Friday Family Devo: WEAR GOD'S ARMOR!

Read the text and briefly discuss it together. Some discussion-starter questions are provided. Then read the closing text as a guide to your family prayer and finish by praying together and singing a hymn.

As we learned in last week’s devo, there’s a war going on in our world between good and evil. God is good, and all who want to be good must be on His side. God doesn’t expect us to fight without His help, though, so read Ephesians 6:10–20 together and then think about these things:

When we're fighting for what’s true and right, we need to remember, we’re not alone. God gives us His strength to make us able to keep on keeping on. In fact, He promises never to leave us (Hebrews 13:5). All He asks of us in return is to trust and obey Him. 

Pray for protection! Evil spirits serve Satan and somehow tempt people to evil and deceive many in the world. We can’t see them, but God can, and He can keep us safe. All we have to do is ask Him to, James 4:2 says so. A little later in James 4, in v. 8, the Bible promises us that if we get close to God (by praying, studying His word, and being faithfully obedient to Him), He will get close to us. The closer God is to you, the farther away Satan will be!

You have a mission! Your job is to help others know about God's love through Jesus’ sacrifice for us. You have to be brave and not worry about what others will think about you for telling them about Jesus (Matthew 10:26–33). Even if people hate you and want to hurt you for telling them about Jesus, Jesus can protect you, and, in the end, He will surely save you. 

Wear all the armor God gives us! Truth is like our battle belt that holds all our armor in place. Always tell the truth and live by it. The Bible is truth (John 17:17). Righteousness is like our breastplate or like a spiritual bullet-proof vest. It protects our hearts. Do what's right, even when it's hard. Having prepared ourselves to tell people about the good news of Jesus is like the sturdy sandals Roman soldiers wore or like the combat boots soldiers wear nowadays. Be ready to tell others how God's love brings peace. Faith is your strong shield. Trust in God and none of the Devil’s attacks against you can defeat you. Salvation gives you confidence, like a helmet. Know that you're saved by God (1 John 5:13) and you will always find your courage when you need it. The Bible is our sword. Learn it well. If you know your Bible, you can use it like a sword to slash away lies and so protect your friends, and fight against wrong ideas.

God will win! In the end, God will make everything right. You just need to keep doing your part with His help. So, when you feel like you're in a fight against bad things, remember you have God's help. Keep doing good, keep learning about God, and keep telling others about His love. That's how you fight the good fight! 

Discuss:

• Can you think of a time when you told the truth even when it was hard? How did it feel?

• How can we remind ourselves to be righteous when we're tempted to do something wrong?

• Why do you think God wants us to pray for protection?

This week, we learned about the armor God gives us for fighting the good fight. Say a special prayer for all Christian teachers, preachers, and missionaries preaching the gospel all over the world. Pray for their protection and that God will help them reach many people for Jesus. 

—JLP