Okay, gang.
I have been harping on this a little bit on another place on Facebook land, thank you Sheila Galvez and Amanda Damon.
So here goes.
“στῆτε οὖν περιζωσάμενοι τὴν ὀσφὺν ὑμῶν ἐν ἀληθείᾳ καὶ ἐνδυσάμενοι τὸν θώρακα τῆς δικαιοσύνηςκαὶ ὑποδησάμενοι τοὺς πόδας ἐν ἑτοιμασίᾳ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου τῆς εἰρήνης,ἐν πᾶσιν ἀναλαβόντες τὸν θυρεὸν τῆς πίστεως, ἐν ᾧ δυνήσεσθε πάντα τὰ βέλη τοῦ πονηροῦ [τὰ] πεπυρωμένα σβέσαι·καὶ τὴν περικεφαλαίαν τοῦ σωτηρίου δέξασθε καὶ τὴν μάχαιραν τοῦ πνεύματος, ὅ ἐστιν ῥῆμα θεοῦ. Διὰ πάσης προσευχῆς καὶ δεήσεως προσευχόμενοι ἐν παντὶ καιρῷ ἐν πνεύματι, καὶ εἰς αὐτὸ ἀγρυπνοῦντες ἐν πάσῃ προσκαρτερήσει καὶ δεήσει περὶ πάντων τῶν ἁγίων”
Ephesians 6:14-18
Oops, wrong text, need to grab something y’all can read.
“Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,”
Ephesians 6:13–18
There. Much better.
Now then.
Let me make some addenda
The Actual Seven Pieces of Armor
Loinpiece of Truth = Prophet
This covers all of the the loins. We have physical loins to cover, as well as the loins of our mind (1 Peter 1:13).
It’s not just a belt like we wear to keep pants up. It is a piece of armor that covers our body from from the waist to the knees, and protects the heart of our vitality and virility: our sex organs.
And because our minds are so aligned with truth, Peter calls uses similar language to describe protecting our mind.
Prophets must walk in truth at all points, including embracing truth in relationships with others. They must not waver from G-d’s whole truth. And the whole truth may mean the Prophet has to put on a long game for dealing with other people. The Prophet more than the other gifts has the capacity to see positively for others stretching far into the future when they cannot see for themselves, and as a result of that long sight, can provide hope on the second level of principles, which is the relationships between man and man. He can then use that hope and those principles to help rebuild a broken man or woman. He or she must engage in this restoration in the spirit of meekness, rather than the spirit of condescension, arrogance, or jackassery (Galatians 6:1).
Breastplate of Righteousness, which covers both front and Back = Servant
Servants, alone of all the gifts, gravitate toward all expressions of and desires for righteousness. What they can see is the gold that is in the dirt. They see the present-moment usefulness of what others would consider a trash heap. They walk free of guile, and the L-rd Who Makes Us Righteous, Adonai Tsidkenu, protects them front and back, when no one else thinks to protect the Servant. I would contend the Servant has the fewest natural or seen or recognized walls and barriers and protections. Because of this, and because the Servant gives so readily in the protection of others, they themselves need people who will actively advocate for and bless and protect them.
The Breastplate of Righteousness, contrary to the bad preaching of some, is a piece of armor that DOES PROTECT THE BACK as well as the front. Dear preachers: quit asking the rhetorical question, “which part of the body is unprotected?”
The L-rd protects our comings and our goings, and that is an important aspect of our journey that we must speak to: our arrivals and departures. I have personally noticed an upward trend in the inability of believers to have good arrivals and/or departures. I have noticed in these cases an increase in the numbers of bridges burned. This is not good for the purposes of speaking about one another with affection and honor.
Shoes of READINESS, NOT peace = Teacher
Um, yeah. Read the text here. And then read it again. And then read it again.
Gang, the phrase in the King James expresses it well, and if you gloss over it in your zeal to get to what you think the dynamic is for the Teacher, think again. The King Jimmy says, “having your feet shod with…” And the VERY NEXT WORD is not “peace”! It is “readiness”. Readiness. Readiness.
I cannot overemphasize this enough. Teachers, you have enough natural expressions of peace.
Even a carnal or soulish Teacher, in the sin of Selective Responsibility, will have enough non-worry that they will allow the do-dads around their house fall into disrepair. And sloth or heaviness masquerades as peace. What is needed in the Teacher, and what the high-functioning Teacher can get a disproportionate ROI from, is being Ready. Instant, in season and out of season, Paul calls it.
Let me put it another two ways. Hermes in the Greek Pantheon was symbolized by winged zapatos (Spanish for “shoes”, and one of my favorite words).
Was he characterized by sloth, or readiness? And what is the one article of clothing that when you don it, lets others know you are able to walk out the door? Shoes.
Runners! Get READY, Get ON YOUR MARKS, Get Set, <POW!> GO!
They nowhere symbolize peace, but READINESS! Now, the Gospel is one of Peace, and the Shoes of Readiness are empowered by the Gospel of Peace, but they are still Shoes of Readiness.
Readiness is a theme that will give the Teacher striking power, and dangerous strength. Readiness with give the Teacher a capacity to pair his or her research with action.
Shield of Faith (Shield of the Trinity) = Exhorter
The Exhorter, as I said in the RG post, is a man or woman of threes. Their principle has gone through three iterations (Pain and Suffering, Sowing and Reaping, Reality). Sun, Moon, and Stars. Three sets of Principles for Cause and Effect. Three Exhorters who wrote these sets of principles: Moses on the First level, Solomon on the Second Level, Paul on the Third Level. Jonah the Exhorter, three days in the belly of a fish or thought, depending on how you read the Text. Nineveh was so large that it took three days to cross the city, according to Jonah 3. Yeshua the Exhorter mentions the signs of Jonah and the Son of Man, being in the belly of the earth three days. The Three members of the Trinity, which is the Exhorter’s strong suit (the nature of G-d).
Thus, when the Exhorter walks in faith, it has to be a faith in G-d, and not in the polls or viewpoints of his fellow man. He or she must get from G-d what G-d’s agenda is, and then he or she must follow suit to do what G-d tells him or her to do. And if he does this, and follows G-d, and makes the Trinity his or her trust and shelter place, then Psalm 91 can kick in and the L-rd will shield whatever the Exhorter hands over to G-d. But, the Exhorter has to learn how to excel in relating to G-d as well as and better than they relate to humanity.
Helmet of Salvation = Giver
Based on what I said above, I would imagine that the Loinpiece of Truth works in tandem with the Helmet of Salvation. Another profitable Prophet/Giver combination.
So, there are certain helmets that protect the whole head from attack. With eyeholes for sight. I think we are designed to have a singular focus, and salvation covers our whole life. As some believers have said, “I was saved, and am being saved, and I will be saved.” Our salvation is already but not yet. We have not just forgiveness of sin, but also healing, deliverance, comfort, counseling, wholeness, liberation from curses, and a whole compliment of tools, ways, means, and raw materials available to us to effect this thing we call the life of following Yeshua. Our salvation covers everything, all of the resources to do the things we are given to do.
And what does the Giver excel at, and what is their gold glitter oil?
Resources that drip from them. A bevy of vast and varied items. They have access and provide access to the things. And with the things, we can do the jobs.
Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of G-d (John 1:1-14), who is Yeshua, and then to a lesser extent, Scriptures = Ruler/Judge/Deliverer.
Read the above again very carefully. The primary expression of the Word of G-d is not the Bible; it is Yeshua. I get so irritable and cranky when we say, “the Bible is the Word of G-d,” and then we fail to mention IN THE NEXT BREATH the fact that Yeshua is the Word of G-d. He is. The one who sits on the white horse is called what? THE WORD OF G-D! HE IS THE LOGOS!
The Strength of the RJD in handling a situation is in their capacity to go to both the L-rd and to Scripture and derive solutions from a living and breathing relationship with G-d. Freedom comes when a son executes what is given to him or her. Freedom comes when a son takes the raw materials Dad gives him or her and uses them to execute the vision.
The Ark of the Covenant is another expression of this truth. Three things in the ark that feed the Judge and that the Judge uses to feed the masses and be personally life-giving to them, and yes the Deliverer must be personally life-giving in the lives of others and not just safely punt to the system, hoping the system will be life-giving to others.
Thing #1: The law tablets. This represents the moral authority of the RJD to speak from G-d. This law must be inscribed on the tablets of the Ruler’s heart. They must have a living and breathing and pliable relationship with the Word himself and the word itself.
Thing #2: The staff that budded. This represents the RJD’s knowledge that G-d has appointed them. The RJD cannot just have brain knowledge of and mental assent to G-d’s appointment of him or her, nor can they merely have an emotional release in their heart alone and think that will do the job. Rather he or she MUST have the buds of the staff growing in his or her spirit, which dwells in the seat of dominion in the brain. Both head and heart (not one over the other) must have shoots of almonds growing in them, and there must be a deep-seated flow and synch of both head and heart and reins (kidneys and adrenals) flowing together that provides the rush of truth from a depth of the RJD’s sonship.
Thing 3#: The pot of the omer of manna. Rightly measured, plenteous to satiate, provided as a resource from Dad’s hand. This ties to the RJD’s aspect of provision. There must be a right affection between the RJD as a son and his or her Dad as Provider. The G-d of all Grace provides from heaven the dew that lands and coalesces all over and around the camp of the Ruler’s circle. The Judge, the Deliverer is not just a mere machine, but must transcend to the spirit realm and return with life-giving provision for the job at hand. There is an intimate expression that flows with depth from the innermost zeal and glory of the Ruler’s innermost being. He rules and leads with an eye to redeeming even the most broken and flawed person, and uses them well, stewards them well to accomplish and manifest the miracles of G-d Himself on the earth. It is a shallow thing to own Amazon and the Washington Post if you have no eye to what you can do in utilizing those resources to change the world. The manna must flow from G-d and the RJD must walk in their strength of refusing to blame others and pointing them to the Word of G-d. And with the Word of G-d, the RJD slices through the soulish cesspool and malaise of the natural and divides the portal between heaven and earth, and introduces his or her tribe to the G-d, the Word of G-d who affectionately sits astride his white charger and rides with His Bride adjacent Him on a horse of her own.
Praying at all times in the Spirit = Mercy.
The amorphous uneasiness the Mercy gives you will keep you when you are uncertain as to which way to go. The Mercy flows back and forth with the gusts of the Holy One. Alertness, perseverance, and supplication are the Mercy’s trademarks. Praying at all times. I expect Janis and other Mercies to, in part, help fill this out. But I will offer this one point here. Specifically, the praying at all times is what keeps the one in the armor from needlessly stepping into harm’s way. You cannot put a price tag on being able to hear a couple of words from the Holy King of Israel. Always in movement, finding flow, creating flow when it is not present, and even resorting to bashing the hell out of some diabolical interference when necessary, with a sling, a rock, and the enemy’s sword, as a response to carrying an offense for a third party, these are the ways that the Mercy moves in the battlefield.
I am of the opinion that David, the shepherd boy, sang a tune as he stooped by the waters to gather his five smooth stones, each of which expressed one of the five levels of “HOLY TO THE L-RD”, and one of which he used to smack Goliath in the Seat of Dominion.
And I realize these thoughts are somewhat uneven, but here they are for your digestion and consideration.
Be blessed, gang.
My relatives every time say that I am killing my time here at
web, except I know I am getting knowledge daily by reading such pleasant posts.
Um, I would have to see your website first. Link please?