Within this Christian walk there arises questions, questions regarding my own inadequacy to always "get this right" and questions regarding what is the right thing to do.  My heart is set upon Christ, my desire is to bring glory to His name; yet there are times that my best efforts fail.  Many a well meaning Christian would have us live once more under the old testament law.  So often in my own life my hope and joy further destroyed by such a Christian friend who would tell me that all my trials and sufferings are a result of my own sin.  Yet, my heart was seeking after Christ and I so desperately wanted to please Him; why, did I so miserably fail at times and could God still love me? Can there be any hope for you and for me?  Let’s look once more at what God has said. 

2 Corinthians 4:

6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

The treasure of the gospel of Christ is given in earthen vessels which of their own right have no beauty and are fragile, breakable.  Just clay pots with nothing special except for the life giving water which they hold within them.  Sometimes we may be broken or chipped so that the life giving water is poured out upon someone else in our pathway.  Our salvation, thank God, is not dependent upon our ability to keep the law perfectly; but is dependent upon the finished work of Christ on the cross.  That is not a license to turn our backs on God, lay down the sword as it would be and stop battling against our own sin nature; because I daresay you don’t know Him if that were the case.  We, who know Him, seek Him, and love Him desire to honor Him in all that we say or do.  They are times; however, that as David–I would want to run and hide in silence because my foot slipped and I then feel that I could never tell you how to walk this Christian walk.  If indeed I slipped; how can I teach you anything? 

Psalm 94: 17 Unless the Lord had been my help, my soul had almost dwelt in silence.

18 When I said, My foot slippeth; thy mercy, O Lord, held me up.

19 In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul.

Oh, but perhaps that is the answer and why I must keep writing and must keep speaking.  It has nothing to do with me.  God can use us broken vessels to proclaim His Glory and His might, if we surrender and allow Him to.  There is no Child so far astray; that God cannot use. That is, if you are His Child adopted through faith into His family because of Christ’s redemptive work on the cross.  Do you fall before Him in awe of His magnificent Grace, His Glory, His Righteousness, His Justice, and His love?  Do you seek Him with all your heart and your soul?  If so, keep speaking for Christ and keep putting on your armor to battle for the Joy that is only found in Him.  Cast aside all the counterfeit joy to follow after Him.  Then stop worrying and laying such guilt upon yourself. 

Psalm 103:  12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

13 Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him.

14 For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.

Isaiah 43:  But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.

2 When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.

3 For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour

Certainly, along this journey we will be washed by the waters and purified by fire as God continues His work within us; yet, He will never let go of His Child’s hand.  That is a promise you can be certain of.  As I look back over the years of my life, I see along the road the rubbish of my own failures; yet, amazingly I have run into people who knew me then and they say I changed their life and because of something I said or did they found Christ.  How amazing is that!!! I see failure; yet, God used my life to His Glory–that the excellency of the power may be His. 

Let me end this with a song I wrote in 1987.   All of the artwork is that of Ronald Barba, my son.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LbHd6eZrgk

As I come to the close of this series, it is my sincere hope that it has meant as much to each of you and that it has changed your life as much as it has mine.  Living in Christ is so much more than we could have ever imagined.  It begins with a human heart so bent on it’s on self centered, covetous nature and transforms us from who we are of our own volition to who we are in Christ.  It is not who I can become by pulling up my bootstraps and trying to do better.  It is not about my having anything within me that makes me worthy to be even noticed by the Creator.  So, it is this human heart becomes transformed by perfect Love into one who can see the greatest treasure as the most wondrous, glorious display of love which is God.  It is God reaching down to shine His glorious light into the darkness of our hearts.  Small glimpses of His Glory are displayed at first. The beauty of a sunset, a moment of kindness displayed, and the glimpse of love that one feels within their heart all are ways that God displays glimpses of His Glory, His Love.  All these lead us to seek after beauty, love, and joy.  Yet, God knows that the only true love, joy, hope, and beauty are found in Him. He who created man in His own image of body, soul, and spirit; knows that the only means of mankind reaching the fulfillment of these God given desires can only be found in a relationship with Himself.  For God is perfect love, perfect joy, and perfect beauty with our greatest experiences on earth being only glimpses of that joy that we will know when we stand before Him.  We cannot understand the magnitude of that unless we have felt the magnitude of despair which is ours without Him.  Knowing all this and knowing that from Adam’s first disobedience to perfect righteousness, man would reject Him, mock Him, misuse His name, and at times curse Him–He still created man.  He knew the horrific price that must be paid to redeem man from his sinful nature and His self centered, self exalting covetousness.  Christ, flesh of His flesh, equal with God and part of the trinity of God would have to bear the full wrath that justice would demand so that I might be saved from my own selfish, self exalting sin nature so that I might have the opportunity to enjoy the wonder and awe of having a relationship with my creator and to one day spend all of eternity basking in His Glory, His Beauty, His Love, and His Joy.   Why would He do all that?  His reason was His desire to pour out His boundless love and joy upon me.  I am less than a speck of sand in this Universe He created; yet, He loved me that much.  This is a gift, not because of anything that I have done or anything that I can do.  My positions in Christ are held by His Power and His love.  Because of all that Christ did in my stead:  I am His declared Saint, Blessed, Chosen, Child of God, Risen Redeemed, Enlightened, Beloved, New Creation, Heir of Royalty, Prisoner of Love, Servant of the most High God, and filled with His sustaining Faith.  All this is by Grace and not because of anything I have done.  Knowing this gives me liberty.  No more must I worry that He will stop loving me.  No more must I worry about every decision, wringing my hands and wondering if I am going to mess this up.  Knowing this truth, means I am sealed and delivered by His Grace.  Does that mean that I willfully ignore Him and live my life in my old self centered desires taking no notice of Him?  Never, for if I know all this, I am so awed and amazed that I never want to bring Him pain, sorrow or disgrace.  When I know all this, I see Him as my greatest treasure and seek His face.  When I know all this, I want Him above all else.  So each day, I place my armor and pick up my sword to battle hard that I might fight to hold onto the joy I know in Christ, despite the evil world which tries to steal that joy from me.  My desire becomes to tell everyone about how wonderful my Father is and to guide them to find Him as well. I have the greatest treasure; but my desire is to share that treasure with a world that is broken, sad and despairing.  Throughout my lifetime I will meet many people, some for a brief moment and some who will be in my life for longer.  Because of all that Christ did to love me and to seek me, my greatest desire is that somehow by how I live and by what I say; I present Him as being the most precious treasure of my life so that those who meet me might see Him and desire Him.  Because of all that He has given to me, His adopted child, my life should reflect in deed who I am in Christ and that is why Paul very careful describes in Ephesians 4-5 how that is displayed in our lives.  We are adopted into His family and should reflect our positions in all that we do because of His transforming work in our lives.  We are grounded, rooted deep within His love.  Our position held by His power and by His unconditional love sustaining us.  Isaiah 41: "9 Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away. 10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness."

Does all of this mean that we who believe in Christ as our Savior are free from pain, sorrow, and suffering on this earth.  Indeed not.  As Christians, in fact, we may suffer more than others.    Of all people we are called to be broken hearted, poor, suffering all things; as Christ did.  Sometimes we are falsely accused, beaten, trod down, ridiculed, and by worldly standards appear to be forsaken.  All the more, the importance of knowing who we are in Christ.  Romans 8 16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."  We who are in Christ know that this is not our final home.  We have His presence with us in the Holy Spirit and we know that our Joy is centered in His love and in knowing who He is.  He will never forsake us and He has a plan that will be for good, on that we can trust in the midst of any trial or storm.  For that reason, we have hope, joy, and love overflowing.  No longer can I be content with counterfeit joy, playing with mud pies when I have the vast ocean within my reach.

Regarding pain, C. S. Lewis wrote, "If the first and lowest operation of pain shatters the illusion that all is well, the second shatters the illusion that what we have, whether good or bad in itself, is our own and enough for us. Everyone has noticed how hard it is to turn our thoughts to God when everything is going well with us. We ‘have all we want’ is a terrible saying when ‘all’ does not include God. We find God an interruption. As St Augustine says somewhere, ‘God wants to give us something, but cannot, because our hands are full—there’s nowhere for Him to put it.’ Or as a friend of mine said, ‘We regard God as an airman regards his parachute; it’s there for emergencies but he hopes he’ll never have to use it.’ Now God, who has made us, knows what we are and that our happiness lies in Him. Yet we will not seek it in Him as long as he leaves us any other resort where it can even plausibly be looked for. While what we call ‘our own life’ remains agreeable we will not surrender it to Him. What then can God do in our interests but make ‘our own life’ less agreeable to us, and take away the plausible source of false happiness?"

From The Problem of Pain
Compiled in A Year with C.S. Lewis

The Problem of Pain. Copyright © 1940, C. S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. Copyright restored © 1996 by C. S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. All rights reserved. Used with permission of HarperCollins Publishers. A Year With C.S. Lewis: Daily Readings from His Classic Works. Copyright © 2003 by C. S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. All rights reserved. Used with permission of HarperCollins Publishers

So my dear readers, do you know Him?  Have you ever seen Him as so glorious that you would desire Him to be in your heart? Have you grown tired of all the counterfeit joys, counterfeit loves and seek to know what is true joy and true love as can only be found in accepting freely the gift of salvation purchased by Christ for you?  For those of you who can answer yes, then do you really know who you are in Christ?  Do you know the power of His saving grace, His sustaining grace, and His future Grace which is ever present to guide each minute of your life?  Do you know what it is to abide in His love? 

 

Listen to this beautiful song, close your eyes and let the words sink deep into your heart.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oL4fv7KyE4o

If one looks at the definition of abiding you will find it to be: enduring, surviving, standing, durable, everlasting, eternal, unending, unchanging, and steadfast.  Does that describe your relationship with Christ?  Does it describe mine?  It certainly does describe how Christ’s abiding love has been for me; but does it describe mine?  How do we lean on Him, unchanging, unwavering in our faith, enduring all hardship or trials, eternally, everlastingly seeing Him as our greatest treasure and then abiding in His love for each step of this journey-trusting Him to guide each step and never struggling to do it our way?  How do we wait patiently for His answer, resting our heads upon His chest in silence?

John 15 ^“1I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. ²Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. ³Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. ⁴Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. ⁵I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. ⁶If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. ⁷If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. ⁸Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. ⁹As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. ¹⁰If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.¹¹These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.”

            The branch of its own has no energy, no fruit bearing, and no life.  It must rely on the vine to provide life and to develop the fruit.  A branch that is not connected to the vine cannot produce any fruit and will wither and die.  Christ so amazingly chose the grapevine to demonstrate the Christians growth toward fruit bearing.  Grapevines tend to be unruly and send forth shoots in many unwanted directions if not carefully managed by the husbandman.  We, so often, are much like the branches of a grapevine.  We take the energy provided us by the vine and willfully shoot off in many directions of our own.  Sometimes we are hurried to become fruit bearing and want to do this for Him; yet, we take off in our own direction and our own strength.  Like, the two year old child who defiantly stands and says; “I do it myself” while spilling the entire carton of milk onto the floor and counter.   We then cry and throw a temper tantrum because we didn’t get it right.  We are angry and pouting when we need to be trained, groomed, and pruned.

            He reminds us that we are cleansed by the word.  Our salvation did not come from our struggling to become more.  We were not able to work our way into the vine of our own doing.  We had to be grafted into the vine by God.  It was not our labor that paid the price for our salvation.  We are cleansed by the Word, that Word being Christ Himself.  John 1: “¹In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ..¹²But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: ¹³Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. ¹⁴And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”   My Salvation, my justification did not come of my own works; so, how is it that I now want to produce fruit from my own works.   In order to rest in and abide in His Salvation, I must remember this.  The only part in my Salvation that came from me was my faith to believe that He is God who is worthy of all my praise and to be Glorified for all eternity.  Even that I could not have done had God not removed the veils from my eyes that I might glimpse at His Glory and desire it, seek it, cherish it as a treasure above all other treasures.

Then how do we ever learn to abide in the vine.  Is it a hopeless dream that I will ever become a fruit laden branch for God?  Can this regenerate, willful branch ever learn to be fully submitted to Him and quit trying to prove itself by trying to do the work for God?  Will I ever reach that point that I do not weep over the pruning when God so wisely removes those desires I am clinging so tightly to; in order that I might wholeheartedly seek the only true treasure which is God, Alone.  He must continually cut away those counterfeit joys in order that I might seek and savor the only true joy which I can find in Him. Ever so gently He has provided me with glimpses of His Joy and His Glory; knowing that the magnitude of His Wondrous Glory, Love and Joy are too great for this human heart to fully comprehend. Yet, I have felt His Joy just enough to know I want and desire it with all of my heart and soul.  I have seen just enough of His Glory to know that I hunger and thirst after Him as the greatest treasure.  Still there are moments when life with all its trials, sorrows and demands seem to blur my vision.  The depth of sorrow that comes is even greater in those moments because I have tasted of His Joy and His Glory.  I hunger and thirst after Him.   Like David in Psalm 27: ⁴One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple. ..⁸When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek.”

            As we come to realize that His beauty, His Glory is greater to be desired than anything we have ever imagined; we seek Him and savor Him.  We begin prizing Him, cherishing Him, loving Him above any other treasure; yet, this does not mean that our sorrow is completely gone while we are yet in this world.  We are never beyond the battle on this earth against negativity even within our own hearts.  We do however battle for joy in the midst of all this sorrow.  We may be broken heartedly clinging tight to that joy which we now have seen glimpses of and hold very tightly to it; because nothing else on this earth can ever compare to it. 

2 Corinthians 6:  ⁴ in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, ⁵In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings; ⁶By pureness, by knowledge, by long suffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned, ⁷By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, ⁸By honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true; ⁹As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed; ¹⁰As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.

When Moses asked in Exodus 33 to be able to see God in all His Glory; God responded that no man could see the full Glory of God and live.  So He hid Moses in the cleft of the mountain and passed by so that Moses could only glimpse at God; but could not see His full Glory because it was more than man could stand.  When Moses came down from the mountain, His face shone so brightly that the people awed.  Oh, that I might see just enough of His Glory that His light might shine forth to a darkened world!  2 Corinthians 3: “¹⁸But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”  Dimly, through a glass, I see the Glory of the Lord; while the Holy Spirit transforms me into that image from glory to glory—step by step-little glories to add to more little glories until one day I will mirror Him and reflect His Glory back to Him.

            So, abiding in Him is learning to rest in His Arms knowing that one day I will stand before Him and all Glory will be known.  I can trust that every time He prunes me that He does so with Love so that I may bear more fruit which Glorifies Him more; magnifying His Beauty ever more within my heart.  As I through contrition, praise, faith and obedience abide within His arms of Love; I bear more fruit.  That fruit Glorifies Him more, magnifies His Beauty and thus brings more joy and hope in my heart as I gaze upon His ever increasing, breath taking Beauty. To Abide in Him, we lay down everything to trust Him—no matter what.  Though my heart’s greatest desire is to be standing before His throne; I do not want to go without an abundance of fruit to lie before His feet.  For that reason, I must abide in Him by trusting Him with all my Heart and Soul.  When storm clouds crowd around me I must continue to battle for joy in Christ even while here upon this earth. I must revel in the moments that He does allow those glimpses of Overwhelming Joy and to see His great Glory before me.  I must hold tight to Future Grace which will continue to sustain me into eternity.  Trust, my soul in Him; rest my heart within His love, and forever let me seek His face with each step of this my life until my dying breath.   

            Abiding is trusting my heavenly Father is omnipotent and that He will not allow anything into my life that is not for my edification and for my ultimate joy.  He only removes those things which get in the way of my seeing Him.  Abiding is trusting my heavenly Father is omniscient and that He sees me as the Glorified, Justified, Perfect final product that He is molding.  Like the artist envisions the final portrait as he steadily adds, erases, covers and transforms the canvas into his final completed work; God also sees the completion of His work in me.   Abiding is trusting in the truth that my Heavenly Father loves me.  Abiding is trusting that He is able to speak and stop whatever storm may have arisen; yet, in love has chosen not to—so that I might be blessed and He might be glorified.  Abiding is casting aside all this pride which desires to show God that I can do it myself and realizing that I can only do it when He does it through me.   Abiding is acknowledging the truth that He is on His throne and rules over the just and the unjust.  Abiding is clinging to hope in Future Grace as He has provided.  Abiding is letting go of Counterfeit treasures that I might obtain the Greatest Treasure which is God.  Abiding is knowing that God gave His greatest treasure (His Son) that He might suffer, die and be risen so that a regenerate, guilty heart might be declared righteous and thus be able to share in the Beauty, Love, and Joy that is found in the Triune God.   Abiding is knowing that 2 Corinthians 4:” ⁶For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. ⁷But we have this treasure (the gospel) in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.”  And abiding understands that in this world, we may have tribulations; but our joy flows only as we allow the life sustaining nutrients of the vine to flow forth through us.  2 Corinthians 4: “⁸We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; ⁹Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; ¹⁰Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. ¹¹For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.”   as taken from my book Ultimate Inspiration God’s Plan of Love

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSVSL99cicE

When you think of war, you think of conflict, turmoil, difficulties, pains, heartbreak, chaos, and sorrows.  It is also true of this spiritual warfare that we face as Christians.  The battleground plays out inside our minds and hearts with the attacks coming from every side leaving us worn, weary, and heart broken at times searching for clarity of direction. Sometimes it feels we are unable to take another step in the darkness while seeking even the smallest flicker of light to tell us which direction to go.   At times, there are landmines along the path and we must sit still until directed to move.  Sitting quietly still is sometimes the hardest order for a soldier to perform; because by nature we want to move or attack in some way.  It is hard to sit still while God prepares the path before us, clearing mountains and building bridges so that we may advance.  So, impatiently we often run ahead of God and plunge deep into the rushing waters of the raven because the bridge is not completed yet or we struggle, fall and are injured while we are trying to clear the mountains with our little pic and shovel.  Still, in this spiritual war that we have entered; we are promised the victory in Christ.  The battle at times may seem long; but, we know that Christ already won our victory with His death and resurrection.  So, if the war is won; why are we still fighting?  We need to rescue those imprisoned by Satan’s lies.  We must be marching into enemy territory on our rescue mission.  There are many storms and dangers along this path; but because of Christ we have our armor and the weapons we need to march into this battlefield.  

In our last section of this series, we looked at our Defensive Armor in this Spiritual Battle which are our Belt of Truth, Breastplate of Righteousness, Gospel of Peace Foot gear, Shield of Faith, and our Helmet of Salvation.  We have proclaimed that our battle cry is, "Because of Christ’s shed blood at the cross for my sins by faith in Him, I am redeemed (risen), blessed, beloved, chosen, child of the King-heir of royalty, Prisoner of His Love, servant because of overwhelming gratitude, enlightened by His light, New Creation, and Faith filled Saint."  We also need weapons to march into this battle.  God has provided us with two and you will see that both are engaged by the Holy Spirit’s power within us.  Ephesians 6:17-18 "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit"  In fact, if we look back to the wilderness where Christ was tempted by Satan, Christ also used these two weapons to battle Satan. (Matthew 4)

Weapon #1:  Sword of the Spirit (which is the word of God).  Hebrews 4:12 

"For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."  When we accept Christ as our Savior, we are given the Holy Spirit.  The Spirit is He who reminds us of the gospel, confirming to us our positions in Christ.  He enlightens us as to the truth of the gospel.  The Holy Spirit helps us in the understanding of scripture and also helps us to recall whatever scripture we need in the center of battle.  John 14: 26 "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” John 15: 26 tells us that “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me” The entire Bible is a picture of Christ and that too becomes very significant here. The sword is sharp because of Jesus Christ. Look again at John 1: " ¹In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ²The same was in the beginning with God.  ³All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. ⁴In him was life; and the life was the light of men. ⁵And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. ⁶There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. ⁷The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. ⁸He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.  ⁹That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. ¹⁰He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. ¹¹He came unto his own, and his own received him not. ¹²But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:  ¹³Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. ¹⁴And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. ¹⁵John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me. ¹⁶And of his fullness have all we received, and grace for grace.¹⁷For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” The sword of the Spirit is the Word of God which is Jesus Christ, crucified, buried and risen who has forever proclaimed the Victory for the army of the living God. He is the mighty Sword which we are given and the Holy Spirit within us keeps it ever sharpened and ready for action. 

Weapon #2: Prayer  “¹⁸Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;” Jesus Christ separated Himself in prayer with the Father.  He taught us that we are to pray to our Heavenly Father to let our requests be made known, to just talk with Him so He can tell us His plans.  Would a soldier ever go to battle without first getting His orders from His commanding officer? Then why would we? He whispers His comforting words and He guides each step.  Have you talked to Him today?  Prayer is one of our greatest privileges that we should jump at the chance.  I find myself talking to Him intermittently throughout the day as though a dear friend is shadowing me all day.  He is right there beside me.  It is amazing how He shows little glimpses of His mercy throughout the day if you are watching and listening.  He warns us at times when danger approaches so that we might be ready. Even in those moments when we do not know what to ask or what to pray the Holy Spirit is there to make intercession for us.  Romans 8: "26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God."   Prayer connects us to the Power of God which surges through us to wield the sword.

These two weapons are used simultaneously.  As we pray we are reminded by the Holy Spirit of the "word of God", all the promises that are given to us.  We then stand able to answer any attack through the knowledge of these promises, through the enlightened knowledge of who God is, and to the affirmation of who we are in Christ. 

So my dear Soldiers of Christ, are you ready for battle today?  Our mission is to go into the battlefield to win souls.  That battlefield is not only the mission field where some are called to battle; but, sometimes it is your own neighbors, your friends, your family, or your workplace.  That battlefield is anywhere that there are people who have not heard the gospel of Christ.  That battlefield is to bring anyone who has not come to the saving knowledge of Christ to a place where they may see and desire to know God—seeking Him as their greatest treasure.   Still, we are to speak when He says speak and remain silent when He bids silence.  We are to win others through our walk of faith. 

I wrote this poem and included it in my book, A Broken and Contrite Heart. I hope it helps you to remember to put on your armor every day and then pick up your weapons to be ready for whatever comes your way today. 

Little Soldier

Little Soldier are you ready?

The battle cry is here

Little Soldier are you wearing

Your God given gear

Did you put on your helmet?

Remembering what He’s done

He provided your salvation

When He gave His only Son

Did you strap on your breastplate?

Is your passion now on Him?

To follow in His footsteps

And shun all willful sin

Did you strap on the waist band?

Holding tight to all God said

And never compromising

So by His truth you’re lead

Did you cover yourself completely

By the shield of faith in God

This Sovereign, Omniscient, Shepherd

Protected by His rod.

So where are we going

To spread the gospel song?

Feet now shod with love and peace

We walk as we belong

So say a prayer, and off we go

To far and distant lands

To spread His gospel to a world

Is all that He commands

Pick up your sword

God’s very Word

Made flesh for you and me

Your hope on Him Assured

Let me encourage any of you who have missed any part of this series to scroll down and read the earlier part of this series.  If linking in through an archived link; then go to www.myglorytoglory.com and there you can scroll down.  My prayer is that it changes your life as much as studying and writing it has mine.  God is so amazing and His Grace is beyond measure.  I stand amazed each day at the grace and mercy He has shown to me throughout the years of my life.  He is my greatest treasure and I will battle here on earth to hold tight to the joy I have in Him though the tempest may surround me.  I will stand victoriously upon His past grace that saved me, His present grace that sustains me, and His future grace that will carry me through battle until one day I stand before Him as He proclaims, "Well done my good and faithful Child". 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoOc5QLVHk0 (Preview)

Throughout this series, I have reminded you that for everyone who believes in the name of Jesus Christ as their Savior; having seen Him as worthy of all your praise and seeking Him as your greatest treasure you hold several positions in Christ.  Those positions were purchased for you at the cross where Christ took upon himself the full wrath that Justice and Perfect Righteousness demanded for our sin.  Those positions are:   redeemed (risen), blessed, beloved, chosen, child of the King-heir of royalty, Prisoner of His Love, servant because of overwhelming gratitude, enlightened by His light, New Creation, and Faith filled Saint.  I have tried to continually remind you of these so that they become ingrained into your mind, for this is your battle cry when facing the enemy. 

Because our work is to bring a dying world to faith in Christ Jesus so they might join the ranks of those who worship and praise the Glorious King of Kings; we are direct targets of Satan who would prefer that all remain blinded to the truth. He wants to shut us up and He wants to destroy every testimony. For that reason, Satan remains very busy about his work.  He is the master of disguises and enters in by many forms some of which are religions which confuse and trade away the truth.  God has provided us with His armor to protect us through Satan’s attacks.  Our Father has given us everything that we need to be more than conquerors.  If a soldier goes forth to battle without first applying his protective gear, he certainly increases his own risk of defeat.  Within Ephesians 6 is outlined for us the armor needed in this battle. He says that with this armor we will be able to stand (not fall, not grapple)—to stand firm, fearless to the very end.  So it is important that we recognize the need to put on our armor daily before we are attacked in battle.

Ephesians 6: 10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

So we have 5 defensive pieces of armor and 2 offensive weapons.  Let’s begin with our defensive gear.

Defensive Armor #1: Belt of Truth. We are to stand with our loins girt about with truth.  The ancient soldiers had their loins (waist) girt about with a leather belt that held the other pieces of their armor in place.  So tightly and firmly about our waist we are to wear the truth which will firmly hold in place the remainder of our armor.  So what truth are we talking about? The Bible is rich with the truth of God.  There is the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, He who bore our sins and opened the floodgates of communion between God and man for all who will receive Him as their Savior.  There is the truth of all the promises of God for provision, strength, joy, hope, peace and sustaining grace.  There is the magnificent truth that God the Creator of the Universe with all its innumerable galaxies is still intimately involved in every detail of my little life.  It is important that we read and study His word so that we might know the truth especially as Satan knows the scripture so well and knows how to twist it.  2 Timothy 2: “¹⁵Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”  We must search prayerfully for God’s truth so that our belt holds strong supporting our central framework—keeping us standing strong.

Defensive Armor #2:  Breastplate of Righteousness: We are also to put on the breastplate of righteousness.  We are to be covered with moral conduct that comes from a desire for obedience to the Father.  Now by saying this have I returned to “good works of my own volition”? No, as I already explained, we are cloaked with the righteousness of Christ and not of our own; yet, good works and moral behavior are the byproduct of a heart that is fully seeking after Jesus Christ. If your heart is not bent toward righteousness; then ask yourself whether you have ever truly accepted Christ as your Savior. The breastplate is to cover the heart of the believer to keep it ever tender to the calls of Christ.  The truth of the Scripture (the Belt of Truth) helps to hold our breastplate in place. In Hebrews 4 we see:” ¹²For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”  We know from I Samuel 7 that God said “for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.”  So the question that comes here is, “Is your heart bent toward obeying God?”  Do you see Christ in all His glory through the eyes of your Heart so that you are drawn to obey and follow Him?  Ephesians 1: ^18”The eyes of your understanding (Heart) being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints¹⁹And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, ²⁰Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places”  The breastplate is to protect this precious knowledge which draws us to seek to follow after righteousness, desiring it from the central core of your heart.

Defensive Armor #3:  Footgear We are also told to have our “feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.”  As a soldier we are given here part of the marching orders.  Peacefully, we are to spread the gospel.  As you may note this did not say mouth, though we are to proclaim the gospel.  More importantly we are to live out the gospel through our daily walk and actions.  We are to live in such a way as to cause people to be drawn to Christ.  By our very actions people are to see the peace, joy, and hope within us.  We are to spread the gospel through our kindness and demonstrations of love to a world in need of a Savior.  As Christians we are to stand firm in our convictions; but that does not mean we are out picketing and protesting.  If we bring sinners to Christ then He will transform their life and behaviors.  We are to be ready to go wherever He calls us to and whenever He calls.  Unfortunately, too many believe that their testimony is only verbal; yet, their very lifestyle and responses at work and in the public fail to demonstrate Christ.  For example, a Church Leader may stand up on Sunday with a beautiful testimony of Christ and then on Monday on the way to work is consumed with road rage and curses another driver.  After arriving at work, he may take part in some dishonest business adventure or have an affair or mistreat his employees.  In that case has he carried forth the spreading of the gospel?—definitely not.  In fact if our walk does not demonstrate Christ we would be better off to keep our mouths shut because we only cause harm to Christ’s good news.  Our feet should be covered with the gospel first and our mouth follow after we have shown the difference Christ has made in our behavior.

  Defensive Armor #4:  Shield of Faith ^“Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked;” we march forth ready to stand firm.  I daresay, I have and am continually learning that faith is a crucial part in our being able to win in this battle or at least to make progress.  Paul indicated this by his two simple words “Above All”.  Too often we find that we believe that Christ died to cover our sins and therefore, we have a faith that allows for salvation; but we fail to fully accept that this Sovereign God is going to complete that work of perfecting us so that we look like Christ.  We accept that Christ will save us from hell one day; but we tend to doubt that He is in control of every second of our lives.  Maybe He is there on Sunday morning while I am sitting in church, but is He there when someone crashes into my car on the way to work Monday morning?  He is there when a wonderful bonus check comes in and we rejoice, but do you know that He is there when for no reason your boss fires you?  Oddly enough we accept that He loved us enough that He gave His son to die in our place; yet, we can’t believe He loves us enough to forgive a lie we told yesterday.  We like children run, hide and try to cover up our sin as though this omnipotent, omniscient God didn’t already know even before we were saved and He called us to be His anyway.   We might believe in His grace of yesterday; but do we believe in His Grace for today and tomorrow?   Do we really believe that He is omnipotent and that He has our best interest at heart?  If so why do we ever worry about anything?  This shield of faith is to divert all of Satans fiery darts.  His darts are penetrating and cut deep into our minds if not for our shield of faith.  Some of Satan’s favorite phrases are “Oh, surely, God didn’t say that; after all, God would never deny you that pleasure”  “What makes you think God cares about such trivial things?”  Another of his favorite phrases is; “How could God ever really love you after you made so many mistakes?” “Use you, look at you, HAHAHA, what could you do for Christ?”   “Just wait, God is going to destroy you for what you just did?”  “Repent, hogwash, you have plenty of time, just wait until another day when you get older.”   These darts can wear on us and once we believe them we become open to sin moving in and taking over for a moment or a season.  The only strong defense against these darts of doubt is true faith.  I don’t want to make too lightly of this because faith in God for yesterday, today and tomorrow (future grace is equally present as yesterday’s grace) is the central point of our being able to get it right.  Our failures in our Christian walk can always be traced back to a failure in faith.  Hebrews 11: ¹Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.  ²For by it the elders obtained a good report.  ³Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. … ⁶But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.  Paul described faith once in Athens by saying as recorded in Acts 17: ^24”God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;  ²⁵Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;  ²⁶And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;  ²⁷That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:  ²⁸For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. ²⁹Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device.  ³⁰And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:  ³¹Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.”  In this Paul reminds us that to believe means that we see Him as Creator, Sovereign and Savior and that we see everything around us in view of that.  As Creator, He owns me.  I don’t own Him—He created me and my place is to serve Him—not that He serves me. I am not the center focus of my life; everything that I am or have is for His purpose and comes from Him, through Him.  As Sovereign He is in complete total control of everything that happens in this world and my life.  As Savior He gave His son to die to pay the price of my salvation, and if He did that, He only has good intentions for me. So if He is Creator, Sovereign, and Savior then everything that comes into your life is for your good whether you see that or not.  That kind of faith will shred every satanic dart before it even gets close because it perfectly covers you completely.

Defensive Armor #5: Helmet of Salvation: Protect your mind from doubts about your salvation. If you ever accepted Christ as your Savior then no one can pluck you out of His hands. Romans 8:”³¹What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?  ³²He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?  ³³Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth.  ³⁴Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.  ³⁵Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?  ³⁶As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. ³⁷Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.  ³⁸For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, ³⁹Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” We keep our mind firm on this assurance of our Salvation. That assurance is based on God Himself; therefore, it is done.

Let us each morning begin by placing firmly our armor and declaring our battle cry, "I am the Redeemed, Blessed, Beloved Child of God; so Satan, you had better flee because my Daddy doesn’t like it if you try to hurt me." 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UI4CvsPDcxg (Preview)      Making War in the Heavenlies by Ron Kenoly