Jesus is the Armor of God!

When we put on the armor of God (Ephesians 6.10-17), in reality we are putting on Christ. Nothing we do can be done without His life flowing in us (John 15.5). We are IN Him (*). Consider how each elements of the armor is attributed to Jesus:

Truth—John 14.6

Righteousness—1 Corinthians 1.30,31

Gospel of peace—Galatians 1.6,7; Isaiah 9.6!

Faith—Hebrews 12.1,2

Salvation—Acts 4.10-12; Romans 10.9

Spirit, Word of God**—John 1.1

*Romans 6.11; 8.1; 12.5; 1 Corinthians 1.30…this is a fascinating study all on its own…look it up!

** see the connection of the Trinity especially in the connection of Jesus being glorified and now the Holy Spirit has come down to us John 7.37-39; Acts 2.31-36; Romans 8.9-11

Waiting for Strength

There are those sermons that wipe you out. Last week's message on Isaiah 56.9—57.21 (addressing some of the issues and sins in our town) was such a sermon. It's Thursday and I still do not feel like I have recovered! So a few thoughts (more for my own processing because I don't know if anybody reads this anymore) loosely strung together regarding prayer…

I must simply wait on the Lord. He is my "refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble (Psalm 46.1). I must remember that it is His battle; He is with me as the Lord Almighty (vs. 7): for He is the Lord of Host, the Commander of Heaven's Armies and my Warrior God! I must listen and accept His invitation to "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."

As I wait for His strength, I'll be OK that I do not feel like I have any word from the Lord about what to DO about being salt and light in our city. I said it on Sunday (I've said it before and will say it again), 'we need to stop acting like prayer is our last line of defense and start operating like prayer is our first line of offence.' It is interesting that in Isaiah 59.17 there is this cool foreshadowing of the armor of God, which I think goes toward my argument that the armor of God IS JESUS! Anyway, I hope there are those who will pray the reality of Jesus into our city, circumstances and situations.

Faith in Difficulties

God does not ask us to have more faith, He simply asks that we acknowledge Jesus as the object of our faith. "There is no more basic attitude of the spiritual life than to walk with God in trust, which means recognizing what God is capable of doing while accepting what he delivers" (Darrell Bock). In Luke 17.5,6 when the apostles ask for Jesus to increase their faith, Jesus does not tell them how, give them a twelve step program or give them some action steps to find purpose in their lives. He tells them that the issue is not the amount of the faith (because faith as small as a mustard seed is quite sufficient), rather, He simply asks that they place their trust squarely on Him.

There may be situations where we want to ask for more faith to get through. Check your motive. CH Spurgeon said, "remember, that we have no more faith at any time than we have in the hour of trial. All that will not bear to be tested is mere carnal confidence. Fair-weather faith is no faith". When asking for more faith are we really asking for our situation to change? Do we want more confidence in our own flesh because we are not living in the reality that Jesus is enough? Is Jesus not the author and perfecter and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12.1,2)? We may want more faith but God wants us to want more of Him!