What Not to Wear

 "You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness." Ephesians 4: 22-24

    A man walked toward me wearing a tee shirt that brought a broad feeling of victory to my heart. Lettered in bold white across a black field, his shirt declared: NOT TODAY SATAN. I loved it and I told him so. Of course, simply donning a tee shirt is not ample protection from so dastardly a foe, so what must I wear?

    In my small group Bible study, we have been learning about putting on the full armor of God, as the Word teaches in the book of Ephesians: The breastplate of righteousness, the belt of truth, the shoes of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. This lead me to study other verses on what to wear. What does it look like to "put on the new self" as stated in the verse above?

    Well, first of all, the old clothes must be removed. Peel off greed, impurity, deceit, anger, thievery, bitterness, rage, brawling and slander. Replace these with humility, compassion, kindness, patience, joy, dignity and strength. In other words, put on Christ who is the summation of all. By the command of Jesus, Satan must flee. Only then may I stand firmly and declare, "Not today Satan!"

    "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand." Ephesians 6:10-13