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Ephesians 6:12-13 Good News Translation
12 For we are not fighting against human beings but against the
wicked spiritual forces in the heavenly world, the rulers, authorities, and
cosmic powers of this dark age. 13 So put on God's
armor now! Then when the evil day comes, you will be able to resist the enemy's
attacks; and after fighting to the end, you will still hold your ground.
Very recently we took a hike near Heaps Peak in the San
Bernardino National Forest along the Rim of the World Highway. The previous
week we had experienced a fierce wind-storm. It had blown branches and lots of
fruit off our fruit trees. That same wind blew with far greater force over the
ridge of the San Bernardino Mountains that the highway runs along. It runs at
an elevation around 6,000 feet (2,000 m). Great trees had been snapped off like
matchwood. Our trail had been cleared by chain saw. But the forest floor was
piled high with the broken branches—the leaves still green from vigorous
growth. Our Sequoia Trail ran along the north face of the ridge. We hiked along
about half of the trail. There were long patches of frozen, solidly packed
snow.
This was probably our dog Katie’s first experience of
walking in snow. She didn’t know what to make of this white stuff that made her
feet so cold, and they tended to slide out from under her. Sylvia and I picked
our way along previous dirt-filled footprints. Finally, about half way around
the loop trail, we came to a part covered with deep icy snow. It sloped rather
treacherously down to our left. Regretting that we had not attached the ice
grips to our shoes that my cousin, Pastor Reneé, had so graciously sent us, we
turned around and headed back to the car. We have become more aware of the
danger of falling as we have counted off more years in our lives. You should
have seen how happy Katie was when she got out of the car in her own home.
As the world rushes on into its “evil day,” the “wicked
spiritual forces in the heavenly world... the cosmic powers of this dark age” are
being allowed to exercise more and more power. We normally don’t see them, far
closer to us than we can possibly imagine, but they are there. In my last three
blogs I have tried to describe how close this “heavenly world” is to us.
Realize that not only our guardian angels but also the demon enemies can be
close enough to even be inside us; still we cannot perceive their presence.
Paul urges us to “put on God’s armor now!” This armor cannot
be obtained in a gun store or from a digital super hacker. It cannot be
obtained from Pfizer or Moderna. In the next five verses of this chapter Paul
outlines his concept of the only invincible armor and how to obtain it. He
points out that there will be a fight—a fight to the bitter end. Only with this
armor will you “still hold your ground.” Read the verses again or postpone
doing so at your eternal peril.
Thank You, Lord,
that You have provided invincible armor for us. Please help us as we fit it on.
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