DIG for Thursday the 5th of October….more than just robed; MADE righteous…..Ephesians 6 v 14

Paul likens our Spiritual armour to that of a soldier. Have you ever thought of righteousness as armour?

A couple of years ago I did a teaching on the Old Testament High Priest’s garments and how his robe is a picture of the righteousness that He has clothed us in.

Isaiah 61:10 says that God has covered me in a robe of righteousness, but in the New Covenant our righteousness goes deeper than that.

When we put on a coat or a robe we only cover up what’s underneath. Being clothed or covered doesn’t change us on the inside.

But the righteousness of God goes right to our core. We aren’t just covered; we are MADE righteous. Not through our own efforts and good works, but ONLY through Jesus’ efforts and His Good Work (2 Corinthians 5 v 21).

How is righteousness like armour? Righteousness is like truth. It is what it is whether we know it or not, and we only benefit from it when we know it!

Do you know you are righteous? If we know that we are right with God, not just skin deep, but right to our core, what can the enemy accuse us of?

‘Not good enough’…’failure’…’powerless’…’hopeless’…without His righteousness we are all these and more…but we are not without His righteousness, we have been made righteous…we just need to know it.

When we know that we are righteous it acts as a breastplate, and the enemy’s attacks of accusations and lies fall away, blunt and powerless against us.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that I am righteous to my core because I have put my faith in what Jesus has done for me, and thank you for the protection that gives me”.

Ephesians 6 v 14….Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness

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DIG for Wednesday the 4th of October…..truth is liberating and empowering…..Ephesians 6 v 14

Paul likens our spiritual armour to that of a soldier.

Like a well-equipped soldier, we too have all that we need at our disposal to face our enemy.

He begins by telling us to have our loins ‘girt up’ (Ephesians 6 v 14).

The expression to ‘gird one’s loins’ was used in the Roman era meaning to pull up and tie ones lower garments between the legs to increase mobility in battle.

Garments hanging loose would be a cumbrance and a constraint.

To be ‘girded up’ is to be liberated, unrestricted and set free for maximum effectiveness in battle.

Truth makes us free and truth is liberating and unrestricting.

But only the truth that we know will set us free (John 8 v 32).

Truth is always truth whether we know it or not, but we will only benefit from it when we know it.

What is truth?

Well, Jesus said ‘’I am the truth” (John 14 v 6).

He is truth and the knowledge of Him and of everything He has done (His finished work) will set us free.

Where we are bound up, constrained and restricted, the truth of Jesus and all that we are in Him will set us free!

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that I am set free from all constraints by the knowledge of Your truth, by the knowledge of You”.

Ephesians 6 v 14….Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness

DIG for Wednesday the 2nd of September…..the breastplate of righteousness…..Ephesians 6 v 14

If you come to MGF or read DIG on a regular basis you will know that I get very excited about righteousness; so I’ll try and keep this DIG to the usual one page!

The breastplate was one of the most important pieces of armour for use in battle for the Roman soldier.

It was also the biggest and heaviest piece, used to protect the chest and therefore the vital organs of the soldier.

The soldier could get hit hard on this breastplate, yet stay safe and alive.

This is a picture for us today about righteousness.

An understanding of our righteousness is one of the most important fundamental truths that we need to know; we really need to wear our breastplate of righteousness.

When we were born again we were made righteous, in fact we were made as righteous as God because of faith in the finished work of Jesus (2 Corinthians 5 v 21).

An understanding of this truth will renew our mind and lead to transformation (Romans 12 v 2).

This is my testimony; I was changed over night when I accepted and truly believed that irrespective of what I had done or was doing, I was righteous.

The armour that we are talking about is God’s armour, and the wonderful truth for us is that our righteousness is His righteousness.

Righteousness is a position; it is about who we are in Christ, rather than about our performance or what we do.

In order to benefit on earth from this righteousness we just need faith and accept this truth.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that as a gift of grace through faith in Jesus I have been made righteous”.

Ephesians 6 v 14…..Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness

DIG for Tuesday the 1st of September…..loins girt about with truth…..Ephesians 6 v 14

This first part of the spiritual armour is fascinating, but a wee bit difficult to explain.

In the context of when this was written men would wear long robes, and these would have been a real hindrance if he were required to run.

He would therefore hitch up his robes and tuck them into his belt, or “gird up his loins”.

A man could then run without his robes flapping about and getting in the way.

To me this is a picture for us “running our race” today.

We are to gird our loins with truth, in other words remove lies and deceit so that we can run free, without hindrance from the nonsense of this world.

The only way to remove lies and deceit is to learn, understand and then replace them with truth (or in other words renew our mind).

And there is only one place where we can be guaranteed to find truth today, and that is in the Word of God.

If we know the truth we will be set free, that is what the Word says (John 8 v 32).

Lies and deceit from the world and from the enemy are designed to trap us, ensnare us and trip us up, a bit like the long robes of a running man would do.

By removing the lies and deceit and replacing them with truth allows us to stand, and not only to stand but also run, advance, attack and fight.

Knowing the truth is the key to running this race that we call the Christian life; knowing the truth so that we can renew our minds and be transformed (Romans 12 v 2).

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that I can find truth any time I want by searching in your Word”.

Ephesians 6 v 14…..Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness

DIG for Monday the 3rd of November….more than just robed; MADE righteous…..Ephesians 6 v 14

Paul likens our Spiritual armour to that of a soldier. Have you ever thought of righteousness as armour?

A couple of years ago I did a teaching on the Old Testament High Priest’s garments and how his robe is a picture of the righteousness that He has clothed us in.

Isaiah 61:10 says that God has covered me in a robe of righteousness, but in the New Covenant our righteousness goes deeper than that.

When we put on a coat or a robe we only cover up what’s underneath. Being clothed or covered doesn’t change us on the inside.

But the righteousness of God goes right to our core. We aren’t just covered…we are MADE righteous. Not through our own efforts and good works, but ONLY through Jesus’ efforts and His Good Work (2 Corinthians 5 v 21).

How is righteousness like armour? Righteousness is like truth. It is what it is whether we know it or not, and we only benefit from it when we know it!

Do you know you are righteous? If we know that we are right with God, not just skin deep, but right to our core, what can the enemy accuse us of?

‘Not good enough’…’failure’…’powerless’…’hopeless’…without His righteousness we are all these and more…but we are not without His righteousness, we have made righteous…we just need to know it.

When we know that we are righteous it acts as a breastplate, and the enemy’s attacks of accusations and lies fall away, blunt and powerless against us.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that I am righteous to my core because I have put my faith in what Jesus has done for me, and thank you for the protection that gives me”.

Ephesians 6 v 14…Stand therefore…having on the breastplate of righteousness

DIG for Sunday the 2nd of November…..Truth; liberating and empowering!…….Ephesians 6:14

Paul likens our Spiritual armour to that of a soldier.

Like a well-equipped soldier, we too have all that we need at our disposal to face our enemy.

He begins by telling us to have our loins ‘girt up’.

The expression to ‘gird one’s loins’ was used in the Roman era meaning to pull up and tie ones lower garments between the legs to increase mobility in battle.

Garments hanging loose would be a cumbrance and a constraint. To be ‘girded up’ is to be liberated, unrestricted and set free for maximum effectiveness in battle.

Truth makes us free. Truth is liberating and unrestricting.

But only the truth that we know will set us free (John 8 v 32).

Truth is always truth whether we know it or not, but we will only benefit from it when we know it!

What is truth? Well, Jesus said ‘’I am the truth’ (John 14 v 6). He is truth and the knowledge of Him and of everything He has done (His finished work) will set us free.

Where we are bound up, constrained and restricted, the truth of Jesus and all that we are in Him will set us free!

Speak this out today….Thank you Lord that I am set free from all constraints by the knowledge of Your truth…the knowledge of You.

Ephesians 6 v 14….Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth…..