Oh, what peace we often forfeit; oh what needless pain we bear. . . .

     Isn't it true?  All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.

     It is a tremendous old hymn, and was written by someone who knew what it meant to have a prayer life resulting in dependence on God.

     Is there anything you need beside the Lord?  Look at your life?  Is there something you are desperate for?

     Prayer about an unpaid bill should in the same attitude as a personal tragedy - we serve a sovereign God, and there is no one or nothing else we must have. 

     There are various levels of grief and pain.  When the Soldier of The Cross prays in agreement with God, the hard things remain hard, but His Life  makes them sweet.

     You were not created to bear anxiety, depression, anger or fear.  
     Take your burden to One whose yoke is easy.

     You know that  ministry means letting the Lord love others through you.

      But, you do not know the need of each person.  He does, and He will, love through you if you will let Him.  The problem lies with those who must have a predictable structure and outcome with each "ministry"  encounter.

     Be clean.  Prepared in heart by prayer.  Be available. 

 
     There is no limit to what He will do in and through you.

     For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus [the leaning of your entire human personality on Him in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness] and of the love which you [have and show] for all the saints (God's consecrated ones)

      Colossians 1:4    Amplified

     Soldier of The Cross, is there a mark on your personality that indicates a deviation from faith?

     Many love to whine and splash about what has been done to them.  They go on and on with the details, and the energy is aimed at engaging the listener against the offender who may not even be yet living.

     Do you know a Christian who is free?  Is he occupied with the Lord?  Is service to The Master a priority?  What about Love?

     What is His personality?  He who wanted the will of the Father is calling you to be transformed into His Likeness.


     Soldier,  be sure that you agree with God.
     Look up and move on!

     We always need to be reminded of the simple things.

     What is the secret to contentment?  It is simply the exercise of agreeing with God.

     It is not possible to stand on The Promises, all the while objecting to the circumstances.    There must be an affirmative stepping out on what He has said.

     Inasmuch as God has never been interested in the unnecessary suffering of His Own, we can be confident and in His ability to direct and protect. 

     We know little and He knows more than everything.

     Soldier, underneath are The Everlasting Arms.

     What does it mean to be content?

     Does it mean being passive and settling for the thing that requires the least resistance?  Of course not.

     Soldier of The Cross, the bottom line is, do you agree with God?  If He can have your life and if He can do the thing He knows is best,  why in the world would you take issue with that?  Why  not just tell Him that anything He wants is fine with you?

     If you are chaffing at the restraints, you are not agreeing with God. 

     Can He, in fact, do anything?  Can He be trusted?  Does He know everything, or is it possible that you know more than He?

     You must come before Him and say things aloud.  Tell Him He and He alone has all knowledge.  Tel Him you will agree with Him on anything and everything.  Memorize His Word.

    Soldier, you must know what is your bottom line.
     His way or your way.  With regard to the Body of Christ.
     With regard to money.
     With regard to your reputation.
     With regard to your family.
     With regard to your job.
     With regard to your emotions.
     With regard to your body.

     There simply is nothing else.

     What is insanity?

     It is a condition that is out of touch with reality.

     When you put on the Armor, you must put on the Helmut of Salvation.  Why is that? Because agreeing with God is the ultimate sanity.

     Those who disagree with God enter in to a realm that is not only already defeated, but is also insane.

     You do not need to know why God does what He does..  You do not have the capacity to understand what God is doing.  When you are present with Him , you will understand everything.  In the meantime, faith is what pleases God and He can only be seen or known by faith.

     Soldier of The Cross,  there is no argument.  What is reality?

     Agree with God.  Aloud.
     Today.

     Soldier of The Cross, is your life an offering to the Lord?

     Do you want to please Him? 

     He did not name you and draw you to Himself for any reason other than the precious fellowship for which you were designed.  He designed you to worship Him.  What does that mean?  That is between you and your God. 

     Although this is a serious  matter, it seems to me that few Christians consider it.    Who are you trying to please?    Your family?
     Your boss?
     Your husband?
     Someone who admires you?

     Of course we do our best to do what is right with regard to our families and our jobs.  Of course we attend to our neighbors and those who can not attend to themselves.  It is quite another thing to live  in order to please someone else or to get others to please us.

     My husband has often said that when he prays each day, he asks the Lord to teach Him to be a pleasure to Himself.  Isn't that the bottom line of existence?

     In Heaven, we will have all knowledge, but we certainly do not have it here.    When we need to know more that is available to us naturally, the Holy Spirit reveals whatever we need.  That said, we are to take up The Cross and follow Him.

     He has said that obedience pleases Him more than sacrifice.  Why is it then that so many try to please God with a self-conceived sacrifice?

     Soldier stand before Him in prayer and commit yourself to pleasing God. This is the call of the Word of God.


     Can you come up with anything better?

     Those who are passive about the devotional life are not able to flex the muscle of faith, and they tend to become Christians who cling to the familiar.

     Faith is about what God can and will do, in spite of the way things appear.  
     Faith is about waiting for something that is completely out of the corners of your imagination.
     Faith is about agreeing with the one who is Omniscient, Omnipresent , Infinitely creative, is the Eternal I AM and dies for you.

     The only other thing is to cling to the familiar and refuse His way and His Love.  The familiar has no New Life.  The familiar has a gravitational pull away from the frontier of faith.

     You don't have to make yourself into anything.  Just agree with Him who is your All in All.

     We are to pursue Love. 

     We are also to pursue Peace and we are to seek the better gifts.  We are to serve.  We are to receive and entertain traveling Christians.

     None of these can be sought without first seeking Him.  We know that when we are with Him, ". . . we will be like Him for we will see Him just as He really is. . ."
                        [Amplified Bible]

   The real issue is the pursuit of God.  We must tell Him we want Him and that we want to be to be changed.  The older we are, the more important this request.

     The changes come from seeing Him just as He really is.
                       

       What constitutes release?

     Is there release before the circumstances change?  

     Is He able?  Is there anything too great for Him?   Have you ever met a believer who reported that God was not faithful or able?  Of course not.
  

     Soldier of The Cross, Billy Graham was attacked with regard to the inerrancy of God's Word.  He decided to stand on the Word and make it the end of the matter.

     What have you decided?  Whose are you?
     There is nothing else.  There is no one else.