Soldier of The Cross, there s much to be done.

     There are many to be rescued, many to be loved and lots of grunt work has to be addressed.

     Today's Church often asks what you think you want to do.  What you think you are gifted for.  What you think is God's will for you in terms of service.

     It is not about what you think or even what you are ultimately called to do.  It is not always about your gifts.  It is about the immediate thing that must be addressed.

     Soldier, do the thing that is before you.  Are you a teacher?  Do the toilets need fixing?  Fix the toilets.  It is Grace that opens teaching opportunities, and the Servant must be available for the immediate need.

     Oh, Servant of the Living God, be available and do so in prayer.

    Tell Him today.
     Aloud.

     Do the thing in front of you.

     There is a big movement in the modern church that requires the Christian to identify his or her own gift, and then plow into that function, and only that.   Romans 12:6 is often used to justify this position.

     While we are instructed to do the thing we know we have been appointed to do, there is nothing to say that the Servant of the Living God is to do nothing else.

     The problem with the modern church is that the exercising of a Gift is being presented and encourged as  self-expression.

     This is contrary to God's Word.  The gifts are for the encouragement of others.  Moreover, those who are ministering by prayer are always willing to do the thing that is most needed.

     The Soldier of The Cross is wiling to express the thing that comes by supernatural power and gift, and he is also willing to clean the dirty toilet, visit the one who is not being visited, and is available to do the very thing that he is least inclined to do.

     You are either a Servant or you are not.
     You are either available or you aren't.
     You either have to express yourself in the area of your preference, or you are willing to be a Living Sacrifice.

     The Apostle Paul was a tremendous speaker, scholar and leader.  Yet, during the period where he is beaten, in disgrace and abandoned by many,  he declares the value of the chains he is wearing for the sake of the Body of Christ and the release of The Gospel.

     He who has a Servant's heart does not hold out for the job that most expresses him.  The Servant does the job that is before him whether or not he thinks he is gifted, whether or not he is repelled, whether or not anyone recognizes him.

     Soldier,  tell Him you are available.
     Aloud.   Today.

     There is nothing that builds faith more deeply and completely than waiting on God.

     Why is it so hard to wait?  Even when there is no open door, the flesh clamors and itches to do something.  Anything.  It wants to feel some sense of event, even if action is foolish. 

     The Spirit trains the Soldier of The Cross to wait.  How is it that one can wait "until you hear the marching in the tops of the mulberry trees"?

     What is that?  It is the training of the Lord.

     Oh, Soldier.  There can be no work of The Cross without submission to this divine discipline.  The bottom line is always, can He or can He not be trusted?   Is the Word of God true?  Is He real?  Does He care, or is He passive, being sometimes weak and sometimes strong?

     We all know the right answers.  So then, why is it so hard to wait?

     Those who hold this training precious learn to hide in the Cleft of the Rock during the storm. 

     He created Time.  He is never late.  He is The Craftsman and pays attention to each detail.

     Soldier, look up and move on.  Do this in prayer.  Attend to the next thing in your schedule, and do it with all you are and all you have.

     Left foot, right foot.  Left foot, right foot.  Left foot, right foot.

     Tell Him in prayer.  Aloud.

     The bottom line is that you must believe He loves you.

     Otherwise, the Bible is not true.  Simple as that.

     So, if He loves you, He is attentive to all of the things that concern you.  He wants your attention, and after all, He came and died for you.  Do you believe it was personal?

     What is the matter at hand?   There is a rift.  There is misunderstanding.  Pain.  Silence.  More pain.  Prayer that seems to hit a wall.

     Soldier,  only  He knows the Beginning from the End.   To us, it is a mystery and must be embraced by faith.  What a hard thing for the flesh.  And for those who are determined to be wholly His, it is  often more public.

     It means misunderstanding, alienation and the pain of watching loved ones fall into the abyss of deception.

     He is in control.  He knew about this from the beginning of time.  He calls us, He leads us, and He can either be trusted or He can not be trusted.

    That is a matter that is dealt with in prayer.    When all is dark and seems to be gathering momentum away from Truth, He is still in control.

     Oh, Soldier, grab onto the handle of The Word of God and take The Ride.  He will never fail you.

     Tell Him today.

     Aloud.
 

     Oh, Soldier.

     Remember that one foot must go in front of the other. 

     There is no other experience for the Soldier of The Cross.  God's Word teaches us that things are done in the moment and by prayer.  We are to stand on His Word and we are to move forward one step at a time.

     You know He is leading you, but you are certain the direction will lead you through a snarl, at the least.  That may be.  Nevertheless, the issue is, can He be trusted?

     I have read hundreds of missionary biographies and have interviewed dozens and dozens of old missionaries.  I have yet to find one person who will tell me that he wishes he had chosen something other than God's leading.

     Soldier, please!  Listen to the Indwelling Holy Spirit.  Learn to follow.  This is not about feeling, as feeling will often contradict the leading of the Spirit.  God's Word will ring in the thought life as a result of prayer, and the Soldier will recognize the voice of His Commander.

     Move in prayer. Tell Him you will obey.
     Aloud.
     Today.

     If you know He has touched you, it changes everything.

     Your mouth is different.  Your desires are different,
     Your countenance is different.
     You spend your time differently.
     You gravitate to His Own. 

     You can love the unlovely.

     Your attitude about money has changed and you are seeing everything in a different light.

     If all of the above is the case, you are walking in the Light.  The reason?  Because if He is real and you know it. His Word is the bottom line and there is nothing else worth your attention.

     Soldier of The Cross, why would you choose anything else?  Of what value is any disobedience? 

     He has set forth goals, standards and has empowered you to obey.

     The motivation is far more than what can be gained now.

     What does it mean to be a Soldier of The Cross?  It means that He can be believed and must be followed.  His way.  All the way.  No matter what.

     Let nothing break your stride.

     Tell Him.  Today
     Aloud

     Oh Lord.

     As I stand before you tonight, I lift up my hands and ask you to take them in yours.

     I realize that you reveal yourself in my weakness.  I understand that I can't understand. 

      Nonetheless, I am desperate for your touch.  Your assurance.   

      Oh, Lord, I present myself to you again in the situation.   I reaffirm my determination to be yours and to follow you no matter what.  It just seems so hard.  So painful.  

      As I watch what seems to be the collapse of what has been built by prayer,  I stand before you and declare that this is your business.   Lord, how can I get through this?  Help me.

      I stand on your Word. For today, I look at all that you are and know there is no one else.  I know there is nowhere else to go.

     Please Lord, I need to be encouraged.
     My Lord and my God.

     There is nothing in God's Word that indicates we will understand or know "why" in this life.

     I have never seen a Brother or Sister writhe over the "why" of a pleasant blessing.  I have often wept with and prayed with those who are stuck in the quicksand of needing an answer to the "why" question during times of a blessing that is painful.

     Can He be trusted? Have you ever found Him to be passive or elusive?

     Soldier of The Cross, your job is to live each day in obedience to His Word.  This is not limited to the best of your ability, because you have the Indwelling Holy Spirit.  

     Waiting for God to justify Himself sets one's face toward the past, stokes resentment about the situation, and it also presumes one has the capacity to understand the way God does.

     The Plan does not involve our being satisfied the reasons.  The Plan is that we take up The Cross and follow after Him. 

     This happens in prayer.  Agree with God.
     Today.
     Aloud.
   
 

    An interesting commandment.

    So much damage takes place via the unwise tongue.

    I was contacted today by someone who has discovered a newly published falsehood about her.  Of course in today's web of communication possibilities, the internet becomes a new pressure hose of the latest news about anything interesting.  

    People are always more interested in hearing something stunning, so bad news about another person throbs to be unleashed.  By the flesh, that is.

     I have found that few are able to resist.   The initial speaker usually considers himself to be a victim, and when he passes on the tale,  it is edited and expanded in order to cause the listener to feel something - against the targeted person.   Then, like all gossip, when it is passed from the next to the next,  it is crafted and cultivated until it is often nothing like the first report.

    I have noticed that this often starts with "I have something to share so you can pray about it. . ."

     Soldier of The Cross,  you weren't there.  You have no idea what happened, even if you are told.  With rare exceptions, you should excuse yourself from the conversation.  I have often done this and have made myself unpopular with the speaker.  However, I refuse to listen character assassination and as a believer, I am responsible for my obedience to the ninth commandment.

     It can be painful.  Those who are eager to tell you the horrifying thing also want you to side with them and like them.

     I constantly have to bring this to the Lord.  I want to learn to obey in every area, and I need to be changed.

     There is a wonderful saying in Spanish and when translated, it goes something like this:  "No one knows what is really in the pot of food except the spoon that stirs it."

     Soldier, your hands are His, your money is His, your time is His.  The enemy is always at work to divide.  In many cases, it is almost impossible to have rich fellowshop restored once it has been broken by gossip.  There can be divine intervention,. but it is the most lethal force of the enemy in the Church today.

     Come before Him and commit the matter to Him.
     Aloud.

     What is Faith?

     Believing God and acting accordingly.

     Soldier of The Cross, you have no idea what He is doing.  It seems like He is doing nothing and letting things fall  apart, but of course, that is not the case.  Inasmuch as He knows each time a sparrow falls, He is surely aware of the things that are distressing to you.

     He is your High Tower. 
     He is your Shepherd.
     He is your King.
     He is the Lover of Your Soul.
     He is your own personal Prince of Peace and He has made many promises that He cannot and will not break.
     He is the Great Physician.  If there is  no physical healing,  it means He has something better.
    
     He called you.  He chose you.
     He named you.
     He collects your tears and He counts the hairs on your head.  He is far more aware of the situation that you are.

     He has written to you and it is absolutely personal.

     Soldier, you only know what you know.  He sees it all and knows the beginning from the end.  You have a worm's eye view and you are constantly trying to fill in the blanks.  You are fanticizing a good result.

     You have a Lord.  The One who holds the stars in place has promised His attention and His Best.

     He Loves you beyond any human concept.

     Whom do you love?  For whom would you give your life?  Would you turn your head during the suffering of the target of your love?  Of course not.

     Neither does He.  He hears you.  He is on it. 

     The issue is, let Him have His way, what ever it is.  His way is far better than yours and may possibly not be revealed until eternity.

     Are you a Soldier or are you a wimp?  Is it possible you are more aware of the problem than He?

     Tell Him you will agree with Him.  No matter what.
     Tell Him aloud.
     Today