Years ago, as we were launching NorthStar Women’s Network, I felt overwhelmed and under equipped. Someone suggested I start praying on my armor each day. So, I did. And as time went on, I encouraged others to do likewise.

But now, 17 years later, I am done with that. I'm not advising women to pray on their armor anymore. Why is that? Because recently while rereading Ephesians 6, I was convicted by the Spirit that I had been advising women incorrectly. I realized there isn’t anywhere in Paul’s letter where he says we need to pray on our armor for daily protection. Instead, Paul advises us to “put on the full armor of God.” It’s God’s armor we are praying on, not ours. What a difference changing one word makes. It’s huge.

Our armor – our thoughts, our truth, our faith – has no power against the enemy. If it did, Adam and Eve would have remained in the garden. Everything we do, we do through the One who gives us strength. His strength. His power. His armor.

But in the end, does it really matter what we call it? Yes, it does. Because when we call it what it is, it reframes our perspective and gives us greater insight into Paul’s instructions.

Beginning with the understanding that the Holy Spirit is actually dwelling within us (given to us at the time of our profession of belief in Jesus Christ), we can see why Paul is telling us to be strong in the Lord and the strength of His might. If the Holy Spirit is indwelling, and He is, and if Christ is manifested through the Spirit and abides within us, which He does, then praying on God’s armor has little to do with us, but everything to do with Jesus. It is always about Jesus.

With that in mind, when we are praying on God’s armor, we pray on:

His Truth – It’s the truth according to what Christ lives and teaches, understanding things from His vantage point as He dwells within. The enemy wants to make us think truth is relative, believing all kinds of lies about ourselves and others, but Jesus has said He is Truth. Truth is not relative as the world states, Jesus is the plumb line. The belt of the armor is meant to hold in proper place those things that could easily trip us up. So it is with Truth.

His Righteousness - We have been made righteous—restored to a right relationship with God the Father through Christ the Son. Once Jesus begins to indwell our life, God no longer sees our sin. Our sins have been replaced by Christ’s righteousness. However, the enemy would like us to think otherwise, to believe we are still sinners deep in sin who can’t measure up in God’s presence. That’s why the Breastplate of Righteousness is so important— to protect our hearts from feeling unworthy or shame from the enemy’s constant attempts at condemnation.

His Peace - We often think this piece of the armor is all about the shoes of peace, but Paul says it’s actually the preparation of the shoes of peace. So how do we prepare to walk in peace? We do it the same way Jesus does as He lives and dwells within. The same way He did it when He walked the earth, by abiding in the Father’s presence. And the peace that protects is not our peace, but the actual peace of Jesus. Jesus told us, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give to you.” We can move forward without fear, resting in His peace.

His Faith - It would be great to think our faith is strong enough to stop the “fiery darts of temptation” aimed at us by Satan, but it isn’t. If it were, Adam and Eve would not have failed in the garden, but the saving faith that can protect us from ALL of Satan’s lies is the faith of Jesus. In a more accurate translation of Galatians 2:20, Paul tells us “The life we now live in the flesh, we live by the faith of the Son of God,” instead of faith in the Son of God. Somewhere over the years the word was changed from “of” to “in.” I am not sure why as it totally distorts the meaning. When we are clear about the fact the Holy Spirit indwells us and Christ is manifested through the Spirit, it’s easy to understand the Shield of Faith is about submitting to Christ’s faith as He dwells within.

His Salvation - Jesus came, died and rose again as the Savior of the world, to deliver us from the consequences of sin. He set us free from the penalty of sin; we are forgiven. He set us free from the power of sin; we are restored to a relationship with God the Father. And He set us free from the presence of sin; we are cleansed through the presence of His Spirit who dwells within. Our sins are forgiven and our guilt is removed. In the Greek, the word for salvation also means deliverer. As we pray on the Helmet of Salvation, the helmet of our deliverer, let us guard our thoughts and guide them with the knowledge and truth of His salvation.

His Sword - I love the translation of this in The Amplified version, “The sword the Spirit wields, which is the Word of God.” The Spirit doesn’t speak on His own initiative, as Jesus tells us in John 16. But He discloses to us what is spoken to Him by God the Father and Christ the Son, so we can thwart the enemy’s attempt the same way Jesus did in the wilderness, by repeating God’s truth, “The Scriptures say....” The Sword is the only offensive piece of the armor; let’s remember to draw it often to stop Satan’s attacks and destroy his plans.

If you don’t already do so, I want to encourage you to pray on God’s armor every day, for yourself, for your family and even for your brothers and sisters in Christ. Over the past 17 years, as I prayed for “the power of God’s armor” to be upon those on my list, I have seen lives changed. “Therefore, take up the full armor of God that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm” Ephesians 6:13 (emphasis added).

Many blessings,
Katie

Never underestimate your ability to mother. Still in my study of Moses, this week I found myself reflecting on Moses’ earlier life - from the time of his birth until the time of his first-born son. As I replayed the scenes in my mind and listened to the Lord’s narrative, I realized when God called Moses to go and free the Israelites, He had wired him for this work. He had a heart for the underdog and a willingness to stand up and fight injustice.

As I thought more and more about Moses’ wiring, I realized that it was directly influenced by the women in his life - from the midwives who delivered him, to the mother who birthed him, to his adoptive mother who raised him. They too, were all willing to stand up against the oppressed. It’s no wonder we see this same trait woven into the character of Moses. 

The midwives were commanded by Pharaoh to put the Hebrew baby boys to death. “But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt had commanded them, but let the boys live.” They were willing to stand against injustice. 

Since the midwives thwarted the plans of Pharaoh, he instructed his people to cast the Hebrew sons into the Nile and save the daughters. So Moses’ birth mother decided not to ignore the order, but to go around it and put her son in the Nile herself, her way. After hiding him in her home for a bit, she placed him in a protected basket among the reeds at the river, praying his life would be preserved.  She too, fought for the underdog, who in this instance was her son.

When Moses was found by none other than Pharaoh’s daughter, we come to understand where Moses derived his determination in the face of oppression. Not only did she totally refuse to obey her father’s order, but she saved a baby from the river and brought him home as her son. And to continually remind her father that she stood against his order of casting little boys into the water, she named him Moses, meaning “I drew him out of the water.” It was like saying “I saved that which you were trying to destroy.” She stood strong and took action to free the oppressed.

All three of these women mothered Moses in their own unique way. All three influenced him greatly by not only standing for what was right, but by taking sacrificial actions to bring about change. This is how Moses came to have the raw materials that God could shape and use to set a whole nation free. Moses was mothered by three different women. 

Like Moses, I’ve had many women who have mothered me along life’s journey. There was my biological mom who gave birth and raised me, my step-mom and my mother-in-law, along with so many other women who influenced who I am today. Some had children who were grown and gone when they entered my life like Kay, June, Mildred and Eloise. Others only had sons, like Karen, Jackie and Jan, so I was their “daughter.” Some, like my dance teachers, Helen and Denise, had no birth children, so they loved and “raised” me as their own. There were also so many others, too many to name, who mothered me spiritually, helping me to grow and mature in God’s Word. 

I can’t tell you the number of women who have come alongside me in mothering my own children, like Margie, Nancy, Julie, Ruth, Annette, Joanne, Marilyn, Mary, Cindy, Pam and Kathy. Some were neighbors, many were Sunday School teachers and others family friends, but all of them have been great influencers in the lives of my children.

As we approach another Mother’s Day, let us remember that whether you give birth to a child, adopt them, neighbor them or care for them in a class, never underestimate your ability to be a “mother” in another person’s life. We are wired for this work.

 Many blessings,
Katie

In this social media driven society, should we always share everything with everybody? Is Reality TV the lay of the land, or should we have filters for authenticity, vulnerability and transparency?

In answering questions like these, there is one source that can give us much greater insight than Google, and his name is Jesus. While on earth, Jesus not only came to restore our relationship with God, but to model life for us here in God’s kingdom.

In looking at Jesus’ life and reviewing the short, yet impactful, story of the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36-46), I believe we can find answers to the questions above.

In this passage, we see three distinct groups Jesus directly related to: his outer circle (a group of twelve), his inner circle (a group of three) and his audience of One (his relationship with the Father).

To his outer circle, Jesus told them, “Stay here while I pray.” He was open and honest about his actions and intentions. He told them about the bread and wine representing his body and blood, and he shared about the hard days ahead. He was being authentic, especially about his need to pray in that moment. Authenticity is being real and true to who we are with everyone. God doesn’t want us to speak lies, but He doesn’t want us to live them either. Being authentic is living and leading from our true self, not our false self. It’s not trying to measure up to look good, be good, do good, but living out of a place of humility and truth of who we really are.

As Jesus walked on further, he invited his inner circle to make this journey with him. He began to share his deep feelings of anxiety and distress. He told them about the sorrow and grief that was encircling his soul and feeling crushed from the thought of his bleak days ahead. He was being vulnerable, very vulnerable. Vulnerability is being completely honest with others and being able to share our deep feelings and struggles without fear of condemnation or retribution. Our circle of vulnerability is usually comprised of those who will speak truth to us in love.

After Jesus asked his inner circle to keep watch and wait with him, he leaned in to converse with his audience of One, our heavenly Father. He stretched out in front of Him in prayer and spoke his deepest thoughts, “Is there any way this fate can pass from me?” In this intimate time of communion, he was free to question. Free to doubt. Free to express fear for what lay ahead. Free to be transparent. In a transparent relationship, there is nothing hidden that remains hidden. We are free to put everything on the table. Things we are willing to face and tough things we’d rather forget. Like the relationship Jesus had with the Father, our transparent relationship is where we find our greatest source of strength. We can share everything with Him, knowing we are totally and completely loved, trusting that God always has our best interest at heart. “Not my will, but yours.”

Sometimes, we can cause more damage than good by sharing everything with everybody. As we come to understand the difference between authenticity, vulnerability and transparency, we can better discern what is appropriate to post on social media or discuss with others. I have often used these words synonymously in the past, but as I reread the passage about Jesus’ final hours in the garden, I now realize how important it is to understand the difference. We are to be authentic with all, vulnerable with a few and totally transparent with the One.

This poem was inspired by Matthew's story of Jesus Walking on the Water and
a comment speaker and author Jo Saxton made on a podcast,
"When Peter got out of the boat, he was actually standing on the Word of Jesus."
It was written during this season of COVID-19.

 

One Word

 

In the fourth watch of the night

When darkness distorts our thoughts

And the waves make our footing

Seem so unsure,

 

We don’t even recognize Jesus when He comes near.

 

Then He speaks,

As the wind circles about our boat.

Reassuring us of His presence

And bringing calm to our fears.

 

His one Word

Propels us to movement.

His one Word

Gives us boldness in each step.

 

May we not be distracted by the wind.

May we not be overwhelmed by the waves.

May we find courage to stand strong

As we hear His one Word.

 

Yet, when our perspective
Gets distorted again

And we feel fear closing in once more,

Let us cry out in faith as Peter did.

 

“Lord, save me!”

 

One Word from Jesus,

That’s all we need.

One Word to stand.

One Word to step forward.

 

One Word gives us great courage
in these turbulent times.

One Word from Jesus,

“Come.”

 

© 2020 Katie Harding All Rights Reserved

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Katie serves as the Founder/Director of NorthStar Women's Network and Associate Director of NorthStar Church Network.