Putting on the Armor

My heart has been heavy this week as I've contemplated all the believers who have been deceived by the enemy to the point they have allowed bitterness & anger to so fill their hearts that they have been incapacitated. Once you allow bitterness in your heart & allow it to take over, it effects your relationships with other people. It can get so bad it effects every relationship you have. It effects your relationship with your spouse, family members, friends, fellow employees & your Church family. The biggest relationship it effects though is your relationship with God! When you allow bitterness in your life the first thing most people do is to begin to blame God for all their problems. Secondly, they are full of fear & uncertainty about the future. Thirdly, the bitterness will eventually cause you to doubt and cause you to freeze up & prevent you from living the life God has called you to live. God has great plans & a purpose for your life. The enemy is trying to steal that from you. We must be wise as serpents & harmless as a dove. According to Ehesians chapter 6 we should be aware of the tactics of the enemy & not allow him to deceive us & keep us from doing the will of the Father. It is imperative that we put on the full armor of God everyday and take our stand against the enemy's schemes! We must understand our struggle is not against flesh & blood but against principalities and powers and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms! We put on the armor of God everday so that when the day of evil comes we are able to stand our ground! The first piece of armor the Apostle Paul tells us to put on is the belt of truth! Everything starts and ends with truth! We must know the truth so we cannot be deceived by the tricks of the enemy! The truth will set us free! When a bank begins to train a teller how to notice counterfeit money they give her real money & tell her to touch it & play with it, look it over, touch it, examine it and then when counterfeit money comes up it sticks out like a sore thumb. It's the same way with us in the spiritual realm. If we know the truth then when a lie comes from the enemy it sticks out to us like a sore thumb because we know the truth so well. When Satan tempted Jesus, he often quoted scripture, however he would take it out of context. He couldn't fool Jesus though because he knew the truth. We have to know the truth so well that when the enemy lies to us we see it for what it is. A lie! Saturate yourself in the truth. Jesus said, "I am the truth". We must know Him & the truth of His Word! May God richly bless you and give you an incredible hunger for His Word and for knowing Him in a real & powerful way!