The Full Armor of God by Larry Richards

Paul describes this armor in Ephesians 6 and draws an analogy between the pieces of the infantryman's armor and the spiritual armor God provides so that we can stand against demonic enemies.

Paul explains each part of the armor throughout the entire letter to the Ephesians:
Ephesians 1:1-23 explains the helmet of salvation
Ephesians 2:1-10 explains the shield of faith
Ephesians 2:11-4:16 explains the sandals which is the preparation that comes from the gospel of peace
Ephesians 4:17-5:7 explains the breastplate of righteousness
Ephesians 5:8-6:9 explains the belt of truth
Ephesians 6:10-24 is a summary of everything which includes the sword which is explained as the Word of God

The Full Armor of God is divided into six parts. After the introduction, Richards begins each part with a scheme of Satan - a lie Satan uses to keep us away from God and in sin.

Then he explains a relevant piece of armor. Each piece has an important role for the soldier. And each piece of the armor of God has an important role for us. We need to understand these pieces so that we can stand against the Devil and his lies.

Next he looks at the lesson Paul is teaching and then moves on to how you can claim it and put it into practice. This is a very important part of the book. If we don't learn how to use the armor of God then what good is it to us. We must learn how to use the pieces so that we can become strong soldiers for God.

Although it took me a while to read this book - as does any informational book - I did enjoy it. There is a lot of information in this book and would make for a great small group Bible study. Richards also includes two Appendixes in the back of the book. One is information about Christian counseling and evil. The other is lesson plans for a "Live Free Support Group".

Richards conducts Freedom Workshops where he teaches about the concepts in this book. The lesson plans are used as resources for those who have attended one of his Freedom Workshops.

Chosen Books did supply me with a copy of The Full Armor of God; however, this review is 100% my opinion.

31 Days of Virtue: Day 18

So I counsel younger widows to marry, to have children, to manage their homes and to give the enemy no opportunity for slander. 1 Timothy 5:14


Another important part of this verse to remember is 'to give the enemy no opportunity for slander'. We must always watch ourselves. The Bible says in Matthew 26:41 "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak." We must always watch our actions and pray for God's strength. If you know doing a certain thing or going to a certain place will bring temptation, why do that thing or go to that place? That's just asking for trouble. 


There will always be temptations, and they always lead to death. "When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. Don't be deceived, my dear brothers." James 1:13-16. Don't be deceived! Satan knows every evil desire in you and will use it against  you! 


So what do we do? Luke 6:45 says, "The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks." We store up good in our hearts. We think about things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8). We set our "minds on  things above, not on earthly things" (Colossians 3:2). And we put on the whole armor of God (Ephesians 6:13-17): the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, with our feet fitted with the readiness of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit,  which is the word of God.


That is how we will give the enemy no opportunity for slander: with God's armor, not our own. 


Archive of 31 Days of Virtue:

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Day 7

Day 8

Day 9

Day 10

Day 11

Day 12

Day 13

Day 14

Day 15

Day 16

Day 17

31 Days of Virtue: Day 15

Wives, submit to your husbands as to the LORD. Ephesians 5:22

Submit. I think we all have a problem with this word sometime or another. It may be that we want to be the head of the family. It may be that our husbands are the head of the family, and we have disagreed with them on a subject and don't want to submit to their decision. However, like with yesterday's verse, we need to look at the entire verse. Wives, submit to your husbands as to the LORD.

Submitting to our husbands doesn't mean that we let them walk all over us. It doesn't mean that we let them abuse us in any way. It means we respect them as the head of our families. We need to submit to our husbands just like we submit to the LORD. When we submit to the LORD, we step back and say 'Okay, LORD, I let go of the reigns. I trust You with my life.' The same could be said to our husbands, 'Okay, dear, I let go of having control in this family. God has put you in the position to be the decision maker. I will trust you and respect your decisions.'

I think some of it, if not a lot of it, has to do with this idea we have that we will be giving up our freedom. But that's not true at all! Don't believe the devil's lies! Giving your life to Christ frees your from the burden of trying to work your way into heaven. We can't be good enough to get into heaven. Eternal life with Christ is a gift that we accept. When we submit to our husbands, we aren't losing our freedom; we are gaining a blessing.

Archive of 31 Days of Virtue:

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Day 7

Day 8

Day 9

Day 10

Day 11

Day 12

Day 13

Day 14