A HELMET AND A SWORD
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Ephesians 6:17 NLT
TODAY’S THOUGHT
Yesterday we talked about refocusing our thoughts so that we can overcome the temptations of the flesh. We said there are two sources of temptation—Satan and the flesh. Satan works with our natural desires to get us to meet a right need in a wrong way.
This is why scripture tells us to “resist” Satan (James 4:7). But how do we resist Satan?
Throughout the New Testament Christians are characterized as warriors in a battle. This battle is not with other people as much as it is with the spiritual forces of Satan at work in our world. Paul gives us suggestions on how to resist Satan. He tells us we need to put on the full armor of God.
Two crucial pieces of our armor are our helmet and our sword. I start almost every day verbally putting on the armor of God. I begin with putting on the “helmet of salvation.” This is my first part of the armor because it covers my mind where my thoughts originate.
Every word and action begin as a thought. (I know some of us think we say or do things without thinking but there was some thought before that word or action.)
I can’t resist Satan until I have accepted God’s plan of salvation through Jesus Christ. I must admit I am a sinner, and I can’t save myself. I must acknowledge that Jesus died on the cross to pay the price for my sins. I willfully choose to make Jesus my Lord and Savior. At that moment a miracle of new birth takes place, and I am born again. I am saved. My name is written in heaven, and I have an eternal home with Almighty God. The Holy Spirit now lives in me. I now have access to the mind of Christ.
The second important piece of our spiritual armor is the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. This is our only offensive weapon. This is the way we destroy Satan’s attacks. Every other piece of armor is to protect us from the attacks and help us stand when we are under attack. The sword is our offensive weapon to destroy the forces attacking us.
Jesus modeled the use of the sword of the Spirit when He was tempted by Satan in the wilderness. Three times Satan came to tempt Jesus and each time Jesus quoted scripture to Satan. Jesus did not argue with Satan. Jesus quoted scripture.
There is power in the Word of God. But the power is not released until we use our mouths to declare God’s Word. This is why it is crucial to memorize the Word of God. We have to plant God’s Word in our minds and hearts so that when we are under attack, we can quote the Word of God.
I am so thankful that as a child and teenager my parents put me in programs that encouraged me to memorize scripture. That has been a strength of my life. Every Jewish family would teach their children to memorize the first five books of our Bible. They understood there is power in the Word of God.
Are you a good swordsman? Do you memorize the Word of God?
TODAY’S PRAYER
Holy Spirit help me to put on the Helmet of Salvation and use the Sword of the Spirit to defeat Satan’s attacks on my life, family, and community. Help me to know Your Word.
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