"To Tame a Land"

I borrowed the title above from one of my favorite writers, Louis L’Amour. Now I know you are probably thinking, how in the world can Louis have anything that would be devotional type material. Well, let me just say that Louis L’Amour saved the life of my two boys on many a car trip and that alone makes it devotion worthy. (Please laugh! If you have traveled with kids then you know…) You see many of his stories have been set to audio dramatizations and recorded as audio books and yes, they became “life-savers” on road trips along with a switch on the dash board. Our families were spread out as much as 150 miles in opposite directions of each place we have lived, so visiting family required many hours in the car. I discovered L’Amour’s books on cassette tape at the public library. I popped one of his western stories in and hit play. The different voices and sound effects were enough to draw the boys in to listen for long periods of time and we all discovered that we really liked Louis L’Amour’s stories. At least one of my boys would use L'Amour's books for his extra reading even into high school. And, believe it or not, we learned some history and geography as we listened.

I still go back and listen to his stories. Many have even been turned into movies. Recently, I listened to, “To Tame a Land”. The following quote jumped out as I was listening, “Men have to die to make a country strong.” Think about it. “Men have to die to make a country strong.” Our country was built by men who were willing to die. That was such a sobering thought at that moment. How many of us have family/ancestors who fought and died throughout history to keep our country strong?

Now here is what really got me. How many men fought and died to make God’s army strong? What? God’s ARMY? So often, much of the Bible is taken out of context and we, as Christians, fail to defend His truths accurately. The Bible is filled with wars and battles and death and suffering in order to strengthen God’s people, His army, restore their faith, and demonstrate His power and glory. We must continually practice and prep ourselves for battle against Satan. In order “To Tame a Land” that is set aside for God’s purposes, we must be vigilant in reading and studying His word, sharing His word, and worshipping with like-minded believers. Jesus died for each of us so that we can be reconciled to the Father and become a member of God's army. Are we equipped for battle?

Ephesians 6:11-17 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your 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. (NIV)