The Cross separates the Christian mice from the Christian men.    The Cross is the Place of Faith.    The Cross is the Place of Love.    The Cross is the Place of Sacrifice.    The Cross is the Place of Healing.    The Cross is the Place of Vision.    Without the taking up of The Cross, service becomes a job and is absent of ministry.    Without the taking up of The Cross, feelings become more real than Truth.    Without the taking up of The Cross, all the cravings of the flesh run rampant unless there is a temporal reward for abstinence.    Without the taking up of The Cross, there is no discipleship.      Without discipleship, there is no Presence of the Lord.    Soldier of The Cross, life is short.  Spend it in obedience and in pursuit of The One who is preparing a Place for you.  As the minutes pass, they can not be recaptured.  The look on your face can not be recaptured.  Neither can the indulgence in fantasy.  Your words cannot be recaptured or taken back.    But, all can be forgiven and there is always newness.    The Soldier who comes before Him daily in honesty and with clean and empty hands  will be eager to be changed.  The Cross is the Place of change - the death of the flesh.    You must take this to the Lord and speak to him about it.    You must delight in this change.  You must be willing to stand the test.  You must be willing to reveal Love.  You must yearn to be prepared for Heaven.    So, take up The Cross daily and follow Him.    Do it in prayer.    Do it aloud.

   Soldier of The Cross - be assured that the Lord will shed enough Light for the next step.    Most of us want to know what is coming far beyond the next step.  In fact, the flesh craves control to the extent that there is a craving for infinite predictability.    As much as is good for us to know, we have been told what eternity holds for us.  We can sing about it, pray about it and it is wonderful to look forward to it.    In the meantime, most around us are miserable and wandering.    Soldier, your own feelings are not your imagination.  They are real.  But, God's Word is more real than the way that you feel.  You must buck up.  You must attend to the one before you.  You must attend to the lost.        The less money you have, the more you must give.    The less time you have, the more you must volunteer.    The harder the hit you are taking, the  more you must minister encouragement to another.    You have determined what your life is about.    Get out there and live it in supernatural Power!

   There is much to do.    Soldier of The Cross, you have crossed The Line.  You have left self-protection and self-promotion behind.  You have made a determined decision to take up The Cross and follow Him.  What does that mean?    Death to the flesh and obedience to His Word.    Soldier, it is the little things of everyday life that are the undoing of the follower.  When there is death or cataclysmic disaster, the center of being instinctively reaches out to the Lord, knowing that He is the only source.   At other times, the unregenerate or soul out of fellowship, wants to move away from any divine standard.     When you got out of bed this morning, were you aware of the purpose of your day?  did you know that He had a purpose?  Were you available?    Soldier,  do not waste the hour. Or the minute.  One step at a time, and that according to His Word.    There is no argument otherwise.

   It is rare to meet anyone who really experiences peace.    Even most Christians are easily agitated or hurt, hold grudges, and often complain.  Many live in regretting the past and fearing the future.  Yet, most would say all the right things.  The justification for the lack of peace is usually some situation and it is always someone else's fault.    We are to follow The Prince of Peace.    We are to become like Him.  We are to dwell in and rest on His Word.   Where is the peace?  It is certainly not in knowledge, nor is it in calm circumstances.  It is in walking by faith and not by sight.     It is in trusting Him and obeying Him, even when there is no open door in sight.    Those who trust in Him can be trusted.    Those who follow after Him have an assurance that insulates the soul from deep attack.    Choice.  It is about choice.  Choosing to stand on God's Word.  Choosing to do the thing that does not seem possible.  Choosing to invest in eternity.    There is no reason to stand on shaky ground when we are able to stand on the Rock of Ages.

   John  21:1 says:       After this, Jesus let Himself be seen and revealed [Himself] again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias.           (Amplified)    He has always revealed Himself to those who want to see Him.  He has never turned anyone away, and He has never failed to answer a genuine call.    He has never disappointed anyone who has waited for Him.  And, those who do not trust Him and who take preemptive action against His possible failure, are always disappointed.     Soldier,  you have made the decision to follow Him. You have decided that you agree with Him that there is nothing worth living for apart from Eternal Life.    So, you must take up the Cross daily because that is His condition.  You must leave aside the things that are not compatible with discipleship.  You must submit to Love.  You must be eager to change according to God's Word.     You must be willing to serve and to reach out to the very ones who seem to reject you.    If He asks that you wait for Him, it means that you wait no matter what.  Are you going to live as though He might fail?  Or are you going to put your weight visibly on His Promises?    Soldier, determine to take pleasure in the exercising of your faith.  While you are waiting, feed the poor, visit the sick, comfort the grieving and attend to those who are in prison.    Pray.    Then, pray more.    You are under the lights.

   Yours is the abundant Life.    You who have decided to follow the Lord, are an adopted Son, and yours is the experience of and the inheritance of Abundant Life.    Are you a Soldier of The Cross?  Are you willing and eager to take up The Cross and follow Him?  May He do anything with your life, or do you want to reserve the right to cut your own swath?    Each day must begin and end with a bottom line.     The creature of the sea and the animals of the forest do not have choice.  They must do as He has designed them.  They respond to His direction without question.     You are not like the creatures of the sea or forest.  You have choice.  In fact, each day presents a grid of choices.     So then, choose according to His Word.    After all, there is nothing else.

   Soldier of The Cross, do not wish for the demise of the bad guy.    Agree with God in His ministry of Grace.    Any time there is a determination to take up the Cross and follow Him, there is opposition. It is simply a spiritual fact.  The path is narrow and the thorns are large.     What does God's Word say?  Never relish the demise of the wicked!    Soldier, we do not have the capacity to evaluate The Whole.  That is why we must walk by faith and not by sight.  That is the reason we must daily declare to Him that He may do anything with our lives.    Will He make a mistake?    Will He fail to Love?    Is He able to determine what is best?    Is His knowledge limited?    Has He lied?    Soldier, look up and move on!

   The flesh can't learn to lean on the Lord.    For that reason, it is often ineffective to offer Christian truisms to the one looking for a solution to his problem.    Walking by faith takes place in prayer.  It is not enough to know all the right things or hear all the right things.  The Lord must be real to the seeker, and that does not happen apart from real prayer.    There must be prayer that expresses agreement with God's Word.  The most simple of believers is fully able to tell the Lord he will obey.     It is not necessary to preach to the Lord and to tell him all about the details.  It is often necessary to have an outpouring of the heart before the One who cares about the smallest detail.  There is nothing wrong with bringing His Word before Him in prayer.    Are you longing to let go of the burden?  You must discuss it with Him.  You must declare your position.  Tell Him you want His way and nothing else.  Tell Him you know that He sees much and you see little.    Tell Him aloud.    Tell Him today.

   The Soldier of The Cross will increase in verdure as the years go by.    What does the Bible say about age?  Those who follow hard after Him will be monuments to His faithfulness.  The Psalmist tells us that they will be more flexible with age - like the palm tree.  He says that they will be resistant to invasion - like cedar, which is resistance to insects.    Soldier, keep in mind that there is so  much more beyond tomorrow.  On the other hand, you must live in the moment.  today.  you may not be distracted by the thing that you can not change.  You must press into the exercising of your gift(s).    Memorize.    Pray aloud.    Tell the Lord what you love about Him.    Tell Him that you will leave all behind to follow Him.    Then, pay intense attention to those before you.    Love with abandon.

   We must be reminded that He is Love.    Yes, He has many attributes, but He IS Love.    Soldier of The Cross, it is His heart to transform us into His likeness.  It is His desire that we minister Love.  It is His desire that we live and move and have our being in the One who is Love.    Love is exquisite.  Love can not be quenched, and Love is never hidden.  Love is always greater that the effort to contain it.    Love is sacrificial.  Love never licks its wounds.  Love is not a victim.    Love is a person, and He is reflected in the lives and on the countenances of those who will take up the Cross and follow Him.