Have you ever felt this way? God sets before you a mission, task, target. You begin drawing back the spiritual bowstring of your life. If it is a compound bow, it drops into a REST, you find your set points, you get your eye looking through that peephole in the bowstring, you see the bead of your sight pin, you steady yourself, level the bow, the bead looks dead on, release! The arrow flies, but the bullseye is not hit. Hhmmm.

What happened? The bead was right on bullseye! And yet the arrow did not hit the bullseye. Everything looked right as far as we could tell. What more can we do besides have the sight pin dead on bullseye?

If all the above is true, then there is only one answer, our sight pin is off. Our sight pin is not true. We need to adjust our sight to what is true.

“Set your mind (sights) on things above, not on things on the earth.” (Col. 3 ;2)

We must conform to God’s word, not God’s word adjusted to our desires. If we want to be a mature and skilled warrior of the Lord, there are sacrifices to be made, and training to learn.

Scripture also says, “You must therefore endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.” 2nd Tim. 2: 3-4

That is the Bible Jesus speaking. That may not be the American Jesus speaking, but which do you choose? Why is our arrow always off? If we are set to American more than Bible, our sights are not true. Therefore our eye and aim are being misled.

Satan is a fishers of men. He fishes with very desirable bait. Bait that looks so good! Until you bite into it and realize you are hooked, entangled, and being drawn in. It specifically says not to be entangled with the affairs of this life. That means our “sights” must be set on things “above”, not of this earth.

So if we are entangled, our sights are off, and even though it looked like we had the sight bead right on the bullseye, that is the way it was, but our sight is actually off, and set on too many things of this world. The devil has a hook in us. Do we want to be a deadly soldier of the Lord? Or is mediocre good enough? Seek mastery, the scriptures say. Seek out the old ways, the scriptures say.

We might ask how can we possibly do that? Well…if you’re in love with this world, you can’t. But if Christ is your true love, then you can! And the Spirit of Christ is within you, to guide and teach you! The Holy Spirit will show us how to adjust our sights to hit true every time! Or at least a much higher percentage of the time. That’s great news! For those willing to be trained. Those who have that teachable spirit.

here’s a good test. Do we see the Book of Job as an account of mature spiritual warfare, or just a lesson on faith and patience? The patience of Job, but there is so much more there to see. As a matter of fact, I see Job as our instruction manual for what is coming! (This will probably require another episode, but let me share this.)

How does Job connect to the Book of Revelation? In order for Satan to get into the ring with Job, for the fight, for the training and test; God had to lower His hedge of protection. God eventually lowers it so much, that He tells Satan you can take everything but his life! (Notice: For some reason Satan never took his wife, who told Job to curse God and die! That represents a spiritual death, by the way.)

Here’s the connection, in Revelation chapter 13 and verse 7, God grants unto Satan the ability to make war with the saints AND TO OVERCOME THEM! For a period of 42 months! For whatever reason, God lowers His hedge of protection around the saints, so Satan can climb into the ring and beat us up much like Job. So…if we do not understand how Job defeated Satan…if we do not understand the “mature” spiritual warfare Job was able to implement…we are in serious trouble.

If we do not see that Job’s wife and the three friends trying to give him advice, if we do not see they had an American version understanding of God, then we are also in trouble. God said there was no one like Job in all the land. He had no spiritual equal. And yet his friends found fault? And they felt justified because they still had much, and Job now had nothing?

There is much to see in the wisdom of Job. He knew how to fight by way of L7D. Our eyes will deceive us if our sights are off. We need to set our sights like Job. But in order to do that, we need to truly live the words, Though He slay me, yet will I serve Him. No matter what comes! I serve Him! Riches, wealth, power, are not where my eyes are looking! My eyes are set on Jesus at the right hand of the Father!

Job may not have understood what was going on, but he knew how to conduct mature spiritual warfare. Out of the abundance of our heart our mouth speaks. What do you find yourself mostly talking about? What brings out words of passion and enthusiasm when you talk? Our tongues reveal, if we really want to know. He who can control his tongue is the same as a mature Christian, like Job, mature in every way. (James 3:2)

We will speak more of Job and how he relates to coming events, Revelation, and even the Way of the Bow. In the latest Avatar movie, a very special Bow plays a prominent part of symbolizing staying true to the “Old Ways”. I loved that part of the movie. I just saw it four days ago. It played no part in my plans for an archery range here at the teepee, or even my choice of compound bow. But I much enjoyed that surprise in the show for me.

More to come…as we can. Rest in the Lord, oh my soul!