A SOLDIER OF THE CROSS
James 4:14, “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.”
CIVIL WAR soldiers found there were lots of days of delay between battles. While many of the men spent their spare time gambling and drinking whiskey, Christians attended camp revival meetings. William Chambers was a Southern soldier who took his faith in Christ seriously:
October 21st
On Friday 16th we moved to our new camping place. The next day was the monthly preaching service at the Baptist house of worship. When I went in Mr. Rutherford was just closing his “Inquiry meeting.” He introduced me to Dr. William Howard, the Baptist pastor. At 11 o’clock the latter preached from II Chronicles XXVI: 5, “As long as he sought the Lord, God caused him to prosper.” …In the afternoon a large crowd assembled on the left bank of the Chickasahay River, just above the bridge, to witness the ordinance of baptism. There were nine of us to be baptized, and while the people sang “Am I a Soldier of the Cross? One by one we went down into the water and were baptized in the “name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost…
Isaac Watts wrote:“Am I a soldier of the cross,
A follower of the Lamb,
And shall I fear to own His cause,
Or blush to speak his name?
Must I be carried to the skies
On flowery beds of ease, …
Sure I must fight if I would reign;
Increase my courage, Lord.
I’ll beat the toil, endure the pain;
Supported by the word.”
The lord has called us to be Christian soldiers. He has not called us to “flowery beds of ease.” The apostle James reminds us that we do not know what awaits us tomorrow.
Taken from “Battlefields and Blessings” by Terry Tuley