Ephesians 6:13-17

This passage is the familiar "armor of God" passage. When I learned about this passage in Sunday school, I never really gave any thought to why the author chose the pieces of armor that he did. For example, I figured the author had a list of things to convey and just randomly assigned armor pieces to it. Now, as an adult, I realize the purpose that is behind the pairings and I felt the need to cover that here:

1) The belt of truth - I was teaching a Sunday school class when this one came to me. Belts keep you from being caught with your pants around your ankles. Metaphorically - that phrase means it keeps you from being caught unprepared. So then, what is truth? Christ told Pilate that the reason He came into the world was to testify to the truth. There are many more passages in the Bible regarding truth. My paraphrase - study the Bible, know what you believe... that way you don't get caught with your pants around your ankles.

2) The breastplate of righteousness - The breastplate protects the heart. 1 Peter 3:16 speaks to this... "keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander." If you live a righteous life, the false accusations don't make it through the protection.

3) Feet fitted with readiness ... from the Gospel of Peace - This one is particularly interesting to me. We have a gospel that preaches peace and goodwill. If we remembered that, we would be ready to share, ready to go, ready to act.

4) Shield of Faith - The Bible actually goes on to say that the shield of faith "extinguish[es] all the flaming arrows of the evil one." This verse acknowledges Satan's role in trying to undermine our belief in God. In the garden of Eden, he asked Eve "did God really say?" Del Tackett called this the "hiss of the snake". If we have faith - if we truly believe in the power and person of God, the accusations of the devil fall short.

5) The Helmet of Salvation - This one protects the mind. I think this one lends itself to the song we sing in Children's Church - "oh be careful little eyes what you see". Our minds are constantly bombarded with thoughts, sights, ideas, etc. that aren't necessarily in line with God's plan. How do we keep our mind clean? Salvation - offered through the redeeming blood of our Lord.

6) The Sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God - Christ demonstrated this best for us in his temptation in the dessert. When Satan threw Bible verses at Him, He was prepared. And, 2 Corinthians 10:5 reminds us that "we demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God..." Finally, Revelation 19:11-15 reminds us that Christ's name is "the Word of God" and out of his mouth comes a sword.

I'm sure someone else has written a better analysis of this, but these are my thoughts on a Tuesday night.

1 Peter 3:15-16

1 Peter 3:15-16 (New International Version)
15But in your hearts set
apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks
you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness
and respect, 16keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously
against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.

I have been watching the news lately and am horrified at the people screaming at each other over the health care bill. I know there are folks who proclaim Christ as their Savior in that crowd but I wonder if they've considered the above verse? Christ himself modelled how we should respond to those who accuse us - in front of Pontius Pilate at his own trial. He could have struck down every single person in attendance if that were the right thing to do. He answered the questions asked of him with the truth. In fact, Peter actually had the kind of response we might have in the Garden at Christ's arrest. But, Christ showed Peter that this was not the way.

May I implore all of my fellow Christians to take a measured approach towards everything in life - the latest health care proposal included. Read the text of the bill. When someone brings up an argument/issue, ask for the page number. Read it for yourself and weigh it against their words. If they are inaccurate, gently show them why you think so. Why? Because, as written in 1 Peter, it shows the nation we have a hope that is worth explaining, it keeps our conscious clear and keeps people from having any reason for slandering us as Christians.

John 21

17 The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?"
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the
third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that
I love you."
Jesus said, "Feed my sheep. 18 I tell you
the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted;
but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will
dress you and lead you where you do not want to go." 19Jesus said this to
indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to
him, "Follow me!"
20Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus
loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at
the supper and had said, "Lord, who is going to betray you?") 21When Peter saw
him, he asked, "Lord, what about him?"
22Jesus answered, "If I want
him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me."
23Because of this, the rumor spread among the brothers that this disciple would
not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, "If I want
him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?"

I can't tell you how often I think of Christ's words... "If I want... what is that to you?" I can fill in whatever struggle I'm going through and if it's the Lord's will, what is that to me? What should it mean to me? So many questions come up. But - this very important walk on the beach with Peter has a lot to teach us - especially someone like me who is very much a Peter. Imagine what Peter has just gone through. He was a fisherman, he's called away to a different life, spends a few years with Christ, just to betray Him (in His hearing, no less). Then, Peter watches Christ's crucifixion, is in fear for his own life, and then witnesses Christ resurrected. Talk about struggles! And - where does Christ find him this day? Doing what he knows - returning to the way things were - fishing.

Then - Peter sees the Lord and is so excited to see him, he jumps off the boat to meet Him on the shore. The other disciples bring the boat in. The Lord speaks very bluntly with Peter, telling him what he needs to do, even how he will die. Then Peter does what so many of us do - compares his lot with another. The Lord isn't interested in how Peter is doing compared to John. The Lord is interested in how Peter is doing compared with what Peter can do. It's the same for you and me. We want to compare - be it personally, or with opinion polls, or what our friends are doing, etc. But - the Lord has a different measuring stick. Whenever you hear yourself saying, "But Lord, what about....?", remember his answer, "What is that to you?"

Finally, there is another thing the Lord told Peter - over and over again. "Feed my sheep." Very clear and concise. It was the thing Peter was to do. The Lord is likely telling us something very similar - clear and concise and in keeping with his will. Let's stop asking "But Lord, what about..." long enough to hear what he has to say.

I ran across this quote today that is a good summary:

"Forget your opponents; always play against par."
-- Sam Snead, professional golfer

Malachi 2:16

"I hate divorce," says the LORD God of Israel, "and I hate a man's covering himself with violence as well as with his garment," says the LORD Almighty. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith. (NIV)

On the same weekend that Jon and Kate Gosselin decided they would divorce, my Dad told me that he and his third wife (married 20+ years) are also divorcing. I know many are tired of Jon and Kate but that's not the topic - the topic is divorce and the Lord's opinion of it. I think Malachi 2:16 is very clear. "Hate" is not a contoversial word.

Why would HE hate it? For one - marriage is the model of the church's relationship with Christ. Why else would the Bible refer to the Church as "the bride of Christ" and to Christ as the "bridegroom"? Covenant relationships are very important to the LORD. It's a model of how he feels about us. He would never divorce us!

The second reason - it's lasting effect. I'm attaching below a personal rant that I included in an email message to a friend. It is how the child of divorce (now 3 divorces) feels...

"Pardon my rant about divorce but here's the issue: divorce is a
non-verbal (well, sometimes very verbal) statement that nothing is worth it any
more. The holidays, the vacations, the quiet nights spent watching a great
movie cuddled up in front of the TV - all of that is somehow less important than
the personal space and feelings of the person wanting the divorce. It is
the most selfish expression I can think of. It is a sentence that says "I
never want to _______ with you again". And anything that fills in the
blank applies. I cannot imagine [unnamed person] never wanting to see my daughter
again. Maybe I'm biased because I'm her mom but I could never imagine not
seeing [my friend's children] ever again - and I'm clearly not their mom. It's a
really rude thing to DECIDE to never see someone again.

And - to the effect on the kids. Kids are extremely perceptive.
EXTREMELY!!!! The "mom look" works because they are so perceptive.
They know. And - the worst part of divorce (at least in my 34 years of
life so far) is that it is a ticking time bomb with two triggers - one that
ruins your childhood - and then one that rears its ugly head when you've
established a family of your own. It's a great tool of the enemy that
makes you think "My dad couldn't deal with children and had to leave - is that
going to be me too?" That was the question I said out loud that had my mom rushing to our house to put an end to. And - that was the moment my husband called a counselor. Imagine what that could have done had I not had two loving people who knew what signs were bad!

And - it makes you wonder what was so wrong with you that people couldn't make it work - whether you're the spouse, the kids, the friends, etc. And - the fallout. There's no money anymore - everyone's broke. There's no happy holidays, they're all split. There's no more sane family get togethers. There's her side
and his side. Every graduation, every holiday, every party, every wedding,
every child's birthday, every time a normal family would get together - there's
a black cloud of unhappiness. There's random people acting like parents
who aren't your parents. The Bible mentions that nobody can serve two
masters - what about two fathers (real and step) or two moms? How about
two separate households with different rules? Forget it! There's no
way. As the Bible warns - you will love one and despise the other.
Beware Jon and Kate - the kids will choose because they will have
to.

And - all of these random people in and out and in and out make
you numb to them coming in and numb to them going out."

The LORD is not the only person who hates divorce. I hate it too!