Greetings Mt. Vernon Family,

Ephesians 6:14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.

In Ephesians 6:12 Paul tells us we wrestle with spiritual wickedness in high places, Satan and demons. Wrestling is up close and personal. There is nothing more up close and personal than Satan getting into our heads and influencing our thoughts and decisions. Armed with the belt of truth that holds our weapons in place, and the breastplate of righteousness protecting our hearts and minds, we must put on spiritual shoes, the gospel of peace to protect our feet and prepare us to take the battle to Satan. With these shoes we can dig in and hold our ground against Satan when necessary. Having our feet fitted with the gospel of peace means having a firm foundation in Christian doctrine. We know to Whom we belong. We know what we believe and why we believe what we believe. We are anchored in the Lord, and we are balanced in our faith. We share the gospel of peace with others while fighting off Satan’s attacks. Matthew 24:14 says, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” When Christ comes back to set up His kingdom on earth, Satan will be bound Rev. 20:2. After a thousand years he will be thrown into the lake of fire Rev. 20:10. In the meantime, Satan is like a person on death row trying to get a stay of execution. He will do whatever it takes to destroy our testimony and make the gospel ineffective. Satan’s time is running out. We must “stay on the ready," and keep spreading the gospel of peace. For we will triumph over Satan by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimony Rev 12:11. Amen.

Be Richly Blessed,

Pastor Deborah Giles