Be Sure to Cover Up!

It was an extremely warm August day in west Texas. We had been busy inside the house, and we did not make it outside until later in the afternoon. The temperature was at least ninety degrees. I told my four-year-old grandson that we were going to go out to walk and get a bit of exercise. In a minute, he trapsed through the garage to join me. Of all things, he had donned a crocheted beany that had been made for him by his cousin. When I saw it, I couldn’t help but laugh. I said, “Easton, it’s boiling out here, why in the world are you wearing that hat?” Here was his classic reply: “The sun is hot, and I don’t like hot on my head!” Never mind the additional warmth the cap provided; to Easton, the protection it afforded far outweighed any added discomfort it might cause.

Easton’s interest in shielding his dome, pointed me to the passage regarding God’s covering that he provides to us as written in the Book of Ephesians. It is, of course, termed “the whole armor of God.” The specifics of God’s armor are these: “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,” (Ephesians 6:13-18, ESV). Paul begins with a “Therefore” as he clues us in regarding whom we are fighting against. It is not against “flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (from Ephesians 6:12, ESV). It is a battle we cannot win in our own strength nor with earthly means.

Many believers will actually recite this passage either as a reminder of the defense God supplies to us, or even as a petition to have God dress us for battle. Speaking it out to God and being supremely aware of our spiritual gear can be a great practice. But it seems to me there is more to it than that. It requires living a life in Christ that embraces each of the pieces of armor through the close connection we are invited to have with him. We put on the belt of truth as we immerse ourselves in the truth of his principles and ways. We don the breastplate of righteousness in the continual cleansing and renewing power of forgiveness and reconciliation, and we are clothed with his righteousness by virtue of our relationship with him. We wear the readied shoes of the gospel of peace as we give ourselves over to go as he calls us to share his story. We hold up the shield of faith as we continue to trust him and rely on him for his help and protection in every circumstance. We acquire the sword of the Spirit by reading, studying and committing to memory God’s precious word so that we can use it as a tool to promote Christ and fight the enemy in our daily spiritual battles. And we pray, not only for the cares and needs in our own lives, but also to cover the backs of our brothers and sisters in Christ that they may also have victory in their struggles. We actively participate in preparing ourselves for combat, but it is God that supplies the entire outfit for us to have great success in the ongoing war that we wage with the forces of evil.

Just as Easton was aware that he needed something to ward off that bothersome heat from the sun on his head, so too we must be mindful that we need God’s protection each day. While we can’t grab a physical hat to guard us, we have a full coat of armor to ward off all the schemes and deceit that the devil sends our way. Though we may find it challenging at times to ensure that we are fully covered, it will never add to our discomfort to put on what God has provided to us. It will surely keep the heat of the enemy’s flaming darts from dispersing troublesome “hot” on our heads, minds, bodies, and hearts.

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Real vs. Fake

In the last few years, I’ve gotten into the habit of listening to news on an app on my phone rather than watching on a screen. I like to do so when exercising, when doing work in the kitchen, or when I have a task that doesn’t require a lot of brain power to accomplish. As I’m sure you would agree, listening to something while working through a task makes it seem a little easier and makes the time seem to go by faster.

Recently, a commercial that airs periodically has caught my attention. In it, a wife is sharing about a gift she bought her husband that has apparently been a special addition to his office as well as the generator of unrestrained laughter. By submitting a photo, some personal information, and a short bio of oneself, and though not mentioned, an unspecified payment, you can have in hand a hard copy book produced through artificial intelligence that credits the submitted individual as the author. It’s not just a thin picture book either, but the ad touts a full two hundred fifty-page tome of whatever AI chooses to churn out. While AI has become the subject of considerable debate and there are pros and cons to every facet of its use, in regard to this particular product, the word that immediately comes to mind for me is fake. That there is now the ability to lay claim to a written work without employing one’s own thought process or effort is far beyond past norms. And, this miracle of instant creative ability is not limited to printed material but extends into various forms of art and music. Just submit a modicum of an idea to an accommodating AI website and voila, you can have a work that rivals the best in any genre. In education, students in various grades from elementary through college are attempting to bluff their way through school by submitting AI-authored papers. And, how many pictures or videos have you viewed on a cell phone thread of unlikely animals snuggling, or of people with seemingly unusual features or problems, or of some sort of supposed natural phenomenon taking place in the world. Fake is all around us, and obviously, it’s one big lie!

Though the AI version of fake is fairly new, fake is as old as the beginning of time. God’s enemy and ours who first appears in Genesis 3:1 and deceived Eve and her husband Adam, is, according to these different versions of the Bible, “crafty” (ESV and NIV), “clever” (The Message), “cunning” (NKJV), “subtle” (RSV). In 2 Corinthians we are informed as to how this can be so. As it warns about him and those who are apparently sold out to his schemes, the word states “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness” (2 Corinthians 11:13-15a, ESV). It is clear that as “the deceiver of the whole world,” (from Revelation 12:9) the enemy of our souls attempts to imitate God in his endeavor to take his place, and is as fake as they come. He knows, however, how to use his cover to trick us into believing the wrong things about God and about ourselves. “How can God really love you when you’re ________ (fill in the blank)?” “Why do you presume to even try to be at the top of your game when you can’t even…?” “Who do you think you are to…?” Beyond questioning our abilities, he tempts us to present ourselves in ways that are not genuine as he uses his lie-filled questions to stymie us and keep us from what God literally may have purposed us to do.

The answer to combatting the Fake Angel of Light is to be yoked to the real Beacon of Light, Jesus. We find great advice in the Book of James, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you” (James 4:7-8a, ESV). Notice that the act of first importance is to submit to God. It then follows that he will give you the ability to repel the devil’s attacks against you. If we are able to hold onto the truth from God and about God and about The Enemy, we can look at every circumstance with the right perspective: Though the enemy is powerful, he is not all-powerful like our omnipotent God; though he knows some things about us, he is not all-knowing like our omniscient God; though he can send his cohorts to various places to mess with us, he is not everywhere always like our omni-present God. The devil truly is fake. For certain, God is the real deal!

As summer is winding down and the school year is beginning, aim to not only live by these truths yourself, but help your children to take hold of them as well. Prepare them to be on guard against both what is fake in the world and the deception of the devil. Pray with them and for them for protection and discernment. Set yourself and your family on a track toward what is real, and leave the fake behind!

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Significant Footsteps

This past March, as a gift from our family to celebrate a landmark anniversary, my husband and I were blessed to be able to travel to Greece with some dear pastor friends. Our time there was relatively short, but we covered a lot of ground, traveling with a tour group by bus to many of the ancient cities and ruins therein, focusing on the places where the apostle Paul would have journeyed on his second mission. We had the most amazing guide who was extremely knowledgeable about both secular and sacred history. We truly had a wonderful time seeing and learning about this land that Paul was called to evangelize.

We concentrated on the sixteenth and seventeenth chapters in Acts, which begins by reporting the cause for Paul’s particular route to Greece. Paul and his companions were forbidden by the Holy Spirit from preaching in Asia and Bithynia. Following a course down to Troas, which is on the Aegean Sea, it was there that Paul had a vision of a man from Macedonia urging him to come and help them. Paul was convinced that this was the Lord’s will for him, and this led to his travels there and included converts such as Lydia and the Philippian jailer. This was the beginning of the Gospel’s spread into the European continent.

As one might surmise, it is truly amazing to find oneself in places where historical figures originally trod, particularly those who are a part of our Christian heritage. This was definitely a component of our experience as we felt refreshed in body and spirit beside the Zygaktis River in Philippi where Lydia was baptized, as we viewed the beautiful monument to Paul in Berea where the noble and fair-minded Jews listened attentively to the teachings from God’s Word, and as we walked among tombstones and other ancient ruins beneath Mars Hill (the Areopagus) where Paul reasoned with the men of Athens. But one thing with which I was most intrigued was the distance and length Paul had to go to follow through with his mission.

Perhaps you read with much better perspective than I can tend to do, but I can breeze through rather than think through Bible verses such as the one referred to previously: “And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’ And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. So, setting sail from Troas, we made a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony” (Acts 16:9-12a, ESV). Composed of three and a half verses, a mere ninety-one words, my mind can just as easily turn this journey into a hop-skip-and a jump as it can read through this small amount of print. This would not have been the case! Every waterway was traversed in wooden vessels with likely uncomfortable accommodations. Every trek across land was done by foot, possibly accompanied by a beast of burden and/or a cart to carry necessities. As we rolled along in comfort via a motor coach from site to site, city to city, Paul would have trudged through dirt and muck in sandals and the same tunic and cloak to bring the Lord’s message to places that were often inhospitable at best, and hostile in most cases. Why? Because he had an incredible love for the Lord who saved him and chose him to help others to know that same God, the Lord Jesus.

The distances and difficulties that would have been a huge part of the apostle’s missionary journeys were things that occupied my mind as I stepped where he literally did nearly two thousand years ago. We walked on a small part of the Via Egnatia, a Roman road on which Paul would have traveled from Neopolis (now Kavala) to Philippi. That stretch is ten miles, and Paul walked much, much farther than that! This, of course, is not even touching the hardships that Paul faced to proclaim the truth of Jesus’ Gospel. The Bible passages in 2 Corinthians 6 and 11 contain a summary of the trials he endured to live out his faith. “But as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger;” (2 Corinthians 6:4-5, ESV). And in chapter eleven: “On frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers;” (2 Corinthians 11:26, ESV). That’s not exactly an idyllic life or trip plan!

This experience has given me a chance to contemplate just where my footsteps have taken me and where I will travel next on my faith journey. I have to wonder, is it significant? Will it make a difference like Paul’s steps did? Not everyone is called to go to faraway places to face dire circumstances, but we are all called somewhere, even if it’s to a neighbor’s or to the visitors in the next row at church. No matter what you’re called to do, no matter where you’re called to go, determine to take significant footsteps for the cause of Christ!

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Enter In

Occasionally, we have the pleasure of attending a program, concert, play, musical or sporting event in which one or more of our precious grandkids are participating. Our granddaughter, Josie, is quite a musical gal and not only sings beautifully but also plays both the piano and the French horn. Recently, we were blessed to be able to go to an area-wide high school orchestra concert where students from various schools who proved themselves competent on their instruments and stood out in their own local ensembles came together to experience performing at an even more proficient level.

Touting my granddaughter’s and her music colleagues’ prowess aside, it was a nicely presented event with the musicians dressed in black attire and an acoustically apt auditorium that enhanced the orchestra’s harmonious sounds. Held at and sponsored by a state-run college, a fee was charged for entrance. We did not, however, receive a ticket. As is true in some venues, an ink stamp was applied to the top of a hand as proof of payment, which allowed for entrance and reentrance as needed. Interestingly, the stamp design was of some sort of lizard or other reptilian creature imprinted with black ink. Being that this was on a college campus, I looked on the school’s website to see if somehow the college and this unusual figure were connected. The school’s mascot is actually a mountain lion, so the strange little animal that now decorated each concert attendee’s hand appeared to be an arbitrary symbol. As with all such stampings, the next day’s shower made it disappear, but as with many everyday experiences, it gave me a point to ponder.

There is a mark made on each of us who receive the Lord’s gracious gift of salvation. To make a clear connection, let’s take a look at what the Amplified Bible says, “In Him, you also, when you heard the word of truth, the good news of your salvation, and [as a result] believed in Him, were stamped with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit [the One promised by Christ] as owned and protected [by God]” (Ephesians 1:13, Amplified Bible). This stamp “is the guarantee [the first installment, the pledge, a foretaste] of our inheritance until the redemption of God’s own [purchased] possession [his believers], to the praise of his glory” (vs. 14). Most important is the payment, which is the blood of Christ offered by him freely through his death on the cross. It is this stamp, purchased by his shed blood, that marks us and gives us entrance into God’s eternal abode, termed in the Bible as heaven. “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth” (Ephesians 1:7-10, ESV).

As much as we do not know about this destination place for believers at the end of the age, there is information about this magnificent dwelling to read and study in God’s Word. Heaven is God’s throne (Isaiah 66:1). There is a sea of glass, like crystal, before the throne (Revelation 4:6). He and his throne are far more beautiful and brilliant than anything we will encounter or imagine on earth (Revelation 4:2-3). We know that Jesus is actually preparing places (rooms or mansions, in some translations) for us to live there (John 14:2). As followers of Jesus, we are already considered citizens of this kingdom (Philippians 3:20). We are to store up treasures in heaven, making its furtherance of prime importance in our lives (Matthew 6:20). An imperishable inheritance is kept there for us (1 Peter 1:4). All those who are believers will be together with the Lord and each other (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). All residents of heaven will worship the Lord forever (Revelation 4:8-11, 5:9-14, 7:9-16, 19:1-5). We will join in a great wedding feast to celebrate the union of the Bride of Christ (believers) and the Lamb (Christ) (Revelation 19:6-9). There will be no more sin, nothing unclean, nothing accursed, and there is no need for a temple or for light, because the Lord God and the Lamb are the temple and the light in it (Revelation 21:22-22:4).

These are some of the verses in Scripture that give us a glimpse into what it will be like in heaven. As we are presently in the Easter season, it is a very appropriate time to give glory to the Lord and much thanks for stamping those of us who have received his gift of salvation, making us welcome members of his kingdom. The Bible tells us that purchasing us and marking us with Jesus’ blood is not arbitrary, but is extremely relevant and needed. “Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins” (Hebrews 9:22, ESV). And, it is a mark that will not wash off or come off in any way, but will keep us throughout all eternity. “Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!” (2 Corinthians 9:15, ESV).

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The Evidence of Love

At the end of January, we took a little get-away trip to what my husband believed would be a fairly warm destination compared to our area in Colorado. Little did he know when he booked the trip well in advance that three days before our departure date the panhandle of Florida would experience their worst snowstorm in more than a century! Fortunately, while the eight-to-nine-inch accumulation wreaked havoc throughout its duration, in the next day or two, the generally warmer clime caused all evidence that this event even took place to disappear. Still, cooler temps, especially in the evenings, had us dressed in slacks, sweaters, and jackets throughout most of our time there.

As to be expected, things were rather desolate and quiet outdoors and even in many of the shops, restaurants, and indoor entertainment venues. Being affiliated with the military, we always look to see what might be taking place on the bases in our vicinity. I remembered that the Navy’s elite flight exhibition team, the Blue Angels, are based in Pensacola, FL and that the base is also home to the National Naval Aviation Museum. According to its website it “is one of the largest aviation museums in the world.” Though it was over an hour from where we were staying, we felt it was well worth the trip to give us an inspiring and interesting experience in an indoor space. Bonus – general admission is free to all visitors.

Our choice did not disappoint! It is definitely a worthwhile visit for anyone in the vicinity of the upper northwest of Florida. Upon arrival we saw that tours were being given at certain times of the day, and while we waited, we occupied our time beforehand looking at models of aircraft carriers throughout twentieth century naval history. We headed to the gathering spot for tour participants along with a small group of people and met our guide. Our docent had been in the Navy and spent part of his career as a pilot of both fixed wing planes and helicopters during the Vietnam War. From personal experience as well as from delving into information and materials beyond his own involvement, this retired Navy Lieutenant knew his stuff! The tour was stated to be between one and a half and two hours. Three hours later we were still under the tutelage of our lead, who from ships, aircraft, personnel, historic particulars, and intimate knowledge gave us a comprehensive account of the Navy’s aircraft history up through the last century and even including some present-day facts. This was without the aid of any written or recorded notes or prompts, and he was clearly happy to do so. We would come before a craft and he’d begin giving us all the pertinent details in relation to it and those who worked with it. His information was abundant and the stories amazing. If it weren’t for the museum’s restaurant nearing closing time, which he felt we should patronize, we might have spent until the museum closed learning all things Naval aviation.

Our tour guide’s knowledge and experience, of course, were impressive, but it was so much more! It was evident that this Navy Lieutenant loved his armed service career, the planes he flew, the people with whom he worked, and the country and the military for which he served. I’ve really thought about that since our museum visit. When we truly love somebody or something, we can talk all day about the object of our affection. We likely have a wealth of facts and stories to impart, and we do so with delight. It is a joy to share the best about what most occupies our thoughts and lives.

As a believer, I profess to love my Savior, Jesus Christ. But this tour experience has me examining my willingness and ability to share that love and all the wonderful truth about the Lord. Of course, it really does take knowing more about him through his Word, in prayer, and in close communion with his Spirit, and this is something that I continue to strive to do. But how disposed am I to speak clearly and consistently about him to those who might need that guidance in their lives? Can I occupy even a three-minute span of time letting others know who Jesus is and about the wonderful things he’s done for me? Am I prepared at all times to be a testimony to the One who died to give me everlasting life?

I know in my heart that I have so far to go and so much to improve on in this area. I would encourage all of you, dear readers, to make this self-assessment. May God help us all to be like the Lieutenant docent so we share the good news of our Lord and Savior with great joy and in abundant measure. The stories we can tell about him are more than amazing!

“Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season;” (2 Timothy 4:2a, ESV).

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9, ESV).

“But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for the reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,” (1 Peter 3:15, ESV).

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