Thought for July 24, 2023

  •  1911: Hiram Bingham discovers Machu Picchu
  • 1998: "Saving Private Ryan" premiers
  • Born: Simon Bolivar, Amelia Earhart, Barry Bonds, Jennifer Lopez
  • Died: Martin Van Buren, Peter Sellers
Thought:
Today I am reading again Ephesians 6, a passage very familiar to us-the armor God. Thinking about these verses again today, a couple of things come clear:
  • It is God's armor and God's strength [6:10-11]. If I could only remember this. Instead, I find myself putting on my armor and relying on my strength. Why must I use God's armor, not mine. Because the battle is spiritual and the struggles are spiritual--against the rulers, powers, and forces of darkness and wickedness. My armor is not prepared for battling these enemies--but God in His grace provides armor especially designed for the battle--truth, righteousness, faith, the word. I want to fight battles with my human mind, my human weapons--He offers spiritual weapons and armor designed for the battle. Reminds me of that scene in "Raiders of the Lost Ark"--the man swings a large sword, then Indy pulls out a pistol and shoots him--he brought the wrong weapon to the battle. 
  • My job is to put on and stand firm [6:11, 13, 14]. I have said before that God does not give complicated instructions--instructions are sometimes difficult to perform, but not difficult to understand. Here is our charge--God has provided the armor, but we must put it on. We must volunteer to be His soldiers. We must put on the uniform everyday. This is a decision of the will--am I going to put on the armor that God provides or am I going to rely on my own armor? I have to cover my mind with His helmet; cover my heart with His protection, be encircled by His truth, hold His shield of faith and wield His sword of the word of God. And notice, He tells me to but on the FULL armor. If I go into battle knowing the truth, but lacking faith--I lose. If I set me defense correctly, but then use weapons other than the word, I lose. Now, having put on the armor I must stand firm. The picture is the Roman soldier formed for battle. Their sandals had cleats, like football shoes, and they drive those cleats into the ground and stood against the attack of the enemy. The enemy will try and run over you, overwhelm you, overpower you--but God's armor will stand the test if we stand firm. 
Blessings
Larry

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thought for July 19

History: 1553: Lady Jane Gray deposed after 9 days 1692: 5 people hung during Salem Witch Trials 1848: First women's rights convention -Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott. Wesleyan Chapel at Seneca Falls NY 1910: Cy Young wins his 500th game 1941: US Army flying school at Tuskegee AL dedicated 1945: USS Cod saves 51 sailors from Dutch sub--only sub-to-sub rescue 1957: Firing of first rocket with nuclear warhead-Nevada 1984: Geraldine Ferraro is first major party female VP candidate 1996: Olympics open in Atlanta 2007: Madmen debuts 2018: Duck Boat sinks in Table Rock Lake killing 17 Born: Samuel Colt, Edgar Degas [painter], Lizzie Borden, Charles Mayo [Mayo Clinic], George McGovern, Al Haig, George Hamilton IV, Vikki Carr, Ilie Nastase, Stuart Scott, Benedict Cumberbatch,  Died: Syngman Rhee [President South Korea], Clyde Beatty [circus animal trainer], Mary Jo Kopechne [passenger with Ted Kennedy], Jack Warden, Frank McCourt [Angela's Ashes], James Garner, Garry Marshall
Read more

Thought for November 23, 2023

Happy Thanksgiving!  1664: Blaise Pascal is converted following a vision. He wrote the date and time of his conversion and said, "Fire. The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob. Not of philosophers and intellectuals. Certitude, certitude, joy, peace. The God of Jesus Christ." Laid the foundation for the law of probabilities; genius in hydrodynamics and hydrostatics developing Pascal's principle of pressure; taught the experience of God through the heart rather than reason; mathematician and philosopher. 1783: Annapolis Maryland becomes U.S. Capitol until June 1784 1863: Patent for making color photographs granted 1889: First jukebox debuts in Palais Royale Saloon in San Francisco 1897: Pencil sharpener patented 1904: Summer Olympics in St. Louis close [1st Olymics in U.S.] 1921: President Harding signs an Act prohibiting doctors from prescribing beer or liquor for medicinal purposes 1923: Cecil B. DeMille's first "The Ten Commandments" premiers
Read more

Thought for April 5, 2024

1722: Easter Island discovered 1792: First Presidential veto 1815: Mt. Tambora erupts. Largest eruption ever witnessed. Created year without summer in 1816--frost and snow in North America in June and July. Largest part of eruption on April 10th. Killed 10,000 in initial blast.  1906: Mt. Vesuvius erupts killing 100 1923: Firestone begins producing inflatable tires 1936: Tupelo almost completely destroyed by a tornado--216 die 1972: Baseball strike costs 86 games 2063: On "Star Trek", earth has its first contact with the Vulcan species Born: Thomas Hobbes, Joseph Lister, Booker T Washington, Spencer Tracy, Bette Davis, Gregory Peck, Arthur Hailey. Gale Storm, Frank Gorshin, Colin Powell, Pharrell Williams Died: Robert Raikes [Sunday School], Douglas MacArthur, Howard Hughes, Abe Fortas, Sam Walton, Allen Ginsberg, Saul Bellow, Charlton Heston, Honor Blackman Thought: Reading Daniel 1:5-7 this morning. Continuing with the thoughts about Nebuchadnezzar's plan. Having brough
Read more