It's much too easy to observe someone and decide what he or she is thinking because of the countenance.

     When someone does something or refuses to do something, the enemy loves to bombard the  thoughts with all the reasons why.

     If you don't know for sure, do not try to figure it out.   The scenarios will play out on the screen of your mind, and you will experience real emotions based on a fabrication. 

     Much gossip starts this way.

     Soldier of The Cross,  when strange things happen, do not fill in the blanks with speculation.   Much spiritual murder has resulted from this kind of thought activity.  Only the Lord knows the heart.

     Many things are hidden.  We are not supposed to know everything.  The flesh craves an answer and wants to be in control by understanding.

     It has to be clean. If you don't know for sure, don't guess.

     Leave it with Him. Aloud.
     Today.    

     Yes, Vengeance is His, as He has told us.

     This does not mean you are going to get to see it.  The last thing the Soldier of The Cross needs is to hang around the crime scene,  waiting for the offender to get whacked.

     When we cross over, we will see and understand justice.  Right now, move on.   If you look back to watch,  even though the happenings are in the unseen, you will turn into a pillar of salt and be useless.

     Forgiveness does not mean you are best friends with the offender.  It mean you let it go and move on.

     The worst thing is to be misquoted with devastating results.  Or to have someone report falsely about you to another.  There is always a terrible ripple effect. If it can be straightened out, do it.  But you are a Servant and you are following after Him.  There will be no putting the Cross down so you can settle the score.

     You can't put your hand to the plow and look back.

     If you have decided your life will be about ministry, you will absolutely be maligned and/or betrayed.  Usually by someone you have invested yourself in.

     You must move on.  The Lord might fix it quickly and He might not.  It is a matter to be dealt with in prayer, and it's not easy.

     The enemy will press you to vindicate yourself, but often this is a deterrent to service.  It is one of the hardest things to give up to Him.

     Soldier, look up and move on.

     Tell Him you will leave it at His feet.  Tell Him aloud and tell Him you want to move on.   This world is  not your home, and that fact becomes more and more real when you agree  with Him in prayer.

     Do it today.    

     Tomorrow will deal with itself.

     Right now, you need to turn your attention to the immediate.

     Take in His Word.  You have been forgetting that. Stand before Him and let the Indwelling Holy Spirit lead in prayer.    You can't fix tomorrow when tomorrow is not here.

     Give it to Him in prayer.  Now
     Aloud.

     It is not good for you to sling back words you think the other deserves.

     We have all heard the age-old adage "Don't stoop to her level".

     Getting even is a habit.  You must realize right now that when you retaliate to either get back at the other or to put him or her in place, it is a huge mistake and you make a fool of yourself.

     One of the loudest messages in the Bible is that God will attend to what the other deserves, and that you do not have the capacity to know what that is.

     This habit has to be broken, and it must be a matter of prayer.  Your holding your tongue is a tremendous protection for you.  Words created damage, and when the other is creating damage, why should the Soldier of The Cross sling it back?

     Children must be taught that this is not a matter of being a weakling, but that it is a matter of wisdom.   It is a protection for the one who can't be moved to say foolish and destructive things.

     As a family lawyer, I see this problem as widespread. I have an incredibly hard time trying to get my clients from hurling hasty and angry responses to the other party.  As a pastor's wife for 33 years, I saw that believers often can't wait for God, and must rush in and take the matter in their own hands.  This always results in damage, division and  the door is thrown wide open for the enemy.

     Soldier,  "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us . . ."   (John 1:14)

    The Word.  He is The Word.   Words are so critical.   You don't have to have all the right words, but you surely do need to withhold all the wrong ones.

     Listen to yourself.

     Pray about this.  Aloud.

     Lord, as I stand before you tonight, I want to say aloud to you again that you can do anything you want with my life. 

     Please do anything and everything in me to make me more like you.  I know this will cost, and I know I won't like it when it happens.  Nonetheless, i want you more than anything.

     Oh, Lord, I am so burdened about the one who has strayed so far from you and is veering off in such a destructive vector.   By faith now, I give her up to you and ask that the Holy Spirit would remind me to govern my thoughts about her life.  Please lead me in how to pray for her.

     Lord, so much is flying about, but I tell you I am determined to have my being in you and nothing else. 

    
     Thank you so much for your Word. Please let me see and hear you more quickly and more clearly.

     My Lord and my God.

     The leading of the Indwelling Holy Spirit is more often than not ignored by Christians.

     It is different for you, because you have made the decision to give up the right to design your own destiny and have told the Lord you will yield to His leading, no matter what.  This means you are always praying to recognize Him, and waiting for His direction.

     Generally, when you know nothing, do nothing. 

     There are times when a decision must be made, and you feel like you are still in the dark.  Remember, He is preparing us for heaven, and He is not going to  take you away from everything that might be labeled a "mistake".  He wants to train you in wisdom.   Consequently, there are times when wisdom is gained from a wrong choice.

     When it comes to decisions of significant consequence,  He gives unction, assurance, curiosity and miraculous opportunity.  He also draws us to the unexpected.

     The Frontier of faith means that we are wooed into areas and presented with plans that are out of the realm of our imagination.

     Do you truly want to serve Him?   There are times in life when there is a tiny little thought that seems to come from nowhere.  It might be an idea that is something impossible for you and out of the realm of anything in your experience.  But it just won't go away.   It is like a little silver strand of thought that makes no sense and matches nothing.

     Pay careful attention.  The Holy Spirit is not a screamer.  He is not a head-basher.  He is often delicate and leads the Soldier who is in prayer about being a Living Sacrifice and doing anything God wants.

     Oh, Soldier of The Cross!    He will lead you into the most exquisite places.  And even when all is unfamiliar, you will know you are at home.

     Take this to Him in prayer.  Aloud.
     Today   

      And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.   
                      Samuel 30:6

     The most interesting thing about this verse is, we have no idea how David encouraged himself in the Lord.   We only know that he did.

     All front line Servants of the Living God have times of unspeakable discouragement.  And as a matter of course, the enemy is always trying to keep us deflated.  He constantly send missiles in an attempt to deflect our attention from the Goal.

     Laziness often creeps in. When there is little prayer and no fresh Word of God, the Soldier is vulnerable.  But a devotional life is not a prescription to produce all we need.

     One of the things that sets the heart aflame is the story of one who has gone before and has been in desperate need.   Hearing how that need is met by the Lord is not only encouraging, but instructional.   So many have been called to serve, and the stories of His faithfulness are fuel for the Soldier's heart.

     I have just finished Herbert Grings' autobiography.  He was a little known missionary to the Congo in the early part of the 1900's.   What a Soldier!  What difficulty and what deliverance.   What answers to prayer.  Heartache and loss.  Death.  Thrill.  Satisfaction. Explosive joy.

     Soldier of The Cross, make a habit of reading about those who have gone before us.  While there are a few good books written today, much of Christian literature has to do with feeling better about yourself and having a better life.  What a waste.

     Follow the journeys of those who have been called as you have - called to take up The Cross and follow Him.

     There are hundreds and hundreds.  Many are free on the Google Books site.

     We need each other.  We need to hear from those who have gone before.  We see their footprints on the path in front of us.    

     Buying books?    Start with Elisabeth Elliot's "A Chance to Die"- the story of Amy Carmichael.     When you hit the second half of the book, you will not be able to put it down.  Consider the title. 

     Get the Jaffray series.  Many missionary biographies.  
     Our heritage makes us vastly wealthy.
 

     You have made a decision, and that sets you apart.

     Because you have chosen to be a Soldier of The Cross,  you have taken up The Cross daily and you are following hard after Him.

      What does this mean?

     It means you are being called into the unknown.  At least, the unknown in your experience. The quicksand of the Christian is the desire to slow down and have everything predictable and comfy.

     There has to be a regular letting the Lord know that He can do anything.    May He move you?  Or are you too comfortable?  Are you willing to take your children and follow Him?  Or is it about what society considers is right for them?  If He calls you to Africa, will you have conditions?

     The Church today has has lost the vision for complete availability and has promoted a standard of comfort and physical prosperity.

     Those who memorize His word and stand before Him in prayer and daily determined to be a Living Sacrifice - those are the ones He can move easily.  He gives them Grace for the next move, and He does not give it until it is time.

     The move might not be to another location.  It might be a move of the heart. 

     He is not looking to find the most available and then clobber them.  He is searching for those who will trust Him.  He is looking for those who will see His glory.

     He is looking for those who simply want to know, hear and obey Him.  

     Can He be trusted?

     Can He be known?  Not without walking by faith.

     Tell Him you are available, and tell Him aloud.
     Tell Him each day.

     ³ When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. ⁴ Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. ⁵ Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. ⁶ The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
                                          James  3: 3-6 (Amplified Bible)

     Soldier, much division in the Body of Christ is caused by seemingly casual comments.  There must be great caution when saying anything about a Brother or Sister to a third party.

     The enemy uses everything possible to create division. And, there is no such thing as a small division.   They are only visible or invisible.

     There are small comments that concern things such as housekeeping, dress, weight,  spending, odor, and other matters.   Those who make such comments are usually the ones who are eager to share interesting personal information about another.

     One of the most lethal offenses is the out-of-context quote  Or even unwisely accurately quoting for the purpose of the listener being appalled.   Some do this habitually to gain attention.

     How careful we must be. These comments throw the door open for the enemy to toy with us, and the field is set afire.   

     If the tongue were guarded in the same manner as money, most would sin less.

     Oh, Soldier, pray for the Indwelling Holy Spirit to train you in this area.  Be in much prayer about it.    When we are on the other side, we will see the terrible chasms that were created by loose tongues.

     Teach your children to hear themselves.  Teach them to put up an open palm and remove themselves from such conversations.

     Take this to the Lord.  Aloud.

     There are many serious misunderstandings about being filled with the Holy Spirit.

     There are those who hold a doctrinal position that is correct to a point, but they never experience Him.  They believe that when we are born again, He indwells, and of course that is what  the Bible teaches,  But those who hold to that as a teaching alone don't experience Him.   I do not speak of fireworks.

     Then of course, there are those who crave a show all the time.  Wrong.

     There is no question that all who are born again  have the Holy Spirit "seal of promise" and He indwells.  There is a witness of Sonship that nothing can remove, and absolutely, there is an assurance of salvation. 

     But oh Soldier of The Cross, there is so much more.  I do not speak of supernatural explosions or any kind of geeky show.

     He who Indwells is a Person, and He reveals Jesus.   He leads and He assures.  He prods and He restrains.  If the Soldier of The Cross does not know that he or she is  experiencing the Holy Spirit of God, something is wrong.

     We are called out of this world into another, and we have The Alongside One who enables and guides.  He consoles and He chides. 

     You understand God's Word because The Interpreter lives in you.

     No cheapening of the Presence of the Holy Spirit.  Learn to be  alert.  Recognize God.

     Pray about this because if you don't, you will miss His Presence.

     Soldier, we are to be being filled, all the time.   Go after Him.  Pursue Him.  
     Do it in prayer.
     Do it in your thought life.
     Do it in your speech.
   
     Tell Him how much you want Him.  Tell Him you want to be filled.  Again and again and again.  And then again.

     Tell Him aloud and do it now.  Don't wait.