HELLO AND HAPPY JUNE!!!
It’s summer! It’s summer! It’s summer! ….well, almost. :) If you don’t know this about me, I LOVE SUNSHINE, so the fact that we're on the precipice of summer makes my heart super happy:)
If you’re new here, welcome to this space with me! And if not, you know that last month, for my birthday, I threw out the challenge (on social media) for you guys to join me in a month long Scripture writing adventure and to my delight, many of you took me up on it! So, I decided to invite you to do the same thing with me for the month of June as well. I mean, why stop a great thing, right? I’ve been entering into this practice for a few years now and it has been such a great way for me to engage with God in a simple way so I thought you might want to give it a try yourself.
This month the plan that I chose is centered around the Armor of God. It’s broken down into categories for each piece of armor: The Belt of Truth, The Breastplate of Righteousness, The Shoes of Peace, The Shield of Faith and the Sword of the Spirit. (For those who are not familiar with this armor that God invites us to put on, the description is found in Ephesians 6:10-20.
(If you haven’t read this recently, or ever before, I’d encourage you to do so as you begin.)
Also, in 2016 my pastor, Jeff Peabody, did a series on this passage of Scripture and I loved it so much that it’s one that I often revisit. (And in fact, he’s actually working on his book from this passage as well—-way to go Jeff!!) But one of the things that stood out from the very beginning, came out of the first part of this passage where Paul tells us in verse 11 to put on the full armor of God. I don’t think I’ll ever forget how deeply it impacted me when Jeff shared that the greek (original language it was written in) for “put on” actually meant “sink in”.
At the time I heard this, I was working really hard in counseling and with others, around some early trauma in my life and I felt like I was already working so hard trying to do all the right things, to find the freedom that I so longed for. I was exhausted. But, this day, when I heard that God, through the apostle Paul, was saying, ‘sink in’ to ME, something shifted. I felt myself exhale and believe in a deeper way that God wanted me close. And, it was in this closeness, that I would experience belonging and be equipped for the battle that was ensuing in my heart and mind.
***MIND BLOWING!!!***
Because that series at my church was so impacting for me at the time, I thought I’d see if I could make it available for you to partake of as well, as we navigate the Armor of God together this month. Simply go to newdaynw.com/armor you will see the list of sermons (9) available for you to enjoy! Then just click on whichever one you’d like to listen to and viola!
I’m so so grateful to be on this journey with you as we lean in closer to who this God of the Bible is, and what that means for us!! Each day, as we write our verse, I pray that we will not just write words on a page, but slow down long enough to let it have enough time and space in our hearts and minds for the Holy Spirit to do a new thing in each of us. (And, maybe you can even sit in the sun while you do it!:)
QUESTIONS TO PONDER...
-What is the message of the passage?
-How can I step into this thought or way of being with Jesus today?
-Is there something I need to confess and ask Jesus to cleanse me from?
-Once I’ve talked with Jesus about this portion of Scripture, through prayer, who is in my life that I can share with about what God is doing in me?
Hope you find this tool to be helpful for you as you journey with Jesus and spoiler alert---I've already got next month picked out and I think you're gonna LOVE it!
Grace and Peace