Living in the Spirit

August 19, 2021

Scripture Reading:

Ephesians 6:10-20
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. –Ephesians 6:10-17

We sang Onward Christian Soldiers recently at my church as the closing hymn. The song is no longer in our hymnal, and we were not provided a handout copy. I am not sure anyone under 40 had ever heard it, much less knew the words. I remembered the words to the chorus and the first verse. I had to hum through the following verses. I turned to the friend about my age with whom I exited the service and said, I think you had to be a post-WWII child to know that song. I looked it up and discovered it was written in 1865, at the end of the Civil War. My adult war was fought in Vietnam.  I do not recall any sacred anthem created for it, nor did we rediscover Onward Christian Soldiers. As sad as it was, some of us rejoiced when the USA pulled out. Others, however, saw it as a terrible loss for our nation. I long for the day we beat our swords into plowshares* as the ancient prophets foretold.

We have been steeped in the history of killing and maiming people for every imaginable reason primarily lust for power and greed. Christ-followers face the same foes. There is, however, a difference in fighting with truth rather than with weapons of mass destruction or working to bring about justice through peaceful means.

Prayer: Let there be peace on earth,
and let it begin with me;
let there be peace on earth,
the peace that was meant to be.

With God our creator,
family all are we.
Let us walk with each other
in perfect harmony**. Amen

*See Isaiah 2:4; Micah 4:3
**Let There Be Peace on Earth by Sy Miller and Jill Jackson-Miller see at https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-let-there-be-peace-on-earth

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.