The Tree of Life, planted in the Garden, demarcates a point in time, before which, God always was. He was complete and had need of nothing. Creation was meant to reflect His character. Man was meant to be in line and in synch with God, but sin entered into man's heart. Through history and even today man tries in his own strength to reconcile his relationship with God — an impossible task. In His mercy and love, God plants another tree in time — the old Roman cross. Through Christ's perfect life and sacrifice on the cross we are reconciled back to God and our relationship is restored.

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We're all involved in spiritual warfare—no matter our standing in life—and like a predator, our enemy goes after the weak. We must be strong in the Lord and wield the shield of faith, which extinguishes all the fiery arrows of the enemy. These aren't just arrows that kill, but they hit and set the whole body aflame. That can be lust, resentment, anger, worry, etc. Faith produces an assurance of future things to happen and a certainty that things unseen are just as real, or more real in some cases, than what we can see with our eyes. Faith comes by God's word being revealed to our hearts. Lord, increase our faith!