Must be the shoes...

This week we continued our study on The Full Armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-20) by talking about having our "feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace" (verse 15). Since we're fitting our feet, we'll call these our Battle Shoes.

So what is it about shoes? I know one person that has over 90 pair of shoes! My 5 yr old son basically has 2 pair...his tennis shoes covering approx 99.5% of his life and his "stompin' shoes" which we occasionaly can get him to wear to Church.

So what benefits do shoes provide?

Protection
Comfort
Traction
Performance ("I can run fast in my new shoes")
Support

Ever run to the mailbox on an aggregate driveway with no shoes? Ouch!

But what does it mean that these come from the "gospel of peace"? Well, we get our peace through Jesus. Check this out...Romans 5:1-2

So it sounds to me as if in order to put on our battle shoes, we need to find peace in our lives. The question is, how do we find peace in our lives?

1) Choose Him - we're always seeking peace in so many other things than God. We look for peace by pouring ourselves into our jobs, friends, money, hobbies/material things and then wind up disappointed when there is ultimately no peace. Putting on our battle shoes starts with choosing God in our lives. Like the bumper sticker says: No Jesus No Peace. Know Jesus Know Peace.

2) His Word - remember, the belt of truth we talked about? (see Warrior Bugs post). Take a look at Psalm 119:165. That's right, the Bible brings us peace!

If you're like me, you may be saying..."I try hard to put God first and I often read and study the Bible...but I still don't always have peace". Why is it that there are times in our lives when we can't find peace? Why is it that sometimes we feel as though God is nowhere around? Honestly, I don't know. But I do know that there is one more source of peace that we need to add to this list...a word that ultimately determines our peace...

3) Faith - probably the best way for us to understand faith is given to us in Hebrews 11:1. Notice the key phrase here..."evidence of things not seen". Quite frankly, it doesn't take a lot of faith for me to say I believe something that I've already witnessed. Sometimes that's where it is for us as Christians...we don't know why things are the way they are...why we feel the way we do...why we don't have the answers...why we don't know what the future holds. Sometimes OUR FAITH is all we have...and all we need!

Think of FAITH as the "shoe horn" that helps you get your battle shoes on...even on days when it feels like they just won't quite go on.