Spiritual Warfare Series for April
Walking in Integrity – April 1
Ephesians 6:10-20: 10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth.
Waist or loins refers to the lower back but includes the crotch area. In those days, men would wear long robes that would get in the way of work or fighting, so they would wrap up their robes girding up one’s loins.In the English dictionary of idioms, if someone girds their loins or girds up their loins, they prepare themselves mentally to deal with a difficult situation. This means, our minds have to be clear, concentrated, directed. We cannot be fuzzy headed, dipped in dreams or overly obsessed with the television, etc. This takes away our double edge and we lose a grip of things. We lose focus. Most of us don’t even feel the need to pray for one another and never feel the pain of others. Purity and truth has to rule our hearts.
W. Clement Stone: “Have the courage to say no. Have the courage to face the truth. Do the right thing because it is right. These are the magic keys to living your life with integrity.”
May we never be lukewarm and loose minded and lose our selves in the swamps of our carnal desires.
Know your position in God. The Battle begins in Christ, from a place of victory, not defeat. Jesus Christ is the Truth and He sets us free when we walk in His light. He said, “I am the Light of the world. He has overcome the darkness, but we have to chose Truth..and walk in the Light or nothing will happen. The first piece of the armor is the belt of truth. Every other piece of the full armor of God is attached to the belt of truth. If you don’t begin with truth, you’ll never defeat the enemy. Walk with Jesus and pick up the Word to meditate on it, let its Truths work in you, obey it, walk in the Light, listen to His Voice. Read the Word chapter by chapter, topic by topic, not verse by verse. word. Read Truth as a template to guide your prayers.
The secret to girding truth is this: Psalm 119:9: How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to Your word. 10 With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! 11 I have stored up Your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. This is the first part of the armor!
Rita
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