What is God's will for your life?   

     What does He say?  He says that His will is that you should know Him.

     So many are wanting to know God's will.  The problem is, they do not really want to know God's will.  They want a blueprint that they can follow.  They want to know that there is a way they can avoid failure, disgrace and discomfort. 

     There are those who have stood before the Lord and have told Him that He can have everything, that He can have His way in every area and that He can delve deeply into the deepest recesses of the heart to bring about His own likeness.  These are Soldier of The Cross.  They have chosen His way over there is, and they are available to the Will of God.

     Soldier, His will does not include anything that addicts you to control.
     His will does not include any plan that avoids problems or discomfort.
     His will does not include anything that would compromise faith.
     Your reputation is not more important than your testimony.

     Are you sure you want Him?  In that case, you must tell Him so.  If you want His will, it means you are willing and eager to take up the Cross and follow Him.

     This is not something that can happen just because you recognize the value or the truth of the matter.  You must take this up with the One who holds the stars in place.

     You must tell Him and it must be aloud.
     Tell Him today.

      Are you eager to be changed?

     If He wants you to be like Himself, won't He be bringing it about?   Is His dealing within you welcome?   Have you told Him so?

     Soldier, His ways are creative to the extent that you cannot foretell them or design them.  He often deals with us through those who are weak and unpleasant, in order to work in the deepest places of the soul to develop humility.


     No one has a perfect record.  If he thinks he does, he is a fool.  We are all on the same footing.  We are sinners, saved by Grace.    Were it not for Grace, we could be lying in a ditch displaying needle track.  Or worse.

     Worse than that is pride.  Nasty, blinding, passive pride.

     Pride wants to know what the change is. 
     Pride wants to know that it approves of the change and that they are the changes asked for.
     Pride wants to wave a flag of humility.

   
     Soldier of The Cross, The Cross is the place of the death of the flesh.   The change is a gift.  It is to be brought about by the Lover of Your Soul.   His own divine surgical knife. The change is to prepare you for eternity.

     Watching and waiting for the Lord does not mean that we sit and wait for recognizable events and experienced victories.  It means that because of submission in prayer, we recognize the Lord in any way He wishes to reveal Himself.

     Tell Him.  Tell Him He can do anything through anyone, and in anyway that glorifies Himself.

     There is nothing else.
     There is no one else.

     The Christian walk is neither easy nor difficult.

     In order to experience the freedom and blessing for which we were created, there must be a taking up of The Cross daily, and He must be followed.  It means the Soldier of The Cross must let everything else go while standing in prayer.  Only then can there be contentment whether there is much or little. 

     His Own have been given much, and those who are willing to lean on Him learn to walk on the water.  They follow the Lord's leading and they are healed on the inside, they are able to sing during the storm and they drink from the still waters.

     They receive everything they need, albeit they may not know what the real need is.

     The Banner over them is Love.

     It is the flesh that wants to make it hard.  The enemy can dangle something appealing in the path and is able to fan desire to the extent that it feels impossible to resist.

     The flesh worries. 
     The flesh needs to be in control.  
     The flesh is arrogant.
     The flesh is impatient.
     The flesh wants to be recognized.

     The flesh is already defeated, in that all Soldiers of The Cross have choice.  Choosing His Way and His Word replaces the gravitational pull of the flesh with the Power of the Holy Spirit, because of obedience.

     The flesh denies faith.
     Faith denies the flesh

        Thank you Lord, for saving my soul.

      Thank you Lord for loving me during all the times I wanted my own way.    Thank you for Grace that was greater than all my sin.  

      Thank you for giving me the best, when I only wanted my own way.

     Oh, Lord Jesus, I am stunned by your Grace and your patience with me.   

     Please do whatever is needed in the deepest, deepest parts of my heart, in order for me to be more like you.
   

     Are you content?

     Contentment and passivity are mutually exclusive.  Contentment means accepting what the Lord has given, waiting on Him for change, or launching off in faith when there is only guaranteed failure by sight.

     Contentment means you have not set your own agenda.  It means you have told the Lord that even though you do not know any more than the next single step, you trust Him.

     Those who are content in Him do not demand to know why.
     They do not demand to know when or even where.

     They have told Him they will move when He wills, stay if He wills, and give if He wills.  They will speak or be silent and rely on Him for wisdom.

     Contentment frees the Soldier of The Cross to see what is really happening because the life of that one is not marinated in personal need.

     Soldier, tell Him all the time.    Tell Him you will trust Him.  That He can do anything with your life.
     Tell Him aloud.

     The ministry of Grace is a feature of the life of one who has told the Lord that He can do anything with that life.

     Grace encompasses forgiveness, but goes so much farther.  Grace takes on the responsibility of going beyond the comfort zone, for the sake of another. 

     Grace allows the personality to released in fullness and issues forth from the freedom experienced by those who are determined to be like Jesus.

     Grace creates the capacity in hearts to turn to the Lord and to receive Him.  Grace protects the Believer from the first response of irritation or resentment.

     The flesh always wants to choose those who should receive it, but, then it would not be Grace.

     Thank God for His Grace!
     By Grace we have been saved, and by Grace, we live each day.

     There is no perfect church.

     There are those who try everything, looking for just the right balance of teaching, youth groups and or experience.  More often than not, these Christians are hunting for something they will never find - the kind of church in which they thought they were comfortable once upon a time.

     Then, there are those who are hunting, because they have been in prayer and are looking for a place to love, minister, pray and lay down their lives for the Brethren.

     Soldier of The Cross, if you have not found the right place yet, the Lord will lead you somewhere.  Be there every time the door is opened.  Be of prepared heart before the meeting.  Sing vigorously. Greet all, whether you feel like it or not.  Give cheerfully.

     Remember, when a seed is planted and dies, Life springs out of it.

    Soldier of The Cross, Eternity is real.

     All He has said is real.
     His Love for you is real.
    

     Are you sensitive to His outreached Hand?  That He has said He will lead you with His eyes?   Can you see Jesus in The Word?

     So then, are you able to see the lostness of the lost?

     Soldier, what do you have to lose?  What if someone does not like what you have to say?  Is your identity at stake, or is your identity in Him?  

     Where is reality?  And, how does it relate to those around you? 

     My father's funeral was a remarkable experience for me.  I knew he loved the Lord and it was unquestionably the theme of his life.  When I visited him, I knew he was thrilled when someone met the Lord, but I had no idea that he was such an evangelist.  He had fought cancer for almost thirty years and had also worked for most of that time. 

     In the receiving line after the funeral, about twenty people pumped my hand or hugged me, telling me that my father had led them to the Lord at work.  I will treasure those minutes for all eternity.

     Who will be there because of your availability?

     There is so much stimulation in today's Christian Church.

     Nevertheless, although it is hard to find a service without lots of trimmings, there are many who are genuine in their participation.   More and more though, it seems that the Church attracts people wanting to experience the Lord, rather than people know Him.

     One can taste a vast array of stimulation and experience, but those who have tasted intimacy with Him are usually not found at the fireworks. 

      Those looking for stimulation are addicted to it.  It is difficult to pray with those Christians, and often they are found to have bleak or non-existent prayer lives because they can't function without emotion or experience.

     He is known by faith.  He is known by those who take Him at His Word, regardless of how things seem or regardless of circumstances.  He is known by those who faithfully pray according to His Word and meet with Him, even when they do not feel like it.

     Soldier of The Cross, He made it clear and He has not changed His mind - take up The Cross daily and follow Him. 

     There is nothing else.  
     There is no one else.

     Soldier of The Cross, who is the Victor?

     It is He.  Not you.

     Your job is to trust Him and to tell Him so.  What are the issues?  Do they have to be explained to Him?  He will listen, but of course, He is familiar with the issues and knew about them before you were born.

     The bottom line is always, will you agree with God?  No matter what?  Or, do you have a limit as to how far you will go with Him?

     This is a matter that you should take up with him.   Let the Holy Spirit lead.  Talk to Him and do it aloud.

     It is not about this life.  It is about eternity.