BELT OF TRUTH

PREPARING FOR THE DAY

Do you put your armor on every day?

The armor that God has given us to protect us and to guide us?

It is so easy to start your day without “preparing” for the day.

If it takes me, say thirty minutes to get ready for the day, you know the outside ready. What people see.

How much time am I taking to prepare the inside? The spiritual inside, the part that helps us to curtail the frustration, stop the gossip, let the joy of the Lord be present in us?

Our lives are busy and oh how the devil loves that!

Put Satan in his place by preparing to go to battle with him every day.

WHY THE BELT?

Today I will share some thoughts on what the BELT OF TRUTH means to me.

We use the pieces of this armor to depict the importance of how protected we must be.  The Roman soldiers used all this armor when they went to battle, it was necessary to live. This is what they knew and understood. That is why Paul used the description of the armor.

We would not dress like that today BUT as you are praying on the armor of God you must FEEL like you are putting on this heavy equipment.

It is helpful sometimes to go through the motions. If you are feeling particularly vulnerable one day do this…   Go through the motions of putting on the armor. I use this with my 5 year old granddaughter on the days I get to take her to school. She loves to stand up and pretend like we are putting on each piece.

 

One morning, after a distressing day at school the day before, now I know, Kindergarten, but grasp on to the emotional roller coaster these little ones face each day. It is big stuff to them and should be to us. But anyway, I decided I may need to go over the armor again before she got out of the car. When we put the helmet of salvation on she said “grandma I may need to put that on again today at school, can I?”  YES!!!  She was trying to understand the correlation to God helping her and the helmet!  Please remember, don’t think your children or your grandchildren and too young to understand God’s Word for them, we need to present it in a way they can grasp.

 

James 4:7    So submit to God. But resist the devil and he will flee from you.

Dr. Gregory Frizzell explains- Prayer is not just how we prepare for spiritual battle, prayer is the battle!  We are fighting that battle every day.

 

BELT OF TRUTH

We put on the BELT OF TRUTH to declare that you believe what God says is the TRUTH!

Not just “yes, I believe it” – BUT LIVE IT, He tells us to put on this armor every morning.

BUT why the Belt of truth first? – ANY IDEAS?

Girded With Truth

When the apostle Paul describes the armor of God, he is talking about more than a simple set of helpful tips. He is talking about the solid defenses of the Almighty God. These keys, the pieces of the armor, are used to withstand the attacks of Satan the devil. They are ultimate and infinitely powerful tools available to us as Christians.

 

And he chooses to begin describing that set of armor by talking about…a belt?

 

Why, of all things, a belt? He could have started with the mighty sword of the Spirit, the towering shield of faith, the shining breastplate of righteousness—anything but some measly old belt. But he didn’t. why?

 

What was the belt used for in the Roman army?

 

The belt played a crucial role in the effectiveness of a soldier’s armor. It was the belt that held the scabbard, without which there would be no place to put a sword. Imagine an overzealous soldier, fired up and charging out into battle—but without his belt, and consequently without a weapon!

 

 

In addition, the Nelson Study Bible says from the belt “hung strips of leather to protect the lower body.” The Matthew Henry Commentary says the belt “girds on [secures] all the other pieces of our armor.” Truth should cleave to us as a belt cleaves to our body.

 

So we must ask – What is truth?

 

John 17:17

Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.

What does truth have to do with a belt?

 

1 Thessalonians 5:21

Test all things; hold fast what is good.

 

As Christians, we are to test all things and then hold on only to that which is good—the truth—discarding all else. We are to be like the Bereans who “searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11). If we are not convinced that our principles and beliefs are without exception 100 percent true, how can we expect to accomplish anything?

 

Proverbs 3:3-4

Let not mercy and truth forsake you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart, and so find favor and high esteem in the sight of God and man.

A belt encompasses the waist. Does our conviction to the truth encompass us? As the above scripture notes, truth must be bound around us and written on our hearts—our conviction must reach beyond an outward show.

 

The belt used in Roman armor, as we have learned, provided a place for the soldier’s sword. Our sword—the sword of the Spirit—likewise needs a sheath. Truth is vital because, like a Roman soldier’s belt, it allows us to carry the sword of the Spirit and use it effectively.

 

Imagine a belt with a segment missing. No matter how tiny the piece that isn’t there, the belt is still useless. To do its job, it must be one continuous, unbroken piece.

KNOW WHAT YOU BELIEVE AND WHY

Now imagine living a way of life you don’t completely agree with. Maybe it doesn’t seem like a big deal—after all, what are a couple minor points that you’re not sure about?

 

They are everything. To try to live God’s way without total belief in its validity is like trying to hold your sword up with a belt that isn’t continuous. Neither will work. Our trust in God and His Word must be solid, without break, or else we will quickly find ourselves without a weapon. No matter how effective the rest of our armor is, we are useless without our sword. We need to be rightly dividing the word of truth—knowing what we believe, and why.

 

So—how secure is your belt?

 

 

Thank You Jesus for showing and teaching us the TRUTH.  Help us to grasp it, hold on to it, share it and live by it.  In Jesus name AMEN