WHAT DID YOU LEARN OUT OF THE LESSON?

We must not be slack in putting on the whole armor of God, because the Bible tells us to. This is our protection against the enemy of this world. We are no match for this enemy either. In putting on we must put off too. When we put off it means to get rid of those old ways of living, old ways of thinking, old ways of walking; we are told to be new creatures in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior, (2 Corinthians 5:17).  We are not the same, but spiritual beings in the Lord, and must fight in the spirit too. But, we must remember it is not our fight, but Gods. The enemy comes against us because he hates us, and we have to let God do it for us by responding to His Word. The breastplate of righteousness is the right standard of God's Word. Unrighteousness is the enemy's attack against us daily. In Ephesians 6:14, Paul says, your uniform is righteous living. Righteousness is upright living that aligns with the Word of God. We should affirm God's standard and then align our behavior with His standard. The breastplate protects the heart, which is the center of our lives. The enemy's goal is to derail the train of our behavior off the tracks of God's standard. Our hearts is the center of our souls. So if wearing the breastplate, if all this "putting off" and "putting on" is proving particularly difficult lately, realize you're not alone. But realize something else too: you have an invisible partner every time you jump into battle and tug that breastplate over your heart. God is doing something this very minute to help you do what you otherwise could not. He is renewing your mind, realigning your passions and attitudes, and giving you strength to live a way that is pleasing to Him and a blessing to others. What a perfect alternative to practice.  And, we can do that because we are "Overcomers." How we overcome the evil within us? How we overcome the evil around us? From the book of Dr. David Jeremiah "Overcomer" we learn that Jesus did it all on the cross, and all we have to do is accept Him as our Savior and trust Him. When we accept Him, we leave our vengeance with God, we learn to plan ahead, we live peaceably with all men, we let good overcome evil, and we love our enemy. WOW!

We have the greatest example we could ever want of overcoming evil with good in the person of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. When we put on His breastplate of righteousness, we are freed from slavery to the impulse to repay evil for evil. We are set free by His Holy Spirit to be an overcomer who repays evil with good. If you have not made Christ your Savior and Lord, do so today and begin wearing your breastplate of righteousness.  I have enjoyed this lesson!