It’s Thanksgiving Week!
It’s that time of year!
Thanksgiving is only a few days away.
It kicks off the official holiday season.
Before we know it, Christmas will be here!
Lots of people say it’s the most wonderful time of the year.
For many women it’s often the hardest.
Extra cooking, guests, shopping, holiday parties, and events take a lot of our time, energy, and effort.
I could get tired just thinking about it!
Part of what drives us during this season is a desire to show our family how much we care and to give them a great family holiday filled with lots of memories and love.
That is a good thing as long as we keep it in check and don’t let it overwhelm us.
Unfortunately, too often we get so busy trying to get it right we lose sight of why we’re doing it.
This cheats us out of enjoying it and defeats the purpose of even doing it.
One of the other things that drives us this time of year is fear.
Rightly Dividing Scripture
Rightly dividing the Scriptures is very important to me.
God calls us to it in 2 Timothy 2:15 when he tells us, Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. (NIV)
When I see someone misquote or misapply Scripture I get very concerned for them; I fear they’re being misled by the enemy.
Taking verses out of context or using only part of a Scripture so that it seems to say something different than it’s actual meaning is a favorite tactic of his.
Seeing people fall for it worries me for their sake.
If it happens in person I will typically try to lead the conversation to a place where I can gently and politely correct them without embarrassing them.
If it’s online I typically just let it go.
Either way, I pray for the person, asking God to educate and correct their understanding so they can learn and be closer to Him.
But then –
Today’s World
I haven’t said anything about what’s been going on in the world lately because I don’t believe in saying anything bad and I don’t believe in giving my opinion unless doing so will be helpful.
The more this has gone on, though, the more I feel the need to say something.
I want to speak some truth about the current world situation.
The truth of our world’s current crisis is this:
The world is broken and will never be completely fixed until Jesus comes back.
Because of this, there is always going to be something bad going on in the world.
That doesn’t mean it is okay that these things are going on.
It doesn’t mean we should just accept it, turn a blind eye, and keep going.
On the contrary, we should be fighting against these terrible injustices wherever and whenever they rear their ugly heads.
The thing is, these dramas and traumas are only symptoms of the problem.
The problem is people have turned away from God and are now doing what is pleasing in their own sight instead of trying to honor God and do what He wants.
Society has turned from God’s truth and focused on chasing sin.
We’ve lost sight of what Jesus said are the first and second greatest commandments.
In Matthew chapter 22 the Pharisees were trying to test Jesus.
Spiritual Warfare Armor – Pt. 3 – Lesson Plan
Today we are going to wrap up our Spiritual Armor study.
This is the last lesson on a series we started a few weeks ago.
It comes from Ephesians, chapter 6:10-18.
Over the study we have talked about how our fight is not a fight against flesh and blood.
It’s a spiritual battle.
We are fighting against principalities, powers, evil wickedness.
The enemy hates us.
He can’t destroy us so he attacks us and tries to make our life as unhappy and unpleasant as possible.
Thankfully, God has given us these weapons to use to protect ourselves and to fight with.
We put on this armor so we can be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. (Ephesians 6:10 NIV)
We do it so we can take a stand against the enemy’s schemes. (Ephesians 6:11 NIV)
It’s what gives us strength and power to fight.
The weapons we’ve looked at are:
The belt of truth
The breastplate of righteousness
The shoes of the gospel of peace
The shield of faith
The helmet of salvation
Today we are going to look at the last one.
It’s found in Ephesians 6:17, which says:
17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
So, today we are going to talk about the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Your sword is your bible.
It’s Scripture.
Scripture is very powerful.
Listen to Hebrews 4:12 – 12 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
Scripture is real.
It’s living and active.
It doesn’t just sit there.
It moves people.
It cuts through lies and deception, down to the truth of the situation.
Reading scripture speaks truth to you and helps you see whether your thoughts are on track and whether your heart has the right attitude.
This is important because if your heart is not right you can trip yourself up pretty easily and make things harder on yourself without meaning to.
We have to have our hearts right to be able to use our armor well.
Reading Scripture regularly helps with this.
Scripture can be a defensive weapon.
When things come at you, whether temptation or lies, you can stop them in their tracks and cut them down with the truth of what Scripture says.
By knowing what the Word says you can recognize and refuse the lies and half-truths thrown at you.
In turn, you can speak the truth of Scripture to the problem.
Speaking God’s truth to a situation and claiming it is a very powerful thing.
You speak that word and then stand on it in faith, believing it’s true and knowing God WILL honor His word.
Quoting Scripture is also an offensive weapon because we use it to filter our thoughts and vision through so that we can see things from God’s perspective.
When we do this, we can see problems and situations that need dealt with.
We can use that Scripture to pray for a situation so God will heal and handle it.
This might be a problem a friend or family member has.
It might be a bad choice a child is making.
Whatever it is, by praying and claiming the promises and truths in Scripture, we can know that God will change that situation.
Sometimes the situation is one where we don’t really know what to do.
We know it’s a mess or that it needs worked on, we just don’t know where to start.
Start by praying for it – with Scripture.
Speak out the truth of the situation and who and where you are in it.
Speak out what God says in His Word is true and declare it over the situation.
The truth is a very powerful thing.
We’ve talked about that before.
Using scripture to speak the truth to the situation and to filter the situation through gives us a more clear understanding of what’s really going on and also allows us to see what the real issues are.
This in turn gives us knowledge and wisdom about what and how to fight the battle at hand.
Sometimes, that Scripture is a specific one that speaks to it.
Sometimes, it’s a general one that speaks to having faith or clinging to truth, or something like that.
When you speak Scripture to a situation it helps you identify and eliminate the lies, doubts, confusion, and other wrong things you might be seeing, hearing, or feeling.
When you filter a situation through Scripture it helps you remember what God said was right or wrong about something, helps you to see where the enemy is twisting things, and it gives you spiritual wisdom about both the situation and how to handle it.
Jesus did a good job of modeling that when He was in the wilderness.
These verses are found in Matthew 4:1-11 and Luke 4:1-13.
The enemy came and tempted Him, each time speaking partial truths.
Jesus always responded with Scripture that spoke truth to the situation.
Here’s the thing – the enemy was using scripture, but he was either only quoting part of it or else he was misapplying it.
He was presenting a perverted, twisted view.
He’ll try that with us, too.
That’s one of the reasons it’s so important to know the bible and what it says so we can catch it when it happens instead of saying, “well, yeah, that sounds like the truth” and just going with it.
One thing I would really encourage you to do during a battle or storm is to dig in the word for strength, wisdom, and guidance about a situation.
It’s in there.
It might not say specifically what you are dealing with.
Like say you’re thinking, “I am tempted to run all the red lights so where’s the scripture on traffic laws?”
Well, no, there’s not a scripture on traffic laws, but, there is one in there that says we are to obey man’s law and government officials.
So, yeah, it might not mention red lights specifically, but there’s a scripture in there about it.
It’s the same way with any other situation you are dealing with.
There is Scripture in there that will give you wisdom, knowledge, understanding, and help you with whatever situation you are dealing with.
You just have to put the time in and look for it.
Here’s the thing, though. You need to already be familiar with Scripture before the storm comes.
You need to be reading your bible regularly and knowing what it says ahead of time.
It’s a lot easier to build shelter in good weather while anticipating a storm than it is to build shelter in a rain or snow storm.
It’s the same thing here.
We need to know what it says and be familiar with it, building a framework of its truths in our hearts before the storms of life come.
Not only will knowing what it says help you avoid making bad choices and bringing storms on yourself, it will give you guidance and peace once any storms do come.
Often, once a storm hits it’s hard to build that shelter.
But if you already have that framework in your heart you have what you need to hang on to and to build on.
Sometimes, when I am struggling with something I will open my bible and read that Scripture about it out loud.
It clears the air and it clears my mind.
Helps me focus back on God and the truth of the situation.
When I read Scripture I am reminded of the truth and I can cling to that truth, lean in to it, and use it to give myself a pep talk about the truth and what I should do in light of the current situation.
This helps me to stay on track and to keep my eyes off the storm and on Jesus, which is where we should always focus.
Speaking Scriptures to the problem or storm changes it.
It might not immediately end, but it will definitely change the battle.
How it plays out, the power it has.
It can change the whole game.
I want to encourage you to get in the Word and build that framework of truth within you so that when the storms come you have this weapon in you and ready!
Okay, technically those are all the pieces of the armor, but I really believe that the next verse should be included in there.
18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
I think this piece of armor often gets overlooked or maybe not included because it’s not technically a piece of armor like a soldier would wear, but it is an important part of the formula.
It was put at the end of the passage about armor for a reason.
The fact that it says, AND pray is a clue that it is a part of this passage, too.
Prayer is an important part of warfare.
It is talking to God about a situation and asking Him to intervene.
If you look at the pieces of armor you will see that prayer is an important part of using them.
We pray for strength to fight. We pray for wisdom. We pray and ask for help and guidance.
Look at what that verse says about praying for others.
When we pray for others we can ask for their spiritual strength and wisdom so they’ll be able to better use their armor and fight well.
We can pray and ask for their protection from the attacks.
We don’t have to only pray for people when we hear they are in trouble.
We can pray for them now so they don’t fall into trouble.
The verse says we should pray with all kinds of requests.
We can and should pray about a variety of things.
It goes on to tell us we should be alert (pay attention) and always keep on praying for all the saints.
(In this situation, saints means all Christians).
We should be praying for each other, for other Christians in our lives, and for all Christians as a whole.
We can combine today’s 2 weapons together.
Praying Scripture back to God is very powerful.
When we know and remind God of His promises and ask Him to keep/fulfill them, we are engaging in a very holy moment.
We are telling the Creator of the Universe we respect and appreciate His word, the words He has given us to live by, to know Him by, and to understand life by.
We are saying we realize that what He has said is important and that we want to engage with Him in a very personal way.
It is very honoring to Him.
This is very helpful when there is a situation we need His help with.
It draws us closer to Him so that we can be in a better position to hear from and commune with Him.
We NEVER do this to manipulate Him nor force His hand.
We do it to show we are working in partnership with Him and are seeking to continue and strengthen our relationship.
I want to ask you, do you pray for the other Christians in your life?
Do you only do it when they are sick or specifically ask for it?
Do you ask the Father to give them spiritual strength?
Do you ask Him to bless them and encourage them?
Do you pray and ask Him to help and heal them in the areas where they fall short?
Why or why not?
I want to encourage you to spend some time this week examining these questions and praying for the people in your life and for their faith walk.
I also want to encourage you to be praying for your own spiritual warfare.
Pray for wisdom.
Pray you’ll see attacks coming and be alert to their presence.
Pray you’ll be courageous enough to fight well.
Pray you’ll remember to use the weapons.
As we’ve gone through this, I wonder if you’ve seen how intertwined they all are.
Truth plays a big part in all of them – the shield of faith with the truth of how God can and will protect us; the helmet with the truth of our salvation.
Faith is important, too – not just the shield of faith, but the helmet of salvation that tells us to have faith that He has saved us and will take us to heaven.
The belt of truth, shield, and helmet protect us from the lies of the enemy.
All the different pieces work together in partnership to become a unified whole.
Now that we’ve covered all the parts of the Armor of God, I want to encourage you to examine yourself and see whether you are daily using them.
If not, I encourage you to begin to put them in to action and to see how it can improve both your spiritual warring but also your relationship with God as you seek to draw closer to Him through it.
I encourage you to spend some time this week examining your use of the armor and considering ways you can better put it in to action in your faith walk.
Links to the other lessons in this series: Intro to Spiritual Warfare, –Spiritual Warfare Armor, Pt. 1, Spiritual Warfare Armor, Pt. 2
A list of all available lessons can be found on my Lessons Outlines page
Free Downloadable/Printable PDF of this Lesson Spiritual Warfare Pt.3 Lesson Plan
Spiritual Warfare Armor, Pt. 2 – Sunday School Lesson
We’ve been talking about the Armor of God.
It’s a set of weapons and tools the Lord has gifted us with so that we can fight spiritual battles.
Last week we looked at the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness and having our feet shod with the gospel of peace.
Today we are going to cover the other pieces of armor.
Turn to Ephesians 6:16 –
16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. (NIV)
The enemy is going to attack you – he’s a roaring lion looking for someone to devour [1 Peter 5:8 – Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (NIV)]
That’s why we have to be on guard at all times.
When he throws his assaults, attacks, and lies at you, you can use your shield of faith to stop them.
You can stop these attacks by choosing to trust and have faith in God to take care of it and to prevent it.
You can call on God to protect you.
Spiritual Warfare Armor, Pt. 1 – Sunday School Outline
Last week we talked about Spiritual Warfare.
We have an enemy who is like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8)
He hates us because he hates Christ and wants to destroy us.
Thankfully, Christ beat him once and for all at Calvary with His death, burial, and resurrection.
He’s a defeated foe.
As Christians we’ve been given weapons of warfare to fight against the enemy and his schemes.
These weapons are called the armor of God.
So, today we’re going to look at some of the pieces of that armor.
We are still in the book of Ephesians, chapter 6.
Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around our waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place – NIV
Let’s look first at the belt of truth –
Or, as the KJV calls it – having your loins girt about with truth
I went to BlueLetterBible.org and looked this word up in the original Greek.
It had 3 definitions –
What is true in any matter under consideration; in reality; in fact; certainty.
So, this would mean whatever is true of a situation; what’s really going on.
The literal truth of it.
The second definition was:
Intro to Spiritual Warfare – Sunday School Outline
Scripture is an important part of our spiritual self-defense.
In Ephesians 6 Paul tells us we have been given weapons of warfare to defend ourselves.
There’s a reason we need to defend ourselves.
Ephesians 6:12 tells us our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (NIV)
The KJV says it like this: for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Sometimes we forget that some of the things that happen to us are spiritual attacks.
Not all things, but some.
Some of it is our own fleshly choices not to obey.
Sometimes our pride gets in our way.
Sometimes it is an attack from the enemy.
It’s important we understand the enemy is a defeated foe.
Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection settled it once and for all.
Jesus was, and IS! victorious.
The Conclusion of the Matter
Qoheleth (the Teacher) ends the book of Ecclesiastes by telling us that after all he’s done and experienced, having looked all over the world, gaining more wealth and knowledge than anyone else, and after experiencing every pleasure there was, he realized that absolutely nothing held value; there was no meaning in any of it.
The only thing that really mattered was God.
He tells us in chapter 12, verses 13 and 14:
13Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.
14For God will bring every deed into judgement, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.
Qoheleth is letting us know that the only thing we need to do is focus on God.
The only thing that matters is fearing God and keeping His commandments.
That’s it.
That’s our whole purpose.
We don’t need to chase after fame and fortune.
We don’t need to try to experience all the worldly pleasures.
We only need to look to God, fear Him, and keep (obey) His commandments.
It is when we do these things that we will find fulfillment and peace.
The Teacher tells us he found out this truth first hand. He shares several examples of times he learned these truths about God. A few examples include:
In chapter 2 the Teacher tells us he discovered toil is meaningless.
The Teacher sees how a person works hard all their days to build a good life and fortune, only to leave it all behind when they die. He realizes he has no way of knowing whether the person receiving it will take care of it or squander it.
He finds this meaningless and a great misfortune.
He realizes a man “can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God.” – 2:24 (NIV)
He goes on to ask for without God, who can eat or find enjoyment? ( NIV)
In chapter 3 he wraps up this thought by saying, “I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink and find satisfaction in all his toil – this is the gift of God.” –3:12-13 (NIV)
The Teacher has realized it is neither the toil nor the products of that toil that satisfy – it is that God gifted them these things that satisfies man.
The teacher also tells us he has learned that while wicked men may commit many crimes and still live a very long life, things go better for God-fearing men, who are reverent before God. –8:11-13 (NIV).
The wicked men may live a long life, but things will not go well for them and their days will be empty. When their time on this earth is over they will have nothing to show for it.
Both the wicked and the God-fearing men will be judged by God. The wicked men will suffer because they did not honor and revere God. The God-fearing men will be rewarded because they honored God with their lives.
In chapter 12 the Teacher shares the importance of honoring God from a young age.
He urges everyone to remember their Creator while they are young.
Life goes by quickly and before you know it, it’s over.
There will come a time when the days of trouble come and the years approach but we will say we find no pleasure in them: –12:1 (NIV)
These are the days of our old age.
Our sight will go dim, our hearing will fade, and our bodies will fail us.
At this point our spirits will return to God.
There is nothing we can do to change or avoid that.
Whatever we do, God will bring us to judgement –11:9 (NIV).
For this reason we would be wise to remember God while we still have time.
We shouldn’t spend our lives on pleasure, but rather on the God who judges every deed.
It is fearing and honoring God that brings true meaning to life.
Our Teacher, Qoheleth has made it clear that honoring God is the wisest thing we can do. It’s what really matters in life.
Through all of his searching, experiencing, and examining, he has found there is nothing else that matters or gives fulfillment.
Our focus should be fearing God and obeying Him during whatever time He gives us on this earth.
This is truly the only thing that gives life meaning.
Everything else is meaningless! Utterly meaningless!
We’ve come to the end of our walk through Ecclesiastes. While we’ve covered several themes in the book, we’ve barely scratched the surface. There is so much more wisdom to be found within its chapters.
These posts were written to serve as a “jumping off place” to help you see certain things that will hopefully help you begin to better understand the book.
I encourage you to read it and see what else you can learn from the Teacher.
If you want to talk about this series, or have any points you would like to bring up or discuss, please feel free to either email me or to comment below!
(This is the 6th and final post in a series on the book of Ecclesiastes. The series is a brief overview designed to give you a gentle introduction to the book. You can find all the posts here.)
A Time for Everything
The third chapter of Ecclesiastes opens with the thought,
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven,” (NIV)
It is followed by several verses naming common life events or activities and their opposites.
This passage is meant to remind us we don’t have control of our lives or of the things that happen in it.
God does.
God decides when a man is supposed to be born and when he is supposed to die.
God appointed the seasons for planting and harvesting.
God is in control.
God keeps everything balanced.