Ephesians 6:10-17 Finally, my brothers, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For our fight is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, and against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your waist girded with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, having your feet fitted with the readiness of the gospel of peace, and above all, taking the shield of faith, with which you will be able to extinguish all the fiery arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

The last time we went to “bike church” at God Speed Biker Ministries (they’re on Facebook) Bro Mark talked to us about the full armor of God. While he was reading the scriptures above, I kept thinking about all the parts of the whole armor…. and it reminded me of how much it’s like  the gear we bikers wear (or least, some of us wear!).

Bikers wear a helmet to protect our heads – I had someone ask me once how much my head was worth, and to expect to pay accordingly for a helmet. Got a $5 head? get a $5 helmet. We also have leather or heavy denim chaps to protect our legs; boots keep our ankles and feet safe; and a leather or heavy denim jacket can protect our chest and arms.  Leather gloves keep our hands from getting wet, wind-chapped and sometimes even safe from bugs and rocks.

This may sound like overkill – all this leather, the heavy, hot helmet, those stiff boots – I mean, is it all really necessary? No, not while you’re riding down the road.

But if you ever go down, you’ll appreciate every centimeter that’s between you and the pavement that’s rushing under you at 60 MPH.

So the expression ATTGAT means a lot when you’re sliding down the highway, with your bike right behind you. ATTGAT – all the gear, all the time.

And doesn’t it make sense that our Creator would also know that we need to have all our gear on all the time? ATTGAT, guys….. ATTGAT.