What a day, yesterday! I heard a great deal about making America great, America as the new Israel, making the church great again, standing up, taking a stand! There was even talk of the end times and God’s wrath being poured down on us.

Many scapegoats were mentioned: a) ungodly special interest groups, b) rampant {insert the sin of other groups you love to condemn – even if it isn’t mentioned in the ten commandments and, by the way, we’re skipping over everyday sins we’re likely to commit because, hey, we’re forgiven; it’s those others we really need to worry about, right?!}, and c) the U.S. government. We’ve come a long way – we used to worry about the Devil tempting us, now it’s just the government leading us astray.

Some said the problem is, we’ve just gotten too soft! We need to toughen up. Onward Christian soldiers! Let’s get ‘em!!! Perhaps we should take a deep breath and remember how God’s soldiers prepare for battle, what the church militant looks and acts like.

Ephesians 6: 10-18 describes the “whole armor of God.” We need this armor, not to fight other people, not to be jury, judge, and executioner, or to attack others as if God needed our defense. We need this armor to fight the Devil who sows darkness by turning us against each other to distract us from loving God and our neighbor.

The armor includes “the belt of truth” – not accusations and judgments but words we would hear from the lips of Jesus. The “breastplate of righteousness” – being so thankful that God stands ready to forgive us that we receive God’s love and share it with others, living our lives as we believe God would have us live and tending to the “log in our own eye”, rather than worrying about the “speck” in someone else’s eye, especially people we don’t even know (but condemn from afar). For shoes, we “put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace.” The “shield of faith” to put out the flaming arrows of darkness. “Helmet of salvation” – knowing that through Jesus, the power of the Spirit and the grace of God, God’s arms are open to all who want to live in the Kingdom. Remember Gandhi’s advice – If all Christians acted like Jesus, everyone would be a Christian. That helmet of salvation is living like Jesus! The final armor is “the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God.”

God is love. If we have seen Jesus, we have seen the Father. Jesus showed us a completely new “militancy.” I don’t think that Jesus or God look anything like the picture below and aren’t asking us to, either!

At the end of the passage, we are reminded to pray. I ask you to please pray with me for healing and comfort for Shahnaz Khan, the daughter of a very special friend of mine.
Ultimately, today was a very good day for me. At the end of our discussion, we turned back to hope and reminded each other that God gives us faith, hope, love and peace. Remember, that same God loves you UNCONDITIONALLY!  
Mike

Today’s Reading: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians+6%3A10-18&version=NRSV