FIGHTING AGAINST THE SCHMUTZ OF LIFE
I love aprons! I wear one almost every day! It is my shield against all the splatter and schmutz of life! And there is a lot of schmutz out there! Today let’s talk about another shield we all need to put on everyday too!
Today is the fourth post in the series called THE ARMOR OF GOD! We have learned that we do not war against flesh and blood and that the evil one wants to tear us apart! We have already talked about prayer and standing firm.  So let’s move from the Armor Of God that we “put on” to a piece of armor that God tells us to “take up”!
This is more important in our day to day life than any apron could ever be…
IN ADDITION TO ALL, TAKING UP THE SHIELD OF FAITH WITH WHICH YOU WILL BE ABLE TO EXTINGUISH ALL THE FLAMING MISSLES OF THE EVIL ONE. Ephesians 6: 16
In ancient times a Roman soldier carried a shield or scutum. It was a large piece of wood. It was large enough to cover a soldier. Think of it as the size of a door! The scutum was tapered and rounded on the edges. Arrows would deflect off the rounded edges so that the shield would not take on the direct force of an arrows blow.
It was often covered with some sort of hide that when wet could extinguish the flaming arrows of the enemy.
A very important weapon indeed! A soldier’s shield provided a great deal of protection!
Faith is a vital and important part of the armor God has given us to use every day in the war Satan is waging against us! Faith acts as a huge shield to deflect and stop all the hurt, hate, doubt, and trouble God’s mortal enemy throws at us!
Satan and his minions will throw all kinds of things at us just hoping something will stick! Lies and half-truths about our most vulnerable areas. And then when something he has thrown has pierced us he continues to wage war in that area to make us weak, doubtful, worried, sick, and more! His objective is to annihilate us!
Here’s what Jesus says about him…
THE THEIF COMES TO STEAL, KILL AND DESTROY Jn 10:10a
This is true! And we need to know our enemies plans to be victorious over him!
Our faith is a shield against Satan’s lies!
So, what is this faith we are to hold up before us as we walk, every day, through the battlefield of life?
Hebrews 11:1 says:
NOW FAITH IS CONFIDENCE IN WHAT WE HOPE FOR AND ASSURANCE ABOUT WHAT WE DO NOT SEE.
Faith is having a firm conviction about the substance, or the realness of, things we hope for and the assurance of those things even though we cannot see them.
The things we hope for are the promises of God. They are as real as if they already have happened because God’s word is yea and amen!
Faith is a noun. A “thing”. But let’s slip in the action word for faith… belief! Believing is the verb! What are we to believe? We are to believe God!
Faith is believing God. It is knowing that what God says is true and God promises will come to pass. No matter what we see with our eyes and feel with our emotions or experience with all of our senses we will believe God above all!
Satan wants to fill you with doubt about God’s promises. He wants to sew doubt in your mind so your shield of faith falls away!
How do we keep our shield always ready and in front of us to protect us?
We need to read and study and know what the word of God says! How can we have faith in someone we do not know? How can we believe in God’s and his promises if we do not read His Word?
Satan is on the prowl. He is looking for a loose piece of armor or a shield that is not raised up before us! He is a master marksman. He will shoot his flaming arrows of doubt straight towards our heart!
We must use faith to protect our hearts (our minds, will, emotion, intellect, character) from any of his lying schemes! Believe God! Believe God is who He says He is. Believe God can do what He says He can do. Believe God’s promises are as true as if they have already happened!
Believe God and God alone!
God has many promises for “overcomers” in the Bible. I have read the bible to the end… and WE WIN! Don’t let Satan’s deceiving ways beat and overcome you. Overcome his dirty lies by having faith!
In war, the goal of a soldier is to win. To overcome the enemy. Our goal is to overcome the enemy too. And just like Jesus, be victorious!
Hold up your shield of faith against anything the enemy throws at you. Use your belief about God to deflect Satan’s lies.
Do not fear!
Here is the rest of the scripture from Jesus…
THE THEIF COMES TO STEEL, KILL AND DESTROY; I HAVE COME THAT THEY MAY HAVE LIFE, AND HAVE IT TO THE FULL. Jn 10:10
Live your God-given life of abundance! Fight against the eternal schmutz of life! Hold up that shield!
Live a life of overcoming and victory!
You can see the other posts in the ARMOR OF GOD SERIES BELOW…
A WARRIOR DOES NOT WEAR PURPLE HIGH HEALS
This post has been updated with new content and an image. First published on Aug 14, 2016
Thank you for this much needed and very timely and God-breathed message.
You are so welcome, Sandra! God bless you and keep you safe!
So sweet Sandy! You are welcome, praise God!
Amen. Thanks for those good words.
Amen indeed!
Thank You. Wonderful! So inspiring and faith building. I am holding up my shield.
Good for you Margaret! Me too!
We are going through very tough times, with people dying from this flu´, some of these people on their own as no one is allowed to be with them. And when we think about all these human beings that have lost or will lose their jobs in the coming weeks, it breaks my heart. What I mean is that keeping our faith is what we are thought to do, but it is not that easy!
Maybe we need and extra dose of FAITH in big, big letters. This is what we have to do, ask for more tons of faith and try to understand why God sends things like this to humans, maybe it is the right time to try to change and become a bit better and improve the quality of life of those around us and ours too. My grandmother used to tell me that we always have to be ready for unexpected things that most ot the times are not good, and she added that bad things make us stronger and if we are lucky enough, a bit better people too.
Hope you and yours have a very good week, full of health and good presents from life,
Charo
Hi Charo, You are so right, we do need Faith to get through this. We live in a broken world and this and other tradedies are the result! God is good and gracious. We need to see His blessed hand in the good of things that come out of this.
I cling to the verse:” As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” Gen 50:20
Yvonne, Thank you for sharing the beautiful Word of truth with us all! You strengthen and refresh us as you do so. I think I’ll sew a couple of aprons for my sisters and put your message with it. I love aprons and thanks to you, I’ll be thinking of the full armor of God each day when I put one on.
I also enjoy your weekly menus and decorating suggestions. You are gifted in many areas. Thank you for sharing yourself with us.
With appreciation from Texas,
Sara
Hi Sara, I found it at an antique shop. Sorry I have no other information.
Thank you Sharon, my apron wearing friend!
Wonderful post, Yvonne! I thank God for His shield of faith! Bless you for sharing your Sunday messages with us! Have a great week!
Thanks, Mary Ann!