The Protection Your Heart Requires

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(Excerpted from Spiritual Healing:  The Surrender That Brings Victory--Chapter 8)

"The next piece of armor spoken of is the breastplate of righteousness.  This piece of the armor is critical if we are going to protect our 'hearts.'  The breastplate was a shield that covered the major organs of the body, from the neck to the hips.  Spiritually speaking, it covers our heart.  If we are going to fully follow God's commands by taking full vengeance on our sins so that we can have a heart that is united and healed by God, then we must use this breastplate in the battle.  Christ's righteousness was credited to us at the point of our salvation.  We were justified in the eyes of our Lord.  In other words, in God's eyes, it was 'just as if' we had never sinned.  But there is another righteousness that we must focus on now that we are saved.  It is the righteousness of holy living.  In order to live out a holy lifestyle, and thus live righteously, we must use the breastplate that protects us from this kind of warfare, making right choices in the midst of the battle of temptation.

Too often we think about making the right choices after we have been tempted and fall prey to the enemy's scheme by making a wrong and sinful choice.  That is why the breastplate of righteousness should be practiced and exercised every day so that at the moment of great temptation, it will be second nature to us to make the right choice.  You must practice seeing yourself as Christ sees you--as His righteous child--and do what a righteous one would do."

The Drink Offering I Require

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Jacob disobeyed My command.  He went his own way, and there was a tremendous price to pay.  You see, I called him to return to Bethel, the place where he first met Me.  But after he was reunited to his brother Esau, instead of coming "home,"  he chose to go to Shechem.  It was a disastrous decision that left his daughter's life in ruin, and two of his sons became murderers.  But most of all, he had separated himself from Me. He had listened to his own voice, instead of Mine.  So I spoke to him again, commanding him to return to Bethel, our special meeting place.

Jacob's heart was receptive.  But he didn't just pack up his family and belongs and make the move.  This time, before doing anything else, he set things right in his heart.  And he asked his family to do the same.  His instructions to them were clear and precise.  He said, "Put away your gods from you, purify yourselves, and change your attire." (35:2)

Jacob understood what it would mean to follow My ways, now.  It would require him to put away everything in his life that was set before Me.  Then he would have to remove the "residue" of the impact of those gods by allowing Me to change the filthy garments of his character.  By letting Me in to his life in this manner, he was building an altar of worship to Me. (35:3)

When Jacob, whom I now called Israel, arrived in Bethel, he wasted no time returning that point where I first met with him as he was fleeing from his brother Esau, whom desired to kill him.  Twenty years later, My Jacob, came back to Me, with more than a simple belief in Me.  He returned with a holy desire to be pleasing to Me, to sacrifice all  for Me on his altar of worship.  It was there that he poured out a drink offering to me, a hin  (gallon) of wine, over the pillar of stone he built to honor Me.  Little did he know that the wine he poured out to me was less important to Me than the sacrifice of his whole life to Me.  Jacob, My Israel, poured out his life when he put away his gods, purified his life life, and "put on" new spiritual clothing by "changing" his character.  That is the drink offering I require.  It was the drink offering Paul, thousands of years later, referred to when he said, ". . . I am being poured out as a drink offering. . ." in Phil. 2:17.

My precious one, I will require the same thing from you, but you must return to that place where we first met.  Come to Me, lay down your life to Me by putting away your gods, allow the Spirit to purify your heart (motives, will,  emotions), and change your robes.  I have set aside for you glorious robes of RIGHTEOUSNESS!

My child, the glass of your life that you wish to pour out to Me is filled with your spiritual life blood.  Tip it over; pour it out; empty it completely.  And I will fill you with Myself.  THIS is the drink offering I require.

Are You Dressed Appropriately?

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The Full Armor of God

If you are a believer, you are engaged in a vicious battle.  I bet you didn't need me to tell you that!  As Christians we know that there is a battle raging in the heavenlies over our souls.  God has us; Satan wants us.  We have been schooled in this topic; we know that we are often attacked in the area of temptation.  But there is just one problem that I can see, in my life as well as in the lives of the believers I know.  We do not often WIN the battle at hand.  What is it that keeps us from winning?  Simple.  We are not wearing the proper attire for battle!  All to often we find ourselves in the midst of an all out attack, and our armor is still hanging neatly in our closet!  Or maybe this sound more like you. . .You always have your helmet of salvation on, but the rest of your armor has gone missing.  You are not even sure where you left your sword!

Today while I was reading in I Chronicles 12, I came across a description of David's military force.  Think again of the picture in your mind of you, as a warrior against the enemies of God, inappropriately lacking pieces of your armor.  Now consider David's army as described in the  Word:

• Mighty men of valor
• Men trained for war
• Men who could handle both shield and spear
• Men whose faces were like that of a lion
• Men who were swift in action

As I considered how often I go out each morning to battle, with my helmet of salvation tightly strapped on to my head and the Word of God, my sword, in my hand ready to fight if necessary.   Yet, I lack the rest of my armor.  Realizing this,  I began to understand just why it is that I am prone to lose my battles with temptation.  You see, I know I am saved; but I set out each morning, knowing the enemy desires to do battle with me, leaving behind the rest of my armor except for the study I have done that morning.  Though having my helmet on and my sword in my hand, it is not sufficient armor to win.  On these days, dressed inappropriately for battle, I cannot win.  

In my case I must go to that closet, take out and put on the pieces I so often leave behind.  There is the breastplate of righteousness, that covers and protects my heart, and the belt of truth that helps me discern the lies that the enemy tells me.  Going barefoot is of no military help when I leave my shoes of the gospel of peace on the floor of my closet.  Those shoes are a reminder that God and I are on peaceful terms now because of the shed blood of His Son on my behalf.  And what good is a soldier without his shield of faith?  One cannot walk in both fear and faith at the same time.  It is one or the other.  Without faith in full bloom, the enemy will terrorize us fear, shooting us with one fiery dart after another.  With no faith in place, no truth in place, no righteousness in place, no peace with God in place, our relationship with God and His word will not prevent us from being hit over and over again by an enemy seeking to destroy us.

We must learn that it is vitally important to our walk with God that we be Mighty Children of Valor -- trained to fight, able to use our shield of faith and sword of the Spirit together, with a face of strength, being willing to act quickly against every temptation of our enemy.  

This was the description of David's mighty men.  Is it a description of you?  If not, you need to go to your closet and drag out that dusty armor, and put it on!  Don't leave home without it!