Loyalty a Must

[Daily Devotional]

Loyalty a Must

Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 2 Tim. 2:
3. 

We are soldiers of Christ; and those who enlist in His army are expected to
do difficult work, work which will tax their energies to the utmost. We must
understand that a soldier's life is one of aggressive warfare, of
perseverance and endurance. For Christ's sake we are to endure trials. We
are not engaged in mimic battles. 

Resolve, not in your own strength, but in the strength and grace given of
God, that you will consecrate to Him now, just now, every power, every
ability. You will then follow Jesus because He bids you, and you will not
ask where, or what reward will be given. . . . 

When you die to self, when you surrender to God, to do His work, to let the
light that He has given you shine forth in good works, you will not labor
alone. God's grace stands forth to cooperate with every effort to enlighten
the ignorant and those who do not know that the end of all things is at
hand. But God will not do your work. Light may shine in abundance, but the
grace given will convert your soul only as it arouses you to cooperate with
divine agencies. You are called upon to put on the Christian armor and enter
the Lord's service as active soldiers. Divine power is to cooperate with
human effort to break the spell of worldly enchantment that the enemy has
cast upon souls. 

The Lord has honored us by choosing us as His soldiers. Let us fight bravely
for Him, maintaining the right in every transaction. Rectitude in all things
is essential to the warfare of the soul. As you strive for the victory over
your own inclinations, He will help you by His Holy Spirit to be circumspect
in every action, that you may give no occasion for the enemy to speak evil
of the truth. 

We are soldiers of Christ. He is the Captain of our salvation, and we are
under His orders and rules. We are to wear His armor; we are to be marshaled
only under His banner. . . . We are to keep on the whole armor of God, and
work as in view of the universe of heaven.

>From God's Amazing Grace - Page 36