Helmet of Salvation

Ephesians 6: 10-18


The Armor of God

Today I want to draw your attention to two parts of this passage. First, verse 17 states,

“Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

The helmet of salvation. It’s not a stretch to understand the importance of protecting our heads. We wear helmets when we ride a bike, motorcycle, or play football (go Heels), etc. Many jobs require us to wear helmets as well.  A helmet is required to protect our skulls from injury. There are people that refuse to wear a helmet because it doesn’t look cool, it’s uncomfortable, or they are under the false impression that nothing could happen to them. Unfortunately, there are many examples of people whose lives are forever changed all due to the fact they were not wearing a helmet and were injured or died. There are also a lot of examples of people who were wearing helmets, which protected them when involved in horrible accidents. I know that you all know the importance of protecting our skulls from injury but what about our minds and our thoughts?

When we put on the FULL armor of God that requires the helmet of salvation but you don’t walk around day to day with a helmet on, (perhaps if you are as prone to accidents as I am you should though). Again, we are talking about imagery. Understand what a helmet does, what it protects but also because it protects, what does it allow you to do? When you have on a helmet you can walk into a construction site and your skull is protected from falling debris, low hanging beams, harmful things that are all around you. You can walk with confidence and concentrate on your job. The helmet of salvation does the exact same thing.

Ephesians 1:13 (New International Version)

13And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,

Having believed. We are required to accept the word of truth, that God sent his one and only Son, SO THAT, who ever believes in HIM shall have eternal and everlasting life. The helmet of salvation covers our mind because satan will come at us intellectually, tempting us to question, to doubt, to distrust. He did it with Adam and Eve in the garden. There wasn’t 1,001 different temptations running around the garden, there was only one and Satan used it, “did God really tell you that you would die if you ate of the fruit of this tree.” Doubt, loop hole, temptation.
But God…

God knew that we could not defeat Satan on our own and so He, in his wisdom, provides us with a beautiful set of instructions on how we are to fight my friends. We are to protect our minds but reading God’s word, praying and deepening our relationship with God.  We are to trust God in all that we do, not just when it’s convenient or when we are going through things that are really hard. How long do you want to be in a relationship with someone who only comes to you when they want something?

There are so many things about the helmet of salvation and all that it covers (pun intended) but for today, and due to the fact I have to get to work, accept that your salvation covers you from the head down, it protects you from a horrible existence (hell) and it also enables you to walk through this life and do the job that God has created you to do.

God, thank you for the awesome gift of salvation that you gave to us when you sent your son to walk on this earth, lead by example a perfect existence, and then paid the ultimate price by being nailed to the cross. Help us to honor that gift every day in our walk with you God by living each day as your humble servants. You are wonderful and marvelous and how amazing it is that You love each one of us. Thank you God.

 I thought we would cover both the Helmet of Salvation and the Sword of the Spirit but we will talk about the sword tomorrow (Saturday post!!!). I’m also going to be doing a giveaway this weekend for my birthday so be sure to stop back by.

Great Expectations

My WH and I had a great conversation a few nights ago.  We were talking about DD’s birthday, God, my upcoming surgery, God, our home, God, my speaking and ministry, God, do you see a theme here?

I posed the question to WH, “Do you think God is ever disappointed in us, like a father when his child doesn’t do as he wishes?”  And my WH, he truly is wonderful but I think the “W” could also stand for wise, stated,

“No, God doesn’t get disappointed because He already knows all that is going to happen, God has no expectations, therefore He cannot be disappointed.” 

To say that I was gobsmacked is an understatement.  (Don’t you love that word?).  How much of my life revolves around my expectations and meeting other’s expectations?

I have expectations of my husband, my daughter, my family, my God’s Girls (bible study group), my friends, my church leaders, my work, and even strangers that I meet.   When those expectations are not met, it sets up a series of events where disappointment, frustration, and anger can move in.   And how many times do these problems occur because the other parties were unaware of your expectations?  I cannot count the times I have gotten upset with WH because he didn’t do something that I expected but never thought to relay to him.  He loves me enough to be able to read my mind, right?  He should just know what I need…(yeah, doesn’t work friends, stop it and just ask for what you need/want, our husbands really appreciate that.)

But God…

God only requires one thing from each of us. 

ONE THING. 

For us to live our life every single day for His glory. 

Mark 12:28-30 (New International Version)

The Greatest Commandment

 ²⁸One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" ²⁹"The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.^[a] 30Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'^[b]

That’s it?   Yep, that’s it…Wow, think about all that encompasses though. 

And what about our expectations of God? 

1. Do you expect God to give you everything you want? 
2. Do you expect Him to make your life easy? 
3. Do you expect Him to pour His blessings down on you just because you say you believe in Him? 

And what happens when we do get sick, or we lose our job, or someone dies, or someone hurts our feelings, is that’s God’s fault because He didn’t met our expectations?  

I’m learning that my heavenly Father only wants me to have one expectation and it is truly a great one.  

That He will always love me.  No matter what came before or what is in the future because that is what He promises to each and every one of us.  NO MATTER WHAT.

I am to live every day for His glory and to accept every day that God loves me. 

Two very brief statements that require an entire lifestyle change, a thought process shift, and 100% trust. 

How does a life look that is living for His glory?  Look at how Jesus lived for understanding and the perfect example.

How do you accept that God loves you?  By finally opening the door in your heart that he has been knocking on.  You know that nudge that you have been feeling is not imagined or make-believe.  It is real, it is Him, and it’s time to stop looking at everything else and having great expectations of man to fill up that empty spot in your heart because only God can fill it. 

You accept it by saying,

Dear Jesus,

I realized that I’ve sinned and I need you. Please forgive me. Thank you for
dying on the cross and for rising from the dead. Come into my heart and save
me. Thank you for giving me eternal and abundant life. Help me to live for
you the rest of my life.

In Jesus name,

Amen.

If you have just prayed this prayer for the first time, let me know.  You can send me an email at Leigh at leighfrance dot com.   Also, tell someone you know personally: a Christian friend, co-worker, or neighbor. This will be as exciting for them as it is for you.