Truth or Dare? – Part 2

September 16, 2026Church Agearmor, belt, demons, devil, Ephesians 6, military, spiritual warfare, truth, warbibleprophet

**Hear ye! Hear ye! Part 2 of John: Volume 27 of our Heavenly Citizens series is available.**

Light for the blind, Shepherd for the sheep, Life for the dead, King and Servant and Sin Offering for the people. His name is Jesus.

Enter through the Door of the sheepfold and meet your Shepherd. He is one and the same, Door and Shepherd. John Chapters 8-14 will take you where no man has gone before, and it’s not on the Starship Enterprise. It is into the heavenlies, and all while your feet are still on terra firma. Everyone is welcome.

If you hear his voice calling you, then sign up for class and get your copy of John: Volume 27 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. Click here! Download your copy instantly! Oh, yes, one last detail. Don’t be late for class.

Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth [Ephesians 6:14].

Sex, even conversations about sex, are meant to occur in the context of one man/one woman marriage. As Christians we must be on guard against the world’s seductive traps to lead us into sexual sin.

This point bears weight in understanding one aspect of our Bible verse. The devil is prowling about like a roaring lion, seeking some juicy Christian to devour. He loves to engage the child of God in conversation, knowing that the more we open our mouths and utter verbiage, the more we are likely to step in it.

So the devil slithers up to us, appearing as an angel of light, and asks with the innocence of a toddler, “Did God really say…?” He couldn’t care less what God said; but he greatly cares to get us flapping our jaws, you see. He’ll soon have us right where he wants us.

It is almost automatic for the Christian to want to defend God’s honor. We want to set the record straight, when the devil’s innuendo about our blessed Lord pricks us like a sharp barb. We are constrained to speak the truth, you see.

This perspective furnishes one context for understanding our Bible verse. We are studying spiritual warfare. As we learned in our last study, before we go to war against the wiles of the wicked one, it is essential that we “put on the full armor of God”.

This armor consists of several items. Our Bible verse identifies one such piece of armor as “the belt of truth”. That is how the New International Version translates it. The NASB reads “having girded your loins with truth”. We “gird” ourselves with a “girdle”, which is a belt of sorts which wraps around the waist area.

The Apostle Paul bases his depictive armor on the wardrobe of the Roman legionnaires. The piece of equipment they wore around the midriff was a belt. It held a sleeve for carrying the sword. In today’s military the belt might have a pocket for carrying a compass and other paraphernalia. It might also have a canteen attached to it.

In Biblical times men wore robes and tunics, not shirts and trousers. A tunic was none too practical for work, and even less so for fighting the enemy! The tunic got in the way and there was a danger of tripping over it.

To alleviate this predicament, a belt or girdle was worn atop the tunic. When it was time to work or go into battle, the bottom portion of the tunic was pulled up away from the feet and tucked into the belt, to keep it out of the way.

In our next study we will consider the relevancy of this information to our Bible verse. For now let’s take a breather and go off alone with Jesus. He has some things He wants to share with us.

To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Numbers: Volume 4 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please click on the “Shop” tab at the top of this page, where you will find a complete list of my books. Each book is available in both paperback (Createspace) and eBook (Kindle).

#ephesians6 #armor #spiritualwarfare #devil #demons #military #war #truth #belt

Truth or Dare? – Part 1

September 15, 2026Church Agearmor, belt, demons, devil, Ephesians 6, military, spiritual warfare, truth, warbibleprophet

**Hear ye! Hear ye! Part 2 of John: Volume 27 of our Heavenly Citizens series is available.**

Light for the blind, Shepherd for the sheep, Life for the dead, King and Servant and Sin Offering for the people. His name is Jesus.

Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth [Ephesians 6:14].

There is this silly game which folks of all ages have played over the years. It has even been codified into books of questions to be used in the game. It is called Truth or Dare. Have you ever heard of it?

I’ll bet you have, even if you don’t know it by that name. There are numerous variations of it, so no telling what form you might know it by. To tell the truth, to me the kiddie Halloween celebration is eerily similar to Truth or Dare. The main difference would be that kiddie Halloween doesn’t challenge with “truth or dare”. It challenges with “trick or treat”.

Anyway a group of people plays the game. Basically, a challenge is issued by one of the contestants, daring another contestant to tell the truth. Hence “truth or dare”. Either the person being challenged tells the truth, or else he loses.

Of course in normal life we want people to tell the truth, not to lie. But that isn’t what this game is about. When some folks play the game, personal questions of a private or embarrassing nature are asked. The end result is that, for those who choose to play, their inhibitions are broken down when their privacy is eliminated.

Of course when kids play the game, they ask kiddie questions, sort of like “trick or treat”. The real danger comes when, say, college students play the game. They are away from home and at an age of heightened sexual awareness. And in today’s social climate sex is worshiped, rather than handled with inhibitions.

Consequently, it is not unusual for college students to ask questions of a sexual nature. If the person challenged doesn’t want to be mocked for being an old prude, he or she will cough up the truth and expose his or her private affairs. A little time wallowing in such shenanigans, and the entire group feels 100% uninhibited. Promiscuity tends to follow closely on the heels of this game in consequence.

Truth can be a good thing, if given in the proper context. As Rule #1 for Bible study teaches, “A text without a context is a pretext.” Questions and information related to sexual matters are private and should be kept private. Only within the context of one man/one woman marriage is the topic suitable between two people.

We are exhorted in the Bible to speak the truth in love. Sexual questions and information in a board game between folks not married might be truth, but they are certainly not love! The only true way to participate in such a game is to refrain from speaking. That would be wisdom for the child of God.

We will pause for now and spend time with the Lord Jesus. Tomorrow we will continue this topic.

To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B00507WC86

Armor-Plated Saints – Part 2

September 14, 2026Church Agearmor, demons, devil, Ephesians 6, military, spiritual warfare, warbibleprophet

**Hear ye! Hear ye! Part 2 of John: Volume 27 of our Heavenly Citizens series is available.**

Light for the blind, Shepherd for the sheep, Life for the dead, King and Servant and Sin Offering for the people. His name is Jesus.

Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil [Ephesians 6:11].

What does the story about bank robbers and a policeman have to do with our Bible verse? Well, it’s like this. Paul exhorted the Ephesian Christians to don the garb which the Lord affords Christians, so that they may conduct spiritual warfare against the forces of wickedness. That would be the devil and his ilk, for those who might be wondering.

God has provided each and every Christian, each and every child of His, with the full complement of military apparel and equipment needed to have victory against the wicked one and his minions. Indeed, this wardrobe and weaponry are indispensable against the siren songs of the world and the devious temptations of the flesh as well.

Paul employed a phrase to depict this military matériel we receive from God. He called it the full armor of God. The policeman had his bullet-proof vest as a part of his armor against the bank robbers. The Christian has the full armor of God.

God has provided for His kids to be a part of His army. His provision transforms us into armor-plated saints. When the Lord is done with His kids, they are metamorphosed into a formidable force to be dealt with. The plan of God cannot fail. When we Christians put on the full armor of God, we are equipped to stand with the Lord against the forces of darkness and participate in His war against wickedness.

This is a holy calling, beloved, a calling not to be taken lightly. About the only thing worse for the Christian than taking this calling lightly is to turn the back to it and refuse to join the cause of Christ. The devil is on the prowl, seeking some juicy saint to chomp on at dinner time. Without the full armor of God we are sitting ducks. Sitting ducks never fare well.

Not to fret! Just don’t turn the back to the fight. You’ll get stabbed in it if you do. No, but instead put on the full armor of God. Then you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. It’s so much more gratifying to be one of the victors, rather than one of the losers.

I’ll bet you are wondering where your full armor of God is, aren’t you? Well, it’s not up in heaven, waiting for you to climb Jacob’s ladder to fetch it! Neither is it in the depths of the sea, daring you to hold your breath long enough to swim to it. It’s in your mouth and in your heart, ready for you to claim it.

We will begin in our next study to expound on the full armor of God piece by piece. So don’t miss out. Be there.

#ephesians6 #armor #spiritualwarfare #devil #demons #military #war

Armor-Plated Saints – Part 1

September 13, 2026Church Agearmor, demons, devil, Ephesians 6, military, spiritual warfare, warbibleprophet

**Hear ye! Hear ye! Part 2 of John: Volume 27 of our Heavenly Citizens series is available.**

Light for the blind, Shepherd for the sheep, Life for the dead, King and Servant and Sin Offering for the people. His name is Jesus.

Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil [Ephesians 6:11].

The bank alarm sounded. Armed gunmen had invaded the building and were holding hostages at gunpoint. “Turn over all the money or else!” they barked. No one argued. Not one person was defiant. Money the gunmen wanted: money the gunmen would have.

So instantaneously the money drawers were yanked open by every cashier, no exceptions. Each person was eager and anxious to give away all the money inside those drawers. The bank president hastened to the vault, opened the unwieldy steel door, and helped the gunmen to the goodies inside.

Not a soul resisted. No one cared about the money under such a scenario…no one, that is, except the bank robbers. Because the victims were totally cooperative and aided the gunmen in achieving their goals, the gunmen didn’t shoot anyone. The gunmen didn’t even pistol whip anyone. For a time it seemed all would end well.

Alas, but when the gunmen exited the bank with the loot, things took a sudden turn for the worse. No, none of the folks inside the bank ran out, in an effort to retrieve the stolen money. The problem arose from someone on the outside.

A policeman arrived on the scene, unaware that a bank robbery had just occurred in the bank he was about to enter for personal business. The policeman was in uniform. The bank robbers were not. They had discarded their disguises upon exiting the bank, so as to blend in with the surroundings. Hence the policeman hadn’t an inkling of who they were.

But the bank robbers didn’t know that. All they saw was a police uniform, and their guilty consciences took over. Two of the robbers pulled out their pistols and, without hesitation, shot the policeman in the chest twice. He fell to the ground prostrate, motionless, giving the appearance of a dead man.

The robbers hightailed it out of there, before reinforcements arrived from the police station. They made their getaway, never to be heard from or seen again. They knew they had to disappear for good. The sentence was death by injection for cop killers, you see.

But wait! The policeman wasn’t dead after all. He was stunned senseless, yes, but not dead. He still lived! How could such an amazing thing transpire? Who gets shot with two .45 caliber bullets at point blank range, and in the chest at that, yet gets up, shakes it off, and walks away sore but safe? Who does that except super heroes and TV stars?

I’ll tell you who does that in real life. Policemen wearing bullet proof vests, that’s who! Yes, our policeman had his vest on at the time of the shooting, so the bullets knocked him senseless. But they were unable to penetrate the vest, so the policeman wasn’t seriously injured, just badly bruised. He felt like a beef steak which had been tenderized. Unlike the beef steak, however, he was still alive!

I’ll bet you are wondering what this story has to do with our Bible verse for today, aren’t you? Yes, you are. I saw you thinking those very thoughts just now. You can’t fool me. Well, you’ll have to wait until tomorrow to find out because we’re out of time now. Enjoy some time with Jesus then.

To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to: http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B00507WC86