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Boundaries, Battles, and Spiritual Armor

Boundaries, Battles, and Spiritual Armor

by | May 15, 2021 | Blog

by Marge Purvis

with a little enhancement from Barb Shelton 

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What makes sticking to boundaries so difficult? Why do we struggle with just doing it?!

I am convinced that this is a spiritual battle. We are in a battle for healthy bodies and souls.

Battles, by their very nature, are hard and require the right equipment and preparedness of heart and mind.

Our enemy likes wimpy warriors – strong warriors who fall on their knees and seek their Heavenly commander terrify him.

Every time we put on God’s Armor and fight with our spiritual weapons, we gain ground… not to mention terrify the enemy.

But battles are not usually won once and for all. The enemy keeps coming back to challenge our reserve and our resolve.

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STANDING FIRM

The Apostle Paul challenges us to “Stand Firm.” The only way to fight is by putting on the whole Armor of God as laid out in Ephesians 6:10-11.

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We’ve all read and heard this passage many times, but let’s read it again and ask God to take it deeper in us, especially in this arena of our battle with our boundaries with food and eating:

Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 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. 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. Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.  (Ephesians 6:11-17)

We fall when we put on God’s Armor in the morning and then lay it down and forget about it…  until we all of a sudden find ourselves experiencing defeat. Even though our Heavenly Father is with us 24/7, we get busy and gradually weaken.

Then comes the condemnation that we put on ourselves. “The club of condemnation” is not a piece of God’s Armor. It’s definitely a weapon, but it’s one the enemy uses to advance toward and against us. What we need is to take on weapons of righteousness. Like those found in 2 Corinthians 10:4:

“For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.”

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HELPFUL, PRACTICAL ARMOR

So today choose to wear that Armor of God all day. Here are a few forms it may take:

Reminders posted where you can see them. Like truths God shows you as you are putting on that Armor at the beginning of the day. (These Love Notes from Jesus are in the form of a free printable by Barb Shelton. The video and this form are in Barb’s “Let’s DO This” group on Facebook.)

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Truth Cards and Verses are a great way to keep these handy. Write them on cards or sticky notes.  (Here’s an article – Truth Cards 101 – with lots of ideas and helps for making your own Truth Cards:)

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A written prayer (by Barb Shelton) to pray when you start to weaken and realize you are open and vulnerable for a sneak attack.

Lord, my heart’s desire is that my thoughts, focus and purpose – now and in life in general – would be based on and all wrapped up in YOU, not in desiring more food or longingly looking forward to what and when I can eat next.

I do not want to give up my birthright of having a well-functioning body for “one more [unneeded] bowl of…” any food I just had for a meal that would take beyond my boundary of “5” if I were to eat more of it.

Lord, by your mighty power at work in me, I do not want to listen to or heed my head hunger, to give in to the temptation to eat outside of my boundaries.  In­stead… I am choosing right now to DIE to my “flesh machinery” that just wants to eat eat eat, more more and more! YOU are my food and drink, my highest joy!!!!! ALL the time!! Not just when I’m walking in victory!

I bring my broken appetite to You at the foot of the cross and ask You to put it to death…  and replace it with the appetite You designed for me when You created me.

Would You show me one more good thing about abiding in You? Lord, I want to be normal-in-You! And I know my only hope for this is walking close to You, allowing You to do Your work deep in me!! “For apart from You, I can do nothing”! 

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(And back to Marge as we close:)

So today I join you in fighting this battle.
God is on our side and He will give the victory!

~ Marge Purvis ~

 

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Marge Purvis

See her bio below.

Feasting on God and His Word

Feasting on God and His Word

by | Oct 2, 2019 | Blog

 

This morning I read from Matthew 5:6: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled.” Not only does He satisfy, He blesses us as well.

This does not come effortlessly. It is so easy to get busy and slack on reading God’s Word. It is worth the effort, and the benefits are many! Here are just a few:

1. WE WILL BE FILLED WITH GOOD THINGS – Luke 1:53 tells us: “He has filled the hungry with good things.”

2. APPETITE CORRECTION – The more we feast on God and His Word, the less we want to feast on physical food. When we are truly hungry we will know it is time to eat physical food.

 

[I, Barb Shelton, am stepping in with a few additional thoughts…]

3. PEACE – There’s not one of us who does not want a feast of peace! But, sadly, most of us lack it because we are looking for it in all the wrong places. Nothing in this world is stable except for the Lord God himself, so that is where our focus needs to be – on Him: “You will keep in perfect peace (s)he whose mind is stayed on You, because (s)he trusts in You.” (Isaiah 26:3)  Our trust needs to be in God alone; not in our government, not in our financial situation, not in our job, not in our home or our stuff, not in our marriage or children. In God. Alone.

4. CONTENTMENT & SATISFACTION – Psalm 17:15, one of my all-time favorite verses, says it all: “But as for me, my contentment is not in wealth but in seeing You and knowing all is well between us. And when I awake in heaven, I will be fully satisfied, for I will see You face-to-face.”

5. FRUITFULNESS – So often we, as Christians, strive to be fruitful and productive, forgetting that God abiding in us is what that fruitfulness actually comes out of. In John 15:5 we read: “I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in me and I in him shall produce a large crop of fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.”

 

6. MORE JESUS-LIKE – In 2 Corinthians 3:18 we read: “But we Christians have no veil over our faces; we can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord. And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him.” So the main thing we need to do is to allow Him to work in us, and not wiggle away when it gets uncomfortable.

7. JOY – Too often the next thing I get to eat is my highest joy for the moment. Psalm 16:5  corrects my thinking by changing my focus to being on God: “The Lord Himself is my inheritance, my prize. He is my food and drink, my highest joy! He guards all that is mine.” 

 

[Back to Marge now!]

8. POWER – This verse – I Corinthians 10:31 – challenged me to make some serious goals for many areas of my life: “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all for the glory of God.” I cannot attain my goals on my own. But His Word is powerful! Victory comes by tapping into His power and ability to do for me and through me what I cannot do for myself.

 

The way to access this “feast” is prayer. Prayer is such an important part of our journey. As I said above, it’s so easy to get busy and slack on reading God’s Word. Jesus was a great example to us of what we should do during our busy times. He had a very busy life, preaching, teaching, healing, and all He did while here on earth, but still He would sneak away to talk to His Heavenly Father.

He had a special place, The Mount of Olives. Not that He didn’t commune with His Father in other places, but that was one special place that His followers knew that He went to pray. Why do you think that Judas knew where to find Jesus on that fateful day? Because He was at His special prayer place.

Do you have a special place that you get away and talk to your Heavenly Father? Find a spot or spots.I have a couple. Take the time to really be honest with Him and fellowship with Him. God doesn’t answer prayer not prayed.

 

 


Marge Purvis

(See her bio below.)