I don't know about you, but when I get up in the morning and look at my wardrobe to decide what to wear for the day, I don't think about reaching for my helmet or shield! I think about the weather, the occasion I'm dressing for and what is clean and ready in front of me. In Ephesians 6:13-17 Paul writes to the church in Ephesus and tells them that they need to suit up with a different kind of outfit: the armor of God.
Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God...
I was thinking about the parts of the armor and how each one is vital to our spiritual protection. Just like we wouldn't (hopefully!) forget to put on clothing each morning, we need to get into the habit of dressing in this armor regularly and intentionally so that we are ready for any weather and any occasion. I find it interesting that of the six parts of the armor, only one is an offensive (attacking) weapon and that is the sword of the Spirit: the word of God. When things come against us, how do we respond? Do we hide in fear? Do we run to others for help (there is definitely a place for that!)? Or do we reach for our sword? How often is our first response to pick up the sword of the Spirit and begin to fight using the word of God in our hands and our mouths? I know for me, this is not my first response as often as I want it to be.
I want to encourage you to meditate on each piece of this armor that we have been given and ask God what it means for you to put on and use each of these things. He is faithful to teach and train us to use and walk in the gifts he has given us.
I absolutely love the fact that the new Armor of God stamp set has all the words and pictures necessary to journal this Scripture - and there are SO many ways you could do that. I chose to base my page in my Interleaved Bible around hexagons, because there are six pieces of armor and so a hexagon with six sides will help me to remember that! I cut out a hexagon shape using a set of dies, then drew around it over and over to create the pattern. Then I stamped the text and images into each, sometimes needing to overlap and use another hexagon below so everything would fit in. I used a combination of watercolours and metallic paint to colour the page in. Here's the whole stamp set I used:
The next time you stare at your wardrobe wondering what you will wear that day, remember that God has given us this armor and has told us to put it on. So let's be intentional about wearing our defensive clothes and using our offensive weapon!
Be blessed...
x Amy x
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