Category: You (All) Are Strong

Romans 8:38-39 (NIV) – For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Ephesians 6:17 (NIV) – Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

“God’s salvation is the ultimate assurance of protection. From the treatment of salvation earlier in the letter, this salvation is both present and future.” – [Klyne Snodgrass, Ephesians NIVAC, p. 343].

Paul is telling the church of Ephesus, and us, to take up – that is, to receive as gift again – salvation. It is not that we haven’t already experienced God’s rescue, but salvation is a gift held out by God again and again, fresh each day. He holds out his rescue, his love, his forgiveness for us to pursue and experience, as we hear the Lord daily sing in his delight over us.

Today, let’s turn away from other ways of living, or putting our trust in other things, and instead, turn to the Lord and receive his gift of salvation again. As we do this, let’s worship to the song, “Thank You Song” by Upperroom.

Prayer: Lord, I turn from other ways of trust and living and I turn to you Lord. Thank you for your song over me that strengthens and keeps me in your salvation. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

– LB

Ephesians 6:14-15 (NIV) – Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.

“We seek a carefree life. It does not exist. Our conceptions of life and especially of retirement must change. Life’s goal is not on ‘golden pond,’ and Christians are not called to tranquility. We are called to peace, yes, but peace in the midst of struggle. This peace does not render us inactive; it makes us ready to do God’s will.” [Klyne Snodgrass, Ephesians NIVAC, p. 354]

Peace is not about running away. Instead, we are called to be ready to stand firm in the gospel, no matter the circumstances. We find that when we live “ready,” peace meets us in the storms through the Spirit’s presence, guarding our hearts and minds as we worship, pray and seek the Lord. We also find that as God’s peace equips us to overflow with God’s peace to the people around us, especially in our homes and those closest to us.

Prayer: Jesus, we call out to you, for you are our deliverer and perfect peace in the midst of the storm. Ready us to pursue your will in our lives today. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

– LB

1 John 4:16b, 18 (NIV) – God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

Ephesians 6:13 (NIV) – Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

This “stand” mentioned three times in Ephesians 6:10-14 is plural. We are to live clothed with the full armor of God so that we can stand firm together as God’s people in the gospel, praying for our world, and those around us at this time. We experience this again and again in our churches, fighting and standing together, praying for breakthrough for our families, our children for VBS, or for the college students, or for those going to Set Free. As we pray, let us be ready with the gospel and stand firm, and even after all that, to stand.

Let’s pray for our virtual meeting times this week praying for one another so that we would be ready to stand together. As we pray, let’s also worship to the song “Surrounded ( Fight My Battles )” by Upperroom. May this be how “we” fight our battles!

Prayer: Jesus, we lift up our families, our ministries, and our churches to you. Equip us together to be ready with the gospel as we meet this week. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

– LB

Isaiah 52:7
How beautiful on the mountains
are the feet of those who bring good news,
who proclaim peace,
who bring good tidings,
who proclaim salvation,
who say to Zion,
“Your God reigns!”

The armor we are to put on is what God has done and has equipped us with already:

(1) The belt of truth buckled around our waist. We have received truth about who God is, of his power to save, who we are as his children, and who we are as his church. We are to put it tightly around our waist everyday living in it and speaking it to others in love.

(2) We are to be equipped with readiness of the gospel of peace. We are ready to carry the good news of the gospel that has brought us peace to wherever we are going, whether right down the hall in our homes, or as we step outside.

This is the armor of God that we have as God’s people to put on every single day. It is not just defensively equipped, but offensively readied upon us.

Prayer: Thank you for the truth that you have made known to us through Jesus Christ, that we have been saved and we belong to you. May this peace we have received overflow from our lives into this broken world that needs your peace so badly. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Zephaniah 3:17
The Lord your God is with you,
the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
but will rejoice over you with singing.”

“The Lord is strong, he has given us his mighty power. He is a warrior, God and King, and has worked righteousness and salvation himself for his people. He is victorious, mighty to save, full of love and delight, and fully able to rescue us. This is the warrior Paul had in mind. He rescued us not in the way we would have imagined. He has conquered death, sin, and the bondage in our lives through his work on the cross. It is in this warrior God that we receive our armor.” [paraphrased from Brenda’s message]

We are strong only in the Lord. This is the full armor we have received and can put on every day to stand firm. As we declare this, let’s worship to, “Exalted Over All” by Vertical Worship.

Prayer:  Lord, you are our Mighty Warrior who saves! You are strong and mighty to rescue us and we are victorious because of what you have done on the cross for us.  You alone are worthy! In Jesus’ name, Amen.

– LB