Good Morning! God has blessed us with another beautiful day — rain, wind, snow
and all — for every day in the Lord is a good day!
I’m driving up to our remote JMSM Observatory this morning to replace some electronic
equipment. Yeah… stuff always breaks down :-) The Good News is that Jesus is the
same yesterday, today, and forever! Praise the Lord !
Please pray for me, that I have safe travel in this marginal weather today. Lord willing
and the creek don’t rise, I’ll be back in Las Cruces early this afternoon.
Anyway, I was thinking about all of you this morning so I decided to share some
thoughts, and an astro-image that I took recently. A Brother recently expressed that he
was battling lustful thoughts and actions in his life — seems to be a constant battle with
men in this world, which I’m sure we can all relate to. This brought to my mind some of
the direction that God gives in His Word about putting on armor to do battle with the evil
one — that is say — Spiritual Battle, and Spiritual Warfare!
In Ephesians 6:11, God’s Word says, “Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be
able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.”
Many times, being caught up in the middle of temptation, we fail to realize our situation
and the presence of the enemy, and we don’t fully understand what putting on God’s
armor means. As a result, we go to battle unprepared, which when you think about it,
doesn’t make much sense does it? Afterall, why would we subject ourselves and engage
in full battle circumstances against any enemy, without any defenses?
Think about how sensitive we are to worldly things. We can look up at the sky and
discern the weather. We can look upon people around us and sense minute things about
them. But when it comes to discerning the evil one, it turns out to be a whole different
story. How quickly, instantly in some cased, are we caught by the subtle deception
spewed out by Satan. The Bible speaks about this matter, and gives caution to us
regarding being captive by the world. The truth is, as Brothers in Christ, although we are
in the world, we are no longer of this world. How then, if we have Christ in us, can we
then thrust Christ into our (any) sinful behavior. Clearly we must consider our
responsibility — our Spiritual Responsibilty.
So… what is this “armor of God” ? Ok — Let’s get ready for battle !
– We must girt our loins with the Truth, Eph 6:14. This is what holds everything
together.
– We must put on a breastplate of Righteouness, Eph 6:14. This covers our chest, and our
heart.
– We must shod our feet with The Gospel, Eph 6:15. This allow us to stand on God’s
Word as our Rock.
– We must carry a shield of Faith, Eph 6:16. This is what protects everything.
– We must put on the helmet of Salvation, Eph 6:17. This is what covers our head, which
influences our thinking, our hearing, and our seeing.
Not so hard to do, right? The simple fact is, we are all sinful by nature. Therefore, we
must strive to be obedient. The big question is, “Be obedient to what?” In a worldly
sense we are obedient by what controls us — that is, our sinful nature. By contrast, in
order to be obedient to God, we must put into practice “Godly Principles”, and apply
them to our lives.
Some of these principles apply to spiritual warfare, hence the importance of what God’s
Word says in Ephesians 6:11. In a real sense as Christians, when it comes to spiritual
warfare, we are all soldiers in Christ. Grasp this concept as a reality in your life, and as
part of your Christian walk — for as long as we are in his world, we are engaged in
spiritual warfare.
So… the next time circumstances allow the evil one to present temptation, have on your
armor of God, be prepared for battle 24/7, stand against the powers of darkness, hold on
to the power of His (that is the Lord) might, that you may withstand “the fiery darts” of
the evil one and that of his demons. Do this and the next battle (spiritual battle) you
encounter will give victory to you in Christ.
What a blessing is is to know the Lord. Amen! As men, our walk in this world is a
constant challenge. That’s just part of God plan for our lives. Take heart Brothers, for
we can rejoice in all that we encounter, for as it says in Romans 8:28-31,
“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who
are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to
be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many
brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these
He alos justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. What then shall we say
to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”
Knowing this, we can find comfort and strength by trusting in God, and being obedient to
His commands. In all this, God intends us to be strong, even when we face difficulty in
this world. Reflecting on all of the above, we know where the battle lines are drawn.
Make this your day to raise your sights, put on your spiritual armor (that is the armor of
God), break the enemy’s (that is the evil one) hold in your life, and proudly be a Soldier
in Christ.
Right now, before you do another thing, put on the “ARMOR OF GOD” !
The attached image is an astrophoto taken by me recently from our remote mountain
observatory. This object fits nicely into my heartfelt message to you this morning. It is
commonly called “Thor’s Helmet” and technically known as ngc2359. It is a Planteary
Nebula located in our Milky Way Galaxy. Beautiful — isn’t it ! God’s creation displays
His glory, and this object gives a hint of His power and majesty. So, when you look upon
this image of “Thor’s Helmet”, don’t think of the figure of greek mythology, rather focus
on it as a reminder of God’s glory in the heavens, and a way of remembering to put on the
full armor of God.
That’s it guys — I’m out the door headed to the mountains! Have a blessed day, and make
it a point to share Jesus with someone today.
“This is the day which the LORD has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24)
Your Brother in Christ,
Mike Sherick
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