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    The Shrink Wrapped Armor of God
    The Shrink Wrapped Armor of God
    The Shrink Wrapped Armor of God
    Ebook99 pages1 hour

    The Shrink Wrapped Armor of God

    By Kathy Barton

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    About this ebook

    This book is a collection of the wisdom gained from 30 years of working as a Christian counselor. Many people struggle with the same problems year after year and only seem to get temporary relief from self-destructive behavior and thought patterns that undermine their happiness and lessen their quality of life. But by taking wisdom from the Bible and applying it in practical, life-changing ways, you can become a new person, free from the ravages of your past. People who I have counseled often ask why, when theyve been a Christian for so long, theyve never heard these things taught. I dont know the answer to that, but I do know that now is your time to become the person youve dreamed of becoming.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAuthorHouse
    Release dateMar 16, 2010
    ISBN9781452057361
    The Shrink Wrapped Armor of God
    Author

    Kathy Barton

    Kathy Barton received her Masters Degree in social work from the University of Michigan, and is also a graduate of Alpha and OmegaMinistry Training Institute. She has been a counselor for 30 years, working in clinics, hospitals and nursing homes, and is a seminar speaker. She has also been a pastors wife for 26 years, working with the children and youth programs in the church, as well as enjoying being part of the music ministry. She and husband David have raised 4 amazing children.

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      Book preview

      The Shrink Wrapped Armor of God - Kathy Barton

      © 2010 Kathy Barton. All rights reserved.

      No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

      First published by AuthorHouse 3/12/2010

      ISBN: 978-1-4490-8735-7 (sc)

      ISBN: 978-1-4520-5736-1 (e)

      My husband, David is a wonderful Bible teacher. His love of the Word and his ability to express Biblical truths in really down to earth ways was one of the things that drew me to him at first, and I’ve had the privilege of sitting under his teaching for 25 years now. His teaching on the Armor of God is one of my favorites, and one that I’ve found to be so helpful in my counseling work. So I decided, with his permission, to put those lessons in written form, adding how I have applied the truths contained in them to my counseling practice.

      The purpose of this book is to help you apply truth to your life and to become all that God has said that you can be. In over 25 years of Christian counseling, I have found that the lack of what is taught in this book is a major hindrance to people finding the freedom that Christ promises us in the Word. Many have asked me, How is it that I have been a Christian all these years and I have never heard this? I can’t answer that question, but I can do everything in my power to see these truths conveyed to as many as possible.

      Contents

      Chapter One

      Be Strong in the Lord

      Chapter Two

      The Nature of the Battle

      Chapter Three

      The Belt of Truth

      Chapter Four

      The Breastplate of Righteousness

      Chapter Five

      The Shoes of Peace

      Chapter Six

      The Shield of Faith

      Chapter Seven

      The Helmet of Salvation

      Chapter Eight

      The Sword of the Spirit

      Chapter Nine

      Final Instructions

      About the Author

      Chapter One

      Be Strong in the Lord

      In reading the book of Ephesians, you will find that the first three chapters deal with spiritual truths. What I mean by this is that it deals with who we are in Christ. It says that we are predestined to be God’s adopted children, to be holy and without blame, seated at the right hand of Christ, and that Jews and Gentiles alike now have access to the Father in Christ. Then Paul prays for us to have revelation of God’s love for us, and of His great plans for our lives. Many refer to these as positional or legal truths because they talk about who we are in God’s eyes, in the realm of eternity. God sees His work as already complete in us because He does not live in the realm of time.

      Chapters 4-6 talk about how to make all of the stuff in chapters 1-3 work; how to walk in the Spirit and stay in the Spirit. What does it look like if you walk the Christian walk out in daily life? Paul tells us in Ephesians chapters 4-6. He uses words like gentle, long-suffering, walking in unity, being truthful, not sinning in our anger, but being kind. Paul says that we also will not do many things, such as being bitter or angry, speaking evil, fornicating, coveting or coarse jesting. He speaks of husbands loving their wives, of wives submitting to their husbands, and children obeying their parents. But how many of us really look like that? Maybe Mother Theresa or Billy Graham do, but not most of us. Why is that?

      I believe that the answer is found in the end of Eph. 6. Let’s look at it together.

      Eph. 6:10-18 (NKJ)

      10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.

      11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

      12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

      13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

      14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,

      15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

      16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.

      17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;

      18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints;

      Verse 10 says Finally my brethren... This is not just some after thought. This passage is like the climax of the entire letter to the Ephesians, so this means after you have learned about what Christ has done for you and what you have been given, and after you’ve learned what God expects you to do with the things you’ve been given in walking out this relationship with God and your fellow man, there is still something you must do. The whole armor of God is needed to stand against the wiles of the devil.

      Think about this for a minute. Paul spends the first half of his letter to the church in Ephesus describing what we have been given. We need to really understand what Jesus has purchased for us. Notice that what we are called to do in spiritual warfare is to stand. We don’t have to go out and re-fight the battle to obtain what Christ has given us. We don’t have to take territory from the devil. Jesus has already defeated him. We just have to learn how to take what we’ve been given. Once you are a child of God, you have it all. But we must learn who we are as God’s dear children in order to live accordingly. You’ve all heard stories of the person who inherits millions, but lives under a bridge as a homeless person because they didn’t know what had been given to them. That’s a good picture of much of the body of Christ today.

      The second half of the letter to the Ephesians deals with what we’re supposed to do with what we’ve been given. God does not expect us to just sit around enjoying our new-found blessings. We need to apply them to our lives or we will just continue to live in the bondage of the devil. In order to accomplish this, we have to overcome the forces that strive to keep us where we’re at now. In our own strength, we cannot realize all that God has for us. There is resistance to overcome to obtain that which has been provided by Jesus for His body.

      There are three areas that we must deal with in order to walk in victory in life. These are the world, the flesh, and the devil. In our own strength, we have no ability to overcome any of these things. The flesh can not overcome flesh, and so walking in the Spirit is our only means of success.

      Eph. 6:10

      Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.

      There are two things mentioned in this verse. It says be strong in the Lord AND in the power of His might. Let’s look at them one at a time. Be strong in the Lord. What does that mean? It certainly implies that we do not have the ability to be strong in ourselves. It doesn’t say, You be strong, and then the Lord will help you. It also does not say, The Lord will do it all while you lay there like a log. We are commanded to be strong, but in Him. But how can we be strong in the Lord?

      This is like saying Walk in love. That sounds good, but knowing that I should do something does not mean that I know how to do it. Many Christians live with a continual sense of guilt for not doing what they know that the Word tells them to do. They know they are

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