The Armor

The current fiction book I am reading talks about how a mother would walk her girls through a series of gifts that God had given her girls. She told them this everyday. I thought it was neat! My sister and I were talking about it and the book writes about it over several pages so I thought I would condense it all so that I could see it all together.

Put on your helmet of salvation, your belt of truth, your breastplate of righteousness, and your shoes of peace. As you head out the door, grab your shields of faith and your sword of spirit.

"The helmet of salvation - you got that the minute you gave your life to Christ. You don't have to pretend to put on some imaginary steel cap on your head in the mornings. It's already there. The belt of truth is in God's Word. You get it from studying it, learning it, knowing what it says. Not whipping it out of some pretend closet. As for your breastplate, you do have that protection, because you exchanged your sin for Christ's righteousness.... and your shoes of the gospel of peace. Again, you study God's Word, make it a part of you. But the shoes are about spreading the word, telling others about the peace you've found. You have something they need. The shield of faith - you have to feed it the things that make it grow stronger. Again, you have to study God's Word as if it were your very lifeline. Because it is. As you get to know the Word of God, front to back, layer upon layer - hunger for it, breath it - that sword will get sharper and become more effective. The truth is, you have to build upon these weapons before you need them, so you'll be ready when you're face-to-face with someone unkind, or un-Christlike."