Soldiers Part 2

"You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier."                                                                                  2 Timothy 2:3-4.  NKJV

There is another area that a soldier in God's Army can kill, and that is faith. God's Word tells us that we were healed by the stripes of Jesus (1 Peter 2:24) and yet we'll go around saying things like, 'I've got a splitting headache,' or 'The pain in this tooth is killing me.' On the subjects of finances, we may confess, 'I'm skint, things will never get better.' If we go around saying this kind of stuff, things never will get better or we'll lose our healing. Self-fulfilled prophecy is dangerous stuff. What we confess, we'll get. When we speak or act negative then we kill any sign of faith happening. This is why Jesus could do very little when He visited His home town. (Matthew 13:57-58). Watch what you say and think. A soldier in God's Army needs to be fit and in good shape.

One of the essential parts of a soldier's make up, is that he or she must be exemplary in all they do. People need to know that we are reliable and trustworthy. Jesus needs to know that He can count on us to carry out the orders of the day. He trusts us. Do a self-assessment. Ask yourself, 'Does what I do and say point to Jesus?' Be honest and tough on yourself with this. It's part of our training and a soldier needs to train each day to be in peak form. If you've let Him down in an area, ask forgiveness and make some adjustments so that this is not repeated. This way, you'll be competing according to the rules. (2 Timothy 2:5). 

We can't see Jesus and at times it's easy to believe that He can't see us either. But He can; He sees and hears everything. We need to take on board that some of the things we become involved in - our words and deeds, we would never dream of doing them in the Queen's presence. We'd be on our best behaviour. Then why aren't we doing this for the King of kings? He is there with us 24/7. Even though He's not visible, we need to remember He is overseeing all that we do.

We should never keep a record of people's wrongs. We're not called to judge. However, it is useful and a good fitness exercise, to keep a record of ours. This is how we learn to assess our progress. Soldiers in the Regular Army need to keep fit and work on the areas that they are weak in. They need to push themselves to the limit to be able to reach their goal. Soldiers in God's Army are no different. We let ourselves down each day in various ways. God's Soldiers train every day, not just on a Sunday and then have the week off. It's got to be full on. Therefore, make notes on areas where improvements can be made. This may be in controlling anger, or training the tongue, standing on God's Word for something or praying. Regular soldiers go to the gym. God's soldiers need to do the same - their gym being a place which is dedicated for quiet times each day. Regular soldiers can't afford to cut corners and miss a day, neither can  God's soldiers. We're on active service. Don't be tempted to take a day off. It may cost you severely.

Regular soldiers train with bricks in their back pack or telegraph poles on their shoulders; God's soldiers train with armour on their bodies and a sword in their hand and with sheer determination, they make the grade.

More tomorrow after your training sessions

Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@hotmail.com