Edified + Shared {She Reads Truth: Ephesians}

Today I just completed another Bible study from my favorite mobile app. I have been edified by the previous Bible studies I've done by the ladies over at SHE READS TRUTH and I wanted to share with you all today's reading taken from Ephesians 6:10-24 that truly blessed me.

What a great joy it’s been to walk with you all through Ephesians. Together we’ve talked through the tough stuff of putting off our old selves, growing in Christ as we grow together, and maturing in our faith. And today, Paul leaves us with some sweet final instructions - our armor.

We serve a God who not only wants our whole hearts and whole lives so badly He sent His son to pay for our debts, but He also knows - in His lavishly, graceful lovingly way, that we don’t know the first place to start when it comes to living with Him.

Ladies, sometimes after a dozen years of serving Him, I still wake up clueless.

I love that this section in Ephesians starts with the (correct) assumption that on our own, in our own strength, we’ve got nothing. Yet, it ends with us fully armed and able to stand as warriors in the Kingdom of God.

Remember, we don’t need to carry the entire weight of the battle - the war has been won by the blood of Jesus. He’s merely giving us what we need to be standing at the end of it. We don’t even need to feel exhausted and scared at the onset of the battle or the day - the winner has already been decided, we just get the joy of standing with Him.

Together, let’s put it on. Don’t skip a bit.

belt of truth - Start with truth, sincerity of your love for Jesus and His for you fastened around you - in your most intimate places, be true with Him. As women, we can know that our enemy is going to try to twist this truth in our heads & hearts. he did it to Eve in the garden, and he’ll do it with us if we let him.

breastplate of righteousness- Confirm to yourself and this world that you are as righteous as you’ll ever be because you are made Holy by the blood of Jesus. Guard your heart with that knowledge and never changing Good News.

shoes given by the readiness of the gospel of peace- When your love is sincere and you’re made aware of your righteousness in Christ, you want to run. To share. To put feet to pavement & rush to share the Good News that’s brought your life meaning & peace.

shield of faith - When the threats, the jabs, the jeers, the attacks come and they will - protect yourself with the assurance of things we know we can hope for, be the conviction of things we cannot see (Hebrews 11:1).

helmet of salvation - You, walk confidently into the day, stand strong in the battle because your mind, yourself, is set aside and saved from the enemy if you’ve believed in Jesus, by grace through faith.

and lastly, our one offensive weapon - the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. Wherever you are today, whatever your calling or your place, you’ve got a powerful weapon in His word. Pray it, speak it, believe it, share it.

And now, together, we’re ready to stand.

And when Paul bids us farewell with grace & peace, we can contentedly sigh.

Yes, we feel both those things.

Oh Father, help us to love Him with love incorruptible.

If you give SHE READS TRUTH a try of have read on of their Bible studies before, I'd love to hear what you thought of them? Which Bible study did you do?

Plus, SHE READ TRUTH offers tons of free iPod/ iPhone wallpapers that showcase scriptures to memorize. I have gotten a few of the wallpapers and I just love them!