Armor of God
Ultimately, be strong in the Lord and in his power, not yours. Are you weak, tired, humiliated, struggling, or in distress? Good! You’re exactly where you need to be to see God work powerfully in your life. Stop relying on yourself. Instead, put on the full armor of God, so you can take your stand against the devil and his schemes. Not only does God have a plan for your life, but so does Satan. When you fall to sin, look back at what led up to it. The day leading up to it—even the whole week before—Jesus was standing there with the Armor of God, imploring you to put it on. Instead, you went in defenseless. You decided not to sharpen your sword or test or armor before battle. Every day is a battle; what kind of warrior doesn’t first equip themselves before going off to battle?

Fight Evil, Not People
Our struggle is not against people, but instead of the dark forces that work to influence people. Essentially, we are fighting a battle against the forces behind the scenes. Therefore, when someone sins against you, or hurts you, or criticizes you, it is not necessarily them fighting you, but instead the forces behind them. Don’t fight the people around you; people are just slaves to their master, whether it’s Jesus, their own desires, or Satan himself. Don’t gossip. Don’t bicker. Don’t become angry with them. Instead, love them selflessly, knowing that your light will cast out the darkness behind their actions.

Belt of Truth
Stand firm with the belt of truth. The world is going to tell you all sorts of lies. Satan is going to hurl every sort of lie he can at you. Don’t let him get you with your pants down. Put on the belt of truth! Make sure you know what God’s truth is and what is not. Don’t fight back when the world says “Defend yourself!” You know that God fights for you. Don’t lust when the world tells you its okay to objectify a man or woman. Don’t be envious when the world parades its riches in front of you. The world will tell you that you’re worthless. The world will tell you that you’re ugly. The world will tell you that you need to lose weight. Don’t listen; hold on to your belt of truth.

Breastplate of Righteousness
Let righteousness guard your heart. Do what is right. Let your righteous actions—and your righteous thoughts—protect you from everything that is evil. If your heart is bare, it is free to attack from all angles! Insulate your life with good deeds such that no evil will seep in. I have noticed that when I care about others and invest in the Kingdom, I have little time to do evil.

Fit your Feet
Fit your feet with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. God gives us a peace that transcends all understanding—if we will let Him. Always be ready to make known the mystery of the gospel. Always be ready to take action. Welcome interruptions! What are interruptions but a different path than we expected? We get angry when something does not go as planned, not realizing that the day was going to go that way whether we liked it or not. God’s plan for our day is far more important and beneficial than our plan, so be ready for the day. Do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself. What soldier worries about a battle in the future when they are waging one right now?

Shield of Faith
In addition to all of this, take of the shield of faith. Hold tight to those moments in your life when Jesus was so incredibly real that to disbelieve would be ignorance. For me, my shield is God’s faithfulness in my life, the miracles I have witnessed, the times I have clearly heard His voice, and the moments when I have felt His unmistakable presence. With a solid shield of faith around your every action, you can resist every fiery arrow of temptation or pain that Satan hurls your way. One thing Satan despises more than anything is when a believer can’t see one ounce of God or truth around and yet, still obeys.

Helmet of Salvation
Take the helmet of salvation. Guard your mind everyday with the truth that you have be rescued and saved. Rejoice in God’s grace. Be floored by the Gospel of God’s grace at every moment. Whether you feel like it or not, God has saved and justified you. Jesus’ resurrection is a historical fact and so is your rebirth. Haven’t you ever put on a hat and forgotten it was there? It is the same way with our salvation. God will overcome your emotions; be levelheaded because of your salvation.

The Sword of the Spirit
The sword of the Spirit is the word of God. Are you sharpening your sword every day? Are you reading and reflecting over God’s word every day? Are you investigating and understanding Jesus more and more every day? The sword is the only offensive weapon here. With the sword, we fight back. When the Devil tempts, we fight back the God’s Word. Jesus fought Satan in the desert with His sword; why don’t we? With any temptation, pick a sword that will slice through it, whether the temptation is lust, pride, gossip, selfishness, drunkenness, money, power, fame, envy, jealousy, greed, or anything of the sort. Fill your inventory with different weapons for different battles.

Victory
Finally, pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests, for this is our method of victory! Prayer is the life force of the Christian. Prayer is the first attack and the last resort; the suppressing fire and the joint strike; the artillery and the cavalry. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for God’s people! Pray for your brothers and sisters around you, for they are fighting the same battle you are. Remember, your enemy is not people, but evil.

Pray also for me that whenever I speak (or type), words may be given to me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am ambassador. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should. I try my hardest to write the blogs in the Spirit, saying only what I need to say and leaving everything else out. I need all the help I can get to proclaim God’s truth boldly

And finally, peace to you dear blog reader, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus with an undying love.