If you are like me, when you plan out your day, what you will do and where you will go, you also plan out what clothes you will wear. You get fully and appropriately dressed for what you are doing and where you are going.

My work attire is typically khakis or jeans, colorful socks (my coworkers look for my socks on a daily basis), untucked shirt, maybe a sweatshirt, comfortable shoes. Nights and weekends find me in shorts and a t-shirt, most often barefoot and with a ballcap on my head. When we go to the beach, a swimsuit and flip flops or barefoot. However, a few months ago we went to the beach, and it was somewhat chilly, so our clothing was weather appropriate. I sleep in what is comfortable for me. When my wife and I go out for a special occasion, I enjoy getting dressed up, since I don’t do that every day anymore for work. No matter what I am doing, I try to always be fully and appropriately dressed.

Not only should we wear appropriate clothing, oftentimes that clothing also helps to protect us. Winter coats and gloves protect us from the winter elements. Athletes wear protective gear to keep them from being injured. Flip flops on the beach help my feet not get burned when the sand is hot. And wearing clothes, versus not wearing clothes, keeps me “protected” from being arrested for public indecency.

If you are a Jesus-follower, you know that we are in a daily battle against Satan, who wants nothing more than to drive a wedge between us and God. He wants to keep you and me from being victorious in overcoming sin. And when we go into battle, we need to wear gear that keeps us well protected.

The apostle Paul gives us a list of “clothing to wear” that will help us be victorious, to be protected, regardless of Satan’s strategy. Here is what we read in Ephesians 6:10-13 – “Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by His vast strength. Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the tactics of the Devil. For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens. This is why you must take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand.”   

In v.11 we see Paul instructing us to ”put on” (to clothe or be clothed with) a complete outfit, full armor. This armor is provided by God and is modeled after what he himself wears (Isaiah 11:5, 59:17). In v.13, the verb is slightly different than in v.11. Here we see “put on” being the idea of taking up or raising, for the purpose of standing firm even against the fiercest attacks.  

Paul then lists the various pieces of armor in vv.14-18. Click here to read those verses. I then encourage you to grab whatever scripture study materials you have available to you to see what each piece of armor represents.

So, each morning as you get appropriately dressed for the day, also ask God to clothe you in His full armor. Today, and every day, get fully and appropriately dressed for battle!

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We all have our default “first thing” morning routine once the alarm clock awakens us. Maybe you push the snooze button, hoping to catch nine more minutes of shut eye. Or you might turn on the television to watch the morning news or catch last night’s sports scores on ESPN. Maybe you crawl out of bed and make your way to the coffee maker, desperately in need of that first jolt of caffeine. You drag yourself to the shower hoping that the warm water loosens the stiffness in your back and neck from another restless night’s sleep.

Have you ever wondered why the snooze feature gives you only nine minutes? Why not an even ten? When the snooze feature was added in the 1950s, the inner workings of alarm clocks had long become standardized. This meant that the teeth on the new snooze gear had to mesh with the existing gear configuration. Yes, for those of you too young to remember, at one time, clocks were not digital, they really did run by mechanical gears.

Originally, the clock makers wanted the snooze time to be ten minutes, but they could not get the snooze gears to align perfectly with the clock’s gears, thus they would need to make the snooze time either slightly longer or shorter than ten minutes. It was feared that giving someone more than ten minutes to “snooze” would allow them to fall back into a deep sleep, thus, nine minutes became the standard. Of course, today, with digital technology, any length of snooze time could be built into clocks. But most manufacturers still use the nine-minute snooze as standard. Even my iPhone’s alarm clock snoozes for nine minutes.           

Mornings are an important time of day. Before facing the day, we should have a “first thing” routine of looking into the face of God. We should begin each day seeking God and His strength; the strength we will need to do whatever it is we will be doing that day. We should not begin the work of the day until we have had a few quiet moments with God.

David, in Psalm 5, gives us this model for beginning our day – “In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly” (v.3).

Jesus knew even He needed to put first things first each morning. We read this in Mark 1:35 – “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”

As part of our morning prayer, we make this request – “Create in me a pure hear, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10).

So, why not have a morning routine that begins, instead of snoozing for nine more minutes, with an appointment with God! By doing so, you can have a day influenced by His character and under His control! You can walk through your day doing all things through Him who gives you strength (Philippians 4:13).

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We are all taught to say thank you to someone after they do something for us. Those two little words “thank you” reflect a polite expression of gratitude, or when used as “no thank you,” usually imply a polite refusal. Regardless of the context, we say thank you to someone after the fact. When is the last time you said thank you to someone in advance, or before something happens?

Today I want to look at the subtle difference between praise and thanksgiving as it relates to God. I will begin with this opinion statement – We offer praise to God for who He is (his character and nature) and we offer thanksgiving for what He has done or will do (blessings bestowed upon us). We find these words in the Psalms:

“My mouth is filled with your praise, declaring your splendor all day long” (71:8).

“Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind” (107:31).

We now turn to 2 Chronicles chapter 20. The fourth king of the Kingdom of Judah, Jehoshaphat, was ready to go into battle against the Moabites and the Ammonites. He needed to come up with his battle plan and here we have Jehoshaphat sitting in his central command post with all his top military brass and the plan he comes up with is to send out a choir in advance of the army. I am sure the military leaders must have said: You have got to be joking! Three armies are ready to destroy us and you want to send out a choir?

Here is what we read in 2 Chronicles 20:21 – “After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the LORD and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: Give thanks to the LORD, for his love endures forever.”

Here we see God being praised in advance of a victory. King Jehoshaphat had faith, before the battle began, that God would deliver his people from defeat. Verses 22 & 23 tell us that this singing totally confused the enemy armies and they turned against one another and destroyed themselves.

So today, even if you see the odds being stacked against you, can you praise God before the battle comes, or while you are in the middle of the battle? Can you sing a victory song before the battle begins? If you can, that is real faith! Giving God thanks (gratitude) after the battle is always a good thing, but faith in action often comes by praising God in advance of what He will do! God loves to demonstrate His power in and through those who expect Him to work.

Dear Father, no matter what 2024 throws our way, please grant us all the gift of faith that can sing victory songs before the battle has begun? Give us faith that praises you before the miracle comes! Father, we come thanking You for increased faith in the days ahead. Amen

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