The Belt of Truth...

(Ephesians 6:14) “Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth…”

When I used to ride my motorbike it was judicious to consider not only some of the protective clothing, but all. So too would it be prudent for us to give thought to the entire arsenal of God’s armour. Obviously wearing some protection is better than nothing, but who in their right mind would dress sluggishly when going into an area full of hazards. I am yet to witness a “motor-crosser” riding with boots, shoulder pads, elbow and knee guards but then deciding not to wear his helmet. All it takes for a serious injury is just one exposed body part. My helmet has most certainly saved my life. Protective clothing has been carefully thought out and does exactly what it should do, and that is to protect! With that in mind and with the minds of men behind its design imagine how well thought out Gods armour is, not designed by men but God through the Apostle Paul designed it for men and women. Let us therefore not take this portion of scripture lightly…

Let us diligently dress for battle; our instruction is to take up the “whole armour of God”, and once dressed, our instruction is not to aggressively run into battle, but rather to stand. Nothing else is needed; think on this if our armour is in place there is no weapon that could possibly penetrate our defense, our Saviour the Lord Jesus has tested the very armour we are now instructed to wear.  However, if slipshod when dressing, we will be an easy target and never be able to stand as the blows strike us on our unprotected areas. A verse that springs to mind, probably because it has been so real in my life is the following; “for the righteous falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity.” (Proverbs 24:16) – There is two sides to this verse and both ring true; a righteous man falls and rises again, why? Because of the Lord Jesus’ work on Calvary, he is covered by the blood of the Lamb. The wicked stumble when the pressure is on and embrace an attitude of worldly sorrow, why me! But to be fair and honest even the Christian falls, no in fact he falls every time if not dressed for battle. The only difference is that the grace of God allows him to stand up again. Are you not tired of the yo-yo experience? I know I am! Let us then learn to dress for battle!

I suppose we will need to see the advantages of each piece of God’s armour before we rush off to dress. When the knights were protecting their king and country they would dress with metal armour; “cumbersome” is a word that under describes what a hindrance it was for them to not only dress for battle and accompanied many difficulties, it was time consuming, but to then have to fight like that was tough. Nimbleness was not a word we could use to describe their agility in battle and yet they all dressed for battle. Why? It was that heavy cumbersome armour that would save some of their lives. “Armour up or die” may well of been the slogan.

God uses an example about the advantage of well thought out armour when addressing his faithful servant Job about one of His creations, Leviathan a dragon type beast; this is the question He poses to Job; “Can you fill his skin with harpoons or his head with fishing spears?” (Job 41:7) – Who in their right mind will take a knife to a gun battle? Who in the right mind will look to take on demonic forces while being naked and exposed and yet we do it all the time. REMEMBER TO DRESS FOR BATTLE!

The Lord Jesus as a man has tested each piece of God’s armour and He has conquered. His instruction is for us is to follow His example, for when we chart it to the letter; we will also savour the sweet taste of victory.

Here then is the armour we have been called to use; “Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel.” (Ephesians 6:14-19)

We must firstly learn to stand on the truth (belt of truth); what help will a liar aid in us winning the battle? It won’t! Therefore as we stand, the first item we must attend to is the “belt of truth”, why? It was a lie that caused separation between God and man; the Garden of Eden; “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?" And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'" But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die.” (Genesis 3:1-4)

Is Adam alive today in the flesh? We must learn and yes with gentleness to never tolerate any lie that takes our eyes off our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. Deception will always lead us down a rocky road. It is the “belt of truth” that keeps us looking for the truth. Tolerance to a lie is simple foolishness and nothing more. Here then is an example of truth; “Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”” There is no other way to get to heaven but in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. Neither Buddha, Mohammed nor any other idle will get you to the Father and heaven. Why? It was only the Lord Jesus, who is God and yet He lived as a man without sin, conquering sin once and for all so that all those who truly repent for their own sin may now have access to the Father and the hope of heaven now becomes a reality. Anything outside of this truth is a lie and has nothing to do with the “belt of truth”! Now when I am found wanting with my Christian walk, which certainly happens for time to time, I may well be accused by some as a hypocrite, and there may well be justification by the accusation, but one thing I cannot be accused of when dressed with the “belt of truth” is that I am a liar. Jesus is the only way, the only truth pertaining to us as mankind finding a way into heaven and into the “afterlife”. Every other idea or notion that excludes sinners needing to repent in and through Him is a lie and will send you straight to hell.

As we stand let us remember the first item for dress is the “BELT OF TRUTH”. Do you see the importance of the item of clothing as it leaves no wiggle room; a decision is forced from the reader/listener.

Signing off

Tyrone    

 

     

God's Armour part 2

Part 2

I must take what I am now about to say a lot more seriously than I have over time, I think we all should. Why? Our design fills our minds with so much of today’s appetites that we have to dig deep in order to appropriate the truth of eternity as our reality. We live for today with possibly some thought for eternity. We give a lot of thought about tomorrow, but for the wrong reasons; "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6:34) – Our concern should then be for today and how we will combat the trouble of the day, tomorrow will arrive when it arrives and then we must learn to combat its troubles. The KJV translation of the bible is a lot more specific with what we need to battle; “Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” – So then it must be about each and every one of us learning to combat the evil we will all face today, tomorrow will come for some and it may come for others but we will address that tomorrow.

What must I do today? “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:10-11) - I will confess this is not part of my daily routine, most days I will give some thought to the work of the Lord Jesus in my life, but I am certainly not vigilant when it comes to the wearing of God’s armour. I ask all who read this and have it upon their hearts to pray for me about seriously dressing for battle; I certainly need your prayers. As Christians we are all part of the same army, God’s army, we all wear His coat of arms, with Jesus Christ as the Admiral. We are our “brother’s keeper” and we must look out for one another. I am weak in this regard and I pray that the Lord would reignite a new spirit in me, I once was a watchmen but have now become somewhat complacent, which is simply unacceptable, please pray for me to once again be more than vigilant in this area of my life.

“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” (James 5:16) – it is the work of your prayers that I seek out, not that I may spend their powers on my lusts but rather it would cause the name of our great God to be praise and exalted.

So it should be clear by now that we are influenced by the evil forces in the unseen realm; “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12) 

To combat them efficiently we must follow the Apostle Paul’s instruction to the letter, which is; “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.” (Ephesians 6:13-20)

There is much to discuss with regards to the specific apparel mentioned here in this portion of scripture. To give it the attention needed to help us with the effectual working of each part I think it would be prudent to spend more time studying the value of each and every part; “the belt of truth”, “breastplate of righteousness”, “as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace”, “shield of faith”, “helmet of salvation”, and “the sword of the Spirit”, “praying at all times in the Spirit”, this will keep us alert and we will not be like the foolish virgin that fell asleep and if we have fallen asleep, we will wake up.

Until the next time,

Signing off

Tyrone

   

    

Our Armour

Part 1 of 2

“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:11)   

Following on from yesterday’s thoughts it would be prudent to look at the amour of God in detail as to how we should use it profitably. Firstly what is the amour of God? It is the provision given to every believer to equip them for battle. It is obvious that if we have been instructed to put on the whole amour of God as we are at war. Let no one fool you into believing that we are not in a fierce battle. Who then is the enemy? We have enemies within as well as without; “Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God," for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.” (James 1:13-17) – A recognizable reality in the lives of all, both young and old, rich and poor; there is no exception! A continuous barrage of fierce struggles that we all face on a daily basis; the Apostle John explains it like this; “For all that is in the world--the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions--is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” (1John 2:16-17)

So it is then clear why we need the “amour of God”; it is a help that allows us, when used to its fullest potential to do the will of God. Self with all its pitiful will is placed on the backburner while God is glorified in and through our example. We place Him first and ourselves second. Look no further than our great Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ and see His example and we will soon get the idea. To what extent should we take this seriously? We must all make up our own minds before God our Father. However this was the extent whereby the Lord Jesus laid down His life for us in obedience to the will of His Father; “And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head."” (Luke 9:58)

Not only are we our greatest enemies; let me explain; the way our lust looks to lure us in the oppose direction to the call that God has placed on us. And there is also an external force, a fierce enemy that has but one objective to get the child of God to walk in disobedience. To undermine their God and Fathers will and ultimately curse God; before the creation of mankind there was a conflict in heaven, Satan opposed God and convinced one third of the angels to side with him. Their punishment, they were banished from the presence of God. So then what do they do now? Here is some insight to Satan’s objective; “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. The LORD said to Satan, "From where have you come?" Satan answered the LORD and said, "From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it." And the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?" Then Satan answered the LORD and said, "Does Job fear God for no reason? Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face." (Job 1:6-11) – Note: Satan is seen on the earth, going to and fro and walking up and down on it. Why? It is obvious that he looks for those whom God has favoured and then looks for permission to bring trial against them which in turn will hopefully get them to “curse God”.

There is a fierce enemy that patrols the earth looking to trip all those who walk by faith. Do not be deceived, this then is our reality; “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12)

With this understanding we must conclude that we are in a fierce battle, there seems to be so much against us, and realistically what chance do we have? Nay, let the truth be told, we have victory in and through the One who has already overcome, praise the wonderful name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour.

Who then is entitled to God’s armoury and all the wonderful equipment available for battle? Those who are born of the Spirit, those born again, those who believe in their hearts that God rose Jesus from the dead and confess Him as Lord with their mouths. Where so many of us go wrong is we only look to put on some of the amour at any given time, instead of putting on the whole armour of God; “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:11)

Until next time then...

Signing off

Tyrone  

   

Reconciliation

(2Corinthians 5: 18) “…who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation…”

We all need to have our say on most topics; I suppose that is the way we are. A very good friend of mine has recently been diagnosed with cancer and he has notice, although people have good intentions while knowing very little on the subject, his summation is that everyone is a doctor, or at least thinks it. I cogitate it is because we care when we see someone withering away. We all have a tendency to want to save those who need saving. We want to do our little bit, which in itself has its place when guided with precision. Take a marksman as an example, he may well buy the best telescopic sights for his rifle, but he does not simply bolt it into place prior to a competition. He carefully works with it and once he is satisfied, only then can he confidentially go about his business.

Did you know that as Christian we have all been given the responsibility from God to share the gospel with this dying generation; “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2Corinthians 5:18-21)

Why is it then that most of us, would rather look for reasons to hold our peace on these eternal issues but on the advice about life, where we actually know very little, we will have a lot to say? I include myself amongst the number of having an opinion when it really doesn’t hold water and then when the opportunity arises to declare my Lord’s faithfulness I hold my peace. This is not the pattern we have been called to follow. “We are ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us.”

It is obvious for some why we hold our peace, for once we publically declare our allegiance to our great God, in and through His Son our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ we expose all our flaws to those watching, Hypocrite is often the accusation and yes we are often found wanting, need I say more! Then it is the sin in our lives that the Lord Jesus has already conquered that entangles us in our ability to be the example we have been called to be. But before we run away with ourselves and give too much place to the devil and his hold on the world, let us rather focus on our Saviour’s achievements and what it took for Him to overcome its power so that we could go free.

Buckle up…

“The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29) – How can that be one may ask? We see so much sin in the world today. He is the one who conquered sin, how? He live a life in a world full of sinners who had one simple objective, knowingly to some and unknowingly to other, to get him to nosedive just once, to sin just once and he would have failed. He lived on earth for 33 years and experience everything we experienced and yet He overcame, He never ever sinned, for if He had we, every Christian would be without hope and separated from God for all eternity. Hell would have been our final destination. But no, it is heaven and all its glory that is where every believing Christian will end up. You may say then, why do so many Christians sin? The Lord Jesus’ sacrifice allows men and women to be washed by his blood when true confession is made seeking out the forgiveness of their sin.

“This ground of hope we have - Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God. [1.] He takes away sin. He, being Mediator between God and man, takes away that which is, above any thing, offensive to the holiness of God, and destructive to the happiness of man. He came, First, To take away the guilt of sin by the merit of his death, to vacate the judgment, and reverse the attainder, which mankind lay under, by an act of indemnity, of which all penitent obedient believers may claim the benefit. Secondly, To take away the power of sin by the Spirit of his grace, so that it shall not have dominion, Rom_6:14. Christ, as the Lamb of God, washes us from our sins in his own blood; that is, he both justifies and sanctifies us: he takes away sin. He is ho airōn - he is taking away the sin of the world, which denotes it not a single but a continued act; it is his constant work and office to take away sin, which is such a work of time that it will never be completed till time shall be no more. He is always taking away sin, by the continual intercession of his blood in heaven, and the continual influence of his grace on earth. [2.] He takes away the sin of the world; purchases pardon for all those that repent, and believe the gospel, of what country, nation, or language, soever they be. The legal sacrifices had reference only to the sins of Israel, to make atonement for them; but the Lamb of God was offered to be a propitiation for the sin of the whole world; see 1Jo_2:2. This is encouraging to our faith; if Christ takes away the sin of the world, then why not my sin? Christ levelled his force at the main body of sin's army, struck at the root, and aimed at the overthrow, of that wickedness which the whole world lay in. God was in him reconciling the world to himself. [3.] He does this by taking it upon himself. He is the Lamb of God, that bears the sin of the world; so the margin reads it. He bore sin for us, and so bears it from us; he bore the sin of many, as the scape-goat had the sins of Israel put upon his head, Lev_16:21. God could have taken away the sin by taking away the sinner, as he took away the sin of the old world; but he has found out a way of abolishing the sin, and yet sparing the sinner, by making his Son sin for us.” (Matthew Henry)

What a God we serve, if He has done so much for us and if we reject His offer, what chance do you really think we will have when the Day of Judgment finally arrives, and be sure it shall arrive. We all have a responsibility to gently share our hope with those who are perishing. If it is our own sin that is keeping us silent, then let us seek out God’s provision to combat whatever we need to walk as victorious Christians. We have an enemy that seeks to stop us from sharing with others, he cannot bite only roar, but God has given us amour for the battle and just like a trained marksman depends on his sights, so too let us learn to use Gods amour skilfully; we must practise with it if we are to be effectual witnesses.

Signing off

Tyrone

         

Pearl of great price

(Matthew 13:46)  “Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.”

This is probably one of the better parables we can use to truly examine our hearts and see exactly when we stand in our relationship with our Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ; how we view Him, will be easily seen in our commitment to Him. To what extent have we sold all we have to win Him? Throughout life we have all experienced some form of sacrifice when love has knocked. But the greatest love of all was our Saviour’s love for us, those who have realised His sacrifice, the way He sold all, how He left heaven and became a man, laying aside His powers as God and committing them to another, His Father. If that is not the greatest example of “selling all”, then I don’t know what is. Laying down His life for a people who had lost their view of God; Dying on a cruel Roman cross to free so many from the clutches of hell; how many is many? “After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.” (Revelation 7:9-10) – His sacrifice will in turn save more people (sinners) than can be numbered by a man. And here is another reason for His sacrifice; “And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.” (Revelation 21:2)

When one makes a sacrifice it always has an objective behind it. Don’t most work hard through life so when the time arrives for retirement they can withdraw without to many financial worries? Don’t people take out life insurance policies which would force certain sacrifices throughout life as those monies are put aside into a policy for those left behind when death eventually knocks.

The Lord Jesus did not make His sacrifice without an objective, although He suffered more than any other man, it was worth it all, and if He didn’t believe that He would never have done it. His Father’s plan is an ingenious plan and is shut from those who chose to reject His sacrifice. This was why the Lord Jesus spoke to the multitudes in parables; they who could understand would and those who couldn’t wouldn’t.  Without understanding the parable, they would never be able to understand the greater truths of God’s kingdom; “And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables: That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them. And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables?”

Our Husband the lord Jesus has proved His love to us, for Him who knew no sin to free those full of sin is almost an unbelievable concept and yet it holds true. This is how He chose to seek out his bride and there will be a wedding feast in heaven in the not too distant future. Will I be part of that ceremony, will you? Time will tell! However today is the day of salvation, call out to Him and you will be heard, do not wait until tomorrow, as tomorrow may elude you.

Back to our parable; to what extent have we sold all to convince our Saviour of our dedication and love for Him? Have we obtained the “pearl of great price”? I know I am way off the mark when it comes to my example, I also know that there is a lot more “selling off” that needs to take place in my life but by the grace of God I shall endeavour to pursue Him as I search out the pearl of great price, whatever the cost.

Today is the day of salvation, what will you do with Him?

Signing off

Tyrone Arthur