Note; this week we
are re-visiting a series of devotions from 2016 entitled FAITHFUL WARRIORS. It’s not something we do often, but this
series bears repeating during times of crisis.
…and the body armor of God’s righteousness. Ephesians 6:14b
In His sermon on the Mount of Olives Jesus said we would be blessed; we
would be happy to hunger and thirst after righteousness. He said we
should seek the righteousness of the Kingdom of God first, and worry about
material things later.[1]
What is this righteousness we’re supposed to
seek? It’s certainly not self-righteousness; that even
sounds bad.
The word “righteous” comes from a basic verb which means to show.
In a religious sense or application it means to stand before God with your
heart open and on display. There is nothing hidden; your heart is on
display so God can inspect you.
Is that a comfortable idea?
Each of us has at least a few things in our life that, if it were known by
our neighbors, friends or family (especially our church family), we would die
of shame.
How do I know that?
I don’t have a crystal ball, but I do have a human heart. God knows
that the flesh lives inside us all. And when we stand before Him there is
nothing hidden. At all!
Most of us know this to be true from experience – and the rest of us could
guess from sheer human intuition – that it is not a wonderful prospect to stand
before a righteous and holy God without some super-asbestos holy shield to
protect us from a blast of judgment from the throne.
The breastplate (or body armor) covers the vitals, the heart. Having
a breastplate of righteousness can only happen when your heart has been
cleansed, when you’ve been forgiven of sin and made to stand righteous, openly
on show for God.
David prayed:
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you…. Psalm 139.23-24a
When it's like that, beloved, Satan’s darts are way out of range.
A fellow Christian once accused me of being uncaring and cold towards him
and his family. He then widened it to include the whole church (and
probably the whole of Western civilization!). I told him that I believed
he was misunderstanding me, but that I would pray for God to help me
understand.
I did go to prayer, and while God affirmed to my heart that I really did
care for and love this brother in Christ and his family, there were some other
things in that area that needed my attention, like showing that love better.
When I shared this with the brother, I could stand with the breastplate of
righteousness. I had stood honestly before God, and Satan could not use
this rift of understanding to break that church apart.
He tries to do that, you know.
Let’s Pray Together:
Father, we’re at a time – a particularly difficult time – when the whole church could stand to stand open before you. We think we have it ‘right’ and most of the time we’ve hardly begun to get it right. Keep us centered in humility; that will save us from being yanked back to reality when common sense kicks in.
For You Today
Put on God’s body armor, the breastplate of righteousness; have a clean
heart before God.
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Title image: Pixabay.com
Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The
New Living Translation©
This devotion
originally appeared 1/13/16 as Faithful Warriors - #3.
The Body Armor of God's Righteousness
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