Alert



Ephesians 6:14-24
14Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
15and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.
16In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;
17and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,
18praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,
19and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel,
20for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.
21So that you also may know how I am and what I am doing, Tychicus the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord will tell you everything.
22I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage your hearts.
23Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
24Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible.

“To that end keep alert with all perseverance . . .”

Finally, Paul tells us why we are given these articles of spiritual weaponry. The enemy will strike. We just don’t know when. So we remain in a state of readiness. If I know that an attack is coming, I can be prepared.

In a study history, you will find that in every war, the attackers always try for the advantage of secrecy and surprise. If the enemy doesn’t know you’re going to attack, the chances of victory rise exponentially. A small number of warriors can defeat a larger group of soldiers if they can make their move at an unexpected moment. That’s why spies are so important. They can go in under cover and scout out the situation. Even Moses knew that and sent spies into the Promised Land to check out the enemy and discover just what they were facing. Our enemy, the devil, constantly looks for a time when we are vulnerable and that is when he strikes. Paul is fully aware of his schemes and gives us these defensive tools so that we might stand up against those attacks. The problem is that we become complacent or lazy and lay our defenses down. “To that end keep alert. . .” It serves us well to simply assume that the devil is going to attack us and prepare in advance. Put your armor on!!! Don’t just leave it lying on the prayer closet floor. It literally will take you less than 30 seconds a day to remember that your spirit is valuable and worthy of protection. Jesus has died for you. It is His righteousness that you don, His truth that you live under, His Gospel that you share, His faith that you carry, His salvation that belongs to you, and His Word that you speak. It’s always and completely about Jesus and His ability to keep you safe.

Tomorrow, we pick up the book of James; incredibly practical and so easy to understand. Do yourself a favor and read ahead. It's only 5 chapters. Once again, you could commit to reading a chapter a day and just think how many times you could get through the book while we're studying it here!

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