Ephesians 6:15
and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
In our last examination, we looked at the breastplate of righteousness. This particular piece of armor is designed to prevent enemy attack, a close blow or an incoming projectile. Today’s piece of armor, however, is for something entirely different.
I remember my days as a child sitting around my grandfather’s legs, listening to the stories of his youth. I was amazed at some of them, imagining my grandfather as a young man many years ago. One story in particular sticks out in my mind at this time. He said that when he and my grandmother and their friends played their games, they went barefoot most of the time.
Well, this struck me as odd. You see, many years ago I was traipsing through the yard, without proper foot attire, and accidentally stepped on a bee. Needless to say, the bee was not amused, and shared with me its disapproval by inserting its tiny stinger into my flesh.
We were leaving early the next morning for that year’s International Convention of the Church of God in Anderson, Indiana, quite a long trip for a child with a big, sore, itchy knob on the bottom of his foot. In a few days, though, the swelling went down, and I continued with my halcyon youth.
I asked my grandfather about what he did without shoes, what it felt like when he was a kid, and he said, “We never paid much attention. We’d run over gravel, step on bees, but our feet were so hard and calloused that we didn’t even feel them.” Pretty hard feet. Last night I had to go out to my car to roll up the window, and I walked across some gravel. They didn’t feel that great (of course, for those who know me, they understand that I have a lot of foot with which to step on gravel!), and I don’t think it has much to do with me being “soft.” Still, though, through experiences such as I have described, I appreciate the need for shoes, even if I find it difficult to find size 15s when I need them.
I do not think that the United States military, or any other serious fighting force, sends its troops to battle without shoes. Shoes are important, because the feet are what carry the soldier into the fighting. Injure the feet, and the soldier is crippled.
From the spiritual point of view, we see the same thing. While the breastplate helps protect the vital organs (see Part 4), the feet being shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace keeps us safely and effectively moving forward.
A few definitions for you before we move on:
SHOD – to put on shoes; more importantly, to bind, as onto one’s feet.
PREPARATION – to be ready, prepared.
GOSPEL – good news.
PEACE – prosperity, quietness, rest, being at one with.
Having these definitions at hand, we see that Ephesians 6:15 is telling the Christian to make sure we take every step each day bound to the truth, to be ready in all things and at all times with the good news, the message of Jesus, one that brings us spiritual quietness and rest.
It is important that we approach our daily life with a certain attitude: each step we take is a potential trap of the devil. Now, before you get depressed and say, “What kind of optimistic belief is that, Preacher?” please bear with me for a moment. We must remember that Satan is a master of disguise, that he rarely engages in an obvious, full-frontal attack. The reason is that a sneak attack is much more effective, especially against someone who isn’t expecting it at all.
One reason many people fall into the devil’s snares is that they grow over-confident, even complacent, in their spiritual life. They believe they have it all together, that they “have arrived” in their Christian walk. Therefore, they pay little attention to their spiritual feet, their condition, or where they step.
WHAMMO!!!! Devil – 1, Us – 0.
This piece of spiritual armor, and all the others as well, are things that we know and understand we need every day. As you read this, you may be thinking, “Well, yeah, that makes sense. I need to put on the armor of God every day. And that think about paying attention to my spiritual walk, I get that, too.” Well, we sometimes forget.
God knows how vital the armor is, and so He reminds us throughout His word, especially in Ephesians 6. As you go through your day, on the job, at school, relaxing, doing your chores, do you consciously think about your relationship with the Lord, and how your actions (or inactions) affect that relationship? Do you consider how these things affect the spiritual lives of those around you? We should, and we must.
Every day the Christian faces battles. They may be severe and trying, or they may be trivial. But make no mistake, each battle is significant. Even small battles, over time, can produce the same devastating effects of a single, large battle. So how we advance through each day is important.
To be successful during these trying days, we must remember to daily put on these spiritual shoes. We need to bind, fasten, tie these shoes to our feet, joining and uniting them as one. (They are always a perfect fit, too.) These shoes, the things that protect our means of moving forward, is having the good, truthful, complete message of Jesus Christ always at the ready.
The gospel of peace. One of the greatest benefits the Christian has is the peace of God. Knowing the Prince of Peace gives us the ability to remain strong, even when we are weakened in our battles. Even well-trained soldiers, if they are never injured in battle, will testify that the battle is not easy, that it is hard, and leaves scars that others may never see.
The same is true of our spiritual battles. Just because you are trusting in the Lord, just because you’re doing what the Bible tells you to do, doesn’t mean it’s easy. Even during the worst of times, no matter how much you rely on your faith in the Lord, it can sometimes be all you can stand.
But in the midst of it all, if you daily meditate on the message and meaning of Jesus and His peace, and be ready to think about and use it with each step you take, you will find, eventually, that you were well prepared to do battle for the Lord. Without the protection of this gospel of peace, each step might be the one which leads us into disaster. With it, though, we can be victorious for ourselves and others.
You see, it’s not calloused feet that keep us from spiritual soreness; it’s making sure we have the right kind of shoes to walk the sometimes rocky path of life
NEXT TIME: Ephesians 6:16
© 2006, Chris Keeton and Soulscape Press. All rights reserved. All material printed on this site is protected by the copyright law of the United States. It may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Chris Keeton and Soulscape Press, obtainable by writing to soulscape@alltel.net. Altering or removing any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content is not permitted. Any and all portions of material copied from the Soulscape Blog must be properly attributed to Chris Keeton and Soulscape, and cited with original blog web address.
I remember my days as a child sitting around my grandfather’s legs, listening to the stories of his youth. I was amazed at some of them, imagining my grandfather as a young man many years ago. One story in particular sticks out in my mind at this time. He said that when he and my grandmother and their friends played their games, they went barefoot most of the time.
Well, this struck me as odd. You see, many years ago I was traipsing through the yard, without proper foot attire, and accidentally stepped on a bee. Needless to say, the bee was not amused, and shared with me its disapproval by inserting its tiny stinger into my flesh.
We were leaving early the next morning for that year’s International Convention of the Church of God in Anderson, Indiana, quite a long trip for a child with a big, sore, itchy knob on the bottom of his foot. In a few days, though, the swelling went down, and I continued with my halcyon youth.
I asked my grandfather about what he did without shoes, what it felt like when he was a kid, and he said, “We never paid much attention. We’d run over gravel, step on bees, but our feet were so hard and calloused that we didn’t even feel them.” Pretty hard feet. Last night I had to go out to my car to roll up the window, and I walked across some gravel. They didn’t feel that great (of course, for those who know me, they understand that I have a lot of foot with which to step on gravel!), and I don’t think it has much to do with me being “soft.” Still, though, through experiences such as I have described, I appreciate the need for shoes, even if I find it difficult to find size 15s when I need them.
I do not think that the United States military, or any other serious fighting force, sends its troops to battle without shoes. Shoes are important, because the feet are what carry the soldier into the fighting. Injure the feet, and the soldier is crippled.
From the spiritual point of view, we see the same thing. While the breastplate helps protect the vital organs (see Part 4), the feet being shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace keeps us safely and effectively moving forward.
A few definitions for you before we move on:
SHOD – to put on shoes; more importantly, to bind, as onto one’s feet.
PREPARATION – to be ready, prepared.
GOSPEL – good news.
PEACE – prosperity, quietness, rest, being at one with.
Having these definitions at hand, we see that Ephesians 6:15 is telling the Christian to make sure we take every step each day bound to the truth, to be ready in all things and at all times with the good news, the message of Jesus, one that brings us spiritual quietness and rest.
It is important that we approach our daily life with a certain attitude: each step we take is a potential trap of the devil. Now, before you get depressed and say, “What kind of optimistic belief is that, Preacher?” please bear with me for a moment. We must remember that Satan is a master of disguise, that he rarely engages in an obvious, full-frontal attack. The reason is that a sneak attack is much more effective, especially against someone who isn’t expecting it at all.
One reason many people fall into the devil’s snares is that they grow over-confident, even complacent, in their spiritual life. They believe they have it all together, that they “have arrived” in their Christian walk. Therefore, they pay little attention to their spiritual feet, their condition, or where they step.
WHAMMO!!!! Devil – 1, Us – 0.
This piece of spiritual armor, and all the others as well, are things that we know and understand we need every day. As you read this, you may be thinking, “Well, yeah, that makes sense. I need to put on the armor of God every day. And that think about paying attention to my spiritual walk, I get that, too.” Well, we sometimes forget.
God knows how vital the armor is, and so He reminds us throughout His word, especially in Ephesians 6. As you go through your day, on the job, at school, relaxing, doing your chores, do you consciously think about your relationship with the Lord, and how your actions (or inactions) affect that relationship? Do you consider how these things affect the spiritual lives of those around you? We should, and we must.
Every day the Christian faces battles. They may be severe and trying, or they may be trivial. But make no mistake, each battle is significant. Even small battles, over time, can produce the same devastating effects of a single, large battle. So how we advance through each day is important.
To be successful during these trying days, we must remember to daily put on these spiritual shoes. We need to bind, fasten, tie these shoes to our feet, joining and uniting them as one. (They are always a perfect fit, too.) These shoes, the things that protect our means of moving forward, is having the good, truthful, complete message of Jesus Christ always at the ready.
The gospel of peace. One of the greatest benefits the Christian has is the peace of God. Knowing the Prince of Peace gives us the ability to remain strong, even when we are weakened in our battles. Even well-trained soldiers, if they are never injured in battle, will testify that the battle is not easy, that it is hard, and leaves scars that others may never see.
The same is true of our spiritual battles. Just because you are trusting in the Lord, just because you’re doing what the Bible tells you to do, doesn’t mean it’s easy. Even during the worst of times, no matter how much you rely on your faith in the Lord, it can sometimes be all you can stand.
But in the midst of it all, if you daily meditate on the message and meaning of Jesus and His peace, and be ready to think about and use it with each step you take, you will find, eventually, that you were well prepared to do battle for the Lord. Without the protection of this gospel of peace, each step might be the one which leads us into disaster. With it, though, we can be victorious for ourselves and others.
You see, it’s not calloused feet that keep us from spiritual soreness; it’s making sure we have the right kind of shoes to walk the sometimes rocky path of life
NEXT TIME: Ephesians 6:16
© 2006, Chris Keeton and Soulscape Press. All rights reserved. All material printed on this site is protected by the copyright law of the United States. It may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Chris Keeton and Soulscape Press, obtainable by writing to soulscape@alltel.net. Altering or removing any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content is not permitted. Any and all portions of material copied from the Soulscape Blog must be properly attributed to Chris Keeton and Soulscape, and cited with original blog web address.
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