Where is the Hope when you’re tempted to do wrong?
Believing God has promised to help me.
“and do not lead us into temptation”
Therefore put on the full armor God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Ephesians 6:13-18 NIV
The pieces of armor that Paul lists:
1.The Belt of Truth - We are to protect ourselves from satan’s lies by girding ourselves with God’s truth.
2.The Breastplate of Righteousness – When the devil accuses you and tries to make you feel unworthy and condemned, make sure your breastplate is in place by boldly telling him that you are now the righteousness of God. “There is therefore no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus”. Romans 8:1 KJV
3.Feet Fitted with the Gospel of Peace – Having the proper footwear is vital in the spiritual battle. You must spiritually soak your feet in the truth of the Gospel/Word so that you will be firmly rooted and grounded in his truths. Be ready at all times to march into satan’s territory with the message of God’s saving grace and trample the obstacles that he has placed in your path.
4.The Shield of Faith – Faith will counteract every attack that satan brings against you and it makes ineffective his assault of firing the flaming arrows of doubt, depression, addiction, anxiety or any other attack. Victory comes by courage, and courage only comes by faith.
5.The Helmet of Salvation – Your mind should be protected at all times because this is the primary battlefield of the devil. Everything that enters your mind must be filtered through the helmet of salvation. “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus”. Philippians 2:5 KJV
6.The Sword of the Spirit – The word of God is the sword of the Spirit and Hebrews 4:12 tells us that it is sharper than any two-edged sword. You can powerfully pierce the darkness of evil when you believe God’s word in your heart and speak it with your mouth. This is the weapon that Jesus used when he spoke scripture to ward off satan’s attacks when tempted in the desert in Luke 4:1-13.
Paul concludes by reminding you to be a person of prayer because your intimacy with God is the very foundation of effective spiritual warfare.
Hope In Action: Commit that from this day forward you will apply this passage by putting on the whole armor of God daily so that you can boldly stand against the attacks of the devil.
Bible Memory
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation,
