Pick up your sword!

This morning I read from Luke 22 which retells the story of the last supper. I have read this passage many times, in fact this is the passage I like to use for communion, however I noticed something that I had never noticed before. Jesus tells his disciples to use a sword.  In verse 36 Jesus says this, "But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and of you don't have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one."
This really got me thinking, why would Jesus be telling his disciples to buy a sword? He was warning them that things were going to get tough, things were going to get really bad. He wanted them to be ready.
What about us? Are we ready? Do we have our sword? Well I hope so, as without our sword we are unarmed. The sword I speak of is the word of God. We must never be too far away from it, in fact we should have it written in our hearts. The word of God is just what it says on the tin...the word of God. It is our weapon against the enemy, it helps us to discern whether people are telling us the truth or not. 
A few years ago not long after I became a Christian, I asked my father a question about something. To be honest I can't remember what the question was, but I remember the answer as if it were yesterday. He told me to be a 'Berean in everything' What my dad was telling me was to test everything. Just because people tell us something it doesn't mean it's of God. Just because they have been Christians for a long time or are even in leadership doesn't mean that it is of God. Being a Berean means that we test everything against the word of God, we test everything with the sword. Look at the word SWORD...it is WORDS, God's words to us. Be a Berean today, soak in the Sword of God, allow the Holy Spirit to minister to your needs, believe the Bible and use it to defend yourself. PICK UP YOUR SWORD!