Going on the Offense: The Armor of God Series

   “We need to encourage new believers to feed on God’s Word—it is nourishment for the soul” (Billy Graham).

   When I was in my sophomore year of college I decided to go to Homecoming with a few of my friends. We were getting ready and talking. One of the girls said that my friend was a rebel. They were talking about how my friend dresses (she wears leather jackets, jeans, and Nike shoes. That's a style you don't see too much at LBC. But, she pulled it off awesomely I must say).
   Anyhow, the other girls asked me if I thought this friend was a rebel. I said "She is a rebel, but in a good way. She doesn't always believe what people tell her about God. She does more digging to find the answers for herself. She does that to make sure that she finds the truth. That's how she is a rebel."
   Sometimes Christians accept what others say without question. We hear a pastor tell us about the word of God and just accept what he says. What if the pastor is wrong? We are told that there will be false prophets out there. The only way we can be sure not to fall into the trap of false prophets is by knowing the word.
   The sword is the only offensive weapon that Paul mentions in the armor of God. The sword is how a Roman soldier was able to take on the enemy. But, it was also for defense.
   In the same way a Christian uses the word to attack and defend. Who better to prove this than the one that we try to emulate: Jesus. In Matthew 4:1-11 Jesus is tempted by Satan. He uses the word to defend himself as well as attack the devil. Each time Satan uses scripture to tempt Jesus blocks the blow and comes back with scripture. The way Jesus was able to defeat Satan was because he knew the Word.
   As Christians it is vital for us to know the Word that way we can defend and attack when the devil comes. The way to do that is to get into the Word. We need to memorize scripture and read it every day.
   So, will you choose to question your teachers to make them accountable to the Word? Will you get into the Word and memorize it? Will you use the Word as defense and offense against the devil?
   2 Timothy 3:16-17, Joshua 1:8, Ephesians 6:10-18
   Image from here.