So many Christians are probing into the past, attempting to find healing.

     Certainly there are some things that must be addressed.   But time can not be erased or reexperienced.  It is Light that dispels darkness.  there must be a pursuit of God.  Yes, we are to drop the things that "so readily encumber" in order to run the race.

     Some hunt a feeling of well-being and are only looking for relief.  The well-adjusted Believers I have met are those who are sacrificially doing something for someone else and who have vigorous and consistent prayer lives.

     Soldier of The Cross, your story may be hair-raising.  I do not mean to sound cavalier about terrible experiences or secrets that are a burden.  The issue is, there is no healing of freedom without the Cross.  It is the place of the death of the flesh and it is how He has designed us.

     He died to set us free.  That freedom is found in Him. It is not possible to know deep peace while avoiding assembling together.  It is not possible to know deep peace by analyzing the past.  There must be God's Word.  There must be prayer. 

     Much is said about prayer.  Yet, even many in ministry have sagging prayer lives. 

     His Own can experience vast freedom while contained in a tiny cell. 

     It is not about the past.  It is about the Lord.

     Soldier, when you are not sure how to pray about a matter, it is always good to let the Lord know that your bottom line is that He would be glorified.

     After all, no one knows how to approach specifics in prayer about every matter.

     The issue is agreeing with God.  He has made Himself implicitly clear on all matters in His Word.  That is to say, He has let us know all we need to know in order to approach the Throne of Grace and present things to the One who holds the stars in place.

     He is in control or He is not.  And the way to experience the rest that can be found in this wonderful truth is, in prayer.  You must pray aloud if it is physically possible.  I have often found myself on airplanes putting a blanket or jacket over my head in order to snatch some privacy.

     If you do not formulate words and put yourself in a physical position of prayer, you will find your thoughts deteriorating into wool-gathering.

     Once you have been born again, nothing is more valuable than learning to trust the Lord.

     Soldier of The Cross, have you determined to agree with God?

     We are always encouraged by being reminded of the bottom line.  And, the bottom line is that He knows more than we.

     Do you agree?  What does that mean?  It means obedience to His Word.  It means you agree that in spite of your own worm's eye view of the situation, you choose His way, in His time.

     The Cross.   The death of the flesh.

     Is there anything better?    Of course not.  There is nothing else.  There is no one else.

     Look up and move on!

      The devotional life is the measure of one's determination to pursue God.

     I have heard it said that having personal devotions can be just a religious exercise.  I do not believe that.  If one is in the Word and in prayer- real prayer that is aloud and led of the Spirit, there is fuel for the prayer and the one who prays has an audience before the Ultimate listener.

      A personal quiet time is the first thing to go when someone is out of fellowship.  Moreover, the devotional life cannot be sustained over the long haul without the indwelling Holy Spirit.

     It is not possible to know Him without being with Him.  He can be known in the Body, in fellowship with one another, in the Word, in nature and many other ways.  But unless there is a consistent devotional life, there can be no intimacy with Him.

     Soldier, protect this privilege and treasure.

     Soldier of The Cross, make sure your thrill is in Him rather than the search.

     There are many who love to debate, just for the sake of the tussle.  While we are to have an answer for our Hope,  there is no benefit in intellectual sparring just for its own sake.

     There are some brilliant and gifted apologists, and we enjoy reading them and listening to them.   The benefit is not in the tussle, but it is in the surfacing of Truth.

     The deeper, the simpler.

      It is so easy to evaluate things by sight.

     After all, there it is.  Undeniable.  You can see it as plain as day.  Are you praying about it according to what you see?  Or are you praying about what you see according to the Word of God?

     Why did He ask us to walk by faith?  Does that mean we ignore what we see?  What we know?

     Soldier of The Cross,  there is no thrill like that of following the Lord.  As the song says, He leads us through the fire and through the flood.  He knows the beginning from the end.  After all, wasn't He in the furnace with the three Hebrew children?

     The horizon of the faith adventure is an always expanding one. 

     If He says He can only be known by faith, we must be available to pray according to His infinite Love and creativity, rather than limit Him to our concept of a resolution.

     Ask Him to lead in this area.    He is breathtakingly responsive.
    Ask Him today.
   Aloud.

      He did not rescue you to make you feel in need of constant rescue.

     Yes, the Cross is costly to the flesh, but Life in Christ is intended to be free of things that plague many.

     I need to tell the Lord what He means to me.  I need to tell Him what I love about Him and how much I need Him.  It puts things in perspective.

     It is His intent that we should know Him and walk with Him.  After all, He has expressed His longing for our attention, and it is personal.

     There is tremendous joy in knowing and serving Him.  The problem comes when the Christian wants Him to be  co-pilot instead of pilot. 

     He is a God of great blessing.

     Take up The Cross and  follow.

     It is possible to come under the influence of the Holy Spirit without being converted.

     I have often seen this with the children of missionaries or preachers.  The children are raised in an environment that is more than just the Christian culture.  Particularly when parents are really sold out, there has to be a presence of the Lord in the home that is real, and genuinely impacts the children.  Often, they are touched and respond to altar calls or other invitations.  Yet when the years pass, it seems that they have shed the Christian skin and have rejected the truths of their childhood. 

     Only the Lord knows what is going on.   There certainly are cases where the person is a prodigal.  When that is the case,  he or she will readily say that the experience with the Lord was real, but there was a stepping away from Him.  Other times, there are people who seem to be moved, seem to want the Lord, but just never taste Lordship because they have never really met Him.

        I am one who believes that if there is no Lordship, there is no Lord.   On the other hand, it is not up to us to read the heart.  The Lord does not do everything in the same order with all of His children.

     What are we to do?  Pray and love.  Ask for wisdom.  Then pray and love more.

     We must be glad when we come to the House of The Lord.

     Of course, the House of The Lord is not a building, but is rather, the Body of Christ.  Nevertheless, it is critical to prepare when we come together for the Sunday meeting.

     We come together on Sunday because it is the first day of the week.  Each time there is a meeting of the assembly, there must be a preparation of heart.  Children must be trained that something special happening, and it is critical that there be no playing or running in the meeting place.   When the Lord's Supper is served, children should not participate unless they have made a definitive and credible profession of faith.  It is not ok to give them the bread and drink just because they are little and want it. 

     Before the meeting, pray as a family.  It can be done in the parking lot, and it gives the children a sense of what this is about.

     Then, determine to love.    Greet those who are unfamiliar and make sure you do not linger with best friends because of comfort.  Those whom you do not know need your attention.

     Soldier of The Cross, The assembly of The Body of Christ means that He is present, according to the Word of God.

     Prepare in prayer. 

     Advance in obedience.

     Can it really be true?

     Is it possible that we are called to take up His agenda before fixing the personal things that seem so urgent?  What is the real meaning of the well-known verse?

     God has never wasted words.  He has never made a feeble calling, nor has He asked of us something that is unnecessary.  In fact He leads us to the richest pastures, leads us to the most still waters as He leads us directly through the middle of this life's most intense issues.

     God's priorities are the only protected path through this life.  He is interested in teaching His Own to invest in eternity.  To love unconditionally.  To trust Him.  To live free from anxiety.  To be sighted.  To consider others first.

     Soldier of The Cross, if He says you should first seek The Kingdom,  it must be the best thing for you.  Take the matter to Him in prayer.  Allow the Indwelling Holy Spirit to reveal what it means.  Memorize the verse along with surrounding verses.

        Lord, please teach me to live for you and you alone.  I lift up my life to you
        and ask that you would use me in any way that honors you.  I want the spend
        my thought,  time and energy building what is eternal.  Please renew my vision
        for the Body of Christ.  I ask that all that I am and have would be used to reveal 
        you.  I know that my understanding is limited,  but I am asking you to change my
        heart and mind to line up with yours.