Wednesday, April 25, 2012

The Battlefield of the Mind


And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION,…Ephesians 6:17
The word "helmet" carries a very descriptive meaning. In the original, it means "circle the head." And that's how the helmet functioned. It encircled the soldier's entire head (except for the face, of course) preventing injury to that vital part of the body.

In our scripture for today the helmet refers to the mind controlled by God. It is too bad that many Christians have the idea that the intellect is not important, when in reality it plays a vital role in Christian growth, service, and victory.Satan wants to attack the mind, the way he defeated Eve (Gen. 3; 2 Cor. 11:1–3). When God controls the mind, Satan cannot lead the believer astray. The Christian who studies his Bible and learns the meaning of Bible doctrines is not going to be led astray too easily by Satan.   We need to be “taught by Him as the truth is in Jesus” (Eph. 4:21). We are to “grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18). Wherever Paul ministered, he taught the new converts the truths of the Word of God, and this helmet protected them from Satan’s lies.  Read the following story about one church-going man who was snatched away by the enemy when his mind was not protected with the helmet of salvation:

One Sunday afternoon, I visited a man who had been a deacon in a local church, but was at that time involved in a false cult. We sat at the table with open Bibles, and I tried to show him the truth of God’s Word, but it seemed his mind was blinded by lies. “How did you happen to turn away from a Bible-preaching church and get involved in this belief?” I asked, and his reply stunned me.
“Preacher, I blame the church. I didn’t know anything about the Bible, and they didn’t teach me much more. I wanted to study the Bible, but nobody told me how. Then they made me a deacon, and I wasn’t ready for it. It was too much for me. I heard this man preaching the Bible over the radio and it sounded as if he knew something. I started reading his magazine and studying his books, and now I’m convinced he’s right.”

What a tragedy that when his local church took him in, they failed to fit him with the helmet of salvation. Had they practiced the truth found in 2 Timothy 2:2, this man might not have been a casualty in the battle.

Heads up!
The head covers our minds, and as we have already talked about in this series, our minds are the battlefield where war rages. This is what the enemy attacks most ferociously.  He fills our minds with lies such as asking me why I sacrifice the pleasures of life that are so tempting.  Why try when I constantly fail?  It is hopeless so why not just give in and enjoy it once?  He also offers half truths like "God understands you are weak. Even if you fall, he will forgive you. After all he loves you so much. So why do you try so hard to be good?" At times, especially in weaker moments, the temptation to buy into his lies is enormous. He fills our heads with doubts, fears, low self-esteem, false doctrines, and he can take away our confidence.  He can fill our heads with lies and make us believe that we are not worthy of God’s love and mercy.  He can trick us in to believing that we are not capable of doing the work that God has planned for us.  He can deceive us into becoming non-productive for the kingdom of God and that is his goal.  He chips away one soldier at a time trying to cripple the Army of God. This is why we must protect our minds from his attacks with the Helmet of Salvation – the knowledge that God has saved us and the battle is already won.

Satan is the great deceiver but all that he offers is short-lived.  What God promises is for all eternity and He has our best interest at heart. 

Scripture to Claim:
But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on ... the hope of salvation as a helmet.   1 Thessalonians 5:8

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