Every night before we go to bed we set the security alarm in our home. Because it would be so easy to forget that the alarm is on and to inadvertently open the door, we have devised a reminder system. It beats having to remember our secret passcode in the middle of the night or worse, have the police show up, scaring the daylight out of us. With a dog in the house, the likelihood of having to open the door during the course of the night is higher and so is the probability of setting off the screaming intrusion signal.
So our method is to take a two of the many baseball hats we have around the house and put them on the doorknob whenever we set the alarm from the inside. Before we reach for the knob we see that there is something in the way and we think twice about opening that door.
On more than one occasion I have put the hats on the door but forgot to set the alarm. This makes the hats meaningless symbols and creates a false sense of security. While we won't be setting off any false alarms, we are no safer just because we have hats on the doorknobs.
When we trust in our flesh we are like that. When we fail to remember to put on the whole armor of God then we do not have what it takes to stand against the wiles of the devil (Ephesians 6: 10-18). We may look like we are prepared but if there is an attack, our guard is down and we are in for a big surprise.
Philippians 4 tells us not to be anxious but to take our requests to God and trust in His power. Verse 7 says that the peace of God guards (garrisons) our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus.
1 Corinthians 13 speaks of a believer without love being like an empty symbol. The love that bears all things and believes all things can only come from having a personal relationship with Jesus and submitting to His will, knowing that He is in charge.
Let's make sure that we put our hope and trust in the true source, our God. Without Him, the things we trust in are like those hats on an unprotected entryway. Anything can get in to steal, kill, and destroy. (John 10:10).
So our method is to take a two of the many baseball hats we have around the house and put them on the doorknob whenever we set the alarm from the inside. Before we reach for the knob we see that there is something in the way and we think twice about opening that door.
On more than one occasion I have put the hats on the door but forgot to set the alarm. This makes the hats meaningless symbols and creates a false sense of security. While we won't be setting off any false alarms, we are no safer just because we have hats on the doorknobs.
When we trust in our flesh we are like that. When we fail to remember to put on the whole armor of God then we do not have what it takes to stand against the wiles of the devil (Ephesians 6: 10-18). We may look like we are prepared but if there is an attack, our guard is down and we are in for a big surprise.
Philippians 4 tells us not to be anxious but to take our requests to God and trust in His power. Verse 7 says that the peace of God guards (garrisons) our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus.
1 Corinthians 13 speaks of a believer without love being like an empty symbol. The love that bears all things and believes all things can only come from having a personal relationship with Jesus and submitting to His will, knowing that He is in charge.
Let's make sure that we put our hope and trust in the true source, our God. Without Him, the things we trust in are like those hats on an unprotected entryway. Anything can get in to steal, kill, and destroy. (John 10:10).