"How Would YOU Like To Be Trained By One Of The Greatest Gospel Musicians & Producers Alive?"

Millions have heard his work all around the world and covet his style...

And never before Has Jason White, the musician-producer-extraordinaire behind artists like Donnie McClurkin, Judith McAllister, Carlton Pearson, Mary Mary, Daryl Coley, and Richard Smallwood, revealed his personal secrets to anyone...

UNTIL NOW!

And now YOU have the opportunity to benefit from his DECADES of hard work, practice, and experience in this revolutionary 4.5 hour dvd course, GospelKeys "Ministry Musician" Volume 1.

If you've ever dreamed of looking over the shoulders of a gospel phenom, now's your chance as Jason White takes you through several hymns and how to contemporize them with "his" flavor, worship songs (from actual albums he's played on), old school shuffles, church "bebop," praise songs, choir music, and of course, shouting music!

Click here to order or keep reading below! http://www.hearandplay.com/go/?p=a480396&w=ministry





"What If You Could Lock Yourself In A Room And Get 4.5 Hours of Ministry-Focused Instruction From The Man Behind Many Of Your Favorite Gospel Artists?"


"Would That Excite You?


Well, it should! Because this is exactly what GospelKeys Ministry Musician Volume 1 will give you.

You'll get the opportunity to learn flavorful approaches, chords, movements, patterns, "licks & tricks," and real songs from Jason White, but not only that...

You'll learn the music ministry side of things too. This isn't just for someone who wants to steal a bunch of chords and sound good, although you'll get dozens upon dozens of chords and will certainly sound 10 times better after devouring this course. This is deeper than that though.

This is for the musician who truly wants to be used by God to usher in His presence through music. The musician who no longer wants to be a distraction or hindrance to the service but actually be an integral part of the worship experience.

For the musician who acknowledges their ministerial role in the service and is ready to commit 100%... Jason is ready to show you what he's picked up over the years as he's had the privilege to walk closely with prominent pastors like Bishop Charles Blake.

This is a holistic course focusing both on the creative music side and the ministry side. You will not go wrong with it.

If this sounds like a dvd course that you would like to purchase click this link to order and view live samples of the actual course you will receive! http://www.hearandplay.com/go/?p=a480396&w=ministry

"For The First Time Ever, The Cat Is Out The Bag! Jason White Reveals What It Takes To Become the Ultimate Ministry Musician..."

• What it takes to truly be a Ministry Musician and how to avoid making some of the errors most church musicians make.
• How to be admired by both "young" and "old" listeners by learning contemporary patterns with traditional hymns... without sacrificing the melody.
• Borrow some of Jason's signature moves in worship, praise, shouting music, old school shuffle, "church bebop," hymns, and more! Never before has he sat down and given away his techniques and now you'll have "over-the-shoulder" access to one of the greatest gospel musicians alive!
• How to take traditional songs everyone knows and alter certain chords to produce your very own flavor and style. In fact, you'll be taken by the hand and shown how to substitute chords in songs like "Oh How I Love Jesus," "To God Be The Glory," and others.
• How to play some of the same exact licks you've heard Jason execute flawlessly on your favorite albums. I'm talking about records from artists like Richard Smallwood, Kurt Carr, Judith McAllister, West Angeles Church of God In Christ Choir, Daryl Coley, Mary Mary, and others!
• The mindset of a "Ministry Musician" and how to avoid being a hindrance to your worship service by adhering to 5 simple rules.
• The keys to accompanying a soloist. Your job as an accompanist is not to lead, it's to support. Learn Jason's improvement strategies when it comes to backing up singers, choirs, and groups!

 "Your Playing Will Never Be The Same"

• Discover how to use the melody of ANY song to create chord voicings you never thought possible! Sometimes, the craziest chords come from using trial and error to find a chord that has the melody note on top. You'll learn Jason's system for doing this.
• Connect chords together with unorthodox "slide-ups," "bends," "walk ups," "crossovers," and other techniques that nobody does! (That's why Jason commonly makes up his own names for the little nuances he utilizes in his playing that you can't find taught in your traditional music class).
• Abolish those same old chords forever! Learn Jason's special voicings for major, minor, dominant, augmented, and various altered chords. You'll be amazed at how simple these voicings are once you know what you're doing!
• What to do when you have a bass player as opposed to playing solo. You'll learn left hand strategies and how to extend your chords to the right hand.
• How to incorporate small rhythmical variations into your playing to add extra spice and flavor that will certainly turn heads.
• Exponentially grow your options on the piano so you never have to play songs the same way, twice! In fact, it was so hard to get Jason to do the same exact "lick" twice because he just doesn't think that way! You'll learn how to have so many options open that you won't remember what you JUST played!

"Let Jason White Show You..."

• Why less is more and how you can still get a full sound even if your reach isn't as wide as others! Most of the time, it isn't about how many notes you can press down. It's more about the notes you choose to use and where you place them.
• How to end your songs with style by implementing Jason's hand-crossing arpeggio technique. 
• How to play what Jason White calls "church bebop," which is a common progression found in many contemporary gospel songs! In fact, you'll find the same exact patterns and voicings he shows you in "Lord Prepare Me to be a Sanctuary," by West Angeles Church Mass Choir (where Jason is the Minister of Music).
• How to bounce chords from your left hand to your right! Jason is the boss when it comes to striking a chord with his left hand and following up with an extended voicing of the chord with his right hand. You'll learn the secrets behind this coveted style of playing.
• Take your playing to the next level by learning various "licks," "tricks," and solos that you can play over church progressions... Jason style!
• Incorporate tritones into your playing like never before! Yes, you've learned them in other courses but Jason takes their usage to a whole new level!
• Diversify your playing by understanding old school styles like the "church shuffle," the "church walk" and others! You'll find this style of playing in devotional services and old-time songs like "I'm on the Battlefield." What's more, Jason actually takes you through this song using old school church shuffle techniques.
• Learn chords and voicings that will instantly kick the service into a spirit of worship. These are the same chords Jason and the band use at West Angeles Church of God In Christ to lead the congregation into an atmosphere of worship.
• Why Disney chords are some of the best worship voicings and how to incorporate them in your playing without becoming a distraction.
• And much much more!

Here's a break down of each part:

Disc 1: Get an in-depth look at how to play hymns in a contemporary way without sacrificing the melody. From  "To God Be The Glory," to "Oh How I Love Jesus," you'll learn Jason White's way of flipping these hymns, chord by chord!  
 

Disc 2: In the second part of this course, you'll learn what Jason White calls "church bebop" and the "old school shuffle." Both of these styles are found in tons of choir songs, praise songs, and devotional music like "I'm On the Battlefield."
 

Disc 3: The third part of the course is all about praise and worship. You'll learn dozens of contemporary chords to play during this part of the service and how to alter the atmosphere of the church by choosing your chords and progressions carefully.
 

Disc 4: The last part of the course covers shouting music. From traditional patterns to modern routes, you'll learn insider secrets behind Jason White's shouting style! Chords, licks, fill-ins, basslines, runs, and more!


If this sounds like a dvd course that you would like to purchase click this link to order and view live samples of the actual course you will receive!  http://www.hearandplay.com/go/?p=a480396&w=ministry

Dear Fellow Musician,

What if you could pop a CD into your home or car
stereo and learn everything you needed to know to
start playing beautiful chords on the piano?

I'm talking about all the same chords used to play
practically every popular song out there! The
ones you grew up listening to... the songs you
now enjoy... classic holiday tunes... even your
kids' favorite songs... and more!

What if you could learn all the chords that make
up those songs in just an hour or so? Would you
be excited?

My good friend Jermaine Griggs over at Hear
and Play Music is going to reveal an approach
that allows you to learn anywhere: at your piano,
in your car, on your ipod® while at the gym ---
ANYWHERE!

So, if you have a CD player and two hours to
spare, then you have what it takes to start
mastering chords by ear.

Read the rest of this story at:

http://www.hearandplay.com/go/?w=300pg&p=a480396

All the best,

Chevonne Reynolds
http://www.chevonnereynolds.webs.com
http://www.hearandplay.com/go/?p=a480396&w=gospelkeys

Learn the very basics of playing piano with the 300pg course from Hear and Play!!

Dear Gospel Musician,

If you're like me and love those toe-tapping, foot-stomping,
hand-clapping, finger-snapping praise songs you hear in church,
then you're going to love what I just stumbled across.

The folks over at Hear and Play Music just sent me an e-mail
marked "urgent." The e-mail contained information about their
GospelKeys 300 course, which covers "charismatic praise songs."

http://www.hearandplay.com/go/?w=300pg&p=a480396

Looks like they are currently offering a really good deal on
this program along with some limited-time bonuses.

GospelKeys 300 demonstrates everything you need to know, from
"A to Z" to play fast, uptempo praise songs by ear... step by
step and completely over the shoulder.

This means you'll be able play all of your favorite praise
songs by ear in no time and could be on your way to
potentially playing for a charismatic church before you know
it.


Here's what Jermaine Griggs, the author of the course,
actually has to say about it:

With the NEW Gospel Keys 300 you'll...

"Discover THE five parts to a praise song and how to recognize
them with your ear. Knowing them is one thing and recognizing
is another. By the end of the program, you'll NOT only be able
to recognize the different parts of a praise song, BUT you'll
have several options to consider when playing them (we never
play the same thing over and over ... I will teach you several
different ways to play EACH part)."

http://www.hearandplay.com/go/?w=300pg&p=a480396

"Learn what shorter "A-B" songs are and how they differ from
more extended "A-B-C-D" songs. This is something that hundreds
of gospel musicians still don't know. It frustrates me to hear
a musician playing an "A-B-C-D" praise song when they should be
playing an "A-B" praise song. It is very very very important to
know the differences between the two types. Yes, one is an
extension of the other --- but the extensions make ALL THE
DIFFERENCE." You'll learn just what I'm talking about."

http://www.hearandplay.com/go/?w=300pg&p=a480396

"Learn three methods to figure out what type of praise song
is being sung. I will show you, step-by-step, how to classify
different praise songs. You will also learn how to figure out
when a praise song has transitioned from an "A-B" to an
"A-B-C-D" or from an "A-B-C-D" to an "A-B" praise song. These
are priceless techniques, especially if your church sings a
medley of praise songs, one after the other."



You know... I could really go on and on about this DVD, but due
to the lack of space,  I'm going to have to send you to the
official editorial page so you can check it out for yourself:

Go to:
http://www.hearandplay.com/go/?w=300pg&p=a480396

...and if you're really serious about taking your piano
playing to the next level and avoiding the most common pitfalls
many musicians fall into, you might want to consider taking
them up on their offer.

Visit: http://www.hearandplay.com/go/?w=300pg&p=a480396


All the best,

Chevonne Reynolds
http://www.chevonnereynolds.webs.com
http://www.hearandplay.com/go/?p=a480396&w=gospelkeys

The secret to sounding contemporary!

Dear Friend,

If you've always wanted to learn how to play contemporary, urban
gospel music, I've found the perfect resource for you.

It's a course by "Hear & Play" that specializes in giving you
that neo-soul, jazzy, R&B feeling when you play gospel music. It
fuses  all of them together to create a very modern, "urban"
sound.

It's hard to explain but they have live video clip samples on
their website so I recommend going through them all. You'll
learn a lot.

Visit: http://www.hearandplay.com/go/?w=gkurban600&p=a480396

Meanwhile, here are a few things it covers:

* How to implement a host of simple tricks that are guaranteed
to instantly add that well-known west coast, "urban" flavor to
your playing (...you hear this style on a lot of contemporary
gospel albums)

* Beef up your playing drastically by adding these small little
grace notes, slides, and fill-ins to your  chord transitions.
Jon utilizes this trick at least 80% of the time and he spills
the beans on exactly what to do to "own" it.

* How to master the art of passing chords so that your chord
progressions and songs never sound dull or "predictable." As
you'll learn in the course, the goal is to be unpredictable."
That's when you know you've arrived.

* Learn the ways of the west coast and how to contemporize your
playing by using countless numbers of "phat" chords, movements,
and accidentals!

* How to play tons of opened and closed chords and how to use
them at the right time.

... And much much more!

Visit: http://www.hearandplay.com/go/?w=gkurban600&p=a480396

...for more information.

All the best,

Chevonne Reynolds
http://www.chevonnereynolds.webs.com
http://www.hearandplay.com/go/?p=a480396&w=gospelkeys

Learn to play the organ step by step here!

Dear Gospel Lover,

Are you someone trying to learn to play those toe-tapping,
foot-stomping, hand-clapping, finger-snapping praise songs
on the organ? If so, keep reading this e-mail because I've
found something that will definitely help you!

The folks over at HearandPlay.com just sent me an e-mail a
couple days ago telling me about their brand new organ
DVD course.

It takes you step-by-step and over the shoulder through tons
of techniques. I mean, it's filled with loads of information
and professional techniques that any serious musician learning
to play up-tempo praise songs would want to have.


In this new organ DVD course, you'll...

- Discover the simple secrets to effectively using the drawbars,
percussions, and settings to obtain the contemporary sound that
you desire.

Click below for more details
http://www.hearandplay.com/go/?w=gkcore&p=a480396

- Learn the way of the west coast and how to contemporize your
praise & devotional songs using "west coast" chords, movements,
and runs!

- Learn how to power up your left hand by forming a variation of
the chord you're right hand is playing. This strategy alone will
make your praise songs differ from the next musician tremendously.

Click below for more details
http://www.hearandplay.com/go/?w=gkcore&p=a480396

- Slow motion break-downs of advanced fill-ins and right-hand
chordal movements so that you never miss a single beat!

When I first saw this course, I mean all I could saw was wow!
You don't have to take my word for it though. Just listen to
what this new Gospel Keys 350 has done for my friend Austin
already! (see link below)

http://www.hearandplay.com/go/?w=gkcore&p=a480396

(...and if you're also serious about taking your piano
playing to the next level and avoiding the pitfalls that many
musicians fall into, you might want to consider taking them up
on their other "Gospel Keys" courses").

Visit: http://www.hearandplay.com/go/?w=gkcore&p=a480396

All the best,

Chevonne Reynolds
http://www.chevonnereynolds.webs.com
http://www.hearandplay.com/go/?p=a480396&w=gospelkeys

Pursuing excellence!

On February 24th of this year, I decided to enroll in Penn Foster Career School in order to receive my Medical Transcription degree. I finally realized that it was time for me to stop accepting where and I am and realize that I could do better. It's great to be thankful for where you are or what you've achieved but always understand that you can do better. God wants his people to be the very best they can be because our success reveals his power, his grace, and his mercy. God doesn't want us to settle and get too comfortable with where we are. This can be fully demonstrated in (Philippians 3:13-14)- Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.


God had to let me know that I had begin to accept where I was and had actually begin to think I couldn't do any better. I have two beautiful kids and a wonderful husband and I had become accustomed to being a stay at home wife and mom. All of the dreams I had of gaining my own career had been pushed aside for various reasons. One of those reasons was the fact that I have a disability (serious back and neck problems). Instead of fighting through the pain and continuing to press toward my dream, I just accepted that I couldn't do better. I now realize that I had been playing right into the devils hands all along. No matter what the situation is, we can't forget that the power of God is greater than our circumstances, problems, short-comings, etc. We have to make up our mind to believe all or nothing. 


I have a 9 year old boy and a 5 year old daughter. Everyday I preach to them about the importance of doing their homework and being the best at all they do. I had to admit that I wasn't practicing what I was preaching. How in the world could I tell them to do something I wasn't doing? This was a very bitter pill for me to swallow but I needed to wake up and smell the coffee. God doesn't reveal things like this to us to hurt us, he reveals things like this to us so that we can get it right. Now that I've awaken to the truth, I'm doing all I can to correct my mistake and practice what I preach. Now when my kids are doing their homework, I am doing my homework as well. I'm very excited about graduating from college and starting my new career. I know it's not going to be easy but that's why we have God.


Excellence is something that every Christian should strive for in all that we do. Any successful business man/woman will tell you that they had to strive to be the best before the best was possible. In other words, you have to see it before you see it! Sometimes as Christians we go from one extreme to the next. Either we put our careers and dreams ahead of God and our families or we don't even try to achieve anything. No matter where you are in life you should always desire excellence. I'm not talking about becoming obsessive compulsive but I'm talking about having a healthy desire for excellence in your life. If you work at McDonald's, don't just be good, be the best. If you work at a gas station, be the best EVER!! Striving for excellence in small things can help propel you to excellence in bigger things. 














Remain blessed

Musician Breakthrough Informational Video

If you haven't already heard about this dvd set let this video fill you in on the details! I have the set and I must say that it is everything I expected and then some. It has 7 of the best west-coast musicians in the world sharing their secrets and skills. It's just like having them there with you teaching you chord by chord how to play worship, shouting, traditional, transitional, etc. It has 14-disks with musicians such as David Jackson, Javad Day, Jason Freeman, and much, much more! I guarantee you will be glad you invested in this dvd set! It will definitely change your approach to playing music! If you would like to order this dvd set visit this link http://www.hearandplay.com/go/?p=a480396&w=mb

Earn extra income at Hearandplay!!

The Hearandplay affiliate program is free to join and you can instantly generate an ongoing stream of income without any cost or obligation on your part. It is recommended that you own a website or social media accounts like twitter, facebook, myspace to be part of this Affiliate Program (but not required).

You can get paid referral fees for simply linking to HearandPlay.com . It is easy to receive between $250 - $500 per month for promoting their best-selling instructional series, even if your website has low traffic counts. Medium and heavy sites can potentially earn $600 to $3000*+ per month. Our top affiliates earn well over $5,000* per month just for sending visitors to our site! Now you can see why our affiliate program is so powerful!

As you may already know, HearandPlay.com has several free resources and tips for people looking to learn music by ear. While we started primarily in the piano space, we have expanded to drums, guitar, organ, singing, and other instruments.

In addition, there are over several free piano lessons, blog posts, video content, an interactive community (with thousands of members) and more!

Our primary and most popular product is our 300-page interactive home-study course, "The Secrets to Playing Piano By Ear." Additionally, we offer a full line of of gospel dvds that specialize in teaching various techniques and concepts to playing gospel music by ear.

We also cover other styles like jazz & salsa in our Jazz 101, Jazz 202, and Salsa Piano 101 courses.

Rest assured when you send visitors to our site, we'll keep them coming back through various channels & resources, which means higher sales for you!

It is with these valuable products and services that we can establish a mutually profitable relationship. Let us explain or you can read more here: http://www.hearandplay.com/go/?p=a480396&w=affsignup

How it works

By simply placing links on your site to our website (whether simple text links or banners that we provide you), you get paid referral fees for every piece sold, based on the payout chart below.

All you have to do is apply to be an affiliate by filling out a simple form and you'll be e-mailed you very own affiliate code that will allow you to access our fully-interactive affiliate resource center where you can set up as many links and banners to our site as you want! There are also several "copy and paste" e-mail promotions ready to be sent to your mailing list or newsletter!

...And from there, you can begin collecting commissions for every customer who clicks on your links and banners and orders any of our products below:

We have three affiliate levels:

Silver Program

For all new affiliates. When you generate $1000 in gross sales, you're automatically upgraded to the gold level. You earn 25% commission.

Gold Program

After your first $1000 in gross sales, you'll be upgraded to the gold program. When you generate $5000 in gross sales, you're automatically upgraded to the platinum partners program. You earn 35% commission.

Platinum Partners Program

After generating $5000 in gross sales, you're automatically upgraded to the highest level, platinum, where you receive 50% commission.

Other reasons to join us:

1) Free participation

2) Earn 25-50% commission on all product & subscription sales.

3) Add value to your website (link to "free piano lessons" and if they eventually buy something, you'll receive commissions!)

4) Be up and running TODAY - after you register, you will have access to the control panel, which will give you everything you need to get started (banners, username, stats, etc.)

5) If someone visits our site and does not buy today, but re-visits the site anytime within the next year and purchases one of our products, you still earn your referral fee (because of our advanced tracking provided by the Infusionsoft.com).

6) You can track your earnings in real time (simply log-in above at any time!)

7) We take care of everything - charging the credit cards, shipping the orders, and providing any customer service necessary. You collect the checks each and every month.

8) We are one of the most successful music course affiliate programs on the internet (and according to Alexa.com, a traffic ranking service owned by Amazon.com, we're the most visited music by ear website on the *entire* internet for 7 years in a row)

9) With our advanced tools and tracking, you can create an unlimited number of ads to track which marketing efforts are making you more money.

10) You receive email notification every time someone purchases through you.

11) Get up-to-date training from our resource center along with every possible tool you need to start making money online.

So if you're ready to make legitimate income with no strings attached click here to get started immediately!! http://www.hearandplay.com/go/?p=a480396&w=affsignup

Righteousness - A basic foundation for effective prayers and fasting Part 4

In our previous series of teaching on “triplet armor of righteousness, prayer and fasting”, we were able to discuss how righteousness comes, what it offers and what makes one righteous, how we could walk in righteousness, the armor of righteousness, and when righteousness is missing. The central message of this series is the heart issue. Having a right heart for God to come in and commune with us through prayers and studying of the Word.

In the above listed series previously discussed we could see how it is very important for every born again Christian who has not started putting into use his or her righteousness to consider stepping out in faith to start exercising that free gift of God. We could do it by abiding in Christ to live a lifestyle that is in harmony with our Christian values. When we commit ourselves to live a life that expresses the image of Jesus Christ, the life of God will gradually permeate our lives to infuse the strength we need to live a victorious Christian life. But for this God’s kind of life giving strength to come in and remain in us we need a daily healthy relationship with God and others. The book of Hebrews 4:15 reminds us that we are being taken care of “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin”. But we cannot have a high priest unless we identify ourselves with that high priest. It is only through this identification that the high priest could be touched with the feeling of our infirmities so as to help us always out. Note the term infirmities here could mean limitations and weakness.

As I did mention previously that righteousness is a basic foundation for effective prayer and fasting; it becomes clear then that fasting and praying without right living or right standing with God makes our prayers ineffective. No amount of prayer and length of fasting we could observe will move God if we still practice sin. Sins are clogs that stop the life of God flowing through us.

Note, God is not looking for those who are perfect or those who were born with a certain degree of self-discipline but He is looking for those who are willing to commit to the offer they made on the day they accepted Him into their lives. Those offers are, their lives, wills, emotions and their all. They are the spiritual legal permits God needs in order to take the occupancy of our lives. Once we keep these offers submitted to Him then He will take the full control of our life. Note the term taking control of our lives does not denote that He controls our lives like a robot. That is not God; He does not control us in that way. The control in this term is that He takes the full responsibility of our entire needs- spiritual, physical, emotional, social etc. It is through this way that we can effectively fast and pray with greater results.

Remain blessed

Righteousness - A basic foundation for effective prayers and fasting. Part 3

In part 3 of our study on Righteousness - A basic foundation for effective prayer and fasting, we will discuss the following topics:

 The armor of righteousness

 When righteousness is missing

In our previous discussions, we have discussed that righteousness is a free gift of God which is earned by faith in Jesus Christ. We studied that righteousness is an aspect of salvation or part of what salvation did for us. It is a means by which we are redeemed, justified and set free from our debt to death because of our sin and sinful nature. It is a divine exchange in which our imperfections, sinful nature, sin, poverty, infirmity, and rejection were exchanged with Christ’s perfection, sinless nature, rich, health, and acceptance. It can be likened to a condemned criminal who was condemned and was at the point of execution by death and suddenly, one-second before the execution, a voice was heard: “Let that man go, let me die his death and let him live my life. Have my freedom”. The man was untied from execution and the other man went in his place and was executed. That is exactly what happened at the cross.

Now we are going to see how powerful righteousness is when we are equipped with the knowledge of it and commit ourselves to its instructions to live a life that harmonizes with its principle. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 6:7: “By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left”. Paul likens righteousness as armor, just like in Ephesians 6:14: Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness. Here righteousness refers to as one of the armors of warfare which is used in covering our heart. We are going to see more on this as we discuss “the armor of righteousness”.

The armor of righteousness

I use the term “armor of righteousness” from Ephesians 6:14 in which righteousness is described as one of the weapons of warfare, which verse 11 describes as an armor of God which we could put on. Verses 11-13 explains why we should put on the armor.

11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. If you read further, you will find the armors to put on and how they should be put on. But we shall limit our discussion to righteousness as one of the armors. If you read the last statement of verse 14 it says “having on the breastplate of righteousness”, in other words it means to put it on. Another interesting thing about this verse is that there is a specific place it should be put on. Not on the head, hand or leg but on the breast or chest. It describes righteousness as a plate for the breast, known as a breastplate. Breastplate is common attire put on by Roman soldiers. The breastplate covers the body of the Roman soldier from the neck to the thighs. It is normally made of strong material to protect the heart.

Why is Paul requesting that we should put on the breastplate of righteousness although we have received it at spiritual birth? We received it as free gift on the day we gave our lives to Christ. Just as I described on one of our previous topics that it is not enough to receive the righteousness by faith but we have to put it in use by living a lifestyle that is in harmony with it. Paul is conveying the same message - the need for our righteousness to be put into use. Just as we may have a beautiful cloth, as long as we do not put it on, it remains un-used and will never serve the purpose for which we bought it - likewise is our righteousness. Unless we put it into use, we may not enjoy all the resources of blessings God offers through it.

Likewise, as the breastplate protects Roman soldiers, so does righteousness protect us and when attacks come, they should be thrown off by our righteousness. It is interesting to know that God designed the breastplate of righteousness for the heart, against the deadly arrows of the enemy. The Bible tells us to guard our heart with all diligence because our life source flows from it (Proverbs 4:23: Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life). The state of our life, both physically and spiritually, depends on the condition of our heart. As a result, it needs to be guarded.

Our heart is one of the most important parts of our body, both spiritually and physically. Physically, it is the powerhouse of a man. It is a place where blood is pumped to our entire body in order to keep us physically alive. Without it, we are dead. Spiritually, it is the living room where God lives. It is a place where our inward man, who is born again, resides. It is an altar of God, which determines the state of the temple. If God is allowed to be in the altar, the temple will then be holy but if not, it will be un-holy. When we first accepted Christ into our lives, it was our heart that we gave Him to come into and live, not our brain. Jesus Christ is not in our brain because the inward man, our spirit, is in our heart. It is a place of communion with God through prayers and through the time we spend in studying the Word.

Our righteousness is made as armor by putting it on, by activating it and/or by revelation knowledge of the worth of righteousness to us personally and all that it offers! Just as you will not be able to have access to a new bank account without activating it first and then continually put it to use. Similarly, when we fail to put on the breastplate of righteousness and put it into use, our heart will remain unprotected. We will discuss this in the next section “when righteousness is missing”. Please refer to our previous discussion under the section “how we should walk in righteousness” for better understanding on how to put on righteousness. This will clarify the meaning regarding how we should put on our righteousness. Please take note that the righteousness is already ours by reason of accepting Christ into our lives. It needs to be put into use for us to enjoy the abundant blessings it has.

When righteousness is missing

The term “when righteousness is missing” is simply meant when we do not put on the breastplate of righteousness. It may be ours, but it is the same as if it is not there because it remains un-activated and un-used.

When we do not put on the breastplate of righteousness, our heart is exposed to the enemy Satan and brings us into many painful experiences. In addition we will not be able to access so many blessings which are associated with righteousness.

Summary

The armor of righteousness is one of the weapons of our warfare armors which we need to put on for protection of our heart against the wiles of Satan. Again, when we do not put on our righteousness or live life that harmonizes with its principle, we will not be able to access the blessings associated with it.

Remain blessed