True Soldiers of Christ

In order to be true soldiers of Jesus Christ we must meet the requirements of His Word as loyal subjects of the heavenly kingdom…. Those who claim to believe the truth must appreciate the great warfare before us and what is comprehended in being a faithful soldier of Jesus Christ…. The Saviour’s army invites voluntary enlistment. There must be a complete surrender of the passions, will, and ways to the will of the Master. Our work is to obey the orders of the mighty General of armies. A strong and active bodily organization is to be maintained. The senses must be enlightened as to perfect obedience; duties are to be done which cannot always be seen as essential; but now comes in the necessity of faith in a higher wisdom and power than your own. Have faith in God, unshaken faith in the skill and ability and fidelity of your Commander, who knows the plan of the battle.

The Lord Jesus does not deceive His soldiers. He opens before them the conflict, presents the plan of the battle, points out the hazardous undertaking, and exhorts everyone to count the cost. He does not leave them in ignorance. He tells everyone before enlistment to count the cost before they enlist as soldiers in His army, for a soldier’s life is a life of duty.

To every man in service is given his work, and no excuse can be accepted why that God-given work is not done. Some are negligent and indolent. Some are slothful servants like the man who had one talent entrusted to use and improve, but … buried it in the earth and made no use of it. When his talent was called for, to be rendered back to God, the Owner, he had only the one unused talent. No one was improved by his entrusted gift. The least he could have done was to use it to the best of his ability, but he handed it back with a complaint against God: “I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: and I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine” (Matthew 25:24, 25). The Lord repeated His words, “Thou knewest.” The fact was he had not a knowledge of God and His works and His ways and His mercy and His kindness in giving an opportunity to improve the entrusted gift. The word is, “Take … the talent from him, and give it unto him that hath ten talents. For unto everyone that hath shall be given, … but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath” (verses 28, 29).—Manuscript 98, August 4, 1900, “True Soldiers of Christ.”
The Upward Look p. 230
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Prayer Requests
—-Please pray for Andjaloni and her family as her brother has died. Rose
—-Poor Maya. Her family went to the park yesterday, and she hurt her little foot on the slide. They took her to ER and her xrays were clear, but her foot is really swollen and sometimes swelling masks injuries. Let us pray that she is peaceful and that when her mom takes her to the ped they will find some answers. Jennifer
—-I have an urgent prayer request and need all prayer warriors. My mom is in the ER and we just found out she is in kidney failure and is being transferred to another hospital. Chelsia
—-I’m in need of prayers I have such pain in my knee. Mike
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Dear Friends,
When our children were little, I would not always help them with whatever it was they were doing even though I knew it was beyond their ability to do it. It was difficult for me to stand by and watch them try to do it on their own, but I wanted to teach them a lesson. They would struggle and struggle until they realized the futility of it all. When at last they would come to me and ask for help, I would gladly give it. This gave me an opportunity to teach them to take all of their problems to their Heavenly Father Who is waiting with longing desire to grant the desires of our heart.
Just as it was hard for me to allow my little ones to struggle, so our Heavenly Father longs to help us. He is just waiting for us to ask Him for the help we so much need. Jesus assures us, “your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.” Matt 6:8 Our dear Saviour tells us the conditions for answered prayer, “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” John 15:7 “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” Luke 11:9,10 This does not always mean that we will get just what we ask for. James explains, “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.” James 4:3
Think of it! If we abide in Him and ask according to His will, we will have our petitions. “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.” 1 John 5:14, 15 What a wonderful Father we have! He listens to our prayers and weighs each request. Then He gives us an answer that is better than we could ask or think.
May we have confidence that He hears and gives us our requests according to His great knowledge and understanding. May we trust Him to take complete control of our lives. May we put our hand in His and let Him lead us to His Heavenly Kingdom is my prayer.

Rose