don't fight naked.

"Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood...therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground,

and after you have done everything, to stand."

{Ephesians 6:11-13}

Last Sunday, I heard one of the most refreshing sermons, and it spoke directly to me because it is such an awesome reminder of something so amazing. It is something that I was taught and believed earnestly at a very young age. You see, when I was six years old, my parents bought me this awesome shirt that I just had to have from the County Seat, the gift store, at Young Life's Windy Gap camp. The shirt was grey with black writing, I remember it vividly because I wore it all the time! On the front of the shirt, it said

"DON'T FIGHT NAKED" and on the back, "PUT ON THE FULL ARMOR OF GOD."

It had a picture of a knight with all the armor of God labeled on it, and I LOVED it!

What a great concept, even for a six year old. We should not, nor do we have to fight our battles naked. God arms us with what we need to fight our daily spiritual battles- "truth, righteousness, gospel of peace, faith, salvation, and the word of God." All we have to do is acknowledge the evil that surrounds us, and take up this armor, because we can stand up to Satan. After all, he is out to kill, steal, and destroy, but, we can defeat him. I love the end of verse 13, because we will have to choose to arm ourselves over and over again, but the important thing is that we do not give up, that we continue to stand. We are able to stand, stand, and stand again, because Jesus stood for us when he gave His life for us.

Because He stood, we are able to stand.

How awesome is that! -J