"Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place."
Of course, this belt of truth is the Word of God. Anyone interested in going to war and winning decisively should know and believe firmly what the Word of God says about himself, the circumstances he's facing and the devil. 1 John 4:4--Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world. Romans 8:37--In all these things we are more than conquerors. Luke 10:19 tells us that God has given US power over all of the devil's power and not the other way around. In John 16:33 Jesus says something very profound. NIV "I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
There are many more scriptures we could put up on this blog but these are short and to the point. Honestly, the power of the Name of Jesus, the immutability of God's Word and the power of Jesus' blood and resurrection are enough to destroy anything.
But, all of these power scriptures WILL NOT do any good without the breastplate of righteousness. Jeremiah 23:5-6 declares God to be Jehovah Tsidkenu, the Lord our Righteousness. What, then is righteousness? The dictionary defines righteousness in double talk by saying that is the quality of being morally right. We still don't know, do we?
Even though the children of Israel doubted God after He brought them out of Egypt, God was merciful to them because He had promised Abraham that his children would inherit the land. The children of Israel didn't deserve His love and help, but God did the right thing and basically treated them as if they had done nothing wrong. God told His people in Isaiah 43:25 that He would blot out their sins and never remember them.
Jesus told Peter to forgive someone 490 times in one day if they asked him to. Talking about Peter, Jesus washed his feet knowing that Peter would lie about Him and cuss about not knowing Him in just a few hours. Let's go one other step. Jesus washed Judas' feet knowing that he would betray Him for just 30 pieces of silver.
Isaiah 64:6 tells us that our righteousness is pretty filthy. In 2 Corinthians 5:21, Paul tells us that Christ took our sin, forgave us and we became the righteousness of God. In other words, God treats us as if we are as pure as Jesus. That's a lot to take a hold of, but it's God's Word.
A breastplate protects our vital organs in a battle. One hit in any of them and we have lost the battle. We can get nicked in other parts of our body. But, even a small nick in our vital organs is fatal.
Righteousness is how we relate to God and others. If we fail to walk in righteousness before God and in our relationship with others, it is like going into battle without a breastplate. The enemy sees our vulnerability and realizes that our defeat is inevitable.
How do we treat God? Are we honest with Him or do we try to put on a front? Do we serve him real good on Sundays and put Him on the back burner the other six days? Do we quote His Word but pay very little attention to what it means? Do we really spend time talking with the Lover of our souls or just give Him a few comments when it makes us look good? You know what? Satan sees your actions and knows exactly how to attack you.
How about your spouse? Do you love and honor your spouse as you should? Or have you let time and problems force a wedge between you? Do you hold things against them? Has your love for your children gone from hot to cold at different times. Children, have you gotten angry with your parents for no reason? The same could be asked of your pastor, your church family and your friends.
Paul said for us to PUT ON the breastplate of righteousness. That means that it is not something we normally wear. Yes, it is hard to walk in righteousness to everybody all the time. And on top of that, they're not walking righteously with you either.
But, before we get tangled up in that wad of worms, let's remember Ephesians 6:12. We're not supposed to be fighting each other. There's a bigger enemy that we all have that needs to be struck down. When our mutual enemy, the devil, can get us to walk in unforgiveness with with each other, he knows he has us whipped.
Having the belt of God's Truth buckled tightly around us won't do us much good if we don't have on the breastplate of righteousness. Listen to me real closely and read this sentence over and over and over until it makes sense. When we choose to walk in love, (the breastplate of righteousness), we take the devil's prime target away from him. Agape love gives us the courage and fortitude that it takes to endure the battle. 1 Corinthians 13:8 reminds us that agape love NEVER fails.
Take some time to think about how powerful we would be if we put on the breastplate of righteousness. How much trouble could be avoided if we decided to walk in God's Love on a continuing basis. Think about it. God shows up when His love shines in us.
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