Do You Wear a Helmet When You Eat a Sandwich?

Our three year old daughter has a great memory. Often times she will remember things that have happened in the past and will want to bring them up for discussion to see if we remember the same things. This happened the other day at lunch. A few days after Christmas members of my extended family got together to celebrate Christmas with one another. At the get together my youngest cousin who is just a little older than our daughter was there with some roller skates and her helmet. Well of course our daughter wanted to try and after putting on the skates and the helmet gave it a very valiant effort. For whatever reason, the other day at lunch she wanted to have a discussion about the helmet she wore while roller skating in my grandparents driveway. She began the conversation by asking me if I remembered the helmet which she had worn while rollerskating. I told her that I did. Then she asked me why she had to wear the helmet. I explained that it was because she was rollerskating and the helmet would have protected her head if she had fallen on the driveway. Then she began to ask me about several other activities which might possibly require wearing a helmet. She asked if she had to wear a helmet while riding in the wagon. She asked if she had to wear a helmet while riding her bike. But the last question was the best. With peanut butter and jelly sandwich in hand and a look of genuine seriousness she asked, "Daddy, do I wear a helmet when I'm eating a sandwich?" (What she was really asking was, "Do I have to wear a helmet when I'm eating a sandwich?" but she's three and so the actual wording she used was the original quote.) The visual made me laugh out loud - the mental image of my daughter sitting at the table with a bright pink helmet on eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich cracked me up. Apparently my laughing caused her to laugh too and so for the next few moments we shared a great laugh together. Then when I had composed myself I explained to my daughter that "No, you don't have to wear a helmet when you are eating a sandwich."

Later that afternoon I began to wonder if I had missed a teaching opportunity and had given my daughter the wrong answer. In the book of Ephesians, Paul is writing to the believers at Ephesus and beginning in verse 10 of chapter 6 he gives a very important command to all believers in Christ. Paul writes "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able stand firm against the schemes of the devil." The analogy that Paul then begins to use compares a Christian to a fully armored Roman soldier. Paul's point is very clear - in the same way that a soldier would never go to battle without all of his armor and equipment, we as believers should never go about any part of day without having on all of our armor and having with us all of our equipment.

So here's an important question: How many pieces of the armor of God can you list without looking? This is an incredibly important question for believers. If you don't know what all of your armor and equipment is, how can you put it on each day and make sure that it remains on throughout the course of the day? Need a hint? Here they are:

• Your loins girded with truth - often refered to as the belt of truth(vs. 14);
• The breastplate of righteousness (vs. 14);
• Your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace (vs. 15);
• The shield of faith (vs. 16);
• The helmet of salvation (vs. 17);
• The Sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (vs. 17)

All of these pieces are incredibly important for us to go into spiritual battle each day and to fight off our spiritual enemies, but the helmet of salvation may in fact be the most important piece of the armor of God that we can possibly put on. It protects the most important part of our body - our head. And there is never really an appropriate time to take it off. Removing it would be removing a vital part of our spiritual protection and leave that part of our body completely open to attacks from our spiritual enemies.

Today, more than anything I want to encourage you to protect yourself from those spiritual enemies that look for any and every opportunity to bring harm to you. If you don't know what the pieces of the armor of God are and what they represent study Ephesians 6:10-17. Commit to memory what they are and then make sure that each and every morning you put them on and keep them on so that you will be protected against the assaults of the devil and his demons. And make sure that you always have your helmet on - even while your eating a sandwich.

Sometimes Christ Calls Us to Walk on the Water - But He Never Asks Us to Stay There

I was recently thinking through the account in Matthew 14:22-33 in which Peter, following Christ’s call, gets out of the boat and momentarily walks on the stormy sea. I’d like to make a few simple observations that I think may encourage some of you as you are daily walking with Christ.
We can all agree with great confidence that God allows His followers to go through times of trial to help develop their faith and character (James 1:2-4, 1 Peter 1:6-7). But going through times of trials is not for our own benefit alone, but more importantly they are opportunities for us to see God at work in our lives so that we can testify to His goodness and faithfulness and make much of Him. Notice first in this passage that God allows the faith of all of His followers to be challenged. Verse 24 “But the boat was already a long distance from the land, battered [literally tormented] by the waves; for the wind was contrary.” Verse 26 “When the disciples saw Him [Jesus] walking on the sea, they were terrified . . . and they cried out in fear.” Peter wasn’t the only one out on the sea that night. All of the disciples were in the boat which was being tormented by the wind and the waves and all of the disciples were frightened by what they perceived to be a ghost approaching their boat on the water. So don’t be surprised when times come and your faith is challenged by the situations or the circumstances in your life. God hasn’t forgotten you or singled you out – God allows everyone’s faith to be challenged at one time or another. But notice secondly that God reminds us of His presence with us in our times of trial. In verse 27 Jesus recognizes their fear and calls out to them “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” We can count on God’s presence with us when we go through trials and challenges to our faith. Notice thirdly that sometimes God calls individuals to endure greater challenges to their faith than other individuals around them. This is the part we probably don’t like to think about. In verse 28 Peter makes what seems to be a crazy statement. He says to Jesus, if it is really You, “command me to come to you on the water.” (Remember that the sea is incredibly rough – the waves are tormenting the boat. There is very little comfort and security for the disciples while they are on the boat. Who would ever say to God, “I’ve got very little comfort and security in my life as it is right now, now command me to get rid of that little sense of comfort and security and enter an even greater challenge to my faith”?) Then Jesus calls to Peter specifically (not to all the disciples) to get out of the boat and do the impossible – walk on a raging sea. Notice that this is a specific call to a specific individual. Though it appears that Peter suggested it, the text reveals that Peter did not get out of the boat until Christ made the call to come. Without doubt, it took extraordinary faith to get out of that boat. But the challenge wasn’t only to get out of the boat, it was also to walk on a raging sea. It appears that Peter may have started well, but soon His focus left the Savior and became fixed on the elements of trouble around him – the wind and the waves. When this happened we all know what the results were – Peter began to sink. This brings us to a fourth important point in this passage: when we find ourselves in the midst of extreme challenges to our faith God wants us to stay focused on Him, not on the troubles around us. But if (and probably more likely, ‘when’) we begin to sink in the midst of our troubles and extreme challenges, God doesn’t simply remind us of His presence, but fifthly God acts as our Savior and He lifts us up. I love verse 31, “Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him.” We can lose sight of Christ and doubt, just like Peter did, and because God is gracious and full of loving kindness for His children, He doesn’t watch us sink but rather He grabs hold of us and lifts us up!
Verse 32 gets me to the original point that I was hoping to encourage you with and why I titled this blog post the way I did. The Bible teaches us that we are always to live in dependence on God, but the reality is that sometimes we a forced to realize this in the midst of extreme challenges to our faith. Verse 32 says that when they got back into the boat, the wind stopped. The challenges to faith that Peter and the rest of the disciples experienced that night were momentary challenges. Jesus eventually brought all that was testing their faith in this encounter to an end and gave them great rest and comfort. As humans we were not created to live and/or walk on the water. We live and walk on the land. That doesn’t mean that there will not be times when God calls us to walk on the water – but when He does remember to keep your eyes on Christ and know that eventually the trials and challenges will end. God is gracious and if He has called you right now into a time of great trial He will not make you stay there forever. Know that He will also bring to you times of peace, comfort, and rest.
Read those points in bold once again and remember that God will bring times of rest and refreshment for your soul. I hope that encourages you today! And I hope you respond as the disciples did in verse 33; “And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, ‘You are certainly God’s Son!’”