
Ephesians 6:10
We start with the belt of truth. In order to fight the devil, we’ve got to know the truth. Where can we find the truth? That’s right, in the Bible. You’ve got to READ it to know the truth. Maybe read one verse or one chapter a day, read it at breakfast or at bedtime – whatever you choose, the important thing is that you read it!
Okay, now the breastplate of righteousness. What is righteousness? Doing the RIGHT thing. Sometimes it’s hard to know what the right thing is or it's a struggle to do the right thing. What do you think we can do if that happens? (Read the Bible, ask our parents, ask a teacher, pray about it, ask the pastor).
You’ve got to have something on your feet. In verse fifteen, it says to have feet shod with the readiness that comes with the gospel of peace. Now, this was a little confusing to me – so I took out my cool Bible tool, the commentary and read what it said about this verse.
(Read from NIV Application Commentary) It says:
- Willingness to share the gospel
- It also means a readiness for all of life, being careful about speech and actions
- Also, showing peace and love to others
Well, it wouldn’t be complete armor without a shield – verse sixteen says to take up the shield of faith so we can fight off Satan’s attacks. Now, back in the day – those shields were huge! My Bible commentary says about 4 feet by 2 ½ feet. And many times soldiers would line up next to each other and put their shields really close so nothing could get by. When they did this, they could push right over the enemy and not get hurt. We can learn something from that kids! Sometimes we need more than just ourselves to fight against the devil. That’s why it’s important to choose good friends that will stand and fight with you. Friends who are also trying to do the right thing
Our last two pieces are the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit and both are very important!
Our heads are pretty important, that’s why you have to wear a helmet for so many things. Riding a bike, skateboarding, playing football? Our brain is pretty important! Likewise, salvation is our ultimate source of protection. When we are saved, we are a child of God, and we are able to see the tricks of Satan better
Last, we’ve got the sword of the Spirit (The Sword of Truth), which is the Bible. We can't fight off Satan without the Word of God. That’s why it’s so important to memorize scripture. When Satan tries to tell us to start a rumor about someone we don’t like, we can think of the verse that says, “Love your Enemies”. When Satan tries to tell us to blow off our homework and not do a good job, we can think of the verse that says “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus…” (Col 3:12). And if you can’t think of a verse, what Cool bible tool can you use? (Concordance) Remember each day to use the whole armor of God and it will protect you from anything that comes your way.
Candie Bradfield