Aptiva

God who is, Present, Pure, Powerful and who Provides, Pardons and Protects You surround me oh God. In waking and sleeping, your words whisper to me. They tell of your goodness, and your desire to see the pure prosper. Nothing is beyond your eye or hand. You decree and it is done. I find all I need in your shade, from food and shelter to friends and family. My many sins and failings are not counted when a contrite heart is shown to you. You declare me clean. I walk safe in my future, assured that you will cover me in all things.

The Bible tells us to put on the Armour of God. I think we need to get used to wearing it far more than the normal follower of the carpenter seems to indicate. Roman soldiers lived in their armour, it was about them all the time. It was their second skin, and without it they were ineffective. Like most things, when initially worn it hurts, rubs, and chafes, but this process needs to be endured for it to become part of who we are. Most of us today don't wear armour, but we can experience the same process with a new pair of shoes. It's not just the wearing of the item, it's becoming used to the purpose of it. Training with a sword means when it comes time to use it in battle it is second nature. Using your shield gives you confidence that it will withstand a blow when you need it to. Finally, working with a shield brother (or sister) lets you build the sense of unity need to protect and trust one another. All of this means spending time with one another, apprec

You may have seen a movie with this scene. The hero is facing a beast, in this case, a dragon, they have one shot with their weapon of choice, a bow. The hero nocks the arrow to the bow and waits, sighting the best moment to release the shot to allow it to do its job, to slay the beast. This scene can be found in many movies, sometimes it's bow and arrow, sometimes it's a ballista. In the modern version, it is a sniper's rife, and the dragon is the evil mastermind who desires to take over the world. In any iteration of this, the audience is watching the hero and keeping a wary eye on the target. The projectile itself is not the focus of attention. No one is concerned about the arrow, except that it hit the target. One arrow is pretty much the same as another, it's the skill of the one who fires it that matters. Which is fine, assuming you are not the arrow! But what if you are? What if you are the instrument being used by the wielder, how do you react? Wai