10 Specific Ways to Put on the Belt of Truth (Part 1)

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist. Ephesians 6:14

As with all components of spiritual warfare that we see in Ephesians 6, putting on the belt of truth is not simply something to be done in the abstract. There are very real and practical ways that you can saturate yourself with truth on a daily level. Over the next two posts I’ll be sharing ten practical ways you can begin to saturate yourself with truth on a daily basis. Here are the first five:

1. Turn off the television. For some people, television is their constant companion, even if it’s turned down low, humming quietly in the background of your day. The average American watches over five hours of television every day. What’s wrong with that? Paul warns the first-century Christians in Colossae not to taken captive through the hollow and deceptive philosophies of this world (Colossians 2:8). That becomes much harder to avoid the deceptive philosophies of this world when we give it a platform to broadcast its philosophies directly into our homes for over five hours per day. Do you want to start saturating your mind with truth? Start by turning off the television for awhile.

2. Filter your social media. If you’re a parent of a teenage boy, you would be doing incredible harm to him to give him unfiltered and unrestricted access to the internet. There’s just too much filth out there. It’s unrealistic to keep him offline forever, but you can put a filter on his access. In the same way, to saturate yourself with truth you need to put a filter on what you consume. You need to be careful about what you ingest. For many, social media is a huge source of deception. Social media is itself a type of deception, as it tempts you to compare your behind-the-scenes with everyone else’s highlight reel. Facebook depression is a real thing. What you’re consuming makes a difference. How you’re engaging with social media is actually spiritual warfare. So filter your social media.

3. Change your music. Music is a surprisingly powerful form of spiritual warfare. When you read Ephesians 5:18-20, you’ll see the Apostle Paul directly connecting music and being filled with the Spirit. Music has power because it speaks directly to your soul. Everyone has a certain song that can somehow transport them to a different place and touch memories and emotions long dormant. What you listen to makes a difference. If you’re listening to music that is even subliminally reinforcing the world’s values or the world’s version of truth, those deceptions will begin to affect you in a way that most people don’t notice. Saturate yourself with music that reinforces the truth of God’s Word, and you’ll begin to find yourself looking at your world in a new way.

4. Read your Bible daily. Jesus said in Matthew 4:4 that man is designed to live on a regular consumption of God’s truth in Scripture. When you ingest the truth of God’s Word on a regular basis, you’ll find your spiritual strength increasing, making every area of your life more protected from spiritual attack. When you saturate yourselves with truth, there is nothing truer than God’s Word.

5. Memorize fighter verses. To truly ingest the power of God’s Word, it’s not enough to simply have a printed copy of the Bible on the coffee table or the Bible App downloaded on your smart phone. If you stop and think you’ll realize that the enemy rarely attacks you when you have your Bible open and you’re ready to do battle. To truly saturate yourselves with truth, you need to begin to memorize specific Bible verses, what I call ‘fighter verses.’ Fighter verses are verses that specifically address areas of spiritual warfare where you’re constantly under attack. Be strategic and memorize truths that will be with you day or night. Memorization is how you move from reading God’s truth in Scripture to saturating yourself with God’s truth in Scripture. Let’s say you decided to memorize one verse a month. One a month is a very achievable goal. In five short years you’d have over sixty verses in the Bible committed to memory, ready to do spiritual battle whenever you sensed an attack coming. If you’re looking for specific verses to get you started, here are ten great fighter verses for your consideration:

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you[a]free from the law of sin and death. Romans 8:1-2

For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. Psalm 103:11-12

But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 1 Corinthians 1:27

Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14

The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 1 John 4:4

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. 1 Corinthians 10:13

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8

In the next post I’ll share part two, five more practical ways you can put on the belt of truth. Stay tuned!