Are you a man or woman of Faith?    Most of us have a concept of the great Christians.  We think of them as having achieved recognizable heights.  We think of the miracles they have experienced.  There are tremendous stories of both endurance and vision.     Soldier of The Cross,  everyone has the same chance.  Everyone has the same provision.  Everyone has the same Lord and the same Word of God.  The thing that is different is the way the Soldier deals with things in the deepest recesses of his being.     When we get to heaven, there will be those who would never have thought of themselves as heroes of the faith.  But theirs will be the runner's crown.    You may be confined to a bed or worse.  Perhaps no one knows of the depth of your situation.  You may be in an abusive relationship, or you may have the humblest of jobs.    He can make gold from anything  - or nothing. It is up to Him.  One thing is sure:  He with whom you will be forever loves obedience more than sacrifice.    Obey Him.  Even in the smallest things.

   Can you rest in the Lord,  or is it only possible in books and songs?    If He commands it, it must be possible.    Several things may be assumed:       It involves faith, which means that trusting Him means not analyzing circumstances.       It means the transaction begins in prayer and is maintained by prayer.       It means obedience is supernatural and you should expect to be empowered by the Indwelling Holy Spirit.          Finally, it means you were created for this.   You can rest assured that you were created to obey in the areas of God's commands and leadings.    You can not take up The Cross to follow Him if the space is already taken.  Even a seemingly small bundle prevents the taking up of the Cross.    Do not be alarmed.  He is able.  All He asks is that you come to Him and lay it down.  This happens in  prayer and is the result of  the decision to leave the useless and cumbersome behind and to Him.    Soldier, do not be passive about the things that bother you.  They must be dealt with in prayer.  When you pray in this way, you are able to recognize the open doors and the attractiveness of His way over your discomfort.    There is simply nothing else.    Look up and move on!

   God's Word addresses things head on.    Even so,  we need the Bible to interpret the Bible.  Further, without the supernatural interpreter, the Indwelling Holy Spirit, it is not possible to hear what God is saying.    Christians who refuse to leave room for God have a tendency to operate in a black and white world.  Even thought they know the verses, they decide what can be done based on available possibilities.  They refuse to try locked doors and they make assumptions about whatever it is that they do not know.    Black-and-white believers are mostly talkers, and are usually poor listeners.  They have standards for other, while they justify their own crushing weaknesses.    Do not put God in a box.  He can not be packaged.  He could have saved us in any manner, but He chose to send His own Son.    Soldier of  The Cross, when you crossed The Line, you made yourself available for service.  That means you may not say that so-and so can  not be done.    Because it can.     Move forward by faith.

   It is  not always possible to recognize God's blessing if there is a preconceived concept.    He says that He will withhold  no good thing. Can He be trusted?    When there has been heartache and loss, can He be trusted?  When the schedule breaks down can He be trusted?    The sense of comfort must be in relying on Him - not in evaluating circumstances.    Soldier of The Cross,  you have the Power to trust.  Step out, even when you can not see the ground.  You have been saved by The Rock of Ages.  He knows what He is doing, even if you do not.    Tell Him you will trust Him.  If you are having difficulty letting go of the matter, write it on a little piece pf paper and hold it up to Him, telling Him you are yielding to Him.    Tell Him aloud.

What does God's Word say?   Is it true or is it not?    Have you made the decision to agree with God, or are you determined to immerse yourself in the situation in  order to resolve it?   Are you able to recognize the  attack?  Do you know what you are feeling and when you are feeling it?  Attacks are always felt.  There is always emotion, combined with negative thought and the combination finds a target.   Soldier of  The Cross, you were  not created to bear the burden.  You were not created to fix things.  You were created to  know him and to Lean on the Everlasting Arms.   And, that you must do.   It happens in prayer.  It is about The Word of God.   Tell Him .  Aloud.   Today

   Soldier of The Cross, always remember that you are on the move.    He leads you always.  Through the minutes and the hours and the days.  Even if you are immobile, He will lead you as vigorously as you are willing to go.    Look for Him.  Wait for Him.    Be ready

   We are told that God hates  false balance.    What does this mean?  A false balance is the human attempt to fix what only God can fix.    For example, thee are Christians who have a get-back streak.  If they think you have done something to them, they need to play God and teach you a lesson.  the problem is, anything other than what God has said is a false balance.  I{f you think someone has done ill to you, the Bible forbids you from returning evil for evil.  God also says that vengeance is His.  Anything else is a false balance and is outside of God's economy.    It is always the flesh that wants to get even.  The flesh wants the satisfaction of seeing the other party in a position of discomfort.    Those who take offense always want to do something about it.  At a minimum, the hurt feelings are reflected in a pouting countenance or a sharp tongue.  The offended always considers the other party to be the offender, and offense invariably targets the other party for payback.    Soldier of  The Cross, this only means waiting on God and recognizing that we are not equipped to rule the universe.  It is critical to be aware of the desire to even the score, and to  then take the matter to the Lord in  prayer before things get out of hand.    If you do not like the preaching, trying to influence the same speaker to preach to your liking is an attempt at a false balance.     If the finances are lacking, carrying on about the lack of money is a false balance.    If  there is guilt, doing penance is a false balance.    Soldier, depend on God's Word.  The Indwelling Holy Spirit will speak to you and will lead you.

   God's brilliant design is infinite.    Time is only one component designed by Grace.  It is intended to confront humanity with choice.    The young often imagine that there is some kind of time fence between them and the twilight years.  We all know, however, that if we live, or if the Lord tarries, we will see those years.  We must learn to live them and prepare for them.    The divisions of time have always been interesting to me.  Why are there not twenty-three hours in a day?  Or twenty five?  The day has a beginning and an end, although evening bleeds into night and night dissipates with the rising of the sun.    Once we have received Christ, the Indwelling Holy Spirit enables us to appropriate the grace made available to us.  There is new grace for each day.  Now, you can move, you can speak, you can probably feed yourself and you have many things to do.  You have projects and goals and you probably indulge in your favorite entertainments and foods.    There may come a day when you are dependent.  It happened to Amy Carmichael, and she learned to receive grace for each day, even when she could not turn herself over in bed.  She did this for twenty years.  She ministered to others and wrote her deepest and most profoundly confrontive revelations on the Cross during that time.    The course that you choose now is the same course that you will be traveling in old age.    Are you a Soldier of The Cross?     Have you crossed The Line?     Have you decided to leave all behind and be available - to the  best of your ability?     Do you understand that He will lead you with His eyes?    Have you understood that you will be with the Body of Christ eternally?    Have you understood that His Word will be forever?    Grace for tomorrow will be given tomorrow.    Live today in the fullness of His Life.       There is  nothing else.

   Jealousy is an emotion that is fed by unclean thought.    Those who would serve the King can not afford this spiritual cancer.  Jealousy wants harm to come to the object of the jealousy and nothing can satisfy the craving.   If not checked,  jealousy will create its own universe in the soul.    Jealousy is a sin and must be confessed.   There must be clean prayer about the matter and it must be left with the Lord.  There can be no fellowship with Him, as long as there is an agenda against another.    Soldier, walk with clean and empty hands.

   Soldier of The Cross, make a deliberate decision each day to dedicate all of your faculties to Him during your waking hours.    After all, there is  nothing else.    They are sighted, who pray according to God's Word.  They can see that all of creation bends and presses toward eternity.  They can see that there can be no shallow living.  There can be no untruth.  There can be no ungodly compromise.  The race must be run, and run in obedience.     Ask the Lord to let you see as He sees.  You will be enabled to minister in areas that have been closed to you.  You will be able to love the unlovely.   You will find yourself eager to walk by faith.     Living in agreement with God brings an acute awareness of the shortness of time.    Soldier, love  not the world.     When you gaze upon Jesus, you will be inoculated against shallow passivity, and energized to pursue Him.