The Whole Armor of God Is The Believer’s Shield Against Satan

Paul, the apostle, for good reason, warned the Ephesian believers to put on the whole armor of God. This was necessary for the warfare which they faced. His warning is extremely important for the generation in which we live. There are tons of anti-christian promoters in the world. The Christian faith is under attack like never before.

The name God isn’t feared by the new winkles of religion. Each religious group has some form of a god. When you hear someone give god thanks, don’t immediately assume they are referring to the same God you worship. You can have various religious bodies represented on the same platform speaking about god and none of them referring to God of the Bible.

But if you want to create a firestorm, mention the name of Jesus. All of a sudden, you find yourself ridiculed, blasphemed, belittled, or something worse. You see, Jesus made, in the eyes of the world, an unforgivably sin, spoke intolerant words, when He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (Jo 24:6). And He followed that up by going to the cross in behalf of ridiculing sinners, then came out of the grave victoriously on the third day. The world can agree on a god, but they can’t stand the name Jesus.

What really disturbs me and goes beyond my ability of comprehend are the folk who have seen the way of Christ, have embraced the way of Jesus, have been taught the precepts of Jesus, to turn away to some religious or non-religious sect which some human has devised. The world’s non-christian religious bodies all have some individual or an individual’s concept of how things are as their champion or leader. But they won’t allow themselves to believe in God the creator who loved fallen man so much that He would Himself visit the world in human form to pay the price for its sin and rejection.

Yet, with all the distractions from these anti-christian promoters, it behooves us as believers to become more serious about clothing ourselves with the armor which Paul wrote about in his Ephesian letter. There are folk daily who are being swept away from the true knowledge of Jesus Christ by weird belief systems and impressionable individuals. The casualties are in our families and among our acquaintances. It breaks our hearts and brings us to tears. I know because it has happened to me.

Should we put on the armor in order to move against these groups, spending our time trying to defeat them? That doesn’t seem to be the point Paul is making in his text. Rather than ridicule or try to break down their doctrine or system, we need the Lord’s armor to defend ourselves from their attacks. Paul said, "Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the tactics of the Devil" (Eph. 6:11). In so doing, believers are automatically given power over Satan’s fiery darts.

Every anti-christian religion, and this statement is without tongue in cheek, is a tool of the devil which has intentions of sending people to Hell by keeping them out of Heaven. Anyone following these systems isn’t wise for eternity’s sake.

There isn’t space available to name each part of the armor which Paul gives to the Ephesians. But two of them are so important that they can’t be shunned. They are integrated so that they appear as one. The first piece of armor mentioned by Paul is "truth like a belt around your waist" (v. 14). The second is "the sword of the Spirit, which is God’s word" (v. 17).

Keeping "truth" in the forefront of your mind and heart comes through a study of God’s Word. Jesus is the embodiment of truth. He is truth. All other schemes, systems, religions, or sects are Christ-less and thus void of ultimate truth. "Put on the whole armor of God"!

Giving Thanks For Those Who Gave The Ultimate Sacrifice

The National Holiday Act of 1971 changed Memorial Day from May 30^{th to the last Monday in May. Many feel that Congress changed the day in order to accommodate a three-day holiday. In so doing, it is believed, the real purpose and significance of the day has been lost.}

Originally it was known as Decoration Day, a day set aside to remember the men and women who died in our nation’s service. Most likely it began back in the days of civil war among the states. A hymn was published in 1867, by Nella L. Sweet, which honoured the many who on that day went to the graves of fallen soldiers to place flowers. The song is Kneel Where Our Loves Are Sleeping".

Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on May 5th, 1868, by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic. It was first observed May 30th, 1868 when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery.

Traditional ceremonies and observances have largely gone away in recent years. Some people even believe the day is set aside to remember all dead folk, not just those who died in military service. Research reveals that "the graves of the fallen are increasingly ignored, neglected." There are some exceptions to this neglect as the 3rd U. S. Infantry places small American flags at each of the 260,000 gravestones in the Arlington National Cemetery. At other national cemeteries across the nation, Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, and Girl Scouts place either flags or flowers.

On this Memorial Day, May 28th, let’s join millions of other Americans around our nation for a Moment of Remembrance at 3 P. M. These men and women died in defence of this great nation of America. God bless their sacrifice as we honour their memory.

On Memorial Day 2007 let me encourage you to pray for our service men and women wherever they are serving. We, as free Americans, are indebted to their sacrifice of life for the freedoms we now enjoy. To many, they are forgotten heros. To many, our nation’s price of freedom isn’t appreciated. To many, their lives were given in vain.

So, we must pray for the men and women who wear the uniforms of our nation’s defence, trusting that they won’t become a Memorial Day casualty. Their cause is just, their fight is for our free survival. They are to be respected, appreciated, and honoured.

Yes, it is a time to remember and give thanks, but Memorial Day is really a time for our nation to grieve. In some households the grieving will be deep and it will be real. A loved one will be missing because of the fallen world and the evil folk who reside upon this earth.

Our nation is free today because of those who sacrificed their lives, along with the thousands who fought and are fighting, but whose lives was and is being spared. This freedom is a mystery to the millions who have come to our nation illegally. I’ve watched by way of the television how many of them have taken to the streets to demonstrate for their rights. And, as I watched, I wondered how long can our nation stand in the face of such demands from outsiders and disregard for our nation’s laws. They must not be aware of the wars and the bloodshed by American soldiers who died to set this nation free and to keep it free.

Their lives were lost but the just cause for which they fought was won. And we are still a free people in the greatest nation on the planet. This Memorial Day, take some time to remember their sacrifice and to pray that God will keep us safe as a nation, a nation set on the hillside to share to all who will hear, the Good News that "Jesus saves".

The High School Graduate’s Future Is Important

In Honor of Two Mothers

The Enterprise-Journal has, for the past few weeks, been promoting their Mother-of-the-Year contest. I’m certain that a number of names have been submitted and that, once again, the staff responsible for making the final selection, has their hands full. I don’t know who are the winners, but I do congratulate each one and appreciate the time and energy spent in submitting their mother’s name to the paper.

I’ve never sent in my mother’s name, deceased since 1994, to a contest such as this. But in my book, she is always Mother of My Year. I’m confident there are amens from most, if not all, who reads these lines. At least, that’s the way it should be for each one of us.

Motherhood is an honor bestowed upon women by God the Creator. He designed it that way from the beginning. Women are born with that innate desire the bear children. My wife has expressed to me that it is so for all women. She has remarked that if she had been unable to bear children, adoption or some other form of child birth would certainly have been on her mind.

In the cases when a wife can’t conceive, because of birth defects, some forms of medication, or for some other medical reason, that desire to give birth is still present.

In those cases, adoption becomes an option. Millions of families across the years have done just that and provided super homes for these special children, children who are wanted and sought after! Although not biological mothers, they perform admirably and make outstanding moms for their adopted family members.

The home which has a caring, loving mother, is indeed a home blessed. Her children rise up and call her blessed. Her husband praises her tremendous contribution to the family.

Since this is Mother’s Day for 2007, in today’s paper, you will most likely find the winner of this year’s contest. There are mothers for whom I’m deeply grateful whose names aren’t entered into the contest (at least not to my knowledge). But both are appreciated by me more than anyone can ever know. I could name more than two, but I have the pen, so I’ll name these two.

One is of course my own mother, Mae Ola McCurley Jackson. She was from the old school of mothers who believed her home was her work place, it was her responsibility to be there for her children. She wasn’t the most educated of mothers, she wasn’t the most polished in her discipline, she wasn’t the most complimentary of accomplishments. But deep in her heart, her children and her home stood out as her most important contribution to her husband and her children.

The second mother of whom I’m very proud to honor on this special day is my wife, Peggy Ann Lewis Jackson. She became my wife June 13, 1957 and then a mother, May 5, 1958 (had the little old ladies in our church counting the months). For these past 49 years she has been blessed with motherhood. She too believed that her major responsibility was to see our two children reared in a Christian home, to be taught and guided in those early years by herself and not sent out to a nursery or baby sitter. She only entered the work force outside our home once for about a 10 month period when it was absolutely necessary. On other occasions she did some baby sitting for a couple of chosen families who thought it necessary to utilize her service.

I appreciate her for being the mother our children needed. She, on many occasions, took even the father’s responsibility when I thought I had to burn both ends of the candle at once.

So, on this Mother’s Day, I honor the memory of my mother and honor the life of my wife, the mother of our two children. I thank God for putting these two women in my path!