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.

Soldier of The Cross, when you make the decision to live your life for the Lord, there is a marvelous efficiency in the practical things.

In the morning, you tell the Lord He can have your life. You ask Him to do whatever He needs to do to bring about His likeness in you.

Then, you move into The Next Thing.

Dishes? Diapers? Work? Dinner?

It is all the same. Preaching to an audience of ten thousand is the same as doing a sink of dishes. Whose are you?

In God's economy, there is no large or small task. His issue is obedience.

Soldier of The Cross, you have made the decision to invest in eternity. What is the immediate distraction? A disagreement? A loss? A death? No money?

The bottom line is, is it your issue, or is it His?

The good old-fashioned song says, "There is joy in serving Jesus. . ."

And, so there is. The joyless servant is one who is serving something or someone other than the Master. Perhaps he is serving a philosophy. Or a standard. Or a particular doctrine, or numerous other things, other than the Lord.

Serving often involves doing the simple tasks of every day with a glad heart. Serving means obeying the Lord in all things.

Serving means loving the Body of Christ. Serving means being available to love the unlovely.

Serving means taking the Word of God and refusing to veer off.

Soldier of The Cross, those who are faithful just feel like they are plodding along, but they do not have resentment. They are not burned out and they do not look at others, thinking that they ought to have the responsibility or recognition that others have.

Those who serve do not consider a small task to be less important than a big project.

We are His.

Period.

We have a God who speaks of His mercy and lovingkindness.

Those who have met Him are marked by His own personality. They are gracious. They minister supernatural Love.

They refuse to strike back and are merciful.

At the same time, they are eager and willing to give their lives for the spreading of the Gospel. They have power.

They can not be tipped over.

They feed on the eternal Word of God and look to no other source for guidance.

Soldier of The Cross, do not look to the left nor to the right. Divine vigilance is only available to those who have set the face "like flint" and have eyes fixed on the One who is the Goal.

Take in the Word. Share it with the One who died for you, named you and has called you.

Share it with Him, aloud.

Soldier, what attracts you about the Lord?

Is it His unconditional Love? Is it His eagerness to lead you into whatever is the best for you? Is it His ability to create? It is that He left Glory for you? Perhaps it is that He said He would withhold no good thing from you?

Is it that He heals?

Is it His Grace?

Soldier of The Cross, His attributes are infinite. His personal call to you is the ultimate manifestation of Grace.

You must talk to Him about these things. Tell Him what you love about Him.

Today, many believers evaluate the Lord based on what they think He has done for them.

It is in His Word. It is Finished. The relationship with Him is entered into by Faith. By those who have committed their lives to Him.

Are you able to add to His Plan?

Soldier, when you talk to Him, speak to Him aloud. Tell Him the things you love about Him. It is important to choose words.

He will respond.

There is no other.

Soldier of The Cross, where is the experience of Glory?

It is in obedience.

His Word says that Obedience is better than sacrifice.

Soldier, if you have been born again, you know that the Indwelling Holy Spirit interprets the Word, guides you and responds to your inclination toward Him.

When we get to Heaven, all that has been done in Obedience will be amplified and multiplied.

In the meantime, walk by faith. Obedience is the most valuable thing in the universe, second only to the Blood of Jesus.

God's Word is more real than the way that you feel, and there is nowhere else to go.

There is no one else.

Look up and move on!

What do you cherish?

The Person of the Lord Jesus? The Word of God? The Body of Christ?

These are the things that are eternal.

Be careful that the priorities of the world and the desperate survival flailings of the flesh do not creep in.

Our priorities are deliberate. They must be chosen and submitted in agreement with God, in prayer.

Too often the thing that we think must be fixed or protected becomes the priority.

Many today put family before the Lord. Even among Christians, there is too much emphasis on financial stability.

Often without knowing it, control becomes the driving force.

Soldier of The Cross, know what is most important to you. Talk about it. Tell your children. Sing about it.

Most importantly, state these things to the Lord often. Aloud.

We are a forward looking people.

The family of God looks forward to the promised inheritance.

Soldier of The Cross, look ahead. The enemy would have you looking back. The enemy would have you crippled by false accusation. The enemy would dilute your momentum by distracting you to the enth degree.

We do not have time to try to redeem the past. The Lord has said He would restore the years, and, so He will for those who are obedient and submit to His eternal plan.

There is nothing you can do to change what has already happened. Have you been misunderstood? Have there been consequences? Have you been deserted? Maligned?

Soldier, we move on. We who are His, have an eternal edict.

Refuse decay. Take Him at his Word. Look unto the Author and Finisher of our faith. What is His plan for us? It is far beyond this life.

Soldier, look up and move on!!

Is your body a Living Sacrifice?

Have you decided that your faculties are to be yielded for Service to Him?

Is there any better investment?

Soldier of The Cross, living for Jesus is not a cultural matter. It is not a legalistic matter and it is certainly not a religious way of life.

It is a relationship with a real Person who is eager to come in. He is eager to bless. He is eager to sup with you. He is eager to show you the hidden things.

Make yourself available.

Soldier of The Cross, as a minister of Grace, you must be available to love the offender, the insipid and the repulsive.

Grace is supernatural. It is completely different than tolerance - it is the ability to assume the best, to bear one another's "troublesome moral flaws." (Amplified)

Grace is active. Grace is not equal to the offense - it is always greater. Even in discipline, Grace always reveals Love. Grace is always ministered by faith.

Grace is first the avoidance of false balance, and then it reveals the nature of the One whose Grace so abundantly exceeds our sin.

You were saved by Grace. You get through each day by Grace.

Ask the Lord to reveal this marvelous expression to you. Ask Him aloud.