Soldier of The Cross, you must be aware of The Goal.    To know Him.    To serve Him.    To Love Him.   That means you must  lay down your life for the Brethren and respond to the Great Commission.   Pray.   Give.   Go.

   Nothing ever stays the same.    We live in a world that is groaning and travailing as time moves toward its end. Everything that is born is moving toward physical death from the moment of birth.   For His Own, there is a sense of momentum that precludes burying treasure on the earth.    As the Soldier of The Cross moves through life, the theme of prayer, song and thought must be "change me."  We are to be like Him and that is a process.  It is nothing we do ourselves, although there is no sweetness apart from walking in the Light.    As you get older, you are finding the body wants to move less.  The mind resists new exercises. The soul craves familiar assurances.    Those who agree with God become more flexible and available for adventures in faith, even in the twilight years.    Be available to Him for anything.  Tell Him so.     Aloud.

   God's Word teaches that His Own can be free from worry about the future, can be released from rehashing that past and can live each moment on a level so rich it supersedes the experience of most.    Soldier of The Cross, be aware of your thoughts.  The enemy loves to marinate your mind in worry and regret.    If He said He is able to restore the years the locusts have eaten, then it is a fact.  End of concern.  The only reason anyone would worry, would be  for lack of a Promise.   The only reason anyone would spend much time in regret,  would be a lack of a Sovereign God.    Most Christians are not aware of their thoughts.  Thoughts should be deliberate and in agreement with God. When the emotions are inflamed, the soul becomes infected and doors are opened.  The enemy loves to torture, and is always hunting for a way in.   When a thought stings the mind, the Holy Spirit is able to draw the Soldier's attention to Truth and release. That thought can and must be led away captive.    Let Him flow through you and reveal Himself in and through your life.    Submit your thought life to Him.  In prayer.    Aloud .

   Be with those who love Him.    Those who take up The Cross want to be with others who take up The Cross.    Those who love His Word long to be with other s who love His Word.    Those who walk by faith are thrilled to be with others who walk by faith.      The farther you go, the leaner the crowd.    The farther you go, the greater the Glory, and the richer it is to share with those on the same trail.    Soldier of The Cross, run The Race.    Live in the moment, and honor The King.    Obey His Word.    In so doing, you will experience the freedom of delight in fellowship with His Own.

   Soldier of The Cross, His Power is unlimited.    He has conquered death.    You have at hand the same resurrection Power.  Soldier,  you may feel defeated, but the truth is, you are a Victor.    It may seem that the path is obscured, but you have the supernatural Light of the Word, which is a Lamp unto your feet and a Light unto your path.    If you are in fellowship with the Lord, you may and must learn to walk in the Power of the Holy Spirit - you must learn to do more than the job requires.  You must learn to exercise your gift(s).  You must learn to give financially and pray in your daily bread.  You must learn to withhold the eager tongue and to speak the difficult.    You must not be offended.  You must not complain.  You must not wound-lick.  You must not resent.  You must not sass.  You must not get even - return evil for evil.    There is so much more.  You are able to walk in the Light because you have been born into The Kingdom of Light - the Kingdom, of His Dear Son.  He has given you the Provision, and you have supernatural Power to walk on the water.    The only condition is, you must take up the Cross, and follow Him.  In prayer.  Daily.    Aloud.

   Those who are afraid of what they see suffer from spiritual atrophy.    The Lord has always asked His followers to walk through the fire, walk through walls of water, buy without money and move forward when there is nothing but a thick wall.    Being a Disciple means taking up the Cross and following.  It means leaving the human economy behind.  It means pressing into things that seem to large in order to accomplish goals that seem impossible.    That is, these things seem impossible to those who do  not have the eyes of faith.    Those who go after the Lord have the Lord.  They see Him. They see what He sees.  They love His Word.  They are attracted to His Own.  They delight in giving.     They recognize that He is the God of the impossible, and they learn to move forward when there is nowhere to move.  From experience they have learned to relish the frontier of faith and they know that often the unseen is more real than the visible.    And, there is no other way to know God.

   "After this, Jesus let Himself be seen and revealed [Himself] again to the disciples. . ."    Soldier of The Cross,  you were created for an eternal relationship with Him.     It is His heart to lead you with His eyes.     It His heart to commune with you in the deepest places of your being, and His.     It is His heart to prepare an exquisite Place for you, for all eternity.     It is His heart to prepare you for delight beyond your conception.    He has touched you.  And no thrill has ever compared.  Now, you must pursue Him.  That means that you do as He has commanded and you must choose to leave all else behind.    Does this mean neglecting people?  Of course not.  You have been empowered to love.  You have been empowered to serve.  You have been empowered to intercede and to move forward or to back away.  The issue is, you have been empowered.    Soldier, each moment, you must grasp the fact that you have been born into the Kingdom of Light.   Those who do not pursue Him are passive and suffer depression and anger. They blame everyone else for their problems.  They suffer from a lack of the Vision.    Soldier of The Cross,  leave it behind.  Take up The Cross.  Follow hard.    Give Him your all.    There is nothing else.  There is no one else.

   Rejoice - the Lord is King. . .   What does that mean for you?    Soldier of The Cross,  His Word is the bottom Line.  What  assurance that is for you.  What a refuge that is for you.  What a protection from all that comes at you.    There is a Ruler - and He died for you.  It was personal.  Not general.  He is over all, and He holds the stars in place.    Truth is simple.     He is everything.  He is King.  He has the authority.  And, He is perfect.  He loves you and He asks that you obey Him.    It is settled.

   There is no middle ground for the Soldier of The Cross.    It is always disturbing to hear Believers say things like, "We are dreaming of owning our own home someday. . ."  or, " I just want to travel as much as possible and see all the sights of the world. . ."    While those things are certainly not wrong, they should not be sought apart from Christian service.  If there is a home, it must be dedicated to the Lord and given for His use, whatever that happens to be.  Vacations re not unchristian, but a goal of seeing much of the world is not a godly one unless it is for the purpose of serving the Lord.    Heaven is not real to many Believers.     Being a Soldier of  The Cross means dwelling and living in a place of the death of the gravity of the flesh, and following hard after Him.     You have one life.  There must be a single eye and a firm goal - knowing Him, serving Him and preparing for eternity, all the while bringing as many to Christ as possible.    No compromise.  Your pockets will be turned out when you stand before Him.

   What sets the Soldier of The Cross apart from all others?    The determination and commitment to take God at His Word and move according to what He has said, rather than circumstances.    Soldier,  American children believe in the Tooth Fairy and in Santa Claus.  They believe in these fantasies because they have been instructed to believe.    You have been personally touched by God.     You have been chosen and you know it.    You have been called and you know it.  You are being led and you know it.     You have not been instructed to believe.  You have been instructed to listen to the One who touched you and whose voice you recognize.  It is the weak  who operate because they have been persuaded by others.    We move by faith.    Look up and move on.