Isaiah - Verse By Verse

Thought:  To me, we can never over-appreciate God's love and grace!

Question:  Do I love Jesus with an undying love?

Scripture:  Ephesians 6:24 (NIV):  "Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love."

Grace is the final word here.  It is Paul's final wish for us.  Grace covers so much ugliness.  It neutralizes so many difficulties.  It is a totally appropriate benediction to any people who call themselves Christians.  We need His grace daily to survive.  

What is "grace"?  To me, it is God imparted directly to us in the form of favor toward us though we do not ever deserve that favor.  Paul desires this grace to come upon all those who love Jesus.  And though grace by nature is given to all undeserving people, Paul seems to indicate here that grace comes abundantly to those who love Jesus.  We receive a certain grace because we are lovers of God.  And, specifically, we receive grace because we love God "undyingly."  But don't we love with undying fervor because we've experienced His grace?  Yes!  God's love comes first; that is the graciousness of His giving!  And then we respond and love Him back.  And the cycle repeats.  In other words, we are only able to love God with undying love because He brought us His love first.  And that is grace.

Prayer:  Dear Father of Our Precious Lord, Christ, we bow in thanksgiving to You for Your great love and grace to us!  If we love Jesus now it is because You first loved us, even when we were still in sin.  Amen. 

Thought:  To me, society craves the peace, love and faith that only God can provide.  "People need the Lord!"

Question:  Do I own the "peace that passes understanding"?

Scripture:  Ephesians 6:23 (NIV):  "Peace to the brothers, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."

Paul is winding down his letter and closing with thoughts that keep us welded to Christ.  Peace, love and faith all come only from God.  We see Christ bridging us to the Father Who is the essence of these qualities; and so Christ becomes our essence, too.  Christ said He brought peace of a unique kind to us, a peace the world knew nothing about.  Thus Christ is Our Lord, Our Master, in these matters.  Paul wants the brothers to have peace; Christ's peace, the peace that calms us in the presence of God The Father.  And Paul wants us to have "love with faith from God the Father."  Here is another scriptural proof that faith comes from God.  It is His gift to us.  It would never have occurred to us to exercise faith.  God invented it when He reached down to us in the beginning of history, desiring us to believe in Him, as we see in the stories of Noah and Abraham.  And, of course, this long, condescending reach was continued in His gift of Christ to us, the greatest expression of love ever made by any being anywhere.  And these three, peace, love and faith, would be meaningless unless they could come "to the brothers."  People need these things!  So God has made a way for them to reach us.  That "way" is Jesus Christ.

Prayer:  Lord God, thank You for Christ through Whom we receive Your wonderful peace, deep love and strengthening faith.  Amen. 

Thought:  To me, encouraging communication one with another is very important to us all.

Question:  Do I know how those near me are getting along?

Scripture:  Ephesians 6:22 (NIV):  "I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage you."

Communication is obviously of vital value to Paul and to the Lord.  The Lord longs for us to communicate with Him in prayer and He willingly reveals Himself in communication through Scripture to us.  Next, He counsels and even commands that prayers be made for others.  Well, in order to pray for others we need to know what's going on!  To know what's going on involves communication.  And God's end purpose in any of His communication and our communication is encouragement for us.  This is a wonderful, positive word.  God doesn't want to talk to us, or hear from us, in order to pick us apart and bring us down to condemnation.  No.  God longs to encourage us.

Paul reflects this same spirit in his statement "I am sending him to you..."  Tychicus is a sent one.  Christ was, too.  The connections God works out between Himself and people, and people with other people, are established through "sent ones":  those who reach out to gather information and also give out the information they've received from God.  God's heart is a reaching heart.  God's way is a communicative way.  God's desire is an encouraging word.

What is "encouragement"?  To me, it literally means "to create courage" in someone.  Courage to what?  Courage to believe, go on believing, go on to fight sin, keep on keeping on.  Though we stumble, God repairs.  God is ever giving the good of Himself to us, to help us, to lift us.  And Paul wants his believers to continue to be encouraged in their walk.  Tychicus is sent to facilitate this.

Prayer:  Father in Heaven, help our prayers for others and words to others to be the encouragement they need.  Amen. 

Thought:  To me, God always provides a "support network" for us when needed.

Question:  Am I someone's "brother" and "servant" to lend help to them?

Scripture:  Ephesians 6:21 (NIV):  "Tychicus, the dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you also may know how I am and what I am doing."

Paul is "in chains", but God compensates.  Paul is unable to go and minister to his own flock in Ephesus, but Tychicus can go in his stead.  God has His ways of getting around any of the worst circumstances.  God provides us with trustworthy people:  people who are both "dear" and "faithful."  God is good.

Through Tychicus, the Ephesians hear of Paul all they need to know so that the prayers of verses 19 and 20 can be formed.  God allows this, advocates this, arranges for it, too.

Prayer:  Lord, thank You for people like Tychicus who was dear to Paul and faithful to him even during imprisonment.  Help me to be like that!  Amen. 

Thought:  To me, the need for prayer to speak out gospel truth is huge!

Question:  Do I know of others praying for me?

Scripture:  Ephesians 6:20 (NIV):  "for which I am an ambassador in chains.  Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should."

Paul knows well his status in life:  the gospel has forced him into prison!  He is incarcerated because of Christ!  Yet he recognizes fully that his purposefulness is not diminished in this location:  God can use him just as effectively from a jail as anywhere else.  Thus the self-given title:  "ambassador in chains."  Aren't we all to some degree?  Chained by circumstance or by the prejudice against us by non-believers, we are all "in jail" while on this planet if we have pledged our hearts to the Kingdom of Heaven.  And yet, amazingly, we have the awesome responsibility of telling the good news while we are "jailed."  That is not always easy.  Paul knew he was but weak flesh and in need of others' prayers.  He wanted to always be "fearless" and never afraid to speak God's truth.  He even points out that this is how he "should" be, no doubt given the value of God, heaven, eternity and the pricelessness of the gospel.  Yet we often lose sight of this when faced with earthy circumstances and the continual press against our faith from the vast unseen of the evil spiritual realm.  But it is prayer that reconnects us to God's wondrous kingdom!  Prayer enlivens our faith in His unseen benefits!  Prayer calls down the host of heaven, too many in number to be counted, who can stand with us like a mighty army!  Prayer helps us immeasurably as we envision the support of all who pray for us!

Prayer:  Father of Grace, we pray You will ever encourage us to pray!  And may our goal in prayer be to see the good news shared more and more.  Amen. 

Thought:  To me, we ought to continually pray for our Pastors and Evangelists--they need words from God.

Question:  Do I pray before I open my mouth to speak of Christ?

Scripture:  Ephesians 6:19 (NIV):  "Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel,"

There is a kind of special category of prayer for preachers and ministers of God's Word.  Thus the exhortation, "pray also for me."  Paul gives us a lot of insight into how to pray for pastors when he says "whenever I open my mouth."  More than anyone, I suppose, pastors and full-time Christian workers are expected to speak with much more responsibility than the rest of us "commoners."  Not only that, but Paul is also speaking of the burden upon him to spread the gospel.  Paul was one of our first "missionaries", a real pioneer to evangelism and the grounding of the church age.  Everything he did was centered on this work.  Even so, he knew that his mere desire to preach the gospel was not enough to guarantee success.  The power of success in spiritual matters must come from a Spiritual Source--from God Himself.  Prayer draws God down into the situation and at the same time opposes the fear we naturally have so that we may face humanity with the truth of God's hell and heaven.

We can be "given" words to speak even in the midst of a fearful situation.  This was promised by Christ to His disciples in Matthew 10:19 and 20 where it is said that the "Spirit of your Father" will speak "through you."

What is "the mystery of the gospel"?  To me, the mystery will remain a mystery that God holds within His own knowledge.  But what He has made known through Christ is what we need to know and all we need to know to successfully re-connect to God.

Prayer:  Father, You know what needs to be said to people.  Please give Your words in each appropriate moment, to any who would speak Your gospel today.  Amen. 

Thought:  To me, our culture would do well to understand that only prayer made to God, The Father of Jesus Christ, is true "in the Spirit" praying.

Question:  Do I pray "in the Spirit"?

Scripture:  Ephesians 6:18 (NIV):  "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.  With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints."

Prayer is for people.  It is for their success in the ways of God and in His Kingdom, which is "not of this world."  Thus we are commanded to pray "in the Spirit" and "for all the saints."  As a conclusion to being a well-protected, well-armored Christian, Paul exhorts us to be prayer warriors.  Prayer, as it were, bathes each piece of armor, or empowers each piece, drawing God's Spirit down into our lives as we ask Him to enter and take over each and every aspect.  Thus Paul says, "all occasions", and "all kinds of prayers and requests."  No activity or corner of our lives is left out of God's touch.

Our praying should be "in the Spirit", that is, not a running off at the mouth of our own thoughts and ideas, or long, articulate, religious, formal prayers offered basically to impress listeners with our knowledge, but rather, a reflection of total dependence on God.  Spiritual prayer is swathed in humility:  "I am nothing, but You, Lord, are Everything!"  It is God's Spirit overcoming us, filling us, influencing our words so that they are fitting to bring the total support of all God's ways, all God's purposes--not our own.  We pray "in the Spirit" both for ourselves and others when we focus on what God wants for us, subjecting even our own requests, what we think we need and want, to His Will.  Yet we voice our requests, oh yes!  And we bring EVERYTHING to God, even the nagging immaturities we may be embarrassed to admit having.  Passed through God's Spirit they are properly subjected to His gaze and we learn and grow.  And most importantly, praying "in the Spirit" is praying in the name of Jesus Christ, that is, in agreement with all that Christ would approve.

True spiritual prayer is an activity that requires alertness, that is, constant vigilance, and persistence, perseverance--the attitude that says "don't quit."  When we are ever observant and watchful, no crack is left for satan to wedge his toe into.  Prayer becomes the invisible protectorate between the pieces of armor, the insurance to cover all the chinks and openings.  Thus Paul, after the long list of armor, says, "And pray..."

Prayer:  Father, thank You for the avenue of prayer--a direct line to You.  Help me to bring EVERYTHING to you and EVERYONE to You, too, in prayer at ALL TIMES.  Amen. 

Thought:  To me, our minds are only whole and reliable if protected by God, and our lives are only useful and meaningful if full of His Word.

Question:  Have I taken God's offer of salvation?  Have I wielded His Word in my defense?

Scripture:  Ephesians 6:17 (NIV):  "Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."

The word "take" makes clear our responsibility.  Something is available.  God has made it available to us for the taking, but we must do the taking.  Each piece of armor must be taken by us and added by us to ourself.

The helmet of salvation is that aspect of God that is redemptive toward our society.  It is within His heart to love and even to have created objects to love to display and enrich His quality of love.  Salvation is that display of His love to us as individuals.  The helmet covers the brain of a person.  The brain is central to making decisions involving the will, such as when we chose Christ in salvation.  The helmet protects the most important part of the human body.  Salvation is probably the most important doctrine of our faith because it begins our being united to God, and enables us to continue to learn more.  First we are born, then we grow.  We must take salvation first.

Thus the helmet armor empowers us to be able to wear all the rest, and it, again, is God Himself with us.  We cannot save ourselves.  Only through Christ are we saved.

The sword of the Spirit, we are plainly told here, is "the word of God."  Again I ask, "what attribute of God is seen?"  God is a "revealer of mysteries".  We find this out in the Book of Daniel.  God's Word reveals Himself to us.  Without His Word, The Bible, we would know nothing of Him.  Thus the revelation quality of God, His openness and disclosiveness, is very evident here.  And because Goed chose, lovingly, to be open with us about Himself through Scripture, we now have available a piece of armor unique to the others:  it is the only offensive weapon in the list of gear!  His Spirit, God is Spirit, has the most power of all the tools of armor.  What God has spoken, through Scripture, is cutting--a separator.  It is truth in action, shedding away lies and anything that falsely competes with the realism of God and Truth.  It is the weapon Christ used against satan in the wilderness temptation.  It drove satan away when it was truthfully applied; it did not help satan when it was misquoted and falsely applied against The Son of God.

To summarize the armor I feel like listing them here with the Godly attributes alongside, and what part they protect:

1.  Belt of Truth                                  1.  Protects "bowels" , seat of emotion    1.  God, Christ, is Truth

2.  Breastplate of Righteousness      2.  Protects vital organs                            2.  Holiness of God

3.  Shoes of the Gospel                      3.  Protects our goings/witness                3.  God's "Gospel Heart":  freely offering salvation to all 

4.  Shield of Faith                               4.  Protects from satanic accusations       4.  God Himself is our shield

5.  Helmet of Salvation                      5.  Protects "brain"/center of the will      5.  God is our only Savior, through Christ

6.  Sword of Spirit                             6.  Protects by offensive attack                6.  God is the "Revealer", the "Living Word" 

We learn a very great deal about God from the armor He provides us to use.  When we "take the full armor", let us remember we are taking God, literally, to our being, as our one and only aid.

Prayer:  God of Salvation, thank You for preserving my soul by Your power, and thank You for the great defensive strength of Your Word.  Amen. 

Thought:  To me, our faith is vital.  Without it, God is not able to act or even protect us.

Question:  Have I shielded my life, my self, with God?

Scripture:  Ephesians 6:16 (NIV):  "In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one."

How can faith be called an attribute of God's nature?  "Faith, hope and love, and the greatest of these is love."  We know that God is love; we know He is the basis and reason for our hope through redemption.  How is God the embodiment of faith, of our faith in His goodness?  We have faith in God, does God have faith in us?  Interesting thought, isn't it?

To me, faith is very near the heart and attributes of God.  Faith perhaps could be said to be our "end" of God's power at work.  We believe God is able--able to do most anything.  That is why, to me, the shield of faith is so useful, so universally valuable, to us as believers.  It is our way to tap into God's limitless power resources!  Our faith activates God as our shield.  Our faith brings God to accomplish victory on our behalf.  We can "extinguish all" that the enemy can hurl against us.  How much?  "ALL"!

We are told in Old Testament scripture that God Himself is our shield.  Since we are weak and powerless, the shield, God, can be lifted and moved to any position of protection and be made to block satan's attack.  He, literally His life and Who He is, becomes our protection.

God, our shield, "extinguishes flaming arows" of satan.  Why are the attacks of our spiritual enemy called "flaming arrows", or in the King James Version, "fiery darts"?  Well, like arrows, the assault is "airborne".  Satan is the Prince of The Power of the Air.  He comes at us through the realm of the earth's atmosphere, that is, right where we live.  His attacks, therefore, seem to be nearer to us than God is near.  They come along avenues that form the works of our every day lives:  parts of our circumstances, parts of our weaknesses, parts of our prejudices, etc.  He has good inroads.

Also like arrows, the assault is well-aimed.  Again satan knows our weak spots, the chinks in our armor.  What fells one christian may not be used on another.  The weapons are individually aimed.

The fire, to me, represents, as always, the biblical aspect of judgment.  Satan is The Accuser and he comes attacking with his lawyer-like condemnation, the exactness of the still-valid strength of the law, his leverage.  His arrow of condemnation hits us and we are tempted to cave in with guilt and disbelieve God, believe satan's lie and, in so doing, fall wounded.  When faith is shattered by unbelief, we are spiritually "dead."  We would do well to analyze, in every one of satan's attacks, just what judgment, condemning opinion, he is bringing to us.  Perhaps the attack is temptation.  How is temptation a use of judgment?  Easy.  Every time we're tempted we are asked to push God aside and select a lie of satan's instead.  Temptation succombed to is a "condemnation" of God in my mind and life.  What will be judged, we might ask:  myself or God?

The shield of faith prevents the fire from touching us because God, in Christ, intervenes, preventing condemnation, both of me and of Who God is.  Notice that the shield not only provides a layer of protection, but it also "extinguishes" the fire of the arrow.  I't like to think that as soon as the accusation satan brings touches the concept of God, Who is all Truth and Righteousness, the fire immediately goes out!  Praise the Lord for Christ Who is our living Truth and Righteousness!  Because of Christ, neither I nor God's nature must "burn" in condemnation.  Rather, satan will!!

Prayer:  Father, enlarge my faith in Your faithfulness to me!  Help me to believe You will be my shield against the attacks of satan.  Amen. 

Thought:  To me, the good news of salvation in Christ is a real protection against the godless, empty directions satan offers.

Question:  Am I ready to share the good news of Christ?

Scripture:  Ephesians 6:15 (NIV):  "and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace."

God's nature contains the gospel:  good news to mankind.  It is part of the nature of love--God is love--to reach out and give to the object loved that which is needed.  Otherwise there is no love.  Feet cause us to go forward.  God "went forward", condescended, to us, to love us, to know us, to touch us and rescue us.  And His rescue is characterized by peace.  God didn't send Jesus to condemn or make war against us, though we fully deserved to be annihilated in our sin.  No.  God came in peace, bringing peace.  This is the beauty of the good news of salvation.

Now, God wants us to be similarly protected and equipped by His very gospel nature:  clothed in this armor of good, peaceful news to all mankind.  We fight evil when we go with the gospel of peace and deliver to unsaved people an opportunity of salvation.

Like shoes needing to be the right size, so our application of God's gospel to our lives needs to be "fitted" rightly to our individual "feet."  The gospel can be delivered in many ways.  My feet are a different size than yours, though many of us have identical sizes; thus, to me, there are various ways to lead people to the kingdom, and my "way", or, the way God uses me, may differ from you, but yet be a way God has worked to reach many other people in the past.

Our "feet", or method of influencing people for the kingdom, need to be in "readiness."  Scripturally we know we are told to be ever ready to explain the hope people may see in us.  We keep the gospel on the tip of our tongues; handy for any situation.  Paul says here that this readiness "comes from" the gospel itself.  By nature, God's nature, there is eagerness to save people.  We can be eager because the message is so very good:  salvation is to whoever will have it, it is free, it is everlasting, it is able to completely save, to the "uttermost", any sinner of any extent, you can take it immediately, or even later, though procrastination is dangerous!, and you can receive it anywhere--on a cross, outside of church, on your knees or off, etc.

Being armored with the gospel of peace is a strong protection because our feet, or "goings", are for good, not evil, when we go with the gospel.  Our reason for living is pure and right and completely in line with God's will.

Prayer:  Dear God, thank You for the good news of the gospel.  Strengthen me to protect my own life by bringing the gospel to others.  Amen. 

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