ARMOR OF GOD

God has provided us a wardrobe to wear as we enter in battle each day. As you dress in the morning, you need to suit up in God's armor as well. Ephesians 6:10-18 in the New Testament of the Bible lists all the components of the armor of God: "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 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. 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. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 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."

Belt of Truth: Buckle it securely around your waist. Know that God is with you every step of the way. He alone is the truth in life. Spend time in His Word and learn His truth!

Breastplate of Righteousness: As you put on your breastplate, thank God for His never ending mercy towards us. He has given us righteousness when we follow Him. He will teach us every day if we open our eyes and ears to see and hear Him. The cross is an excellent example of God's mercy to us. He gave His Son for us so that we may spend eternity with Him.

Sandals of Peace: Without God in our lives, we could not have peace. The "peace that transcends all understanding" (Philippians 4:7) is available to us only as we give our lives entirely over to His control. As you strap on your sandals each day, give your cares and concerns to Him and ask Him to carry them. God's Peace will be left in their place.

Shield of Faith: This is another defensive weapon in our arsenal. We use this piece of armor to guard against the constant assaults by the enemy. Each morning as you pick up your shield, thank God for your faith. Faith that comes in knowing He will never leave or forsake you (Deuteronomy 31:8).

Helmet of Salvation: When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we are given this defensive piece of armor to protect us. We know that we have been saved to battle with Him here on the planet Earth. We can do so willingly, knowing that we will spend eternity with Him.

The Sword of the Spirit: This is our only offensive weapon in the armor of God mentioned in this passage. Our sword is His Word, the Bible. With it we can slay the evil in the world as it presents itself to us. Read your Bible, learn His Word and memorize verses. Keep it on the tip of your tongue.

Dressed in this armor daily, we are prepared to enter the world. Without it we will be prey to attack. Think about each piece as you put it on. Thank God for supplying us with His armor to protect us.

BLOCKED GOALS AND DESIRES

 Keys to living successful in Christ is to distinguish  'Godly goals and desires ' from our own goals and desires.

A Godly Goal is any specific orientation that reflects what GOD's purpose is for your life. This
purpose does not depend on people or circumstances that
are beyond our ability or right to control. If you think about it , who do you really have a right to control? No one but yourself. The fact of the matter is this, the only person who can block a Godly Goal or render it uncertain or impossible is YOU.
What are our desires and goals? They are a specific orientation that depends on the cooperation of other people or the success of events and circumstances that is beyond our control. As a Child of the Living GOD we can not base our self-worth or our personal success on our desires, no matter how godly we think them to be, because we can not control all the people around us or any circumstances that might come our way that will affect the fullfillment of our desires.



There are many people and many circumstances that will block our goals, that is a given in this life. And when they get blocked , what usually happens is that we might get angry, and if our desires are uncertain we will might feel anxious.If our goals and desires appear to be impossible we might get depressed. But think about this: what GOD given goal can there be that can be blocked , uncertain or even be impossible? Does the Scriptures say that "With GOD ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE? Do the Scriptures say that "I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHO STRENGTHENS ME"?



No one can keep us from being who and what our GOD wants us to be except us. GOD distinguishes between what are GOALS and DESIRES. (1John 2:1) says :"My little children , I am writing these things to you that you may not sin." It is clear that GOD desires that we do not sin , but GOD's status as GOD and HIS purposes are never blocked by any of us who exercises our will against repentance. Even though it is GOD's desire and will that everyone repent even though many of us may choose not to. But praise be to the MOST HIGH that GOD accomplished HIS goal when Yah'shua/Jesus said "IT IS FINISHED" . What our GOD determined to do , HE has done, and will continue to do, and so since this is true, we all can be joyful and grateful that we will be all that HE created us to be!!!!!



Many of us I am sure have had our great plans, and our lofty goals and desires blocked by people, circumstances beyond our control. We didn't get our way at a certain meeting, we didn't get the grant we needed, or the loan to go to college. Face it many times we have had to readjust our plans for a variety of reasons. If we base who we are, if we base our life on the successes of our plans and desires which are all subject to people and circumstances beyond our control we will be on an emotional roller coaster ride all of our lives. But the key to all of this , the only way off the roller coaster is to walk by Faith according to the truth of GOD's WORD. Who we are , our identity must not be in our jobs, our skills, our talents, all subject to the uncontrollable circumstances of life, and the cooperation of others.



We must decide to become the person, the spouse, the parent, the leader, the friend, that GOD wants us to be. NO ONE CAN BLOCK THAT GOAL EXCEPT YOU, it is not dependant on any circumstance or other people.



Heavenly Parent, show me today where I have allowed others, and circumstances, instead of YOU, to determine what YOU want me to be.LORD show me YOUR purpose for my life, help me make them my goals as well.

DECEPTION THE MIND GAME/WAR

is your garden kept well? or is it weedy?

The biggest, the hardest and by far the longest battle we all face in this life, will be fought in the space between our 2 ears , our minds, and our thoughts! The Spirit of the adversary's only weapon is Deception, and lies, that is it, but it is a doosey of a weapon because it will trip you up every time if we are not constantly alert to his tactics.

How many times does this happen to you, you are in a good spot right now, nothing is going on in your life that you can't handle, you feel good, your relationships are good, and oh boy the sun is shinning , it is a beautiful day..............but. Without warning you begin to feel saddened, you begin to have these thoughts that are down right depressing, you go about your day, but your thoughts do not match your circumstances. Now if you are a discerning Child of God, you will begin to realize that the spirit of heaviness has invaded you mind space!!!!What do we do when we realize the enemy has gotten in? Here is a suggestion from the Scriptures in various translations for Isaiah 61:3 which says in the NLT translation"the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness" and in the (New International Version)3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor."

Now in the (Amplified Bible)
3To grant [consolation and joy] to those who mourn in Zion--to give them an ornament (a garland or diadem) of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, the garment [expressive] of praise instead of a heavy, burdened, and failing spirit--that they may be called oaks of righteousness [lofty, strong, and magnificent, distinguished for uprightness, justice, and right standing with God], the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.

Now in the (Contemporary English Version)3especially in Jerusalem. He sent me to give them flowers in place of their sorrow, olive oil in place of tears, and joyous praise in place of broken hearts.They will be called "Trees of Justice," planted by the LORD to honor his name.

So here we have a remedy for the spirit of heaviness,despair,heavy burdens,failing spirit,and broken hearts! So we see that there is a 'spirit' that can cause all these things to spring up like weeds into the gardens of our minds!! How do we pull out these pesky weeds from our fertile gardens of our minds? PRAISE!

As a child of the Most High we have been given the AUTHORITY to rule our kingdoms our garden which is our minds and we can choose what goes in and what stays in there, although we may not have full control as to what goes into our minds, we do have the means to keep alot of these thoughts out by what we choose to put in there, by what we read, watch and where we choose to go, but many times weeds ,the spirits of discontent, and depression, an hopelessness sometimes finds a way in. We can take control of our thinking by standing against the enemy of our souls by taking every thought captive 2Cor.10:5. We do not have to entertain these thoughts if we do not want to, who really wants these kinds of thoughts anyway, they can wreck havoc in our lives, although like a few weeds in our gardens, if not pulled out before long these thoughts can go to seed, and then all we have are weeds in our gardens! The best remedy for a beautifully tended garden and mind is to start taking control and pulling the dang weeds of despair, and heaviness, and doubts, etc. as they come up!!!

If we are tormented by certain negative thoughts that keep playing over and over in our minds , please know that this is not of God, and He is not giving you that revelation for your life!!!!It is the enemy of your souls, using the only weapon he's got to take control of your mind!!!

One of the best tactics of our enemy is to try to steal the Word of God from you, how does he do that? By getting us to question God's Word just as he did in the Garden of Eden. When these questioning doubts sprang up , know that you are being set up.........if it does not ring true from the perspective of the Bible then you can trust that it is not true.

We are told to in Philippians 2:5 (Amplified Bible)
"5Let this same attitude and purpose and [humble] mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus: [Let Him be your example in humility:]"

Every 'sin' begins from a thought, in Mark 7:21,22
Amplified Bible (AMP)
"21For from within, [that is] out of the hearts of men, come base and wicked thoughts, sexual immorality, stealing, murder, adultery"

Our God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, when we fill our minds with the word about the WORD, we will not leave room for the enemy of our souls to come in and make himself at home in our minds.

Think on things that are pure, good, loving, positive, do not dwell on the negative , to habitually dwell on the negative and the untrue, we give place and honor to the enemy! We do not have to go with the crowd, we can rise above all the negativity and false hood, in Ephesians 4:17
TNIV it tells us " So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. "

The most powerful weapon of all time is not the bomb! it is the word of the Living God, and we as faithful believers in our Lord and Savior Jesus the Messiah has given US you and I the authority over the Adversary!

Learn the word, memorize the scripture promises that speak of the area you have need of help in. The Word of God is extremely powerful and knowing it makes your prayers more effective. Listen to what the Lord says: "So shall My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it." (Isaiah 55:11) God honors his word. He wants us to remind him of his promises and call on him to perform what he has declared.

In order to pray the Word you have to know what's in there so you'll need to be reading the Bible and meditating on His word every day. And more than just read it, you need to slow down and really think about what you are reading,contemplate it, chew on it over and over until it fills your soul with gladness and ask the Lord to bring it alive for you. As you learn more of it you can begin praying it.I have found that once I have read the word and meditated on it, that later on down the road of life, the Holy Spirit is able to bring the word back up into my remembrance when I have a need for its promise in my life! There is no circumstance you will ever be in where the Word of God will not have something to say and to pray for you. Begin today to pray God's Word and see your prayer life flourish like a perennial flower garden that grows lusher year by year.

Jesus our Messiah paid the complete price for your freedom and for your victory over sin and for restoration of fellowship with your heavenly Father. But you have to appropriate or assign everything he did for you. Throughout your life Satan will be fighting tooth and nail to prevent you from taking possession of your spiritual inheritance. Don't worry; you win. It's a lifelong battle but don't be discouraged by that; be excited and be prepared.God wants us to win every single skirmish and he has provided all the equipment we need to do so.

Hey no one wants to live in a continual battle, we all hate to be at war all the time, but you know, that is just the way it is, this life is a battle ground, like it or not, and the war wages in our minds 24/7 , we may not like it, but we must accept it because even if you don't want to do battle, Satan does, we are forced into this conflict and we must contend for the faith.Can you accept that this battle is inevitable and lifelong? Then if you have been whining and complaining and having a pity party over the hard places in your life, stop right now and do something constructive instead. By the way, I confess I can't even count the number of times I've done those things; that's why I can tell you plainly it is a waste of time as far as strategy for winning any battle you are in. So folks we are in battle, so lets get the right weapons and strategy to win the battle and this blasted war!

Prayer is Your Assault Weapon in Spiritual Warfare so lets put on the full armor of God."be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power." (vs. 10) Nothing can correct your battle attitude better than remembering this critical truth. You are to fight in God's strength and power, not your own. Your weakness is actually to your advantage. Elsewhere in scripture God says; "My strength is made perfect in weakness." (I Corinthians 12:9) Many people unnecessarily give up because they see that the attack is too much for them. Come to the conclusion sooner rather than later that it is too much for you so that God's strength can take over.

In spiritual battle you must operate with both a good defense AND a good offense. Ephesians 6 . First, truth will be your belt. It's what holds you up so let the truth of God encircle everything in your life.
Next is the breastplate of righteousness. It covers your heart which should be clean from any sin. If you have received Jesus into your heart you have his righteousness to rely on. Just make sure all sin is confessed and dealt with before entering into spiritual warfare. On your feet you will wear shoes of peace so that everywhere you walk you can spread the good news of God's peace and of his kingdom. Satan's kingdom is chaotic, warlike, treacherous and menacing and the peace you carry will be a great contrast, easy for people to see and feel.
Now pick up in your hand the shield of faith; be ready to turn it in any direction to "quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one." Some of those fiery darts are doubts, unbelief, discouragement, and hopelessness. With your shield of faith you can prevent them from reaching the innermost parts of your soul. Next is the helmet of salvation. A helmet is covering for your head where all the mind games are going on. Which is our major battle ground, so remember it well, You are in Christ, and it is His Righteousness that has cleansed you of all wrong doing, so when your mind is covered in salvation winning the battle is all but inevitable.
Much of this armor is protecting you from assault but the last item is your offensive weapon: Here is your power weapon! it is the "sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." Remember that Jesus used the word of God to counter the temptations of Satan before he started his public ministry. He kept saying to Satan; "It is written…" and then resisted the devil's invitation to sin with scripture. (See Matthew Chapter 4) The better you know the word of God the better equipped you are to wield it like a sword. Therefore you should be reading and studying scripture every day. When Satan comes with a lie, you counter with the truth.
Do not be surprised or shaken by the intensity of the battle that will present itself at times in your life. You and I were destined to be great warriors in God's kingdom. Every war has an objective; each side is fighting over something. The greater the value of the prize to each side; the harder they fight. In spiritual warfare, we are battling over eternal things. The devil is trying desperately to hold on to every inch of ground, both in your life and on the earth. It is our job as God's warriors to make him give up everything he is holding illegally and establish the kingdom of God everywhere in our life and all over the earth. Join the battle. Pray smart. Don't pray naked.