Unshakeable

Published: May 17, 2021, midnight

b'Guys, I have a confession to make. I\\u2019m a twenty-five-year-old Bible college graduate, and I JUST realized that the armor of God is, well, God\\u2019s armor. And even though this is a new discovery for me, it was old news to Paul\\u2019s originalaudience, the church in Ephesus.\\nThe Bible frequently uses different words or phrases to remind readers of another part of the Bible. And that\\u2019s exactly what\\u2019s going on in this passage. When Paul tells his audience to put on the \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153breastplate of righteousness\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d and the \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153helmet of salvation,\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d they probably said, \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153Oh yeah, like in Isaiah!\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d Check it out\\u2026\\nLook at Isaiah 59:17. Sound familiar? These pieces of the armor of God are what He Himself puts on to deal with sin and unrighteousness.\\nThen, look at Isaiah 11:1-5 and 52:7-10. Ok, these references are a little bit harder to see in English, but let me explain. Isaiah 11:5 talks about the \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153Branch\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d wearing righteousness and truth like a \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153belt\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d or \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153undergarment.\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d It may sound odd, but that \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153Branch\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d is Jesus, and He\\u2019s the one wearing a belt of truth!\\nIsaiah 52:7 talks about the feet that bring good news, and now we know the good news is the gospel of Jesus\\u2014His perfect life, His death in our place on the cross, and His victorious resurrection from the dead! Kind of reminds you of the shoes of the good news, doesn\\u2019t it?\\nSo why does this matter, other than to impress your friends with Bible trivia?\\nBecause, as citizens of Jesus\\u2019 kingdom, we are at war with Satan, sin, and death. We are called to go after the spiritual powers of evil with everything we\\u2019ve got, resisting sin and promoting justice. And nothing but God\\u2019s own armor is going to protect us in that fight. He is the only One who can equip us to battle evil alongside our resurrected King.\\nBut don\\u2019t worry\\u2014we know Who wins. \\u2022 Taylor Eising\\n\\u2022 In Ephesians 6:13, the command to put on the armor of God isn\\u2019t given to individual Christians\\u2014it\\u2019s given to the church as a whole. We aren\\u2019t supposed to do this on our own. Who can you lean on to help you stand strong in Jesus? \\n\\u2022 What sins are you fighting with right now? How does Jesus help you in this fight? Bring your battles to Him in prayer. \\nA final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Ephesians 6:10 (NLT)\\n\\xa0\\nRead Verses:\\nPsalm 46:1-3; Isaiah 53\\u201354'