Whose Armor Are You Wearing?

Luk 11:21-22

(21) When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace:

(22) But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils.

Clank, Clank, Clank the army of souls goes marching into God's house each week. Their helmets gleaming, swords sharpened, shields held high. Soldiers of the Lord you say? Wearing the Armor of the Lord? Some are, but when we read the book of Luke, we find there is another armor. The devil's armor. Everyone has on a spiritual armor, but the question I want to ask you is:

Whose armor are you wearing?

In Ephesians we find that God gives Christians His armor. Knowing the devil often imitates God's methods and that from our bible reading he has an armor, we can imagine that as God clothes Christians with His armor, the devil gives his armor to those he wants to "protect" from the power of God.

If he can't keep you from the house of God, then he wants to put his armor on you so that you will not come into full contact with God's power.

When Paul describes the armor of God, he began with the waistbelt of truth, the devil's armor would be the belt of lies. He is even called a liar and the father of lies. One Greek word used for the devil is diabolos, which means slanderer. Slander is defined as false statements injurious to a person's reputation. God desires truth in the inward parts, and the devil delights in lies, false accusations and slander.

The slander and lies told about God, His church, His preachers and His believers, sometimes keep others from receiving the truth.

God gives us a breastplate of righteousness, and the devil gives his people a breastplate of unrighteousness. Their sins and iniquities separate them from God. They love their sin so much, they don't want to let it go. One lady told a friend of mine "I would rather die and go to hell then give up this relationship!"

God gives His sons and daughters a helmet of salvation, but the devil clothes his children with a helmet of destruction. Saying: "You are going to die and go to hell anyway, you might as well live it up." or "It is too late for you, don't even try." He endeavors to get that person to destroy themselves literally or through a destructive lifestyle.

God's soldiers are wearing gospel shoes, prepared to do His work, and the minions of the enemy are ready to do evil Prov. 1:16 "For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood"

The warriors of the Lord are protected with a shield of faith, but doubt, suspicion and unbelief form the shield that keeps the enemy's people "shielded" from God.

The weapon in the hand of the Christian is the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. The words of the devil, prompted to the minds of humanity becomes the weapon fighting against the gospel. If the Word of the Lord is pure, converting the soul, the enemies words are impure, confirming the soul in it's situation.

My goal is not to lift up what the enemy is doing, but to point out his tactics so that you may examine yourself and see if you are indeed wearing his armor, and if it is keeping you from receiving all that God wants for you.

God is never limited, and there are times His arrows pierce between "the joints and the harness" of any armor. Other times people wonder why they are hindered, perhaps this could be part of the reason.

Part 2 tomorrow

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Baptism

(double click pictures for larger image)

We had a wonderful day including baptism for these brothers and sisters. We held the baptism at our Belleville church where Rev. Sewell is the pastor and was so kind to let us use their facilities until our baptismal is installed. Praise God for all He has done!

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Teen Night

Congratulations to the boys teen class who won the bible trivia contest on teen night. It was a close contest and the girls only trailed by two points. The teachers did an excellent job and the students knew their stuff. Thanks to all of the parents and teachers who helped to make it a success. I look forward to the next one!

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New Photos

There are some new photos posted HERE. Follow @ddevonshire

The Barber Shop

I have had some odd barber shop experiences in the past, but this one is truly unique! Upon arriving in St. Louis I began searching for an establishment I could make my every other week trimming trip to. I had been paying about $1.50 in the Philippines for a haircut, and so the $12-$13 prices seemed pretty high to me. After several bad haircuts, and even an attempt to learn to do it myself, I found a place that offered a $7 cut. I went there after a days visiting and there were several men waiting so I decided to come back the next day. The barber seemed friendly enough, and had some religious decorations around, and after the haircut, he refused to let me pay him, saying he hadn't really cut much. Great! The next time I went, I told him I was a preacher and invited him to church. He stopped what he was doing, and told me this "I thought you were a tax man! I stayed up at night trying to think of a way to tell you never to come back here! I hated you! You intimidated me!"

Whoa! Not the kind of effect I was hoping to have on people! He felt pretty bad and then began to share with me about some family members with some pretty serious medical problems. I told him I would pray for them. He asked me if I had any pamphlets I could leave at the barber shop for the patrons, I gladly went to the car and got a stack and laid them on the counter, he said "No! Go and give them to each person! Have some guts! and anytime you want to come in here and talk to any of the guys in the barber shop you can."

Having been duly scolded, I went to each person and invited them out, and spoke with one man at length, he came that Sunday night!

Anytime I go in, he usually calls someone over for me to talk to and I get to invite them out to church!

I think I found the right barber shop!

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Judas had power...

Mat 10:1 And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.

According to Matthew 10:1, Judas, one of the twelve, had been given power to cast out unclean spirits and to heal. He became an example of betrayal and his name is synonymous with being a traitor. What happened? He was given power, but didn't use it. Instead of casting out the unclean spirits, he became a friend to them and they entered him....satan entered into him.(Luke 22:3)

He healed others, but didn't heal himself from the sick heart, and covetous spirit.

He was commanded to take no gold or silver or scrip for your purses, but later that is what concerned him. He held the bag, he betrayed Jesus for money.

He had power to resist the devil but he didn't use it.

The same one that was casting out devils earlier was now taking them in!

The same one that was raising the dead, was dying on the inside!

The same one that was cleansing the lepers was becoming defiled himself!

He preached to others, but didn't listen to his own message!

He yielded his power to the enemy and became his pawn. He gave him his keys.

God gives me power over the enemy and power over myself, but I must not squander it. Follow @ddevonshire

Back in the USA

For those of you who don't already know, the Lord directed our steps back to the United States.  We served nearly 4 and 1/2 years in the Philippines and will miss many of the people who became our friends, brothers and sisters.  

We are now pastoring a church in St. Louis and the Lord is blessing us.  We have settled in for the most part, and enjoying the challenge set before us.  

Keep us in your prayers.

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Protecting Our Image

When David came to the valley of Elah, he was concerned about the "uncircumcised Philistine" the giant Goliath, and the reproach that he brought to God by his boasting.  No one had stepped up to accept the challenge for the Lord.  David, motivated  for God's glory, stood and defeated this blow-hard.

Later, David's sin with Bathsheba, was a reason that the enemies could blaspheme against the Lord.

What happened?  David went from concern that no one would stand up for God, to actually being the one to bring shame to God!

One clue might be found in the aftermath, he instructed Joab to send Uriah, Bathsheba's husband to his death and then when informed about it, he told Joab "Let not this thing displease thee..."  He was concerned how Joab would view his treacherous actions, how his IMAGE would be in the eyes of Joab.  He was not concerned about how he looked in God's eyes!  Note that the bible used the same word a few verses later... "The thing that David did displeased the Lord."

We enter dangerous territory when we are more concerned about what man thinks,  then about what God thinks of us.   When we are thinking about our image and about what our peers think, instead of what will bring glory to God, we are certain to misstep.

It is this image consciousness that prevents us from doing some of the things that God beckons us to do.  We are concerned how others might react to our actions.  "What will they think?" Let us pray that God delivers us from that question and instead we ask the more important one: "What will HE (God) think?"

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I'm Pregnant!

The little boy had the task of making a sentence and gave the teacher this one, "The fireman came down the ladder pregnant." The teacher said, you must not understand what that word means. Do you know what pregnant means? Sure, the little boy replied, It means carrying a child!

I am not the only one pregnant, the apostle Paul was too...

Could we not also describe one who is pregnant as expecting, as in "I am expecting." or one who is full of life and about to give birth? One who longs to give life to another.

That is what I mean when I say I am pregnant.  I am expecting and I am full of life inside of my spirit and soul.

And where does that life come from? From an intimate relationship with God.  He is the one that puts that life within us!

So then we like Paul can say "I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you."  If you are a Christian, you ought to be pregnant too, and today is the delivery day.

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More Than Conquerors

Rom 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

More than conquerors? To conquer is to completely defeat your enemy. So what then is being more then conquerors? John Piper in his book "Don't Waste Your Life" (which can be downloaded for free here) gives some insight.  He shares, a conqueror subjugates his foe, but one that is more than a conqueror, makes that foe his slave.  The conquered enemy starts working for you.  Paul said "This light affliction worketh for me a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory..."

The enemy which came Paul's way was affliction.  Paul conquered it by not letting it separate him from Christ, but then went on to be more than a conqueror by making that affliction work for him that "exceeding weight of glory!"

Earlier in the chapter Paul tells us "All things work together for good to them that love God..."

When the trials, struggles and affliction come to fight us and destroy us, we become more than conquerors and those same problems start working for us.

So then we like Joseph  can say,  "You meant it for my evil, but God meant it for my good!"

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