Soldier of The Cross, are you or are you not thankful?

     Certainly, if you agree with God, you are thankful.  So, tell Him.

     When before the Lord you begin to list the things for which you are thankful, you will find that there is no end to the list.  It goes on and on. You will begin with what The Word says.  Then you will move on to what He has done for you.  Then what He has done for others.  Then you will begin to list the things in nature that thrill you.  Then the things in others that thrill you.

     There is simply no end. 

     Those who thank the Lord are not only able to see Him.
     They are also able to revel in Him.

     If asked, what occupied your thoughts today?

     If the answer is "I don't know", it is not an honest answer.   There is a theme to the thought life of each day.  Often the thought are ensnared in problem solving and other times they are involved in fanaticizing about a better past or an impossible future.

     What does the Word of God say?  That the thoughts must agree with God and that thoughts must be taken captive and led away.  This means two things:  1)   You must be aware of your thoughts  2)  You must be in control of your thoughts.  This is only  possibloe supernaturally.

     Soldier of The Cross, this is not difficult.  It is a matter of yielding to the Lover of Your Soul.    You must agree with God, and this happens in prayer.  You must tell Him that you want your mind to be His - after all, that is one of the elements of the first commandment.  Then, you must tell Him that you are available to be changed in any way that will make it possible for you to have thoughts in line with His.

     Is there some other way of life you consider to be higher than this?  Of course not.

     Soldier, you can not be what you can not see. 

     Are you able to see yourself agreeing with God?  Are you able to see the Indwelling Holy Spirit reminding you and empowering you in the discipline of the thought life?

     Surely there is nothing higher.  No reason to refuse?  After all, it is for your good. 

     Ask Him to lead you and to let you see what is really happening.  Ask Him aloud.
     Ask Him today.

     What is important?

     Worth thinking about?  Worth wanting?  Worth dying for?

     That which is eternal.  And, that means obedience must be the theme of word, thought, prayer and action.    We have an enormous amount of choice.  Most importantly, we choose direction.  We choose thought.  We choose purpose.  We choose what to say.

     We cannot choose what someone else does or thinks or says.  And, so often that is the thing that gets Christians off the rail.

     Soldier of The Cross, keep your face set like flint - toward the Goal.  Determine to be available for Love to be poured through you, no matter what.  Take Him at His Word.

     Your life reflects the things that you have chosen to make important.  Your words reflect this.  Your eyes reflect this. 

     "Let your light so shine before men. . ."

     He never tires of you.

     He never complains about you to the Father.  He is not tempted to give up, nor is He willing to just cut you off and let you go your own way without giving you another thought.

     He is about the business of preparing you for heaven.  He is longing for your attention and He has provided you with the gift of prayer.  The Indwelling Holy Spirit will never leave.  He can be quenched, but He cannot be expelled.

     Soldier of The Cross, you must realize what you have in Christ and it must be from dealing with Him in prayer.  This is a tremendously freeing thing and also stirs hunger to meet Him in His Word.

     Yes, we slog on, on one level.  But far above that is the Life for which were you created.  We were created to enjoy Him.  To trust Him.  To recognize Him and to follow after Him.

     There is nothing more precious.  Pass it on.

    When I met the Lord, everything changed.

     It was not just a matter of changing direction - music was different.  Color was different.  When I saw children, I was desperate to love them and to tell them about Jesus.  I wanted to be with Christians and was desperate for the lost to be saved.   I could not get enough of the Bible.  I thought of Him every waking minute.

     How was it for you?

     Has anything changed?  Since that time, have the ordinary things of every day life taken over?    Can you honestly say that you are in love with Him and that His Word fills and directs your days and your hours?

     Soldier of The Cross, you were created for a throbbing, intimate relationship with the Creator of the universe.

     Look into His eyes again, take up The Cross and move on!

Soldier of The Cross,   agree with God that you will understand it all bye and by, but that it is fruitless for you to try to understand it all in this life.

     If we acknowledge that we are not able to understand all the big things now, why is it that we think we must understand all the "little" things? Isn't it true that we struggle to understand why this or that thing was said?  Why so and so forgot to fulfill that duty?  Why the thing broke when it should not have broken?

     Does He separate the big from the little?

     His Word tells us differently.


     Soldier, just do the next thing by faith and with all your being.  Many things, large and small, need to be released in order to be able to insure that the ground under your feet is ground on which the Lord may minister without impediment.

     You simply must not stop to try to figure out things that re not self-evident.  Yes, pray.  Yes, ask for sight.  Yes, ask for wisdom. 

     In the meantime, look up and move on!

       Soldier of The Cross, know your purpose.

     You must agree with God.  And, as a matter of fact, what is that purpose?  Is it not that you will be transformed into His Likeness, no matter what it takes?

      How connected are you to The Body of Christ?   How much do you love His Word?  How committed are you to taking up The Cross and following Him?  Isn't that the bottom line?

     Things are rough.  Often it is the little sniggly, ordinary barbs of daily life that create the barriers.  But Soldier, you must leave it all behind.

     What is the most important thing in life?  It is the thing most important!   How many think of this matter?  You must.

     Follow hard and fast after Him who gave up Glory to die for you.  He named you.  He has collected your tears in a bottle.  He knows every word you have ever said.  And, He has forgiven you while leading you with His eyes.

     His agenda is you.  He intercedes for you.  He loves you.  He watches over you.

     Soldier, there is simply nothing else.
     Make sure your priorities are also His.

     If Jesus is real to you, you will have an awareness of the battle.

     The strategy of the enemy is to invade, lie, divide and steal.  In some cultures he advances himself differently than others, but  in every land he does whatever he can to divide the Brethren.

     It is not possible to identify the enemy without a vital relationship with the Lord.  We come under attack all the time.  We don't have to give in to it.  We have choice and, of course, we have all of the Armor of God.

     Soldier of The Cross, one of the most important things you must determine in this life is to refrain from denigrating other Christians.   Satan comes in like a storm and gets great energy when believers speak ill of one another. 

     God's Word commands us, warns us and implores us about this. 

     Be vigilant.  Be prayerful.  Be obedient.

     Soldier of The Cross, who is it that we serve?

     Is it not He who keeps the universe running by His Word of Power, according to Hebrews 1:3?

     Do you serve Him or are you serving yourself?  Are you issues about your own life, or are you ministering first to the needs of others?

     Soldier, of course you must address the matters that erupt in your own life.  But the issue is, you must deal with all according to The Word of God. 

     Are you worried about money?  What does God's Word say?
     Are you worried about what others say or think?  What does God's Word say?
     Are you worried about the future of your children?   Have you thought about His intentions concerning your children?  Do you believe He hears you when you tell Him about them?

     Soldier, if you are not standing before Him  formulating words, you have no prayer life at all.  It is not possible to pray in the mind alone unless one is not able to either speak or sign.   The exception would be in prison or a similar situation.

     Do you understand He adores you?
     His heart is ravished by your thought of Him.  Is that real to you?


     In fact, is He real to you at all?

   
     Soldier, you absolutely, positively must speak to Him aloud.  You must stand or sit or lay or kneel before Him.  The burden must be transferred in prayer and  with the supernatural assistance of the Along-side One - The Indwelling Holy Spirit.

 
     Put it down.
     Then, look up.
     Move on!

     We have been created for heaven, yet, we must deal with things that are distracting and distressing.

     Sometimes, it feels like life is a gauntlet to be run.  Just when it seems recovery is around the corner, something else happens.

     It has always been so.

     Soldier of The Cross, we are not winding around the barriers and storms of life.  We are being led by the fire and the cloud and are advancing forward in a straight line.  We have One who leads us with His eyes.  We have one who hides us in the cleft of The Rock.  He has already dealt with the world in such a way that we can not be eternally harmed by it.

     We must pay attention to those who are before us.  The grocery clerk.  The mailman.  The vet.  The street sign holder.

     It is not possible for you to be a lightening rod for the Lord if you are occupied with the things that loom large by sight.  You absolutely must be in the Word and in prayer.  If you are not, you will not be able to see reality - you will only see the problem.

     Soldier, buck up. Obey.  Come before Him and unburden yourself.  Aloud and honestly.
     He who died for you will tenderly scoop you into His Side - the cleft of The Rock of Ages.