Do You Have Your Weapon?

         No cowboy who valued his life in the Wild West would ever be caught without his pistol and bullets. Many had more than one pistol in their reach. They slept with this pistol, ate with it, bathed with it within reach. No where did they go without this piece of metal. They spent hours practicing with it, they cleaned and polished it. Made sure they knew every dent, nook and cranny. The pistol became an extension of that cowboy, as he knew full well without it, he would be dead. When buying or trading for a new one…you always saw the cowboy test its weight, take some test shots and get an over all feel for the weapon. He would not in trust his life with the new weapon until he was sure of it. He still had his old stand by on the ready even as he practiced with the new piece. A cowboy of the Wild West wore boots to protect his feet and calves. He wore denim, chaps and long sleeves for protection of the elements and briars. He wore a hat to protect from the sun. A handkerchief to keep the dust from entering his lungs.


         A soldier in any branch of the armed forces, now and through out time always keeps his weapon and armor in perfect condition. They have Kevlar vests that are heat and bullet resistant, helmets, riffles and ammunition that they must entrust their lives with. They know it inside and out. They polish and clean it. Practice with it daily. These tools of warfare are their lifelines. Without them, they would be defenseless and easy prey for the enemy to attack. Soldiers read and learn about their enemy so they can get to know how the enemy thinks. How the enemy acts, so they can have an educated guess as to what the enemy is most likely to do next. 

         As a Christian, we are thrust into a spiritual battlefield. The Bible tells us we do not fight against flesh and blood like the soldiers in Iraq. But we fight against “principalities of darkness, against powers and the rulers of darkness in this world and against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Ephesians 6:12) When we become a Christian, we don’t get a FedEx package within the next week containing our weapons and armor we need to stand against the enemy. Our package that contains all we need to fight is our Bibles. Within the pages of our Bibles will we find God’s war strategies to be used on Satan and his legions?

          Ephesians 6:10-20 tells us what, as Christians, our armor against the enemy is. It tells us to “put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” So this armor is designed by God for his soldiers so they may have protection against their enemy. Without it, we have a poor chance of standing against the devil. The Chapter tells us that our “loins should be girt about with truth” and for us to have on “the breastplate of righteousness.” Our feet should be “shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.” “Above all,” it says, “take up the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.” Our final pieces of armor are the helmet, “take up the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God.” The word of God being our Bibles. “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.” Our Bibles are a part of the whole armor God has supplied for us as we battle Satan and his demons. It says the Bible is our sword. Our weapon. Our Pistol. It is a deadly weapon against our evil enemies. Like the cowboys of the Wild West and like the soldiers of the armed forces, we need to know our weapon intimately. We need to know every nook and cranny. We need to sleep with it. Study it. Keep it close…always in arms reach. In 1 Peter Chapter 5:8, we are warned to “be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the Devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.”  Knowing I have an enemy who is walking freely about seeking those he can devour…I know he is more deadly than any bandit a cowboy would have faced. How much more should we be diligent in keeping our weapon at peek performance?

         Consider right now where your weapon is. What condition is it in? Is it sitting on a shelf covered in dust? Is it packed away perhaps in your basement or garage? How often have you checked it? Do you even have an idea where it is? Do you even have one at all?  Do you have on all our armor? If Satan attacked in full force how would you fare? Could you stand up to a deadly attack and quench all the fiery darts coming at you? Or would you be defeated? Satan attacks us daily, on all realms. Physically, Mentally, Spiritually, Emotionally. Take a look at those areas in your life, can you see places where the enemy has broken through your God given armor? It is not too late. You can still take back the ground Satan has stolen. But you have to fight. 2 Timothy 2:15 says to “Study to show they self approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightfully dividing the word of truth.” Read and learn your Bible. Sleep with it, eat with it. Carry your Bible wherever you go. Read it in the mornings, in the noontimes, and in the evenings. Read when you wake, read before you sleep. It is your weapon of mass destruction against your enemy that no government can take from you.  But in order for it to work, you have to know how to use it.