{"id":2658,"date":"2024-01-10T11:12:43","date_gmt":"2024-01-10T16:12:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ichasesunsets\/?p=2658"},"modified":"2024-01-10T14:05:40","modified_gmt":"2024-01-10T19:05:40","slug":"the-gospel-of-peace-holy-boots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ichasesunsets\/2024\/01\/the-gospel-of-peace-holy-boots\/","title":{"rendered":"The Gospel of Peace–Holy Boots"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

image by angelsharem\/pixabay<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Full Armor, Including Our Holy Boots<\/strong><\/h2>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Ephesians 6:10-17\u00a0<\/a> tells us <\/span>to \u201cbe 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\u2019s schemes.<\/span> 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 your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, <\/span>\u00a0<\/b>and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace (your holy boots). In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The Full Armor, Big and Small<\/h2>\n When my children were little, I used to dress them every morning in the full armor of God.<\/a> I would pull their shirts over their heads and say, \u201cHere is your breastplate of righteousness:\u201d I would pull up their pants and tell them to \u201cGird up your loins with the truth.\u201d When I put their socks and shoes on them, I would tell them to walk in the Gospel of peace, the word of God.\u201d I kissed their heads for the helmet of salvation, and we high-fived one way for the shield of faith and the other way for the sword of the spirit.<\/span><\/p>\n In truth, I still have those words written on the mirror in the room where I get dressed, along with the reminder that \u201clove should be my underwear,\u201d well, because we put on love first. Right?<\/span><\/p>\n I believe that we should prepare, in the ways we are given, for whatever the day will bring.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Those Holy Boots<\/h2>\n****** ** Not long ago, I was thinking about the armor of God, and it occurred to me that we spend a lot of time in conversation about the helmet, the breastplate, the sword and the shield, but we don\u2019t talk too much about the \u201cfootwear,\u201d and in a lot of circumstances, footwear can make all the difference.<\/span><\/p>\n ** Specialized Footwear<\/h2>\n ** Athletes wear specialized footwear according to their sports. Some athletic shoes have cleats on the bottom or some sort of tread to ensure stable footing and effective movement. I recently heard a 6th grader say to a friend on the basketball team, \u201cDude! You have to have basketball shoes!\u201d Traction and arch support seem to be important even to elementary school players.<\/span><\/p>\n ** \u00a0<\/p>\n ** Workmen often wear steel-toed boots to protect their feet and prevent terrible results of accidents. The boots are strong to protect the toes from injury. Did you ever break a toe? It seems like such a tiny part of the body, but a broken or sore toe can make movement very difficult.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ** Nurses need comfortable shoes with good traction to enable them to be on their feet for long hours and to sometimes stand sure-footed on sticky or slippery ground.<\/span><\/p>\n ** Soldiers\u2019 boots are designed for leg and core support, plus protection from snakes or terrain while walking long distances, and for protection from the weather.<\/span><\/p>\n ** Even us teachers need to pay attention to our footwear because we are on our feet so many hours a day, and often during those hours we are moving from desk to desk, student to student, even room to room.<\/span><\/p>\n ** ******Regardless of the profession or how perfect the footwear happens to be, it has to fit.\u00a0<\/em>Shoes that don\u2019t fit are more of a hindrance than a help.<\/p>\n Important Footwear<\/h2>\n When <\/span>Primo Levi<\/span><\/a> wrote about life in Auschwitz he revealed that f<\/span>irst of all, there was a very real, physical importance of footwear as applied to life in the camp. Prisoners often slept with their shoes under their heads like pillows, because when it came to survival, the attitude was likely \u201cevery man for himself,\u201d and decent shoes were hard to come by. <\/span>Shoes were confiscated by the millions<\/span> when inmates first arrived in concentration camps. When they were again permitted to pick up a pair of shoes, there was no guarantee that the shoes would fit, or even that they would be a matched pair. If a prisoner\u2019s shoes didn\u2019t fit properly, he was in danger of getting sores and possibly an infection, and was made more susceptible to the \u201cselections.\u201d Prisoners who couldn\u2019t work were exterminated. Shoes symbolized health and life.<\/span><\/p>\n Those shoes didn\u2019t only have a practical meaning. They also symbolized freedom and the ability to move around and possibly escape. The deprivation of the prisoners\u2019 shoes was a powerful symbol that their freedom had been taken away. And for the ones taken directly to the gas chambers, rising mounds of shoes were a stark statement that those shoes would never again be needed.<\/span><\/p>\n Shoes are important!<\/span><\/p>\n The Holy Boots of the Gospel<\/h2>\n********* ** If we consider this in the context of the scriptures in Ephesians, we understand that s<\/span>ince the surrounding scriptures are about the armor of a warrior, the boots are also those of a warrior.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ** \u00a0<\/p>\n ** \u201cStand firm \u2026 with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n ** *********\u00a0<\/p>\n In the first century, a soldier\u2019s shoes were distinctive from other types of shoes. Roman soldiers wore heavy military sandals called caligae,<\/a> \u201chalf boot and half sandal.\u201d The upper part of the shoes were constructed with openwork designs, which gave good ventilation. Many straps allowed adjustment to fit the peculiarities of an individual\u2019s foot. The soles were made of several layers of leather and \u201cwere clenched with hobnails, arranged in patterns. These hollow metal studs provided a firm grip on the soil. They dug into the ground and kept the soldier sure-footed and stable when holding his ground or advancing against an enemy. Because combat was always \u201cclose\u201d and hand-to-hand, firm footing was essential.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Holy Boots for Holy Ground<\/h2>\n According to Pastor Dale Crawley Sr. in his article <\/span>\u201cCrippled by Chaos,\u201d<\/span><\/a> \u201cOf all the things the enemy seeks to steal, kill, and destroy in your life \u2026 \u2018peace\u2019 is almost always at or near the top of his list. He intentionally stirs up discord, division, disruption, and disturbance, both within you and around you. He is the lord of chaos and confusion, using every opportunity to upset your sense of well-being and stability. He wants you uneasy, unbalanced, filled with anxiety, worry, and turmoil. He wants to take away your ability to stand firm or move at your own will. He wants to take away your peace!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n So we shoe our feet with the Gospel of peace, the word of God. But what do shoes have to do with the gospel of peace? To answer this question we have to understand what \u201cgospel of peace\u201d means. The word \u201cgospel\u201d means \u201cgood news.\u201d The word peace means not only \u201cpeace\u201d \u2026 but also \u201cwholeness\u201d and \u201csalvation.\u201d It has a similar meaning with the Hebrew word \u201cshalom.\u201d The gospel of peace is none other than the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ!\u00a0 Romans 5:1<\/a> says, \u201cTherefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n This is important because the enemy always aims to separate believers from God. It is God who gives believers the strength to put on the full armor and the power to conquer evil.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n We must put on the gospel of peace by remembering that Christ died to bridge the chasm between us and God.<\/span><\/p>\n Crossing the Bridge in Our Holy Boots<\/h2>\n********* ** Remember the toll bridges in our area? A price had to be paid at the toll booth to be able to cross the bridge. If a person could not pay, he had no right to cross. It\u2019s the same with that bridge that leads to God. We can\u2019t pay that toll, so we have no right of our own to cross.<\/span><\/p>\n ** *********\u00a0<\/p>\n But, hallelujah! Jesus paid the toll so we could cross the bridge. He paid the penalty for our sins and gave us His righteousness so that we could know God and walk, not hesitantly, but boldly before the throne of grace.\u00a0<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n Soldiering on in Our Holy Boots<\/h2>\n The Gospel gives us divine confidence that when the battle for souls rages, and the enemy comes against us, we can stand firm in the knowledge that we are saved, and that we are at peace with the power to stand, even in chaos. We can also advance against the powers of hell in the boots of the Gospel\u2013the Word of God\u2013that says \u201cwe are more than conquerors.<\/a>\u201d By His grace, we are able to stand firm or stand ready to go into action as the Holy Spirit prompts! <\/span><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u00a0 The Full Armor, Including Our Holy Boots \u00a0 Ephesians 6:10-17\u00a0 tells us to \u201cbe 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\u2019s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5055,"featured_media":2661,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[377,813,819,816,825,822],"class_list":["post-2658","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-armor-of-god","tag-boots","tag-caligae","tag-footware","tag-gospel-of-peace","tag-soldier"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Gospel of Peace--Holy Boots<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Stand firm then, with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace--your holy boots.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ichasesunsets\/2024\/01\/the-gospel-of-peace-holy-boots\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Gospel of Peace--Holy Boots\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Stand firm then, with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace--your holy boots.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ichasesunsets\/2024\/01\/the-gospel-of-peace-holy-boots\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"I Chase Sunsets\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-01-10T16:12:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-01-10T19:05:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/1809\/2024\/01\/boots-3648141_1280.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"946\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Beverly R. Green\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Beverly R. Green\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ichasesunsets\/2024\/01\/the-gospel-of-peace-holy-boots\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ichasesunsets\/2024\/01\/the-gospel-of-peace-holy-boots\/\",\"name\":\"The Gospel of Peace--Holy Boots\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ichasesunsets\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-01-10T16:12:43+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-01-10T19:05:40+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ichasesunsets\/#\/schema\/person\/f641964771bb1bf0d1b5eb9f0922c4b3\"},\"description\":\"Stand firm then, with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace--your holy boots.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ichasesunsets\/2024\/01\/the-gospel-of-peace-holy-boots\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ichasesunsets\/2024\/01\/the-gospel-of-peace-holy-boots\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ichasesunsets\/2024\/01\/the-gospel-of-peace-holy-boots\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ichasesunsets\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Gospel of Peace–Holy Boots\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ichasesunsets\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ichasesunsets\/\",\"name\":\"I Chase Sunsets\",\"description\":\"God reveals Himself to us daily in amazing and miraculous ways We just need to look for Him.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ichasesunsets\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ichasesunsets\/#\/schema\/person\/f641964771bb1bf0d1b5eb9f0922c4b3\",\"name\":\"Beverly R. Green\",\"description\":\"Beverly Green is a life-long disciple of Christ. She has a BS in Secondary Education\/Language Arts and an MA in English from Jacksonville State University in Alabama. Currently, she teaches high school English in St Clairsville, Ohio where she lives with her husband Martin. Beverly has published devotionals, Christian fiction, and short stories.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ichasesunsets\/author\/bgreen\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Gospel of Peace--Holy Boots","description":"Stand firm then, with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace--your holy boots.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ichasesunsets\/2024\/01\/the-gospel-of-peace-holy-boots\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Gospel of Peace--Holy Boots","og_description":"Stand firm then, with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace--your holy boots.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ichasesunsets\/2024\/01\/the-gospel-of-peace-holy-boots\/","og_site_name":"I Chase Sunsets","article_published_time":"2024-01-10T16:12:43+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-01-10T19:05:40+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":946,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/1809\/2024\/01\/boots-3648141_1280.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Beverly R. Green","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Beverly R. Green","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ichasesunsets\/2024\/01\/the-gospel-of-peace-holy-boots\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ichasesunsets\/2024\/01\/the-gospel-of-peace-holy-boots\/","name":"The Gospel of Peace--Holy Boots","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ichasesunsets\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-01-10T16:12:43+00:00","dateModified":"2024-01-10T19:05:40+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ichasesunsets\/#\/schema\/person\/f641964771bb1bf0d1b5eb9f0922c4b3"},"description":"Stand firm then, with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace--your holy boots.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ichasesunsets\/2024\/01\/the-gospel-of-peace-holy-boots\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ichasesunsets\/2024\/01\/the-gospel-of-peace-holy-boots\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ichasesunsets\/2024\/01\/the-gospel-of-peace-holy-boots\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ichasesunsets\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Gospel of Peace–Holy Boots"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ichasesunsets\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ichasesunsets\/","name":"I Chase Sunsets","description":"God reveals Himself to us daily in amazing and miraculous ways We just need to look for Him.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ichasesunsets\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ichasesunsets\/#\/schema\/person\/f641964771bb1bf0d1b5eb9f0922c4b3","name":"Beverly R. Green","description":"Beverly Green is a life-long disciple of Christ. She has a BS in Secondary Education\/Language Arts and an MA in English from Jacksonville State University in Alabama. Currently, she teaches high school English in St Clairsville, Ohio where she lives with her husband Martin. Beverly has published devotionals, Christian fiction, and short stories.","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ichasesunsets\/author\/bgreen\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ichasesunsets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2658","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ichasesunsets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ichasesunsets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ichasesunsets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5055"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ichasesunsets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2658"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ichasesunsets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2658\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ichasesunsets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2661"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ichasesunsets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2658"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ichasesunsets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2658"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ichasesunsets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2658"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}