Our Modern Warfare (Part 2)Sample

Breastplate of Righteousness The breastplate a Roman soldier wore was made of bronze or leather and covered the entire torso. This piece of armor protected the heart. One of the most important aspects to our breastplate of righteousness requires us to acknowledge that it’s impossible to achieve any level of righteousness without the blood of Jesus Christ. Jesus’ precious blood was shed for our unrighteousness, cleansing us from the sin that separates us from God so we can be declared righteous before God. We’re giving the enemy a clear shot to our heart when we’re living contrary to God’s standards. Our enemy wants to poison our hearts with his lies and hatred of God so that we cannot live life to the fullest, which was the very reason Jesus came (John 10:10). If our hearts are weighed down with fear, addiction, bitterness, shame, and rejection, we’re not wearing the breastplate correctly, leaving us vulnerable to incoming attacks. The breastplate is worn not only to protect our hearts, but also to display God’s approval and acceptance of us, which deflects incoming attacks. If our hearts are poisoned by a single lie, it will affect our entire body. Our heart is responsible for pumping 1,500 to 2,000 gallons of blood throughout our body every single day. What happens to our heart does not stay in our heart; it’s pumped throughout our entire body. So once a lie from the enemy has entered our heart, it affects our mind, mouth, eyes, ears, hands, and feet. A single lie will influence our thoughts, our actions, our words, and what we believe about ourselves, others and even God. Righteousness is the truth in action. It’s a daily decision to apply God’s standards to our lives, a lifelong pursuit. In order to wear our breastplate, we have to put on righteousness and put off anything that resembles unrighteousness (pride, sexual immorality, envy, selfishness, anger, bitterness, etc.). When we allow sin and toxic behaviors to remain in our life, we’re leaving our hearts wide open to the enemy, inviting him to have his way with us. Our spiritual growth and effectiveness against the enemy is completely dependent upon us putting off our old selves and putting our breastplate of righteousness on, by living our lives according to God’s standards. A single weak spot in our armor will give the enemy the foothold he is anxiously waiting for.