gift of salvation. By believing, confessing and accepting, we are given the gift of eternal life with Jesus and God in Heaven. I have said before that I am selfish when it comes to Heaven, I want every person there. I don’t want anyone to be in hell with the devil, I want him to be all alone. I want everyone to be in Heaven.

So as you read John 3:16, let the words sink into your heart and know that God loves you that much and wants you with Him for eternity. John 3:16 really does “say it all”.

“See, I have you written on the palms of my hands.” Isaiah 49:16 NLT

This scripture made me think about how much Jesus gave up for me, a sinner who doesn’t deserve to be saved. Thankfully my actions are not what was the determining factor in whether or not Jesus came to save mankind.

God chose to save us and He did that because He loves you and He loves me. God’s love for you and for me is unconditional.  It isn’t something we can earn, it isn’t something that we can buy, it is a gift.  A gift from Jesus. 

In Isiah 49:16, the first half of the verse tells us just how much Jesus loves us. Close your eyes for a minute and picture the palm of Jesus’s hand, picture your name written right across it. As you look at it, what else do you see? Do you see the scars from the nails they used to hang Him in the cross?

Each time Jesus looks at His hand, He sees the scars and your name and my name. He knows how much He loves you and me, the proof is right there on His palm next to each one of our names. He loves you that much, He loves me that much. Jesus gave up His home in heaven to come down to earth to save each one of us and in order to do that, He let the very people He came to save, crucify Him on a cross.

He was nailed to the cross along with our transgressions. He paid the final payment for our sins. He didn’t have to remain there but He did. He did that for each one of us. The next time you look at your palm, think about all that Jesus has done for you and every believer and remember – He loves us all that much.

Have a great day!

“You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will call him Jesus.” Luke 1:31 NIV

Today is a day that children honor and remember their mothers. I was privileged to have had the mother that I did, to have aunts that are/were 2nd moms to me and to have a mother-in-law that is also a second mom to me. Happy Mother’s Day to Aunt Cathy, Aunt Sharon and My mother-in-law. Happy heavenly Mother’s Day to my Mom and Aunt Margie.

I have noticed that a great deal of the focus and attention of mother’s day is viewed through the eyes of the child as they honor or remember their mother but today I would like to look at mother’s day from the perspective of the mother. In Luke 1:31, Gabriel tells Mary that she is going to conceive a child, give birth to him and name him Jesus. I can not imagine the excitement that Mary was experiencing as she was hearing that she was going to be a mom. That she was going to be privileged to conceive, carry and give birth to another life. That she was going to care for this baby as he grew into a child and then an adult. This is what most women long for, being a mom.

Whether you give birth to a child, adopt a child or play an important role in a child’s life, the role of mother is important. I have been honored to be the mother to our son. Being a mom is not something I dreamed of as a teenager but once I was married for several years it became something I knew I was missing. Mother’s Day changed for me when I became Jakob’s mom. It was no longer only about me celebrating my mom and those women who have been important in my life, but now it was about celebrating being a mom as well. As Jakob’s mom, I have been able to help raise him, teach him things, care for him and most importantly love him.

I believe that this is one of the many things that moms share with Mary, the mother of Jesus, our Lord and Savior. As moms, we can learn from Mary about being a woman of faith and obedience to God. Mary had a long road ahead of her as mother of the Messiah. She accepted it and moved forward with faith that God would provide for her as she carried, gave birth and raised Jesus.

I pray that as moms or women who have been there for others in that important role, that we remain as faithful as Mary was as we continue to be the mother’s that God has called us to be.

Happy Mother’s Day