This year, I have been challenged to do two things. One is to read the entire Bible in a year, and the other is to keep a very brief spiritual journal. Really this is no more than a title to what God shows me each day.
One of the things I was thinking about today was the armour of God.
We all know that we should put on the armour every day, and most of us do, I expect.
However, what came to me was Paul's words in Romans 13 v.12, where he speaks about "putting on the armour of light"If we think of John 1, we are reminded that : "The light shines on in the darkness, and  the darkness cannot overcome it". If this is so, then we are putting on the armour of Christ's brightness. (How often He is called a star, or a great light.)Such armour must dazzle the enemy.
Living in the UK, I have seen the crown jewels, and the Koh in Noor ( mountain of light) diamond. It's brilliance is dazzling.
Unfortunately, because of an attempted robbery, I did not get to see the millennium jewels when we visited the dome, but they would have been the same. Diamond is the hardest natural substance known to man. So we can think of ourselves as protected by armour of even more than that strength and brilliance.

Since writing this, I am increasingly thinking about the strength of God's armour. It seems to me that if we trust The Lord completely, then our armour, and in particular the sword of The Spirit, which is our only offensive weapon, will be made of diamond, and really be effective in pulling down strongholds

Post Script Jan. 2002

This year has seen the days getting tougher.

Whenever I think of the armour, and in particular, the sword, I see it as drawn.We are holding it, (and it appears to be the Goliath sword, rather than the short broadsword), in front of our faces , with the blade pointed upwards.The sword is shining like pure gold.

So far as I can see, what The Lord is saying is that we must be prepared for battle all the time.There is a big "BUT" we must be pure, as gold is pure.This gold shining, reflecting the light is what the enemy sees. He does not see the soldier behind. This is god's battle fought with the sword of The Spirit, and the glory must only go to Him, not to us. Not very clear, I am afraid, but during my prayer time this afternoon, I felt that I really needed to get this down.