Put On Your Spiritual Armor

March 1, 2016 ~ Suzanne Davis Harden ~ 2 Comments

Dear Friends,

The following message was written by my friend Deborah Mac Manes. It’s an excellent meditation on Paul’s metaphor about our spiritual armor that we need to wear daily for, as the apostle writes in his epistle to the Ephesians, “we wrestle not against flesh and blood.”

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Debby’s Message

Scripture tells us that a Roman guard was stationed with Paul in his prison cell. Paul must have seen this guard put on his suit of armor many times, which is why he wrote the metaphor about winning the spiritual battle with spiritual armor.

I would like to elaborate on my, daily, prayer with a more in-depth meaning behind each piece of armor:

I wear the helmet of salvation to filter my thoughts … The spiritual battle begins with a thought that enters our mind. If it is an evil thought and we dismiss it, we have won that fight. If we retain the thought and dwell on it, we are entertaining Satan’s whisper. Finally, if we act upon this evil thought, Satan has won this particular battle, we have sinned, and we have grieved the Holy Spirit who dwells inside of us. The helmet of eternal salvation is to protect our thoughts right from the start.

I put on the breastplate of righteousness to protect my heart … The old testament High Priest would wear a breastplate of judgement. Inside this pouch were two stones called the Urim and Thummin that he would, sometimes, use to determine God’s will. Since Christ is our Lord, Savior, High Priest, and King, our breastplate is of righteousness in Christ Jesus and our hearts are protected in Christ Jesus from this unbelieving and evil world.

I am protected by the shield of faith from the flaming missiles of Satan .., Satan attacks us with fiery darts and our steadfast faith in Christ Jesus is the shield that protects us against anything that he is allowed to throw at us. We need to fight the good fight of the faith.

I carry the sword of the Holy Spirit, the Word of the living God … A sword is both an offensive and defensive weapon. We carry the sword of the Scriptures or Bible which is God’s Word. We need to live and breathe God’s Word so that we will be strong and effective in helping to save souls, along with strengthening the souls who have been saved. We need to be able to wield the ‘truth’ in whatever direction the Lord leads us. We can, only, do this with a firm understanding of His Word.

I am belted with truth and righteousness, to glorify you, Holy Father, while walking in the Gospel of peace … Our fight is a spiritual one; not physical. The bible tells us to live a quiet and peaceful life, and we are to mind our own business. Our responsibility in this life is to walk in the shoes of peace and be the light of the world. We are to carry His teachings in our minds and hearts, spread and abide by His Word wherever we go, and give all glory and honor to our Holy Father through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. All glory to Him!

The author of this message, Deborah Mac Manes, is a bible study teacher and servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. As captain and founder of the Spiritual Elegance Team, she moderates this online ministry group which is part of the Etsy marketplace. Deborah is the creative artist and owner of Designs by DM Candles located at designsbydmcandles.etsy.com.

God’s Faithfulness

April 21, 2015April 21, 2015 ~ Suzanne Davis Harden ~ 2 Comments

God’s Faithfulness

Psalm 36:5-7 (ERV)

“Lord, your faithful love reaches to the sky. Your faithfulness is as high as the clouds.Your goodness is higher than the highest mountains. Your fairness is deeper than the deepest ocean. Lord, you protect people and animals. Nothing is more precious than your loving kindness. All people can find protection close to you.”

Prayer

Heavenly Father, Thank You for Thy faithfulness and mercy. Thy word promises that Thy mercies toward us are renewed each morning. Martin Luther wrote in his famous hymn, “And though this world with devils filled should threaten to undo us, we will not fear for God has willed His truth to triumph through us.” Lord, Thy Truth~ Thy very own Holy Spirit within us will never leave us nor forsake us throughout our sojourn on this earth. Lord Jesus, thank You for Thy holy Presence within us, Thy strength and Thy grace to see us through every trial. No matter what furnace we may find ourselves thrown into, You will be in it with us protecting us from the flames. Lord, You have promised in Isaiah that though we walk through the fires the flames shall not harm us. And You keep every promise forever. Thank You, precious Creator. Help us to keep focusing on You, Lord Jesus Christ and not on the evil all around us. Help us to cling to Thy words, “In this world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” Please Bless each soul reading this prayer with renewed faith and hope today and rivers of peace and comfort. Scatter all their fears and anxieties to the four winds and draw them ever closer to Thy heart. In Jesus’ holy name, Amen & amen.

Lord, Make My Life A Blessing

January 18, 2014January 18, 2014 ~ Suzanne Davis Harden

Ephesians 4:30 (MSG)
Don’t grieve God. Don’t break his heart.
His Holy Spirit, moving and breathing in you,
is the most intimate part of your life, making you fit for himself. Don’t take such a gift for granted.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for my life. Help me not to grieve You by the way I live. Show me how I can be a blessing to You each day. I love You, Lord! In Jesus’ name, amen.

The Holy Spirit Prays For Us

September 7, 2013 ~ Suzanne Davis Harden

: Christ’s Spirit Prays In Our Hearts: Illustrated by S.D. Harden

The Holy Spirit Prays For Us

The other night as I was sketching a picture of Jesus praying, I thought of the verse in Romans 8:26 where St. Paul writes that the Holy Spirit prays for each believer, deep within the sacred temple of their being, at the altar of their heart, interceding for their needs according to the will of God.

“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.” Romans 8:26

As I sketched my symbol for the Spirit of Christ praying to the Father, I wanted to give my Heavenly Intercessor a peaceful expression but also evoke how powerfully focused He is as He prays steadfastly for the individual needs of the one He indwells.

According to scripture the Holy Spirit abides within each child of God. He loves and cares for each believer as if he or she is God’s only child. The Holy Spirit makes each soul He indwells His priority. He is always praying through them to the Father, interceding on their behalf. The child of God is His beloved, precious charge. His love for each is measureless. Here is what St. Paul wrote about the love of Christ for His children:

Ephesians 3:17-18 “And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts, living within you as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love; and may you be able to feel and understand, as all God’s children should, how long, how wide, how deep, and how high his love really is; and to experience this love for yourselves, though it is so great that you will never see the end of it or fully know or understand it. And so at last you will be filled up with God himself.”

God’s Spirit will not ever abandon nor forsake His little one. Jesus said, the Holy Spirit would be with us forever.

(John 14:16-17 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth.)

What an amazing promise! What an incredible comfort to know that we who belong to Christ are in-dwelt by His very Spirit who is always interceding for our every need according to God’s will.

He will never leave or forsake us. He will always love each one of us with measureless love, no matter what. That means Nothing you do will ever make God stop loving you. Please believe what His word promises. For God cannot lie.

Hebrews 6:18 “God has given us both his promise and his oath, two things we can completely count on, for it is impossible for God to tell a lie.”

Nothing can separate us from Christ’s love!

Romans 8:38-39 “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Heavenly Father, comfort us today with the assurance that You will always love us and never leave or forsake us demonstrated through the gift of Your precious Holy Spirit that abides within us. In Jesus name. Thank You. Amen.