Tag Archives: Christian Life

Battle Plan – Strategy 5 – Put on the Armor

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Strategy 5: I have put on the whole armor of God so that I will be able to be standing when each skirmish is over.

Paul gives us this admonition in Ephesians 6: “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:10–11, NKJV)

We already discussed the fact that our strength and power comes from the Lord. As we work, He works (Philippians 2:12-13). Paul tells us here in Ephesians that we are to be strong in the power of His might. Obviously we are not strong in our own might. Our defeats day by day are enough evidence of that.

In order to stand against the schemes and tricks of the devil, we are to put on the whole armor of God as explained in this passage. There are pieces of armor for the head and for all the other parts of the body. They are mostly defensive, but He has given us the Sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, as our offensive weapon. We are to put the armor on. It won’t put itself on.

Why do we need this armor? Because we are not wrestling against flesh and blood, but against spiritual forces of wickedness. This is a dirty battle and the enemy is deceitful and cruel. Therefore we need all the protection we can get.

We need the belt of truth. Don’t believe the lies, even the lies you tell yourself. Know the truth and base your life on it.

We need the breastplate of righteousness. This cannot be our own righteousness because our righteousness is porous – full of holes. Paul writes in Philippians: “[that I might] be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;” (Philippians 3:9, NKJV)

We need God’s righteousness as our breastplate.

We are to have the gospel as our footwear. We need to preach the gospel to ourselves every single day. Christ died for our sins and paid the death penalty for us. He was raised the third day and is ascended into heaven where He makes intercession for us.

We are to have the shield of faith to quench those fiery darts. Faith is believing God, taking Him at His word. Faith involves acting on what He says. Faith which doesn’t act is not faith. As James tells us, such faith is dead.

We are to have the helmet of salvation. In other words, we are to be a regenerated person. A person who has been given a new heart, a new spirit and new inclinations toward God.

And we are to have the Word of God as our defensive and offensive weapon. Remember how Jesus responded to the temptations Satan brought him?  He said, “It is written.” We must know and use our Bibles effectively.

Priority Goal 5: Today I will make sure I have the armor on. I will think through the components of God’s armor and make sure I am securely protected by them. I will do this consciously and intentionally with my mind and heart focused on its importance for a successful battle. So that having done all, I will still be standing.

Battle Plan – Strategy 4 – Control the Body

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Strategy 4: I have taken control of my body and mind, keeping them in subjection.

Consider the following passages of Scripture:

1 Corinthians 9:27 But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.

Romans 6:12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.

2 Corinthians 10:5 Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.

1 Peter 4:1 Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin.

In the Christian life we are charged with responsibility to actively pursue the battle for our minds and bodies. We have the promise of God that as we work, He works (Philippians 2:13).

He provides the strength and power to do what needs to be done. In these passages we see Paul’s determination to bring his body into subjection. Our bodies should not rule over us and dictate what we do. Our body has its desires for food, pleasure, and sex, but is not to set the agenda. Paul tells us in Romans 6:12 that we should not allow sin to reign in our mortal body. It’s our responsibility to set the terms for what our body does.

Even the thoughts of our mind are to be brought under control and “into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” That’s not an easy proposition, but nevertheless, is it not impossible because of the victory Christ has already won for us.

Priority Goal 4: Today, I will take control of my body and mind by the power of the Spirit of God at work within me. I will keep my body and mind under subjection to the will of God.

Battle Plan – Strategy 3 – Sin and Satan Defeated

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Strategy 3 I am reminding myself of the fact that sin and the devil are defeated and God will not allow me to be tempted above what I am able.

These truths are not designed to make us complacent. They are given to us by God to strengthen our resolve and assure us that victory is possible on a daily basis.

Meditate on these passages of Scripture:

Hebrews 2:14-15 Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He (Jesus) Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

Colossians 2:14–15 Having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

Romans 6:6, 14 Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.  For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

From these passages we can see that sin and Satan have been defeated. God is actively engaged in preventing us from being tempted more than we are able to deal with. The power of sin has been broken. It might not feel that way, but the Bible tells us that this is the truth, and so by faith we are to believe it and claim it to be true and to respond accordingly as we face the various temptations that come our way.

Priority Goal 3: Today I will claim the fact that sin and the devil have been defeated and that the power they claim to hold over me is a fraud. God has taken away their power and authority, and I am able to overcome whatever temptation is coming my way through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Battle Plan – Strategy 2 – The Scriptures

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Strategy 2.  I am renewing my mind actively and regularly by reading, memorizing and meditating on Scripture. 

In each of these strategies I put the statement as an affirmative statement of fact. That helps us focus on what the goal is. It is a true or false statement. Within our own hearts we know whether the statement is true for us or not.  Is this true: I am renewing my mind actively and regularly by reading, memorizing and meditating on Scripture.

Here we have another essential personal discipline that gets overlooked all too often. We are constantly looking for the secret of this or that as though there were hidden methods for being successful in the Christian life. There are no secrets. It’s all right there out in the open. We just don’t do it.

Romans12:2: And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

It’s important to be renewing our minds. God says that this is the way that transformation takes place. And the Christian method of renewing the mind is to spend time reading, memorizing and meditating on Scripture. There is no shortcut. Consider these passages:

Psalm 1:1-3:  Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper. (Emphasis mine.) Now when you read the word “prosper,” don’t think about the American definition of prosperity. Prosperity here is success in the eyes of God. He is focused on spiritual growth and Christ-likeness as His goals.

It’s interesting to note that in verse 4, the Psalmist says that the ungodly are not like this. The question we need to ask ourselves is, “Am I like this?” If not, I am putting myself into the category of the ungodly. Is that where I want to be?

Joshua 1:8: This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. (Emphasis mine)

Psalm 119:11: Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.

Take some time every day to be in the Scriptures. Read a portion and spend some time thinking deeply about it.  Begin a Scripture memory plan. Memorize one verse a week or one every other week. Write the verse on a 3×5 card, or use a phone app, and review it every day until you have it learned. Then go on to another.

If these activities are not an important aspect of your life, you cannot expect to have victory over sin and the temptations you may be facing. Don’t look for other solutions. Spending time in prayer and in the Word is foundational to victory.

Priority Goal 2: I am going to spend time each day reading and meditating on the Word of God.

If this is your goal, take a moment right now and determine where in your schedule you will put this important activity. What scripture passage will you begin to read today? Find a notebook where you can jot down questions and thoughts that come to mind as you meditate. Do this now.

Ephesians 5:15-17

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“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”

Paul begins verse 15 telling us to be careful therefore. Therefore what? We are not to take part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them to the light. Let Christ shine on us. Walk in the light as He is in the light.

Therefore..

Therefore do not be unwise. He doesn’t use the word ‘moronic’ here, but unwise. Being unwise is foolish, but it has a different aspect to it. It emphasizes that there is a wise way to live life, and the warning here is to choose that wise way rather than avoiding it.

So, we are to live as wise people, making the best use of time. Literally it means to buy back the time, to ransom it back to freedom, to noble and godly purposes. We live in evil days. The days have always been evil. But we are to be alert and wise about the way we live. We are to be deliberate about how we use our time. Don’t just fritter it away. Make the best use of it.

Therefore. Because of that admonition to be careful, God tells us not to be foolish or unthinking. Instead, we need to understand what the will of the Lord is. That means we need to spend time learning more about the Lord Jesus, and we need to spend time getting to know Him, i.e., reading His word, meditating on it, and praying. As we spend significant blocks of time in this way, we will understand more and more about what the will of the Lord is. In turn, we will grow in our ability to buy back our time to make it an important tool in living for God.

Battle Plan Series – Intro – Part 2

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Last time we asked the question, , “Do I really want to pursue righteousness and holiness, and count everything loss in order to know Christ and the power of His resurrection in my life?” Do I really want this? Am I willing to work hard, suffer and sweat to gain it?

This is not a trite question. You shouldn’t just read it and go on. In order to help us think about this, I’d like to look at several passages of Scripture.

The Bible speaks about fleeing some things and pursuing others. Hebrews 12:14 says, “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.”  One of the things that should be pursued is holiness. To pursue means to chase down or chase after. You’ve seen the police chases. Several squad cars are seen pursuing a car speeding to get away. The point is, they are trying to catch the person. They are not just following along after it like they would be during non-chase normal traffic situations.  So we are to chase down holiness, which the writer says we need if we want to see the Lord. Do you have the desire to see the Lord? Do you have the desire to chase holiness? Are you chasing it?

1 Timothy 6:11 But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.

There are things to flee, but in this case I’m focusing on the pursuit. Here we are told to pursue several traits. Look these over and ask yourself, “Am I chasing these things?” Look at each one of these traits one at a time.  Do you have a desire chase them? Are you willing to ask God for the desire to chase them? Do you want to chase righteousness? Godliness? Faith? Love? Patience? Gentleness?

2 Timothy 2:22 Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

Am I fleeing and do I desire to flee youthful lusts? Older people can have youthful lusts. Sex is certainly one of these, but young people also have other inordinate desires for prestige, acceptance, power, recklessness, etc. Sometimes as we get older, these lusts don’t disappear. We need to run away from these lusts with as much energy as we can. And here again we are to pursue righteousness and other traits. So if you can picture this, we are to be running away from some things in hot pursuit of other things. This is not a lazy afternoon walk. This is a chase. Paul says he beats his body to keep it under control and in subjection to his mind (1 Corinthians 9:27). The author of Hebrews challenges us by saying that we haven’t resisted to bloodshed in our fight against sin (Hebrews 12:4).

And from Philippians 3:8-14 we learn that, like Paul, we should count things that are normally thought of as gain, we should count them loss. Keeping those things would be a negative. The reason is because of the excellence of Christ. Paul wanted to gain Christ. He described his effort as “pressing for the mark.”  He was like a runner stretching out to be the first person across the line. That is the kind of effort he was making in order to know Christ better and to be found in Him.

Before we go on to any of the strategies that I will outline for us, each one of us needs to ask ourselves the question: Do I really want this?  Do I want to pursue righteousness and holiness?  Do I really want Christ above all things? If the answer is “no” or if the answer is “I don’t think I really care,” or if the answer is a shrug of the shoulders, then there’s no point in going on.

Next time we’ll begin to look at some of the strategies in detail.

Ephesians 4:1

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I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.

Ephesians

Ephesians 4:1

There’s a transition now from a more “doctrinal” section to what some might say is more practical. He’s basically says, “Because of what I’ve taught you in the first three chapters, I am now going to challenge you to live in a certain way.”

Paul is a prisoner, but the Ephesians were out there living their lives. He urges them to live in a way that fits the calling that they have received.

We as believers, have been called out of the world and into a relationship with Christ. We have been called to be followers, disciples of the Lord Jesus. Jesus lived a life of teaching and example for His followers. Paul is urging all of us to live in a way that fits the calling we’ve been given. If we live our lives in the old way as unbelievers do, there is a clash between that walk and the way Jesus would have us walk.

That should be our challenge as we begin this new year — live a life worthy of our calling.

Exported from Logos Bible Software, 10:57 AM January 8, 2021.

Ephesians 2:10

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For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Verse 10 begins with another “for.” He has just told us that our salvation is not of works, otherwise we would boast. Why is it not of works, Paul? Because we are His workmanship. The emphasis, I think, is on the word “His.” God is the master craftsman and we are His workmanship.

What is the goal of His creative working? We were created in Christ Jesus for good works. Salvation comes ahead of the works. God prepared these good works ahead of time for us to walk in them. When we walk in faithful obedience to God, we know that any good works we do, He prepared before hand for us. He has gifted each believer to fit into the body where He wants us to function. He prepares the works that we should do in that part of the body. There is no need to be looking around at what other people do and what gifts they have. God has prepared our works for us personally that we would walk in them. And, by walking in them, or, in other words, living them out, we are helping to build up the body of Christ.

Exported from Logos Bible Software, 8:48 PM November 4, 2020.

Ephesians 2:3

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Among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

Ephesians

Ephesians 2:3

We used to live as one of those sons of disobedience. he says in verse 3 that we all once lived among them. We were just like them.

What was our character? It was to live according to the passions of our flesh. Passions are lusts or strong desires that drive us to do things. Lusts of the flesh are strong desires that come from our physical bodies. John writes that the things of this world involve the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life.

In verse 3 here Paul explains that living in the passions of our flesh involves the carrying out the desires of the body and the mind. We do what we want. Whatever comes naturally based on the desires of the body, that is what we do. There’s not much thinking and virtually no self-control. If it feels good, do it! That’s the philosophy of the age we live in, but it has been the philosophy of the human race since the fall, and we were just like that.

Paul goes on to say that we were by nature children of wrath just like everyone else. Our nature is evil. It is in-born. The wrath of God rests upon all human beings because of their natural rebellion against God and because of the strong desire to do what we want to do without considering God or others.

Everyone is like that from birth onward. Just like they, we also were by nature children of wrath. We are no better.

Exported from Logos Bible Software, 2:00 PM October 26, 2020.

Ephesians 1:18

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having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,

Paul’s prayer continues in verse 18. This verse begins with the participle phrase “having the eyes of your hearts enlightened.” Being enlightened is a passive verb. Our hearts are enlightened from the outside. Somebody enlightened them. Someone opened our eyes and turned the lights on for us. It is obviously God that has done this.

This enlightening has occurred so that we might know the hope to which God has called us. When our physical eyes are opened to something, we can see objects, examine them and, not just know that they are there, but become acquainted and understand their characteristics. It is the same way here. Paul is not saying that we just know that we have hope. We can see it, feel it, and appreciate it.

Hope in this sense is not “hope so” hope. It is a future promise that we are looking forward to with anticipation. So, God has opened the eyes of our hearts so that we would know that future which God has promised to us. He has called us to have that hope.

The second thing in this verse that He wants us to know is the riches of the glorious inheritance in the saints. The inheritance is described as His inheritance. What I think that means is that we are Jesus’ inheritance. Hebrews 7:13 quotes Jesus as saying “Here am I and the children whom God has given Me.” And in John 17:6, Jesus speaks of the men God has given Him. So, we Christians have been given to Christ by God, and I think that is the glorious inheritance which Jesus is receiving.

What does that do to our appreciation for the work of God when we consider the fact that Jesus wants us to know that He considers the inheritance He is receiving glorious?

Exported from Logos Bible Software, 11:19 AM October 12, 2020.