Morning Coffee

Ephesians 6:18 - 20 “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.”

A few mornings ago, I made toast. Well, I tried to make toast, but nothing happened. The toaster wouldn’t heat. The bread just sat there in the toaster, doing nothing. After shaking the toaster, and striking the side of it, I finally discovered the problem: the toaster wasn’t plugged in!

(Yes, I am blonde.)

Friends, prayer is our power source. We can have all the elements in place, just like that toaster. But if we aren’t plugged in to the Source of power, we won’t accomplish much. Prayer provides the pathway for the voltage of the Almighty to pour into our lives.

Paul told us to pray on all occasions. Though extended, private prayer is fantastic, we don’t have to wait until we are alone to pray! We can have conversations with God any time, any place, for He never leaves us. And we can talk to Him in our minds, without even moving our lips! He hears our thoughts. There is no circumstance we will encounter, which won’t be helped along by prayer. So pray on all occasions, and see what a difference it makes in your life!

Paul also told us to continue praying for all the saints. He was referring to the many Christians in the early church, who were experiencing persecution and hardship. Even today, Christians throughout the world are experiencing persecution and hardship. Satan is attacking Christians everywhere, in every way imaginable. We need to pray for our Christian brothers and sisters, that God’s power will keep them strong.

He also humbled himself, and asked for prayer. Many of us are willing to pray for anybody, any time, any place, but we are too prideful to ask for prayer for ourselves. We don’t want to admit our weaknesses, or we don’t want to broadcast our private issues. So we keep quiet. But when we fail to ask for prayer, we miss out on a valuable source of power! James 5:16 tells us, “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” If that is true, why wouldn’t we want to draw on the prayers of all other Christians?

Friends, I stand as a witness: prayer works! Prayer really does change things. It is our power source, our lifeline to the Father. Please do not neglect this important tool in the battle we are fighting together. I will pray for you. Will you pray for me?

Dear Father, Thank You for allowing me to talk to You any time, any place. Please be with all of my fellow Christians, and keep them strong for the spiritual battle we are fighting. Please stay close to us, and remind us to pray.

Amen

Ephesians 6:17 “Take the . . . sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

So far, we have put on our belts of truth, our breastplates of righteousness, our shoes of peace, our shields of faith, and our helmets of salvation. With this armor, we are protected from Satan . . . but only at a distance. As long as he stays where he is supposed to, we won’t get hurt.

But Satan doesn’t do that, does he? He doesn’t always play fair. Many times, he sneaks past the enemy line, and appears right in our faces! At these times, we are forced to do hand-to-hand combat. All of our armor, so far, has been defensive. If we are fully outfitted, we still may have to just curl up in a fetal position while Satan and his demons kick us and punch us from every side. Even with our armor, that is a pretty scary situation. Even with our armor, those blows can hurt!

But God didn’t leave us without an offensive weapon! He gave us something to fight with - His Word! Hebrews 4:12 - 13 says, “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” I’d say that’s a pretty good weapon to have, when fighting a spiritual battle.

But remember, Satan knows God’s Word even better than most of us do. God’s Word alone has little effect on Satan. Rather, His Word is the sword of the Spirit. If we go around swinging our swords without the prompting and guidance of the Holy Spirit, it won’t have much effect. But when we use God’s Word in conjunction with the author Himself, we wield a powerful weapon, indeed.

James 4:7 tells us, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” By submitting to God, and filling our minds and hearts with His Word, we prepare to do battle with the devil himself. Then, the Holy Spirit will bring the exact Word that applies to any situation, thus handing us our swords. When we wield that sharp, double-edged sword at Satan, he will run like the . . . well, like the devil! We will be left standing victoriously, holding our swords in the air, declaring that our God is the champion!

Dear Father, Thank You for the sword of the Spirit, which is Your Word. Please help me to fill my mind, my heart, and my life with Your Word. Help me to submit to it, and to live it each and every day of my life.

Amen

Ephesians 6:17 “Take the helmet of salvation . . . ”

Tonight, I watched my nine-year old niece, Rachel, play softball. She plays first base for the Pink Panthers, and she is quite the athlete. Although she is the smallest girl on the team, she is a formidable opponent. Each time she went up to bat, she wore a helmet that was nearly as big as she is. She hit that ball every time, and made it to base without being tagged out. She even hit a couple of doubles! Although her helmet was heavy and awkward, it provided the necessary protection for her head, and kept her from being seriously injured by a wayward ball.

A Roman soldier wore a helmet made of brass. It was one of his most important pieces of equipment, for an injury to the head would prevent him from fighting well, and would quite possibly end his life. In the same way, we Christians must wear our helmets. We must guard our minds, and protect them from being injured by Satan’s weapons.

Satan uses many tactics to attack our minds. He plants seeds of doubt. He causes us to be confused. He deceives us, he tries to divide our loyalties, and he discourages us. He knows that if he can get to our minds, he can win our hearts. Therefore, we must wear our helmets of salvation, and guard our minds.

We receive our helmets when we make the decision to follow Christ. It is a decision that involves both our hearts and our minds. We give Christ our hearts, but we must also change our minds by repenting of our sins, by turning from our former ways of life and following Him. We must continue to guard our minds by studying God’s Word, and growing in our knowledge of God. When we fill our minds with the things of God, we thicken our helmets, so to speak. We prevent Satan’s arrows of deception and doubt and division from breaking through.

When we forget to wear our helmets, or we fail to keep them in top condition, we put ourselves in great danger. Satan will bombard from every angle - television, radio, billboards, magazines, even our peers - and will try to divide our minds. But James 1:8 tell us a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways. And an unstable warrior is a weak warrior. So by all means, keep those helmets on, keep them strong, and keep your minds protected!

Dear Father, Thank You for the helmet of salvation. Please help me to guard my mind by filling it with Your Word and Your ways.

Amen

Ephesians 6:16 “In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.”

My son, Foster, has a plastic shield and sword, with which he often defends his dear mother from all sorts of evil. Sometimes, I hold the shield, and he tries to get me with his sword. Fortunately for me, his weapons are of the pretend sort, and nobody gets hurt. Still, that shield protects me from unwanted jabs.

Roman soldiers carried large shields, about two feet by four feet. The soldier could crouch down and hide completely behind his shield. It was made of wood, and wrapped in leather and cloth. It was often soaked with water before a battle, so it would extinguish flaming arrows. It was also beveled on the edges, so that soldiers could march side by side, and their shields would interlock and form one huge impenetrable force.

Friends, Satan has flaming arrows of every variety. He has arrows of doubt and fear. He may shoot us with a divorce, or with a dreaded disease, or with the death of a loved one. Without our shield - our faith - the arrows will pierce through and destroy us. We must have faith, or Satan will win.

But with faith, Satan’s arrows just fizzle out and fall to the ground. With faith, we can face anything. This is more than just a faith in the past, and in what God has done. It is a faith in God Himself - past, present, and future. It is a faith that no matter what Satan may hurl at us, God will extinguish the flame. That faith is our shield. By ourselves, we can crouch behind it. Together, we can interlock our faith, and provide an impenetrable barrier that will cause Satan and his demons to flee in defeat.

So whatever you do, my friends, don’t let your faith falter. You will need it, every day of your life, to extinguish the flaming arrows Satan will hurl at you.

Dear Father, Thank You for my shield of faith. Please help me to keep it strong. Help me to join my faith with that of other Christians, to create an even stronger barrier which Satan cannot penetrate.

Amen

Ephesians 6:15 . . . “and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes with the gospel of peace.”

Don’t you just love shoes? It is amazing to me how a pair of shoes can make or break an outfit. Whether you want to go dressy or casual, trendy or sensible, shoes provide the foundation for most every fashion occasion (except swimming, perhaps.) Just think if I tried to wear sneakers with a ball gown, or six-inch heels with a softball uniform. Not only do the wrong shoes ruin an outfit - they can make it impossible to accomplish the purpose for wearing that outfit in the first place!

We are warriors, and we must wear the right shoes to fight a war! Roman soldiers wore leather shoes with metal spikes in the bottom, kind of like cleats. These shoes provided the stability to stand firm against an enemy. They also provided traction for climbing over rough terrain.

Friends, the gospel of peace - which is the good news of Jesus Christ - provides the foundation we need to stand firm against the enemy. It also provides the traction we need to make progress in this journey called life. The gospel of peace is the essence of Christianity. Many times, we Christians get caught up in various issues, or we focus our attention on some abstract theology, and we forget the basics! When we face the enemy without our shoes, we quickly lose traction, and we slip and fall. We don’t make much progress as barefoot soldiers.

But when we wear our shoes, we are prepared to stand firm against the enemy. When we wear our shoes, we are equipped to make real progress in our journeys - no matter the terrain. As we suit up for battle, let us never forget the basics of the gospel of peace: 1) We were separated from God, by sin. 2) God sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to take our punishment for that sin. 3) When we accept what Christ did for us, through faith, we can have peace with God. This truth provides our very foundation - our shoes, which will keep us from slipping.

Dear Father, Thank You for providing me with the foundation I need to be a successful fighter and traveler in this life. Thank You for making it possible for me to have peace.

Amen

As I am writing this, there are six little girls in my living room having a dance contest. We just finished makeovers. My daughter, Charis, is turning eleven years old, and we are celebrating with a slumber party.

Oh, joy.

As you are sleeping sweetly, I will be doing crowd control. Feel free to stop by around 2 a.m. - we’ll be up.

In honor of Charis’ birthday, I let her choose the song for tonight. She likes to dance to this song - maybe another dance contest will come later.

Blessings to you all, and happy birthday to my wonderful, beautiful daughter. I am so glad you were born eleven years ago.

xx

Ephesians 6:14 “Stand firm then . . . with the breastplate of righteousness in place.”

If we had lived in biblical times, we might have seen Roman soldiers marching around in full armor. Part of this armor was a chain mail breastplate which covered the soldier’s body from neck to thighs, front and back. It protected all the important organs, including the heart and lungs. No matter from which direction the enemy approached, the soldier was safe.

It is very important that we, as Christians, wear our breastplates of righteousness. We must remember, though, that the righteousness Paul speaks of is God’s righteousness, not our own. Our own righteous acts can never protect us, for at our very best, we are weak. But God’s righteousness, on the other hand, is impenetrable.

Satan, the accuser, will attack us from every angle. He will whisper in our ears, “You’re not good enough.” He will remind us of the bad things we have done in the past, and that we continue to do. And in so doing, he wields a powerful weapon, for there is a bit of truth in what he says. Without our breastplate, we will soon succumb to his piercing accusations. We will ask ourselves, “Why do I bother? I am sinful, and I will always be sinful.”

But Satan wants us to forget about the breastplate that God has provided. When we place our faith in Christ, we are given the very righteousness of God (Romans 3:19 - 24)! Yes, it is a transforming righteousness. Yes, the more we wear our breastplate, the more our own actions will reflect God’s righteousness. But do not be fooled. You do not ever have to rely on your own good deeds to be protected from Satan’s arrows. Your breastplate is from God, and it cannot be penetrated.

Have you been relying on your own good deeds as protection, my friend? Have you felt discouraged at your lack of righteousness? Well, fear not. God isn’t finished with you yet. He is still forming you into His image. But in the meantime, He will not let His child be destroyed. Just slide into that heaven-made, God-given gift of righteousness that He has provided. As long as you wear your breastplate, Satan can’t win.

Dear Father, Thank You for not making me rely on my own righteousness for protection from Satan. When I feel discouraged about my own failures, please remind me to wear Your righteousness, not my own.

Amen

Ephesians 6:14 - 15 “Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist . . . ”

In my top left dresser drawer, I have more than a dozen belts. They really serve no purpose, except as fashion accessories. They make me look cute. And don’t we all love to look cute?

But the belt Paul speaks of here is much more than a fashion accessory. It serves an actual purpose. In biblical times, people wore long, flowing robes. When they wanted to move quickly, they pulled up their robes and tucked them into their belts, thus allowing free movement. If you were caught without your belt, and you needed to move quickly, you might trip!

For Roman soldiers, the large metal belt wrapped around their lower torso, and protected vital organs. It also served as a place to hang a weapon. If a soldier or a civilian wanted to be truly prepared for any situation, he would wear a belt. To be caught without it could be dangerous.

In the same way, we must always wear our belt of truth. Some say that the truth Paul spoke of is the good news which is found in the Word of God. Others argue that truth means integrity - total purity in our devotion to Christ, which is lived out each day. Either way, we must walk in His truth. When we do this, we prepare ourselves for any situation Satan may throw at us.

So, friends, don’t be caught without your belt! If you are, you may get tripped up. You may receive serious wounds from the enemy, simply because you were caught unprepared. Make sure that your integrity is intact, and that your knowledge of God’s truth is strong. When you wear your belt, you will be prepared!

Dear Father, Thank You for giving me the belt of truth. Please help me to know more and more of your truth, and to walk in integrity as Your child.

Amen

Ephesians 6:13 “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.”

We are coming upon one of my favorite passages of scripture. And since one of my favorite things to do is shop for clothes, I can’t help but think of our spiritual armor in terms of fashion. When I go shopping, I often can’t afford to buy much, so I just look. But the very best, top-of-the-line armor is available to every Christian, at no cost to us! The price has already been paid.

In the coming verses, we will discuss every fashion accessory for the well-dressed warrior. Each of us needs a belt and shoes, a breastplate, a shield, a hat (helmet) and a sword. Each of these fashion accessories is absolutely essential for the warrior who wants to be well-prepared. If even one of these is left out, the enemy will pierce through, and we will end up on our faces.

But the fashion conscious warrior will always be prepared. The warrior who keeps his/her accessories in top condition, and uses them properly, will stand firm against Satan. Not only that, but that warrior will be the one left standing, at the end.

Even with the proper spiritual wardrobe, we may be knocked down a time or two. But don’t worry. As long as we are fully outfitted, the enemy can’t destroy us. He can’t win. As long as we faithfully wear our armor, and use it properly, we will be the victors, every time.

Dear Father, Thank You for providing me with the very best armor. Please remind me to wear it, and teach me to use it.

Amen

Ephesians 6:12 “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

My son, Foster, likes to play “superhero.” He likes to put on his red cape and rescue his sister and his parents from the bad guys. So far, he’s done a pretty good job. We have not been bothered by any boogeymen recently.

Although Foster’s bad guys are of the imaginary sort, the enemies of Christ are very real. Satan and all his evil forces are constantly at work, trying to defeat Christ and His church. They want to lead Christians away from Christ, and they will stop at nothing, in order to see that happen.

If we try and fight these “bad guys” alone, we are at a great disadvantage. We are physical beings, fighting a spiritual battle. It would be much easier if we fought a battle of flesh and blood. Then, we could just kill the bad guy, and he’d be gone.

Instead, we must recognize that Satan and his demons will never be gone until Christ, in that victorious battle, conquers him once and for all. Until then, we can’t fight him with physical means. We must arm ourselves with the spiritual armor of God. We must draw on the spiritual power and might that comes only from Him.

And we must never forget, friends, that Satan is very clever. He knows each of our weak spots, and he will aim for them every time. He wants to woo us away from Christ, and he will use his spiritual powers to entice us. But we can win, we can make him tuck tail and run, if we use our armor and the strength that God provides. As we spend time with God in prayer and in His Word, our armor is strengthened, and we increase our chances of standing, victorious, against the enemy.

Dear Father, Please help me to be wise against Satan’s schemes, and to fight this spiritual battle successfully. I love You.

Amen