Monday
Eph. 6.10-11 “Finally be strong in the Lord, and in his mighty power. Put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”
Like a General marshalling his troops, Paul insists that each individual must rely on those on either side standing firm as a supportive presence. Paul is calling the Christian community to be steadfast and immovable in the strength of the Lord. The struggle against evil, injustice, and all that ruins God’s creation and creatures, is not finally dependent on our strength, but on the mighty power of God, made real through the energising of the Holy Spirit and the living presence of the risen Christ.
Tuesday
Eph. 6.14a “Stand firm, then, with the belt of truth buckled round your waist.”
“Stand your ground…having done everything, to stand…, stand firm, then.” Three times in a sentence or two that command. Stand! To stand for truth is to refuse the lie, to recognise and call out untruth, to stubbornly insist that words matter, to believe that lies erode trust and corrode communities, and must be exposed and opposed. Christians of all people know the importance of truth and trust as the currency of human relations, and a key principles in Christian living.
Wednesday
Eph. 6.14b “Stand firm…with the breastplate of righteousness in place…,”
The breastplate of righteousness is the protective barrier covering the vital organs of lungs and heart. Christians breathe the oxygen of righteousness, imparted by Christ and practiced in Christ-like living. Likewise the believer’s heart hungers for justice, and longs for purity. The heart is covered by the protective breastplate of God’s righteousness, which is imparted and experienced as gift, and lived as the identity marker of the Christian in every struggle.
Thursday
Eph. 6.15 “Stand firm…with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.”
Paul, for all the controversy that surrounded him, was an apostle of peace and peaceable-ness, of forgiveness and reconciliation. Those who find peace with God through Christ, are sent out into a world of jagged edges and broken communities as peacemakers, peace-builders and peace advocates. Feet fitted with readiness for gospel peace means that, like the soldier commanded to stand firm, the Christian community stands on, and stands shoulder to shoulder for, the gospel of peace, as messengers of God’s peace and practitioners of reconciliation.
Friday
Eph. 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.”
This is battlefield vocabulary. The shield of faith is held by each soldier, linked to those beside and behind, providing protection from the worst the enemy can do. The Christian community is a fellowship held together by the love, grace, power and promise of God. Faith is trust that “God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.” (Eph.2.6) Whatever flaming arrows of doubt, temptation, suffering, or persecution are fired at us, they hit the shield of faith, and are blunted and extinguished by God’s faithful love and gracious power.
Saturday
Eph. 6.17a “Take the helmet of salvation…”
Take the shield of faith and take the helmet of salvation. These are imperatives. This isn’t a polite suggestion! Paul isn’t saying it might be a good idea! Grab your shield and get your helmet firmly fixed in place. These are life-saving fixtures of the soldier in combat. The brain thinks and co-ordinates the body, and for Christians, our salvation includes the transformation of the mind and having the mind of Christ. The helmet of salvation signifies a mind renewed, the conscience cleansed, a new way of thinking and acting, because “God has made us alive with Christ…”
Sunday
Eph6.17b “Take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
Every piece of armour is defensive, except the sword. In Hebrews the Word of God is described as “sharper than any two edged sword”. It’s no coincidence that when Jesus was tempted and under attack, he quoted Scripture to the accuser. The Scriptures are light for the path, bread for the journey, water that refreshes, fire that cleanses – but in the battles of the soul, the Scriptures are a sword that slays the lie, that repels temptation, that allows us to fight back in the power of the Spirit and to stay faithful in the service of Christ.
……………………………..
Whoso beset him round with dismal stories,
do but themselves confound, his strength the more is.
No lion can him fright: he'll with a giant fight,
but he will have the right to be a pilgrim.
John Bunyan
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