The Shoes

The next piece of armor  is the shoes as the armor of God. Paul says, "As shoes for your feet" and what do shoes do for our feet? They give protection, stability, and covering. They give us the ability for endurance over a long walk.

Again the 'having put on' is past tense it has already been done but has a continuing result. What has been put on but the readiness of the gospel of peace. So we ask, "What is the readiness of the gospel of peace"?

Shoes are put on when we are ready to go somewhere. When your shoes are on you are ready to go. It is the gospel that makes us as believers ready to go! We have the gospel and we are to go- specifically to tell it to others.

What is it about the gospel that makes us ready to go? It is the message of the gospel that makes us want to take it to others, to proclaim it to everyone we can. It is a message of 'good news'! A message of peace!

You see, our unsaved friends, family, and loved ones  are dead in trespasses and sins, condemned in their unbelief, enemies of God. Their only hope of 'peace' with God is through the gospel, through repentance and faith to follow Jesus. We must preach this message to them because this is the means that God Himself gave us by which He will save the lost. We are His messengers to proclaim and teach the truth about sin, the truth about man's condemnation because of sin, the truth about Jesus Christ, that God alone, through Christ alone, by grace alone, through faith alone, for God's glory alone can save them.

When God brings someone to life in Christ they will "know' the peace of God because God in reconciling them to Himself gives them the peace with God! The enmity is gone, the resisting Him is gone. The Spirit Himself bears witness with their spirit that they are now a child of God. They will now follow Christ- He has placed the belt of truth around them. They now have the belt of truth to gird about them in reading and studying God's Word. Now they are clothed in Christ's righteousness, have the breastplate of righteousness in place. The truth of God protects them, gives stability to their faith and they will endure.

They now have the readiness to share the gospel of peace with others. Isn't that one of the first responses when we get saved? To tell someone what God has done- to share this good news with someone! No matter what response we may get we want to tell someone what happened to us! Why? Because God has put it in us to do it! He has given us the 'shoes', the readiness, the message!

Friends let's stand firm in the truth and walk in the shoes God has provided proclaiming to all we meet the good news of Christ. On your mark, get set, let's go!

to the praise of the glory of His grace,
Norma