Armor of God September 18, 2009

A Lesson Taken from Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians

…God planned to send Jesus to save us!

Save us from what?

Well, when God made the world it was perfect in every way.

And then Adam came along and ate the fruit God told him not to eat. Bad idea! At that moment God’s perfect world wasn’t perfect anymore. Adam decided to do things his way and not God’s way, and that never works. Sin got in. And sin ruins everything.

God tried to warn Adam. He told him that if he ate the fruit of that tree he would surely die.

And that’s exactly what Adam did- he ate the fruit!

Well, he didn’t drop over dead right there! He lived for a long time afterwards physically.  When God told Adam he would die this meant that Adam was separated from God Spiritually.  God knew that’s what sin does and tried to warn Adam.

We all sin.

We all do what we want to do instead of what God wants us to do. So we are in trouble! Sin is like a terrible disease, and we all are going to die from it unless we accept Jesus Christ and trust in Himpa.

And that’s what Jesus came to save us from!

God loves us so much, He sent His Son to make things right again.

And the price was very high. Sin brought death into God’s perfect world. The only price to make it right again is for the guilty ones to die – and that’s us.

But Jesus died FOR us. Jesus id our penalty and took the punishment we deserved. What amazing, awesome love that is!

That’s not the end of the story!

Three days later, Jesus rose from the dead!

Jesus defeated death! So now, even though we all are going to die just like Adam physically – we all can rise from the dead just like Jesus and live with God forever!

If we believe in Jesus, and we believe that he died for our sins, God will raise us from dead just like Jesus rose from the dead! That’s something we just can’t do ourselves no matter how hard we try – but God can. And that is God’s gift to everyone who believes and trusts in His Son.

And now God can adopt us as His children. One day, everything God has will be ours, and we will live with God forever!

That is the Good News!

Now, since we ARE God’s children, we should live like God’s children. Always be good and honest and loving. Let’s not be like the people who don’t care about God, who do mean and terrible things.

But we all know, it’s not always easy…

We are in a battle!

We have an enemy who wants to steal away everything God wants us to have. Only it’s not a battle we can see. Our enemy is Satan – and Satan lives in the invisible world of the spirit. Even though we can’t see him, Satan is very real. And he wants nothing more than to take us away from God.

And Satan is sneaky. He will use every trick to get us to turn away from God.

You don’t have to be afraid of Satan – but you have to be ready to fight him!

Make God’s strength (He has a bunch!) your strength! Like a great warrior, you need to put on your armor. Because your enemy is a spirit, God will give you spiritual armor.

So put on the whole Armor of God!

Tie the Belt of Truth around waist. God is real. God loves you, and Jesus died for your sins. God is on your side – that is the Truth!

Hold on to the Truth, and like a good tight belt, the truth will hold you up and keep you strong when Satan attacks.

The Belt of Truth means you as a Christian are committed to live your life- God’s Way!

Guard your heart.

Put on the Breastplate of Righteousness. Always do what is right and good. That way, Satan won’t have anything to grab onto to worm his way into your heart. You will be able to stand straight and tall, with your head held high.

The Breast Plate of Righteousness means you as a Christian are to live Holy Today and Everyday!

Next, put on the Shoes of The Gospel of Peace.

Be ready to go wherever God sends you to tell the Good News of God’s amazing love for us.

The Shoes of the Gospel of Peace means we as Christians
relish our peace with God.

And then, to protect yourself from Satan’s flaming arrows, take up the Shield of Faith!

The God of the Universe is on your side. God is your protector. Put your faith in Him and Satan cannot hurt you!

The Shield of Faith means we as Christians have an unwavering trust in His Word.

Now, put on the Helmet of Salvation.

You are saved! You are God’s child! Satan has already lost, death is already defeated, and nothing can ever take you away from God. Keep your thoughts always on that!

The Helmet of Salvation means we as Christians are looking to our future in Heaven.

And finally, take up the Sword of the Spirit.

God has given us a weapon to fight back against Satan’s lies and accusations. Our weapon is the truth of God’s Word. It is the Bible. God’s Word can cut Satan’s lies to pieces. Use God’s Word to fight Satan just like Jesus did when Satan tempted him in the desert. The words of the Bible are your sword.

The Sword of the Spirit means we as Christians study everyday God’s Word, so we have a thorough understanding of God’s Word.

You are God’s child. He will never let you go! Hold onto that Truth!

Always do what is good and right.

Be ready to tell anyone you meet about God’s amazing love.

Put all your trust in Jesus, and know that he has saved you.

And finally, fight Satan with God’s own Word.

Satan is going to try to take away all the good things God has for you – but don’t worry – God is on our side! And with God on our side, no one – not even Satan – can defeat us!

Be bold! Be strong! For the Lord your God is with you!

Partially Adopted and then Revised from

http://www.essex1.com/people/paul/bible-armor-of-god.html

This and other activity sheets for kids can be found at-

http://www.dltk-bible.com/jesus/armor_of_god-index.htm

Modern Day Sayings from the book of Proverbs August 26, 2009

Many of our modern day sayings have their root in the book of Proverbs. Some of these “paraphrased proverbs” are as follows:

• A bad penny always turns up (27:22)
• A bird in the hand is better than two in the bush (27:10)
• A fool’s tongue is always long enough to cut his throat (12:16)
• A word once uttered is beyond the reach of four galloping horses (18:21)
• As you sow, so you reap (10:6)
• Victory has many fathers, defeat is an orphan (14:20)
• Bite your tongue (23:2)
• Blowing one’s horn (25:27)
• Don’t throw good money after bad (30:32)
• Don’t wear out your welcome (25:17)
• God protect me from such friends (27:14)
• Haste makes waste (19:2)
• He asked for it (18:6)
• He who laughs last, laughs best (24:17)
• Jealousy—the green-eyed monster (6:34)
• Knowing the ropes (1:4)
• Let off steam (29:11)
• Man proposes, God disposes (16:1)
• Out on a limb (30:32)
• Quick as a wink (12:19)
• Rejoice not when your enemy falleth—but you don’t have to pick him up either! (24:17)
• If that man kisses you, count your teeth! (27:14)
• Shrouds have no pockets (27:20)
• The child is father to the man (20:11)
• The hand that gives, gathers (11:24)
• Too many cooks spoil the broth (11:14)
• Truth will out (12:19)
• What is mine is thine, and what is thine is mine (1:14)

Words to praise your child August 22, 2008

WOW • WAY TO GO • SUPER • YOU’RE SPECIAL • OUTSTANDING • EXCELLENT • GREAT• GOOD • NEAT • WELL DONE • REMARKABLE • I KNEW YOU COULD DO IT • I’M PROUD OF YOU • FANTASTIC • SUPER STAR • NICE WORK • LOOKING GOOD • YOU’RE ON TOP OF IT • BEAUTIFUL • NOW YOU’RE FLYING • YOU’RE CATCHING ON • NOW YOU’VE GOT IT • YOU’RE INCREDIBLE • BRAVO • YOU’RE FANTASTIC • HURRAY FOR YOU • YOU’RE ON TARGET • YOU’RE ON YOUR WAY • HOW NICE • HOW SMART • GOOD JOB • THAT’S INCREDIBLE • HOT DOG • DYNAMITE • YOU’RE BEAUTIFUL • YOU’RE UNIQUE • NOTHING CAN STOP YOU NOW • GOOD FOR YOU • I LIKE YOU YOU’RE A WINNER • REMARKABLE JOB • BEAUTIFUL WORK • SPECTACULAR • YOU’RE SPECTACULAR • YOU’RE DARLING • YOU’RE PRECIOUS • GREAT DISCOVERY • YOU’VE DISCOVERED THE SECRET • YOU FIGURED IT OUT • FANTASTIC JOB • HIP, HIP, HURRAY • BINGO • MAGNIFICENT • MARVELOUS • TERRIFIC • YOU’RE IMPORTANT • PHENOMENAL • YOU’RE SENSATIONAL • SUPER WORK • CREATIVE JOB • SUPER JOB • FANTASTIC JOB • EXCEPTIONAL PERFORMANCE • YOU’RE A REAL TROOPER • YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE • YOU ARE EXCITING • YOU LEARNED IT RIGHT • WHAT AN IMAGINATION •WHAT A GOOD LISTENER • YOU ARE FUN • YOU’RE GROWING UP • YOU TRIED HARD • YOU CARE • BEAUTIFUL SHARING • OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE • YOU’RE A GOOD FRIEND • I TRUST YOU • YOU’RE IMPORTANT • YOU MEAN A LOT TO ME • YOU MAKE ME HAPPY • YOU BELONG • YOU’VE GOT A FRIEND • YOU MAKE ME LAUGH • YOU BRIGHTEN MY DAY • I RESPECT YOU • YOU MEAN THE WORLD TO ME • THAT’S CORRECT • YOU’RE A JOY • YOU’RE A TREASURE • YOU’RE WONDERFUL • YOU’RE PERFECT • AWESOME • A+ JOB • YOU’RE A-OK MY BUDDY • YOU MADE MY DAY • THAT’S THE BEST • A BIG HUG • A BIG KISS • SAY I LOVE YOU!