Traumatic brain injuries (TBI’s) are life-altering. Spiritual TBI’s are equally as devastating: The blow of doubt can cause serious damage to our faith. Doubt can alter how we see God and how we are to live in Him.
We are to love God with all our heart, soul and mind: "He answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind…” (Luke 10:27 NIV)
We need a helmet to protect us and not just any ol’ helmet. It must be the Helmet stamped with the word “salvation” in big red (the blood of Jesus) letters. If doubt is one of Satan’s favorite weapons, then the Helmet of Salvation is essential to ward off his blows.
The Shield of Faith is good for warding off the long-range missiles Satan sends, the ones you see coming. Perhaps getting laid off, being gossiped about, being misunderstood, or getting rejected are some of the fiery darts flying your way. They come at you and up goes your Shield of Faith. They hit your Shield with a fiery thud.
But the Helmet of Salvation implies the enemy has gotten close enough to whack you with a blow you did not see coming. These unexpected blows demand strong protection. Our salvation is just that: strong protection. Satan probably thought he had it made in the shade when Jesus was on the cross: "None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory." (1 Cor. 2:8 NIV)
But Jesus died to secure our rescue from sin and death by being our sacrifice for sin and overcoming death itself.
Satan stopped laughing that Sunday morning when a gentle breeze swirled inside an empty tomb.
Consider this: We have been wearing our Helmet of Salvation for a while. But the cultural pressure on us to be more tolerant, more open-minded, can be overwhelming. Some time back, we accepted with a child-like faith the salvation Jesus offered; now, in our ever-progressive world, we feel an open mind might be a better way to go.
So, we trade in our strong, battle-tested Helmet of Salvation for the much lighter and no-brainer Helmet of the Open Mind. Satan sees our weakness and here he comes...
- Whack! How can you insist that Jesus is the only way to God?
- Whack! How you be sure that the Bible is accurate?
Our head starts to hurt. Then, seeing the dents, we get a new helmet: the Helmet of I Am Trying to Stay Open...
- Whack! How can you claim that Jesus died for the world?
- Whack! Are all other religions wrong?
Now, our head really hurts. Then we put on the Helmet of Doubt. It looks sturdy, doesn’t offend anyone and it tells everyone that we are not going to make any rash decisions that limit our intellectual horizons...
- Whack! Jesus is fine for you, but we are all on the same path to God.
- Whack! The Bible is just a collection of stories and is no more inspired than other stories in other religions.
- Whack! You need to think for yourself.
- Whack! You are so superior to all those sheep out there. (But do you notice how that deep discontentment just won’t go away?)
We must keep our Helmet of Salvation on, seeking through God’s power to possess more and more the mind of Christ: "For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? but we have the mind of Christ." (1 Cor. 2:16)
The Helmet given to us by God is the only one that can withstand Satan’s onslaught.
Why Our Gear Won’t Work
Our salvation was secured by Jesus on the cross. He seeks daily, through our experiences and our thoughts, to transform us into His image: "For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters." (Rom. 8:29 NIV)
God wants us to be more and more of what He intended for us all along, before we were derailed by sin: "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." (2 Cor. 3:18)
We can only be transformed by the renewing of our mind if we are secure in the knowledge that He died for us: "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." (Rom. 12:2 NIV)
We must equally be secure in the knowledge that He now wants to live in us: "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." (Gal. 2:20 NIV)
No other helmet will stave off the blows of the enemy.
The Sword of the Spirit versus The Pool Noodle of Excuses
The Sword of the Spirit is the Word of God. You can’t use it unless you know it. You can’t stand on the promises of God if you don’t know what they are. You can’t whack Satan back if he parries with half-truths and you don’t know the whole truth.
Time in the Word is like sword practice. You only get better as you use it. But if you are not prepared in the Word, do you grab The Pool Noodle of Excuses? I am too busy to read the Word! I don’t understand it! I don’t think it’s culturally relevant! It’s a bit out of date! It’s not translated correctly!
OK. The next time Satan throws his darts your way or slams down on your helmet, you give him a shellacking with that Noodle. When he’s done laughing, watch out.
We must be prepared to fight Satan by countering his accusations with the Word of God. We stand on the Word alone. We are not to stand on our knowledge, experience or how many years we have been a solider. If we stand on our strength alone, with pride as our driving force, we will have a false sense of security. We will then venture out into territory for which we are not prepared.
An unprepared soldier is a delightful target for the enemy. The enemy will use friends, family or life itself to give us a whack and send us reeling.
The day will come when people, even those who sit in church, will prefer to have their ears tickled by the culture: "For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear." (2 Tim. 4:3 NIV)
The culture is not about truth. It is about feeling good. If your Sword is gathering dust, your Noodle of Excuses will be about as useful as a carwash in Seattle.
Why Our Gear Won’t Work
Satan’s attacks focus on slaying God’s character and thus His promises. If our knowledge is blunted (limited) or weak (pool noodle-like) we will not discern the lies when they arrive. The only good sword is one that is sharp: "For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." (Heb. 4:12 NIV)
The Sword’s job is to divide the truth from what is false. Satan attacks us to injure and destroy us; the Sword of God is intended to cut away anything that stands between us and God. It’s painful to have those beliefs and behaviors cut away, but in the long run, we will be freer and deeper in Him. Why? Because anything that compromises or diminishes our walk in Him leaves us less and less in the light of His power and strength.
Satan injures us so we will stay in the dark. God heals us so we will stay in the light. It’s our choice.
To be continued...
The Sword’s job is to divide the truth from what is false. Satan attacks us to injure and destroy us; the Sword of God is intended to cut away anything that stands between us and God. It’s painful to have those beliefs and behaviors cut away, but in the long run, we will be freer and deeper in Him. Why? Because anything that compromises or diminishes our walk in Him leaves us less and less in the light of His power and strength.
Satan injures us so we will stay in the dark. God heals us so we will stay in the light. It’s our choice.
To be continued...
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