Are Your Children Putting On the Whole Armor Of God Daily? -- INTRODUCTION OF SEVEN PARTS

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 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 heavenly places. Therefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girded about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, with which you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thus with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
(Ephesians 6:10-18)

As I woke up to the radio alarm one morning, I was hearing a sermon about putting on the whole armor of God. I listened with great interest and remember very keenly hearing the, "still small voice" of God in the depth of my soul, telling me to apply this to my life. I heard the sermon again that day, (This station played sermons twice daily) and began to study Ephesians Chapter 6.

I WAS ALARMED! Was I hearing that we should put on the armor of God daily?
Could this be? But according to the sermon I had heard and the Word of God, yes, this is what we should do. I became very, very sober at the thought that my walk with God is daily . . Luke 9:23 "And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. " and Ephesians 6:10-18, (above), this tells me I must put on the armor of God in order to stand in the evil day. I thought, this certainly is an evil day!

As I grew in the understanding of putting on the armor of God piece by piece, and practiced doing so, I became very excited to see the spiritual strength and deliverance God gave me through doing so.

It came to my attention that my young ones needed to know about the armor of God, but how was I to communicate this lesson to them? And so with prayer and seeking God's direction, I came up with a plan.

WE MADE A SOLDIER!

Our soldier and his armor pieces were made from cardboard. The soldier himself had to have armor placed over his clothing, so we used Velcro strips to fasten the pieces. Our soldier looked somewhat like the one pictured above. The children colored in the armor pieces and we wrote on each one it's meaning.

I explained to my young ones the duties of a Roman soldier and what each piece of armor was used for:

The Girdle--Here was the point of junction for the main pieces of the body-armor, so that the girdle formed the common bond of the whole, it helped to hold the armor together.

The Breastplate--The breastplate covers the vital parts, as the heart, to help protect from the sword of the enemy.

The Sandals or shoes-- the sandals, bound by thongs over the instep and round the ankle, and having the soles thickly studded with nails so they could stand their ground in times of battle.

The Shield-- The shield here described is that of the heavy infantry; a large, oblong shield, four by two and a half feet, and sometimes curved on the inner side. It served to shield from hard blows and arrows that were covered with a type of pitch and set on fire.

The Helmet--The protection for the head. The helmet was originally of skin, strengthened with bronze or other metal.

The Sword--serves both for attack and to parry the thrusts of the enemy.

I told them to think how a Roman soldier had to act on the mornings when a battle was about to begin. He would rise quickly when awakened, and immediately put on his armor piece by piece so he would be ready when the battle cry was heard, it meant his very life.

I told them to imagine this soldier jumping up and dressing in a clown suit instead of armor and then running out to the battle field. He wouldn't last long would he? No, because he had no protection and he would be cut down right away, not only that, but the enemy would probably laugh at him.

Then I explained our spiritual enemy, the devil. We memorized Ephesians 6 and talked about the unseen battle that is in the spiritual realm. We talked about the Captain of our souls, the Lord Jesus Christ, and how He has all power over the enemy. Jesus told us to put on the armor, it is HIS armor, not ours, and we need to obey Him. The children were very excited about the whole idea and began the practice of putting on the armor.

This introduction about putting on the whole armor of God is simply to explain why we do so. For the next seven blogs I hope to explain each piece of God's armor and how we have been putting it on almost daily for the past 16 years, not as a ritual but as a living reminder and example of the spiritual battle we are all engaged in.

Here is a commentary by John Gill about the Armour of God, that I appreciate very much:

Eph 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God... Not that which God himself is sometimes clothed with, and uses against his enemies; but what he has provided for his people, and furnishes them with; the particulars of which are after mentioned: and it is called "the armour of God", because it is prepared by him for his people, and is bestowed on them by him; and because it is in its own nature divine and spiritual, and not carnal; and because it is provided for fighting the Lord's battles, and is used in them; and because the efficacy of it is from him, and the execution it does is owing to him: and it is whole, complete, and perfect; and all of it is useful, and no part to be neglected, but all to be taken and "put on"; which is not to make and provide this armour, but to take it, as in Eph_6:13; as being ready made and provided, and to expect and prepare for battle, and make use of it; and this supposes saints to be in a warfare state, and that they are in the character of soldiers, and have enemies to fight with, and therefore should be accoutred with proper and suitable armour, to meet them:

that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil; who is the grand enemy of Christ and his people, and a very powerful and cunning one he is; so that the whole armour of God should be put on, which is proof against all his might and craft, in order to stand against him, oppose him, and fight, and get the victory over him, which in the issue is always obtained by believers; for they not only stand their ground in the strength of Christ, and by the use of their armour confound his schemes, and baffle all his arts and stratagems, but are more than conquerors through him that has loved them.

To be continued...God willing!

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
(Ephesians 6:10)

Please See: Part 1-Truth
And: Part 2- Righteousness
Part 3- The Preperation of the Gospel of Peace
Part 4- The Shield Of Faith