Armor

"Like a soldier with no armor in the middle of the battle. I was broken." These are the first lines of Mercy Me's song "Then Christ Came." But it's also a line from all of our lives. Suppose we're blessed enough to have been alert when Christ Came. He clothed us in his righteousness and stood with us in our battles. The rest are still in the midst of the war, alone and broken.

When we accept Christ into our lives, He not only joins us, but He clothes us in His righteousness and gives us the whole armor of God. We can then girt our loins with a truck, put on the bread plate of righteousness, and shod our feet with the preparation of the Gospel of Peace. We can take up the shield of faith to quench the fiery darts of evil and the helmet of salvation. And lastly, He places the Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, in our hands. Ephesians 6:14-17.

With the Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, and The Bible, we fight off our old ways and become the new creations God is making us to be. In Colossians 3:5-9, Paul lists the worldly, earthly nature we must "Put to death" when we follow Christ, with verse 5 listing sins of a physical and sensual nature. The Bible repeatedly discusses these sins. Ephesians 5:3 says to not even mention them among proper saints. 1 Thessalonians 4:2 tells us to abstain from sexual immorality and control our bodies.

When we struggle with temptations and worldly attacks, we must pick up our Sword and dig into the Word of God to help us understand where we should stand. The world will tell us, "It's ok," but it's not. My Sunday school lesson asked, "How do you personally counteract the world's negative influences?" One way is through prayer. 1 Thessalonians 5:17, "Pray without ceasing."

But what about when you're watching TV, checking your social media, listening to the radio, being in the world? 1 Peter 5:8 says, "Be of sober spirit, be alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." We are to be vigilant to avoid the temptations of the world. There was a time when it was a lot easier to avoid temptation. There was a time when married couples on TV couldn't sleep in the same bed. We never saw anyone in the bathroom. Television never advertised alcohol, tobacco, and personal hygiene products. The vulgar, inappropriate language was only allowed in the most restricted movies. Now anything and everything goes at any time of the day.

The ones that get me now are about shaving your private parts and using illustrations and physical demonstrations to apply feminine hygiene products on TV. Then there's the deodorant for places other than your underarms. Our children know way too much, way too early.

For these daily assaults, we must be sure to have on our helmet of salvation and our breastplate of righteousness. The devil and society are throwing darts at us all day, every day.

So yes, we are soldiers in the middle of a battle. But we are not alone, and we're not unarmored. So, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God," Philippians 4:6. Remember, God is always with us. So stand on His Word and lift your Sword high.