Food for thought Part 4

Working all over the country I have met more than my share of what I call “arm chair” Christians. They quote scripture, go to church, and do everything on the surface that looks right. They pray those “King James” prayers that sound like this “ Oh Lordeth blessedeth beith thy nameth” until the winds of change blow in. Then boom ,they get a disease that is life threatening, finances go to the birds, you know what I mean, and then their prayers sound like this “ GOOOOOOOOOD--- WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME”.

This is all too common. When I stated earlier that my armour was on wrong, really what I was saying was that the foundation to do battle was wrong. Just like the “arm chair” Christian. I had what I needed to go into battle, but I wore it incorrectly, with the breastplate tucked into my pants. My pant legs thrown over my boots, (In my defense I am from Texas), causing my feet to get blisters, that blasted breastplate dug into my belly, I was miserable. I also began to hate the very thing that was made to protect me. With failure after failure, it took my ability to stand away as well.

This is how the battle armour can hurt you. The worst part of this uncomfortable battle armour, is that you want to sit down. Sitting down is no different than becoming complacent. Being complacent causes a person to get lazy. Getting lazy (well you get the picture). The problem with sitting while wearing the armour is that you can’t. This armour is designed to be worn standing up. To sit down you must remove pieces of your armour, (more than likely the breastplate) to become comfortable. When your armour is removed it is the state of complacency. (53rd state near Hawaii) I know a bad joke. Joking aside no armour means no protection; no protection will end in failure. Also without the foundation of the armour, the other 3 pieces are useless. I bet you thought I forgot didn’t you.

With a solid foundation to go into battle, the soldier would then put on his brain bucket, Grab his sword and shield and look for nothing less than victory because of the confidence that he had in what he wore. It is the same for you and I. The sword is used to be a threat, not a device used to help protect a uncovered part of the body. The shield was the only part of the armour that was to be used in a defensive posture, and the helmet to protect the head from flying objects.

When David had observed the Philistine, (while giving his brothers food), he saw a giant. The only trouble that the giant had was that he wore his armour wrong. With a battle plan set, David chose the only weapon that he could use to defeat his foe. A simple sling and stone. Knowing that the giant had removed his helmet, the weakness was exploited and David was given victory. After killing Goliath with the stone, David then took Goliaths sword and beheaded him. This should also be a lesson to us. The enemy knows the weaknesses, and sometimes the most simple mistake on our part can become devastating. Satan will exploit every piece of our armour, and if he finds a weakness will attack, and if our armour is off he will use it against us. For the Christians, the example of the soldier and his armour that Paul wrote, would be to storm head on into battle against the enemy. Move forward, using the five of the six pieces of armour for offensive force, having the knowledge that we have the victory because of Jesus. God never intended for us to sit around, He gave us the ability to have life and with more abundance. Defeat should not be in our vocabulary. I realize that we do fail but remember the word and how things spoken come to existence, the less advantage we give to the enemy the better.