“In conclusion, be strong in the Lord [be empowered through your union with Him]; draw your strength from Him [that strength which His boundless might provides]. Put on God’s whole armor [the armor of a heavy-armed soldier which God supplies], that you may be able successfully to stand up against [all] the strategies and the deceits of the devil.”
Good morning, beloved,
What a beautiful morning! I have a Danny with me this morning trying to make my blog, in his words, better. His little grin is transforming my morning. His older brother is helping me study the greek in the Bible today. We’ll see how this goes..;)…
Finally..well, we can see that Paul is completing this epistle. This is the final chapter and he is wrapping up his thoughts. Yet, I think of this “finally” like a rock star saying goodbye at a concert knowing full well he is coming out to sing the audience’s favorite songs!
“Be strong in the Lord [be empowered through your union with Him]; draw your strength from Him [that strength which His boundless might provides]….” I look at these verses at sigh with gratitude but when my day starts to crumble, my kids aren’t listening, my head is hurting, this is when these verses must come into play. And Daniel found a picture to help us think of this in action…a well…
Draw strength from Him. Paul wants us to draw from the Lord. Not from our own measly weakness. We have nothing in and of ourselves.
Yet, friends, this is critical! As I said yesterday, our warrior status comes from our trust and the focus of our trust in the Lord! We can do nothing without the Lord’s strength. And that is a good thing. All praises be to the King of Kings! To God be the glory!
He can handle your stuff…
So, what do you need to do?
“Put on God’s whole armor [the armor of a heavy-armed soldier which God supplies], that you may be able successfully to stand up against [all] the strategies and the deceits of the devil.”
Pray on, beloved. He is with you. He won’t leave you. Look behind you? He’s right there. Look ahead of you? He’s right there. To the side? He’s right there.
St. Patrick’s Breastplate Prayer
St. Patrick’s Breastplate
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness
Of the Creator of creation.
I arise today
Through the strength of Christ’s birth with his baptism,
Through the strength of his crucifixion with his burial,
Through the strength of his resurrection with his ascension,
Through the strength of his descent for the judgment of Doom.
I arise today
Through the strength of the love of Cherubim,
In obedience of angels,
In the service of archangels,
In hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In prayers of patriarchs,
In predictions of prophets,
In preaching of apostles,
In faith of confessors,
In innocence of holy virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.
I arise today
Through God’s strength to pilot me:
God’s might to uphold me,
God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s eye to look before me,
God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to speak for me,
God’s hand to guard me,
God’s way to lie before me,
God’s shield to protect me,
God’s host to save me
From snares of devils,
From temptations of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
Afar and anear,
Alone and in multitude.
I summon today all these powers between me and those evils,
Against every cruel merciless power that may oppose my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom,
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man’s body and soul.
Christ to shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that there may come to me abundance of reward.
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness,
Of the Creator of Creation.
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