And the devil said to Him, “I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore if You bow down before me, it shall all be Yours.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.” Luke 4:6-8.
Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. Ephesians 6:11.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God says:
Stand. Never bow down to evil. Mordecai refused to bow. The three Hebrews, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, refused to bow. Jesus refused to bow. Satan will try to make you bow down to evil, he will try to either beat you into the ground to bow down or entice you and ensnare you into his net to bow down, but I tell you to stand.
How? Go to My Word and you will find the answer.
“Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.” Ephesians 6:11. There is your answer. But you have to find out what the “armor of God” is so you can put it on and once you have it on, you never take it off. It is not burdensome and it makes you strong in Me and the strength of My might. Ephesians 6:10. You never want the devil to catch you off guard. So like Nehemiah and those rebuilding the wall, you do not take it off, and especially not in the night. For your struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12.
“Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.” Ephesians 6:12-13.
So let us look at the armor I give you that is My own. “Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth.” The first piece I discuss is the girdle of truth. My Word is truth and it sanctifies you and sets you apart. If you continue (abide, remain, make it your way of thinking and living) in My Word you are truly My disciples and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. John 8:32. Free from what? All the snares of the devil. He is a liar and the father of lies. Everything he tells you is a lie because that is his nature. There is no truth in him at all. Remember that and do not fall into his traps as Adam and Eve, and so many others who do not gird themselves with truth, have done. Build your life on the rock of My Word and you will stand in any storm because I have given you a Word in the Bible about every possible situation you can encounter in life. The Holy Spirit will guide you to it when you need it and bring it to your remembrance but it is your assignment to read, ponder, speak, hear, and do My Word or you will not be strong against the attacks and storms of the evil one. And you will note I tell you to gird your loins with truth. The loins signifies the area of reproduction, be careful what you are reproducing in your life, make sure it is from Me and not from the world, the flesh and the devil. Choose life that you and your descendants may live.
“And having put on the breastplate of righteousness,” the breastplate of righteousness is the next piece of armor listed. Ephesians 6:14. A breastplate guards your heart. With all diligence guard your heart for from it flow the issues of life. I imputed all your sins to Christ and imputed His righteousness, which is My righteousness, to you. I accounted your sins and offenses to Him and accounted His righteousness to you—the great exchange. And He took the punishment and condemnation for your sins and satisfied divine justice so that your sins and offenses I remember no more. For I was in Christ reconciling you to Myself not counting your sins and trespasses against you. In Him you are holy and blameless in My sight and beyond reproach. You have to know this and be established in righteousness to be far from oppression. For the devil is the accuser of the believers and you can only stand through his onslaughts of accusations against you with your breastplate of righteousness in full view. And if you see it in the spirit it is pure gold. For gold is the metal that represents My righteousness. Silver represents redemption. Bronze represents judgment. That is why there was a bronze altar for the sacrifices and sin offerings in the tabernacle of Moses. And that is why the standing boards around the Holy of Holies were overlaid in pure gold and stood on pedestals of silver. You see, wood represents man, for I liken man to a tree in both Psalm 1 and Psalm 92, and in Isaiah 61 and Jeremiah 17, so as you behold Jesus and believe in Him you stand upright before Me in the Holy of Holies on the silver pedestals of redemption and your wood is overlaid with and hidden by the pure gold of My righteousness. And stand you do as you shine with joy before your Maker, strong in Me and equipped for every good work, and that gives you your next piece of the armor—shoes of the gospel of peace to stand on.
“Having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace,” is the next part of the armor to put on. “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who announces peace and brings good news of happiness, who announces salvation, and says to Zion, “Your God reigns!” Isaiah 52:7. “Thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.” 2 Corinthians 2:14. Blessed are the peacemakers, they are My sons. Jesus spoke peace to those far and those near, He made peace through the blood of His cross, reconciling all things in Heaven and on earth. Imitate Me as My dear children and walk in love, and the fruit of love is joy and peace. Love does not take offense and it is not rude. And you have My love shed abroad in your heart. So walk in peace and draw everyone into that peace. But most important of all, take and keep YOURSELF in peace, in your shoes of peace keep walking and standing no matter what dust storm or darkness may get in your path. Keep working on girding yourself in truth by spending time with Me in My Word each day, do as I instructed Joshua and meditate on My Word and speak it day and night. Joshua 1:8. Go always into peace. Keep your eyes on Jesus and abide in My Word as a branch in the vine.
“And above all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” Ephesians 6:16. The victory that overcomes the world is your faith. If your faith is not strong, you will not be strong. And the way you develop your measure of faith is by hearing and hearing My Word concerning Christ. When you know My Will from My Word you can stand on that in faith until you see it manifest in your life—such as healing, provision, and good success. And faith is based upon knowing the character of the one you are putting your faith in, the ability of that person to perform what they say, and the care and concern that person has for you. And that is knowing My glory, for My glory is the manifestation of My goodness (which is My character), My power (I am all powerful and nothing is too wonderful for Me or impossible to Me, which is My ability to perform My Word), and My presence (I am present always as your helper and savior, which shows My care and concern). And you see all this in action in Jesus, and in seeing Him you see Me. And that is why Jesus is the author (founder) and perfector (finisher) of your faith. So keep your eyes on Him, behold Him, to go from glory to glory and faith to faith.
“And take the helmet of salvation,” is the next piece of armor. That protects your mind from every thought that is contrary to My Word. It shuts them out. And what is that helmet that saves your mind? “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.” Philippians 4:8. Take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ by refusing to dwell on those things that pull you out of love, that pull you out of walking in the Spirit, that pull you into the works of the flesh.
“And the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,” this is the final piece and it is the only offensive weapon in the armor. And you should know from that what I am telling you. The only way you can fight the devil is by the good fight of faith and the force of faith is in My Word. The power is in My Word, for that is My power in your mouth. I have put My Words in your mouth and covered you with the shadow of My hand to plant the Kingdom of Heaven on earth and to establish the unshakable in the earth. Do you see? The protection under My hand and the power in My Word. Jesus contradicted and refuted the devil’s lies and enticements with My Word and you must do likewise if you want the victory. Never lash out in words of anger of the flesh, use the exhortation of My Word in love. I will give you words and a wisdom no one can take exception to or contradict, but those will be anointed words of the Spirit and not of the flesh. The flesh is useless, it is the Spirit that gives life and My Words are Spirit and life. They are Words of eternal life. My Words are not idle words that fall to the ground of no effect, My Word is living and active, sharper than any two edged sword, piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Hebrews 4:12. Why would you want to use idle words when you have at your disposal Words of eternal life that hit the mark every time?
And the final advice to stand: Pray without ceasing. “With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the believers.”
I love you. Never bow to evil or to the flattering enticements of promotion in the world that make you compromise My Word. And then don’t worry about it. I will be with you just as I was the fourth man in the fiery furnace with the three Hebrews.