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Good Thursday morning my dear friends,
Those of you who know Dawn and me fairly well know that this is one day on the calendar that we wish didn’t exist… Halloween. Having lived in Haiti as a boy, and later as an adult with my wife Dawn, and our daughter April, the frightening reality of Voodoo warns us about the horrific potential of Halloween.
Anything that smacks of celebrating the dark kingdom is repulsive to us, because we’ve seen the bondage which destroys people, who are fascinated with, or have dabbled in the occult. If you are a Christian, who has been rescued from the clutches of the dark kingdom, and you now are a follower of Jesus, please be very careful in what you or your family does with this day.
Be very cautious about any house or yard decorations which even hint at the things of the dark kingdom. Be very careful about dressing up your kids or grandkids in any costumes that may even hint of things like witches or other things of evil. That activity is viewed by Satan and his demons as an INVITATION to come and make themselves at home in your home!
Oh it breaks my heart when I consider that parents and grandparents, thinking it’s simply a game, it’s cute. They purchase house or yard decorations or costumes that awaken an interest in things of the dark kingdom for their kids and grandkids. Consider how God warned His people as they were preparing to enter the promised land which was full of all types of occult: “When you enter the land the LORD you God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. Let no one be found among you who…practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells or who is a medium or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD…you must be holy and blameless before the LORD.” (Deut. 18:0-13)
Oh my friends, the portion of God’s Word we are reading now, Ephesians 6:10-18 calls us to recognize the very serious reality that “..our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Eph. 6:12)
Now, we’ve already looked at vs. 10-14, and today we’re in verse 15 “Stand firm then… with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the Gospel of Peace.” Soldiers of every era have known it is vital that they have footwear that allows them to stand firm in battle, to charge forward with confidence, to scale up hills or cliffs in pursuit of the enemy. Strong footwear is NOT for retreat, but for advancing with confidence!
Several years ago a man who worked in a shoe store had an idea. He believed there would be a growing interest in athletic footwear, even to the point that people might actually spend more money on tennis shoes, running shoes, spiked shoes for football or soccer or baseball, or special basketball shoes… then they would on nice dress shoes. He convinced his shoe company to take a chance and open a shoe store that specialized only in athletic shoes. It was called “Foot Locker”, and of course you know what has happened in the last 50 years with the huge boom in the athletic footwear industry. I know that story because I met that man 25 years ago, and he told me the story himself. He even told me about how he came up with the idea that the employees of “Foot Locker” would wear stripped uniforms like football and basketball referees, but that’s a story for another day.
I wonder if you’ve ever heard this from Isaiah 52:7,10 “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, ‘your God reigns!’…the LORD will lay bare His holy arm in the sight of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God.” That’s what Paul is speaking of in Ephesians 6:15. As Christians live ‘walking with Jesus’ we will naturally take the Gospel of Jesus Christ into the world, everywhere our footsteps take us, right? That Gospel is of course the greatest news of all time… that through Jesus we can have PEACE with God, as our sin is forgiven!
That’s what Jesus meant when He commissioned His disciples saying: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes up on you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) And my friends, that’s His commission to all of us also, right?
Now friends, this PEACE that Paul refers to in 6:15, comes from being confident that we are forgiven, that our sin guilt is washed away by the blood of Jesus, that God Almighty has declared us holy, righteous… WOW, that Peace is almost beyond description, isn’t it? It’s the news that the world is most hungry to hear, because the desperation of living in bondage to the evil kingdom is so horrific!
We understand the word “Gospel” means “good news”, right? We understand the word “Peace” and that you can’t buy or earn “Peace with God”. Listen to this: “He (Jesus) was delivered (by God) over to death for our sins, and raised to life for our justification. Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have PEACE with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith, into this grace in which we now stand.” (Rom. 4:25-5:2)
Peace of heart and mind about the forgiveness of sin and the assurance of our salvation by Jesus is something only God can give us, by the work of His Holy Spirit! Listen to this: “The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the PEACE that passes all understanding, will guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:5-7) Wow, that’s powerful, isn’t it?
So let me ask you? How confident are you that you have PEACE with God? That your sin is forgiven, that when you stand before Him, God will welcome you into His heaven as His son or daughter, totally forgiven of sin, because of your faith in Jesus Christ, and His atonement death and resurrection?
So, are “your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the Gospel of Peace.”?
Do you understand, my friends, that God has invited us to be Ambassadors of Jesus Christ, taking His Gospel of Peace to every person, God enables you to have a relationship of influence with, beginning in your own family? You know this verse… “if anyone is in Christ they are a new creation, the old is gone and the new has come, and all this is from God who reconciled us to Himself through Christ… we are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal [to the world] through us!” (2 Corinthians 5:17,20)
So today, Halloween day, you and I have the great privilege of living FREE in Christ,from anything the devil might use to try and harm us, or defeat us, or shame us. We can live VICTORIOUSLY for we are empowered by the Holy Spirit of God, and Jesus who defeated Satan is our King, our Commander in Chief! And we can live as His Ambassadors, bringing the Good News (Gospel) of Peace with God, to everyone we meet today.
Here’s a closing verse that I hope encourages you greatly… “In your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. Do this with gentleness and respect.” (1 Peter 3:15)
Now that’s living with our “…feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the Gospel of Peace.” (Eph. 6:15) I hope that’s how we all live today my friends…
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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