As the apostle Paul details the full armor of God that each Christian is to “put on,” there are many defensive pieces. One piece stands out as the “offensive weapon” for each Christian—the sword of the Spirit. There are several things to note about this sword. It is called “the sword of the Spirit,” emphasizing that this is the manner in which the Holy…

As a soldier puts on his armor, there are some pieces that are put on last (kind of like a football player putting on his protective gear). But the order does not set the value, as a soldier’s helmet is absolutely essential to protect his head and his mind, which controls everything that he does and the choices that he makes. This is the…

A soldier has certain pieces of armor that he wears, but he also has armor that he holds out against attack, to keep the danger from reaching his body. The Roman soldier’s shield was one such defense, and it was actually able to protect the entire body when crouched behind it (often about 4-feet tall and 2.5-feet wide). It was covered in such a…

A soldier certain needs a belt to hold everything together (i.e., God’s truth) and a breastplate to protect his heart (i.e., God’s righteousness), but what good would a soldier be without firm footing? God calls upon His soldiers to have “strapped on your feet the preparation of the gospel of peace” (Eph. 6:15). Soldiers must be prepared! They must be ready! They must have a firm…

After belting your waist with God’s truth (note that His truth holds everything together), God calls upon us to ensure that we have armed ourselves with “the breastplate of righteousness” (Eph. 6:14). A breastplate was designed to protect the center mass, particularly a soldier’s heart. If the enemy could penetrate there, all hope was lost. In order for our breastplate to do its job…

When you consider “the whole armor of God” with which the Christian is to arm himself, the first piece identified by Paul in Ephesians 6:14 is “the belt of truth” (ESV). The NKJV says, “Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth.” The NASB says, “…having belted your waist with truth.” The soldier’s belt truly held everything together. Without it, he could not engage. As Christians,…

After the resurrection of Jesus, the disciples of Jesus took time to go fishing. However, John 21 tells us that they fished all night and “caught nothing” (21:4). These guys were professional fishermen (at least we know that Peter, James and John were). Maybe they were showing the other disciples their expertise in “how to fish.” But, that morning, they had nothing. Jesus appeared to them…

We sometimes wonder how individuals could reject Jesus, right to His face, when they were witnessing supernatural, mind-blowing power demonstrated from His hands. After Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead (he’d been dead for four days), the Jews plotted to kill both Jesus and Lazarus (John 10:45-57; 12:9-11). Such amazing unbelief! How could they? Yet, if people could (and did) reject Jesus in the face…