It is self evident that most Christians go to church to hear the message.

     You have an added responsibility.

     You are to be a Pillar in The House of The Lord.  You are an Overcomer (Rev 3:12) because you have yielded to Him and made Him your Reason, your Goal and your Purpose.

     The Soldier of The Cross is available to serve The King.  It is not about being "fed" at every meeting.  It is about laying down your life for the Brethren.  Of course, you can't stay with heresy absent specific Grace for same.  

     At the same time, isn't it about Him?  Isn't it about everyone else?  The unseen powers are always watching His Servants. 

     You have crossed The Line.  You told Him He could do anything with your life and that means that in prayer, you're always focused on His agenda. 

     It means that you deal in Love instead of sifting things by sight. 
     It means you are available to preach or teach and equally eager to change diapers in the nursery.
     It means that when you have company you will not bag the service because you have not seen them for twenty years. 
     It means you will take matters to Him before you will take them to anyone else.
     It means you will not swell and spill when asked your opinion.

     Oh, Soldier.  Because you have crossed The Line, you have made it clear to Him that you long to be a Living Sacrifice.

     Be sure to take in The Word daily.  Be sure to set aside a time to be with Him.  Make sure it is aloud.

     His Body.  Prepare in prayer and dive in.
     By prayer.   

     You are not going to know why.

     We live in a fallen world which is under the influence of the fallen one.

     However, we serve a Risen Savior and He has given us The Indwelling Holy Spirit.

     There is a bottom line here.  What is your issue?

     Have you or have you not decided to live or die for Him?  Can He be trusted?  MAny Christians have not settled this issue.

     Is it a child?
     Your marriage?
     False accusations against you?
     Constant pain?  
     Financial Oppression?
     Depression?
     Death?
    

     So many devastating matters on this earth.  Yet, He said He could be trusted.    

     Soldier,  buck up, look up and move on.  Life is so short.  We are privileged to see eternity by faith, and we know better than to walk by sight.

    You must tell Him.  Aloud.
     Today.

   Recommended reading: Rose From Briar  by Amy Carmichael.
 

     No heart is impenetrable.

      He can reach into the deepest abyss.
      He can melt the hardest of hearts.
      He can limber the most brittle thoughts and patterns.
      He can rescue the most desperately fallen.
     

     George Muller's brother was saved at George's funeral.  George had prayed for him for over twenty years.

     Isn't it God's responsibility?  We bring it to him in prayer, we love and do all we can to reveal Him in Love and we often step aside.

     What does it mean to be a Soldier of The Cross?  It means that you agree with God No Matter What!

     No Matter What.

     Can He be trusted?  Is eternity in His Hands or do you need to have some assurance now that He is not a lair?

      Soldier, don't give up on those who seem to be impervious to the Holy Spirit.  No one is.  You weren't and neither was I.

      That's why we needed a Savior and a Rescuer.

      Stand before Him.  Bring your loved one in prayer and leave that one with Him.  Many years?  Not a problem for Him.   Seems to get worse?  Not a problem for Him.   You getting clobbered?  Not a problem for Him.

     Stand before Him.  Tell Him again.  Aloud.
     Today.

      Recommended reading: 
             From Gangster to Believer!
             CROSS ROADS
                   The Louis Lugo Story

     There is a defined purpose for each minute of your life.

     He called you and He chose you.  That's miraculous.  The One who holds the stars in place went after you and wooed you into  a relationship with Him.

     It is still as true today as it was when you gave Him your heart..  He hasn't diluted the calling nor has he rerlaxed His grip on you.

     Every Soldier of The Cross has slogged through discouragement, seeming failure and persecution.  Yet, His nail-pierced hand always reaches into the depths of the heart if the door is opened to Him.

     Look up.  Take Him at His Word.  You have a job to do - it is the next thing before you and you must do it with all you have, even if you don't know what lies beyond.

     We serve One whose Loving goal is to prepare us for eternity and to then love us eternally.

     Soldier, take in the Word.  Go to prayer.  Aloud.
     He will encourage you.

     Soldier of The Cross, He called you.

     What a remarkable thing.  And what a glorious responsibility you have to respond to that calling.

     The enemy never lets up.  Do you realize that he doesn't take a break?  Yes, we  have periods of rest, but the enemy is always on the prowl.  Life itself seems to loom large and interfere with service.  With affirmative love.  With ministry.  With prayer.

     So few years you have.  Possibly only weeks or days.  Cross over in obedience and in freedom, knowing that He has designed it all and will see you through.

     Tell Him.  Aloud.
     Today.

     When the Lord leads,  He will bring vision, but He will not give the whole plan.

     We are asked to follow.  We are never asked to examine the Plan and then decide to follow as long as all the ducks are in a row or as long as we approve.

     The Soldier of The Cross must operate in Faith only.  It is the flesh that whines and stomps to move by sight.  There is a fallen itch that longs to make sure nothing will hurt or cause stress.

     He calls to service those who will agree with Him before seeing any part of the Plan.

      Be a whatever, wherever, to whomever Soldier of The Cross.

     Tell Him today. Aloud.

     I often see Christians rupture over things that on a human scale are unfair.

     Usually it is false accusation.  Other times it is damage from a drunk driver, financial loss, debilitating illness or a myriad of other circumstances.

     You have been called to take up The Cross and follow Him through life's gauntlet of circumstances.  There is nothing in God's Word that gives the Soldier to take leave to be a corrector of life's wrongs.

     The Follower who pours it out to Him and agrees with Him in prayer, will be able to keep his eyes on the only One who knows the way through.

     Soldier of The Cross, you have the Power to pray according to the Word and not according to the circumstances.
     You have have Power to take every thought captive and lead it away.
     You have the Power to keep moving.
     You have the power to sing.  To pray.  To read. 
     You have the Power to love when you feel numb.

     Because you have The Indwelling Holy Spirit.

     We have not been called to get vengeance, create the balance, or make sure no one gets away with anything.  We have been called to
be Living Sacrifices and follow hard after Him.

     Agree with Him.  Today
     Aloud.

     Oh, Soldier, you must pursue the Lord.

     From the beginning to the end of the Word, He makes it clear that you must go after Him.  He has initiated, and you must respond.

     There is simply nothing else.

      You are a Soldier of The Cross.  That means that you have made the decision to leave behind your lower desires and ambitions.  You have declared yourself for His agenda and there is nothing else.

     What does that mean?

     It means that the false things said about you are to be ignored apart from prayer.  It means that you are to love the unlovely.  It means that you may or not may be vindicated in this life and you agree with God that is it His issue and not yours.

     Soldier, what is your ultimate goal?  Is it to stand before Him and be able to say that you agreed with Him?  Of course.

      Do it now in prayer.  He will inoculate you from the penetrating power of evil and will point you out as His Soldier.

     Tell Him now.  Aloud.
     Today.

     Lord, as I stand before you tonight, I declare that I will move into the thing you have appointed. 

     As I look at the circumstances, my head spins and I know better than to beg you to freeze everything.

     Oh, Lord, there is nothing but you, and I know that.  I can't go back, and it seems I can't go forward.  The things that whistle and spin around my head seem to defy your Word.

     I stand on everything you have said.  I love the Bible.  I know it is personal and true, and I cling to it.

     Oh, Master of The Universe, please encourage me.  Please assure me.  Please reveal Yourself to me.

     My Lord and My God.

     Getting even means indulging in negative fantasy.

     One of the enemy's easiest attacks is getting Christians to go for a false balance.

     Only the Lord knows what needs to happen.  Only the Lord sees it all.  Only the Lord knows the heart.  And, He has commanded that you do not return evil for evil.  He has also said vengeance is His.

     It doesn't feel like evil for evil, does it?  It just feels so strongly that something has to be done.  The offense just can't be ignored.  And, how will it look to others if you do nothing?

     The only way to deal with the root of the matter is to go before the One who says you must forgive.

     What is the beginning of forgiveness?  The letting go of the flesh's insistent scream to say or do something. To somehow even the score.  To teach the person he is wrong.

     Much of the false balance is created in talking to others about the situation.  In matters concerning believers, spreading negative information (whether true or not) gives the enemy access and energy.

     Soldier of The Cross,  come before the One who is All Power and leave it with Him.  Is He able to deal with it?  Does He know more about the situation than you?

     Stop talking about it to everyone else and take it up with Him.  The Holy Spirit will calm you and He will assure you.

Do it aloud.