Uncategorized – Page 31 – Wisdom From the Word

Honouring His Presence Part 3 – Honour through Discernment

Paul made an interesting statement about relationships among believers.

¹⁶ Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. 2 Corinthians 5:16 (NKJV)

I suspect most of us are more familiar with the verse that follows.

¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV)

Paul’s point seems to be that because we are new creations we need to relate to and ‘regard’ our fellow believers based on who they are as a new creation. This includes the need to discern the gifts and callings they carry and receive accordingly.

When we look at fellow believers with a new creation mindset we can first look for Jesus in them, then honour what He is manifesting in and through them, the primary goal being Himself. I am sure most of us have had the experience of meeting someone and ‘knowing’ they were a fellow Christian. Not because they carried a large bible, wore a cross or had a neon sign on their head. No, our spirit encountered Jesus in them and we had the opportunity to receive from them, encourage their growth and honour the fact that as fellow believers they were carrying His presence.

The type of honouring I described above requires walking closely to His heart in our evaluations of others.

In contrast to what I just shared above, I know there have been times when I judged others wrongly. Okay, a number of times. When we first meet fellow believers if we set aside our initial judgements we have the potential for deep fellowship through following the leading of the Holy Spirit.

So, let’s look to Him and seek His heart in the knowing of others.

As an encouragement, one way to walk in honour toward others is by cultivating a heart that honours Him first. See the song below.

Goodness of God https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0FBb6hnwTo&fbclid=IwAR2OmrlQU-oeuio958wj93t03L6TIE56A6RAIGe_BPT0IAIyYf6_KodAgxA

Honouring His Presence Part 2 – What Jesus Offers

There is the expression, “You can never go home again.” It is akin to the idea, “You can never step in the same river twice.” Time marches on and we need to recognize the impermanence of moments. However, one would expect Jesus to be welcome at home, He was after all a nice guy. He didn’t bully people while growing up, He was helpful at home and in the community and there were now stories circulating of people being healed by Him. Here is what happened when Jesus spoke at the synagogue upon His return to Nazareth.

¹⁸ “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; ¹⁹ To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.” Luke 4:18-19 (NKJV)

After His testing in the wilderness Jesus returned to Nazareth and stood up and read this passage about the coming Messiah and then told them the scripture was fulfilled, that is, that He was the fulfillment (verse 21). This was Jesus first public proclamation that He was the prophesied Messiah. The response – they marveled at His words and when He challenged them to believe it they were “filled with wrath” (verse 28).

What was the outcome of their response?

⁵ Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. ⁶ And He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching. Mark 6:5-6 (NKJV)

When Jesus was not honoured He could do very little in their midst.

It is interesting if we look around at various segments of the body of Christ that those who believe in healing see more of it. Those who believe in spiritual gifts tend to operate in them. This happens because just as Jesus was present in Nazareth, He is also present when believers gather.

²⁰ “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” Matthew 18:20 (NKJV)

Jesus reinforced this message just before His ascension to heaven.

¹⁸ And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. Matthew 28:18-20 (NKJV)

Since Jesus is with us when we gather why not honour His presence and pursue all that He has to offer?

Honouring His Presence Part 1 – Discerning His Body

In 1 Cor. 11:17-34 Paul addresses how we are to partake of communion, the Lord’s Supper. We generally focus in on verses 28-29.

²⁸ But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. ²⁹ For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. 1 Corinthians 11:28-29 (NKJV)

What I want to focus on is the phrase, ‘not discerning the Lord’s body.’ In general I believe the teaching on this addresses the elements, the cracker and grape juice or wine because they represent Jesus broken body and shed blood.

While there is important truth in that in the context of the passage there is a broader application. Paul’s focus is on the behaviour of the congregation as they gather. In the early church they ate a whole meal together. Here is what Paul said of their behaviour.

²⁰ Therefore when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper. ²¹ For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry and another is drunk. 1 Corinthians 11:20-21 (NKJV)

What concerned Paul was how they were treating one another in the process. They were not discerning Jesus body, that is, the church, and in the process were not honouring Jesus presence among them and within them. Paul’s statement below is a commentary on verses 20-21.

²⁷ Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 1 Corinthians 11:27 (NKJV)

I don’t know how often we think about this but our call as Christians is also a call to honour and bless our fellow believers. We have different degrees of relationship with different ones but regardless of the level of relationship the common factor needs to be one of respect and honour. When we do this we discern Jesus body, honour His presence and instead of coming under judgment we open the door to the blessing of more of Jesus presence in our lives.

Are we discerning His body?

Thinking Within

In my last post I referenced the importance of thinking and our imagination. In response a friend posted a comment that included the following, “The importance of a sanctified imagination.” I read this comment and it has been with me for days. In our walk with Jesus our thinking is critical, and is highlighted in Proverbs.

In examining this proverb it is important to compare two versions as when most quote it they refer to how we think in our heart.

⁷ For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. “Eat and drink!” he says to you, But his heart is not with you. Proverbs 23:7 (NKJV)

⁷ For as he thinks within himself, so he is. He says to you, “Eat and drink!” But his heart is not with you. Proverbs 23:7 (NASB)

The NASB is the more accurate translation. The reference is about our inner thoughts. The word translated as heart in the NKJV is actually the Hebrew nephesh, soul.

Proverbs 23:7 is an important verse that presents an important principle in the context of verses 1-2. The context provides both wisdom and warning, for who of us doesn’t entertain the fantasy of knowing the ‘important’ people? Who would not have his ego ‘stroked’ by their attention? Solomon recognized this.

¹ When you sit down to eat with a ruler, Consider carefully what is before you; ² And put a knife to your throat If you are a man given to appetite. Proverbs 23:1-2 (NKJV)

The phrase ‘given to appetite’ translated more accurately would be ‘ruled/mastered by your soul.’ The word ‘appetite’ is also the Hebrew nephesh, soul. Solomon is saying the degree of control our appetites have over us is connected to how we think. This connection leads us to verse 7 which contains a key idea about the impact of our thought life.

If we focus on a soulish desire to be seen as ‘important’ in the eyes of others we will concentrate on their assessments and this is what we will think about. IF we root our thought life in the renewed and renewing mind of Christ, we will embrace His assessment of us.

The importance of this is found in the word translated ‘thinks’ in verse 7. It is the Hebrew word shāʿar and in addition to referring to our thinking also means to act as a gatekeeper. What Solomon is saying is that the way we think, what we open or close the gate to, determines who we are. Years ago I read something by A. W. Tozer talking about taking responsibility for our thought life. He said, “You may not be able to keep a bird from landing on your head but you can keep it from building a nest in your hair.”

Tozer’s idea echoes Solomon. The enemy or our flesh may initiate things in our thought life. Our responsibility is to shoo them away and close the gate.

Abiding

Jesus said,

⁴ Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. John 15:4 (NKJV)

If we want to bear fruit we need to learn to abide. If we approach the metaphor from the perspective of agriculture it is clear that branches that are not connected to life giving vines cannot produce fruit, even though for a season we may be able to produce a semblance of life.

For example, one spring I cut down a large willow tree. I left a four foot portion of the trunk lying on the patio. In a couple of weeks small leaves appeared on the side of the prone trunk. There was the remnant of life in the trunk, but in a few days the leaves withered. The trunk was no longer connected to life giving roots.

Beyond the obvious practical need to abide to produce life, we need to know how to abide. With that in mind I will look at one tool to aid in abiding, our imagination. Isaiah said something very interesting and I have included a couple of translations to bring out the shades of meaning in this verse.

³ You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You. Isaiah 26:3 (NKJV)

³ You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You. Isaiah 26:3 (AMP)

³ An imagination supported Thou fortifiest peace -peace! For in Thee it is confident. Isaiah 26:3 (YLT)

The Amplified translation brings out the idea of inclination and character while Young’s Literal Translation correctly informs us that the Hebrew word here for ‘mind’ actually refers to our imagination, or more specifically how our thoughts are formed. Our thought life is a powerful tool to deepen our walk with Jesus or draw us away. So, allow me to take the presentation in the different translations above further and offer my own.

³ You will keep him in deep peace, Whose imagination is fixed upon You, Because he trusts in You. Isaiah 26:3

The idea here is the need to take control of our thought life. Doing this requires that we be intentional regarding the use of our mind. My friend Evelyn used to warn me, and others, of the need to avoid passivity in our thought life. We are in a spiritual battle and when we let down our guard and let our thoughts wander we cease to abide. If we recognize what is happening we have an opportunity to pull our thoughts back. When we fix our thoughts on Him He responds by imparting peace to our hearts.

Your Thoughts will be Established

With special interest groups, using social media to both propagate their positions and to shame those of their opponents, minority interests seem to be invested with disproportional power. We live in a time when confusion and the quest for control seems to reign in Western civilization. More accurately, many seek to use confusion to establish control. And this quest is undergirded by worldly wisdom. The scriptures say the following.

¹³ Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. ¹⁴ But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. ¹⁵ This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. ¹⁶ For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. ¹⁷ But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. ¹⁸ Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. James 3:13-18 (NKJV)

James clearly contrasts wisdom from above with wisdom from below. When we look at the cultural maelstrom Western civilization has been descending into it is easy to see which type of wisdom has been predominant. Yet Jesus calls us to step into this storm of confusion and walk uprightly sowing peace.

To sow peace into confusion we need to carry peace. We cannot release what we do not possess. One of my favourite verses is Proverbs 16:1.

¹ The preparations of the heart belong to man, But the answer of the tongue is from the LORD. Proverbs 16:1 (NKJV)

In reading Proverbs 16 recently, my heart was drawn more to verse 3.

³ Commit your works to the LORD, And your thoughts will be established. Proverbs 16:3 (NKJV)

What stood out for me was the idea of our thoughts being established. Like many other places in scripture here is a promise with a condition. Our thoughts are established when we truly commit all that we are doing to Yahweh. Like seeking to fit a square peg in a round hole we can’t sow peace and righteousness through envy and self-seeking; we must walk in the godly wisdom James calls for. When our thoughts are established, we walk in peace and can release this wisdom from above; wisdom that is pure, peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruit. Wisdom that sows peace and righteousness.

Without knowing it, our culture is crying out for this wisdom. Jesus said at the end of this age He is going to separate the nations into sheep and goat nations, with the sheep ones being those He blesses and honours (Matt. 25:31-46).

Let us pray and focus our hearts on doing all that we can to assure that ours will be a sheep nation.

A Man in a Cave

For those of you who know your bible you likely assumed this is a post about Elijah’s cave experience: you are correct.

As we follow the story we learn that Elijah is a prophet who moves in dramatic power. He bursts on the scene in 1 Kings 17 declaring to the wicked king Ahab a drought that will last years and not end until Elijah says so, which happens. He raises a dead child back to life. In a public contest with the prophets of Baal he calls upon Yahweh to vindicate him and fire comes down from heaven that consumes the sacrifice and the altar. Elijah then slays the 450 prophets of Baal. Great and dramatic feats!

After all of these dramatic victories Elijah’s life is threatened by Jezebel and he flees (1 Kings 19:1-3). This seems unbelievable. After all of Elijah’s victories he is suddenly afraid for his life and flees when threatened by Jezebel. Clearly, though not from Yahweh, Jezebel had some spiritual power that intimidated Elijah.

Whatever is happening it puts Elijah into a spiritual funk. He is discouraged and irrational. After being strengthened and fed by an angel he travels forty days on that food, another supernatural experience. Yet, whatever he is thinking about over the forty days does not help as he ends up in a cave on a mountain, feeling emotionally and physically alone. While Elijah is in the cave Yahweh asks him a question and he gives an interesting answer.

⁹ And there he went into a cave, and spent the night in that place; and behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” ¹⁰ So he said, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.” 1 Kings 19:9-10 (NKJV)

Is what Elijah says true? Partly. Elijah has been zealous for Yahweh and the children of Israel have for the most part forsaken the covenant. Yet, he is not the only one left. In 1 Kings 18:13 Obadiah explained to Elijah how he had hidden and fed 100 of Yahweh’s prophets; in fact he implies Elijah already knew this to be the case.

It has been well said that when an omniscient God asks a question He isn’t looking for information. Generally Yahweh asks us questions to reveal our hearts, to us – He already knows them. When we are depressed and under spiritual oppression we don’t think rationally. Yet in this state, like Elijah, we can still hear God’s voice. The issue is our response.

In verse 9 Elijah was in a cave alone. After the first question and response Yahweh directed Elijah to come out of the cave and stand on the mountain before Him. It appears that Yahweh was seeking to shift Elijah’s perspective. He wanted him to move from darkness and isolation out into the open. Yet look at what happens.

We don’t know how Elijah heard in the cave but when he stepped out he saw dramatic supernatural displays but he did not encounter Yahweh in them. It is easy to miss the spiritual looking for the supernatural. We can engage in loud emotional and dramatic events but He is not in them.

When Elijah encounters Yahweh it is in a still small voice. Yet look at Elijah’s response.

¹³ So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” ¹⁴ And he said, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.” 1 Kings 19:13-14 (NKJV)

Elijah heard Yahweh in a quiet voice but it didn’t bring him out of his funk, it didn’t shift his perspective. Elijah remained in a ‘woe is me’ mode. So how does Yahweh respond? He recommissions Elijah to perform significant prophetic acts, one of which is to call and train his successor. The mantle is to be passed.

I believe in this Elijah missed something. I think if he had been able to focus on intimacy over power his perspective would have shifted and his ministry may have remained fruitful for a longer period.

Not unlike Elijah, whose attention was drawn by the dramatic, we live in a busy noisy culture surrounded by marketing hype. One response to coping with seeming endless busyness and urgency is the growth of training opportunities in practices like ‘mindfulness’: learning to quiet our minds and refocus to shut out multiple competing distractions. It is sad that many in the world are turning to these ‘spiritual’ practices that while effective in reducing stress, do not bring spiritual reality. We as the church should be, among other things, a place of refuge where minds and hearts can be quieted and where we can hear His whisper.

At times we do need dramatic displays of power, but even more we need to learn to lean into His heart, to know His voice in intimacy. How are we doing?

Whisper by Jason Upton

Standing Part 8

To wrap up our understanding of how to stand and be effective wearing our spiritual armour we will look into the following verse.

¹⁸ praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints Ephesians 6:18 (NKJV)

Paul tells us that after we put our armour on we need to pray ‘in the spirit.’ Jude also has something to say on the subject.

²⁰ But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, ²¹ keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. Jude 1:20-21 (NKJV)

Paul and Jude both advise us to ‘pray in the Spirit.’ Great advice but what does it mean? My background is Full Gospel/Pentecostal. The general teaching in those circles is that praying in the Spirit is praying in tongues. This creates a problem. If that interpretation is true then those who do not speak/pray in tongues cannot be effective in spiritual warfare. Neither Paul nor Jude would encourage a practice that was not for all. Below in italics is an excerpt from a teaching article I wrote in 1992 that speaks to praying in the Spirit. The article was about life in the Spirit and the first paragraph provides context for the second.

True prayer is simply the heart responding to Jesus. When we always respond to Him we are praying without ceasing (1 Thess. 5:17). To pray without ceasing does not mean to pray 24 hours a day 7 days a week. The phrase ‘without ceasing’ is used three times in 1 Thessalonians (1:3, 2:13, 5:17) and each time is the same Greek word. It basically means to pray without omission and if we look at the context of these passages Paul cannot be saying he is praying 24 hours a day 7 days a week for these things.

Paul gives the sense of praying without omission or ceasing in Ephesians 6:18 and Colossians 4:2. To pray at all times in the Spirit is simply to respond to Him with prayer as the Spirit leads. To pray in the Spirit is not necessarily praying in tongues. Tongues are praying by, through, or with, the enabling of the Spirit not in the Spirit. Praying in the Spirit is following His leading in prayer rather than simply praying what we naturally think we should pray. If we are praying at His leading while praying in tongues then we are both praying in and by the Spirit.

So, back to Ephesians 6, using our armour and praying in the Spirit. We need to put on our armour, being mindful that wearing it without using it is like an athlete putting on all his equipment then watching the game. Once clothed we pick up our sword and wield it by turning into prayer the scriptures He stirs in our heart.

For example, if I am facing a significant challenge, I may take up this verse.

¹³ I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13 (NKJV)

I can obey Jesus injunction to speak to the mountain (Mk. 11:23) and say, “I declare that X shall not have dominion over me. Because Your word says I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, Jesus I thank You for Your enabling. I thank You that I am called to victory in this area.” We form our prayers as the Holy Spirit leads. Remember, Paul wrote this from prison. His declaration in Philippians 4:13 didn’t set him free, it enabled him to live in victory in his circumstances.

Now not all prayer needs to be based on a particular verse or passage of scripture, it does however need to align with scripture. For example, here is something I pray regularly from myself and many of you. It ties together the various components of armour from Ephesians 6 with the power of our blood covenant with Jesus.

“I place all you have called me to, my family, life, home, property and purpose – my destiny, under the protection of Your name and blood. Phil. 2:10, Eph. 1:7, Prov. 18:10

Help us to stand in the power of Your might, at rest in Your truth, righteousness and peace as we exercise faith in You, embracing You as our salvation and declaring Your word! Holy Spirit, I embrace Your call to wield my sword, Your word, to be alert and pray at strategic times, at Your prompting, establishing Your will in the earth.

I thank You that Your word is truth and that as I commit to standing on truth and in truth the enemy is defeated. I thank You that You are my righteousness. Through You I come boldly to the throne of grace, drawing on Your mercy and help. I thank You that as in faith I present my requests to You, Your peace guards my heart and mind. I thank You that my faith in You is a shield that quenches all the attacks of the evil one. I thank You that by filtering my thoughts through the reality of Your salvation, my mind is guarded. I thank You that the proper use of Your word is a sword that drives back the enemy! Eph. 6:10-20, 4:21, John 14:6, Phil. 3:9, 4:6-8, Heb. 4:12, 11:1, 6, 12:2, Rom. 1:16, 8:14, Gal. 5:16, 18

Father, I thank You that we are bound to You by the covenant made in Jesus’ blood. I thank You that His blood is continually protecting us and cleansing us from all sin as we walk in the light of Your presence. Luke 22:20, Heb. 10:29, 13:20, Ex. 12:13, 23, 1 Jn. 1:7-10, Eph. 5:8”

So, in relation to spiritual warfare; let’s become familiar with His word, put on our armour, pick up our swords and look to the Holy Spirit.

Standing Part 7

Thus far we have examined everything but the sword. So in coming to our last piece of armour it seems appropriate to see all of them in context.

¹⁴ Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; ¹⁶ above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. ¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; Ephesians 6:14-17 (NKJV)

When we reflect on this it is clear that all of the pieces we have examined so far are for stability, like the shoes, and protection. The sword of the spirit is unique in that it can be used for both attack and defense. We see that the sword is the word, the scripture. The best example of someone wielding this sword is found in Matthew 4:1-11 (see also Luke 4:1-12). We should expect Jesus to be a skilled swordsman, which He demonstrated, but He also expects us to develop our skills in the realm of parry and thrust.

As an aid to skill development, let’s see how Jesus used His sword in a portion of this passage.

⁵ Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, ⁶ and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ” ⁷ Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God.’ ” Matthew 4:5-7 (NKJV)

While it is important to note that Satan is a liar by nature, he did not misquote this scripture (Ps. 91:11-12). His strategy was to misrepresent scripture to deceive! Psalm 91:11-12 was true, but could be claimed only if one was walking in submission to Yahweh. The Father was not leading Jesus to leap off of the temple so Psalm 91 was not applicable and Jesus knew that. Satan was tempting Jesus to tempt His Father.

In one swift move with His sword Jesus did a parry and thrust and ended this encounter.

Now to us. To effectively wield the word we need to know it and apply it in context. Read through Paul’s letters and see how many promises have a condition attached. Here are a couple of examples.

⁹ The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:9 (NKJV)

²³ if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister. Colossians 1:23 (NKJV)

Take the first one. If we want to claim His peace in our lives we need to walk in obedience. If we have our peace disrupted and are being obedient we take up the sword. We can declare His peace (shalom) over our lives and we can receive it. This is taking up the sword of the Spirit.

So, let’s stay in His word and develop our skills with the sword He provides.

Next week, to wrap all of this up we will look at the following verse.

¹⁸ praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints Ephesians 6:18 (NKJV)

Standing Part 6

In the last five posts we have looked at most of our spiritual armour – truth, righteousness, peace and faith. We now come to the helmet of salvation.

¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; Ephesians 6:17 (NKJV)

The helmet guards our heads, in the case of spiritual warfare, our minds.

I remember reading the story of a young struggling pastor. He went to a wise older mentor who asked him if he was using the armour from Ephesians 6. The young pastor began to respond with what he had learned about the armour in seminary. The old fellow stopped him and said something like, “I don’t care if you know about it. What I want to know is, are you actually putting it on?” His point was that the armour is only useful if it is applied.

So, how do we protect our minds? This may sound odd, but we need to think about our thinking. Most of us are likely familiar with Romans 12:1-2 about the need to renew our minds, but like the story above, the knowledge is only useful if it is applied. I had occasion recently to share my distinction between knowledge and wisdom. I see it like being in the middle of the highway with a large truck coming at me. Knowledge is knowing I need to get out of the way; wisdom is moving!

In a similar way, knowledge is knowing I need to put on the helmet of salvation, weighing my viewpoints in light of scripture. Wisdom is aligning my thoughts with scripture. A shorter, but parallel passage to Romans 12:1-2 is below.

²³ and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, Ephesians 4:23 (NKJV)

This renewal process is clearly laid out by Paul in Philippians 4:6-8. Paul tells us that we are to set aside anxiety and worry and exchange it for peace. He tells us how. We are to turn our worry into prayer. This does not mean ‘praying the problem,’ giving our Father a list of what is wrong. Instead we are to bring before Him the change we desire to see (in line with His word) and then to meditate, to think deeply, on things that are good, pure, and right. The outcome is peace resting in our hearts.

This is putting on the helmet of salvation.