There is nothing bleak or flawed about the Plan of God.

     The problem lies with our own lack of capacity to evaluate what He is doing.  I know Christians who will not pray about a certain thing unless they can see how it will come about.

     Didn't He say "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:32, New American Standard)

     Had you been between the Egyptians and the sea, you would never have heard of the sea being divided, nor could  you have conceived of it.  It is not likely you would have prayed for that, but surely you would have prayed for deliverance!

     If we allow Him to, the Lord will lead us into the strangest of circumstances.  We tend to bray and howl about the lack of escape or resolution, but that is only because we can't foresee or imagine how it could happen.

     His ways are always higher than the human imagination.  For that reason, we must take Him at His Word and take the matter to prayer, declaring to Him that He can have full play, whatever that means.

     The bottom line is always, are you willing to agree with Him?  What is it that glorifies Him?  We don't always know.  The tendency is to run ahead of God and either try to manipulate circumstances, or to pray according to sight or a fantasized result.

     So often we want to lead Him instead of following Him.

     He will not reveal the whole thing ahead of time, because we are to take up The Cross and follow Him.  We don't follow a plan, we follow a Person.

     We must all learn to wait.  And if it seems to be too late, isn't that His responsibility?  When we have yielded to Him in prayer, there is power to submit and agree with Him.

     About absolutely anything.

     Lord as I stand before you tonight I am so thankful for Grace.  Grace that is not equal to, but greater than all my sin.  I don't understand it, but I receive it by faith.

     Thank you that you are also the giver of Grace to meet each situation and all of life's distresses. 

     Thank you for letting me come boldly and in your Name.  Tonight, Lord, by faith, I receive the Grace that you have already given for the situation. 

     Lord, I don't know what you are doing and I understand it is not my business to know. The matter seems so penetrating.  So tonight I am not asking for relief, but for Grace and to be able to recognize you.

     I choose you over resolution.  I choose you over understanding.  By faith, I refuse imagination.

     Take my life and let it be
     Consecrated, Lord, to thee.

      Where is Peace?

     Why are so many unable to enter into The Rest?

     Because, peace cannot be found in the family.
     Or in service.
     Not in Bible study.  Or in giving.
     No peace can be found in a solid bank account - just false security.

     There seems to be an unspoken concept that there is a possibility of being shielded from heartbreak or the experience of The Battle.  God has never suggested such.

     We are to know the release of choosing His ways during the thick of the fray.  The Spirit initiates and brings to mind what His Word says about the matter.    The struggle is brought to prayer and the Christian agrees with God while before Him.   The result is the mind claiming the truth of God's Word instead of the things that are so vigorous by sight.  Then, there is release throughout the soul.

     Peace is found only in the One who is the Prince of Peace.    There must be an affirmative pursuit of Him.  There must be awareness that without a dependence on Him, there is no experience of Him.

      No walking by faith, no peace.

     Soldier of The Cross, peace is a by-product of taking up the Cross and following hard after the Son of God.

     Peace is the result of agreeing with God no matter what.

     Nothing has changed since we were told that the world hated Him and it would hate us.

     We must all be reminded that in spite of the universal need for salvation, the Gospel message is still met with resistance.  It is not to be considered a terrible offense against you when someone goes after you because you are a Christian.  It is to be recognized and taken to the Lord.  There should not be any indignation or attempt to get even. 

     It is part of our calling.  We don’t need to look for conflict, and sometimes Christians 
make themselves targets just by being jerks.  Overall, we have been warned, taught and commissioned.

   None of us has been stripped and flogged.   What the early fathers of the faith endured was incredible.  They had no immunity to pain and humiliation.  It was not easy just because of the era.

     Soldier of The Cross, pray.  Maybe fast.  Be bold.  The hardest thing is when we obey the Spirit and are rejected by those we love and respect.  So be it.  This is about eternity, and there must be a bottom line decision before the Lord.

     You have told Him He can love through you.  
     You have told Him He can do anything with your life. 
     You have told Him you will walk by faith.

     Have you told Him you will represent Him and let Him have the result?
     Tell Him aloud.  Today.
 

            Must I be carried to the skies
            On flowery beds of ease,
            While others fought to win the prize,
            And sailed through bloody seas?

            Sure I must fight if I would reign;
            Increase my courage, Lord.
            I’ll bear the toil, endure the pain,
            Supported by Thy Word.

    Worship is the result of the heart responding to who God is and what He has done.

     It is troublesome to me that in some of today's churches, the musicians who lay a musical grid on the service are casually called a worship team. 

     Real worship can't be produced by formula or group instruction.  Of course, there are infinite dimensions and levels of worship.  Yes, we call it the Worship service, and  assembling together in obedience lays a foundation.

     We are instructed to worship the Lord, therefore we can expect Him to lead us and meet us.  It is not always a feeling and that is where some have missed the boat.  In some circles there is a frenzied attempt to create a feeling.  But it isn't worship.

     If you begin telling the Lord what you love about Him, you will begin to see how great He is and how small we are.  List to Him the things you love about changed lives and hearts.  Describe to Him how much you need Him and how great is His faithfulness.   Perhaps you will sing to Him.  Tell Him how much you love His Word and quote to Him some of your favorite verses.

        When individuals who worship privately come together, there is corporate worship. 
    It is a collective experience of hearts responding to the awesomeness of God.

     Soldier of The Cross, are you willing to be changed into His Likeness?

     As we get older, it seems that absent the habit of prayerful obedience, there is a stiffening of the soul.

     Why?  Because as we move on, the flesh identifies its points of comfort and control.  Soldier,  the most important thing you can do is to make sure you are a humble before Him and that you are telling Him you are willing to be changed.    You must tell Him so aloud.

     Those who agree with Him are transformed into the His Likeness.  Shouldn't it be assumed that there is nothing else more attractive to you?
 

      The [uncompromisingly] righteous shall flourish like the palm tree [be long-lived, stately, upright, useful, and fruitful]; they shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon [majestic, stable, durable, and incorruptible].  Planted in the house of the Lord, they shall flourish in the courts of our God. [Growing in grace] they shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be full of sap [of spiritual vitality] and [rich in the] verdure [of trust, love, and contentment].    They are living memorials to show that the Lord is upright and faithful to His promises;  He is my Rock and there is no unrighteousness in Him.  
           Psalm 92: 12-15 (Amplified Bible) 

     It is an incredible thing to be loved.

     It is even more wonderful to have the experience of that love.

     There is a love that deepens with the passing years.  It passes every test and withstands the hottest flames and the deepest waters. 

     This love is not weakened by a lack of attention or even rejection. 

     The love experienced by the Believer is the result of the touch of the resurrected Lord and it flows out in power when the Holy Spirit is given free reign in the heart. 

     Christianity is not about love - it is about Jesus.  But the evidence of His Presence in the heart is love that seeks a target.  

     Soldier of The Cross, He loves us through one another. 
     He loves us by allowing the hard things. 
     He loves us by insisting that we walk by faith.
     He loves us by making us wait.
     He loves us in the display of nature.
     He has given us His Word, full of assurances and many Promises.

     His love is not propelled by feeling, although it is certainly experienced.  There is a momentum to His Love that is directed eternity's way.    His Love flows from obedience and becomes a way of life that manifests itself in the JOY formula - 
     Jesus first,
     Others next,
     You last.

     No one feels explosive love all the time, but there are those who can be counted on to talk about Him, sing about Him and reflect Him by service to the Body of Christ and by selfless living.

     He wants to love through us.
     He must be allowed to change us.
 

     There is nothing more thrilling or persuasive than hearing how someone came to Christ.

     I have heard the details of the conversions of all my close friends, but I could hear them over and over and over.  Why is that?  Because everything He does is always new and He never does the same thing twice in exactly the same way.

     We tend to think that some are harder to reach than others.  It is true that the heart can grow hard and that constant rejection and sin can jade the conscience.  But, can't we all say that if He could win me, He could win anyone?

     My heart was so hard and my attempt to escape Him so intense that I did not know I was reponding to Him until the very minute He touched me.  Then, there was no denying what was happening.  He got through the hardness and the fear and revealed Himself.

     The Story never grows old and it is always a penetrating assurance that no one is out of His reach. 

We would have done things so differently.

     We certainly would not have chosen a bunch of uneducated fishermen and common workers to be disciples of Jesus.   If He had to die, we would have chosen a way more noble than a convicted criminal's public execution.

     We would have chosen a reputable Gentile to evangelize among the Gentiles, not a Rabbi, renown for persecuting them.

     And of course, our own lives would have been designed much differently.

     He is a No Matter What God.
     He saved you, no matter what you were like before.
     He still loves you no matter what.
     He responds to you and forgives you no matter what.
     He is faithful no matter what.

     No matter how it seems, He is right.
     No matter what anyone says, His Word alone is perfect.
     No matter what is swirling by sight, He is never out of control.

     Live as a No Matter What Soldier of The Cross. Tell Him you will trust Him no matter what.
     Tell Him aloud.        

     Remember, those without Christ are trapped and do not have the same ability to choose as do those who are His.

     God has set it up so that nature must obey Him.    The animals migrate according to His design.  So do the birds and the sea creatures.   He commands and they must move according to the command.  They have no choice.

     You were created to choose.  Now, you have been born again and the Power of His Resurrection has come to live in you and over your life.  You have choice.

     But, the feeling is so strong.  It seems that the undertow is so powerful, there is no choice.   

     Of course, that is not true.

   
     Soldier of The Cross, you are His.  You have been bought with a Price, and you are familiar with His touch.  You have crossed The Line and you can’t go back.  Unlike the creatures of nature, you are an adopted son, and you do have choice.

     It begins in prayer.  Even if you don't feel relieved, He will take you at your word and He will reveal Himself in the matter.

     Stand firm.  What does the Bible say about the situation?   My favorite saying is, "God's Word is more real than the way that you feel."

     Lord, as I stand before you tonight, I lift up to you this matter that seems to be too great for me.    I choose to take you at your Word and declare to you now that I yield to you, who bled and died for me.

     I don't want anything but you; it is just that I can't shake this.  So, I choose to agree with you.  

     By faith, I choose you over the strongest feeling or influence.  I place my hand in yours, which I know is outstretched to me.
     My Lord and my God.