An Early Morning Armor

Matthew 9:9-13

I desire to see people in the way God sees them, without judgement but rather with love. When Jesus told Matthew to follow Him Matthew was probably thinking, "Why me? I'm a tax collector, people hate me, why would the Son of God want anything to do with me?" Jesus gives us the answer, "For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." Sometimes I feel I don't deserve what God is freely giving me, that I should have to be better, work harder, or love more to receive His blessing and favor. But those thoughts of inadequacy are from Satan, they are not the truth. Because God has given us authority we can declare these thoughts gone in the name of Jesus and be freed from the devil's grasp. To prevent these lies from affecting us in the future we should put on "the full Armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes." (Ephesians 6:11. Ephesians 6:10-20 fully explains what the Armor of God is and what it is capable of.)

Each day we should wake up and put on the armor of God so that we will be ready for the battle, so we are living with Him and not susceptible to the devil's lies. Last night I was talking to a friend about how our attitudes and days turn out differently when we spend time with Jesus in the morning versus when we put it off until later in the day. We agreed that our days go much better when we devote time to God in the mornings, when we wake up early to spend time to worship, pray, and to dig into the word. On these days I have joy, peace and love that carry me through the day. On days when I leave my time with God for later in the day (often before bed) or don't spend time at all I find myself battling through the day. I often have to fight to stay positive and struggle to love others, when I could have taken 5 minutes to praise, pray, and read that could have changed the entire course of my day. My challenge for you is to set your alarm 15 minutes earlier in the morning. Get up and spend some time with God before you start your day and see how your outlook changes. Maybe you'll start seeing people through love rather than judgement. Maybe you'll have the opportunity to witness and bring lost sheep to Christ. Anything is possible with our God.

Let today be a day of praise! God is Love.

~Paige Marie