Put on the full armor of God

On a daily basis it seems I find undeniable wisdom in my Bible. Today, I asked myself, “Why should that surprise me?”

I recently signed up for one such daily dose of wisdom from BibleStudyTools.com. Their staff chooses a Proverb-of-the-day, and emails it each morning. In fact, I blogged today’s Proverb earlier. It’s not that I can’t just read the book of Proverbs myself, but this daily reminder gets me immersed in his Word first thing every morning.

In addition to the Proverbs email, I also get a story and scripture passage from Our Daily Bread Ministries’ Our Daily Journey series. As with other ODB titles, this is truly one of my favorites of all time. Perhaps I have mentioned this before, but I have been an Our Daily Bread devotional reader since before my daughter was born, and she’ll turn 34 in March. That’s a long time to never miss a day of a single publication. It never fails to amaze me how many time the devotion for a particular day is just what I needed. Seems God’s hand is everywhere in my life, and I humbly thank him for his guidance, and, at times, intervention.

Then, there’s the reason I started today’s journal entry, BibleGateway.com’s verse-of-the-day, which, in light of the mess this country’s in, seemed more than appropriate for some deep thought on God’s take on the subject of the earthly rulers of man. The verses that got me blogging comes from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, chapter 6, verses 12 and 13 (NIV), where the apostle writes, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.”

As a Christian, I use the Bible as my armor/defense against the forces of evil, and you should too. When I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, he gave me protection against Satan’s attacks, and authorities who exude the devil’s ideals, through his Word.

Interestingly enough, my go-to study guide, the Quest Study Bible, nicely sums it up, explaining in its sidebar about Ephesians 6:12, “Spiritual warfare for believers, therefore, is fought in the mind, emotions and will…The more our minds are filled with the truth of God’s Word, the less susceptible we are to Satan’s deceptions and temptations.”

Makes sense to me. What about you? Do you pick up your cross (for me that’s my Bible) daily and, through the reading of his infallible Word, dedicate your day/life to Him?

Yes? Wonderful, keep up the good fight.

No? Isn’t it time to consider the peace and joy and defense against the evil in this world that you can get from accepting Jesus Christ as your personal Savior? Please think long and hard about it as none of us are guaranteed the next moment.

With that written, I end today’s post with this prayer:

May the Lord above guide us all and keep us safe from all kinds of evil. May those who believe on his Son, Jesus Christ continue to fight the good fight with the full armor his Son’s death on the cross provided us. May today be the day that those who do not believe in Jesus Christ make the decision to follow him.

Amen.

Luke 9:23-26 (NIV) ²³ Then [Jesus] said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. ²⁴ For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. ²⁵ What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? ²⁶ Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

Start your day off right

Mount Whitney

Good morning, everyone.

I have found the best way to start my day off is with a tried and true devotional. Since I have been reading Our Daily Bread for as long as I can remember - at least 30 years - I am sharing today's link with all of you.

Be sure you read the Scripture, Romans 13:10-14, consider the Insight associated with today's devotion and pray the prayer. I submit that all these elements enhance my experience with the Lord.

Take time to read One Step Closer. Then maybe you'll go back often for more of your daily dose of the Bible, and use it to apply to your life. Many times these devotions have been just what I needed on just that day. Perhaps Our Daily Bread will encourage and ground you much the same way it does me - one day at a time, one verse at a time, one prayer at a time.

My prayer for you today - May the God who sees and knows all, see and know you and bless you today and every day for as long as you live and beyond. Amen

What do nicknames have to do with God?

Nicknames come in many shapes and sizes.

Some folks have nicknames. Some nicknames stick; some do not.

When I was a youngster, I was a little on the chubby side – not fat by any means, but “pleasingly plump,” as my mom always called it. The short, permed hair (easier for a mother that worked to care for), the freckles and the fact that back then girls always wore dresses to school and church, did nothing to enhance my appearance.

This chubby girl was hung with the unflattering moniker – Cheryl the Barrel.

Oh, the embarrassment. You can’t imagine, but then, maybe you can.

Did you have a nickname you hated? Fortunately mine disappeared sometime in puberty when I slimmed down and got a figure.

That isn’t always the case, though. 

I had a guy friend who, because of some prominent buck teeth, was plastered with the nickname “Bucky.” It stuck. To this day, everyone calls Conner – Bucky. Some people probably don’t even know, or remember, his given name!

As it would happen, a Christmas present got me thinking about these lousy nicknames. My sister had all the family slides transferred to CDs, and there I was in all my glory for my husband to see. Pleasingly plump; short, curly hair (with a bow, no less); freckles, red plaid dress (red was my favorite color even back then); Cheryl the Barrel – in spades!

Oh the embarrassment – all over again, 50 years later.

I even admitted to the nickname. Then I asked myself, “Cheryl, what is WRONG with you? Why did you reveal this deep, dark secret to your unsuspecting husband?”

Guess it’s because today, I can laugh at it, but I can assure you, it wasn’t funny back then.

Well, I guess I ran this blog a little sideways for a minute. Maybe that nickname bothers me today more than I care to admit? Maybe I need to make a confession about my less-than-kindly recollections of my opinion of the kids who used that awful name. You think? Yeah – time to get on my knees.

And time to get back to the subject of this blog post - What do nicknames have to do with God?

After all the reminiscing the photo CD aroused, I got to thinking about God, and asked myself, “Does God have a nickname, or maybe more than one?”

You might not consider God’s names, nicknames, but God does have many different (using today’s marketing designation) brands, most associated with his divinity.

You’ve probably all heard the terms omniscience, omnipresence and omnipotence as they apply to our awesome God. I must admit that I sometimes get them confused with one another because they are so similar.

For this blog article, I decided to delve into my copy of Nelson’s Illustrated Dictionary of the Bible to set the omni(s) firmly in my brain.

According to my reference text, omniscience [om NISH unce] refers to God’s superior knowledge and wisdom; omnipresence [om nih PRES ence] addresses God’s unfathomable nature to be everywhere at all times; and, omnipotence [om NIP oh tunce] is defined as God’s all-encompassing power.

Of course these are God’s traits, not His nicknames, nicknames being defined as “a name added to or substituted for the proper name of a person…”

The Jewish people bestowed many names on the All Mighty, some of which refer to his attributes, some his character, some His capabilities – maybe not nicknames by definition, but close.

According to Joe Stowell (Cornerstone University president and Our Daily Bread contributor) God has many such names. Here are a few Stowell mentioned in a recent ODB devotional post:

• Jehovah Yahweh, which means the covenant-keeping God;
• Jehovah Rapha, the healer God;
• Jehovah Shalom, the God of peace (many folks use shalom as a closing in emails, letters and verbal goodbyes);
• El-Shaddai, almighty God;
• Elohim, one God above all gods;
• Jehovah Shamma, the ever-present God;
• Jehovah Jireh, provider God.

WOW! That's quite a list, isn't it? God definitely is all the omni(s) previously mentioned – and more!

God is EVERYTHING to me. And, I hope and pray that he is everything to you. As his all-encompassing Word explains in Proverbs 18:10 (NIV) The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.

Are you safe? Do you run to Him to find safety?

No matter the situation, God can make you safe.

Get on your knees today. Accept his son, Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Submit to Him. Confess your sins. Accept His forgiveness. Obey His precepts. Become a true follower of Jesus.

What do you have to lose? Your life. What do you have to gain? Eternity.

No brainer, agreed?

After all, “…with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26b (NIV)

May God bless us all, everyone. Amen.

Today's devotion: Sledding and praying

Today's Our Daily Bread devotion story certainly brings back memories of winters gone by. Read the story, Bible passage and insight by clicking here.

The blogger will return on Monday. Until then, enjoy your weekend and may God bless you all.

Today's devotion - Where does your help come from?

Today's Bible reading is the 121st Psalm. Be sure to read it, the story and the insight that are included with most all Our Daily Bread devotional offerings. In my mother's extended absence from blogging you can find this daily devotion by following this link.

God bless all of you today and every day.

Strengthen my hands

Since I am away from my computer for the next few days, I have set up links to the Our Daily Bread devotional page.

Please take the time to read the daily message and be inspired by its relevance to our world.

Here's the link for today's devotional reading. Be sure to read the scripture verses first!

May God bless all of you today and every day.