Read Ephesians 6

We have entered, or about to enter, yet another year of school. Children all around are entering or have just begun a new year. This means that there will be new challenges, new pressures and new battles. It is imperative that our children are equipped with the tools necessary to stand in these last days. All adults everywhere need to be prayerful for each person entering the doors of our schools.
I remember a young man that was a few years younger than me that was raised in the truth. His father was a preacher, and his family was strong in the faith. This young man went to Bible College and then went on to a university. It was at the university that he was bombarded with false doctrines and mistaken philosophies. It is a sad story to see men and women that sat on the pew but never received for themselves the tools to withstand the onslaught of hell. Needless to say, this young man became entangled in all these false ideas to the point that he began to question whether there really was a God. I do not know where that young man is today, but I do know that he represents thousands of young men and women that once held to the principles of the Bible and did not possess the tools to withstand in the heat of battle.
The armor that Paul writes about can be obtained by falling in love with Jesus Christ. When we really fall in love with Him, He places the tools necessary for the fight at our disposal. The only thing we need to do is to pick them up. It reminds me of my grandmother. I spent an entire week with her and her sister at my uncle’s cabin. We had a blast. She showed us how to use an old fashioned sickle. After that week I was glad to have that battery powered hand clipper!! In the midst of showing us how to use this old farm tool she made a statement that I remembered while writing this devotion. She said, “Tim and Jeffy (my cousin), the only way to get something done is to do it. Use whatever you can and you will be able to finish the project.”
What about you? Are you like thousands of others that have the tools at their disposal, but you fail to pick it up? This week we are going to look at these different tools God provided for us, but like Grandma Cele said, “You have to pick it up to make it useful.”

“In the first place, God made idiots. That was for practice. Then he made school boards.”
- Mark Twain