April 2 -Truth
Ephesians 6:14 …having put on the breastplate of righteousness.
Today, the world is covered in lies. People live in dishonesty and thus, the nations are getting darker.
Truth is our strength. In the Bible, the breastplate covers the heart. This means our heart should be covered by truth. Righteousness, peace, joy and the Holy Spirit is the fullness of the Kingdom of God in our lives. Our victory is living this way.
In our daily spiritual battle when wearing the armor, these two righteousness varieties protect our heart. We need the complete righteousness of Christ through His work on the Cross for us, dying for our unrighteousness as well as do acts of righteousness that flow out of God’s grace upon our lives. If God pours so much love on me, surely, I would want to pour out good unto others too! It is like the flow of a river, the take and give, the Dead Sea so far below the mean sea level has no outlet. The water flows in from the River Jordan, but does not flow out. There are no outlet streams. Over 7 million tons of water evaporate from the Dead Sea every day, leaving it salty and flooded with minerals, therefore unfit for any marine life. This is like a heart which lives in unrighteousness, greed, anger, unforgiveness and selflessness. They grab but never give. They want prayers, but never pray for anyone. Such are more prone attack in daily battles because their hearts are not protected by the breastplate of righteousness.
The Sea of Galilee also receives water from the River Jordan, but the Sea of Galilee is beautiful, abundant with colorful live marine life, resplendent with pretty marine life, and lots of fish. The Sea of Galilee receives and then flows out keeping the sea healthy and vibrant.
Dwight D. Eisenhower said, “The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on a section gang, a football field, in an army, or in an office.”
In order to have healthy righteous hearts, we need to do good works too, reach out to others, give, share, in obedience to God. Our hearts become sick, ill and twisted in unrighteousness when we hold hidden sin. In times of trial, we will be attacked if integrity is not bound in us. This does not mean that all people without integrity will be attacked, this just means that if our hearts are not clean, it is easier for us to fall into all kinds of weaknesses, traps and ultimately destroy the purpose of our lives. If a heart is covered in darkness, then it is an easy target for a storm to hit it. Time will come when such will fall in the eye of the storm. They cannot withstand the day of evil because they cloak their hidden works with fake lives, teaching the Holy Book to others while living in hidden sins. May God forgive us and may we repent if we are. Mercy!
Keep your lives pure, live in truth, cover your hearts in righteousness, ask people to pray for you if you are struggling with obeying, and nothing can touch you.
Rita F. Kurian
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