The child of the slave and the child of the free will never co-habit.

     Soldier of The Cross, you have been born into the supernatural.  This means you have the power to walk by faith and to submit to Him.  It means that His Word is alive to you. 

     It means that you are no longer under the law, but must know and understand that everything about your relationship with Him is because of Grace.

     If you think there is one thing that can make you better, you are under the law.

     It is critical to be obedient.  It is critical to agree with God.  It is critical to set a watch on your mouth.  You must love the unlovely and you must acknowledge that you own nothing and it is all His.

     None of the above makes you any better.  He did it all.  Grace means, the Work is Finished.

     Sin can and does dull the experience of salvation and quenches the Spirit. 

     It is not about improving.  It is about learning to live in the dimension into which we have been born.

     There is nothing that blinds a Christian like sin.  There is little that is more crippling than legalism.    The Christian walk is about the death of the flesh and that means taking up The Cross and following Him.

     It is not a concept - there is no discipleship without The Cross.

     Soldier, stop self-evaluating and gaze upon Him.  In prayer, take up the Cross and follow hard after the One who holds the stars in place.  He adores you.  He longs to hear from you and cherishes each thought you have of Him.

     Tell Him you are His and that you want nothing else.
     Tell Him Alone and aloud.    

     Those who are determined to be Soldiers of The Cross do not take themselves so seriously.

     By this, I mean that when God is taken seriously, the follower does not demand immediate action, resolution or explanaition.

     Without a doubt, the situation must be prayed through.  Without a doubt, He cares about the heartache.  Without a doubt, He will deliver.

     He'll do it in His own way in His own time and against His own backdrop.

    Consider missionary Darlene Diebler Rose, a tiny young woman, called to be a missionary in the Dutch East Indies just at the outset of WWII.

    Her husband of one year was taken and imprisoned along with Dr. Robert Jaffray and others.  When she received the news of his death, he had already been with the Lord for months.  The news had been kept from her because she was the appointed slave-like leader of a barracks of hundreds of women and children who were interred and used as slaves for the Japanese.  It was thought that if she had news of her husband, she would be less effective.

    When Darlene finally got the news,  she was of course, devastated.  Coming before the Lord, she laid out the entire matter before Him in, as she says "The Cathedral of my heart".  Then she asked Him to do such a work in her that no attitude or look on her face would make any dent in the limited smiles and rare laughter of other prisoners.  She asked the Lord to use the matter to reveal Himself.

     She was forced to watch innocent people beaten and kicked to death.    She was put on death row as a spy, confined in a solitary cell, almost starved to death, beaten and tortured.

     She says each time she returned to her cell she thought she could not live through another session.  But each time, she also told the Lord that He could do anything to glorify Himself.  She determined to spend the lonely and miserable hours reviewing the hundreds of verses she had memorized.  And every single time, she came before Him and thanked Him aloud for His faithfulness and His Presence.

     I won't give the ending away - read the book.

     It is the story of a Soldier of The Cross.
 
     Can He really have His way with you?  Or are you desperately wanting to have your way with Him?

     Vigorously memorize His Word.

     Stand before Him today and declare Him to be your own Lord and Master.   You can't say it unless you mean it.
     Do it aloud. 

     Those who pray and see answered prayer talk about it all the time.

     There is  nothing like seeing God answer prayer. 

     Some things must be taken to Him for years and years and years.  The most interesting thing is that the continued request can't be sustained unless inspired by the Holy Spirit, and the more often the petition is presented, the more assurance there is that He will do it.

     Other things are brought only once or twice and it seems that not much thought or passion went into it.   Yet, He does the impossible that could not have been imagined.

     All Life in Christ bears a newness that is apart from the things of this world. 

    Holy Spirit fellowship is an experience of Heaven.
    Moving forward by faith and seeing God make a door where none existed, is a thrill that is relived endlessly in the form of an Ebeneezer Stone.
    Waiting for Him in obedience when it is clearly too late by sight, brings a taste of His Presence that never ebbs.

     Soldier of The Cross,  those who are wholly His, experience Him in fullness.

     You don't have to ignore the hard thing or even embrace it.  You only need to bring it to him honestly and pray about it according to His Word, agreeing with Him no matter what.

     You must do it aloud. 

     These words are not for the Christian who wants a great life.

     They are for the one who has decided to serve a great Master.  The one who will  take up The Cross and follow Him.

     You can't have both. 

     The human concept of a good life is shallow and means nothing apart from being a Living Sacrifice.  Safety is dangerous unless He is the Shelter.

     The bottom line means agreeing with God no matter what.  There aren't many no-matter-what Christians.  Will you be one?

     Tell Him so.  today.
     Alone and aloud.    

     How is it possible to go through it with thanksgiving?

     How is it possible to give God the Glory when the loss is so great?
     How is it possible to savor the experience of salvation when wrong appears to prevail?
     How is it possible to serve when you feel paralyzed?

     Soldier of The Cross, the deepest Victory is tasted by those who have predetermined that God may do whatever He wills. 

    It is important to tell Him so every day.  After all, what else is there?  Will He do you harm?  Is there any darkness in Him?  Does He have some undiscovered weakness?

   Lord Jesus, tonight I choose to trust you for tomorrow.  As I stand before you and before all of the unseen hosts, I declare to you that I am a Soldier of The Cross.  I serve no other Master. 

     So Lord, please do anything with my life that will glorify you.  Anything.  And as I stand here tonight, I agree with you in anything you do and allow.

     Please do whatever is needed in the deepest places of me in order to bring about more immediate agreement with you.

     My Lord and my God.
 

     Your life is more of an open book than you think.

     Anyone who is around you can name the themes of your life and they can probably order them according to your priorities.

     So then Soldier of The Cross,  raise high your flag.  Only One is perfect and that is not expected of you.  Your vocation is to be loving and serving Him.  Gazing upon Him.  Talking to Him.  Listening and watching for Him.

     You don't need to bear an ear-to-ear grin all of the time.  Nevertheless, if your body and your faculties are not your own  and are yielded to Him, your countenance should not reflect frustration, disappointment, lust, resentment or withdrawal.

     Many of us have had to learn the hard way.   For some, wisdom comes only when the sting of foolishness is unbearable.

     What are the themes of your life?
     At whom are you looking?
     What do you think about in the most private moments?
     Your prayer life?

      His Glory radiates from the lives and mouths of those who spend time with Him on the Mountain.

     It is not about what others think.  It is about preparing for eternity.

     After all,  His Banner over you is Love.

     Soldier of The Cross, you must be trained in obedience.

     You must be trained in listening.  You must be trained in following.

     Will you agree with Him, or will you defend the flesh?  It is the bottom line.

     Tell Him today.
     Alone and aloud.  

     Lord as I stand before you tonight, I want to thank you for teaching me that I must obey you simply because you have said so.

     I have learned that when you reveal the answer, it is always so much more glorious that I could have imagined.

     I have learned you are not limited by Time.  Even though my timing would be so different, you who are the Alpha and the Omega are the exquisite designer, and with you there is no early or late.

     Lord, I have learned all you do has a radiance that never gets old. 

     I have learned that you called me, chose me, and you are able to see it all through.  
     How I love your Word and have learned to rely on it.  I have learned that you love to speak to me.

     So tonight Lord, before all of the unseen hosts, I declare to you that I will trust you.  I will obey you.  No matter what.

     Please do whatever is needed in the deepest parts of me in order to bring about your own Likeness.

     My Lord and my God.

     There is an infinite gap between being taken in by "Christianeeze" and recognizing God.

     Many people have been marinated in the language and culture of today's Christianity.  The verses that I call "The Famous Fifty" are recognized by all and most folks can quote at least a few words from each.   

     Although most do not give off the top of their finances, everyone knows he should give.  Everyone knows he should pray and everyone knows he should preach in season and out of season and should control his temper. Everyone knows he  should assemble with the Brethren.  So, it is not hard to find those who will speak of these matters passionately.  Sometime they even have all the right answers, which is surely a ministry of death.

     Those who have little experience with God will mistake momentum-driven information for spiritual knowledge.

     The Lord can be seen in the lives of and speaks through the mouths of those who have learned to submit to all that He has said, even before anything makes sense to them.

     They love because of who He is, not because they feel love.
     They give out of their lack.
     Their mouths are yielded to the One who said "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do."
     They love His Word more than they love the approval of others.
     They appear to be joyful when serving.
    
     Even with raspy, worn voices, they sing at the top of their lungs.
     They don't have to be recognized for what they do.

     They never try to impress you with how much they know about God.

     They are in love with Him.  
    
     It takes one to know one.    

     Soldier of The Cross, are you looking at all of the things that are happening and wondering where He is?

     It is all about His Glory.
     He knows what He is doing. 

      He alone knows what is best for us, and it has to do with His being glorified.  Soldier - buck up.  You can do this.  It is not about you. It is about Him. 

      Let Him deal with your issues.
      You must deal with His issues.

     Submit in prayer.  Give it to Him and do it aloud.
     Today