The Battle is in the mind and for the mind.

     It seems that the mind loves to seize on the most painful issues and dive into them with masochistic relish.  It can be almost anything - worry about the future, anger or regret about the past, a wrong someone has done, loneliness and a myriad of other problems. It is never the thing right before you.

     The thoughts come sweeping in and they even sound like your own voice. But in fact, it is the enemy shooting these little fiery darts into the mind. Often there is such a lack of freshness in the Lord that the dry kindling catches quickly and soon, the whole soul is ablaze with infection.

     Soldier of The Cross, there is no time to waste.
         
     "and we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One)"
                 II Corinthians 10:5 (Amplified Bible)

      The thought have to be led away - how does that happen?  First there must be prayer that is specific about the matter.   It is imperative to be always in the Word.    Then, when the enemy strikes, the Holy Spirit will remind you that your thoughts have not been lining up with God's thoughts.  Then you will see that you have choice. 

     Sometimes, you must sing at the top of your lungs.  Other times, you should be seeking out some way to serve - find a nursing home and ask if you can read Psalms to some of the residents.  Memorize verses afresh. 

     Fight!  Lean on Him!  Obey!  We have been born into the Kingdom of Light, and we do not need to think and live as those who have no Lord.

     Most of the time, it is only a problem if it is a problem. And, if He means what He says,  He will attend to it.

     Christians who refuse to obey in this area are passive, pouty and haunted.
     Christians who obey are able to impart Life and reveal Jesus.
    

     Soldier of The Cross, what is your story?

     How do you recount His rescue of you?  It is alive and fresh to you?  Is it delight to share it? Do you in fact, see clearly that you were rescued from eternal death?

     Every testimony is vibrant and is energized. 

 
     In the courtroom, it is not usually difficult to discern who is telling the truth.  The witness who has nothing to hide is more interested in the account than in whether or not he is believed.   He often leans forward and gives detail that frames the point of his testimony.  Everyone in the courtroom, including the bailiff, is riveted.

     We who have met the Lord and have been touched by Him must say so.  So many need to hear.  It can be tough, because the flesh craves approval.  Credibility.

     Look up.  Gaze upon The One who died for you, who named you, who rescued you, called you and now sustains you.  

     Come before Him and go over with Him your salvation.  Do it aloud.  The Holy Spirit will lead you, and you will find yourself delighting in Him.

    Can you name anything more important?

     Soldier, you must pursue Him.  
     Do it in prayer and do it aloud.

     The beginning of Wisdom is, get Wisdom. . . And with all you have gotten, get understanding. . .

Proverbs 4:7

     What is understanding? For the Soldier of The Cross it is the ability to see beyond the immediate words or situation. One with understanding sees things as they are rather than according to his own needs or limitations. It comes through experience with God and is fueled by the determination to run hard after Truth.

     Of course as soon as one says he sees himself as wise or understanding, he is probably neither. Understanding is not merely agreeing with everything presented, nor, is it just a skill for filling in the blanks. It is a flow and is available when the Holy Spirit is allowed to lead.

     Soldier of The Cross, understanding is demonstrated by a ministry of Grace, a mouth that is not casual about truth, consistent living and supernatural Love.  It is a companion to Wisdom.

     The Believer who is available to minister in this way is one who has chosen God’s ways over anything more convenient or comfortable.

     The greatest riches the Lord bestows are always in or released by, hardship.

     May He do the deepest work in you?
     Are you available?

     Tell Him. Aloud.
     Today.

    Nothing stays the same but the Lord.



    Time bears a momentum that contrasts the things that will pass away against the things that are eternal.



     When I was a little child, I was privileged to know and be around scores of older China Inland Mission missionaries who had been forced to leave China.  We moved into a Chicago parsonage that was adjacent to two huge buildings housing the returned missionaries. I remember some better than others, but all spoke of the Christians left behind. What I  remember most was the constant hope and prayer that they could return to the land of their calling. Although some had lost family to the communists, and all had seen heartache and cruelty, the discussions centered around the work of the Lord and the need to attend to those to whom they had been assigned. Although they all undoubtedly left everything behind, I do not remember hearing about possessions.  Just people.  The cause of Christ.  The Body of Christ.



      Far too many Believers are trying to invest in things that are not eternal.   

     Soldier of The Cross, are you aware of your thoughts?
     What are the things that trouble you?  
     Do they concern others or just yourself?
     Are you caught between wanting Him and planting your treasure in the temporal?



     The issue is not where we serve, but whom we serve.  I have been impacted by school bus drivers, prison guards, librarians and even prisoners, whose lives have been about the Lord. He is able to take that which to us appears to be totally inadequate. and use it to His Glory.


          
     We are sojourners and pilgrims, and our lives should reflect this truth.



     He is eager to reveal things that are hidden. Ask Him.
     Then, look up and move on!

    There must be a rigorous private prayer life that lines up with God's Word.


    Much of the church today knows little about prayer.  Most will say the right things,  but when rubber meets the road, personal prayer is last on the list.   


     Without prayer, He is more of a belief than a Person.
     Without prayer, there is little recognition of Him.
     Without prayer, there can be no affirmative agreement with Him.
     Without prayer there can be no brokenness for the lost.
     Without prayer, there is no sense of His provision, and the Believer feels responsible to do it all himself.


     Without prayer, sight is dull and hearing is faint.  Soldier of The Cross, find a physical position that works for you and pray aloud.


     Prayer is fueled by the Word of God.  No freshness, no direction in prayer.
 

     We know there is a Throne of Grace, on which is seated the Lover of Your Soul.


     Everyone who meets with the  Lord daily will tell you the same thing - it can be and often is a battle.  Unlike other duties,this one shirked results in living from one flesh flash to another.


     The most common excuse?  No time.  And, of course, it is not true.

     Those who pray can easily led by the Lord.
     They know Him as their High Tower.  
     Their Fortress.  
     They can see eternity.
     They have seen Him and are more like Him.


      Let the Indwelling Holy Spirit lead you in prayer.


     It is not necessary to feel like it.  Move, and He will lead.

     There is no such thing as a personality that is more easily filled with the Lord.

     While there are those who have less baggage than others, the cost of The Cross is the same for all. It is certainly true that being trained as a child can result in a more immediate response to the Lord, but it is not a matter of personality type.


     It is a matter of The Cross.

     What does it take to have a song in the heart?  It requires absence of the things that stand in the way of the fullness of the Holy Spirit.  Things have to go and must be dealt with over a lifetime. 

     There must be an affirmative decision to let the Lord deal with the toughest areas:  
                       Having to be right
                       Needing to be esteemed by others
                       Craving security
                       Addiction  to religion
                       Money
                       Control
                       Fear
                       Lust

      The list has no end.  And, in this life, no one arrives.  But there are those who present themselves to the Lord and ask Him to do anything to make them like Himself.  The result?  The infilling of the Holy Spirit.

     Soldier of The Cross, as soon as one considers himself to be humble or wise or able, he is in trouble and there is no room for the Lord.  But those who just want to agree with God and be changed, are available.

     No one is able to parade through everything with a toothy smile.  No one has immunity to grief or heartache.  But those who stand before Him in prayer and take up The Cross daily, make themselves available to the music that existed before the world was created.

     Tell Him. 
     Aloud.
     Today.

    "For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God."
                         Romans 8:14 (Amplified Bible)

     This verse follows another that deals with the death of the flesh and the choosing of Life in the Spirit.

     Soldier of The Cross, in order to learn to follow Him, there must be a willingness to release concept and let Him have full play.    This begins in prayer.

     Being led by the Spirit does not mean more comfort for the flesh.  It means affirmative surrender in prayer and agreeing with God that we do not need to know what tomorrow holds.  It also means being willing to uncurl the fingers that are clenched hard around the need for predictability.

     There must be room for the Spirit.  There must be affirmative submission and it must be in prayer.

       If you are watching and waiting for the Lord, He will show Himself.  He has never hidden from His Own.  The One who holds the stars in place has you just where he wants you today, and has promised to lead you a step at a time. 

     His heart is ravished by your attention (Song of Solomon 4:9.)   What He wants is you. Your obedience, your attention, your service and your pursuit of Him. 


     As an attorney I represent people from all walks of life, including pastors and missionaries who find themselves in terrible personal situations.  The rarest thing is to see someone look for the Lord in the midst of hardship or heartache.  The usual thing is the need to gain control or to howl and stomp.

     A living sacrifice.  Your reasonable service.   
        

     Giving a matter up to the Lord is something that happens in prayer.

     As soon as the effort makes camp in the mind, the battle is lost.  It requires an act of obedience, and you have the power to do this.  You have been told to give it to Him, and so you must.  It's just that it does not feel possible.  The mind loves to capture the matter and drag it around until the emotions are battered.

     Soldier of The Cross, you can't handle it.  You were created to rely on Him completely.

     We have born into the realm of the supernatural.  The balance is, there is no independence.  Like everything else in Him, this is a faith operation.  You have to agree with Him  and then you must hand over the burden in prayer.  This is usually not a one-time thing.  This is particularly true when relationships fail, a loved one dies, or when someone suffers for something not of his own doing.

              Lord, I stand before you today and bring you this matter that is surely too great for me.  You have said      
              you tenderly care for me and I choose to believe it.

              I now choose whatever is eternal and whatever honors you.  I have no idea what you are doing or how you are 
              doing it, but I want to learn not to limit you and I want to learn to give up protecting myself. 

              I want to know you more deeply and recognize you more quickly.  I submit to you, Sovereign Lord and ask you to 
              do whatever is needed, in order to form your likeness in me.

              By faith, I agree that you know and I do not.
              By faith, I agree you can create out of nothing.
              By faith, I agree that I do not need to understand.
              By faith, I submit to whatever glorifies you.


              I will love and serve and leave the matter with you.

     Although it satisfies the intellect, the Gospel is not an intellectual one.

     The more one knows the Lord, the simpler it gets.  The simpler it gets, the deeper the work.

     In high school I went to a tiny little Texas church that was two blocks from my house.  There was a mentally retarded woman who went to every meeting, including prayer meetings. She also had a cleft palate.  Her name was Shirley.     Shirley drove me crazy and it was probably because she was the only person in the church who knew I was not saved.  When we divided up for the prayer meeting, she always wanted to be in the group with me.  As difficult as it was for her to speak, Shirley went after me over and over and over again. 

     It was only when I gave my life to the Lord fourteen years later that I could see the  Lord had used Shirley to confront me.  The longer I know Him, the more I appreciate Shirley's availability to Him. 

     The Servant does not need to feel smart, experienced or equipped.
     He only needs to be available.

     Those who are truly available are trained in the exercising of faith.  They can be trusted in areas where few are allowed.  They are willing to tackle tough studies or to take on a project that has not been done before.  They can be sent without first knowing what they must do upon arrival.

     They understand God's anointing.
     They have crossed The Line.
     

     The Creator of the universe did not come as a genius.  
     He came as a Savior.         

      Why does it have to hurt?

     How can the agony be so intense if there is a Lord who cares so much? 

     Soldier of The Cross, it is not your business to quantify difficulty. The issue is, He has already said that you could walk on the water if you would trust Him.   In fact He has guaranteed it.  Therefore, the matter is one that must be relinquished in prayer and with specificity.

 
     Years ago, I watched a Christian man give his children to the Lord.  He wrote each name on a piece of paper. On a cold Maine day, he stood against a hundred year old radiator and lifted up those pieces of paper.   Barely able to speak, he told the Lord that He could have the children, and they were offered by name to the Lord, one at a time.

     Since that day, he has no vital contact with his children, but he is free because he agreed with God. 

     Soldier of The Cross, what is your issue?  Is it the need for security?  Do you need to see beyond tomorrow?

     Or, are you available for the Frontier of Faith?

    Make your choice in prayer.  Tell Him.  Aloud.
    Today