Day 1: What I Learned from My Eighth Grader

Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take 

your stand against the devil’s schemes

Ephesians 6:11 

I’ve read this passage in Ephesians 6 since childhood. So as adult, it seemed so familiar that I would skim over it.

Then my eighth grader came home with a project: how do you practically put on the armor of God? And he started asking me questions.

Yes, I said eighth grade. We are grateful to have him at a Christian school with a really good Bible teacher.

My middle schooler spread out several Bible commentaries on the couch. We looked at them together. We searched the web for sermons on the topic. And we both learned.

I realized how much I didn’t know. So I started studying this with a friend even after my son finished his project.

One of the first things I learned is that God doesn’t put on the armor for us. The instructions are for us to put on the armor. And not just a part of it. But the full armor.

We must put on the armor.
The reason? To stand against the devil’s schemes. Obviously, this means the devil is scheming against me … and you.

The devil wages war against us. 

Well, that brings up another question. Do we have any idea what schemes the devil uses?

Learn the devil’s tactics.

See what I mean. This is just one verse. But there’s a lot packed in there. And we really need to go back to Genesis to see the devil’s first attack on Eve.

I think this is what Proverbs 2:4 means when it says to search for wisdom like you would hidden treasure. It’s not enough to skim or lightly read the scripture. We must dig and search to find the true meaning.

Lord, create a desire in me to search the scripture and find your treasures.
Stacy