Verse of the Day
“Accept God’s salvation as your helmet. And take the sword of the Spirit—that sword is the teaching of God.” — Ephesians 6:17 ERV
Lesson of the Day
Now let’s look at the helmet and the sword. The Roman soldier’s helmet was made of metal. It completely protected their heads from being severed. Similarly, God gave us a helmet of salvation to protect our minds and keep our head on straight. The Roman Soldiers also had a noticeable plume of horsehair affixed to the top of their helmet. This assured the enemy as to who they were fighting. Our salvation is noticeable by the way we talk and live.
Now, the Roman soldier’s swords were double edged, 19 inches long, and deadly in close combat. It was used to jab, stab, and totally massacre the enemy. Our sword of the Spirit is the Bible, the Word of God. That means the Word of God in our hearts has stabbing power when we let it out of our mouths. Knowing the Word of God gives us the ability to render the enemy inoperative.
Encouragement
Salvation (The Helmet) is a powerful weapon. Jesus used Salvation to crush satan’s head (Genesis 3:15 ERV). He also used the Word of God (The sword) to defeat temptation when the devil tempted Him. We can do the same thing. Our acceptance of Jesus’s salvation was our first major head butt to the enemy. As we continue on in this war, we must remember how Jesus used these weapons and do the same. We must learn the Word of God so that we have a sword to use when the enemy tries to tempt us or when someone tries to turn us away from God and His truths that set us free. Remember when I talked about the church that I visited who told me that I wasn’t saved unless I could speak in tongues? I used the sword of God to ward off that false teaching. The enemy thought that he could trick me into living a lie in God’s name. I had to jab, stab, and totally massacre that attempt. We have the power. We just have to use it.
Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father, You knew exactly what was going to happen to us. You knew that we would need a helmet of salvation and a sword of the Spirit to fight the enemy. He tricked Adam and Eve, and at that moment You devised a plan for us. Thank You Lord. You made a perfect plan because You are perfect. We are completely protected from the enemy. Help us to daily pick up our Bibles and study them. We need Your Words in our hearts so that we can jab, stab, and massacre the enemy. Continue to guide and protect us. Help us to stay focused on the whole armor that You’ve provided for us. In Jesus Christ’s name we pray, amen.