Put It All On - Spiritual Protection Gear

A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.  For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.  Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Ephesians 6:10-13 (NLT2)

The ubiquitous protection item of our day is the facemask, followed closely by hand-sanitizer. These two are merely the latest protection gear to go mainstream in my sixty years of living.

Our family of seven used to squeeze into the VW Square-Back wagon, with at least one riding in the way back, and seat belts were nowhere to be found, not to mention child-safety seats. When they finally installed seatbelts no one wore them, there were much bigger concerns, like all that ruckus in the back seat. Now I wear my seatbelt religiously, they do save lives.

Playing soccer, shin-guards were for sissies, until I actually tried them, and my shins broke out in the Hallelujah Chorus.

I use earmuffs or earplugs when operating loud equipment because I have seen too many deaf old men who didn’t.

Remember the big fuzz over motorcycle helmets being mandated and how many, in response, started sporting ridiculously tiny and worthless helmets, completely defeating the purpose.

I wear a bicycle helmet, put on long pants, work shoes, and goggles when weed whacking. I don’t mind the airbags in my car, the roll-over bar on my tractor, the fuses in the electrical panel, the GFI plugs in the bathroom, and protection software in my computer.

I am sure bulletproof vest, as uncomfortable as they might be, are a vast improvement over meeting a bullet with just a shirt on.

I think you get the point, protecting ourselves against things that can harm and hurt us is a wise thing to do, even it means some discomfort and takes some serious getting used to.

The apostle Paul, at the end of his letter to the Ephesians (6:10-18) tells them to put on full spiritual protection gear, “the full armor of God,” he calls it. “You need to do everything you can to protect yourself from the onslaught of evil and the evil one,” he tells them and us, “ You don’t want to have your feet knocked out from under you in the struggles of life and the real war going on between the kingdom of God and the kingdoms of this world. And, don’t just put on some of the gear you need, strap on every piece of equipment the heavenly quarter-master and safety-expert, God Himself, hands you, no matter how uncomfortable it might feel and how long it will take for you to get used to it.”  

Before the end of today, would you read Ephesians 6:10-18, and then spent enough time to think over every part of God’s armor mentioned. Are you passing or failing inspection? How and why? What are you leaving most unprotected? What does putting on God’s armor mean practically, how do you do it? When are you going to fully gear up?

To God be all glory. Love you, Pastor Hans

(For more on this go to LDPBaptistchurch.com and listen to the 09/13/20 sermon)

Extraordinary Kindness, part 2 - It's not theoretical, It needs no excuses

But—When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. Titus 3:4-5 (NLT2)

Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. Luke 6:35 (NLT2)

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:31-32 (ESV)

No one had to teach her, my incredibly sweet and cute granddaughter (my favorite) to whack her brothers, bite them, snatch their stuff, ruin their creations, and pay them back for any misdeeds of their own. She knew how to dish out unkindness and withhold good instinctively, as, by the way, you and I do as well. Having to be told to be kind, to do good means that that unkindness, not doing good comes all too natural for us.

My little ladybug of a granddaughter knows how to be kind and unkind though she doesn’t even know the words, she just knows the actions and reactions and most often dishes them out according to what serves her best and how she feels at the moment. She knows how to give both kind and unkind looks. She knows how to use her tiny vocabulary in kind in unkind ways, her hands and feet sure know how to do both, and she knows different impacts kindness and unkindness, doing good and withholding good have, which, by the way, you and I do as well.

It is amazing to me how immature and undisciplined grown adults, myself included, can be when it comes to being kind and doing good. It is even more amazing to me that Christians, who have crystal clear instruction, who know the will of God when it comes to being kind and doing good, act like two-year-olds. Your eyes, are they kind, look at people and things with kindness? Or, are they skilled at throwing daggers, burn with anger, look down on, and look away to ignore and hurt? If looks could kill.

Your ears, are they good at detecting when and where kindness is needed? Or, are they deaf to the frequencies of kindness, only open to what they want to hear, often rejoicing in the sounds of misery and pain of others. They had it coming.Your mouth, is it fluent in the language of kindness, the healing, peacemaking, encouraging, and blessing power of words? Or, is it a double-edged sword that continually honed by anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, frustration, evil, and the grind of our world? It’s just words, I didn’t mean anything by it.

Your hands, are they good at giving, helping, reaching out, tenderness, involvement? Do they have the callouses of doing good? Or, are they good at taking, hoarding, stiff-arming, finger-pointing, handling remote controls, the grime of selfishness and manipulation thick under your fingernails? No one told me. I‘ve been so busy, can’t you see.

Your feet, are they good at stopping at the intersections of life calling for kindness and goodness? Do they love to run into the direction of kindness and where doing good is needed? Or, do they balk at the one-way street of kindness, when there is no immediate payoff, when the cost is high, when kindness doesn’t fit your schedule or mood or sense of justice and fairness? It’s a two-way street, you know. Your wallet, does it have kindness in it, dream of it, and remind you to do good every time you take it out? Or, is it fluent in toddler, “MINE,” constantly dreaming of what to get next, of something fun, of having more than enough, or just plain more? One day. I’m barely making it as it is.

Would you read the scriptures at the beginning of the pastor’s note again? They both command and instruct us to be kind, to do good. They do not furnish any excuses for being unkind and not doing good. I need to remember that next time I am tempted to be unkind and try to excuse it. They tell us that God/Jesus did not determine his kindness, his goodness, his mercy, and his forgiveness by our worthiness, our gratefulness, our responses or reciprocity.

One more thing, as a follower of Jesus, a Christian, I have no excuse to be unkind. I have known how to be kind going way back to when I was just wee little and still cute, I know how to be kind because throughout my life I have been at the receiving end of kindness, and foremost, God has poured the full measure of his kindness and goodness into my life through Jesus Christ from the moment he saved, wicked, undeserving, ungrateful, stuck-on-self Hans.

Be extraordinarily kind.
Pastor Hans