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.

.

       A rare discipline is that of resisting rehearsing what will/may/won't happen tomorrow.

     We have an enemy who only lies and whose goal it is to torture at every level those who are Soldiers of The Cross.

     "So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
                      Matthew 6:34   (Amplified Bible).

     Soldier, we exercise wisdom, gaining much of it from making mistakes, we plan as best as we can, we prepare carefully, and then we must understand that God's Word teaches that He is in control.

     Scenes flying through your head when you are awake in the night?  You have the power to govern those thoughts that are displayed on the screen of your mind.. 

     The Prince of Peace died not only to give eternal life in the hereafter, but to teach you to take His Hand during the current storm and move on.

     Determine to speak the Word of God during those times.  What about “He leadeth me beside the still waters. . ." 

     He is not weak.
     He is not ignoring you.
     He is not trying to hurt you.
     He is not busy doing something else.

     His whole attention is on you and He is drawing you into Trust.

     Soldier, tell Him today and if possible, do it aloud.

     Then, move on!

     There is nothing in God's Word to indicate that those who are His will be treated fairly, protected from loss, or extolled for successes.

     We are to trust that He who is preparing a Place for us sees it all and has designed an eternal outcome that is far better than we could ever imagine.

     I doubt there has ever been a true servant of the Living God who has avoided all controversy or false accusation.

     There must be a private time with the Lord where the matter is given to Him.  It might need to be given over and over and over.

     One of the enemy's favorite ploys is false accusation.  Some things must be met head on, and some need to be left for the Lord to work out as He wills.

     The real issues are:
     The Servant's heart before the Lord.  
     Willingness to move on.
     Refusal to wound-lick.
     Understanding that talking about it a lot inflates its importance
     Ministering to others in the midst of the storm or the devastation.

     Soldier of The Cross, you have been born into the Royal Race.

     Tell Him you will trust Him.  Tell Him aloud.

     Then, look up and move on
     
     

       Money is a huge issue for most Christians.

     How much time do you spend thinking about money?  Several times each day?   Does your mind ever go around in circles figuring and refiguring expenses?

     Are you in debt?

     There is a divine principle with regard to money and it is sowing and reaping.  If Christians took God at His word concerning money, there would be overflowing streams of supply for ministry and missions.  Many more hungry would be fed and the Body of Christ would know less illness and would be free from financial stress.

     Soldier of The Cross, it is a mistake to assume the money is yours and that you must give God a token portion.  All of it is His.  You are a steward.

     Have you ever tried this:

     “ Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over with no space left for more. For with the standard of measurement you use [when you do good to others], it will be measured to you in return.”

                          Luke 6:38, Amplified Bible

     Mankind’s relationship to money is a form of slavery unless he lives by God’s design.

     So many have said to me “I can’t afford to tithe.”  I have never understood that.  How can you afford not to?  Yes, tithing is an Old Testament law and principle.  However, the New Testament sets forth a freedom from tithing that implies abundant giving beyond comfort.  The Macedonians for example, gave lavishly out of their deep poverty (II Corinthians 8:1-5).

     The only way to learn to depend on God is to take Him at His Word and prayerfully determine to live before Him in this specific area.

     Give regularly and generously.  Give to the Work of The Lord, and also give (perhaps secretly) to those you know are in need.

     Take it to Him.  Aloud
     Then go find someone to love.

     Do you have any idea how dangerous is gossip?

     It is incredibly seductive in that the flesh loves to hear about irregular events in the lives of others.  In fact, there is little else more interesting.  But you are a Soldier of The Cross and you know better.

     How about this:

     “Do not let unwholesome foul, profane, worthless, vulgar words ever come out of your mouth, but only such speech as is good for building up others, according to the need and the occasion, so that it will be a blessing to those who hear you speak. . . .”
         Ephesians 4:29    (Amplified Bible)

     Soldier, the biggest problem happens when someone else wants to tell you something you know does not line up with the instruction concerning what you should hear.

     Develop a backbone that will enable you to say you do not want to hear this, or in the alternative, perhaps the Holy Spirit will give you a gracious out.

     Determine you will not be part of this corrupt dialog and refuse it no matter what it takes.  Perhaps this is new to you.

     Take it to the Lord and let Him know you are available to learn to refuse to participate in this sin.

     Tell Him Aloud.

     Then, go find someone to love!

IT is incredibly seductive in that the flesh loves to hear about

     Your circumstances don't make you who you are; rather they expose who you are.

     Everyone is watching. They have seen your bumper sticker and know you are a Christian.  They listen to every word and watch your face all the time.

     You are on display.

     In order to be stable and solid and reflect what God is doing in your deepest parts, you must go through hard things that are unfair, painful, and sometimes untrue.

     You are on display.

     One of the biggest indicators of a submissive heart is a godly reaction when others would be offended. What happens when another driver cuts you off?  Or greases into a parking spot you were about to take?  How do you react when someone is unpleasant to you?

     You are on display.

     Oh Soldier!  Revealing Jesus is more than letting people know you are His.  It is your behavior in every area of your life, particularly at home.

     The first thing is to learn not to answer back.  The second thing is to learn not to think about it vigorously and relive it, imagining something better you could have said.  The third thing is to decide it is beautiful to you to be like Jesus.

     Yes, the learning begins with a decision, but there has to be experience with God, and it isn't easy.  

     It gets easier when we obey.

     There must be affirmative and explicit prayer about this.  Over and over.  No one ever arrives, because we are being changed into His Likeness until He takes us Home.

     Soldier of The Cross, take this to Him and never stop taking it to Him.
     Do it aloud.

     Then, go look for someone to love.

     What a privilege it is to be tested by God.

     The test is not to see if our faith is strong enough, rather it is to teach us to depend on God and depend less and less on ourselves.

     How is it possible to have joy in trials?

      Consider it nothing but joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you fall into various trials. Be assured that the testing of your faith through experience] produces endurance leading to spiritual maturity, and inner peace.  And let endurance have its perfect result and do a thorough work, so that you may be perfect and completely developed in your faith, lacking in nothing.

      James 1:2-4     (Amplified Bible)

     There is never a time when the flesh gives up on self-service.  The things I do well, I tend to launch into without any renewed awareness of my need to depend on Him.  

     The Frontier of Faith never ends.  There is no peace anywhere else.

     Soldier, tell the Lord you are grateful for His attention to you in this area.  
     Aloud.

     Then, find someone to love.

   There has to come a time when you realize you need to let God change you.

     If you want to be more like Jesus, the change will not be all comfortable.  In order to be really transformed, there must be affirmative submission in areas He reveals, followed by circumstances that are painful.  But there is Glory all the way.

     Choices must be made according to the Word of God, and those choices must also be made in prayer.

     Soldier of The Cross, there is joy and delight in Him all way, but He is not going to spare you from the hard things.

     Some things that only happen in prayer. For example, you must tell Him you will gladly receive correction and then you must study the verses about His correction.  What a privilege we have. Our loving Lord corrects those He loves.

     Oh Soldier, we are not being prepped and groomed for a life here.  We are being prepared for eternity.

     Yes, He cares about our circumstances.  Yes, He cares about how we feel.  And, yes, He cares about our goals and desires.

     The bottom line?  What do you really want?  Security now, or the discovery of the Hidden Things?   Problems quickly solved now, or be willing to launch into the frontier of faith and know God?

     Be eager to be changed, and tell Him you consider His correction to be beautiful.
     Tell Him aloud, because you cannot do it if you don't mean it.

      Real love costs.  There is a high price!

     The kind of Love you are to minister requires the putting aside of what has been done to you, the refusing to value the hostility of others, and the putting aside of how you feel about it all.

     There is a price.  That price is Self.

     Soldier, Loving others is about doing things that often don't feel sweet.  Love is not a feeling.  It is what we do and how we act.  How we treat people completely apart from how they treat us.

     Do you know someone who is against you and has actively tried to hurt you?  Do something for that person.  If he or she has need, meet that need.  Stretch.

     Maybe it will be anonymous, but does not need to be. 

     We are to be affirmatively available to the flow of supernatural Love that reaches out to woo others into an eternal relationship with Him.

     Be available.  When you get the idea, more than likely it is the Indwelling Holy Spirit.

    Tell Him you are available and will do what He wants to do through you.
    And please tell Him aloud.  

     I have often wondered how the enemy went after the Apostle Paul about his past.

     It so often comes at us in the night.  And it is the reliving of what we would never do again or of something that was out of our control.   So often daylight dispels the whole thing until the next assault.

     And, it is an assault.    Most of the time there is nothing to be done about the past but a great deal to do now and until the last breath.

     A few years ago, I met with someone who had worked closely with a missionary family who had a successful ministry overseas and had been there for over 15 years.  Lots of fruit.  But someone in the mission discovered something that had happened before the father was a missionary.   Then somehow in spite of the calling, the fruit and the long term of service, he lost his missionary pedigree points and was summarily dismissed from that mission.

       "Brothers and sisters, I do not consider that I have made it my own yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,"
                                Philippians 3:13   (Amplified Bible)

     This verse says to me that Paul had to work at refusing to listen to the attacks.

     Soldier, time is something I doubt we will find in eternity.  It is a dimension created for us - for choice.   We must learn to know what we are thinking and immediately replace those thought with God's Word.

     You are needed and you have a tremendous impact on those around you.  

     Bend into your current assignment.  Learn to recognize when you are being beaten up about the past.  

     When you wake up at night and are reviewing past wounds or mistakes, you think those are your own thoughts?  Really?

     Learn to resist the enemy.

     Tell the Lord again He is your all and you want to learn as Paul says, " forgetting what lies behind."

     Tell Him Aloud.
     Then find someone to love.