There is something penetratingly satisfying about fellowship with those who have walked with the Lord for many years.

     One of my favorite memories is my first SIM conference in Ethiopia.  It was almost twenty years ago, and it was during a period when a number of retired  missionaries were returning to Ethiopia to begin new works, or to support ongoing work.  Some were in their late seventies.    One couple was even older.  They were going to a location where they had spent a lifetime in translation and teaching, and all of the materials were destroyed and burned in war.  They were more or less starting over.

     I heard testimonies of God's faithfulness.  Over and over.  I heard simple declarations of priority.  The trivial was not given weight.

      For three days they sang and sang and and prayed and prayed.  There were testimony meetings that were hours long, but seemed like only minutes. They had a time of confession that was healthy and sweet and edifying.  My bed was crawling with bugs and  there was not enough food.  I didn't care.  I wanted it to last forever.

     Time teaches the faithful to bend to the important, rather than the urgent.

   ¹²The [uncompromisingly] righteous shall flourish like the palm tree [be long-lived, stately, upright, useful, and fruitful]; they shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon [majestic, stable, durable, and incorruptible].

    ¹³Planted in the house of the Lord, they shall flourish in the courts of our God.

    ¹⁴[Growing in grace] they shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be full of sap [of spiritual vitality] and [rich in the] verdure [of trust, love, and contentment].

    ¹⁵[They are living memorials] to show that the Lord is upright and faithful to His promises; He is my Rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.

                     Psalm 92 (Amplified Bible)      

     How much of God do you want?

     When I first came to the Lord, a wise Christian told me that the farther you go with the Lord, the fewer you find on the path, but the more glorious the fellowship. That same Christian told me that If I were to serve the Lord, I should assume I would be hurt by other Christians and that I should predetermine to let it go upon recognition.

     The two bits of advice seem to go hand in hand.  Because there is room for the Holy Spirit to work, those who have decided to take up The Cross and follow Him no matter what, are also those who sidestep the quicksand of distraction.

     Thank the Lord that "He remembereth that we are dust."

     It seems to me that one of the rarest things in all the world is that Believer who, in the midst of personal anguish, will tell the Lord that he wants to be a living sacrifice and will submit to any design of his sovereign God.

     We so easily yield to feeling.   Yet, we want to be like the One who ". . .for the joy [of obtaining the prize] that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising and ignoring the shame, and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God. . .
                 Hebrews 12:2  (Amplified Bible)

     Yes, we are sojourners, but it is a supernatural passage. 

     Soldier of The Cross, determine to be a minister of Life and then tell Him so. 
     No matter what or who or why.
     Tell Him aloud.

     Sometimes it takes one to know one:

     It takes a Soldier of The Cross to recognize another Soldier of The Cross.
     It takes one who prays to recognize one who prays.
     It takes one who has moved under the anointing to recognize another who is in the flow.

     It takes one who is filled with the Holy Spirit to recognize another who is genuinely filled.

     Humility recognizes humility.

         Lord, please take me and do absolutely anything that is needed in me to bring about your likeness.  If there are things in the deepest recesses of my heart that must go, I want to bring them forth and lay them at your feet.  Only you know what is needed.
         I want more of you Lord.  I want to be available to love with Calvary Love.

         So, I submit to the surgical knife of the Lover of My Soul.    

     Soldier of The Cross, you must be relentless in your pursuit of Him.

     There must be an affirmative determination to know Him.  To recognize Him.  To be filled with Him.  To reflect Him.

     Those who think about Him during the day have predetermined to do so.  Like Paul, they have decided that it is their "determined purpose."

     Investigate Him.   

     Have you ever asked Him to answer you according to Jeremiah 33:3? 
     Have you asked Him to reveal Himself to you?  Lately?
     Are you memorizing The Word?

     Feeling unworthy?  He who persecuted the Church was the one who said:

                 [For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly], and that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection ^]which it exerts over believers], and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed [in spirit into His likeness even] to His death. . .
                                               Philippians 3:10   (Amplified Bible)

     Just about every day I have broken hearted people in my office.

     Soldier of The Cross, it is not intended that you would understand the matter.

     The issue is, what does the Word of God say?  You do not need to understand,   you only  need to agree with Him.

     Is there some disagreement with God?  Is that possible?

     Are you holding out, or are you willing for His way?

     Is  there anything else?

     Lord, I want to be available to live by faith and faith alone.

     Please do what ever needs to be done in me.  I am so sorry for the times I want to be in control.  I want to be able to move easily into the impossible when you lead there.  I want to be more sensitive to the Spirit.  Lord, I understand little, but I know I want more of you. 

     I stand before you and present myself again as a living sacrifice.  Please change me, Lord.  I want the ground on which I stand to be a place where your Life is shown and where Calvary Love is poured out.

     Let me learn more of you.  Nothing else compares with you.


     Here am I - send me.

     There is no other created being in your body except for you.

     Yes, there is the Indwelling Holy Spirit, Hallelujah!

     But the fact remains that you alone live in the earthly tent and you alone must make decisions every day, hour and minute.  What does this mean? 

      The bottom line is the relationship you have with the Lord. 

   
      Are you yielded to Him and do you reaffirm it to Him daily?
      Are you actively laying down your life for the Brethren?  Or do you protect your schedule?
      Have you determined that your faculties are for service?  Does your countenance reflect this decision?
      Is your money yours for security, or is it His for ministry if He requires it?
      Who owns your children?
      Are you willing to be an intercessor?
      Will you take up the Cross daily and follow Him?  Are you eager to be changed and do you tell Him in prayer?

          Then in fellowship sweet we will sit at His feet,
          Or we will walk by His side in the way;
          What He says we will do, where He sends we will go,
          Never fear, only trust and obey.   
         

     True forgiveness is a fruit of grace.

     The Believer who has learned to be a minister of grace does not have issues with forgiveness. 

 

     Forgiveness releases the offender from paying for the offense.  It works two ways:  it can release the one who is being forgiven, and it releases the injured party from harboring resentment and the need to even the score.

     Forgiveness does not necessarily mean embracing a villain, particularly when there is no repentance or recognition of the offense, or when it is likely that damage will result from an untimely offer of reconciliation.  It means that there is no score keeping and no mark on the soul from holding on to unforgiveness.  On the other hand, there is a forgiveness that is part of the flow of grace, much like the story of the Prodigal Son.

     I have been forgiven much.  This quality of forgiveness is not permissive or passive.  It is supernatural and comes from the very heart of God.  It is cleansing and healing.  It always issues out of love.

     Soldier of The Cross, those who follow hard after the Lord are ministers of Grace.  They receive forgiveness from Him always and they forgive easily because they have no room for resentment or bitterness.  They are looking at Him.  Following Him.  Listening to Him.  Laying down their lives for the Brethren and spreading the Gospel.

     This is not about being gullible or squishy. 
     This is about being like Him.          

     How are you living?