An Act of Faith - By Greg Laurie -
By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. -Hebrews 11:7
The ministry Answers in Genesis has recreated, in actual size, an ark like Noah built. It gives you a sense of just how large it was. Noah didn't have the sophisticated tools and resources that we have today, yet he built the ark. God came to Noah and, in so many words, said, "I want you to build a really big boat because it's going to rain really hard."
Understand, it had never rained up to this point. But the Bible tells us that "by faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith" (Hebrews 11:7 NKJV).
Notice this says that Noah was "divinely warned of things not yet seen." God told him what was coming down. He told him what was about to happen. God revealed secrets to Noah. Romans 10:17 says, "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (NKJV).
Has God spoken to you lately? God speaks primarily through His Word, the Bible. When you open up the Word of God, you will hear the voice of God. Sometimes God will speak through a pastor. Sometimes God will speak through a friend. Often God speaks through your spouse. Sometimes God will speak through circumstances. Sometimes God will speak in the stillness of your heart. God rarely speaks audibly, so don't be listening for voices. But He does speak often.
Often, I have found that when God is speaking, it's through a nudge in a certain direction. Maybe it's a sense that I need to step outside my comfort zone and do something I wouldn't normally do.
If God is speaking, are you listening?
The Beginning of Wisdom - By Greg Laurie -
"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name." -Matthew 6:9
Sometimes I think people in the church are far too casual with God. They have a relationship with God, but they've forgotten the holiness of God. They say Jesus is their "homeboy," but their so-called homeboy created the universe. Let's show some respect. This is God Almighty we're talking about. Jesus taught us to pray, "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name" (Matthew 6:9 NKJV). Holy is His name. Reverenced is His name.
Psalm 111:10 tells us, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (NKJV). Fearing God means that we have reverence for Him. I like this definition of it: "a wholesome dread of displeasing Him." It isn't so much a fear of retribution; it's a dread of displeasing Him. It's a dread of dishonoring Him or disappointing Him.
Years ago I became friends with Dr. Alan Redpath, a wonderful British gentleman who is now in Heaven. He wrote some fantastic books, and I was always in awe of him. When I was around him, I was always on my best behavior and never pulled my usual pranks. But one night we were sitting in a restaurant, and I felt something hit my chest. I looked down, and it was a fork. Dr. Alan Redpath had tossed a fork at me. He smiled and said, "I thought it was disposable."
I thought, "What? He's a comedian now!" I never lost my respect for him.
Hebrews 11:7 tells us that "by faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became the heir of the righteousness which is according to faith" (NKJV).
Noah moved with reverence and godly fear. We should never lose our reverence for God.
God Works Within Us
Ephesians 3:20-21Let these words slowly sink into your understanding: “able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think” (v. 20). What an amazing description of God’s ability to work within us.
Yet so often our focus is mainly on what we want Him to do around us: If He would change this situation or fix that problem, then my life would be better. But He invites us to think and ask bigger—He wants to change us!
The Lord has a purpose for your life, and He is constantly working to achieve it. Although He has an individualized plan for each one of His children, He also has an overarching goal—to conform every believer to the image of His Son Jesus Christ. In order to accomplish this, He may have to bring us through some struggles and heartaches. It might make no sense to us, but God knows exactly what He’s doing.
What would you like to see the Lord do within you? As you read the Scriptures, look for qualities that God considers precious, and ask Him to work them out in your life. Then rely on His wonderful promise to do even more than you have asked or imagined.
Looking for Fruit
Galatians 5:16-26
As believers, we all want the fruit of the Spirit, but how can we know if we truly have it? Even unbelievers can display these qualities when conditions are positive. This nine-fold fruit of the Spirit is not what we do, but who we are, and it is primarily on display in Christians when circumstances are unfavorable. Two characteristics help us recognize these traits in our lives.
Fruitful Christians recover quickly after a fall. These believers are not perfect, but they are sensitive to the Spirit's conviction and are quick to return to the Lord in repentance. In fact, they are actually grateful for the correction and praise God, not only for revealing their weakness but also for drawing them back to obedience.
No one produces these amazing qualities in himself. Trying harder to be godly will never work. Character transformation occurs when we submit to God, giving Him complete control of our lives. Only then will the Spirit be free to produce fruit that remains even in the deepest, darkest storms.
Teaching Universe
“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.” (Psalm 19:1-2)
This familiar psalm, extolling God’s creation (vv. 1-6) and God’s Word (vv. 7-14), begins with a beautiful summary of the testimony of the physical universe. “The heavens” and the “firmament” are synonymous (Genesis 1:8), both being equivalent to our modern scientific concept of space. The “glory of God” refers to His infinite power, or energy, and “his handywork” implies the infinite variety and complexity of physical systems, or matter, in the universe. This interaction of matter and energy occurs everywhere throughout space, but also has to operate and be understood in the context of time, “day unto day” and “night unto night.”
The entire marvelous complex of space/time/matter/energy is continually “uttering speech” and “showing knowledge,” teaching men and women of all times and places that there is a great Creator God who made it all. “The invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen” (Romans 1:20).
The boundless space, the endless time, the infinite energies, and the innumerable complexities of the matter of the universe all unite in irrefutable testimony to the God of creation. The most fundamental principle of science, as well as the most universal rule of human experience, is the Law of Cause and Effect, stating that no effect can transcend its cause. Thus, the great cause of the universe must be infinite, eternal, omnipotent, and omniscient. And since we as living, feeling persons are able to think about all this, that cause must also be a living, feeling, thinking person. This is the great lesson engraved on the textbook of the universe for all to read and learn. The whole creation, indeed, declares the glory of God. HMM
Abiding
“And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.” (1 John 2:28)
There is nothing sophisticated or subtle about this Greek word, meno, used many times in the New Testament. The various shades of “remaining” or “staying” are easily understood from the context and always focus on a consistent and even permanent situation.
So it is in our text. The Christian is expected to “stay” in a relationship with the Lord Jesus—implying both a permanent relationship and a “normal” relationship. We are to abide in Christ so completely that we would be like a branch growing out of the vine—thus making “fruit” possible (John 15:4-5). We are to continue in His Word so thoroughly that our prayers will be in synchronization with His will (John 15:7) and our behavior will be in synchronization with His commandments (1 John 3:24).
The steadfast “dwelling” in Christ promises to produce a confidence in our eternal relationship—the word choice especially emphasizes freedom in speaking, an unreservedness in speech. As Peter freely spoke at Pentecost (Acts 2:29) and the disciples received boldness to speak the Word of God (Acts 4:31), so our “plainness of speech” (2 Corinthians 3:12) in witnessing sets the stage for our “boldness in the day of judgment” (1 John 4:17).
Ultimately, of course, the lifestyle of abiding in Christ while on this earth builds the sanctified relationship with Christ that we are to enjoy for eternity.
“Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise” (Hebrews 10:35-36). HMM III
The Doctrines of Salvation
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” (Romans 1:16)
The great theme of “salvation” (Greek soteria, Hebrew yeshua) is prominent in both Old and New Testaments. It basically means “deliverance” and can be used for local and specific “deliverances” from perils, as well as for the eternal deliverance of one’s soul. In the latter sense, it is used for deliverance from the penalty of sin, from the power of sin in daily life, and from the very presence of sin in the future life.
Salvation, of course, is found only through the Lord Jesus Christ, whose very coming into the world was to “save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). The name Jesus means “salvation.” In fact, His name really was Yeshua, the word that often is translated “salvation” in the Old Testament. Devout Simeon, after waiting for many years, took the infant Jesus in his arms, exclaiming by the Spirit, “Mine eyes have seen thy salvation” (Luke 2:30).
The theme of salvation is “so great” (Hebrews 2:3), it embraces many major doctrines of Scripture. As a very sketchy summary, one may note that it includes the doctrines of atonement (Leviticus 17:11); of substitution (Isaiah 53:5); of imputation (Romans 4:6-8); propitiation (1 John 2:2); redemption (1 Peter 1:18); remission (Acts 10:43); justification (Romans 3:28); adoption (Ephesians 1:5); reconciliation (Romans 5:10- 11); regeneration (Titus 3:5); sanctification (Hebrews 10:9-10); and glorification (Romans 8:30). When a person is saved, the blessings implied in every one of these great doctrines of salvation become his, whether Jew or Gentile, whether found in Old Testament prophecy or New Testament fulfillment. No wonder Paul was not ashamed of this great gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ, and neither should we be! HMM
Scattered Abroad
“So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.” (Genesis 11:8)
The verse above is a summary statement of God’s judgment at Babel, at which time God confused the languages of the people there and dispersed them throughout the earth. These original nations—all descended from Noah and his three sons—are listed in what is called the “Table of Nations” in Genesis 10. As time went on, the people proliferated into still more nations and languages and migrated still farther from Babel until finally, as the verse says, they were scattered “upon the face of all the earth.”
Christopher Columbus was a brave explorer and skilled navigator, as well as a diligent Bible student and convinced Christian. However, he did not “discover America,” as he is said to have done on October 12 in 1492. Neither did Leif Ericsson or any other adventurer whose name has been suggested for this honor.
The Indians discovered America! Archaeologists have found Indian artifacts at occupation sites dating well before the time of Christ at many places in America. And wherever these early tribes went, they carried with them the pantheistic religion taught to their ancestors at Babel by Nimrod there in that first great city after the Flood.
Many centuries later, however, there was another great scattering with a much different purpose and motivation. “Therefore they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word” (Acts 8:4). This time, it was not a false religion that was being carried with them but the saving gospel of Christ who had commanded His followers, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15), even “unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8). HMM
I Will Build My Church
“And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:181)
This is the first of 115 occurrences of ekklesia in the New Testament—three times translated “assembly,” all other times as “church.” It is a compound of ek and klesia, thus meaning “called out” from their previous locations to meet together as a body for some purpose. The three times it is translated “assembly” refer to the town meeting in Ephesus (Acts 19:32, 39, 41). Once it refers to the congregation of Israelites in the wilderness (Acts 7:38), leaving 111 times when it refers to a Christian church or churches.
Of these 111, at least 86 clearly refer to local churches, each meeting as a body in specific times and places. Individual local churches may come and go, but the institution of the local church will continue at least until the return of Christ. In the Bible’s final chapter, after outlining the entire future of the world, Jesus said, “I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches” (Revelation 22:16). All churches of all times and places, as well as the seven representative churches of Asia (Revelation 2 and 3), which have long since died out as distinct local churches, are thus intended to hear of the world’s prophetic future.
This is the last mention of churches, but the first, as cited in our text, has eternal dimensions, for even the “gates of hell” cannot prevail against it. This church actually will be in heaven itself. “But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect” (Hebrews 12:22-23). HMM
Our Heart's Desires
If you could have anything in the world, what would it be? Your answer reveals a lot about who you are. The psalmist writes, "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart" (Ps. 37:4). There is nothing wrong with desires--they motivate us to achieve great things. But not all of our yearnings come from God.
Consider your aspirations and what they say about who you are:
Do you hope for a position of authority in order to be in control? Longing for personal advancement in order to manipulate others reveals a lack of integrity, whereas a godly person craves righteousness.
Do you dream about wealth and fame? Perhaps there's a void in your spirit that you're trying to fill. But only God can meet the insatiable needs of the human heart.
Are you afraid to ask the Lord for what you want? Maybe you think He won't listen, but God tells us to approach His throne with boldness and confidence (Heb. 4:16).
If the Lord doesn't respond affirmatively to your prayers, ask Him to make your desires conform to His will. Whatever you do, don't take matters into your own hands and go after what you want. There is always a high price to pay for rebelling against God.
God cares for us bountifully, but that doesn't mean we can expect Him to deliver whatever we want, whenever we want it. Only when our dreams align with His plan for our lives does He fulfill them. The thoughts that preoccupy us are an accurate barometer of the state of our relationship with Christ.
Praying with Impact
Since praying is such a common practice for believers, over time it's easy to fall into habits that result in a lifeless and empty prayer life. Instead of a dynamic conversation with thoughtful requests and active listening for God's response, our prayers can seem more like grocery lists. Because communication with the Lord is such a vital part of the Christian life, we occasionally need to step back and examine how we're doing.
Begin by asking yourself these questions:
How effective are my prayers? Is God answering my petitions, or does it seem as if they never go past the ceiling?
Who am I praying for? Are most of my requests for myself or others?
What am I asking the Lord to do? Have I looked in the Word to see what He wants, or am I trying to get Him to intervene according to my plans and desires?
When do I pray? Is it only during emergencies or when I need something?
If you discovered any selfishness in your answers, you're not alone. Most of us struggle to enter God's presence with our eyes focused on Him instead of our needs. But the only way we'll be able to pray with impact is to fill our minds with Scripture so we can find out what the Lord wants to do.
Your prayer life can become effective and dynamic if you'll approach the Lord with a clean heart (Psalms 66:18), align your requests with His will, and believe He will do what He says (Mark 11:24). Then you'll be able to pray with absolute confidence knowing that He will hear and answer your petitions.
The Lord promises to give us the desires of our hearts. But many people take this passage out of context, forgetting that their own mindset plays a vital part in bringing it to fruition. As my mother once said, "Where your mind goes, your feet go, so be careful what you think about."
Trust in Him (v. 5). God is merciful, all-knowing, kind, and generous. You can trust Him with your hopes and dreams.
Rest in Him (v. 7). Resting in the Lord means trusting Him to answer prayers in His timing or transform your aspirations so they conform to His will.
Wait upon the Lord patiently (v. 7). Jesus waited three decades before beginning His three-year ministry on earth. According to His example, waiting is one of the key principles of Christian living.
What is your responsibility when it comes to claiming promises from God?
Delight yourselves in the Lord (Ps. 37:4). Christians should rejoice in God and desire to walk in obedience. The Lord must have first place in your life before you can claim the promise in this verse.
Commit your way to the Lord (v. 5). Allow God to change any aspect of your ambition that is not His will.
Remember that when He doesn't answer a prayer as you wished, it is for a reason.
Remember that when He doesn't answer a prayer as you wished, it is for a reason.
Trust in Him (v. 5). God is merciful, all-knowing, kind, and generous. You can trust Him with your hopes and dreams.
Rest in Him (v. 7). Resting in the Lord means trusting Him to answer prayers in His timing or transform your aspirations so they conform to His will.
Wait upon the Lord patiently (v. 7). Jesus waited three decades before beginning His three-year ministry on earth. According to His example, waiting is one of the key principles of Christian living.
Do your desires align with God's purpose and plan for your life? He longs to give His followers abundant blessings and fullness of joy. So allow your dreams to be conformed to the Lord's will, and follow His guidance faithfully. Only when you surrender to Him will you experience God's best for your life.
A Worldly Heart
God warns us against misguided desires, because sinful passions can lead to emptiness, suffering, disappointment, pain, and even death. Wise believers let the Father direct their yearnings--and then make changes if necessary.
Impure desires have been part of the "flesh" nature since the fall of man, and they can be hard to see in ourselves. Instead of obvious things like theft, drugs, or immorality, they often involve more subtle attitudes and behaviors, like hoping for a rival's downfall, despising authority (2 Peter 2:10), obsessing about wealth (1 Tim. 6:9), or even speaking arrogant and vain words. Since worldly passions can cause great damage (2 Peter 2:18), believers are to deny them (Titus 2:11-12). But we can't overcome these desires on our own. Submitting to God's Spirit is the only way to live righteously.
The Lord knows what we really desire--and more importantly, what we need--even when cloudy judgment leads us astray. And He understands honest mistakes. When a believer misinterprets the Spirit's guidance or receives bad advice from a friend, God looks at the heart. He may allow the consequences of a poor choice to play out, but He won't shame His children for an honest mistake. He can turn a bad situation into something good (Rom. 8:28).
God can save us from worldly desires, but we must be willing to commit ourselves to Him and trust that His response is the best thing for us. When we put our lives entirely in the Father's hands, we can claim the wonderful promises He has for us and then rest in His grace.
A Godly Heart
Trust in Him (v. 5). God is merciful, all-knowing, kind, and generous. You can trust Him with your hopes and dreams.
Rest in Him (v. 7). Resting in the Lord means trusting Him to answer prayers in His timing or transform your aspirations so they conform to His will.
Wait upon the Lord patiently (v. 7). Jesus waited three decades before beginning His three-year ministry on earth. According to His example, waiting is one of the key principles of Christian living.
The Lord promises to give us the desires of our hearts. But many people take this passage out of context, forgetting that their own mindset plays a vital part in bringing it to fruition. As my mother once said, "Where your mind goes, your feet go, so be careful what you think about."
What is your responsibility when it comes to claiming promises from God?
Delight yourselves in the Lord (Ps. 37:4). Christians should rejoice in God and desire to walk in obedience. The Lord must have first place in your life before you can claim the promise in this verse.
Commit your way to the Lord (v. 5). Allow God to change any aspect of your ambition that is not His will.
Remember that when He doesn't answer a prayer as you wished, it is for a reason.
Remember that when He doesn't answer a prayer as you wished, it is for a reason.
Trust in Him (v. 5). God is merciful, all-knowing, kind, and generous. You can trust Him with your hopes and dreams.
Rest in Him (v. 7). Resting in the Lord means trusting Him to answer prayers in His timing or transform your aspirations so they conform to His will.
Wait upon the Lord patiently (v. 7). Jesus waited three decades before beginning His three-year ministry on earth. According to His example, waiting is one of the key principles of Christian living.
Do your desires align with God's purpose and plan for your life? He longs to give His followers abundant blessings and fullness of joy. So allow your dreams to be conformed to the Lord's will, and follow His guidance faithfully. Only when you surrender to Him will you experience God's best for your life.
Seven Outgrowths of Faith
�And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.� (2 Peter 1:5-7)
�Having escaped the corruption that is in the world� (v. 4) through our �faith� in Jesus Christ as our Savior, we must now grow spiritually, conforming our nature and practice to His. We must put to use the divine nature we now possess, recognizing that He has provided all the resources we need.
In this passage, Peter assumes we already have �faith,� thus here our spiritual lives must begin. Peter instructs us to �add to� that faith seven character traits: virtue, knowledge, temperance (self-control), patience (perseverance), godliness, brotherly kindness, and charity (agape love).
There seems to be, both in the text (i.e., �add to�) and in practice, a progression here. New Christians should strive for virtue, eliminating sinful actions and thoughts from our lives, as the Holy Spirit brings conviction. A commitment to growth in knowledge, first the basics of the faith and then deeper doctrines, enables us to exercise wisdom in life�s choices. A self-controlled, disciplined lifestyle exercises perseverance, even strength in the face of adversity, which in turn produces godliness�an attitude of reverence toward God that strives to please Him by developing His attitudes and priorities. Our relations with others will thus be marked by brotherly kindness toward believers and agape love (self-sacrificing, undeserved love) for all.
Such spiritual growth does not come without effort. He has provided all we need, but we must �give all diligence� to the process, much more than simply allowing the Holy Spirit to reside in our hearts to work on our character and habits. Any lack of spiritual growth is our fault, not His. JDM
�And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.� (2 Peter 1:5-7)
�Having escaped the corruption that is in the world� (v. 4) through our �faith� in Jesus Christ as our Savior, we must now grow spiritually, conforming our nature and practice to His. We must put to use the divine nature we now possess, recognizing that He has provided all the resources we need.
In this passage, Peter assumes we already have �faith,� thus here our spiritual lives must begin. Peter instructs us to �add to� that faith seven character traits: virtue, knowledge, temperance (self-control), patience (perseverance), godliness, brotherly kindness, and charity (agape love).
There seems to be, both in the text (i.e., �add to�) and in practice, a progression here. New Christians should strive for virtue, eliminating sinful actions and thoughts from our lives, as the Holy Spirit brings conviction. A commitment to growth in knowledge, first the basics of the faith and then deeper doctrines, enables us to exercise wisdom in life�s choices. A self-controlled, disciplined lifestyle exercises perseverance, even strength in the face of adversity, which in turn produces godliness�an attitude of reverence toward God that strives to please Him by developing His attitudes and priorities. Our relations with others will thus be marked by brotherly kindness toward believers and agape love (self-sacrificing, undeserved love) for all.
Such spiritual growth does not come without effort. He has provided all we need, but we must �give all diligence� to the process, much more than simply allowing the Holy Spirit to reside in our hearts to work on our character and habits. Any lack of spiritual growth is our fault, not His. JDM
The Whole Armor of God
�Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.� (Ephesians 6:13)
This modern age of terrorism, drugs, sexual license, rampant crime, and worldwide unbelief is surely an evil day; and each Christian urgently needs �the whole armour of God� to stand against the devil�s wiles today. This armor is clearly described in Ephesians 6:14-18, but it seems that Satan�s wiles have confused it in the minds of many Christian educators. Paraphrasing this passage, their view might be expressed somewhat as follows: �Gird your loins with an open-ended search for truth, and have on the breastplate of value sensitivity, your feet shod with the gospel of academic tolerance; above all, taking the shield of accreditation and legal protection, with the helmet of economic security and the sword of evolutionary thought, praying always to the Department of Education and your academic peers.� Such Christian compromise is no armor at all.
How much better to be undergirded with revealed truth, founded on creation and biblical inerrancy, than by a �search� for truth! The true breastplate is righteousness, both imputed and practiced, and the true peace of God through Christ adorns the beautiful feet of those who carry the gospel. The shield is faith, which must be exercised first of all in special creation (Hebrews 11:3). The helmet, protecting the mind, is the genuine hope of salvation (1 Thessalonians 5:8). With no armor for the back, since the Christian is �to stand,� not to retreat, the chief offensive weapon is the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God that meets each particular need. Finally, insistent prayer is both an offensive and a defensive weapon. The �weapons of our warfare� are �mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds� (2 Corinthians 10:4). HMM
�Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.� (Ephesians 6:13)
This modern age of terrorism, drugs, sexual license, rampant crime, and worldwide unbelief is surely an evil day; and each Christian urgently needs �the whole armour of God� to stand against the devil�s wiles today. This armor is clearly described in Ephesians 6:14-18, but it seems that Satan�s wiles have confused it in the minds of many Christian educators. Paraphrasing this passage, their view might be expressed somewhat as follows: �Gird your loins with an open-ended search for truth, and have on the breastplate of value sensitivity, your feet shod with the gospel of academic tolerance; above all, taking the shield of accreditation and legal protection, with the helmet of economic security and the sword of evolutionary thought, praying always to the Department of Education and your academic peers.� Such Christian compromise is no armor at all.
How much better to be undergirded with revealed truth, founded on creation and biblical inerrancy, than by a �search� for truth! The true breastplate is righteousness, both imputed and practiced, and the true peace of God through Christ adorns the beautiful feet of those who carry the gospel. The shield is faith, which must be exercised first of all in special creation (Hebrews 11:3). The helmet, protecting the mind, is the genuine hope of salvation (1 Thessalonians 5:8). With no armor for the back, since the Christian is �to stand,� not to retreat, the chief offensive weapon is the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God that meets each particular need. Finally, insistent prayer is both an offensive and a defensive weapon. The �weapons of our warfare� are �mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds� (2 Corinthians 10:4). HMM
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