Armor of God – Word for the Soul

Fight the Good Fight

October 10, 2025October 8, 2025 Loring Schultz

“This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you fight the good fight, keeping faith and a good conscience.” 1 Timothy 1:18-19 NASB

All Christian believers are in a fight whether we like it or not. You may say, I’m not a fighter, but that is beside the point. If you stand for Jesus you’re in a fight. This is not something new in our day but has been the case since the early days of the New Testament church. Christians throughout the centuries have been battling Satan and his demons. Satan is not giving up in case you haven’t noticed but he is in full attack mode as he sees the end of his days approaching.

The Lord God does not leave defenseless in this spiritual battle. He has given instructions through the writings of Paul such as in Ephesians chapter 6 where it says, “Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.” (6:11 nasb) The best part of this fight is we only need to stand, but to ‘stand firm.’ We are to put the battle armor on to fight the good fight by standing firm. Paul encouraged Timothy to fight the good fight with holding to the truth (keeping the faith) and living a pure life (a good conscience). Satan is a liar hating the truth and certainly despises one who is living a pure godly life. So be aware, Satan’s eye is on us too.

Notice Paul said it was a ‘command’ to ‘fight the good fight.’ Timothy didn’t have a choice, and neither do we. Let us stand firm and fight the good fight.

“This is the lesson: never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never-in nothing, great or small, large or petty-never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.” Winston Churchill

A Christian Perspective

Are you trained for war?

May 24, 2025May 24, 2025 Loring Schultz

Read: Psalm 144 NLT – Psalm 144 – A psalm of David. Praise – Bible Gateway

“Praise the Lord, who is my rock. He trains my hands for war and gives my fingers skill for battle.” Psalm 144:1 NLT

The Bible contains a lot of tough verses we wrestle with. Several publications are offered with the sole purpose of answering questions and explaining these tough verses. Our key verse today is one tough verse. “Praise the Lord, who is my rock.” That’s not tough to comprehend, in fact it’s quite refreshing. What follows confuses us. Training for war? “He trains my hands for war and gives my fingers skill for battle.” (Ps.144:1 nlt) Many Christians have a passivist view of war for many reasons. I’m not going to stir the pot of debate on the world’s wars, but I am going to state that every Christian is in a war whether we agree with it or not. So, my question is, are you trained for war?

King David, the author of Psalm 144, was the king in the theocratic government of Israel. The Lord God empowered David to overcome his enemies, all who were against the God of heaven and His people. This was war against unholy idol worshipers with no regard for the true God and who continually fought against Israel. The Lord God thoroughly trained David in every way to fight against the enemies of the Lord. Ultimately David knew God was his rock and fortress. “He is my loving ally and my fortress, my tower of safety, my rescuer. He is my shield, and I take refuge in him. He makes the nations submit to me.” (Ps.144:2 nlt) But he was still trained to subdue the enemies of the Lord.

King David had the nations’ armies against him, and Christians today have Satan’s armies against us. The apostle Paul instructs us to put on the full armor of God to stand against the devil. (Eph.6:11-17) The one major difference here is we’re not to fight but be trained in putting on the armor. Once on, we stand! No matter your view on war, Christians are in a war as Paul states, “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” (Eph.6:12 nlt) Paul then tells us to ‘stand our ground.’ Having on the full armor of God we are now fully trained for war by standing firm.

Devotionals

Standing Firm

June 12, 2024June 8, 2024 Loring Schultz

“Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.” Ephesians 6:11 NLT

Throughout our lives we face many battles. For Christians these battles are not ours, they belong to the Lord. (2 Chr.20:15). And what our Lord instructs us to do is to ‘stand firm.’ He wants us to trust Him with what we cannot handle, and that is a lot.

Judah’s King Jehoshaphat faced a coalition of enemies set on dethroning him and taking over the land. He sought the Lord with prayer and fasting, along with all the people of Judah. The Lord responded by saying, “You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf.” (2 Chr.20:17 esv) Scripture says the Lord set ambushes against the enemies of Judah and they turned and destroyed each other in the confusion.

Christians today are facing a coalition of enemies on a different front. The apostle Paul says in Ephesians 6:12, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (esv) For these many battles we are to ‘put on the full armor of God’ and ‘stand firm.’

There is always a tendency to fight back, but the Lord instructs us to ‘stand firm.’ Putting on the full armor of God enables us to do so. There is an offensive weapon available to us included in that armor, and that is the ‘Sword of the Spirit’, the Word of God, to be used as we stand firm!

Read: 2 Chronicles 20:1-30 NLT – War with Surrounding Nations – After – Bible Gateway

Devotionals

The fight of our lives

October 10, 2023October 9, 2023 Loring Schultz

“For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12 NLT

Christians are in a constant battle. From the moment a person puts their trust in Christ for salvation, the battle begins. Satan and his demons will do anything necessary to disrupt the lives of Christians in their new found faith. It has been said that once one becomes a Christian all their problems in this world go away, but the fact is they do not. For Christians living a godly life in a fallen world ruled by Satan is not only a big problem, but the fight of our lives.

The Lord does not leave us defenseless in our battle with the evil one. He promises to be with us through the Holy Spirit and He has provided us with a suit of armor to be able to stand firm in our struggles. The apostle Paul in writing to the church at Ephesus lists each part of the protective garb we are to put on. He instructs believers to, “put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil.” (Eph. 6:13a)

Christians are first instructed to put on the belt of truth, something that is lacking in our present day. Next is the body armor, or breastplate of God’s righteousness, signifying the Christian’s character. Our feet are to be fitted with shoes of the gospel of peace, the good news. To protect us from the fiery arrows of temptation, evil persuasions, and doubts, we are to take up the shield of faith. Faith in the God of our salvation will not permit any worldly darts to penetrate us. The helmet provides protection against serious head wounds. The helmet of salvation represents the believer’s assurance of salvation and is a symbol of military victory.

The five pieces of armor listed above are all for defensive purposes. It is of extreme importance that we note that Christians have only one offensive weapon, the Word of God. Only one is needed, and it is described as the sword of the spirit. It is indeed a weapon to use in the proper manner; used to instill truth, to bring to light what is false, to expose evil, to bring the good news of salvation, and to bring Glory to God. “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.” (Heb. 4:12)

‘The fight of our lives’ is true of every Christian life, but we can stand firm in truth, righteous character, peace, faith, assurance of salvation, and the Word of God.

Read the “Whole Armor of God” https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians+6%3A10-18&version=NLT