Tag: armour of god

The Sword of the Spirit

The Armour of God Part 5

By Andrew Gad

“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you” – John 15:7  

A priest tells the following story regarding the value of reading the Bible.

A student received an offer to study interstate, accepted it and left his whole family behind to pursue his dream course. His father missed him very much, and would write him letters every week, checking up on him, updating him and most importantly, letting him know how much he was missed. Initially, the son would eagerly wait for his father’ letters, replying almost instantly and cherishing each and every word written in these letters. However, as time passed and life’s distractions got the better of him, the son began to neglect reading his father’s letters. At first, he would read one letter and skip the next one, but eventually, he would not even open the letters- leaving them to pile up on his desk.

The father missed his son very much, and was extremely worried, wondering why his son stopped replying to his letters. Filled with immense love for his son, he took time off work and decided that his son was due for a visit. The son woke up one morning to loud knocking on the door- to his surprise, it was his father! “Dad I’ve missed you so much!” the son exclaimed, as the pair embraced upon their reunion. The father then sat down in his son’s room, and saw a pile of unopened letters sitting there on his desk. Immediately, he was extremely saddened and taken aback, with tears in his eyes- “Son, for months I’ve been writing to you with no response. I was extremely worried about you. Have you not even been opening my letters?”. The son was greatly humiliated, and sat their speechless, unable to justify or explain himself to his father. The father had spent a great amount of time writing these letters, and the son could not even find five minutes every week to read them?

Now replace the son with yourself, the father with God and the letters with the Bible. Isn’t this a story which sounds all too familiar?

How many times have we come back home after a long day of lectures or study and thought to ourselves…“I’ll probably just give the Bible a miss today” or “I already read the Bible yesterday, I’ll read it again tomorrow”.

Why do we often complain that we have no direction in life? That our prayers aren’t being answered? That we feel anxious, worried or distressed? That we haven’t overcome that annoying, repeated sin, no matter how much we try? Why does God always comforts and reveals things to other people, yet never to me?

Maybe the answer is simple? Perhaps we have the key in our hands, but we refuse to use it? Just like our body needs food in order to survive and function, so too do our souls need the word of God in order to survive and thrive throughout the dilemmas, decisions and hardships that we face each and every day.

When a woman from the crowd saw Jesus walking through the streets, she cried out, glorifying St. Mary and exclaiming: “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You” (Lk 11: 27).  Jesus, instead of agreeing with her, turned around and corrected her, saying: “More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it” (Lk 11:28). That’s right! Even though St. Mary was considered blessed enough to be the Mother of God, Jesus Himself says that there is an even greater blessing available to those who hear the word of God (which is the Bible) and keep it!

To be as blessed as St. Mary? This alone should be enough encouragement for us to read the word of God, study it diligently and transform our lives!

Now that we know the great blessings available to those who read the Bible diligently, let’s talk about some of the ways in which the Bible can genuinely transform our lives.

  1. The Bible is a “light to our path”:

In life, we are all faced with big decisions- what university course to study, what job offer to accept, whether it’s really worth moving away from home- and the list goes on and on. Many people make decisions based on fear, others based on advice they’ve heard, and others just leave it all up to chance! But in Psalm 119: 105, David the psalmist teaches us that the word of God can and should be used to direct our steps and guide each and every decision that we make.

“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path”

But how can the Bible be used to guide such decisions- it just doesn’t seem to make any sense? The word of God is just like a lamp- it won’t show you the whole path all at once, but it will provide you with enough light to see one step, and then the next step, and then the next step. The Bible tells you to “Love your enemy”- that’s the first step. Take it, then the Bible will tell you to “watch and pray”- that’s the second step. Then the Bible will tell you: “The lamp of the body is the eye”. That’s the third step, and so on. And so, by following the words of the Bible step by step, you’ll find that God has just directed you along the entire path.

  • The Bible cleanses our thoughts:

The Paradise of the Fathers tells a story of a monk who was struggling with a particular sin, and went to his confession father asking for guidance. His confession father listened to his complaint, gave him a bucket with a small hole in it, and asked him to go fill it up at the well and report back to him. The younger monk was confused at this request, but out of obedience did exactly what was asked of him. By the time he went back  to his confession father, all the water had seeped out through the hole and the bucket was empty.

His confession father asked him to do the same thing again, and out of obedience, the younger monk did exactly that. After the third or fourth time, the younger monk became frustrated at the waste of time, complaining to his confession father: “Father, can’t you see that there is a hole in the bucket, and every time I fill the water, it seeps out!”. The confession father replied: “My son, even though the water has seeped out, can’t you see that the bucket is now much more clean than it was when I first gave it to you?”. This is exactly what happens when we read the Bible- even if we feel that it is not having a strong effect- it cleanses and purifies our heart, allowing for God to reside and dwell inside us. We just have to persist and keep on reading.

The word of God is your adversary if you want to live in ungodliness, but if you are an adversary to ungodliness, the word of God is your friend.

  • The Bible is an answer to our prayers:

The word prayer in Arabic is extremely powerful, and means “connection” or “relationship”. Now for any relationship to be successful, it needs input from both parties. Often we talk to God through prayer, and then wonder…why isn’t God answering me? Is He not listening to my prayer? Is He really there? Does He really listen? Now even though God can communicate with us in mysterious ways, 99% of the time, God will use the Bible to respond to our prayers.

Feeling worried?

The answer is in the Bible: “Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest”- Mat 11: 30

Feeling depressed?

The answer is in the Bible: “The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears. And delivers them out of all their troubles” – Psalm 34: 17

Needing guidance?

The answer is in the Bible: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him” – James 1: 5

Feeling alone? Read the story of the Samaritan woman.

Feeling guilty beyond the point of repentance- Why not give the story of the prodigal son ago?

And the list goes on and on.

A final thought- imagine an extremely poor man. Now imagine a rich man who sees him, has compassion upon him and hands him an envelope with one million dollars. Now imagine that the poor man takes this envelope, puts it in his drawer at home, and continues living the rest of his life in poverty! What a great loss! How foolish would this man be! We too, have been given an envelope of much more value than a million dollars. Will we open it or keep it closed till it’s too late?

The Helmet of Salvation

The Armour of God: Part 4

By Faisal Dean

 A life ever so changing with uncertainty, regret, anxiety and unanswered questions. While seemingly negative, this brings about the basic moral ingredients taught from birth, manifested through maturity and ultimately, in preparation for tribulation.

Just as no soldier would go into battle without a helmet, we must always enter into tribulation with salvation protecting our minds. Those that wear the helmet of salvation remain steadfast in their ways and dwell within the fountain of salvation.

These compelling words of, “Take the helmet of salvation,” leave us with a great challenge. Where do we attain this helmet? If it is so essential to life, how could I have walked into tribulations without it?

 Let us start by reflecting upon the author. A life of complete surrender towards Christ saw St. Paul’s faithfulness toward Christ as he spoke to the Ephesians, “Put on the whole Armour of God.” Be bold! For in the final days, I would love that God could look upon me and say, “you have fought the good fight, you have finished the race, you have kept the faith.”

During this time of uncertainty, anxiety and imbalance, we can only hope that we walk with the helmet of salvation. If I wear the helmet of salvation then I reject the vanities of this world and “thirst” for Christ. Is the Lord, the source of purity, balance and chastity, the source of my vision?

Pope Shenouda teaches us about persistence by begging the Lord for His blessings. For us to receive the blessings of Christ we must obtain the virtues of purity and humility: “I shall not get up from here unless I have received Your special blessing and feel that You have taken me back and counted me among your children. I do not just want You to forgive my sin, I want You to remove from my heart any love of sin, once and for all.”

When I wear the helmet of salvation, the lusts of the flesh are repelled from my thoughts. In Christ, I have power. King David writes “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow”. (Ps. 51:7).

We cannot leave Christ’s presence unless we leave armed with the helmet of salvation that protects our minds and our thoughts through faith in our Lord Christ.

When you spend time with Christ, make sure you are enterring into the greatest love story ever told. Make sure you do not leave until it seems that Christ could not possibly love anyone more than He loves you. Do not deprive yourself of this love that is freely given to the one that accepts it.

Just as any relationship, we endure times of dryness and uncertainty, but this should not cause us to walk without the helmet of salvation. Even in these times, we must remember that salvation is more than mere feelings, but is as important as oxygen is to breathe.

The remembrance of Christ helps us remains steadfast in the faith. At each remembrance, we slowly build our relationship with Christ. If I recall that Christ is the pathway to salvation and stop doubting, nothing can stand against me and I will rest in the “Shadow of the Almighty.” We are called to walk with Christ, we are called to walk by faith, we are called to be like Christ, we are called to wear the “Helmet of Salvation.”

Shield of Faith

Armour of God: Part 3

By Ereeny Mikhail

Each day, when we wake up, we don’t know what to expect. As humans, we can’t predict the future and the reality is, life is never going to run smoothly. Life throws many obstacles, tribulations and trials. With this we are confronted with one question; what do I do in the face of war? St Paul, in Ephesians 6:13, instructs us to take up the ‘armour of God’. There are many parts of an armour made to protect each part of the human body. However, logically, the impact of an arrow or bullet will still do some damage to the body through an armour. Thus, an essential part of armour is a shield. The shield that St Paul instructs us to take up, as soldier’s in the battlefield that we call life, is the ‘shield of faith’ (Ephesians 6:16).

According to the Cambridge Dictionary the definition of the word shield is “something or someone used as protection.” To need protection, one must face an attack or tribulation. We face these every day, whether it be disease, spiritual warfare, or problems we face in our daily life. It is inevitable that we come face to face with a bullet or an arrow. But as we said, when a solider is faced with a bullet or arrow, they hold up their shield to prevent extreme impact. Our shield is our faith. Hebrews 11:1 says this about faith; “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” We may not see God, but God is present in all things. We must have faith that He will protect us.

St Paul emphasises the importance of the ‘shield of faith’ by saying ‘above all’ we should take it up to conquer in battle. But again, I ask the question, what do I do in the face of war? When all seems lost, how do I hold up my Shield of Faith? Honestly, the answer is quite simple. It is the only way. There is no worldly solution. Things cannot be controlled by worldly means. Therefore, they need to be controlled by our faith in God. I say this with confidence from my own experiences.

I reflect on an experience I had a few years ago, during my years of studying Optometry. I was an organised student who downloaded all my assessment notifications at the beginning of semester. We had a group research assignment that my group had written up together. The assignment consisted of 2 portions to submit; the first was the main assignment and the second was signatures of all the group members saying they acknowledge that everyone did an equal amount of work. The semester before we also had a group assignment with the same 2 portions. That semester one person submitted the signatures on behalf of the group, but each group member had to submit the main assignment separately onto a portal. The notification for this semester also instructed us to do the same thing. So, I submitted the main assignment whilst a friend of mine submitted the document with the signatures. 2 weeks later all my friends got their result. My portal had 0% written next to the assignment. I was very confused considering I had done a huge chunk of the assignment for my group. Approaching my friends, I said it looks like there’s a glitch in my system. Then one of them pointed out that only one of us was supposed to submit the main assignment and everyone to submit the signatures document. I was sure we did the opposite the semester before and quickly, finding the notification of assessment document, I pointed out that it said the opposite as well. I went back to the place I downloaded it at the beginning of semester and to my dismay, this document had actually been updated but since I had downloaded it very early on it said I had already viewed this and didn’t notify me of updates. Additionally, the unit chair had written a status to tell us of this change which I missed as I was on placement and very tired that week. Very upset, I approached the unit chair, to ask her what had happened. She confirmed my suspicions. I misread it all.

Angrily, I went and drafted an email to challenge this. I didn’t think it was fair, seeing I had submitted the main assignment which is where all the marks were allocated, and seeing that I had provided my signature. I then went and spoke to my spiritual guide; someone I was quite close to who for most of my life provided me with wise spiritual advice; before I sent the email. They told me to plead with the lecturer persistently but with kind words. Thinking about this, I knew this was the right thing to do. Our faith teaches us, in Mathew 7:14, to enter from the ‘narrow gate’, “because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” It is easy to tell someone off, to be angry, to use harsh words but to be kind in the face of tribulation is holding up the Shield of Faith. King Solomon teaches us in Proverbs 15:1, “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” I rewrote my response to my lecturer again, this time approaching her with kind words. Again, she rejected my request. I reminded myself of what my spiritual advisor said. Be persistent. Perhaps, if I was like the ‘Persistent Widow’ in Luke 18:1-8; “And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily,” she will be merciful. In the end, she still rejected my request. Defeated, I let it go.

A few years later I came to apply for a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), where the cut off was based on the average marks throughout my Optometry degree. On calculating my mark, I noticed I was 0.075% below the cut off. I didn’t think much of it, thinking such a small percentage below the cut off was insignificant, until I asked my supervisors if I could round up my mark in my application. They looked at me blankly, telling me it was impossible for someone to get in below the cut off and the cut off was extremely strict. This was not like an undergraduate degree where some leniency is given. On hearing this, I broke down in tears. I said, “If only I had got that 5% in that assignment that my Optometry lecturer gave me 0%, I would have got in.” I drove home from work that day with tears in my eyes. It felt as though there was no hope. I went home and read the same gospel and Luke 18:27 says; “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.” Although I was told it was not possible, I chose to apply. With a small bit of faith, I carried on working for the next few months. Until one day an email popped up on my browser. I got accepted. The lesson I learnt, is in the face of a problem, I held up my Shield of Faith. I was kind, persistent and had faith. God, no matter, the arrows and bullets that attacked me, protected me and because I held up the Shield of Faith, he manifested His power and made the impossible, very possible. God fights for us.

I recall another experience where I learnt that the Shield of Faith was the only option. I met the Bishop of Kenya, Bishop Paul, at the age of 18, before I entered university. I remember being in awe of this man. Listening to his faith in times of tribulation was just amazing. He talked about how he went to communities affected by Ebola to pray for them and had faith that the Lord will protect him. He told us more amazing stories, and all I could think was, I want to go to Kenya. I want to learn from this man. I want to experience the work of God. With this in mind, 3 years later, a few months prior to finishing my Optometry degree I booked my flights. I finished my final exams and with a month to go, the anxiety kicked in. What if I get Malaria? What if I drink the water and get Cholera? What if I eat the food and get some random disease? I spent the whole month before flying to Kenya with these thoughts running through my mind. They built up so much to the point that I almost cancelled my flights. I then remembered the faith that Bishop Paul had in the face of Ebola and with that faith I decided to go. During my time there, I learnt that no matter what you fear; whether it be disease, or violence, you must face it with the Shield of Faith. Every time I ate, I signed the cross, and had faith nothing would happen. Every time I entered a place where I felt in danger, I prayed. ‘Above all’, I had faith that God is the one who protects us. God is our Shield.

I’d like to end with this note; no matter how difficult a situation is, no matter how afraid you are, and no matter what obstacle, tribulation or trial you are faced with, hold up your Shield of Faith. Love as Christ taught us, and Pray as Christ taught us. He will fight for you.

“He sent from above, He took me; He drew me out of many waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me, for they were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my support.” – Psalm 18:16-18

The Breastplate of Righteousness

The Armour of God Part 2

The Breastplate of Righteousness

By Mark Loga

In Ephesian Chapter 6, St Paul so eloquently describes the different pieces of the “whole armour of God”, that we must gird ourselves with as Christians in order to withstand the power and forces of the enemy.

The thought of placing physical armour can be likened to the Roman soldiers preparing themselves for protection in the midst of battle. The breastplate of righteousness is the second piece of armour that St Paul mentions. For the Roman soldier, the breastplate served as protection for some of the most important parts of the body, in particular the heart. Therefore, if a soldier did not wear his breastplate, he was vulnerable to an attack that could result in instant death.

When we see the word ‘heart’ in our Bible, it is often about the inner part of our “minds” or our “inner being”. It is our heart that determines who we are. For example David prayed, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer” Psalm 19:14. Matthew reminds us, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” Matthew 6:21. Luke, the physician, tells us, “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good” Luke 6:45. And Solomon encourages us saying, “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it springs the issues of life” Proverbs 4:23. Our hearts define who we are. Therefore, if the heart serves as the centre of our emotions, feelings and our identity as Christians, it’s no wonder that Satan, who is crafty, cunning, and evil, would want to attack such a vital organ in an attempt to break us down.  

As Christians in this modern world, we are in constant spiritual warfare where the evil one is constantly attacking our hearts, therefore we must gird ourselves with the breastplate of righteousness. If we do not protect ourselves with righteousness, we open ourselves up to attack from the enemy and can fall into sin and spiritual death.

Unfortunately, our sinful nature often gets in the way of living an upright life. When we decide to live based on our own desires rather than God’s, we make decisions that are harmful to ourselves and others. Romans 8:6 says, “For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”

One of the ways the Bible defines righteousness is in terms of God’s commandments: “My tongue shall speak of Your word, for all Your commandments are righteousness” Psalm 119:172. Therefore, it’s clear God’s commandments are righteousness and we can put on this breastplate by obeying God in our lives. It is important to become more aware of the decisions we make, we can determine whether or not they are following God’s Will by actively tuning into his wavelength everyday of our lives. In addition, we can ask Him to give us the strength to live righteously. Ultimately, this will allow us to withstand attacks from the enemy and live in ways that glorify Christ.

Gird your Waist with Truth

The Armour of God Part 1

Gird your Waist with Truth

By David Tadros

How many times are we inclined to rest our hands on our waist due to our fatigue, as if it is our main source of support? Did you know that the girdle used in war serves the purpose of strengthening the soldier’s waist, that is, his foundation of support? So then, what does it mean when we say to gird our waists with truth? And how does this truth give strength to our spiritual foundation, that we are in need of in our daily struggle with temptation?  

To gird, or to secure one’s waist with truth, is a concept that is reflected on by St Paul in his letter to the church of Ephesus. But before we begin to understand what it means to gird our waists with truth, we must understand what the truth is that St Paul is denoting.

‘From what we read of the Lord our Savior, throughout the Scriptures, it is manifestly clear that the whole armour of Christ is the Saviour Himself. It is He whom we are asked to “put on.” It is one and the same thing to say “Put on the whole armour of God” and “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ.” Our belt is truth and our breastplate is righteousness. The Savior is also called both “truth” and “righteousness.” So no one can doubt that He Himself is that very belt and breastplate.’ – St Jerome

In this light we are able to see that, in fact, all the different pieces of the armour of God are indeed referring to Christ! And when we put on the armour of God, we are putting on Christ Himself. We become enveloped by His power and protection and He becomes our defence. Just as the soldier’s foundation of support is strengthened by his girdle, so too is our spiritual foundation strengthened when we gird our waists with Christ, the Truth. Through this strength from Christ we can then stand, like St Paul says, to the wiles of the devil.

Who then is able to receive this truth, that is Christ?

25 At that time Jesus answered and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes. 26 Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight. –Matthew 11:25-26

The real truth is not for the wise, nor those with high intellect, but rather it is revealed to the babes. It is for those who are simple in their ways, trusting God in all things and for all things. Even for the simple, this truth is not made up by their own understanding but rather it comes as a revelation from Christ. Therefore, we must humble ourselves to the simplicity of babes so we may accept the truth, that is Christ. For to those who are called saints, to them the mystery of truth has been revealed.  For as it says in Colossians 1:26-27,

“26 the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. 27 To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

Let us then seek and gird our waist with the Truth, that is Christ, with all humility, in the hope that we may receive His strength against the temptations of the devil.