Ephesians 6:10-24
Thursday, 15 December 2022
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. -Ephesians 6:10
As we look around we know for sure that the days are evil and darkness is slowly taking over the face of the earth. (Isaiah 60:2): “For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, And deep darkness the people; ….” The Bible gives us ample proof of all this well in advance so that we can walk circumspectly, "redeeming the time, because the days are evil." (Eph.5:16)
This thought sets the tone of the rest of the passage for today’s reading. It clearly gives the picture of the cosmic battle that is looming over us and directly with us Christians all over the world. None is out of it. This doesn’t mean that we are left to defend ourselves. Our first confidence to face this battle is that, God is our salvation. Psalm 27:1-3 “The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked came against me To eat up my flesh, My enemies and foes, They stumbled and fell. Though an army may encamp against me, My heart shall not fear; Though war may rise against me, In this I will be confident.” So even though being a Christian in real sense, makes us face an army of dark forces; God is the wall of fire around us. He is on our guard. His angels are given for our protection. But the tactics of the enemy is not always direct, but deceitful. He does not hold back in using any kind of trickery to bring us out of this fiercely guarded zone and trick us into sin and hence we lose our protection and fall a prey for the enemy. This is where a Christian needs to be alert always.
To fight this deceptive battle God has provided His children with godly armor (Eph.6:14-18), namely:
1. The helmet of salvation (vs.17)
2. The breastplate of righteousness (vs.14)
3. The belt of truth (vs.14)
4. The shoes of preparation of the Gospel of peace (vs.15)
5. The shield of faith (vs.16)
6. The sword of the Spirit-the word of God (vs.17)
7. The all-covering prayer always. (vs.18)
As a Christian community, we are separate from the rest of the world. We are not to blend with the world as others do but keep our entity as Christians intact always ready to face the onslaught of the evil one. Many Christians choose the other way around—they fit themselves into the mould of the world and engage in everyday business as all others in the community and usually get entangled the traps laid by the devil leading to many unwanted problems. This makes their walk and stand difficult. As we read in :Heb. 12:1: “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” This weight and sin that ensnares us is really what makes us fall in the battle. So we need to guard ourselves always with the prayer that is the last covering given to us. Then we will be intact in all other areas of life. So keep guard and pray always, with all kinds of prayer. It is important to understand this principle of prayer as a protective layer around us so that we will be able to stand the conning deceptiveness of the enemy.
Think on: For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. (2Cor.10:3)
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