Made For More | Get Dressed

Bible In A Year | Read: 1 Timothy 4

Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication (Eph. 6:13-17)

More Surrender > More Strategy 

It’s a pretty cool image of a warrior dressing for combat. Every piece of armor is accounted for; nothing is left on the battlefield. As warriors, we’re clothed with heavenly protection and championed by Jesus Himself. Our divine commander sends us into active battle wanting us to experience the victory of His Son. As a reminder, let’s revisit this powerful scripture: And He put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him, who fills all in all (Eph. 1:22-23). Engaging in battle and armed in our protective gear provides us with full coverage. The outer wear (belt, breastplate, shoes, shield and helmet) are our defensive weapons that protect our inner self from assault. What’s under attack is our belief in the truth, our standing in righteousness, our faith and the assurance of our salvation.We must win at all costs!

There are amazing books, Bible studies and blogs we can read that focus on the individual pieces of armor, so I won’t delve deeply into all the armor of God. But here in this last chapter, I want to focus on our one offensive weapon–the sword of the Spirit. Everything we need to live a victorious life is contained in God’s Word. The Bible is God’s story, our guidebook for life, and a weapon of truth. Of course, no one’s going to appreciate us wielding it like a hammer and beating them over the head with it. But we do use it to learn about God, teach about Him and share His message with the world.

Hebrews 4:12 tells us: For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

The Christian faith is active and effective for God’s purpose. Just look at the action words Paul uses when instructing us: Take up. Stand firm. Put on.

Being dressed and ready prepares us for a life of vitality and fullness in Christ. It prepares us to live the abundant, “made for more” life God has for His people. We don’t put on all this armor to sit on the couch or hide in obscurity. We do it so we can fight on the mission field our commander has assigned and called us to…

Thought For Today

If we’re in a battle…How dressed and ready for war are you?

Action Steps 

Bible: What is God showing me?  What am I going to do about it? 

Bless: Serve one person through word, action, or gift today.

Join us each morning as some C3ers discuss the daily readings from Made For More.  Thursday’s Getting Dressed & Be Good