Why We Must All Dress in Our Full Suit of Armor Daily!

Once there was a young girl who was blessed to walk with God. She loved to dream about ways that she would grow up and help His people. Some might say she often talked more than she listened. However, these things are certain where this child of God was concerned:

(1) She knew about God’s laws for she was taught in those things by the Spirit.

(2) She knew that a lot of people did not talk or seek to know God.

(3) She understood that many of them seemed to be trapped in misery and that included                                her very own mother.

This young girl wanted nothing more than for everyone to come to know the God that she walked and talked with. She truly believed that money would somehow help the masses and she longed to be someone who could bless others financially. She often thought of ways that God could bless her later in life financially so that she could bless countless others. She was lost as to the larger picture of God’s plan and often came to Him with her ideas of how to fix the world.

She never truly knew God as a father in her youth. She saw Him as her best friend. Mistakenly she also saw Him as someone who had some powers but who must need help from someone on earth since He had not fixed all the problems of the world himself!

It is not known for sure if this young girl had ever heard God’s advice regarding the need to read and study His word. We do know for certain though that she did not know His word for she knew nothing of her armor, nor did she understand fully the darkness that lurked in the world!

As this same young girl blossomed into a young adult, the lures of the world began to draw her away from the time she spent with God. While she knew right from wrong, she longed to be accepted by those she now counted as friends. As time drifted by, she chose wrong over right more and more often. Even though she had not committed any worldly crimes , she knew she was breaking God’s laws. That alone made her uncomfortable and she sought to hide from Him more than she sought Him out.

Without knowing about the schemes of the devil, she found herself bombarded with negative thoughts about herself and how God thought of her. It wasn’t long before she believed one of Satan’s biggest lies; “God no longer finds you worthy.”

When she thought about going to God about how she felt, she was filled with so much fear over all her wrong doings she lacked the courage she needed to even strike up a conversation with Him.

As she drifted further and further away from God’s laws, she soon found herself believing that not only did God find her not worthy; she became convinced that God was out to get her. No longer seeing Him as a friend, she believed the lie that He was now her enemy.

Through the Catholic school her mother had enrolled her in, she learned about sin, hell and confession. She went to confession every week but she left feeling empty and even more unworthy of God’s time. She was beginning to resent God for being so strict and she believed that she was doomed to die and spend eternity in hell.

As life continued this young girl who had drifted from God transitioned into a grown adult who never sought out God for anything. As life went on, she made decisions she knew were against God’s laws. So much so she was certain He may strike her dead by lightening right where she stood, but alas He seemed content to let her suffer. That just made her view Him as a cruel God for a large part of her wanted her life to end. She had come to the point where she no longer saw any hope of her ever doing anything worthwhile with her life and she often questioned how she could ever be of any real use to anyone.

One day, the world and her problems became so large; she got on her knees and called out to God crying. She told Him she was tired of living life by her will and was ready to live life by His will. She truly longed to hear Him speak again. She knew to her very core that He was her only hope out of the situation she had found herself in. As she knelt before Him weeping, He called her by name. He then gave her a full reply to her prayer and even told her of something that would take place in her future.

She was so elated by all He spoke that she immediately sought to find a bible and she began reading His word that very day. Even though she was reading His word, she did not understand much and she was flipping from book to book completely lost as to how to truly begin gaining knowledge from what she read.

She knew she was going to need help so she sought out others who were also reading God’s word. She had a friend on Face Book that shared verses all the time so she asked her if she could help her gain understanding. She was blessed by her seeking, for this very friend invited her to join her bible study group that she was a part of. She excitedly shared that they were just beginning to study the Book of Ephesians. Thankful for the invitation, she accepted it and joined the group that following day.

As she learned about Christ, grace, and salvation, she began once again trusting God. She made the decision to accept Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior the very week she learned the truth about Him.

She wondered why and how she had become so convinced that God was her enemy when His word made it clear that He loved us all. That very next week, she learned about her full suit of armor as well as the schemes of the devil. Understanding just how Satan had tricked her into giving up on her relationship with God, she never failed to wear her full suit of armor from that day forth!

[10] Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. [11] Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. [12] For our 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. [13] 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. [14] Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, [15] and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE; [16] in addition to all, taking up the shied of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. [17] And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. [18] 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 saints, (Ephesians 6:10-18, NASB)

May you be blessed in the reading of this allegory story!

Wendy, mom of many, walks with God

© Wendy Glidden 2015

Can the Bible be Trusted as the Word of God?

Reviewing the Evidence Found Regarding the Manuscripts

To Verify the Validity and Purpose of the Scriptures

Wendy Glidden

Introduction to the Bible: Block 2

Session I

Colorado Christian University

I decided to select Manuscripts as my evidence because
studying God’s word has helped me in my daily defense. We all live in a fallen
world and whether we choose to recognize it or not, we are in the midst of a
Spiritual War. I have found that having God’s word fresh in my mind helps me
recognize when I have been pulled into battle. By preparing myself first thing
each day through reading God’s word, I am able to stand firm in my faith and
not faint when trouble comes looking for me. Instead, I lean on God’s word, the
sword of the Spirit, and I wield it in my defense.

Ephesians 6:17 : Take the helmet of salvation and the
sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

I found it interesting that the first video recorded
by Dr. Yohn was on the topic of faith and how for it to be of sustenance, it
must be based on evidence. It is hard for an honest person to deny that the
Bible truly is a collection of 66 books that hold one basic concept built
around one basic theme. Again and again, as Dr. Yohn mentioned in his You Tube
video, it is a story of redemption.

Learning about the validity and history of the
manuscripts is a large part of why I enrolled in this course. I am new to
studying the Bible and  I have quickly
recognized the importance of knowing both the history of the time during which each
book was written as well as the background of each author.

Being a writer myself, I recognized the styles of
writing in the various books that Dr Yohn highlighted in the fist video:

1.     Biography

2.     Prophecy

3.     Romance

4.     Song

5.     History

6.     Satire

7.     Parable

However, I did not know there were 40 authors who
wrote these 66 books over a 1500 period of time! I also learned that all of the
manuscripts were written in 3 main languages: Hebrew, Arabic, and Greek.
Another fact I found intriguing was the short span of time between copies of
both the Old and New Testaments as well as their accuracy levels. When you
couple that with the fact that the few words in question do nothing to change
the message, I am elated that I am left with no doubt regarding both the
validity and the purpose of scripture.

Regarding the accuracy of the Bible, I am quoting Sir
Frederic G Keyon, the director and principal librarian of the British museum who
writes, “In no other case is the interval of time between the composition of
the book and the date of the earliest manuscripts so short as that of the New
Testament.”

When it comes to understanding that truth as a
follower of Christ, I love being that much more confident in the fact that the
Bible alone is indeed the Holy Word of God. It warmed my heart to read what
Ravi Zecharias had to say regarding the New Testament, “In real terms, the
New Testament is easily the best attested ancient writing in terms of the sheer
number of documents, the time span between the events and the document and the
variety of documents available to sustain or contradict it. There is nothing in
ancient manuscript evidence to match such textual availability and integrity.”

After reviewing all of this evidence, my faith in the
Bible being God’s word has only been strengthened.

References

Josh McDowell, 1986, The New Evidence that Demands a
Verdict, Nelsonword          Publishing
Group, p.35

Dr Yohn, You tube videos, Men of the Word L1.1 &
Men of the Word L1.2

Ravi Zecharias, 2004, Can Men Live Without God?,U.S.,
Thomas Nelson Publishing,   p.162

King David ~ Quite the Character!

King David is my all time favorite person from the Old
Testament. We read in 1 Samuel 16:1 that David resides in Bethlehem, the very
town in which Jesus enters the scene as a new born baby!

1 Samuel 16:1: The LORD said to Samuel, “How long will you
mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as King over Israel? Fill your horn
with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have
chosen one of his sons to be king.”

Very quickly in David’s life, he is called into service
under King Saul. First as the boy who played the lyre for Saul when he was
tormented by an evil spirit, and then as the courageous young man who defeated
Goliath, a champion from Gath who came out of the Philistine camp. While David
was short in size and young in age, he was full of confidence in both God’s
Plan and Protection.

1 Samuel 17:37 “The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the
lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.

David continued to serve under Saul in his armies and was
continually successful in the missions he was sent on and Saul gave him a high
rank in the army. Over time, Saul became jealous of David.

1 Samuel 8:8: Saul was very angry; this refrain displeased
him greatly. “They have credited David with tens of thousands,” he thought,
“but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?

Soon, Saul’s jealousy caused him to attempt to kill David.
The attitude that David showed in return to Saul’s anger is a foreshadowing of
what Christ would teach upon on the sermon of the mount when it comes to how to
treat your enemies.

David reveals great character by allowing Saul to live even
though Saul was attempting to murder David. In 1 Samuel 24, we read how David
responds to Saul’s jealousy and bitterness that had grown so large; he was
hunting David with the intention of killing him. When Saul is delivered into
David’s hand, David decides to spare Saul’s life.

In 1 Samuel 24: 12-13, we read that David decided to let the
LORD be the judge between them. He quotes an old saying ‘From evildoers come
evil deeds’ and this is why he refuses to lay a hand on Saul. He stays true to
his promise as we read in 1 Samuel 26 when he again has the opportunity to kill
Saul. His faith in the Lord protecting him and dealing with others is so great,
we read this:

1 Samuel 26: 9-11: But David said to Abishai, “Don’t destroy
him! Who can lay a hand on the LORD’s anointed and be guiltless? As surely as
the LORD lives,” he said, “the LORD himself will strike him, or his time will
come and he will die, or he will go into battle and perish. But the LORD forbid
that I should lay a hand on the LORD’s anointed. Now get the spear and water
jug that are near his head, and let’s go.”

Saul does end up dieing in battle. After this event, all the
tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and reminded him that the LORD had
said David would shepherd his people and become their ruler. David was only 30
years old when he became king and he ruled for 40 years before passing the
throne on to Solomon.

During his reign, the Lord caused the united kingdom to
prosper, to defeat its enemies, and in fulfillment of his promise, to extend
its borders from Egypt to the Euphrates.

Genesis 15:18: On that day the LORD made a covenant with
Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt
to the great river, the Euphrates.

It is later made known through the prophets that a descendant
of David will perfectly fulfill the role of the theocratic king. ( NIV Study
Bible, 2011 edition, 2 Samuel introduction, p.457)

Skeptics of the Bible claimed that King David was a
fictional character because there was no archeological evidence to prove
otherwise; that all changed in 1993 at the site of Tel Dan in northern Israel during
an excavation directed by Israeli archeologist Avraham Biran.

What they discovered was a stone tablet with an inscription
on it commemorating the victory of an Aramean king over his two southern
neighbors: the “king of Israel” and the “king of the House of David” (Based on
“Issue 200: Ten Top Discoveries,” Biblical Archeology Review,
July/August September/October 2009.)

I also chose to write my character sketch on King David
because I love his loyalty to and love for the Lord. While there are obvious
moments where he stumbles, David remains faithful in his devotion to the Lord.
Even when his baby son passes away, he does not turn from the Lord in anger.
Instead, after he plead with God in every way possible and his son still
passed, he accepted the choice of the Lord and informed his servants his son
would not join him here but rather he would see him on the other side.

In my opinion, God uses the story of David to reveal both
how blessed and protected one is when they are faithful to the Lord as well as
truths into the resurrection. I see this playing out in David’s confidence that
he would see his son again.

2 Samuel 12: 22-23: He answered, “While the child was still
alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, ‘Who knows? The LORD may be gracious to me
and let the child live.’ But now that he is dead, why should I go on fasting?
Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.”

I love that the man that is referred to as a man after God’s
heart is the direct lineage that Christ comes from. I truly believe it is no
coincidence that both of their stories begin in the tiny town of Bethlehem!

I also find it interesting that not only are both of these
men from Bethlehem, they are both referred to as shepherds. I think that
David’s protection of his sheep are a direct link to the protection we receive
from the Lord himself.

References

Issue 200: Ten Top Discoveries,” Biblical Archeology
Review, July/August      September/October
2009

NIV Study Bible, 2011, Zondervon publishing, p. 457

This was my latest paper I did while attending College at Colorado Christian University. God was the one that pointed me back to school. One could say life started getting pretty wild the second I got down on my knees and told God I was over it, He could have his will where my life was concerned. I told him I was at the end of my own strength and if he was indeed insisting on blessing me with another child, he was going to have to step in and help. He called me by name! Told me to get off of my knees! All of this is in my latest book 'You are Worthy Too: Angels, Answers, Signs and Wonders'

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Wendy Glidden, walks with God, Mom of Many