It is about every hour of every day.

     The things you do well, you tend not to pray about.  This means that you are fragile and vulnerable in those areas.

     Without the fresh Word of God, there is no fuel or light for prayer.  Without prayer, you are naked in a snow storm of the enemy's illusions and holograms.

     So Soldier, buck up and make it a life priority to have a devotional life.  I am one who always wants to share what I have learned in my devotions.  My husband is not like that.  He never talks about it, but the first thing every morning, he takes his Bible and disappears for a while.   And ladies, if he didn't, believe me, I would never consider trying to be his devotions police.  Don't ever go there.

     This is about you and your habits.  Your longing for the Lord.  Your need for intimacy with Him.

     He is always waiting for you.  Do you really believe He delights in you?    It's true.

     Feed on His Word and then meet with Him.  No matter what you have been taught, it does not always have to be the first thing in the morning.  It just has to be.  If there is an emergency, no momemtum is lost if you miss a day.  But get back on track.

     It is about your pursuit of God.  This must be the priority of your life.    When women tell me their children are their first priority, I always say that is a huge and most serious mistake.  Big, big mistake.  You can't have wisdom for raising your chidlren if there is no private time with the One Who holds The Stars in Place!

     Soldier, talk to Him about this so that you can have supernatural help in getting time with Him.

     Do it aloud and do it today.    

     He has put this before you.

     The choice is yours, but it is a decision that must be made by prayer.  So how do you know the answer?

     He has never made His will hard to find.   He doesn't hide behind anything to make it harder for you you to follow Him.

     The real issue is, how committed are you to doing His will?  That is the issue.  When that is resolved, no problem.  The light will shine clearly on the path that is to be taken.

     Tell Him you will follow Him no matter what the cost, and tell Him aloud.

     Then look up and move on!

     ² There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. ³ What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.    
                                 Luke 12: 2. 3

     We all know that the Lord sees it all.

     Yet, there are still times when you act and feel as though there is something hidden in your life.  It could be anything from a fear to a painful habit.  Or perhaps you are covering for someone else - so common in ministry to find that a spouse is covering for a mate's problem.

      As always, I speak to you as a Soldier of The Cross.  This means you have made a decision to take up the Cross (the place of the death of the flesh), and follow hard after Him. You will follow wherever, whenever, and under all circumstances.  You are eager to be changed.

     In order to do this, He is making your load lighter all the time. 

     Being made in His image, your depth knows no limit.    You are a sojourner and a pilgrim.   He loves you to the extent He will not let you continue to drag the rotten load behind you as you move on.

     Soldier,  this is probably not the time for public confession, as that is usually destructive.  This is the time for transparency in prayer.

    Then look and listen for Him.  You can't do this on your own.

     Stand before Him and let Him lead you in prayer about this.  Do it aloud.
     Do it now.

     The teaching that God's blessing is manifested in financial gain is a cancer in the Christian community. 

     It is not noble to be poor, and it is not a disgrace to have much.  The issue is,  the money is His, not ours.

     God is no man's debtor.

     One of the most neglected yet often quoted verses in the Bible is Matthew 6:11;  "Give us this day our dally bread . . ."

     In teaching the disciples to pray, the Lord made it clear that our provision is to be prayed in daily.   This is rare in all of Christendom.

     When we have plenty, we forget to pray for provision, and we tend to think of the money as belonging to us.  When we don't have enough, we wait until bills are not covered, and then there is pleading and panicky prayer for money to cover the immediate thing.  that is usually followed by letting "certain" people know there is a financial need.

     There are always financial surprises, and no where in the Bible is there one word that promises wealth if you support a particular ministry or person.

     The money is His, and the tithes and offerings need to come right off the top even if there is not enough to meet your on-paper need.   There is a promise about His provision when the first fruits are yielded up to Him.

     Soldier of The Cross,  if you are waking up in the night worrying about money, obviously you are being attacked.  That aside,  learn to pray in the finances.   It results in faith.

     Do it aloud, and do it each day. You must learn to be dependent, not independent.

     So many things are raging about you.

     Perhaps devastation, betrayal, or depression for no apparent reason.  Do the next thing that is before you and do it as unto the Lord.

     Soldier of The Cross, He could come in five minutes from now.  You cannot solve the matter and you cannot pull yourself out of the mud.  But you can do the thing that is immediately before you.   

     Is is grading a paper?  Changing a diaper?   Doing dishes?  Are you obligated to preach or to teach?

     Do the next thing.   We put one foot in front of the other and we move on until He does something else.

     And Soldier, commit this to Him in prayer.  Aloud.
     Look up and move on.

     It's much too easy to observe someone and decide what he or she is thinking because of the countenance.

     When someone does something or refuses to do something, the enemy loves to bombard the  thoughts with all the reasons why.

     If you don't know for sure, do not try to figure it out.   The scenarios will play out on the screen of your mind, and you will experience real emotions based on a fabrication. 

     Much gossip starts this way.

     Soldier of The Cross,  when strange things happen, do not fill in the blanks with speculation.   Much spiritual murder has resulted from this kind of thought activity.  Only the Lord knows the heart.

     Many things are hidden.  We are not supposed to know everything.  The flesh craves an answer and wants to be in control by understanding.

     It has to be clean. If you don't know for sure, don't guess.

     Leave it with Him. Aloud.
     Today.    

     Yes, Vengeance is His, as He has told us.

     This does not mean you are going to get to see it.  The last thing the Soldier of The Cross needs is to hang around the crime scene,  waiting for the offender to get whacked.

     When we cross over, we will see and understand justice.  Right now, move on.   If you look back to watch,  even though the happenings are in the unseen, you will turn into a pillar of salt and be useless.

     Forgiveness does not mean you are best friends with the offender.  It mean you let it go and move on.

     The worst thing is to be misquoted with devastating results.  Or to have someone report falsely about you to another.  There is always a terrible ripple effect. If it can be straightened out, do it.  But you are a Servant and you are following after Him.  There will be no putting the Cross down so you can settle the score.

     You can't put your hand to the plow and look back.

     If you have decided your life will be about ministry, you will absolutely be maligned and/or betrayed.  Usually by someone you have invested yourself in.

     You must move on.  The Lord might fix it quickly and He might not.  It is a matter to be dealt with in prayer, and it's not easy.

     The enemy will press you to vindicate yourself, but often this is a deterrent to service.  It is one of the hardest things to give up to Him.

     Soldier, look up and move on.

     Tell Him you will leave it at His feet.  Tell Him aloud and tell Him you want to move on.   This world is  not your home, and that fact becomes more and more real when you agree  with Him in prayer.

     Do it today.    

     Tomorrow will deal with itself.

     Right now, you need to turn your attention to the immediate.

     Take in His Word.  You have been forgetting that. Stand before Him and let the Indwelling Holy Spirit lead in prayer.    You can't fix tomorrow when tomorrow is not here.

     Give it to Him in prayer.  Now
     Aloud.

     It is not good for you to sling back words you think the other deserves.

     We have all heard the age-old adage "Don't stoop to her level".

     Getting even is a habit.  You must realize right now that when you retaliate to either get back at the other or to put him or her in place, it is a huge mistake and you make a fool of yourself.

     One of the loudest messages in the Bible is that God will attend to what the other deserves, and that you do not have the capacity to know what that is.

     This habit has to be broken, and it must be a matter of prayer.  Your holding your tongue is a tremendous protection for you.  Words created damage, and when the other is creating damage, why should the Soldier of The Cross sling it back?

     Children must be taught that this is not a matter of being a weakling, but that it is a matter of wisdom.   It is a protection for the one who can't be moved to say foolish and destructive things.

     As a family lawyer, I see this problem as widespread. I have an incredibly hard time trying to get my clients from hurling hasty and angry responses to the other party.  As a pastor's wife for 33 years, I saw that believers often can't wait for God, and must rush in and take the matter in their own hands.  This always results in damage, division and  the door is thrown wide open for the enemy.

     Soldier,  "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us . . ."   (John 1:14)

    The Word.  He is The Word.   Words are so critical.   You don't have to have all the right words, but you surely do need to withhold all the wrong ones.

     Listen to yourself.

     Pray about this.  Aloud.

     Lord, as I stand before you tonight, I want to say aloud to you again that you can do anything you want with my life. 

     Please do anything and everything in me to make me more like you.  I know this will cost, and I know I won't like it when it happens.  Nonetheless, i want you more than anything.

     Oh, Lord, I am so burdened about the one who has strayed so far from you and is veering off in such a destructive vector.   By faith now, I give her up to you and ask that the Holy Spirit would remind me to govern my thoughts about her life.  Please lead me in how to pray for her.

     Lord, so much is flying about, but I tell you I am determined to have my being in you and nothing else. 

    
     Thank you so much for your Word. Please let me see and hear you more quickly and more clearly.

     My Lord and my God.