Armor of God Points to Jesus

While walking down the road with the Lord this morning, the Holy Spirit began to show me how the armor of God that I wrote of in my last post, pointed to Jesus. The passage starting in Ephesians 6:10 speaks of six different parts of spiritual protection. The first, in 6:14, is the belt of truth. Jesus tells us in John 14:6 that He is the way, the truth, and the life. The next is the breastplate of righteousness. 1 Corinthians 1:30 says that Jesus has become our righteousness. Third are the feet shod with the gospel of peace. Mark 1:1 refers to the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and He is our peace. (John 14:27) Fourth is the shield of faith. Our faith is in Jesus. (Romans 3:22, Galatians 2:16) Fifth we have the helmet of salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. (2 Timothy 2:10) Finally we have the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. John chapter 1:1 says that Jesus is the Word. (cf. Verses 14,18) All of this points to Jesus, as Hebrews 12:2 tells us to do, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. May we put our armor on daily.
Also would appreciate prayer for the regional gathering on September 10th as believers from the New England region gather to glorify God through Jesus Christ.

Defeated or armored up?

Woke up this morning with a strong sense of defeat. Sin, the flesh and the devil are tough, cunning enemies that don't give up, and my track record against them is not what I would want. Six days from today I am supposed to acknowledge a major role of responsibility in the Kingdom, something I am neither excited about nor especially gifted to do. The temptation is to accept defeat, not shoulder the responsibility, say that I can't do it. Thankfully the Holy Spirit is also speaking. "Armor up, rick." He is reminding me of the passage in Ephesians 6 in which He writes through Paul the apostle to "put on the whole armor of God." (v.11) This is not just stirring martial imagery but a powerful spiritual reality, if we obey the command. In particular He speaks to me of the "belt of truth." In John 17:17 Jesus says that the Word is truth. So what is the truth of the Word of God about me or any genuine believer in Christ? Romans 8:37 says that "in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loves us." Conquerors don't live in or accept defeat. Instead God leads us in triumphal procession in Christ. ( 2 Corinthians 2:14) Conquerors are "strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might." (Ephesians 6:10) They "share in suffering as a good soldier of Jesus Christ." (2 Timothy 2:3) "To the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen." Romans 16:27 ESV)

Baptism

Last night God gave me the joy and the privilege of witnessing the baptism of a believer named Michael. He is a quiet brother in his mid-thirties who had truly counted the cost of following Christ before being baptized. Sadly we don't have many baptisms in the U.S. I wish many more people could have heard his testimony and experienced his joy. Thank you, God for the opportunity to see what you are doing in Michael's life.
After much inner wrestling God has persuaded me to make an all out effort to learn Portuguese. A brother and friend offered to give me the first level of the Rosetta Stone language software, I've been reading a Portuguese-English Bible for two months, and I intend to purchase a book on grammar. God has given me incentive, believers to practice with, and the time to work on it. Any and all prayers are appreciated as I have never successfully learned another language.
Muito obrigados to my Brazilian friends like Wellington, Marcelo, Wanderley, Marcio, Carlos and others that are following this blog. May our Lord Jesus give me revelation to encourage and bless you.
God has used my brothers John, Josh, Matt, Vinny, Gary, Russ & Sanford to bless and challenge me this week in one on one conversations. God is showing me more things in my life that I must die too. ( John 12:24)
"And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." (Galatians 5:24 ESV)

Brazilian Retreat

Just returned this evening from a retreat with Brazilian believers in the state of New Hampshire. People came from Canada, the Boston area, and even the state of Virginia. Wonderful time of one on one, small group, and large group edification. Good food as always. The only thing missing was Guarana. Played tennis for about the third time in my life with predictable results. Fortunately my partner Juliano made up for my lack. Juliano and his wife Mariana are strong believers.
Had the privilege of meeting and talking with a fervent brother named Marcelo, who shared a powerful message from the Word Saturday evening about the Kingdom of God. God had given me a word about six days earlier on the alien and strangers' theme that was the subject of my last post. It is a poignant truth for those who are experiencing this in the natural.
Also had an opportunity to encourage a brother who does blue collar work that there is no shame in it in the eyes of God. Many of the apostles were fishermen, Paul made tents ( Acts 18:2b-3) and Jesus, God's own son was a carpenter. If they did manual labor surely it is not something for us to look down upon. On the contrary, we are told to work with our hands in 1 Thessalonians 4:11.

Aliens & Strangers

"Bendito o que vem em nome do Senhor" ( Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord) Luke 13:35b)Had a long conversation with two friends Sunday evening centering on the related themes of being aliens and strangers, and on our identity. I believe that our true identity is what God says that we are in Jesus Christ. For example, in Ephesians 5:1 believers in Christ are said to be "beloved children." The reality of being aliens and strangers on the earth is another part of that identity. The Holy Spirit, writing through Paul the apostle, says that our true citizenship is in heaven. (Philippians 3:20) While we may be citizens of the U.S. or Japan or Ghana in this life, that is a temporary reality. Those who have emigrated to another country, often with a different language and culture, often feel this sense of being alien and strange. After a period of years they may feel in between, no longer part of their former country but not at ease in the new. But all believers should have this sense in the spiritual realm. We no longer belong to the kingdom of this world; we are not yet living in the eternal realm. Hebrews 11:13-16 brings this out. "All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised, they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on the earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country- a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them." (NIV)
Peter applies this truth in 1 Peter 2:11. "Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul."

Housatonic River

Received a call from our brother Nick the other night and made arrangements to go see him today. He is at home for the summer before he returns to college. We found a little park near the Housatonic River to fellowship in. I hadn't known that he lived near this river, which also flows through the town I grew up in farther north. It brought back memories of my brothers and I playing near it, and crossing it on a huge fallen log against my mother's wishes. My youngest brother fell in. In those days it was the second most polluted waterway in the U. S. Since then it has enjoyed considerable cleanup.
Nick & I prayed together for God to open doors for him. We also looked at some passages in Revelation. Chapter one contains a description of Christ which includes the phrase, "His voice as many waters." (v.15) We also looked at the last chapter (22) describing the river of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb, and on either side of the river the tree of life whose leaves provide healing for the nations. Thanks, Nick, for the example of your hunger to know God. And thank you Father that while the Housatonic River is a poor imitation of the river of life, it gives us some clue of that eternal watercourse.

Additional Brazil Notes

The primary Brazil report is contained in the previous post. This post has a few more reflections. The state of Minas Gerais is famed for its cheese based cuisine. One favorite was small bread balls with cooked cheese in the middle. Something favored by one of my hostesses was dulce ge leche, similar to pudding but richer.
Sandro told me that he could tell what part of Brazil a person was from by their accent. Those from the south often end their sentences with an expression that phonetically is neh, like the German "nein," or the French ne c'est pas. I think most Americans have a more generic accent.
Brazilian males are not hesitant to ask directions when in a car. I saw this two dozen times and in every case, whether the person was on foot, riding a bicycle, or in a car, they stopped and offered detailed directions. It was a fascinating confirmation of the cooperative nature of Brazilians.
At the youth retreat, late one night, I witnessed folk dancing. Over a hundred dancers participated in an intricate dance that lasted well over an hour. Unfortunately I was born with two left feet and didn't indulge.
On my return I was searching for Guarana, a soda drink very popular in Brazil made from fruit grown only in the Amazon. It tastes like apple flavored soda. I finally found some in a little store run by a Brazilian. He was familiar with the places that I had gone. His (accurate) comment was that it was very low stress in Brazil compared to the US.