Wearing Our Ephesian Armor

Sin invites us all of its wares partake,
Each day and each hour that our lives prevail;
None is able to reject the mistake;
All of us sin, thus at times all do fail.
We should all wear our Ephesian armor,
To help us stand firm in heat of the day.
Fate does not protect, or lucky karma,
From the devil's arrows that come your way.
You need not fall, for God can keep you strong,
At least enough your redemption protect;
No tenpting's so great to force doing wrong,
If His path of escape you will select.
Ask Him to equip you for sin's defense,
So when it comes, you can withstand offense.

To love as Jesus loved, you need to avoid sin if you can; He gave us armor to help us do that. This equipment is listed in the letter Paul wrote to the Christians who were members of the church he began at the city of Ephesus, located in present-day Turkey.
That's where the phrase "Ephesian armor" comes from that I used in the poem above.

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, agaqinst the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in heavenly realms. Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breast-plate of righteousness in place, and your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.' (Ephesians 6:10-18)

Please read this again. Isn't it beautiful? God has provided these things as armor for Christians in the spiritual (not physical) warfare against the fallen angels that swarm around us with temptations. There is truth: God's Bible is all true. There is righteousness: Righteousness comes from obeying God and loving others. There is faith: Trust enough to love like Jesus loved. There is salvation: The knowledge that if we love like Jesus loved, we will be alive again and be with Him for eternity. There is the Bible: The word of God is revealed in the pages of the Bible, and it is sharper than any two-edged sword.

NOTE: To you who are learning to love like Jesus loved---Look in my blog archive to find Call Him Not Thief. The commentary lists many names of Jesus you will need to know to understand the scriptures in the Bible. It is a vital tool for you. WJBC