Priscilla Shirer The Armor of God Part Two

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Priscilla Shirer Armor of God Week 3
During the third week in her book The Armor of God, Priscilla Shirer gets to the heart of the matter: The Breastplate of Righteousness.

Righteousness literally means justice, and is the quality of being upright. Righteousness aligns with God's expectations of us, but not on our own.

The Belt (previously discussed) affirms God's standard. The Breastplate aligns your life to it.

Unrighteousness creates an environment that invites Satan to move into your life.

Humans are made of three parts - body, spirit and soul. The soul is composed of mind ( your thoughts), will (your ambition), emotion (your feelings) and conscience (your moral compass). The intersection of these four internal characteristics is your Biblical heart. The heart is the centerpiece of the soul.

I liked this description better than any other "you are a three-part being" description I've heard in the past.

Day 2
God is perfect, and that's His standard of righteousness, yet we are not righteous. "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Rom 3:23
Part of the Roman Road. 

The enemy wants us to chase perfectionism instead of God. We can be just as bound by the pursuit of perfectionism as by any addiction. I know many who pursue perfectionism instead of God. We can only do what we can do.

 How, then, can we be righteous?
We could lower God's standard, and it is tempting to do so. People do it all the time.
Comparison with others keeps us looking at others instead of God.
Yet the only correct response is imputed righteousness. The debt for our imperfect and sinful lives is paid on the cross by Jesus; we are innocent by declaration. Regardless of how much bad we've done, true contrition and making Jesus Lord of our lives imputes us with the Righteousness of God, something we cannot achieve on our own.

Day 3
Practice makes perfect - but not spiritually. When we practice the elusive pursuit of perfection...
Each of the pieces of spiritual armor were mnemonic devices.
In Ephesians 4, Paul introduced Practical Righteousness. Put off your old self by:

  • Speak the truth (do not lie)
  • Be angry and do not sin
  • Do not steal, do honest work
  • Let no foul language come from your mouth
  • Don't grieve the Holy Spirit
  • Avoid sexual impurity and immorality, greed, coarse and foolish talk, crude jokes.

Rather, give thanks.

Put on: humility, gentleness, patience, love, truth, kindness, and compassion.

Practice doesn't make perfect. In the spiritual realm, perfect makes practice.
The perfection (of Jesus) that we cannot achieve on our own makes us desire to practice doing good.

Day 4
One of the sneaky tactics of the enemy is to get us to sink our energy into changing instead of focusing on cultivating health and wellness in Christ.
If we concentrate on having a vibrant, healthy spiritual life, we'll automatically grow and change as a result.
Attitudes, Actions, Interests, Desires, Ambitions, perspectives, Sanctification is the process by which you are converted into an image of Christ and aligned with God's heart.
You will sense peace and divine approval when you're acting in a way that's pleasing to God and uneasiness when you're not. If you feel that inner apprehension about your actions, that is conviction.

Look to God.

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