LENT WEEK 3: DAY 19
To every soldier is assigned an armour which serves not only as a defence mechanism but also to attack his enemies. The full armour is so important because, when you put it on in time of battle, it makes you stand your ground, resist the evil one and gives you the ability to use all your weapons (Ephesians 6:13). I want you to focus on this verse and on the fact that, the armour helps you make good use of all your weapons. This tells you that without the full armour, your use of the weapons cannot be at its best. Therefore, having looked at the weapons of warfare these past days, I want to end this series by looking at the full armour of God which every child of God must put up. There are different types of armour and everyone puts on that which suits them but children of God must put on that which comes from God. Failure to do so might hinder our moving forward. In the battle against Goliath, David took Saul’s armour but noticed he couldn’t move well with it (1 Samuel 17:38). If you are putting on the wrong armour, I am inviting you today to pull it off so that you can move swiftly on the battleground. You might have decided to use the same armour that works for a friend forgetting that you are neither in the same camp nor operating in the same realm. If you are in that situation, you will be experiencing lots of setbacks and failures in your battles without omitting plenty of attacks. The standard armour of God for every Christian is the belt, the breastplate, the shield, the helmet, the shoes and the sword. (Ephesians 6:14-17). I would like us to have a quick and brief look at every element of this armour and its importance for us as children of God
The first element which holds the others together is the belt of truth. If you picture the armour won by the soldiers, the belt holds all the other elements together and for every child of God, truth must be the centre of your life. The belt is girded on the loins and it not only separates the lower body and its sinful passions from the upper body, it is also at the centre. The truth they say lies in the middle and that’s where the belt is. Jesus will insist that he is the truth (John 14:6) and also that only the truth sets free (John 8:32). The belt of truth will therefore remind you of the fact that, you must put Jesus at the centre of all you do and he will hold everything together for you and set you free. Living a lie of truth will always put the devil far off and give us a lead on him. Wear the truth tightly in all you do
When you have girded yourself with the truth, you have to put on the breastplate of righteousness. Being righteous is essential for our protection. Righteousness is all about being right with God or justifiable. Jesus has already put us right with God and we have to keep that state of things so that in being right with God we can be free from the attacks of the evil ones. Abraham was justified and counted righteous by believing and obeying God (James 2:23). We need to obey God and believe his words so that they can protect us from evil. Note that the breastplate protects the heart and chest from all the strikes of the enemy. When you put on the breastplate, you protect evil from accessing and corrupting your heart. A pure heart is the delight of the Lord. Protect your heart by putting on the breastplate of righteousness. Be just in all you do.
When you have secured your heart with Justice, you need to wear the shoe of the readiness to carry the gospel of peace wherever you go. Being rooted in the word is what you need to stand firm and fight (Joshua 1:8). You have to be ready to bring peace wherever you go and do good, imitating Jesus who went around doing good (Acts 10:38). Become a peacemaker wherever you go and you shall become a son of God (Matthew 5:9) and evil shall flee when your feet approach.
When walking around bringing peace and love, make sure you carry the shield of faith in your hand. With it, you shall put off the attacks shot towards you. You need to grow in faith and it is with faith that you overcome the evil one and his work and faith comes by hearing the word of God (Romans 10:17). Remember that you cannot please God without Faith (Hebrew 11:6). When you carry faith, everything becomes possible for you (Mark 9:23) and nothing can access you without permission. Carry the shield of faith and put off all the enemy’s shots towards you.
As you put off the arrows of the enemy, cover your head with the helmet of salvation. You have to accept Christ as your head and leader and allow him to lead you and have the first place in everything that concerns you (Colossians 1:18). When you make him the head, you have everything salvation inclusive (Colossians 2:10). Wear the freedom Christ gives you on your head so that when the enemy sees you, he will see the mark of salvation and will give way. As long as you wear the mark of salvation as a helmet, no evil can befall you (Apocalypse 7:3). Wear your helmet and be free from evil attacks.
To be protected from the attacks, you have to be ready to attack with the sword of the spirit. In every battle, you must be ready to attack the enemy as well as defend yourself. To attack, you need the sword of the spirit, which cuts more finely than any double edge sword (Hebrew 4:12). It is a sharp double edge sword that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord (Apocalypse 1:16) and that same sword is given to you. The Lord has put his word in your mouth and given you a tongue above all demons (Luke 21:15). Use the sword of the spirit and destroy whatever stands your way. The power to destroy every evil is in your hands, use it wisely. Put on the armour of God and use all the weapons of warfare so that you may be victorious in all your battles against the powers of darkness and their evil companions.

In Corda Matris.

Resolutions

I resolve to put on the whole armour of God.
I resolve to strive every day to overcome the powers striving to strip me of the armour of God.
I resolve to unite myself to the full armour and become one with it.

Prayer

My dear Lord, help me to clothe myself in your full armour and to get involved in the battle against evil and sin. Teach me to surrender my life to you and to resist the powers that strive to separate me from you and stop me from bearing the full armour. Give me the strength to wear the armour always and be a true soldier everywhere I go and spread your love and peace to all those that come my way.

Amen.