I have never known a Christian to say he or she has never known periods of coolness or even numbness.

     The thing is, something has to be done. 

     I had such a period in my own life over thirty years ago.  I felt as though I could not function because the Lord seemed so far away.  I knew the Bible said there was more, so I determined to step out and find more.

     I was depressed to the extent that I could not pray in a normal way.  I could not talk to anyone.  But, I knew that a Christian did not have to live that way.  So, I went out and found some good Christian biographies and read them daily.   I read and read and read.  I kept reading until I found a book that set my heart aflame and then I kept reading some more.  (The trigger book was Freed For Life)

     When I read the experiences of others, I began to be released to be able to pray freely.  Aloud and daily.  I had already been memorizing verses, but as I kept reading, I was able to understand that others had gone before and I could see their footprints in the deep mud of discouragement and circumstances.

     To this day, I seek out the stories of those who have gone before.  We need the testimonies of faith.  We need the accounts of Leaning on the Everlasting Arms.  We need each other, dead or alive.

     Soldier of The Cross, He has never failed to answer anyone who has ever called to Him.  If He has said that you should be being filled with the Holy Spirit, it must be possible.  If He has said you must be zealous, it must be possible.

     Present this to Him in prayer.  
     Aloud.  He will lead you.  After all, what you want is to know Him,  to serve Him and to be available.

     Do it today.  Make sure it is aloud.  

     Soldier of The Cross, God's economy is not the same as ours.

     Remember the widow's mite.  It was a single coin of the least value, but the heart of the giver made it such that the coin's great value has been recorded for all eternity.

     Why was David told not to take a census?  Why did the nation suffer when he did it?


     Why was Gideon's army pared down from such good numbers to only 300?

     Why were the Israelites told not to save the manna?

     He needs nothing.  What He uses is up to Him.  
     If He says go, go.
     If He says give, give.
     If He says speak, speak.
     If He says hold your tongue, be silent.

     There is no other way.  There is simply nothing else.
     There is no one else.

     We are to grieve with those who grieve.

     It is not a light commandment.  Those who grieve are being or have been separated from
the thing that makes them feel secure and humanly centered.  Or, they are simply being cut
off from someone deeply loved.  Even the most mature and deep believer goes through a
tearing process when the Lord takes a loved one.

     Who knows what is worse - awaiting the loss, or experiencing it abruptly.  At least we
can flee to the Rock of Ages.  At least it is only for numbered years.  At least we have an
audience with the One who made the decision.

     Soldier of The Cross, assume nothing except that He knows what He is doing.

      Soldier of The Cross, upon what are you gazing?

     The circumstances?  Are you watching something crumble?  Does the future seem to present only uncertainty, or worse?

     Is someone failing?  Have you lost a child?  A husband or wife?  A friend?  A job?  A home?  Is there an untimely physical illness that seems to be hopeless?

     Soldier, your job is to stand on The Word of God.  Underneath you are the Everlasting Arms and you are not in danger.  That is, heaven's definition of danger.

     We need to be reminded that this world is not our home.  We must operate by faith.  The flesh always zooms into circumstances, while the Spirit soars on by Truth.

     Look at reality.  Look at Jesus.

       When people say they have great faith I always wonder what that means.

     Most of the time, it means that there is a strong belief.  Sometimes the belief has to do with truth and other times it does not.

     The problem is that many have a mental assent, but nothing more.

      Before there can be real faith, there must be experience with God.  That experience leads to faith, which leads to more experience with God.

     Faith means doing something for the single reason that God said so.

     Faith is the only eternal investment.

     The saying that Time heals all wounds is not true.

     Many are preoccupied with fixing themselves, and it simply cannot be done.  It is possible
and necessary to be free in the Lord by faith, and to move on.

      It seems to me that going back and trying to fix what has passed, simply turns one into a
pillar of salt.

     Soldier of The Cross, are we about being dead to the world and alive unto Christ, or do
we need to fix ourselves?  The two are mutually exclusive.

     Make your decision.

     We have choice. 

     Even when things happen that are completely out of our control, we have the ability to choose a right attitude.  We have this freedom and power because of the Indwelling Holy Spirit.

     There can be no wise choice or right attitude without God's Word.  Throughout much of this life, feelings and wisdom are mutually exclusive.  We are not about improving.  We are about loving and obeying the Lord.  That means desperate need, frustration, anger,  fear, and even swells of inappropriate romantic feeling can be intense to the extent that there are physical effects.

      Yet, God's Word is more real than the way that you feel.

      Soldier of The Cross, you must love this truth.  While Believers can and should experience healed emotions, it is not possible to live without being ambushed by strong feelings that do not line up with God's Word.  There is choice.  It is possible to fell terrible, yet agree with God and obey Him.  It is possible to feel crippled by resentment, dread or depression, and still make the right choice.

      Stand on God's Word.  Present this to Him in prayer. 

      Yes, we need each other.  Yes, we need healthy preaching, delivered in the power of the Holy Spirit.  We don't need fireworks, we need reality.

      Many Christians are living by emotions and can't understand why they experience so much conflict.

      Faith is based on who God is.  Obedience means making choices based on what He has said.  All who live by sight are blind.   It is the blind whose decisions and self-protection stem from feeling. Those who obey God's Word are those who walk in The Light.

     Stand before the Living Word and cling to the Written Word.

  Why prayer? 

     Because God's Word tells us that there are many things that do not happen apart from prayer. 

     We know that we have not because we ask not.

     Soldier of The Cross,  there is no place for passivity in the Kingdom of Heaven.    All will say there should be prayer.  All will say prayer determines the outcome. 
     All will say that the faithful will pray. 
     All will say that only prayer will settle the matter.
     All will  say that there is no sight without prayer.

     So,  why is there so little prayer?

     Because all hell comes against it.

     Soldier of The Cross, pray about each thing in the distance and in immediate sight.  Prayer is a habit born of obedience.   Does He hear?  Does He respond?  What does God's Word say?

     Soldier, make no mistake - the ultimate Listener is waiting for you.

     There are some who will offer advice about anything and everything.

     I have always been surprised how eager some are to tell others how to solve problems.  I am equally surprised how often Christians slam each other with truisms instead of waiting carefully for wisdom.

     Those who have walked with the Lord are quick to pray and slow to craft someone else's life. 

     We must always be available to pray with each other.  We must be available to encourage each other in the Word.  There are , however, times when it is not possible to determine what God is doing in another's life.  It is an interesting balance, because no one reaches sagedom.  The helper and the helpee are both needy and must depend on Lord.

     Like the rest of life, we follow the Lord in this as well.  We look for Him and we wait for Him.  When asked, and sometimes when not asked, we are ready with God's Word.

     The situation is not the balance.  
     He is the balance.

     When the rubber meets the road, the issue is your decision.

     Soldier of The Cross,  you are reading this because you have made the decision to take up The Cross and follow Him.  Have you changed your mind?  Is there something better?

     Each moment of human existence involves decision. 
     What will you do? 
     What will you go after? 
     What will you refuse?  
     What will you plan? 
     What will you recommend?

     In all, press on.