Some of the greatest heroes of the faith are recorded in the eleventh chapter of the letter to the Hebrews.    The writer says that they were "those of whom the world was not worthy."  Yet, they were persecuted. Some were obviously doing without and many died terrible deaths.  We are not told why, only that they are heroes of the faith.    Soldier of The Cross, age brings an acute awareness of numbered days.  God's Word makes no bones about God's call to serve and obey.  What else is there?    All without Christ are approaching the cliff.  Remember Amy Carmichael's dream?  She saw people going over the edge of the cliff one by one, and  no one was doing anything.  In her dream, there was a little group of Christians sitting under a tree, singing together and making daisy chains.    Everyone is watching you - Christians and non -Christians alike.    Serving Him makes us more practical.  Gazing at Him, pursuing Him and speaking with Him means that there will be vision for the thing to be done, whether it means doing dishes or loving the homeless person with huge dandruff flakes and horrible body odor.    This is about eternity.  This is urgent.    He has initiated.  He came, died for you, rose again , and called your name.  You have been set apart to follow and serve.  Stop and consider - is there anything else?    How does being right compare with eternity?    How does being financially stable compare with eternity?    How does looking great compare with eternity?    How does the worldly success of your children compare with eternity?    How does a visible position compare with eternity?    He is looking for those who will know Him by faith, serve Him by faith and reveal Him by faith.    Are you His or are you yours?

    Your days are numbered.     God's Word says that He and He alone knows when life will end.  In the meantime, the whole of the Bible instructs the Soldier of The Cross to leave all behind and follow Him.  The Soldier is instructed to take courage and march into the fray.  The Soldier is commanded to leave all anxiety with the Lord.    Deep in the heart of man is the desire to know what is going to happen after death.  No human adult has escaped the thought.     Soldier, step out.  Reach out.  Share your own experience.  After all, there is nothing more powerful than an honest accounting of a personal experience.    We are not dealing with a belief or doctrine.  We are leading the lost to an encounter with the Living God who will, in fact, touch each one who is available.    This must be a habit, and must be a matter regularly addressed in prayer, and aloud.  If this is not done, you will be waiting for an obvious open door, instead of being available to bold obedience.    We share in season and out of season.  Ask for energy.  Ask for vision.  Ask for Love and tell Him you are available.    The days are short and few.  Eternity is not a "long time."  It is without measure.  Forever is not a concept the mind can ingest or file.    By faith and because of Love, we are His and He must be allowed to reveal Himself in and through our lives.    Soldier, Take up the Sword and move!

   Are you willing to plant your life on the Word of God?    Do you believe He has told you the truth?  Do you know you have experienced the New Birth? If so, you have a witness that all He says is true.    Why then do the winds of emotion seem so contrary to the precious verses to which we cling?  If we are not to be offended, why are nasty comments to piercing?  If we are to return good for evil, why is there such a strong urge to balance the scales and get back?   If we are to walk by faith, why does the lack of control loom so large?   Is worry an emotion?   A feeling?  What does the Bible say about worry?  About resentment?  About jealousy? About misunderstanding?   Loneliness?    The issue is, is He who He says He is?    Soldier of The Cross, have you or have you not made the decision to take up The Cross and follow Him? You have crossed the line.  You have moved away from the crowd and have determined to follow Him no matter what.    So then, rely on His Word.  After all, He is The Word.    The creatures of the sea do not have choice.  They must move as the Creator has designed.  They move in tandem with the water flow, the temperature and other forces that God has designed and set in place.  The fowl of the  air and the animals of the jungle are also without choice.    You, on the  other hand, have exquisite choice.  You can chose to follow, not to follow, to object, disobey  or to agree.    Your feelings are not illusions.  They are real.  At the same time, what does the Bible say?  If your feelings do not line up with God's Word, you must choose God's Word as truth and you must govern your body, your thoughts and your countenance in order to agree with His Word.    When you talk about the issues at hand, do you listen to yourself?    You are able to obey because when you gave your life to Him, you were immediately made an Adopted Son and you were given the privilege and Promise of the Inheritance by virtue of the Indwelling Holy Spirit.     If you know He tells the Truth, you must make a choice between your feelings and His Word.  Is He who He says He is?    You have the Power.    Which will you choose? Time or Eternity?

   Soldier of The Cross, you need Him.    You need His touch, His Word, His vision and His Body.  You need His healing, His revelation, His music and the sound of His call.    In all of the universe, there is  nothing else.  So, why is distraction so consuming?    All hell will come against you, but you must look at Him Who is the Author and Finisher of your faith.    Just look up and move on!

   Those who speak with Him privately are beautifully transparent in public prayer.    I am always interested when Christians pray about the weather.  Certainly, He can calm the winds and the waves.  Those who have a thorough acquaintance with God's Word know that Job teaches that satan can control the weather.    Unquestionably, we may approach the Creator to request His hand with regard to the weather.  But so many ask that the entire force of nature be bent for the benefit of some event or plan. Sometimes, the request is only for a more convenient condition. Rarely is the request for the purpose of anything that concerns Love, or the well-being of others.    Often, people blast into the tender and private lives of others while praying about the issue at hand.     It is much too easy to decide what God should do in another's life and then ask according to your assessment of that one's need. Be careful.  As soon as you begin praying for a specific about someone else's life, you are on sacred ground.   When we pray , we must remove our shoes (figuratively) and pray from the standpoint that we know and see little.  The Holy Spirit can and will lead.    It is particularly critical to come in humility and in the posture of laying down our lives for the Brethren.  He who prays much for the troubled one, will be increasingly sensitive to the need for the Lord to dig deeply without hindrence.    He is so great, and we are so small.  How rich and fabulous it is that He loves us, leads us and uses us to care for each other and to carry out His Plan.

   We were created to enjoy the Lord and His handiwork at any given moment.    If you have made the decision to follow the Lord regardless of anything else, you are a Soldier of The Cross.  That means that He can have His way with anything and everything in your life.    So then Soldier, if you believe God's Word, He is in control and you can rest in that truth.  You are then free to live in the moment, because you do not need to entertain fear or regret.  You do not need to manipulate circumstances or individuals.    Your life is founded on the Rock of Ages, and you are free to attend to the needs of those directly in front of you.    The Soldier of The Cross must not ride the wave of tension and release - crisis and resolution.    Soldier, as you get older, make sure you are speaking about that very matter with Him.   Make sure you are telling him that you agree with Him.  Make sure you are not settling into patterns of self-protection and leaden earthly security.    There is no one else.  There is nothing else.    Look up and move on!

   Why is it so beautiful that the widow gave her last mite?    Because by faith, she did not hold anything back, even when by sight, there was nothing left.    What a rare thing.  Yet, we all know it is what God requires.     He has not asked us to live without resources.  Nor has He asked us to exalt lean living.  He has asked us to trust and to be willing to learn to lean on Him rather than on physical provision.  That is why Paul says he has learned to be content with much or with little.    Soldier of The Cross, now is the time for the death of the flesh.  You can't do this yourself.  It is not a goal to be achieved.  It is the result of taking up the Cross and following after Jesus.    Go where He is.    Sing a new song unto the Lord.    Live by prayer and memorize the Bible.    In prayer, make sure you are always available for anything He wants.    Invite Him to open and heal and cleanse your deepest wells.    Lay down the burden of survival and follow Jesus.

   How interesting it is that the longer we pray about something, the more we enjoy the assurance that He will answer.    Those who want to know Him intimately are willing to do it His way.  They are willing to wait for His time.  And oddly, the longer the wait, the sweeter it is to rely on Him.    The theme of the entire Word of God is, Because He is.    It is only hard for the flesh.     It is the heart of God to teach us to watch for and wait for Him.

   How should you deal with the difficult person?    No one has ever come up with a formula. Of course, we all know that before we were saved, Grace rescued us when we were more than difficult.    As you are a Soldier of The Cross, you have agreed with God.  You have determined to take up the Cross Daily as He has asked.  You have agreed to follow Him.  You have agreed that He alone is the the Truth and the Life.    What a release.  This means that you do not have to have the right answer.  You have within you the Indwelling Holy Spirit.  You have been promised the Answer will be given at the time of need and not before.    So, go.  Be there if you are thusly led. Say nothing until it is given to you.     He is able, even when we have no idea what to say.    He is able even when we cannot see.    He is able even when facts are hidden.    He is able when there is irrational hostility.    He is able when you are outnumbered.    Soldier of The Cross, move on.  There is nothing else.

   There are only two kinds of people on the planet: those who have decided to follow Him and those who have not made that decision.    Soldier,  many know He is real and many make a token effort to acknowledge Him.  Far fewer have made the decision to leave all behind and follow Him.    What is your decision?  You are attracted to Him and you are attracted to those who love Him.  Have you made the Decision?  Are you willing?  Or is there something you can not leave behind?     Your identity?    Your family?    Your reputation?    Your money?    Your control over the future?    Your right to a great house?    Soldier, invest in the things that are eternal.