The issue is, is it your way or His way?

     Soldier of The Cross,  do you need to lead or are you wililng to follow, as He has instructed? 

     You must make this decision.    Is it according to His Word, or is going  to be according to the emotional demand?  Who is right?

     What is the bottom line?  Do you know better than He?  Will He forsake you?  Of course not.

     Soldier, determine to agree with God and tell Him so in prayer.  You will find the most eager listener and One who knows the end from the beginning.

     Is there anything else?

     How far are you willing to go with Him?

     It is the real question.  What is most important to you?  It is not a feeling or a craving - it is a decision made, based on what is true.

     Choose Him.

     He is practical.
     He is effective.
     He is clean.
     He is personal.
     He is holy.
     He is powerful.

     He is Love!             

   The writer to the Hebrews says we must ". . . strive diligently to enter into the rest . . ."

     After the verses about rest, we are reminded of the power of the Word, and then shown that we have a high priest who intercedes for us.

     So why is there so little rest?  How many can say, "Yes, I am tasting the Sabbath Rest of Hebrews 4."

     Resting in the Lord is a discipline and means turning a deaf ear to the insistent voices that press us to feel responsible to bear everything.  Resting in the Lord means going to Him and putting the burden down, using deliberately formed communication.  Resting in the Lord means focusing the thoughts on His Word instead of letting the mind gnaw on the situation.

     Resting in the Lord means not talking about what might happen, what should happen, what could have happened, or what did happen.  It means agreeing with God and doing the next thing as unto the Lord.

     Soldier of The Cross, give it to Him.  Perhaps over and over.
     Then, look up and move on.

     Soldier of The Cross, be reminded that His Love is personal.

     It is easy to forget. He who called you continues to oversee each tiny detail of your life.  So He says in His Word.

          Lord, forgive me for blasting into the things that seem so important.  My heart’s desire is to live according to your Word.  You are so attractive to me and I want to know you, no matter what the cost. So Lord, take me today.  Please do whatever has to be done in the deepest of places, in order to make me more like you.

     I understand there is no one else.  There is nothing else.

     Obedience results in victory.

     Victory is not the experience of winning, nor is it necessarily the sensation of a job well done.  It is knowing a choice was made in agreement with God.

     Many a Soldier of The Cross has experienced the sting of humiliation or loss when doing the right thing.  After all, He who is Perfect and left Glory for us, suffered a painful, public death.  The Resurrection was private except for the unseen hosts.  Yet, the Cross was a tremendous victory.

     And, so it is for many of us.  We must make choices according to God's Word, and those choices do not always expand the comfort zone.  We are told that the race is to be run and at the end, we will receive the runner's crown.  Our goal is not the here and now, and we must bear that in mind.  Otherwise we become shortsighted and addicted to accolades and temporary satisfaction.

     He alone sees the end from the beginning. 
     He knows the cost. 
     He still asks that we trust Him and do as He says.

     There simply isn't anything else.    

     Why are some believers deeper than others?

     Because they have decided to follow the Lord and have to held that decision.

     Christian character is evident in the life of those who refuse to dabble in questioning God.  We have His Word and the person of the Indwelling Holy Spirit.  It is not possible to go back - to wriggle out of salvation.  Either is truthful or He is not.

     Depth is not part of the personality.  It is the fruit of believing God and living accordingly.  Those who live by sets of rules do not understand rest in Him and have no experience of the Everlasting Arms.  Consequently, they deal with life on a surface basis, including measuring themselves by the behavior of others.

     The deeper, the simpler.  The more reliance on Him.  The more love for His Body.  The more clinging to His Word.  Less judgment.  More grace.

     The deeper, the more like Jesus.
  

     He who drew you to Himself listens to you beyond your comprehension.

     Every word uttered in prayer goes to the heart of God.  Prayer is never wasted, nor does it somehow miss the Lord.  He has made it clear that He not only longs to hear deliberate communication from His Own, but also that many things are not done, but by prayer.

     Those who want to know Him will seek Him in prayer.
     Those who want to know Him will learn that He trains those who are eager to touch Him.
     Those who want to know Him will tell Him so.
     Those who want to know Him will stand before Him and step into the assurance of His promises.

     Those who want to know Him will speak with Him and will live in the richness of the security that comes from knowing they have been heard by the One who holds the stars in place.

     I have just returned from Siberia and Ukraine where I met with a number of believers. 

    There was a rich and non- subjective presence of the Lord when getting together with those who have chosen the Lord and have been tested.  

    It is easy to say that those Christians are more available and fervent because life is hard and there are fewer distractions.  Of course, that is not the case.  The price of His Presence is the same for all.  It is the death of the flesh.  Agreeing with God.  The taking up of The Cross and following Him.

     He loves each one enough to give custom-made situations that compel choice.

     On earth, there is nothing to be compared with red hot fellowship with those who are in love with Him and who have determined He can do anything He wants to.  He is there.  Although He certainly can be experienced in the quiet time, something is not quite right when the believer is always looking to experience God in those private moments.  He should be wanting to speak to the Lord, to hear from Him and to agree with Him.  To know Him. To have Light for obedience.

     I have watched fireworks in many meetings.  Often without His Presence.   Yet, in being with those who cling to Him, I have always known He was there. 

     It is His design. 

     Desire sweeps in like weather.

     For the Soldier of The Cross, the test is the Word of God. 

     It can be a longing for a relationship, a wish to see a child succeed in a particular area, or it can be wanting almost any form of relief.  

     But the desire of the heart is another matter.  The desire of the heart is something longed for as the result of choice.  The desire of the heart is not the result of things that pass before us.  Rather it is the result of all that is important to us.

     Choose Jesus.

       Lord,  thank you for the hard things.  Please teach me to receive both the delights and the losses as blessings. 
      I submit to you. I take you at your Word.  I don't want any attitude that would dull me to you.  Oh Lord, please teach me to die to myself. I know it costs everything and I know there is nothing else. 

      I am available, Lord.  I rest in you.