From: Ephesians Series

Thoughts from my front porch. Coffee, Scrambled Eggs, Hebrews, nature and Peace

That’s how this morning started for me. 7am I heard a bang on the wall and then my granddaughter crying. My wife and I ran into the bedroom to check on her…momma (my daughter, Richelle) was in bed with Raylynn laying next to her crying. Raylynn had thrown a fit, thrown her head backwards (it is a temper tantrum she has just started), but she was ok.

My wife went back to bed and I knew sleep was not happening for me. Men’s breakfast at the Eggcrate Cafe was…hmm 7:15am now…not going to happen for me. So, I figured I would take advantage of the couple hours of peace and quite. I made some soft scrambled eggs, a pot of coffee, and went out on my porch to enjoy the cool morning; listen to the birds, watch the squirrels, and listen to the book of Hebrews on my Bible App.

This is the life..?

At least this is what I have told myself for years that I wanted. In fact, for much of the last decade I’ve spent many mornings (and evenings) like this on my porch. Usually drinking coffee and writing. I love it…

Then I thought about the message I will be preaching on in 2 weeks: “Ephesians 6 Drip: Dressed for the Occasion…of Spiritual War”.

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. Ephesians 6:10-11

“Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.” Ephesians 6:13

There is a reason that we are told to put on the full armor of God. No one ever puts on armor for luxury or comfort. No one wears armor or carries instruments of war in times of peace. We are at war. This is wartime that we are in. There is a very real and capable, cunning, deceptive, and strategic enemy who is always at work waring against humanity and especially the children of God.

Where is the battlefield? We are in it. There is no place where we can go on this earth to escape the battlefield. The battle rages not only in public, but especially when we are in our homes, in our bedrooms, on our porches…even in the shower.

The Lord is my Shepherd, I will not be in need. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for the sake of His Name. Even though I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death. I fear no evil for You are with me. Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You have anointed my head with oil; my cup overflows. Certainly goodness and faithfulness will follow me all the days of my life, and my dwelling WILL be in the house of the LORD forever. – Psalms 23

There is so much in the passage that I have read too many times in my life to count. But this morning, this verse came to me as I thought about Ephesians 6

While we are here on earth, we are always at war. The enemy is always coming against us. And, truth is, the enemy fights us harder…not at church or when we are out in the public…but when we are in the location that we associate the most with peace and safety: Our Home.

As children of God, living on the earth, in these skins-suits – in the flesh – we are at war and always in the field of battle. The full armor of God should be our everyday attire.

The Dichotomy of Everyday Living in this Season

This is what really stuck out to me in Psalms 23: The dichotomy of everyday living within this paradigm that is the tension of life-more-abundant while on the battlefield of the Shadow of the Valley of Death. These are not 2 locations but the same location.

This is where we see the goodness and love and provision and refreshing and guidance, and the individual care we have in a very involved God while on the battle field; while surrounded by the enemy.

The insight that the Holy Spirit has given us in Psalms 23 is an amazing glimpse behind the curtain [for lack of a better term] at the spiritual geography upon which we live.

1st: Living in the Blessing of His Presence: Verse 1-2

The LORD is my Shepherd, I will not be in need. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me besides quiet (still) waters.

Children of God, lead and feed, nurtured and anointed by our great Shepherd.

2nd: The Reality of the Location: Verse 4

Even though I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death.

This is the reality of our situation. Not only are we, as believers—like all humanity—living in the Valley of Death, but as faithful followers of Jesus, we are the ones who are to be ‘forcefully advancing’ the Kingdom of God against the Gates of Hell, invading the kingdom of darkness, tearing down enemy strongholds taking the Light of Life (the Gospel) of Jesus Christ to those who have been bound in the kingdom of darkness, slaves of sin and death. See, we are not just in the Valley of Death, we are in the SHADOW of the valley…we are in the darkest part of the valley—in the thick, in the epicenter of the enemies fortress…taking captive those held captive by the enemy.

3rd: The Refreshing and Restoration of Soul makes Sense: Verse 3a

He restores my soul…

It is here, in the heat of battle, in the midst of our enemies, that God sets a table before us. It is here, in the battle that the Lord pulls us to His table, communes with us, fellowships with us, nourishes us. It is here, in the battle that the Lord provides the impossible—still and quite waters to refresh us. It is here, in the battle that the LORD brings us moments of Sabbath and Shalom = divine Rest and Peace. It is here that He tends to our wounds and restores our soul. And, it is here that He anointed our heads with oil to fend off the constant barrage of mental attacks of frustration and irritation and confusion that infest the atmosphere in places of death – like clouds of flies and gnats.

We have an amazing God who not only fights the battle with us, not only has provided us with His Armor and the Power of His strength; but in the heat and thick of the battlefield, He provides everything we need for the battle, as well as, providing for our own spiritual, physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing; He cultivates personal relationship with us, and never stops encouraging us to press forward.

And, all of this, should motivate us to surrender wholly to HIs will and to this great cause of His Name, without any reservation.

4th: This IS the Path of Righteousness for Us: Verse 3b

…He guides me in the paths of righteousness for the sake of His Name.

I think of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane. It was the darkness moment of His life on earth. It was the moment before God Himself was going to suffer as a human, in a human body, the worst most painful torture and pain, not only the pain that would tear His flesh apart, but the rejection that would break His heart, the mockery that would provoke His Righteous wrath, the infinite weight of the sins of humanity taken upon His shoulders, and the temptation that comes with the knowledge the whole time that all He has to do is say a word and more than 72,000 warrior angels (12 legions: Matt 26:53)were standing ready to annihilate humanity to rescue their King .

Yet, in that very moment the Scripture says,

Looking to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith, who FOR THE JOY SET BEFORE HIM, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set at the right of of the throne of God. – Hebrews 12:2

Because God loved us so much – He sent Jesus. Because Jesus was obedient in His mission – He redeemed us, and because Jesus redeemed us, the Holy Spirit has sealed us in Christ for eternity.

This places the JOY of eternity with God before us. Eternity with the Father, with Jesus, with the Holy Spirit and with the entire family of God is coming…it is on the other side of this moment of human history that is coming soon to its end. That should be all the motivation we ever need to run this path of righteousness through the Valley of the Shadow of death with faithfulness, with Joy, with eagerness in working the harvest of souls, and in hope-filled anticipation of the trump blast that will abruptly bring this battle to an end.

BACK TO MY PORCH…

I love my quiet, peaceful mornings on the porch with my bible and my coffee and the birds and squirrels. I love my family time. I love my moments away with my wife. I love just spending time having fun with my Son, my daughter in law, and with my daughter. I love rocking my granddaughter to sleep and singing songs to her and playing with her.

However, I cannot allow these moments that I love and cherish so much, to allow myself to be deceived into the false allusion that this is the goal. Our souls long for Heaven. Our souls long for family. Our souls long for these moments. But we are not off the battlefield yet.

It is important, as stewards of our families, that we are faithful to our families. These precious moment are so important to us. We all need these moments. Many times God uses these moments to refresh my soul. However, we have to keep in mind that are experiencing these beautiful moment while in the battlefield. We are experiencing these beautiful moment IN FULL ARMOR.

The idea of settling down in our perfect dreamy utopia, is not reality yet.

The Day Will Come When the Battle is Over.

The day will come when we will told to take off this battle array and put down our weapons of war. The day will come when we will never pick up sword or shield again. The day will come when we will never again need to learn spiritual warfare…no need to learn offensive or defensive strategies. The day will come when there is no more enemy anywhere.

But that day is coming. That day is not today.

Today we must be faithful in this battle. Today we war for the cause of Christ.

Am I going to stop these mornings? No. They are moments of refreshing and communion with the Lord. Also, I have my Bible open… being sharpened by this sword, strengthening this shield and helmet, nourishing my soul… as I sip on my coffee and eat my soft scrambled eggs…