Take My Hand Inspirations
ARMOR OF GOD SERIES
“. . . and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel
of peace, . . . “ (Ephesians
6:15).
To prepare simply means to “get ready”. Before we start a race, we hear: “On your
marks, get set (ready), . . . .” What
must a Christian soldier get ready for? Preparation is what you do and the time
you take to get ready for something that will happen either in the immediate
future (one minute, one hour, one day from now) or distant future (one month,
one year, one decade from now).
You, fearless Soldier of the Cross, are to get
yourself ready to teach, preach, and reach with the gospel of peace in this
cold, cruel, apathetic, atheistic, violent world we live in. Your preparation—knowing what the Bible says
and being able to share your testimony about how you were saved—is key in this
Battle for Souls. So, the question posed
to you right now is: Where do you allow your feet to go?
When gossip is spreading like wild fire, many of
us go running to it so quickly we don’t even discern (to see with spiritual
eyes) the pain in a soul crying out to be saved standing right next to us. We rather push him or her aside in lust to
satisfy our itching ears. Or when there
is a wayfaring warfare of words, insults ricocheting throughout a house, or in
the streets, or on any kind of media, some Christian feet are ever present
catching it all in—in silence! Aren’t
you supposed to go with the gospel of peace?
Why is your mouth closed?! Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of
God (Matthew 5:9).
Our feet go where our “eyes” take them. Inside our eyes is a lens, the part of the
eye behind
the pupil (the black hole at the front of the eye) that helps you to
see clearly by focusing (collecting) light onto another part of the eye called
the retina. The retina receives the
light and sends pictures of what the eye sees to the brain. From there, the brain interprets what is seen
and sends message to any part of the body either to act (or to react) or to not
act at all.
The rose-colored glasses are the way we “see”
situations around us from the point of view outside ourselves. These spectacles (specs) are not related to
the ego, the “me” part of how we feel.
Rose-coloured specs are the unselfish “eyes” that peer into the needs of
others and compel us to go
and help. They enable us to recognize
the lessons even in the worst tragedy.
They focus on the possibility in seemingly hopeless circumstances; and
they envision a future full of light and filled with rose-coloured roses and
pink balloons and zany yellows and sky blues and chartreuse greens and rainbow
joy!
And folks who wear these specs know fully well how
dark life can be, but they choose every day, and often by force, to create a
better world, a beautiful world—here on earth as it is in heaven—for the
sin-sick souls around them. A smile, an “a-ha”,
an exhale of relief released from a once imprisoned soul set free is the joy we receive
as Soldiers in God’s Salvation Army. Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of
the angels of God over one sinner who repents (Luke 15:10). The
GREAT COMMISSION also saves you, the one going. As you constantly witness the miracle of
re-birth—creating new beings, new creations (2 Corin. 5:17), your faith is
recharged and set ablaze on fire—Holy Ghost . . . fire!
The late musical genius, Michael Jackson, sang it
from his whole heart: Heal the world,
make it a better place, for you and for me and the entire human race; there are
people dying, if you care enough for the living, let’s make a better place for
you and for me.
Keep this in your mind’s "eye": The Armor is THE SHOES. The Weapon is PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE. THIS WEAPON
PARALYZES THE WILES OF THE DEVIL!
Satan wants to keep you in the dark about how powerful you are in
Christ. He wants to distract you from
Bible reading and to stop you from sharing your testimony by dumping tragedies
of sorts into your life to steal your joy of salvation. He wants you to see yourself as helpless,
hopeless, pitiful and ugly. He tries to
turn your attention inwardly so that you only think about yourself and your
problems.
The dark-coloured glasses do not let you clearly
see how beautiful you are. When you
commit to going in The Great
Commission YOU
BECOME BEAUTIFUL. How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the
gospel of peace, who bring good news, who bring glad tidings of good things, who
proclaim salvation . . . (Isaiah 52:7 and Romans 10:15).
On your marks, get
ready, . . .
© 2019 by Take My Hand Inspirations, a
division of PepParadise Society Ltd Publishers.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
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only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Unless otherwise stated, all scripture
quotations are from The New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas
Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All
rights reserved.
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Take My Hand Inspirations
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