Bulletproof
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
Isaiah 35:4 say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.”
Matthew 6:34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Of course, God gives us many more verses that pertain to living a life of victory and not a life of fear and worry. Believe it or not, fear and worry are sins, but we forget that sometimes and let them have their way in our thinking. Scripture doesn’t specifically say that those two are sins, but the conclusion of the teachings about trusting God and God alone for our care directs us to believe they are sins. To take on the cares of this world by ourselves and not trust God is putting ourselves in a position that we should not be in and that position is keeping God out of our life in a most significant way. We must trust God in all things, not just some things. See what Peter wrote in 1 Peter 5: 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
Who am I to think that I can just trust God on some things and handle the rest myself after I have committed my life into His hands. We always called that being an “Indian giver.” Nothing against Indians but the phrase is well known and has negative connotations. A life that is partially given to God is not given at all. See what Jesus said in Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. Here it is referring more specifically to money, but in the overall picture a life that is some for God and some for themselves is “straddling the fence” and we know what the end result is of straddling a fence. You get messed up!!!
Here is the point. If you trust God with your eternity, why won’t you trust Him with your everyday life? This question has to be answered by those who believe they have chinks in their life armor. With Jesus as our armor there are no chinks where satan can win any battles in our lives. We are bulletproof. How do we strengthen that armor? We get into the Word of God and live it!! I have always had a great appreciation for the booklet Our Daily Bread, and those devotions have blessed numerous people in their lives. But, we need more than just “daily bread.” We need weapons to fight the battle that we face every day and weapons are found in the knowledge of God we get from Holy Scriptures. Look at what the Apostle Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus in 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 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. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. If you want to live a life of fear and worry then keep the Holy Spirit out of your thinking and out of your prayers and it will happen “naturally.” But if you want to live that bulletproof life that is led by the Spirit of God then it is time to surrender your impressions of what it means to be a believer and take on God’s way of thinking and living. That life will be totally immersed in the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit will come alive in all your actions, your words, and your thinking.
We are Bulletproof in the Lord and His armor is sufficient for living a worry free life of victory. Time to take this teaching to heart and live it!!
The Pilgrimage continues…..
David Warren