The Christian Armor - The Shield of Faith

In Ephesians 6:14-20 Paul describes the spiritual "armor" of the Christian.  This beautiful analogy has challenged me lately.  Not merely because our Pastor is preaching through it, but also because I have been increasingly aware that I need it...while not entirely understanding it.

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The pieces of the armor sound, at first reading, like an evangelistic tract.  Paul writes like he is speaking to unbelievers, warning them of the dangers of their present battle position, and pressing them to put on Christ and be saved.  The pieces of armor all come across as "salvation" or "new birth" material.  Truth, Righteousness, the Gospel, Faith, etc....are all the things we pack into our method of speaking to the world about Christianity.

But there lies the problem. Paul isn't, actually, speaking to or about unbelievers at all.  He says, in the beginning of this section, "Finally, my BRETHREN..."  He is talking to the "saints who are in Ephesus (Eph 1:1)" those predestined to "the adoption of sons (1:5)" and are already "in Him (1:7)."  He is talking to those who were once "dead in trespasses and sins (2:1)" but now are "made alive together with Christ" having been "saved through faith (2:5,8)."  Paul is speaking to Christians.

This armor is for believers. And as an often-tempted and woefully weak Christian, I know I need it.  But I just haven't understood how it applies to me.  However, thinking this morning about the "shield of faith" a little dim light began to glow.  Something clicked.  Temptations attack us at the level of our faith.  Every time I give in to sin (more often than I care to admit) I display a lack of faith.  Sin, at its root, is distrust in God.  This is what our Pastor was saying...it just took me a couple days to start to get it.

I started to think about the 10 Commandments.  These are a special and specific description of what it ultimately means to love God and love our neighbor.  The first 4 commandments tell us about how we love God, and the final 6 are about loving our neighbor.  In principle  I believe they all still apply today.  They teach us what holiness looks like.  And the failure to live up to any of these commands displays a lack of faith.

For example:

First Commandment:  "You shall have no other gods before Me."  The Lord is forbidding every means and method by which we give our chief affection and devotion to anyone but Him.  We do it all the time.  But why?  A lack of faith.  We say, albeit silently, "if I don't put this thing, or that person, or this goal FIRST...then I cannot possibly succeed or be happy."  Ultimately we are putting ourselves in the place of God.  We don't trust Him enough to give Him the first place in our lives.  We lack faith.  Martin Luther put it this way "to whatever you give your heart and entrust your being, that, I say, is really your god."  I make other gods, because I lack faith in the one true and living God.

Second Commandment:  "Do not make any graven images."  The command is against idols.  But it applies more broadly than to just statutes and superstitious trinkets.  The Lord is talking about ruining His worship by our own inventions and ideas.  And again, when we do so, we lack faith.  We are saying, as it were, "I cannot possibly approach God simply through Christ.  It won't help me.  It doesn't feel right.  I need more."  But we don't.  Its a lie.  And to believe it displays a lack of faith.  Oswald Chambers said "Worship is giving God the best that He has given to you.  Be careful with what you do with the best you have."

Just a couple more examples:

Fourth Commandment:  "Honor the Sabbath Day."  The Lord is saying to set a day apart from the usual routine of work and personal entertainments and dedicate it to Him - make it holy.  But what do we say and think?  "But if I don't work on Sunday I won't be able to pay my bills...but I just need 1 day to myself...but if I give special honor to this day my friends will think me strange...isn't it enough just to give God a couple hours, do I really have to give up the whole day?"  Ultimately, we don't trust Him.  We lack faith.  I lack faith.  I need the shield of faith to learn to turn more and more away from my own thoughts about this day, and use it more spiritually for my good.

Seventh Commandment:  "Do not commit adultery."  Pretty clear.  Basically it is a command against ruining God's gift of marriage.  And again, a lack of faith prevails when we disregard this commandment.  We say "But everyone lives together first for a while...but the Lord doesn't understand how difficult my spouse has been...but I don't feel in love with him/her any more...nobody is hurt by what I do in the privacy of my own home."  We don't trust that the Lord can satisfy us through the simple union of 1 man and 1 woman in marriage for life.  We figure we will miss out on something if we don't break those boundaries.  We lack faith.  We don't believe Him.  We don't trust Him.

Every sin is a lack of faith, in some way.  Satan comes to us with arguments.  More often than not it is just our own sinful hearts that prefer disobedience, thinking that we know better than God.  I cannot think of any sin toward which my heart is inclined that does not involve some lack of faith.  Can you?  What is that chief sin you struggle with?  Fear, lust, selfishness, drunkeness, laziness, anger?  Trace it backwards now...and see if you don't find, at the root, some lack of faith. 

Ultimately none of us keeps a single one of God's commands perfectly for a moment.  We are not saved that way.  Salvation is entirely by faith in Christ, not our works.  His commands tell us what pleases Him.  Those that want to please God will want the armor of God. 

The armor of God is for Christians.  But everyone needs it, Christian or not.  You need it, and I need it.  Maybe today you are ready to turn in your own armor for the armor of God for the first time.  How are you dealing with your sin?  Fighting it on your own?  The Lord makes a provision for sinners.  He reaches out in Christ.  He says "here...take it."  And when we do, then - and only then, may we begin to put on the armor of God.  The battle doesn't end with faith.  It is, in fact, only the beginning.  But the outcome is much better.  We battle as those already victorious.  Come - join the battle line.  You are welcome, you are invited.  Your armor is waiting.

A Memorial Day Meditation

"By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us." 

 I John 3:16a

I am thankful today for the freedoms we enjoy as a Nation, paid for by the lives of many both past and present.  My heart goes out to friends and family shedding tears today over the loss of dear ones.  

Leonel Ortiz with wife and 2 daughters

I thank God for a country that allows me to have days like yesterday.  We gathered at Immanuel Chapel for a Christian Bible study at 10:00AM, followed by a Christian worship service at 11:00AM.  Following this I shared a fantastic lunch with many believing friends - all openly and publicly.  We all got together again at 6:00PM for another worship service lead by a different pastor.  Following this we spent another wonderful hour hearing from a Spanish-speaking Colombian pastor that we support about the remarkable spread of the gospel going on in his home country.  This was facilitated by a gracious Spanish-speaking Christian sister from another church in Massachusetts who willing came (with her lovely family) and translated for him.  It was a great day, and I am mindful it was enjoyed because we have many freedoms as Americans that have been handed to me through those who have fought for them and died for them.  To the men and women who served both then and now, I thank you.

This morning my thoughts traveled from a thankfulness for those who laid down their lives for our country, to the One who laid down His life for the world.

Jesus is described in John's gospel as the One who "comes down from heaven and gives His life for the world" (John 6:33).

He also fought for our freedom.  The Bible calls us all "slaves of sin."  Ever told a lie?  Even one?  Ever stolen anything?  Even something small?  We all sin.  "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God."  Christ died to free us from the consequences of our sin, the just punishment our sins deserve. 

But Christ's death for our freedom was unique in two important ways:

1)  Jesus died FOR the enemy.  Every soldier knows that he or she might die BY the enemy.  Jesus died FOR the enemy.  "Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us  (Romans 5:7-8, ESV)."

You and I are enemies of God by nature.  We do not come into this world loving God with all our heart, soul, strength and mind.  We do not love our neighbor as ourselves.  Sin has made us enemies of God.  Christ died for the enemy.

Reader, are you willing to acknowledge yourself an enemy of God?  If so, there is hope.  God has made provision for the freedom of His enemies through the death of  His Son. 

2)  Jesus rose in victory over death.  Today many will mourn the loss of loved ones.  Many graves will be wept over afresh.  Many cemeteries will hear the slow and sorrowful steps of the friends and families of the fallen.  But unlike our lost loved-ones, Christ rose victorious over death.  His sinless sacrifice was accepted.  We read in John 5 that Jesus said "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"

Reader, do you believe this?  Are you willing to lay down your arms today and fall into the loving embrace of a Savior who loved us and gave Himself for us?  Or will you, sadly, continue marching in war against a good and holy God? 

Memorial Day is a day to remember and be thankful.  Memorial Day is a day to honor those who gave their lives for us.  Memorial Day is a day to pray to God for peace: peace abroad, peace at home, and peace in our hearts.  May the Lord bless this Memorial Day to our souls.  May we recall the benefits we have inherited.  And may we embrace a Savior who offers Himself freely to you today.

My SaTuRdAy!

Ah...Saturdays.  Well, at this stage in our busy lives, full Saturdays to tackle the "to do" list seem few and far between.  Today I was determined to get a few things done.  It always amazes me how fast the hours fly when you have a long list of little projects.  But this was a good day, and I'm thankful to the Lord that the pain in my back has improved enough to allow me to manage these few tasks.

Let's see, my daughter Sarah had a couple friends sleep over last night, so I got up early and quietly, around 5:30AM I think.  Brewed some coffee.  Watered our newly seeded lawn.  Then worked for a couple hours.

This is the public website for the company I work for

I work for Fingertip Formulary.  We manage pharmacy formulary data, tracking the formulary status of over 1500 prescription drugs on every health plan currently operating in the U.S.  We provide a comprehensive suite of critical market data for....blah....blah...blah....yes, I'm boring you by now. 

Next I decided I would tear down a painful eyesore on our property.  A couple years ago I built a little rack to hold fire wood.  I built it quickly out of 2x4's and it served its purpose for the time.  But my neighbor just put up a nice brand new fence, and this little home-made wood rack detracted from his hard work (in my opinion at least).  So I chopped it up into bits. 

What you see in the picture to the left is what is left of the rack and the wood that was on it.  What you also see is the hay covering the newly seeded section of our lawn.  We had to replace our septic system last year.  Our contractor, Dale Bangma (highly recommended!) came back and seeded for us earlier this week.  We should be having little grass babies popping up in 7-10 days.

Kitty litter, paint cans - soon to be mixed!

We have had some old cans of paint piling up in the basement.  OLD stuff...rusty cans...paint that was well beyond using.  Our trash collection company recommends dumping the used paint into bags of kitty litter, letting it harden a bit, then throwing it into the trash.  So...I emptied out a few cans of paint.  This will need to be an ongoing project.  We have lived here for about 17 years...and I'm sure we aren't the only ones with extra unused cans of paint laying around. 

Speaking of living here for 17 years...my dear wife has always wanted a wood or pellet stove.  She just loves the HEAT they throw.  Well, we have finally decided to go ahead and make the investment.  We had a relatively mild winter this year, but in spite of the threats of global warming, I'm thinking we are due for a really cold winter soon.  So I have been kicking tires - so to speak - at several stove shops in the area for the past few weeks.  Today I decided to go and put a deposit on the pellet stove insert we are going to buy. 

The picture above is a picture...of a picture...of the insert we are getting.  I am going with the Winslow pellet insert, a Lennox Hearth product (based in Nashville, TN).  We are going with pellets instead of wood because pellets appear to be a better value, burn cleaner and just seem easier (storage and burn time superiority). 

Here is a picture of what our fireplace opening looks like right now:

Here is a picture of a stone fireplace that I like.  I am going to get a quote to see how much it will cost to re-do our brick fireplace with stone, before we install the pellet.  I may have to donate an organ or two. We'll see:

Anyway, after putting down my deposit on the stove insert, I put a call into a stone mason they recommended.  He will be out in a week or so to give me the quote. 

Next on my to-do list was mulch.  I swung (swang?) by the garden shop in Uxbridge and had them put a yard of red hemlock in the back of my pickup.  The guy had a bit of a challenge due to the kayak racks that I have (yes, kayak racks...but no kayak yet...don't rush me!).  But he managed to dump in a full yard and got nearly 100% of the yard right inside the bed of the truck.  Good job!

I took it home and mulched the front plant areas.  Earlier, I talked Kathryn into weeding out those areas so they would be ready for the mulch.

Left side of the entry way.

Full front view...grass is a bit worn out where the kids play
baseball in our yard.

Kathryn needed a few things at Walmart, and so did I, so we took a trip together.  She got some crafting supplies - she wanted to make a shelf to store her nail polish. 

I needed to find something to fix a VERY squeaky bed.  We had to get new rails for our bed frame last year.  They fit...but they were quite noisy. 

So I found this:

Yes, yes it is actually meant for a chain saw...or similar power equipment.  BUT...it said it stopped SQUEAKS!!  So I took off each bed rail from the head board and bottom...sprayed the metal parts with this stuff...let it sit for a few minutes and put it back together.  Guess what??? No squeaks!  Well, almost no squeaks.  I would call it a 90% improvement. 

Next, Kathryn wanted me to help hang her newly created nail polish shelf.

Here it is:

Good job Kathryn!


I also made some clam dip today.  I don't know why.  Just had a craving.  I think it turned out pretty good:

The day ended with Joshua and I playing a game of Hidden Chronicles on Facebook.  He loves that game.  We sit next to each other trying to find the hidden objects.  Kind of an evening tradition.

I helped Joshua with his shower.  While he was cleaning up, I sat and read a little from an old favorite book, "The Reformed Pastor" by Richard Baxter.  I'm not a pastor.  But I do have the privilege of teaching and sometimes sharing the gospel with others.  His words were a sobering reminder that it is possible to be very zealous for the souls of others...while be very careless for your own.  He says "God never saved any man for being a preacher; but because he was a justified, sanctified man, and consequently faithful to his Master's work.  Take heed, therefore, to yourselves first, that you be that which you persuade your hearers to be, and believe that which you persuade them to believe, and heartily entertain that Savior whom you offer to them."

I did also manage to get in my 10 chapters of Bible reading today too.  More information on this reading plan can be found HERE. 

Okay, so that was my Saturday.  And now I'm ready to call it a night, looking forward to Sunday, church, lunch with friends and family, and rest. 

Easter - Intended for Doubters

“I will not believe….”

John 20:25b

Not feeling especially religious this Easter?  Never really understood or been convinced that Jesus was someone special?  Not particularly impressed with the testimony about Jesus you have heard from others?  Are you somewhat doubtful that the things said about Jesus are really true?  In fact, are you pretty sure that it would take a miracle to convince you to change your mind about Jesus Christ?

Easter - Someone to plead for me

“Oh that one might plead for a man with God!”

Job 16:21

Next Sunday is Easter.  It might sound funny coming from a Christian, but I have mixed feelings about this holiday.  On the one hand, there is nothing more precious to me than my resurrected Savior Jesus Christ.  That event - on which the history of the world both before and after hangs - cannot be proclaimed loudly enough.  I love it.  On the other hand, the Christian emphasis upon Easter Sunday sometimes seems to set apart 1 Sunday as being “special” and suggests that all the other 51 Sundays per year are just “ordinary.”  For the Christian, every Sunday is supposed to be Easter Sunday. 

But the perpetuating of a special Sunday to bring particular focus on the resurrection has some positive effects.  My heart is given liberty to dwell a bit longer on themes related to the events just prior to the cross, the crucifixion itself, and the remarkable circumstances surrounding the empty tomb on Sunday morning.