Gospel Life Learning

"Shoes of Peace" - My Phrase for the Year - the Roman Soldier's Shoes - Armor of God in Ephesians 6

"Shoes of Peace." What Are They, and How Do We Wear Them?

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"Shoes of Peace." What Are They, and How Do We Wear Them?

As this new year turned over, I began trying to think of a word that would be "my word" to hold onto for the year. Typically this shouldn't be too hard to come up with a word, but as January 1st passed, and then the second, and then the 10th, I still didn't have a good, single word.

However, there is a phrase that has been both convicting me and inspiring me for the past few months, and it is also a phrase that I want to hold on to this year and implement daily this year so that it becomes not just a phrase in my head, nor just a note in a notebook. I want this phrase to be something to hold onto and to anchor me this year and future years as well.

The phrase is "shoes of peace."

The phrase is inspired from the description of the Armor of God in the book of Ephesians 6:14-16:

"Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace."

“Shoes of Peace.” Don't those shoes sound like comfortable and restful footwear? If I were to go shopping today at Macy's or DSW looking for shoes of peace, I would expect to find some shoes that look like these below (actually I googled "buy peaceful shoes" and these came up as possible examples.)

Those shoes would certainly be comfortable and peaceful on the feet! I actually have worn shoes similar to these. I can confirm that these are very comfortable with their inside orthopedic cushioning. It's like walking on a peaceful cloud.

However, I think we all know that Paul wasn't talking about these types of modern day, comfortable, orthopedic shoes. What we may not all know is that the picture below represents what Paul was referring to as the “shoes of peace:”

That picture is of a shoe that is in the Roman Army Museum in the UK. It is a replica of a Roman soldier's shoes from over 2000 years ago. The photo is shown from this particular angle so you can see one of the most important features of these ancient army shoes. Look at those hobnail spikes on the bottom of this "shoe of peace!"

Those hobnail spikes help us understand Paul's metaphor for these shoes. Let's look again how Paul describes the purpose of the footwear, in context with the full sentence it is found in Ephesians. Paul writes, “Stand firm then....with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.”

Obviously, then, these peace shoes are not a comfortable, relaxing, walking upon a cloud type of shoes. These peace shoes are battle shoes. They are fighting shoes – with short spikes on the bottom. Those short spikes helped the soldier stand firm upon the dirt ground in battle. However, when we face our battles, we have been instructed to be firmly planted in the gospel of God's peace.

When we wear this battle-ready footwear, we are choosing to stand firmly in the good news of God's peace. Those spikes are on the bottom because we are to stand firmly in the ground of the peace that comes only from knowing and walking with God. By standing firmly in God's peace we are able to successfully battle with all of the following:

the disruptions and the chaos of life;

the unexpected events that blindside us;

the surprise and unwanted encounters that should have never happened;

and the turbulence of society which affects us in ways we have no control over.

Priscilla Shirer, in her Bible Study The Armor of God says that without the shoes of peace, “turbulence leads us into misguided battles.” She also writes in lesson 4 of the book: “Mark it down. Whenever you feel an overriding sense of unrest inside or overwhelming distress...the enemy is somewhere in the middle, stirring it up. Anywhere peace is lacking, you can be sure he's at work.”

She goes on to explain the following: “Shalom, the familiar Hebrew word for peace which permeates the Old Testament, does not refer to the absence of chaos, but rather to an overall, deeply entrenched sense of harmony, health, and wholeness in the midst of chaos. In fact, true peace is best detected and measured against the backdrop of commotion and confusion—when instability abounds, yet you remain steadfast; when disappointment and confusion are near, yet you’re still capable of walking with Spirit-infused confidence, stability, and steadiness. [Priscilla Shirer (2015). Lesson Four. The Armor of God - Bible Study.]

Yes, that is what I want to intentionally experience this year and beyond.

This year the phrase for me will be “Shoes of Peace.”

I know this year will likely bring surprises and unwanted circumstances and turbulence at some point. The year has already brought some unexpected and unwanted turns, actually, and we haven't even fully closed out the month of January.

I don't want to fight against such circumstances with a spirit of anxiety, or fear, or anger - or with a sense that I can somehow respond in a way to somehow control the outcome.This year, I'm wearing these spiked-bound Shoes of Peace, and I will remember that no matter what comes my way, I will keep my feet grounded in the knowledge of God's promises and in His peace.

And of course, the best news of all is that these “Shoes of Peace” are available to anyone and everyone who places their trust in God. So we don't have to go shopping for our orthopedic-comfortable peace shoes. God has a pair for each of us who put our trust in Him through Jesus.

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What to Do While Waiting for God to Answer Prayer? Especially When It Is A Long Wait...

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What do we do when we are waiting for God to answer a prayer? I'm referring to all types of prayers which require waiting, but especially to those types of prayers that will likely take years or decades before an answer comes.

The past two weeks we've looked at two passages in Scripture that reference how God's perception of time is not like our perception of time. If you remember, we know from 1 Peter and also in the Psalms that to God, 1000 years is like a day, and that our lives are like mere seconds when we consider our time spent in our present bodies versus time in eternity.

Unfortunately though, this also means that to us, it feels like we are often waiting on God for a long time for an answer or for direction in response to our prayers. And unfortunately, there aren't any direct, clear, step-by-step instructions in scripture on what to do while waiting specifically for answer to prayer. We are told that those who wait on the Lord will be blessed and rewarded. However, there are those of us, like myself, who have a default setting of "worrying while we are waiting." I find waiting hard to do because I want resolution or direction - right now, and I don't know what to do in the meantime other than wondering and worrying about what the answer will be. In other words, some of us, including myself, find that we are prone to "getting stuck" when we are waiting.

I actually had a special session with God this week in my quiet and prayer time where I finally felt led to focus on this question, and I asked Him to reveal to me or to remind me what He wants me to do while waiting. These are the promises, scriptures, and examples that His Spirit quickly brought to my mind when I lifted this question up to Him. I'm sharing these now.

First, let us remember that God has promised to bless us and reward us when we wait for Him. In Isaiah 30 we are told, "blessed are all those who wait for Him."

Second, remember that Jesus himself had a lot to say about worrying while waiting, and that it is a waste of our time! In Luke 12:25, Jesus asked the rhetorical question, "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life?"

We have to recognize, as Jesus wants us to, that "worrying is wasting." We need to recognize that God wants to take our worries, He wants to work them out and work out the outcomes in our lives, and we need to keep living, and especially to keep living for our purpose in Him, to keep pressing on.

This brings me to the final scripture God brought to my mind this week as I asked Him to show me what to do while I am waiting. What do I do instead of worrying? The answer?

We are to press on. Specifically, in Phillipians 3, Paul shows us that we are to follow his example by this verse: "forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on towards the goal to win the prize that God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

But press on for what? What does Paul mean by "press on towards the goal to win the prize that God has called me to?"

I'm going to step back a bit to tell you about the greek underlying the words "goal" and "press on," and "called" here. The word used for "goal" is skopon and it is related to the English word for scope. The word for "press on" is pronounced dee-o-ko, and it means to pursue something quickly and with urgency. The word for "called" is pronounced klaysayohs - and in the English the translators of the NIV have changed this to the verb "called" for conciseness in the translation. However, in the greek, klaysayohs is a noun! And it means the calling God has for us, or it is our purpose that God has for us! So Paul says here that, instead of just waiting and worrying, we are to pursue with urgency, with our scope focused on our purpose that God has for us.

Instead of waiting and worrying, we are to pursue our purpose with urgency and with our scope focused on our purpose that God has for us.

Now, some of us may have an idea of what our longer term purpose and focus is in our walk with God is; some of us, most of us likely, don't have much of a clue. We need God to reveal that to us. And here is what I know to be true; God reveals our purpose to most of us in little steps, and we have to take the first little step and then the next one is revealed. It is a daily adventure to purpose with God, as it tells us in Psalm 32:8 that God "will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go."

So here are some strategies to help us let go of the worrying while waiting, to help us get unstuck, and to press on in both discovering and fulfilling the purpose God has for us.

First. Accept the truth that Jesus spoke to us that "worrying is wasting." Now I know that we cannot always easily just turn off our worries. So a strategy that cognitive therapists teach is to actively plan and limit the time you spend worrying. We have all heard of a prayer journal; and I recommend for those of us who struggle with worry, to also have a worry journal. The important thing about the worry journal is to decide when you are going to worry and how much time you are going to worry, and then - when you decide when and for how long - to make yourself worry for that full amount of time. For example, make yourself worry and journal your worries at 4:30 pm for 10 minutes. Set a time and make yourself worry for those 10 minutes. Journal your worries for those minutes. Eventually you will discover that either you are able to keep your worries confined to shorter and shorter amounts of time each week, or you may discover you don't need to worry at all about the thing that had its grasp on you.

Second. Each day, when you wake up in the morning, ask God to show you something he has for you to do that day. Ask God to reveal to you even just a "little step" towards purpose that you may take for that day. Ask God, what is something you want me to do today that will contribute to the purpose that you have for me? Then see what He brings to your mind. If for some reason nothing is brought to your mind, it may be He merely wants you to spend set aside time with Him that day. You may need to set a basic foundation of time and relationship building with God before he begins revealing the next steps. Or, God may bring to mind, for example, a friend you haven't spoken to for awhile and prompt you to make a phone call to check in and connect with them. He may bring you to a person who needs some help and prompt you to help that person. He may show you something that was already on your "to do" list for the day; but that you now need to do with more conscientiousness because you are completing it for Him as part of your divine purpose.

All in all, recognize that worrying is wasting; so therefore we are going to minimize the time wasting by limiting the time that we worry to a prescribed, fenced-in time slot each week or each day. Then - as far as what we are to do during these times of waiting - we will daily ask God for direction in what to do, or what steps to take towards our purpose for the day.

And using these strategies will help us when we find ourselves in a state of waiting and worrying. It will allow God to help us set aside and overcome the worrying, while pressing on towards the purpose that He has for us, the purpose both in this life and for the one that is coming.

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Author's Books can be found at: https://www.amazon.com/Sherry-Elaine-Evans

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God's Plan Is Taking SO Long! Should We Give Up Hope?

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God's plan...

It is taking so long, so very long.
Do we give up hope?

There are many passages we could read to remind us of the assurances and promises that we have from God. However, today, I want us to find assurance in what may, at first, seem like an unlikely passage in the New Testament.

It's in a passage of scripture from the first part of Matthew. Let's look at Matthew 1:1.

This is where we are going to find our hope today, from Matthew 1:1 to Matthew 1:17.

Let's look at it. What it this section about?

Verse 1: "This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of...."

Oh! Did you think maybe I had the wrong passage? This is just a genealogy. How are we going to find hope in this list of names? Let's see, let's keep going: Boaz and Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse. Jesse the father of King David. We are in verse 6 now. "David was the father of Solomon who's mother was Uriah's wife" - that's Bathsheba. Solomon, Rehoboam, Hezekiah, Manasseh, "Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon."

Now we are in verse 12. I don't even recognize any of these names. Azor. Matthan. Okay, that's interesting. "Matthan the father of Jacob, the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah."

And there it is, verse 17. "Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile in Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah."

That's right, it is a genealogy -- a really long genealogy, from Abraham to Jesus Christ.

No, this passage for today's source of hope was not a mistake. We are going to find a source of assurance and hope in a lengthy New Testament genealogy.

Think about the question, "How many generations passed between Abraham and Christ?"

If you look at verse 17 and then add up the generations, you will get the answer. It's 14 and 14 and 14 which is 14 times 3.

It's 42 generations passed from Abraham and the birth of Isaac, to the birth of Jesus.

And therein lies our hope.

God works, and has always worked, through many, many generations to fulfill his great plan for the world. He is patient. Early on, God promised His people that He would send the Christ.

From Adam to Jesus, we know the fulfillment of His promise took 6000 earth years.

From Abraham to Jesus, the time that passed was approximately 2100 earth years.

David knew the Christ would come. David longed for his coming. Yet, God fulfilled His promise at least a full 1000 years after David’s birth.

All of these years - that 1000 years and the 2100 years prior to that - those are just days in God's timing. We talked about that last week, or it was in the blogpost last week, about why God is so patient to remove the evil, and we remembered that with God a thousand years is like a day. Since God is eternal, this is true. Just like when we are 50 or 60 years old and a year goes by so, so fast. We can imagine that if living eternally, 1000 years is a very short time. And our time on this earth - when maybe we might make it to 100 years - is seconds, it's seconds, when considered within eternity.

So we know that Jesus will return as he has promised. We shouldn't be doubtful because it seems to be taking so long.

Instead, we should expect it to take so long. For that is the way God has always worked out His plans. He is outside our time and works through our time in a manner that seems so long to us, but it is not long for eternity. And that is the way God fulfills His promises. God works through the generations. Long, long lists of generations.

This is our assurance for these times. May your will be done, Lord. May your will be done in your time, Lord.

Amen.

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If you would like to learn simple, practical ways to walk with God every single day, then you would really enjoy Closer to God: Simple Methods, Starting Today

If you want to learn more deeply and fully about what Jesus taught, then you would enjoy He Called: 56 Daily Studies and Reflections with the Words of Christ.

The author also interacts with her readers on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/GospelLifeBooks

Author's other books can be found at: https://www.amazon.com/Sherry-Elaine-Evans

Why Hasn't God Removed Evil Yet? Jesus Answers, Heaven's Timeline.

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“Why doesn’t God wipe out evil now?”

It’s a big question. Many of us have wondered, “Why is God taking so long to fully restore all to Him and His kingdom? Why doesn’t God just speak the needed words and wipe out evil immediately?

Jesus explained why, in a parable. He told the parable of the Wheat and the Tares, and after he told the parable, he then explained specifically to his disciples what each part of the parable meant. Jesus didn’t do this for all of his parables and teachings. There are only a few, where it is recorded, that Jesus told a parable, and when the disciples didn’t quite get it, Jesus then went back and explained each part of the metaphor.

Here is the passage for this, in Matthew 13.

“Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?'

And he said to them, 'An enemy has done this!' The slaves said to him, 'Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?

– Now there is our question being asked. The servants asked, “Do you want us to go and remove the evil plants now?” –

But he said, 'No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the harvest, I will say to the reapers, 'First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.'”

Now if you are on the Gospel Life Learning website and reading or listening to this from the blog, then there is a picture. If you are listening through a podcast host, then I will put a link to the website with the blog and the photo so you can find it later and also see it.

When you see the picture, you will see a stalk of wheat, and then – next to it - a tare, side by side, before they are ripe. It is very, very difficult to tell them apart. One of the main things to notice is that the wheat is a little 'puffier;' the fruit of the wheat is larger than the tare. However, as the two plants are growing it is very, very hard to tell which is which – which is the wheat, the good crop, and which is the tare, the useless crop. Now, once the wheat is matured and is ripe, you can tell which one is a tare. You can tell much better because the wheat limps over when it is ripe.It is very flexible and it limps over when it is ripe, but the tare - it sticks straight up.

Still, what does this mean? Well, further down in Matthew 13, starting at verse 36, Jesus actually explains.

“Then he left the crowd and went into the house. And his disciples came to him and said, 'Explain to us the parable of the wheat and the tares of the field.' And he said to them, “The one who sows good seed is the Son of Man, and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom, and the tares are the sons of the evil one; and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so it will be at the end of the age.”

So why doesn't God just wipe out all evil right now?

Let’s take this teaching and make it personal. The parable tells us that the tares have been sown by the enemy right among the wheat in the field. Some translations say the bad seed has been added right in the midst of the wheat. And don’t we all see that now in our fields and in our sphere of influence? I am currently facilitating a Bible Study and nearly each one of the women in the group have shared that they are dealing with something that has been sown in their fields right now. They are dealing with tares and they don’t know what to do with the tares. Do I deal with this directly right now? Or do I wait for a time for maturity and see how this works out?

See, we have families, and our friends, our communities and our work places. These are our fields we tend to. And we all know people in our family or amongst our friends, in our work places and in our neighborhoods and communities – we all know people who are not ready for the harvest. So let’s really think, if God were to wipe out all those who have rejected Him as of right now – who would potentially be gone that we know and love? When you look at it from that perspective, it’s easier to see the other perspective, God’s perspective, and why He wants to wait for more time.

The Bible tells us that God is patient, not wanting any to perish and all that is possible to come to salvation and reconciliation with Him. That is in 2 Peter 3:9.

Also remember, even though it seems like it is taking so, so long – remember 2 Peter 3:8 that time is different for God. This passage tells us that a thousand years is like a day to God. You know, I used to hear that when I was younger and I just did not “get it.” I though, “That is a wonderfully, almost poetic way of describing God and time, but it doesn’t make sense because a day is measurable, right?” A day is 24 hours and it is always 24 hours, and a day is a day, and a week a week, and a month a month and a year a year. However, now that I have lived only 4 or 5 decades, I DO get it! When I was a child, a year felt like….well a year, or even longer! It was a long time to wait! But now, after living 4 or 5 decades, a year goes by so fast! Time goes by so fast! The weeks just fly on by. A month feels like a week. A week feels like a couple of days. A year feels like 3 months. And 10 years feels only like 2 years. So as we get older, there is a perception and an undeniable experience that time goes by much faster. So if that is true for us humans; how much moreso is it for God who has lived for eternity! Yes, I get it now. A thousand years is like a day for God who is eternal. It makes sense now.

Our entire lifetimes are mere seconds in comparison to the time we have in eternity.

God's timeframe is not the same as ours. And this parable explains why he is patient to remove the tares; why he is patient to not have the harvest right now. He is giving everyone as much time as possible to find Him. He does not want to start the separating process too early. He is patient. He is patient for our friends, our family members and loved ones, for those in our neighborhoods and communities. He is patient for everyone, and He is patient for us. Thank God for that.

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Cast All Your Anxieties on God…But How?

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Have you ever thought about how we are told in the Bible to give all our worries and concerns to God? Ok, but have you ever thought, “How do I do that?” Today we are going to give you a strategy for that.

Life is hectic isn’t it? Not too long ago, I came across a Snoopy comic strip, or a Peanuts comic strip, and it said – it’s Charlie Brown and Linus sitting by the fence – and this is what it said:

(Peanuts comic strip credit to Peanuts Worldwide @ schulzmuseum.org)

This is from Charles Schultz. It’s a comic strip. I thought comics were supposed to be funny! It caught my interest, and I realized that it struck a chord with me – Charlie Brown’s words did.

See, I can remember periods in my life when I would live by this philosophy. I didn't choose to live this way; it just seemed to be my default setting when things got really busy or when things got tough.

If only I can make it to Friday afternoon, the weekend will be better.
If only I finish grad school, I can get out of this job and get a really good one.
If only I can find a better job or get a transfer to a better school, or a better area, or closer to home; things will be better.
If only I can survive my child's terrible twos, or fours, or twelves, or teens; things will get easier.
If only I can get caught up on these work deadlines; my days will be more relaxed.
If only I can get past my required daily routine; I will have time to rest.

I could go on and on, but the point is that I was living during those times by just "mentally surviving" day by day. My hope was in some potential future state of "better,”just a future better than “right now.”

Now maybe I am only one of a small percentage of people in the world who ever lives this way. Though, I suspect I'm not. I suspect there are many who put on a happy face sometimes; but inside they are just getting through, day by day.

With thoughts like…

If only I made more money....
If only I could find the right boyfriend, girlfriend, spouse....
If only this bad thing hadn't happened in my past...
If only I could make time to go on vacation....
If only someone hadn't left me....or if that person hadn’t passed away....

Stop. Just stop.

There’s a better way. There’s a better daily philosophy, Charlie Brown! And let me tell you that philosophy is based on this:

"Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you." - 1 Peter 5:7

And now, that is exactly what I do. When I wake up, and as I'm getting ready for the day, I just cast it over to Him. Oftentimes, if it’s really something that’s got ahold of me or I can’t stop ruminating over, I will actually imagine myself, close my eyes and visuallyimagine that I have a really large sack with all these things that could potentially be dreadful or anxiety producing or just not fun. It’s a big sack like a big stuffed laundry bag, and I just visual myself tossing it, and Jesus catching it.

I don't even ask for anything specific. I don't ask for any particular outcome. I literally in my vision or in my imagination, my visual imagination, I just toss it to Him. It says cast! So I cast it! Toss it!

He asked for our anxieties! It finally dawned on me that if we don't give our anxieties to Him after He asked for them; then we are just taking responsibility for making our own mess in our own heads.

The reason I typically do not ask for a particular outcome is because I can trust that He already knows the best outcome -- and if I give it to Him; with no strings attached, and with no demands for a particular outcome, then He will work out what He wants -- in His way - without my interference.

And His way is much better than our ways. His way is better than my way. This strategy helps to developwithin me a better attitude. His way helps me to focus on the positive and on the small victories andthe pleasant moments within each day.

At the end of the day, you know what I find? And I think you would find the same at the end of each day, if you tried this strategy. I find this:

My way brings me overwhelm and stress.
His way brings me peace and rest.

Typically, my prayer will sound something like this:

"Lord, I wake up. I don't even know what to ask for or what to look for today. I'm starting to feel stressed about all I have to do, and I'm becoming overwhelmed. I just give it to you. Go before me and work things out according to what you know is best. I know it may be a tough day; but I am trusting you to get me through...and get my through with a right attitude."

God is with us in spirit day by day. When we remember this as often as we can throughout the day; if at the beginning of the day we “toss” those things – just toss that bag of worries and concerns over to him, and "practice His presence" throughout the day as well, then everything changes in perspective.

Let me close with this verse:

"Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life." -Psalms 143:8 (NIV)

If we are, in the morning, putting our trust in Jesus, giving over our concerns to Him, and doing this because if we can entrust Him with our lives, then surely we can trust Him with our day.

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