Loving the Lord is a matter of choice.

In fact, all obedience is a matter of choice. If we are told to Love Him with all we are and have, then it is possible.

As we live in a fallen world and have temporal bodies of flesh, choosing to obey Him is a matter of process. We made decisions and them proceed into the momentum of those decisions by faith when we declare our position to the Lord.

Such a declaration can not be a declaration of intention. It must be a reporting of what has happened - a decision already made in response to the Word of God. A decision already made under the challenge of the Holy Spirit.

Obedience is not to be confused with legalism, which is an attempt to earn God's favor by keeping rules.

Obedience happens when we take Him at His Word and press into it by faith, just because He said.

Soldier of The Cross, when you begin the day telling Him that you long to be dead to the world and alive unto Christ, when you tell Him you long to learn to obey Him, then there is an eagerness to serve the Master that supersedes the need of the flesh to know why.

We have to learn to obey. There are times when it is not possible to know which turn to take. When the Lord seems to be silent, one must either stand still or just do the thing that seems to be what should be done. If the matter has been covered in prayer, it will become apparent that He is not there. The ground must be recovered and the other fork in the road taken.

After a child knows he is loved, the most important thing for a child is to be trained to obey immediately. This prepares him to serve the living God and to watch, listen and follow after the One whose instruction is perfect.

There is not one tiny little thing that escapes His attention.

For those who are His Own, Obedience begins with the mouth. Then the mind.Then the body. Then time, money and service.

We are not on our own. We have the Indwelling Holy Spirit.

We are accountable.

There will be no excuse for independence.

He is the Giver of bubbling joy.

There is no question that in Him is Life, and Life more abundant.

Today is a day that will not be repeated. Recorded, but not repeated. He has said that those who obey His commandments are His friends and His disciples.

In this obedience is the experience of freedom from anxiety.. The experience of freedom from resentment and anger. The experience of freedom from guilt. The experience of clean hands. The experience of knowing and seeing Him

It is the Sabbath Rest. There is nothing else that is so healing and so profoundly joyous.

Is that something one can know for sure?

There are fewer than you think, and more than you think, who know they walk with Him. They know this because they love to obey Him. They Love His Word and they crave to be with those who treasure Him above all else.

It is not a feeling. There is no formula that brings this about.

It is simple. It is a decision.

Life will now be spent in obedience to Him and honoring Him. Life will now be spent in loving His people.Life will now be spent in loving the unlovely.Life will now be spent immersed in His Word.

Walking with Him means recognizing Him and being repelled by all else.Walking with Him means that the needs of the Body are taken on as one's own needs.Walking with Him means turning the other cheek.Walking with Him is the result of a decision. This decision must be made in prayer. It must be made aloud.

It must be reaffirmed over and over.

Those who walk with Him are those who walk in the Light, and they have exquisitefellowship with one another.

That fellowship is never based on agreeing about the negative.It is always based on agreeing about Jesus.

There is no terrible life for the one who decides to follow hard after the Lord.

Soldier, no matter what the circumstances are, there is only freedom and Glory for those who are His own.

He has a design to make each of His Own like Him. It does not happen by doctrine or teaching or belief. It happens by faith.

The putting of your weight on His Word.

Obedience stems from and results in Love.

Love reveals Jesus.

Are you willing to allow His Love to fill you and to flow through you?

Are you available to live in such a way that you take no account of an evil done to you?

Soldier of the Cross, this is one of the most challenging things to the flesh. There is no greater opportunity to reveal Jesus. There is no greater demonstration of Love.

Soldier, if you are available to this in prayer, there is no limit to what He can and will do with your life.

How much can you do?

Who should you go after? How should your day be spent? What is ministry?

Soldier of The Cross, we who have crossed over The Line have experienced the Call. There is no turning back, because we have seen that there is nothing else.

We must accept that we have to learn to lean on the Everlasting Arms.

It is not possible to walk on the water until we understand that the storm is not the issue.

The Master is the issue.

If there is only one more day, it must be spent in agreement with God's Word. You can not do more than follow Him to the best of your ability.

How can you know you are doing this?

You must tell Him that you want Him to do anything He wants to, in order to bring about His likeness in you. You must say it in words and it must be aloud. You must tell Him that that there are no limits.

You must tell Him that you want Him. You want to know Him. You want to recognize Him. You want to serve Him. You want to obey Him.

Do you want to be like Him?

Let Him take each hour. Let Him teach you that Love takes no account of an evil done to it.

Go after it. Go after Him. This only happens in prayer.

Where does human effort end and faith begin?

For years, the age old question is one that has haunted the intellectual and soulical.

Those who have crossed The Line and made the decision to live according to The Word, understand that there is no gap and there is no conflict.

Prayer must go before everything. If there is waiting to be done, there will be a resistance to movement and it will not go away. It will seem slight and it may not be logical, but as long as there is prayer, it will be there.

Often, when the Lord is indicating a restraint, the agreement or confirmation will come from another believer. If there is to be movement, the restraint will be removed and there will be confirmation from those who have private prayer lives and have experience with the Lord.

Soldier of The Cross, it is critical that you understand that no Believer does everything right by sight. When we get to heaven, we will know more. In the meantime, we are here and we are learning.

In the Body of Christ, the problem arises when there is a spirit of discontent and it always begins with a woman. Often there is criticism and complaint from one who wants to influence another in order to bring about change. It is not possible for the discontent person to keep the matter silent.

Learn to wait but be ready to move! Never catch the falling ark.

Soldier of The Cross, learn to remind yourself that we serve another who is able to lead us.

He never teases.

He never hides.

There is no other communicator like our Lord.

There is no other leader like our Lord.

"Only to be what He wants me to be, Every moment of every day; Yielded completely to Jesus alone Every step of this pilgrim way: Just to be clay in The Potter's Hands; Ready to do what His Word commands; Only to be what He wants me to be; Every moment of every day."

"Then said the Lord to me, you have seen well, for I am alert and active, watching over my word to perform it."

What is the burr under your saddle today?

Whatever it is, it is not scriptural for you to hang on to it. There is nothing that compares to His Word. The intensity of your offense should not determine your position, your approach or your conversation about the situation.

The word of God determines your attitude and your responses. You can feel strongly, while bending the will into obeying Him.

Soldier of The Cross, if you do not live this way, there is much ground that will not be recovered in this life.

Satan is a divider of the brethren. If he can invade your soul for just a few minutes, he can plant a splinter against another brother or sister. That splinter will fester, and all of your interactions with and reports about that one, will be filtered through the color of the enemy's implantation.

With each unpleasant encounter, run to The Word.

Stay clean.

There is a godly vigor that results from the decision to live a life in accordance with the Word of God.

What is your standard? I must not be the life of another or the teaching of another. It must not be an ideal. Nor may it be some personal goal.

The standard must be the Word of God.

The Bible instructs in all things. The problem comes when the Christian has to understand, or when the Christian has to know what the result will be.

Soldier of The Cross, your job is obedience. That is what He has asked and it is not going to change. We have been asked to take Him at His Word without knowing the earthly outcome.

Who do you trust today? Can it possibly be that you trust yourself more than you trust the Lord? Sadly, that is the state of many.

Those who are without Christ have no vision of eternity. They have no Rock. They have no Fortress. They have no Comforter.

They have only themselves.

We have One who is perfect. Who holds the stars in place. Who is elegant, yet reaches out to the worst and the most unlovely of us all.

We have One who loved us before we loved Him and gave up Glory to suffer and die for us.

We do not understand many things, but we know He rose again and is making a place for us.

Is there anything better? Is there anyone else who could be trusted?

He has asked for obedience, and that is the first priority. This obedience leads to a relationship with Him. It leads to Love. It leads to healing. It leads to freedom.

Stand before Him and say it again. That you are His. That you eagerly obey His Word.

Tell Him today. Aloud.