Love and Armor

Praise Reports:

• Aubrey received her diploma for her BSBA in General Management!
• James and Danisha have moved in to the Bristols’ old house.
• Katherine’s friend got a great promotion at her work, Amber’s birthday was a success, and Honnah’s car was fixed with very little trouble and expense.
• Khloe and Gavin had a wonderful birthday celebration.
• Matt Sales was able to attend!
• Roy was trying to cut a huge limb off of a dead walnut tree and came very close to having a horrible accident; thank God he came out of it unhurt.
• Sandy had a great time at a wedding in California.
• The museum’s first annual ice cream social in the park was outstanding.
• The Rogers family has another cleaning account.

Prayer Requests:

• Cameron –just started his senior year of college online
• David and Shirley—wisdom and grace as they minister to a local agnostic couple
• Dwayne—his next test is on October 7, keep praying for his health
• Jana Leary—multiple myeloma
• Local agnostic woman—her body is full of cancer and she needs to be drawn to the Lord
• Rebecca and her kids—wisdom, peace, faith
• Remember the ill and infirm in our community: Mary, Pam, Byron
• Richard Puryear’s father—recently diagnosed with cancer and may have only a few weeks to live
• Roy and Julie—help with Gabe and everyday life
• Ruby—still struggling with her diabetes
• Tammy, her husband and 7 kids — it would seem that the only hope for her cancer is a miracle
• Toby—his headaches are worse, he’ll be getting an MRI
• Warren and Mary—transitions in their lives

The Love of God, a photo by JustinLowery.com on Flickr.

The Bible says that God is love, and yet sometimes we Christians seem to forget to communicate this to unbelievers. The message of God’s love can get swamped in our gospel messages, lost somewhere between judgment and arrogance.

This certainly should not be. Jesus went to a horrendous death in defense of love (“Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends,” John 15:13) His disciples are also challenged to be prepared to fight the good fight of faith, suffer, and die in defense of a God who is love. When the world squeezes us it should see that only love comes out. Like Jesus, we are called to give and forgive until the bitter end.

Ephesians could be called the book of love; that word is mentioned over 21 times. The first five chapters concentrate on what living the life of love looks like, then in chapter 6 verse 10 Paul writes, “Finally,” as he prepares to sum up everything said thus far. Ephesians 6:10-17 contains the familiar passage about putting on the armor of God, but what are we putting it on for? For prayer. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

This world is a hostile environment for love. When we see people who aggravate us, hurt us, work against us, etc., we must remember that they are little more than puppets on a string being controlled by the spiritual forces of evil working to kill, steal, and destroy. We are called to fight against the forces and love our enemies. When we react to flesh and blood then we’re part of the problem!

If you saw your worst enemy—or a person who had injured someone you love—trapped in a wrecked vehicle on the side of the road, would you save him even if it meant risking your own life in the event that the vehicle would explode? Many of us would answer, “Yes,” but the truth is that the test does not often come in a single act of heroism like saving your enemy’s life, it comes in short installments, annoying or angering episodes that grind away at our joy and patience. Remember that the face of your enemy is a mask worn by the real Enemy. Our problem is not people.

This includes ourselves. We Christians have been bought and redeemed through the blood of Christ, and yet we are sometimes our own worst enemies, spending so much time hating that face in the mirror, wishing we were better, and struggling against ourselves. We need to put on the armor of God and fight back against the Enemy who would convince us that anything could separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:35-39), that Jesus is not mighty enough to redeem and use us for His glory. Break free of Satan’s attempt to make us discount the love of our Lord, “stand firm against the schemes (methods) of the devil.” When the Accuser comes against us then our only hope is in the love of God.

Our fight is to manifest the love of God in our fallen world. We put on our armor “to stand…and having done everything, to stand firm.” If love was easy then we’d have a much less troubled world. It’s not easy, but it is worth it. When Christ can show His love through us, it gives meaning to life.