Category: Devotions

TUESDAY July 23^rd

 

Ephesians 6:10-12

‘Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.’

 

Before we leave these verses, I want to take us to some verses in the book of Daniel, that help us to understand how the powers of darkness will seek to work against not only we who are the children of God but will also seek to do whatever they can to try to deter or to stop God’s purpose or will from being done. But before we go to those verses, I will also remind us that try as hard as they will and as hard as they can, we have the assurance in the word of God that no plan of his will be thwarted. However powerful the powers of darkness are and the other forces at work, they are not a match for the almighty power of God.

 

The verses in Daniel are found in chapter 10, Daniel had received a vision, and he was left in a state of change, he says ‘So I was left alone and saw this great vision. My radiant appearance was fearfully changed, and I retained no strength’, v8, then in verse 10 a hand touched him, and he was spoken to, it is then revealed in verse 12 that God had heard the voice of Daniel, but the prince of the kingdom of Persia had withstood against the answer that God was bringing through this messenger. It said the prince withstood him for 21 days until Michael came to help him and to reveal the answer to his prayer, the meaning of the vision.

 

God was revealing something to Daniel concerning the ends times, but the powers of darkness, the rulers, authorities, cosmic powers, spiritual forces as we have in Ephesians chapter 6 which were represented by the prince sought to prevent the answer from coming—but God prevailed against them, God prevailed because he is all powerful, but it reminds us that these spiritual forces are real forces, they will seek to undermine the will and the purpose of God, they will seek to cause us to give up, when we need to keep on keeping on, even when at times we feel we are walking in treacle, for God will come through as we learn to be patient, to be strong, to be willing to persevere, as Jesus said in one of his parables, to ask, seek, knock, to keep asking, to keep seeking, and to keep knocking.

 

We have a powerful God, he is omnipotent, that is why we need to keep hold of the motto for this year, which is this, that it is ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit says the Lord’.

 

We will end with the verse from Job. ‘I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted’, Job 42:2.

MONDAY July 22^nd

 

Ephesians 1:10-12

‘Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.’

 

The one line here is vitally important for us to understand, ‘For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood’, for it is a reminder that our spiritual battle is not against our fellow human beings, whether saved or unsaved but against the rulers, authorities, cosmic powers and spiritual forces. When we see individuals behaving in ways that we find abhorrent, or against what we accept as followers of Jesus, when we see people of other religions who follow foreign gods, and sadly as some do acting with violence, and we could add so many more things here, what we need to remind ourselves is firstly of the fact that they act or behave that way because they are still in the kingdom of darkness and are under the control of the various forces of darkness. We need also to remind ourselves that such were we, and such could we still be if it had not been for the grace of God which came to us and brought us to salvation. We need to see them as individuals who are lost and who need to come to a knowledge of the truth. As hard as it may sound and as hard as some times it may feel to do, we must love as God loved, even to the point of loving those who we would consider as our enemies and as enemies of the gospel of God.

 

It is also important to add, after what I have already said, that we must not excuse the sin, we must speak out against sin, for all sin is rebellion against God, while at the same time we love the sinner, and although we understand the manifestation of the powers of darkness, at the end of the day God has built into humanity a moral compass, a conscience and we are all responsible as to how we behave and how we respond to the influences and schemes that come from the devil and as to we respond to the good news of the gospel. And what is more, the Bible is very clear, that one day we will have to stand before the Holy God and give an account. For we who are believers it will be as to how we have lived out as believers and as to what we have done that counts or lasts for eternity versus that which is temporal and will finally be burnt up as straw.

 

For unbelievers it will be a different matter, it will be a judgment that leads to eternal destruction, for as it says in the word of God, it is appointed for man to die and then the judgment, and the verdict given will be based upon whether a person has come to believing and trusting faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

So, we do wrestle against the schemes and outworkings of the powers of darkness, we are faced with it every day, if it was going to be easy to stand and survive as Christians, why would God have provided an armour for us. He knows what life is going to be like, he knows the ways and the wiles of the devil, therefore he has given us the maximum protection available, let us put it on.

FRIDAY July 19^th

 

Ephesians 6:10-12

‘Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.’

 

Now as we move on in these verses, we will see how the devil brings about his schemes, it is through those things mentioned in verse 12, the rulers, the authorities, the cosmic powers, the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

 

Although we rejoice in the wonderful fact that Christ defeated Satan at Calvary, bringing about our eternal redemption, we still need reminding that at present, although defeated, Satan hasn’t given up, and although one day he will be cast into the lake of fire for eternity, until then we are reminded that he goes around like a roaring lion. He is angry, he knows he has lost, and that Jesus has won, but he will not give up without a fight! And so, he will try every trick in the book, every possible scheme to try to wreak havoc on the earth and to try to destroy what Christ is doing in building his Church. That is why it is so essential for us today to heed Paul’s advice to put the whole, the complete, the full armour on which God has provided for us.

 

It is important that not one single believer falls into the trap of thinking ‘I will be okay’ and as a result be careless and carefree. And why do I say this? Well, imagine living in a perfect world—nothing is going to go wrong—or could it? Well, two individuals did live in a perfect world, they were called Adam and Eve, they had everything they wished for, they enjoyed daily communion with God in the garden in the cool of the evening, they wanted for absolutely nothing. But, the devil, instead of featuring as a roaring lion came to them as a subtle serpent and they fell for him, they believed his subtle lies, and sin entered the world.

 

Now let’s understand how easy it would be for men and women to fall for the schemes of the devil, if Adam and Eve fell for him in the perfect environment of the garden of Eden, he could so easily dupe us as we now find ourselves living in a fallen world. And sadly, many are, being duped by continuing with their friendship with the world, the things that the devil uses to attract and snare, rather than keeping a 24/7 watch over their souls.

 

I need the armour of God, I want the armour of God, I want to take up and to use everything that God has made available for me to keep close to him and to be aware of and to battle against every scheme and attack of the devil.

 

THURSDAY July 18^th

 

Ephesians 6:11

‘Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.’

 

As we come back to this verse and move on from the first two words, we are told here in the process of putting on, what we need to put on, it is the whole armour of God and why we need to put it on ‘that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil’.

 

It doesn’t matter what our occupation is, but I can guarantee that everyone does what is needed to make sure we are prepared to fulfil the task, job, or occupation. When I was a panel-beater / car sprayer there were essential items needed and essential workwear needed to enable me to do the job with the maximum help and protection possible. I was a car sprayer, so I needed a spray gun and not a paint brush! Yes, I could have painted the car with a brush, but one thing was sure the customer would not have been happy. How often do we try to get by in our Christianity with insufficient tools and protection! We fail to read the word, we fail to pray, we fail to put on the whole armour of God, we try in our own strength rather than in the supernatural strength that God has made available to  us.

 

Paul often uses language that speaks of warfare, as he was coming to the end of his earthly life he made this statement to Timothy, ‘For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith’, 2 Timothy 4:6–7. In his previous letter to Timothy he had also said, ‘Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses’, 1 Timothy 6:12.

 

Notice how Paul called it a good fight! It is a good fight because it is a fight against all that is opposed to God, everything that is opposed to his will and everything that seeks to undermine who God is as the sovereign God. A fight of good versus evil, right against wrong, a fight that needs us to be well prepared and protected, and God has given us his word, he has given us his name, he has given us the Holy Spirit, he has given us our testimony and the blood of the Lamb, he has given us the armour the purpose of which is to fight against the schemes of the devil.

WEDNESDAY July 17^th

 

Ephesians 6:11

‘Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.’

 

Before we move into the whole of this verse, I want us to consider the two words ‘Put on’. It is an instruction to do something, obviously in this case to put on the whole armour of God.

 

There are other occasions where we are told to ‘put on’ something in the scripture, can I suggest that they are those things that are essential for us to be living for Christ, and at times before we can put something on, we must take something off. When I get up in the morning, I don’t go out in whatever it may have been that I slept in, no, I get changed, I put off and then put on. Sometimes when I have done a school run, I have seen parents (sorry ladies, it is usually mums) who have obviously got up late and come to the school in a hurry and they have just bundled a coat or jacket on top of what has been their nightwear. It doesn’t look very good; it doesn’t leave a good impression.

 

If we try to live for Jesus by putting on without first taking off, we won’t make or leave a very good impression! We will be playing at or trying to be something when our actions, our speech or our behaviour betrays us.

 

Now, one of the well-known put off before you put on scriptures is in Colossians 3, where Paul talks about putting to death what is earthly in you, he names those things he considers to be earthly, sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, covetousness, anger, wrath, malice, slander, obscene talk from out of your mouth and lying to one another. Now he hasn’t given a comprehensive list, he is showing us that it means everything that betrays our testimony in Christ, put it off, get rid of it, summing it up in verses 9-10 ‘. . . seeing that you have put off the old self, with its practices and have put on the new self. which is being renewed after the image of its Creator’  Now to take off means we replace it with something else, and Paul continues in verses 12-16 as a starting point, ‘Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, forbearance, forgiveness, love and let the peace of God rule in your hearts and the word of God dwell in you richly.’

 

I am one of those who holds on to certain items of clothing till they are well, worn out! I still have items of clothing that would have been in my wardrobe many years ago, if it fits then it will still do. Sometimes a clear out is needed and the statement might be made ‘why are you still hanging on to that—it needs to go’.

 

We need to regularly check out what we have put on, or what we keep putting on that should have been got rid of years ago. Get rid of the old and get hold of the new, put off and put on, let us all ensure that we put off everything that would betray the gospel and put on everything that will bring glory to God. Remember, just as I have seen the mum’s who should have put off the night clothes and put on the day clothes, the world although they are ignorant of the gospel will soon point a finger when they see a trait in us that should have been put off.  Going back a few lines, I said the words concerning my older clothes, ‘if it fits it will still do’, playing around with the words, let’s not try to do, so that we will fit in, but let’s be different for the sake of the integrity of the gospel.

TUESDAY July 16^th

 

Ephesians 6:10

‘Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.

 

Now, I am going to be playing around with a word in these verses to make a point, we know the word ‘finally’ used here is included because it is the last words or final words of encouragement that Paul wants to write in this letter to the Ephesian church. He wasn’t suggesting that finally or as a last straw they put on the armour of God. I want to encourage us to ensure that the word finally will never be written about us because we may have struggled through our Christian Walk, maybe for many years and finally the penny has dropped, we had failed to put on the armour of God. In other words, rather than a final measure, let’s make it a priority. Before we do anything for the Lord, to put on the armour of God.

 

Now there is an obvious link here in our verse for today and the motto verse I gave to us for 2024, ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts’, Zechariah 4:6. Our might and our strength should come a) by the Spirit of God, b) by God’s power, c) and by standing in the resources he has given us, which here is the armour.

 

If we try to live our Christian lives on earth in our own strength or might, with our own natural abilities, we may get through, but it would be struggle after struggle after struggle. Notice I said we may get through, but the reality is that we would probably fall as soon as the going gets tough.

 

In a recent prayer meeting, we were reminded of a lady who having come to faith in the Lord had to be so careful with who she spoke to for fear of reprisal, without all the details, her husband also came to faith, and one day he went missing, and the news eventually filtered through that he had been tortured and killed for his faith. It is a very clear reminder to you and I who can openly practice our faith in the UK of the many dangers that so many of our brothers and sisters in Christ are facing in other nations of the world, O how much they need the armour of God (and our prayers). But let us not become complacent in the UK, our Christian heritage and our Christian values are no longer wanted, which means that without any shadow of doubt we need to ensure that we are being strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. We need to put on the armour of God, Paul says later that having done so that we stand, and I am going to elaborate a little, having put on the armour of God, do not under any circumstances take it off again. We need it and we are going to need it. Be dressed and ready for action. Going back to a part of a verse that we looked at recently from Ephesians 3:16 ‘. . .that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being. . .’

MONDAY July 15^th

 

Well, this is going to be one of the easiest of devotions to put together, because most of it has already been written for me by the pen of the apostle Paul, who himself wrote it under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the same Spirit who has preserved it by including it in the world’s most important book, the Word of God.

 

And there is absolutely no doubt, they are words of scripture that need to have an application maybe an urgently required application for us in the times in which we are living. As I said in the last devotion, it is from Ephesians 6:10-20. I readily accept, that I need to be fully equipped, and I thank God for this incredible armour he has made available for each one of us to wear.

 

I prayed a week or so ago in our prayer meeting that God would raise the Church up again to be a mighty army marching through this land and as the army of God, we (will) need the armour.

 

‘Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.’

 

We will turn to these verses and consider them, with how ever many devotions it may take.

FRIDAY July 12^th

 

Over the last few weeks, we have considered some of the prayers that Paul had made for the believers both at Ephesus and Philippi. But beside praying for them, he also made request that they would pray for him! Remember back in Philippians 1, he talked about the partnership that they enjoyed together in the gospel, and a part of that partnership would have included prayer for one another, Paul for them and them for Paul.

 

One of Paul’s requests for prayer that readily comes to my mind is found in Ephesians chapter 6 after he has gone through the armour of God, he continues to say that after having put it on to be ‘praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication’. He then continues to say, ‘making supplication for all the saints’, and then in verse 19 ‘and also for me’. He wanted that the Ephesian church would pray for him, and the prayer was to be that he would be given the words when opening his mouth to boldly proclaim the mystery of the gospel.

 

You would think that with all that he had already accomplished in his preaching of the gospel, that surely, he never lacked boldness! But here in Ephesians chapter 6, he is writing as a prisoner because of his preaching of the gospel, but he wanted that in his difficult situation, he may continue to boldly preach, and sensitively, the right words, at the right time, so that as he continued to speak it would be as an ambassador of the gospel.

 

Now, if you can remember back to April 29^th I commenced this series of devotions as looking at some of the writings of Paul, which had been a spin off from my looking at the life and ministry of Paul which we commenced way back in November 2023, and one of the key verses was that at the time of his conversion, the Lord commissioned him to ‘carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel’ and that he was going to suffer for the sake of the name of Christ. And Paul certainly did carry the name of Jesus, Paul certainly did suffer for the name of Jesus, more than we can ever think or imagine, therefore it is no wonder he still needs to ask for prayer that he may continue to speak the gospel boldly.

 

I am pretty sure that if I went around everyone and asked what it is that I could specifically pray for you, I would get a variety of different needs, but I wonder how many, if any would say ‘Pray that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel’. Well, take it as being a request for me, and as Paul asked the churches to pray for him, I ask that you pray for me, as your pastor. I appreciate it for I need your prayers, not only for the boldness to proclaim the gospel, but for me to fulfil the God given responsibility of caring for you, the Church under my care.

 

Now, where to next? I am going to stay here in Ephesians chapter 6, and we will look at verses 10-20 and the armour of God in more detail.

WEDNESDAY July 10^th

 

Philippians 2:14-17

‘Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labour in vain.

 

It was back in Philippians 1 that Paul says that he prayed for the believers, and we looked at the various points, one of which was that they would be ‘pure and blameless for the day of Christ’ (v10). This was looking ahead to the glorious moment when Christ would return to take up the Church, his body to be eternally with him in glory. But here, he wants us to do all things without grumbling or disputing because it will impact the kind of people we are as we find ourselves as the redeemed of the Lord, yet, still living amid a crooked and twisted generation. Now, let’s be honest if it was crooked and twisted 2000 years ago, how would Paul describe society today, here in the 21 century! I suggest as a start, utterly depraved!

 

I was going to say that the world is fast moving away from godly principals and morality, but decided instead to say that it isn’t fast moving away, it has moved away. Every day we hear and see things that should cause us to be appalled as the children of God, and here is the challenge if these things do not appal us then how closely are we walking to the desires and ways of the world rather than to the desires or ways of the Spirit.

 

We can only be effective as the lights that shine in the world if we are living differently to those who we are living with or mixing with daily who do not claim to know Jesus. If we live the same as they do, participate in everything that they do then they will be hiding the light, and Jesus himself said, ‘You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven’, Matthew 5:14–16.

 

I must ask myself the question, does my life bring glory to God—how about you?

TUESDAY July 9^th

 

Philippians 2:14-17

‘Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labour in vain.

 

There are certain things that I can say that I don’t like doing, now, I am a practical person and will turn my hand to do anything, but I really do not like papering and painting, whether gloss or emulsion, using a roller or a brush. I just don’t like doing it, so if anything is going to make me grumble or dispute it would be that—but it doesn’t mean I won’t do it!

 

When it comes to living out our Christianity, Paul says ‘Do all things without grumbling or disputing’. We cannot pick and choose the bits of Christianity that we enjoy and put aside the bits we prefer not to take on board. For example we can say ‘I am glad I am saved’ and speak about the blessings and benefits of salvation, yet at the same time we may grumble about the bits that challenge us maybe toward full surrender, commitment or holiness, and we may not openly grumble or dispute, but by living in ways that deny the outworking of the gospel in our lives, we are disputing against the Spirit of God and the word of God.

 

See, being a homeowner means that even though there are jobs that need doing which I don’t like doing, to really care for the home, I must put the grumbling and disputing to one side and do it. (Even if I may take a long time to do it—ask Elaine! No, please don’t!) We are the temples of the living God, and we need to do what is required for our lives to be fit for purpose, without grumbling and disputing, so that he would be pleased to make his home with us. I need to surrender because that is the cost for following Jesus, I need to be committed for he has given everything for me, I need to be holy because he is holy, and he requires me to live in holiness as well. I need to apply the whole of scripture to my life without grumbling and disputing, we all need to, and by refusing to we are in rebellion toward the demands of a holy God who has saved us and redeemed us at such an immense cost, the precious blood of Jesus.

 

Think about the aspects of following Jesus that you find challenging and ask today that the Spirit of God will give you a spirit of willingness to be what he needs you to be and to do all he requires of you. The following verses came to me as I was preparing this devotion so I will add them here, I would sum up that they portray the need for obedience, what God says, what God requires, we must do without grumbling and disputing.

 

‘“With what shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the LORD  be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?’ Micah 6:6–8.