The Armor of God

Image by Smithsonian Institution via Flickr

Good Evening to All!

We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled....Since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled , putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 5:5-6, 8-9

Because Christians are informed concerning future events, they should not be spiritually asleep, but should watch and be sober. While every Christian presumes themselves to be saved they should be watchful. Just because a person "says they believe that Christ is their Savior, it does not make them automatically saved. Being saved is a life-long journey. Living for God is what will make you saved. I am not saying that we as Christians never slip up and make mistakes or even sin. Paul tells us to "die daily" in our sins. This means to repent, by telling God we are sorry and meaning it by not doing it again.

We must be alert and watchful. To do this, we must be aware of what God's Word says, by studying it, participating in Bible Studies, going to church, anything that will increase our knowledge of what God expects of us. This means in actions as well as lip service. We cannot be like the five foolish virgins in Jesus' parable. We cannot rely on others actions to get us into heaven. We will be responsible for our own souls. Being "saved" is as much the journey as it is the destination. The journey is living for God. It is more than a few words spoken at an altar, or even a few tears cried. It is doing God's will each day, listening for His still small voice in our spirits, and not being disobedient. Yes, we will invariably slip up from time to time, then we get into meditation with God, seriously tell Him we are sorry, repent by not doing it anymore and start over with a fresh slate. The Bible says to strive for perfection, but God knows where we came from and He knew we would mess up. So what He wants from us is the respect and love that we give to our earthly fathers. We would not hurt them on purpose, nor should we be disrespectful to God. Anyway, that is another story.

We have to be ready and waiting when the trumpet sounds and Jesus comes back. If our spirits aren't right, or if we've been ignoring God, our spirits won't hear the trumpet and we will miss out.

Good Night to All and May God Bless!