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Armor of God – Week Four – The Shoes of Peace

Video #4 taught me:

·         We can’t survive the storms of life without God’s peace

·         Eagles can detect storms before they come, so they can take off and fly above the storm then use the storm to lift itself higher (Consider it pure joy when you face trials… James 1:2-4)

·         God’s peace is your guard, protector and guide

·         Thanksgiving activates peace and trust fuels thanksgiving

This week’s book work taught me:

·         Wherever peace is lacking, the enemy is working

·         Peace = being deeply entrenched in a sense of harmony, health and wholeness in the midst of chaos

·         Trust God to deal with the people in my life.  I need to just love them

·         The church needs to stand shoulder-to-shoulder beside each other in a tight linear formation bringing strength to the whole by pursuing peace

·         I can expect God’s peace to keep me steady and stable as I love His law (Ps 119:165), experience His love and compassion (Isa 54:10), feel His tender mercy (Lk 1:78-79) and pray with thanksgiving (Phil 4:6-7)

·         Unity among once-divided brothers and sisters puts Satan in his place

·         Lord, bridge any “holes in the line” and revitalize my congregation with a fresh passion to pursue peace with each other

·         I need to be careful to make sure unnecessary strife and division don’t permeate and weaken the purposes of God

·         And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God (Eph 3:17-19)

·         God’s peace is already in me.  I just need to cultivate and activate it

·         Trust leads to thankfulness and gratitude activates peace

·         Thank You that I have a place in heaven, that I have a beautiful relationship with You and for the people You’ve placed in my life

·         Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you (2 Thes 3:16)

·         Standing firm is about moving forward, not just digging in

·         Our peace shoes are “go” shoes

·         The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.  We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ (2 Cor 10:4-5)

·         Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus, so walk in Him (Col 2:6)

This week’s bookwork included a fourth “Digging Deeper” article.  Digging Deeper IV is called “The Armor in the Book of Ephesians” and it takes each piece of armor and cites additional references in the book of Ephesians to that piece of armor.  Paul was serious about us understanding this concept!

Here’s the prayer strategy I’ve crafted as a result of what I learned:

Trustworthy Father, My Anchor, Lord of Peace, I thank You that I have a place in heaven, that I have a beautiful relationship with You, and for the people You have placed in my life.  I repent of ingratitude and allowing strife and division to permeate and weaken Your purposes.  Since I am rooted and firmly established in love, I ask You to help me comprehend the length and width and height and depth of Your love and to know the Messiah’s love so I may be filled with all the fullness of God (Eph 3:17-19).  As I have received Christ, so may I walk in Him (Col. 2:6).  May the Lord of Peace Himself give me peace always in every way (2 Thes 3:16).  Thank You that Your peace is already in me.  Lead me to cultivate and activate it.  Thank You that Your peace will keep me steady and stable as I love Your law (Ps 119:165), experience Your love and compassion (Isa 54:10), feel Your tender mercy (Lk 1:78-79) and pray with thanksgiving (Phil 4:6-7).  I ask this for Your church, Papa, so we may stand shoulder-to-shoulder in tight linear formation, revitalized with fresh passion to pursue peace with each other.  In Christ’s Peaceful Name.  Amen.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and your beautiful prayer. God bless!

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