A Daily Discipline (and past articles by Reverend Smith)

Click here to visit the home site of Christian Love Ministries in Murphy, NC


1/22/2009

A DAILY DISCIPLINE DENNY SMITH

There is something you should do every day of your life, and never fail to do it- “Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles (schemes) of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11). One thing you can count on is the fact that the devil is going to try to “steal, kill, and destroy” (John 10:10) your life. It is a war, and always will be as long as you live. You get up and get dressed every day. Putting on the whole armor of God daily, when you first awake needs to become something you just do and never fail to do. Ephesians 6:10-20 tells you what to do to get dressed in your armor. It is easier for me to get dressed from the top down. There are 7 pieces of armor, and you must “put on” the armor. You must dress yourself. God provides the armor, but He is not going to dress you. That’s your job. “take the helmet of salvation” (Eph. 6:17).

When you do picture yourself putting on your helmet, talk to God about it. Tell Him “I take up the helmet of salvation. Because Jesus died on the cross for my sins, I have salvation.” Next put on “the breastplate of righteousness” (v. 14). Tell the Lord, “Almighty God, all my sins are forgiven, and gone because Christ died to pay for them. I am righteous, not because of anything I have done, but because of what Jesus has done.” Third, “having your loins girded about with truth” (v.14). Tell God, “Lord everything You tell me in the Bible is “truth,” for example, You may come back today according to Matthew 24:36-51. Another truth is, God wants me to live a holy life; “be ye holy, for I am holy” (1st Peter 1:16). You can talk about truth for a long time. Fourth, put on your shoes; “the gospel of peace” (v15). Tell God, “Lord, because Jesus died, I have peace, the peace of God” (see John 14:27).

Everything is alright because of Jesus, and what He did long ago.” Fifth, take up “the shield of faith” (v.16). Tell the Lord, “I know the devil is going to shoot fiery darts at me today, lies and temptations to try to kill me. I will hold up the shield of faith, so those temptations will bounce off when they hit it. Faith is, ‘believing and receiving everything God reveals in Scripture.’ When any trial or temptation comes at me, I’m going to stand on what the Bible says, things like “my God will supply all my needs” (Philippians 4:19), and “God won’t put more on me than I can bear” (1 Corinthians 10:13). Sixth is the “sword of the spirit, the Word of God”(v17). Tell God; “Lord, your word is the weapon I will fight every battle with. I will quote what the Bible says in every situation I face. You tell me “I’ll never leave you, nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). The more you study the Word, the more you can fight.

We will look at the 7th piece of armor next week “all prayer” (v.18). Check on yourself this week and make sure you put on the armor every day.

This article was posted in the Cherokee Scout newspaper; Click to find their home page...