If you know He has touched you, it changes everything.

     Your mouth is different.  Your desires are different,
     Your countenance is different.
     You spend your time differently.
     You gravitate to His Own. 

     You can love the unlovely.

     Your attitude about money has changed and you are seeing everything in a different light.

     If all of the above is the case, you are walking in the Light.  The reason?  Because if He is real and you know it. His Word is the bottom line and there is nothing else worth your attention.

     Soldier of The Cross, why would you choose anything else?  Of what value is any disobedience? 

     He has set forth goals, standards and has empowered you to obey.

     The motivation is far more than what can be gained now.

     What does it mean to be a Soldier of The Cross?  It means that He can be believed and must be followed.  His way.  All the way.  No matter what.

     Let nothing break your stride.

     Tell Him.  Today
     Aloud

     Oh Lord.

     As I stand before you tonight, I lift up my hands and ask you to take them in yours.

     I realize that you reveal yourself in my weakness.  I understand that I can't understand. 

      Nonetheless, I am desperate for your touch.  Your assurance.   

      Oh, Lord, I present myself to you again in the situation.   I reaffirm my determination to be yours and to follow you no matter what.  It just seems so hard.  So painful.  

      As I watch what seems to be the collapse of what has been built by prayer,  I stand before you and declare that this is your business.   Lord, how can I get through this?  Help me.

      I stand on your Word. For today, I look at all that you are and know there is no one else.  I know there is nowhere else to go.

     Please Lord, I need to be encouraged.
     My Lord and my God.

     There is nothing in God's Word that indicates we will understand or know "why" in this life.

     I have never seen a Brother or Sister writhe over the "why" of a pleasant blessing.  I have often wept with and prayed with those who are stuck in the quicksand of needing an answer to the "why" question during times of a blessing that is painful.

     Can He be trusted? Have you ever found Him to be passive or elusive?

     Soldier of The Cross, your job is to live each day in obedience to His Word.  This is not limited to the best of your ability, because you have the Indwelling Holy Spirit.  

     Waiting for God to justify Himself sets one's face toward the past, stokes resentment about the situation, and it also presumes one has the capacity to understand the way God does.

     The Plan does not involve our being satisfied the reasons.  The Plan is that we take up The Cross and follow after Him. 

     This happens in prayer.  Agree with God.
     Today.
     Aloud.
   
 

    An interesting commandment.

    So much damage takes place via the unwise tongue.

    I was contacted today by someone who has discovered a newly published falsehood about her.  Of course in today's web of communication possibilities, the internet becomes a new pressure hose of the latest news about anything interesting.  

    People are always more interested in hearing something stunning, so bad news about another person throbs to be unleashed.  By the flesh, that is.

     I have found that few are able to resist.   The initial speaker usually considers himself to be a victim, and when he passes on the tale,  it is edited and expanded in order to cause the listener to feel something - against the targeted person.   Then, like all gossip, when it is passed from the next to the next,  it is crafted and cultivated until it is often nothing like the first report.

    I have noticed that this often starts with "I have something to share so you can pray about it. . ."

     Soldier of The Cross,  you weren't there.  You have no idea what happened, even if you are told.  With rare exceptions, you should excuse yourself from the conversation.  I have often done this and have made myself unpopular with the speaker.  However, I refuse to listen character assassination and as a believer, I am responsible for my obedience to the ninth commandment.

     It can be painful.  Those who are eager to tell you the horrifying thing also want you to side with them and like them.

     I constantly have to bring this to the Lord.  I want to learn to obey in every area, and I need to be changed.

     There is a wonderful saying in Spanish and when translated, it goes something like this:  "No one knows what is really in the pot of food except the spoon that stirs it."

     Soldier, your hands are His, your money is His, your time is His.  The enemy is always at work to divide.  In many cases, it is almost impossible to have rich fellowshop restored once it has been broken by gossip.  There can be divine intervention,. but it is the most lethal force of the enemy in the Church today.

     Come before Him and commit the matter to Him.
     Aloud.

     What is Faith?

     Believing God and acting accordingly.

     Soldier of The Cross, you have no idea what He is doing.  It seems like He is doing nothing and letting things fall  apart, but of course, that is not the case.  Inasmuch as He knows each time a sparrow falls, He is surely aware of the things that are distressing to you.

     He is your High Tower. 
     He is your Shepherd.
     He is your King.
     He is the Lover of Your Soul.
     He is your own personal Prince of Peace and He has made many promises that He cannot and will not break.
     He is the Great Physician.  If there is  no physical healing,  it means He has something better.
    
     He called you.  He chose you.
     He named you.
     He collects your tears and He counts the hairs on your head.  He is far more aware of the situation that you are.

     He has written to you and it is absolutely personal.

     Soldier, you only know what you know.  He sees it all and knows the beginning from the end.  You have a worm's eye view and you are constantly trying to fill in the blanks.  You are fanticizing a good result.

     You have a Lord.  The One who holds the stars in place has promised His attention and His Best.

     He Loves you beyond any human concept.

     Whom do you love?  For whom would you give your life?  Would you turn your head during the suffering of the target of your love?  Of course not.

     Neither does He.  He hears you.  He is on it. 

     The issue is, let Him have His way, what ever it is.  His way is far better than yours and may possibly not be revealed until eternity.

     Are you a Soldier or are you a wimp?  Is it possible you are more aware of the problem than He?

     Tell Him you will agree with Him.  No matter what.
     Tell Him aloud.
     Today 

     Whose are you?

     Are you yours or are you His?  That is the bottom line.

     It defines your reactions to everything that happens and everything that is said. 

     The issue is, what is your relationship to the Word of God?  Can He be believed?  Trusted? 

     His "delay" is not the problem.
     The circumstances are not the problem.
     Actually, others are not the problem.
     Debt collection is not the problem.

     The issue is, will I trust Him or not?

     Is there anything else?

     Stand before Him and tell Him you are His.  Tell Him aloud.   In the language of your heart.
     Today.
 

     I can't tell you how many have said to me "I just wish I knew what the future holds . . ."

     Soldier of The Cross, you are not allowed to go there.  Haven't you told him you would  be His?  Haven't you told Him He could have His way?  Haven't you said you want to be a Liiving Sacrifice?

     Taking up The Cross and following Him means that you are willing for His Way and that you are eager to leave behind your need for a blueprint.

     Oh, Soldier.  What is your issue?  You don't need to know the future.  You need to see Jesus.

     Is there anything else?   Is there any conrtol that is better than faith in Him Who holds the stars in place?

     Tell Him you don't have to know. Tell Him you trust Him.  Tell Him you will submit to anything that will glorify Him.

     Tell Him now and tell Him aloud.

     Forget the television pleas.

     What does He say in His Word?  He is no man's debtor.

     Your money is not yours.  You worked, but you did not earn it.  He paid you.

     Soldier of The Cross, if you do not pray "Give us This Day Our Daily Bread. .."  you will think that you are financially responsible for yourself.    Of course, that is not possible.

     Giving is a matter of faith like everything else in the Christian walk.   He gives the increase and if you are not praying in your Daily Bread, you will be under the impression that you are providing for yourself.

    Oh, Soldier.  It is His.  Give Him off the top.  No matter what.  It is not about the bills,.  It is not about the small income.  It is absolutely not about the economy.

     It is about The Word of God.

    Do you believe Him or don't you?

     Tell Him.  Today.
     Aloud.

     It doesn't have to be fixed  now.

     It feels like it, but that is the flesh's impatient throbbing.

     The Lord never does things as soon as possible in terms of our craving for resolution.  He always works according to the eternal plan, and that means it is done with creativity and in such a manner that His Glory is ultimately revealed.

     The sting of misrepresentation, misunderstanding, back-stabbing and impending loss,  all press on the soul for immediate relief.  He who designed the universe and keeps it in motion by His Mighty Word of Power is on top of each seemingly out-of-control matter you are facing.

     According to God's Word, when we don't know what to do, we either wait or we choose the wisest move and go forward, knowing the Indwelling Holy Spirit is able to direct us.   Either way, we don't take action fueled by of our own need for relief.

     There's an old song, "Just Jesus and Me. . .".  But of course, that isn't true.  We are on this planet with multitudinous other people, and some of the most difficult are Christians. 

     Things often seem out of control.  We see the wrecking ball in motion and we see the structure that is about to receive the blow.  In particular, anxiety soars when we are in the path of destruction.

     Soldier of The Cross,  He uses time to reveal Himself and to teach us how to follow Him.  He has never darted behind a bush, but has always taken the outstretched hand.   He has never covered His ears to keep out the cry for rescue.

     He designed Time.  Brilliantly.  He uses time.  And, His Word tells us over and over that we must learn to let Him decide when.

     We deal with the matter in prayer.  We lay it out before Him in honesty and by the Holy Spirit.   We tell Him we are living sacrifices and we ask that He be revealed and that the enemy be bound.    We make it clear and declare aloud that anything He does and any way He does it is what we want.  We tell Him we stand before Him to receive training.

     Then, there is peace in the storm.  Power to wait.  Power to love.

     Soldier, tell Him.  Today
     Aloud.

     Are you in fact a Soldier of The Cross?

     Are you willing to agree with God about absolutely anything?  What about those secret moments?  May He have them?  Do you have  a standard that He must meet before you will agree?

     Soldier, this is about Love.  We serve the One who is Awesome, and the word is not ntended in the way teenagers say it today.  He is an Awesome God. 

      We have been called and chosen by One who created the universe. 

      Can you put your arm around the one who is dirty?  Are you willing to feed the hungry?  What about the widow and the orphan?  Do they all need to meet your standard first?

      You are a Soldier.  That means you have said to Him that you are a Living Scrifice.  There is no compromise.  Take the hits.  Why is it important that someone should think less of you?

      Why?

      Soldier, stand before Him and give it all to Him.   Other wise there is no freedom.  Is there an issue with a rebellious child?  He can give wisdom for the moment.  Tell Him you will wait for Him and that you will expect Him.

      Tell Him aloud.