Father, hear us, we are praying,
Hear the words our hearts are saying,
We are praying for our children.

Keep them from the powers of evil,
From the secret, hidden peril,
Father, hear us for our children.

From the whirlpool that would suck them,
From the treacherous quicksand, pluck them,
Father, hear us for our children.

From the worldling's hollow gladness,
From the sting of faithless sadness,
Father, Father, keep our children.

Through life's troubled waters steer them,
Through life's bitter battle cheer them,
Father, Father, be Thou near them.

Read the language of our longing,
Read the wordless pleadings thronging,
Holy Father, for our children.

And wherever they may 'bide,
Lead them Home at eventide.

~ Amy Carmichael

7b) BRIGHT AND LIGHT-GIVING ARROWS TURNING THE WORLD UPSIDE DOWN!

Luke 1:79 says that Jesus came "To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace."

Ancient arrows with fire on their tips set the cities of their enemies on fire. These arrows lit up the skies as they zoomed toward their targets. They were bright because they were on fire.

Fathers, God wants our quivers to be filled with arrows of this nature. The darkness in the cities all over this world cannot be removed by any other force than the light and fire that comes through the true anointed testimony of the real followers of Christ, those whose hearts and lives are on fire with the love of Christ. If only Christian parents could catch this vision, and by the grace of God, fill their quivers to overflowing with bright, light-giving arrows.

The Bible is full of the testimonies of "on fire" arrows. It was said of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ in Isaiah 9:2 and also Matthew 4:16, "The people which sat in darkness saw GREAT LIGHT; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up."

Although there have been many bright lights burning hot and on fire for God through the centuries, there has never been any that burned brighter than Jesus Christ himself.

When the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples in the upper room, these arrows (living testimonies) became on fire, physically and spiritually. Remember, it was "cloven tongues as of fire" that sat on each one of these fearful disciples, filling them with power and boldness from on high (Acts 2:3).

These 120 disciples left that upper room blazing with a fire, and despite all the devil's opposition and persecution, ransacked the gates of hell and turned the then known world upside down for Christ. What a headache for the devil (Acts 17:6)!

Be encouraged. Colin Campbell

7) BRIGHT AND LIGHT-GIVING ARROWS

Jeremiah 41:11 says, "Make bright the arrows, gather the shields."

Men, God's desire for us is that we be BRIGHT AND LIGHT-GIVING arrows. Habakkuk 3:11-12 says, "At the light of thine arrows they went, and at the shining of thy glittering spear. Thou didst march through the land in indignation, thou dist thresh the heathen in anger."

None of God's usable weapons are rusty, defaced, dirty, dumbed down, or without luster. Who would want to use a dirty or rusty weapon to fight the powers of darkness? In the same way, God's weapons are revealed as an armor of light. Romans 13:12 says, "The night is far spent, the day is at hand, let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light."

This nation desperately needs men who are packed full of light (the revelation of truth), who will speak only the truth, expose all the works of darkness, and hold our enemies' feet to the fire until they confess their guilt. This nation is being corrupted by leaders in high places of government and education who think nothing of lies and all manner of falsehood. The conscience of this nation is fast becoming seared with a hot iron.

1 Timothy 4:1-2 says, "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their conscience seared with a hot iron."

Fathers, bright and light-giving arrows are indeed needed to fill the quivers of Christian families. The devil masquerades as an angel of light, but he is the prince of darkness. Only true light-filled and light-giving arrows can defeat him and his deceiving hordes.

Be encouraged. Colin Campbell

Father, today I bring to Thee
This boy of mine whom Thou hast made.
In everything he looks to me;
In turn, I look to Thee for aid.

He knows not all that is before;
He little dreams of hidden snares.
He holds my hand, and o'er and o'er
I find myself beset with fears.

Father, as this boy looks to me
For guidance, and my help implores,
I bring him now in prayer to Thee;
He trusts my strength, and I trust Yours.

Hold Thou my hand as I hold his,
And so guide me that I may guide.
Teach me, Lord, that I may teach,
And keep me free from foolish pride.

Help me to help this boy of mine,
To be to him a father true.
Hold me, Lord, for everything
As fast as I hold my boy for You."

~ N. W. Brapham

6e) SHARP ARROWS continued, HOW TO GET THE ARROW SHARP!

Ecclesiastes 10:10 TLB says, "A dull axe requires great strength; BE WISE AND SHARPEN THE BLADE."

Men, it is one thing to bring arrows into the world. It is another thing to make them sharp. It takes sharp parents to make sharp children. It takes sharp Christians to sharpen fellow Christians.

Hebrews 4:12 says, "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and SHARPER THAN ANY TWO-EDGED SWORD, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." Christian fathers, must at all cost, daily impart God's Word to their children. We can do this at Family Devotions following the morning breakfast and again after evening supper.

We must not ever think that the pastor's sermon once a week is sufficient. It is not. One meal per week is not enough to keep the physical body alive and one spiritual meal per week is certainly not enough to keep us alive, let alone sharp! Blunt Christians are blunt because of insufficient exposure to the sharp two-edged sword of God's Word.

We also must regularly expose ourselves to sharp Christian fellowship. We must also make sure that our children's companions are sharp, at least for their age, in the Christian faith. Proverbs 27:17 says, "Iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend."

Do not be naive regarding the friends you keep, nor the peers of your children. Our companions influence us far more for good or bad than we realize. And especially the peers of our teens. Proverbs 13:20 says, "He that walks with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed."

How sharp is your countenance these days? This is largely determined by the company you keep. What we are in our heart is revealed on our countenance and the discerning eye will observe it. Isaiah 3:9 says, "The show of their countenance doth witness against them."

Be encouraged. Colin Campbell

6d) SHARP ARROWS continued, "MORE SHARP ARROWS MEANS MORE VICTORIES!"

Men, it is plain to see that in order to win the many battles that we face in life we will need a lot of arrows. And these arrows will need to be sharp.

Psalm 127:4-5 states, "As arrows in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate."

It is foolish of the church to adopt the world's mindset and limit the arrows in their quivers to one or two per family. This mindset has no military (natural or spiritual) understanding. If God, in His sovereignty, holds back children, we must prayerfully hold on. However, woe unto us if we purposefully limit the arrows God wants to give us for we will stand ashamed in the day of battle.

How can we possibly win over evil, even in the ballot box at election time, if the Christian conservatives have not the wisdom and foresight to fill their quivers with arrows? We stood ashamed in the last election and quite likely will continue to do so, unless we repent and start filling the quivers with sharp arrows.

The ballot box is not the only place where we need sharp arrows. We need them in Washington, and in every city every day of the week, in order to gain victory over all evil and wickedness. Evil will continue to triumph if we Christian parents do not get the revelation of the importance of raising children to be sharp arrows.

We must also fill our quivers with them. The more sharp arrows means the greater victories.

Be encouraged. Colin Campbell

6c) SHARP ARROWS continued.

In Exodus 17:8-16 we read the account where "Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand. So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed."

Fighting in the natural, Joshua desperately needed Moses, Aaron, and Hur on the hill, fighting in the spiritual.

Men, when it comes to fighting evil and corruption, whether in our government, city, church, workplace, or family, spiritual weapons are far more sharper and effective than natural weapons. They are "mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds" (2 Corinthians 10:4).

Our House of Representatives seeks to expose the corruption that is in our government over what happened in Benghazi, what happened with the "fast and furious scandal (provision of high powered weapons to Mexico to fight drug cartels, but ending up in the hands of the cartels), the targeting of media reports (AP scandal), and the IRS scandal (the targeting of conservative groups seeking Non Profit status).

While conservative politicians fight it out with special hearings or enquiries (natural weapons), the Christian church needs to lift up its hands to God in prayer, calling on the mighty spiritual weapons to defeat and bring to justice the agents of evil.

Men, the current battle over evil can be won or lost according to the way we fight it--natural weapons only, or coupling the natural with the spiritual. There are some who think that only the physical warfare is all that is needed. There are others who think that only spiritual weapons are needed, e.g. "Just pray, there is no need to stand up and be counted"). I believe that both are needed.

Men, if we are truly going to win in this battle over all types of evil, we must seek the assistance of the Lord of the armies of Heaven. Men, do not wait for your church to call for special prayer meetings. Start praying yourself as well as with your family. Start Family Devotions today and pray earnestly for this nation as well as other needs. Be a sharp arrow.

Be encouraged. Colin Campbell

6b) SHARP ARROWS continued.

In 1 Samuel 17:45 David spoke to the giant, Goliath, "Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied."

Men, unless we have a sharp spiritual edge, we are of little threat to the enemy. As Christian men we must, at all costs, increase the sharpness of our spiritual edge. There are two ways to fight evil.

The first is physical, using natural weapons (guns etc) or human intellect or argument (the courts of our land). The current problem is that even our justice system is increasingly being taken over by corrupt people. Even the physical force of high powered weapons has limited value to crush evil, for the enemy soon arms himself with equally high powered weapons. This is why Iran and North Korea are such a threat to the free world.

The second way to overcome evil is through spiritual weapons. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 says, "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds;) casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and brining into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ."

The world and much of our leadership, e.g. the Pentagon, have virtually no understanding of this second realm of weapons and warfare. Without the exercise of spiritual weapons, all natural weapons have limited use for righteousness.

Yet, at the same time, they may have dangerous use for the spread of evil. The truth is that spiritual weapons can enhance the use of inferior natural weapons, We see this in David's simple sling and stones versus Goliath's height, strength, and armor. But, David also used spiritual weapons as well as the sling and thus won the victory.

Be encouraged. Colin Campbell

6a) SHARP ARROWS

 Psalm 45:5 says, "Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies; whereby the people fall under thee." The New Living Translation says it clearly, "Your arrows are sharp, piercing your enemies' hearts. The nations fall beneath your feet."

Men, if we want our children to be sharp arrows, we ourselves must be sharp arrows. Sharp arrows beget (create) sharp arrows. If we are sharp, we will influence, not only our family to be sharp, but all with whom we make contact.

The above Scripture states that sharp arrows affect the heart of God's enemies. The heart is the center of affections, emotions, feelings, and convictions. The heart of the matter is the place where it really counts. The heart of Israel is its capital city, Jerusalem. The heart of USA is Washington DC. This is the place where the laws are made and government seats and rules.

God wants arrows that will effectually influence the heart of both individuals and nations. God's Word, coupled with the Holy Spirit's anointing, is a sharp arrow to destroy all evil that may lurk in our own hearts and minds. This is why we constantly need to immerse ourselves in the Scriptures.

Hebrews 4:12 says, "For the word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."

Men, we need to be a sharp and cutting edge in all areas of our lives. Good, healthy, daily doses of God's Word, coupled with prayer, will do it. Our sharpness in every area of our lives will not only affect the hearts of our children, but it will also affect the heart of our nation. Washington DC needs more and more sharp conservative godly arrows!

Be encouraged. Colin Campbell

Last night my little boy
Confessed to me
Some childish wrong;
And kneeling at my knee
He prayed with tears:
"Dear God, make me a man
Like Daddy--wise and strong;
I know you can."

Then while he slept
I knelt beside his bed,
Confessed my sins,
And prayed with low-bowed head,
"O God, make me a child,
Like my child here--
Pure, guileless,
Trusting Thee with faith sincere."
~ Unknown.

When the pace seems slow

And few there be to care or know

That the world’s crept in the doors

And slackened every godly cause

When folks no longer want to pray

And seek the Lord to know His way

For sloth and ease have broken in

And robbed the church of the power to win

Then do not let this crippling sin

Take hold of you and lock you in.

Buckle up as ne’er before,

Take hold of heaven and knock its door.

Smash every tendency to be

Like others around who cannot see.

When the tempting battle gets to boiling’

Treat the world as deadly poison!

No matter how many may be your foes

They will never stand your knockout blows.

When all around are misbehaving,

Sound the trumpet with banners waving.

Though the world and devils around may scoff

Just lift up your sword and write them off.

There’s no time left to mess about,

Tell the lazy ones, “Stop being a lout!”

For there will be a sure reward

For those who diligently seek the Lord.

It is true you see, the surest way to victory

Is always on the bended knee.

Colin Campbell

THE BIBLICAL FATHER SEES HIS CHILDREN AS ARROWS

5c) STICKING FAST ARROWS (Psalm 38:2) CONTINUED again.

Jesus said in John 4:34, "My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work." Sticking fast arrows always hold their course. They do not quit what they start. They finish their task, no matter how difficult it may be. These arrows do not buckle at the knee or throw in the towel! "Surrender" is not in their vocabulary.

Of course, it makes no sense to keep something going if it has no profit and is a waste of time, energy, and has no moral value.

Men, this country is desperate for real men. Worldly institutions cannot produce this caliber of character in our children, neither can fathers who do not set a true godly example to their families.  Sticking fast arrows are produced by parents who take their parenting seriously. It takes godly parents to raise godly sons and daughters.

Our nation needs fathers and mothers will lovingly teach their children importance of prayer and listening to God's Word. They encourage them to be filled with the Spirit of God. This, of course, must be taught by example. Sticking fast to the course and finishing the task must also be taught by example.

The great sticking fast arrow, the apostle Paul, said much on this subject. in 2 Timothy 4:7 he confesses, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith." Again in Philippians 3:14 he confesses, "I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."

Be encouraged. Colin Campbell

THE BIBLICAL FATHER SEES HIS CHILDREN AS ARROWS

5b) STICKING FAST ARROWS (Psalm 38:2) CONTINUED.

Sticking fast arrows are also enduring arrows. Daniel and his three friends were definitely sticking fast arrows. Lions and fiery furnaces could not deter their endurance.

Daniel 6:10 says, "Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime." Verse 22 says, "My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me."

Daniel stuck to his guns when it came to prayer and worship. Three times per day on his knees and nothing would deter him, not even hungry roaring lions. The church needs Daniel type arrows today. It's hard to imagine how much benefit the church would receive if its present day arrows would pray on their knees three times per day. Twenty-first century lions are still roaring and devouring because the present day church arrows scarcely find time to pray three hours in a year! There are very few Daniels around these days that God could use to shut their mouths.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego defied the king's decree and gained victory over the hot fiery furnace that slew those who threw them in, resulting in a decree "That every people, nation, and language, which speak any thing amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill: because there is no other God that can deliver after this sort" (Daniel 3:29).

Fathers, what does it take to raise arrows that stick fast to their course and who will not deviate to the right or the left? May God help us.

Be encouraged. Colin Campbell

THE BIBLICAL FATHER SEES HIS CHILDREN AS ARROWS

5a) STICKING FAST ARROWS (Psalm 38:2).

These arrows do not let go until their work is accomplished. These arrows are barbed and cannot be pulled backwards without doing a lot of damage. In the early days of America, the Indians used barbed arrows, which in some cases, had to be pushed all the way through.

Fathers, we must train arrows that will not retreat, quit, or back down.

How sickening it is when certain men who are leading our country conservatively, stand up for a little while, but cave in quickly when the enemy starts putting on the pressure.

Psalm 78:9 says, "The children of Ephraim, being armed, and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle." Why? Because their "spirit was not steadfast with God... they kept not the covenant of God, and refused to walk in his law; and forgot his works, and his wonders that he had showed them" (Verses 8-11).

Fathers, we are living in a time when so called "Christian" arrows have little or no punch in them. Much of the church has no interest in children being arrows that stick fast to God's enemies. Most of the church turns away arrows through contraception and sterilization, and now abortion is even practiced by some. How diabolical can an unsanctified church become?

The church, in many ways, has through ignorance and false doctrine relating to children being potential arrows to fight evil, become like a tired boxer who has lost his strength and power to punch hard knockout blows against a sick, slimy, sinister, but energetic, dirty, and powerful boxer. The truth is that the church is not ready go into the ring yet. It has to wake up and train hard for the battle.

Be encouraged. Colin Campbell

THE BIBLICAL FATHER SEES HIS CHILDREN AS ARROWS

4b) SCATTERING ARROWS continued.

Deuteronomy 28 says, "The Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways."

If we as true Christian men hearken diligently, as Israel was exhorted to do, and as the Word and the Spirit exhorts us to do, we will also see this promise come to pass in our lives and the lives of our families. Our enemies will be scattered seven ways. They will flee in all directions.

In Psalm 68:1 it says, "Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered: let them also that hate him flee before him." When God arises to do something about evil, He uses His scattering arrows to put to flight the armies of His enemies.

Our nation is fast become filled with all types of evil enemies. Our government is also filled with corruption, such as the Benghazi scandal, targeting conservative groups, and wire tapping the media, etc. The question is: Do we have enough godly conservative arrows to scatter the enemies? The 2012 elections proved otherwise.

The point is that godly parents must raise and train as many children as possible in order to scatter evil on election day, as well as raising up as much opposition as possible toward all evil for every day of the week. This is what Psalm 127:4-5 is all about, "As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate."

Speaking with the enemies means contending with them. It means scattering them with the arrows that are trained to scatter. In this they shall have victory and not be ashamed.

Be encouraged. Colin Campbell

How far the holy fragrance of

The family altar goes;

When childhood days are far behind

The beauty of it glows.

Though some things, to my memory,

Are indistinct and blurred,

I still can hear my father's voice

Expound the Holy Word.

I did not heed its counsel then

Or realize it's worth;

But now I know that shrine to be

The sweetest place on earth.

It's proved a shield to keep my faith

Undimmed through joy and care;

The mem'ry of that hallowed place--

My father's voice in prayer.

~ Unknown.

THE BIBLICAL FATHER SEES HIS CHILDREN AS ARROWS

4) SCATTERING ARROWS

"He sent out his arrows and scattered the" (2 Samuel 22:15 and Psalm 18:14).

In the context of this passage David is singing a song of praise to God for the way He delivered him from all his enemies and from Saul who was constantly seeking to take his life.

It appears that God used a great thunderstorm with earth shaking thunder, smoke and fire, devouring coals, darkness caused by thick clouds, hail stones, powerful winds, and scattering arrows of lightening. Through these means God put fear into David's enemies and scattered them.

I believe that God wants us to raise up our children to be like a powerful storm, as described above, against all the gates of hell (Matthew 18:20). This can only be accomplished by parents who have the revelation of the potential that God has for our children on earth. Sad to say, there are many Christian parents who are ignorant of the vision for their children to become powerful weapons to scatter God's enemies. The devil operating in Pharaoh understood this truth. Read Exodus chapter one.

Why do you think that Jesus changed the surname of James and John Zebedee to "Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder" (Mark 3:17)?

May God give us a vision to see our children become hell-shaking thunder and enemy scattering arrows of lightening. Wow. This is definitely the need of this hour.

God said to Israel, "Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms" (Jeremiah 51:20).

Be encouraged. Colin

THE BIBLICAL FATHER SEES HIS CHILDREN AS ARROWS

2) POLISHED ARROWS continued

The nation needs polished arrows, especially in these current times. Arrows of any kind are in short demand because of the affect of contraception, sterilization, and abortion on this western world. And even more so, polished arrows. They are really hard to find. Therefore, we stand ashamed before our enemies.

We have been deceived when we think that a good education is all that is needed to polish up the arrows. Sad to say, our government is a prime example of the falseness of education when it comes to being double tongued (speaking out of both sides of the mouth), bribery, political correctness, honesty, and morality. Much of our nation's leadership do not look very polished to me. In fact, to be honest, they look the opposite.

Secular education has seriously failed to produce the true type of polished arrows the nation so desperately needs. Moses did not become the mighty polished arrow he was through the education of Egypt, but rather through godly parenting which is mother gave him in his early years. Plus, the years Moses spent in the back side of the desert away from the pride of the education of the Pharaoh of Egypt.

Parents who fear God will realize that it is their God-given duty and privilege to begin polishing their arrows under the tuition of the greatest Educator of all, God Himself.

Be encouraged. Colin

THE BIBLICAL FATHER SEES HIS CHILREN AS ARROWS

2) POLISHED ARROWS

Isaiah 49:2 says, "He made me a polished shaft (arrow); in his quiver hath he hid me; and said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified." I believe that God uses parents to do most of the polishing in a child's life. Arrow polishing is not a short process in a child's life. It would be much shorter in a natural wooden arrow. Nevertheless, it would have still been a painstaking process and a mighty warrior would want every arrow to fly swift and straight to the heart of his enemy.

The purpose of polishing  and smoothing arrows is to make them very fast and accurate. When you are facing a very formidable enemy you cannot afford to have inferior arrows. If David did not kill Goliath with that first SMOOTH stone, Goliath would have certainly torn David apart before he had a chance to sling the second stone. David knew that he would need a smooth stone, polished through the years of running water and the tumbling affect of rubbing against other stones. It would be an absolutely necessity in order to fly swiftly with enough speed to sink into the thick skull of Goliath and bring him crashing down (1Samuel 17:40).

State schools cannot polish our children to be the arrows to provide our nation with victories we so desperately need. We need arrows who can pierce the enemy's lies, falsehood, corruption, immoralities, and evils that are right now flooding our nation. It can only happen through wise enlightened fathers and mothers.

Be encouraged. Colin

The type of arrows God wants us to prepare as described in the Bible are...

1) READY ARROWS.

Psalm 21:12 says, "Thou shalt make ready thine arrows upon thy strings against the face of them." This Scripture describes God's mighty men putting arrows on to the strings from the quiver. These arrows are attached to the many bow strings of God's well equipped army. The strings are obviously drawn into a firing position, ready and on the alert for the command to fire at the enemy.

From the very moment our children are born we need to understand that they have been given to us to "make ready" for the moment when God, in His sovereign wisdom, will place or notch them onto the string in order to be drawn against God's enemies. The great question is: how is it possible to have our children as "made ready" arrows to devastate the powers of darkness if we do not even have a military mindset to begin with?

"Ready arrows" come from ready parents who have applied the parenting skills necessary to make this happen. Moses' mother would have influenced and made ready, to the best of her ability, the mighty arrow called Moses. Likewise, Samson's father, who said to the angel, "How shall we order the child, and how shall we do unto him?"(Judges 13:12). Zachariah prophesied over his son, John the Baptist, "And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways" (Luke 1:76) and "The child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the ay of his showing unto Israel" (Luke 1:80). The desert is always the best place to make "ready arrows."

Be encouraged. Colin