Thursday, September 24, 2015

Ephesians 6:15-16

...and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.  In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

Reflection

Paul tells us that a part of the armor of God that protects and strengthens us is the gospel.  When evil comes against us we can find strength in the gospel knowledge that Christ won a victory over sin, death and evil.  The gospel reminds us that when we are confronted with evil that we don’t have to fear because through Jesus Christ we have already won.

Then we also have the weapon of faith.  Faith in Jesus Christ takes us into the very presence of God.  Faith in Jesus Christ brings us into the family of God.  What more protection and strength do we need then the realization that we are part of God’s own household?

How has the gospel message strengthened your stand against temptation and evil?

How does faith help to get you through difficult times when you begin to feel your strength weakening?

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Ephesians 6:14

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place...

Reflection

Paul now begins to explain and describe what composes the armor of God.  He indicates that truth is part of God’s armor.  Truth helps us stand strong and be protected against evil because Satan is the father of lies.  As Satan tries to get us to believe his lies we can test it against the truth of God that has been given to us in the Bible.  We can remain strong as we put our hope and trust in the truth that God has given us in his promises contained in the Bible.

Paul also says that righteousness is a part of God’s armor.  Evil will always try to get us to choose that which is in our own self-interest.  In other words Satan will encourage us to do whatever is self-indulgent.  We can counter that living by God’s standard of righteousness.  The more we live by righteousness the less likely we are to give into evil that leads to self-indulgence.

How have truth and righteousness in your life provided protection and strength against evil?

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Ephesians 6:13

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.

Reflection

Paul tells us that since we face the threat of spiritual evil that is represented in Satan then we must put on the protection of God.  The protection of God is described as armor.  Why?  God’s protection is described as armor because it protects us from the attacks of Satan.

Paul says that when the day of evil comes we are going to need the protection of God.  We need to realize that the day of evil may not be one particular day where all humanity faces evil.  The day of evil may be when you have to face evil attacks, personally, in your life.  In a very real way we could face “the day of evil” every day of our lives.

Are you fully protected by the armor of God?

How does one access and use the armor of God?

Monday, September 21, 2015

Ephesians 6:10-12

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.  Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Reflection

Paul tells us that we must be strong in the Lord.  The reason that we need God’s strength and protection is because we must be able to stand against the evil that Satan brings against us.  If we are going to stand strong against the temptations of the devil then we can’t do it out of our own human strength; that will never get us through the evil that can come against us.  We must employ all the tools and weapons that God makes available to us.

Paul also tells us that we are not struggling against other people.  He says our struggle is with spiritual evil.  Our struggle is with Satan and his goal is to destroy us physically and spiritually.  In order to win over this dark, evil power then we must be filled with the strength and protection of God.

What has been your personal experience with Satan and his demons?

How do you find the strength to defeat temptation?

September 20-26

A Life of Spiritual Protection

Ephesians 6:10-18

We live in a world where we cannot deny the existence of evil.  Evil that springs forth from human origins is all around us.  There is also another form of evil that is even more insidious in nature.  There exists an evil that is spiritual in nature.  Satan, the devil, however you want to characterize this spiritual evil, is alive and well.

The reality of this evil brings up another issue.  Are we simply at the mercy of our spiritual enemy?  Is there any way we can strengthen and protect ourselves from the evil and darkness that exists in our world?  That is the question that we are going to consider during the course of this week.

How have you experienced the reality of spiritual evil in your life?

Saturday, September 19, 2015

Ephesians 6:5-9

Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ.  Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart.  Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.  And masters, treat your slaves in the same way.  Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.

Reflection

In this passage Paul continues giving examples of mutual submission.  It might be a bit of a stretch to see the relationship between a slave and a master as mutual submission but Paul is trying to at least bring a semblance of humanity into that kind of a relationship.

He tells slaves to obey their masters because they are not only slaves in an earthly sense but they are slaves of Christ as well.  So, they should obey their masters in the same way they would obey Christ.  Paul is instructing slaves who are also Christians to live as a follower of Jesus no matter what their lot in life.  Paul reminds the slaves that they well receive a reward from the Lord in heaven whether he is slave or free.

Then Paul addresses the Christian master.  He instructs masters to treat their slaves well.  He then reminds them that God is not going to treat them with favoritism over their slaves.  He goes on to explain that God is not going to make any distinction between slave and free.  Paul uses this argument to convince slave masters to treat their slaves as they would anyone else.

How could this teaching be applied to our lives in how we treat people who are our subordinates?  According to this passage how would Paul have us treat others over which we have authority?