Titus 2 Men And Women

"Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober," I Peter 1:13

Context is everything. To fully understand Peter's words, it is critical to understand the word picture he presents of 'girding' oneself. In an Asiatic culture, to 'gird up' was to take the excess fabric of your robe and secure it at the hips so that agility and mobility were possible. To fail to do this would cause you to stumble over the folds of material. 

Girding my mind for action is to be alert about what would make me spiritually stumble. There are things which hurt my spiritual agility if I'm not prepared to deal harshly with them. I must live on alert, assessing the danger and removing the threats. The battlefield is my mind and Satan is the one who wages war. To fail to have a corresponding war strategy is to become his casualty. I lose my edge and spiritual advantage when I am blind to his tactics. His goal is to cause me to re-direct my thoughts away from the mind of Christ. 

Each of us has a place in our lives today that threaten to take us down unhealthy mental and emotional pathways. What is your Achilles heel? It could be the rehearsal of old events that play like a video tape in tour head. It might be a struggle with a present day addiction. Rarely does a day go by that you don't give into the temptation. It might be a painful relationship and every word between you two is supercharged with blame and guilt. 

When we find ourselves on the battlefield in vulnerable areas, the enemy is present, armed with weapons to take us down. What is our hope? 

1. Putting on our armor. Every piece is important, outfitting us with the protection and weaponry to fight successfully. Victory can be assumed!
2. Arming ourselves with scriptures ahead of time for the battle. i.e. If I'm fearful, I find scriptures that address fear issues. I write them out on 3x5 cards and am prepared to read them out loud when fearful thoughts hit. 
3. We make 're-directing our thoughts' a life-skill. Satan loves to interpret life in our ears. He will do so to our GREAT peril. He will be quick to lead us to doors of defeat; false guilt, revenge, distorted thinking. We must recognize his thoughts, renounce them, and re-direct our thoughts to Christ, to scripture, and to praise. 

Every one of us is in a battle today. We don't have a choice on whether the war will come to us. It will and we will either fight or lose. Let's live today as a soldier, not a civilian. Our Father has given us everything we need to take up our sword and see stunning victories.   --Christine Wyrtzen Founder/Director: Daughters of Promise

O Church, Arise
"Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the tactics of the Devil." Ephesians 6:11

O church arise and put your armor on;
Hear the call of Christ our captain; 
For now the weak can say that they are strong. 
In the strength that God has given,
With shield of faith and belt of truth
We’ll stand against the devil’s lies;
An army bold whose battle cry is "Love!"
Reaching out to those in darkness.
Our call to war, to love the captive soul,
But to rage against the captor;
And with the sword that makes the wounded shole
We still fight with faith and valor.
When faced with trials on ev’ry side,
We know the outcome is secure,
And Christ will have the prize for which He died--
An inheritance of nations.
Come see the cross where love and mercy meet,
As the Son of God is stricken;
Then see His foes lie crushed beneath His feet,
For the Conqueror has risen!
And as the stone is rolled away, 
And Christ emerges from the grave,
This vict’ry march continues till the day
Ev’ry eye and heart shall see Him.
So Spirit, come, put strength in ev’ry stride,
Give grace for ev’ry hurdle, 
That we may run with faith to win the prize
Of a servant good and faithful,
As saints of old still line the way,
Retelling triumphs of His grace, 
We hear their calls and hunger for the day
When, with Christ, we stand in glory.

By Keith Getty and Stuart Townend

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