Priscilla Shirer The Armor of God Part One

(This is a reschedule of a post from last October. The next part will post tomorrow.)
Darling is doing a new Bible study. This one is by Priscilla Shirer and is called The Armor of God. Darling is letting me read through the study with her.

I'll post my notes for the study, but please bear in mind that most of what I'm writing is directly from Priscilla Shirer's book. I'll italicize when the thoughts are mine.

Week One was a summary with background information. Priscilla Shirer is an author and an actress in the amazing movie The War Room.

If you are not familiar with the Armor of God passages in the Bible, you probably already quit reading. Here's the NIV version of the passage from Ephesians 6.

The Armor of God

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

Her first week reminded me of something an African missionary said: "The African people see it clearly. We are spiritual beings in a physical world, not the other way around." Most people I know battle in the physical world when they should battle in the spiritual world. I'm as guilty as anyone of that.

The enemy is invisible, but he is not fictional.

We overestimate Satan's impact on our lives and therefore we live in fear.

We underestimate Satan and miscalculate his impact on our lives.

I tend to ignore Satan unless I feel temptations, then I call on God. That isn't always successful because I am not prepared.

We are unaware of Satan's conspiracies in our lives because he appears as an angel of light (2 Cor 11:14). Let's face it; if Satan appeared like the ugly caricatures we have of him, we'd know to run. He always wraps his attacks in deception. He cannot help it. He is, after all, the Father of lies. But he is very, very good at what he does, and he knows what bait attracts each of us.

The Enemy (Satan) has strategies against your1. Passion2. Focus3. Identity4. Family5. Confidence6. Calling7. Purity8. Rest and Contentment9. Heart10. Relationships.

I have to admit, as I look through the list, I see a lot of areas where I was attacked - and still am.

WEEK 2: THE BELT OF TRUTH

With the standard of truth in place, you can adjust everything else in your life - your ambitions, choices, and feelings; your mind, will and emotions - until all of it is "tuned" correctly. When you have a strong, stable, well-supported core you can't easily be led astray by the enemy's clever lies. Gird yourself with truth ...

You uphold and affirm the standard – the truth and boundaries set by God in scripture. You commit yourself to them and resolve to teach them to your family.

You daily, systematically, repeatedly begin letting God help you align your decisions and responses, even your attitudes and ambitions, alongside His benchmark of truth.

You continually learn about the character and purposes of God – both from the Bible and from His Spirit. Then you unapologetically synchronize your convictions, even when you find it hard or unpopular to do so.

You filter every circumstance, personally and culturally, through the prism of His Word instead of merely leaning on your feelings, political correctness, or the opinions of others.

Truth becomes your starting place ...

Sensitivity taking offense is one of the key ways Satan traps believers in his web of deception.

The soldier's belt secured several pieces of his armor, which are listed in the rest of the passage in Ephesians 6:

• Righteousness means right living.
• Peace is a deep, inner, eternal stability by virtue of our relationship with Jesus.
• Faith is an application of what we believe.
• Salvation is our eternal security as well as full inheritance.
• The word of God is the Bible and God's Spirit.
• Finally, we use prayer to communicate with God and access the promises of God.

Watch out for deception, because is a lie cloaked in a tweaked version of truth.

Without truth - without an absolute, non-negotiable standard - there is no real liberty. Most people don't understand that and think that by accepting Jesus as their Lord they give up their freedom. Exactly the opposite is true.

In John 8:31-32, Jesus says if we abide in His word the truth will set us free.

Accumulated knowledge is not truth. You can learn things that are untrue - and choose to believe them. Also, knowing things about God does not mean the same as honoring Him as your Lord.

Truth is God's absolute standard, and you do not know truth unless you know God. A knowledge of God is found in the Bible, and imparted by the Holy Spirit.

Me: Wow, Priscilla Shirer really knows her stuff… I'll post more from her book in the future. Until then, God bless you.