Discipleship Unveiled

The armor of God has been a topic that has been difficult to get our minds wrapped around. What it is and how we put it on, has seemed to be a bit mysterious. So maybe by looking at the effect of the armor we can get a better understanding of how to put the armor on. We previously looked at  Pray Always , so let's take the next piece. We're leaving in,  The Effect of Armor,  section here for continuity. The Effect of Armor The most prominent place the armor of God is listed is in  Ephesians 6:14-18 NKJV .  Each piece of armor has an effect. Since it is spiritual armor, and we are physically oriented, it can be difficult to understand what is happening when we have it on. One of the things we know about armor is that once we are in the battle, we shouldn't have to think about the armor. It will passively protect us and we shouldn't have to give it another thought. We inspect, test and repair the armor on a regular basis and ensure it is fitted ...

The armor of God has been a topic that has been difficult to get our minds wrapped around. What it is and how we put it on, has seemed to be a bit mysterious. So maybe by looking at the effect of the armor we can get a better understanding of how to put the armor on. We previously looked at  The Word of God , so let's take the next piece. We're leaving in,  The Effect of Armor,  section here for continuity. The Effect of Armor The most prominent place the armor of God is listed is in  Ephesians 6:14-18 NKJV .  Each piece of armor has an effect. Since it is spiritual armor, and we are physically oriented, it can be difficult to understand what is happening when we have it on. One of the things we know about armor is that once we are in the battle, we shouldn't have to think about the armor. It will passively protect us and we shouldn't have to give it another thought. We inspect, test and repair the armor on a regular basis and ensure it is fitt...

The armor of God has been a topic that has been difficult to get our minds wrapped around. What it is and how we put it on, has seemed to be a bit mysterious. So maybe by looking at the effect of the armor we can get a better understanding of how to put the armor on. We previously looked at  The Helmet of Salvation , so let's take the next piece. We're leaving in,  The Effect of Armor,  section here for continuity. The Effect of Armor The most prominent place the armor of God is listed is in  Ephesians 6:14-18 NKJV .  Each piece of armor has an effect. Since it is spiritual armor, and we are physically oriented, it can be difficult to understand what is happening when we have it on. One of the things we know about armor is that once we are in the battle, we shouldn't have to think about the armor. It will passively protect us and we shouldn't have to give it another thought. We inspect, test and repair the armor on a regular basis and...

The armor of God has been a topic that has been difficult to get our minds wrapped around. What it is and how we put it on, has seemed to be a bit mysterious. So maybe by looking at the effect of the armor we can get a better understanding of how to put the armor on. We previously looked at The Belt of Truth so let's take the next piece. We're leaving in, The Effect of Armor, section here for continuity. The Effect of Armor The most prominent place the armor of God is listed is in  Ephesians 6:14-18 NKJV .  Each piece of armor has an effect. Since it is spiritual armor, and we are physically oriented, it can be difficult to understand what is happening when we have it on. One of the things we know about armor is that once we are in the battle, we shouldn't have to think about the armor. It will passively protect us and we shouldn't have to give it another thought. We inspect, test and repair the armor on a regular basis and ensure it is fitted corr...

There are plenty of studies on the armor of God that do a great job on describing what the armor is. Yet, it's still challenging to get a good grasp of what the armor actually is and how to put the armor on. Let's come at this in a little bit different way. Since the armor of God is such an important part of our walk, let's shift our thinking and look at it from a different perspective. Instead of starting with the what  and how of the armor, let's look at the effect of the armor and maybe the what and how will make more sense. The Effect of Armor The most prominent place the armor of God is listed is in  Ephesians 6:14-18 NKJV . Each piece of armor has an effect. Since it is spiritual armor, and we are physically oriented, it can be difficult to understand what is happening when we have it on. One of the things we know about armor is that once we are in the battle, we shouldn't have to think about the armor. It will passively protect us and we s...

It is sometimes debated that fasting is not part of the New Testament and not a necessary or effective part of walking with the Lord in our modern day. This is an easy fix. Jesus said: "And when you fast..." - Matthew 6:16 NLT "But when you fast..." -  Matthew 6:17 NLT "Then they will fast." -  Matthew 9:15 NLT The command to fast, and certainly the expectation to fast, from Jesus was pretty clear. Fasting is a function, much like faith, that works the same way in the New Testament time as it did in the Old Testament. And Abraham is also the spiritual father of those who have been circumcised, but only if they have the same kind of faith Abraham had before he was circumcised. ... So the promise is received by faith. It is given as a free gift. And we are all certain to receive it, whether or not we live according to the law of Moses, if we have faith like Abraham's. For Abraham is the father of all who believe. - Romans 4:12, 16 NLT...

By Reverend Bob Griffith - Guest Writer I'm the type of person who doesn't like doing things twice or doing things that turn out fruitless. If God was real and he actually has a purpose for why I'm here, I wanted to know. After reading the scriptures I knew I had to make a commitment to Him. Why? Well first, I needed a Savior. That was clear to me. Surprisingly, what I noticed in God's Word was that when He would tell me in scripture what I should do, there was a blessing behind the command as well. For instance… Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. - Psalm 37:5 KJV Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established. - Proverbs 16:3 KJV These blessings are awesome, because God is showing and telling us, if you do your part He will do His part and you will be blessed. My relationship with the Lord began to change drastically. I was having a relationship with Him that was real. I no mo...

Do you have a prayer list? Are you hitting it every single day? We have to. There is no way around it. If we feel like we are under duress we are moved to pray. When a great need arises, it's relatively easy to stop what we are doing and cry out to the Lord. Unfortunately, we do not carry with us a moment by moment realization that we are always susceptible to the enemy without a close connection to the Lord. When things are going well we lose our edge and we can't let this happen. Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. - 1 Peter 5:8 NLT Motivation For Daily Prayer God wants to walk with us. Switch it around and it's still true... He wants us, to walk with Him. There are good reasons for this. The first is His love for us. Secondly, He knows that when we are not keeping Him at the forefront of our minds we forget about Him. We forget who we are in Christ. We forget about our...

Have you ever had an important decision to make and you just hope and pray that the Lord will give you a sign? Oh, sure. We've all been there. As new Christians we have a tendency to initially seek a relationship with the Lord where we desire for Him to make decisions for us rather than understand God's ways and walk in them. Let's change our mind and seek to understand God's ways and make them our own. Faith Killer Seeking a sign takes us out of faith. Take a quick look at the definition of faith in the article,  Faith… Updating Your Definition . The act of faith is to know the character of God, put our trust in Him and take action. So let's keep our focus on the things He gave us to do ( How Do I Serve God? ). Our Father has tasked us to pray, gather information, make a decision and continue in prayer. At the same time we let the Lord do what He said He would do. He does the miracle ( Let God do His Part ). We do not want to put ourselves in a positio...

Walking in the Spirit isn't about the specific decisions you need to make. It's about acknowledging the Lord. Our Father understands that you have to make decisions through the course of your day. He wants you to make those decisions with confidence. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. - Proverbs 3:6 NKJV With every decision you have to make there is information to base that decision on. God wants us to make good decisions based on His wisdom and council and He has armed us with the faculties to do so. We are not robots and we don't want to be robots. Nor, does our Father. We are alive to Christ and He wants you to put Him first and learn to think like He thinks. The LORD says, "I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you. Do not be like a senseless horse or mule that needs a bit and bridle to keep it under control." - Psalms 32:8-9 NLT Don’t copy the behavior and customs...

God hears you. He is with us constantly. Yet somehow when we talk with Him we can get the sense that He doesn't hear us. Most of this is because we don't see Him nodding back at us saying, "Oh yea, sure I hear you. I'm on it." Have you ever had the sense that you didn't ask the right thing? or ask the right way? or use the right scripture? This may be because you didn't get a typical acknowledgement. Most of the time when we make our requests we know God's Word concerning our situation or we can quickly look it up. Then we make our prayer but never get the instant satisfaction of acknowledgement. At least not in the ways we are accustom to be acknowledged. With a friend we get the reassuring, "Ok" or "I heard that" or "I'm with you." It's kind of annoying if they don't let you know they heard you. With the Lord we merely have his Word. Merely? Ha! Well His Word is better than a hearty, "You betc...

Wisdom is an important concept to thinking like Jesus thinks. Praying for wisdom has been taught in a way that creates problems and encourages doubt. Let's fix this one! :-) The Dilemma Should we pray for wisdom? Oh yea sure you betcha! On the subject of praying for wisdom the scriptures encourage us to ask our Father for wisdom and He will give it to us generously. Then follows the warning: "Be careful when you pray to the Lord for wisdom. Look out! There are going to be problems coming your way. If you want the wisdom, you are inviting a storm and will get hammered so you'll really understand." Recovering Our Faith Our Father most certainly did not ask us to pray for wisdom so he could pound us into dust and we would have to learn the hard way. He told us to pray for wisdom so the Holy Spirit could provide the solution to problems we both have now and for the challenges that lie ahead of us.

Can you pray? Yep! Do you have time? You have all that there is! Make a Prayer List Write it down! It's just as natural to read your list to the Lord as it is to pray from the hip. The added bonus is you can nail the scriptures and remember everything you wanted to pray about. When your prayers are organized and it's all in front of you it makes for an energetic and efficient experience. Can it feel robotic. Yea, a little... at first. However, your approach is one of sincerity and the Lord knows what you are doing. Start with one scripture if that's all you have. If you woke up every morning and prayed, "Lord, this guy is telling me to pray something everyday. So I acknowledge you and remind you that Jesus wept," then you are off to a great start! :-) Start small and work your way up to the big stuff. Strategizing When you are consistent with a small prayer list it will begin to grow all on it's own. What is the need right now? Write it down...

We cannot see the spiritual world that is pulled down around us but you must engage it. It is engaging us and if we do not participate it's like being tied to a chair for a boxing match. Does that sound bad to you? Uh, huh! God is always working and your opportunity to get in on it with Him is through your prayer. The Spirit World The Spirit world has a very malevolent aspect to it that must be engaged and decimated. Does that scare you a little bit? Well it should if you are not engaging. We approach God in prayer because we love Him and He has told us to. It is a chance to connect with Him and also accomplish His purposes. The benefit is that we get to know Him and become more like Him. We get to participate in His plan. We get to stand up for ourselves, our family and friends and others in ways that we otherwise can do nothing. It is the only way to walk in the Spirit. Jesus engaged the invisible God and the invisible enemy at every opportunity.

[continued from How Do I Serve God? ] When we take ownership of our responsibilities and act on God's Word, the Lord takes on a responsibility in this process. He has made promises that He will unfailingly accomplish on our behalf. Perspective Do the things God told you to do and let Him do the things He said He would do. The second part can actually be more difficult than the first. Once we identify our tasks we can put them into perspective and get them done. The second part instructs us to go "hands off" and that can be scary when our faith has not been developed. Let God do the things He said he would do When we bring our prayers, supplications and requests to our Father we are giving those things over to Him. Right on! Just like He has told us to do. Now let's trust Him. Example to Illustrate God has tasked us with working. When we need a job we give it up to the Lord in prayer and then we take the follow-up steps of faith. Prepare our resu...

Here is a statement I get from Christians who have struggled to grasp what exactly God is asking them to do: "I don't feel like I'm doing what God wants me to do. I would do what He wants but I just don't know what He wants me to do." ~~~~~~~ The Solution "Do the things God told you to do & let Him do the things He said He would do." Both concepts are extremely important. Often Believers struggle with these ideas and we fail to grasp where our responsibilities lie and where the Lord's responsibilities lie. Let's focus on the first half of the statement. We'll cover the last half in Friday's post.  Do The Things God Told You To Do The Lord has given us many responsibilities.  However, we need to grow into them. Getting to know our Father is how we do that. So let's start with the easy stuff and get that nailed down. Then we will continue growing in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. -...

When we were born into this world we came with a serious defect. That defect is called sin. Sin is in our flesh and we also experience it when we transgress God's law. It is the sole reason we are separated from God. Are you a good person? Well let's see. Have you ever told a lie?  Have you ever stolen something, even if it is something small? Have you ever used the Lord's name in vain?  Have you ever looked upon someone with lust? Jesus said, "anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart."  Are you guilty? Well we all have transgressed these laws and these are only four of the Ten Commandments. It is clear that we are sinners and we desperately need a solution to this problem of being separated from God. The God of the universe is a Holy God. He is perfect in every way. The barrier between you and Him is your sin. To come before God you need to be perfect. There can be no exceptions. So how th...