Ask Christ about everything, about people, about opportunities, about every aspect of your ministry, about every decision you make. Ask Him what to buy at the grocery store, what to wear, about people that come into your life.

As much as lies in you, do not take anything for granted no matter how obvious!

Learning to look to Jesus constantly will be of critical importance throughout the spiritual warfare that is upon us. There can be no letup at any time or for any reason. A wise officer posts a guard twenty-four hours of every day even though every aspect of the environment appears free from threat. The one time you do not post a guard will be the one time you get your throat cut.

How many times in history has a battle been lost because the high-ranking officers took something for granted or made assumptions about what the enemy would or would not do! They paid dearly for their lack of diligence and consistency.

The battle we are in has eternal consequences. Never, never, never let down your guard. You are not a typical American churchgoer. You are a member of the highly disciplined, highly trained warlike remnant. Never forget that.

The soldiers of Gideon's army who stuck their head in the water were sent home. They needed to be sent home. Those today who plunge into the apparent blessing of the Holy Spirit without watching for the enemy will be sent home. They must be sent home because they behave foolishly.

The remnant who are left drink of the same water but remain watchful. Are you jumping into the water or are you remaining watchful?

If I could yell at every Christian in the world, this is what I would cry: "Don't take anything for granted! Don't make assumptions no matter how obvious the situation is!"

I think every Christian at least once each day should pause and look to Jesus to see if he or she is on the right track. Usually we get a clear signal to go ahead. On other occasions to our surprise we are alerted to the fact that something is wrong. Then we are to proceed cautiously until we can determine if it really is the Lord who is checking us or the enemy trying to confuse us.

I am not advocating passivity in which the believer waits until he is "moved by the Spirit." Such an attitude of passivity will result only in indecisiveness and general confusion and unfruitfulness. Rather I am speaking of dynamic seeking of the Lord and dynamic pressing forward in worship and service. Our will must be kept sharp and active throughout the process of seeking God's guidance.

The Gibeonites remained as thorns in Israel's side for generations to come. Joshua's splendid record was marred by this one incident. This tells us the Holy Spirit is emphasizing the need for a continual seeking of the Lord's guidance as the Church prepares to cross over into the rest of God.

To be continued.