Having Your Feet Shod
With The Preparation Of Peace
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee!
The Gospel of Peace is all about reconciliation. Our mission is to bring peace between two parties...God and Man. The Bible says "Blessed are the peacemakers".
The shoes the Roman soldiers wore had intermittent bands up to the knee and spikes underneath. The reason for the bands was most likely for pressure relief so they could stand fighting longer. The spikes have a three-fold purpose...they were used to dig in and stand your ground, or as your were charging the enemy so you didn't slip, or if the enemy was getting you down you could still kick. While our method of fighting spiritual battles is not as such, the lesson is there. As we fight the devil, we must stand our ground, advance into his territory, and if need arises give him the boot.
As we stand and wield the Sword Of The Lord (the Word Of God) against the devil, we must have our passions in the right place or we will slip and fall.
The message of Peace is wrought through the hands, feet, and voice of those who truly care about the message. How can we so graciously experience the Peace of God and then not spread it around?
Peace is one thing that sets the Christian apart from the non-Christian and peace is what gives the mind rest in traumatic times.
Another wording of this is "bathing your feet in the good news of peace".
If you are facing temptations, take a look at where the feet of your mind have taken you. We may be creating scenarios that are conducive for the devil to play with our minds, and that is a temptation that can be avoided. Satan does, however, enjoy the thought of plaguing Christians as a means to get their mind off the real purpose of spreading Peace.
We need to handle ourselves in such a way that we can be reconciled to God and others. Our entire life should be such that we are constantly working for peace with God and our fellow man. If our hearts are hosting impurities we will not have peace.
Something we can glean from this is we must be prepared. Our feet are to be controlled by the gospel of peace. Everything we do must be in line with the gospel of peace.
When our feet are bathed in the gospel of peace, they will take us to places of peace and our focus will be on God. We will be able to walk on hot coals when our feet are held to the fire.
David, as a man after God's own heart, made the pact within himself; "I will set no wicked thing before my eyes" Psalm 101:3
Our peace can only come through God, and will only be applied to our lives if our mind is "stayed on Him".
Our hearts are prone to wander and when we allow them to wander from God and forget His goodness, and righteousness, and authority, our peace will be elusive. If our peace is elusive, then The Gospel of Peace will have no power in our lives nor in the lives of those we are trying to help.
When our desire for God does not direct our ways, our passion for God needs re-ignited.
When Jesus was born, the birth announcement included "peace and goodwill to men". After Jesus went back to Heaven the only ones left to carry this message are His followers. Are we extending Peace and Goodwill to those around us.
The peace that we extend to others, must first come from God, then be real in our own lives and through this peace, we will be able to encourage our contemporaries.
Satan has worked very hard to destroy our message of peace. In many cases, the peace in our hearts, the peace in our homes, and the peace in our churches does not exist or there is very little of it. Somewhere along the line, Christians have taken off their shoes of peace, possibly thinking they didn't even need them. Satan has tricked many into dismantling their armor one piece at a time.
The fact remains, the Gospel of Peace is part of the armor and if you want fully protected from Satan's fiery darts, it must be a part of your life.
“My Peace I leave with you, not as the world giveth give I unto you. Let not your Heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid!”
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