The Armor of God

“And let us not neglect our meeting together; as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of His return is drawing near.” Hebrews 10:25 (NLT)

What do you notice about this verse? What jumped out at you?:

In a world that has us so busy, tired, and full of all sorts of distractions, pushing snooze on the alarm clock can become a part of our routine. We get in the habit of doing it daily – often more than once. Yet, somehow, we push past that exhaustion as our responsibilities ring louder than the blaring alarm. Whether it’s a hungry newborn, a whiny toddler, an unmotivated teenager, a spouse in need, or, often the most common, a job. A job with deadlines to be met, a clock to be punched, a boss to report to; we force ourselves out of the house because we need that job to pay our bills. Because of that daily grind, by the time Sunday rolls around, we find ourselves exhausted. We hit that snooze, again and again – this time more than just once. The inner voice of our flesh, which can be the loudest of all, that tells us to just ‘watch church online today. ‘We don’t need to actually be there in person’! And when we are run down, our flesh is the easier voice to listen to in the moment. Our body feels so good as we give into that voice, we find a comfortable position, and turn on the tv or the phone to catch a Word we know will be powerful. What our flesh doesn’t tell us is what seems so easy and rewarding in the moment can come at a costly price.
While having the option to watch online is helpful in times of emergency, illness, car trouble, etc., it should never be a replacement for attending church. The past two Sundays, Pastor Julius has been teaching us how to be good soldiers and one of the ways we do that is to put on God’s armor. Paul tells us to put on the shield of faith, as it will protect us from the fiery darts of the enemy. We learned from Pastor’s message that the shields that were worn by the Roman soldiers actually interlocked into one another, making them an even stronger force. The enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy. He is the ultimate deceiver and whispers lies that can cause us to question God’s truth. Lies like this: “I don’t need anyone,” or “no one will understand what I am going through”. But … Jesus made it clear when He said, “where two or three are gathered in My name, there I will be.” We are always better together! Community is so vital to having a successful Christian-walk. Do not do life alone. Do not forsake gathering together and whatever you do – don’t hit snooze on Sunday!

Reflect on the following:

If you are a person that struggles with “hitting -snooze” when it comes to church attendance on Sunday, try something new! Ask a trusted person or a mature believer in your life to be an accountability partner for you. If you are a person who is more mature in the faith, become an accountability partner to someone who is newer to the faith, so that you both can grow spiritually in your walk with Christ. Don’t Do Life Alone! 

Speak to the Lord and spend some time in prayer:

Lord, please help us remember that we are better and stronger together. Help us to rebuke the lies of the enemy that tell us we don’t need anyone. Let us band together, putting on our inter-locking shields of faith, so we can do great and mighty things in Your name – as a body of believers, as a church, and as a community. We need each other! In Jesus name we pray … Amen!