At Camp Connect this week we are studying the Armor of God. As I’ve been investigating Ephesians 6, specifically, the Armor of God passage, and also digesting our most recent school massacres in Parkland, Florida and Santa Fe, Texas, I am convicted by Ephesians 6 that our battle is not with people, but it is definitely a supernatural, spiritual battle against evil. Our weapons are not guns, bombs, biological warfare, or drones, but our weapons are within us and they are Fruit of the Spirit…goodness, kindness, gentleness, self-control, joy, peace, patience, faithfulness, and above all, love. As we tackle this week of Camp Connect, our focus will be growing this Fruit of the Spirit within ourselves, becoming aware of the Holy Spirit power within us from Ezekiel 37 as it foreshadows Paul’s writing to the church in Ephesus, and understanding how this Roman citizen, Paul, is transforming a Roman soldiers armor, which is meant to protect a soldiers body from literal flaming arrows, axes, and swords into the Armor of God, which is meant to protect the inner life of the Body of Christ so that we may stand against a more sinister, often invisible, and scheming enemy that desires to take our very breath, our Holy Spirit, away from us.

As we are at Camp Connect this week, please pray in the Spirit for God to reveal to us the words we need to speak into the hearts of our students in this world where evil masquerades as tangible weapons, flesh and blood, and desire. How do we ready our students to be the peace in the chaos, the love pushing the darkness away, the joy in the midst of sorrow? We are God-breathed. We are the dry bones coming alive as the breath of the living God creates a “vast army,” standing “against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm.” What does God have to say about truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation and the Spirit? Paul writes to the church in Corinth the following, “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5) In a world and more specifically in a nation whom has a love affair with weaponry and personal safety, may we find a way to communicate the greatest weapon of all, God’s infinite loving kindness. We have students at Camp Connect who are living on the margins in their homes, schools, and churches. Please pray for our ability to give them a different edge…an edge that will have them falling into the arms of Jesus and never looking back.