As I went to the shortest checkout line available I found
myself behind a man with a nice large pistol on his hip. It was pearl handled
and the man wore jeans and a plaid shirt.
I was a little astonished at this fellow having the gun right out in the
open. Then he turned slightly and I realized it was actually a local law
enforcement officer, one we used to go to church with years ago. We spoke to one another and I told him to
tell his mom I said hello as he checked out and was gone.
With or without his uniform he carried a lot of authority
with the gun strapped to his side. Believers
have authority too. We are packing, so to speak. We who have been born again
are wielding great power and wisdom. The Word of God has been given to us and
it is fully loaded with live ammunition - it is the Word of God from God to us.
We don’t use this authority as a weapon on people. We wield
it as a defense against the only enemy we have.
Unlike the deputies, the sheriffs and the plain clothes men of our
country who hunt bad guy after bad guy and try to keep the law abiding citizens
safe, we only have one bad guy. And boy is he after us. He tries to convince us
to shoot one another. He tries to convince us that a brother or sister is better
off out of our fellowship. He wants us to travel alone, do our own thing and
shoot from the hip He slips up behind
us and tempts us to do things that are the exact opposite of the orders we
receive from our Commander. He whispers lies into our ears and if we’re not
careful we’ll not be able to draw our weapon at all.
We must be people of the Word and keep our ammunition loaded
all the time. It’s not enough that we had a box of information once; we have to
load and reload every single day. Yesterday’s Word of knowledge was good for yesterday,
but today we need fresh rounds for the battle of the day. We don’t fight like the
world’s rebels. We fight on our knees speaking the Word of God that is in our
mouth and in our hearts. We can’t use
the world’s ammo either – it is not going to work when the going gets tough. It
might sound good and carry a lot of weight but it won’t do what is needed when
we are in the fray. We’d be shooting blanks and nobody wants to be defenseless in
the battle. The enemy will try to convince us that God’s truth mixed with the
world’s untruths make for good living, but a weapon without full force won’t do
what is needed.
Open up the Word of God first thing this morning and get
yourself armed for the day’s events. It could be a quiet day with nothing much
needed other than “God is with you” or “God loves you”. Or it might be a day of
hand to hand combat where the enemy is taunting you to unbelief and trying to
make you believe in lies that will only get you wounded or render you totally hopeless.
Oh beloved, God knows you’ve been in skirmishes of the faith.
You may be battle worn and totally fatigued. You may believe that there’s no
hope, no answer and nowhere to turn. But God wants to speak His truth into your
life. He wants you fully armed. If you will listen to Him and abide by His
precepts and speak His truth and pray without ceasing, you will find your day
will be more profitable, more peaceful, more fruitful and more protected. It
doesn’t matter what others say. All that matters is God’s Truth – the only
ammunition you will ever need for life and godliness.
God loves you and He’s for you and His Truth will guard you,
watch over you and keep you safe all the days of your life.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 For though we walk in the flesh, we do
not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but
mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down
imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge
of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; (KJV)
James 4:7 Submit therefore to God. Resist
the devil and he will flee from you.
2 Corinthians 6;7 in the word of truth, in
the power of God; by the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the
left,
Ephesians 6:11-12 Put on all of God's armor
so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we
are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers
and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world,
and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
