Sun, 12 August 2018
The German nation was humiliated by their defeat in World War I and the resulting treaties. These dynamics created great resentment and hardship. From the shame and ashes of WWI arose the Nazis. They promised the German people a return to glory and supremacy. They were led by a crazed madman named Adolf Hitler.
They built up a vast and menacing war machine. On September 1, 1939 they unleashed it against Poland, their weaker neighbor to the east. 1.5 million well-equipped German troops poured over the Polish border. Their tanks and armies swept in like a lightning bolt supported by the superior airpower of the Luftwaffe.
The Poles were no match. In some cases they sent out mounted cavalry with swords and lances against armed, mechanized tanks. It became a complete rout.
Poland and several other European countries fell to the Nazis because they were unsuspecting and ill-equipped. They did not have the military intel nor armor to stand their ground. The price that they paid was high.
We, too, no less than they, are in a war. It is not a battle against flesh and blood, but against the Devil and the forces of evil. The stakes could not be higher. God does not want us to be caught unaware and ill-equipped. For that reason He has given us a tactical manual, the Bible. In it He details the armor that we can wear so that the victory can be ours.
This Sunday we will examine carefully the first three pieces of this armor and make sure that we’re protected by them.
Suit Up! “The Weapons of Our Warfare: Part 1” Ephesians 6:14-15
Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth (6:14a).
. . . and having put on the breastplate of righteousness (6:14b).
and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace (6:15).
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Sun, 12 August 2018
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