Guard Your Mind

Thursday, November 12, 2026

Guard Your Mind – Phil 4:8-9 submitted by Kay Crumley

The Rooted study this term is on Philippians. Paul wrote the letter from a Roman prison to the church in Philippi who had been a faithful supporter of Paul’s. He is concluding the letter with some important truths. He had told them in verses 4-7 to rejoice, don’t worry, and pray about everything. That will give us peace in Christ Jesus. Galatians 5:22 tells us that peace is a fruit of the Spirit. We cannot have peace from our own effort. The Greek word for peace is Eirene which means inner tranquility and harmony with God and others. This peace is from God, not from human efforts. Which leads Paul to teach us how to maintain that peace.  

⁸Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy—dwell on these things. ⁹Do what you have learned and received and heard from me, and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you. 

This list of things to dwell on may seem hard to apply, so consider each one. True things align with God’s truth, the reality of His Word. Honorable things are noble and worthy of respect. Just things are right, fair, and upright according to His Word. Pure things are clean and uncorrupted. Lovely things inspire peace, beauty, and harmony. Commendable things, those of good report, are gracious and constructive. Praiseworthy things are of high moral virtue and honors God. He tells us to dwell on these things. Dwell is to settle in or make a home in rather than just an overnight stay or short visit. Allow your mind to settle in to thinking this way habitually. That state of mind requires active training. Whenever you find your mind wandering to thoughts outside those listed you must consciously refocus on those things that will bring peace by honoring God and the teachings of His Word.  

Paul invites us to use him as our example. To live by what he has taught in his letters and the example of how he lived. We know that Paul’s life was completely turned from pursuing Christ followers to persecute them to being the most traveled and dedicated missionary for Jesus Christ. He demonstrated a life if dedication, being ‘all in’ for the gospel. That life will allow the peace of God to be with us. Tony Evans says, “When we’re rejoicing and praying and dwelling on the right things and watching the right people, we don’t just have the peace of God, we have ‘the God of peace’. We get His peace and His presence.” 

The current sermon series Stand Equipped for Battle message last Sunday was the Helmet of Salvation. The purpose of the helmet is to protect our mind and thoughts. Pastor Jim reminded us that Satan attacks our thoughts making the mind a spiritual battlefield. We must protect our mind from attacks by turning our thoughts to the things Paul lists. Then we can have the peace of God that comes only from the Spirit of God living in us.   

The Security of the Believer

Wednesday, November 11, 2026

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. I Peter 1:3-5 

The Security of the Believer 

When we become a Christian, we begin a relationship with God that guarantees our eternal security.  We are held by God, sanctified by His Spirit and destined for an eternal home with Him in Heaven. Jude 24 says, To Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy. God’s grace is forever, and nothing and no one can take it away or snatch you from His hand, but the familiar “Once saved, always saved’” tends to cheapen the grace of God. We should never take the grace of God for granted and not look at this concept as an extra allowance to fail, but instead as a safety net, or protection from ourselves. I am so glad that I cannot do anything that would make God stop loving me or take His grace from me. We cannot even disqualify ourselves after Jesus Christ has qualified us with His shed blood. 

The Lord Jesus Christ proclaimed, I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. John 10:28-29b

Forever Secure

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?" John 11:25-26

"He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." John 3:36

Because we have this eternal security, we will be raised to eternal life with Him in heaven. Those who are not saved will be judged and everlasting punishment. Christians are present with the Lord as soon as they breathe their last breath. There they wait for the first resurrection, when spirit, soul and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord.

Satan is real. Hell is real. He may not be able to snatch us out of His hand, but he will try to turn our attention away from God as much as possible. He couldn’t care less about the unsaved. They are not a threat to him, but we are. Christians are a threat to Satan because he knows who already won. He wants to deceive as many as possible here on earth and keep Christians from leading more people away from him and to the Lord. We are safe. We have eternal security in God but there are many more who do not, and the time is now -  we need to be leading them to the Lord. 

We have eternal security because of God’s love for those whom He has redeemed. We have eternal security purchased by Christ, promised by the Father, and sealed by the Holy Spirit.

The Elements of Salvation

Tuesday, November 10, 2026

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. Ephesians 2:8-9   

The Elements of Salvation

We have a God who is perfect in holiness, infinite in wisdom, measureless in power.  He is the One God and Father above all, and He has given us so many good and perfect gifts. The greatest gift of all that He has given us is the gift of Salvation –and this gift begins and ends with His purpose of grace.  Grace is His unmerited favor towards us, meaning, we don’t deserve the goodness, love, mercy, and salvation He gives. We could never earn it, yet He gives it freely to all who accept it and make Him the Lord of their life. Along with salvation we get some other special gifts. Salvation includes God’s work of regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification.  

Regeneration - Jesus answered and said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."  John 3:3   

• The new birth is a work of God’s grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus.  We are completely regenerated into new creatures, whole and clean before Him. 
• It is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Justification - But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. Romans 5:8-9

• This is God’s gracious and full acquittal upon principles of His righteousness of all sinners who repent and believe in Christ. 
• Justification brings the believer into a relationship of peace and favor with God.  

Sanctification - For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.  Philippians 1:6  

• Progressive Sanctification is the experience, beginning in regeneration, by which the believer is set apart to God’s purposes, and is enabled to progress toward moral and spiritual perfection through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in him. 
• Growth in grace should continue throughout the regenerate person’s life.  Christians should develop in their faith and be committed to a life of personal devotion to God.  

Glorification - And if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. Romans 8:17

• Glorification is the culmination of salvation and is the final blessed and abiding state of the redeemed.  
• He regenerates, sanctifies and comforts believers, and bestows the spiritual gifts by which they serve God though His church. He seals the believer unto the day of final redemption.

Obedience and works are not what earns us God’s love, mercy or salvation. Obedience and works may be the result of our salvation as we lead a life devoted to Him. In his love for us he leads us on this salvation path through regeneration, sanctification, and glorification. As you go through the day today remember what He has done for you and all that means for your life. Remember where you were, where 

Yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him;  
1 Corinthians 8:6a

Protecting Your Head in Battle - The Helmet of Salvation

Monday, November 9, 2026

Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest, and your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace. In every situation 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. Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints. Ephesians 6:14-18 CSB

In our current series on Spiritual Warfare called, Stand: Equipped for the Battle, we are learning about the enemy, his tactics, and how we can dress for battle in the full armor of God - special armor from God to protect us against the enemy. As Christians every day we are on the battleground of a war that wages all around us unseen – a spiritual battle. Satan is our enemy and we have learned about his tactics. He distracts us with falsehoods to steer us off the course of God’s plan for us. These tactics weaken us in the battle and create vulnerability in our heart and mind.
We have learned about the Belt of Truth, the Breastplate of Righteousness, the Sandals of Peace, the Shield of Faith, and now the Helmet of Salvation

The purpose of the helmet - 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. For Christians suiting up for spiritual battle every day, the helmet refers to a mind controlled by God, and the knowledge and certainty of our salvation in Him.

The weapon of salvation – When we know who we belong to we can stand firm in battle. We understand we stand in his power and not in our own. Since we belong to him we can know that we are carried and protected by him. 

Pastor Jim gave us four elements of salvation:
Regeneration – at the point of salvation we are instantly made new. We are a new creation in Christ. 
Justification – to be made right. This can only happen through Jesus Christ. Our faith in him and repentance from sin justifies us so we can have a peaceful relationship with a holy and pure God.
Sanctification – set apart for God’s glory and purpose. This is the part where we grow as believers. This is the path we walk until we get to heaven. This is where we step where he steps and learn to live and love like him along the way. 
Glorification – the final blessed and abiding state of the redeemed. 

The dynamic nature of salvation: Salvation is not a static event but a past, present, and future event.

That which is past – We were dead in our sin and in need of rescue from eternal separation from God.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

That which is present – The path of discipleship as God progressively delivers us in our obedient walk with him. The action of salvation lived out in our lives.

That which is future - The completion of our salvation when we are with him in eternity. 

How does “the helmet of salvation” protect our minds?

How do we use the “Helmet of Salvation” every day in this life to protect us on the battlefield? The helmet of salvation helps us to understand exactly how we were saved and to crush the doubts that Satan throws our way. We use that helmet of salvation to remember what we were saved from and what we were saved for. 

Salvation also guards our minds in this life. The Bible tells us in Romans 12:2 - Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. To renew our mind, we must take every thought captive, and then we must filter it through the word of God. When you have thoughts that you know did not come from God, then give Him those thoughts and ask for His help to turn these thoughts around so they are obedient to Him. Satan knows how to take a warrior down. The game of war is won and lost in the mind. He only needs to convince you that you have lost in order to win your mind.

The helmet of salvation provides us with the assurance of our future salvation. We are a child of God with an eternal inheritance. We are promised, by a faithful and promise keeping heavenly father, that we will be with him in eternity. 

What about you? Are you saved? Have you surrendered your life to Jesus as Lord and Savior? If so, are you living in the dynamic nature of your salvation?

If you have questions or need to talk to someone about salvation please call our church – 817-599-8612.  

Stand: Equipped for the Battle “The Helmet of Salvation”

Stand: Equipped for the Battle
“The Helmet of Salvation”
Ephesians 6:14-18 (CSB)

 

Key Truth: We fight from victory, not for victory, because the battle belongs to the Lord.

Main Question: How does the helmet of salvation provide the protection we need in the spiritual battle we face?  

 

1.         The purpose of the helmet.

2.         The weapon of salvation.  

Faith is a reasoned confidence in God’s ability to protect and provide for us in all matters of life, from salvation, to sanctification, to glorification.

Four elements of salvation:

a.         Regeneration

b.         Justification

c.         Sanctification

d.         Glorification

The dynamic nature of salvation:

a.         That which is past. 

b.         That which is present.

c.         That which is future.

How does “the helmet of salvation” protect our minds?

1.    It helps us to understand what has happened to us when we were saved and helps to dispel doubt about if we belong to Jesus or not. 

2.    It helps to guard our minds in this life.

3.    It provides us with the assurance of our future salvation.

 

After the Message: 
Read Ephesians 6:14-18. Are you saved? Have you surrendered your life to Jesus as Lord and Savior? If so, are you living in the dynamic nature of your salvation?

 

The Anchor of Faith

Thursday, November 5, 2026

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6

The Anchor of Faith

Proverbs 3:5-6 Is a great passage for us to remember at all times - when times are good and when our faith feels weak. During difficult times especially we need to always remember that we have a sovereign God that is in control and thankfully we are not responsible for figuring it all out. We can trust in him and not our own understanding. 

Hold On To Your Faith – Trust in the Lord with all your heart…

Sometimes in the midst of spiritual warfare it feels like the world gets turned upside down a few times. When we feel that way or when the storms come, and come they have, we have an anchor to hold onto – the anchor of our faith. Hebrews 11:1 tells us that faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

One thing we know for certain – you do not have to see something for it to be real. We can’t see God or faith, but we can cling to them to carry us through all we don’t understand and to stand firm on the battlefield. It is wearisome to try to figure it all out. We can be overcome with fear if we choose to focus on the invisible things that are haunting us. These things we cannot understand, nor can we comprehend the outcome. 

Give It To Him – and do not lean on your own understanding…
When we can’t wrap our minds around it, and especially when we feel like we can’t handle it anymore, we need to remember that we don’t have to.  The anchor of our faith will hold us steady in the sea of chaos and uncertainty. There are things in life that we will never understand – especially the really hard things. We wonder why God would allow some things to happen. We know God is in control so we have a hard time reconciling the fact that He is in control and yet really hard things happen sometimes. We hurt. Others hurt. People die tragic deaths. There is sickness. We can’t understand why God lets these things happen, but in Isaiah 55:8-9 we are reminded - For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways’ declares the LORD. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. Because we know this we can trust Him and accept that we don't have to understand everything. He wants to take this burden from us. He wants us to trust Him, lean into Him, and let Him guide us. He will always be our compass in the storm. 

No one loves us more than our Heavenly Father. He cares about our hearts and wants us to trust Him to take care of us and to be our compass through this life. When it is beyond our understanding and when we cannot possibly see what is coming next, we can leave it in the hands of a God who knows the whole story. He wants us to lay it in His hands and lean into Him. He promises to go the whole way with us and to lead us in every step. It is the hard times in life, the parts we can’t understand, the parts we don’t want to do, the parts we think we don’t deserve – these are the times we seek Him the most and want to trust Him. Open your heart to Him. Lean into Him and trust Him with all this mess. He is there and waiting.  

Faith = Trust

 Wednesday,  November 4, 2026

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.  James 1:2-4

Faith = Trust

Faith.  It is the essence of a Christian’s existence.  By faith we are saved… that is just the beginning. Faith is the way we come to know God and the way we develop our spiritual strength and knowledge of God. The way we began is the way we continue.  However, faith is not always easy.  A faith test is when our concept of God and the reality of our lives conflict and we can’t understand why something is happening.  

Faith is like a muscle and when it’s stretched and it’s pulled then it develops. Your faith develops as it is tested.  You don’t develop your faith just attending church once or twice a week, even throwing in a Bible study.  God builds our faith by testing it.  If we had really had our way, our faith would never be tested…but God would never have the chance to prove that faith worked.  Our declarations of faith would ring hollow. We would simply be echoing empty religious clichés learned in church and Sunday School.  No skeptic is ever convinced or won over by that kind of false faith. 

 

The testing of your faith is more about who God is than who we are.  If we truly have faith in God - who he is and what he has done - we will trust him. God’s desire is that we know Him and experience His goodness in our lives.  The positive end of a test of faith may not be a change in circumstance but a greater knowledge of God and His love and power in our lives.  That is when faith gets hard.  It’s easy to understand that God may not answer every prayer by giving us everything we ask for. That, we can wrap our minds around, but it is hard to realize that sometimes God’s will is that everything stays the same for a while.  Maybe nothing changes.  That’s not the answer we want to get when we are in a difficult or painful situation.  Faith becomes a fragile Paper Mache shell when everything inside is withering away as we seek relief from a painful situation.  In those times, faith is stretched thin, but it is there. 

 

If you are waiting… if you are wilting and waiting… I challenge you to drink the living water.  It is hard and exhausting, but there is a reason.  If we simply exist in our suffering, we will miss the point.  What a fruitless effort to just suffer through and completely miss what the Lord is doing because we are so focused inward.  There is something working, something is happening.  It is never His purpose for us to understand His ways, just to understand Him.  Hold fast, trust in the Lord as He is developing and strengthening your faith. 

A Forever Faithful God

Tuesday, November 3, 2026

 Do not be deceived. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights ... James 1:16-17  

A Forever Faithful God

Do you recognize God's goodness in your life?  One of our main problems of seeing the goodness of God is that we want to define what "goodness" is.  If things are going well, the bills are paid, and the kids aren't yelling, then God is being good to us.  And what happens in the times of testing and temptation is that we fail to see God's goodness at work in our lives. 

In Jesus' day the Greek Stoics and Epicureans viewed God as a god of apathy, indifferent to the needs of man.  Is that the way we view God? It is impossible to walk with God if we question his goodness. Suffering and trials will come. Unfortunately, they are a part of life. It takes a great measure of faith to see and recognize God's goodness at all times. However not all of life is made up of trials and temptations.  There are those "good" days squeezed in between, and those good days help us to make it through the hard times.  James recognizes the goodness of God that works in the trials for the building of our faith, and that helps us overcome the tempting times of life. When the hard times hit, we don’t feel the goodness of God, but we can remember His faithfulness and goodness of what He has done in our lives.

Perhaps the greatest thing about God and His goodness is that He is dependable, and His goodness is constant.  He is not like the man who doubts and is unstable and unreliable. In our times of trials, tempting, or good days, He is always the same. The God of the mountain is the God of the valley. When we are in the valley, we need to remember the times He has shown His faithfulness in our lives. 

James says in verse 16, "Do not be deceived." There are people who question the goodness of God. We are deceived if we think the Christian life is all trial and testing. God's great goodness is woven into the texture of life. We admit that there are shadows of doubt and dark clouds of pain and suffering in this life. But we must also recognize and see the beautiful picture of God's eternal goodness and know that the Light will not be denied. Darkness comes to an end! We don’t have to surrender to defeat. God is completely dependable and there is no variation or shifting shadow in Him. That is a promise to remember in hard times and a reason to lift our head and trust in Him!

To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.  Ecclesiastes 2:26 

The Weapon of Faith

Monday, November 2, 2026

Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest, and your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace. In every situation 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. Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints. Ephesians 6:14-18 CSB

In our current series on Spiritual Warfare called, Stand: Equipped for the Battle, we are learning about the enemy, his tactics, and how we can dress for battle in the full armor of God - special armor from God to protect us against the enemy. As Christians every day we are on the battleground of a war that wages all around us unseen – a spiritual battle. Satan is our enemy and we have learned about his tactics. He distracts us with falsehoods to steer us off the course of God’s plan for us. These tactics weaken us in the battle and create vulnerability in our heart and mind.
We have learned about the Belt of Truth, the Breastplate of Righteousness, the Sandals of Peace, and yesterday the Shield of Faith. 

What is the Shield of Faith?  For a Roman soldier, the shield they carried protected them from and deflected the arrows of their enemies. Our shield of faith is our trust and confidence in God that protects us from and deflects the spiritual attacks of Satan. 

Hebrews 11:1 says: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Faith is not something we can see or touch.  It is something we learn about and experience ourselves. It is something we see in the lives of others. When we read God’s word, we see over and over again how faithful God was in those stories. When he said he would do something he always did. This account of his faithfulness through all ages helps our faith in him to grow. We also have examples of his faithfulness in our own lives and the lives of our friends and loved ones. We remember all the ways he has been faithful in our lives. 

This faith we have protects us when we take up the shield of faith. We know and believe that the same spirit that raised Jesus from the grave dwells in us also.  Our shield of faith protects and covers us all over – above, below, side to side, and front to back.

Pastor Jim said it this way Sunday: Faith is a reasoned confidence in God’s ability to protect and provide for us in all matters of life, from salvation, to sanctification, to glorification.

Four key truths about faith:
Faith comes from God. Faith is a gift from God that comes from a relationship with him, not a one-time transaction.

We can only approach God by faith. We can only come before a holy God when we have faith that he has redeemed us and justified us to come to him. 

We are saved by grace through faith. We cannot save ourselves. Only our belief and acceptance of the gift salvation from God saves us. 

We are to live by faith. Faith requires action in our daily lives. Every day in every way we step where he says to step and trust his guidance in our lives. 

The Weapon of Faith

Pastor Jim gave us five ways we can take up the shield of faith and stand against the attacks of the enemy:

• Be assured of your faith in Jesus. This assurance strengthens our faith. 
• Grow in your faith through knowledge of God’s Word. Keep learning and growing as much as you can.
• Practice faith by obeying God’s Word and trusting in His understanding over yours. Faith in action.
• When the enemy attacks, look to Jesus, the author (pioneer) and perfecter (completer) of your faith, to protect you and sustain you and to work for your good and His glory. Keep your eyes on him at all times. 
• Give praise and thanks to God for His faithfulness to you in the midst of the battle. Even in the losses and covered in scars give praise and thanks to God always for his faithfulness. 

Like the shot-up shield we saw yesterday in the service, our shield should be shot to pieces when we stand before God in heaven. There is no way we are getting through this life without the flaming arrows of the evil one coming for us. His whole goal is to take us out and keep us off the battlefield. 

Our shield of faith quenches the flaming arrows of Satan. When his flaming arrow strikes the shield of faith and sticks there, the fire will just burn out.  It will be quenched instead of catching us on fire.  Thus the fire would not spread. Really what this means is that whatever your flaming arrow is that can bring you down – it may be drugs, pornography, alcohol, lust, anger, whatever it is - cannot get in when we use the shield of faith. If you let it, it can take over your thinking, emotions, mind, and spirit.  It can be like a fire out of control so we must be vigilant with our shields and deflect every flaming arrow the enemy sends our way. The rest of the armor stays in one place but the shield moves to confront the arrows.  The shield of faith – our faith – moves to where the attack is.  

In whom or what are you placing your trust? 

Are they worthy of your faith and allegiance? 

Will they protect you in the battles you face every day?

Stand: Equipped for the Battle “The Shield of Faith”

Stand: Equipped for the Battle
“The Shield of Faith”
Ephesians 6:14-18 (CSB)

 

Key Truth: We fight from victory, not for victory, because the battle belongs to the Lord.

Main Question: How does the shield of faith help us to withstand the attacks of the enemy? 

1.         The purpose of the shield.

2.         The weapon of faith.  

Faith is a reasoned confidence in God’s ability to protect and provide for us in all matters of life, from salvation, to sanctification, to glorification.

Four key truths about faith:

a.         Faith comes from God.

b.         We can only approach God by faith.

c.         We are saved by grace through faith.

d.         We are to live by faith.

How do we take up the shield of faith and stand against the attacks of the enemy?

1.         Be assured of your faith in Jesus. 

2.         Grow in your faith through knowledge of God’s Word.  

3.         Practice faith by obeying God’s Word and trusting in His understanding over yours.

4.         When the enemy attacks, look to Jesus, the author (pioneer) and perfecter (completer) of your faith,   to protect you and sustain you and to work for your good and His glory. 

5.         Give praise and thanks to God for His faithfulness to you in the midst of the battle. 

 

After the Message: 
Read Ephesians 6:14-18 In whom or what are you placing your trust? Are they worthy of your faith and allegiance? Will they protect you in the battles you face every day?