Paul's Letters to the Ephesians

Having spent most of my adult life living near military bases, from 1966 to 2004, I have a great respect and love for our wonderful military men and women. Hundreds of them have come thru my life, be they family or friends, they are all loved ones. We have been endowed by our Creator with our inalienable rights; but it is our military that sacrifices so that we won't lose those rights. Regardless of what many may think, our rights are not granted by any government or politicians, although those rights are documented in the Constitution of the United States of America; neither do any government or politician serve to protect those rights as much as our military does. It's our military that puts themselves in harms way, puts their very lives on the line to stand between our freedoms and tyranny. Some gave all; all gave some. God, bless them.

As I was scanning thru Free Republic this morning, I saw that one of the members had submitted a "vanity" post; as it's called when somebody posts their own thoughts or comments rather than posting a news article and link. It was a tribute to our troops on today, Veterans Day. When I started to read it, I saw the poster had typed out the Armor of God scripture from Paul's Letters to the Ephesians. It struck me as extremely fitting for the times we are in, and so appropriate; bringing to mind that old axiom "there are no atheists in the foxholes".  I am more of a "Christian soldier" and "prayer warrior" than somebody who, with a facade of sweetness and piety, asks What Would Jesus Do?  I'm more apt to point out that while Jesus IS the embodiment of love, he also confronted sinners and rebuked sin; and physically drove the money-changers out of the temple at the receiving end of a whip. Being a Christian doesn't mean being a wimp (thank you Pastor Nick) and meek doesn't mean weak (thank you brother Bill). So in honor of our military veterans, active duty, retired, and deceased; and as a reminder to every American to keep them all in our prayers:

The Armor of God; Paul's Letters to the Ephesians, 6: 10-20
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take our stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known they mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should."