Weekend Words

From Beside the Still Waters...

The Christian's Warfare

Read: Ephesians 6:10-24

"Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might." - Ephesians 6:10

As Christians, we face a life-or-death conflict with the forces of evil.  God is counting on us to enter the conflict and confront our spiritual enemies.  Satan is out to deceive and destroy us with his wiles of lies, schemes, cunning devices, and sinister powers.  But Jesus clearly taught that to receive eternal life, we must deny Satan, sin, and self.  These three are our enemies - always!

In today's Bible reading, the "amour of God" assures our victory because it is designed by our Lord Himself.  He knows we are unable in our own strength to withstand the enemy.  The devil is limited as we rely on God's provisions.  The words "my brethren" shows that the battle is not only personal but also corporate.  Brotherhood unity in Christ is a great aid to victory.

"Loins girt about with truth" indicates that truth is like a belt holding all the spiritual armour together.  We will never prevail if we hold false doctrine.  The "breastplate of righteousness" is our righteousness by faith in Christ. It protects us from Satan's attacks upon our heart, which is the seat of our being.  The "shield of faith" helps us to gain God's perspective so we see beyond our earthly circumstances.  Faith shields us from doubts and discouragements, and it sustains our spiritual life.  Faith protects us from Satan's arrows of selfish living, pleasure, and worldliness.

The "helmet of salvation" establishes right thought patterns and keeps our minds centered on God.  The "sword of the Spirit ... the Word of God" is our only offensive weapon in the spiritual armour.  Effectively using this weapon requires Bible reading as well as daily, active, vital, persistent prayer, "with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints."

Daniel Miller - Abbotsford, WI

"The night is far spent, the day is at hand; let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light." - Romans 13:12

From Be Still and Know...

"I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah" (Psalm 3:4)

Throughout the Psalms we find the word "Selah."  One day I discovered a meaning that brought new appreciation and understanding of its use in Scripture.

"Selah" is a musical word, meaning in the Hebrew "rest", "pause", "a lifting up".  In the temple music there would be a rest for the singers while the instruments continued playing.  In the Amplified Bible "Selah" is translated "pause, and calmly think of that".

God put rests in David's life that he might "pause and calmly think" that - God helps, God hears, and God blesses.  David said, "Many are saying of me, there is no help for him in God" (Psalm 3:2, Amplified).  In the rest stops of his life David had learned by experience that "God has helped ME. Selah - pause and calmly think of that."

David recognized God's blessing on his life.  "Your blessing be upon Your people" (v. 8, Amplified).  He could say, "God has blessed ME - pause and calmly think of that."

What God did for David, He will do for us.  At times, we too, need to experience a "Selah" in our lives, a time when we pause and rest.  To be still and rest is good therapy for today's fast pace of living.  The heart strings may be taut, even on the verge of snapping.  Suddenly, God inserts a "Selah", a rest, that we might pause and calmly think of Him.  As we lift our souls to Him, we are refreshed.  The tension lessens, we gain a deeper view of God's goodness, and He becomes more real.

May we not miss the blessing God has for us in our "Selahs" - the times of rest and refreshing in our lives.  Someone has said, "There is no music in a rest, but there is the making of music in it."

Today we can pause and calmly think - God helps ME, God hears ME, and God blesses ME.