Do You Have Your Armor?

"Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering that you are." 1 Peter 5:8-9

Do you ever get so busy that you just forget who the enemy is? With the constant bombardment of information that we receive from the TV and our phones, it's no wonder that we get distracted. We tend to forget that, mixed in with all these distractions, are so many little attacks.

They are the little things that we are so used to seeing, like the billboards that we see on our daily commutes, the ones that make us envious of the family that gets to go on that cruise. How about the ones of the perfectly sculpted man or woman that put our self esteem to a new low?

Does that roaring lion strike when you are strong and fully devoted, or does he wait until your concentration slips? When you are too distracted to know that he is right behind you? Our enemy knows what he is doing, he has had thousands of years of experience.

"For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places." Ephesians 6:12

God knows what we go through. He knew before we were even born. He has warned of these attacks, and He wants us to stand strong against them. He even gave us armor!

"This is why you should take God's whole armor; then you can resist when things are at their worst and having done everything, you can hold your ground. Stand, then, with truth as a belt fastened around your waist, with righteousness covering you as a breastplate, and with shoes on your feet, ready to bring the good news of peace. Besides all these, take faith as the shield with which you can put out all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take salvation as your helmet, and the Spirit's sword, which is God's Word. Pray at all times in the Spirit, using every kind of prayer. Be alert and keep at it continually as you pray for all the holy people." Ephesians 6:13-18

Are you truthful? Righteous? Do you bring the good news to people? How strong is your faith? Do you wield the Word like Jesus did in the wilderness? Are you always praying?

No wonder we are always under attack. Do you do all of this? I know that I don't. No wonder so many new Christians walk away, we soft-sell Christianity to be just, "Believe in Jesus and you will go to Heaven. Better to be safe then sorry." How unfair to those new believers, they have no idea what they are getting into. It shouldn't surprise us when they fall, not if they walked into this war unprepared.

Genesis 4:7b "... Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you..." Are you ready for it?

Sam