The Soldier of The Cross who walks in the Power of the Holy Spirit never feels powerful.

     He has authority and he has confidence, but as soon as he feels powerful, he is subject to deception.

     God’s Word cleanses, separates, and heals.  It fuels the prayer life and it sheds light.  Speaking the Word aloud clears the air and protects the Believer against the enemy's fiery darts. 

     We must always be learning to be more dependent.  Independence and wanting to feel powerful go hand in hand. 

     We are passing through the wilderness, and we are moving in authority, confidence and peace -because we are learning to take up The Cross and follow Him.

     It's by prayer. 
     Always.

     So many things can be predetermined.

     When the Spirit-filled Soldier of The Cross steps into this level of obedience, the Indwelling Holy Spirit meets the crisis by sweetly reminding the injured one about the decision made by faith and brought to the Lord in prayer.

     For example, you can decide now that your possessions belong to the Lord and not to you.  Inasmuch as we all know we can't take them with us, it is critical that we understand everything comes from Him and He can have His way with anything.

    Under no circumstances is God waiting for this kind of yieldedness in order to have a chance to clobber someone, but He is looking for someone who trusts Him more than they trust the false security provided by owning nice things.  Release from the need to own.

     There is always something inconvenient.

     You can make the decision now that if your house burns down, you will acknowledge that you will not have "lost everything" and that it is not a life-stopper.

     I had taught this in a bible study years ago, and did a mini-series on it.  Only a few weeks later, one of the families came to stay at my house with their three children.   They had never done this before, but someone was arriving at the airport at 5 in the morning and it was more convenient to stay somewhere near the airport..   The woman was a musician and had just gotten a new piano. She was also a harpist and had a fine harp.

     At 5 in the morning, the Dad went to the airport and on the way the sheriff called from the family's home location about an hour away.  Their just-built house had burned down, and absolutely everything was lost.   It had been assumed all were dead because a car had exploded in the garage.

     Because Mom had come to the Lord with this ahead of time, she was calm.  That means the children were calm.  It was inconvenient and took years to replace things, but the decision made ahead of time meant protection from the thoughts and emotions the enemy loves to project when things go "wrong."

     What if you told the Lord you want to pray for the person who cuts you off in traffic instead of saying unpleasant things about them out loud as you drive?  How life- changing is that?

     Do you always want to have the last word?

     We need to pray about the matters that snag us or or might snag us as we pass through the wilderness.

     Soldier, this is important.   We need to see God. To pursue Him. It means learning to yield and learning how to pray about areas He wants to heal.

     Take these things to Him in prayer as they come to mind. Do it aloud because if it is not aloud, thoughts tend to wander and fade off like fog.

     Then, look up and move on!

        The battleground is the mind.

     And you have a protection because you have the Indwelling Holy Spirit who is the Interpreter and Elucidator of God’s Word.

     Soldier, you simply can’t think as do those who have no Lord.  You must learn to choose your thoughts.

     Most Christians are not aware that there is a choice.   And, the about-face takes discipline.  Whatever the crises is, it is ensconcing itself in your thoughts. It wants a little home and it wants to be groomed and fed. Then discussed.

     What does God’s Word say?  Where are the thoughts coming from?

     How is it that you who are a Child of The King are wrestling with the problem over and over, thoughts going around and around in circles, trying to fanaticize about resolutions or consequences that will have to be dealt with?

    Does the enemy awaken you in the black of night with the pressing thoughts?

    What does God say?

    This is a process.  First, you must take in the Word and it needs to be fresh. I advocate memorizing a verse each day, just to remember for that day. It can be only a part of a verse, but you must say it aloud over and over.  Then when you are attacked, the Holy Spirit will bring up the verse to counteract the attack of the enemy.

     Is anything true? 
     Is He real? 
     Does He actually love us?  
     Is there an Indwelling Holy Spirit? 
     Is there Divine intervention?

     Yes, yes and yes.

     Soldier, you do not have to live in constant anguish and you can know His release before the situation is resolved.  This is about the promises and the instruction of God. 

     Pray about the battle that takes place in the mind. Pray aloud.  Then Read Hebrews 4 again and read it aloud.

     Memorize a verse or even only a line.  Say it over and over aloud.

     I can’t tell you how important it is to declare the Word of God aloud each day. Even just a phrase. A fresh phrase.

     My biggest concern about those who serve in “fulltime Christian service” is the neglect of the devotional life and the assault of the mind of which so few are aware.

     We have an enemy. He hates you. 
     

     Get on the offensive.   Aloud.

d.

       We certainly hear a lot about trusting God. In fact, it has almost become a cliché.

     The fact is, the area of trust is a frontier that must be sought and explored until Glory.

     The only experience richer than watching Him do the impossible is, seeing what seems to be the collapse of the thing prayed for and having complete confidence that His way is better than the desperately sought solution.

     We know about this and we believe it, but we must experience it to be able to walk in it. 

     Soldier, we do not live here. In Him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28.)  We are being prepared.  We are being transformed. 

     Every act of obedience makes the next less of a struggle. 

     What else is there?  The real issue is, can He be trusted?

     We must it to Him regularly.   
     Aloud.

       The mind is never empty.

     We know from God's Word that the thought life runs the Soldier's life.

           "For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. . ."
                                        Proverbs 23:7 (Amplified Bible)

     Most Believes are not aware of what they are thinking.  The enemy has a quiver of favorite fiery arrows, and the most subtle and most frequent is the arrow that shoots thoughts into the mind.  And from there, he divides and isolates Christians.

     We are not helpless.  We have the Indwelling Holy Spirit, and we have the Sword.

     There is a battle.   It will not end until we cross over, but so many are crawling through each day with battle fatigue due to a lack of armor (Ephesians 6:17.)  

     There is no defense against this assault without the fresh Word of God.  One of the best practices is to memorize a verse from your daily reading- even a part of a verse.  Write it down, perhaps in long hand.   It's the Sword.    Without protection, the thoughts the enemy projects are like an aggressive fog and reality is obscured.

     Soldier, God's Word is more real than the way that you feel.   That is reality.
     We are passing through.  That is reality.
     Obedience is what defeats the enemy. That is reality.
     He listens to us carefully and unfailingly does what is best for us. That is reality.

     Feed your mind with the Word- that's reality.

     Take this to prayer and do it aloud.
     Then, look up and move on.  We are a moving army.

         Unquestionably today's Church is rampant with Believers angry at each other.

     If offense is not dealt with quickly, it becomes infected and spreads itself through the tongue of the one infected. 

     Let's take inventory:

     You are a Soldier of The Cross, right?   What does that mean?   It means you  have crossed The Line and have told the Lord he can do anything with your life and that you want to be changed into His Likeness.  That comes at a cost, but not at the price of relinquishing your Blood-bought right to know supernatural healing in all areas of life.

     So much of psychology is the review of hurt.   The study of the old nature.

     There is a misconception of real forgiveness.  Forgiveness does not have to mean reconciliation, and in many cases reconciliation would not be healthy.   Forgiveness is not for the offender; it is for you.  For your benefit. For your release. For the flow of His Life through you.

     Real forgiveness happens in prayer and is done by faith.  It doesn’t mean feeling differently toward the person or persons, but it means that you have obeyed Him and considered following Him more important than self protection and wound-licking.

     I believe the battle in prayer should be fought aloud if possible. When you pray aloud, you say it and you hear it.  Your words are carefully chosen instead of cloudy thoughts that often drift about.

     We are to bless our enemies. What does that mean?  Ask the Lord what that means for you.  It could be something you can do for a need and it might have to be anonymous.  You have the Indwelling Holy Spirit to lead you.

     Stop talking about the thing that has hurt you so much and set about to do things for others.  This will bring significant release and joy.  

     Take it to Him. Today. 
     And aloud if you can.

    How easy it is to forget that the Author of time has a different schedule than we do.

     The Soldier of The Cross who faithfully prays according to the Word of God develops a confidence that He hears and can be trusted.  We never arrive.  We are always lovingly moved on into deeper levels of leaning to trust. Learning to wait.

     Love doesn't freeze until it gets what it asked for- it is moving on in the encouragement and help of others. 

     It is always the time for a new beginning.  He is the God of new beginnings.  New adventures. New abilities.  New depths of Love.

     We must be praying to be changed.
     We must be praying to respond wisely to the needs of others regardless of feeling like it.
     We must affirmatively be availlable to let go and move on, when it means following Him.

     Living in Him is never stagnant.  So many have settled down into semi-hibernating Christianity.

     Take this matter to prayer.  Aloud.
     Then, look up and move on!


      

          Has God asked you to take a turn that obviously leads to nothing- or worse?

     Few are willing to trust God even though every Believer would admit that He knows better than we do.

     What does obviously mean?  It means by sight.

     The Lord has no problem giving direction.  The problem usually lies in our refusal to put our weight on the Promises of God.  

     Worry seems just as common in the lives of believers as unbelievers.

     Faith is a frontier.  We do not experience being led of God unless we are attracted to a life of faith. 
 

     Stepping into the unknown.
     Being willing to make a mistake.
     Learning to listen.  And wait.
     Letting Him lead us into what we know is not humanly possible. 

     People like Hudson Tayler, Adoniram Judson, George Muller, Amy Carmichael and Gladys Aylward are only a few of so many who made the decision to choose faith over sight.

     Many of these heroes and heroines of the faith are in nursing homes and prisons.  You will only hear of them in Glory.
     
     What do you have to lose?    There is nothing else lasting or real.

     Oh Soldier!  Be available for exercises and adventures in faith.   That’s where you find rest, confidence and strength for The Battle.

     Tell Him today.
     Aloud

    There is nothing in your history that God can't use.

     Perhaps some of the things you are recovering from will be used to release others if you will allow the Lord to use them.

     Moses was dead.  God called the son of one of Moses' servants and appointed him to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land.  Who was Joshua?  An unknown until he obeyed the Lord.  God promised Joshua amazing things, but the conditions were absolute obedience and the refusing of distraction.

    Joshua was to be strong, confident and courageous.  These qualities come only when the foot is lifted to take the next step.

     Soldier of The Cross, this is a new season.

     Move.

     Tell Him you will be fixed on Him and not the assignment.
     Tell Him aloud.

     Look up and move on!

     Contentment.  Not commonly found.

     We have divine Provision for all things that are available to us and but for so many, contentment seems the most elusive.

     Release begins with an awareness of the thought life and then lining up thoughts with God's Word.  

     Soldier of The Cross, you already have His Peace.  It has been given to you, but is must be appropriated.

    Some years  ago I was at a missionary conference in Ethiopia.  The setting was lakeside and although the "resort" was Spartan no one seemed to mind.  Most of the folks under this particular mission were older in those days and the sessions were tremendous.

    One afternoon the men and women were divided, and the women sat (sort of) in one of the cement rooms and waited for the speaker. The door wasn’t available, so we had to crawl in through a window. I don't remember where the speaker came from, but she had a quiet spirit and talked about contentment.  It was a well-chosen topic for a missionary conference.  

     Without any suggestion of soul-baring, one by one, some of the women proceeded to share their struggles.

     Finally, one of the ladies could hardly speak for crying.  She was probably in her late 50's. When she was able to talk, she told about being in that country as a missionary for most of her adult life. She said she had always fought her revulsion for the Ethiopian people. It was a remarkable confession and the room was almost melting with love as she poured out her heart.  She then prayed and asked the Lord to release her from those chains and draw her into the contentment she had never known

     Talking publicly about such matters is not always the solution, but certainly asking the Lord to show what is preventing sweet release is always the first step. 

     It is not someone else's behavior.
     It is not forced retirement.
     It is not a rebellious child.
     It is not any circumstance

     Contentment is not to be associated with liking everything or with escaping difficulty.  It is in the experiential knowledge that God is in deliberate and sensitive control and will not withhold any good thing from us.

     Talk to Him about this now.  
      Aloud.

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