Sword of the Spirit… got it?
3February 21, 2013 by Chris
“For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.”
1 Timothy 4:8
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“13 Therefore put on the full armor of 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. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 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 Lord’s people.”
Ephesians 6:13-18
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I was thinking about the armor of God and the sword of the Spirit the other day, and it occurred to me that the sword of the Spirit is the only offensive weapon in our personal arsenal. The sword of the Spirit, that is, the word of God, can be used to defend, but also to attack. Moreover, it can be used to not only attack for the sake of taking ground, but to attack for the sake of defending ourselves, or, others. We cannot rightly use this spiritual weapon or pray in the Spirit without the word of God.
This should drive the point home that we must be in the Word daily, constantly, to have any lasting effect, any godly value, in this life or the life to come. More importantly, if we aspire to be leaders in any form, spiritual or physical fathers especially, we have to acknowledge that if we are not studying and internalizing God’s words then we are leaving our families defenseless or leaving them to defend themselves.
Men, it is time to be men.
So as we train ourselves physically today, do not forget to train yourself spiritually. Read your Bible.
Love you,
Chris
Chris
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James 1:22 “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves, do what it says.”
Being a spiritual leader presents great responsibility and the need for discernment. I’m sure that we have all heard or read examples of the Spirit doing great things through believers and that same God is our Father and is ready and willing to help us do great things as well if we will only allow ourselves to be used by Him.
Interestingly,. the sword also requires “close contact” warfare. There is no keeping a “safe distance”. We must be aware that warfare is very close range and personal. We will be in the “thick of it”, not safely in a fortified position.
Very true! What’s cool too is that even in the thick of it, surrounded on all sides if you will, God is our fortress and our strength, and we are not overcome! The shield of faith keeps evil missiles that are lobbed at us at bay, and the prayers of a righteous man bring the rain!