Look inside this book.Where the Bush is Burning: A Daily Devotional by [Thomas Tice]

Tag: Ephesians 6

‘The Whole Armor of God’

‘The Whole Armor of God’

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‘The Whole Armor of God’

Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Ephesians 6:13

No one understands the nature of spiritual warfare more thoroughly and experientially than Christ.  He has battled the forces of evil and darkness to a greater degree than any other person born of woman.  Because He is the Great Defender of His people, He understands what we need to face the world, the flesh and the devil.  For this reason, Paul, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, tells us to ‘take…the whole armor of God.’  As we have already considered, we dwell in an environment which is hostile to grace and to God.  The opponents of Christ surround us, intending to defeat and destroy us.  The ‘evil day’ has arrived.  While we recognize that Christ is the Victor, and that all His Will shall come to pass, He has placed us in the spiritual war zone to accomplish His purpose in the advancement of His Kingdom.  Because we are Christ’s people, laboring for the advancement of His Cause, we are the targets of the ‘rulers of the darkness of this world.’  Therefore, we hear what Christ instructs us to do through the pen of His Apostle.  We are engaged in serious business, to liberate souls held in darkness by the power of all that is unholy.  Against those powers we stand, in spiritual armor, and ‘strong in the Lord.’  Today, let us dwell upon our need of Christ and of His armor.

O, Christ, our Great Defender,
we rejoice that You have provided for us this complete armor.
We praise You that just as You have given us this gift,
so You will enable us to make full use of it for our good and Your Glory.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning
‘Against Spiritual Wickedness’

‘Against Spiritual Wickedness’

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‘Against Spiritual Wickedness’

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Ephesians 6:12

As we pass through this world, it is important for us to be realistic about our environment, and what we should expect.  The Apostle Paul has already set the stage in the previous verses which we have considered.  He has declared that we need to prepare ourselves to face spiritual opposition and aggression.  In our text for today he delineates, in very specific terms, the sources of this aggression.  He defines this opposition as ‘not…flesh and blood, but…rulers…authorities, the powers of this dark world and…the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.’  These are real forces, consisting of real personalities, with real histories, who engage in real spiritual activity.  The Scripture everywhere supports this.  We see multiple references to Satan, his minions, and their activities in both the Old and New Testaments.  Christ encounters them from Genesis 3 to Revelation 20.  This leads us to consider that Christ’s enemies are our enemies, and our enemies are His.  Because He is in heaven, and untouchable by them, they direct their venom against us, the Body of Christ.  Hence, Christ has provided for us the spiritual armor to which this passage refers.  Christ both forewarns and forearms us.  Today, let us be aware of the nature of the warfare in which we find ourselves and look to Our Captain to lead us in the fight.

O, Captain of our Salvation,
we rejoice in You, our All-Victorious Christ.
We praise You, that while we are here on earth,
You protect us in the ways that please You most.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning
‘The Whole Armor of God’

‘The Whole Armor of God’

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‘The Whole Armor of God’

Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

Ephesians 6:11

Nothing is more apparent than the warfare which exists between good and evil in the world.  Each day brings us new accounts of atrocities from every kingdom, nation and tribe.  No culture is exempt from the evil which manifests itself in awful deeds which humanity perpetrates.  The world, the flesh, and the devil all play their role in these evil doings and the effects are disastrous in the lives of those against whom those evil deeds proceed.  Christ would have us armed against such evil.  To this end, the Apostle Paul writes, ‘Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.’  Paul makes a particular point that this armor is for the purpose of resisting the attacks of Satan.  Christ and Satan are sworn enemies, ‘For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.’  If we are Christ’s, then Satan is our enemy as well.  If he cannot attack the Head, he will assault the Body.  Christ would have us well-protected.  To this end, He has provided the armor which we will be considering for the next few days.  By donning the armor which Christ provides, we may guard against ‘the wiles of the devil’ and be a part of that good which Christ is accomplishing in the world as He continues ‘to destroy the works of the devil.’

Our most High God,
we rejoice that You are the great defender of Your people.
We praise You that You afford us this armor
that we may have defense against evil in all its’ forms.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning
Be Strong in the Lord

Be Strong in the Lord

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Be Strong in the Lord

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

Ephesians 6:10

God is a God of relationships.  The whole of the redemptive purpose of God is to re-establish the relationship which failed because of the sin of Adam and Eve.  If we consider the Ten Commandments, we see that the first four refer to our relationship with God.  The last six refer to our relationship with other people.  In the passage which precedes our text for today, we find the Apostle Paul, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, making some very specific points about our relationships.  The text before us begins a passage which explains to us how we can effectively have the kind of relationships which the previous passage describes.  As an introductory, and summary statement, he says, ‘Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.’  If we are going to succeed in any and all of our relationships, we must begin and continue with ‘the Lord.’  This brings us to Christ.  As we make proper use of the means of grace, it will lead us ever more certainly to Christ.  As He draws us out after Himself, our relationship with Him grows.  As our relationship with Him grows, it has an inevitable effect on our relationship with everyone else.  This affects our personal life, our family life, our professional life, and our broader community life.  If we hope to succeed in all these relationships we must begin with Christ.

Our Gracious Master and Our God,
we rejoice that You are our strength.
We praise You that You daily enable us
to know more of Christ and thereby to become stronger.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

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