Thoughts of Good Hope

[HOLY] SPIRIT MAKES ALIVE” (2 Corinthians 3:6).

 

What do you have that needs the supernatural touch of your Father’s Gift, the Holy Spirit?  Is it hopelessness…brokenness…confusion?  Maybe you need love for someone you have not been able to love.  Maybe you need to forgive someone you have not been able to forgive.  Maybe you need patience for the people in your life…or for your circumstances.

 

“NOT THAT WE ARE SUFFICIENT OF OURSELVES TO THINK ANY THING AS OF OURSELVES; BUT OUR SUFFICIENCY IS OF GOD” (2 Corinthians 3:5).

 

1. What is there in your life that is dead…that needs the touch of the Holy Spirit, in order to come alive?  Know that the Father is offering you His Spirit to help you in all your needs.

 

PRAYER: Perfect abounding Father, You sent me Your Holy Spirit to provide in all my needs.  I am not adequate in myself, God, but my adequacy is from You.

 

Perfect Father, I am dependent on You.  I need the help of Your Holy Spirit, Your Gift to me, every day…every hour…moment-by-moment.  How glad I am that Your Holy Spirit can do what I am not able to do.  He can make things that are dead in my life come alive.  He can change my darkness into Light… my brokenness into Wholeness… my guilt into Blamelessness.

 

Father, I need Your Gift of the Holy Spirit to create Your Love in my heart for those I have not been able to love.  I need Your Gift to create Your Forgiveness in my heart for those I have not been able to forgive.  I need Your Gift to create Your Patience in me, so I can deal with the difficult people and circumstances in my life.

 

I exalt You, Perfect Father, for providing Your adequate Gift, Your Holy Spirit, whenever I realize my inadequacy and ask for Him.

 

February 4  May You Love God Enough to Obey Him

There came a point in my life when I yearned to experience my Father’s presence ALL THE TIME, and when I longed to hear His voice EVERY DAY.  I asked Him how that was possible…and He answered, “Love Me and obey Me, even in your THOUGHTS!”

 

“WHOEVER HAS MY COMMANDS AND OBEYS THEM, HE IS THE ONE WHO LOVES ME. HE WHO LOVES ME WILL BE LOVED BY MY FATHER, AND I TOO WILL LOVE HIM AND SHOW MYSELF TO HIM” (John 14:21).

 

God wishes to be loved by obedience…moment-by-moment obedience:obedience to His Counsel to follow His Light…to accept His Truth…to avail of His Hope.

 

Grasp that God desires to be loved with an acute moment-by-moment obedience to the promptings of His Spirit, BECAUSE GOD YEARNS TO BE REVEALED TO YOU ALL THE TIME, EVERY DAY, EVEN IN YOUR THOUGHTS.  Your Father longs to unveil His Love to you, demonstrate His Power to you, and expose His Righteousness to you.  But He needs your obedience, first, EVEN IN YOUR THOUGHTS.

 

Your moment-by-moment obedience renders his moment-by-moment revelation.

 

“SO NOW WE SERVE NOT UNDER [OBEDIENCE TO] THE OLD CODE OF WRITTEN REGULATIONS, BUT [UNDER OBEDIENCE TO THE PROMPTINGS] OF THE SPIRIT IN NEWNESS [OF LIFE]” (Romans 7:6 AMP).

 

1. Do you see the sequence of events in John 14:21: YOUR LOVE AND OBEDIENCE RENDER GOD’S REVELATION TO YOU?

1. How do you need to love and obey God today, in order to see His Power demonstrated in your life, His Hope manifested in your heart, and His Truth displayed in and around you?

 

PRAYER: Everlasting Father, I yearn to experience Your Presence all the time and hear Your Voice every day.  I know that this is only possible if I love and obey Your Counsel in my thoughts, instead of the counsel of the father-of-lies…if I follow Your moment-by-moment Guidance, instead of leaning on my own understanding…if I conform to Your Will, instead of inventing my own purpose.

 

Lord God, bring me to the place where I will love You with my entire spirit, soul, and body, even my thoughts.  Write OBEDIENCE on my heart, so I would follow Your Light, instead of darkness, and accept Your Truth, instead of the lies of the father-of-lies.

 

February 5  Your Father Loves You

 

”WHOEVER HAS MY COMMANDS AND OBEYS THEM, HE IS THE ONE WHO LOVES ME. HE WHO LOVES ME WILL BE LOVED BY MY FATHER, AND I TOO WILL LOVE HIM AND SHOW MYSELF TO HIM” (John 14:21).

 

I have discovered that when someone is rude and inconsiderate toward me, it is not the person’s rudeness and inconsideration that bother me the most, but MY BELIEFS that result from the rude person’s behavior–that I AM NOT LOVABLE or that I AM NOT LOVED.  Usually, in times like these, I start defending myself to prove that I AM loved and lovable.  That usually just makes matters worse.

 

Understand that your perfect Father wants to SHOW you that you ARE still loved and lovable even when someone is rude and inconsiderate toward you.  Jesus wants to reveal Himself to you in your sadness of feeling unloved and unlovable.  However, God needs your participation–TO BE WILLING TO OBEY HIM.  This obedience means focusing on YOUR OWN HEART when someone is rude and inconsiderate toward you, instead of focusing on the person who displayed this unpleasant behavior.  Admit that you feel unloved and unlovable, turn your focus to God, and ask Him to help you with your own heart.

 

And God will honor your obedience!  He will show you how much He loves you!

“HE WHO LOVES ME WILL BE LOVED BY MY FATHER, AND I TOO WILL LOVE HIM

AND SHOW MYSELF TO HIM”

 

1. Has someone been rude or inconsiderate toward you, recently? Which negative, destructive beliefs did this person’s behavior trigger in your heart?

1. Know that it will not help to repay evil with evil, because this will not solve the pain in your heart of feeling unloved and unlovable.  What WILL help is to love and obey God by inviting God’s Presence and Participation into the negative BELIEFS in your OWN HEART.

 

Prayer: Thank you, Lord Jesus, that You show Yourself to us whenever we love You through obedience.  Most High, lead me into obedience: to focus on my own heart when someone disrespects and dishonors me…to admit that I feel unloved and unlovable…and to turn to You for help, instead of running, hiding, and blaming my pain on my offender.  For if I love you with my obedience, You will show Yourself to me…and I will know that I am loved and lovable.

 

 

Feb. 6  God Can Do More Than What You Can Imagine

 

“NOW TO HIM WHO IS ABLE TO DO IMMEASURABLY MORE THAN ALL WE ASK OR IMAGINE, ACCORDING TO HIS POWER THAT IS AT WORK WITHIN US, TO HIM BE GLORY” (Ephesians 3:20).

 

It is hard to let go of anxiety, is it not?

 

Many times, I want to help God figure things out for me.  I would ask, but then I would imagine the solution.  I actually like to map out the whole plan for Him of how He can solve my problem.  At the very least, I like to give Him some suggestions.  Sometimes, I cannot visualize a solution and then I think to myself, “My Father must not have a solution either, since I cannot picture it myself.”

 

I had to let go of this pattern and learn that the perfect Father…the God of Power… works things out in ways I do not understand.  Just because I do not see and understand the solution does not mean God does not have one.  He can do immeasurably more than I can ask, and immeasurably more than I can imagine.

 

“DO NOT BE ANXIOUS ABOUT ANYTHING, BUT IN EVERY SITUATION, BY PRAYER AND PETITION, WITH THANKSGIVING, PRESENT YOUR REQUESTS TO GOD”

(Philippians 4:6).

 

Therefore, present your request to the God of Power.  Tell Him what bothers you.  Present Him your problem…your loneliness…your confusion.  Then leave Him to His own Power and Imagination to solve your problem.

 

1. What is bothering you?  Are you confused?  Are you anxious?  Are you depressed?  Do you have a problem, but you cannot imagine the solution?

1. Present you request to God, even if you cannot imagine the solution.  Simply ask the God of Power to supply according to His Power, not according to your imagination.

 

PRAYER: God of Power, I realize that I often want to help You figure things out for me.  God, I want to let go of this pattern and trust that You can solve my problems without my help.  Work Your Faith in me so that I would know that JUST BECAUSE I DO NOT SEE AND UNDERSTAND THE SOLUTION DOES NOT MEAN YOU DO NOT HAVE ONE.  Create in me a mind that believes that You can do immeasurably more than the solution I can imagine.

 

 

February 7  May You Be Strengthened

Listen to this beautiful message from the Apostle Paul in Ephesians.  It is an encouraging message of Hope and Power.  Listen.  Absorb.  Embrace.

 

“I PRAY ALSO THAT THE EYES OF YOUR HEART MAY BE ENLIGHTENED IN ORDER THAT YOU MAY KNOW THE HOPE TO WHICH HE HAS CALLED YOU, THE RICHES OF HIS GLORIOUS INHERITANCE IN THE SAINTS, AND HIS INCOMPARABLE GREAT POWER FOR US WHO BELIEVE. THAT POWER IS LIKE THE WORKING OF HIS MIGHTY STRENGTH, WHICH HE EXERTED IN CHRIST WHEN HE RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD AND SEATED HIM AT HIS RIGHT HAND IN THE HEAVENLY REALMS, FAR ABOVE ALL RULE AND AUTHORITY, POWER AND DOMINION, AND EVERY TITLE THAT CAN BE GIVEN, NOT ONLY IN THE PRESENT AGE BUT ALSO IN THE ONE TO COME”

(Ephesians 1:18-21).

 

May the eyes of your heart be opened in order that you may know the Hope to which your Father, the God of Hope, has called you, and the incomparable Power with which He can make anything come alive in your past…in your present…and in your future.  This Power is like the working of His mighty Strength, which He used to raise Jesus from the dead.

 

1. For what or whom in your life do you need your Father’s incomparable great Power?  Is it for something in your past…something in your future…or something or someone right now?

1. What is missing in your life that needs to be raised from the dead and made alive?  Is it your faith?  Is it your love?  Is it your strength…your desire to live?

1. Ask God to open the eyes of your heart, so you could see His Hope that is available for your heart, and His Power that is available for your circumstances.

 

PRAYER: Enlighten the eyes of my heart, Father, that I may know Your Hope and Your incomparable great Power for my past sins, mistakes, and wounds…for my present iniquities and weaknesses…and for my future plans.  Work Your mighty Strength in me, God of Power.  Raise me from the dead.  Make me alive.  Replenish my faith.  Restore my life.  Renew my mind.  Create in me a new heart.  To You be Glory!

 

 

February 8  All Authority Has Been Given to Jesus

“THEN JESUS CAME TO THEM AND SAID, ‘ALL AUTHORITY IN HEAVEN AND ON EARTH HAS BEEN GIVEN TO ME’” (Matthew 28:18).

 

Know that you have an enemy who is an impostor and deceiver and who loves to feign authority to dishearten and frighten you.  He will try to convince you that SHAME is the authority that will always reign in your life…that ABANDONMENT is the authority that will always rule your life…that CONDEMNATION is the authority that will always prevail.  Do not fall for the father-of-lies’ deception.

 

“CHRIST…FAR ABOVE ALL RULE AND AUTHORITY, POWER AND DOMINION, AND EVERY TITLE THAT CAN BE GIVEN, NOT ONLY IN THE PRESENT AGE BUT ALSO IN THE ONE TO COME” (Ephesians 1:21).

 

Grasp that all rule and power has been given to Jesus by the Perfect Father.  Know that this Authority is genuine and not counterfeit and no other force can hold up against it.  And God sent the Spirit of His son, who holds all authority, into your heart…if you invite Him.

 

“GOD SENT THE SPIRIT OF HIS SON INTO OUR HEARTS…” (Galatians 4:6).

 

I bless you to submit all counterfeit authority of abandonment, condemnation, and shame to the Lord Jesus, who is far above all rule and authority, power, and dominion…in the past…in the present age…and in the future.

 

1. Under which counterfeit authority have you been living: abandonment… shame…condemnation?

1. Believe that the Lord Jesus can demolish any counterfeit authority of shame, abandonment, or condemnation that the father-of-lies has set up against you.  All you need to do is ask Him to bring these counterfeit authorities under His Rule and Authority.

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, all Authority on Heaven and on earth belongs to You.  Your Authority applies to my PAST, my FUTURE and the PRESENT age in which I am living.  I call on You to demolish any counterfeit authority of shame, abandonment, or condemnation that the father-of-lies has set up against me.  Let it be done according to Your Power and Your Glory!

 

 

February 9  God Provides a Way Out

 

“NO TEMPTATION HAS SEIZED YOU EXCEPT WHAT IS COMMON TO MAN”

(1 Corinthians 10:13).

 

Understand that when the father-of-lies tempts you, he does not appear as a little red man with horns, using black magic.  He uses deception: the principle of luring you into believing something that is not true.  Although his ways are disguised, they are not mysterious and insolvable.  The father-of-lies will use your own thoughts and reasoning–your own understanding–as bait to lure you into sinful defense patterns.  He will intercept your thoughts and imbue them with his own lies, attempting to draw you farther and farther away from your Father.  Then he routinely repeats the customary moves, familiar to him, on everybody else worldwide.

 

“AND GOD IS FAITHFUL; HE WILL NOT LET YOU BE TEMPTED BEYOND WHAT YOU CAN BEAR. BUT WHEN YOU ARE TEMPTED, HE WILL ALSO PROVIDE A WAY OUT SO THAT YOU CAN STAND UP UNDER IT” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

 

Keep in mind that although your enemy desires to stay hidden and secretive, his ways are not mysterious and hidden to God.  Be convinced that God knows with certainty how your enemy entices, cajoles, seduces, and ensnares.  AND GOD KNOWS THE WAY OUT!

 

When you stand at the battlefront and the pain is in your face, God stands ready to be your TRUTH–to expose the deception and lead you out of the pain.  You do not have to use the sinful defense patterns your adversary offers you to still your heartache.  Instead, God is offering you HIS SOLUTION, so that you can stand up under pain.  Will you take His hand?

 

1. Connect with your heart, and find a negative, destructive belief that the father-of-lies has formed in your mind with deception–the principle of luring you to believe something that is not true.

1. Believe that the Lord Jesus stands ready to show you the way out of the pain in your heart, if you would expose the deception to Him.

 

PRAYER: How comforted I am, Lord God, to know that although my adversary’s ways are disguised, they are not mysterious and insolvable.  You know the way out of the pain in my heart.  You know the answers, because You are the Truth.

 

Thank you, Lord Jesus, that You deliver me from evil.  Lead me to accept Your way out of the pain in my heart, instead of accepting the deception of the father-of-lies and protecting myself with defense patterns that destroy myself and those around me.

February 10  God Made You for Himself

 

“WHAT AGREEMENT IS THERE BETWEEN THE TEMPLE OF GOD AND IDOLS? FOR WE ARE THE TEMPLE OF THE LIVING GOD. AS GOD HAS SAID: “I WILL LIVE WITH THEM AND WALK AMONG THEM, AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY WILL BE MY PEOPLE” (2 Corinthians 6:16).

 

One day, I asked God why he made me.  What was the main purpose He brought me into this world?  He answered, “I made you for Myself.  I delight in you.”  Then I realized that to my Perfect Father it is all about the RELATIONSHIP.  He made us so that He could live with us, walk among us, and talk to us…TO BE OUR GOD AND FOR US TO BE HIS PEOPLE.

 

The perfect Father went to a lot of trouble to make this RELATIONSHIP possible.  He sent His son, Jesus, to save us FOR HIMSELF.  Jesus did not come on His own accord.  He came because the Father sent him.

 

“FOR GOD DID NOT SEND HIS SON INTO THE WORLD TO CONDEMN THE WORLD, BUT TO SAVE THE WORLD THROUGH HIM” (John 3:17).

 

The perfect Father is also the One who sent the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit did not come on his own accord.  He came because the Father sent him.  And He came to tell us the things the Father wants us to know.

 

“BUT THE COUNSELOR, THE HOLY SPIRIT, WHOM THE FATHER WILL SEND IN MY NAME, WILL TEACH YOU ALL THINGS AND WILL REMIND YOU OF EVERYTHING I HAVE SAID TO YOU” (John 14:26).

 

1. The perfect Father longs to have a relationship with you through His son, Jesus, and through the Spirit of Truth.  God wants to talk to you, daily, and tell you how much He loves you.  He wants to tell you the purpose He has for you.  I urge you to ask the Spirit of Truth to remove the lies in your heart that God does not want to talk to you.

1. If you want to invite this intimate relationship with God into your life, start talking to God regularly about the oppressing beliefs in your heart, asking the Lord Jesus to save you from them, and the Spirit of Truth to bring you Truth.  This will help you to see and hear God more clearly.

 

PRAYER: Let me walk with You, Perfect Father.  Let me be Your child.  Be my Father.  Be my God.  Be my Life.  Delight in me.

 

 

February 11  May You Experience the Love of Jesus

 

“MAY YOU EXPERIENCE THE LOVE OF CHRIST, THOUGH IT IS TOO GREAT TO UNDERSTAND FULLY. THEN YOU WILL BE MADE COMPLETE WITH ALL THE FULLNESS OF LIFE AND POWER THAT COMES FROM GOD” (Ephesians 3:19).

 

I live in the mountains and I love to take a walk each day on one particular dirt road that forms a complete circle.  During my walk, I always talk to God about everything and everyone in my life.  Sometimes I have specific questions for Him.  Sometimes I feel hopeless, lonely, or angry.  Sometimes I talk to God about a perturbing perception.  Sometimes I walk around the whole circle crying.  Sometimes I laugh and rejoice.  Whatever happens in my life, I share it all with God on my walk around the circle.

 

Do you know what?  I have noticed that God has been walking with me around this circle of dirt road.  There is this one particular spot in the circle where Jesus told me that everything I did mattered.  Then there is the other spot where He told me He wanted me to obey Him.  Then there is the spot where He just embraced me with His Presence when I was going through the valley of the shadow of death.  On another spot He told me that I was accepted.  The whole circle is marked with spots where Jesus met with me.

 

I have EXPERIENCEDthe love of Jesus on my walks, although it is too great to understand fully.  With each EXPERIENCE of His Presence, He has been making me complete with all the fullness of Life and Power that comes from God.

 

May you, too EXPERIENCE the love of Christ, often, so that you can be made complete and become mature with all the fullness of Life and Power from God.  May you KNOW Him who is true.

 

“WE KNOW ALSO THAT THE SON OF GOD HAS COME AND HAS GIVEN US UNDERSTANDING, SO THAT WE MAY KNOW HIM WHO IS TRUE” (1 John 5:20).

 

1. Do you experience the Love of the Lord Jesus often in your life, even though it is too great to fully understand?  I encourage you to start talking to God, daily, about everything and everyone in your life.  Start where you are…with your feelings of disappointment, loneliness, and despair.  Soon, if you keep this up, you will start experiencing the Love of Christ in your heart, and you will get to know Him who is true.

 

PRAYER: How amazing that I can experience Your Love, Lord God, every day, wherever I go, whatever I do.  Thank you that I can talk to You about everything and everyone in my life.  I invite You to walk with me through this life, God.  Crown me with Your Love when I feel forsaken…when I feel rejected…when I feel sad.  Tell me that I matter.  Show me that I count.  Embrace me with Your Presence when I go through the valley of the shadow of death.  Enfold me with Your acceptance.  May I know You who are true.

 

February 12  Your Worth Is Established by God

 

“HE HAD NO BEAUTY OR MAJESTY TO ATTRACT US TO HIM,

NOTHING IN HIS APPEARANCE THAT WE SHOULD DESIRE HIM.

HE WAS DESPISED AND REJECTED BY MEN,

A MAN OF SORROWS, AND FAMILIAR WITH SUFFERING.

LIKE ONE FROM WHOM MEN HIDE THEIR FACES

HE WAS DESPISED, AND WE ESTEEMED HIM NOT.

BUT HE WAS PIERCED FOR OUR TRANSGRESSIONS,

HE WAS CRUSHED FOR OUR INIQUITIES;

THE PUNISHMENT THAT BROUGHT US PEACE WAS UPON HIM,

AND BY HIS WOUNDS WE ARE HEALED”

(Isaiah 53:2-5).

 

Did you know that the PERFECT FATHER is the One who established your worth?  HE is the One who settled your value.  HE put the price tag on you.  On the price tag, the Everlasting Father wrote…JESUS.

 

Jesus was pierced…for you.

He was crushed…for you.

The Father did this…for you.

That is how much you are worth…to Him.

 

For the Father made you for Himself.  He delights in you.

 

1. Do you sometimes feel unworthy: that you do not count…that you are not important…that you are of low quality?

1. Know that these oppressing beliefs do not come from God.  He paid a very high price for you, so you could belong to Him.  To Him you are worthy, you matter, and you are important.  But the father-of-lies will always tell you the opposite of what God tells you.  Therefore, I encourage you to take these oppressing beliefs to the Lord Jesus, and ask Him to tell you the Truth of why He was crushed for you.

 

PRAYER: Perfect Father, I praise You for deeming me worthy—for sending Your son, Jesus, to be crushed for me, so that I may belong to You.  Lord Jesus, I would like to experience in my innermost being that I am worthy and important to You, therefore I invite Your Presence and Participation into the deepest parts of my heart, where the father-of-lies has deposited his oppressing beliefs that I am not worthy: that I do not count…that I am not important…that I am of low quality.  Release me from these lies, Lord, so I may know why You were crushed for me.

 

February 13  Put Your Trust in God’s Love

 

“MAY YOU EXPERIENCE THE LOVE OF CHRIST, THOUGH IT IS TOO GREAT TO UNDERSTAND FULLY. THEN YOU WILL BE MADE COMPLETE WITH ALL THE FULLNESS OF LIFE AND POWER THAT COMES FROM GOD” (Ephesians 3:19).

 

Do not put your trust in what might happen in the future.  Put your trust in God’s Love.  Do not put your trust in what is happening in the present.  Put your trust in God’s Love.  Do not put your trust in your experience of the past.  Put your trust in God’s Love.  God’s Love never ends.  God’s Love never fails.  God’s Love is perfect.

 

“FOR I AM CONVINCED THAT NEITHER DEATH NOR LIFE, NEITHER ANGELS NOR DEMONS, NEITHER THE PRESENT NOR THE FUTURE, NOR ANY POWERS, NEITHER HEIGHT NOR DEPTH, NOR ANYTHING ELSE IN ALL CREATION, WILL BE ABLE TO SEPARATE US FROM THE LOVE OF GOD THAT IS IN CHRIST JESUS OUR LORD” (Romans 8:38-39).

 

Put your trust in God’s Love.  Do not allow rejection and condemnation to convince you that God does not love you anymore.  Do not let abandonment persuade you that God has abandoned you, too.  Do not allow shame to tell you that you are not good enough for God either.  Instead, invite God’s Presence and Participation into your experiences of abandonment, condemnation, and shame, allowing Him to empower you with inner strength through His Spirit.  Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of Life and Power that comes from God.

 

“AND I PRAY THAT YOU, BEING ROOTED AND ESTABLISHED IN LOVE, MAY HAVE POWER, TOGETHER WITH ALL THE SAINTS, TO GRASP HOW WIDE AND LONG AND HIGH AND DEEP THE LOVE OF CHRIST IS, AND TO KNOW THIS LOVE THAT SURPASSES KNOWLEDGE—THAT YOU MAY BE FILLED TO THE MEASURE OF ALL THE FULLNESS OF GOD” (Ephesians 3:17-19).

 

1. Have you experienced Christ’s Love in your own experiences of abandonment, rejections, and shame?  When you do, your abandonment, condemnation, and shame will be filled to the measure of all the fullness of Life and Power that comes from God.  And you will be made complete.

 

PRAYER: Lord God, how encouraged I am that Your Love surpasses knowledge.  Your Love surpasses rejection.  Your Love surpasses abandonment.  Your Love surpasses shame.  Your Love surpasses condemnation.  Your Love surpasses death.  Your Love surpasses the past, the present, and the future.

 

I invite Your Love into the experiences of abandonment, rejection, and shame in my life.  Establish me in Your Love, so I may be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from You.

 

February 14  Love Rejoices with the Truth

 

“LOVE IS PATIENT, LOVE IS KIND. IT DOES NOT ENVY, IT DOES NOT BOAST, IT IS NOT PROUD.  IT IS NOT RUDE, IT IS NOT SELF-SEEKING, IT IS NOT EASILY ANGERED, IT KEEPS NO RECORD OF WRONGS.  LOVE DOES NOT DELIGHT IN EVIL BUT REJOICES WITH THE TRUTH.  IT ALWAYS PROTECTS, ALWAYS TRUSTS, ALWAYS HOPES, ALWAYS PERSEVERES, NEVER FAILS” (1 Corinthians 13:1-7).

 

How do you love when someone is unkind to you…when someone sets forth his own weakness…when someone fails you?

 

When someone is unkind to you, do not delight in evil, BUT REJOICE WITH THE TRUTH.  You see, when someone fails you, that person’s heart is hurting, because his heart is filled with negative, destructive beliefs from the father-of-lies.  All kinds of thoughts are swimming in his mind, “I am not good enough.  I am not loved.  I have no purpose.”  He might even be upset at you, because he feels that God favors you above him.  Then, he becomes easily angered, rude, and self-seeking, as he tries to fix the negative, destructive beliefs in his heart with evil solutions.

 

So, what do YOU do when someone fails YOU?  What do you do about the evil thoughts with which the father-of-lies tempts YOU: that YOU are not good enough…that YOU are not loved…that YOU have no purpose?  Do you try to fix evil beliefs with evil solutions, too, becoming angry, self-seeking, and rude?  Or do you rejoice with the Truth?

 

1. Has someone failed you?  Know that your FACTS about the failing episode are probably true, but your INTERPRETATIONS about the failing episode are most probably not true.  Why not?  Because you have an enemy–the father-of-lies.  His weapon is deception: the principle of luring you into beliefs that are not true.

1. When someone fails you, check your interpretations about the event against God’s Truth.  Lay your conclusions about the event at God’s feet, and ask Him for HIS PERSPECTIVE, instead!  You will be surprised at the results.

 

PRAYER: Lord God, when someone fails me, let me not delight in evil, but rejoice with the Truth, because Your Truth sets us free from the negative, destructive beliefs of the father-of-lies.  Fill me with Your Love that never fails, that always protects…always trusts…always hopes…always perseveres, that does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the Truth.

 

February 15  Only He Who Does the Will of My Father

 

“NOT EVERYONE WHO SAYS TO ME, ‘LORD, LORD,’ WILL ENTER THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, BUT ONLY HE WHO DOES THE WILL OF MY FATHER WHO IS IN HEAVEN.  MANY WILL SAY TO ME ON THAT DAY, ‘LORD, LORD, DID WE NOT PROPHESY IN YOUR NAME, AND IN YOUR NAME DRIVE OUT DEMONS AND PERFORM MANY MIRACLES?’  THEN I WILL TELL THEM PLAINLY, ‘I NEVER KNEW YOU. AWAY FROM ME, YOU EVILDOERS!’” (Matthew 7:21-23).

 

God has a set of good works that He has chosen just for you.  That is called your PURPOSE. And this specific set of good works–YOUR PURPOSE–is the Will of the Father.

 

God created you for this specific Purpose by matching everything you are to this Purpose: your personality, your desires, and even your talents.

 

For example, God made me with a specific voice and He wants me to speak blessings over people with this voice; therefore, my husband and I make audio CD’s of this message of Hope, Love, and Truth.  This is part of the good works He has chosen for me to do. He gave me specific desires–to want to help people receive Hope, Love, and Truth for their lives.  He made me discerning, perceptive, and very calculating, so I could understand how to listen to people’s hearts when I help them find the Truth, Hope, and Love of God.  I am being me–the person God made me to be, so He could fulfill His Purpose through my life.

 

“FOR WE ARE GOD’S WORKMANSHIP, CREATED IN CHRIST JESUS TO DO GOOD WORKS, WHICH GOD PREPARED IN ADVANCE FOR US TO DO” (Ephesians 2:10).

 

1. Focus on who you are.  Stop focusing on who you are NOT.  What specific personality traits did God give you, so you could fulfill the set of good works that He has chosen just for you?  Which desires has He given you, so you could fulfill the good works He has chosen for you?  Which talents has He given you to contribute to the good works He has chosen just for you?

1. I encourage you to ask God to show you WHO YOU ARE–your God-given personality, talents, and desires.  Then, become that person, so that God can fulfill His Purpose through you.  This is the Will of the Father.

 

PRAYER: Father in Heaven, I long to do Your Will.  Show me my personality, talents, and desires, created in Christ Jesus as Your Workmanship, so I may use them to do Your Will.  Keep me from doing the good works that were not prepared for me, but to focus on the good works that are waiting for me to be done through Your Purpose.

 

February 16  Hope for Hopelessness

 

“WE KNOW HOW MUCH GOD LOVES US, AND WE HAVE PUT OUR TRUST IN HIS LOVE. GOD IS LOVE, AND ALL WHO LIVE IN LOVE LIVE IN GOD, AND GOD LIVES IN THEM” (1 John 4:16).

 

We all struggle with beliefs of hopelessness from time to time: that there are no solutions to our problems…that there are no open doors available…that there is no way out of our dilemma.  But Jesus showed us that there is a way out of hopelessness—TO REMAIN IN GOD’S LOVE.

 

“AS THE FATHER HAS LOVED ME, SO HAVE I LOVED YOU.  IF YOU OBEY MY COMMANDS, YOU WILL REMAIN IN MY LOVE, JUST AS I HAVE OBEYED MY FATHER’S COMMANDS AND REMAIN IN HIS LOVE.  I HAVE TOLD YOU THIS SO THAT MY JOY MAY BE IN YOU AND THAT YOUR JOY MAY BE COMPLETE” (John 15:9-11).

 

And the Lord Jesus has shown us how to remain in His Love with moment-by-moment obedience: obedience to the Counsel of His Spirit to follow His Light, to avail of His Hope, and to accept His Truth.

 

Since the enemy does not have authority to snatch us from the Father’s hands, he will try to lure us away from God’s Counsel with his own counsel–thoughts that are not true.  His goal is to lure us to the low place of hopelessness—where we believe that there are no answers.

 

This is a place of hatred, envy, and anger.  It is a place of murder and suicide.  It is a place of sin.

 

“IF YOU OBEY MY COMMANDS, YOU WILL REMAIN IN MY LOVE”

 

1. I urge you not to obey the father-of-lies’ counsel when he tries to lure you into hopelessness.  Those thoughts with which he is luring you are not true.  Instead, remain in God’s perfect Love by obeying His Counsel of Truth.  What Counsel of Truth does God want to give you today?

1. With which negative thoughts has the father-of-lies been luring you into the low place of hopelessness?  Know that you have a choice: to accept these thoughts as the truth…or to remain in God’s Love by asking Him for His Perspective.  The one choice will lead to hopelessness…the other, to HOPE!

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, Your Spirit is in my heart.  Teach me to remain in Your Love by obeying Your moment-by-moment Counsel, just as You have remained in the Father’s Love by obeying His moment-by-moment Counsel.  Then Your Joy will be in me…and my joy will be complete.

 

February 17  There Is a Way Out.

 

“AND GOD IS FAITHFUL; HE WILL NOT LET YOU BE TEMPTED BEYOND WHAT YOU CAN BEAR. BUT WHEN YOU ARE TEMPTED, HE WILL ALSO PROVIDE A WAY OUT SO THAT YOU CAN STAND UP UNDER IT” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

 

If I could define hopelessness, I would describe it as a place where there is no hope–A PLACE WHERE THERE IS NO WAY OUT.  When I am hopeless, I feel that I am at a dead-end.  I feel that I am stuck.  I feel that I am trapped.  There is no way out.  The father-of-lies is cunning.  He is ready for his next move–to suggest that I have been tempted beyond what I can bear.  Then the evil one suggests HIS way out: hatred…suicide…murder.

 

But God has shown me that there is no such thing as hopelessness.  THERE IS NO PLACE WITHOUT HOPE.  There is no place where God will not provide a way out, because “when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out, so that you can stand up under it.”

 

“I PRAY ALSO THAT THE EYES OF YOUR HEART MAY BE ENLIGHTENED IN ORDER THAT YOU MAY KNOW THE HOPE TO WHICH HE HAS CALLED YOU…HIS INCOMPARABLE GREAT POWER” (Ephesians 1:18,19).

 

1. Are you at a dead-end?  Are you stuck?  Are you trapped?  What are the reasons the father-of-lies is giving you for your being stuck?  What is the father-of-lies suggesting that you do about this?

1. I urge you to look for the Hope to which God has called you when you are tempted by the negative, destructive beliefs of the father-of-lies—GOD’S WAY OUT BY HIS OWN INCOMPARABLE GREAT POWER.  May you stand up when the father-of-lies tells you that you are at a dead-end and there is no way out.  God ALWAYS has a way out, and He is ALWAYS ready to show it to you…if you would ask Him.

 

PRAYER: Almighty God, how encouraged I am that You have already provided the answer to my dead-end–the way out.  In Your eyes, Lord God, there is no such thing as hopelessness.  There is no place without Hope, because You always provide a way out.  I am never tempted beyond what I can bear, because You have already provided for the answer.

 

May I know the Hope to which You have called me: Your answer…Your provision…Your way out by Your own incomparable great Power.  Work Your Patience in me, so that I would look for Your way out, instead of taking my own way out. You are faithful, O Lord!

 

February 18  A New Lifestyle!

 

“DON’T YOU KNOW THAT WHEN YOU OFFER YOURSELVES TO SOMEONE TO OBEY HIM AS SLAVES, YOU ARE SLAVES TO THE ONE WHOM YOU OBEY—WHETHER YOU ARE SLAVES TO SIN, WHICH LEADS TO DEATH, OR TO OBEDIENCE, WHICH LEADS TO RIGHTEOUSNESS?” (Romans 6:16).

 

For a big part of my life, I lived a lifestyle of obeying the lies of the father-of-lies, moment-by-moment…a hundred times a day.  When a negative thought came to mind, I accepted and believed it, and reacted to it in a sinful way.  I believed the thoughts that I was not important, that I was not acceptable, and that I had no purpose.  But do you know what happens if you continually obey certain thoughts?  YOU BECOME A SLAVE TO THOSE THOUGHTS.  They start ruling your life.

 

But then God asked me to change my lifestyle.  He invited me to become a slave to obey His Truth, WHICH LEADS TO RIGHTEOUSNESS.  Instead of accepting, believing, and reacting to the negative, destructive thoughts of the father-of-lies, God asked me to yield these thoughts to His Truth, whenever they would enter my mind…a hundred times a day.  By doing this, I would open my heart to receive God’s Righteousness.

 

“BUT NOW THAT YOU HAVE BEEN SET FREE FROM SIN AND HAVE BECOME SLAVES TO GOD, THE BENEFIT YOU REAP LEADS TO HOLINESS, AND THE RESULT IS ETERNAL LIFE” (Romans 6:22).

 

1. To whom do you offer yourself, daily?  Whose thoughts do you obey, a hundred times a day?  What outcome has your decision had on your moment-by-moment life?

1. May you desire to change your lifestyle, too.  May you yield your negative, destructive thoughts to God’s Truth, instead of blindly accepting, believing, and reacting to them.  Then, your obedience will lead to God’s Righteousness in your life.

 

PRAYER: Lord God, all my life, I have lived a LIFESTYLE of obeying the lies of the father-of-lies, moment-by-moment…a hundred times a day.  And this has made me a slave to the accusatory beliefs that I am unimportant…that I am unacceptable…that I am unworthy. These negative beliefs destroy my hope, joy, and love, daily.

 

Most High, I want to change my lifestyle.  A want to become a slave to Your Truth, because the benefit of accepting, believing, and reacting to Your Truth is Holiness, and the result is Eternal Life.

 

February 19  It Is for Freedom that Christ Set Us Free

“IT IS FOR FREEDOM THAT CHRIST HAS SET US FREE.

STAND FIRM, THEN,

AND DO NOT LET YOURSELVES BE BURDENED AGAIN BY A YOKE OF SLAVERY”

(Galatians 5:1).

 

Know that it is for freedom that the Lord Jesus has set you free: freedom from helplessness…freedom from hopelessness…freedom from powerlessness… freedom from shame…freedom from guilt…freedom from fear…freedom from abandonment…freedom from unworthiness…freedom from condemnation… freedom from sin…freedom from believing that you are a bad person.

 

If you would allow God’s Counsel into your heart, His Wisdom shall set you free from the negative belief that you do not belong.

 

If you would invite the Holy Spirit to renew Your mind, His Power shall set you free from the oppressing belief that you do not count.

 

If you would allow Christ into your thoughts, His Truth shall set you free from the accusatory thought that you are a lesser being.

Throw your arms wide open and receive the freedom that Christ holds out to you.  Stand firm in this freedom, and do not allow the father-of-lies to lure you back into slavery with his counsel of condemnation, abandonment, and shame.

 

“SO IF THE SON SETS YOU FREE, YOU WILL BE FREE INDEED”

(John 8:36).

1. From what do you need freedom? Are you inundated with fear? Are you ruled by depression? Are you submerged in shame?

1. Know that the Lord Jesus can set you free from ANYTHING! All you need to do is invite His Presence and Participation into your problem.

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, You are the Alpha and the Omega, the Light of the World, the King of Kings, the Author and Finisher of my faith, The Way, the Truth, and the Life, the Prince of Peace, my High Priest. Nothing is impossible for You.

 

I invite Your Presence and Participation into my spirit, my soul, my mind, and my emotions.  As I lay my burden at Your feet, set me free from the darkness that has taken me captive.  For, if You set me free, I will be free indeed!

February 20  Jesus, the Much More of Your Salvation

 

“FOR IF, WHEN WE WERE GOD’S ENEMIES, WE WERE RECONCILED TO HIM THROUGH THE DEATH OF HIS SON, HOW MUCH MORE, HAVING BEEN RECONCILED, SHALL WE BE SAVED THROUGH HIS LIFE!” (Romans 5:10).

 

I was reconciled to the Perfect Father, through the death of His Son, at an early age.  That was when I became a “Christian.”  That was a one-time settlement.  That was only the beginning.  I found out that there was more–MUCH MORE–the MUCH MORE OF OUR SALVATION.

 

The Lord Jesus wants you to know that He was sent by the Perfect Father to live in you, so that He can share THE FULL GLORY OF HIS ROYAL LIFE with you: His Love…His Light…His Hope…His Joy.

 

The Perfect Father wants you to know that He did not send His son, Jesus, to restore you to what you had been before shame happened in your life…before that someone abandoned you…before that someone rejected you.  The Father sent His son to you, so you would have MORE: MUCH MORE than you had ever had before the shame, condemnation, and abandonment happened…MUCH MORE than someone on this earth can give you…MUCH MORE that you can ask or imagine.  The perfect Father sent the Lord Jesus to BE the MUCH MORE in your own heart.

 

^“I HAVE COME THAT THEY MAY HAVE LIFE,

AND THAT THEY MAY HAVE IT MORE ABUNDANTLY”

(John 10:10).

 

1. Do you need MUCH MORE than what you have had until now: more life…more light…more joy?  Was something taken away from your heart that you would like to receive back?

1. Know that the Lord Jesus came to share His own LIFE with you: His own Light…His own Joy…His own Hope…His own Love.  Invite Him into your heart to BE for you what you need.

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I need MUCH MORE than what this life can offer me.  I need much more Hope, much more Love, and much more Light.  Therefore, I invite You into my heart to be the MUCH MORE for me.  Love through me.  Hope through me.  Live through me.

 

February 21  Be Released from Condemnation

 

“BECAUSE THROUGH CHRIST JESUS THE LAW OF THE SPIRIT OF LIFE SET ME FREE FROM THE LAW OF SIN AND DEATH” (Romans 8:2).

 

Maybe you have grown up with a lot of disapproval, criticism, or accusations.  The father-of-lies will use these childhood incidences as an opportunity long after the occurrence, to tell you that you are doomed…guilty…unfit for life; but it is not the childhood incidences that have placed you under condemnation, but the father-of-lies, who placed your thoughts under the law of sin and death.

 

“THEREFORE, THERE IS NOW NO CONDEMNATION FOR THOSE WHO ARE IN CHRIST JESUS” (Romans 8:1).

 

But there is GOOD NEWS!  The Perfect Father sent His son, Jesus Christ, to redeem your thoughts from the law of sin and death, by introducing you to a new law–the Law of the Spirit of Life.  This new law can do what you cannot do through striving; it can set you free from condemnation, because Christ Jesus has come to EXCHANGE CONDEMNATION FOR ACCEPTANCE.

 

Understand that you have a choice:  to live the rest of your life according to the law of sin and death, which deems you condemned…or to yield your thoughts to the new law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus, in whom there is no condemnation.  Jesus has deprived condemnation of its power over you, if you allow your thoughts to be governed by His law of the Spirit of Life.  This is an everyday, moment-by-moment decision.

 

1. I urge you to inspect your thoughts to find out if you have been living as a slave to condemnation, making you subservient to the law of sin and death.

1. Be released from condemnation. Admit that your thoughts are governed by the law of sin and death, which deems you doomed, guilty, and unfit for life, and that you do not have the power to save yourself from this law.  Then, yield these accusatory thoughts to the new law of the Spirit of Life, governed by the Lord Jesus…and let Him set you free.

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I admit that my thoughts are governed by condemnation and that I do not have the power to get rid of them.  Therefore, I submit these accusatory thoughts to You to place under Your Law of the Spirit of Life.  I wish for my thoughts to be governed and purified by You.  Thank you, Lord Jesus, that You will keep reminding me to yield thoughts of condemnation to you whenever they surface, UNTIL MY THOUGHTS ARE FULLY GOVERNED BY YOUR LAW OF THE SPIRIT OF LIFE.

 

February 22  Go through the Right Door

“I AM THE DOOR: BY ME IF ANY MAN ENTER IN, HE SHALL BE SAVED, AND SHALL GO IN AND OUT, AND FIND PASTURE” (John 10:9).

 

I have noticed that Jesus is the door, and that I need to go through Him continually, to be saved from myself.  I have noticed that although I am a Christian, I need to go through Jesus, daily, to rescue me from a hardened heart.  I need to go through Jesus, around the clock, to guard me from sinful habits and defense patterns.  I need to go through Jesus, dawn to dusk, to keep saving me from feeling abandoned, shamed, and condemned.  I cannot make it on my own, although I am a Christian.

 

“BUT YE HAVE NOT SO LEARNED CHRIST; IF SO BE THAT YE HAVE HEARD HIM, AND HAVE BEEN TAUGHT BY HIM, AS THE TRUTH IS IN JESUS: THAT YE PUT OFF CONCERNING THE FORMER CONVERSATION THE OLD MAN, WHICH IS CORRUPT ACCORDING TO THE DECEITFUL LUSTS; AND BE RENEWED IN THE SPIRIT OF YOUR MIND; AND THAT YE PUT ON THE NEW MAN, WHICH AFTER GOD IS CREATED IN RIGHTEOUSNESS AND TRUE HOLINESS” (Ephesians 4:20-24).

 

I have noticed that I need Jesus, the Light of the World, to rescue me from my darkened understanding, day and night.  I have noticed that I need Jesus, the Truth, moment-by-moment, to put off my OLD MAN, the negative destructive beliefs instilled in my mind since childhood by the father-of-lies.  I have noticed that I need Jesus, the Way, a hundred times a day, to change my unloving attitude.  I have noticed that I need Jesus, the Savior, to create in me a NEW MAN–one that is like God in true righteousness and holiness.  I have noticed that I cannot put on this NEW MAN by myself, but that I need Jesus, the Redeemer, to put it on for me.

 

1. What have you noticed about yourself?  Have you noticed that you, too, need to go through the Lord Jesus, every day, moment-by-moment, to keep saving you from yourself…even if you are already a Christian?

1. Trust in the Lord Jesus.  Let Him be your DOOR.  Go through Him, daily, a hundred times a day.  He wants to be your Way, your Truth, and your Life.

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I long to find the door that will lead me to green pastures: where I will feel safe…where I will feel content…where I will feel whole and holy.  I need You to be my Door: to be my Way, my Truth, and my Life, daily, a hundred times a day.  Call me to come through You when I am stuck…when I am inundated with problems…when I am about to make the wrong decisions. Create in me a NEW MAN, who is Righteous and Holy.

 

February 23  Jesus, the Tree of Life

 

“I AM THE VINE; YOU ARE THE BRANCHES. IF A MAN REMAINS IN ME AND I IN HIM, HE WILL BEAR MUCH FRUIT; APART FROM ME YOU CAN DO NOTHING” (John 15:5).

 

I have noticed that there are two separate “worlds” out there: the “world of Truth” and the “world of deception.”  I would be living in the “world of Truth,” until, suddenly, a negative thought enters my mind; I accept it, and fall into a deep pit of pain—the “world of deception.”  Everything is fine one moment…and utterly awful the next.  Once I have fallen into this pit of pain, nothing seems to come together for me.  Other negative thoughts start bothering me, and soon despair enters.  This pit seems like a different world than the one of Love, Hope, and Truth that I was just living in a minute before.

 

“IF ANYONE DOES NOT REMAIN IN ME, HE IS LIKE A BRANCH THAT IS THROWN AWAY AND WITHERS; SUCH BRANCHES ARE PICKED UP, THROWN INTO THE FIRE AND BURNED” (John 15:6).

 

Be aware that as soon as you are severed from the Tree of Life, you enter into the world of deception, where the father-of-lies rules.  Here, there are only hopelessness, hatred, and lies.  Here, it is easy to wither very quickly.

 

1. Have you noticed in your life that there are two “worlds” out there: the “world of Truth” and the “world of deception?”  What difference does it make in your life in which one you live, during any moment of your day?

1. May you stay connected to the Tree of Life at all times.  Consider The Perfect Father to be the root of the tree…and Jesus, the trunk…and you, the branch.  When you are sad, invite the Hope of the Lord Jesus into your sadness.  When you are mad, invite the Love of the Lord Jesus into your madness.  When you are bad, invite the saving Power of the Redeemer into your badness. Know that in this Tree of Life is available all the sap—Power, Hope, and Love–that you will ever need to stay in the “world of Truth.”

 

PRAYER: Precious Jesus, may I stay connected to You at all times.  May I always be aware that Your Truth is only one belief away, and that as soon as I am disconnected from your Truth, I am connected to a lie, and as soon as I am disconnected from the lie, I am connected to Your Truth.

 

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for being my Vine! Keep me connected to You. May I continually be in You…and Your Nature of Love, Hope, and Truth will be in me.

February 24  Take Your Cross and Follow

 

“AND ANYONE WHO DOES NOT TAKE HIS CROSS AND FOLLOW ME IS NOT WORTHY OF ME.  WHOEVER FINDS HIS LIFE WILL LOSE IT, AND WHOEVER LOSES HIS LIFE FOR MY SAKE WILL FIND IT” (Matthew 10:38, 39).

 

I bless you with a special anointing today to take your cross–your weakness…your affliction…your pain–and follow Jesus.  He will show you what to do with it.  Be determined to take responsibility for your own burdens.  Acknowledge your own anger, not the other person’s arrogance.  Admit your own pride, not the other person’s failures.  Recognize your own hatred, not the other person’s faults.

 

Be adamant not to hold others accountable for your burdens.  May you never place your cross on your enemy’s shoulders.  Instead, take your own cross and follow Jesus.  Know that anyone who does not take his cross and follow Him, is not worthy of Him.

 

“WHOEVER LOSES HIS LIFE FOR MY SAKE WILL FIND IT”

 

1. What do you usually do with your weakness? Do you succumb to it? What do you usually do with your fear? Do you yield to it? What do you usually do with your burdens? Do you place them on your friend’s or your enemy’s shoulders?

 

 

 

1. Be convinced that Jesus, the Light-of-the-World, will shine His Light on you as you take your darkness and expose it to Him.  Jesus, your Prince-of-Peace, will grant you Peace, as you take your anxiety and hold it up to Him.  Jesus, your Wonderful Counselor, will give you wisdom and clarity, as you take your confusion and turn it over to Him.  And you will find Power for your weakness, Joy for your pain, and answers for your affliction.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Jesus, Light-of-the-World, shine Your Light on me as I take up my darkness and expose it to You. I want to learn to walk in the Light of Your Abundant Life.

 

Jesus, Prince-of-Peace, grant me Peace as I take up my anxiety and hold it up to You. Be my Lord of Peace…at all times…in every way…under all circumstances.

 

Precious Jesus, I rejoice that You abound in Wisdom that is pure, full of mercy and good fruit, peace-loving, considerate, submissive, impartial and sincere. Wonderful Counselor, counsel me as I turn my confusion over to You.

 

You are my Light.  You are my Peace.  You are my Wisdom.

February 25  Seek God with All Your Heart

 

“YOU WILL SEEK ME AND FIND ME WHEN YOU SEEK ME WITH ALL YOUR HEART” (Jeremiah 29:13).

 

There came a time in my life when I realized that I could not live with myself anymore.  How often did I want to save myself from feeling like an insecure little child, but I could not carry it out.  How often did I want to rescue myself from irrational behavior, but I could not perform it.  How often did I want to free myself from the negative thoughts in my own mind, but I could not succeed.

 

Finally, I sank down in utter powerlessness.  I could not live with my tormented self anymore.  I had come to the end of myself.  There was only one thing left to do…and I did it.  I sought God with all my heart.

 

And I found God!  I will never forget the time when I went through the valley of the shadow of death.  I remember crying out to God, trying to explain to Him what was wrong with me.  I tried to explain something that I myself did not understand.  And then a voice in my heart comforted me.  God, through His Spirit in my heart, showed me that He was right there with me.  I was not alone.  I had sought God and I found Him

 

“I WILL BE FOUND BY YOU,” DECLARES THE LORD, “AND WILL BRING YOU BACK FROM CAPTIVITY” (Jeremiah 29:14).

 

And God brought me back from captivity: from the places where abandonment shackled me, where condemnation chained me, and where shame maimed me. When I sought God with all my heart, He brought me out of those debilitating places into His perfect Love, His incomparable Hope, and His free-setting Truth.  I stopped belonging to abandonment, shame, and condemnation, and started belonging to God in my thoughts, emotions, and actions.

 

1. Are you shackled by abandonment? Are you chained by condemnation? Are you maimed by shame? Is it hard to live with yourself?

 

 

 

1. I encourage you to seek God with all your heart, no matter what it is that is keeping you captive.  He will be found by you, and He will bring you back from captivity into His Love, Hope, and Truth.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Eternal God, I have come to the end of myself. I cannot live with my tormented self anymore.  I am seeking You with all my heart. I want to find You, so You can bring me back from captivity–from the beliefs of abandonment, shame, and condemnation that live in my mind–so I could belong to Your Love, Hope, and Truth.  Glory to Your Name!

 

February 26  Doing Whatever Is Right in Your Own Eyes

 

“YOU SHALL NOT DO ACCORDING TO ALL WE DO HERE [IN THE CAMP] THIS DAY, EVERY MAN DOING WHATEVER LOOKS RIGHT IN HIS OWN EYES”

(Deuteronomy 12:8).

 

One of the biggest lessons I am learning is NOT to do whatever looks right in my own eyes.  Doing what is right in my own eyes means to go straight into defense mode when someone is rude to me.  Doing what is right in my own eyes means to believe every thought–positive or negative–that enters my mind.

 

Doing what is right in my own eyes means to rely on my own perturbing perceptions.  Doing what is right in my own eyes means to live according to my own sinful nature, following the negative, destructive beliefs instilled in my mind by the father-of-lies.  Doing what is right in my own eyes means to lean on my own understanding.

 

“THEREFORE, BROTHERS, WE HAVE AN OBLIGATION—BUT IT IS NOT TO THE SINFUL NATURE, TO LIVE ACCORDING TO IT.  FOR IF YOU LIVE ACCORDING TO THE SINFUL NATURE, YOU WILL DIE; BUT IF BY THE SPIRIT YOU PUT TO DEATH THE MISDEEDS OF THE BODY, YOU WILL LIVE, BECAUSE THOSE WHO ARE LED BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD ARE SONS OF GOD” (Romans 8:12-14).

 

I have found that it does not pay off to do whatever is right in my own eyes, because it leads to death.  I am not talking about death when you leave this earth, but death here on this earth: hopelessness…guilt…darkness.

 

1. Are you looking for Hope, Light, and Life?

 

 

 

1. Then, understand that you have AN OBLIGATION, but it is not to live according to your sinful nature, following the negative, destructive beliefs that live in your mind, but to be led by the Spirit of God into new beliefs of acceptance, worth, and love.  Those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.  They will find Hope, Light, and Life!

 

 

 

PRAYER: Everlasting God, holy is Your Name.  Let Your Kingdom come.  Let Your Will be done.

 

Lord God, I realize that in order to walk in Your Hope, Light, and Life, I have an obligation: not to do what is right in my own eyes, because my natural assumptions are not reliable, and my natural way of perceiving people and circumstances are not in line with Your Perspective.

 

Therefore, lead me by Your Spirit. Guide me with Your Truth. Nourish me with Your Hope. Furnish me with Your Life.

February 27  God Is Your Covering

 

“WHEN THE WOMAN SAW THAT THE FRUIT OF THE TREE WAS GOOD FOR FOOD AND PLEASING TO THE EYE, AND ALSO DESIRABLE FOR GAINING WISDOM, SHE TOOK SOME AND ATE IT. SHE ALSO GAVE SOME TO HER HUSBAND, WHO WAS WITH HER, AND HE ATE IT.  THEN THE EYES OF BOTH OF THEM WERE OPENED, AND THEY REALIZED THEY WERE NAKED…” (Genesis 3:6-7).

 

When the woman saw that the fruit was good for food, she did what seemed right in her own eyes–she took some and ate it.  And after she took the bait that the father-of-lies offered her, she realized that she was naked–void of God’s covering of Love, Hope, and Truth.

 

By accepting the counsel of the father-of-lies, she moved out from under the Truth, Love, and Hope with which the Perfect Father had her covered.  She was now exposed to the attacks of the father-of-lies, who inundated her with lies of hopelessness, shame, and unworthiness.

 

“RATHER, CLOTHE YOURSELVES WITH THE LORD JESUS CHRIST” (Romans 13:14).

 

I bless you to know that the Father provided a new covering of Hope, Truth, and Love for you: His son, Jesus Christ.  Under His wings of Love, you will be safe from the father-of-lies’ words of condemnation: “You are not good enough!”  Behind His shield of Truth, you will be protected from the enemy’s accusation: “You do not belong!”  Under His Trust, you will be shielded from the evil one’s charge: “You are a disgrace!”  But it is your obligation to come under His Covering.

 

“HE WILL COVER THEE WITH HIS FEATHERS, AND UNDER HIS WINGS SHALT THOU TRUST: HIS TRUTH SHALL BE THY SHIELD AND BUCKLER” (Psalm 91:4).

 

1. Are you living under God’s covering of Love, Hope, and Truth that the Perfect Father provided for you through the Spirit of His son, Jesus Christ?

 

 

 

1. I encourage you to place yourself under God’s wings of Love, Hope, and Truth.  This covering will give you Life!

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, thank you that You came to clothe me with Yourself—with Your Hope, with Your Love, and with Your Truth.  Tuck me under Your wings, so I may be safe from the father-of-lies’ words of condemnation that I am a failure. Pull me under Your warm feathers, so I will learn to trust and live.  Shield me with Your Truth, so I may be shielded against the fiery darts of the father-of-lies that deem me unacceptable and unaccepted.  I come to You, Lord Jesus, to be covered by You.

 

 

 

February 28  The Covering of Hiding

 

“WOE TO THE REBELLIOUS CHILDREN, SAITH THE LORD, THAT TAKE COUNSEL, BUT NOT OF ME; AND THAT COVER WITH A COVERING, BUT NOT OF MY SPIRIT, THAT THEY MAY ADD SIN TO SIN” (Isaiah 30:1).

 

I bless you today to be careful about the coverings you fabricate to cover your nakedness: to cover your perception of being shamed…to cover your interpretation of being unworthy…to cover your assumption of being abandoned.

 

Be on guard against the covering of hiding.  For a very long time, I have covered my perceptions of abandonment, shame, and unworthiness with depression.  Withdrawing into depression became a hiding place for me.  I felt strangely safe there.  The problem was that by hiding, my pain did not go away.  I found myself dealing with the same pain again a week later…and then again a week after that.

 

“YOU ARE MY HIDING PLACE; YOU WILL PROTECT ME FROM TROUBLE AND SURROUND ME WITH SONGS OF DELIVERANCE” (Psalm 32:7).

 

Then, one day, the Perfect Father called me to an alternative.  Instead of hiding from my pain, God asked me to face my pain and allow Him to see it too.  He asked me to make Him my hiding place by exposing my perceptions of abandonment, shame, and condemnation to His Spirit of Truth.  At first, I did not want to face my pain, because the father-of-lies had me believe that it would overwhelm me.  But slowly I started coming out of my hiding place to trust God.

 

One day, when the feeling of being all alone and abandoned came over me again, I exposed this perception to God and asked Him to help me.  And He did!  He covered me with His Truth, showing me how the father-of-lies had deceived me into BELIEVING THAT I WAS ALL ALONE AND ABANDONED.  God surrounded me with songs of deliverance.

 

1. What coverings of hiding have you fabricated to cover your perceptions of shame, abandonment, and unworthiness?  In what ways have these coverings affected your life?

 

 

 

1. What will it take for you to make the Most High Your Hiding Place to protect you from trouble, and deliver you from beliefs of shame, abandonment, and unworthiness?

 

 

PRAYER: Perfect Father, call me out of my hiding places.  Strengthen me to face my pain and to trust You with my weaknesses.  Take away the lie that if I face my weaknesses, they would overwhelm me.  Break through the belief that I am not safe if I come out of hiding into Your Presence.  I authorize You to bring my heartache under Your Light of Truth…so I might be set free from darkness.

March

March 1  What Did Jesus Do for You?

 

“FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE GAVE HIS ONE AND ONLY SON, THAT WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM SHALL NOT PERISH BUT HAVE ETERNAL LIFE”

(John 3:16).

 

What have you done that is breaking your heart?  What have you done that causes you to feel so tainted, ashamed, and guilty?  What have you done that causes you to feel such a failure and a loser?  What have you done to make you feel so condemned and blamed?

 

Understand that it is not what you did that matters.  The only thing that matters is what the Lord Jesus Christ did for you.

 

“FOR GOD DID NOT SEND HIS SON INTO THE WORLD TO CONDEMN THE WORLD, BUT TO SAVE THE WORLD THROUGH HIM” (John 3:17).

 

What have others done to break your spirit?  What have others done to pour pain and contempt on your life?  What have others done to bring abandonment and rejection into your heart?

 

Believe that it is not what others did that matters.  The only thing that matters is what Jesus Christ did for you.

 

Realize that you matter so much to the Perfect Father, that He sent His son, Jesus, to save you from the effects of anything you might have done, and to save you from the effects of anything others might have done to you.

 

Be encouraged that the saving Power of the Lord Jesus is bigger than your own sins and mistakes, and far greater than others’ sins and mistakes rendered to your life.

 

“FOR THE SON OF MAN CAME TO SEEK AND TO SAVE WHAT WAS LOST” (Luke 19:10).

 

1. What have you done that is causing you to feel so evil, doomed, and incriminated?  What have others done that is causing you to feel so left, unprotected, and pushed aside?  What have others done that is causing you to feel so fatally flawed, dirty, and lesser?

 

 

 

1. Invite the saving Power of the Lord Jesus Christ into these painful spots of your heart.  Stop hiding.  Stop running away.  Stop blaming those who have hurt you.  The Lord Jesus wants to save your lost, pain-filled heart.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I invite Your Presence and Participation into these spots in my heart that deem me fatally flawed, doomed, and pushed aside.  Please save me from what I have done, Lord God, and from what others have done to me, so I would not perish, but have eternal Life.

March 2  The Spirit of Truth

 

“BUT WHEN HE, THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH, COMES, HE WILL GUIDE YOU INTO ALL TRUTH” (John 16:13).

 

Celebrate that Your heavenly Father knows that you have an enemy–the father-of-lies.  The Perfect Father did not abandon you here on this earth as an orphan to deal with the father-of-lies and his deception all by yourself.  He furnished you with the Spirit of Truth.

 

“HE WILL NOT SPEAK ON HIS OWN; HE WILL SPEAK ONLY WHAT HE HEARS, AND HE WILL TELL YOU WHAT IS YET TO COME. HE WILL BRING GLORY TO ME BY TAKING FROM WHAT IS MINE AND MAKING IT KNOWN TO YOU” (John 16:13-14).

 

Take note that the Spirit of Truth does not stand on His own, but extracts His Truth from the Lord Jesus, taking from what belongs to Jesus and making it known to you.  Jesus is the Way, the TRUTH and the Life.

 

“ALL THAT BELONGS TO THE FATHER IS MINE. THAT IS WHY I SAID THE SPIRIT WILL TAKE FROM WHAT IS MINE AND MAKE IT KNOWN TO YOU” (John 16:15).

 

Furthermore, recognize that the Lord Jesus obtains His Truth from His Father.  Know that all that belongs to the Father belongs to Jesus.

 

1. Be encouraged that God stands by you–FATHER, SON, and HOLY SPIRIT–to make sure you are properly equipped with the Truth.  Why do you think Truth is so important to Him?

 

 

 

1. I bless you to live by the Truth!  Invite the Father’s Truth into every interpretation you make, every day, a hundred times a day.  Then the father-of-lies will have no hold on you.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Perfect Father, how encouraged I am that You did not leave me here on earth as an orphan, but is standing by me—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  With Your Truth You will protect me from the wrong interpretations, when I yield them to You.  Then no evil shall come near me, and no arrow will bruise my heart.

 

I open my heart for Your Words of Truth, Perfect Father.  Be my Truth, Lord Jesus. Lead me into all Truth, Holy Spirit.

 

 

March 3  You Have an Obligation

 

“YOU, HOWEVER, ARE CONTROLLED NOT BY THE SINFUL NATURE BUT BY THE SPIRIT, IF THE SPIRIT OF GOD LIVES IN YOU. AND IF ANYONE DOES NOT HAVE THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST, HE DOES NOT BELONG TO CHRIST.  BUT IF CHRIST IS IN YOU, YOUR BODY IS DEAD BECAUSE OF SIN, YET YOUR SPIRIT IS ALIVE BECAUSE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS.  AND IF THE SPIRIT OF HIM WHO RAISED JESUS FROM THE DEAD IS LIVING IN YOU, HE WHO RAISED CHRIST FROM THE DEAD WILL ALSO GIVE LIFE TO YOUR MORTAL BODIES THROUGH HIS SPIRIT, WHO LIVES IN YOU”

(Romans 8:9-11).

 

Believe that if you have accepted the Lord Jesus as your Savior, the Spirit of God lives in you, and your spirit has been made alive by God’s Spirit.  God’s Spirit has imbued your spirit with His Righteousness.

 

“THEREFORE, BROTHERS, WE HAVE AN OBLIGATION—BUT IT IS NOT TO THE SINFUL NATURE, TO LIVE ACCORDING TO IT” (Romans 8:12).

 

However, although your spirit is saved and made alive by God’s Spirit, your mind and the rest of your body is dead because of sin still living in it.  God controls your spirit, but it is up to you whether you will let Him control your mind, your emotions, and your actions and reactions, as well.

 

“For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God”

(Romans 8:13-14).

 

1. Know that you have a daily choice: to submit your mind, emotions, and actions to the Spirit that lives in your spirit, or to submit your mind, emotions, and actions to the sinful nature that still lives in you as well.

 

 

 

1. What will it take for you to be led by the Spirit of God in your mind, in your emotions, and in your actions and reactions?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord God, I authorize Your Spirit to lead my thoughts…to lead my emotions…and to lead my actions and reaction, because those who are led by Your Spirit are sons of God.  Be my Righteousness.  Be my Holiness.  Be my Wisdom.

 

 

 

March 4  The Truth Produces Sincere Love

 

“NOW THAT YOU HAVE PURIFIED YOURSELVES BY OBEYING THE TRUTH SO THAT YOU HAVE SINCERE LOVE FOR YOUR BROTHERS, LOVE ONE ANOTHER DEEPLY, FROM THE HEART. FOR YOU HAVE BEEN BORN AGAIN, NOT OF PERISHABLE SEED, BUT OF IMPERISHABLE, THROUGH THE LIVING AND ENDURING WORD OF GOD”

(1 Peter 1:22-23).

 

Understand that you need to purify yourself first, before you can deeply love yourself and someone else from the heart.  You purify yourself by accepting and believing the Truth about yourself, about other people, and about God, and you stop assuming that you know the Truth.

 

Celebrate that you can love yourself and one another sincerely, but you need to accept the Truth about yourself and about others, first.  If you still feel that God favors the other person more than you, you will not be able to love yourself, her, or God.  If you still believe that your personality is of inferior quality compared to the other person, you will not be able to love yourself or him.  If you still believe that the other person wants to harm you, you will not be able to love her or him.  You need the Truth to set you free in order to love yourself and others.

 

Know that the Truth purifies from feeling unloved…from feeling inferior…from feeling unacceptable.  Once your deception about yourself and about others has been purified by the Truth, you will have understanding and sincere love for yourself, for others, and for God.

 

1. Do you love yourself deeply, from your heart?  Do you feel accepted and acceptable?  Do you love your family?  Are they acceptable and accepted by you?

 

 

 

1. I urge you to submit your heart to Jesus, every time it does not feel right about someone…every time someone hurts you…every time someone fails you.  Ask God for the Truth about the people in your life.  You might have some extraordinary peculiar people in your life: some who are rude or unkind…some who are awkward or pushy…some who are intimidating or selfish.  Believe that God knows your heart and the heart of the other person–the unworthiness…the abandonment…the hopelessness.  But when He tells you the Truth about yourself and the other person, too, you will be able to love deeply…from your heart.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Majesty, I desire to love deeply from my heart.  Show me Your Truth about myself.  Show me who I really am, created as Your workmanship, so I may feel loved, accepted, and good.  Then, I will be able to love my family, my friends, and my enemies from my heart.

 

 

March 5  Keep Watch!

 

“THEN HE RETURNED TO HIS DISCIPLES AND FOUND THEM SLEEPING.  ‘SIMON,’ HE SAID TO PETER, ‘ARE YOU ASLEEP? COULD YOU NOT KEEP WATCH FOR ONE HOUR?  WATCH AND PRAY SO THAT YOU WILL NOT FALL INTO TEMPTATION. THE SPIRIT IS WILLING, BUT THE BODY IS WEAK’” (Mark 14:37-38).

 

Do you know what I have discovered?  I have found out that I cannot keep watch for one hour.  I am talking about TEMPTATION.  I think I am ready for it.  My spirit is so willing.  I mean, I even have a plan to overcome the temptation.  However, when temptation comes, by body is too weak…and I fall.

 

“GOING A LITTLE FARTHER, HE FELL TO THE GROUND AND PRAYED THAT IF POSSIBLE THE HOUR MIGHT PASS FROM HIM.  ‘ABBA, FATHER,’ HE SAID, ‘EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE FOR YOU. TAKE THIS CUP FROM ME. YET NOT WHAT I WILL, BUT WHAT YOU WILL’” (Mark 14:35-36).

 

What stands in my way when temptation comes?  I know everything is possible for God.  I know I can just cry out to the Lord Jesus and He will save me from shame or the belief that I am not loved…but in the heat of the moment, when the rubber meets the road, I AM NOT WILLING.  I am not willing to invite the Presence of the Lord Jesus into the shame.  I am not willing to accept the Love the Lord Jesus holds out to me.  I am not willing to believe that He can save me AT THAT MOMENT…and I fall.

 

“If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).

 

1. What have you discovered about yourself and temptation? Have you discovered that without Jesus you cannot do anything: that you cannot keep watch for one hour against temptation?

 

 

 

1. I urge you to surrender your unwillingness to keep watch against temptation, to Him.  Submit your natural tendency to fall asleep during temptation, to Him.  Offer your habitual reactions to other people’s actions, to Him.  You need to say, “I want to defend myself right now, yet not what I will, but what You will, Lord Jesus.”

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, without You I cannot do anything.  I cannot even keep watch for one hour against temptation.  Therefore, establish Your nature in me, so that I may be in You and You may be in me.  Then, I will be able to stand up against temptation.  Then, I will not fall asleep during temptation.  Then, I will bear much fruit.

 

 

March 6  Life Storms Are Opportunities

 

“BE JOYFUL IN HOPE, PATIENT IN AFFLICTION, FAITHFUL IN PRAYER”

(Romans 12:12).

 

I encourage you to be patient in your affliction, regarding distress with acceptance and tolerance.  If you are a child of God, do not consider the storms of your life as something bad and harmful, and try to escape them as soon as possible.  Stay in them, be patient, and learn.

 

“NOW NO CHASTENING FOR THE PRESENT SEEMETH TO BE JOYOUS, BUT GRIEVOUS: NEVERTHELESS AFTERWARD IT YIELDETH THE PEACEABLE FRUIT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS UNTO THEM WHICH ARE EXERCISED THEREBY” (Hebrews 12:11).

 

Consider your life storms as opportunities to become a partaker of your Father’s Holiness: to embrace His Truth…to experience His Love…to obtain His Hope.  Consider storms as favorable circumstances to become free from crippling beliefs of unworthiness and non-acceptance.

 

“WHEREFORE LIFT UP THE HANDS WHICH HANG DOWN, AND THE FEEBLE KNEES; AND MAKE STRAIGHT PATHS FOR YOUR FEET, LEST THAT WHICH IS LAME BE TURNED OUT OF THE WAY; BUT LET IT RATHER BE HEALED” (Hebrews 12:12, 13).

 

Understand that if you hide from your own heart, run from your own pain, or blame your painful emotions on something or someone else, you will miss the opportunity to receive the peaceable fruit of Righteousness, which is given to those who have been trained by the Father’s discipline during times of distress.

 

1. Is your heart broken because of what you are going through? Do you feel that you just want out of this storm in your life? Do you feel like running away from the storm, hiding where you are safe from the storm, or blaming others for the storm in your life?

 

 

 

1. I urge you to face the storm in your life. Do not only look at the circumstances, but also at the effects of this storm on your heart.  Use this storm as favorable circumstances to allow God to set your heart free from unworthiness and non-acceptance.  Then it will yield Peace and Righteousness in your heart and life.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Abba Father, I invite Your Presence and Participation into this storm in my life.  Help me to not run away from the pain this storm is producing in my heart, or to hide in the wrong places, or to blame others for this storm.  Help me to simply become still before You, as I acknowledge You as the Lord over this storm. Work Your Peace and Righteousness in me as I crawl under Your Wings of Protection: Hope, Love, and Truth.

March 7  Overcome Evil with God

 

“DO NOT BE OVERCOME BY EVIL, BUT OVERCOME EVIL WITH GOOD”

(Romans 12:21).

 

Overcome evil with good.  Good comes from God.  God IS good.

 

“THE GOOD MAN BRINGS GOOD THINGS OUT OF THE GOOD STORED UP IN HIS HEART, AND THE EVIL MAN BRINGS EVIL THINGS OUT OF THE EVIL STORED UP IN HIS HEART. FOR OUT OF THE OVERFLOW OF HIS HEART HIS MOUTH SPEAKS”

(Luke 6:45).

 

Understand that you can only overcome evil with good if good has been stored up in your heart, for out of the overflow of your heart you will act and react.  If you have been filling your heart with hatred, hopelessness, and the lies of the enemy, you will only act and react out of hatred, hopelessness, and lies.  However, if you have been filling your heart with God’s Love, Hope, and Truth, you will act and react from God’s Love, Hope, and Truth.

 

“LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE BEFORE MEN, THAT THEY MAY SEE YOUR GOOD DEEDS AND PRAISE YOUR FATHER IN HEAVEN” (Matthew 5:16).

 

Know that Love, Hope, and Truth come directly from your Perfect Father in Heaven.  You do not bring these qualities into existence by yourself.  Even after I had become a Christian, I still had hatred stored in my heart.  I needed to ask the Lord Jesus, who has been sent by the Father as my Savior, to exchange my hatred for His Love.  Even if you are a Christian, in order to get rid of the hopelessness, anger, or jealousy stored up in your heart, you need to ask the Lord Jesus to exchange these evils for His own Goodness.

 

1. What have been coming out of your heart: hopelessness, hatred, and jealousy, or Love, Hope, and Faith?  Know that you will produce whatever is planted in your heart.

 

 

 

1. I urge you to invite the Lord Jesus to store up good things in your heart.  Then, you will not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with God!

 

 

 

PRAYER: Most High, I invite You to fill my heart with Your Goodness, Peace, and Truth, for out of the overflow of my heart my mouth and my actions will speak.  Fill me with Your Light, so that Your Light will shine in me before all people.  Praise be to You, Father in Heaven!

 

March 8  May You Know the Truth

 

“NOW THE SERPENT WAS MORE SUBTLE AND CRAFTY THAN ANY LIVING CREATURE OF THE FIELD WHICH THE LORD GOD HAD MADE” (Genesis 3:1).

 

I have come to experience that the enemy, the father-of-lies, is indeed very crafty.  Many different things happened to me throughout my life, but you know, what shaped my mind the most was not what people said and did to me, but what I came to believe about myself because of what the crafty one said to me.

 

“STAND FIRM THEN, WITH THE BELT OF TRUTH BUCKLED AROUND YOUR WAIST” (Ephesians 6:14).

 

I have learned that the Truth of Jesus is one of the most valuable assets in our lives.  I have noticed that the truth that people give us is not nearly as powerful as the Truth that Jesus discloses.  People can guess what you need to hear and believe about yourself; however, it is only the Lord Jesus who knows the exact lie that the father-of-lies whispered into your ear, and who can bring you the exact Truth that you need to hear and believe about yourself and others.

 

May you buckle the Belt of Truth around your waist.  Know that as you clasp on the Truth, you are not putting on a thing, but a Person—the Person of Jesus Christ.  Understand that when people tell you the truth, the lie in your mind might continue to exist, but when Jesus tells you the Truth, you will be released from what you came to believe about yourself–that you are an alien…that you are deformed…that you are not special–because the Truth of Jesus Christ will set you free.

 

“JESUS ANSWERED, ‘I AM THE WAY AND THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE’” (John 14:6).

 

1. What have shaped your life the most: what people did or said to you, or what you came to believe about yourself and those around you?

 

 

 

1. What are you going to do about the beliefs about yourself: that you are an orphan…that you are an outcast…that you do not count?  Are you going to ask people the truth about these beliefs, or are you going to yield these beliefs to the Lord Jesus and ask Him for the Truth?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, how I value Your Truth!  I come to You to tell me the Truth about myself and about my family and friends, because Your Truth will set me free from the wrong beliefs about myself and others. Show me the Truth about the belief “I am an orphan.”  Show me the place where the crafty one introduced this negative, destructive belief to my mind, so I may invite You into that place to be my Way and my Truth and my Life.

 

 

 

March 9  You Have a Purpose

 

“AS THE FATHER HAS LOVED ME, SO HAVE I LOVED YOU. NOW REMAIN IN MY LOVE. IF YOU OBEY MY COMMANDS, YOU WILL REMAIN IN MY LOVE, JUST AS I HAVE OBEYED MY FATHER’S COMMANDS AND REMAIN IN HIS LOVE.  I HAVE TOLD YOU THIS SO THAT MY JOY MAY BE IN YOU AND THAT YOUR JOY MAY BE COMPLETE” (John 15:9-11).

 

Have you ever wondered about your purpose in life?  I have.  I think about it a lot.  It is a very important part of my life…to have a purpose.  You know, the Perfect Father made you that way–to want a purpose.

 

I have noticed that my life falls apart as soon as I do not feel loved by God.  It is then when I become very sad.  It is then when I think this life is not worth it.  It is then when I feel purposeless.

 

“AS THE FATHER HAS LOVED ME, SO HAVE I LOVED YOU.  NOW REMAIN IN MY LOVE…JUST AS I…REMAIN IN HIS LOVE.”

 

My Perfect Father showed me that first, my purpose is to remain in His Love, through Jesus, His son.  My Father’s Love is indispensable for the maintaining and protection of my life.  Without it, life is full of hopelessness and hatred.  Without it, being a Christian does not make sense.  Without it, I have no joy.  His Love is my lifeline!

 

“I HAVE TOLD YOU THIS SO THAT MY JOY MAY BE IN YOU AND THAT YOUR JOY MAY BE COMPLETE”

 

1. Have you noticed that you have an intense desire to be loved by the Perfect Father?  When He tells you that He loves you, it will not matter that your earthly daddy did not love you, or that you mother did not want you, or that you friends did not want to play with you when you were little. You will be filled with Joy.

 

 

 

1. Your Perfect Father longs to fulfill your desire to be loved by Him. This is your first purpose in this life.  Seek His Counsel, so He can show you His Love for you through His Spirit in your heart.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Abba Father, draw me into Your perfect Love.  Fulfill my desire for Your Love through Your son, Jesus, because this is my first purpose in life.  Help me to realize that it is my responsibility to come to You to be loved, instead of looking for Your Love in all the wrong places. Then, I will have Joy!

 

 

March 10  The Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus

 

Do you have issues like fear, hatred, despair, and jealousy in your heart?  I have had all these things combined living in my heart.  You are not alone!

 

“FOR IF, WHEN WE WERE GOD’S ENEMIES, WE WERE RECONCILED TO HIM THROUGH THE DEATH OF HIS SON, HOW MUCH MORE, HAVING BEEN RECONCILED, SHALL WE BE SAVED THROUGH HIS LIFE! (Romans 5:10).

 

For a long time after I had become a Christian, I believed that my sins had been forgiven…now I was on my own.  Jesus did His job…now it was my turn to do mine–to start the process of getting rid of my hatred, jealousy, fear, and despair.

 

However, my Perfect Father showed me there was MUCH MORE than just forgiveness that was available to me.  The Lord Jesus was not done with His job in me.  In fact, it had only begun!  I was reconciled through His death…now I needed to be saved through His Life.

 

“THROUGH CHRIST JESUS THE LAW OF THE SPIRIT OF LIFE SET ME FREE FROM THE LAW OF SIN AND DEATH” (Romans 8:2).

 

The Lord Jesus showed me that fear, hatred, jealousy, and despair did not live in my heart as single separate entities.  Instead, these were reactions to the OLD MAN, the set of negative, destructive beliefs instilled in my mind by the father-of-lies.

 

“KNOWING THIS, THAT OUR OLD MAN IS CRUCIFIED WITH HIM, THAT THE BODY OF SIN MIGHT BE DESTROYED, THAT HENCEFORTH WE SHOULD NOT SERVE SIN” (Romans 6:6).

 

Celebrate that the Lord Jesus came to redeem you from the OLD MAN–to repurchase you from the set of negative, destructive beliefs instilled in your mind by the father-of-lies–so that you do not have to react to these in hatred, jealousy, despair and fear anymore.

 

1. Are you struggling with jealousy, hatred, fear, and despair? What are the negative, destructive OLD MAN beliefs supporting these reactions?

 

 

 

1. What would it take for you to invite the Lord Jesus into these OLD MAN beliefs, so you could be set free from the body of sin and the resulting reactions? Remember, the heart feels what the mind believes.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I rejoice that You came to redeem me from the OLD MAN, the set of negative, destructive beliefs that are responsible for the hatred, jealousy, despair, and fear in my heart.  I bring these OLD MAN beliefs to You. Please replace them with positive, constructive beliefs, so I should not serve sin anymore.

March 11  So Have I Loved You

 

One of the lies the father-of-lies likes to throw at me is: “God does not love you.”  Sometimes he would make the lie even more real by adding: “God does not love you because you are not worthy to be loved.”  I get these “God does-not-love-you” lies quite often in my life.  They usually come when I need God the most.

 

“HE WAS A MURDERER FROM THE BEGINNING, NOT HOLDING TO THE TRUTH, FOR THERE IS NO TRUTH IN HIM. WHEN HE LIES, HE SPEAKS HIS NATIVE LANGUAGE, FOR HE IS A LIAR AND THE FATHER OF LIES.  YET BECAUSE I TELL THE TRUTH, YOU DO NOT BELIEVE ME!” (John 8:44, 45).

 

Sometimes the father-of-lies tells me that the Lord Jesus DOES love me, but only under certain conditions–when I am good, acceptable, or worthy.  Other times, the murderer tells me that as soon as my pain shows, God will stop loving me. Be aware of the murderer’s lies.  There is no truth in him.  Listen to what the Lord Jesus tells you…and BELIEVE.

 

“FOR I AM CONVINCED THAT NEITHER DEATH NOR LIFE, NEITHER ANGELS NOR DEMONS, NEITHER THE PRESENT NOR THE FUTURE, NOR ANY POWERS, NEITHER HEIGHT NOR DEPTH, NOR ANYTHING ELSE IN ALL CREATION, WILL BE ABLE TO SEPARATE US FROM THE LOVE OF GOD THAT IS IN CHRIST JESUS OUR LORD” (Romans 8:38-39).

 

Believe that your pain will not separate you from God’s Love for you…neither will your sinful habits and patterns…neither will your painful beliefs of being unworthy, unloved, and unaccepted…neither will the belief “God does not love me.”

 

1. Has the father-of-lies told you that God does not love you…or that God DOES love you, but only under certain conditions…or that God will only love you, until your pain shows?

 

 

 

1. Believe that the Perfect Father wants to lavish you with His Father Love.  It is when you feel abandoned that God wants to tell you that He loves you.  It is when you feel ashamed and deformed that the Perfect Father wants to tell you that He accepts you.  It is when you feel rejected and very alone that the Lord Jesus wants to tell you that you are worthy to Him. Will you invite His Presence into your pain?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Thank you, Perfect Father, that nothing separates me from Your Love for me…not even my pain of abandonment, shame, or condemnation. How great is the Love You have lavished on me…that I might be called Your child.

 

 

March 12  God Cares about Your Heart

 

“AND HE WHO SEARCHES OUR HEARTS KNOWS THE MIND OF THE SPIRIT, BECAUSE THE SPIRIT INTERCEDES FOR THE SAINTS IN ACCORDANCE WITH GOD’S WILL” (Romans 8:27).

 

The Perfect Father cares about your heart.  He cares about the abandonment that lives there…the betrayal that hurts so much…the rejection that was so unfair.  He knows about the scar of shame–that painful emotion caused by guilt and the feeling that you are fatally flawed.  He cares about the anxiety that lives in your heart–that fearful concern about the future.  Believe that your Father cares so much about your heart that He sent His Light, Jesus Christ, to shine in your heart when the darkness threatens to take over.

 

“FOR GOD, WHO SAID, ‘LET LIGHT SHINE OUT OF DARKNESS,’ MADE HIS LIGHT SHINE IN OUR HEARTS TO GIVE US THE LIGHT OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE GLORY OF GOD IN THE FACE OF CHRIST” (2 Corinthians 4:6).

 

The Perfect Father knows about your struggle against the father-of-lies…and He did something about it: He sent His son, Jesus, to overcome the father-of-lies and his lies.  Furthermore, He provided you a Helper, the Holy Spirit, to intercede for your heart, daily—to intervene between your heart and the negative, destructive beliefs of the father-of-lies…if you invite Him into these beliefs.

 

“I HAVE TOLD YOU THESE THINGS, SO THAT IN ME YOU MAY HAVE PEACE. IN THIS WORLD, YOU WILL HAVE TROUBLE. BUT TAKE HEART! I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD” (John 16:33).

 

1. Did you know that the Father cares about you…that He cares about your heart? Did you know that He sent the Light of His son to shine in YOUR heart? Did you know that He sent His Holy Spirit to intercede for YOUR heart according to His will?

 

 

 

1. Will you invite the Lord Jesus to shine His Light into the dark spots in YOUR heart? Will you invite the Holy Spirit to intercede for YOUR heart according to God’s will?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord God, I invite You into my troubled heart.  Teach me how to trust in You: to rely on Your Truth…to lean on Your Love…to abide in Your Hope. Shine Your Light on the darkness in my heart, so it would flee in the Light of Your Glory.  I invite Your Peace into my heart, because You have overcome the world.

 

 

 

March 13  Know Your Perfect Father

 

“I HAVE MADE YOU KNOWN TO THEM, AND WILL CONTINUE TO MAKE YOU KNOWN” (John 17:26).

 

Do you know that the Lord Jesus came to make your Perfect Father known to you?  There is a difference between knowing ABOUT the Father…and KNOWING HIM.  The Father wants to be part of your thoughts, your emotions, and your actions, so you may know Him by experience through His Love, Hope, and Truth.

 

“YOUR FATHER, WHO SEES WHAT IS DONE IN SECRET, WILL REWARD YOU”

(Matthew 6:4).

 

Do you know that your Perfect Father sees all the good things that you do in secret, and that He will reward you?  Get to know Him personally, so He can tell you these things Himself.  Then, you will believe.

 

“YOUR FATHER KNOWS WHAT YOU NEED BEFORE YOU ASK HIM”

(Matthew 6:8).

 

Do you know that your Father knows what you need before the need even appears, and that He already has an answer planned for you?  How often I have experienced confusion, where I did not understand what I needed…but the Father did!  I got to know Him when I invited Him to supply the answer, which He already knew.

 

“Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks” (John 4:23).

 

Do you know that the Perfect Father is looking for those who will serve Him by believing the Truth through His Spirit of Truth, instead of believing the accusatory beliefs of the father-of-lies, and reacting to them?

 

1. Do you know the Perfect Father through the daily experience of His Love, Hope, and Truth, or do you only know about Him?

 

 

 

1. Understand that you will only know Him by experience if you invite His Love, Hope, and Truth into your daily experiences of sadness, madness, and badness. Otherwise, you will only know ABOUT Him.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Perfect Father, how blessed I am that I may know You: that I may experience Your Love…that I may discover Your Hope…that I may perceive Your Truth.  This is eternal Life: that I may know You–the only true God.

March 14  Why Do I Still Sin?

 

“But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness” (Romans 8:10).

For a very long time, I asked this question: “Since I have received the Lord Jesus as my Savior, why am I still struggling with sin?  Did Jesus not save me from sin?  Why do I still hate?  Why am I still jealous?  Why do I still covet?” 

 

But then I realized the problem: I invited the Lord Jesus as my Savior to save my spirit, but I did not invite Him as my Savior to save my mind. My mind was still unrenewed, filled with the OLD MAN–the negative, destructive beliefs of the father-of-lies.  I still lived under the oppressing beliefs “I am not special…I am not good enough…I am a failure.”  These beliefs caused me to sin: to hate…to be jealous…to covet.

 

“The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit, is life and peace (Romans 8:6).

 

Do not despair.  The Lord Jesus does not only want to save your spirit, but your unrenewed mind, as well, so that you might no longer be a slave to the negative, destructive OLD MAN beliefs of the father-of-lies…and sin.

 

“AND BE NOT CONFORMED TO THIS WORLD: BUT BE YE TRANSFORMED BY THE RENEWING OF YOUR MIND, THAT YE MAY PROVE WHAT IS THAT GOOD, AND ACCEPTABLE, AND PERFECT, WILL OF GOD” (Romans 12:2).

 

1. Have you invited the Lord Jesus to save your spirit, but your life if still inundated with sin: hatred, jealousy, and covetousness?

 

 

 

1. Understand that you have a commitment…a duty…a responsibility: to bring your unrenewed mind, with all its painful accusatory OLD MAN beliefs, to Jesus, so that He can renew it with His Truth.  Then, your mind will be made ineffective and inactive to the negative, destructive beliefs “I am not special…I am not good enough…I am a failure.”  And you will stop hating others, because they make you feel lesser, stop being jealous of those who are better than you, and stop coveting things to make you feel special.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Thank you, Lord Jesus for saving my spirit.  But I want to be free from hatred, jealousy, and covetousness, as well.  Therefore, I invite You to renew my mind: to save my mind from the negative, destructive OLD MAN beliefs that render me unworthy, unacceptable, and unloved.  Do this, Lord Jesus, so I would stop being a slave to sin.

March 15  Keep Your Eyes on Jesus

 

“TURN TO ME AND BE SAVED, ALL YOU ENDS OF THE EARTH;

FOR I AM GOD, AND THERE IS NO OTHER” (Isaiah 45:22).

 

I once had a dream where I was swimming in a tidal pool in the ocean.  At first, it was low tide and the water was very calm and smooth. But then the tide started coming in.  More and more water started spilling into the pool, causing the ripples in the pool to become rough and turbulent.  I looked around me and started panicking, but suddenly I became aware of someone holding me in the turbulent water.  It was Jesus!  He turned my face so I would look at Him and said, “When the water becomes rough and scary, only look at Me.  Do not look at the turbulent ripples.  Look, I am holding you.  You will not drown.”

 

Therefore, I would like to encourage you today.

 

When the waters in your life become uneven and bumpy, may you not concern yourself with the ups and downs of life around you.  Instead, steadily fix your gaze on Jesus.  The instant you look toward Him, instead of at the turbulent circumstances, the hopelessness vanishes from sight.

 

When the waters become rough and turbulent, may you give no mind to the disturbing conditions.  Instead, willfully keep in view the face of Jesus.  The moment you look toward Him, the oppressing darkness is swallowed up.

 

When the waters become tumultuous and violent, may you give no regard to the crisis.  Instead, intentionally rivet your eyes on Jesus.  The minute you turn to Him, the intimidating fear evaporates.

 

1. Are the waters in your life rough and turbulent right now?

 

 

 

1. May you choose to turn your trust away from the happenings in your life, and put your trust in God.  Do not place your confidence in your interpretations of the circumstances around you, but in the character of the Most High. Do not rely on your own perception of the facts in your life.  Instead, choose to rely on the Truth, who is Jesus Christ.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, be my Truth when everything seems truthless.  Be my Hope when everything seems hopeless.  Be my Power when I feel so powerless. Be my Savior.  Be my God.  Be my Light.

 

Most High, help me to see You…not the circumstances.  Let me hear You…not the negative, destructive voices in my mind.  Let me feel Your Presence…not the pain.

 

 

 

March 16  What Do You Do with Jesus?

 

“‘WHAT SHALL I DO, THEN, WITH JESUS WHO IS CALLED CHRIST?” PILATE ASKED.

THEY ALL ANSWERED, “CRUCIFY HIM!’” (Matthew 27:22).

 

What do you do with Jesus every day?

 

“IT IS BECAUSE OF HIM THAT YOU ARE IN CHRIST JESUS, WHO HAS BECOME FOR US WISDOM FROM GOD” (1 Corinthians 1:30).

 

What do you do with Jesus when you are at wits end and there seems to be no answer and no way out?  Do you allow Jesus to be your Wisdom from the Perfect Father?

 

“JESUS STOOD AND SAID IN A LOUD VOICE, “IF ANYONE IS THIRSTY, LET HIM COME TO ME AND DRINK” (John 7:37).

 

What do you do with Jesus when you are thirsty: when you feel like an outcast…when you feel that nobody loves you…when you feel that this life does not make sense?  Do you come to Him for a drink of His Hope, His Love, and His Truth?

 

“WHEN JESUS SPOKE AGAIN TO THE PEOPLE, HE SAID, ‘I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. WHOEVER FOLLOWS ME WILL NEVER WALK IN DARKNESS, BUT WILL HAVE THE LIGHT OF LIFE’” (John 8:12).

 

What do you do with Jesus when the darkness of despair closes in around you…when you feel there is nothing left to live for?  Do you expose your darkness to His Light?

 

“FOR IF, BY THE TRESPASS OF THE ONE MAN, DEATH REIGNED THROUGH THAT ONE MAN, HOW MUCH MORE WILL THOSE WHO RECEIVE GOD’S ABUNDANT PROVISION OF GRACE AND OF THE GIFT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS REIGN IN LIFE THROUGH THE ONE MAN, JESUS CHRIST” (Romans 5:17).

 

1. What do YOU do with Jesus?  Do you receive Him as your abundant provision of Grace when your weaknesses threaten to take over?  Do you receive Him as your Gift of Righteousness to reign over your jealousy, animosity, and rage, every day, moment-by-moment?  Do you receive Him as your Savior to reign over your depression…your anger…your confusion?  Or do you crucify Him?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I receive You as my Drink of Living Water. I accept You as my Wisdom from the Perfect Father. I invite You to be my Light in the present darkness. Lord Jesus, be my abundant Provision of Grace when I feel like an outcast.  Be my Gift of Righteousness in my sin.  May I reign in life through You.

 

 

 

March 17  Jesus was Abandoned on Your Behalf

 

“FROM THE SIXTH HOUR UNTIL THE NINTH HOUR DARKNESS CAME OVER ALL THE LAND. ABOUT THE NINTH HOUR JESUS CRIED OUT IN A LOUD VOICE, “ELOI, ELOI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?”—WHICH MEANS, “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?” (Matthew 27:45-46).

 

Seize the truth that Jesus has become to you Immanuel–God with you, and He has always been with you, and will always be with you…to the very end.

 

Jesus has never left you.  God has never abandoned you.  When bad things happened during your childhood years…Jesus was looking in.  When you felt lost and scared…Jesus was taking notes.  When feelings of hopelessness and despair flooded your mind…Jesus paid attention.  When you were being betrayed…Jesus was on guard.  When you thought no one knew… Jesus was attentive.  When you thought no one cared…Jesus kept very close.

 

“GOD HAS SAID, ‘NEVER WILL I LEAVE YOU; NEVER WILL I FORSAKE YOU’”

(Hebrew 13:5).

 

I found out that Jesus has been observing everything that has happened to me, all through my life.  When my daddy died during my childhood years, Jesus was right there at the funeral, holding me in His arms.  During the time when I felt so bad because of a mistake I made, Jesus was there, loving me.  During the time when I felt like a failure and a disappointment, Jesus was standing ready with His Truth.  And you know, because Jesus was there during my childhood when things went wrong, I can go back to these times and places…and find Him waiting there for me.  This time, all I have to do is ask Him to make things right.

 

1. Do you feel forsaken? It is very possible that your belief of being forsaken came from a childhood incident.  Know that it is not what happened to you that deemed you forsaken, but the negative, destructive OLD MAN belief, instilled in your mind by the father-of-lies during this incident. And this belief still lives in your mind, today.

 

 

 

1. I challenge you to look back at the childhood places where you thought you had been forsaken. Surrender the belief to God. Then, look for Jesus. You will find that He was at your side.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I lay my belief of feeling forsaken, at your feet.  Help me to find the place where this belief came into my mind and heart for the first time.  And then, show Yourself to me, Lord Jesus.  Show me where you were when I felt forsaken…left…pushed aside. Glory to Your name!

 

 

March 18  A Relationship of Obedience and Revelation

 

“JESUS GAVE THEM THIS ANSWER: ‘I TELL YOU THE TRUTH, THE SON CAN DO NOTHING BY HIMSELF; HE CAN DO ONLY WHAT HE SEES HIS FATHER DOING, BECAUSE WHATEVER THE FATHER DOES THE SON ALSO DOES. FOR THE FATHER LOVES THE SON AND SHOWS HIM ALL HE DOES’” (John 5:19-20).

 

Take notice of the relationship between Jesus and the Perfect Father.  Jesus does not do anything by Himself.  He only does what He sees His Father doing.  As a result, the Father reveals Himself to Jesus.  He shows Jesus all He does, and then the circle of events continues—Jesus does what the Father shows Him.

 

“WHOEVER HAS MY COMMANDS AND OBEYS THEM, HE IS THE ONE WHO LOVES ME.  HE WHO LOVES ME WILL BE LOVED BY MY FATHER, AND I TOO WILL LOVE HIM AND SHOW MYSELF TO HIM” (John 14:21).

 

Take notice of the relationship that the Father and Jesus long to have with you.  Just as with Jesus, the Perfect Father does not want you to do your own thing.  He wants to show you what He is doing, so you can also do what He is doing.  God wants you to do what the Lord Jesus shows you to do.  Listen again!

 

“HE WHO LOVES ME WILL BE LOVED BY MY FATHER, AND I TOO WILL LOVE HIM AND SHOW MYSELF TO HIM” (John 14:21).

 

Believe that Jesus yearns to have the same relationship with you as He had with His Father–a relationship of obedience and revelation.  This relationship becomes a circle of events: your obedience of loving God in thought and action turns to God’s revelation to you, which, in turn, results in your obedience to what God has shown you to do, which results in God showing you more.

 

1. Do you recognize the relationship between the Perfect Father and the Lord Jesus as one of obedience and revelation: Jesus obeyed…the Father showed…Jesus obeyed…the Father showed…Jesus obeyed…?

 

 

 

1. Do you recognize the relationship the Lord Jesus wants to have with you: you love God with your obedience…Jesus shows Himself to you…you obey what He shows you…Jesus shows Himself again…you obey…He shows…?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord God, thank you that you want to have a relationship with me: a daily, moment-by-moment relationship of obedience and revelation.  How encouraged I am that You want to reveal Yourself to me: Your Hope…Your Love…Your Truth.  May I remember to obey.

 

 

March 19  He Makes His Secrets Known to You

 

“WHOEVER HAS MY COMMANDS AND OBEYS THEM, HE IS THE ONE WHO LOVES ME.  HE WHO LOVES ME WILL BE LOVED BY MY FATHER, AND I TOO WILL LOVE HIM AND SHOW MYSELF TO HIM” (John 14:21).

 

God longs to reveal His secrets to you…to disclose His mysteries to you…to show His ways to you.

 

“HOW PRICELESS IS YOUR UNFAILING LOVE! BOTH HIGH AND LOW AMONG MEN FIND REFUGE IN THE SHADOW OF YOUR WINGS” (Psalm 36:7).

 

The Perfect Father understands the secret of how to feel loved.  He wants to show you the sheltered places under His wings where you can take refuge when you do not feel loved.  He yearns for your roots to grow deep down into His in-erasable Love.  He wants to teach you how to remain in His Love.

 

“SO IF THE SON SETS YOU FREE, YOU WILL BE FREE INDEED” (John 8:36).

 

The Most High grasps the secret of how to be set free from the accusatory lies of the father-of-lies.  He longs to take what is His…and make it known to you.  He wants to sanctify You with His Truth…so that you may taste real freedom.

 

“SINCE THEY DID NOT KNOW THE RIGHTEOUSNESS THAT COMES FROM GOD AND SOUGHT TO ESTABLISH THEIR OWN, THEY DID NOT SUBMIT TO GOD’S RIGHTEOUSNESS” (Romans 10:3).

 

The holy God understands the secret of Righteousness.  He wants to teach you the Righteousness that comes through faith in Jesus.

 

1. Do you hunger for God’s secrets: how to feel loved…how to be free…how to be righteous?

 

 

 

1. Then, love God enough to listen to His quiet voice when you are trapped in your own sinful defense habits.  Heed His Counsel when you feel unloved and unlovable.  Accept His invitations of Truth when you feel fatally flawed.  Then, He will reveal His undeniable secrets to you.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Most High, call me to the place where I will love You enough to become still and listen to Your Counsel, so that I may hear your secrets.

March 20  Your Shame Was Crucified

 

“KNOWING THIS, THAT OUR OLD MAN IS CRUCIFIED WITH HIM, THAT THE BODY OF SIN MIGHT BE DESTROYED, THAT HENCEFORTH WE SHOULD NOT SERVE SIN” (Romans 6:6).

 

I once felt very bad because of a spelling mistake I made. When I focused on the bad FEELING, I found out that I felt humiliated. When I traced the feeling of humiliation, I was drawn into a childhood memory, and discovered a negative, destructive CHILDHOOD CONCLUSION that sat underneath the humiliating feeling. I was about sixteen. An English teacher (this was in South-Africa where I spoke Afrikaans) asked me to write a sentence on the board. I made a spelling mistake. Instead of “their,” I wrote “there.” This was not what made me feel bad. What made me feel humiliated was what happened next. After asking me to hold out my hands, the teacher hit me with a ruler on both hands in front of all my class mates. During this humiliating experience, I made the negative, destructive childhood conclusion that I was stripped of my dignity and worth. I concluded that since my worth was taken away from me, I was now a lesser being. I experienced shame!

 

“YOU ARE ALREADY CLEAN BECAUSE OF THE WORD I HAVE SPOKEN TO YOU”

(John 15:3).

 

After I invited the Presence and Participation of the Lord Jesus into this shame, He showed me His humiliating walk to Golgotha…carrying my shame on His cross…ALL OF IT!  And then He allowed them to nail Him to that same cross that was carrying my shame.  He made sure that my shame was crucified with Him, so that I should not suffer from it anymore.  He abolished my shame with the words, “It is finished!”

 

“WHEN HE HAD RECEIVED THE DRINK, JESUS SAID, ‘IT IS FINISHED.’ WITH THAT, HE BOWED HIS HEAD AND GAVE UP HIS SPIRIT” (John 19:30).

 

1. Do you suffer from shame: a painful emotion caused by guilt, falling short, or being improper? Do you feel lesser in quality, stature, or reputation?

 

 

 

1. Believe and accept that the Lord Jesus carried YOUR shame on His cross, too, and has spoken YOU clean from all your shame with the words, “It is finished.”  All you need to do is bring your shame to Him.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I realize that the father-of-lies deforms our character with his destructive beliefs of shame.  But You have nailed my shame to the cross, so that I have no excuse to carry it anymore on my own cross.  Therefore, I bring my shame to You, because as soon as I lay it at the foot of Your cross, it is dissolved. Thank you, my Lord, for what You have done for us.

 

March 21  Two Opposing Purposes

 

“FOR THEY THAT ARE AFTER THE FLESH DO MIND THE THINGS OF THE FLESH; BUT THEY THAT ARE AFTER THE SPIRIT THE THINGS OF THE SPIRIT” (Romans 8:5).

 

Discern that your life is based on one of two purposes: the purpose to live according to the natural flesh…or the purpose to live in accordance with the Spirit of Jesus. 

 

“HE THAT COMMITTETH SIN IS OF THE DEVIL; FOR THE DEVIL SINNETH FROM THE BEGINNING” (1 John 3:8).

 

Know that the goal of these two purposes are opposing…conflicting…incompatible.  The natural flesh is obligated to please the father-of-lies, but the Spirit is set to please the Perfect Father.  The natural flesh obeys the OLD MAN, the set of negative, destructive beliefs instilled in our minds by the father-of-lies, but the Spirit obeys the NEW MAN, Jesus Christ.  At any given moment in your life, you are living either to please the father-of-lies…or to please the Perfect Father.  There is no middle ground!

 

“FOR THIS PURPOSE THE SON OF GOD WAS MANIFESTED, THAT HE MIGHT DESTROY THE WORKS OF THE DEVIL” (1 John 3:8).

 

Understand that the Perfect Father sent His son, Jesus, to destroy the works of the father-of-lies—to destroy the negative, destructive OLD MAN beliefs in our minds.

 

“Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation…if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will LIVE” (Romans 8:12, 13).

 

1. Whose works are being displayed in your life: the works of the father-of-lies…or the works of the Perfect Father? Whom are you pleasing: the father-of-lies…or the Perfect Father?

 

 

 

1. Know that you have an obligation: to live according to the natural flesh and obey the OLD MAN…or to live according to the Spirit, and allow Jesus to put to death the negative, destructive OLD MAN beliefs, instilled in our minds by the father-of-lies.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, how encouraged I am that You came to destroy the works of the father-of-lies in me, causing me to hate when I feel unloved…to be jealous when I feel lesser…to fear when I feel alone. Help me to understand my obligation: that each moment of each day I live either for You…or for the father-of-lies. Let me choose You each time, my Lord, so I may live in Your Peace, Your Love, and Your Hope.

 

 

March 22  Be Mindful When You Open the Door

 

“BEHOLD, I STAND AT THE DOOR AND KNOCK; IF ANYONE HEARS AND LISTENS TO AND HEEDS MY VOICE AND OPENS THE DOOR, I WILL COME IN TO HIM AND WILL EAT WITH HIM, AND HE [WILL EAT] WITH ME” (Revelation 3:20).

 

Be mindful of to whom you open the door to your heart.  Know that your heart is vulnerable…susceptible to attack…easily hurt.

 

Therefore, listen carefully who is knocking at your heart’s door.  Make sure it is the Lord Jesus, before you unbolt the latch.  First, listen carefully to the voice behind the closed door.  Give your full attention.  Heed the words.

 

“BUT WHEN HE, THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH, COMES, HE WILL GUIDE YOU INTO ALL TRUTH. HE WILL NOT SPEAK ON HIS OWN; HE WILL SPEAK ONLY WHAT HE HEARS”

(John 16:13).

 

May you discern between the voice of Truth of the Holy Spirit…and the empty voice of the father-of-lies.  Know that when the Spirit of Truth knocks, He will offer you Hope, Peace, and Joy.  He will never knock with a voice of despair.  Understand that when the Holy Spirit knocks, He will propose Light, Power, and Life.  He will never suggest darkness, powerlessness, and death.  Grasp that when the Spirit knocks, He will set before you Wholeness, Holiness, and Wisdom.  He will never put forward brokenness, unrighteousness, and confusion.  He will not speak on His own, but only speak what He hears from Jesus…and Jesus will only speak what He hears from the Perfect Father.

 

“HE WILL BRING GLORY TO ME BY TAKING FROM WHAT IS MINE AND MAKING IT KNOWN TO YOU.  ALL THAT BELONGS TO THE FATHER IS MINE” (John 16:14-15).

 

1. To whom do you open your heart’s door, every day, moment-by-moment? Who speaks to YOUR heart each moment of each day: the father-of-lies…or the Spirit of Truth?

 

 

 

1. Imagine the fellowship when you let the Spirit of Truth in.  Imagine the togetherness when He discharges His Hope over your despair.  Imagine the friendship when He trickles His Love over your heart.  Imagine the companionship when He pours out His Power over your weakness.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, be in charge of my heart. Guide my heart into all Truth, so that Truth will become the ultimate Voice in my heart. Write Your words on my heart, so I may live from them. Create in me a Truth-filled mind. Then, I will have a whole heart.

 

 

March 23  Be Mindful When the Enemy Knocks

 

“THE THIEF COMES ONLY TO STEAL AND KILL AND DESTROY” (John 10:10)

 

I bless you to be mindful when the father-of-lies knocks on the door of your heart.  Know that your heart is vulnerable…susceptible to attack…easily hurt.

 

“He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him” (John 8:44).

 

Therefore, keep the door to your heart shut…locked…bolted and barred, when the murderer knocks.  Know that the accuser only needs a sliver of an opening to push the door wide open and rush in.  Understand that when he detects an opening, he loses no time.  He will haul in everything he is able to drag in: condemnation…and abandonment…and shame.

 

“When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44).

 

Understand that once the door is open, it is extremely hard to close it again, once you have welcomed the enemy with all his lies and deceit.  It is far better to keep the door to your heart shut and sealed from the start, than to try and close it, once you have given the father-of-lies right of entry.  He will not be eager to leave.

 

“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).

 

May you understand that it is through your thoughts that the roaring lion finds an open door.  Therefore, submit each thought to God for approval, before you start accepting, believing, and obeying that thought.  Reject each thought that is not from God…keeping the door to your vulnerable heart shut and padlocked.

 

1. Do you listen to your own thoughts? How do you listen to your own thoughts?

 

 

 

1. I urge you to use discernment when you listen to you own thoughts. Distinguish between the thoughts that cause your heart to hurt, and the thoughts that bring your heart Joy. Make sure you take the thoughts that hurt your heart to the Lord Jesus, as soon as you get a chance, so that you may shut the door to the father-of-lies.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Most High, make me mindful of my thoughts, so I may hear when the father-of-lies knocks on the door of my heart, because he knocks through my thoughts. Work Your obedience in me, so I may take each thought captive and make it obedient to You.

March 24  Do Not Mind Read

 

“SO I TELL YOU THIS, AND INSIST ON IT IN THE LORD, THAT YOU MUST NO LONGER LIVE AS THE GENTILES DO, IN THE FUTILITY OF THEIR THINKING.  THEY ARE DARKENED IN THEIR UNDERSTANDING AND SEPARATED FROM THE LIFE OF GOD”

(Ephesians 4:17-18).

 

I urge you to be watchful of mind reading.  Be aware that trying to read another person’s mind could become a very dangerous open door for the father-of-lies to deliver rejection, unworthiness, and shame to your vulnerable heart.  Know that the father-of-lies is an opportunist.  Speculating and taking for granted another person’s reasons for enactment could give access to darkness of despair.  Assuming another person’s motives could unlock helplessness, powerlessness, and hopelessness.  Know that the father-of-lies will use your mind reading as an open door to express falsity…to bestow deception…to deliver his lies.

 

“YOU, HOWEVER, DID NOT COME TO KNOW CHRIST THAT WAY. SURELY YOU HEARD OF HIM AND WERE TAUGHT IN HIM IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE TRUTH THAT IS IN JESUS” (Ephesians 4:20-21).

 

Live in accordance with the Truth that is in Jesus.  Do not assume the truth.  Do not assume that you know why someone did or said something.  Your facts might be correct, but your interpretations are most likely not.  Ask Jesus for the Truth.  Remember, the mind of sinful man is death.

 

“THEREFORE, REJECTING ALL FALSITY AND BEING DONE NOW WITH IT, LET EVERYONE EXPRESS THE TRUTH WITH HIS NEIGHBOR, FOR WE ARE ALL PARTS OF ONE BODY AND MEMBERS ONE OF ANOTHER” (Ephesians 4:25).

 

1. Do you mind-read often, assuming that you know why someone said something, or assuming that you know what someone means by something?

 

 

 

1. I urge you to put off your mind-reading. Reject falsity, especially the kind that comes from your own thoughts. Instead, be sanctified by the Truth. You may find out that what you have been thinking is not at all the Truth, by a lie straight from the father-of-lies.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, let me be watchful of mind reading—assuming that I know why someone did or said something. Instead, lead me by Your Truth, because You ARE the Truth. May I be made new in the attitude of my mind, every day, each time someone says something that is hurtful, so that I may reject all falsities…and walk in Your Truth.

 

 

 

March 25  Steps I Use to Surrender

 

Describe the SITUATION that evoked your feelings of sadness, badness, or madness.

 

Example: Today, while we were driving, I felt very sad when my husband was gruff with me, after I asked him to slow down his driving.

 

Focusing on the FEELINGS evoked by this incident, find your PERTURBING PERCEPTION of the situation, the people involved, especially yourself.

 

Example: I felt intense sadness in my heart during this incident. My perturbing perception was that I did not count, and that I did not matter to anyone.

 

Still focusing on the feelings, find the PLACE during your life where you felt like this FOR THE FIRST TIME, whether that be this day, last year, or fifty years ago.

 

Example: Focusing on the sadness, I discovered a memory that matched it: I was about eight years old. I had just cleaned the whole kitchen floor while my parents were out shopping and could not wait for them to come back and be proud of me. But after they returned from shopping, my dad walked over my clean floor with his dirty shoes. When I tried to tell him not to make my floor dirty, he was gruff with me, the same way my husband was with me when we were driving.

 

INVITE GOD’S PRESENCE AND PARTICIPATION into your feelings, interpretations, and place where you experienced these for the first time. Allow Him to exchange your perception for His Perspective—THE TRUTH.

 

Example: Lord Jesus, I invite You into this place of sadness in my heart. Although my mind is telling me that I do not count because my dad walked over my clean floor (and my husband does not want to slow his driving down just for me), I surrender my interpretation to You and ask for Your Truth.

 

Allow God to SPEAK into your feelings and perception. LISTEN for His voice. LOOK inside the memory and see, hear, feel if there is anything different there. God speaks in many different ways. Be open, and be patient.

 

Example: While focusing on the memory, I saw my mom’s face. It was as if God was showing me the Truth through her face. I saw love and admiration beaming from her face and I knew that I counted. I mattered. I was important. My feeling of sadness disappeared. Now, I know that I count, even when my husband is gruff.

 

1. Has there been a situation this week that evoked feelings of sadness, madness, or badness in you? Do not focus on what someone said or did to you. Instead, turn your heart to you own interpretation of the situation, because our interpretations were sold under sin to the father-of-lies. Find out where this interpretation entered your mind for the first time, and surrender it to God…to receive His Truth…and a new heart.

 

 

March 26  It Is Finished!

 

One day, my husband and I visited the Hot Sulphur Springs in Colorado and were looking forward to a wonderful, relaxing time together.  Well, the father-of-lies had plans of his own.

 

After we entered one of the small pools, I became thirsty and grabbed our water bottle.  Suddenly another person in the pool commented, “Is that your water bottle…or mine?”  Then I realized that I was drinking from the wrong water bottle!

 

This might seem funny to you, but I felt horrified…condemned…filled with shame.  You see, the father-of-lies had been telling me all my life that I was not allowed to make mistakes.  In fact, it gets worse than that.  I was not even allowed to feel emotionally down.  I was also not allowed to say something stupid.  If I did any of the above, I WAS DEEMED BAD: corrupted…deformed…fatally flawed!  Now, if he had accused me of doing something bad, I could have fixed that.  However, he accused me of being bad.  I experienced this as extreme shame.

 

“WHEN HE HAD RECEIVED THE DRINK, JESUS SAID, ‘IT IS FINISHED.’ WITH THAT, HE BOWED HIS HEAD AND GAVE UP HIS SPIRIT” (John 19:30).

 

A long time ago, Jesus Christ received a drink, too.  And after He had received the drink, He said, “IT IS FINISHED.”  My shame was finished: terminated…brought to an end…disposed of entirely. I had been spoken clean by the words, “It is finished!”

 

“NO, IN ALL THESE THINGS WE ARE MORE THAN CONQUERORS THROUGH HIM WHO LOVED US” (Romans 8:37).

 

1. Has the father-of-lies also told you that you are not allowed to make mistakes? What does he claim to be the painful result if you were to make a mistake?

 

 

 

1. In faith, you can surrender your shame of being corrupted, deformed, and fatally flawed to Jesus and allow Him to speak you clean with the words, “It is finished.”  Simply apply the same faith that you used to accept Jesus as the forgiver of your sins to the termination of your shame.  May you do this each time you make a mistake and the father-of-lies tries to cripple you with his best weapon…SHAME.

 

 

 

PRAYER: I bring my heart into Your Presence, Lord Jesus: into Your Wholeness…into Your Holiness…into Your Truth. Remove all condemnation, so I may be allowed to make mistakes without being deemed bad. Remove all shame, so I may be allowed to be sad without being deemed guilty.  In all these things we are more than conquerors through You.

March 27  Discipline Means Training to Correct

 

“OUR FATHERS DISCIPLINED US FOR A LITTLE WHILE AS THEY THOUGHT BEST; GOD DISCIPLINES US FOR OUR GOOD, THAT WE MAY SHARE IN HIS HOLINESS”

(Hebrew 12:10).

 

I do not know about you, but I have many lies in my mind that have been planted there by the father-of-lies.  Usually, the first thing I do when one of these lies is triggered…is to flee from it.  I would actually get up and walk away when I feel shamed in someone’s presence.  At that moment, all that matters to me is to withdraw and hide.  However, the everlasting Father has been asking me to do something different–HE HAS BEEN ASKING ME TO STAY!

 

“ENDURE HARDSHIP AS DISCIPLINE; GOD IS TREATING YOU AS SONS. FOR WHAT SON IS NOT DISCIPLINED BY HIS FATHER?” (Hebrew 12:7).

 

God showed me that He wants me to stay when my shame is triggered, instead of running away…so that He can turn it into Holiness.  He would use the same shame the father-of-lies uses to HURT me…to HEAL me…if I would only stay and let Him.

 

“MY SON, DO NOT MAKE LIGHT OF THE LORD’S DISCIPLINE, AND DO NOT LOSE HEART WHEN HE REBUKES YOU, BECAUSE THE LORD DISCIPLINES THOSE HE LOVES” (Hebrew 12:5, 6).

 

Discipline means training to correct.  If you would stay, face your shame, and surrender it to God, He would turn your shame into holiness, but if you run, your shame will come back to haunt you again…and again…and again.

 

“NO DISCIPLINE SEEMS PLEASANT AT THE TIME, BUT PAINFUL. LATER ON, HOWEVER, IT PRODUCES A HARVEST OF RIGHTEOUSNESS AND PEACE FOR THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN TRAINED BY IT” (Hebrew 12:11).

 

1. How do you react when something or someone evokes shame in you? Do you run to a hiding place? Do you become defensive? What would it take for you to stay and allow God to produce a harvest of Peace in you?

 

 

 

1. I encourage you to become trained, corrected, and healed by God’s discipline, so that it will produce a harvest of Righteousness and Peace in you.  May you allow God to have His way with you: to treat you as a son…to treat you as a daughter.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Everlasting Father, lift my eyes above the shame, so I would see Your Holiness…and stay. May I endure hardship as a training to correct: to turn abandonment into belonging…to turn shame into confidence…to turn condemnation into acceptance.

March 28  Let Him Open the Door for You

 

“I KNOW YOUR [RECORD OF] WORKS AND WHAT YOU ARE DOING.  SEE! I HAVE SET BEFORE YOU A DOOR WIDE OPEN WHICH NO ONE IS ABLE TO SHUT; I KNOW THAT YOU HAVE BUT LITTLE POWER, AND YET YOU HAVE KEPT MY WORD AND GUARDED MY MESSAGE AND HAVE NOT RENOUNCED OR DENIED MY NAME”

(Revelation 3:8, AMP).

 

God Himself goes before you to open the door wide open through which He wants you to enter.  Understand that it is not up to you to find your own open door and force your way in.  It is not up to you to go look and find God’s Will; instead, He will reveal it to you when you obey Him.

 

“WHOEVER HAS MY COMMANDS AND OBEYS THEM, HE IS THE ONE WHO LOVES ME. HE WHO LOVES ME WILL BE LOVED BY MY FATHER, AND I TOO WILL LOVE HIM AND SHOW MYSELF TO HIM” (John 14:21).

 

Therefore, obey the Lord Jesus, and then follow Him through the open door He will show you.  Allow Him to go before you: showing Himself to you…guiding you into all Truth…making His Will known to you.

 

Know that the door God opens for you no one and nothing will be able to shut: not your lack of power…not your lack of resources…not your lack of knowledge.  You only have to obey, have faith, and follow!  Along with the open door, God will provide everything else you need.

 

“I WILL LEAD THE BLIND BY WAYS THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN, ALONG UNFAMILIAR PATHS I WILL GUIDE THEM; I WILL TURN THE DARKNESS INTO LIGHT BEFORE THEM AND MAKE THE ROUGH PLACES SMOOTH. THESE ARE THE THINGS I WILL DO; I WILL NOT FORSAKE THEM” (Isaiah 42:16).

 

1. Are you pushing on doors, hoping they would open? Are you hoping to find God’s Will?

 

 

 

1. Do not speed ahead of God, searching frantically for an open door.  Instead, fall in step behind Him…obey Him…follow Him.  Let Him reveal Himself to you. Then, when you cannot see, He will turn the darkness into Light before you.  When He leads you along unfamiliar places, He will make the rough places smooth.  He will not forsake you.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Abba, I look to You for guidance.  I have not renounced or denied Your Name.  I have obeyed You and look to You to open the doors.  You are the only one who can open doors which no one can shut. I need you to open the doors that have been shut for so long, since I have little power. Make Your Will known to me. Make the rough places smooth, O Lord. Turn my darkness into Light.

March 29  Do Not Be Burdened by the Yoke of Condemnation

 

“THEREFORE, THERE IS NOW NO CONDEMNATION FOR THOSE WHO ARE IN CHRIST JESUS, BECAUSE THROUGH CHRIST JESUS THE LAW OF THE SPIRIT OF LIFE SET ME FREE FROM THE LAW OF SIN AND DEATH” (Romans 8:1, 2).

 

The everlasting Father sent His own son as an offering for condemnation, depriving it of its power. The Lord Jesus can and has set YOU free from the power of condemnation…IF YOU ACCEPT HIS SACRIFICE.

 

“FOR GOD HAS DONE WHAT THE LAW COULD NOT DO, [ITS POWER] BEING WEAKENED BY THE FLESH [THE ENTIRE NATURE OF MAN WITHOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT]. SENDING HIS OWN SON IN THE GUISE OF SINFUL FLESH AND AS AN OFFERING FOR SIN, [GOD] CONDEMNED SIN IN THE FLESH [ SUBDUED, OVERCAME, DEPRIVED IT OF ITS POWER OVER ALL WHO ACCEPT THAT SACRIFICE]”

(Romans 8:3 AMP).

 

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who come under the government of Christ Jesus, because His Law of Life sets you free from the Law of Death, enforced by the father-of-lies.  It is for freedom that Christ Jesus has set you free: freedom from condemnation…freedom from disapproval…freedom from rebuke.

 

“IT IS FOR FREEDOM THAT CHRIST HAS SET US FREE. STAND FIRM, THEN, AND DO NOT LET YOURSELVES BE BURDENED AGAIN BY A YOKE OF SLAVERY” (Galatians 5:1).

 

1. Do you feel condemned…convicted…guilty…sentenced to death?

 

 

 

1. Understand that the Lord Jesus has done what you cannot do: to deprive condemnation of its power over you, so you may be accepted, acquitted, and approved, for it is for freedom that Christ has set you free.

 

 

 

1. But you have an obligation: to accept the Lord’s sacrifice to set you free from condemnation and its effects…to invite His Law of Life to free you from the Law of Death that reigns in your heart.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Precious Lord Jesus, I praise you for the wondrous things You have done for my heart. You have done what I cannot do: to set me free from the power of condemnation…of being declared wrong, bad, and doomed. Today I accept your sacrifice. I invite Your Law of Life to set me free from the Law of Death. And I accept Your offer in faith.

 

 

March 30  Your Father in Heaven Is the Taskmaster

 

“TAKE CARE NOT TO DO YOUR GOOD DEEDS PUBLICLY OR BEFORE MEN, IN ORDER TO BE SEEN BY THEM; OTHERWISE YOU WILL HAVE NO REWARD [RESERVED FOR AND AWAITING YOU] WITH AND FROM YOUR FATHER WHO IS IN HEAVEN”

(Matthew 6:1 AMP).

 

Know that your Father in Heaven is aware of all the good works that you do.  Believe that the good works (and the Purpose) that count are the ones that your Father has chosen for you before He even formed you.  Celebrate that your Father in Heaven chose you for these specific tasks He had in mind.

 

Many days I wake up and wonder, “What are the good works my Father has prepared for me for this day?”  Since I have a relationship with God, I listen to Him to hear what He has planned for me for each day.  It took me awhile to stop doing ALL the good works that are available to me, to ONLY do the good works my Father has prepared for me.

 

“FOR WE ARE GOD’S WORKMANSHIP, CREATED IN CHRIST JESUS TO DO GOOD WORKS, WHICH GOD PREPARED IN ADVANCE FOR US TO DO” (Ephesians 2:10).

 

Grasp that the good works and the Purpose the Father in Heaven has prepared for you, you are doing for Him…not the recipients of the good deeds.  He is the Taskmaster…the Employer…the Manager.  You are accountable to Him.  Therefore, be determined to commit yourself to Him only.  Look for payment from Him only.  Receive your honor from Him only.  Take care not to do your good works for people, in order to be rewarded by them; otherwise you will have no reward from your Taskmaster in Heaven.

 

“THEN YOUR FATHER, WHO SEES WHAT IS DONE IN SECRET, WILL REWARD YOU” (Matthew 6:4).

 

1. Which good works do you do every day: the ones YOU have chosen to do, or the ones the FATHER IN HEAVEN has chosen for you? Not sure? Then, you need to stop ALL good works and establish a relationship with Him, first.

 

 

 

1. What will it take to stop ALL good works that are only done to receive accolades from people…and ONLY do the good works the Father in Heaven has prepared for you—the ones nobody might notice?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Father in Heaven, bring me to the place where You would be my only taskmaster for the good works I do on this earth. Help me to understand that if I am so busy doing my own good works, I will miss the purpose for my life—to do the good works YOU have chosen for me.

 

 

March 31  Why Don’t You Stay?

 

I am a runner—I run away from pain.  The other day, my Everlasting Father asked me, “Renee, why do you always run away from pain?  Why don’t you stay?”  It was then that I pondered the question: Why don’t I stay?  Why don’t I stay and face my pain of feeling that I am invisible…of feeling that I don’t count…of feeling that I am a mistake?

 

I found out that I run from pain, because I believe that it is not safe to stay.  I believe that the pain is going to destroy me if I stay and face it.

 

I found out that I run from pain, because I believe that it is a sin to experience feelings of shame, condemnation, or abandonment, and that I need to escape these as soon as possible.

 

I found out that I run from pain, because I believe that if I run away from it, the pain will go away all by itself…and I will be safe. But then I asked God for HIS perspective, and He said:

 

“NO TEMPTATION HAS SEIZED YOU EXCEPT WHAT IS COMMON TO MAN. AND GOD IS FAITHFUL; HE WILL NOT LET YOU BE TEMPTED BEYOND WHAT YOU CAN BEAR. BUT WHEN YOU ARE TEMPTED, HE WILL ALSO PROVIDE A WAY OUT SO THAT YOU CAN STAND UP UNDER IT” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

 

My Everlasting Father showed me that if I stay and face my pain, I will not be destroyed by it, because He will not allow the father-of-lies to tempt me beyond what I can bear.  Instead, He Himself will provide a way out of the pain, so that I can stand up under it.

 

My Father showed me that the pain is not the sin. It is only the symptom of a negative, destructive belief from the father-of-lies that serves to convince me to run from God, so that I would not experience His Love, Truth, and Hope in my life.

 

My Father showed me that if I run away from my pain, instead of facing it, the pain would only get worse over time and lead me farther and farther away from Him…into sin.  But, if I stay and face it, my Father will have a chance to heal me.

 

“I AM THE VINE; YOU ARE THE BRANCHES. IF A MAN REMAINS IN ME AND I IN HIM, HE WILL BEAR MUCH FRUIT; APART FROM ME YOU CAN DO NOTHING” (John 15:5).

 

1. What are the reasons YOU run away from the pain in your heart?

 

 

 

1. I encourage you to bring these reasons to the Lord God, and ask Him for His perspective. You might be surprised about His answers…or even the fact that He DOES answer.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord God, thank you that You want to make YOUR perspectives known to us.

April

April 1  Love One Another Deeply, from the Heart

 

“NOW THAT YOU HAVE PURIFIED YOURSELVES BY OBEYING THE TRUTH SO THAT YOU HAVE SINCERE LOVE FOR YOUR BROTHERS, LOVE ONE ANOTHER DEEPLY, FROM THE HEART” (1 Peter 1:22).

 

Realize that in order to love one another deeply, you need a purified heart: a heart cleansed from rejection…released from abandonment…freed from condemnation.  Understand that as long as your heart is occupied with rejection, you will have a tough time experiencing sincere love for others.  Grasp that as long as your heart is diverted by abandonment, you will have a hard time enjoying unfeigned fellowship with one another.  Recognize that as long as your heart is controlled by the degrading effects of condemnation, you will have a difficult time loving anyone from the heart.

 

“SANCTIFY THEM BY THE TRUTH; YOUR WORD IS TRUTH” (John 17:17).

 

I urge you to allow God to set you free from the power of past rejection: when you were not included in the group…when you had to carry all the blame…when you were pushed aside as not being important.  Only His Truth can set you free.

 

I encourage you to permit God to set you free from the power of past abandonment: when someone important in your life left…when nobody was there to comfort you…when you had to take care of yourself, because there was nobody else.  Understand that it is not the circumstances that are causing the pain, but the conclusions…the interpretations…the beliefs you formed in your mind. God wants to give you HIS perspective.

 

May you authorize God to free you from the power of past criticism and disapproval: when you could never please your dad…when you were never good enough for your mother…when you were never accepted for being you.  Only God can bring healing to your heart by replacing your conclusions with His Truth.

 

“BUT WHEN HE, THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH, COMES, HE WILL GUIDE YOU INTO ALL TRUTH. HE WILL NOT SPEAK ON HIS OWN; HE WILL SPEAK ONLY WHAT HE HEARS”

(John 16:13).

 

1. Are you able to love deeply…from your heart? Do you love your blaming spouse…your disrespectful friend…your hate-filled enemy?

 

 

 

1. If your answer is “NO,” I urge you to invite God’s Perspective into the spots of abandonment, condemnation, and shame that still live in your heart. Once these are healed, you WILL be able to love from your heart.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, show me Your Perspective, so I may have new perceptions of myself.

April 2  Christ Was Crucified in Weakness

 

“FOR THOUGH HE WAS CRUCIFIED IN WEAKNESS,

YET HE LIVES BY THE POWER OF GOD”

(2 Corinthians 13:4).

 

Do not despair during times of weakness, for it is during the times that you are powerless, helpless, and hopeless that God has a chance to establish His Power in you.

 

“NOW TO HIM WHO IS ABLE TO DO IMMEASURABLY MORE THAN ALL WE ASK OR IMAGINE, ACCORDING TO HIS POWER THAT IS AT WORK WITHIN US, TO HIM BE GLORY” (Ephesians 3:20 21).

 

I urge you to use your time of weakness to extinguish your own will and to allow God to conform you to His divine Will in your thoughts, your purpose, and your actions.

 

“NOT EVERYONE WHO SAYS TO ME, ‘LORD, LORD,’ WILL ENTER THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, BUT ONLY HE WHO DOES THE WILL OF MY FATHER WHO IS IN HEAVEN” (Matthew 7:21).

 

Use your time of weakness to put an end to reliance on your own wisdom…confidence in your own self…dependence on your own understanding, for the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight.

 

“BUT THE WISDOM THAT COMES FROM HEAVEN IS FIRST OF ALL PURE; THEN PEACE-LOVING, CONSIDERATE, SUBMISSIVE, FULL OF MERCY AND GOOD FRUIT, IMPARTIAL AND SINCERE” (James 3:17).

 

1. Are you going through a time of weakness? Do you feel powerless…helpless…hopeless?

 

 

 

1. I encourage you to use this time of weakness as an opportunity to ask God to draw you into His Power…to come into your Father’s Will…to lean into the Wisdom that comes from Heaven.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Most High, I cling to You.  May I give up my own strength during times of weakness, for it is during the times that I am powerless, helpless, and hopeless that You have a chance to accomplish Your Power in me that can do immeasurably more than I can ask or imagine.

 

Let me be weak when my spouse belittles me…when my friends leave me…when my enemy accuses me, for when I am weak…YOU ARE STRONG!

 

April 3  Your Mind

 

“THE MIND OF SINFUL MAN IS DEATH” (Romans 8:6).

 

Did you know that God does not deem your mind trustworthy?  Why not?  Your mind is not dependable, because the father-of-lies has had access to your mind since the day you were born.  You are not the only one sharing your mind.  During the disconcerting childhood circumstances of your life, the father-of-lies lured you into deception: false conclusions…wrong interpretations…inaccurate assumptions.  Therefore, when you pull answers from your mind, you are also drawing false answers from the father-of-lies.

 

“SO I TELL YOU THIS, AND INSIST ON IT IN THE LORD, THAT YOU MUST NO LONGER LIVE AS THE GENTILES DO, IN THE FUTILITY OF THEIR THINKING.  THEY ARE DARKENED IN THEIR UNDERSTANDING AND SEPARATED FROM THE LIFE OF GOD” (Ephesians 4:17-18).

 

Know that even after you have become a Christian, you must not live in the futility of your thinking, because your understanding is darkened by the father-of-lies.  In fact, he uses your own thoughts to separate you from the life of God.

 

“THE WEAPONS WE FIGHT WITH ARE NOT THE WEAPONS OF THE WORLD. ON THE CONTRARY, THEY HAVE DIVINE POWER TO DEMOLISH STRONGHOLDS. WE DEMOLISH ARGUMENTS AND EVERY PRETENSION THAT SETS ITSELF UP AGAINST THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD, AND WE TAKE CAPTIVE EVERY THOUGHT TO MAKE IT OBEDIENT TO CHRIST” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5).

 

1. What is your opinion about YOUR mind: that it is good…that it is trustworthy…that it knows the truth? Do you always rely on your mind to find a solution to your problem, your unworthiness, and your brokenness?  Do you run to your mind when things go wrong…when someone insults you…when someone fails you?

 

 

 

1. I urge you to treat your mind as a deathtrap to be used by the father-of-lies at any given moment in time.  Take every thought captive that enters your mind.  Question every belief that lives in your mind.  Demolish every argument in your mind that has set itself up against the knowledge of God. And you will notice the difference in your life.

 

 

 

PRAYER: God of Truth, keep me from running to my own mind-set when things go wrong…when someone insults me…when someone fails me.  Keep me from living in the futility of my thinking. Instead, let me look to You for answers to my problems…solutions to my unworthiness…explanations to my brokenness, for only You know the Truth.

April 4  May you Walk in the Light of the Truth

 

“THIS IS THE MESSAGE WE HAVE HEARD FROM HIM AND DECLARE TO YOU: GOD IS LIGHT; IN HIM THERE IS NO DARKNESS AT ALL. IF WE CLAIM TO HAVE FELLOWSHIP WITH HIM YET WALK IN THE DARKNESS, WE LIE AND DO NOT LIVE BY THE TRUTH. BUT IF WE WALK IN THE LIGHT, AS HE IS IN THE LIGHT, WE HAVE FELLOWSHIP WITH ONE ANOTHER, AND THE BLOOD OF JESUS, HIS SON, PURIFIES US FROM ALL SIN”

(1 John 1:5-7).

 

Fathom that to walk in the Light means to live by the Truth.  The Truth turns darkness into Light.

 

“BUT WHOEVER LIVES BY THE TRUTH COMES INTO THE LIGHT” (John 3:21).

 

Expose the darkness in your mind to the Light.  Lay open the beliefs that cause you to despair.  Bring to light the interpretations you have made about yourself…the assumptions you have made about your enemies…the beliefs you have formed about your friends.  Live by the Truth, so you can walk in the Light.

 

“SEND FORTH YOUR LIGHT AND YOUR TRUTH, LET THEM GUIDE ME; LET THEM BRING ME TO YOUR HOLY MOUNTAIN, TO THE PLACE WHERE YOU DWELL”

(Psalm 43:3).

 

May you walk in the Light of the Truth.

 

“FOR THE FRUIT OF THE LIGHT CONSISTS IN ALL GOODNESS, RIGHTEOUSNESS AND TRUTH” (Ephesians 5:9).

 

1. “I am a mistake.  I am abandoned.  I am fatally flawed.  I have disappointed God.  I am a failure.  I have no purpose.  I am invisible.  I am not special.  I am a disgrace.” Do these beliefs live in your mind?

 

 

 

1. Bring these dark beliefs that live in your mind to the Light, and you will find Truth, for the fruit of the Light…is Truth.

 

 

 

PRAYER: God of Light, help me to understand that to walk in Your Light means to live by Your Truth.  Your Light is the Truth.  Your Truth turns darkness into Light.

 

I surrender these painful beliefs that live in my mind to You, my Lord. I expose them to Your Light. Exchange them for Your Truth, so that I may have fellowship with You, and be set free from these beliefs and my reactions to them.

 

 

 

April 5  What Is Sin?

 

I have often pondered the meaning of sin.  I am not a murderer.  I am not a liar.  I do not steal.  I do not even kill a spider.  So, “When do I sin?”

 

“DON’T YOU KNOW THAT WHEN YOU OFFER YOURSELVES TO SOMEONE TO OBEY HIM AS SLAVES, YOU ARE SLAVES TO THE ONE WHOM YOU OBEY—WHETHER YOU ARE SLAVES TO SIN, WHICH LEADS TO DEATH, OR TO OBEDIENCE, WHICH LEADS TO RIGHTEOUSNESS?” (Romans 6:16).

 

I became aware that to sin or not to sin is an act of obedience: to follow the commands of the father-of-lies…or to follow the commands of the Perfect Father. I am not talking about obedience to the Ten Commandments, but obedience to the Counsel of the Perfect Father through the Spirit of His Son, Jesus.

 

“AND EVERYTHING THAT DOES NOT COME FROM FAITH IS SIN” (Romans 14:23).

 

You see, when I obey the counsel of the father-of-lies—that I do not matter…that I am not acceptable…that I am not loved—I feel like sinning.  It is when I obey his counsel of darkness and hopelessness that I am drawn into the sinful solutions of harmful habits.

 

“MANY TIMES HE DELIVERED THEM, BUT THEY WERE BENT ON REBELLION AND THEY WASTED AWAY IN THEIR SIN” (Psalm 106:43).

 

How often I have noticed the call of God: to turn to the Lord Jesus, in obedience, to be saved from feeling unloved, unwanted, and unacceptable.  But I was bent on rebellion to follow the counsel of the father-of-lies. And I wasted away in my sin.

 

I bless you to know that you have a choice: to turn to the sinful solutions of harmful habits to save you from the counsel of the father-of-lies, or to turn to the Lord Jesus, in obedience, to save you from these belittling beliefs of the father-of-lies.

 

However, if you would turn to the Lord Jesus, in obedience, the result would be Righteousness—the opposite of sin.

 

1. When do you usually feel like sinning: drawn into the sinful solutions of harmful habits? What usually precedes this behavior?

 

 

 

1. What would it take for you to turn to the Lord, in obedience, so that the end-result is Righteousness instead of sinful solutions of harmful habits?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord God, help me to understand that You can deliver me from sinful solutions of harmful habits…if I am not bent on rebellion.

April 6  The OLD ME and the NEW ME

 

“IF INDEED YOU HAVE HEARD HIM AND HAVE BEEN TAUGHT BY HIM, AS THE TRUTH IS IN JESUS:  THAT YOU PUT OFF, CONCERNING YOUR FORMER CONDUCT, THE OLD MAN WHICH GROWS CORRUPT ACCORDING TO THE DECEITFUL LUSTS, AND BE RENEWED IN THE SPIRIT OF YOUR MIND, AND THAT YOU PUT ON THE NEW MAN WHICH WAS CREATED ACCORDING TO GOD, IN TRUE RIGHTEOUSNESS AND HOLINESS” (Ephesians 4:21-24).

 

One of the revelations that opened my eyes was the discovery that I have an OLD ME living inside of me: a corrupted person formed by deception…a needy being, shaped by the lies of the father-of-lies.  My OLD ME consisted of negative, destructive beliefs of abandonment, condemnation, and shame, all of which were instilled by the father-of-lies since childhood.

 

I found out that the father-of-lies did not necessarily need BIG TRAUMATIC childhood experiences as a means to install his negative, destructive beliefs into our minds. Although he DID use the traumatic incidences in our lives to instill beliefs of “God is disappointed in you” or “You are fatally flawed,” he only needed a little word like “NO!” when we were three years old to tell us that “You are not loved.” The negative, destructive belief would be just as severe when it was instilled during an insignificant event than when it was instilled in our minds during a traumatic event.

 

“KNOWING THIS, THAT OUR OLD MAN IS CRUCIFIED WITH HIM, THAT THE BODY OF SIN MIGHT BE DESTROYED, THAT HENCEFORTH WE SHOULD NOT SERVE SIN” (Romans 6:6).

 

But then I learned that the Lord Jesus nailed the OLD ME to the cross with Himself.  Then, on the third day, He rose to become the NEW ME in each of us: someone who is created without the lies of the father-of-lies in true righteousness and holiness.

 

“FOR IF, WHEN WE WERE GOD’S ENEMIES, WE WERE RECONCILED TO HIM THROUGH THE DEATH OF HIS SON, HOW MUCH MORE, HAVING BEEN RECONCILED, SHALL WE BE SAVED THROUGH HIS LIFE!” (Romans 5:10).

 

1. Are you aware of any childhood incidences during which the father-of-lies instilled an OLD ME in you: a needy being, filled with negative, destructive beliefs of “I am not OK”?

 

 

 

1. Would you be willing to allow your OLD ME to be crucified with Jesus, and then invite Him into your heart…to become your NEW ME?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, thank you that I am not doomed to always be the needy person, shaped by the father-of-lies, but that there is a NEW ME available to me through You—the NEW MAN.

April 7  Forgive Them, for They Do Not Know What They Are Doing

 

“WHEN THEY CAME TO THE PLACE CALLED THE SKULL, THERE THEY CRUCIFIED HIM, ALONG WITH THE CRIMINALS—ONE ON HIS RIGHT, THE OTHER ON HIS LEFT. JESUS SAID, ‘FATHER, FORGIVE THEM, FOR THEY DO NOT KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING.’  AND THEY DIVIDED UP HIS CLOTHES BY CASTING LOTS” (Luke 23:33-34).

 

Understand that an offender does not know the extent of the hurt he is causing you when he lashes out in anger at you or someone else.  He is only focused on his own pain and reacting to his own heartache.  He does not get the full scope of the result of his offense.  He does not know what he is doing.

 

“FATHER, FORGIVE THEM, FOR THEY DO NOT KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING.”

 

Understand that when someone rejects you, the father-of-lies uses it as an open door to hurl all the rejection at your heart that has ever occurred during your life.  You do not just perceive the pain of the present offense, but the pain of a lifetime.  The father-of-lies is responsible for this…not your offender.

 

Know that it is not what someone said or did to you that is causing all the pain…but what you came to believe about yourself.  The father-of-lies is responsible for this…not your offender.

 

“FATHER, FORGIVE THEM, FOR THEY DO NOT KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING.”

 

Sometimes somebody did what he thought best because he did not understand the whole situation, and that caused hurt feelings or deep resentment.  He did not know what he was doing.

 

1. Is there resentment in your heart because of what someone said or did to you?

 

 

 

1. I encourage you to let go and forgive as Jesus did.  Do not let the father-of-lies have his way with you.  Surrender your beliefs that resulted from the offenses, to Jesus.  Then you will see that your heart will be healed and you will be able to say, “Father, forgive them, for they did not know what they were doing.”

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, help me to realize that it is not what someone said or did to me that causes all the pain in my heart…but what I came to believe about myself because of what others said or did.  The father-of-lies is responsible for this…not my perpetrator. Help me to see my perpetrator through Your eyes, Lord God, and not through my own. Remind me that the rejection that I perceive in my heart does not all come from my perpetrator, but from the father-of-lies. May I forgive like You do, for my perpetrators did not know what they were doing.

 

April 8  Forgiveness Is Not Only a Decision

 

“IN ANGER HIS MASTER TURNED HIM OVER TO THE JAILERS TO BE TORTURED, UNTIL HE SHOULD PAY BACK ALL HE OWED.  THIS IS HOW MY HEAVENLY FATHER WILL TREAT EACH OF YOU UNLESS YOU FORGIVE YOUR BROTHER FROM YOUR HEART” (Matthew 18:34).

 

People often tell me, “Forgiveness is not a feeling.  It is a decision!  Just disregard your feelings.  Then it is easy to forgive.”  I have tried that.  It does not work.  Deep inside, my heart still remembers the pain.

 

“FORGIVE YOUR BROTHER FROM YOUR HEART”

 

I found out that the only way I can forgive from my heart is to not disregard my feelings…to not ignore my heart…to not make forgiveness just a cold decision.  In fact, I have to do the exact opposite.  I have to focus on my heart.  I have to find out what it believes.  I have to face the pain.

 

How do you forgive your brother from your heart, if your heart is hurting?  Don’t you see?  You cannot!  You need a healed heart…and Jesus was broken so you can be healed!

 

I bless you to not be afraid of the pain that is seated in your heart.  The pain will not destroy you if you find it and bring it to Jesus.  In fact, the opposite is true.  If you leave the pain in your heart, it will fester and destroy your heart a little bit at a time…and then you will not be able to forgive from your heart.

 

“FORGIVE YOUR BROTHER FROM YOUR HEART”

 

I bless you to forgive from your heart, because your Perfect Father expects that of you…and He sent His Son, Jesus, to heal your heart to make it possible.

 

“HE HIMSELF BORE OUR SINS IN HIS BODY ON THE CROSS, SO THAT WE MIGHT DIE TO SINS AND LIVE FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS; BY HIS WOUNDS YOU HAVE BEEN HEALED” (1 Peter 2:24).

 

1. Have you been trying to forgive someone from your broken heart? Did it work? Are you willing to try something else?

 

 

 

1. I encourage you to surrender the negative, destructive beliefs of your broken heart to the Lord Jesus, and let Him restore your heart. Then, see if you can forgive from your healed heart.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, please heal my broken heart, so I can forgive from my heart.

April 9  Forgive from the Heart

 

“IN ANGER HIS MASTER TURNED HIM OVER TO THE JAILERS TO BE TORTURED, UNTIL HE SHOULD PAY BACK ALL HE OWED.  THIS IS HOW MY HEAVENLY FATHER WILL TREAT EACH OF YOU UNLESS YOU FORGIVE YOUR BROTHER FROM YOUR HEART” (Matthew 18:34).

 

I have had many accusers and I have had many accusations hurled at me…and they hurt a lot.  On one of these occasions, the accusations hurt so much that I did not think I would ever be able to walk upright again from the burden that was placed on my shoulders.  To make matters worse, Jesus whispered to me, “Renee, I want you to forgive your accusers…forgive from your heart.”

 

I answered, “God, You are asking the impossible.  My heart is broken.  How can you expect me to forgive from a broken heart?”  “Exactly,” the Holy Spirit answered, “You can’t.  You can only forgive from your heart if it is healed.  So let Me heal it first.”

 

To have my heart healed by Jesus, I had to focus on the pain in my heart—the pain the accusations caused me.  Do you know what?  When I examined my heart, I discovered that the pain that really broke my heart was not the condemning, accusing words hurled at me by my accusers, but that I felt so alone, exposed, and unprotected during their tongue-lashing.

 

I brought the real pain to the Lord Jesus…and He brought me His Truth.  Jesus showed me that He had been right there with me during the tongue-lashing.  He was not next to me, but between me and the perpetrators…receiving the lashes for me.  I had not been left alone.  I had not been unprotected.  In fact, Jesus showed me that the lashing was really meant against Him, who lives in me.  I was suffering with Christ.  I wept as this brought healing to the deepest places of my heart.  Only then was I able to forgive my perpetrators from my heart.

 

“FORGIVE YOUR BROTHER FROM YOUR HEART”

 

1. Are you able to forgive from your heart?  If not, I urge you to focus on the real pain in your heart and find out why not.  What is really hindering you from forgiving?  What is the belief in your heart that is hurting so much?

 

 

 

1. May you find the real pain in your heart and expose it to the Lord Jesus…and you will be able to forgive your accuser from your heart.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Most High, work Your Truth in me, so I may be able to forgive from my heart.  And when I cannot forgive, shine Your Light on me so I can find out what is really hindering me from forgiving.  I authorize You to bring me to the place in my heart that is hurting so much that it keeps me from forgiving.  When I find that place, I will expose it to You, Lord Jesus…so You could lead me into forgiveness.

April 10  Bitterness—the Heart of Stone

 

“MAKE EVERY EFFORT TO LIVE IN PEACE WITH ALL MEN AND TO BE HOLY; WITHOUT HOLINESS NO ONE WILL SEE THE LORD. SEE TO IT THAT NO ONE MISSES THE GRACE OF GOD AND THAT NO BITTER ROOT GROWS UP TO CAUSE TROUBLE AND DEFILE MANY” (Hebrews 12:14-15).

 

Do you have a heart of stone: a heart filled with resentment…a heart filled with bitterness?

 

Some years ago, I went through an experience where someone affronted and vexed me and caused a lot of injury to my heart.  I became bitter…very bitter.  I bristled with resentment and animosity.  I became hostile, harsh, and sour.

 

I was going to keep this behavior up for the rest of my life, but one day the Everlasting Father spoke to my heart and said, “Renee, if you don’t look out, this bitterness of yours is going to destroy everything you have: your marriage…your friendships…your own life.  Is that really what you want?”

 

“I WILL GIVE YOU A NEW HEART AND PUT A NEW SPIRIT IN YOU; I WILL REMOVE FROM YOU YOUR HEART OF STONE AND GIVE YOU A HEART OF FLESH.”

(Ezekiel 36:26).

 

The Perfect Father added, “Bring your bitterness to Me…and I will remove your heart of stone and give you a new heart and put My Spirit of Love in you.  Are you willing?”

 

Well, that did it for me.  I recognized that bitterness ruins and tears everything to shreds.  I did not want to lose my marriage, my friendships, and my own life to bitterness.  I confessed my resentment and animosity and allowed my Father to remove my heart of stone…and replace it with His own.

 

Understand that it is not the stones someone hurls at you that cause trouble and defile many, but the stones that are in your heart: the stones of bitterness, resentment, and animosity.

 

1. What stones of bitterness, resentment, and animosity are weighing down your heart?

 

 

 

1. What will it take for you to allow God to remove your heart of stone…and replace it with His own?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord God, shine Your Light in my heart so I can see the consequences of bitterness: the desolation it can bring to my own heart…the separation it can cause in my relationships…the deterioration it can bring to the quality of my life. Bring me to the place where I will ask, “Is this bitterness and resentment in my heart really what I want?”

April 11  But God Intended It for Good

 

“YOU INTENDED TO HARM ME, BUT GOD INTENDED IT FOR GOOD TO ACCOMPLISH WHAT IS NOW BEING DONE, THE SAVING OF MANY LIVES.” (Genesis 50:20).

 

I would like to bless you today by saying that I am sorry if anybody intended to harm you at any point during your life.  I am sorry about the evil done against you.  I wish I could have protected you against it.  I am sorry about any harsh punishment you had to go through as a child.  I wish that did not happen.  It breaks my heart.  I am sorry about your dad’s or mom’s disapproval and condemnation.  I wish their hearts had been healed from their own pain, so that they could have treated you differently.  I feel your pain.

 

I am sorry for any unjust blame that you had to endure.  I wish people could have owned their own stuff instead of blaming it on you.  I know how you feel.  I am sorry if you were abandoned by a parent or a friend.  I wish I were there to comfort you and take their place.  I know how much it hurts to be left.  I am sorry for any shame you had experienced at the hand of a smooth criminal.  I am sorry if nakedness was involved.  I wish I could have washed off all the unrighteousness and clothed you.

 

“BUT GOD INTENDED IT FOR GOOD”

 

Do not despair of the evil done against you: the injury…the depravity…the immorality.  They might have meant evil against you; BUT GOD will cancel any evil done against you—any manipulation…any iniquity…..any corruption—if you yield it to His Power and Control.

 

1. What evil has been done against you? Have you been abandoned…condemned…shamed? How are you reacting to this?

 

 

 

1. I bless you to yield any evil done against you to God’s Power, so that He can turn it into good.  Yield the abandonment to God’s Love, so that He can turn it into belonging.  Yield the condemnation to God’s Holiness, so that He can turn it into acceptance.  Yield the shame to God’s Truth, so that He can turn it into glory.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Most High, I bring all the evil done against me, to You. I yield it to Your Power. I surrender it to Your Goodness. I submit it to Your Authority. Reverse the purpose of the evil, so that it would serve Your Purpose, instead. Turn the evil into Righteousness. Turn the sin into Holiness. Turn the disgrace into Grace. Change the hopelessness into Hope. Change the abandonment into Belonging. Change the condemnation into Acceptance. To You be Glory…forever…and ever.

 

 

April 12  Jesus Did Not Come to be Served…but to Serve

 

“THE SON OF MAN DID NOT COME TO BE SERVED, BUT TO SERVE, AND TO GIVE HIS LIFE AS A RANSOM FOR MANY” (Matthew 20:28).

 

Celebrate that the Lord Jesus has been raised from the dead…to become your Life.

 

The Lord Jesus wants you to know that first and foremost He did not come to be served by you, but to serve you: to care for you…to minister to you…to save you.  Know that in the first place it is not about what you do for Him, but what Jesus does for you.  It is not about how useful you are to Him, but how valuable He is to you.  Believe that the Lord Jesus gives His Life for you so you can be unchained from sorrow….discharged from guilt…unyoked from slavery to harmful habits.

 

“SO IT IS WRITTEN: ‘THE FIRST MAN ADAM BECAME A LIVING BEING’; THE LAST ADAM, A LIFE-GIVING SPIRIT” (1 Corinthians 15:45).

 

Understand also that it is not about what you have done in the past that was wrong, but about what the Lord Jesus has done in the past…that was right.  He died for you, and became alive for you, to offer you Himself–a Life-giving Spirit.

 

“THEN JESUS DECLARED, ‘I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE. HE WHO COMES TO ME WILL NEVER GO HUNGRY, AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN ME WILL NEVER BE THIRSTY’”

 (John 6:35).

 

1. Are you so busy serving the Lord Jesus that you are missing out on Him serving you with His Life? What is it that you need the Lord Jesus to do for you and to BE for you through His Life-giving Spirit?

 

 

 

1. Receive from Jesus, the Bread of Life, so your hunger for Hope can be stilled…so your longing for Righteousness can be satisfied…so your yearning for Wholeness can be fulfilled.  Accept that it is only after you have received from Him, that you can give back to Him, because without Him, you are nothing and you have nothing.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I come to be served by you. I come to receive Your Life, so I may be unchained from the sorrow that has lived in my heart for so long. I come to receive a drink from Your Living Water, so I may be unyoked from the slavery to guilt that has come into my heart, because of mistakes I have made in the past. I come to You to be my Bread of Life, so that my hunger for Righteousness may be satisfied and my thirst for Love will be quenched.  How joyful I am that You have been raised from the dead…to become my LIFE!

 

 

April 13  Sometimes, You Have to Walk through the Mud

 

“LET US FIX OUR EYES ON JESUS, THE AUTHOR AND PERFECTER OF OUR FAITH, WHO FOR THE JOY SET BEFORE HIM ENDURED THE CROSS, SCORNING ITS SHAME, AND SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF THE THRONE OF GOD.  CONSIDER HIM WHO ENDURED SUCH OPPOSITION FROM SINFUL MEN, SO THAT YOU WILL NOT GROW WEARY AND LOSE HEART” (Hebrews 12:2-3).

 

I take a two-mile walk every day here in the mountains where I live.  This time of the year, the snow melts and sometimes there is a lot of mud on the dirt road.  Yesterday, I came to a patch of mud that stretched across the whole width of the road.  I stopped short and stared at it in disgust.  There was no way around it.  I did not feel like trudging through the mud and getting my shoes, my pants, and my little white dog soiled with mud, but suddenly God nudged me, “Renee, sometimes you have to walk through the mud to get to the other side.”  “But it is unpleasant, and I am going to get dirty,” I retaliated.

 

This is a very important message to those of you who have “mud” in your life: things like abuse, injustice, and shame.  I encourage you to walk through the mud.  Face the childhood abuse.  Look the offenses in the eye.  Confront the shame…the mistreatment …the foulness.  Do not be afraid.  If you stay on this side, you are losing out.  Your Perfect Father wants to accomplish many things in your life, but these are all on the other side of the mud patch.

 

You might say that you do not want to walk through the mud, because it will contaminate you, corrupt and stain you.  This is a lie from the father-of-lies.  These beliefs are already contaminating your mind and hurting your heart.  Remember, it is not the circumstances that are causing the shame and the pain, but what you came to believe about yourself—the lies of the father-of-lies.

 

“YOU ARE ALREADY CLEAN BECAUSE OF THE WORD I HAVE SPOKEN TO YOU”

(John 15:3).  “IT IS FINISHED” (John 19:30).

 

1. What kind of “mud” do you have in your life? What has been hindering you from walking through the mud to a great new start?

 

 

 

1. I encourage you to take the Lord Jesus’ hand and walk through the mud. Let Him show you the Truth about yourself and your perpetrators. And He will speak you clean from the shame…the contamination…the stain with the words “IT IS FINISHED!”

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, let me take Your hand. Walk with me through the mud that has been contaminating my life for so many years. Help me to see that it is not the circumstances that are causing the shame in my life, but the negative, destructive beliefs from the father-of-lies. Speak me clean from this shame, as You already have with Your words “IT IS FINISHED!”

April 14  Put Off the OLD ME with Its Deeds

 

“PUT OFF YOUR OLD SELF, WHICH IS BEING CORRUPTED BY ITS DECEITFUL DESIRES…AND PUT ON THE NEW SELF, CREATED TO BE LIKE GOD” (Ephesians 4:22). 

 

We all have a CORRUPTED PERSON living inside of us: a being full of negative, destructive beliefs of condemnation, shame, and abandonment, shaped in us by the father-of-lies—the OLD ME.

 

When these OLD ME beliefs of condemnation, abandonment, and shame are triggered, they hurt so much that we want to bandagethe pain as soon as possible.  And the father-of-lies stands ready with the SOLUTION: sinful habits and patterns of hiding, running, and blaming others.  THESE ARE THE PRACTICES OF THE OLD ME.

 

I have noticed that some people think that in order to become holy, they should only put off the PRACTICES of the OLD ME.  They think that all they need to do is to stop their harmful habits of hiding, running, and blaming in order to become whole and holy.

 

“SINCE YOU HAVE TAKEN OFF YOUR OLD SELF WITH ITS PRACTICES”

(Colossians 3:9).

 

But I have discovered that it does not help to only put off the PRACTICES of the OLD ME.  You have to put off the OLD ME, first.  If you only put off the PRACTICES of the OLD ME, the OLD ME nature is still in you.  This deceived OLD ME character is void of God’s Love, Hope, and Truth, and feels unloved, unworthy, and unacceptable. The OLD ME NEEDS ITS PRACTICES OF DEFENCE, so it can take care of its pain.  If you take its defense patterns away, it will find new ones.  You cannot do this backwards.

 

1. Have you noticed the OLD ME character that lives in you? What are the negative, destructive beliefs that keep it alive? What are its practices of harmful habits that take care of its pain?

 

 

 

1. I urge you to invite the Lord Jesus to put off the OLD ME in you, and to put on the NEW ME in you, who is filled with new beliefs of Love, Truth, and Hope.  Then, your harmful habits will disappear, because it is only if there is someone NEW living in you with whole and holy beliefs that you do not need your sinful defense patterns anymore.  Know that you cannot better yourself from the outside; you need to be exchanged on the inside.  You need the NEW ME—Jesus Christ.

 

 

 

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I lay my corrupted OLD ME by Your feet. Please come and replace it with the NEW ME, created to be like You. Then I will not need my harmful habits anymore.

April 15  May You Forgive Yourself

 

“GODLY SORROW BRINGS REPENTANCE THAT LEADS TO SALVATION AND LEAVES NO REGRET, BUT WORLDLY SORROW BRINGS DEATH” (2 Corinthians 7:10).

Discern that there is a difference between conviction (convincing someone of an error) and condemnation (declaring someone as doomed).  Accept that when God convicts you, He provides a way out—REPENTANCE.  Understand that your repentance will turn you around to lead you back to the path of salvation.  It delivers from evil.  It harvests Hope.  It results in Holiness.  It provides forgiveness. It never brings regret.

 

On the other hand, when the accuser condemns, he provides no way out.  Know that he will not provide anything to contribute to any kind of deliverance.  His goal is to steal, kill, and destroy.  His intention is to deem you fatally flawed, unacceptable, and unworthy to be loved, even by God.  His aim is to drive you away from your Savior, Jesus Christ and His Love, Hope, and Truth…and dump you into hopelessness, where there is no way out.

 

Therefore, be alert and distinguish between conviction that comes from God and condemnation that comes from the accuser.

 

“THERE IS THEREFORE NOW NO CONDEMNATION TO THOSE WHO ARE IN CHRIST JESUS…FOR THE LAW OF THE SPIRIT OF LIFE IN CHRIST JESUS HAS MADE ME FREE FROM THE LAW OF SIN AND DEATH” (Romans 8:1-2).

 

Furthermore, know that the Lord Jesus, your Savior, also provides an escape from the enemy’s condemnation.  If you cannot forgive yourself for something you have done, ask yourself why and find the belief the father-of-lies had planted in your mind.  Then, submit this belief to the Lord Jesus in exchange for His Truth.  He is the Truth, the Way, and the Life.

 

“IF WE CONFESS OUR SINS, HE IS FAITHFUL AND JUST AND WILL FORGIVE US OUR SINS AND PURIFY US FROM ALL UNRIGHTEOUSNESS” (1 John 1:9).

 

1. Is there something in your life for which you cannot forgive yourself? Why not? What is the underlying reason from the father-of-lies that states that you are not allowed to forgive yourself? For what do you have to keep on paying?

 

 

 

1. Bring these accusatory beliefs to God, and let Him show you His way out—REPENTANCE. Then, in faith, accept His FORGIVENESS.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, thank you that Your way out of guilt is REPENTANCE: to acknowledge the wrong I have done…and to turn to You to make it right. Thank you that Your Forgiveness makes everything right—it cleanses from all unrighteousness.

April 16  You Cannot Out-Reason the Lies of the Enemy

 

I bless you to be able to let go of a situation where someone blamed you…where someone offended you…where someone wounded you.  May you be released from replaying the incident over and over again in your mind, trying in vain to logically understand what had transpired.

 

“NOW THE SERPENT WAS MORE CRAFTY THAN ANY OF THE WILD ANIMALS THE LORD GOD HAD MADE” (Genesis 3:1).

 

Accept that you cannot logically out-reason the deception of the accuser with your mind.  He is the father-of-lies and he has a lot more experience with deception than you will ever have.  Know that he will fill you with lies about your offender, AND he will fill your offender with lies about you.  Your mind is not capable to out-reason the deception of the enemy.

 

“SANCTIFY THEM BY THE TRUTH” (John 17:17).

 

Celebrate that Jesus provided a way out of your dilemma—to live by the Truth.  Understand that the Truth comes from God.  It is not an invention of the mind. It is not something you can create by yourself.  It is a gift from God, when you yield your situation and your perturbing perceptions to Him.

 

“YOU WERE TAUGHT, WITH REGARD TO YOUR FORMER WAY OF LIFE, TO PUT OFF YOUR OLD SELF, WHICH IS BEING CORRUPTED BY ITS DECEITFUL DESIRES; TO BE MADE NEW IN THE ATTITUDE OF YOUR MINDS, AND TO PUT ON THE NEW SELF, CREATED TO BE LIKE GOD IN TRUE RIGHTEOUSNESS AND HOLINESS”

(Ephesians 4:22-24).

 

1. How have you been dealing with situations where someone blamed you, offended you, or harmed you in some way or the other? Do you try to reason the pain away, trying to fix your heart by yourself? What arguments have you concocted to out-reason the father-of-lies?

 

 

 

1. Stop trying to out-reason the father-of-lies. Instead, invite the Lord Jesus into your OLD ME mind, which is corrupted by the lies of the father-of-lies, and ask Him to sanctify you by His Truth. Be made new in the attitude of your mind. Only the Truth is “more crafty” than the crafty one.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I bring you the arguments that live in my mind as a result of other people offending me.  Help me to understand that it is not the words others spoke that are hurting my heart, but the lies from the father-of-lies.  Help me to realize that I cannot out-reason the lies of the father-of-lies. Therefore, sanctify me with Your Truth.

April 17  It Is All about the Relationship

 

“YOU DILIGENTLY STUDY THE SCRIPTURES BECAUSE YOU THINK THAT BY THEM YOU POSSESS ETERNAL LIFE. THESE ARE THE SCRIPTURES THAT TESTIFY ABOUT ME, YET YOU REFUSE TO COME TO ME TO HAVE LIFE” (John 5:39-40).

 

The Lord Jesus wants you to know that it is important for you to study the Scriptures diligently, because they testify about Him.  But, above all, it is through your personal intimate relationship with His Life-giving Spirit that you will come to know Him…and enjoy the abundant Life He offers.

 

“SO IT IS WRITTEN: ‘THE FIRST MAN ADAM BECAME A LIVING BEING; THE LAST ADAM, A LIFE-GIVING SPIRIT’” (1 Corinthians 15:45).

 

Today I bless you with a special anointing to embrace that God made you for Himself.  He delights in the relationship…the connectedness…the closeness with you.  He sent His son, Jesus, to become a Life-giving Spirit to you, so you may get to know the God of Hope, the Spirit of Truth, the Lord of Peace, the Light of the World, and the God of all Comfort.

 

“HOWEVER, AS IT IS WRITTEN: ‘NO EYE HAS SEEN, NO EAR HAS HEARD, NO MIND HAS CONCEIVED WHAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM’ BUT GOD HAS REVEALED IT TO US BY HIS SPIRIT.  THE SPIRIT SEARCHES ALL THINGS, EVEN THE DEEP THINGS OF GOD. FOR WHO AMONG MEN KNOWS THE THOUGHTS OF A MAN EXCEPT THE MAN’S SPIRIT WITHIN HIM? IN THE SAME WAY NO ONE KNOWS THE THOUGHTS OF GOD EXCEPT THE SPIRIT OF GOD. WE HAVE NOT RECEIVED THE SPIRIT OF THE WORLD BUT THE SPIRIT WHO IS FROM GOD, THAT WE MAY UNDERSTAND WHAT GOD HAS FREELY GIVEN US. (1 Corinthians 2:9-12).

 

Come to know God through His Life-giving Spirit.  God’s Spirit knows Him and wants to reveal Him to you, so you may know Him, too, and understand what He wants to freely give you.

 

1. Are you looking at the Scriptures to receive Life: to heal your brokenness…to mend your hopelessness…to fix your helplessness?

 

 

 

1. There are many gifts that God wants to give you.  Some of those gifts will give you Hope. Some will give you Love. Some will give you Life. But you need to come to the Lord Jesus Himself to receive them. Do not substitute the Scriptures for the God of Life.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I come to YOU. I come to YOU to receive Life for my tired soul. I come to YOU to receive Love for my hungry heart. I come to YOU to receive Hope for my hopeless situations. Spirit of God, show me the thoughts of God, so I may know Him, and so I may understand what He has freely given me.

April 18  Psalm 91…A Lifestyle by which to Live

 

Those who live in the shelter of the Most High

will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

This I declare about the Lord:

He alone is my refuge, my place of safety;

He is my God, and I trust Him.

For He will rescue you from every trap

and protect you from deadly disease.

He will cover you with His feathers.

He will shelter you with His wings.

Live in the shelter of the Most High,

in the embrace of His Hope…in the safety of His Truth…in the protection of His Light.

And you will find rest from the hopelessness…the darkness…the fear

Do not lean on the understanding of your own thoughts,

allowing your emotions to be carried away.

But trust only in God

And you will be protected…covered…hidden,

for it is He who will rescue you from every trap of deception.

His faithful promises are your armor and protection.

Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night,

nor the arrow that flies in the day.

Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness,

nor the disaster that strikes at midday.

Though a thousand fall at your side,

though ten thousand are dying around you,

these evils will not touch you.

Just open your eyes,

and see how the wicked are punished.

I bless you to not be dismayed when abandonment attacks at night

Nor when the arrows of blame fly in the day

Nor when the memories of shame strike at midday

Know that no evil will touch you

if you surrender all of these to the Almighty.

 

If you make the Lord your refuge,

if you make the Most High your shelter.

 

1. What will it take for you to make Psalm 91 your lifestyle?

 

 

 

PRAYER:Most High, be my Shelter: my Cover from hopelessness…my Protection from fear…my Light from darkness. Hide me under Your wings, so I would be shielded from shame, abandonment, and condemnation. I surrender to You!

April 19  Secure in Him

“His faithful promises are your armor and protection.

Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night,

nor the arrow that flies in the day.

Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness,

nor the disaster that strikes at midday.

Though a thousand fall at your side,

though ten thousand are dying around you,

these evils will not touch you”

(Psalm 91:4-7).

I bless you to persevere when you feel you are the only one standing on the promises of God.  Be tenacious.  Keep on doing what is right.  Be unyielding in your obedience.

 

Though a thousand fall at your side, yielding to the lies and deceit of the evil one, be unyielding in your obedience to the Truth: leaning not on the understanding of your perturbing perceptions, thoughts, and circumstances…trusting your Perfect Father with all your heart.  Keep on authorizing the Spirit of Truth to guide you into all Truth.  Stop at nothing.

 

Though ten thousand are dying around you, walking in the darkness of unrighteousness, hopelessness, and fear, continue to live as a child of the Light: rejoicing with Hope through the Power of the Holy Spirit…persevering in affliction…praying without ceasing.

 

Do not base your security on the way those around you live their lives.  Keep on uniting with your Perfect Father through His son, Jesus Christ.  Let His faithful promise of “I have given you everything for life and godliness” be your protection.  Stand firm.

 

And God’s faithful promises will be your armor and defense.  The accuser’s lies will not throw you to the ground.  The father-of-lies will not kill your Peace…steal your Hope…destroy your Truth.  These evils will not touch you.

 

1. Are you deriving your truth from those around you: how they act…what they believe…what they say? How does this affect YOUR life?

 

 

 

1. There are many Truths that God wants to tell you that will not be in line with what others believe, but you need to meet Him in the places where others might not want to go. You need to believe the promises that others might not want to believe. You need to follow Him into the places where others might never have been.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Most High, show my Your ways. May I be willing to follow where You lead, even if nobody had ever been there before, lived that way before, or believed that way before.

April 20  Why Don’t I Hear God’s Voice?

“BUT THEIR MINDS WERE MADE DULL, FOR TO THIS DAY THE SAME VEIL REMAINS WHEN THE OLD COVENANT IS READ. IT HAS NOT BEEN REMOVED, BECAUSE ONLY IN CHRIST IS IT TAKEN AWAY” (2 Corinthians 3:14).

 

I love the ocean.  One of the things I love the most is the fog.  I remember how the fog would lie low on the water, rendering the fishing boats mysterious and undefined.  The fish shacks would become hazy, as if someone had drawn a veil over them.  I would watch with wonder, as everything around me would become obscured and hidden in the fog.

 

The last time I witnessed the obscurity of the fog, I heard myself whisper, “God, sometimes You are like the objects in the fog: out of focus…remote…distant.  Why is that?”

 

Through the continuous drone of the ocean I heard a palpable answer in my heart, “If you are not seeing or hearing Me, it is not because I have chosen to be unresponsive…unsociable… unfriendly.  I am not trying to hide Myself from you.  I am not trying to make it hard for you to find me.  You cannot see Me, because I have been obscured by your own understanding…veiled by your own perturbing perceptions…dimmed by your own negative, destructive thoughts.  I am always close to you–just on the other side of the veil.  Nothing will separate you from My Love.”

 

And then He added, “You can lift the veil and experience My Presence by exchanging your own understanding…for Mine.  You can remove the veil by yielding the messages the father-of-lies had delivered to your heart…to Me.  The only thing that is standing between us is the deception of the deceiver: the darkness of your own tormenting thoughts, the murkiness of your own childhood conclusions…the gloominess of your own irrational interpretations.”

 

“BUT WHENEVER ANYONE TURNS TO THE LORD, THE VEIL IS TAKEN AWAY”

(2 Corinthians 3:16).

 

1. Has God been someone who has been hidden from you? Do you hear His voice? Do you experience His Love? Do you see His Presence in your life?

 

 

 

1. With which negative, destructive beliefs about you, others, and God has the father-of-lies been hiding God from you? I bless you to turn to the Lord Jesus Christ, relinquishing your negative, destructive beliefs to Him…and you will be able to see and hear Him.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord God, there have been times when I have held onto a belief in my mind with all my might…even if it bring me pain in my heart…even if it causes me to not hear Your voice…even if it causes me to stumble. Bring me to the place where I will be willing to let go of my grip on these negative, destructive beliefs, and submit them to You, so I may see You.

April 21  God Is Love

 

“LOVE IS PATIENT, LOVE IS KIND. IT DOES NOT ENVY, IT DOES NOT BOAST, IT IS NOT PROUD. IT IS NOT RUDE, IT IS NOT SELF-SEEKING, IT IS NOT EASILY ANGERED, IT KEEPS NO RECORD OF WRONGS.  LOVE DOES NOT DELIGHT IN EVIL BUT REJOICES WITH THE TRUTH.  IT ALWAYS PROTECTS, ALWAYS TRUSTS, ALWAYS HOPES, ALWAYS PERSEVERES.  LOVE NEVER FAILS” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7).

 

GOD IS LOVE (1 John 4:16).

 

Celebrate that God is patient, even when your pain and weakness show and you struggle to surrender…because God is Love.

Ponder that God is kind and does not condemn as people do…because God is Love.

Value that God does not boast, but came to this earth to serve you and share everything He is, with you…because God is Love.

Embrace that God is not rude, but gentle…because God is Love.

Know that God is not self-seeking, but came to share His own Wholeness and Holiness with you…because God is Love.

Receive that God is not easily angered, even when you come undone…because God is Love.

Speculate that God keeps no records of wrongs, after you have asked forgiveness…because God is Love.

Capture that God does not delight in evil done against you or anybody else…because God is Love.

Recognize that God rejoices when you are set free by the Truth…because God is Love.

Acknowledge that God yearns to protect you from the negative, destructive beliefs of the father-of-lies…because God is Love.

Understand that God always trusts and hopes that you will bring your pain and weaknesses to Him, instead of hiding, running away, and blaming…because God is Love.

 

“AND SO WE KNOW AND RELY ON THE LOVE GOD HAS FOR US. GOD IS LOVE.  WHOEVER LIVES IN LOVE LIVES IN GOD, AND GOD IN HIM” (1 John 4:16).

 

1. What has your opinion been about God: that He has forsaken you…that He wants to harm you…that He is not faithful?

 

 

 

1. Will you be willing to bring your beliefs about God to Him…and hear the Truth? I did that! And I experienced God’s LOVE. Then, I believed Him: that He is gentle, forgiving, and kind.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord God, I submit my beliefs about You at Your feet. I realize that I have an enemy—the father-of-lies—who wants me to think that You are phony…that You are cruel…that You are easily angered. But I come to YOU. Show me who you really are, so I may EXPERIENCE Your LOVE…and believe.

April 22  Anger Is Not Only Skin-Deep.

 

“FOR MAN’S ANGER DOES NOT BRING ABOUT THE RIGHTEOUS LIFE THAT GOD DESIRES” (James 1:20).

 

I bless you to understand that anger is often only the bandage that covers the wound.  If you were to peel the anger off, you would expose a festering ulcer filled with unworthiness, condemnation, and abandonment.

 

“GET RID OF ALL BITTERNESS, RAGE AND ANGER, BRAWLING AND SLANDER, ALONG WITH EVERY FORM OF MALICE” (Ephesians 4:31).

 

Do not let your anger go unchecked, but instead, probe deeper to find out what is concealed underneath your anger.  Inquire into the understanding of your mind to expose false beliefs from the father-of-lies.  Scrutinize your heart for clues of unworthiness—feelings of “I do not measure up.”  Probe your mind for clues of shame—feelings of “I am a disgrace.”  Search your spirit for clues of abandonment—feelings of “I am all alone.”  Anger does not stand alone, but sits on a pillar of negative, destructive beliefs, instilled in the mind by the father-of-lies!

 

“A FOOL GIVES FULL VENT TO HIS ANGER, BUT A WISE MAN KEEPS HIMSELF UNDER CONTROL” (Proverbs 29:11).

 

Jesus wants you to know that “no temptation has seized you, except what is common to man.”  He understands unworthiness.  He is familiar with condemnation.  He is acquainted with abandonment.  He wants you to know that these “common-to-man” temptations that are hiding beneath the anger are not too powerful for Him to handle.  He knows the way out.

 

“REFRAIN FROM ANGER AND TURN FROM WRATH; DO NOT FRET—IT LEADS ONLY TO EVIL” (Psalm 37:8).

 

1. What sits underneath your anger: feeling unloved…unworthy… unaccepted?

 

 

 

1. I bless you to expose the hidden ulcer underneath the anger to the Lord Jesus.  Allow Him to cover it with His bandage of Worth, Acceptance, and Love…and the anger will disappear.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I bring my anger to You.  But most of all, I bring the feelings and beliefs that are hidden UNDERNEATH the anger to You as well, because anger is just a symptom of something much deeper. Thank you, Lord, that You have conquered shame, condemnation, and abandonment on the cross, so I may be rid of the OLD ME in me, and receive a NEW ME from You—someone who feels loved, worthy, and accepted.

 

April 23  Work out Your Own Salvation

 

“THEREFORE, MY BELOVED, AS YOU HAVE ALWAYS OBEYED, NOT AS IN MY PRESENCE ONLY, BUT NOW MUCH MORE IN MY ABSENCE, WORK OUT YOUR OWN SALVATION WITH FEAR AND TREMBLING” (Philippians 2:12).

 

I bless you to work out your own salvation with serious caution, taking ownership and responsibility for your own pain and weaknesses.  Understand that it is your obligation to submit your own load of shame, abandonment, and condemnation to God for deliverance.  Do not fall into anger, jealousy, and hatred, blaming others for your own heartache, for there will come a day that you will have to give account for every careless word you have spoken in anger, jealousy, and hatred.

 

“BUT I TELL YOU THAT MEN WILL HAVE TO GIVE ACCOUNT ON THE DAY OF JUDGMENT FOR EVERY CARELESS WORD THEY HAVE SPOKEN. FOR BY YOUR WORDS YOU WILL BE ACQUITTED, AND BY YOUR WORDS YOU WILL BE CONDEMNED” (Matthew 12:36-37).

 

I bless you to work out your own salvation.  Grasp that the everlasting Father has sent His son, Jesus, to be your Savior, but it is your responsibility to accept His Grace.  Understand that the Perfect Father has sent the Spirit of Truth to guide you into all Truth, but it is your obligation to turn in the lies that the father-of-lies had planted in your mind.  Celebrate that the Father has sent Jesus to be the Light of the World, but it is your responsibility to bring your darkness to Him.  Believe that Christ’s Power is made perfect in weakness, but it is your obligation to recognize and accept your weaknesses, so that Christ’s Power may rest on you.

 

1. Are you blaming others for the pain in your heart: for the abuse…for the tongue lashing…for the evil deeds?  Know that it is not what people did to you or said to you that is hurting your heart, but the negative, destructive beliefs of the father-of-lies in your mind.

 

 

 

1. Therefore, work out your own salvation with respect to God and others. Your perpetrators are responsible for the evil deeds and words against you, but you are responsible for the pain in your own heart, because God has given you everything you need for life and godliness.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Most High, help me to see that I have an obligation each time someone hurts me: to not blame them, but to bring my own pain to You. You have given Yourself to live in my heart—to be my Life…to be my Love…to be my Salvation. And You, who live in me, are bigger than the father-of-lies, who is the real accuser of my heart.

 

 

April 24  Jealousy…the Plank in Your Eye

 

“WHY DO YOU LOOK AT THE SPECK OF SAWDUST IN YOUR BROTHER’S EYE AND PAY NO ATTENTION TO THE PLANK IN YOUR OWN EYE?” (Matthew 7:3).

 

Be wary when jealousy bursts forth in your life.  Be on the alert—jealousy is usually a sign that you have a plank in your own eye.

 

“HOW CAN YOU SAY TO YOUR BROTHER, ‘LET ME TAKE THE SPECK OUT OF YOUR EYE,’ WHEN ALL THE TIME THERE IS A PLANK IN YOUR OWN EYE?” (Matthew 7:4).

 

Understand that this plank can come in many forms: the plank of feeling that you fall short compared to the other person…the plank of feeling you are not special compared to the other person…the plank of feeling that you are deemed bad and not worthy to be loved by the other person.  Recognize that when you are consumed with jealousy, it is not a good time to focus your gaze on the speck in your brother’s eye.  Looking through your plank at your brother, you will not have a clear view of the Truth.  His speck will not look like a smidgen anymore, but like an ugly blemish…a stain…a flaw.

 

“YOU HYPOCRITE, FIRST TAKE THE PLANK OUT OF YOUR OWN EYE, AND THEN YOU WILL SEE CLEARLY TO REMOVE THE SPECK FROM YOUR BROTHER’S EYE”

(Matthew 7:5).

 

Therefore, I bless you to be on the alert during bouts of jealousy.  Know that during your jealousy, your perception of your brother will be indiscernible…obscured…dark.  Be determined to first clear up your own feelings and beliefs of shame, unworthiness, and rejection.  Then you will notice that the speck in your brother’s eye is just that…a speck.

 

1. Are you jealous of someone? Why? What is the father-of-lies telling you about yourself in regards to the other person: that you are lesser?

 

 

 

1. I encourage you to find the oppressing beliefs from the father-of-lies that are sustaining your jealousy, and expose them to God’s Light. Then, He will tell you the Truth about you…and your jealousy will disappear.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord God, let me realize that jealousy is a choice…my choice! Help me to see that jealousy is the sinful solution that the father-of-lies offers me in order to deal with the pain that I am lesser than the other person. Lord, bring me to the place where I would choose to bring this belief of unworthiness to You.  Tell me the Truth about myself…so that Your Truth will set me free from being jealous.

 

 

April 25  Child, You Are Fully Known

 

“WHEN I WAS A CHILD, I TALKED LIKE A CHILD, I THOUGHT LIKE A CHILD, I REASONED LIKE A CHILD…NOW WE SEE BUT A POOR REFLECTION AS IN A MIRROR; THEN WE SHALL SEE FACE TO FACE. NOW I KNOW IN PART; THEN I SHALL KNOW FULLY, EVEN AS I AM FULLY KNOWN” (1 Corinthians 13:11-12).

 

I would like to share with you today how a memory is formed, specifically during childhood.  You see, your mind works like a tape recorder, recording every experience since the time of birth very accurately.  During childhood, when something happened to you, your mind recorded the FACTS of that event.  Well, that is not all that happened during that memory.  While that memory was being made, you made certain INTERPRETATIONS, which go along with the facts.  These interpretations were recorded permanently into your mind as well.  There is more.  Along with the facts and the interpretations, certain EMOTIONS cropped up, too.  These emotions were also recorded permanently in your mind during the making of the memory.

 

When your mind recorded the facts, interpretations, and emotions during the memory, the father-of-lies was present.  His goal is to help us make false interpretations of our situations, because his weapon against us is deception—the principle of luring us into beliefs that are not true.  He knows that if he can get us to believe false things about ourselves and others during childhood, we will be impaired for the rest of our lives, because these false interpretations carry over into our adulthood.  And because of these wrong interpretations, we see but a poor reflection of ourselves and others.

 

1. What false interpretations did you make during childhood, when your memories were formed?  Are you aware that these false interpretations and the accompanying emotions are still in your mind and heart, today?  Did you know that God’s Truth can set you free?

 

 

 

1. I bless you to be excited that you are fully known by God, and that He longs to show you who you really are.  But it is your responsibility to find these false interpretations…and expose them to God’s Truth.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Most High, how encouraged I am that although I see but a poor reflection of myself, I am fully known by You. Lord, I long to know the real ME—the person who was created in Your image. Help me to find the false childhood conclusions I had made about myself, others, and You that shaped in me a distorted mind and a hardened heart. Bring me to the place where I would expose these to you, so that You could take away the veil that covers my understanding…and I could see myself, others, and You in the Light of Your Glory.

 

 

 

April 26  To Have Fellowship with God

 

“THIS IS THE MESSAGE WE HAVE HEARD FROM HIM AND DECLARE TO YOU: GOD IS LIGHT; IN HIM THERE IS NO DARKNESS AT ALL. IF WE CLAIM TO HAVE FELLOWSHIP WITH HIM YET WALK IN THE DARKNESS, WE LIE AND DO NOT LIVE BY THE TRUTH”

(1 John 1:5-6).

 

The other day my husband and I had a two-hour long argument.  He was holding onto his opinions and I was holding onto mine.  I desperately wanted him to accept my opinion as the correct one and I was determined not to give up until I win the argument.  Just as I thought I was getting somewhere, the Spirit of Truth tugged at my heart and said very clearly, “Renee, you are the one who is wrong.  You have a false belief in your mind that states that you do not count.  That is the reason you are so vehemently defending your point.  It is not important to Me that you win the argument.  It is important to Me that you walk in the Light: that you surrender this belief to Me, so that you can live by My Truth.”

 

I felt touched that God went to all the trouble to tell me what was going on in my heart, but I was also humiliated.  I now had to tell my husband that I was wrong: that there was a belief in my mind from the father-of-lies that made me feel that I did not count and that this was the reason I was arguing in the first place.  I had to give up the argument and let him win.

 

I confessed my wrong belief to my husband and to God, because I wanted to live in the Light.  It was more important to me to live by the Truth and have fellowship with my God than to win the argument.

 

May it become more important to you to walk in the Light and enjoy intimate fellowship with your God and your conversation partner…than to win an argument.

 

1. Why do you argue with other people? Are you trying to prove to yourself that you are worthy…that you are valuable…that you count? Or are there other reasons from the father-of-lies that cause you to argue?

 

 

 

1. I bless you to refrain from allowing your own perturbing perceptions to draw you into arguments in order to prove that you count.  May you humble yourself when the Spirit of Truth lets you know that you have a false belief in your mind that is causing you to argue.  May you confess that you were wrong and surrender your perturbing perceptions to Him, because it is more important for you to live by the Truth and have fellowship with God and others than to win an argument.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Spirit of Truth, please interrupt my arguments with other people, and remind me that it is more important to enjoy fellowship with You and others…than to win an argument.

April 27  The Birth of Sin

 

“WHEN TEMPTED, NO ONE SHOULD SAY, ‘GOD IS TEMPTING ME.’ FOR GOD CANNOT BE TEMPTED BY EVIL, NOR DOES HE TEMPT ANYONE” (James 1:13).

 

God does not tempt you.  Your temptations are not coming from God.  They have another origin.

 

“BUT EACH ONE IS TEMPTED WHEN, BY HIS OWN EVIL DESIRE, HE IS DRAGGED AWAY AND ENTICED” (James 1:14).

 

I bless you to understand that you are being tempted by the same shame—I fall short—that the father-of-lies had imbedded in your mind long ago.  Grasp that you are being tempted by the same condemnation—I am bad—that the father-of-lies had infused in your mind as a child.  Know that you are being tempted by the same abandonment—I have been pushed aside—that the father-of-lies had lodged in your mind in the past.

 

Realize that the father-of-lies tempts you with these painful childhood conclusions, so he could entice you to sinful solutions to hide from the shame, run from the condemnation, and blame others for being abandoned.  But he can only do this IF YOU BELIEVE HIM!

 

“THEN, AFTER DESIRE HAS CONCEIVED, IT GIVES BIRTH TO SIN; AND SIN, WHEN IT IS FULL-GROWN, GIVES BIRTH TO DEATH” (James 1:15).

 

Capture that if you accept and believe the painful beliefs of shame, condemnation, and abandonment that the father-of-lies had injected in your mind as a child, you will be tempted to react to these beliefs…and give birth to sin.  And after you have fabricate your own set of sinful behavior patterns to cover the pain of the enemy’s lies, sin will give birth to death…every day of your life, here on earth.

 

“BLESSED IS THE MAN WHO PERSEVERES UNDER TRIAL, BECAUSE WHEN HE HAS STOOD THE TEST, HE WILL RECEIVE THE CROWN OF LIFE THAT GOD HAS PROMISED TO THOSE WHO LOVE HIM” (James 1:12).

 

1. Have you ever wondered why you run to harmful habits? What negative, destructive beliefs sit underneath the pain that drives you to hurt yourself or others? Why do you believe these beliefs? Did you know that they come from the father-of-lies, and are meant to draw you into sinful solutions?

 

 

 

1. Blessed are you who do not accept and believe the painful beliefs of the father-of-lies, but instead, yield them to God’s Hope, Truth, and Love.  When you have stood the test, you will receive Life…every day, here on this earth.

 

 

April 28  Meditate on These Things

 

“FINALLY, BRETHREN, WHATEVER THINGS ARE TRUE, WHATEVER THINGS ARE NOBLE, WHATEVER THINGS ARE JUST, WHATEVER THINGS ARE PURE, WHATEVER THINGS ARE LOVELY, WHATEVER THINGS ARE OF GOOD REPORT, IF THERE IS ANY VIRTUE AND IF THERE IS ANYTHING PRAISEWORTHY—MEDITATE ON THESE THINGS”

(Philippians 4:8).

 

I bless you to meditate on thoughts that rejoice with the Truth, because Truth is uncorrupted by the lies of the father-of-lies.  Understand that unvarnished Truth does not kill, steal, or destroy, but is wholesome and beneficial to your spirit, soul, and body.  Truth will set you free.

 

“THE LORD DETESTS THE THOUGHTS OF THE WICKED, BUT THOSE OF THE PURE ARE PLEASING TO HIM” (Proverbs 15:26).

 

I bless you to meditate on whatever is pure.  Do not accept thoughts of shame and guilt from the evil one.  They cause anger, jealousy, and hatred.  Do not concentrate on thoughts of rejection.  These will throw you into depression.  Stop harboring thoughts of abandonment.  They will cause bitterness in your heart.

 

“BUT THE WISDOM THAT COMES FROM HEAVEN IS FIRST OF ALL PURE; THEN PEACE-LOVING, CONSIDERATE, SUBMISSIVE, FULL OF MERCY AND GOOD FRUIT, IMPARTIAL AND SINCERE” (James 3:17).

 

Meditate on God’s Love that keeps you whole.  Ponder God’s Peace that transcends all understanding.  Dwell on God’s Hope that quells all hopelessness.  Reflect on God’s Power that is at work within you.  Contemplate the Wisdom that comes from Heaven and is pure, peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere.

 

1. What kind of thoughts feed your mind, daily? Are they pure, lovely, noble, praiseworthy, and just? Know that you are only as good as your thoughts are.

 

 

 

1. If you want to change, you need to change in your thought life, first, for how you think is how you are going to behave. Therefore, invite the Presence and Participation of the Lord Jesus into every thought, for His Wisdom is pure, peace-loving, and full of mercy and good fruit.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I invite Your Presence and Participation into my thoughts. Change me from the inside-out with Your Wisdom that is pure, considerate, and submissive, so I may meditate on thoughts that are pleasing to You.

 

 

April 29  Allow Jesus to Forgive through You

 

“JESUS SAID, ‘FATHER, FORGIVE THEM, FOR THEY DO NOT KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING’” (Luke 23:34).

 

I bless you to take hold of the truth that Jesus is the Perfect Forgiver.  Even though His offenders nailed Him to the cross to die, He did not blame his offenders.  He did not repay evil with evil.  He did not keep a record of their wrongs.  Instead, Jesus forgave.

 

“GOD SENT THE SPIRIT OF HIS SON INTO OUR HEARTS” (Galatians 4:6).

 

Capture that the same Jesus who forgave the very ones who were in the process of murdering him, resides in your heart, for God sent the Spirit of His Son to dwell in your heart, if you accept Him.

 

Therefore, I urge you to surrender the person you are unable to forgive to Jesus, the Perfect Forgiver, whose Spirit lives in your heart.  Jesus knows how to give up resentment and bitterness for harm done against you.

 

If the abomination done against you is too big to forgive, release it to Jesus, the Perfect Forgiver, whose Spirit lives in your heart.  Jesus knows how to forgive a debt.

 

If the wrongs committed against you are too many to forgive and forget, release them to Jesus, the Perfect Forgiver, whose Spirit lives in your heart.  Jesus knows how to forgive an enemy.

 

If the judgment against you was just too unfair, release it to Jesus, the Perfect Forgiver, whose Spirit lives in your heart.  Jesus knows how to grant forgiveness to an offender and bring Peace to your heart.

 

Allow Jesus to do it for you. Then, Jesus, the Perfect Forgiver, who resides in your heart, will do what you are unable to do—He will forgive.

 

1. What kind of offenses are you not able to forgive: that someone “killed” your heart…that someone stole your peace…that someone destroyed your self-image?

 

 

 

1. Know that if you turn your state of unforgiveness over to the Lord Jesus, He will forgive FOR you, because He is the Perfect Forgiver.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, help me to be willing to turn my bitter and resentful heart over to You, because You are the Perfect Forgiver. Let me never forget that it is not what was said or done to me that caused the killing, stealing, and destroying, but what the father-of-lies did and said during the incident. Help me to turn his words over to You, so You may forgive through me.

April 30  Inherit Your Blessing

 

“FINALLY, ALL OF YOU, LIVE IN HARMONY WITH ONE ANOTHER; BE SYMPATHETIC, LOVE AS BROTHERS, BE COMPASSIONATE AND HUMBLE. DO NOT REPAY EVIL WITH EVIL OR INSULT WITH INSULT, BUT WITH BLESSING, BECAUSE TO THIS YOU WERE CALLED SO THAT YOU MAY INHERIT A BLESSING” (1 Peter 3:8-9).

 

Today, as we address the subject of forgiveness one more time, I bless you to not look for a blessing from the person you are forgiving, but to GIVE a blessing to the person who trespassed against you…and then, to expect and inherit your blessing from God.

 

“DO NOT BE OVERCOME BY EVIL, BUT OVERCOME EVIL WITH GOOD” (Romans 12:21).

 

Know that God took notice of your mercifulness when you forgave someone for trespassing against you.  The Most High God wants you to know that He paid attention when you did not repay insult with insult, even though you knew your offender was wrong, and you had many reasons to pay him back with insult.  The Giver of every good gift wants you to know that He was a witness when you took your offender’s evil upon yourself.  The Father to the fatherless will bless you for not repaying evil with evil, even though you knew the truth, and could have gotten yourself off the hook.

 

“BUT LOVE YE YOUR ENEMIES, AND DO GOOD, AND LEND, HOPING FOR NOTHING AGAIN; AND YOUR REWARD SHALL BE GREAT, AND YE SHALL BE THE CHILDREN OF THE HIGHEST” (Luke 6:35).

 

Therefore, look forward to your Father’s blessing that He has for you, because you were sympathetic, compassionate, and humble.  To this you were called, so that you may inherit a blessing from the Father of Compassion and all Comfort.  Count on it….Hope for it…Expect it.

And you will be blessed!

 

1. When you forgive—why do you forgive? Do you forgive to INHERIT a blessing from the person you are forgiving…or to GIVE a blessing to the person you are forgiving?

 

 

 

1. The Most High wants you to forgive by GIVING a blessing to the person who trespassed against you, and then to INHERIT a blessing from your Perfect Father. What belief in your heart might be hindering you to forgive in this way? May the Lord give you Truth.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord God, call me to the place where it is easy for me to forgive those who trespass against me, and where I forgive with the purpose of GIVING them a blessing…not to RECEIVE one, because THIS IS REAL FORGIVENESS. To THIS You have called me. Lord, establish THIS kind of forgiveness in my heart.

May

May 1  Live in the Present

 

I bless you to live in the present…in the now…today.

 

“FROM THE FULLNESS OF HIS GRACE WE HAVE ALL RECEIVED ONE BLESSING AFTER ANOTHER” (John 1:16).

 

Live in the abundance of each blessing that is available to you from the fullness of Christ’s Grace here in this place, this very moment.  Feast on it.  There is enough for you for right now, if you do not invite the past and the future to participate in the present.  From the fullness of His Grace, God will provide tomorrow’s blessings when tomorrow comes.

 

“THEREFORE DO NOT WORRY ABOUT TOMORROW, FOR TOMORROW WILL WORRY ABOUT ITSELF. EACH DAY HAS ENOUGH TROUBLE OF ITS OWN” (Matthew 6:34).

 

Live in the blessing of Hope that is available to you now, at this moment in time, through the abundance that is in the Lord Jesus.  Take pleasure in the now.  Make good use of it.  Have a good time.  Do not anticipatethe hopelessness of tomorrow or waste away in the failures of yesterday.  The God of Hope stands ready to fill you with His Joy and Peace now, in the present, as you trust in Him to overflow with Hope through the power of His Holy Spirit.

 

“GIVE US TODAY OUR DAILY BREAD” (Matthew 6:11).

 

Flourish in the blessing of Peace that is available to you through the Lord of Peace right now, this very hour.  Make each moment count.  Rejoice in it.  Make the most of it.  Do not melt away in the anxiety of the past or lose strength in the expectations of the future.  The Lord of Peace stands ready to give you His Peace at this moment in time for your immediate circumstances.

 

May you live in the fullness of His Grace

And receive each blessing He has for you

Every day…every hour…this very moment

I bless you to live in the now.

1. What is it that you need today…this moment…now? Do you believe that God’s Grace is full enough to supply for your needs now? If not, take this matter up with God and ask Him to reveal His Gift of Grace to you.

 

 

1. The Most High wants you to stop striving for that, for which you have been longing all your life. Instead, He wants you to ask Him to give it to you for free from the fullness of His Grace…today.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I long to live in the fullness of Your Grace, every day…moment-by-moment. Bring me to the place where I will stop living from the emptiness of my own soul, but receive the Daily Bread that is available in the fullness of Your Grace.

May 2  Put Childish Ways behind You

 

“WHEN I WAS A CHILD, I TALKED LIKE A CHILD, I THOUGHT LIKE A CHILD, I REASONED LIKE A CHILD. WHEN I BECAME A MAN, I PUT CHILDISH WAYS BEHIND ME” (1 Corinthians 13:11).

 

I would like to remind you that when your mind recorded the facts, interpretations, and emotions that made up your childhood memories, the father-of-lies was present.  His goal during your childhood was to help you make false conclusions of your situations, because he knew that if he could get you to believe false things about yourself and others during childhood, you would be impaired for the rest of your life, since these false childhood interpretations carry over into your adult life.

 

Understand that these false childhood conclusions are triggered all the time during adulthood, causing you to think like that little child again that felt so ashamed when she made a mistake…causing you to reason like that little child again who felt so condemned when she did not know the right answer…causing you to talk like that little child again who felt like a failure when he could not understand his math problems.

 

“WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL GUIDE YOU INTO ALL TRUTH. HE WILL NOT SPEAK ON HIS OWN BUT WILL TELL YOU WHAT HE HAS HEARD”

(John 16:13).

 

But God wants you to know that He longs for you to think like an adult…reason like an adult…and talk like an adult and put childish ways behind you.  This is not something you can do by yourself.  You need God’s help!

 

“AND YOU WILL KNOW THE TRUTH, AND THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE”

(John 8:32).

 

1. Which false childhood interpretations are you still carrying around in your heart today, causing you to talk, reason, and act like a child?

 

 

 

1. I bless you to authorize the Spirit of Truth to exchange your childhood interpretations for the Truth.  Do this every time a childhood conclusion is triggered.  It is only then that you will stop reasoning irrationally like a child and stop feeling powerless and helpless like a child.  It is only then that you will be able to become an adult and put childish ways behind you.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, remind me to submit my own irrational interpretations to You, daily, so that I may live by Your Truth and behave like an adult.

May 3  Come to God First

 

“COME UNTO ME, ALL YE THAT LABOUR AND ARE HEAVY LADEN, AND I WILL GIVE YOU REST” (Matthew 11:28).

 

I bless you to come to the Lord Jesus first when you are heavy laden, BEFORE you seek the advice and comfort of your friends and family.

 

“IF ANY MAN THIRST, LET HIM COME UNTO ME, AND DRINK” (John 7:37).

 

“FOR HE SATISFIES THE THIRSTY AND FILLS THE HUNGRY WITH GOOD THINGS” (Psalm 107:9).

 

Capture that the Lord Jesus can satisfy your thirst and fill you with good things…things that your friends and family cannot do for you or give you.

 

“AND YE WILL NOT COME TO ME, THAT YE MIGHT HAVE LIFE” (John 5:40).

 

Grasp that the Lord Jesus is the only One who could give you Life…His Life.

 

“I AM COME A LIGHT INTO THE WORLD, THAT WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH ON ME SHOULD NOT ABIDE IN DARKNESS” (John 12:46).

 

Know that the Lord Jesus is the only One who could fill your darkness with Light.

 

“CHRIST JESUS, WHO HAS BECOME FOR US WISDOM FROM GOD—THAT IS, OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS, HOLINESS AND REDEMPTION” (1 Corinthians 1:30).

 

Agree that the Lord Jesus is the only One who could give you Wisdom from God—Righteousness, Holiness, and Redemption.

 

“MAY THE GOD OF HOPE FILL YOU WITH ALL JOY AND PEACE AS YOU TRUST IN HIM, SO THAT YOU MAY OVERFLOW WITH HOPE BY THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT” (Romans 15:13).

 

Realize that the Lord Jesus is the only One who could fill you with Hope from the inside out.

 

“NOW MAY THE LORD OF PEACE HIMSELF GIVE YOU PEACE AT ALL TIMES AND IN EVERY WAY” (2 Thessalonians 3:16).

 

Recognize that the Lord Jesus is the only One who could bring you real Peace.

 

1. To whom do you turn first when you need hope, peace, and life?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I praise You for being my Light in the dark, my Power in my weakness, my Redeemer for my sins, and my Rest in times of turmoil.

May 4  Restore with Gentleness

 

“BROTHERS, IF SOMEONE IS CAUGHT IN A SIN, YOU WHO ARE SPIRITUAL SHOULD RESTORE HIM GENTLY. BUT WATCH YOURSELF, OR YOU ALSO MAY BE TEMPTED” (Galatians 6:1).

 

I bless you with a special anointing to restore…to restore with gentleness.

 

I encourage you to think of someone you know who is weary and weak: someone who might be trapped in the lies of the father-of-lies.  Take note that you can be of great help and comfort to your friend by being willing to restore him gently.

 

Understand that when someone is trapped in a lie, he might behave irrationally.  He might express anger.  He might show jealousy.  He might breathe animosity.  However, regardless of the behavior he displays on the outside, deep in his heart he feels hopeless…helpless…powerless.  Therefore, he hungers for Love—God’s Love.  He hungers for God’s Hope, God’s Truth, and God’s Peace.

 

“HE GIVES STRENGTH TO THE WEARY AND INCREASES THE POWER OF THE WEAK”

(Isaiah 40:29).

 

Grasp that often, when someone is lying with his face in the dust, he is not able to reach God’s outstretched hand of Love, Hope, and Truth.  Recognize that the heavy burden of hopelessness, helplessness, and powerlessness paralyzes a person…and can prevent him from looking up into God’s face.

 

1. Do you know of someone who is lying face down in the dust, feeling hopeless, helpless, and powerless under the lies of the father-of-lies?

 

 

 

1. I bless you to stoop down with gentleness and pick your friend up.  Do not condemn, criticize, or control.  These are sinful behavior patterns that only ease your own pain.  Be determined to encourage, bless, and understand. And you will witness a miracle when you see your friend arise from the prostration in which circumstances have kept him.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, fill my heart with Your Gentleness, Your Kindness, and Your Understanding.  Fill my heart with Your nature, so that I may restore those who have fallen face down into the dust with Your Heart. Help me to only see the other person’s pain and not react to my own. Work Your Righteousness in me, so that I may restore others with blessings and understanding instead of criticism, condemnation, and control.

 

 

 

May 5  For All Times, One Sacrifice

 

“THEREFORE, MY BELOVED, AS YOU HAVE ALWAYS OBEYED, NOT AS IN MY PRESENCE ONLY, BUT NOW MUCH MORE IN MY ABSENCE, WORK OUT YOUR OWN SALVATION WITH FEAR AND TREMBLING” (Philippians 2:12).

 

I bless you to not become a victim—the sacrifice for someone’s heartache he has been carrying around since childhood.  Be on the alert, lest someone lays you on the altar as a sacrifice for her/his pain.  Do not be deceived.  Do not be fooled.  Do not be tricked.  Do not become injured and destroyed by another person’s pain.

 

Therefore, differentiate whether someone wants you to help him bring his pain to Jesus…or whether someone wants to victimize you, using you as a sacrificial lamb to carry his sins.

 

“HE IS THE ATONING SACRIFICE FOR OUR SINS, AND NOT ONLY FOR OURS BUT ALSO FOR THE SINS OF THE WHOLE WORLD” (1 John 2:2).

 

Know that everyone is responsible to work out his own salvation: owning his pain…taking responsibility for his own sinful defense habits and patterns…acknowledging his own misinterpretations, AND TAKING IT TO JESUS, the Atoning Sacrifice.

 

“BUT WHEN THIS PRIEST HAD OFFERED FOR ALL TIME ONE SACRIFICE FOR SINS, HE SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD” (Hebrews 10:12).

 

Do not play the role of the sacrificial lamb, for you will become a hindrance…a barrier…an obstacle, blocking the blamer from seeing the real Sacrifice—Jesus Christ, who offered HIMSELF for our sins and also for the sins of the whole world.  He is the only one who can pardon anyone’s sins and purify us from all unrighteousness…even the heartache we have been carrying around since childhood.

 

“IF WE CONFESS OUR SINS, HE IS FAITHFUL AND JUST AND WILL FORGIVE US OUR SINS AND PURIFY US FROM ALL UNRIGHTEOUSNESS” (1 John 1:9).

 

1. Is your heart heavy? Are you burdened? Have you been carrying someone’s pain in your own heart?

 

 

 

1. Has someone been using you as the sacrificial lamb…to carry his/her pain on your own shoulders?

 

 

 

1. I bless you to lay these burdens down at the feet of the real Lamb, Jesus, who was sacrificed for all of our unrighteousness…even the heartache we have been carrying around since childhood.

 

 

May 6  The Sins of the Fathers

 

“YOU SHALL NOT BOW DOWN TO THEM NOR SERVE THEM. FOR I, THE LORD YOUR GOD, AM A JEALOUS GOD, VISITING THE INIQUITY OF THE FATHERS UPON THE CHILDREN TO THE THIRD AND FOURTH GENERATIONS OF THOSE WHO HATE ME”

(Deuteronomy 5:9).

Did you have a parent or grandparent who misused alcohol or other substances?  Did you have a parent or grandparent who reacted to life situations with violence and uncontrolled anger?  Are you afraid that you would become like your parent, and even vowed that you would do the exact opposite of what they had been doing?

 

I bless you to be comforted that the sins of your ancestors do not need to carry over to you.  Be encouraged that the way your ancestors reacted to life situations does not need to determine how YOU react to life issues.

 

Know that your parents and their parents had the same enemy you have—the father-of-lies—and that they had decided to react to his lies with a certain behavior pattern.  You do not need to do the same.  You do not need to serve the father-of-lies and his lies of abandonment, shame, and condemnation with sinful defense pattern of rage, alcoholism, or other dependencies.  You can choose to serve God!

 

“WHOEVER HAS MY COMMANDS AND OBEYS THEM, HE IS THE ONE WHO LOVES ME. HE WHO LOVES ME WILL BE LOVED BY MY FATHER, AND I TOO WILL LOVE HIM AND SHOW MYSELF TO HIM” (John 14:21).

 

I bless you to love God enough to choose a different behavior pattern than substance abuse or rage to deal with the father-of-lies’ painful beliefs of abandonment, shame, and condemnation.  Instead, choose to surrender these beliefs to the Lord Jesus, who will cherish your relinquishment and reveal His Love, Hope, and Truth to you.  Know that the Lord God will keep his covenant of Love to a thousand generations of those who love Him and surrender their pain to Him.

 

“KNOW THEREFORE THAT THE LORD YOUR GOD IS GOD; HE IS THE FAITHFUL GOD, KEEPING HIS COVENANT OF LOVE TO A THOUSAND GENERATIONS OF THOSE WHO LOVE HIM AND KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS” (Deuteronomy 7:9).

 

1. How do you deal with life’s pain—the father-of-lies’ beliefs of abandonment, shame, and condemnation? Have you chosen the same behavior patterns that your ancestors have chosen…or have you chosen God to become your behavior pattern for you?

 

 

 

Prayer: Lord God, I know that without You I can do nothing. Without You I will fall into the same sinful behavior patterns that my ancestors have chosen to deal with the father-of-lies. Thank you that You have died to conquer the lies of the father-of-lies and that You have risen to become a new Person to live in my heart.

 

 

May 7  Your Heart Is the Wellspring of Life

 

“A MALICIOUS MAN DISGUISES HIMSELF WITH HIS LIPS, BUT IN HIS HEART HE HARBORS DECEIT.  THOUGH HIS SPEECH IS CHARMING, DO NOT BELIEVE HIM, FOR SEVEN ABOMINATIONS FILL HIS HEART” (Proverbs 26:24, 25).

 

Understand that your heart is a reservoir that either holds deceit from the father-of-lies…or Truth from the Lord Jesus Christ.  You will know who fills your heart by looking at your actions and reactions that result from the abominations that fill your heart.

 

“CHRIST…FILLS ALL THINGS EVERYWHERE WITH HIMSELF” (Ephesians 1:23).

 

Listen to your heart and find out if it is harboring the abominations of unworthiness…condemnation…rejection.  This is an indication that your heart is filled with deceit from the father-of-lies.  JESUS WANTS TO FILL YOUR HEART WITH HIMSELF.

 

Listen to your heart and examine it for the abominations of anger and jealousy.  This is an indication that your heart is filled with deceit from the father-of-lies.  JESUS WANTS TO FILL YOUR HEART WITH HIMSELF.

 

Listen to your heart and look for the abominations of hopelessness and depression.  This is an indication that your heart is filled with deceit from the father-of-lies.  JESUS WANTS TO FILL YOUR HEART WITH HIMSELF.

 

“ABOVE ALL ELSE, GUARD YOUR HEART, FOR IT IS THE WELLSPRING OF LIFE” (Proverbs 4:23).

 

I bless you to guard your heart.  It is the wellspring of life. Know that you have a choice: to fill your heart with deceit from the father-of-lies…or to fill your heart with Truth from the Lord Jesus Christ.  There is no middle ground.

 

1. What abominations do you harbor in your heart? How do you disguise these on the outside?

 

 

 

1. Did you know that the Lord Jesus wants to fill your heart with Himself? All you need to do is to invite Him to take the abominations out of your heart and put Himself in their place.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, instead of disguising the abominations that live in my heart, I invite Your Presence and Participation into the abominations of abandonment, shame, and condemnation that live in my heart.  Since my heart is the wellspring of life, I invite You to fill it with Yourself. Thank you that You have died to conquer all abominations and that You have risen to be my Life, Hope, and Truth.

May 8  Cut the Ropes that Hold Your Life Patterns

 

“SO THE SOLDIERS CUT THE ROPES THAT HELD THE LIFEBOAT AND LET IT FALL AWAY” (Acts 27:32).

 

I bless you today to consider cutting the ropes that are holding your lifeboat of sinful behavior patterns and habits afloat…and let it fall away.

 

Cut the ropes that are keeping Self alive.  Know that Self loves to sulk, spending time in dejection and hopelessness when things don’t go its way.  Self is not self-controlled, but often surrenders to uncontrolled anger and rage when it is provoked.  Self reacts to its deceitful desires with patterns of over-indulgence, mind-reading, and forsaking its tasks whenever Self is aroused.

 

“HE HIMSELF BORE OUR SINS IN HIS BODY ON THE TREE, SO THAT WE MIGHT DIE TO SINS AND LIVE FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS; BY HIS WOUNDS YOU HAVE BEEN HEALED. FOR YOU WERE LIKE SHEEP GOING ASTRAY, BUT NOW YOU HAVE RETURNED TO THE SHEPHERD AND OVERSEER OF YOUR SOULS” (1 Peter 2:24-25).

 

Believe that you do not need to keep Self with its deceitful desires alive.  The Lord Jesus bore your sins on the cross, so that you might die to Self’s sinful behavior patterns, and allow the Righteousness of Jesus to live through you.

 

“THEREFORE, RID YOURSELVES OF ALL MALICE AND ALL DECEIT, HYPOCRISY, ENVY, AND SLANDER OF EVERY KIND. LIKE NEWBORN BABIES, CRAVE PURE SPIRITUAL MILK, SO THAT BY IT YOU MAY GROW UP IN YOUR SALVATION, NOW THAT YOU HAVE TASTED THAT THE LORD IS GOOD” (1 Peter 2:1-3).

 

Therefore, allow the Lord Jesus to rid you of Self, who is full of malice and deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander.  Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that your Perfect Father has sent the Lord Jesus to become your Righteousness in place of Self.

 

1. What does your Self look like? Which sinful behavior patterns are keeping Self alive?

 

 

 

1. What will it take for you to cut the ropes that are keeping Self alive? The Lord Jesus is waiting to give His Life of Righteousness to you in the place of Self.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, bring me to the place where I will cut the ropes that are keeping my Self alive. I long for You to fully live in my heart, so that I may grow up in my salvation.

 

 

May 9  We Are Being Given over to Death for Jesus’ Sake

 

“FOR WE WHO ARE ALIVE ARE ALWAYS BEING GIVEN OVER TO DEATH FOR JESUS’ SAKE, SO THAT HIS LIFE MAY BE REVEALED IN OUR MORTAL BODY”

(2 Corinthians 4:11).

 

I have realized recently how many times a day Self, the OLD ME character that the father-of-lies has shaped in me, needs to be given over to death, so that the Life of Jesus might be revealed through my actions and reactions.

 

There are so many opportunities in my daily life where I have a choice to give Self over to death for Jesus sake.  There are the times when I feel threatened by other people’s successes.  There are the times when I feel attacked by other people’s selfishness.  There are the times when I feel discouraged, alone, and afraid. The sin that lives in Self so easily hinders and entangles.

 

The other day I felt my Self cancelled by someone’s selfish remarks. When I took the pain of feeling annulled and deleted to the Lord Jesus, He answered, “But your Self DOES need to be cancelled, so that I may live in you. Stop defending your Self…and let it die.”

 

“LET US THROW OFF EVERYTHING THAT HINDERS

AND THE SIN THAT SO EASILY ENTANGLES,

AND LET US RUN WITH PERSEVERANCE THE RACE MARKED OUT FOR US”

(Hebrews 12:1).

 

I bless you to throw off everything that hinders the Life of the Lord Jesus being revealed in your actions and reactions, even if it means that your Self gets knocked off its throne.

 

1. Are you willing to allow the Lord Jesus to use someone’s selfishness to let your Self be deleted, annulled, or cancelled? What will it take for you to stop defending your Self…and let it die?

 

 

 

1. Know that the only way to give Self over to death is to give Self over to JESUS, every day…a hundred times a day…whenever it is provoked.  JESUS IS YOUR SAVIOR.  All authority has been given to Him.  He is the only one who has the power to tie the noose around Self and its sinful habits and patterns.  Jesus will get rid of Self and put HIMSELF in its place. There is only space for ONE of them in your body.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, help me to run with perseverance the race marked out for me. Help me to realize that each person’s race is customized and that I cannot run another person’s race for her/him and that another person cannot run my race for me. Also, get rid of my Self that hinders the race, and become my new SELF, so that I may be able to run and finish my race with Grace.

May 10  To Love Jesus Is to Obey Him

 

“WHOEVER HAS MY COMMANDS AND OBEYS THEM, HE IS THE ONE WHO LOVES ME” (John 14:21).

 

I bless you today to love Jesus.  Know that to love Jesus is to obey Him.  To obey Jesus means not to surrender to your childhood pain…but to surrender your childhood pain to Him.

 

“‘BECAUSE HE LOVES ME,’ SAYS THE LORD, ‘I WILL RESCUE HIM; I WILL PROTECT HIM, FOR HE ACKNOWLEDGES MY NAME.  HE WILL CALL UPON ME, AND I WILL ANSWER HIM; I WILL BE WITH HIM IN TROUBLE, I WILL DELIVER HIM AND HONOR HIM’” (Psalm 91:14, 15).

 

Do you sometimes feel and act like a six-year-old?  I bless you to obey Jesus by bringing all your six-year-old feelings of abandonment, rejection, and shame to Him: when you felt like you were not loved…when you felt that you were in the way…when you felt that you did not count.  Obey Jesus by bringing Him all your twelve-year-old interpretations of being an outcast when you were not accepted as being part of the crowd.

 

And because you love Jesus, He will rescue you from the childhood beliefs that have been keeping you captive.  He will protect you from the control of the father-of-lies, because you acknowledge His Name.  You will call upon Him, and He will answer you.  He will deliver you from the lies of the enemy.  He will be with you in trouble.  He will honor you.

 

“JESUS SAID, ‘IF YOU HOLD TO MY TEACHING, YOU ARE REALLY MY DISCIPLES. THEN YOU WILL KNOW THE TRUTH, AND THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE’”

(John 8:31, 32).

 

I bless you to love Jesus and obey Him.  Then you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free from childish ways.

 

“WHEN I BECAME A MAN, I PUT CHILDISH WAYS BEHIND ME” (1 Corinthians 13:11).

 

1. What six-year old pain is still stuck in your heart? Which twelve-year old interpretations still inhabits your mind?

 

 

 

1. Do not avoid the burden.  Do not deny the problem.  Do not simply endure the emotions.  Do not get lost in the lies.  Embrace the little child in you…and bring it to Jesus.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I praise You for being my Savior of the present, future, and also of my past childhood years.

May 11  Endure through Every Circumstance

 

“WE GIVE GREAT HONOR TO THOSE WHO ENDURE UNDER SUFFERING. FOR INSTANCE, YOU KNOW ABOUT JOB, A MAN OF GREAT ENDURANCE. YOU CAN SEE HOW THE LORD WAS KIND TO HIM AT THE END, FOR THE LORD IS FULL OF TENDERNESS AND MERCY” (James 5:11)

 

Do you know what it means to endure?  Do you know what it means to persevere?  To endure or persevere means to persist in a state or undertaking in spite of counterinfluences, opposition, or discouragement…without yielding.

 

“KEEP YOURSELVES IN GOD’S LOVE AS YOU WAIT FOR THE MERCY OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST TO BRING YOU TO ETERNAL LIFE” (Jude 1:21).

 

This has been a hard lesson for me to learn.  You see, God wants us to persist in a certain state—the state of His Love—in spite of the counterinfluences of the people around us, in spite of the opposition of the father-of-lies, and in spite of the discouragement in our hearts.

 

“LOVE IS PATIENT AND KIND. LOVE IS NOT JEALOUS OR BOASTFUL OR PROUD OR RUDE. IT DOES NOT DEMAND ITS OWN WAY. IT IS NOT IRRITABLE, AND IT KEEPS NO RECORD OF BEING WRONGED. IT DOES NOT REJOICE ABOUT INJUSTICE BUT REJOICES WHENEVER THE TRUTH WINS OUT. LOVE NEVER GIVES UP, NEVER LOSES FAITH, IS ALWAYS HOPEFUL, AND ENDURES THROUGH EVERY CIRCUMSTANCE”

“GOD IS LOVE” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7 and 1 John 4:8).

 

I bless you to keep yourself in the state of God’s Love when things go wrong in your life.  God’s Love is patient.  It is kind.  God’s Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

 

May you persist in the state of God’s Love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus to bring you solutions and answers.

 

1. Are you at a point in life where it is hard for you to endure and persevere?

 

 

 

1. I bless you to keep yourself in the state of God’s Love and persist in your undertaking of doing your Perfect Father’s Will.  Do not lose Faith and demand your own way.  Do not give up Hope, yielding to the lies of the father-of-lies.  Do not forsake Love and become irritable. Endure through every circumstance!

 

 

 

PRAYER: Most High, bring me to the place where I will keep holding on to Your Love, in spite of opposition from the father-of-lies.

May 12  May Christ’s Light Shine in Your Darkness

 

Over the years, I have experienced intense darkness in my life: severe depression…deep despair…piercing heartache.  During times like these, I would try to shine light on my darkness and strive to get rid of the fear…the rejection…the unworthiness, but to no avail.  The darkness prevailed.  No amount of light I shone on it would make a difference.

 

“WHOSE MINDS THE GOD OF THIS AGE HAS BLINDED, WHO DO NOT BELIEVE, LEST THE LIGHT OF THE GOSPEL OF THE GLORY OF CHRIST, WHO IS THE IMAGE OF GOD, SHOULD SHINE ON THEM” (2 Corinthians 4:4).

 

For the longest time, I never knew there was a Light available for my darkness. You see, the father-of-lies had blinded my mind for fear that I would find out about the Glory of Christ that is able to shine on my darkness…and turn it to Light.

 

“BUT THE MINISTRY JESUS HAS RECEIVED IS AS SUPERIOR TO THEIRS AS THE COVENANT OF WHICH HE IS MEDIATOR IS SUPERIOR TO THE OLD ONE, AND IT IS FOUNDED ON BETTER PROMISES” (Hebrews 8:6).

 

The ministry of the Glory of Jesus is superior to anything I have ever come across.  It is the only ministry that has had the Power to remove my darkness…and put Light in its place.

 

“I HAVE BECOME ITS SERVANT BY THE COMMISSION GOD GAVE ME TO PRESENT TO YOU THE WORD OF GOD IN ITS FULLNESS—THE MYSTERY THAT HAS BEEN KEPT HIDDEN FOR AGES AND GENERATIONS, BUT IS NOW DISCLOSED TO THE SAINTS. TO THEM GOD HAS CHOSEN TO MAKE KNOWN AMONG THE GENTILES THE GLORIOUS RICHES OF THIS MYSTERY, WHICH IS CHRIST IN YOU, THE HOPE OF GLORY” (Colossians 1:25-27).

 

The mystery that has been kept hidden for ages was disclosed to my heart: “Christ in you, the Hope of Glory.”  The Light of Christ’s Glory has erased the darkness of depression and despair in my mind and in my heart…and has exchanged the darkness for His Light of Love, Truth, and Hope.  This is still an ongoing process every day.  Whenever darkness enters my mind and heart, I surrender it to the Light of Christ’s Glory…and watch the darkness disappear miraculously.

 

1. What name would you give the darkness that prevails in your life: depression…despair…doom?

 

 

 

1. I bless you to stop striving to drive your own darkness out. Instead, turn to Jesus—your Hope of Glory!

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, You are my Hope of Glory. Your ministry of Glory is superior to everything and everyone. I invite You to shine Your Glory on me. Hallowed by Your Name!

May 13  The Shame of the Old Man

 

“IF I AM GUILTY—WOE TO ME! EVEN IF I AM INNOCENT, I CANNOT LIFT MY HEAD, FOR I AM FULL OF SHAME AND DROWNED IN MY AFFLICTION” (Job 10:15).

 

For the biggest part of my life, I lived in shame.  I was ashamed, because I had an OLD MAN living in me: a corrupted being who was shaped by the lies of the father-of-lies.  I could not lift my head, for I was filled with beliefs of abandonment, condemnation, and shame, instilled in me by the father-of-lies.  Being in persistent despair and distress, I reacted to this OLD MAN by trying to make myself good…by trying to fake a being who was acceptable…by striving to become someone of worth and value.  I desperately wanted to get rid of the corrupted person—the OLD MAN—that the father-of-lies had placed inside my heart.

 

“YOU ARE ALREADY CLEAN BECAUSE OF THE WORD I HAVE SPOKEN TO YOU”

 (John 15:3).

 

Then, one day, Jesus said something to me that changed my life forever.  He said,“YOU ARE ALREADY CLEAN BECAUSE OF THE WORD I HAVE SPOKEN TO YOU.  I, Jesus, have done something that you yourself are not capable of doing.  I have spoken you clean of your OLD MAN.  You do not have to strive to become good anymore.  You do not have to pretend to be someone else in order to be acceptable.  You do not have to work to become worthy.  I have done it all for you on the cross.”

 

“KNOWING THIS, THAT OUR OLD MAN IS CRUCIFIED WITH HIM, THAT THE BODY OF SIN MIGHT BE DESTROYED, THAT HENCEFORTH WE SHOULD NOT SERVE SIN” (Romans 6:6).

 

1. Are you ashamed of the OLD MAN in you: the corrupted being who was shaped by the father-of-lies?

 

 

 

1. I bless you to realize that you do not have to strive to be worthy.  You do not have to fight for your heart to make it good.  You do not have to be fake in order to be acceptable.  Instead, simply hand your “OLD MAN”—the abandoned, condemned, and shamed person the father-of-lies has formed in you—to the Lord Jesus.  He will nail it to the cross.  Your shame will disappear. And you will be radiant.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I surrender my OLD MAN over to You. Thank you that You already took care of it, so that I may be radiant—free from shame.

 

 

May 14  Child, May You Fully Know the Truth

 

“WHEN I WAS A CHILD, I TALKED LIKE A CHILD, I THOUGHT LIKE A CHILD, I REASONED LIKE A CHILD. WHEN I BECAME A MAN, I PUT CHILDISH WAYS BEHIND ME. NOW WE SEE BUT A POOR REFLECTION AS IN A MIRROR; THEN WE SHALL SEE FACE TO FACE. NOW I KNOW IN PART; THEN I SHALL KNOW FULLY, EVEN AS I AM FULLY KNOWN” (1 Corinthians 13:11-12).

 

For a long time in my life, I carried the belief around in my mind that I do not matter.  When things would go wrong, hopelessness and sadness would overcome me, and I would always say, “It does not matter, because I do not matter.”

 

Well, this was a childhood belief that was planted in my mind by the father-of-lies: “Renee, you do not matter.”

 

“HE WAS A MURDERER FROM THE BEGINNING, NOT HOLDING TO THE TRUTH, FOR THERE IS NO TRUTH IN HIM. WHEN HE LIES, HE SPEAKS HIS NATIVE LANGUAGE, FOR HE IS A LIAR AND THE FATHER OF LIES” (John 8:44).

 

One day, I followed the emotion of sadness that accompanied the belief that I do not matter, and traced it back to a childhood memory.  I was six years old and awakened one night by loud laughter, coming from the kitchen.  I got out of bed to see what was going on and found my sister talking and laughing loudly with the rest of the family.  I asked her to be quieter so I could sleep, but she ignored me.  Right at that moment, I adopted the false childhood conclusion from the father-of-lies: “I do not matter.” And that interpretation carried over into adulthood.

 

“WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL GUIDE YOU INTO ALL TRUTH”

(John 16:13).

 

Tired of feeling that I do not matter, I finally confronted this painful belief, and surrendered it to the Spirit of Truth.  And God’s Spirit showed me the Truth: how much my sister loved me…that I was her best friend…that I still am loved by her and am very special to her, even though she is now in Heaven.  From then on, the false interpretation “I do not matter” did not keep me captive anymore.

 

1. What childhood conclusion has been keeping you captive? Do you still remember the memory where this false belief was adopted from the father-of-lies?

 

 

 

1. I bless you to surrender your false childhood conclusion from this specific memory to God, so that you may fully know the Truth.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I lay my childhood conclusion at Your feet in exchange for Your Truth.

May 15  The Enemy Likes to Hide

 

“BE SELF-CONTROLLED AND ALERT. YOUR ENEMY THE DEVIL PROWLS AROUND LIKE A ROARING LION LOOKING FOR SOMEONE TO DEVOUR” (1 Peter 5:8).

 

Be reminded that you have an enemy—the father of lies. He hates the Truth and will try to keep it from you with every tool at his disposal, his favorite gimmick being blaming others, so the focus is taken away from him.

 

Know that he always makes sure he stays hidden.  Nobody would suspect him of the misinterpretations “I am a mistake…I don’t have what it takes…I am defenseless.”

 

Understand that nobody suspects him to be the cause of your misinterpretations, because he always makes sure the blame falls on someone or something else.  “It is your mother who does not love you.  It is your friend who does not care about you.  It is your dad whothinks you are a failure.”  Thus the father of lies remains innocent and hidden, inventing untruths…concocting falsities…devouring anybody and everybody with his deceit.

 

“YOU WILL TREAD UPON THE LION AND THE COBRA; YOU WILL TRAMPLE THE GREAT LION AND THE SERPENT.  ‘BECAUSE HE LOVES ME,’ SAYS THE LORD, ‘I WILL RESCUE HIM; I WILL PROTECT HIM, FOR HE ACKNOWLEDGES MY NAME’”

(Psalm 91:13, 14).

 

1. Whom do YOU blame for your failures…your imperfect personality…your feelings of shame, condemnation, and abandonment?

 

 

 

1. Accept that it is not what a person said or did to you that is causing your pain; it is the lies of the father-of-lies.

 

 

 

1. I bless you to love your Perfect Father, to acknowledge the name of Jesus, the Savior, and to accept the Holy Spirit—the Spirit of Truth.  And God will expose the fierce lion from his hiding place, so you could know the Truth…and the Truth will trample the ruthless lion.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Dear Lord God, thank you for rescuing me and protecting me from the hiding enemy if I acknowledge Your Name. Help me to see him for the enemy he is: the father-of-lies…the cunning serpent…the roaring lion. Remind me, daily, to stop blaming my family and my friends for the lies that live in my mind, but instead, to trample the roaring lion in Your Name.

 

 

May 16  May You Receive Your Father’s Love

 

Did you know that your Perfect Father loves you even as He loves His son, Jesus?  There is no other Love in existence like that of your Everlasting Father’s.  There is no other Love with whom you can compare your Perfect Father’s Love for you.

 

“I HAVE GIVEN THEM THE GLORY THAT YOU GAVE ME, THAT THEY MAY BE ONE AS WE ARE ONE: I IN THEM AND YOU IN ME. MAY THEY BE BROUGHT TO COMPLETE UNITY TO LET THE WORLD KNOW THAT YOU SENT ME AND HAVE LOVED THEM EVEN AS YOU HAVE LOVED ME.” (John 17:22-23).

 

I bless you to understand that it is when you do not feel loved that you are prone to fall into sinful behavior patterns…especially if you do not feel loved by your Perfect Father.  It is when you feel abandoned by your Everlasting Father that you fall into hopelessness.  It is when you feel rejected by your Perfect Father that you fall into bitterness.  It is when you feel that you do not live up to your Everlasting Father’s expectations that you fall into shame.  It is God’s Love you crave the most: His delight in you…His affectionate Presence…His revelations for your life.

 

When my daddy died when I was fourteen, I felt betrayed.  I felt orphaned.  I felt forsaken.  But then, I asked my Perfect Father where He was when my daddy died.  Did He even care?  He showed me that He sent Jesus, His son, to be right there with me, at the funeral, holding me and comforting me, so that I could be filled to the measure of all the fullness of the Perfect Father’s Love for me.

 

“AND I PRAY THAT YOU, BEING ROOTED AND ESTABLISHED IN LOVE, MAY HAVE POWER, TOGETHER WITH ALL THE SAINTS, TO GRASP HOW WIDE AND LONG AND HIGH AND DEEP IS THE LOVE OF CHRIST, AND TO KNOW THIS LOVE THAT SURPASSES KNOWLEDGE—THAT YOU MAY BE FILLED TO THE MEASURE OF ALL THE FULLNESS OF GOD” (Ephesians 3:17-19).

1. Do you feel forsaken by someone…betrayed…orphaned?

 

 

 

1. Ask your Everlasting Father to reveal His Love to you through Jesus, His son.  That is all you really need, for the cares of this world—the betrayal…the abandonment…the shame—will all fade in the Light of your Perfect Father’s Love for you.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Most High, how good it is to hear about Your everlasting Love for me. How encouraged I am to know that Your Love surpasses all my knowledge of You. Perfect Father, I long to be filled to the measure of fullness with Your Love, so that my soul might be satisfied, and my pain of abandonment, betrayal, and feeling like an orphan might be healed.

 

 

 

May 17  You Will Trample the Great Lion

 

“BE SELF-CONTROLLED AND ALERT. YOUR ENEMY THE DEVIL PROWLS AROUND LIKE A ROARING LION LOOKING FOR SOMEONE TO DEVOUR” (1 Peter 5:8).

 

I would like to draw a mind picture for you today.  Please imagine with me an imaginary line from left to right on the ground that reaches into infinity both ways.  On this side of the line is the world of deception. On the other side is the world of Truth.

 

Now imagine yourself living in the world of deception.  Each and every one of your interpretations has been yielded to the governance of deception. You would love to enter into the world of Truth, but there is no way you could cross the line into the Truth, because it is guarded by a fierce lion that is looking for someone to devour.

 

However, this is not the end of the story.  There is Someone Else also standing on that line that separates the world of Truth from the world of deception.  His name is Jesus—the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  Jesus beckons to you to come closer to witness a demonstration of the fierceness of the roaring lion that is guarding the Truth.  He pulls a blowtorch the size of a cannon forward, and aims it at the lion.  Suddenly a huge flame leaps from the cannon and the lion’s mane blows in the force of the flame, but the lion is not affected by the flame…at all.

 

But then, Jesus shows you something else that you did not notice before—a thick strong chain.  The Lord Jesus is holding the fierce lion by the chain!  Tenderly, Jesus tells you, “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life.  It is only by loving Me and surrendering your own understanding to Me that you will be able to trample the great lion and enter into the world of Truth, because I will rescue you.  I will protect you, for you acknowledge My name. I am in control of the lion.”

 

“YOU WILL TREAD UPON THE LION AND THE COBRA; YOU WILL TRAMPLE THE GREAT LION AND THE SERPENT.  BECAUSE HE LOVES ME,” SAYS THE LORD, “I WILL RESCUE HIM; I WILL PROTECT HIM, FOR HE ACKNOWLEDGES MY NAME”

(Psalm 91:13, 14).

 

1. Did you know that your interpretations are yielded to the governance of deception and that the Truth is guarded by the roaring lion?

 

 

 

1.  I bless you to not try to fight the great lion by yourself.  He is a spirit and cannot even be destroyed by fire.  Instead, surrender your interpretations to Jesus.  He will make sure you cross the line and enter the Truth safely…through Him.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I want to live in the Truth…always. Therefore, I yield my daily interpretations…my assumptions…my conclusions to You. Redeem them, Lord, and redeem me from the world of deception, so I may live in the Truth.

May 18  Focus on the Route of Escape God Has Provided

“NO TEMPTATION HAS SEIZED YOU EXCEPT WHAT IS COMMON TO MAN. AND GOD IS FAITHFUL; HE WILL NOT LET YOU BE TEMPTED BEYOND WHAT YOU CAN BEAR. BUT WHEN YOU ARE TEMPTED, HE WILL ALSO PROVIDE A WAY OUT SO THAT YOU CAN STAND UP UNDER IT” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

 

What temptation has seized you?  Was your brother hateful, spiteful, or unfaithful to you…and now you feel rejected?  Take heed! Do not take the escape route of quarreling.  Did your co-worker blame her failure on you…and now you feel slighted?  Be careful! Do not take the escape route of defending yourself.  Has a friend stopped returning your phone calls…and now you feel abandoned?  Stop! Do not take the escape route of pursuing her until she is brought down.

 

“SUCH A HIGH PRIEST MEETS OUR NEED—ONE WHO IS HOLY, BLAMELESS, PURE, SET APART FROM SINNERS, EXALTED ABOVE THE HEAVENS.  UNLIKE THE OTHER HIGH PRIESTS, HE DOES NOT NEED TO OFFER SACRIFICES DAY AFTER DAY, FIRST FOR HIS OWN SINS, AND THEN FOR THE SINS OF THE PEOPLE.  HE SACRIFICED FOR THEIR SINS ONCE FOR ALL WHEN HE OFFERED HIMSELF” (Hebrews 7:26-27).

 

Capture that Jesus is your High Priest who meets your needs.  He sacrificed Himself for you once for all when He offered Himself.  The Lord Jesus offered Himself to become your route of escape.  He has become God’s way out!

 

Accept the Love that is available to you through Jesus, instead of focusing on the temptation.  Receive the Hope that your High Priest has on hand for you, instead of focusing on your own escape routes.  Secure the Truth that the Lord Jesus has ready for you, instead of focusing on your own defense mechanisms.

 

“THE LORD WILL FIGHT FOR YOU; YOU NEED ONLY TO BE STILL” (Exodus 14:14).

 

 

1. What temptation has seized you during this last week? How did it make you feel? What defense mechanism or escape route have you chosen to make your heart feel better?

 

 

 

1. I bless you to focus on God’s way out…Jesus, who sacrificed Himself once for all. If you turn your pain over to Him, He will provide a way out, so you can stand up under it.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, thank you that You always have a way out for me, even when I feel rejected, slighted, or abandoned. Remind me, daily, not to take my own way out when I feel bad, mad, or sad, but to surrender my broken heart to You, and wait for You to provide the right way out.

May 19  Be Patient…Joyful…Faithful

 

“BE…PATIENT IN AFFLICTION…” (Romans 12:12).

 

I bless you to be patient in affliction…adversity…distress.  Wait patiently for God to deliver you from your torment.  Do not become impatient and turn to evil, harmful ways, or destruction, for “those who suffer he delivers in their suffering; he speaks to them in their affliction”

(Job 36:15).

 

“BE…FAITHFUL IN PRAYER” (Romans 12:12).

 

I bless you to be faithful in prayer during your affliction.  Call upon the God of all Comfort instead of wallowing in your sadness.  Appeal to the God who takes care of your yesterdays, todays, and tomorrows, instead of drowning in anxiety.  Cry to the God whose Power is sufficient, instead of being destroyed by your own weakness.  “Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice” (Psalm 55:17).

 

“BE JOYFUL IN HOPE…” (Romans 12:12).

 

I bless you to be joyful in Hope, because Hope will not disappoint you.  Expect God’s answer with confidence.  Await God’s solution with anticipation.  Look forward to God’s provision with gladness.  Therefore, “may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13).

 

“THEN YOUR FATHER, WHO SEES WHAT IS DONE IN SECRET, WILL REWARD YOU”

(Matthew 6:6).

 

1. How do you respond to affliction…adversity…distress? Are you patient, waiting for God to speak to you and deliver you? Are you faithful in prayer, believing that God hears your voice? Are you joyful in Hope, trusting that God will do what He promised?

 

 

 

1. Ask the Lord Jesus to teach you these virtues directly in your heart, because only He knows how to be patient in affliction, faithful in prayer, and joyful in Hope.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Thank you, Perfect Father, that You sent the Spirit of Your son into my heart to teach me to be patient in affliction, faithful in prayer, and joyful in Hope.  How good to know that I do not have to master these skills by my own strength, but that I can allow You to live these qualities through me.

 

 

May 20  Be Patient in Affliction…and Overcome

 

“BE JOYFUL IN HOPE, PATIENT IN AFFLICTION, FAITHFUL IN PRAYER”

(Romans 12:12).

 

I bless you to be patient in your affliction.  Do not turn to damaging ways, trying frantically to ease your pain by hiding from it.  Distraction does not bring lasting relief.  Wearing a mask only makes matters worse.  Instead, hunker down and hide in the shelter of your Perfect Father’s embrace…and overcome!

 

“FOR IN THE DAY OF TROUBLE HE WILL KEEP ME SAFE IN HIS DWELLING; HE WILL HIDE ME IN THE SHELTER OF HIS TABERNACLE AND SET ME HIGH UPON A ROCK” (Psalm 27:5).

 

I bless you to be patient in your suffering: when someone accuses you…when someone leaves you…when someone fails you.  Do not turn to destructive ways, trying to relieve your pain instantly by running from it.  Instead, run to the safety of your perfect Father’s arms…and overcome! 

 

“THE NAME OF THE LORD IS A STRONG TOWER; THE RIGHTEOUS RUN TO IT AND ARE SAFE” (Proverbs 18:10).

 

I bless you to be patient during temptation: when someone sets forth his own weakness.  Do not turn to unwholesome ways, trying to still your pain immediately by blaming it on the other person’s weakness.  Instead, own your pain and take responsibility for it, allowing your Perfect Father to be your refuge and fortress—your God, in whom you trust. Overcome!

 

“HE WILL COVER YOU WITH HIS FEATHERS, AND UNDER HIS WINGS YOU WILL FIND REFUGE; HIS FAITHFULNESS WILL BE YOUR SHIELD AND RAMPART”

(Psalm 91:4).

 

1. Are you patient during affliction, or do you turn to distraction to bring you relief? Are you patient when someone accuses you, or do you run from the person and your own heart? Are you patient when someone fails you, or do you blame your own pain on the other person’s weakness?

 

 

 

1. Know that God expects us to overcome affliction, because “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life” (2 Peter 1:3). Furthermore, “to him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne” (Revelations 3:21 NKJV).

 

 

 

May 21  Be Quick to Listen

 

“MY DEAR BROTHERS, TAKE NOTE OF THIS: EVERYONE SHOULD BE QUICK TO LISTEN, SLOW TO SPEAK AND SLOW TO BECOME ANGRY” (James 1:19).

 

I encourage you to think of someone you know who is hurting deeply right now.  Believe that you can be of great comfort to your friend by being quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.

 

Be quick to listen: listen carefully; listen observantly; listen with patience.  Be attentive to your friend’s heart.  Allow her to feel…to perceive…to experience.  Her emotions will help her to connect with her heart, her pain, and with God.

 

“BUT THE COUNSELOR, THE HOLY SPIRIT, WHOM THE FATHER WILL SEND IN MY NAME, WILL TEACH YOU ALL THINGS” (John 14:26).

 

Be slow to speak.  Know that it is not your advice that counts, your perception that is needed, your understanding that is important, but the advice of God, the Counselor.  Help your friend to hear from God, the Counselor, by allowing yourself to be compassionate, sympathetic, and tenderhearted.

 

“BE…SLOW TO BECOME ANGRY, FOR MAN’S ANGER DOES NOT BRING ABOUT THE RIGHTEOUS LIFE THAT GOD DESIRES” (James 1:19, 20).

 

Be slow to become angry.  Be careful that your own pain does not get in the way and cause you to become angry when you listen to someone else’s pain.  Recognize that it is not about your pain when you are helping someone else.  Surrender your own heart-ache to God, the Counselor, so you can be a better listener to your friend.

 

1. How do you respond to another’s pain? Are you reluctant to listen…to be still…to understand? Are you quick to react…to speak…to give advice?

 

 

 

1. I bless you to be quick to listen.  Be slow to speak.  Be slow to react to another’s pain and become angry.  By following this counsel you may help someone in need connect with God and hear His perspective.  And your friend will be comforted.

 

PRAYER: Most High, remind me, daily that You have sent the Counselor to teach us all things. Remind me to not get in the way by trying to take over the counseling when someone confides in me, but to listen and understand with the purpose of directing everyone to You.

 

 

 

 

May 22  May You Know the True God

 

“WHEN I WAS A CHILD, I TALKED LIKE A CHILD, I THOUGHT LIKE A CHILD, I REASONED LIKE A CHILD. WHEN I BECAME A MAN, I PUT CHILDISH WAYS BEHIND ME. NOW WE SEE BUT A POOR REFLECTION AS IN A MIRROR; THEN WE SHALL SEE FACE TO FACE. NOW I KNOW IN PART; THEN I SHALL KNOW FULLY, EVEN AS I AM FULLY KNOWN” (1 Corinthians 13:11-12).

 

I would like to remind you to realize that as a child your brain recorded every experience since the time of birth very accurately.  Not only were the facts of an experience permanently recorded, but also the interpretations that were concluded at the time of the event, as well as the emotions that were bound to the interpretations.

 

I bless you to realize that your childhood conclusions were sold under sin to the father-of-lies, and these false beliefs distorted your perception of God.

 

And you would start asking questions like, “Am I good enough for God if I was not even good enough for my own mom during childhood?  Would God banish me as my dad did, because of the mistake I made as a child?  Would God keep me at arm’s length like my friend did when I did not please him when I was a little girl/boy?  Does God even notice me…or am I invisible to Him, too?”

 

“NOW THIS IS ETERNAL LIFE: THAT THEY MAY KNOW YOU, THE ONLY TRUE GOD, AND JESUS CHRIST, WHOM YOU HAVE SENT” (John 17:3).

 

Accept that God is not like your childhood dad.  God is not like your childhood mom.  God is not like your childhood friends.  May you obtain Truth for your childhood conclusions from the Lord Jesus, so you could get to know God for who He really is.

 

“WE KNOW ALSO THAT THE SON OF GOD HAS COME AND HAS GIVEN US UNDERSTANDING, SO THAT WE MAY KNOW HIM WHO IS TRUE. AND WE ARE IN HIM WHO IS TRUE—EVEN IN HIS SON JESUS CHRIST. HE IS THE TRUE GOD AND ETERNAL LIFE” (1 John 5:20).

 

1. Do you compare God to your childhood dad, mom, or friends? Then you do not really know God—instead, you are seeing Him through your childhood conclusions, which had been sold to the father-of-lies.

 

 

 

1. Surrender your childhood conclusions to the Lord Jesus, so you may get to know God fully, even as you are fully known by Him.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, one by one, I submit my childhood conclusions about God to You, so I may receive understanding about God and know Him who is true.

May 23  The Love Language of Affirmation

 

Is your love language affirmation?  Do you constantly need to be recognized as being worthy, loved, or needed?  Do you become insecure when your spouse or friend does not respond to your unhappiness?

 

Understand that if a male friend is not noticing and responding to your unhappiness, it is often not that he is deliberately choosing not to affirm and comfort you, but because he is simply obliviously unaware of your needs.  Know that it takes men four times longer to notice subtle social cues than it does women.

 

Consider that if you constantly need to be affirmed and recognized, you might have a belief that was engraved in your mind by the father-of-lies: that you are insignificant…disposable…lacking in quality.

 

“FOR HE SATISFIES THE THIRSTY AND FILLS THE HUNGRY WITH GOOD THINGS” (Psalm 107:9).

 

I bless you to seek your affirmation from God.  Turn your beliefs of insignificance over to Him, for He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.

 

“HOW GREAT IS THE LOVE THE FATHER HAS LAVISHED ON US, THAT WE SHOULD BE CALLED CHILDREN OF GOD!” (1 John 3:1).

 

Do not attack your spouse or your male friend for your belief that you do not count.  This could trigger a belief of rejection in him.  The result would be two people living in pain, practicing their sinful behavior habits and patterns on each other. Instead, invite your Perfect Father to lavish His Love on you and on your feelings of insignificance.

 

“THE LORD WILL GUIDE YOU ALWAYS; HE WILL SATISFY YOUR NEEDS IN A SUN-SCORCHED LAND AND WILL STRENGTHEN YOUR FRAME. YOU WILL BE LIKE A WELL-WATERED GARDEN, LIKE A SPRING WHOSE WATERS NEVER FAIL”

(Isaiah 58:11).

 

1. Do you feel worthy, loved, and needed? If not, where do you turn to get these needs met—constant affirmation?

 

 

 

1. Know that affirmation from people will not get your needs met. I bless you to invite God to satisfy your need for significance.  Allow Him to tell you that you count…that you carry weight…that you matter.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Most High, I admit that I do not feel worthy, loved, and needed, and I turn this matter over to You, Lord. Satisfy my never-ending thirst for affirmation with Your Love, O God.

May 24  God Understands You

 

Do you struggle with the thought that nobody understands you…that nobody understood you as a child…that nobody understands the way you function?  Do you feel that you are a mystery: inexplicable…baffling…insolvable?

 

Maybe you were mistreated and misunderstood as a child, and given no chance to justify your actions.  I am sorry that you were left seething with anger and disappointment, believing that you had no defense…perceiving that there was no way to be released from the charge…realizing that there was no way of setting things right.

 

“THE LORD DOES NOT LOOK AT THE THINGS MAN LOOKS AT. MAN LOOKS AT THE OUTWARD APPEARANCE, BUT THE LORD LOOKS AT THE HEART” (1 Samuel 16:7).

 

Know that God understands you…and He also understood you when you were a child.  Your Perfect Father does not look at things man looks at.  Man looks at the outward appearance, but your Perfect Father looks at your heart.  May you be comforted that God knows your heart…and He knew your heart when you were a child.  Your Perfect Father never misunderstands.

 

“KNOW YE THAT THE LORD HE IS GOD: IT IS HE THAT HATH MADE US, AND NOT WE OURSELVES; WE ARE HIS PEOPLE, AND THE SHEEP OF HIS PASTURE”

(Psalm 100:3).

 

I bless you to be comforted.  The God who made you understands you.  You can let go of the charge now.

 

“I KNOW THAT THOU CANST DO EVERY THING, AND THAT NO THOUGHT CAN BE WITHHOLDEN FROM THEE” (Job 42:2).

 

1. Was there a time that you were treated unfairly as a child, because you were not understood? In the meantime, has this caused resentment, fear, and confusion to settle in your heart?

 

 

 

1. If you want to be set free from the resentment, fear, and confusion, you need to invite God’s Presence and Participation into the painful feeling in your heart of being misunderstood. Believe with certainty that God can do everything; He can free you from this pain, because He can see into your heart.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord God, how comforting to know that You can look into my heart.  How good to know that You know the Truth, even when others misunderstand me. Please come into my heart and set me free from the pain of being misunderstood. Fill me with Your comforting Truth.

May 25  Freedom from Being a Scapegoat

 

I bless you with consolation today if you had to be a parent to your parent when you were a child: playing the role of nurturer, while you yourself needed nurturing, and playing the role of caretaker, while you yourself were in need of care.

 

I bless you with wholeness if you had to be a scapegoat to your parent when you were a child: the recipient of someone’s wrath…the target of someone’s condemnation…the victim of someone’s irrational behavior and sinful insecurities.

 

“IT IS FOR FREEDOM THAT CHRIST HAS SET US FREE. STAND FIRM, THEN, AND DO NOT LET YOURSELVES BE BURDENED AGAIN BY A YOKE OF SLAVERY” (Galatians 5:1).

 

I bless you with freedom if you, as a child, had been punished for a sin that someone else had committed. You did not deserve the harsh punishment.  You deserved to be forgiven…accepted…comforted.

 

May you know that a Scapegoat already exists—Jesus Christ.  You are set free to let go of your role as a scapegoat.  You do not have to carry the blame for others’ shortcomings anymore.  It is for freedom that Christ has set you free: freedom from blame…freedom from guilt…freedom from the responsibility to carry another’s sins.

 

Stand firm, then, and do not let yourself be burdened again by this yoke of slavery—the yoke of being a scapegoat.

 

“IN MY ANGUISH I CRIED TO THE LORD, AND HE ANSWERED BY SETTING ME FREE”

(Psalm 118:5).

 

1. Are you still acting as a scapegoat to others: bearing the blame that blamers like to put on you, and sacrificing yourself as the constant object of irrational hostility.

 

 

 

1. Why do you want to keep this role of being the scapegoat? What benefits does this role offer you? Does it diminish your guilt, your shame, or the condemnation that the father-of-lies has dumped on you?

 

 

 

1. It is for freedom that Christ wants to set you free. But you have an obligation: to surrender the feelings and beliefs that keep you in bondage of being a scapegoat, to the Lord Jesus.  Allow Him to become the only Scapegoat for you…and everybody else.

 

 

 

May 26  The Holy Spirit…The Gift from God

 

I have noticed there is something in this life that we all desire more than anything.  Can you guess what it is? JOY!  We all would love to have JOY!  Wouldn’t you?

 

I would like to tell you of something in my life that brings me tremendous JOY.  It is TRUTH.  Nothing brings me as much JOY as receiving the TRUTH…TRUTH through the SPIRIT OF TRUTH.

 

“BUT WHEN HE, THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH, COMES, HE WILL GUIDE YOU INTO ALL TRUTH. HE WILL NOT SPEAK ON HIS OWN; HE WILL SPEAK ONLY WHAT HE HEARS, AND HE WILL TELL YOU WHAT IS YET TO COME” (John 16:13).

 

Nothing makes me as sad…as miserable…as joyless as living in deception, believing the lies of the father-of-lies: that I am insignificant…that I do not count…that I am not special.

 

“FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS NOT A MATTER OF EATING AND DRINKING, BUT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, PEACE AND JOY IN THE HOLY SPIRIT” (Romans 14:17).

 

I bless you to know that you are dependent on the SPIRIT OF TRUTH to produce TRUTH…and TRUTH will produce JOY.  TRUTH is not an attribute of human nature.  TRUTH is a gift from the SPIRIT OF TRUTH.  Without it, humans live in deception.  Without it, humans believe every lie that comes from the father-of-lies.  Without it, there is no JOY.

 

“BUT STEPHEN, FULL OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, LOOKED UP TO HEAVEN AND SAW THE GLORY OF GOD, AND JESUS STANDING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD” (Acts 7:55).

 

I bless you to accept that TRUTH is not a human quality.  May you acknowledge your dependency on the SPIRIT OF TRUTH, so you might see the glory of God in your life and every circumstance…and you will have JOY!

 

The Apostle Paul proclaimed, “I HAVE NO GREATER JOY THAN TO HEAR THAT MY CHILDREN WALK IN TRUTH” (3 John 1:4).

 

1. Are you sad…miserable…joyless?

 

 

 

1. You need Truth for the beliefs of despair that you are carrying in your heart—Truth that comes from the Holy Spirit.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Father God, thank you for Your GIFT—the Holy Spirit—that leads us into all Truth. I desire to walk in the Truth of Your Spirit, so I may have the Joy of the Holy Spirit in my heart. But I realize that I have an obligation: to surrender the negative, destructive beliefs of despair, instilled in my heart by the father-of-lies, to Your Spirit of Truth, in exchange for the Truth.

May 27  The Holy Spirit…Your Father’s Gift

 

“IF YOU THEN, THOUGH YOU ARE EVIL, KNOW HOW TO GIVE GOOD GIFTS TO YOUR CHILDREN, HOW MUCH MORE WILL YOUR FATHER IN HEAVEN GIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT TO THOSE WHO ASK HIM” (Luke 11:13)!

 

Be encouraged by the extraordinary Gift you have received from your Father in Heaven—the gift of the Holy Spirit.

 

“BUT YOU WILL RECEIVE POWER WHEN THE HOLY SPIRIT COMES ON YOU; AND YOU WILL BE MY WITNESSES IN JERUSALEM, AND IN ALL JUDEA AND SAMARIA, AND TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH” (Acts 1:8).

 

Take notice that the Holy Spirit gives birth to Power—a Power that can do immeasurably more than you can ever ask or imagine.  But you have an obligation: to stop living by your own human power, but instead, to live by the Power of the Holy Spirit.

 

“AND HOPE DOES NOT DISAPPOINT US, BECAUSE GOD HAS POURED OUT HIS LOVE INTO OUR HEARTS BY THE HOLY SPIRIT, WHOM HE HAS GIVEN US” (Romans 5:5).

 

Know that your Everlasting Father has made His Love available to you through His Gift, the Holy Spirit.  But you have an obligation: to stop living by the limited love that resides in your own self-nature, but instead, to invite the endless Love of the Holy Spirit to love through you.

 

“FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS NOT A MATTER OF EATING AND DRINKING, BUT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, PEACE AND JOY IN THE HOLY SPIRIT” (Romans 14:17).

 

Understand that the Holy Spirit, the perfect Father’s Gift to you, can furnish you with Righteousness, Peace, and Joy.  But you have an obligation: to stop living by your own self-nature, but instead, to receive the Righteousness, Peace, and Joy of the Holy Spirit.

 

“YOU STIFF-NECKED PEOPLE, WITH UNCIRCUMCISED HEARTS AND EARS! YOU ARE JUST LIKE YOUR FATHERS: YOU ALWAYS RESIST THE HOLY SPIRIT” (Acts 7:51).

 

1. Are you trying to love someone with your own limited love? Are you striving to be the best person you can possibly be? Are you trying to acquire peace for your anxiety? Are you resisting the Holy Spirit?

 

 

 

1. I bless you to realize that the peace that resides in your own self-nature does not measure up.  Your righteousness is not valid.  Your truth is counterfeit.  Your love falls short.  I bless you to ask your Father for His Gift—the Holy Spirit—and all these qualities will be poured directly into your heart.

 

 

May 28  The Holy Spirit Is Always Available

 

“IF YOU THEN, THOUGH YOU ARE EVIL, KNOW HOW TO GIVE GOOD GIFTS TO YOUR CHILDREN, HOW MUCH MORE WILL YOUR FATHER IN HEAVEN GIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT TO THOSE WHO ASK HIM”(Luke 11:13).

 

I bless you to celebrate the Gift you have received from your Father in Heaven—the Gift of the Holy Spirit.

 

“DO YOU NOT KNOW THAT YOUR BODY IS A TEMPLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, WHO IS IN YOU, WHOM YOU HAVE RECEIVED FROM GOD? YOU ARE NOT YOUR OWN”

(1 Corinthians 6:19).

 

Celebrate that your Father’s Gift, the Holy Spirit, resides in you.  Understand that the Holy Spirit, the Counselor, who will teach you all things, makes His home in you.  He is available all the time!

 

Be encouraged that you do not need to summon God out of Heaven to come and help you in your state of hopelessness.  You do not need to fetch the Light to come and shine on your darkness.  You do not need to call God into action to bring Truth into your deceptive mind.

 

Rejoice! All you need to do is enter into the Truth that is in the Spirit of Truth…who abides in you.  All you need to do is expose your darkness to the Light of the Holy Spirit…who is in you.  All you need to do is embrace the Hope that is available through the Holy Spirit…in you.

 

“AND I WILL ASK THE FATHER, AND HE WILL GIVE YOU ANOTHER COUNSELOR TO BE WITH YOU FOREVER” (John 14:16).

 

1. What is it that you need today: is it Hope…is it Counsel…is it Comfort?

 

 

 

1. I bless you to reach into your heart and receive what you need from your Father’s Gift: the Holy Spirit.  Draw from the Love God pours into your heart through the Holy Spirit.  Embrace the Truth the Holy Spirit provides.  Harvest the Counsel of the Counselor, who comes from God.  Come into the Hope the Holy Spirit supplies…in you.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Thank you, Most High, for Your Gift—the Holy Spirit, who is with me forever, and who provides everything I need for life and godliness.  I come to receive Your Righteousness, Joy, and Peace. I open my heart to Your Hope. I welcome Your Truth and Your Power. May I live this day from Your Spirit, my Lord, who is in me.

 

 

May 29  Revelation Comes through Obedience

 

Would you like the Lord Jesus to show you what you should do about your affliction: about the person who has been persecuting you…about your marriage that is on the rocks…about the pain in your heart?

 

“WHOEVER HAS MY COMMANDS AND OBEYS THEM, HE IS THE ONE WHO LOVES ME. HE WHO LOVES ME WILL BE LOVED BY MY FATHER, AND I TOO WILL LOVE HIM AND SHOW MYSELF TO HIM” (John 14:21).

 

Revelation comes through obedient surrendering: submitting your persecutor to the Lord Jesus’ Love…turning your failing relationship over to the Perfect Father’s Power…yielding the pain in your heart to the Most High’s Authority.

 

“COMMIT TO THE LORD WHATEVER YOU DO, AND YOUR PLANS WILL SUCCEED”

(Proverbs 16:3).

 

Does the word SURRENDER baffle you?  Do you wonder what it means…how it works…what it feels like?

 

To me, SURRENDER means to acknowledge to my Perfect Father that I cannot fix my problem myself: that He is my only solution…that what needs to happen is impossible for me, but completely possible for Him…that I am helpless, powerless, and hopeless without His Presence and Participation in my circumstances.

 

To me, SURRENDER means to place my affliction under the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ, because Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matthew 28:18).

 

To me, SURRENDER means to allow the Holy Spirit access into the places in my heart that are too hard for me to give up on my own.

 

“AND I TOO WILL LOVE HIM AND SHOW MYSELF TO HIM”

 

And the end-product of obedient surrendering? Revelation from God: an answer…a miracle…HOPE!

 

1. Do you desire a revelation from God?  Would you like to receive divine Truth from your Perfect Father for the affliction in your life?

 

 

 

1. I bless you to learn obedience through surrendering. I did. It changed my heart, my circumstances, and my life.

 

 

 

May 30  The Blessing!

This is a blessing for you, if you grew up without a blessing in your life, wishing that your earthly father or your earthly mother had blessed you as a child.

Have you become anxious or depressed over the loss of your earthly father’s or mother’s love and acceptance?  Have you become lonely and protective after losing the blessing of an important person in your life?  Have you become a perfectionist and a workaholic after missing that coveted blessing?  Did you grow up without a parent’s blessing, and now you are trying to meet a legitimate need in an illegitimate way?

 

“FROM THE FULLNESS OF HIS GRACE WE HAVE ALL RECEIVED ONE BLESSING AFTER ANOTHER” (John 1:16).

I bless you to capture that through the fullness of His Grace, your Perfect Father has made all the blessings available to you that you will ever need.  Through His son, Jesus and His gift, the Holy Spirit, you have received the blessing of Love, the blessing of Hope, and the blessing of Acceptance.

 

“HOW GREAT IS THE LOVE THE FATHER HAS LAVISHED ON US, THAT WE SHOULD BE CALLED CHILDREN OF GOD!” (1 John 3:1).

 

Receive your Perfect Father’s blessing:

 

“THE LORD YOUR GOD IS WITH YOU,

HE IS MIGHTY TO SAVE.

HE WILL TAKE GREAT DELIGHT IN YOU,

HE WILL QUIET YOU WITH HIS LOVE,

HE WILL REJOICE OVER YOU WITH SINGING”

(Zephaniah 3:17).

1. What damage has the lack of a blessing during your childhood made to your heart? What are you going to do about this?

 

 

 

1. It is not too late to receive a blessing…from your Perfect Father. Go to Him and ask Him to give you the blessing you never received.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord God, I come to You for a blessing: the blessing of acceptance.  Show me how You take great delight in me. Let me hear Your song, as You rejoice over me with singing. Fill my heart with the blessing of Hope through the fullness of Your Grace. Lavish Your blessing of Love on me, as You call me by my name. You are mighty to save.

 

 

 

May 31  The Father’s Blessing of Acceptance

 

Did you fail to obtain a certain person’s blessing when you were a child?  Did you fail to obtain your mother’s or father’s acceptance?  Did these circumstances leave you with a feeling of being overlooked…disregarded…passed over, even as an adult?  Do you now feel there is an empty spot in your heart that can never be filled?

 

“LET THE MORNING BRING ME WORD OF YOUR UNFAILING LOVE, FOR I HAVE PUT MY TRUST IN YOU. SHOW ME THE WAY I SHOULD GO, FOR TO YOU I LIFT UP MY SOUL” (Psalm 143:8).

 

I bless you to acknowledge the emptiness in your heart: the void…the barrenness…the lack, and offer it to your Perfect Father, to fill with His Love.

 

Do not respond to your neediness by sucking others dry, trying to fill that lack.  No human, or object, or place can make up for the unmet need for acceptance.  You will always end up as you started—disappointed and empty.  You will only drain others of their desire to listen and help, as they try in vain to satisfy your need for acceptance.

 

“THIS IS WHAT THE SOVEREIGN LORD, THE HOLY ONE OF ISRAEL, SAYS: ‘IN REPENTANCE AND REST IS YOUR SALVATION, IN QUIETNESS AND TRUST IS YOUR STRENGTH, BUT YOU WOULD HAVE NONE OF IT’” (Isaiah 30:15).

I bless you to recognize your need for acceptance as being genuine and valid.  Do not hide it.  Do not run from it.  Do not blame it on the person who neglected to bless you with acceptance and approval.

 

“FORGET THE FORMER THINGS; DO NOT DWELL ON THE PAST. SEE, I AM DOING A NEW THING!” (Isaiah 43:18-19).

I bless you to allow your Perfect Father to do a new thing: to fill the void of non-acceptance in your heart with His Acceptance, Love, and Approval, for He is the only one who can meet the unmet need of non-acceptance.

1. What will it take for you to finally face the empty spot in your heart, give it a name, and submit it to the Perfect Father’s Love, Acceptance, and Approval?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Everlasting Father, I admit that my heart feels empty and that I need a blessing from You. Come and do something new in my heart, as I lay my past, filled with non-acceptance, at Your feet. I know that it does not help to merely dwell on the past and have fellowship with the darkness, but to allow You to fill my past with Your blessings of Love and Acceptance. I cannot overcome the non-acceptance of the past, Lord, but You can, because what is impossible for me is possible for You. Therefore, I lift up my soul to You. Show me the way I should go, for I place my Hope in You.

June

June 1  Present Your Request to God

 

I once had a big desire in my heart.  Every day, as I brought it to God, I wondered why God would answer me. Why would he honor my request? Why would He grant my wish? Why would He care about my desires? I decided to ask God.

 

And then I heard the soft voice of God’s Spirit in my heart:

 

“DO NOT BE ANXIOUS ABOUT ANYTHING, BUT IN EVERY SITUATION, BY PRAYER AND PETITION, WITH THANKSGIVING, PRESENT YOUR REQUESTS TO GOD”

 (Philippians 4:6).

 

“But why, God? Why would you honor my request?” “Because I KNOW YOU,” He answered clearly.

 

I understood. I could simply bring my request to the Perfect Father, because He is MY PERFECT FATHER. He gives when I ask, because He knows me. He opens the doors when I knock, because I am His child. He lets me find what I am looking for, because we have a relationship.

 

“ASK AND IT WILL BE GIVEN TO YOU; SEEK AND YOU WILL FIND; KNOCK AND THE DOOR WILL BE OPENED TO YOU.  FOR EVERYONE WHO ASKS RECEIVES; THE ONE WHO SEEKS FINDS; AND TO THE ONE WHO KNOCKS, THE DOOR WILL BE OPENED” (Matthew 7:7-8).

 

Child of God, know that the Perfect Father wants to answer your prayer, because He is YOUR Perfect Father. He wants you to experience your PERFECT FATHER: someone who is entirely without fault and defect…someone who is pure and complete…someone who corresponds to an ideal standard, simply because you are His child and you love Him.

 

“‘BECAUSE HE LOVES ME,’ SAYS THE LORD, ‘I WILL RESCUE HIM; I WILL PROTECT HIM, FOR HE ACKNOWLEDGES MY NAME. HE WILL CALL ON ME, AND I WILL ANSWER HIM; I WILL BE WITH HIM IN TROUBLE, I WILL DELIVER HIM AND HONOR HIM. WITH LONG LIFE I WILL SATISFY HIM AND SHOW HIM MY SALVATION’” (Psalm 91:14-16).

 

1. Are you anxious about something? Is your heart troubled with concern and disquietude? Is there a specific desire in your heart? Simply bring your request to your Father, because He is YOUR Father…and He is perfect.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Perfect Father, I enter Your throne room, and bring my request to You in the form of a serious request. How encouraging to know that I do not have to come up with reasons why You should answer me. You simply value my request, because I am Your child and You know me. You honor our relationship. Holy is Your Name!

 

 

 

June 2  The Way of Life in Christ Jesus

 

“TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR HEART AND LEAN NOT ON YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING; IN ALL YOUR WAYS ACKNOWLEDGE HIM, AND HE WILL MAKE YOUR PATHS STRAIGHT” (Proverbs 3:5).

 

I bless you to make “lean not on your own understanding” and “in all your ways acknowledge Him” a lifestyle: a way of living…a way of thinking.  I DID…AND IT CHANGED MY LIFE! 

 

Every action starts with a THOUGHT—an understanding.  Every emotion starts with a THOUGHT—an understanding. Every purpose starts with a THOUGHT—an understanding. And a THOUGHT—an understanding—comes either from God, or from the father-of-lies.  There is no middle ground.

 

I have discovered that if I follow the thought or understanding that comes from the father-of-lies, I end up in anger, hatred, jealousy, fear, and despair.  However, if I follow the thought or understanding that comes from God, I end up in Hope, Truth, and Love.  This is the moment-by-moment way of life in Christ Jesus.

 

“FOR THIS REASON I AM SENDING TO YOU TIMOTHY, MY SON WHOM I LOVE, WHO IS FAITHFUL IN THE LORD. HE WILL REMIND YOU OF MY WAY OF LIFE IN CHRIST JESUS, WHICH AGREES WITH WHAT I TEACH EVERYWHERE IN EVERY CHURCH”

(1 Corinthians 4:17).

 

1. Do you know the thought or understanding that precedes your depression, daily? Do you know the thought that triggers your anger, all the time? Do you know the thought that often steals your purpose? Do you know the thought that causes you to give up?

 

 

 

1. May you acknowledge the Lord Jesus in everything you think, everywhere you go, every moment of your life, whenever a thought enters your mind.  Present that thought to Him, just the way it is, and ask Him whether that thought is from Him—the Truth—or from the father-of-lies. Then listen to His perspective…His opinion…His interpretation. It will change your life!

 

 

 

PRAYER: Most High, I live to honor You, every moment, in everything I do and everything I think. Thank you for Your Way of Life in Christ Jesus. Remind me, daily, of my obligation: to trust You from the bottom of my heart, to follow Your Voice of Truth, and to stop trying to figure things out on my own, so I may worship you in thought, action, and purpose.

 

 

June 3  Be Still…Hear God’s Voice

 

“BE STILL, AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD; I WILL BE EXALTED AMONG THE NATIONS, I WILL BE EXALTED IN THE EARTH” (Psalm 46:10).

 

I bless you with absolute stillness before your Father…complete silence

Leave behind the noise of your circumstances

Cast aside all activity from the father-of-lies

Quiet all the voices in your mind.

 

Become still

Listen

Become acquainted with God’s voice

Be a detective

Perceive His perspective

Become aware of His choice.

 

“BE STILL BEFORE THE LORD AND WAIT PATIENTLY FOR HIM” (Psalm 37:7).

 

Wait patiently…quietly

After presenting your thoughts to your Perfect Father

After offering Him your emotions

After laying before Him your interpretations

Remain in readiness and expectancy before your Creator.

 

“THE LORD WILL FIGHT FOR YOU; YOU NEED ONLY TO BE STILL” (Exodus 14:14).

 

And your Perfect Father will fight for you!

His Truth will prevail

His Hope will bring Joy to you

His Love will never fail.

 

1. Are there many voices in your head that all talk to you at the same time? Are they upsetting you? Do you know what they are saying?

 

 

 

1. To become still, you need to take note of what each voice in your head is telling your heart…and then you need to submit their messages to God. Then, wait for His answer—the Truth.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Speak, Lord God, I am listening. Teach me Your perspective. Tell me the Truth. Show me Your ways. My heart belongs to You.

June 4  The Sword of the Spirit

 

“FOR THE WORD OF GOD IS LIVING AND ACTIVE. SHARPER THAN ANY DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD, IT PENETRATES EVEN TO DIVIDING SOUL AND SPIRIT, JOINTS AND MARROW; IT JUDGES THE THOUGHTS AND ATTITUDES OF THE HEART”

(Hebrews 4:12).

 

I have noticed that God loves to communicate with me through His written and spoken Word when I invite His Counsel into my own understanding.

 

I have come to know God’s Word as being sharper than any sword.  It has the ability to penetrate deeply into the many voices of our minds, dividing good from evil: analyzing, exposing, and severing.  How life changing it has been to allow God’s active Word to enter into the negative, destructive thoughts of my mind…and cut them out. How freeing it has been to invite the living Word of God into my moment-by-moment perceptions…to slice the lies and deceit of the father-of-lies from my heart.  How encouraging it has been to submit my emotions to Him…and experience God’s powerful Word extracting the sorrow, despair, anger, and jealousy from my emotions.

 

“But Jesus answered him, saying, ‘It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’” (Luke 4:4).

 

Acknowledge that you are dependent on God’s Word.  Let the Sword of the Spirit slice the darkness from your mind, cut the hopelessness from your heart, and sever the brokenness from your life.

 

“TAKE THE HELMET OF SALVATION AND THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT, WHICH IS THE WORD OF GOD” (Ephesians 6:17).

 

1. What would you like God’s living and active Word to penetrate? What do you need severed by the Sword of the Spirit?

 

 

 

1. I bless you to know that the living and active Word of God is able to affect anything it penetrates.  It is capable of determining and detecting, to estimate and evaluate, and to sever. It is effective… sufficient…practical. Invite the Sword of the Spirit to do a miracle in you.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Sword of the Spirit, come and penetrate my heart and my mind. Evaluate my emotions and search them for negative, destructive beliefs from the father-of-lies that leave me hopeless, helpless, and powerless. Then, do Your severing work in my heart, so I may be set free to worship You in Truth.

 

 

June 5  Work out Your Own Salvation (2)

 

“THEREFORE, MY BELOVED, AS YOU HAVE ALWAYS OBEYED, NOT AS IN MY PRESENCE ONLY, BUT NOW MUCH MORE IN MY ABSENCE, WORK OUT YOUR OWN SALVATION WITH FEAR AND TREMBLING” (Philippians 2:12).

 

Be watchful, you have an enemy: the father-of-lies. He delights in tempting you to believe his suggestions of abandonment…his thoughts of condemnation…his proposals of shame.

 

I bless you to work out your own salvation: to query your own beliefs of abandonment…to dispute your own interpretations of condemnation…to question your own understanding of shame, lest the father-of-lies have deposited these into your mind and heart.

 

“WHOEVER HAS MY COMMANDS AND OBEYS THEM, HE IS THE ONE WHO LOVES ME. HE WHO LOVES ME WILL BE LOVED BY MY FATHER, AND I TOO WILL LOVE HIM AND SHOW MYSELF TO HIM” (John 14:21).

 

Understand that blaming others for the pain of shame in your heart will not get the job done.  You cannot get rid of your heartache this way.  Running away from the pain of condemnation does not help, either.  Your agony will always catch up with you again.  Do not hide behind walls to escape your pain of abandonment.  The father-of-lies knows how to climb over any wall. Instead, confess these negative, destructive beliefs, which are the roots of sin, and let your heart be purified by the Lord Jesus.

 

“IF WE CONFESS OUR SINS, HE IS FAITHFUL AND JUST AND WILL FORGIVE US OUR SINS AND PURIFY US FROM ALL UNRIGHTEOUSNESS” (1 John 1:9).

 

1. What do you do with your beliefs of shame, abandonment, and condemnation? Do you hide them, run from them, or blame them on those who hurt you, or do you take God’s hand?

 

 

 

1. Know that God wants to forgive you and purify you from the unrighteousness that the beliefs of shame, condemnation, and abandonment have caused in your life, but you have an obligation: you need to love God enough to take His hand, love God enough to climb out of the hole where you have been hiding from shame, all your life, love Him enough to allow Him into the desolate places of abandonment in your heart where nobody has ever been. And God will show Himself to you…to cleanse you from all unrighteousness.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Precious Savior, I want to stop running, hiding, and blaming others for the shame, abandonment, and condemnation in my heart. I choose to take Your hand.

June 6  The Misinterpretations of Childhood

 

“WHEN I WAS A CHILD, I TALKED LIKE A CHILD, I THOUGHT LIKE A CHILD, I REASONED LIKE A CHILD. WHEN I BECAME A MAN, I PUT CHILDISH WAYS BEHIND ME” (1 Corinthians 13:11).

 

You did not know it at the time, but as a child, you founded a permanent emotional position, grounded on your childhood interpretations: you developed fear, because you believed God had abandoned you. You acquired shame, because you believed that you were tainted. You developed guilt, because you believed that you were responsible.  These beliefs would influence your whole world for the rest of your life.

 

You did not know that, as a child, even though your experiences were real, many of your conclusions were false and were slowly taking you captive: leading you away from the Truth, and bringing you under the control of the father-of-lies.

 

You did not know that, as an adult, your permanent emotional position you founded as a child would make you feel as if you had two very different personalities—one child-like…the other, adult-like—and that you would seesaw between these two states in a matter of minutes: living in a normal logical adult mind one moment, then thrown into an irrational child mind the next moment. Because of your false childhood conclusions, you would involuntarily be displaced into the past to relive the fear over and over again…to relive the shame over and over again…to relive the guilt over and over again.

 

“I SOUGHT THE LORD, AND HE ANSWERED ME; HE DELIVERED ME FROM ALL MY FEARS” (Psalm 34:4).

 

1. Do you turn into a child, reliving your fear, guilt, and shame when you least expect it? Did you know that God has a solution for this behavior?

 

 

 

1. I bless you to seek your Everlasting Father in the false conclusions that you have made as a child, and He will deliver you from all your fears.  Your Father was there during your childhood misinterpretations.  If you submit these to Him, He will remove the childhood shame and guilt that formed your emotional position.  Then, He will fill you with His Holy Spirit—the Spirit of Truth.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Perfect Father, how encouraged I am that You are close to the brokenhearted and that You save those who are crushed in spirit. Help me to remember that it is not what happened to me that crushed my spirit during childhood, but what I came to believe as a result of my experiences. I submit my child born fears to You, my Lord. Deliver me from the wrong interpretations, so I can become a stable adult.

June 7  Sincere and Pure Devotion to Christ

 

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.  Now, when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard…Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise. “So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, ‘Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.’ And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius. But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius. And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner, saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.’ But he answered one of them and said,…I wish to give to this last man the same as to you.”

(Matthew 20: 2-14—The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard).

 

I bless you to focus on the job God gave YOUto do.  It does not matter HOW BIGorHOW IMPORTANT your job is, compared to those of others.  It does not matter HOW LONG you have been doing the job God gave you, compared to those of others.  All that matters is that you do the job God gave you to do andYOU DO IT FOR HIM.

 

God wants you to know that He will give you a complete reward for the job He gave you to do.  You will be paid according to what was expected of YOU.  The success of your job is not measured by comparing it to those of others.  It is not a matter of ratio…correlation…comparative size or extent.

 

“BUT I AM AFRAID THAT JUST AS EVE WAS DECEIVED BY THE SERPENT’S CUNNING, YOUR MINDS MAY SOMEHOW BE LED ASTRAY FROM YOUR SINCERE AND PURE DEVOTION TO CHRIST” (2 Corinthians 11:3).

 

1. Has God also called YOU to come and work in His vineyard? But, do you feel that your job is inferior to those of other workers, who have been laboring for so much longer than you? Maybe, if you compare your job to those of the other workers, you feel that YOUR insignificant job does not even warrant a reward at all.

 

 

 

1. I bless you to know that, to God, each job He gives stands alone.  It is complete… self-contained…whole.  It is not judged on the principles of comparison.  You need only to focus on the job God gave YOU, and DO IT IN SINCERE AND PURE DEVOTION TO CHRIST…and you will receive your entire reward, whether you were first or last, whether your job was long or short, whether your job was big or small.

 

 

 

June 8  Singleness of Heart and Action

 

“[FOR BEING AS HE IS] A MAN OF TWO MINDS (HESITATING, DUBIOUS, IRRESOLUTE), [HE IS] UNSTABLE AND UNRELIABLE AND UNCERTAIN ABOUT EVERYTHING [HE THINKS, FEELS, DECIDES]” (James 1:8 AMP).

 

Do you struggle with double-mindedness: always hesitating…dubious…irresolute?  Do you often start an action…then shrink from the same action, being uncertain about everything?

 

“THEY WILL BE MY PEOPLE, AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD. I WILL GIVE THEM SINGLENESS OF HEART AND ACTION, SO THAT THEY WILL ALWAYS FEAR ME FOR THEIR OWN GOOD AND THE GOOD OF THEIR CHILDREN AFTER THEM. I WILL MAKE AN EVERLASTING COVENANT WITH THEM: I WILL NEVER STOP DOING GOOD TO THEM, AND I WILL INSPIRE THEM TO FEAR ME, SO THAT THEY WILL NEVER TURN AWAY FROM ME” (Jeremiah 32:38-40).

 

Understand that you have become a man of two minds, because you have allowed your THOUGHTS to follow the father-of-lies…AND God.  You cannot follow two masters! The father-of-lies will kill, steal, and destroy, BUT the Perfect Father wants to make an everlasting covenant with you: to never stop doing good to you.

 

God wants you to know that He wants to give you singleness of heart and action. He wants to make you stable, reliable, and certain about everything you feel, do, and decide.  However, you need to allow God to become your only God in everything you THINK! If you want to be certain, stable, and reliable in your actions and decisions, you first need to be reliable in your THOUGHTS, because your emotions, actions, and decisions are born in your thoughts.

 

1. Are you unstable in your thoughts and emotions, unreliable in your actions, and uncertain in everything you think, feel, and decide?

 

 

 

1. I bless you to decide who is going to be the god of your thoughts: the father-of-lies…or the Perfect Father. If you choose the Perfect Father, you have an obligation: to invite God’s Truth, moment-by-moment, into each accusatory, destructive thought that resides in your mind.  And God will give you singleness of heart and action.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Perfect Father, I choose You. Help me to understand that choosing is a moment-by-moment action. Remind me, each moment of each day, to surrender each thought to You, especially the ones that cause me anxiety, fear, and despair. Thank you for your everlasting covenant with me: that You will give me singleness of heart and action.

 

 

June 9  God’s Goodness and Love Will Follow You

 

“I WILL REJOICE IN DOING THEM GOOD AND WILL ASSUREDLY PLANT THEM IN THIS LAND WITH ALL MY HEART AND SOUL” (Jeremiah 32:41).

 

I often run into situations where circumstances become too hard for me: where too many things have gone wrong…where I have messed up too many times…where the darkness is too dark or the fear is too severe.  In times like these, I tend to think that I have come to a dead end.  My resources have dried up.  I am at wit’s end.

 

“I WILL NEVER STOP DOING GOOD TO THEM, AND I WILL INSPIRE THEM TO FEAR ME, SO THAT THEY WILL NEVER TURN AWAY FROM ME” (Jeremiah 32:40).

 

God wants you to know that a dead end to you is a starting point to Him.  He wants you to capture that His Goodness is waiting for you at the dead end, to make a way where there is no way.

 

“THE HUMBLE WILL SEE THEIR GOD AT WORK AND BE GLAD. LET ALL WHO SEEK GOD’S HELP BE ENCOURAGED” (Psalm 69:32).

 

The Lord Jesus wants you to know that a dead end is not an obstacle to Him, but an opportunity to show off His Power, His Love…and especially His Goodness!

 

“THAT I MAY KNOW HIM AND THE POWER OF HIS RESURRECTION…”

(Philippians 3:10).

 

May you come to know Him and the Power of His resurrection, whenever you feel defeated…whenever you feel trapped…whenever you have come to a dead end.

 

“SURELY GOODNESS AND LOVE WILL FOLLOW ME ALL THE DAYS OF MY LIFE”

(Psalm 23:6).

 

1. Are you at a dead end in your life: an end without an exit, or a position, situation, or course of action that seems to lead to nothing further?

 

 

 

1. I bless you to believe that God’s Goodness and Love will follow you wherever you go.  His Goodness, Love, and Power will be on standby whenever you get to the dead ends of your life, to make a way where there is no way…if you invite Him to do that for you!

 

 

 

PRAYER: Almighty God, I have toiled so hard. I have obeyed everything that You have asked me to do, but I have come to a dead end in my life, where there is no exit. Open the gates, Lord, and create a way—Your Way. I am watching and waiting in expectancy.

June 10  Take Time to Wrestle with God

 

“THEN JACOB WAS LEFT ALONE; AND A MAN WRESTLED WITH HIM UNTIL THE BREAKING OF DAY. NOW WHEN HE SAW THAT HE DID NOT PREVAIL AGAINST HIM, HE TOUCHED THE SOCKET OF HIS HIP; AND THE SOCKET OF JACOB’S HIP WAS OUT OF JOINT AS HE WRESTLED WITH HIM.  AND HE SAID, ‘LET ME GO, FOR THE DAY BREAKS.’ BUT HE SAID, ‘I WILL NOT LET YOU GO UNLESS YOU BLESS ME!’”

(Genesis 32:24-26).

 

I often wrestle with God and say to Him, “God, I will not let You go until You bless me: until Your Hope penetrates my hopelessness…until Your Truth permeates the accusatory voice in my mind …until Your Presence fills my loneliness.”  God has blessed me countless times because of my persistence.  I have noticed that the reason I need to wrestle with God is not that He is reluctant to meet my needs, but that the deceptionof the father-of-lies is so extensive in my life that it stands between God and me. God speaks to me, but I cannot hear Him, because of the negative, destructive beliefs of abandonment, shame, and condemnation in my heart.

 

“THE LORD LOOKS DOWN FROM HEAVEN ON THE SONS OF MEN TO SEE IF THERE ARE ANY WHO UNDERSTAND, ANY WHO SEEK GOD” (Psalm 14:2).

 

I bless you to realize that God is looking down from Heaven to see if anyone is seeking Him.  He is always checking to see if you need His Comfort…His Power…His Light.

 

I encourage you to wrestle with God about anything and everything that bothers you.  Take time to engage in deep fellowship with Him.  Stay with Him until the deception of the father-of-lies lifts and you can see, hear, and experience Him. God longs to reward you for seeking Him, and to set you free from your belief of feeling like a failure…to help you come to grips with your fear of death…to show you that you are special.

 

“HE REWARDS THOSE WHO EARNESTLY SEEK HIM” (Hebrews 11:6).

 

1. What has been bothering you lately? What is on your heart, weighing it down? What heavy burden are you carrying on your shoulders?

 

 

 

1. I bless you to seek God with all your heart. Know that the real burden is not the circumstances, but the negative, destructive beliefs in your own heart. Engage your feelings. They will lead you to the burden in your heart. Then, wrestle with God about this burden, until it lifts.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord God, I want to see You. I want to hear Your Voice. I want to experience Your Love, Your Hope, and Your Truth. Help me to look past the circumstances, as I connect with the real burden in my heart that manifests in negative, destructive beliefs from the father-of-lies. Help me, Lord. I will not let You go, until You bless me and release me from this burden.

June 11  Everything Has Its Time

 

“[ EVERYTHING HAS ITS TIME ] TO EVERYTHING THERE IS A SEASON, A TIME FOR EVERY PURPOSE UNDER HEAVEN” (Ecclesiastes 3:1).

 

Believe that God has a specific Purpose for you for this segment of time in your life.

 

Realize that to God time is very important.  God is very organized.  He is very time-specific.  He is very structured.  Therefore, God has allocated to everything…A SEASON.

 

I bless you to accept the season of time in which you are living, right now.  Embrace the Purpose God has in mind for THIS season.  Do the good works that God has chosen for you to do during this section of time. Do not try to exchange this season for a different season of time.  Do not run ahead of God into the season that lies ahead.  Do not stay behind in the season that is over.

 

Capture that God is with you in THIS season of time, whether it is a time to sow, or a time to reap…whether it is a time to gather, or a time to let go…whether it is a time to weep, or a time to laugh.  God’s Grace is sufficient for this season of time…EVEN IF YOU ARE WEAK.

 

“BUT HE SAID TO ME, ‘MY GRACE IS SUFFICIENT FOR YOU, FOR MY POWER IS MADE PERFECT IN WEAKNESS’” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

 

If it is time to be healed…may you succumb to it.  If it is time to suffer…may you accept it.  If it is time to keep silent….may you surrender to it.  If it is time to speak…may you agree to it.  If it is time to love…may you submit to it.

 

“HE HAS MADE EVERYTHING BEAUTIFUL IN ITS TIME” (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

 

1. It is important that you know what season you are in, right now, and God’s Purpose for this season. What beauty is He providing for this time? Are you making use of His Power when you are weak? How are you responding to His Purpose for this section of time?

 

 

 

1. I bless you to accept the Purpose God has for this season of your life. If you do not know His Purpose for this time interval, I encourage you to ask God to show it to you. Then, surrender this season of life, with its Purpose, to God, making use of His Power in your weakness.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Precious God, I praise You for the season of time that I am living in, right now. Thank you that You have made this period of time beautiful, too. Help me to accept your Purpose for this season, and to see the beauty You have provided for the now. Remind me, daily, to make use of Your Power during my weaknesses in this time.

June 12  Carry around in Your Body the Death of Jesus

 

“WE ALWAYS CARRY AROUND IN OUR BODY THE DEATH OF JESUS, SO THAT THE LIFE OF JESUS MAY ALSO BE REVEALED IN OUR BODY” (2 Corinthians 4:10).

 

I have discovered that to be alive—to carry around in my body the Love, the Truth, and the Hope of Jesus—there are negative, destructive beliefs in me from the father-of-lies that need to be given over to death, first.  Why? Because these beliefs keep sinful responses like jealousy, fear, and animosity alive in me. Sometimes it is the belief that God does not favor me…that God does not take care of me…that God does not love me.  Sometimes it is the belief that I am not good enough…that I do not count…that I am a disappointment. Whatever it is, before I can expect Life, I need to be willing to give these hindrances over to death, first.

 

“FOR WE WHO ARE ALIVE ARE ALWAYS BEING GIVEN OVER TO DEATH FOR JESUS’ SAKE, SO THAT HIS LIFE MAY BE REVEALED IN OUR MORTAL BODY”

(2 Corinthians 4:11).

 

I have found in my own life that death precedes life.  Jesus makes alive that which is dead.  He does not make alive something that still has a life of its own.  Something needs to be surrendered to Him to be destroyed for the sake of something new to be created in me.

 

“MOST ASSUREDLY, I SAY TO YOU, UNLESS A GRAIN OF WHEAT FALLS INTO THE GROUND AND DIES, IT REMAINS ALONE; BUT IF IT DIES, IT PRODUCES MUCH GRAIN” (John 12:24).

 

May we, who are alive, always give over to death every emotion, belief, or action that hinders and hurts…so that the LIFE OF JESUS may be revealed in our bodies.

 

“FOR TO ME, TO LIVE IS CHRIST AND TO DIE IS GAIN” (Philippians 1:21).

 

1. What negative, destructive beliefs are alive in you that cause you to have fear, jealousy, and animosity? What will it take for you to give these over to death, so that the Lord Jesus could destroy them and exchange them for His Life?

 

 

 

1. Unless you let the negative, destructive beliefs that are keeping the jealousy, fear, and animosity in you alive fall into the ground and die, you will remain alone…without the Love, Hope, and Truth of Christ.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, show me how to give my emotions, beliefs, and actions over to death, so that Your Life may be revealed in my body. Accomplish Your work of death in me, Lord, and establish Your resurrected Life in me.

June 13  Your Steps Are Directed by God

 

“A MAN’S STEPS ARE DIRECTED BY THE LORD.  HOW THEN CAN ANYONE UNDERSTAND HIS OWN WAY?” (Proverbs 20:24).

 

I ask God many questions every day, so I might understand the way I should go.  God does not necessarily tell me the whole plan for my life, but many of those questions He answers! I have filled many pages with the instructions I have received from God: with the directions for my life…with the guidance that shows me the way I should go…with the steps I am told to take. God told me the other day that everything I write belongs to Him.  Another time, He told me that I should keep my eyes on Him, and stop looking at results to guide my steps.

 

Some of His instructions are not easy to obey, because of my Self’s own will, but when I obey, I find my strength restored…like a well-watered garden.

 

“THE LORD WILL GUIDE YOU CONTINUALLY, GIVING YOU WATER WHEN YOU ARE DRY AND RESTORING YOUR STRENGTH.  YOU WILL BE LIKE A WELL-WATERED GARDEN, LIKE AN EVER-FLOWING SPRING” (Isaiah 58:11).

 

God might not tell you everything He is doing, but know that your Perfect Father DOES GUIDE YOU continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength when you are weak. But, you need to develop an ear to listen and hear His voice, so you can receive the cup and drink the water He is offering you.

 

“I WILL INSTRUCT YOU AND TEACH YOU IN THE WAY YOU SHOULD GO; I WILL GUIDE YOU WITH MY EYE” (Psalm 32:8).

 

1. Did you know that your steps are directed by the Perfect Father, and that He wants to instruct you and teach you in the way you should go? Do you have a close enough relationship with Him to hear His instructions?  Are you tuned in enough to receive the water He is offering you when you are dry?

 

 

 

1. Be comforted by the knowledge that God is perfect.  He does not make mistakes.  He finishes what He has started. He has all the steps of your journey under control, and He wants to show you what He is doing in your life.  Will you let Him? Will you listen? Will you obey?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Majesty, always remind me that Your ways are not my ways, and that I need continual instruction in the way I should go. Thank you, Perfect Father, that You guide me with Your eye that sees the past, the present, and the future, and that I will not get lost. May I choose to follow You, instead of choosing my own way. May I always obey, while You lead the way.

June 14  Jesus…God’s New Covering for You

 

“AND THE LORD GOD COMMANDED THE MAN, SAYING, ‘OF EVERY TREE OF THE GARDEN YOU MAY FREELY EAT; BUT OF THE TREE OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL YOU SHALL NOT EAT, FOR IN THE DAY THAT YOU EAT OF IT YOU SHALL SURELY DIE’” (Genesis 2:16-17).

 

Have you noticed that God’s relationship with man in the beginning of time was based on obedience? Man chose to obey the father-of-lies.

 

“SO WHEN THE WOMAN SAW THAT THE TREE WAS GOOD FOR FOOD, THAT IT WAS PLEASANT TO THE EYES, AND A TREE DESIRABLE TO MAKE ONE WISE, SHE TOOK OF ITS FRUIT AND ATE. SHE ALSO GAVE TO HER HUSBAND WITH HER, AND HE ATE. THEN THE EYES OF BOTH OF THEM WERE OPENED, AND THEY KNEW THAT THEY WERE NAKED” (Genesis 3:6-7).

 

Notice that man’s disobedience rendered him naked: void of God’s covering for him…void of God’s Righteousness that clothed him.  Man’s disobedience exposed and delivered him to evil.

 

“IT IS BECAUSE OF HIM THAT YOU ARE IN CHRIST JESUS, WHO HAS BECOME FOR US WISDOM FROM GOD—THAT IS, OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS, HOLINESS AND REDEMPTION” (1 Corinthians 1:30).

 

Rejoice! God has provided a new covering—Jesus Christ—who has now become our Righteousness from God. God has sent us a Redeemer to redeem us from the lies of the father-of-lies and restore the missing covering of Righteousness in our thoughts, actions, and purpose.

 

“WHOEVER HAS MY COMMANDS AND OBEYS THEM, HE IS THE ONE WHO LOVES ME. HE WHO LOVES ME WILL BE LOVED BY MY FATHER, AND I TOO WILL LOVE HIM AND SHOW MYSELF TO HIM” (John 14:21).

 

1. Whom do you obey in your thoughts, actions, and purpose: the Lord Jesus…or the father-of-lies?

 

 

 

1. Notice that God’s relationship with man is still based on obedience: to receive His new covering—Jesus Christ.  God made His new covering available to you, but you still have a choice: to receive redemption for your lies from the father-of-lies and accept God’s Righteousness…or to follow the father-of-lies in your thoughts, actions, and purpose. But if you would choose the Lord Jesus as your covering, your moment-by-moment obedience will turn into moment-by-moment divine revelation from Him: your despair will turn into divine Hope…your jealousy will turn into divine Love…your sin will turn into divine Righteousness.

 

June 15  Apart from Jesus You Can Do Nothing

 

“APART FROM ME YOU CAN DO NOTHING” (John 15:5).

 

I usually do not know that I have been trying to do something in my own strength, until after I have discovered that I could not carry it out.  Then I know it is time for me to stop dead in my tracks and look to someone else to take over.  It actually feels good to surrender to someone else’s Power to get the job done, on one condition: that Person is Jesus.

 

“Lord Jesus, I can’t;

You never said I could.

Lord Jesus, You can;

And always said You would!!”

(Major Ian Thomas)

 

If you have been trying to go forward, but you have been going backwards instead, you have probably been trying to accomplish things in your own strength.  I bless you to give up trying.  Throw in the towel.  Call it quits.  Apart from Jesus, you can do nothing.

 

“NOW TO HIM WHO IS ABLE TO DO EXCEEDINGLY ABUNDANTLY ABOVE ALL THAT WE ASK OR THINK, ACCORDING TO THE POWER THAT WORKS IN US, TO HIM BE GLORY IN THE CHURCH BY CHRIST JESUS TO ALL GENERATIONS, FOREVER AND EVER. AMEN” (Ephesians 3:20-21).

 

Know that He who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that you ask or think, wants do it in you, for you.  He will use your mind and your heart…but His Power!

 

1. Have you been trying lately to live a holy life?  Have you been trying to think all the right thoughts?  Have you been trying to live a life filled with hope, joy, and trust?  I have only one more question.  Have you been failing?

 

 

 

1. Confess to the Lord Jesus that you are not able to trust…not able to be joyful…not able to be holy.  Declare to your Savior that you are not able to keep the negative thoughts at bay…not able to overcome your jealousy…not able to forgive.  Admit to your Redeemer that you are not able to keep your emotions positive…not able to stop hating your enemy…not able to stop worrying. Then, ask Him to do it FOR you.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, come and do in me that which I cannot do myself. Be my God. Be my Savior. Be my Deliverer.

 

June 16  Forgetting the Past

 

“NO, DEAR BROTHERS AND SISTERS, I HAVE NOT ACHIEVED IT, BUT I FOCUS ON THIS ONE THING: FORGETTING THE PAST AND LOOKING FORWARD TO WHAT LIES AHEAD” (Philippians 3:13).

 

I had a wonderful childhood.  I grew up on the shores of the Indian Ocean, South Africa, with very good parents.  I had everything I needed.  Yet, regardless of my good circumstances, I noticed at some point that my heart had retained a lot of pain from my childhood.  As an adult, I often felt rejected, condemned, abandoned, and shamed.

 

Maybe you also had a very good childhood with favorable circumstances.  Maybe you had a horrible past.  Maybe you had a good childhood with only one horrible experience.  Maybe some people have told you to put the past behind you…that it was time to move on.  Maybe you would like to let go of your past, BUT YOUR PAST DOES NOT WANT TO LET GO OF YOU.

 

“HE WAS A MURDERER FROM THE BEGINNING. HE HAS ALWAYS HATED THE TRUTH, BECAUSE THERE IS NO TRUTH IN HIM. WHEN HE LIES, IT IS CONSISTENT WITH HIS CHARACTER; FOR HE IS A LIAR AND THE FATHER OF LIES” (John 8:44).

 

Grasp that it is not the PAST that is holding on to you, but the painful BELIEFS of the past.  The father-of-lies handed out painful lies whenever he found an opportunity, regardless whether the circumstances were good or bad.  The circumstances were ALWAYS favorable to him. It was not the circumstances during your childhood that had caused your pain, but the LIES that came from the father-of-lies during that time: “You are not good enough. You are not loved. You do not have a voice.”

 

Therefore, I bless you to know that if you want to forget the past and look forward to what lies ahead, you need to ask the Lord Jesus to exchange the lies of the past…for His Truth.

 

“TEACH ME YOUR WAYS, O LORD, THAT I MAY LIVE ACCORDING TO YOUR TRUTH!  GRANT ME PURITY OF HEART, SO THAT I MAY HONOR YOU” (Psalm 86:11).

 

1. Which negative, destructive beliefs of the past are holding on to you?

 

 

 

1. Embrace the pain in your heart. Expose these negative beliefs to the Lord Jesus. And let HIM exchange them for HIS TRUTH. Then, the past will lose its grip on you.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I invite you into my past…and into the negative, destructive BELIEFS of my past. As I embrace the pain in my heart and expose these beliefs to You, I ask for You to come and exchange these beliefs with Your Truth.

 

June 17  A Parent Could Reason like a Child

 

“WHEN I WAS A CHILD, I TALKED LIKE A CHILD, I THOUGHT LIKE A CHILD, I REASONED LIKE A CHILD. WHEN I BECAME A MAN, I PUT CHILDISH WAYS BEHIND ME” (1 Corinthians 13:11).

 

Know that sometimes a parent still thinks like a child…reasons like a child…feels like a child.  Sometimes it is hard for a parent to put childish ways behind him or her.

 

“HE WAS A MURDERER FROM THE BEGINNING. HE HAS ALWAYS HATED THE TRUTH, BECAUSE THERE IS NO TRUTH IN HIM. WHEN HE LIES, IT IS CONSISTENT WITH HIS CHARACTER; FOR HE IS A LIAR AND THE FATHER OF LIES” (John 8:44).

 

Understand that your parents were not exempt from the father-of-lies’ deception.  During a parent’s childhood, the father-of-lies attacked with the fierceness of a lion, instilling lies into their minds: “You don’t belong…You are a mistake…You are different and defective.”  Understand that the accuser’s goal was for your parents to become slaves to these lies, so that these negative, destructive beliefs would carry over into their adulthood…and then to you and your children.

 

Be released from the belief that everything that went wrong during your childhood was your fault: that you were the bad one…that you were responsible…that you were guilty.  Understand that when your parent condemned you, he could have been reacting from his own wrong interpretations of non-acceptance.  Accept that when your parent abandoned you, she could have been responding from her own rejected heart.  Acknowledge that when your parent overly controlled, she could have been retaliating from a place of fear

 

1. What are you holding against your parents: the shame…the abandonment…the condemnation?

 

 

 

1. I bless you to forgive your parents for their own pain, and to surrender them to the Perfect Father, so that He could call them to His Truth.  Then, they would start to think like an adult, reason like and adult, and talk like an adult. And you will receive healing for your own heart, as well.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, my Savior, help me to believe that it will not do me any good to keep a grudge against my parents for the way they treated me as a child. Help me to understand how the father-of-lies has invaded their lives with his lies, so Your Compassion may grow in my heart for them. Help me to see that it was not what they had said or done to me that broke my heart, but the accusatory beliefs of the father-of-lies that had been passed down to me. Lord, I bless my parents to put childish ways behind them through Your Truth, so I may grow up, too.

June 18  The Many Voices of Accusation

 

“IF I AM GUILTY—WOE TO ME!  EVEN IF I AM INNOCENT, I CANNOT LIFT MY HEAD, FOR I AM FULL OF SHAME AND DROWNED IN MY AFFLICTION” (Job 10:15).

 

Be reminded that when someone accuses you, you are not only being charged by a human, but also by the father-of-lies.  When someone accuses you of wrongdoing, on the outside, the father-of-lies uses the opportunity to bring his own charge against you, on the inside.  A person charges you with an offense: “You DID something bad.”  The father-of-lies charges you with a character flaw: “You ARE bad.”   Many divorces start this way and many friendships end this way, because the father-of-lies fills us with shame…even if we are innocent.

 

“NO WEAPON FORGED AGAINST YOU WILL PREVAIL, AND YOU WILL REFUTE EVERY TONGUE THAT ACCUSES YOU. THIS IS THE HERITAGE OF THE SERVANTS OF THE LORD, AND THIS IS THEIR VINDICATION FROM ME,’ DECLARES THE LORD”

(Isaiah 54:17).

 

Take into account that the father-of-lies does not have the power to incriminate you.  He does not have the power to make you into an evildoer by simply laying his charge on you.  He does not have the power to make you into a bad person by accusing you.  He can only suggest it, and you can believe it…or refute it. If you believe it…you have accepted his charge, even though you are innocent.

 

1. Are there times, after someone has accused you, that you know you are innocent, but your heart is still carrying the heavy charge of “being bad?” Would you like to be set free from that charge on your heart?

 

 

 

1. Do not accept the extra charge of incrimination the father-of-lies tries to lay on you when someone accuses you of wrongdoing.  Refute every tongue that accuses you, not by defending yourself against the charge, but by surrender that charge of “being bad” to the Lord Jesus.  Then, you will be vindicated by God’s Truth, for this is the heritage of the servants of the Lord.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, how encouraged I am that You came to save me from all the extra charges that the father-of-lies laid on my heart. Lord, when someone accuses me of doing something wrong, I can ask forgiveness, but the extra charge “I am bad” does not want to leave.

 

Therefore, I lay this charge of “being bad” at your feet. Show me where and when the father-of-lies laid this charge on my heart for the first time, so I may submit all the facts and accompanying emotions to You, as well. Redeem this charge, Lord, so I may be free from the burden of being labeled “a bad person.”

June 19  May Christ Make You Complete

 

Do you often run into situations where you feel controlled by someone: overpowered by a spouse…violated by a friend’s lack of respect?  I have!  God showed me there was a reason for this: there was a gap in my heart.  I was incomplete…deficient…unfinished, and that left my heart vacant to feel controlled whenever someone tried to exercise directing or restraining influence over me.

 

“CHRIST, WHO FILLS ALL THINGS EVERYWHERE WITH HIMSELF” (Ephesians 1:23).

 

Capture that Christ wants to fill you with Himself, so that you would become complete…whole…Christ-contained.  He wants to fill the gap that leaves you susceptible to feeling overpowered and domineered…even by manipulators.

 

“NOW MAY THE GOD OF PEACE WHO BROUGHT UP OUR LORD JESUS FROM THE DEAD, THAT GREAT SHEPHERD OF THE SHEEP, THROUGH THE BLOOD OF THE EVERLASTING COVENANT, MAKE YOU COMPLETE IN EVERY GOOD WORK TO DO HIS WILL, WORKING IN YOU WHAT IS WELL PLEASING IN HIS SIGHT, THROUGH JESUS CHRIST, TO WHOM BE GLORY FOREVER AND EVER” (Hebrews 13:20-21).

 

God showed me that if someone is trying to control me…that is the controller’s problem.  However, if I FEEL controlled and violated by the controller…that is MY problem.  God wants to make me complete through the blood of the everlasting covenant through Jesus Christ, so I may be entirely fulfilled—lacking nothing.

 

“BUT LET PATIENCE HAVE ITS PERFECT WORK, THAT YOU MAY BE PERFECT AND COMPLETE, LACKING NOTHING” (James 1:4).

 

1. Do you have a gap in your heart—a part of your heart that is not yet filled with Christ, making you susceptible of feeling controlled by someone else?

 

 

 

1. I bless you to bring your incompleteness to God, so that He can do His perfect work in you.  You will become complete—filled with Christ—so that the next time someone tries to control you, he will not encounter a gap…but Jesus Christ.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, fill me with Yourself…until I am perfect and complete, lacking nothing. Then, there will be no part of my heart that is incomplete and deficient, susceptible of feeling controlled by something or someone else. To You be Glory forever and ever!

 

 

June 20  Rule in the Fear of God

 

Are you a ruler—a person in authority or control?  Are you a parent…a teacher…an employer?  Are you a babysitter…a caregiver…an overseer?

 

“THE GOD OF ISRAEL SAID, THE ROCK OF ISRAEL SPOKE TO ME: ‘HE WHO RULES OVER MEN MUST BE JUST, RULING IN THE FEAR OF GOD’” (2 Samuel 23:3).

 

Whenever you rule over someone, God wants you to be just…fair…honorable.  When my children were small, I always explained to them why I required a certain behavior of them.  I always tried to be just to my children and treat them with respect and fairness.  Today, they have become honorable adults, who treat other people with respect and fairness.

 

“NO TEMPTATION HAS SEIZED YOU EXCEPT WHAT IS COMMON TO MAN. AND GOD IS FAITHFUL; HE WILL NOT LET YOU BE TEMPTED BEYOND WHAT YOU CAN BEAR. BUT WHEN YOU ARE TEMPTED, HE WILL ALSO PROVIDE A WAY OUT SO THAT YOU CAN STAND UP UNDER IT” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

 

Did you grow up with unfairness and disrespect, marked by injustice, partiality, or deception? How did you react to this injustice? How did your heart deal with the partiality? How did you handle the disrespect?

 

Be reminded that the anger and pain in your heart are not a result of what happened to you, but a result of what you came to believe about yourself under the unfair ruler: “I am shamed…I am abandoned…I am condemned.” Know that no temptation has seized you, except what is common to man. But God is faithful.

 

“IT IS A JOY FOR THE JUST TO DO JUSTICE, BUT DESTRUCTION WILL COME TO THE WORKERS OF INIQUITY” (Proverbs 21:15).

 

If you are a ruler…an overseer…a leader, I bless you to be just, ruling over men in the fear of God…not out of self-centeredness.  Do not be proud.  Do not instigate rebellion.  Do not generate animosity.

 

1. Have you rebelled against man and against God, because of the unfairness and disrespect with which you grew up?

 

 

 

1. Although you were tempted through unfairness and disrespect, God wants to show you His way out of the abandonment, shame, and condemnation that are still in your heart. What will it take for you to lay down your rebellion and allow God to show you HIS WAY OUT?

 

 

 

June 21  The Only Thing That Counts Is Faith

 

“MARK MY WORDS! I, PAUL, TELL YOU THAT IF YOU LET YOURSELVES BE CIRCUMCISED, CHRIST WILL BE OF NO VALUE TO YOU AT ALL. AGAIN I DECLARE TO EVERY MAN WHO LETS HIMSELF BE CIRCUMCISED THAT HE IS OBLIGATED TO OBEY THE WHOLE LAW. YOU WHO ARE TRYING TO BE JUSTIFIED BY LAW HAVE BEEN ALIENATED FROM CHRIST; YOU HAVE FALLEN AWAY FROM GRACE” (Galatians 5:2-4).

 

These are the revelations that have helped me to change.  First, I realized that the father-of-lies has formed in me an “OLD MAN”—a corrupted being shaped by beliefs of condemnation, shame, and abandonment: “I am bad. I do not count. I have been left.”  Second, I realized that these negative, destructive OLD MAN beliefs in my mind produced pain, shame, and distress in my heart.  Third, I realized what sin was: TO REACT TO THE OLD MAN beliefs by trying in vain to make myself good, acceptable, and worthy.

 

“BUT BY FAITH WE EAGERLY AWAIT THROUGH THE SPIRIT THE RIGHTEOUSNESS FOR WHICH WE HOPE. FOR IN CHRIST JESUS NEITHER CIRCUMCISION NOR UNCIRCUMCISION HAS ANY VALUE.  THE ONLY THING THAT COUNTS IS FAITH EXPRESSING ITSELF THROUGH LOVE” (Galatians 5:5-6).

 

I bless you to receive the GOOD NEWS: The Lord Jesus Christ knows about the painful beliefs of abandonment, shame, and condemnation that are causing you to sin: to look for your own righteousness, acceptability, and worth. He nailed the OLD MAN to the cross, to give you His Acceptability, Righteousness, and Worth. These you RECEIVE from HIM through FAITH.

 

“KNOWING THIS, THAT OUR OLD MAN IS CRUCIFIED WITH HIM” (Romans 6:6).

 

1. How have you been reacting to the painful OLD MAN beliefs the father-of-lies has been forming in you since childhood? What have you been trying to do in vain to create in you a good heart?  What have you been doing in your own strength to attempt to become acceptable and worthy?

 

 

 

1. Do you want to change or get “unstuck”? Then, let Him nail YOUR OLD MAN to the cross. Let Him circumcise your heart.  Let Him give you HIS Acceptability, Worth, and Righteousness, for nothing YOU do will get rid of your OLD MAN. The only thing that counts is…FAITH!

 

 

 

PRAYER: Call me to the place where I would surrender my own OLD MAN to You, O Lord. Only YOU are worthy, righteous, and acceptable. Let me give up seeking to make myself righteous, acceptable, and worthy in Your site. Instead, come and LIVE those attributes in my heart. Create in me a clean heart and a renewed mind, so I may serve You with Your own Righteousness, Worth, and Acceptance.

June 22  The Whole Gospel

 

“IF WE CONFESS OUR SINS, HE IS FAITHFUL AND JUST TO FORGIVE US OUR SINS AND TO CLEANSE US FROM ALL UNRIGHTEOUSNESS” (1 John 1:9).

 

Realize that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, but this is only the first part of what Jesus came to do for us.  There is MORE.

 

Capture that the Lord Jesus did not only come to forgive us our sins, but also to cleanse us…to decontaminate us…to purify us, so that we should stop sinning in the first place.

 

“CHRIST, WHO FILLS ALL THINGS EVERYWHERE WITH HIMSELF” (Ephesians 1:23).

 

“But how does the Lord Jesus purify us?” you might ask.  “Is it even possible?” The answer: It IS possible, because the Lord Jesus did not come to IMPROVE us, but to EXCHANGE us for HIMSELF. Jesus purifies us by filling us with Himself…and He knew no sin.

 

“DON’T YOU KNOW THAT WHEN YOU OFFER YOURSELVES TO SOMEONE TO OBEY HIM AS SLAVES, YOU ARE SLAVES TO THE ONE WHOM YOU OBEY—WHETHER YOU ARE SLAVES TO SIN, WHICH LEADS TO DEATH, OR TO OBEDIENCE, WHICH LEADS TO RIGHTEOUSNESS?” (Romans 6:16).

 

Know that each time you obey the Lord Jesus by surrendering a belief of hopelessness or powerlessness to Him, He exchanges it for Himself.  Each time you obey by yielding a belief of unworthiness or abandonment to Jesus, He exchanges it for Himself.  Each time you obey by offering a belief of condemnation or shame to Jesus, He exchanges it for Himself.  Each time you obey counts toward righteousness, because these underlying beliefs that cause unrighteousness are being exchanged for the Lord Jesus Himself, who knew no sin.

 

“FOR HE MADE HIM WHO KNEW NO SIN TO BE SIN FOR US, THAT WE MIGHT BECOME THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD IN HIM” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

 

1. From what do you need to be forgiven? And from which unrighteousness do you need to be cleansed?

 

 

 

1. What might the difference be in having your Self improved by God, versus having your Self exchanged for the Lord Jesus Himself?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, thank you that You came to exchange me for You. I lay my unrighteousness at the foot of Your cross, to be exchanged for Your Righteousness.

 

June 23  “Lord, What about Him?”

 

“WHEN PETER SAW HIM, HE ASKED, ‘LORD, WHAT ABOUT HIM?’  JESUS ANSWERED, ‘IF I WANT HIM TO REMAIN ALIVE UNTIL I RETURN, WHAT IS THAT TO YOU? YOU MUST FOLLOW ME’” (John 21:22).

 

I often get distracted by other people’s actions and character.  I get distracted by the person in the fancy clothes in the fancy car who seems to have it all together, and then I ask God, “Lord, what about him?  Why can’t I be like him?”  God would answer me, “What is that to you?  Don’t look around.  Keep your eyes on Me.  YOU must follow Me.”

 

I remember meeting these flawless parents who seemed to do everything perfectly.  Their marriage seemed flawless.  Their children seemed flawless, too.  I felt so much less of a good wife and a mother after I watched what they could do.  I asked God, “Lord, what about them?  I am not like them.”  And God answered, “What is that to you?  Your Righteousness comes from Me.  YOU must follow Me.”

 

I often look at ministers and other people involved in church ministry, and ask God, “What about them?”  God’s answer is always the same, “What are they to you? Some of those people work for Me, but do not even have a relationship with Me.  YOU must follow Me.”

 

“THEREFORE, MY BELOVED, AS YOU HAVE ALWAYS OBEYED, NOT AS IN MY PRESENCE ONLY, BUT NOW MUCH MORE IN MY ABSENCE, WORK OUT YOUR OWN SALVATION WITH FEAR AND TREMBLING” (Philippians 2:12).

 

Know that every person is responsible to work out His own salvation, regardless of what other people are doing.  Every person is responsible to bring his own beliefs of shame, abandonment, and condemnation to God, regardless of what other people do with their heartache…because each person’s Truth, Hope, and Righteousness come from God.

 

1. What emotions are exposed in your own heart when you compare yourself to the other person(s) in your life who seem(s) so perfect?

 

 

 

1. I bless you to bring those emotions and their underlying beliefs to God. Let Him tell you who YOU are and how He wants YOU to follow Him.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord God, bring me to the place where I would only follow YOU…where I would only keep my eyes on YOU…where I would only obey YOU.

 

June 24  Strongholds: the Hailstones in Your Life

 

“I HAVE SET BEFORE YOU LIFE AND DEATH, BLESSINGS AND CURSES. NOW CHOOSE LIFE, SO THAT YOU AND YOUR CHILDREN MAY LIVE AND THAT YOU MAY LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD, LISTEN TO HIS VOICE, AND HOLD FAST TO HIM. FOR THE LORD IS YOUR LIFE” (Deuteronomy 30:19-20).

 

Did you know that a big hard hailstone starts with a speck of dust?  Under the right circumstances, a layer of ice builds up around the dust speck.  Then, as the little ice pellet cycles through the thundercloud multiple times, more and more layers accumulate, until a huge stone the size of an egg forms that can do a lot of damage.

 

This is the way a stronghold is built in your life.  It would start innocently as a speck of a thought, “Why did he betray me?”  Then, as you dwell on these thoughts, layers of beliefs build, each one more potent than the one before, “Because I am not worthy…I am not loved…I am bad.”  Following that, these beliefs billow into the pernicious POWER of HOPELESSNESS. Thus, a stronghold is formed that will keep you captive for the rest of your life…unless God sets you free.

 

Grasp that if you want to get rid of the strongholds in your life, you need to allow God to reverse the action.  To break down the stronghold, God needs to peel it back one layer at a time…one belief at a time…one lie at a time.

 

“FOR I WILL SURELY DELIVER YOU, AND YOU SHALL NOT FALL BY THE SWORD; BUT YOUR LIFE SHALL BE AS A PRIZE TO YOU, BECAUSE YOU HAVE PUT YOUR TRUST IN ME,” SAYS THE LORD” (Jeremiah 39:18).

 

I bless you to choose Life!

1. Do you realize that a stronghold is a place in your mind dominated by a particular group of negative, destructive beliefs from the father-of-lies?

 

 

 

1. It is YOUR choice whether you choose LIFE…or the stronghold. Are you willing to love the Lord your God enough to surrender your stronghold to Him: to listen to His voice, moment-by-moment, as He breaks down the lies the father-of-lies has built around your thoughts?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord God, I choose Life: to surrender my stronghold to You, for I cannot get rid of it by myself. Show me the various beliefs from the father-of-lies that comprise this stronghold, so I may hold these up to You for deliverance. Work Your Obedience and Love in me, Lord Jesus, so I may hold fast to You and listen to Your Voice as You lead me out of my stronghold, one belief at a time.

June 25  Strength to the Powerless

 

I often hear people say, “My WIFE attacked me…My COWORKER attacked me…My FRIEND attacked me!”  The truth is it is the FATHER-OF-LIES who attacked you.  During someone’s attack, the father-of-lies will accuse you of being powerless…helpless…hopeless, and this is what is really hurting your heart. If someone verbally or emotionally attacks you, it is their problem—their sinful reaction to the pain in their own heart—but if you feel attacked by them, it is your obligation to surrender your own heart to God.

 

“HE GIVES POWER TO THE WEAK AND STRENGTH TO THE POWERLESS”

(Isaiah 40:29).

 

Do not be dismayed about the powerlessness you have been experiencing during verbal and emotional attacks.  Do not be distraught that you have been unable to help yourself feel safe.  Do not be distressed that you feel defenseless…unarmed…attackable.

 

“BUT HE SAID TO ME, ‘MY GRACE IS SUFFICIENT FOR YOU, FOR MY POWER IS MADE PERFECT IN WEAKNESS’” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

 

Instead, be encouraged that it is when you are weak that you might give God’s Power the opportunity to strengthen you.  Realize that God’s Power is the only Power that can stand up against the father-of-lies’ verbal and emotional attacks.

 

“AND IF THE SPIRIT OF HIM WHO RAISED JESUS FROM THE DEAD IS LIVING IN YOU, HE WHO RAISED CHRIST FROM THE DEAD WILL ALSO GIVE LIFE TO YOUR MORTAL BODIES THROUGH HIS SPIRIT, WHO LIVES IN YOU” (Romans 8:11).

 

May you soar as you realize that the same Power that raised Jesus from the dead has overcome the father-of-lies and wants to give you victory over your beliefs of powerlessness.

 

1. How do you deal with your emotions and their underlying beliefs from the father-of-lies when you feel attacked by someone?

 

 

 

1. What will it take for you to surrender your feelings and beliefs of powerlessness, helplessness, and hopelessness when you are under attack, to GOD’S POWER…and receive victory?

 

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord God, please remind me, when I am under verbal and emotional attack, that the attack that hurts the most is that from the father-of-lies. Always remind me not to focus on the PERSON who is doing the attacking, but to focus on my own heart…and on YOUR POWER. Remind me to give the beliefs of helplessness, powerlessness, and hopelessness to You…so I could receive YOUR POWER over the father-of-lies.

June 26  More than Conquerors

I live in Nova Scotia on Cape Breton Island with the ocean in my back yard.  This means beauty…awesomeness…excitement, but it also means sea breezes…gales… hurricanes, and because of this very reason, there is a story about an apple tree in my back yard that built its own defense.  Because of the exposure to the sea storms, the apple tree had a hard time bearing fruit, so it used most of its limbs to build a shield against the storms.  Those limbs did not bear fruit.  Then, it grew a few limbs on the wind-protected side of the tree.  Those limbs blossomed and bore much fruit. For years, we have watched the old apple tree only bear fruit on one side.

 

“HERE ON EARTH, YOU WILL HAVE MANY TRIALS AND SORROWS” (John 16:33).

 

Here on earth, you will have many trials and sorrows—storms of life that will come against you.  You will be tempted to build your own defense mechanisms: shelters to cover your heart against pain…shields to ward off the accusations from blamers…barricades to keep yourself safe from gossip.  You might be so busy building walls of defense that there is no energy left to bear fruit.

 

“BUT TAKE HEART, BECAUSE I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD” (John 16:33).

 

Take heart.  Jesus has overcome the world.  Do not be sidetracked when you discover a storm raging towards you. Do not hide. Do not run away. Do not blame. Instead, stay where you are, and expose the beliefs in your pain-filled heart to Him. Submit the trials and sorrows that the gossip and accusations cause, to Him. Accept Him as your defense, so you can bear fruit…bear fruit on all sides.

 

“AND I WILL REBUKE THE DEVOURER FOR YOUR SAKES, SO THAT HE WILL NOT DESTROY THE FRUIT OF YOUR GROUND, NOR SHALL THE VINE FAIL TO BEAR FRUIT FOR YOU IN THE FIELD,” SAYS THE LORD OF HOSTS” (Malachi 3:11).

 

1. What mechanisms of defense have you built against the storms in your life—techniques that have kept you from bearing fruit?

 

 

 

1. What will it take for you to make the Lord Jesus your defense, so that you do not have to use your own energy to create a defense mechanism against your enemies, but use it all to bear fruit? Know that the Lord God will rebuke the devourers for your sake, so that they will not destroy your fruit.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, become my defense…my protection against the storms…my safeguard against the father-of-lies. Rebuke the devourer for my sake, so that he would not destroy my fruit. Hallowed be Your blessed Name!

 

June 27  God, I Praise You

 

“PRAISE BE TO THE GOD AND FATHER OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, THE FATHER OF COMPASSION AND THE GOD OF ALL COMFORT, WHO COMFORTS US IN ALL OUR TROUBLES” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).

 

Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praise be to You for being the God of Compassion and the Lord of all Comfort.  You comfort me when I feel lonely.  When I go through the valley of the shadow of death, You assure me of Your Presence.  When I think everybody has left me, You are there.

 

“LET THEM PRAISE THE NAME OF THE LORD, FOR HE COMMANDED AND THEY WERE CREATED” (Psalm 148:5).

 

Perfect Father, I praise You, for when I am hopeless, You command…and Hope is created.  When I am powerless, You command…and Power is brought to life.  When I am in darkness, You command…and Light shines out of darkness.

 

“FOR AS THE EARTH BRINGS FORTH ITS BUD, AS THE GARDEN CAUSES THE THINGS THAT ARE SOWN IN IT TO SPRING FORTH, SO THE LORD GOD WILL CAUSE RIGHTEOUSNESS AND PRAISE TO SPRING FORTH BEFORE ALL THE NATIONS”

(Isaiah 61:11).

 

I praise You, Lord God, for You cause Your Righteousness to spring forth in me.  You fill me with Your Wisdom when I do not lean on my own understanding.  You give me Peace, all the time and in every way.

 

“THE LORD IS MY STRENGTH AND MY SHIELD; MY HEART TRUSTED IN HIM, AND I AM HELPED; THEREFORE MY HEART GREATLY REJOICES, AND WITH MY SONG I WILL PRAISE HIM” (Psalm 28:7).

 

God, my heart greatly rejoices, for You are my Strength when I am bent over in my own weakness.  My heart trusts in You…and I am helped.

 

1. For what can you give thanks to God, today? Do you know of a specific time in your life when He has comforted you? What about the time when you felt left? Did He show you His Presence? Can you praise Him for the Hope He gave you when you felt hopeless? What about the time when His Light showed you the way out of your darkness?

 

 

 

1. If you cannot praise God for anything He has personally done for you, you might not really know Him. Will you start surrendering your weaknesses to Him, so you could personally know Him?

 

 

 

June 28  The Presence of God

 

“YOU HAVE MADE KNOWN TO ME THE PATH OF LIFE;

YOU WILL FILL ME WITH JOY IN YOUR PRESENCE”

(Psalm 16:11).

I bless you to invite the Presence of God into the circumstances that have left you hopeless.  He is mighty to save.

I bless you to invite the Presence of God into your heart when it is trembling with sadness.  He will fill you with Joy in His Presence.

“THE LORD YOUR GOD IS WITH YOU,

HE IS MIGHTY TO SAVE.

HE WILL TAKE GREAT DELIGHT IN YOU,

HE WILL QUIET YOU WITH HIS LOVE,

HE WILL REJOICE OVER YOU WITH SINGING”

(Zephaniah 3:17).

I bless you to invite the Presence of God into your heart when it is sizzling with rejection and condemnation.  He will quiet you with His Love.

I bless you to invite the Presence of God into your heart when it has fallen into helpless despair.  He will make known to you the Path of Life.

I bless you to invite the Presence of God into your heart

when it is devastated with loneliness and abandonment.

He will take great delight in you, for the Lord your God is with you!

“JOY IS NOT THE ABSENCE OF TROUBLE,

BUT THE PRESENCE OF CHRIST”

(William Vander Haven).

1. What do you usually do with your heart when it feels abandoned, hopeless, or condemned? Are you willing to try something (or Someone) new?

 

 

 

1. Then, instead of running to your usual remedies, would you pause before using your usual remedy, and invite the Presence of God into that place of your heart? Do this for ten days…and you will notice a remarkable difference in your heart.

 

June 29  The Path of Life

 

“YOU HAVE MADE KNOWN TO ME THE PATH OF LIFE; YOU WILL FILL ME WITH JOY IN YOUR PRESENCE” (Psalm 16:11).

 

I often hear people say, “Pain is part of life…and needs to be accepted.”  But the Perfect Father has made known to me the Path of Life: “Pain is part of life…and needs to be exchanged!”

 

I have found in my life that my pain exists of the beliefs from the father-of-lies: that I am not needed here on earth…that I have no value…that I am not worthy to be celebrated.  If I react to my pain, I stumble and die.

 

“FOR YOU HAVE DELIVERED ME FROM DEATH AND MY FEET FROM STUMBLING, THAT I MAY WALK BEFORE GOD IN THE LIGHT OF LIFE” (Psalm 56:13).

 

But then I discovered that the Perfect Father sent the Light of the World to expose the negative, destructive beliefs of the father-of-lies, and to exchange them for the Truth.

 

This path of life is filled with the Light of Life. But we have an obligation: to walk before God in the Light of Life.

 

“WHEN JESUS SPOKE AGAIN TO THE PEOPLE, HE SAID, ‘I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. WHOEVER FOLLOWS ME WILL NEVER WALK IN DARKNESS, BUT WILL HAVE THE LIGHT OF LIFE’” (John 8:12).

 

I bless you to walk in the Light of God’s Presence.  Do not accept your pain of abandonment. Do not comply with your pain of shame. Do not submit to your pain of condemnation. Instead, follow the Light of the World into the Truth.  He is your Father’s answer to your hopelessness, helplessness, and powerlessness.  He will turn your heart’s belief of “I am unworthy to be loved” into “I have value.” He will exchange “I am doomed in darkness” for “I walk in the Light of Life.” He will fill you with Joy in His Presence.

 

1. What is YOUR opinion about pain? Should it be accepted? Should it be suppressed? Or could it be embraced, exposed, and exchanged?

 

 

 

1. What do you think might happen to your heart if you embraced your pain, exposed the underlying accusatory beliefs from the father-of-lies to God’s Light, and allowed God to exchange it for His Truth?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I realize that if I want to BE someone different, I need to DO something different. Otherwise, I will always end up in the very same places as before and be the very same person as before. Therefore, I am ready to try something new: to embrace, to expose, and to have You exchange the pain in me for something new.

June 30  God Will Repay

 

“WHEN I WAS A CHILD, I TALKED LIKE A CHILD, I THOUGHT LIKE A CHILD, I REASONED LIKE A CHILD. WHEN I BECAME A MAN, I PUT CHILDISH WAYS BEHIND ME” (1 Corinthians 13:11).

 

Understand that the goal of the father-of-lies during your childhood was to produce in you a distorted mind and a disturbed heart: to promote lies like “You don’t belong…You are a failure…You are fatally flawed.”  The father-of-lies knew that if you would accept these accusatory beliefs as a child, you would become a slave to them for the rest of your life.

 

“I WILL REPAY YOU FOR THE YEARS THE LOCUSTS HAVE EATEN” (Joel 2:25).

 

However, God has paid for the years the locusts have eaten: He sent His son, Jesus, to reverse the lies from the father-of-lies in your heart…if you let Him.  You were bought with a price to become a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, that you should proclaim Him who called you out of the dark beliefs of the father-of-lies, into His marvelous Light.

 

“BUT YOU ARE A CHOSEN PEOPLE, A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, GOD’S SPECIAL POSSESSION, THAT YOU MAY DECLARE THE PRAISES OF HIM WHO CALLED YOU OUT OF DARKNESS INTO HIS WONDERFUL LIGHT” (1 Peter 2:9).

 

I bless you to receive God’s blessings of Love, Truth, and Hope He is offering you in exchange for the hopelessness, fear, and deception of your childhood years.  Meet Him face to face.  Experience His Love.  Taste His Hope.  Feel His Power.  Encounter His Truth.  Discover His Comfort.  Absorb His Light, so you may be children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation who live according to the lies of the father-of-lies.

 

“SO THAT YOU MAY BECOME BLAMELESS AND PURE, ‘CHILDREN OF GOD WITHOUT FAULT IN A WARPED AND CROOKED GENERATION.’ THEN YOU WILL SHINE AMONG THEM LIKE STARS IN THE SKY” (Philippians 2:15).

 

1. The Perfect Father sent you a Redeemer. Will you let Him redeem the years the locusts have eaten?

 

 

 

1. Which years have the locusts eaten from your life? Are you willing to embrace the pain, expose the lies, and let your Savior exchange these years for a whole new life?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I acknowledge You as my Savior: the One who is able to redeem…the One who is able to win back the years that have been stolen from me…the One who is able to free me from blame, debt, and the consequences of sin of years gone by. I lay these years at Your feet, my Lord. Please repair, restore, and reform the years the locusts have eaten.

July

July 1  The Father Has Life in Himself

 

I sometimes experience negative, destructive beliefs that really hurt—that I am dispensable…that I am dishonorable…that I am disgraced—and no matter how much I struggle, these painful beliefs stays in my mind.  No amount of struggle, warfare, or arguing can get rid of them.  DEATH reigns in my mind.

 

“FOR AS THE FATHER HAS LIFE IN HIMSELF, SO HE HAS GRANTED THE SON TO HAVE LIFE IN HIMSELF” (John 5:26).

 

Celebrate that the Perfect Father has LIFE in Himself.  Therefore, He granted His son, Jesus, to have LIFE in Himself as well, and He sent Jesus to grant that LIFE to YOU.

 

“BUT THESE ARE WRITTEN THAT YOU MAY BELIEVE THAT JESUS IS THE CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD, AND THAT BY BELIEVING YOU MAY HAVE LIFE IN HIS NAME”

(John 20:31).

 

I bless you to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, who came to bring YOU LIFE in His Name. In His Name, you can experience Truth for the negative, destructive beliefs that you are dispensable, dishonorable, and disgraced.  In His Name, you can receive Hope for your hopelessness.  In His Name, you can encounter Light for your darkness.

 

“YET YOU REFUSE TO COME TO ME TO HAVE LIFE” (John 5:40).

 

But you have an obligation: to come to the Lord Jesus, so that He can give you the LIFE that was given Him by the Perfect Father. Enter into the LIFE He is offering you, instead of trying to take revenge.  Embrace His LIFE, instead of withdrawing from others in pain.  Ask Him to feed you with His LIFE, instead of trying to fix your heart by yourself. And YOU will have LIFE, too.

 

“I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE” (John 6:48).

 

1. In what ways and through which negative, destructive beliefs does DEATH reign in your heart?

 

 

 

1. Considering what you know about the Lord Jesus now, what are you going to do about this death that reigns in your heart?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Thank you Lord Jesus that You came from the Father to be my BREAD OF LIFE. How encouraging to know that through believing I can also have LIFE in Your name. Lord Jesus, I choose to come to You to receive this LIFE from You, the BREAD OF LIFE. I am tired of the death that has been reigning in me through the accusatory beliefs of the father-of-lies. Draw me into Your everlasting LIFE, so my heart may shine with Your Light and Your Love.

 

July 2  Love Your Neighbor as Yourself

 

“JESUS REPLIED: ‘LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.  THIS IS THE FIRST AND GREATEST COMMANDMENT.  AND THE SECOND IS LIKE IT: LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF’” (Matthew 22:37-39).

 

I have noticed that there is a set of lies living in my mind that carries a painful, negative message of failure, defilement, and unworthiness.  This compilation of deceit includes degrading beliefs of “You are bad.  You are not worthy to love and be loved.  You are useless.”  This cluster of deceit that lives in my mind—the OLD MAN—was shaped in my mind, one lie at a time, by the father-of-lies, since I was a child.

 

Furthermore, I have noticed that because of these negative, destructive beliefs “You are unimportant.  You are unacceptable.  You are unwanted,” I have a hard time loving myself.  And because I have a hard time loving myself, I have a hard time loving my neighbor, or my friends, or my co-workers.

 

“KNOWING THIS, THAT OUR OLD MAN IS CRUCIFIED WITH HIM, THAT THE BODY OF SIN MIGHT BE DESTROYED, THAT HENCEFORTH WE SHOULD NOT SERVE SIN” (Romans 6:6).

 

I bless you to take note that Jesus got rid of the set of negative, destructive OLD MAN beliefs, instilled in your mind by the father-of-lies. But you have an obligation: TO BELIEVE! You need to believe that YOUR OLD MAN beliefs were also crucified with the Lord Jesus. All you need to do is surrender YOUR OLD MAN beliefs to Him, in faith, and come to Him to receive your new set of beliefs: “You are loved.  You are accepted.  You are worthy.”

 

“AND THE SECOND IS LIKE IT: ‘LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF”

 

And because of your new set of positive, constructive beliefs, you will be able to love yourself.  And because you will love yourself, you will be able to love your neighbor as yourself.

 

1. Do you love yourself the way God does…or do you feel unworthy, unwanted, and unloved?

 

 

 

1. How have these accusatory beliefs about yourself influenced your relationships with your neighbor, your family, and your friends?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord God, bring me to the place where I will be rid of my personal beliefs of being unwanted, unloved, and unworthy. I know that these accusatory beliefs live in my OLD MAN. Therefore, I submit my OLD MAN to Your crucified work on the cross, Lord Jesus. Show me who I really am, so I can love myself and my family and my friends, as well.

July 3  Selfish Ambitions

 

“He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him” (John 8:44).

 

He was a murderer from the beginning, looking for opportunities to instill untruths in you—lies that would take you captive from the inside out.  One of the lies the enemy instilled in me is the belief that I am not needed.  Some people actually feel invisible.  Others feel overlooked.  It does not matter in what form this lie of unworthiness takes, the common denominator is “I am unnecessary…disposable…unwanted.”

 

“When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44).

 

His name is the father-of-lies.  When he lies, he speaks his native language.  That is the only language he knows…and he has been lying to YOU since childhood.

 

Realize that the lie of feeling “I am unnecessary…disposable…unwanted,” creates pain.  And the pain causes you to want to DO something, so you would BECOME someone who IS necessary…needed…wanted.

 

“FOR WHERE YOU HAVE ENVY AND SELFISH AMBITION, THERE YOU FIND DISORDER AND EVERY EVIL PRACTICE” (James 3:16).

 

This is exactly what the father-of-lies had planned.  He planted the lie that you are not needed, so that you would develop an ardent desire for fame, rank, and power.  The father-of-lies’ plan works really well, since you would become so busy harboring bitter envy and selfish ambition in your heart, that you would have no time to become quiet before God and find out what the Will of the Perfect Father is for your life.

 

1. Do you feel unnecessary…unneeded…unwanted? What have you done to compromise for these beliefs from the father-of-lies?

 

 

 

1. I bless you to bring your lie of feeling unwanted and unneeded to the Perfect Father, so that you would become free from harboring bitter envy and selfish ambition in your heart.  Then, the father-of-lies would lose his hold on you, and you would become God-oriented instead of goal-oriented.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord God, I want to become God-oriented, instead of goal-oriented. Therefore, I lay my perturbing perception of being unnecessary, at Your feet. Show me the Truth about myself, Lord, so I may stop having envy and selfish ambition, but instead, come into Your Purpose.

July 4  May the Work of God be Displayed in Your Life

“‘NEITHER THIS MAN NOR HIS PARENTS SINNED,’ SAID JESUS, ‘BUT THIS HAPPENED SO THAT THE WORK OF GOD MIGHT BE DISPLAYED IN HIS LIFE’” (John 9:3).

 

Know that the Father of the Heavenly Lights wants you to be healed from the damaging childhood incidents in your life that caused you to feel condemned, shamed, and abandoned, and fill you with His good and perfect gifts from above.

 

But you need to take your focus off the childhood incident that caused you to feel so guilty and condemned, even now, and turn your focus to the Lord Jesus.  It is not what you did, that matters, but what Jesus did for you, for the Perfect Father did not send His son into the world to condemn you, but to save you. Therefore, allow the saving work of God to be displayed in your life, for He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.

 

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3:16-17).

 

In the same way, take your focus off your parents or other persons of authority who caused you harm during your childhood.  It is not about what they did or did not do, that matters.  It is about whether you are willing to submit the abandonment, shame, and condemnation that resulted from what they did, to the Lord Jesus, so that the saving work of God might be displayed in your life.

 

“FOR HE SATISFIES THE THIRSTY AND FILLS THE HUNGRY WITH GOOD THINGS” (Psalm 107:9).

 

I bless you today to allow the saving work of God to be displayed in your life: His Light in your darkness…His Hope in your hopelessness…His Wisdom in your confusion…His Righteousness in your sinfulness…His Wholeness in your brokenness…His Power in your weakness…His Peace in your anxiety…His Comfort in your sorrow…His Grace in your guilt.

 

1. How might you apply “it is not what YOU did, that matters, but what JESUS did for you” to your life situations right now?

 

 

 

1. How might you apply “it is not what THEY did, that matters, but what JESUS did for you” to your life situations right now?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, how comforted I am that it is not about what I did or did not do, and it is not about what they did or did not do.  It is all about what YOU did for me. Thank you that You came to save me. That is what I need right now, Lord. I need to be saved from brokenness, weakness, and sinfulness. I receive You, my Lord. Come and save me.

July 5  Will You Lay Down Your Life for Me?

 

I was having a discussion with someone the other day about the antichrist.  We were wondering who the antichrist was, and from where he would come.  Was it a person?  Was it a force?  Was it already here or was it still to come?

 

Then I thought to myself, I don’t know who the antichrist really is, but I know that I have an antichrist already living inside of me.  He is very powerful.  He is very selfish.  And he is very anti Christ.  His name is Self.

 

“BUT EVERY SPIRIT THAT DOES NOT ACKNOWLEDGE JESUS IS NOT FROM GOD. THIS IS THE SPIRIT OF THE ANTICHRIST, WHICH YOU HAVE HEARD IS COMING AND EVEN NOW IS ALREADY IN THE WORLD” (1 John 4:3).

 

Self seems to be its own person who runs its own life in me.  Self has its own will, its own desires, its own ambitions, its own defense, its own esteem, and its own righteousness.  Self does not acknowledge or obey Jesus.  In fact, Self serves as an agent for the father-of-lies to rival Jesus Christ as Lord.

 

“THEN JESUS SAID TO HIS DISCIPLES, ‘IF ANYONE WOULD COME AFTER ME, HE MUST DENY HIMSELF AND TAKE UP HIS CROSS AND FOLLOW ME. FOR WHOEVER WANTS TO SAVE HIS LIFE WILL LOSE IT, BUT WHOEVER LOSES HIS LIFE FOR ME WILL FIND IT’” (Matthew 16:24-25).

 

I bless you to understand that the Lord Jesus is the Anti-Self.  He has His own Righteousness that He would like to establish in you.  He has His own Will for your life.  He has His own Defense against the father-of-lies.

 

“THEN JESUS ANSWERED, ‘WILL YOU REALLY LAY DOWN YOUR LIFE FOR ME’”

(John 13:38).

 

1. Who reigns in your life, in your thoughts, and in your goals of life: the Lord Jesus…or your Self?

 

 

 

1. The Lord Jesus would like you to deny Self and allow Him to take its place. Would you consider laying down Self for Jesus?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I invite You to reign in my heart, my thoughts, and the purpose of my life. Disable my Self-righteousness and plant YOUR Righteousness in me. Disqualify my Self-esteem and create YOUR Worthiness in my heart. Disengage my Self-defense in me, and bring about Your Truth, Hope, and Love in my being. Bring me to the place where I will deny my Self, so Your Self might be formed in me.

 

July 6  The Man Who Loves His Life Will Lose It.

 

Self—the sinful nature—seems to be its own person who runs its own life in us.  Self has its own will…its own esteem…and its own defense of criticism and condemnation.  The only one Self cares about is itself.  It always makes sure it comes out at the top, even if it has to step on others to accomplish this.

 

“THE ONE WHO SOWS TO PLEASE HIS SINFUL NATURE, FROM THAT NATURE WILL REAP DESTRUCTION; THE ONE WHO SOWS TO PLEASE THE SPIRIT, FROM THE SPIRIT WILL REAP ETERNAL LIFE” (Galatians 6:8).

 

Capture that you cannot please Self AND the Spirit.  Understand that if you allow Self to sow criticism, condemnation, and control, you will reap destruction, but if you sow to please the Spirit, from the Spirit you will reap Life.

 

“HOWEVER, I CONSIDER MY LIFE WORTH NOTHING TO ME, IF ONLY I MAY FINISH THE RACE AND COMPLETE THE TASK THE LORD JESUS HAS GIVEN ME” (Acts 20:24).

 

I bless you to consider letting go of your faultfinding, not holding onto it as something praiseworthy—a means to bring someone down, so Self can raise itself up.  May you become someone whose only focus is to finish the task the Lord Jesus has given you: someone who would transfer His Love…project His Power…deliver His Message.

 

“THE MAN WHO LOVES HIS LIFE WILL LOSE IT, WHILE THE MAN WHO HATES HIS LIFE IN THIS WORLD WILL KEEP IT FOR ETERNAL LIFE” (John 12:25).

 

I bless you to lose your defense mechanism of disapproval, disagreement, and disaccord, which serves to please Self.  Know that criticism is a poor way of dealing with someone’s heart.  Grasp that faultfinding does not portray the heart of your Perfect Father.  Notice that control steals your joy and the joy of your friends.

 

“THEN JESUS ANSWERED, ‘WILL YOU REALLY LAY DOWN YOUR LIFE FOR ME’”

 (John 13:38).

 

1. Whom do you live to please: Self…or the Spirit?

 

 

 

1. How have you laid down Self for the Lord Jesus?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, bring me to the place where I will stop trying to please the Self-nature, but will be determined to please the Spirit. Work Your Righteousness in me, so I would stop serving my Self- nature through criticizing, condemning, and controlling, but only be set to finish the task that You have given me to do.

 

July 7  Will You Lay Down Your Life of Mind-reading?

 

“THEN JESUS ANSWERED, ‘WILL YOU REALLY LAY DOWN YOUR LIFE FOR ME’”

 (John 13:38).

 

How do you deal with your pain?  Have you adopted the sinful defense mechanism of mind-reading? Do you always assume you know what others are thinking?  Do you read between the lines?  Are you always gathering information to prove your presupposed point?  Do you surmise, basing your ideas on scanty evidence?

 

“THE MAN WHO LOVES HIS LIFE WILL LOSE IT, WHILE THE MAN WHO HATES HIS LIFE IN THIS WORLD WILL KEEP IT FOR ETERNAL LIFE” (John 12:25).

 

Grasp that Satan, the master of deception, will take advantage of your mind-reading, each time, inserting more than is there.  Know that he will for certain use it as an opportunity to drag misinterpretations into your mind, causing you to see yourself and others in a false light.

 

If you sow to please your sinful nature through mind-reading, you will reap destruction, but if you sow to please the Spirit, from the Spirit you will reap Truth.

 

“THE ONE WHO SOWS TO PLEASE HIS SINFUL NATURE, FROM THAT NATURE WILL REAP DESTRUCTION; THE ONE WHO SOWS TO PLEASE THE SPIRIT, FROM THE SPIRIT WILL REAP ETERNAL LIFE” (Galatians 6:8).

 

I bless you to consider letting go of your mind-reading, not holding onto it as something precious. Don’t assume you know what others are thinking.  Don’t read between the lines.  Stop gathering information to prove your presupposed point.  Quit surmising.  Stop guessing. Instead, focus on finishing the race YOU have to run, and to complete the task the Lord Jesus has given YOU.

 

“HOWEVER, I CONSIDER MY LIFE WORTH NOTHING TO ME, IF ONLY I MAY FINISH THE RACE AND COMPLETE THE TASK THE LORD JESUS HAS GIVEN ME” (Acts 20:24).

 

1. Why do you mind-read? What good has ever come of it? On the other hand, how has your mind-reading hurt you and others?

 

 

 

1. What will it take for you to stop guessing what others are thinking of you, arriving at your conclusions based on your own understanding?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord God, I repent of my mind-reading. I am sorry, my Lord. I wish to change, but I know I can do nothing by myself. Work Your Grace and Mercy in my heart, so I would change and give up reading others’ minds. May my mind belong to You only and may everything it thinks only honor You.

July 8  Will You Lay Down Your Life of Forsaking the Task?

 

“THEN JESUS ANSWERED, ‘WILL YOU REALLY LAY DOWN YOUR LIFE FOR ME’”

 (John 13:38).

 

Do you deal with your pain through a defense mechanism of running away from a task, not following through, forsaking the job? Do you easily give up…abandon hope…throw in the towel?

 

“BECAUSE YOU ARE HIS SONS, GOD SENT THE SPIRIT OF HIS SON INTO OUR HEARTS, THE SPIRIT WHO CALLS OUT, ‘ABBA, FATHER’” (Galatians 4:6).

 

Know that self-control is a fruit of God’s Spirit, and that God made His Spirit available to live in our hearts.  Be comforted that you are not forsaken to deal with the task-at-hand on your own. His self-control can become a part of your life.

 

“THE ONE WHO SOWS TO PLEASE HIS SINFUL NATURE, FROM THAT NATURE WILL REAP DESTRUCTION; THE ONE WHO SOWS TO PLEASE THE SPIRIT, FROM THE SPIRIT WILL REAP ETERNAL LIFE” (Galatians 6:8).

 

I bless you to give up your task-forsaking behavior.  Instead, allow yourself to feel the pain that instigates you to give up.  Find the belief that the father-of-lies has planted into your mind—the thinking that is trying to persuade you to desert your task.  Then surrender this emotion and conclusion to the Lord Jesus for His free setting Truth.

 

“HOWEVER, I CONSIDER MY LIFE WORTH NOTHING TO ME, IF ONLY I MAY FINISH THE RACE AND COMPLETE THE TASK THE LORD JESUS HAS GIVEN ME” (Acts 20:24).

 

May you lay down your life-pattern of giving up…abandoning hope… throwing in the towel, so you might complete the task the Lord Jesus has given you. If you sow relinquishment of your task, you will reap destruction.  But if you sow to please the Spirit, from the Spirit you will reap self-control.

 

1. Why do you give up so easily? What do you believe would happen if you persevered, in order to finish the task the Lord Jesus has given you?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I want to finish the daily tasks that You have given me to do, but I can’t. Therefore, I invite Your Presence and Participation into my sinful defense pattern of giving up…abandoning Your Hope…leaving Your Love. Redeem this behavior, my Lord. Work Your Self-control in me, because I consider my life worth nothing to me, unless I could finish the personal race I need to run for You, every day.

 

 

 

 

 

July 9  Will You Lay Down Your Life of Over-indulgence?

 

“THEN JESUS ANSWERED, ‘WILL YOU REALLY LAY DOWN YOUR LIFE FOR ME’”

 (John 13:38).

 

Do you deal with your pain through the defense mechanism of over-indulgence: turning to something or someone other than Jesus to ease your pain?  Know for certain that if you sow overdo and overuse, you will reap DESTRUCTION, but if you sow to please the Spirit, from the Spirit you will reap LIFE.

 

“THE ONE WHO SOWS TO PLEASE HIS SINFUL NATURE, FROM THAT NATURE WILL REAP DESTRUCTION; THE ONE WHO SOWS TO PLEASE THE SPIRIT, FROM THE SPIRIT WILL REAP ETERNAL LIFE” (Galatians 6:8).

 

I bless you to give up seeking relief from your pain through over-indulgence of any kind.  Instead, allow yourself to pause before you indulge, and feel the pain that instigates you to overdo.  Identify the hurt.  Find the beliefs the father-of-lies has planted in your mind: the thoughts that persuade you to run to FOOD to eliminate the heartache, to run to DRINK to shut out the hurt, and to run to DRUGS to squash the anguish.  Then, surrender these interpretations to the Lord Jesus in exchange for His free-setting Truth.  This will enable you to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given you.

 

“HOWEVER, I CONSIDER MY LIFE WORTH NOTHING TO ME, IF ONLY I MAY FINISH THE RACE AND COMPLETE THE TASK THE LORD JESUS HAS GIVEN ME” (Acts 20:24).

 

1. Are you aware of the reason of your over-indulgence: negative, destructive beliefs instilled in your mind by the father-of-lies? Do you know what these beliefs are?

 

 

 

1. What will it take for you to stop turning to someone or something other than the Lord Jesus to still the pain in your heart?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, wash out my eyes to see the negative, destructive beliefs from the father-of-lies that are causing my over-indulgence. Work Your Patience in me, O Lord, that I might be able to pause before I overdo or overuse, and find the pain in my heart, instead. Lead me out of this place, my Savior, so I may live. Renew my mind with Your Truth, so I may finish the race and complete the task You have given me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

July 10  Will You Lay Down Your Life of Anger and Rage?

 

“THEN JESUS ANSWERED, ‘WILL YOU REALLY LAY DOWN YOUR LIFE FOR ME’”

 (John 13:38).

 

I bless you to lay down your life of dealing with your pain through a defense mechanism of anger and rage, because Jesus laid down His Life for you!

 

“GREATER LOVE HAS NO ONE THAN THIS, THAT HE LAY DOWN HIS LIFE FOR HIS FRIENDS.  ‘I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD. THE GOOD SHEPHERD LAYS DOWN HIS LIFE FOR THE SHEEP’” (John 10:11).

 

I bless you to lay down your life of becoming enraged at yourself and those around you.  Know that anger serves as a cover—an outer layer placed over a much deeper emotion. If you peel it off, you will discover unworthiness, condemnation, abandonment, and shame in your heart.

 

“THE ONE WHO SOWS TO PLEASE HIS SINFUL NATURE, FROM THAT NATURE WILL REAP DESTRUCTION; THE ONE WHO SOWS TO PLEASE THE SPIRIT, FROM THE SPIRIT WILL REAP ETERNAL LIFE” (Galatians 6:8).

 

I bless you to give up your exasperation.  Instead, dig a little deeper and find out what is concealed by your anger.  Decode your understanding.  Catch sight of what you really believe about yourself and others.  Then, offer these beliefs to God for His Truth…His deduction…His viewpoint.

 

“HOWEVER, I CONSIDER MY LIFE WORTH NOTHING TO ME, IF ONLY I MAY FINISH THE RACE AND COMPLETE THE TASK THE LORD JESUS HAS GIVEN ME” (Acts 20:24).

 

Let go of your bad temper.  Do not hold onto it as something praiseworthy.  If you sow to live in anger, you will reap destruction.  But if you sow to please the Spirit, from the Spirit you will reap Truth…Joy…Life.

 

Become the person the Lord Jesus wants you to be and finish the task He has given you.

 

1. Has your bad temper become your sinful defense pattern with which you handle life and its disappointments?

 

 

 

1. If you were to take the time to put your anger and rage aside, what would you find underneath? Did you know that you could surrender these underlying beliefs to the Lord Jesus…and ask Him to exchange these for His Wholeness and Holiness?

 

 

 

 

 

July 11  Lay Down Your Life of Depression

 

Understand that Self, who lives in us, is self-contained.  It depends on its own understanding as its only resource, which renders us susceptible to depression—a period spent in dejection and hopelessness—because of the negative, destructive beliefs that live in our own understanding.

 

“THEN JESUS ANSWERED, ‘WILL YOU REALLY LAY DOWN YOUR LIFE FOR ME’”

 (John 13:38).

 

I suffered from depression.  I would spend three days at a time in dejection and hopelessness.  My period of depression would be marked by sadness, inactivity, excessive sleeping, and suicidal thoughts.  I always thought depression was something that “happened” to me, until I discovered that depression always manifested after a negative, destructive thought had entered my mind and I had decided to accept that thought as the truth.

 

“HOW FOOLISH!  WHAT YOU SOW DOES NOT COME TO LIFE UNLESS IT DIES”

(1 Corinthians 15:36).

 

One day, the Lord Jesus asked me, “Will you lay down your understanding for Mine?  Will you lay down Self for Me? Will you let me exchange your negative, destructive beliefs that are causing your depression, for My Truth?”

 

“I KNOW THAT HIS COMMAND LEADS TO ETERNAL LIFE. SO WHATEVER I SAY IS JUST WHAT THE FATHER HAS TOLD ME TO SAY” (John 12:50).

 

I bless you to grasp that your depression will not lift, until you are willing to let the negative, destructive thoughts that are feeding it die.  When you become willing to stop having fellowship with the dark thoughts of the father-of-lies, but instead, surrender these thoughts to the Lord Jesus, He will give you Life.

 

1. What oppressing thoughts have been causing you to spend a period of time in dejection and hopelessness?

 

 

 

1. Did you know that you have a choice: to spend your time in dejection and hopelessness…or to submit these thoughts to the Lord Jesus and ask Him to turn them into Hope?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I am willing to lay down my life of depression…to come into Your Eternal Life. Show me the oppressing thoughts from the father-of-lies that are driving me to dejection and hopelessness, so I may submit them to You. Help me find the source of these thoughts—the first time in my life that they had entered into my mind, so that I may surrender these incidences to You. I want these accusatory thoughts to die, my Lord, so that I may live in Your Hope. Hallowed be Your Name!

July 12  Self and the Spirit

 

Have you ever traveled to Newfoundland, Canada?  I have.  You might know that one of the things that pose a real threat to drivers there are the moose.  Because they are so dark, moose are very hard to spot on the highway, especially at night.  Each year, there are over six hundred collisions between drivers and moose.  They would show up when you least expect them; therefore, you need to strain your eyes while you are driving…looking for moose.  Never could you relax for a single moment by taking your eyes off the road. 

 

“I KNOW THAT NOTHING GOOD LIVES IN ME, THAT IS, IN MY SINFUL NATURE.  FOR I HAVE THE DESIRE TO DO WHAT IS GOOD, BUT I CANNOT CARRY IT OUT. FOR WHAT I DO IS NOT THE GOOD I WANT TO DO; NO, THE EVIL I DO NOT WANT TO DO—THIS I KEEP ON DOING” (Romans 7:18-19).

 

The moose in Newfoundland remind me of Self.  Self is always around.  Self is a real threat to me.  I have had many collisions with Self the last year…many of which were fatal.  Never can I relax and forget about Self, because even when I have the desire to do good, Self would get in the way.  It would show up when I least expect it, full of anger, malice, and jealousy.  The evil I do not want to do, Self would keep on doing.

 

“THOSE WHO LIVE ACCORDING TO THE SINFUL NATURE HAVE THEIR MINDS SET ON WHAT THAT NATURE DESIRES; BUT THOSE WHO LIVE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE SPIRIT HAVE THEIR MINDS SET ON WHAT THE SPIRIT DESIRES. THE MIND OF SINFUL MAN IS DEATH, BUT THE MIND CONTROLLED BY THE SPIRIT IS LIFE AND PEACE; THE SINFUL MIND IS HOSTILE TO GOD. IT DOES NOT SUBMIT TO GOD’S LAW, NOR CAN IT DO SO. THOSE CONTROLLED BY THE SINFUL NATURE CANNOT PLEASE GOD” (Romans 8:5-8).

 

But I have good news!  I came to realize that Self is not the only one living in me.  There is another—THE SPIRIT OF GOD HIMSELF.  I have an obligation: to stop setting my mind on what Self desires, for those controlled by Self cannot please God.  Instead, I need to set my mind on what the Spirit of God in me desires…and receive Life and Peace.

 

1. What has your experience been with Self? How has Self influenced your heart, your purpose, and your actions?

 

 

 

1. Did you know that you can surrender Self to the Lord Jesus, moment-by-moment, so that you could live from His Spirit?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I am tired of Self controlling my heart, my purpose, and my actions. I want to be free from Self and its anxiety…its jealousy…its criticism.  I want to be free from Self, so I may live in Your Love, Your Hope, and Your Joy! Therefore, I surrender my Self to You, my Lord. Redeem me from my Self, so I may worship You in Spirit and in Truth.

July 13  Live a Life Worthy of the Calling Assigned You

 

“NEVERTHELESS, EACH ONE SHOULD RETAIN THE PLACE IN LIFE THAT THE LORD ASSIGNED TO HIM AND TO WHICH GOD HAS CALLED HIM.  THIS IS THE RULE I LAY DOWN IN ALL THE CHURCHES” (1 Corinthians 7:17).

 

The other day I was very discouraged.  I went for a walk on the beach and asked God to send me encouragement.  When I got home, a friend had sent me a story.

 

The story was about a man who received an assignment from God.  The Lord showed the man a large rock in front of the man’s house and asked him to push against the rock with all his might.  The man was obedient.  For many years, he toiled from sunset to sundown, pushing against the rock with all his might.  But then the man became discouraged.  He went to God and lamented, “I have labored long and hard for You, Lord, putting all my strength to do what You have asked.  Yet, after all this time, I have not even budged the rock by half a millimeter.  What is wrong?  Why am I failing?”

 

God responded compassionately, “My friend, I asked you to push against the rock with all your might.  Never once did I mention that I expected you to move it.  Your calling was only to be obedient.  But look at you, with all the toil and exertion, you have become patient and disciplined, which will produce a harvest of Righteousness and Peace in your life.  Because you have done what I have asked of you, I WILL NOW USE MY OWN STRENGTH TO MOVE THE ROCK!”

 

“AS A PRISONER FOR THE LORD, THEN, I URGE YOU TO LIVE A LIFE WORTHY OF THE CALLING YOU HAVE RECEIVED” (Ephesians 4:1).

 

God never expected you to move the rock.  He is only asking you to be obedient and do the work for which He had called you, whether that is to be a teacher, a mother, a father, an encourager, a giver, a leader, an author, or any specific task for which He has called you.

 

I bless you to know that through being obedient, you will become patient and disciplined, which will produce a harvest of God’s Righteousness and Peace in your life, so that you may share in His Holiness.  Be encouraged that if you are obedient to that which God has called you, GOD HIMSELF WILL MOVE YOUR ROCK.

 

1. What calling have you received from God? Are you living a life worthy of His calling, or has your focus been on moving the rock that has been in your way?

 

 

 

1. When you stand in front of God one day, what might be more important to Him: that you have lived a life worthy of the calling He had given you…or that you have moved the rock that had been in your way?

 

 

July 14  God Has Been with You during Your Childhood.

“WHEN I WAS A CHILD, I TALKED LIKE A CHILD, I THOUGHT LIKE A CHILD, I REASONED LIKE A CHILD. WHEN I BECAME A MAN, I PUT CHILDISH WAYS BEHIND ME” (1 Corinthians 13:11).

 

I bless you to understand that it is not what happened to you as a child that is causing you so much heart-ache, but your interpretations of these events—what you came to believe about yourself and others.

 

“AND SURELY I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS, TO THE VERY END OF THE AGE”

(Matthew 28:20).

 

Keep in mind that the Lord Jesus was present…on duty…alive when you were making your conclusions as a child.  He promised that He would never leave you. He saw it all.  He knew the circumstances; but most of all, he took notice of the misinterpretations that distorted your mind, and the lies that disturbed your heart.  He was there. Nothing in all creation is hidden from His sight.

 

Be encouraged that Jesus is still aware of the false beliefs you had adopted during your childhood.  He can read your heart like a book.  He understands the lies.  But most of all, He knows the Truth.

 

“NOTHING IN ALL CREATION IS HIDDEN FROM GOD’S SIGHT. EVERYTHING IS UNCOVERED AND LAID BARE BEFORE THE EYES OF HIM TO WHOM WE MUST GIVE ACCOUNT” (Hebrews 4:13).

 

The Lord Jesus wants you to know that He has become your Wisdom from God: your Redemption from the deception that has been living in your heart since childhood.

 

Furthermore, He bought you Righteousness for the unrighteousness that has CAUSED your wrong interpretations, and Holiness for the sin that WAS CAUSED by your false conclusions.

 

“IT IS BECAUSE OF HIM THAT YOU ARE IN CHRIST JESUS, WHO HAS BECOME FOR US WISDOM FROM GOD—THAT IS, OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS, HOLINESS AND REDEMPTION” (1 Corinthians 1:30).

 

1. What do you do with your daily interpretations? Do you believe and live by each one…or do you submit each one to the Lord Jesus, for Truth?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, remind me, daily, to remember that although the facts I face daily might be true, my interpretations of these facts might not be. Remind me, moment-by-moment, that my childhood mind had been deceived by the father-of-lies, but that You have become my Wisdom from God, so I may know the Truth…if I surrender my moment-by-moment interpretations to You.

 

 

July 15  Take Hold of Jesus Christ when You Are Young

 

“DON’T LET ANYONE LOOK DOWN ON YOU BECAUSE YOU ARE YOUNG, BUT SET AN EXAMPLE FOR THE BELIEVERS IN SPEECH, IN LIFE, IN LOVE, IN FAITH AND IN

PURITY” (1 Timothy 4:12).

 

Let no-one look down on you because you are young.  Set an example for believers in the way you speak.  May Jesus speak with your tongue.  Set an example in the way you live.  May Jesus live through your thoughts.  Set an example in the way you love.  May Jesus love through your heart.  Set an example in the way you believe.  May Jesus believe through your faith.  Set an example in your holiness.  May the Righteousness of Jesus shine through your actions and reactions.

 

“IN THIS WAY THEY WILL LAY UP TREASURE FOR THEMSELVES AS A FIRM FOUNDATION FOR THE COMING AGE, SO THAT THEY MAY TAKE HOLD OF THE LIFE THAT IS TRULY LIFE” (1 Timothy 6:19).

 

May you allow the Love and Life of Jesus to be displayed in your life when you are young, so you could lay a firm foundation for the rest of your life…and take hold of the life that is truly Life.

 

“AS A RESULT, HE DOES NOT LIVE THE REST OF HIS EARTHLY LIFE FOR EVIL HUMAN DESIRES, BUT RATHER FOR THE WILL OF GOD” (1 Peter 4:2).

 

I bless you to allow the Righteousness of Jesus to be revealed through you when you are young, so you will not live the rest of your earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the Will of God.

 

1. What needs to change in your earthly life, so that you would stop living your life for evil human desires…but for the Will of God?

 

 

 

1. Have you taken hold of the life that is truly Life? What is keeping you from doing this?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord God, I desire to take hold of the life that is truly Life. I am tired of living a life of defeat. I know that I cannot set an example for anyone in speech, in life, in love, in faith, or in purity, unless You live all these in me and through me. I cannot take hold of the life that is truly Life, unless I take hold of You, Lord Jesus, because You are the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Come and take hold of me, so I may take hold of You.

 

 

July 16  Deceitful Desires

 

“YOU WERE TAUGHT, WITH REGARD TO YOUR FORMER WAY OF LIFE, TO PUT OFF YOUR OLD SELF, WHICH IS BEING CORRUPTED BY ITS DECEITFUL DESIRES” (Ephesians 4:22).

 

We have been taught to put off our old Self—the Self that is being corrupted by its DECEITFUL DESIRES.  I thought to myself the other day, if the old Self is being corrupted by its DECEITFUL DESIRES, then these DECEITFUL DESIRES must be a real problem.  How do these DECEITFUL DESIRES corrupt Self?

 

I have noticed that my Self has many DECEITFUL DESIRES.  I have the desires to be loved…to be needed…to be important…to be successful…to be noticed.  Now, there is nothing wrong with these desires, except if they are DECEITFUL DESIRES.

 

How do I recognize a deceitful desire? Behind each deceitful desires stands a negative, destructive belief from the father-of-lies.  The belief I am invisible produces the deceitful desire: I need to be noticed.  This desire is meant to trick you into thinking that if you are noticed, you would finally find meaning for your life.  The negative, destructive belief I am a failure produces the deceitful desire: I need to prove that I am a success.  This desire is meant to deceive you into thinking that you would be OK, once others see you as being successful.  The belief I have no purpose produces the deceitful desire: I need to be needed.  This desire is meant to mislead you into believing that when you are needed, you have arrived to your purpose in life.

 

These deceitful desires cause bewilderment.  They obscure the Truth.  They lead us astray.  We become so busy trying to fulfill these deceitful desires that we do not get around doing the only thing that really matters—the Will of the Father.

 

“HE WHO HAS AN EAR, LET HIM HEAR WHAT THE SPIRIT SAYS TO THE CHURCHES.  TO HIM WHO OVERCOMES, I WILL GIVE THE RIGHT TO EAT FROM THE TREE OF LIFE, WHICH IS IN THE PARADISE OF GOD” (Revelation 2:7).

 

I bless you today to overcome the urge to yield to Self…to overcome the urge to surrender to your deceitful desires…to overcome the urge to follow the beliefs I am a failure…I have no purpose…I am invisible.  Instead, invite God’s Presence and Participation into these negative, destructive beliefs from the father-of-lies. Then, He will turn your deceitful desires into HIS DESIRES for your life.

 

1. Which of the following deceitful desires do you have: I need to be needed…I need to be noticed…I need to prove that I am a success?

 

 

 

1. What negative, destructive beliefs from the father-of-lies are keeping them alive, and what are you going to do about overcoming them?

 

 

 

July 17  Everyone Is Fighting the Same Battle

 

“BE SELF-CONTROLLED AND ALERT. YOUR ENEMY THE DEVIL PROWLS AROUND LIKE A ROARING LION LOOKING FOR SOMEONE TO DEVOUR. RESIST HIM, STANDING FIRM IN THE FAITH, BECAUSE YOU KNOW THAT YOUR BROTHERS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD ARE UNDERGOING THE SAME KIND OF SUFFERINGS”

(1 Peter 5:8-9).

 

I bless you today to take note that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of suffering you are.  Yes, everybody has the father-of-lies as an enemy…not only you.  He came to kill, steal, and destroy all…not only you.  He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour…not only you.

 

Deception is the practice of luring someone into believing something that is not true.  This is the father-of-lies’ weapon.  Grasp that your brothers throughout the world have been victimized by deception…not only you.

 

“THIS IS HOW WE KNOW WHAT LOVE IS: JESUS CHRIST LAID DOWN HIS LIFE FOR US.

AND WE OUGHT TO LAY DOWN OUR LIVES FOR OUR BROTHERS” (1 John 3:16).

 

May you have compassion when someone believes falsities…when someone shows poor judgment…when someone fails you.  May you understand that the father-of-lies stole their Truth, killed their Joy, and destroyed their Hope, too.

 

Therefore, be self-controlled and alert. RESIST being lured into believing something that is not true.  STAND FIRM in your Faith.  EMBRACE the Truth.  Then PASS THIS ON to your brothers, who also grapple with deception.

 

“BE KIND. REMEMBER EVERYONE YOU MEET IS FIGHTING A HARD BATTLE”

(T. H. Thompson).

 

1. Jesus laid down His life for YOU. Will you lay down your life for YOUR BROTHERS?

 

 

 

1. How will you treat those who fail you: with criticism, condemnation, and control…or by trying to understand how they have been deceived by the father-of-lies?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Thank you, Lord Jesus, that You laid down Your life for me, so I may have Life, Hope, and Truth. Bring me to the place where I would lay down my own life for those who need someone to understand them, instead of criticizing, condemning, and controlling them.

 

 

 

July 18  I Do Not Live Anymore

 

“I AM CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST: NEVERTHELESS I LIVE; YET NOT I, BUT CHRIST LIVETH IN ME: AND THE LIFE WHICH I NOW LIVE IN THE FLESH I LIVE BY THE FAITH OF THE SON OF GOD, WHO LOVED ME, AND GAVE HIMSELF FOR ME” (Galatians 2:20).

 

I bless you to know that there is a part of you that needs to be crucified with Christ.  There is a part of you that needs to be exchanged for the Lord Jesus Christ, because He gave Himself for you…to live His life inside you.

 

“KNOWING THIS, THAT OUR OLD MAN IS CRUCIFIED WITH HIM, THAT THE BODY OF SIN MIGHT BE DESTROYED, THAT HENCEFORTH WE SHOULD NOT SERVE SIN” (Romans 6:6).

 

Understand that there is an OLD MAN living his life inside you: an agglomeration of negative, destructive beliefs, instilled in your mind by the father-of-lies.  This collection of OLD MAN beliefs carries a painful negative message of failure, defilement, and unworthiness.

 

Realize that this set of OLD MAN beliefs functions as the body of sin in you.  This set of accusatory beliefs “You are bad…You do not count…You are a disgrace” causes painful emotions of unworthiness, hopelessness, and shame.  When you feel unworthy, you envy…you strife…you fail.  When you feel ashamed, you become angry…you become unkind…you become selfish.  When you feel hopeless, you argue…you give up…you become depressed.  Thus, the body of OLD MAN beliefs in you is the father-of-lies’ ally to control your mind, your emotions, and your behavior.

 

“AND BE RENEWED IN THE SPIRIT OF YOUR MIND; AND THAT YE PUT ON THE NEW MAN, WHICH AFTER GOD IS CREATED IN RIGHTEOUSNESS AND TRUE HOLINESS” (Ephesians 4:23-24).

 

The Lord Jesus Christ came to crucify the body of OLD MAN beliefs in you, so that the body of sin might be destroyed.  And in the OLD MAN’s place, He gave Himself to come and live in you, so that the life that you now live in the flesh, you live by the faith of the son of God, in Righteousness and true Holiness.

 

May you allow the body of the OLD MAN beliefs, who lives in you, to be crucified, so that the Lord Jesus Christ might live His life in you, instead.

 

1. How do you think your life will change if you lived your life by the Faith of the Lord Jesus, instead of living from the negative, destructive OLD MAN beliefs of the father-of-lies?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Thank you, Lord Jesus, that You nailed the OLD MAN to the cross, so that this body of sin might be destroyed and I might live my life by Your Faith.

 

 

July 19  He Has Saved Us Enough to be Holy

 

“WHO HAS SAVED US AND CALLED US TO A HOLY LIFE—NOT BECAUSE OF ANYTHING WE HAVE DONE BUT BECAUSE OF HIS OWN PURPOSE AND GRACE.  THIS GRACE WAS GIVEN US IN CHRIST JESUS BEFORE THE BEGINNING OF TIME”

(2 Timothy 1:9).

 

One of the things that turned my life inside-out was the realization that God did not just barely save me in a meager manner—He saved me enough to be holy.

 

Throughout my life, I had the idea that God saved me just enough to go to Heaven.  Holiness was something extra…and holiness was up to me.  I believed that if I wanted to be holy, I had to muster all my strength together to better my own Self.  I believed I could make my Self more attractive by smiling more often, slamming less doors, and entertaining more guests.

 

However, big was my surprise when God showed me, one day, that my holiness did not depend on me, but on His Purpose and Grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus. He assured me that this had always been part of the package of Salvation, even before the beginning of time.

 

“THIS IS HOW GOD SHOWED HIS LOVE AMONG US: HE SENT HIS ONE AND ONLY SON INTO THE WORLD THAT WE MIGHT LIVE THROUGH HIM” (1 John 4:9).

 

At first, I did not know what to do with this Grace.  Then slowly, I started understanding that God wanted me to invite His Grace into every situation, moment-by-moment, so that Self could stop acting through me, but be exchanged for Jesus. Instead of trying to smile when I was sad, I could invite His Grace into my sadness…to exchange for His Joy. Instead of slamming the doors when I was mad, I could invite His Grace into my anger, my animosity, and my jealousy…to exchange for His Love. Instead of entertaining more guests to feel loved, I could invite His Grace into the loneliness and abandonment that lived in my heart…to exchange for His Presence.

 

“I HAVE BEEN CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST AND I NO LONGER LIVE, BUT CHRIST LIVES IN ME” (Galatians 2:20).

 

1. How might your life change if you stopped striving to better your Self, but allowed God to save you enough to be holy through His Grace?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Thank you, Perfect Father, that You have decided to give us Your Grace before the beginning of time. Your gift of Grace has always been part of Your Purpose. Help me to see that You have saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of what we do—but because of Your Purpose and Grace in Your son, Jesus Christ.

 

 

July 20  Jesus Has Come to Give You Understanding

 

“BUT YOU HAVE PLANTED WICKEDNESS, YOU HAVE REAPED EVIL, YOU HAVE EATEN THE FRUIT OF DECEPTION. BECAUSE YOU HAVE DEPENDED ON YOUR OWN STRENGTH AND ON YOUR MANY WARRIORS, THE ROAR OF BATTLE WILL RISE AGAINST YOUR PEOPLE, SO THAT ALL YOUR FORTRESSES WILL BE DEVASTATED” (Hosea 10:13-14).

 

I have many warriors, because I have eaten the fruit of deception from the father-of-lies.  I have the warrior who fights to the bitter end, defending Self, so it could stay safe and alive in me.  This warrior will attack, blame, and drive away anybody who challenges the reign of Self.

 

I have another warrior who is very good at hiding Self in the dark dungeons of depression or behind a mask whenever its safety and esteem are challenged.

 

Another warrior is a bit of a coward.  It scoops Self up and runs to the safety of overindulgence whenever Self is provoked, not daring to come close to the battlefield.  It watches from a distance, thinking its own thoughts and leaning on its own understanding.

 

“BUY THE TRUTH AND DO NOT SELL IT; GET WISDOM, DISCIPLINE AND UNDERSTANDING” (Proverbs 23:23).

 

Grasp that if you depend on your own strength and Self’s many warriors, the roar of battle will rise against you, causing you to plant wickedness and reap evil.

 

I bless you to change your ways.  Dismiss your warriors.  Instead of hiding Self, get Wisdom for your fear. Instead of letting Self run away, get discipline and understanding for your shame. Instead of defending Self, buy the Truth and do not sell it. Remember, the son of God has come to give you understanding.

 

“WE KNOW ALSO THAT THE SON OF GOD HAS COME AND HAS GIVEN US UNDERSTANDING” (1 John 5:20).

 

1. How many warriors do you have that are defending your Self—the part of you that is filled with deception from the father-of-lies?

 

 

 

1. What will it take for you to dismiss your warriors and depend on God to give you understanding, instead?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, how many times have I depended on my many warriors to save me from feeling ashamed, condemned, and abandoned, instead of depending on You. Forgive me, my Lord, for making the wrong choices.  Create in me a new heart that would buy the Truth and not sell it—a heart that would get Wisdom, Discipline, and Understanding from You.

July 21  Self Likes to Boast

 

A friend came over the other night and said something that made me think twice before I acted.  He said, “We should learn to talk about ourselves without boasting.”

 

I have seen people advertise themselves in various ways.  They publicize their exotic trips to exotic countries.  They announce important achievements of spouses and children.  They broadcast their own endeavors and goals.  However, listen how Jesus chose His words while speaking to His Father:

 

“I KNEW THAT YOU ALWAYS HEAR ME, BUT I SAID THIS FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE PEOPLE STANDING HERE, THAT THEY MAY BELIEVE THAT YOU SENT ME”

(John 11:42).

 

After much pondering, I have decided that I have an answer to the question, “How do we talk about ourselves without boasting?”  My answer is, “When you talk about yourself, let it be to the benefit of other people.”  This is how Jesus talked!

 

“IN THIS SELF-CONFIDENT BOASTING I AM NOT TALKING AS THE LORD WOULD, BUT AS A FOOL” (2 Corinthians 11:17).

 

If you boast, you are not talking as the Lord would, but as a fool.  If you boast, you are not talking to benefit other people, but to raise your Self up.  Boasting keeps Self alive.  The question is why?  Why do you have to show off?  Do you feel invisible, ignored, or disregarded?  Do you feel that your heart is bad and you have to prove that it is good? Do you feel lesser in quality, quantity, or stature and you have to make up for your loss by boasting?

 

“CHRIST…FILLS ALL THINGS EVERYWHERE WITH HIMSELF” (Ephesians 1:23).

 

I bless you to allow Jesus to fill you with Himself.  Allow Him to exchange Self for Himself and heal your unworthiness, so you can talk about yourself without boasting.

 

“LET ANOTHER PRAISE YOU, AND NOT YOUR OWN MOUTH; SOMEONE ELSE, AND NOT YOUR OWN LIPS” (Proverbs 27:2).

 

May everything you say and display be to the benefit of others.

 

1. What are the accusatory beliefs in your heart from the father-of-lies that are causing you to boast? What are you trying to achieve? What are you trying to hide?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, fill me with Yourself: Your Love…Your Hope…Your Truth, so I would start talking as You would—to benefit the other people. Help me to find the accusatory beliefs in my heart from the father-of-lies that are causing me to run to boasting to feel worthy. Then, I will submit these beliefs to You, O Lord, so You could fill me with Your Worthiness.

 

 

July 22  Wives and Husbands

 

“WIVES, IN THE SAME WAY BE SUBMISSIVE TO YOUR HUSBANDS SO THAT, IF ANY OF THEM DO NOT BELIEVE THE WORD, THEY MAY BE WON OVER WITHOUT WORDS BY THE BEHAVIOR OF THEIR WIVES, WHEN THEY SEE THE PURITY AND REVERENCE OF YOUR LIVES” (1 Peter 3:1-2).

 

Many wives seem against submission to their husbands.  I am not.  It is a beautiful thing.  Wife, I bless you to realize that you could win your husband over without words by your submissive behavior toward him of purity, honor, and respect.

 

“YOUR BEAUTY SHOULD NOT COME FROM OUTWARD ADORNMENT, SUCH AS BRAIDED HAIR AND THE WEARING OF GOLD JEWELRY AND FINE CLOTHES. INSTEAD, IT SHOULD BE THAT OF YOUR INNER SELF, THE UNFADING BEAUTY OF A GENTLE AND QUIET SPIRIT, WHICH IS OF GREAT WORTH IN GOD’S SIGHT”

(1 Peter 3:3-4).

 

Wife, I bless you to put your hope in God, not in the circumstances…not in your husband…not in your Self.  This will make you beautiful.  Do what is right and do not give way to fear, because fear could turn you into a nagging, disrespectful person.  Know that a gentle, quiet spirit is of great worth in God’s sight and can be used to win someone over to Him.

 

“FOR THIS IS THE WAY THE HOLY WOMEN OF THE PAST WHO PUT THEIR HOPE IN GOD USED TO MAKE THEMSELVES BEAUTIFUL. THEY WERE SUBMISSIVE TO THEIR OWN HUSBANDS, LIKE SARAH, WHO OBEYED ABRAHAM AND CALLED HIM HER MASTER. YOU ARE HER DAUGHTERS IF YOU DO WHAT IS RIGHT AND DO NOT GIVE WAY TO FEAR” (1 Peter 3:5-6).

 

Husband, I bless you to be considerate as you live with your wife.  Acknowledge that she is the weaker partner—more capable of being physically or emotionally wounded.  Treat her with respect, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.  Know that your wife is an heir with you of the gracious Gift of Life in Christ Jesus.

 

“HUSBANDS, IN THE SAME WAY BE CONSIDERATE AS YOU LIVE WITH YOUR WIVES, AND TREAT THEM WITH RESPECT AS THE WEAKER PARTNER AND AS HEIRS WITH YOU OF THE GRACIOUS GIFT OF LIFE, SO THAT NOTHING WILL HINDER YOUR PRAYERS” (1 Peter 3:7).

 

1. Wife, from where do you receive your beauty and worth: from your Self…from your husband, other people, and other things…or from God’s Spirit inside you?

 

 

 

1. Husband, how do you treat your wife: with respect when she is kind…with respect when she is hurt…with respect when she treats you with disrespect?

July 23  A Tree and Its Fruit

 

“WATCH OUT FOR FALSE PROPHETS. THEY COME TO YOU IN SHEEP’S CLOTHING, BUT INWARDLY THEY ARE FEROCIOUS WOLVES. BY THEIR FRUIT YOU WILL RECOGNIZE THEM…A GOOD TREE CANNOT BEAR BAD FRUIT, AND A BAD TREE CANNOT BEAR GOOD FRUIT. EVERY TREE THAT DOES NOT BEAR GOOD FRUIT IS CUT DOWN AND THROWN INTO THE FIRE. THUS, BY THEIR FRUIT YOU WILL RECOGNIZE THEM” (Matthew 7:15-16, 18-20).

 

Look out for false prophets.  Know that they will not appear like ferocious wolves, but will come to you in sheep’s clothing.  They might tell you that they prophesy in the name of Jesus, drive out demons in the name of Jesus, and perform many miracles in the name of Jesus.  However, there is one thing that the false prophets will not be able to mimic—the Fruit of the Spirit.  Jesus came to crucify the Self with its sinful nature, so that we do not have to be a slave to sin anymore, but display the Fruit of the Spirit.

 

“BUT THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT IS LOVE, JOY, PEACE, PATIENCE, KINDNESS, GOODNESS, FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS AND SELF-CONTROL…THOSE WHO BELONG TO CHRIST JESUS HAVE CRUCIFIED THE SINFUL NATURE WITH ITS PASSIONS AND DESIRES” (Galatians 5:22-24).

 

Know that you will recognize someone by his fruit, since a good tree cannot bear bad fruit and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.  Therefore, watch out whom you trust.  Observe them, especially at home with their family, and watch for the Fruit of Love, Peace, Patience, and Self-control.

 

Likewise, watch out that you do not become a false prophet.  By your fruit you will also be recognized.

 

“MANY WILL SAY TO ME ON THAT DAY, ‘LORD, LORD, DID WE NOT PROPHESY IN YOUR NAME, AND IN YOUR NAME DRIVE OUT DEMONS AND PERFORM MANY MIRACLES?’ THEN I WILL TELL THEM PLAINLY, ‘I NEVER KNEW YOU. AWAY FROM ME, YOU EVILDOERS!’”(Matthew 7:22-23).

 

1. What fruit do you bear at home? How do you treat your wife, your husband, your children, your close friends? Surrender to the Lord Jesus, and He will fill you with the Fruit of His Spirit.

 

 

 

1. What fruit do those prophets that you trust so much bear at home? Are they real prophets, or are they wolves in sheep’s clothing? Surrender them to the Lord Jesus, and He will tell you the Truth.

 

 

 

 

July 24  The Eyes of the Lord Are Everywhere

 

The other day, I felt very sad.  I had to drop my daughter off at the airport.  After saying good-bye, I sat in my car for a long time, crying.  I missed my daughter, but that was not all of my sadness.  Suddenly, I felt very alone and afraid in a big world of darkness, deceit, and despair.

 

This was a moment in my life that I knew I had to surrender…not just the feeling of sadness, but also the underlying belief that I was not safe in this world where most people lived to follow and obey the father-of-lies.  And that is what I did: I looked at my daughter’s plane flying away above the building of the grocery store and invited the Lord Jesus into this place in my heart of sadness and fear.

 

Drying my tears, I walked into the grocery store and started shopping for vegetables.  Suddenly, a beautiful song started to play through the sound system of the store: “I am strong when I am on your shoulders.  You raise me up to more than I can be.”  Awe filled my heart, as I stood frozen in front of the celery.  God knew I was sad.  He knew I was afraid.  And He knew I was in the grocery store.  He was quieting me with His Love.  He was rejoicing over me with singing. He was lifting me up on His shoulders.

 

“THE EYES OF THE LORD ARE EVERYWHERE, KEEPING WATCH ON THE WICKED AND THE GOOD” (Proverbs 15:3).

 

I bless you to embrace that you are safe.  God is keeping watch over you.  His eyes are on you.  He knows how you feel.  He knows your beliefs.  And He knows where you are. He is mighty to save…if you invite Him into your sadness and fear.

 

“THE LORD YOUR GOD IS WITH YOU,
HE IS MIGHTY TO SAVE.
HE WILL TAKE GREAT DELIGHT IN YOU,
HE WILL QUIET YOU WITH HIS LOVE,
HE WILL REJOICE OVER YOU WITH SINGING”

(Zephaniah 3:17).

 

1. Considering that God’s eyes are on you today, what would you like to ask Him today? What emotion in your heart would you like Him to quiet with His Love? From what would you like Him to save you?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Most High, how encouraged I am that You are with me, right where I am. How comforting that You can see me right where I am and that You can see my heart. May I always remember that You are mighty to save. Therefore, I invite You into my feelings of sadness and beliefs of fear. Quiet me with Your Love. Lift me up on Your shoulders, and show me the way out of my dilemmas.

 

 

July 25  Self Loves to Be First

 

The other day, my daughter and I walked across the beach to visit friends of ours.  After our visit, our friend offered to take us back home by boat.  Looking forward to walk home on the beach during a brilliantly sunny day where waves would splash beauty onto our souls, my daughter and I declined the offer.  Then, not feeling slighted, neglected, or insulted, our friend offered to walk a part of the way back with us across the beach, instead.

 

“I WROTE TO THE CHURCH, BUT DIOTREPHES, WHO LOVES TO BE FIRST, WILL HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH US.  SO IF I COME, I WILL CALL ATTENTION TO WHAT HE IS DOING, GOSSIPING MALICIOUSLY ABOUT US. NOT SATISFIED WITH THAT, HE REFUSES TO WELCOME THE BROTHERS. HE ALSO STOPS THOSE WHO WANT TO DO SO AND PUTS THEM OUT OF THE CHURCH” (3 John 1:9-10).

 

I would like to warn you that Self, the sinful nature in us, LIKES TO BE FIRST.  When someone treats Self with disdain or indifference, like refusing an offered boat ride, Self could very easily feel slighted, neglected, and insulted.  This could result in sinful acts of having nothing to do with the offenders—gossiping maliciously, and refusing to be welcoming.

 

“BUT YOU HAVE PLANTED WICKEDNESS, YOU HAVE REAPED EVIL, YOU HAVE EATEN THE FRUIT OF DECEPTION” (Hosea 10:13).

 

Know that Self has eaten of the fruit of deception.  Self possesses no Truth.

 

“THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH. THE WORLD CANNOT ACCEPT HIM, BECAUSE IT NEITHER SEES HIM NOR KNOWS HIM. BUT YOU KNOW HIM, FOR HE LIVES WITH YOU AND WILL BE IN YOU” (John 14:17).

 

I bless you to understand that Self does not know the Truth, because it neither sees Him, nor knows Him. However, you could know the Truth by inviting the Spirit of Truth into your heart. Allow Him to replace the deceitful beliefs of Self, and the Truth will set you free from feeling slighted, neglected, and insulted when someone declines your offer or invitation.

 

1. To what lengths would your Self go in order to be first? Would it let you refuse to be welcoming and gossip maliciously about your offenders?

 

 

 

1. What would it take for you to lay Self down at the feet of the Lord Jesus and ask Him to set you free from the deception that causes your Self to want to be first?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, please help me. I cannot get rid of Self by myself. You need to do it for me. Therefore, I lay Self down at Your feet. Please nail it to Your cross and exchange it for Your Self.
July 26  Embrace…Expose…Exchange

 

“HE HIMSELF BORE OUR SINS IN HIS BODY ON THE TREE, SO THAT WE MIGHT DIE TO SINS AND LIVE FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS; BY HIS WOUNDS YOU HAVE BEEN HEALED. FOR YOU WERE LIKE SHEEP GOING ASTRAY, BUT NOW YOU HAVE RETURNED TO THE SHEPHERD AND OVERSEER OF YOUR SOULS” (1 Peter 2:24-25).

 

“He Himself bore our sins…so that we might die to sins…”  These two actions are closely connected.

 

Have you ever tried to get rid of a sinful action: the perpetual gossiping…the excessive boasting…the continual pouting?  I have!  It did not work, until I found out that I could not die to a sin without having Jesus bearing that sin.  Although Jesus already bore my sins on the cross a long time ago, I discovered that I had to invite Him to bear each underlying belief that causes a sinful action, if I wanted to get rid of it.

 

EMBRACE YOUR SINS:  First,I look closely at my sinful action, instead of hiding from it or blaming it on others.  Why am I gossiping?  Why am I boasting?  Why am I pouting?  Do I gossip because I feel unworthy?  Do I boast because I feel insignificant?  Do I pout because I feel forsaken?

 

EXPOSE YOUR SINS:  Next, I expose the sinful action and the underlying belief that cause it, to Jesus…to bear it for me.  Expose means to deprive from shelter and submit to a particular action or influence.

 

EXCHANGE YOUR SINS:  Then, I allow Jesus to bear my sin for me.  Exchanging is the act of giving or taking one thing in return for another.  By bearing my sin, Jesus does something with it.  With His Truth, He disarms the underlying belief that causes a sinful action or reaction.  This eradicates my sinful action.  I do not have to gossip anymore, because the belief “I am worthless” is destroyed. I do not have to boast anymore, because the belief “I am lesser” is eliminated. I do not have to pout anymore, because the belief “I am invisible” is wiped out.

 

“GOD MADE HIM WHO HAD NO SIN TO BE SIN FOR US, SO THAT IN HIM WE MIGHT BECOME THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

 

I bless you to embrace each individual sin with its underlying belief, and expose it to Jesus…so He can bear your sin and exchange it for His Truth, Hope, and Love.

 

1. How might your life change if you were to make EMBRACE, EXPOSE, and EXCHANGE part of your everyday beliefs and actions?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, how encouraged I am that You are the overseer of my soul. You did not only come to forgive me my sins, but to remove the underlying oppressing beliefs, so that I may be set free from sin. Bring me to the place where I will allow You to bear my sins, moment-by-moment, every day, so I might live for Righteousness.

 

July 27  I Died to Sin

 

“HE HIMSELF BORE OUR SINS IN HIS BODY ON THE TREE, SO THAT WE MIGHT DIE TO SINS AND LIVE FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS; BY HIS WOUNDS YOU HAVE BEEN HEALED. FOR YOU WERE LIKE SHEEP GOING ASTRAY, BUT NOW YOU HAVE RETURNED TO THE SHEPHERD AND OVERSEER OF YOUR SOULS” (1 Peter 2:24-25).

 

Take note that Jesus bore our sins in His body on the tree, not so that our sins might die…but so that WE might die to our sins.

 

“WHAT SHALL WE SAY, THEN? SHALL WE GO ON SINNING SO THAT GRACE MAY INCREASE? BY NO MEANS! WE DIED TO SIN; HOW CAN WE LIVE IN IT ANY LONGER?”

(Romans 6:1-2).

 

I have died to many sins.  I have died to depression, withdrawal, and pushing people away.  I have died to blaming, hating, and condemning others.  I have died to gossiping.  I have died to boasting.

 

“FOR WE KNOW THAT OUR OLD SELF WAS CRUCIFIED WITH HIM SO THAT THE BODY OF SIN MIGHT BE DONE AWAY WITH, THAT WE SHOULD NO LONGER BE SLAVES TO SIN” (Romans 6:6).

 

I have died to these sinful actions and reactions, because I have no need to live in them any longer.  You see, my old Self—that person who was filled with shame, condemnation, and abandonment by the father-of-lies—was crucified with Jesus. My condemnation was turned to acceptance, so that I do not have to hate anymore in order to take revenge.  My shame was turned to worthiness, so that I do not have to gossip and boast anymore in order to gain respect from others.  My abandonment was turned to belonging, so that I do not have to withdraw anymore in order to protect myself.  These sinful actions and reactions serve no purpose to me anymore, because the old Self, the father-of-lies’ ally, was done away with.  I am no longer a slave to it.

 

“IN THE SAME WAY, COUNT YOURSELVES DEAD TO SIN BUT ALIVE TO GOD IN CHRIST JESUS” (Romans 6:11).

 

In the same way, I bless you to die to your sinful actions and reactions.  Let your Self be crucified with Jesus. Then you, too will count yourself dead to sin, because sinful actions and reactions will serve no purpose to you anymore.

 

1. What purpose do your sinful actions and reactions serve?

 

 

 

1. Are you willing to die to these sinful defense patterns by submitting your abandonment, condemnation, and shame to the Lord Jesus to be done away with?

 

July 28  Recognize the Cause for Immaturity

 

“THEY CLAIM TO KNOW GOD, BUT BY THEIR ACTIONS THEY DENY HIM. THEY ARE DETESTABLE, DISOBEDIENT AND UNFIT FOR DOING ANYTHING GOOD” (Titus 1:16).

 

Do you claim to know God, but still behave in childish ways, denying God by your actions and reaction, being detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good?

 

Understand that an adult could still display the character of a child and be disrespectful and immature, if his childhood misinterpretations of abandonment, condemnation, and shame have not been healed and removed.

 

“WHEN I WAS A CHILD, I TALKED LIKE A CHILD, I THOUGHT LIKE A CHILD, I REASONED LIKE A CHILD. WHEN I BECAME A MAN, I PUT CHILDISH WAYS BEHIND ME” (1 Corinthians 13:11).

 

Recognize that when an adult acts like a six-year-old, he feels again like the little six-year-old he used to be when the misinterpretations of abandonment, condemnation, and shame had formed in his mind, the first time.  He becomes the little six-year-old again, experiencing the fear, loneliness, and guilt.

 

“AND I WILL ASK THE FATHER, AND HE WILL GIVE YOU ANOTHER COUNSELOR TO BE WITH YOU FOREVER— THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH. THE WORLD CANNOT ACCEPT HIM, BECAUSE IT NEITHER SEES HIM NOR KNOWS HIM.  BUT YOU KNOW HIM, FOR HE LIVES WITH YOU AND WILL BE IN YOU” (John 14:16-17).

 

I bless you to accept that your Everlasting Father has brought you a Solution for your immature behavior.  He sent you a Counselor—the Spirit of Truth.

 

When the little six-year-old in you relives the memory that is bringing him/her so much pain and confusion, prompt him/her to offer the memory, with its painful feelings and interpretations, to the Spirit of Truth.

 

When the Spirit of Truth sets you free from the negative, destructive interpretations of shame, condemnation, and abandonment that lived in that memory, you will experience relief. Then, you will put childish ways behind you and start acting your age.  You will know God and honor Him with your actions and reactions.  You will become fit for doing good.  You will become an adult.

 

1. What childhood misinterpretations of abandonment, shame, and condemnation still cause you to act and react like a six-year-old?

 

 

 

1. What are you going to do about your immaturity?

 

 

July 29  Expectations on Earth, as It Is in Heaven

 

“WE HAD TO LEARN OURSELVES AND,

FURTHERMORE, WE HAD TO TEACH THE DESPAIRING MEN,

THAT IT DID NOT REALLY MATTER WHAT WE EXPECTED FROM LIFE,

BUT RATHER WHAT LIFE EXPECTED FROM US.”

(Man’s Search for Meaning, Page 77)

Viktor E. Frankl

 

I have noticed that I have many expectations.  Before I get to my expected destination, I have already envisioned certain outcomes for certain occurrences.  I have formed presumptions.  I have made calculations.  I have it all planned out ahead of time—what I am going to say and what I am going to do.  And I expect my expectations to be fulfilled.

 

“TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR HEART

AND LEAN NOT ON YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING;

IN ALL YOUR WAYS ACKNOWLEDGE HIM,

AND HE WILL MAKE YOUR PATHS STRAIGHT”

(Proverbs 3:5-6).

 

I have discovered that to live according to my expectations is just another way to lean on my own understanding.  Sometimes it feels so much more convenient to envision an outcome for an occurrence than to trust in the Lord with all my heart.  It is so much easier to form my own presumptions and to make my own calculations than to acknowledge God in these ways.  It is so much faster to plan my own future than to allow God to make my paths straight.

 

“YOUR KINGDOM COME, YOUR WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN” (Matthew 6:10).

 

I have noticed that I need to surrender my expectations to my Perfect Father, moment-by-moment, every day.  God has already made the calculations.  He has already planned the outcome.  He has already made the plans in Heaven.  He is looking for someone who is willing to lay down his/her expectations…for His.  Whenever a picture forms in my head, I need to submit that picture to God and say, “Perfect Father, may Your Purpose be done in my life…not the purpose I am living through this picture in my head.”  Whenever a plan forms in my mind, I need to lay that plan at His feet and say, “Perfect Father, may You do with me as you have already planned in Heaven.  Only Your Expectations are valid.”

 

1. What picture do you have in your head about your future? What will it take for you to give up that picture and allow God to paint His own picture in your mind?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, instead of holding on to the pictures I have of You, me, and the future, I surrender these pictures that are living in my mind to You. Erase them, O Lord, and paint a new picture in my mind—a picture of the plans You have already made in Heaven.

 

July 30  A Hardened Heart Causes Ignorance

 

“SO I TELL YOU THIS, AND INSIST ON IT IN THE LORD, THAT YOU MUST NO LONGER LIVE AS THE GENTILES DO, IN THE FUTILITY OF THEIR THINKING. THEY ARE DARKENED IN THEIR UNDERSTANDING AND SEPARATED FROM THE LIFE OF GOD BECAUSE OF THE IGNORANCE THAT IS IN THEM DUE TO THE HARDENING OF THEIR HEARTS” (Ephesians 4:17-18).

 

Notice that a hardened heart causes a vicious circle.  A hardened heart causes ignorance…and ignorance causes a darkened understanding and a separation from the life of God…and a darkened understanding causes futile thinking…and futile thinking causes you to conform to evil desires.

 

“AS OBEDIENT CHILDREN, DO NOT CONFORM TO THE EVIL DESIRES YOU HAD WHEN YOU LIVED IN IGNORANCE” (1 Peter 1:14).

 

Grasp that a hardened heart causes ignorance: a lack of knowing God’s Truth…a lack of experiencing God’s Hope…a lack of perceiving God’s Love—SEPARATION FROM THE LIFE OF GOD. Once you are separated from God’s Truth, Hope, and Love, a lie from the father-of-lies seems like the truth. You are not able to separate right from wrong…evil from good…God from the father-of-lies. Your understanding is darkened. Now, you start thinking futile thoughts: thoughts that serve the father-of-lies…thoughts that kill, steal, and destroy…thoughts that disobey God. And if you conform to these futile thoughts…they lead to sin and death. And they lead to unforgiveness.

 

“IN THE PAST GOD OVERLOOKED SUCH IGNORANCE, BUT NOW HE COMMANDS ALL PEOPLE EVERYWHERE TO REPENT” (Acts 17:30).

 

NOTICE THAT GOD DOES NOT OVERLOOK IGNORANCE!

 

Repent from your hardened heart and living in the ignorance of your own understanding and the futility of your own thinking.

 

And you will no longer be separated from the Life of God.  The lies of the father-of-lies will turn into Truth.  Your hopelessness and despair will be exchanged for God’s Hope.  Your animosity will be exchanged for God’s Love. And you will LIVE!

 

1. What has hardened your heart? Why are you holding onto your hardened heart? What will it take for you to surrender the oppressing beliefs from the father-of-lies that are causing your hardened heart, to God, and be changed?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I repent of my hardened heart, because I want to stop conforming to the evil desires that this hardened heart of mine is causing.

 

 

July 31  The Calloused Heart of Bitterness

 

“THIS IS WHAT YOU ARE TO SAY TO JOSEPH: I ASK YOU TO FORGIVE YOUR BROTHERS THE SINS AND THE WRONGS THEY COMMITTED IN TREATING YOU SO BADLY. NOW PLEASE FORGIVE THE SINS OF THE SERVANTS OF THE GOD OF YOUR FATHER WHEN THEIR MESSAGE CAME TO HIM, JOSEPH WEPT” (Genesis 50:17).

 

I bless you to forgive your husband…your wife…your father…your mother…your brother…your sister the sins and the wrongs they have committed against you.  Stop holding them accountable for all the offenses they have committed against you.  Your bitterness will not heal you, nor will it help you.

 

Know that it is not your offender’s offenses that damaged your heart, but the negative, destructive beliefs you have adopted from the father-of-lies, “I am a failure…I am a disgrace…I am a victim.”  Know that your feelings of failure are not due to your offender’s wrongdoing, but due to the father-of-lies’ infringement on your heart.  Your disgrace is not due to your offender’s misdeeds, but due to the father-of-lies’ misdeeds of deception against your heart.  You have been victimized by the father-of-lies…attacked by God’s enemy…run down by the roaring lion.

 

“THERE WILL BE NO MERCY FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NOT SHOWN MERCY TO OTHERS. BUT IF YOU HAVE BEEN MERCIFUL, GOD WILL BE MERCIFUL WHEN HE JUDGES YOU” (James 2:13).

 

Understand that bitterness causes a calloused heart, so that you only see your offender as the one who caused you harm.  You do not see the negative, destructive beliefs in your heart from the father-of-lies, nor do you hear and see God’s Truth, Hope, and Love that could heal you.

 

“FOR THIS PEOPLE’S HEART HAS BECOME CALLOUSED; THEY HARDLY HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES. OTHERWISE THEY MIGHT SEE WITH THEIR EYES, HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEARTS AND TURN, AND I WOULD HEAL THEM” (Acts 28:27).

 

I bless you to show mercy to others.  Show compassion to the person who has done you harm, even though your heart demands punishment.  DO THIS SO THAT GOD MAY BE MERCIFUL TO YOU…AND HEAL YOUR BROKEN HEART.

 

1. How are you treating your offenders: with malice…or with mercy? What are you trying to achieve? Why?

 

 

 

1. What will it take for you to forgive those who have treated you so badly…and turn to God to heal your heart from the real offender—the father-of-lies?

 

August

August 1  God Controls the Outcome

 

“FOR I RECKON THAT THE SUFFERINGS OF THIS PRESENT TIME ARE NOT WORTHY TO BE COMPARED WITH THE GLORY WHICH SHALL BE REVEALED IN US”

 (Romans 8:18).

 

Are you suffering right now: made subject to disrespect…bullying…humiliation. Do not despair about the evil done against you. God wants to reveal HIS GLORY in your heart, but you need to submit your suffering heart to Him, instead of focusing on the circumstances.

 

Take courage from the life of Joseph, who was persecuted by his own jealous brothers, thrown into a dry water pit, and left to cope with his hopeless circumstances.  Even though they meant it for evil, it was God who revealed HIS GLORY in Joseph, raising him up to become a pillar for the mighty Pharaoh to lean on.  (Read about the life of Joseph in the Bible book of Genesis)

 

“FOR OUR PRESENT TROUBLES ARE SMALL AND WON’T LAST VERY LONG. YET THEY PRODUCE FOR US A GLORY THAT VASTLY OUTWEIGHS THEM AND WILL LAST FOREVER! SO WE DON’T LOOK AT THE TROUBLES WE CAN SEE NOW; RATHER, WE FIX OUR GAZE ON THINGS THAT CANNOT BE SEEN. FOR THE THINGS WE SEE NOW WILL SOON BE GONE, BUT THE THINGS WE CANNOT SEE WILL LAST FOREVER”

(2 Corinthians 4:17-18).

 

May you allow God to raise you up from the effects your past circumstances have had on you.  Be encouraged. Endure. Learn Patience. Overcome, for the suffering of this present time is preparing you for HIS GLORY that lasts into His eternal Kingdom, if you stop looking at the troubles you can see, but rather fix your gaze on the GLORY God wants to produce in you and through you.

 

Fix your gaze on God. Your troubles are big, but HIS GLORY vastly outweighs them, if you learn to endure the suffering and overcome the accusatory beliefs, placed in your heart by the father-of-lies. Then, God will write His Name on you and make you a pillar—an integral part of His Kingdom.

 

“HIM THAT OVERCOMETH WILL I MAKE A PILLAR IN THE TEMPLE OF MY GOD, AND HE SHALL GO NO MORE OUT: AND I WILL WRITE UPON HIM THE NAME OF MY GOD, AND THE NAME OF THE CITY OF MY GOD, WHICH IS NEW JERUSALEM, WHICH COMETH DOWN OUT OF HEAVEN FROM MY GOD: AND I WILL WRITE UPON HIM MY NEW NAME” (Revelation 3:12).

 

1. During your present suffering, are you keeping your eyes on the circumstances…or on God? You will see God’s Glory as soon as you take your eyes off the circumstances…and look toward God.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord God, help me to see the Glory. Help me to take my eyes off the circumstances and look to You…and see my new name. Let me fix my gaze on things that cannot be seen…but that You can see. Hallowed be Thy Name!
August 2  Do Not Slander Anyone

 

“THEY MUST NOT SLANDER ANYONE AND MUST AVOID QUARRELING.  INSTEAD, THEY SHOULD BE GENTLE AND SHOW TRUE HUMILITY TO EVERYONE” (Titus 3:2).

 

There was a time in my life when I used to slander others. One day, God asked me, “Do you know what you are doing? You are delighting in another’s evil. But I want you to rejoice with the Truth!” Then, I realized what slandering was—to delight in another’s evil. But why?

 

Know that if you fall into the sinful behavior pattern of always wanting to bring someone down with slandering, you might be trying to raise your Self up.  This is the conduct of a child-mind: thinking like a child…reasoning like a child...talking like a child.  Understand that the child-mind slanders because of its own childhood emotions of hopelessness, helplessness, and powerlessness that are still in effect.  Accept that the child-mind belittles because of its own childhood beliefs of “I am not loved…I am not worthy…I am not important.”

 

“WHEN I WAS A CHILD, I TALKED LIKE A CHILD, I THOUGHT LIKE A CHILD, I REASONED LIKE A CHILD. WHEN I BECAME A MAN, I PUT CHILDISH WAYS BEHIND ME” (1 Corinthians 13:11).

 

I bless you to surrender your childhood mind with its beliefs of hopelessness, helplessness, and powerlessness to God.  Then you will mature into an adult, void of childhood lies, who does not have to bring someone down in order to raise your Self up.  May you come to believe that you are loved by God—that you are worthy, special, and unique.  Then, you will put childish beliefs behind you, becoming gentle and showing true humility to everyone.

 

“WITH THE TONGUE WE PRAISE OUR LORD AND FATHER, AND WITH IT WE CURSE MEN, WHO HAVE BEEN MADE IN GOD’S LIKENESS” (James 3:9).

 

1. Why do you slander? Is it simply to rejoice in someone else’s evil, because it thrills you? Or is it to push someone down in order to raise your Self up? Or maybe it is to justify your Self, so that you would not feel so guilty?

 

 

 

1. How might your life change if you would give up your defense pattern of slandering, and surrender the underlying negative beliefs to God?

 

 

 

PRAYER: I desire to do Your Will, O Lord God. Create in me a pure heart and a renewed mind, filled with Your Truth. Wash out my eyes, so I would see what the sinful pattern of slandering is doing to me, You, and Your people. Redeem my tongue, my Lord, that I may praise You, and serve those who have been made in Your likeness.

 

 

August 3  I’m OK-You’re OK

 

I enjoyed the book “I’m OK-You’re OK” by Thomas Harris.  In this book, Harris explains that we take on certain life positions of OK-ness while we are very young.  These life positions then stay with us for the rest of our lives.  Some people take on the life position “I’m OK-You’re not OK”.  Others take on the life position “I’m not OK-You’re OK”. One of the most damaging life positions to take on is “I’m not OK-You’re not OK”.  Harris explains that when people take on this position of not-OK-ness, they hurt so much but are not likely to change, because on top of not liking themselves, they do not like anybody else enough to trust them.

 

“WHEN HE LIES, HE SPEAKS HIS NATIVE LANGUAGE, FOR HE IS A LIAR AND THE FATHER OF LIES” (John 8:44).

 

I have concluded that it is the father-of-lies’ goal to get us to adopt the life position “I’m not OK-You’re not OK”.  He does this by lying to us about ourselves…and lying to us about God.  He tells us that we are not OK and that God is not OK, either—that God cannot be trusted.  This way, he sets us up with a life position that keeps us trapped: we do not feel OK about ourselves, but we have nowhere to turn, because “God is not OK and cannot be trusted”.  But then the father-of-lies offers us an escape route: sinful habits and patterns of hiding our not-OK selves from our not-OK God, running from our not-OK selves and our not-OK God, and blaming our not-OK God for our not-OK selves.

 

“MAY THEY BE BROUGHT TO COMPLETE UNITY TO LET THE WORLD KNOW THAT YOU SENT ME AND HAVE LOVED THEM EVEN AS YOU HAVE LOVED ME” (John 17:23).

 

I bless you to know that all the things the father-of-lies told you about God…is not true.  God is the Perfect Father and He wants you to know that He loves you as much as He loves His son, Jesus.  You can trust Him!

 

By the way, I had taken on the life position “I’m not OK-You’re not OK” as a child, as well.  Nobody could help me get rid of it, because I did not trust anybody.  However, after I have come to know God as the Perfect Father who can be trusted, I have allowed Him to help me adopt the position “I’m OK-You’re OK” through His son, Jesus Christ.

 

1. Which life position have you taken on? What are the underlying negative, destructive beliefs from the father-of-lies about YOU…and about GOD?

 

 

 

1. Would you like to acquire the position I’m OK-You’re OK? Then, you need to invite God’s Presence and Participation into the beliefs that are supporting your not-OK life position.

 

 

 

 

August 4  Ye Must Be Born Again

 

“KNOWING THIS, THAT OUR OLD MAN IS CRUCIFIED WITH HIM, THAT THE BODY OF SIN MIGHT BE DESTROYED, THAT HENCEFORTH WE SHOULD NOT SERVE SIN” (Romans 6:6).

 

I bless you to realize that there is an OLD MAN living his life inside you: an agglomeration of negative, destructive beliefs, instilled in your mind by the father-of-lies.  This collection of OLD MAN beliefs carries corruptible seed of unrighteousness, unworthiness, and non-acceptance: “You are dirty.  You are doomed.  You are deserted.”

 

“MARVEL NOT THAT I SAID UNTO THEE, YE MUST BE BORN AGAIN” (John 3:7).

 

Rejoice! The Lord Jesus came to nail your OLD MAN, with its corruptible seed, to the cross, so that you might be born again as a NEW MAN of incorruptible seed, which lives and abides forever.

 

“BEING BORN AGAIN, NOT OF CORRUPTIBLE SEED, BUT OF INCORRUPTIBLE, BY THE WORD OF GOD, WHICH LIVETH AND ABIDETH FOR EVER” (1 Peter 1:23).

 

Are you ready to receive the NEW MAN? Then, you need to embrace and expose the negative, destructive OLD MAN beliefs, and surrender them to God.

 

Envision a life-size drawing of your OLD MAN against your kitchen wall, filled in with black sticky notes. On each sticky note is a description of an OLD MAN belief. Thus, the whole OLD MAN is labeled in terms of unworthiness, unrighteousness, and non-acceptance.

 

I bless you to get to know your OLD MAN character. Observe what is written on its black labels. Then, peel each label off and hand it to the Lord Jesus Christ. He will destroy the old black labels of unworthiness, unrighteousness, and non-acceptance, and write new white labels of Righteousness, Acceptance, and Worth in their place. May you be born again of incorruptible seed that lasts forever.

 

“AND BE RENEWED IN THE SPIRIT OF YOUR MIND; AND THAT YE PUT ON THE NEW MAN, WHICH AFTER GOD IS CREATED IN RIGHTEOUSNESS AND TRUE HOLINESS” (Ephesians 4:23-24).

 

1. Do you know your OLD MAN character? If you could draw your OLD MAN on your wall and fill it in with sticky note labels, what would you write on the labels: “I am unworthy…I am unacceptable…I am unloved”? What else?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I bring my OLD MAN to You with all its labels of corruptible seed of being unworthy, unloved, and unaccepted. Replace each label of corruptible seed with Your incorruptible seed, O Lord, which lives and abides forever.

 

August 5  Hide in the Shadow of the Almighty

 

1. Of what are you afraid?  What fills you with fear or apprehension?  Why are you so restless that you are unable to sleep at night?  Are you afraid of the dark?  Are you afraid of the pestilence that stalks in the darkness?  Are you afraid of the arrow that flies by day?  Are you afraid of the plague that destroys at midday?

 

 

 

HE THAT DWELLETH IN THE SECRET PLACE OF THE MOST HIGH

SHALL ABIDE IN THE SHADOW OF THE ALMIGHTY (Psalm 91:1).

 

Come and find security in the Secret Place of the Most High.

 

HE SHALL COVER THEE WITH HIS FEATHERS,

AND UNDER HIS WINGS SHALT THOU TRUST:

HIS TRUTH SHALL BE THY SHIELD AND BUCKLER (Psalm 91:4).

 

Be still.  Run into the Arms of the Most High.  Come and sleep in the Shadow of the Almighty. Find protection under His Feathers.  Seek cover under His Wings.  Let His Truth be your shield from the threatening beliefs of the father-of-lies.

 

THOU SHALT NOT BE AFRAID OF THE TERROR OF NIGHT;

NOR THE ARROW THAT FLIETH BY DAY;

NOR THE PESTILENCE THAT WALKETH IN DARKNESS;

NOR THE DESTRUCTION THAT WASTETH AT NOONDAY (Psalm 91:5-6).

 

Make the Most High your hiding place from danger and distress. Let His Presence quiet your fear.  Ask Him to take care of the plague that destroys you at midday. Let Him handle the terror of night and the pestilence that stalks in the darkness. Let Him catch the arrow that flies by day.

 

BECAUSE THOU HAST MADE THE LORD…THY HABITATION;

THERE SHALL NO EVIL BEFALL THEE,

NEITHER SHALL ANY PLAGUE COME NIGH THY DWELLING.

 (Psalm 91:9-10).

 

I bless you to find rest and stillness in the closeness of the Most High.

Trust in His Name.

Let Him conquer the evil for you.

 

PRAYER: Most High, I come to You to dwell in Your Secret Place…to crawl under your Wings…to rest in Your Shadow.

 

August 6  The Darkness Shall not Hide from You

 

The other night, I sat on the beach in front of my house to witness the rising of the full moon.  I watched the lights of the fishing village grow brighter as the evening grew dimmer.  As the glow of the sunset faded into hues of gray in the western sky, the full moon ballooned from the horizon in the east.  A beam of dazzling light crept slowly across the water until it touched the sand at my feet.

 

The silver moon climbed high into the evening sky, causing the pebbles to shimmer on the beach like a highway inlaid with jewels.  I could feel the moon light shining on my face like a lamp.  Night appeared like day.

 

“INDEED, THE DARKNESS SHALL NOT HIDE FROM YOU, BUT THE NIGHT SHINES AS THE DAY; THE DARKNESS AND THE LIGHT ARE BOTH ALIKE TO YOU” (Psalm 139:12).

 

Be excited that darkness and light are both alike to your Perfect Father.  Be encouraged that although you might be engulfed in thick oppressing darkness, right now, the Most High can see right through it.  Be comforted that although your understanding becomes clouded by darkness, God’s Perspective stays acute.

 

Do not be afraid of the darkness.  To the Almighty, who created night and day, the night shines like the day.  God wants you to know that you are safe.  He can still see the way.

 

I bless you to take your Father’s Hand when you cannot see anymore.  Lean on His understanding.  Allow Him to make your crooked paths straight.

 

“I WILL INSTRUCT YOU AND TEACH YOU IN THE WAY YOU SHOULD GO; I WILL GUIDE YOU WITH MY EYE” (Psalm 32:8).

 

Do not be afraid.  Your everlasting Father, who sees in the darkness, will lead you to the Light.

 

1. Are all your paths crooked right now? Has darkness closed in around you, causing you to stumble around, looking for the right way? Will you take God’s Hand and ask Him to lead you to the Light? Remember, He can clearly see the way.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I am in darkness and I am lost and afraid. I look around me, but I do not see the way. All my paths are crooked. I do not know what to do and where to go. I am lost in my negative thoughts of hopelessness, helplessness, and powerlessness.

 

I take Your Hand, O Lord. Lead me to the Light, so I may be filled with Your Joy, Hope, and Peace. Take me to the place of belonging and acceptance. Let me be found. Be a Lamp to my feet. Guide me to Your Purpose. Your Name be praised.

 

August 7  Has Darkness Blinded Your Eyes?

 

“BUT FOR YOU WHO FEAR MY NAME, THE SUN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS WILL RISE WITH HEALING IN HIS WINGS. AND YOU WILL GO FREE, LEAPING WITH JOY LIKE CALVES LET OUT TO PASTURE” (Malachi 4:2).

 

A few mornings ago, I got up extra early to watch the sunrise over the North-Atlantic Ocean.  The fog lay low over the water.  A flock of seagulls stood guard on the boardwalk.  Already a pinkish glimmer colored the dark water.  Then the sun, rich and regal, arose from the ocean.  Magnificent radiance penetrated every grain of sand.  All darkness fled.  It was a glorious day in Nova Scotia.

 

“BUT HE WHO HATES HIS BROTHER IS IN DARKNESS AND WALKS IN DARKNESS, AND DOES NOT KNOW WHERE HE IS GOING, BECAUSE THE DARKNESS HAS BLINDED HIS EYES” (1 John 2:11).

 

Understand that if you hate your brother…or your mother…or any other, you are walking in darkness.  You have lost your way and do not know where you are going.  Darkness has blinded your eyes and you cannot see.  The sun of Righteousness, who has healing in its wings, has not yet risen over you.

 

“IF WE SAY THAT WE HAVE FELLOWSHIP WITH HIM, AND WALK IN DARKNESS, WE LIE AND DO NOT PRACTICE THE TRUTH” (1 John 1:6).

 

Believe that if you hate your brother…or your mother…or any other, you are walking in darkness.  You are hindered from experiencing God’s fellowship.  You are hindered from perceiving God’s Truth.  You believe a lie.

 

“NOW THAT YOU HAVE PURIFIED YOURSELVES BY OBEYING THE TRUTH SO THAT YOU HAVE SINCERE LOVE FOR YOUR BROTHERS, LOVE ONE ANOTHER DEEPLY, FROM THE HEART” (1 Peter 1:22).

 

God wants to remove your lie.  The Sun of Righteousness would like to rise over you to bring you Truth—to remove the darkness—so that you would see and be healed.  And you will love your brother…your mother…and any other deeply from your heart.

 

1. Has darkness blinded your eyes? What lie from the father-of-lies is causing you to walk in darkness: to hate your father, your mother, or any other?

 

 

 

1. After taking notice of your choices, what are you going to do about this?

 

 

 

 

August 8  Your Power, Ability, and Sufficiency Are from God

 

“NOT THAT WE ARE FIT (QUALIFIED AND SUFFICIENT IN ABILITY) OF OURSELVES TO FORM PERSONAL JUDGMENTS OR TO CLAIM OR COUNT ANYTHING AS COMING FROM US, BUT OUR POWER AND ABILITY AND SUFFICIENCY ARE FROM GOD”

(2 Corinthians 3:5 AMP).

 

I bless you to be comforted if you have been trying in vain to be good and kind and patient.  Understand that Jesus alone has become your Righteousness from God: your Patience…your Goodness…your Kindness.  Your sufficiency of Goodness comes from God.

 

I bless you to be comforted if you have not been able to muster up hope for your future.  Remember, it is the God of Hope who will fill you with Joy and Peace when you trust in Him.  Your sufficiency of Hope comes from God.

 

I bless you to be comforted if you have not been able to achieve peace in your heart during your unsettling circumstances.  Remember, only the Lord of Peace delivers Peace to your heart, at all times and in every way.  Your sufficiency of Peace comes from God.

 

I bless you to be comforted if the father-of-lies has confused you, and you have not been able to unlock the truth.  Remember, only the Spirit of Truth is able to guide you into all Truth.  Your sufficiency of Truth comes from God.

 

I bless you to be comforted if you have not found the power to solve your problems.  Your sufficiency of Power comes from God.

 

“FOR FROM HIM AND THROUGH HIM AND TO HIM ARE ALL THINGS. TO HIM BE THE GLORY FOREVER! AMEN” (Romans 11:36).

 

Remember, your Power, Ability, and Sufficiency

are FROM God, THROUGH God, and TO God.

1. From where is your power to do what is right and good? From where is your ability to have Hope? From where is your sufficiency of Peace?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Most High, I surrender to You. I admit that I do not have the power to solve my problems. Therefore, I bow down to Your Power. Deliver Truth to my confused mind, because my sufficiency of Truth comes from You, O Lord. Be my Righteousness, Goodness, and Kindness, because my sufficiency of Goodness comes from You, too. God of Hope, fill me with Your Hope, Your Peace, and Your Joy as I entrust my sufficiency of Hope to come from You.

 

 

 

 

August 9  The Meaning of Suffering

 

A quote from Victor E. Frankl, a psychiatrist, writing from a Nazi concentration camp, explains:

“A LIFE WHOSE MEANING DEPENDS UPON SUCH A HAPPENSTANCE—

AS WHETHER ONE ESCAPES OR NOT—

ULTIMATELY WOULD NOT BE WORTH LIVING AT ALL.”

 

I once led a life of wanting to escape at all cost: to escape from feeling abandoned…to hide when I felt condemned…to run away when I felt shamed.  At some point, I was doing so much escaping that there was not much time left for living.

 

We are always looking for a way out of heartache and have come up with many solutions.  Some of them are destruction, distraction, and divorce.  I have now learned that God has His own escape route out of shame, abandonment, and condemnation…if I would stop trying to escape.  He calls it DISCIPLINE—a training that causes wholeness and holiness.

 

“ENDURE HARDSHIP AS DISCIPLINE; GOD IS TREATING YOU AS SONS” (Hebrews 12:7).

 

I have chosen to stop living my life as a means to escape.  Instead, I have chosen GOD’S DISCIPLINE.  I have discovered that a life of escaping becomes very tiresome.  The same issues from which I need to escape today, I need to escape again tomorrow, and then again the day after that.

 

“THEREFORE, SINCE WE ARE RECEIVING A KINGDOM THAT CANNOT BE SHAKEN, LET US BE THANKFUL, AND SO WORSHIP GOD ACCEPTABLY WITH REVERENCE AND AWE” (Hebrews 12:28).

 

We see hardship as something that needs to be avoided.  God sees hardship as something that needs to be endured, so He could remove what can be shaken from our lives and replace it with something that is unshakable: something permanent, from which we do not have to escape.

 

“I KNOW THAT EVERYTHING GOD DOES WILL ENDURE FOREVER; NOTHING CAN BE ADDED TO IT AND NOTHING TAKEN FROM IT. GOD DOES IT SO THAT MEN WILL REVERE HIM” (Ecclesiastes 3:14).

 

1. What do you do during bouts of suffering: do you only look for the escape route…or do you endure suffering as discipline—training from God that causes wholeness and holiness?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord God, Perfect Father, have Your way with me. Teach me, during suffering, to stop trying to escape, but to trust You—that You are holding me in the palm of Your hand, and that You will not drop me. Thank you, my Lord, that, through patient suffering and endurance, I am receiving a Kingdom that cannot be shaken—a Kingdom that lasts forever.

 

August 10  The Meaning of Sin

 

“HE WHO SINS IS OF THE DEVIL, FOR THE DEVIL HAS SINNED FROM THE BEGINNING” (1 John 3:8).

 

For the longest time of my life, I never knew the meaning of sin.  Sin seemed to be something mysterious…something unexplainable…SOMETHING THAT HAPPENED TO ME.  I was aware that I felt wrong inside and did wrong things, but I never really understood WHY.

 

Over the last five years, I came to understand that sin is explainable—THAT SINFUL DEEDS SERVE A PURPOSE.  Sin is the father-of-lies’ solutions to escape heartache. It is what we do when we hurt inside, so that we could feel better.

 

You see, sin does not stand alone.  It does not happen by itself.  It sits on a pillar of beliefs suggested by the father-of-lies.  These beliefs hurt.  They suggest that you have been abandoned by certain people and by God.  They propose that you are unacceptable to certain people and to God.  They offer the belief that you are nothing but a being of shame to certain people and to God.

 

However, the father-of-lies is craftier than that.  Not only does he suggest the beliefs of abandonment, condemnation, and shame, but also the solutions to the heartache these cause…SIN.  After he introduces the hurtful beliefs, he offers solutions of distraction and destruction…SIN.  After the father-of-lies plants his painful beliefs, he entices you to do what is wrong to dull the pain…SIN.

 

“FOR THIS PURPOSE THE SON OF GOD WAS MANIFESTED, THAT HE MIGHT DESTROY THE WORKS OF THE DEVIL” (1 John 3:8).

 

I bless you to know that Jesus, the son of God, was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the father-of-lies.  Jesus came to offer a different solution to escape the heartache of the father-of-lies’ painful beliefs: HIMSELF.  Instead of turning to solutions of distraction and destruction to ease your heartache, you can turn to Jesus and ask Him to take away the pain in your heart.  Instead of turning to SIN as a solution to the father-of-lies’ beliefs, you can accept Jesus’ solutions of Truth, Hope, and Love for your beliefs of abandonment, condemnation, and shame.  What will you choose: sinful deeds of escape…or Truth, Love, and Hope in Jesus Christ?

 

1. What sinful habits and patterns have you adopted through-out your life?

 

 

 

1. Take a moment and find out why you have adopted these sinful patterns in your life. To which negative, destructive beliefs from the father-of-lies are you reacting? What are you going to do about this?

 

 

 

August 11  The Meaning of Temptation

 

Be reminded that sin is not something mysterious…something unexplainable… something unknowable.  Sin is not just something that happens to you.  Sin is explainable.  Sin has a purpose.  Sin is the father-of-lies’ solutions to escape the heartache his painful beliefs of abandonment, condemnation, and shame cause in your heart. 

 

Know that the father-of-lies is constantly tempting you to adopt his solutions of distraction and destruction to ease your heartache.  The father-of-lies is continually enticing you to do what is wrong.  The father-of-lies is incessantly luring you into harmful habits and patterns that point you away from God’s solutions.

 

“BLESSED IS THE MAN THAT ENDURETH TEMPTATION: FOR WHEN HE IS TRIED, HE SHALL RECEIVE THE CROWN OF LIFE, WHICH THE LORD HATH PROMISED TO THEM THAT LOVE HIM” (James 1:12).

 

I bless you to stand firm when the father-of-lies invites you to adopt his sinful solutions for your heartache.  Understand that his answers to your heartache cause harm…ruin…loss, because his solutions are counterfeit.  In fact, his sinful solutions are only enticements to keep you away from experiencing God’s saving solutions of Truth, Hope, and Love.

 

“NO TEMPTATION HAS SEIZED YOU EXCEPT WHAT IS COMMON TO MAN. AND GOD IS FAITHFUL; HE WILL NOT LET YOU BE TEMPTED BEYOND WHAT YOU CAN BEAR. BUT WHEN YOU ARE TEMPTED, HE WILL ALSO PROVIDE A WAY OUT SO THAT YOU CAN STAND UP UNDER IT” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

 

Capture that the temptations from the enemy are explainable.  Celebrate that the enticements of the father-of-lies are surmountable.  Be encouraged that the allurements of the evil one are endurable.

 

I bless you to realize that Jesus stands ready with the real solution to your heartache of abandonment, condemnation, and shame…if you would only turn to Him for the answer.  He wants to bless you with the crown of His Life.

 

1. How do YOU deal with temptations: when the father-of-lies lures you to adopt his sinful solutions of distraction and destruction to ease your heartache of abandonment, shame, and condemnation?

 

 

1. What would it take for you to turn to the Lord Jesus when the father-of-lies tempts you…and let Him show you His way out, even if it takes a little while and you have to learn to endure?

 

 

 

August 12  You Are Special

 

“WHEN I WAS A CHILD, I TALKED LIKE A CHILD, I THOUGHT LIKE A CHILD, I REASONED LIKE A CHILD. WHEN I BECAME A MAN, I PUT CHILDISH WAYS BEHIND ME. NOW WE SEE BUT A POOR REFLECTION AS IN A MIRROR; THEN WE SHALL SEE FACE TO FACE. NOW I KNOW IN PART; THEN I SHALL KNOW FULLY, EVEN AS I AM FULLY KNOWN” (1 Corinthians 13:11-12).

 

Here is another example from my own life of how to put childish ways behind you.

 

I was twelve years old and learning German in school for the first time.  One of the first things I learned was to count in German.  I was very proud of my accomplishment and could not wait to show my daddy that I could count to one hundred in German.

 

One day, I ran excitedly to my daddy and shouted, “Daddy, guess what I can do?  I can count to one hundred in German.”  I opened my mouth to start counting…but suddenly my daddy took the words out of my mouth and started counting in German for me…being very proud that he could do it, too.

 

The disappointment in my little twelve-year-old heart was immense.  However, it was not the disappointment that stayed with me for the rest of my life, but the misinterpretations from the father-of-lies that formed in me that day: that I was not special…that there was nothing unique that I could bring to the table…that I had no purpose in this life.

 

These misinterpretations from the father-of-lies caused their own problems in my life. Whenever someone else was successful at something, I felt like a failure.

 

I surrendered that twelve-year-old with her misinterpretations from the father-of-lies to God…and the Truth set me free.  God spoke into my heart by telling me how special I was to Him, and that He created me to be unique, with a very specific purpose.

 

1. What childhood misinterpretations from the father-of-lies live in your heart: oppressing beliefs that accuse you of not being special…of not having a purpose…of not being unique?

 

 

 

1. Will you surrender these interpretations to the God of Truth, so you could be set free?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Most High, how encouraged I am that I am fully known…that there are no misinterpreted beliefs in my mind that are hidden from You. Yet, although You know my thoughts, You want me to submit them to You in obedience, so Your Truth could set me free.

 

 

August 13  What Makes You Stumble?

 

“THE WAY OF THE WICKED IS LIKE DARKNESS; THEY DO NOT KNOW WHAT MAKES THEM STUMBLE” (Proverbs 4:19).

 

One of the reasons I was chained by darkness was that I did not know what made me stumble.  I did not understand the meaning of suffering.  I did not grasp the meaning of sin.  I did not understand the meaning of temptation.  Everything was just all mixed together in a mysterious jumble…called darkness.

 

“FOR A MAN IS A SLAVE TO WHATEVER HAS MASTERED HIM” (2 Peter 2:19).

 

Darkness is a lack of light.  We do not understand.  We are not able to discern.  We are not able to differentiate.  We are not able to recognize…to conclude…to know.  We have become a slave to things that have mastered us, but we do not understand how it works…and where to look for the light. Understand that you are experiencing darkness because you do not know what is making you stumble.

 

“AND HAVE NO FELLOWSHIP WITH THE UNFRUITFUL WORKS OF DARKNESS, BUT RATHER EXPOSE THEM” (Ephesians 5:11).

 

Observe and comprehend the darkness that fills your life.  Be attentive to the feelings that cause you to flee from a situation.  Be alert to the beliefs in your mind that cause you to hide from people.  Investigate your heart and find out why you are blaming others for your pain.

 

Identify the darkness in your life.  Give it a name.  Investigate your heart.  Observe the understanding of your mind.  Search for beliefs planted in your mind by the father-of-lies: “I am a failure…I am not special…I am a mistake.”

 

“I HAVE COME AS A LIGHT INTO THE WORLD, THAT WHOEVER BELIEVES IN ME SHOULD NOT ABIDE IN DARKNESS” (John 12:46).

 

Know that your darkness will turn to Light after you have identified what makes you stumble…and have exposed it to Jesus. Then, HE will shed His Light on the mysteries in your mind and heart.

 

1. What makes you stumble? What are the negative, destructive beliefs in your mind that are causing your heart to fear, hate, and be jealous?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, thank you that You have come to be my Light. Help me to find the darkness in my life: those beliefs from the father-of-lies that make me stumble, causing my heart to hate, fear, and harbor jealousy towards others. Let me never forget that Your Light is always available to me, and all I need to do is expose my darkness to You.

 

August 14  Each Moment Is an Act of Deciding

 

My life changed drastically when I realized that life was not just a solid time period here on this earth for which I had to make ONE BIG DECISION, but chopped up into little segments of time periods, for which I had to make many individual MOMENT-BY-MOMENT DECISIONS.

 

“THIS DAY I CALL HEAVEN AND EARTH AS WITNESSES AGAINST YOU THAT I HAVE SET BEFORE YOU LIFE AND DEATH, BLESSINGS AND CURSES. NOW CHOOSE LIFE, SO THAT YOU AND YOUR CHILDREN MAY LIVE AND THAT YOU MAY LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD, LISTEN TO HIS VOICE, AND HOLD FAST TO HIM. FOR THE LORD IS YOUR LIFE” (Deuteronomy 30:19-20).

 

Realize that your whole life is a moment-by-moment choice between Lifeanddeath.  Every moment of your life is an act of deciding between the blessings of God and thecurses of the father-of-lies.  Every minute you are alive, you live either in Light or in darkness.  Every hour of your life, you are either living in Truth or in deception.

 

“DO NOT OFFER THE PARTS OF YOUR BODY TO SIN, AS INSTRUMENTS OF WICKEDNESS, BUT RATHER OFFER YOURSELVES TO GOD, AS THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN BROUGHT FROM DEATH TO LIFE; AND OFFER THE PARTS OF YOUR BODY TO HIM AS INSTRUMENTS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS” (Romans 6:13).

 

Realize that each moment of your life you are selecting a choice of action.  Every given moment of your life, you live either in obedience to the Perfect Father or in obedience to the father-of-lies.  Each given moment, you either adopt the father-of-lies’ suggestions of escaping your heartache, or adopt the Perfect Father’s suggestions of dealing with your heartache.

 

Realize that each moment is an act of deciding whether God’s Hope, Love, and Truth will be manifested in you, or whether the god of this world’s hopelessness, hatred, and deception will be displayed in you.

 

May you realize that life is made up of many choices and even if you made the wrong decision one moment, you can make the right decision the next moment.  I bless you to choose Life, every momenT.

 

1. What is displayed in your life, moment-by-moment: God’s Hope, Love, and Truth…or the father-of-lies’ hopelessness, hatred, and lies?

 

 

 

1. What are you going to do about this?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord God, may I choose You, every day, every minute, every moment.

 

August 15  Success Is a By-Product

 

“YET WHEN I SURVEYED ALL THAT MY HANDS HAD DONE AND WHAT I HAD TOILED TO ACHIEVE, EVERYTHING WAS MEANINGLESS, A CHASING AFTER THE WIND; NOTHING WAS GAINED UNDER THE SUN” (Ecclesiastes 2:11).

 

At the end of my life, when I survey all that my hands have done and what I have toiled to achieve, I would like to see that everything was not meaningless—a chasing after the wind.  I would like to see that something permanent was gained under the sun.

 

“AND I SAW THAT ALL LABOR AND ALL ACHIEVEMENT SPRING FROM MAN’S ENVY OF HIS NEIGHBOR. THIS TOO IS MEANINGLESS, A CHASING AFTER THE WIND” (Ecclesiastes 4:4).

 

At the end of my life, when I survey all that I have toiled to achieve, I would like to see that no achievement sprang from my envy of my neighbor.  This would have been meaningless toiling—a chasing after the wind.  Nothing would have been gained under the sun.

 

What is the reason you take on a certain activity or service?  Is it to prove to yourself that you are as good as your neighbor?  Why are you striving so hard to be successful?  Is it to prove to your family, your friends, and your co-workers that you are worthy and acceptable in the eyes of people and of God?

 

“I KNOW THAT EVERYTHING GOD DOES WILL ENDURE FOREVER; NOTHING CAN BE ADDED TO IT AND NOTHING TAKEN FROM IT. GOD DOES IT SO THAT MEN WILL REVERE HIM” (Ecclesiastes 3:14).

 

I bless you to grasp that everything God does is permanent.  Everything God does through you will endure forever.  Nobody will be able to add to that or take away from that.  Success is only a by-product of your surrender to God.

 

“DON’T AIM AT SUCCESS.  FOR SUCCESS CANNOT BE PURSUED, IT MUST ENSUE, AND IT DOES SO AS THE UNINTENDED SIDE-EFFECT OF ONE’S DEDICATION TO A CAUSE GREATER THAN ONESELF OR AS THE BY-PRODUCT OF ONE’S SURRENDER TO A PERSON OTHER THAN ONESELF” (Victor E. Frankl).

 

1. What would you like to see at the end of your life, when you survey all you have toiled to achieve?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord God, may my life be surrendered to You, so You can do through me that, which will last forever.

 

August 16  Love Is a By-Product of God’s Spirit

 

“PRAISE THE LORD, O MY SOUL, AND FORGET NOT ALL HIS BENEFITS”

(Psalm 103:2).

 

Realize that one of the benefits of living a life surrendered to God…is Love.

 

“BUT THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT IS LOVE” (Galatians 5:22).

 

Know that Love is not a change of attitude towards someone from the outside.  Love is a fruit of God’s Spirit that grows from the inside.  Love is a by-product of your surrender to God.

 

“LOVE IS PATIENT, LOVE IS KIND. IT DOES NOT ENVY, IT DOES NOT BOAST, IT IS NOT PROUD. IT IS NOT RUDE, IT IS NOT SELF-SEEKING, IT IS NOT EASILY ANGERED, IT KEEPS NO RECORD OF WRONGS. LOVE DOES NOT DELIGHT IN EVIL BUT REJOICES WITH THE TRUTH. IT ALWAYS PROTECTS, ALWAYS TRUSTS, ALWAYS HOPES, ALWAYS PERSEVERES” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7).

 

Understand that if your love is not patient, it is not Love grown by God’s Spirit.  This counterfeit love loves on the outside, but hates on the inside.  Love that is grown by God’s Holy Spirit is kind from the inside out.  It does not envy on the inside, while it boasts on the outside.  It is not Self-seeking on the inside, while it is kind on the outside.  The only love that keeps no record of wrongs is the Love that is a by-product of your surrender to God.

 

“LOVE NEVER FAILS. IT ALWAYS PROTECTS, ALWAYS TRUSTS, ALWAYS HOPES, ALWAYS PERSEVERES” (1 Corinthians 13:8, 7).

 

Does your love fail? Does it only seek to benefit and protect your Self? Love that is a fruit of God’s Spirit is not Self-seeking. Its goal is to protect the person you love. Love that is a by-product of God’s Spirit always protects the person you love, even when the person becomes rude and disrespectful. God’s Love never fails. It always trusts, even when the person you love keeps a record of wrongs against you. God’s Love through His Spirit does not easily anger toward the person you love. It always perseveres, even when the person you love becomes unkind to you.

 

Ask God to grow His Love in your heart…the kind that never fails.

 

“THE SALVATION OF MAN IS THROUGH LOVE AND IN LOVE” (Victor E. Frankl).

 

1. What kind of love lives inside your heart: love that is Self-seeking, or Love that is a product of your surrender to God?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord God, I desire to carry Your Love in my heart: the kind of Love that is grown by Your Holy Spirit of Truth. Therefore, call me, every day, to surrender my animosity, jealousy, and pride to You, so You could turn it into Your Love that never fails.

 

August 17  God Loves to Reward Us

 

“ANYONE WHO COMES TO HIM MUST BELIEVE THAT HE EXISTS AND THAT HE REWARDS THOSE WHO EARNESTLY SEEK HIM” (Hebrews 11:6).

 

I have discovered that the Perfect Father loves to reward me.  I have come face to face with His Truth when I felt lost.  I have experienced His Wisdom when I felt confused.  I have tasted His Love when I felt forsaken.  I have drunk from His streams of Living Water when I felt pushed aside.  I have received His abundant Life when I felt dead.  I have witnessed His Light in my darkness.  I have beheld His transforming Power in my heart. But, I had to surrender MY perspective to Him, first, before I was able to see, hear, and experience His rewards.

 

“‘BECAUSE HE LOVES ME,’ SAYS THE LORD, ‘I WILL RESCUE HIM; I WILL PROTECT HIM, FOR HE ACKNOWLEDGES MY NAME.  HE WILL CALL UPON ME, AND I WILL ANSWER HIM; I WILL BE WITH HIM IN TROUBLE, I WILL DELIVER HIM AND HONOR HIM.  WITH LONG LIFE WILL I SATISFY HIM AND SHOW HIM MY SALVATION’”

(Psalm 91:14-16).

 

God wants to be your God.  He loves to answer you when you call upon Him.  He loves to be with you when you are in trouble.  He loves to deliver you when you feel hopeless, helpless, and powerless.  He loves to honor you.  He loves to rescue you from the deception that lives in your mind.  He loves to protect you from the father-of-lies.  He loves to talk to you. But, you need to surrender YOUR perspective of things to Him, first, in order to see, hear, and experience the rewards He has for you.

 

“IF YOU LOVE ME, YOU WILL OBEY WHAT I COMMAND” (John 14:16).

 

Believe that all these rewards and many more await you…if you would stop leaning on your own understanding, but acknowledge God’s Perspective in everything you think and do.

 

“WHOEVER HAS MY COMMANDS AND OBEYS THEM, HE IS THE ONE WHO LOVES ME. HE WHO LOVES ME WILL BE LOVED BY MY FATHER, AND I TOO WILL LOVE HIM AND SHOW MYSELF TO HIM” (John 14:21).

 

I bless you to receive your rewards from God.

 

1. What do you need from God: Wisdom, Righteousness, Love, Hope, Truth, Comfort, Power, Life, Light? Do you have a hard time experiencing those? Try surrendering your own perturbing perceptions to God, first.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I surrender each perturbing perception that I can find in my mind to You by name. I do this, so that I may receive and experience Your Hope, Truth, and Love in return. Thank you that You reward each person who earnestly seek You.

 

August 18  If Your Eye Is Bad

 

“BUT IF YOUR EYE IS BAD, YOUR WHOLE BODY WILL BE FULL OF DARKNESS. IF THEREFORE THE LIGHT THAT IS IN YOU IS DARKNESS, HOW GREAT IS THAT DARKNESS!” (Matthew 6:23).

 

Be on the alert for a bad eye, because if you have a bad eye, your whole body will be filled with darkness.

 

Realize that your eye is bad when you live in the negative, destructive beliefs of the evil one: “I am condemned.  I am shameful.  I am abandoned.”  Everything and everyone around you becomes contaminated, since you do not see them through the lenses of Truth, but through the lenses of your bad eye of condemnation, abandonment, and shame.

 

“THEREFORE TAKE HEED THAT THE LIGHT WHICH IS IN YOU IS NOT DARKNESS” (Luke 11:35).

 

If your eye is contaminated with speckles of abandonment, you will look at everything through the lenses of feeling alone, unprotected, and overlooked.  If your eye is polluted with condemnation, you will experience everything and everybody through the lenses of feeling doomed, wrong, and incriminated.  If your eye is smeared with shame, you will view everything and everyone through the lenses of guilt, shortcoming, and impropriety.

 

“FOR GOD, WHO SAID, ‘LET LIGHT SHINE OUT OF DARKNESS MADE HIS LIGHT SHINE IN OUR HEARTS TO GIVE US THE LIGHT OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE GLORY OF GOD IN THE FACE OF CHRIST’” (2 Corinthians 4:6).

 

I bless you to ask God to shine His Light of Glory in your heart: on your abandonment…on your condemnation…on your shame.  Then His Light will decontaminate your bad eye, and you will see everything and everyonethrough the lenses of God’s eyes. You will see Hope. You will see Love. You will see the Truth.

 

1. What do you see through your eyes: shame, condemnation, and abandonment? Then, your eyes have been contaminated by the father-of-lies. But, if you would surrender what you see through your eyes, to God, He will show you His Perspective…and your darkness will turn to Light.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Most High, I bring my bad eye to You. I invite Your Presence and Participation into my darkness. Turn Your Light on with Your Truth, so I may see myself, others, and You through Your Perspective.

 

August 19  Enter God’s Rest

 

“FOR IT IS GOD WHO WORKS IN YOU TO WILL AND TO ACT ACCORDING TO HIS GOOD PURPOSE” (Philippians 2:13).

 

One of the hardest things for me is to allow God to act in and through me according to His Good Purpose.  I always seem to want to do everything according to my good purpose.  It is so hard to think that God’s Good Purpose will be better than mine.

 

The problem with working out my good purpose is that it gives me no rest.  I strive a lot.  I worry a lot.  In the end, things do not even work out.

 

“THEREFORE, SINCE THE PROMISE OF ENTERING HIS REST STILL STANDS, LET US BE CAREFUL THAT NONE OF YOU BE FOUND TO HAVE FALLEN SHORT OF IT. FOR WE ALSO HAVE HAD THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO US, JUST AS THEY DID; BUT THE MESSAGE THEY HEARD WAS OF NO VALUE TO THEM, BECAUSE THOSE WHO HEARD DID NOT COMBINE IT WITH FAITH” (Hebrews 4:1-2).

 

The promise of entering God’s Rest still stands, but it has to be combined with Faith—to believe that God can do His job: to will in you and act in you according to His Good Purpose.

 

“THERE REMAINS, THEN, A SABBATH-REST FOR THE PEOPLE OF GOD; FOR ANYONE WHO ENTERS GOD’S REST ALSO RESTS FROM HIS OWN WORK, JUST AS GOD DID FROM HIS” (Hebrews 4:9-10).

 

I bless you to make every effort to enter into God’s Rest.  Understand that anyone who enters God’s Rest rests from his own striving.  He asks God to exchanges his good purpose…for God’s Good Purpose. He does this in combination with Faith.

 

May you be willing to pray this prayer with Major Ian Thomas, “Lord Jesus, I am willing for You to invade my soul, to control my mind, to control my emotions, and to control my will, so that every decision within my soul will be in perfect harmony with my spirit, and my spirit in perfect harmony with You, so that my whole being may declare Your praise.” Do this in combination with Faith.

 

“FOR WE WALK BY FAITH, NOT BY SIGHT” (2 Corinthians 5:7).

 

1. Why are you striving so hard? What are you trying to achieve?

 

 

 

1. What is keeping you from coming into God’s rest? I bless you to surrender this hindrance to God and ask Him to take it away and put His Faith in its place.

 

 

 

August 20  You Have Received a Comforter

 

“NEVERTHELESS I TELL YOU THE TRUTH;

IT IS EXPEDIENT FOR YOU THAT I GO AWAY:

FOR IF I GO NOT AWAY, THE COMFORTER WILL NOT COME UNTO YOU;

BUT IF I DEPART, I WILL SEND HIM UNTO YOU”

(John 16:7).

 

Believe that the Lord Jesus has sent you a Helper—His own Spirit.  You have an Adviser…a Sustainer…a Maintainer.  You are not companionless… unaccompanied…alone.   You are not forsaken…abandoned…betrayed.  You have a Helper.

 

“AND I WILL PRAY THE FATHER,

AND HE SHALL GIVE YOU ANOTHER COMFORTER,

THAT HE MAY ABIDE WITH YOU FOREVER”

(John 14:16).

 

I bless you to be comforted and encouraged.  The Comforter is always with you and will not leave you.  You are never alone.  Do not be intimidated by your surroundings and circumstances.  You are not abandoned.  Do not be afraid to be by yourself.  Your Counselor is at your side.  Do not be anxious about anything.  Your Encourager abides with you forever.  The Perfect Father has not left you comfortless. You are complete. You have everything you need for Life and Godliness—God’s life-giving Spirit.

 

“THOUGH MY FATHER AND MOTHER FORSAKE ME,

THE LORD WILL RECEIVE ME” (Psalm 27:10).

 

I bless you to know that even if your father and mother have forsaken you, the Perfect Father has received you.  Be comforted and healed from your abandonment.

 

“I WILL NOT LEAVE YOU COMFORTLESS: I WILL COME TO YOU” (John 14:18).

 

1. Are you suffering from feelings and beliefs of abandonment: feeling left, forsaken, or deserted?

 

 

 

1. Where has this abandonment entered your life for the very first time? I bless you to go back to that place and invite God to replace that empty spot of abandonment in your heart with His very own Presence.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord God, I open my heart to You. Come and fill it with Your Presence.

 

August 21  That You May Stand

 

“STAND FAST IN THE LORD” (1 Thessalonians 3:8).

 

I love the movie Karate Kid released in 2010.  What impressed me the most about the movie was the way the little boy started his training to become an expert.  You see, the boy had a bad habit of throwing his jacket on the floor, instead of hanging it up on the peg, whenever he got home.  His mother scolded him often, but his bad habit prevailed.

 

When his karate master started training him, he did not focus on the advanced karate skills first, but on the basic skills of curing him from his bad habit of throwing his jacket on the floor.  For training, the boy had to take his jacket off, hang it on the peg, take it off the peg, and put it back on again.  He had to do this for weeks on end, until his bad habit was broken.  Only when he was done with the basic training was he fit for starting the advanced training of becoming a karate expert.

 

I have noticed that God trains us the same way.  He would give us the same challenge over and over again, until we have learned to overcome: to pick up our hearts.  During certain negative circumstances, we would drop our hearts in despair, refusing to turn in faith to God’s Hope, Love, and Truth that He holds out to us.  But then, a month later, God brings around the same challenge.  After many failures, we learn to pick up our hearts and believe.  Only then God is able to teach us the next, more advanced lessons.

 

“THAT YOU MAY STAND PERFECT AND COMPLETE IN ALL THE WILL OF GOD” (Colossians 4:12).

 

I bless you to learn to stand perfect and complete in all the Will of God, no matter what God is teaching you at the moment.  Pick your heart up, again…and again…and again. Learn to stand in faith, when circumstances beg you to give up.  Learn to stand fast in the Lord, when you do not see any results, yet, of what He is teaching you. At the proper time you will reap a harvest, if you do not give up.

 

“LET US NOT BECOME WEARY IN DOING GOOD, FOR AT THE PROPER TIME WE WILL REAP A HARVEST IF WE DO NOT GIVE UP” (Galatians 6:9).

 

1. What bad habit is hindering you from receiving God’s Hope, Love, and Truth that He is holding out to you and your circumstances?

 

 

1. What will it take for you to surrender this bad habit to God and ask Him to exchange it for His complete and perfect Will in your life?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I desire to stand perfect and complete in all the Will of God!

 

August 22  To Exchange the Truth for a Lie

 

“THEY EXCHANGED THE TRUTH OF GOD FOR A LIE, AND WORSHIPED AND SERVED CREATED THINGS RATHER THAN THE CREATOR—WHO IS FOREVER PRAISED. AMEN.” (Romans 1:25).

 

Understand that it has always been the god of this world’s goal to get you to serve created things rather than the Creator.  He would like you to revere people, instead of the Creator of people.  He would love you to serve a ministry, instead of the Author of the ministry.  He would like you to glorify and exalt the extent of your education, rather than the Most High.

 

“DON’T YOU KNOW THAT WHEN YOU OFFER YOURSELVES TO SOMEONE TO OBEY HIM AS SLAVES, YOU ARE SLAVES TO THE ONE WHOM YOU OBEY—WHETHER YOU ARE SLAVES TO SIN, WHICH LEADS TO DEATH, OR TO OBEDIENCE, WHICH LEADS TO RIGHTEOUSNESS?” (Romans 6:16).

 

Understand that the god of this world achieves his goal to worship and serve created things, rather than the Creator, by exchanging truths in your life…for lies, one at a time.  If the father-of-lies can get you to believe him, he can get you to obey him.  Once he can get you to obey him, he can control you.  Once he can control you, he can get you to become a slave to sin…because you are deceived.

 

“THE COMING OF THE LAWLESS ONE WILL BE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE WORK OF SATAN DISPLAYED IN ALL KINDS OF COUNTERFEIT MIRACLES, SIGNS AND WONDERS, AND IN EVERY SORT OF EVIL THAT DECEIVES THOSE WHO ARE PERISHING. THEY PERISH BECAUSE THEY REFUSED TO LOVE THE TRUTH AND SO BE SAVED”

(2 Thessalonians 2:9-10).

 

Understand that you will perish if you refuse to love the Truth.  You will serve created things, instead of the Creator.  You will try to find acceptance, worth, and meaning for your life by serving people, things, organizations, and high positions rather than the Creator of these.

 

I bless you to love the Truth and be saved.  Embrace. Expose. And let God exchange. Find the lies of unworthiness and non-acceptance in your life. Then, expose these to God, allowing His Truth to set you free.

 

1. Whom do you serve: the Creator…or the things He created?

 

 

 

1. Where do you find acceptance, worth, and meaning for your life: from the Creator…or the things He created?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord, Creator or Heaven and earth, I come to serve You, to bow down to Your authority, to trade the lies from the father-of-lies in for Your Truth.
August 23  When You Surrender, God Will Accept

 

I live a life of surrendering every thought that enters my mind and every belief that enters my heart to God.  I do this every day of my life…no exceptions.  Many of these thoughts and beliefs turn out to be truths that the father-of-lies turned into lies when I accepted his suggestions.  Other thoughts and beliefs are truth-based disappointments and grief that cause pain in my heart.  It does not matter to me whether the thoughts of my mind and the beliefs of my heart are lies or truth…I yield them all to the Power and Control of my Perfect Father, for I want to stand perfect and complete in all the Will of God.

 

“THAT YOU MAY STAND PERFECT AND COMPLETE IN ALL THE WILL OF GOD” (Colossians 4:12).

 

Sometimes, when I try to yield my thoughts and beliefs to God, the father-of-lies would tell me that I am not surrendering in a way that is acceptable to God…that God would not accept my surrender unless I do it perfectly.

 

I would like to let you know that there is no wrong way to surrender anything or anyone to God.  He will accept and guard what you have entrusted Him…even if you do not submit someone or something in a perfect way.

 

“THEREFORE, BROTHERS, SINCE WE HAVE CONFIDENCE TO ENTER THE MOST HOLY PLACE BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS, BY A NEW AND LIVING WAY OPENED FOR US THROUGH THE CURTAIN, THAT IS, HIS BODY, AND SINCE WE HAVE A GREAT PRIEST OVER THE HOUSE OF GOD, LET US DRAW NEAR TO GOD WITH A SINCERE HEART IN FULL ASSURANCE OF FAITH” (Hebrews 10:19-22).

 

I bless you to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of the Lord Jesus.  Draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance that He accepts what you entrust Him…even when it feels so unreal and unacceptable.  Enter boldly into the Presence of the Most High with a heart fully trusting Him, for He has never forsaken those who seek Him.

 

“THOSE WHO KNOW YOUR NAME WILL TRUST IN YOU, FOR YOU, LORD, HAVE NEVER FORSAKEN THOSE WHO SEEK YOU” (Psalm 9:10).

 

1. Do you sometimes struggle to find the right words, the right feelings, and the right accusatory beliefs to surrender to God?

 

 

 

1. Get as close to your feelings and beliefs as you can. Then, lay these down at the feet of the Lord Jesus…in full assurance of faith.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I lay my feelings, beliefs, and words down at Your feet. Redeem them, my Lord, and show me Your Truth. Fill in the parts that I missed. You know what I need.

August 24  Love One Another

 

“A NEW COMMANDMENT I GIVE UNTO YOU, THAT YE LOVE ONE ANOTHER; AS I HAVE LOVED YOU, THAT YE ALSO LOVE ONE ANOTHER” (John 13:34).

 

Realize that there is an OLD MAN living his life inside you: an agglomeration of negative, destructive beliefs, instilled in your mind by the father-of-lies.  This collection of OLD MAN beliefs carries a painful, negative message of failure, defilement, and unworthiness.

 

I have discovered that when my husband and I argue, it is the presence of this OLD MAN and its degrading beliefs “You are not acceptable…You are not worthy…You are not lovable” that cause me to hate myself and consequently despise my spouse.  I have noticed that my husband and I cannot love each other from the heart if we perceive ourselves as unworthy, unacceptable, and unlovable.

 

“NOW THAT YOU HAVE PURIFIED YOURSELVES BY OBEYING THE TRUTH SO THAT YOU HAVE SINCERE LOVE FOR YOUR BROTHERS, LOVE ONE ANOTHER DEEPLY, FROM THE HEART” (1 Peter 1:22).

 

I bless you to understand that your spouse cannot grant you Worth, Acceptance, and God’s Perfect Love.  Instead, the OLD MAN beliefs of defilement, failure, and unworthiness, instilled in your mind by the father-of-lies, need to be given over to the Lord Jesus…to be nailed to the cross.  Only after He has exchanged them for new beliefs of Worth, Acceptance, and His Perfect Love will you have sincere love for yourself, your spouse, and the other people in your life.

 

“KNOWING THIS, THAT OUR OLD MAN IS CRUCIFIED WITH HIM, THAT THE BODY OF SIN MIGHT BE DESTROYED, THAT HENCEFORTH WE SHOULD NOT SERVE SIN” (Romans 6:6).

 

1. Do you have a hard time loving people? Do you have a hard time loving yourself? I bless you to find the oppressing OLD MAN beliefs in your mind and surrender them to the Lord Jesus. Then, you will receive the Love you need in your heart.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I have been looking for love at all the wrong places: from my friends, from my spouse…from my parents and children. But, the perfect Love comes from You, my Lord, because You ARE Love. Savior, I lay my OLD MAN beliefs that make me feel unlovable, unacceptable, and unworthy at the foot of Your cross. Redeem these negative beliefs, O Lord, so I may love myself and others from my heart…Your heart.
August 25  Be Silent when You Are Dishonored

 

“WHEN HE WAS ACCUSED BY THE CHIEF PRIESTS AND THE ELDERS, HE GAVE NO ANSWER. THEN PILATE ASKED HIM, ‘DON’T YOU HEAR THE TESTIMONY THEY ARE BRINGING AGAINST YOU?’ BUT JESUS MADE NO REPLY, NOT EVEN TO A SINGLE CHARGE—TO THE GREAT AMAZEMENT OF THE GOVERNOR” (Matthew 27:12-14).

 

Have you ever been accused…incriminated…denounced?  Have you ever been treated with disrespect, dishonor, and disgrace?  Jesus has…and He made no reply!

 

“HE WAS OPPRESSED, AND HE WAS AFFLICTED, YET HE OPENED NOT HIS MOUTH” (Isaiah 53:7).

 

Jesus was crushed by abuse, yet He said no word.  He was severely distressed, yet He was silent.

 

“FATHER, IF YOU ARE WILLING, TAKE THIS CUP FROM ME; YET NOT MY WILL, BUT YOURS BE DONE” (Luke 22:42).

 

I bless you to take notice that when Jesus was accused, oppressed, and afflicted, He did not defend Himself in anger.  He did not argue and try to prove Himself valid.  Notice that the only thing that was important to Jesus was to do the Will of the Perfect Father.

 

“GOD SENT THE SPIRIT OF HIS SON INTO OUR HEARTS” (Galatians 4:6).

 

I remember one time when I felt disrespected and dishonored by someone, and vehemently reacted in offense.  As a result, I was unavailable to God to use me to reach this person’s heart, later.  All that mattered to me at the time was “to take this cup from me.”  I did not care about the Father’s Will.  Another time, when I felt dishonored, I kept silent and offered the pain of being disrespected, to God.  A month later, God used me to bring His Good News to the same person who had disgraced me before.  I had done the Father’s will.

 

I bless you to know that God sent the Spirit of His Son into your heart.  May you allow Jesus to react through you with silence when someone accuses and disrespects you, so that the Will of the Perfect Father may be done.

 

1. How do you respond to disrespect: do you react vehemently…or do you keep silent?

 

 

 

1. Why do you respond this way?

 

 

 

PRAYER:  Sovereign God, come and live Your Life in me, Your Love in me, Your Light in me, Your Faith in me, and Your Power in me, so Your Purpose may be done in and through me.

 

August 26  To Say, “I Am Sorry”

 

“AND FORGIVE US OUR SINS, FOR WE ALSO FORGIVE EVERYONE WHO IS INDEBTED TO US. AND DO NOT LEAD US INTO TEMPTATION, BUT DELIVER US FROM THE EVIL ONE” (Luke 11:4).

 

I once talked to a pre-teen about a lie that had crept into his heart.  You see, the boy believed that he was a failure because of something his dad once said to him.  A few years passed and the boy grew into a handsome teenager.  One day, I ran into him again and enquired about his lie of feeling like a failure.  He cheerfully answered, “Oh, that lie has been removed.”  Astonished at his remark, I asked him how he got rid of this lie.  He answered, “My dad said he was sorry for what he said to me and asked me to forgive him.”

 

Today I bless you to believe that it does make a difference to say, “I am sorry.”  It does make a difference to offer an apology in a spirit of submission.  It does make a difference to be atoning and show regret.  To say, “I am sorry” can help deliver someone from the evil one.

 

“FOOLS MOCK AT MAKING AMENDS FOR SIN, BUT GOODWILL IS FOUND AMONG THE UPRIGHT” (Proverbs 14:9).

 

I bless you to understand that to seek forgiveness for an offense could soften someone’s hardened heart and release him from further temptation to hold onto his bitterness.  To be atoning could deliver someone from strongholds set in place by the father-of-lies.  Dropping your defense and offering an apology could bring truth to someone’s darkened understanding and set him free.

 

“A GENTLE ANSWER TURNS AWAY WRATH, BUT A HARSH WORD STIRS UP ANGER” (Proverbs 15:1).

 

I bless you to believe that a gentle answer could turn away strong vengeful anger and indignation.  A gentle answer could soften someone’s heart enough to open a channel for God’s Truth to enter…for God’s Hope to be revealed…for God’s Love to heal.  May you be willing to offer an apology to those who might be holding something against you.  May you do this for God’s glory.

 

1. Is there someone you feel you owe an apology?

 

 

 

1. What is standing in your way? I urge you to bring the belief that is keeping you from apologizing, to God, and ask Him for His Perspective.

 

 

 

PRAYER:  Majesty, I bring my doubting heart to You. It is filled with fear and uncertainty. As I bring these negative beliefs to You, fill me with Your Truth, so I may do what is right.

 

August 27  In the Midst of Suffering

 

“MAN IS NOT FULLY CONDITIONED AND DETERMINED BUT RATHER DETERMINES HIMSELF WHETHER HE GIVES IN TO CONDITIONS OR STAND UP TO THEM.  IN OTHER WORDS, MAN IS ULTIMATELY SELF-DETERMINING.  MAN DOES NOT SIMPLY EXIST BUT ALWAYS DECIDES WHAT HIS EXISTENCE WILL BE, WHAT HE WILL BECOME IN THE NEXT MOMENT” (Victor E. Frankl).

 

Life is full of joy…but also full of pain.  There is the pain of feeling alone… companionless…forsaken.  Then there is the pain of rejection…unacceptability… condemnation.  Still yet, there is the pain of shame—a painful emotion caused by consciousness of guilt, shortcoming, or impropriety.  There is also the pain of loss and of disappointment.

 

Regardless of which pain you have, the determining question is, “What are you going to do with it?”  You see, you do not simply exist, but God made you into a self-determining being—a being whose quality of existence depends on your choices.  YOU ARE NOT CONTROLLED BY ANYBODY.  You have the freedom to choose what you will become in the midst of your pain…even in the next moment.  You have the freedom to decide whether your pain will control you…or you, your pain.  If you believe that you HAVE to obey your pain, the father-of-lies has deceived you.  YOU HAVE CHOSEN TO OBEY THE FATHER-OF-LIES!

 

“HE IS DESPISED AND REJECTED OF MEN; A MAN OF SORROWS, AND ACQUAINTED WITH GRIEF…SURELY HE HATH BORNE OUR GRIEFS AND CARRIED OUR SORROWS” (Isaiah 53:3-4).

 

I bless you to know that you DO have a choice: to decide who you will be in the midst of your heartache and suffering.  You have the choice to run from your sorrows, hide from your anguish, or blame someone else for your wounds.

 

In contrast, YOU HAVE THE CHOICE TO ALLOW JESUS, A MAN OF SORROWS AND ACQUAINTED WITH GRIEF, TO BEAR YOUR SUFFERING AND CARRY YOUR SORROWS FOR YOU…AND YOU WILL BE SET FREE FROM YOUR EMOTIONAL PAIN, regardless of the circumstances that caused them.

 

1. After looking at the list above, what kind of pain lives in your heart?

 

 

 

1. What have you decided to do with your pain?

 

 

 

PRAYER:  Lord Jesus, Man of Sorrows, I praise You that You have borne my grief and carried my sorrows, so I do not have to bear my grief and carry my sorrows anymore. I surrender the pain in my heart to You.

August 28  To Whom Do You Offer Your Emotions?

 

“WOMEN ARE NURTURERS.  THERE’S SO MUCH WE CAN DO WITH THE POWER OF OUR FEELINGS, THE POWER OF OUR SENSITIVITY” (Nicole Kidman).

 

I have an excess of feelings…a plethora of impressions…an abundance of perceptions.  I am very sensitive, perceptive, and aware.  I am a woman.

 

“DON’T YOU KNOW THAT WHEN YOU OFFER YOURSELVES TO SOMEONE TO OBEY HIM AS SLAVES, YOU ARE SLAVES TO THE ONE WHOM YOU OBEY—WHETHER YOU ARE SLAVES TO SIN, WHICH LEADS TO DEATH, OR TO OBEDIENCE, WHICH LEADS TO RIGHTEOUSNESS?” (Romans 6:16).

 

Regardless of whether you are a man or woman, I bless you to realize that you do not simply exist, but God made you into a self-determining being—a being whose quality of existence depends on your choices.  Be aware that you will become a slave to the one whom you obey…but you have a choice whom to obey.  You have a choice to whom to offer your emotions.

 

“MAN IS NOT FULLY CONDITIONED AND DETERMINED BUT RATHER DETERMINES HIMSELF WHETHER HE GIVES IN TO CONDITIONS OR STAND UP TO THEM.  IN OTHER WORDS, MAN IS ULTIMATELY SELF-DETERMINING.  MAN DOES NOT SIMPLY EXIST BUT ALWAYS DECIDES WHAT HIS EXISTENCE WILL BE, WHAT HE WILL BECOME IN THE NEXT MOMENT” (Victor E. Frankl).

 

I have discovered that I have to be careful whom I serve with my emotions.  Because I am so sensitive, perceptive, and aware of my surroundings, the father-of-lies is constantly looking for a way to use my emotions to serve him. He uses these sensitive characteristics as an open door to enter into our hearts and deposit his painful beliefs of non-acceptance into our souls.

 

However, I have also discovered that if I offer my emotions to the Perfect Father through Jesus, my emotions are redeemed.  They are filled with Truth, Hope, and Love.  They soar with Joy and Peace.  They brim with Self-control and Patience.

 

“JESUS CHRIST, WHO GAVE HIMSELF FOR US TO REDEEM US FROM ALL WICKEDNESS AND TO PURIFY FOR HIMSELF A PEOPLE THAT ARE HIS VERY OWN, EAGER TO DO WHAT IS GOOD” (Titus 2:13-14).

 

1. To whom do you offer your moment-by-moment emotions?

 

 

 

PRAYER:  Lord Jesus, I praise You for giving Yourself for me. Redeem me, my Lord, from all wickedness, and purify me for Yourself, so I may be someone who is Your very own.

August 30  Ambassadors for Christ

 

“WE ARE AMBASSADORS FOR CHRIST”

(2 Corinthians 5:20).

It is so easy to be a representative of my own kingdom…a spokesperson of my own domain…an advocate of my own possessions.

 

“BUT SEEK YE FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD, AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS;

AND ALL THESE THINGS SHALL BE ADDED UNTO YOU”

(Matthew 6:33).

 

I bless you to become an ambassador for Christ—a representative of your Perfect Father’s Kingdom.

 

May your body become available to Christ, through which someone could experience the Dwelling Place of Jesus.

May your hands become available to Christ, through which someone could experience the Kindness of Jesus.

May your mouth become available to Christ, through which someone could experience the Gentleness of Jesus.

May your feet become available to Christ, through which someone could experience the Presence of Jesus.

“THY KINGDOM IS AN EVERLASTING KINGDOM,

AND THY DOMINION ENDURETH THROUGHOUT ALL GENERATIONS”

 (Psalm 145:13).

May your mind be available to Christ, through which you could experience Jesus as the Truth, the Way, and the Life.

May your will be available to Christ, through which you could experience the Obedience of Jesus towards His Father.

God’s Kingdom lasts forever!

1. Of whom are you an ambassador: your Self or the Lord Jesus? In other words, who lives in you and through you: your Self or the Lord Jesus?

 

 

 

PRAYER:  Lord Jesus, establish Yourself in my mind, my heart, my will, my hands, my feet, my mouth, and my whole body, so I may become Your ambassador in everything I think, say and do…and in everything I am.
August 31  Your Decisions Matter

 

“BUT SEEK YE FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD, AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS; AND ALL THESE THINGS SHALL BE ADDED UNTO YOU” (Matthew 6:33).

 

In my life, I have discovered that it is so easy to become a representative of the father-of-lies’kingdom: a spokesperson for his domain of lies…an advocate for his godlessness and wickedness.  All I need to do is ACCEPT AND ADOPT the thoughts he introduces on a daily basis, and SUPPRESS THE TRUTH offered by the God of Truth, in opposition to these.

 

I bless you to grasp that when you adopt a thought offered by the father-of-lies, you have MADE A DECISION to invite the father-of-lies to govern your life at that moment.  Understand that you have placed your whole Self under the authority of the father-of-lies and his kingdom.  You have MADE A DECISION to offer your mind and body to him to kill, steal, and destroy you and those around you.

 

“MAN IS NOT FULLY CONDITIONED AND DETERMINED BUT RATHER DETERMINES HIMSELF WHETHER HE GIVES IN TO CONDITIONS OR STAND UP TO THEM.  IN OTHER WORDS, MAN IS ULTIMATELY SELF-DETERMINING.  MAN DOES NOT SIMPLY EXIST BUT ALWAYS DECIDES WHAT HIS EXISTENCE WILL BE, WHAT HE WILL BECOME IN THE NEXT MOMENT” (Victor E. Frankl).

 

I bless you to understand that when you turn the father-of-lies’ thoughts over to the God of Truth, you have MADE A DECISION to invite God to govern your life at that moment.  Grasp that you have placed your whole Self under the authority of God’s Kingdom.  You have MADE A DECISION to offer your mind and body to God for His Truth, Love, and Hope to be revealed to you and those around you.

 

“THE WRATH OF GOD IS BEING REVEALED FROM HEAVEN AGAINST ALL THE GODLESSNESS AND WICKEDNESS OF MEN WHO SUPPRESS THE TRUTH BY THEIR WICKEDNESS” (Romans 1:18).

 

I bless you to see that you are a self-determining being.  YOUR DECISIONS MATTER to the father-of-lies…to the God of Truth…to you…and to those around you.

 

1. What do you do with your daily thoughts of shame, abandonment, condemnation, fear, and rejection?

 

 

 

PRAYER:  Lord Jesus, bring me to the place where I will stand up and embrace Your Truth for each situation in my life, instead of giving in to the negative, destructive beliefs of the father-of-lies. May I understand how important my decisions are, each day, each moment, whatever I do, wherever I go.

September

September 1  Take Hold of That for which Jesus Took Hold of You

 

“BUT I PRESS ON TO TAKE HOLD OF THAT FOR WHICH CHRIST JESUS TOOK HOLD OF ME” (Philippians 3:12).

 

Jesus took hold of you.  Have you taken hold of Him?  He bought you salvation from your Self: from what you do…and from who you are.  Have you taken hold of this?  He came to nail the beliefs “I am not loved, I am not lovable,” on the cross, so that you could be freed from the effects of these beliefs on your heart.  Have you taken hold of that?

 

“PRAISE BE TO THE GOD AND FATHER OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST! IN HIS GREAT MERCY HE HAS GIVEN US NEW BIRTH INTO A LIVING HOPE THROUGH THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST FROM THE DEAD” (1 Peter 1:3).

 

I bless you to recognize that there is a Living Hope available to you, moment-by-moment: a Living Hope for your living despair, a Living Hope for your living fear, a Living Hope for your living grief.  Have you taken hold of this Living Hope?

 

“JESUS SAITH UNTO HIM, I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE: NO MAN COMETH UNTO THE FATHER, BUT BY ME” (John 14:6).

 

Jesus, the Living Hope, is your Way to feel loved and lovable.  But you need to take hold of His Way, and invite His Presence and Participation into these places of your heart.  Jesus, the Living Hope, is the Truth to your perturbing perception that you are fatally flawed.  But you need to take hold of the Truth.  Jesus, the Living Hope, is offering you His Life, so you may be redeemed from the father-of-lies.  But you need to take hold of His Life.

 

MAY YOU REALIZE THAT JESUS TOOK HOLD OF YOU

SO THAT YOU MAY TAKE HOLD OF HIM!

 

1. Have you taken hold of that for which the Lord Jesus has taken hold of you?

 

 

 

1. What will it take for you to take hold of the Lord Jesus and everything He has for you through Him?

 

 

 

PRAYER:  Thank you, Lord Jesus, that You have taken hold of me. Thank you that You have taken hold of my sin: the negative, destructive beliefs that live in my mind by the father-of-lies. Thank you that You have taken hold of my sinful actions and reaction to these beliefs: patterns of running, hiding, and blaming. Thank you that You have taken hold of my anger…my fear…my jealousy…my hatred. Help me, my Lord, to take hold of You, for in You is everything I need for life in Heaven and on earth.

September 2  Take Hold of That for which Jesus Took Hold of You

 

“BUT I PRESS ON TO TAKE HOLD OF THAT FOR WHICH CHRIST JESUS TOOK HOLD OF ME” (Philippians 3:12).

 

My life has had many opportunities…many courses of action…many options.  However, there has only been ONE PLAN that has contained the THAT for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.  The other plans have not necessarily been bad.  They contained many good works.  They delivered great results.  However, they did not deliver the God-sized results that only God’s plan could deliver.  I am talking about God’s unique PURPOSE for my life.

 

“FOR WE ARE HIS WORKMANSHIP, CREATED IN CHRIST JESUS FOR GOOD WORKS, WHICH GOD PREPARED BEFOREHAND THAT WE SHOULD WALK IN THEM”

(Ephesians 2:10).

 

I bless you to know that God has a THAT available for YOUR life, too.  God’s mastermind has a marked-out course for your life: a plan to follow…a program of action.  Know that he already has certain projects planned for you…certain assignments lined up…certain accomplishments mapped out.  One of the reasons that you are not walking in the THAT could be that you have not been willing to give up all the other plans you are following, so you can take hold of the THAT!

 

Would you allow the Lord Jesus to guide you to your PURPOSE that was specifically designed for YOU?  I know that the projects you are doing in your life right now are not necessarily bad, but are they the THAT that God has predesigned just for YOU?

 

May you only be satisfied to walk in the THAT that the Lord Jesus has available for you.  And may you discontinue all other projects—good and bad—in order to take hold of the THAT!

 

1. Have you taken hold of God’s Purpose that the Lord Jesus wants to accomplish through your life?

 

 

1. If not, why not? What needs to change in order for God to work His Purpose in your life?

 

 

 

PRAYER:  Thank you, Lord Jesus, that You have taken hold of me. Thank you that You have taken hold of me to save me from the accusatory beliefs that live in my mind from the father-of-lies and also from my sinful reactions to these negative beliefs. I praise You, Lord God, that You have also taken hold of me to work Your Purpose in my life.

 

I surrender myself to You, O Lord, just the way I am: with my particular set of circumstances, my sins, my mistakes, my personality, my finances, and all that I am and do. I do this to take hold of the Purpose for which You have taken hold of me.

September 3 Meet Him in Your Heart

“JESUS ANSWERED, ‘I AM THE WAY AND THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE. NO ONE COMES TO THE FATHER EXCEPT THROUGH ME’” (John 14:6).

 

For a very long time during my life, I felt sad, bad, and mad, but I did not know why.  I had never connected with my heart.

 

My life became increasingly miserable, even when circumstances were good.  I found myself always reacting to everything and everyone, and I came to the conclusion that I was not normal.  Everybody else seemed to have it together, why was I falling apart, daily?  After a lifetime of confusion and despair, I finally decided to connect with my heart.  What I saw in my heart was darkness…blackness…no light.

 

I needed LIGHT: a Way out of my conclusion that I was not okay…Truth for my perception that God had no plan for the future…Life for the deadness in my soul.

 

At first, I tried turning the light on in my heart, all by myself.  I did this in any way I could muster up: by memorizing Scripture…by pretending that everything was OK…by keeping busy, or just sleeping it off.  I did all of this to force my heart to see things in a positive, holy way.  It did not work.  My perceptions remained.  And the darkness prevailed.

 

Then I discovered the Truth, the Way, and the Life.  His name is Jesus Christ.

 

I learned that the Lord Jesus wanted to have a RELATIONSHIP with my heart.  He wanted to bring HIS LIGHT into my heart, but it was up to me to connect with my heart, and bring the perturbing PERCEPTIONS that lived there, to Him.  HIS PERSPECTIVE would bring the Truth that I mattered.  HIS PERSPECTIVE would supply the Way that pointed to a purpose for my life.  HIS PERSPECTIVE would wake the deadness in my soul and equip it with Life. But, the exchange had to happen in my own heart.

 

I bless you to connect with your heart, and allow the Lord Jesus to exchange the perturbing perceptions that live there for His Perspective.  The Lord Jesus wants to meet you in your own heart, so that He could become Your Way, your Truth, and your Life, too!

 

1. Have you connected with your own heart and faced the darkness that lives there?

 

 

 

1. If not, why not? Once you have connected with your heart, you can invite the Lord Jesus to shine His Light on your darkness.

 

 

 

PRAYER:  Lord Jesus, give me the courage to look into my own heart and find out why it feels so bad, mad, and sad. Then, come and meet me there and comfort me with Your Perspective.

September 4  The Two Fathers

 

“BE VERY CAREFUL, THEN, HOW YOU LIVE—NOT AS UNWISE BUT AS WISE, MAKING THE MOST OF EVERY OPPORTUNITY, BECAUSE THE DAYS ARE EVIL”

(Ephesians 5:15-16).

 

I urge you to be careful how you live.  Make the most of every opportunity.  Know that the father-of-lies is using every opportunity to look for a way to make you serve him.  Do not live as unwise…but as wise.

 

“FOR FROM HIM AND THROUGH HIM AND TO HIM ARE ALL THINGS. TO HIM BE THE GLORY FOREVER!” (Romans 11:36).

 

Understand that the father-of-lies is using every opportunity to get you to live FROM him, and THROUGH him, and TO him.  He would love to take the place of God in your life.  HE LIVES IN YOUR SELF-NATURE.

 

“I KNOW THAT NOTHING GOOD LIVES IN ME, THAT IS, IN MY SINFUL NATURE.  FOR I HAVE THE DESIRE TO DO WHAT IS GOOD, BUT I CANNOT CARRY IT OUT. FOR WHAT I DO IS NOT THE GOOD I WANT TO DO; NO, THE EVIL I DO NOT WANT TO DO—THIS I KEEP ON DOING” (Romans 7:18-19).

 

Realize that nothing good lives in your sinful Self-nature.  Although it wants to live FOR God and THROUGH God and TO God, it cannot carry it out.  It does not submit to God, nor can it do so.  Realize that those who live according to the sinful Self-nature have their minds set on what that nature desires: to live FROM the father-of-lies…THROUGH the father-of-lies…and TO the father-of-lies.

 

“THOSE WHO LIVE ACCORDING TO THE SINFUL NATURE HAVE THEIR MINDS SET ON WHAT THAT NATURE DESIRES; BUT THOSE WHO LIVE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE SPIRIT HAVE THEIR MINDS SET ON WHAT THE SPIRIT DESIRES” (Romans 8:5).

 

I bless you to understand that the Perfect Father sent His son, Jesus, to make a new life available to you—the Life of the Spirit.  Therefore, those living in accordance with the Spirit of God have their minds set on what the Spirit desires: to live FOR the Lord Jesus…THROUGH the Lord Jesus…and TO the Lord Jesus.  They give honor to the Perfect Father, and the father-of-lies has no hold on them.

 

1. From and to and through whom do you live: the Perfect Father…or the father-of-lies? How can you tell?

 

 

 

PRAYER:  Perfect Father, I desire to live my life from You and to You and through You. I set my mind on what Your Spirit of Truth desires from me, not what my own Self-nature desires from me. Therefore, I will surrender every negative, destructive through that comes from the father-of-lies, to You, my Redeemer, so I may live my life wisely, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.
September 5  A New Befitting Heart

 

“THAT YE PUT OFF CONCERNING THE FORMER CONVERSATION THE OLD MAN, WHICH IS CORRUPT ACCORDING TO THE DECEITFUL LUSTS” (Ephesians 4:22).

 

Realize that there is an OLD MAN living his life inside you: an agglomeration of negative, destructive beliefs, instilled in your mind by the father-of-lies.  This collection of OLD MAN beliefs carries a painful negative message of failure, defilement, and unworthiness.

 

“KEEP THY HEART WITH ALL DILIGENCE; FOR OUT OF IT ARE THE ISSUES OF LIFE” (Proverbs 4:23).

 

Understand that the father-of-lies shaped in you an OLD MAN for a reason.  He placed in you an ally through whom he can control you from the inside out, breaking your heart with belittling beliefs: “You are inept.  You are improper.  You are offensive.”  He uses this OLD MAN to break your heart…to manage your mind…to dominate your emotions, because he knows that your heart is the wellspring of life.

 

“I WILL GIVE YOU A NEW HEART AND PUT A NEW SPIRIT IN YOU; I WILL REMOVE FROM YOU YOUR HEART OF STONE AND GIVE YOU A HEART OF FLESH”

 (Ezekiel 36:26).

 

I bless you to believe that the Lord Jesus came to nail your OLD MAN with its heart-breaking beliefs to the cross, to give you a new heart in its place, for He knows that out of your heart flow the issues of life.

 

“THAT CHRIST MAY DWELL IN YOUR HEARTS BY FAITH” (Ephesians 3:17).

 

1. Which OLD MAN beliefs in you have been breaking your heart?

 

 

 

1. Did you know that you can find and surrender these beliefs to the Lord Jesus, so He could give you a new heart with new beliefs?

 

 

 

PRAYER:  Lord Jesus, You are the Lord of my salvation. I praise You for what You have done to save me from the OLD MAN beliefs that have broken my heart. I desire to do Your Will, O Lord. Therefore, I submit the accusatory beliefs from the father-of-lies that have torn my heart to pieces, to You. Create in me a new heart with new beliefs, my God, so I may be whole and holy. I surrender my spirit of despair to You. Replace it with Your Spirit of Faith, so I may look forward to Your Provisions. Great are Your Works, O Lord my God.

 

September 6  A Dog Returns to Its Vomit

 

“‘A DOG RETURNS TO ITS VOMIT,’ AND, ‘A SOW THAT IS WASHED GOES BACK TO HER WALLOWING IN THE MUD’” (2 Peter 2:22).

 

I have the cutest little dog—a Bichon Frise.  He is snow white.  I wash him with a special shampoo and conditioner; otherwise, his hair curls and mats too much, especially in salty ocean air.  However, this cute little dog has a very gruesome habit—he returns to his vomit.  I do not have to describe this to you.  I am sure you are familiar with the habits of dogs.

 

“NOW THE MIND OF THE FLESH [WHICH IS SENSE AND REASON WITHOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT] IS DEATH [DEATH THAT COMPRISES ALL THE MISERIES ARISING FROM SIN, BOTH HERE AND HEREAFTER]. BUT THE MIND OF THE [HOLY] SPIRIT IS LIFE AND [SOUL] PEACE [BOTH NOW AND FOREVER]” (Romans 8:6 AMP).

 

Understand that the mind of the Self-nature is reasoning without the influence of the Holy Spirit.  It operates under the management of the father-of-lies: embracing perturbing perceptions…concocting false deductions…inventing wild suspicions.  These cause jealousy, hatred, and rage…and eventually death.

 

“THOSE WHO LIVE ACCORDING TO THE SINFUL NATURE HAVE THEIR MINDS SET ON WHAT THAT NATURE DESIRES; BUT THOSE WHO LIVE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE SPIRIT HAVE THEIR MINDS SET ON WHAT THE SPIRIT DESIRES” (Romans 8:5).

 

Just like a dog returns to its vomit, and a sow that is washed returns to its wallowing in the mud, so also the mind, reasoning without the Holy Spirit, will always return to the same patterns that please the sinful nature.  It will return to its mind-reading and consequential animosity…its perturbing perceptions and ensuing jealousy…its wild suspicions and resulting rage.  These irrational, out-of-control, and hateful behavior patterns will return tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that…

 

If you would like to change your behavior patterns, you will need to start living from the reasoning of the Holy Spirit.  You will need to surrender your mind reading, wild suspicions, and perturbing perceptions (reasoning without the Holy Spirit) to the Lord Jesus, and ask Him for His Perspective (reasoning with the Holy Spirit.)  He will set your mind free from returning to its own vomit.

 

1. To which patterns do you return again…and again…and again, because of your perturbing perceptions—reasoning without the Holy Spirit?

 

 

 

1. What will it take for you to bring your reasoning under the control of the Holy Spirit?

 

 

September 7  How to Name the Pain

 

“SEE, I HAVE REFINED YOU, THOUGH NOT AS SILVER; I HAVE TESTED YOU IN THE FURNACE OF AFFLICTION” (Isaiah 48:10).

 

I have a certain attitude towards emotional pain that helps me to cope with it.  When I have emotional pain, I deal with it by comparing it with something materialistic that can be perceived by the senses—something physical that becomes an agent for identification.  When I have emotional pain, I become aware of its attributes, its intensity, and its resemblance to something else I know.

 

Once, I identified my emotional pain as a distortion in my heart.  Another time, it felt like a heavy rock at the bottom of my heart.  Yet another time, it felt like a stabbing knife that was sunk deeply into the tender tissues of my heart.  All of these images help me to identify the darkness in my heart that makes me feel so unloved and unlovable…so unaccepted and unacceptable…so unworthy and unwanted.

 

After I have identified and named the various partitions in my heart that contain pain and darkness, I invite the Presence and Participation of the Lord Jesus into each of these spots in my heart.

 

“NOTHING IN ALL CREATION IS HIDDEN FROM GOD’S SIGHT. EVERYTHING IS UNCOVERED AND LAID BARE BEFORE THE EYES OF HIM TO WHOM WE MUST GIVE ACCOUNT” (Hebrews 4:13).

 

Then, the Lord Jesus Himself turns on the Light in each partition of my heart.  He removes the rock of hopelessness that is sitting at the bottom of my heart.  He pulls out the knife of non-acceptance that is causing the sharp pain of jealousy in my heart.  He erases the distortion that causes me to stumble in confusion. He does this, because nothing in creation is hidden from God’s sight…not even the pain in my heart.

 

Each time I lay an image of emotional pain at the feet of God, He turns His Light on in my heart.  Soon, everywhere in my heart, there are partitions in which His Light is shining.  And the darkness disappears.  It is then that I can say, “I have been tested and refined in the furnace of affliction.”

 

1. How would you describe the pain in YOUR heart? After you have identified it, is there anything that is hindering you from giving it to God?

 

 

 

PRAYER: God of Glory, all Your works shall give thanks to You and all Your Saints shall praise You. They shall speak of Your mighty deeds, and of the glory of Your Kingdom. God of all Comfort, I invite Your Presence and Participation into the stabbing pain in my heart, into the deep dungeons of despair, and into the confusion that distorts Your Truth. Thank you, Lord, that You are able to save those who come to You and believe.

September 8  The Benefits of Loving God

 

“BECAUSE HE HATH SET HIS LOVE UPON ME, THEREFORE WILL I DELIVER HIM: I WILL SET HIM ON HIGH, BECAUSE HE HATH KNOWN MY NAME. HE SHALL CALL UPON ME, AND I WILL ANSWER HIM: I WILL BE WITH HIM IN TROUBLE; I WILL DELIVER HIM, AND HONOUR HIM. WITH LONG LIFE WILL I SATISFY HIM, AND SHEW HIM MY SALVATION” (Psalm 91:14-16).

 

Pay attention that the Most High does not treat everyone the same.  Note that there are special privileges for those who set their love upon Him: for those who dwell in the secret place of the Most High…for those who make the Lord God their hiding place…for those who acknowledge God in everything they think, say, and do.  Those shall call upon Him when they are afraid, alone, or rejected, and He will answer them.  He will make His Presence known to them during their troubled times of sorrow and despair.  He will deliver them.  He will honor them.  He will save them.

 

“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).

 

Notice that the Lord God does not treat everyone the same.  Note that there are special benefits for those who abide in Him and allow His words to abide in them: for those who continue to do what is right in spite of adversity…for those who remain fixed on God’s Truth, instead of having fellowship with the lies of the father-of-lies…for those who endure their pain by surrendering it to the Lord Jesus Christ.  They will ask whatever they wish, and it will be done for them.

 

“OH HOW GREAT IS THY GOODNESS, WHICH THOU HAST LAID UP FOR THEM THAT FEAR THEE; WHICH THOU HAST WROUGHT FOR THEM THAT TRUST IN THEE BEFORE THE SONS OF MEN!” (Psalm 31:19).

 

Take note that the Everlasting Father does not treat everyone the same.  Note that there are special advantages for those who trust in Him: for those who rely on the Character, Ability, Power, and Truth of the Perfect Father.  They will receive the Goodness, which the Perfect Father has prepared for them since the beginning of time.

 

1. If you have been acknowledging the Lord Jesus in everything you think, say, and do, God wants to honor you, deliver you, and answer you, but you need to ask Him for His help. For what situation in your life do you need help from the living God?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Sovereign God, I declare Your Goodness to all who honor Your Name, who come to You in times of trouble, who acknowledge You in all they think, say, and do. Blessed is the man who takes refuge in You, for You deliver him, answer Him, and honor Him. How abundant is Your Goodness, which You have stored up for those who fear You.

September 9  Prayer Is A Place to Hide

 

“WHERE CAN I GO FROM YOUR SPIRIT?

WHERE CAN I FLEE FROM YOUR PRESENCE?

IF I GO UP TO THE HEAVENS, YOU ARE THERE;

IF I MAKE MY BED IN THE DEPTHS, YOU ARE THERE.

IF I RISE ON THE WINGS OF THE DAWN,

IF I SETTLE ON THE FAR SIDE OF THE SEA,

EVEN THERE YOUR HAND WILL GUIDE ME,

YOUR RIGHT HAND WILL HOLD ME FAST.

IF I SAY, ‘SURELY THE DARKNESS WILL HIDE ME

AND THE LIGHT BECOME NIGHT AROUND ME,’

EVEN THE DARKNESS WILL NOT BE DARK TO YOU;

THE NIGHT WILL SHINE LIKE THE DAY,

FOR DARKNESS IS AS LIGHT TO YOU”

(Psalm 139:7-12).

The other day, I felt stuck.  I felt lost.  I felt anxious.  There was pain in my heart—all kinds of pain: sorrow…fear…despair.  Negative, destructive beliefs were bombarding the tender walls of my heart: “There is no answer.  You are stuck with your problem.  You are going to die.”  I wanted to hide.  But where?  Where could I hide where the negative, destructive beliefs of the father-of-lies would not find me?  Where could I hide from sorrow, fear, and despair?

 

And then the Answer spoke, “My child, I have a hiding place for you—PRAYER!  You can hide in prayer.  Prayer is available to you everywhere, because I am everywhere.  Even if you run away and settle far away from everyone, I am there.  You can pray.  In your work, I am there.  In your sleep, I am there. You can pray.  Even if you hide in the dark dungeons of despair, I am there.  You can pray.  And I will answer!”

 

“IN MY DISTRESS I CRIED UNTO THE LORD, AND HE HEARD ME” (Psalm 120:1).

 

I bless you to be comforted.  You are never without help.  You do not have to be anxious, for you are never stuck or lost.  God’s Presence is everywhere.  All you need to do…is PRAY!

 

“DO NOT BE ANXIOUS ABOUT ANYTHING, BUT IN EVERY SITUATION, BY PRAYER AND PETITION, WITH THANKSGIVING, PRESENT YOUR REQUESTS TO GOD”

(Philippians 4:6).

 

1. What part of your heart is stuck right now? Which problem is too big for you to handle? What makes you feel anxious, lost, and frozen with fear? Remember…you can pray right where you are. God is here.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Majesty, thank you that You are in this place of fear…of despair…of darkness, even if I cannot see You. Thank you that there is no place on Heaven or on earth that is hidden from You, Lord, and that is void of Your Presence…even this place. Thank you that You are here, right now. I lift my request up to You, while You listen and see me.
September 10  FROM God and THROUGH God and TO God

 

“BE VERY CAREFUL, THEN, HOW YOU LIVE—NOT AS UNWISE BUT AS WISE, MAKING THE MOST OF EVERY OPPORTUNITY, BECAUSE THE DAYS ARE EVIL”

(Ephesians 5:15-16).

 

Be careful, then, how you live.  Make the most of every daily, moment-by-moment opportunity.

 

“FOR FROM HIM AND THROUGH HIM AND TO HIM ARE ALL THINGS. TO HIM BE THE GLORY FOREVER!” (Romans 11:36).

 

Ask yourself, often, whether what you think is FROM God, and THROUGH God, and TO God.  Know that you can obtain this quality of life by not believing everything you think, but by taking hold of every thought that enters your mind, and yielding it to the Lord Jesus…for Truth.

 

“WE DEMOLISH ARGUMENTS AND EVERY PRETENSION THAT SETS ITSELF UP AGAINST THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD, AND WE TAKE CAPTIVE EVERY THOUGHT TO MAKE IT OBEDIENT TO CHRIST” (2 Corinthians 10:5).

 

Ask yourself, daily, whether what you believe about someone or something is FROM God, and THROUGH God, and TO God.  For you can obtain this quality of life by not relying on your own perceptions, interpretations, or conclusions, but by actively asking God for His Perspective during every moment-by-moment situation you encounter.

 

“TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR HEART AND LEAN NOT ON YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING” (Proverbs 3:5).

 

Deliberately ask yourself, daily, whether what you do at a given moment is FROM God, and THROUGH God, and TO God, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

 

1. What percentage of your day do you think thoughts that are FROM God, THROUGH God, and TO God?

 

 

 

1. What percentage of your day do you entertain perceptions about yourself and others that are FROM God, and THROUGH God, and TO God?

 

 

 

1. What percentage of your day are your actions and reactions FROM God, THROUGH God, and TO God?

 

 

 

1. Would you like to change this, making the most of every opportunity?

 

September 11  Perseverance Is a Tool

 

“BY FAITH HE LEFT EGYPT, NOT FEARING THE KING’S ANGER; HE PERSEVERED BECAUSE HE SAW HIM WHO IS INVISIBLE” (Hebrews 11:27).

 

Do you keep your eyes on Him who is invisible, or are you watching the king’s anger?  Do you keep your eyes on Him who is invisible, or are you staring at the circumstances?  Do you keep your eyes on Him who is invisible, or are you taking stock of your failures? Do you keep your eyes on Him who is invisible, or are you looking at the results?

 

“YOU NEED TO PERSEVERE SO THAT WHEN YOU HAVE DONE THE WILL OF GOD, YOU WILL RECEIVE WHAT HE HAS PROMISED” (Hebrews 10:36).

 

Understand that perseverance is a tool in God’s hands.  It is the tool He uses to slay your enemies: abandonment, condemnation, and shame.  It is when you do not give up, despite the opposition, that God has a chance to do the miracle.  It is when you keep on going, despite discouragement, that God has a chance to accomplish the impossible.  It is when you stand firm and keep doing what is right, despite counterinfluences, that God has a chance to accomplish His Purpose in you and through you.

“AS YOU KNOW, WE COUNT AS BLESSED THOSE WHO HAVE PERSEVERED. YOU HAVE HEARD OF JOB’S PERSEVERANCE AND HAVE SEEN WHAT THE LORD FINALLY BROUGHT ABOUT. THE LORD IS FULL OF COMPASSION AND MERCY” (James 5:11).

 

I bless you to believe that there are many things God wants to accomplish with your life, for He is full of compassion and mercy, BUT YOU NEED TO PERSEVERE!  It is during perseverance that the Will of God is done.  Do not give up.  Do not stop.  Persevere!

 

“BLESSED IS THE ONE WHO PERSEVERES UNDER TRIAL” (James 1:12).

 

1. How have you been handling your trials: doing the Will of God, in expectancy of His reward…or are you running away, hiding, and blaming others for your trials?

 

 

 

1. Why are you trying to escape your trials, which God wants to use to teach you His Will?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Sovereign Lord, call me to stay and face my current trials. Work Your Patience and Comfort in my heart, so I would stop trying to escape my trials, but hunker down and embrace Your Will during this time. Remove the negative, destructive beliefs of the father-of-lies that are telling my heart that it is not safe to persevere during these trials. Lift my eyes above the circumstances, that I may see You who are visible through Your Spirit.

 

 

September 12  What If I Did Not Have Faith?

 

“WHAT IF SOME DID NOT HAVE FAITH?  WILL THEIR LACK OF FAITH NULLIFY GOD’S FAITHFULNESS? NOT AT ALL!” (Romans 3:3-4).

 

I bless you today to celebrate that your lack of faith will not nullify God’s faithfulness.

 

“BUT THE LORD IS FAITHFUL, AND HE WILL STRENGTHEN AND PROTECT YOU FROM THE EVIL ONE” (2 Thessalonians 3:3).

 

In times when the evil one attacks you with abandonment, God is still faithful.  He has not left you.  He is still Immanuel—God with you.

 

In times when the evil one attacks you with hopelessness, God is still faithful.  He will strengthen you with His Hope.  He is still the God of Hope.

 

In times when the evil one attacks you with powerlessness, God is still faithful.  He is still the God of Power who can do more than you can ever imagine.

 

In times when you feel you are surrounded by nothing but the darkness of the evil one, God is still faithful.  He will protect you from the evil one.  He is still the God of Light.

 

“IF WE ARE FAITHLESS, HE WILL REMAIN FAITHFUL, FOR HE CANNOT DISOWN HIMSELF” (2 Timothy 2:13).

 

In times when you feel filled with fear, God is still faithful.  He never changes, but always stays the same. Even when you are faithless, God will remain faithful, for He cannot disown Himself.

 

“GOD, WHO HAS CALLED YOU INTO FELLOWSHIP WITH HIS SON JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD, IS FAITHFUL” (1 Corinthians 1:9).

 

1. Why has your faith deserted you? Why have you stopped believing in the promises of God? Why have you given up?

 

 

 

1. I bless you to be willing to submit your reasons for giving up, to God, and ask Him to fill you with His Faith, because He has not given up on you.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Sovereign Lord, I invite You into this place of faithlessness in my life. Come and minister to my heart and show me your Truth about my situation and about me. Strengthen and protect me from the father-of-lies who has filled me with deception and doubt. Fill me with Your Faith, O Lord, so I may tell the mountains in my life and those of others to leave…and it shall be done according to Your Faith in me.
September 13  The Fellowship of the Holy Spirit

When my mother was very ill, I interceded for her, day and night. I knew she was almost too weak to pray, and I took on the job of caring for her through intercession. I pleaded with the Father to help her…to deliver her…to care for her. I carried the heavy load of intercession. Then, my brother called to say she was admitted to the hospital. She was close to the end of her life here on earth. Again, I fell on my knees and vehemently interceded for her. But then God spoke to me. He said, “Renee, your work is done. The Holy Spirit has taken over your job of intercession for your mother. He is sitting with her, day and night, watching her carefully. Whenever she needs something, He tells Me, the Perfect Father, and then I supply. We are taking good care of her. We are in control. You can rest now. You can let go. I’ve got her.”

 

“IN THE SAME WAY, THE SPIRIT HELPS US IN OUR WEAKNESS. WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT WE OUGHT TO PRAY FOR, BUT THE SPIRIT HIMSELF INTERCEDES FOR US WITH GROANS THAT WORDS CANNOT EXPRESS” (Romans 8:26).

 

I bless you to understand that God sent you the fellowship of His Spirit to watch over you…to listen to your needs…to intercede for you. You are never alone. The Holy Spirit listens to your heart…and then tells the Perfect Father what you need.

 

When you are trembling with fear, the Holy Spirit intercedes for you with groans too deep to express. When you are overwhelmed with sorrow, the Holy Spirit pleads for you in His own purposeful way. When you are encumbered with despair, the Holy Spirit comes to your aid and holds you up to your Perfect Father.

 

“AND HE WHO SEARCHES OUR HEARTS KNOWS THE MIND OF THE SPIRIT, BECAUSE THE SPIRIT INTERCEDES FOR THE SAINTS IN ACCORDANCE WITH GOD’S WILL” (Romans 8:27).

 

And the Perfect Father, who searches your heart, pays attention to the pleas of the Holy Spirit, because the Spirit pleads on your behalf according to the Father’s Will.

 

“MAY THE GRACE OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, AND THE LOVE OF GOD, AND THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE HOLY SPIRIT BE WITH YOU ALL” (2 Corinthians 13:14).

 

I bless you to succumb to the Grace of the Lord Jesus, abide in the Love of the Perfect Father, and enjoy the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit.

 

1. How does this comfort you—to know that you have an Intercessor who intercedes for you with groans that words cannot express?

 

 

 

PRAYER: O Lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder consider all You do for me, my soul sings with Joy. I praise You, Lord God, with all my heart. I will glorify Your Name forever.

 

 

September 14  You Must Follow Me

“WHOEVER SERVES ME MUST FOLLOW ME; AND WHERE I AM, MY SERVANT ALSO WILL BE. MY FATHER WILL HONOR THE ONE WHO SERVES ME” (John 12:26).

 

If you want to serve the Lord Jesus, you must first follow Him, so He can show you where and how He wants you to serve Him. Then, you will end up in the place where the Lord Jesus wants you to be…and everything you do where Jesus is, matters.

 

Capture that when you are where Jesus is, every smile you give matters…every word you speak matters…every deed you do matters.

 

Understand that when you are where Jesus is, your patience counts…your faithfulness makes a difference…your love carries weight.

 

Be encouraged that the Perfect Father honors those who serve and follow His son, Jesus.  He applauds their work.  He reveres their commitment.  He prizes their efforts.

 

“HIS WORK WILL BE SHOWN FOR WHAT IT IS, BECAUSE THE DAY WILL BRING IT TO LIGHT. IT WILL BE REVEALED WITH FIRE, AND THE FIRE WILL TEST THE QUALITY OF EACH MAN’S WORK. IF WHAT HE HAS BUILT SURVIVES, HE WILL RECEIVE HIS REWARD. IF IT IS BURNED UP, HE WILL SUFFER LOSS; HE HIMSELF WILL BE SAVED, BUT ONLY AS ONE ESCAPING THROUGH THE FLAMES” (1 Corinthians 3:13-15).

 

I bless you to be diligent to follow the Lord Jesus and only do the work He has shown you to do, because then your work will be the Will of the Perfect Father.  Know that one day, your work will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of your work, but if you were where Jesus was and served Him with the work He has shown you, your work will survive…and you will receive your reward.

 

“THE WORLD AND ITS DESIRES PASS AWAY, BUT THE MAN WHO DOES THE WILL OF GOD LIVES FOREVER” (1 John 2:17).

 

1. Of what quality is the work you do for God? Will it survive the fire?

 

 

 

PRAYER: O Lord Jesus, I desire to be where You are and do the work that You show me to do. Let me follow You to my work, every day, to do the Will of the Father. Show me my portion for each day, so that I may do nothing more and nothing less than what You have given me to do, for if I do more I might become tired and discouraged, and if I do less I might not finish the task You have given me to do.

 

 

September 15  Jesus Has the Power

The other day I had a dilemma.  My heart was in a quandary, showing desires in two different directions.  Although both of these desires were good, I was in a state of perplexity.  The perplexity was very painful.  Then I wondered, “Would God bring this dilemma in my heart under His control if I yielded it to Him?”  He did!  A few days later, I sensed that my desires had sorted themselves out.  I was not in a quandary anymore.  I knew what to do.  God had brought the dilemma under His control.

 

I often ask God to bring a problem under His control, and then I am so surprised when He does.

 

“WHO, BY THE POWER THAT ENABLES HIM TO BRING EVERYTHING UNDER HIS CONTROL, WILL TRANSFORM OUR LOWLY BODIES SO THAT THEY WILL BE LIKE HIS GLORIOUS BODY” (Philippians 3:21).

 

Take heart! The Lord Jesus Christ possesses the Power that enables Him to bring everything under His control.

 

Be glad!  Jesus is capable of bringing your out-of-control tongue under His control.  Be encouraged!  Jesus is capable of bringing your out-of-hand dilemma under His control.  Rejoice!  Jesus is capable of bringing your uncontrollable thoughts under His control.

 

Sing with joy!  Jesus is capable of bringing your incorrigible heart and your unruly mind under his control.  Jubilate!  Jesus is able to exercise restraining influence over that which is ungovernable in your life.  Celebrate!  Jesus is able to rule over that which you place under His control.

 

“THE LORD ON HIGH IS MIGHTIER THAN THE NOISE OF MANY WATERS, YEA, THAN THE MIGHTY WAVES OF THE SEA” (Psalm 93:4).

 

I bless you as you submit your uncontrollable problem to Jesus.  I bless you as you surrender your unmanageable weakness to Jesus.  I bless you as you yield your entire life to Jesus.

 

1. What uncontrollable problem do you have in your life that you would like to submit to the Power of the Lord Jesus Christ: is it your tongue…your circumstances…your thoughts…your pain…your family members?

 

 

 

PRAYER: O Lord Jesus, You know my frame and You remember that I am human. I submit my uncontrollable problem to You, for You are mighty in strength. I yield my uncontrollable thoughts to You, that I may be filled with the knowledge of Your Will. I surrender my uncontrollable circumstances to You. Bring them under Your Control, O Lord, for as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are Your Ways higher than my ways. None can compare with You.

 

September 16  The Righteous Shall Live by Faith

 

“‘LORD, IF IT’S YOU,’ PETER REPLIED, ‘TELL ME TO COME TO YOU ON THE WATER.’

‘COME,’ HE SAID. THEN PETER GOT DOWN OUT OF THE BOAT, WALKED ON THE WATER AND CAME TOWARD JESUS. BUT WHEN HE SAW THE WIND, HE WAS AFRAID AND, BEGINNING TO SINK, CRIED OUT, ‘LORD, SAVE ME!’ IMMEDIATELY JESUS REACHED OUT HIS HAND AND CAUGHT HIM. ‘YOU OF LITTLE FAITH,’ HE SAID, ‘WHY DID YOU DOUBT?’” (Matthew 14:28-31).

 

Living in faith feels to me like walking on water.  It feels scary to trust someone you do not understand, hoping for that which you do not see.  It feels strange to disregard the turbulent water surrounding you.

 

The other day, a troublesome thought entered my mind, “Living-by-faith is a trick from God.  He is making a fool out of me.  His goal is to immobilize me…to de-activate me…to annihilate me.  He knows that as long as I trust HIM for the outcome, I will not do anything about my problem MYSELF.”

 

Did you recognize the voice of the father-of-lies?  I did!  I submitted these thoughts to God and He assured me that if I took matters into my own hands, the results might be good…but they would not be miraculous.  It is only when we trust HIM and allow HIM to handle matters, that we will be able to do the impossible—to walk on water.  Then I realized, “Yes, I might be a fool to trust God, but I am a fool for Christ.”

 

“WE ARE FOOLS FOR CHRIST” (1 Corinthians 4:10).

 

I bless you to live by faith.  Become a fool for Christ.  Walk on water, even if it feels scary and strange to hope for that which you do not see.  Never stop praying. It is when you walk on water that you will experience God’s Truth, Love, and Hope as a regular part of your life.

 

“BUT THE RIGHTEOUS WILL LIVE BY HIS FAITH” (Habakkuk 2:4).

 

It is when you walk on water that you will experience the miraculous.

 

“I AM CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST: NEVERTHELESS I LIVE; YET NOT I, BUT CHRIST LIVETH IN ME: AND THE LIFE WHICH I NOW LIVE IN THE FLESH I LIVE BY THE FAITH OF THE SON OF GOD, WHO LOVED ME, AND GAVE HIMSELF FOR ME” (Galatians 2:20).

 

1. For what in your life do you need faith? Do you feel that it is impossible for you to have the faith you need to allow God to handle your situation? I bless you to ask the Lord Jesus to give you His Faith by which to live.

 

 

 

PRAYER: O Lord Jesus, I confess that I do not have the faith I need to believe, to trust, and to hope. No matter how much I try, I am not able to conjure up the faith I need for my situation. Savior, You are the Author of Faith. When you lived on earth, You pleased the Father with Your perfect Faith. Establish Your Faith in me, Lord, so I may live by Your Faith and walk on water.

September 17  My Sheep Listen to My Voice

 

I used to follow any voice than entered my mind.  I still remember.  The voice would start innocently as a little thought “That person does not like you.”  Then, as I dwelled on the thought, a belief would grow “I am not worthy to be liked.”  Eventually, after days following this voice, a pernicious power of hopelessness and meaninglessness would overtake me…and I would end up in the dark dungeon of despair.

 

“I AM THE GATE; WHOEVER ENTERS THROUGH ME WILL BE SAVED.  HE WILL COME IN AND GO OUT, AND FIND PASTURE. THE THIEF COMES ONLY TO STEAL AND KILL AND DESTROY; I HAVE COME THAT THEY MAY HAVE LIFE, AND HAVE IT TO THE FULL” (John 10:9-10).

 

However, my life has changed.  I do not follow just any thought that enters my mind, any more.  One thought at a time, I gave my life to Jesus.  As a result, I have gotten to know the Voice of Jesus.  I know its characteristics.  It fills me with Joy.  It lavishes me with the Perfect Father’s Love.  It feeds me with Faith.  It leads me to pastures of Peace.  When I follow the Voice of Jesus, I end up where Jesus is—in the Will of the Perfect Father.

 

“MY SHEEP LISTEN TO MY VOICE; I KNOW THEM, AND THEY FOLLOW ME”

(John 10:27).

 

Become familiar with the Good Shepherd’s Voice—the Voice of Life.  If you follow His Voice regularly, you will know His Voice.  When you know His Voice, you will recognize the voice of the thief, who has come to kill, steal, and destroy.  You will recognize the voice of the thief as belonging to a stranger—one that offers hopelessness, hatred, and death.  And you will flee from it.

 

“AND A STRANGER WILL THEY NOT FOLLOW, BUT WILL FLEE FROM HIM: FOR THEY KNOW NOT THE VOICE OF STRANGERS” (John 10:5).

 

I bless you to surrender your life to the Lord Jesus, one thought at a time.  Submit the voices in your mind to Jesus, one by one, until they are all quiet, and only one Voice remains: the Voice that proclaims Hope…the Voice that proclaims Peace…the Voice that proclaims Forgiveness.  That is the voice of Jesus.  Follow that Voice!

 

1. Which voice do you follow, daily, moment-by-moment? How do you personally recognize the voice of the father-of-lies? How do you personally recognize the Voice of the Lord Jesus in your life?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, speak to me, often—when I am lonely, when I am confused, and when I am angry. Let me distinguish between Your Voice of Truth, Hope, and Love and the voice of the father-of-lies that kills, steals, and destroys…so I may follow You.

 

 

September 18  The Same Attitude as Jesus Christ

 

“YOU MUST HAVE THE SAME ATTITUDE THAT CHRIST JESUS HAD.

THOUGH HE WAS GOD,

HE DID NOT THINK OF EQUALITY WITH GOD

AS SOMETHING TO CLING TO.

INSTEAD, HE GAVE UP HIS DIVINE PRIVILEGES;

HE TOOK THE HUMBLE POSITION OF A SLAVE

AND WAS BORN AS A HUMAN BEING.

WHEN HE APPEARED IN HUMAN FORM

HE HUMBLED HIMSELF IN OBEDIENCE TO GOD

AND DIED A CRIMINAL’S DEATH ON A CROSS.

THEREFORE, GOD ELEVATED HIM TO THE PLACE OF HIGHEST HONOR”

(Philippians 2:5-9 NLT).

I bless you to humble yourself in obedience to God.  Give up your privileges.  Quit seeking glory for your Self.  Stop trying to execute your own plan.  Stop coveting a successful ministry, so you may boast to be like God. The Lord Jesus did not even do that…and He was God. Realize that you can accomplish nothing on your own: no Righteousness…no Salvation…no Hope.

“THE WORDS I SAY TO YOU ARE NOT JUST MY OWN.

RATHER, IT IS THE FATHER, LIVING IN ME, WHO IS DOING HIS WORK”

 (John 14:10).

 

“I DO NOTHING ON MY OWN”

 (John 8:27).

 

I bless you to have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had: to humble yourself in obedience to God, and allow Him to do His work in you and through you. He will accomplish His Purpose in you and through you, and He will elevate you at the right time.

 

“HUMILITY IS THE ONLY SOIL IN WHICH THE GRACES ROOT”

(Andrew Murray).

1. Is there something in your life that God might be asking you to do to show your obedience to Him, even if it requires humility of you?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I come to obey you. Show me what You want me to do, even if it requires of me to humble myself. Establish Your Spirit of submission in me, O Lord, that I may reflect Your attitude of servantship to all those around me, whether I deem them more or less important than myself.

 

September 19  Jesus, Your Living Hope

 

When I feel hopeless, everything around me feels dead…lifeless…extinct.  My possibilities seem crushed.  My life seems obsolete.  My power seems extinguished.  Hopelessness seems to be associated with termination…expiration…ruin.  Everything has ended.  There is nothing left.

 

“PRAISE BE TO THE GOD AND FATHER OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST! IN HIS GREAT MERCY HE HAS GIVEN US NEW BIRTH INTO A LIVING HOPE THROUGH THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST FROM THE DEAD” (1 Peter 1:3).

 

I bless you today to know that you have been given birth into a LIVING HOPE.  Jesus was resurrected from the dead to bring Life…new beginnings…creation.  Jesus makes alive which is dead.  He creates which does not exist.  To Him there is no expiration…no termination…no end.

 

Notice that Jesus, your Hope, is ALIVE and LIVING.  Jesus, your Hope, does not end.  Your Hope does not grow weary.  Your Hope does not sleep.

 

“JUST AS THE LIVING FATHER SENT ME AND I LIVE BECAUSE OF THE FATHER, SO THE ONE WHO FEEDS ON ME WILL LIVE BECAUSE OF ME” (John 6:57).

 

Be encouraged that just as the living Father sent Jesus to live because of the Father, so you will live.  BUT YOU NEED TO FEED ON JESUS.  You need to bring Him your powerlessness, so His Power can be renewed in you.  You need to lay before Him your impossibilities, so that He can change them to possibilities.  You need to give Him that, which has ended, so that He can create a new beginning.  Capture that because of Jesus, you always have another chance…another beginning…another possibility.  Jesus has become your LIVING HOPE.

“I AM THE LIVING ONE; I WAS DEAD, AND BEHOLD I AM ALIVE FOR EVER AND EVER!” (Revelation1:18).

 

I bless you as you feed on the Living Hope today and ask Him to make alive that, which is dead.

 

1. Is there something in your life that has ended for which you need the Lord Jesus—your Living Hope from the Father?

 

 

 

1. Do you know how to feed on the Lord Jesus—your Living Hope? You simply invite His Presence and Participation into that, which has died in you, for which you need new life.

 

 

 

PRAYER: You are my Living Hope, Lord Jesus. I will not despair. I will not be afraid. I invite Your Presence and Participation into my powerlessness. Renew Your Power in me. Resurrect that, which has died in me. Create in me something new in the place of that, which had been stolen, killed, or destroyed by the father-of-lies.
September 20  Not FOR Him but FROM Him

 

“FOR FROM HIM…ARE ALL THINGS” (Romans 11:36).

 

There is a big difference between living a life FOR God, as opposed to living a life FROM God.  A life for God means I AM SOMETHING and I need to strive to become something MORE…something BETTER…something BIGGER.  A life from God means that I AM NOTHING and I can ALLOW GOD TO BE SOMEONE IN ME.

 

“APART FROM ME YOU CAN DO NOTHING” (John 15:5).

 

Do you struggle with perfectionism?  Do you expect yourself and those around you to be perfect: being entirely without fault and defect…satisfying all requirements…corresponding to an ideal standard?

 

To be perfect means to know that you are NOTHING and that you can DO NOTHING.  To be perfect means to know that you DO have faults and defects, that you DO NOT satisfy all the requirements, and that you DO NOT correspond to an ideal standard.  BUT GOD DOES.  God is without fault and defect.  God satisfies all the requirements.  God corresponds to an ideal standard.  And He wants to live HIS LIFE in you and through you. He wants to be in charge of your thoughts, your emotions, your actions, and your purpose.

 

“IF ANYONE THINKS HE IS SOMETHING WHEN HE IS NOTHING, HE DECEIVES HIMSELF” (Galatians 6:3).

 

I bless you to stop striving to be without fault and defect.  You will never be.  Stop trying to satisfy all the requirements.  You never will.  Stop trying to correspond to the ideal standard.  You never can.  Instead, invite God into each situation of your busy life.  Admit that you are not…BUT that HE IS, and that you cannot…but that HE CAN!

 

“THERE REMAINS, THEN, A SABBATH-REST FOR THE PEOPLE OF GOD; FOR ANYONE WHO ENTERS GOD’S REST ALSO RESTS FROM HIS OWN WORK, JUST AS GOD DID FROM HIS” (Hebrews 4:9-10).

 

1. What are you going to do about your perfectionism?

 

 

 

PRAYER: I admit that I cannot, Lord Jesus, but You never said I could. Thank you that You can, Lord Jesus, and always said You would.

 

September 21  Grow into a Full Experience of Salvation

 

“LIKE NEWBORN BABIES, YOU MUST CRAVE PURE SPIRITUAL MILK SO THAT YOU WILL GROW INTO A FULL EXPERIENCE OF SALVATION.  CRY OUT FOR THIS NOURISHMENT, NOW THAT YOU HAVE HAD A TASTE OF THE LORD’S KINDNESS”

(1 Peter 2:2-3 NLT).

 

After I accepted the Lord Jesus as my Savior, I was like a newborn baby.  Even though I was reconciled to the Father through Jesus, my PAST still had a big hold on me, because the father-of-lies had buried many beliefs of shame, condemnation, and abandonment in my childhood heart.  However, I searched for all these negative, destructive beliefs, and each time I found one, I surrendered it to God.  He was faithful.  He exchanged these painful childhood beliefs for His Truth.  I was set free from the PAST.  I had a taste of the Lord’s kindness.

 

As I grew more and more into a fuller experience of Salvation, the next step was to be on the alert for negative, destructive beliefs suggested by the father-of-lies during the PRESENT.  Accusatory thoughts entered my mind, daily.  They suggested, “God is disappointed in you…God is tricking you…God is not really in control.”  Since I had a taste of what God could do with the painful beliefs of the PAST, I cried out for His nourishment for the PRESENT, also.  Instead of believing every negative thought that entered my mind, I submitted each one to God, and asked for Truth.  God was faithful.  I started living in moment-by-moment Truth during the PRESENT circumstances, as well.

 

I bless you to grow into a FULL experience of salvation: to not only start living free from PAST negative, destructive beliefs, but to be filled with the Light of God’s Presence in your PRESENT circumstances, as well.

 

Eventually, you will become so illuminated with God’s glorious Presence, that the darkness from outside will not be able to enter your soul at all, for God’s Light in you will keeps it out.  This glorious Light will not only light up your soul, but project far into the darkness around you.  THIS IS THE FULLNESS OF YOUR SALVATION.

 

“GROW INTO A FULL EXPERIENCE OF SALVATION” (1 Peter 2:2). 

 

1. To what degree have you grown into a full experience of salvation?

 

 

 

1. To what degree have you tasted the Lord’s Kindness for your painful childhood experiences of the past?

 

 

 

1. To what degree do you enjoy His nourishment for you present, every day thoughts?

 

 

September 22  Faith…Perseverance…Maturity

 

“CONSIDER IT PURE JOY, MY BROTHERS, WHENEVER YOU FACE TRIALS OF MANY KINDS, BECAUSE YOU KNOW THAT THE TESTING OF YOUR FAITH DEVELOPS PERSEVERANCE. PERSEVERANCE MUST FINISH ITS WORK SO THAT YOU MAY BE MATURE AND COMPLETE, NOT LACKING ANYTHING” (James 1:2-4).

 

I bless you to ponder the sequence of these words: Faith…Perseverance…Maturity.

 

Understand that to be mature means having undergone growth and development and having attained a final desired state.  Take note that before you can reach MATURITY, you need to PERSEVERE, and before you can reach PERSEVERANCE, you need to have FAITH.  You need to follow a pattern in order to reach MATURITY.

 

“THE SEED THAT FELL AMONG THORNS STANDS FOR THOSE WHO HEAR, BUT AS THEY GO ON THEIR WAY THEY ARE CHOKED BY LIFE’S WORRIES, RICHES AND PLEASURES, AND THEY DO NOT MATURE” (Luke 8:14).

 

Know that each trial that comes your way gives you the opportunity to either become MATURE…or to be choked by life’s worries, riches, and pleasures.

 

I bless you to understand that the PERSEVERANCE that leads to maturity calls for a special ingredient—THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.  Understand that to PERSEVERE means to persist in a state or undertaking in spite of opposition and discouragement, and to wait for the LORD JESUS to show you His way out of the trial, instead of taking your own way out.

 

This is FAITH, which leads to PERSEVERANCE, which leads to MATURITY.

 

1. Have you matured?  Have you undergone growth and development?  Or are you still the same person of hopelessness, powerlessness, and helplessness you were a year ago…five years ago…ten years ago?

 

 

 

1. What are you going to do with the next five trials that come your way: are you going to have faith, persevere, and mature, or are you going to be choked by life’s worries, riches, and pleasures?

 

 

 

PRAYER: I pray, Lord God, that the seed that You planted in my heart will grow, instead of being choked by life’s worries, for I desire to become mature. During my trials, establish Your Faith in me, so I may believe. Work Your Perseverance in me, so I may be able to suffer long, without being destroyed, depressed, or divorced. Lastly, work Your Maturity in me, that I may stand perfect and complete in all Your Will.

 

September 23  Consider God’s Purpose When You Pray

 

“I TOOK MY TROUBLES TO THE LORD;

I CRIED OUT TO HIM, AND HE ANSWERED MY PRAYER”

(Psalm 120:1).

 

I am reminded of a specific incident where I took my troubles to God.  I prayed for weeks on end.  I pleaded with God.  I begged Him for an answer.  Day after day, I waited for an answer, but nothing happened.  God was silent.

 

A month later, I talked to a friend about my plight: “God never answered my cry. I don’t think He cares about me anymore. In fact, I think God has abandoned me.”  Suddenly, as I was speaking, I remembered something.  I remembered hearing a little voice in my heart about two weeks after I had started praying about my problem.  As I focused on the message of the little voice, I suddenly realized it had been the answer to my prayer.  Then I wondered, “Why did I not hear the answer at the time that it was conveyed to me?”

 

Today, I know the answer to that question: At the time, I already had an answer visualized in my mind.  MY answer filled my entire mind; there was no space for GOD’S answer.  My mind was not open to the radical answer God wanted to give me.

 

“FOR IT IS GOD WHO WORKS IN YOU TO WILL AND TO ACT ACCORDING TO HIS GOOD PURPOSE” (Philippians 2:13).

 

I bless you today to be certain that your Father DOES answer your prayer, but the answer might be different from the one you are expecting.  It might be radical… revolutionary…extreme.  The answer might not fit your purpose, but it will fit God’s Purpose.  Consider that God might have answered you already, but you did not recognize the answer, because you have been so set on your own purpose and your own vision.  Maybe God does not want to follow your plan, but He wants you to follow His.

 

When you pray, do not only consider the things you have asked God, but keep in mind His answer He wants to give you.  He might have a Vision and Purpose all set and ready for you…AND HE HAS BEEN TRYING TO TELL YOU ABOUT IT, all along!

 

1. How are you going to make sure you do not miss God’s answer, especially if it is radical, revolutionary, and extreme?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Open the ears of my heart, Lord God, that I may HEAR Your answer to my prayer, instead of listening to my own preconceived answers in my mind. Open the eyes of my heart, that I may recognize Your answer to my prayer, instead of turning to the set, prepared answers in my heart. Keep me from visualizing my own answers in my mind, lest I do not SEE what You have planned.

 

 

September 24  Strength and Beauty

 

“‘TO WHOM WILL YOU COMPARE ME?

OR WHO IS MY EQUAL?’ SAYS THE HOLY ONE.

LIFT YOUR EYES AND LOOK TO THE HEAVENS:

WHO CREATED ALL THESE?

HE WHO BRINGS OUT THE STARRY HOST ONE BY ONE,

AND CALLS THEM EACH BY NAME.

BECAUSE OF HIS GREAT POWER AND MIGHTY STRENGTH,

NOT ONE OF THEM IS MISSING”

(Isaiah 40:25-26).

 

I bless you to ponder God’s beauty around you.  Listen.  Observe.  Embrace.

 

Lift your eyes and look to the heavens.  Notice the stars.  Behold the majestic Milky Way.  Listen, and you will hear, “My child, I am He who created the stars and called them each by name.  Because of my great Power and mighty Strength, not one of them is missing.  You will not become lost, either.  Allow Me to be your Refuge and your Strength, your God in whom you trust.  My Power is sufficient to take care of you as well.”

 

“THE LORD ON HIGH IS MIGHTIER THAN THE NOISE OF MANY WATERS, YEA, THAN THE MIGHTY WAVES OF THE SEA” (Psalm 93:4).

 

Stand next to the ocean and observe.  Watch the waves swell and plummet, leaving a veil of white surf flying on the wings of the wind.  Hear the waves smashing and crashing, exploding on the rocks.  Listen, and you will hear the Most High telling you, “Be still, child.  Be patient in affliction.  I am mightier than the mighty waves of the sea. I will provide.”

 

“THE LORD WILL BE YOUR EVERLASTING LIGHT, AND YOUR DAYS OF SORROW WILL END” (Isaiah 60:1, 20).

 

Feel the moonlight shining on your face like a lamp, casting long shadows behind you, night appearing like day.  Listen, and you will hear the everlasting Father tell you, “My child, I sent you my son, Jesus, to be your everlasting Light, so that you would not have to walk in darkness anymore.  Follow Him as He leads you into belonging, acceptance, and worthiness…and your days of sorrow will end.”

 

1. Do you feel vulnerable…exposed…open to danger and harm? Do you feel uncovered…unprotected…undefended? Will you allow the Lord your God to become your Guard…your Shield…your Cover?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord my God, I invite You to become my Guard—the One to watch over me.  Be my Shield—the One to protect me. Be my Cover—the One to enclose me with Your Presence.

If You are FOR me, Lord God, who can be against me. You, who did not spare Your own son, but delivered Him up for me, how will You not with Him also freely give me all things.

 

September 25  Faith Has a Purpose

 

“MY BRETHREN, COUNT IT ALL JOY WHEN YE FALL INTO DIVERS TEMPTATIONS;

KNOWING THIS, THAT THE TRYING OF YOUR FAITH WORKETH PATIENCE.

BUT LET PATIENCE HAVE HER PERFECT WORK, THAT YE MAY BE PERFECT AND ENTIRE, WANTING NOTHING” (James 1:2-4 KJV).

 

Notice that faith has a purpose.  Faith causes you to stand: to endure…to tolerate without flinching…to remain firm.  If you would trust God to show you His way out when you are tempted, you will learn to become steadfast despite opposition, difficulty, or adversity.  You will learn to stand: to be willing to bear the pain of condemnation, abandonment, and shame while you wait for God’s answer.

 

“IF YOU DO NOT STAND FIRM IN YOUR FAITH, YOU WILL NOT STAND AT ALL”

(Isaiah 7:9).

 

Take into account that faith is the foundation by which the righteous shall live. If you do not stand firm in faith, you will not stand at all, because faith is based on patience: waiting for God to show you His way out.  But if you take your own way out, you will fall.

 

“BUT THE RIGHTEOUS WILL LIVE BY HIS FAITH” (Habakkuk 2:4).

 

Know that while you are standing in faith, waiting on God’s way out, He will protect you with His Power.

 

“WHO THROUGH FAITH ARE SHIELDED BY GOD’S POWER UNTIL THE COMING OF THE SALVATION THAT IS READY TO BE REVEALED IN THE LAST TIME” (1 Peter 1:5).

 

I bless you to stand firm in faith. Do not be hasty.  Wait on God.  Let God’s Patience make you perfect. Obey God in what He has asked you to do, even though you do not understand from where the answer and outcome will come, for God’s righteous shall live by faith.

 

“BY FAITH ABRAHAM, WHEN CALLED TO GO TO A PLACE HE WOULD LATER RECEIVE AS HIS INHERITANCE, OBEYED AND WENT, EVEN THOUGH HE DID NOT KNOW WHERE HE WAS GOING” (Hebrews 11:8).

 

1. What difference might it make in your life right now whether you live by faith or not?

 

 

 

1. How might faith help you to stand?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord my God, You who are the Author of Faith, enable me to stand firm in Faith, every day, moment-by-moment, no matter the situation.
September 26  The Voice in my Heart

 

I have noticed something about my heart.  I have noticed that when I react to something or someone, I do not react to the person or the circumstance, but I react to a VOICE IN MY HEART.  The voice is very subtle…almost hidden, and if I do not deliberately pay attention to it, I will not notice it at all.  To reword, this voice is better described as a thought…a speculation…a judgment.

 

I have observed that this voice speaks to me during the FRACTION OF TIME in between a happening and my reaction, which makes it very hard to catch.  In fact, if I do not slow things down and focus on that fraction of time, the voice will go unnoticed and it will seem as if I am reacting to the circumstance or person, instead.

 

“THE GOOD MAN BRINGS GOOD THINGS OUT OF THE GOOD STORED UP IN HIS HEART, AND THE EVIL MAN BRINGS EVIL THINGS OUT OF THE EVIL STORED UP IN HIS HEART. FOR OUT OF THE OVERFLOW OF HIS HEART HIS MOUTH SPEAKS”

(Luke 6:45).

 

Know that there are many speculations stored up in your heart and that you react to someone and something according to what is stored up in your heart.  For years, I had a lot of abandonment, condemnation, and shame stored up in my heart.  Whenever I reacted to something or someone, I did not react to the person or the circumstance, but to the subtle voices of the abandonment, condemnation, and shame in my heart.

 

However, I have learned to PAUSE the fraction of time between a happening and my reaction…and CATCH the subtle voices of abandonment, condemnation, and shame that have been stored up in my heart. Then, I have learned to SURRENDER these voices to God, allowing Him to EXCHANGE them for the clear Voice of Truth. During the pause, I listen, and I am able to hear, “THIS IS THE WAY; WALK IN IT.”

 

“WHETHER YOU TURN TO THE RIGHT OR TO THE LEFT, YOUR EARS WILL HEAR A VOICE BEHIND YOU, SAYING, ‘THIS IS THE WAY; WALK IN IT’” (Isaiah 30:21).

 

Today, I have noticed that the speculations in my heart have changed.  During a happening, I am now able to respond from the new voices of Belonging, Acceptance, and Confidence that now live in my heart.

 

1. What subtle voices live in your heart to which you react, daily?

 

 

 

1. What are you going to do in order to stop reacting to these voices?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Guide me to pause the fraction of time between a happening and my reaction,

and wait for Your Voice, Lord God, to show me the way.
September 27  Obedience Has a Purpose

 

God has given me many personal instructions during my walk of following Him. During those times, I was sure the personal command or order came from God…and I obeyed. Yet, some days I am still tempted to come up with my own ideas of what God might want me to do, because of my own understanding that I have to strive to do things in my own strength and knowledge.

 

“I WILL NOT SPEAK WITH YOU MUCH LONGER, FOR THE PRINCE OF THIS WORLD IS COMING. HE HAS NO HOLD ON ME, BUT THE WORLD MUST LEARN THAT I LOVE THE FATHER AND THAT I DO EXACTLY WHAT MY FATHER HAS COMMANDED ME”

(John 14:30-31).

 

Observe that the evil one had no hold on the Lord Jesus, for the Lord Jesus ONLY obeyed His Father. He only did what the Perfect Father instructed Him to do.

 

“WHOEVER HAS MY COMMANDS AND OBEYS THEM, HE IS THE ONE WHO LOVES ME. HE WHO LOVES ME WILL BE LOVED BY MY FATHER, AND I TOO WILL LOVE HIM AND SHOW MYSELF TO HIM” (John 14:21).

 

YOUR MOMENT-BY-MOMENT OBEDIENCE RENDERS GOD’S MOMENT-BY-MOMENT REVELATION, POWER, AND LIFE TO YOU.

 

Your obedience to only obey God’s personal instructions will unlock the Truth that has been taken captive by the father-of-lies.  Your obedience to stop striving, and to only do what God instructed you to do, will release the Love that has being hindered by the god of this world.  Your obedience to quit leaning on the understanding of your own reasoning, but to listen carefully to God’s personal instructions, will unbind the Hope that has been seized by the evil one…AND THE FATHER-OF-LIES WILL LOSE HIS GRIP ON YOU.

 

“DON’T YOU KNOW THAT WHEN YOU OFFER YOURSELVES TO SOMEONE TO OBEY HIM AS SLAVES, YOU ARE SLAVES TO THE ONE WHOM YOU OBEY—WHETHER YOU ARE SLAVES TO SIN, WHICH LEADS TO DEATH, OR TO OBEDIENCE, WHICH LEADS TO RIGHTEOUSNESS?” (Romans 6:16).

 

Maybe you have never heard God’s personal instructions to you. Then, I bless you with a personal relationship with Him, first.

 

1. What has God personally asked you to do as part of His Purpose?

 

 

 

1. What are you still doing for God that is not part of His Purpose?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, live Your obedient Life to the Father in me and through me: to love the Father through me and to do exactly what He has commanded You to do through my body.

September 28  Judge Nothing before the Time

 

“THEREFORE JUDGE NOTHING BEFORE THE TIME, UNTIL THE LORD COME, WHO BOTH WILL BRING TO LIGHT THE HIDDEN THINGS OF DARKNESS, AND WILL MAKE MANIFEST THE COUNSELS OF THE HEARTS: AND THEN SHALL EVERY MAN HAVE PRAISE OF GOD” (1 Corinthians 4:5).

 

There has been many times in my life where I have judged something or someone at face value, just to find out later that things were not at all what they seemed.  I remember one incident where I formed an opinion about someone as being strong, powerful, and victorious.  I found out later that the person was weak and deeply unhappy.  Things were not what they seemed.

 

“I CARE VERY LITTLE IF I AM JUDGED BY YOU OR BY ANY HUMAN COURT; INDEED, I DO NOT EVEN JUDGE MYSELF” (1 Corinthians 4:3).

 

Know that things are not what they seem.  In fact, what you perceive as the truth might be the exact opposite from God’s Truth.  You cannot form an opinion about someone based on his actions.  You cannot conclude whether someone is good or bad based on the work he does, even if he is involved in a ministry for God.

 

“BUT THE LORD SAID TO SAMUEL, ‘DO NOT CONSIDER HIS APPEARANCE OR HIS HEIGHT, FOR I HAVE REJECTED HIM. THE LORD DOES NOT LOOK AT THE THINGS MAN LOOKS AT.  MAN LOOKS AT THE OUTWARD APPEARANCE, BUT THE LORD LOOKS AT THE HEART’” (1 Samuel 16:7).

 

To evaluate what someone does and who he really is, you need to know his motives: WHY he acts or reacts in a certain way. However, only God knows WHY a person is saying or doing something, because He is the only one who can see all the way into the heart. He can see the person for who he really is.

 

So, the next time you want to judge something or someone, including yourself, at face value…DON’T!  Things are not what they seem. Only God knows the Truth. Ask him for it.

 

1. Whom have you judged at face value, recently? What has your conclusion been?

 

 

 

1. Are you willing to submit this conclusion to God’s Truth? If you do, you will know the real Truth about the person you judged.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, Your Wisdom is generously available to all who ask it of You. I lay the conclusions I have made at Your feet, O Lord. Show me Your Truth about this person, Lord, so I may live in true Righteousness, Peace, and Joy. I choose not to lean on my own understanding, but to acknowledge You in all my conclusions, so my crooked paths may become straight.

September 29  A Heart of Flesh

 

“I WILL GIVE YOU A NEW HEART AND PUT A NEW SPIRIT IN YOU; I WILL REMOVE FROM YOU YOUR HEART OF STONE AND GIVE YOU A HEART OF FLESH”

(Ezekiel 36:26).

 

I have noticed that I need to be very diligent to keep my heart soft.  Often, when the father-of-lies shares his lies with me, I fall into the temptation to harden my heart.  I do this to protect my heart from injury.  However, I have noticed that as soon as my heart starts hardening, God’s Voice of Truth, Hope, and Love starts dimming, and my heart becomes filled with destruction.  I have noticed that a soft heart absorbs God’s Light to emit it again, but a hard heart deflects God’s Light.

 

I have noticed that when my heart is soft, God blesses it with His Wisdom.  He fills it with His Joy.  He furnishes it with His Strength.

 

“THE MAGICIANS SAID TO PHARAOH, ‘THIS IS THE FINGER OF GOD.’ BUT PHARAOH’S HEART WAS HARD AND HE WOULD NOT LISTEN, JUST AS THE LORD HAD SAID” (Exodus 8:19).

 

I have noticed that it is the father-of-lies’ goal to harden my heart.  A hardened heart is filled with resentment.  It is infused with destruction.  It is injected with pride. It refuses to forgive.

 

“TEACH ME YOUR WAY, O LORD, AND I WILL WALK IN YOUR TRUTH; GIVE ME AN UNDIVIDED HEART, THAT I MAY FEAR YOUR NAME” (Psalm 86:11).

 

I bless you to keep your heart soft…tender…sensitive.  Do not allow the lies from the father-of-lies to grow a hard defense in your heart.  That defense is counterfeit.  It does not really shield you from injury and destruction. Instead, it only serves as a barrier to block God’s Love, Hope, and Truth.

 

Capture that it is God’s Love, Hope, and Truth that provide the real cover that your heart needs to protect it from injury and destruction. Do not harden your heart against it.

 

1. Do you have a hardened, defensive heart? Against what are you protecting it? Why?

 

 

 

1. Are you willing to trade the negative, destructive beliefs that have caused your heart to harden for a soft heart, so you could hear God’s Voice of Truth, Hope, and Love?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I submit my heart of stone to You, so You could remove it and exchange it for a soft heart that would be able to hear Your Voice of Love, Hope, and Truth.

September 30  Are You Looking for You?

 

“I WILL GIVE YOU A NEW HEART AND PUT A NEW SPIRIT IN YOU; I WILL REMOVE FROM YOU YOUR HEART OF STONE AND GIVE YOU A HEART OF FLESH”

(Ezekiel 36:26).

 

Are you looking for the ME in you?  Are you trying to find the person you were meant to be?  Are you wondering who lives in your heart?  This is how I found the ME in me:

 

I used to be someone very different from who I am, today. I used to be someone filled with negative, destructive beliefs from the father-of-lies—lies about God and about ME.  You see, the father-of-lies already had a personality picked out for me: a personality filled with abandonment, condemnation, and shame.  This is who I became in my mind. But the heart feels what the mind believes.  Because of these negative, destructive beliefs in my mind, I developed a heart filled with resentment, hatred, and jealousy.  And this is who I became…until God saved me from me.

 

God called me to a NEW ME. When I consented, He stripped the lies off my mind and my heart, one by one.  And then my heart of stone turned into a soft heart of flesh.  As the wrong beliefs about ME started coming down, the scales fell from my eyes…and I could see the person I was always meant to be.

 

It was fun seeing ME.  I was not the person I thought I was.  I was very special.  I was unique.  I was worthy.  The things that I thought would matter the most, did not matter at all, and the things that never used to matter, became very important to me.

 

Suddenly I had time to live.  I was not busy spending all my energy reacting to the stone in my heart anymore, struggling to survive the negative, destructive beliefs the father-of-lies had planted in my mind.  I was free to be ME: to be confident with my own special, unique personality.

 

I bless you to find the ME in you. Find the lies that turned your heart into stone, and surrender them to God.  Then the scales will fall off your eyes, and you will see the NEW ME in you: the special, unique, and worthy person God meant you to be.

 

1. Have you found the real ME in you? What is she/he like?

 

 

 

1. Who do you think you will be when the oppressing beliefs of condemnation, shame, and abandonment, instilled in you by the father-of-lies, have been removed?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Most High, show me the real ME—the person You meant for me to be.

October

October 1  Who Am I?

 

Realize that there is an OLD ME living inside you: a person living in accordance with the set of negative, destructive beliefs, instilled in your mind by the father-of-lies. 

 

“PUT OFF YOUR OLD SELF, WHICH IS BEING CORRUPTED BY ITS DECEITFUL DESIRES; TO BE MADE NEW IN THE ATTITUDE OF YOUR MINDS; AND TO PUT ON THE NEW SELF, CREATED TO BE LIKE GOD IN TRUE RIGHTEOUSNESS AND HOLINESS” (Ephesians 4:22-24).

 

I have gotten to know myself during the last few years.  I have gotten to know the OLD ME personality, shaped in me by the father-of-lies: the one who is unacceptable, offensive, and everything bad.  And I have gotten to know the NEW ME personality, created in me by Christ Jesus: the one who is acceptable, competent, and complete. 

 

“AS IT IS, IT IS NO LONGER I MYSELF WHO DO IT, BUT IT IS SIN LIVING IN ME…FOR IN MY INNER BEING I DELIGHT IN GOD’S LAW” (Romans 7:17, 22).

 

Understand that the father-of-lies shaped in you an OLD ME for a reason.  He wants you to believe that this is who you are: that you are everything bad…that you are unacceptable…that you are inadequate and incompetent.  But this is not who you are.  This is sin living in you through the OLD ME.

 

“FOR WE ARE HIS WORKMANSHIP, CREATED IN CHRIST JESUS UNTO GOOD WORKS, WHICH GOD HATH BEFORE ORDAINED THAT WE SHOULD WALK IN THEM”

(Ephesians 2:10).

 

I bless you to surrender your OLD ME personality to God.  You will become His workmanship, and He will lead you into your real personality, created in Christ Jesus unto good works.  And you will see that you are acceptable, competent, and complete.

 

1. How do you differentiate between the OLD ME and the NEW ME personality in your own inner being?

 

 

 

1. What sinful defense patterns does the father-of-lies achieve through your own OLD ME personality?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Most High, I desire to live more and more in my NEW ME personality, created in Christ Jesus, so that sinful actions and reactions would not be able to manifest in me through my OLD ME personality. I desire to represent You, Lord Jesus, together with the good works You wish to manifest in me.

 

 

October 2  “Did God really Say?”

 

“BUT YOU MUST NOT EAT FROM THE TREE OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL, FOR WHEN YOU EAT OF IT YOU WILL SURELY DIE” (Genesis 2:17).

 

Notice that God’s Counsel is clear…straightforward…uncomplicated.

 

“NOW THE SERPENT WAS MORE CRAFTY THAN ANY OF THE WILD ANIMALS THE LORD GOD HAD MADE. HE SAID TO THE WOMAN, ‘DID GOD REALLY SAY, ‘YOU MUST NOT EAT FROM ANY TREE IN THE GARDEN?’” (Genesis 3:1).

 

Take notice of how Satan attacked God’s Word.  He proposed, “Did God really say?”

 

I bless you to look out for these words of doubt from the father-of-lies: “Did God really say?”  Understand that the father-of-lies is cunning and subtle.  He tries to distract from the Truth.  He tries to confuse God’s clear and uncomplicated Word.  He tries to separate you from God’s Counsel of Love, Light, and Life. His weapon is deception: the practice of luring you into accusatory beliefs that are not true.

 

When the crafty one fills your mind with his thoughts of fear, hopelessness, and unworthiness, turn his oppressing words over to God, and ask Him to tell you the Truth. Then, you can answer the father-of-lies with the very words of the Lord Jesus Himself:

 

“MAN DOES NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT COMES FROM THE MOUTH OF GOD” (Matthew 4:4).

 

1. How has the father-of-lies been distracting from the Truth in your life?

 

 

 

1. Which accusatory lies have you already accepted into your life?

 

 

 

1. What are you going to do about this?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Majesty, let me live by Your Truth. Let me recognize the father-of-lies’ words of doubt that bring confusion, fear, and despair. Remind me, during times like these, to acknowledge You in all my thoughts and beliefs and to live from every word that comes from Your mouth.

 

October 3  Persecuted, but Not Forsaken

 

“THE GOD OF THIS AGE HAS BLINDED THE MINDS OF UNBELIEVERS, SO THAT THEY CANNOT SEE THE LIGHT OF THE GOSPEL OF THE GLORY OF CHRIST, WHO IS THE IMAGE OF GOD” (2 Corinthians 4:4).

 

Be aware that you have an enemy: the god of this age…the accuser of brethren…the father of lies. 

 

Be cautioned that the god of this age loves to darken your understanding, so that you would not recognize the Light of the message concerning Jesus Christ: that He offers Hope during despair…Love when you feel unloved…Truth for your perturbing perceptions.

 

“WE ARE HARD-PRESSED ON EVERY SIDE, YET NOT CRUSHED; WE ARE PERPLEXED, BUT NOT IN DESPAIR; PERSECUTED, BUT NOT FORSAKEN; STRUCK DOWN, BUT NOT DESTROYED” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9).

 

Recognize the voice of the deceiver—the father-of-lies:

For when you are hard-pressed, he will demand that you have been crushed.

When you are perplexed, he will declare that your circumstances are hopeless.

When you are persecuted, he will proclaim that you have been forsaken.

When someone strikes you down, he will claim that you have been destroyed.

 

Be encouraged that the Lord Jesus came to save you from the father-of-lies and his oppressing beliefs.  But you have a responsibility: to submit your heart to the Lord Jesus when you feel crushed, hopeless, forsaken, and destroyed, so He can tell you the Truth about yourself and your situation.

 

“DO NOT OFFER ANY PART OF YOURSELF TO SIN AS AN INSTRUMENT OF WICKEDNESS, BUT RATHER OFFER YOURSELVES TO GOD AS THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN BROUGHT FROM DEATH TO LIFE; AND OFFER EVERY PART OF YOURSELF TO HIM AS AN INSTRUMENT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS” (Romans 6:13).

 

I bless you to stop offering your mind to the father-of-lies to be used for his wickedness; but instead, offer your thoughts and reasoning to God as instruments of His Righteousness.

 

1. What makes you feel crushed, hopeless, forsaken, and destroyed, today? I bless you to EMBRACE these feelings, EXPOSE your interpretations to the Lord Jesus, and ask Him to EXCHANGE them for His Truth, Hope, and Love.

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I embrace my feelings of despair. I admit that they have become part of my heart. I expose the interpretations that cause this despair to Your Light. I admit that they have become part of my mind. Please exchange these feelings and beliefs for Your Truth, Hope, and Love, so I may live by Your Light and stand against the father-of-lies.

October 4  I Gave my Heart to Jesus

 

I hear many people say, “I gave my heart to Jesus!”  Well, I did too.  I gave my heart to Jesus…but then I took it back again.

 

You see, I do not view my heart as only one entity, but as an entity that exists of many compartments.  In my heart, there are compartments that belong to Jesus.  They are filled with the nature of Jesus, because He lives there.  I have given the Self-nature that used to live there…to Jesus.  I have surrendered the negative, destructive beliefs that used to live there…to Jesus.  When I am required to react from these parts of my heart, I react with the Love, Truth, and Hope of Jesus.

 

“CHRIST, WHO FILLS ALL THINGS EVERYWHERE WITH HIMSELF” (Ephesians 1:23).

 

However, I still have compartments in my heart that are not filled with Jesus, yet.  They are still filled with the lies from the father-of-lies.  When I am required to react from these parts of my heart, I react with anger, jealousy, and bitterness.

 

“THE LORD YOUR GOD WILL CIRCUMCISE YOUR HEARTS AND THE HEARTS OF YOUR DESCENDANTS, SO THAT YOU MAY LOVE HIM WITH ALL YOUR HEART AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND LIVE” (Deuteronomy 30:6).

 

I bless you to give your heart to Jesus, even if you have done it before.  This time, do not only give your heart as an entire entity, but do it one compartment at a time…one lie at a time…one negative thought at a time. By doing this, the Lord Jesus has the opportunity to fill each part of your heart with His Self, as you surrender those parts to Him.

 

Therefore, next time you experience the painful feelings of anger, resentment, or jealousy, know that the Lord Jesus does not rule in that compartment of your heart, yet.  However, it is an opportunity for you to invite Him in.  Know that He will come in and circumcise your heart, obliterating the lies that live there.  Then, He will fill this compartment of your heart with His Self, too…and you will live!

 

1. Which parts of your heart belong to the Lord Jesus? How can you tell?

 

 

 

1. Which parts of your heart do not belong to the Lord Jesus? How can you tell?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I desire to love You with every part of my heart. I invite You into every compartment of my heart, so You may cut out the parts that do not belong to You, and exchange them for Your Self.

 

 

October 5  The Veil is Taken Away

 

“FOR I AM CONVINCED THAT NEITHER DEATH NOR LIFE, NEITHER ANGELS NOR DEMONS, NEITHER THE PRESENT NOR THE FUTURE, NOR ANY POWERS, NEITHER HEIGHT NOR DEPTH, NOR ANYTHING ELSE IN ALL CREATION, WILL BE ABLE TO SEPARATE US FROM THE LOVE OF GOD THAT IS IN CHRIST JESUS OUR LORD” (Romans 8:38-39).

 

Although nothing and nobody can separate me from the Love, Truth, and Hope of God, I have found that I do not always experience those attributes of God in my life.  They exist, but they are not part of my world. It is as if these attributes of God had been taken hostage and hidden behind a veil.  We know about them, but we cannot reach them…and they cannot reach us.

 

I have discovered something that makes God’s attributes accessible and part of my world.  I have found that the veil can be lifted by surrendered OBEDIENCE: obedience to lay down my own perturbing perceptions at the feet of the Lord Jesus.  Whenever I am willing to surrender my own understanding of a situation to Him, the veil is lifted, and God’s Love, Truth, and Hope become accessible to me…to be experienced in my own heart.

 

“BUT THEIR MINDS WERE MADE DULL, FOR TO THIS DAY THE SAME VEIL REMAINS WHEN THE OLD COVENANT IS READ. IT HAS NOT BEEN REMOVED, BECAUSE ONLY IN CHRIST IS IT TAKEN AWAY. EVEN TO THIS DAY WHEN MOSES IS READ, A VEIL COVERS THEIR HEARTS. BUT WHENEVER ANYONE TURNS TO THE LORD, THE VEIL IS TAKEN AWAY” (2 Corinthians 3:14-16).

 

I bless you to believe that the Most High yearns to show Himself to you in the smallest and biggest of your situations, but you need to surrender your own interpretation of the situation to God if you want to know the Truth.  Know that your FACTS about your situation are most likely correct, but your INTERPRETATIONS of your situation are most likely false. Why? Because your mind has been made dull by the lies of the father-of-lies.

 

“WHOEVER HAS MY COMMANDS AND OBEYS THEM, HE IS THE ONE WHO LOVES ME. HE WHO LOVES ME WILL BE LOVED BY MY FATHER, AND I TOO WILL LOVE HIM AND SHOW MYSELF TO HIM” (John 14:21).

 

1. How have you noticed that your own perturbing perceptions form a veil between you and the Love, Hope, and Truth of God?

 

 

 

1. Which perturbing perceptions are you willing to lay down at the feet of the Lord Jesus, in order to experience His Love, Hope, and Truth?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I yearn to experience Your Presence in my life; therefore, I lay down my own perturbing perceptions at Your feet, so I may see You with the eyes of my heart.

October 6  Grace Abounds More

 

“BUT WHERE SIN INCREASED, GRACE INCREASED ALL THE MORE” (Romans 5:20).

 

I bless you to understand that God’s Grace covered your past…because it was MORE.  God’s Grace covers the present…because it is MORE.  God’s Grace will cover your future…because it will be MORE.

 

Believe that God’s Grace is always MORE than anything that has ever happened to you or that you yourself have done.  And God’s Grace is MORE than anything anyone has ever done to you.

 

“FOR SIN SHALL NOT BE YOUR MASTER, BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT UNDER LAW, BUT UNDER GRACE” (Romans 6:14).

 

I bless you to know that, during your present life, God’s Grace abounds MORE.  Do you wrestle with a sinful habit or pattern in your life?  God’s Grace abounds MORE.  Do you often become angry, fearful, or jealous?  God’s Grace abounds MORE.  Do you struggle with depression or anxiety?  God’s Grace abounds MORE.

 

Understand that sin is the father-of-lies’ solutions to escape the pain of the negative, destructive thoughts he proposes.  Sin does not stand alone.  It does not happen by itself.  It sits on a pillar of oppressing beliefs suggested by the father-of-lies: beliefs of abandonment, condemnation, and shame.  And these beliefs cause anguish…misery…distress.  Not only does the father-of-lies suggest these beliefs to you, but he also offers the solutions to still the pain these beliefs cause—SIN.

 

Therefore, I bless you to know that there is enough Grace to overcome the pain of any negative, destructive belief in your heart from the father-of-lies, so that you do not have to react to these through sin.  But, you need to surrender these beliefs to God to experience His Grace. Then, you will find that His Grace is always sufficient.  It is always available.  It is always MORE.

 

1. What sin is there in your life for which you need the Grace of God to abound?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord God, I thank you for Your Grace that abounds MORE than my sinful actions and reactions. Thank you that Your Grace abounds MORE than my jealousy, my animosity, and my anxiety. Thank you that Your Grace abounds MORE than any accusatory belief in my heart by the father-of-lies. I place all of these under Your Grace…to abound for me.

 

October 7  What Is Obedience?

 

“WHOEVER HAS MY COMMANDS AND OBEYS THEM, HE IS THE ONE WHO LOVES ME. HE WHO LOVES ME WILL BE LOVED BY MY FATHER, AND I TOO WILL LOVE HIM AND SHOW MYSELF TO HIM” (John 14:21).

 

I have learned something life-changing during the last few years.  I have learned what OBEDIENCE is. But, I am not talking about obedience to the Ten Commandments or a different set of rules and regulations.  That obedience constricts…chains…chokes. There is a different kind of obedience that liberates…unshackles…disencumbers. It is the surrendered OBEDIENCE: to “lean not on your own understanding,” but to “trust God with all your heart.”

 

“TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR HEART AND LEAN NOT ON YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

 

This kind of obedience changed my life.  You see, each time I obeyed God by not leaning on my own perturbing perception, but instead, forfeited my conclusion for His Perspective, He showed me the Truth about people, situations, and me, just like He promised He would do: “AND I TOO WILL LOVE HIM AND SHOW MYSELF TO HIM.” And once I knew the Truth about something or someone, it set me free to love my neighbor…as myself.

 

“TO LOVE HIM WITH ALL YOUR HEART, WITH ALL YOUR UNDERSTANDING AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND TO LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN ALL BURNT OFFERINGS AND SACRIFICES” (Mark 12:33).

 

I stopped hating a particular person, because I now knew the Truth about him.  I stopped coveting my neighbor’s stuff, because I now knew the Truth about me.  I stopped giving false testimony against someone, because I now knew the Truthabout the situation.

 

“DO NOT THINK THAT I HAVE COME TO ABOLISH THE LAW OR THE PROPHETS; I HAVE NOT COME TO ABOLISH THEM BUT TO FULFILL THEM” (Matthew 5:17).

 

I bless you to discover surrendered OBEDIENCE.  It will change your life, because you will come to know the Truth about the people in your life, the situations in your life, and about yourself.  Most importantly, you will know the Truth about God…and you will be able to love Him with all your heart, your strength, and your surrendered understanding. Thus, God will fulfill His Law in you…by His own Truth.

 

1. What kind of obedience do YOU know? Is it the kind that constricts…or is it the kind that liberates?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord God, teach me surrendered obedience, so I may be liberated from the lies of the father-of-lies. Teach my heart that YOUR laws are fulfilled in me through my surrendering to You…and not by my own efforts to try and obey You.

 

October 8  Overcome the Voice of Temptation

 

“I USED TO WANDER OFF UNTIL YOU DISCIPLINED ME; BUT NOW I CLOSELY FOLLOW YOUR WORD” (Psalm 119:67 NLT).

 

This verse describes me.  I used to wander off, following the voice of temptation.  For a long time, I did not understand where the voice of temptation came from.  Although I read about it in the Bible, I never understood what it was and how it worked.  Now I understand that the voice of temptation comes from the father-of-lies. His lures? Thoughts of condemnation, abandonment, and shame. His goal? Drawing us into hopelessness, hatred, and hard feelings.  Why? The father-of-lies knows that if he can get us to the place of hopelessness, hatred, and hard feelings, he can entice us to adopt his escape routes of ‘relief’ that lead away from God’s Presence—the escape routes of sin.

 

“THOSE WHOM I LOVE I REBUKE AND DISCIPLINE. SO BE EARNEST, AND REPENT. HERE I AM! I STAND AT THE DOOR AND KNOCK. IF ANYONE HEARS MY VOICE AND OPENS THE DOOR, I WILL COME IN AND EAT WITH HIM, AND HE WITH ME. TO HIM WHO OVERCOMES, I WILL GIVE THE RIGHT TO SIT WITH ME ON MY THRONE, JUST AS I OVERCAME AND SAT DOWN WITH MY FATHER ON HIS THRONE”

(Revelations 3:19-21).

 

Today, I am a different person, because God disciplined me.  He has taught me not to wander off, following the alluring thoughts of condemnation, shame, and abandonment.  Instead, He has taught me to overcome: to invite Him to defeat my thoughts of shame…to conquer my thoughts of condemnation…to subdue my thoughts of abandonment. The battle needs to be fought and won in my own heart and mind, first.

 

I bless you to listen carefully when you are tempted: when you are bombarded with negative thoughts of condemnation, shame, and abandonment…when you are inundated with hopelessness, hatred, and hard feelings.  Pause!  Pay attention, and you will hear another Voice knocking at your heart—the Voice of Truth. He is calling you to overcome the voice of temptation.

 

Be determined to open your heart to the Truth.  He will come in and share His Presence with you, and along with Him will come Acceptance, Worthiness, and Belonging.

 

1. To which voice do you listen, daily, moment-by-moment?

 

 

 

1. What do you do when you are lured by the voice of temptation? Do you wander off, or do you closely follow the Voice of Truth…and overcome the temptations?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord God, thank you for disciplining me, so I may closely follow You.

October 9  Created in Christ Jesus

 

“SO GOD CREATED MAN IN HIS OWN IMAGE, IN THE IMAGE OF GOD HE CREATED HIM; MALE AND FEMALE HE CREATED THEM” (Genesis 1:27).

 

I often wonder what man was like right after God created him.  What was it like to not only be created in the image of God, but to be living in the image of God and acting in the image of God, as well?  It must have been a life of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

 

But then something happened.  The father-of-lies invented the circle of sin.  First, he lured us into belittling beliefs of abandonment, condemnation, and shame.  These beliefs generated hopelessness, hatred, and fear.  Then the father-of-lies stood ready to offer his routes of escape to ease the pain his lies had caused—SIN.  The image of God in man was distorted… maimed…disabled.

 

“FOR WE ARE GOD’S WORKMANSHIP, CREATED IN CHRIST JESUS TO DO GOOD WORKS, WHICH GOD PREPARED IN ADVANCE FOR US TO DO” (Ephesians 2:10).

 

But then the Perfect Father sent the Spirit of His son, Jesus, to live in our hearts.  Not only is Jesus created in God’s image, but He also lives in God’s image and acts in God’s image.

 

“AND HAVE PUT ON THE NEW SELF, WHICH IS BEING RENEWED IN KNOWLEDGE IN THE IMAGE OF ITS CREATOR” (Colossians 3:10).

 

I bless you to invite the Spirit of Jesus Christ into your heart to live and act in the image of God in and through you.  Allow Jesus to exchange your old self, with its distorted image of God, with the New Self, created in Christ Jesus.  Invite Him to abolish the beliefs of abandonment, condemnation, and shame that the father-of-lies has engrained in your mind since childhood, and replace them with new beliefs of belonging, acceptance, and worth.

 

And you will live a life of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

 

1. Do you live a life of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control?

 

 

 

1. Do you know of Someone who does? Are you willing to invite Him into your heart to replace your old Self with His Self?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, You are created in God’s image, live in God’s image, and act in God’s image, as well. I invite You to come live Your Life in me in the place of my old self.

October 10  What about the Pain in My Heart?

 

Sin does not stand alone.  It does not happen by itself.  It sits on a pillar of beliefs, suggested by the father-of-lies: beliefs of abandonment, beliefs of condemnation, and beliefs of shame.  Understand that these beliefs cause anguish: anger, animosity, jealousy, sadness, and despair.  Know that this pain is a natural response to the disheartening beliefs of abandonment, condemnation, and shame.  The pain will not harm you…until you react to it.

 

“THEREFORE DO NOT LET SIN REIGN IN YOUR MORTAL BODY SO THAT YOU OBEY ITS EVIL DESIRES” (Romans 6:12).

 

I used to feel very guilty whenever I experienced pain in my heart.  I always thought that pain in my heart was a sign that I was bad, and that I had to flee from it as soon as possible.  I did not know that pain was merely an indication that a negative, destructive belief, planted in my heart by the father-of-lies, was being triggered. Never before did I realize that it was not the PAIN in my heart, but my REACTION to it, that rendered me sinful.

 

I bless you to be patient when your heart is aching.  Understand that your haste to get away from your heartache could drive you straight into the lion’s den.  Know that he lures you to adopt his negative, destructive beliefs of abandonment, condemnation, and shame, and then he suggests the solutions to escape from the pain these beliefs cause—sin.  In your haste to flee from your anguish, you are in great danger of accepting any route of escape the father-of-lies would offer.  And anything he offers kills, steals, and destroys.

 

“IN MY ANGUISH I CRIED TO THE LORD, AND HE ANSWERED BY SETTING ME FREE” (Psalm 118:5).

 

I bless you to stay and face the pain in your heart.  Then submit it to the Lord Almighty.  He will answer by setting you free.

 

1. What will you do with the current pain in your heart: will you react to it sinfully…or will you submit it to the Lord Jesus?

 

 

 

1. Did you know that your pain is not really a result of your circumstances, but a result of the negative beliefs, instilled in your mind by the father-of-lies? Your pain serves as a temptation to obey the father-of-lies…or as an opportunity to surrender to God. Which one will it be for you?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I choose to bring the pain I am experiencing in my heart, right now, to You. Instead of reacting to this pain in a sinful way, I choose to face it and see the underlying negative, destructive beliefs from the father-of-lies. Instead of accepting the route of escape the father-of-lies is offering me, I choose to submit this pain and its underlying beliefs to You, Lord God. Show me Your Way out, so I would not sin.
October 11  He Answered by Setting Me Free

 

“IT IS WRITTEN: ‘MAN DOES NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT COMES FROM THE MOUTH OF GOD’” (Matthew 4:4).

 

One of the mistakes I often make is to expect my husband to be my Truth.  I expect him to talk to my heart and solve the lies that the father-of-lies had dumped there since childhood.  I expect him to be my Comforter when I feel comfortless, my Hope when I feel hopeless, and my Love when I feel unloved and unlovable.  I do this because I want the pain in my heart to disappear as soon as possible.  I do not want to take the time to talk to God about the anguish in my heart.

 

“HE SAID TO ME: ‘IT IS DONE. I AM THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA, THE BEGINNING AND THE END. TO HIM WHO IS THIRSTY I WILL GIVE TO DRINK WITHOUT COST FROM THE SPRING OF THE WATER OF LIFE’” (Revelations 21:6).

 

Understand that human counselors, friends, and your spouse hold a certain place in your life.  They can encourage, instruct, and admonish you.  They can teach you in the ways that God has taught them, sharing with you the truths God has told them.  They can advise you in how to avoid future failure.  They can pray with you.  However, they cannot be your Truth, Hope, and Love.

 

I bless you to come to the Lord Jesus when you feel unloved and unlovable.  Tell Him how you feel.  He is the Alpha and the Omega.  Be patient.  He will furnish you with a permanent answer.  Run to the Lord Jesus when you feel hopeless.  Tell him exactly what is on your heart and why you feel hopeless.  Persevere.  He is the Lord of Lords. He will fill you with the real solution.  Come to the Lord Jesus when you feel lost and confused.  Tell Him what is bothering you.  Wait for His answer.  He is the Comforter. He will give you a drink of Comfort without cost.

 

“IN MY ANGUISH I CRIED TO THE LORD, AND HE ANSWERED BY SETTING ME FREE” (Psalm 118:5).

 

Be determined to cry out to Jesus whenever your heart hurts.  Your friend, counselor, or spouse can encourage, instruct, and admonish you.  But Jesus can set you free.

 

1. To whom do you run to receive your hope, truth, love, and comfort?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, help me to understand that human counselors, friends, and my spouse hold a certain place in my life.  They can encourage me, inform me, and give me advice, but they cannot set me free from feeling unloved and unlovable. That is Your doing alone.

 

Lord God, call me to come to You when I feel unloved and unlovable. Remind me to run to You when I feel hopeless. Teach me to seek You when I feel lost and confused. You alone are able to furnish me with Truth, Hope, and Love. You will set me free.

 

October 12  To Him Who Overcomes

 

What is there in your life that needs to be overcome?  Is it the belief that you are unacceptable?  What do you need to conquer?  Is it the belief that you are forsaken?  What do you need to master?  Is it a particular habit or sin pattern?

 

“HE THAT OVERCOMETH, THE SAME SHALL BE CLOTHED IN WHITE RAIMENT; AND I WILL NOT BLOT OUT HIS NAME OUT OF THE BOOK OF LIFE, BUT I WILL CONFESS HIS NAME BEFORE MY FATHER, AND BEFORE HIS ANGELS” (Revelation 3:5).

 

Know that the Lord Jesus regards overcoming as something very valuable.  If you live a life of overcoming, your name is so commendable that it will not be removed from the book of Life, but it will be confessed before the Perfect Father…the Most High…the Creator of all things.

 

“BECAUSE THOU HAST KEPT THE WORD OF MY PATIENCE, I ALSO WILL KEEP THEE FROM THE HOUR OF TEMPTATION, WHICH SHALL COME UPON ALL THE WORLD, TO TRY THEM THAT DWELL UPON THE EARTH” (Revelation 3:10).

 

Be patient during affliction.  Do not run to sinful defense habits and patterns to escape the pain of temptation.  Do not hide the pain in your heart by pretending that you are okay, or wear a mask to pretend that you are not who you are.  Do not blame others for your own pain.  Instead, run to the Lord Jesus.  He will show you how to overcome the temptations in your life.

 

“TO HIM THAT OVERCOMETH WILL I GRANT TO SIT WITH ME IN MY THRONE, EVEN AS I ALSO OVERCAME, AND AM SET DOWN WITH MY FATHER IN HIS THRONE” (Revelation 3:21).

 

I bless you to know that the Lord Jesus can keep you from the hour of temptation. He can give you Truth for the belief that you are not acceptable.  But you need to come to Him and surrender that belief to Him.  He can give you Truth about the belief that you have been forsaken.  But you need to ADMIT that you have that belief, and SUBMIT it to Him. Then, He will COMMIT to you…and give you an answer. This is how you overcome temptation!

 

If you overcome by submitting the negative, destructive beliefs, instilled in your mind by the father-of-lies, to the Lord Jesus, you will sit with Him in His throne.

 

1. How do YOU overcome temptation?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, how good to know that You can keep me from the hour of temptation…IF I come to You. My Lord, teach me to deal with temptation Your way, instead of trying to deal with it through my own defense mechanisms of running, hiding, and blaming others. I submit the belief that I am unacceptable to Your Truth, so I may overcome the temptation to run from my own heart in shame, hide behind a mask, and blame my parents, friends, and enemies for my non-acceptance.

October 13  The Will of the Father

 

“YOUR KINGDOM COME, YOUR WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN” (Matthew 6:10).

 

I have found that the Will of the Perfect Father is the highest Power in Heaven and on earth.  Nothing can extinguish it…except my own will.

 

“ARE NOT TWO SPARROWS SOLD FOR A PENNY?  YET NOT ONE OF THEM WILL FALL TO THE GROUND APART FROM THE WILL OF YOUR FATHER” (Matthew 10:29).

 

But the father-of-lies is always trying to persuade me to do HIS will, instead: to follow his negative, destructive thoughts “God does not love you…God wants to harm you…God wants to punish you.”  He is always fighting for MY will, so I would submit it to HIM, instead of to the God, whose Will created all things.

 

I have noticed that the father-of-lies always tries to persuade me that HIS will is good for my life, and that the Perfect Father’s Will is bad.  However, I have observed from my own life that whenever I believe the father-of-lies’ negative, destructive thoughts, I am filled with suspicion, hatred, jealousy, and anger.  On the other hand, the more I surrender these thought to God, the more I am filled with His Hope, Truth, and Love.

 

“YOU ARE WORTHY, OUR LORD AND GOD, TO RECEIVE GLORY AND HONOR AND POWER, FOR YOU CREATED ALL THINGS, AND BY YOUR WILL THEY WERE CREATED AND HAVE THEIR BEING” (Revelation 4:11).

 

I wish for my life to be like that of a little sparrow—completely dependent on the Will of my Perfect Father.  I now know that if the Father’s Will reigns in my life, everything works out for my good.  I realize that every moment I choose to do the Perfect Father’s Will, the father-of-lies’ will has no hold on my life.

 

I bless you to fathom that the Perfect Father’s Will is good and powerful.  However, it all depends on YOUR will.

 

1. Who do you serve with YOUR will: the Perfect Father…or the father-of-lies?

 

 

 

1. How do you serve the Perfect Father with your will, moment-by-moment?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Perfect Father, I wish to serve You with my whole will. With my will I choose Your Will to reign in my life: in my thoughts…in my actions…in my purpose.

October 14  Good Works for Your Personality

 

“FOR WE ARE GOD’S WORKMANSHIP, CREATED IN CHRIST JESUS TO DO GOOD WORKS, WHICH GOD PREPARED IN ADVANCE FOR US TO DO” (Ephesians 2:10).

 

I often talk to young people who complain that there is something wrong with their personalities.  If the person is an introvert, she regrets not being an extrovert.  If a person is an extrovert, he regrets not being an introvert.  Some people feel they are not interesting enough.  Others feel they are too superficial.  Regardless of the personality, people do not seem to be satisfied with who they are.

 

At some point, I too wished I were different.  However, after I discovered the set of good works that GOD had prepared for me in advance, I discovered that my personality was perfect for these works, almost as if Someone had designed my personality specifically just for them.  Interestingly, my personality was NOT suited for the good works that I HAD CHOSEN FOR MYSELF.

 

“NOT EVERYONE WHO SAYS TO ME, ‘LORD, LORD,’ WILL ENTER THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, BUT ONLY HE WHO DOES THE WILL OF MY FATHER WHO IS IN HEAVEN” (Matthew 7:21).

 

I bless you to know that God’s Will for you is the highest Purpose for your life.  It is the best thing that has ever happened to you.  Why?  Because it is based on a plan that was created before the beginning of time.  It is not something that just happened haphazardly, on the spur of the moment.  It is not a hit or miss situation.

 

Be encouraged that God’s plan for your life is a master plan that is very specific to your personality and gifts.

 

Therefore, do not try and change who you are.  God created your personality for a before-ordained master plan.  He has something very specific in mind for you, and he needs your specific personality traits for that.  Instead of trying to change your personality, ask God to show you who you really are, and to show you the specific set of good works that requires your specific personality with your specific gifts.  Then, forsake all other good works that you have chosen for yourself in this life…and cling to the good works that have been prepared for your personality.

 

1. What is your God-given personality? What are the good works that God has created beforehand for your specific personality?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Most High, thank you for my specific personality, whether I am an introvert or an extrovert. Show me the good works that You have chosen to match my specific personality, so I may be satisfied with who I am. Keep me from believing that I need to be someone else, in order to be accepted and worthy, but work Your Worth and Acceptance in my heart, Lord God, through Your son, Jesus Christ.

October 15  I AM Serving You

 

There was a time in my life that I focused heavily on how my husband did NOT serve me.  I focused on how he did NOT listen when I spoke.  I focused on how he did NOT understand me.  I focused on how he did NOT….

 

“FOR WE ARE GOD’S WORKMANSHIP, CREATED IN CHRIST JESUS TO DO GOOD WORKS, WHICH GOD PREPARED IN ADVANCE FOR US TO DO” (Ephesians 2:10).

 

I have discovered that God has created my husband for a set of good works that God had prepared for him since the beginning of time.  Furthermore, after I paid attention to the good works my husband was doing, I discovered that he was also serving our children and me with the good works God had prepared for him.  Although my husband was not necessarily serving me with the good works I wanted, he was being the person GOD wanted Him to be.  This changed my focus.  I started focusing on how he DID serve me…instead of how he DID NOT.

 

“THE WORLD AND ITS DESIRES PASS AWAY, BUT THE MAN WHO DOES THE WILL OF GOD LIVES FOREVER” (1 John 2:17).

 

I bless you to focus on how your spouse, your parent, or your friend is serving you.  Do not focus on how she is NOT serving you.  Appreciate the personality and skills God has given her.  Enjoy the gifts with which God has furnished him.  He is God’s workmanship, created to do the good works GOD had prepared for him in advance.  Remember, every good gift is from above, coming from the Father.  If you look closely, you will see that your spouse, parent, or friend is serving you with the gifts with which he had been endowed.

 

“EVERY GOOD AND PERFECT GIFT IS FROM ABOVE, COMING DOWN FROM THE FATHER OF THE HEAVENLY LIGHTS, WHO DOES NOT CHANGE LIKE SHIFTING SHADOWS” (James 1:17).

 

I bless you to ask God to supply you with the needs which your spouse, relative, or friend is not able to supply.  Appreciate your spouse, relative, or friend for how she IS serving you…AND RECEIVE THE REST FROM GOD.

 

1. How is your spouse, your parent, or your friend serving you, daily?

 

 

 

1. How is your spouse, your parent, or your friend NOT serving you, daily? Are you willing to ask God to meet these needs for you?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Thank you, Lord God, for how my loved ones are serving me through the good works You have chosen for them. Help me to experience Your Presence through their daily deeds. And those needs in my heart that are not met by them, O Lord, I surrender to You, for You are my Perfect Father and You know what I need, even before I ask You.

October 16  The Arrow that Flies by Day

 

“YOU WILL NOT FEAR THE TERROR OF NIGHT, NOR THE ARROW THAT FLIES BY DAY” (Psalm 91:5).

 

The other day, my heart was struck by an arrow that flew by day.  I am not sure why that arrow was flying—whether it was aimed at my heart with the purpose to harm, or whether it was shot out of self-defense and just happened to land in my heart.  However, I felt it bore deep into my heart, until it was securely lodged.  A few years ago, I would have left the arrow in my heart and allowed it to create a deep wound of bitter resentment.  But today I know better.  You see, I have made a decision in my life to throw off everything that hinders, and the sin that so easily entangles.

 

Therefore, I admitted to God that I had an arrow stuck in my heart.  I took up the shield of faith and ran to Jesus.  Instead of focusing on the PERSON who shot the arrow, I focused on my own HEART, and on my SAVIOR.  Do you know what happened?  The Lord Jesus pulled the arrow out.  Not only did He remove the arrow, but He also bathed the wound with heavenly salve. 

 

“THEREFORE, SINCE WE ARE SURROUNDED BY SUCH A GREAT CLOUD OF WITNESSES, LET US THROW OFF EVERYTHING THAT HINDERS AND THE SIN THAT SO EASILY ENTANGLES, AND LET US RUN WITH PERSEVERANCE THE RACE MARKED OUT FOR US” (Hebrews 12:1).

 

Many arrows fly by day.  Some arrows are aimed to harm your heart.  They are shot on purpose.  They are meant for revenge.  Other arrows are shot by accident.  They just happen.  Regardless of why and how an arrow was shot, if it struck your heart, it is your responsibility to have it removed.  If not, it will hinder you from enjoying everything the Lord Jesus offers, and it will cause you to react with the solutions of escape that the father-of-lies offers—SIN.

 

“IN ADDITION TO ALL THIS, TAKE UP THE SHIELD OF FAITH, WITH WHICH YOU CAN EXTINGUISH ALL THE FLAMING ARROWS OF THE EVIL ONE” (Ephesians 6:16).

 

I bless you to take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows that have flown your way: take your wounded heart to Jesus.  He will pull out the arrow, and reverse the damage that was done in your heart.

 

1. What do YOU do with the flaming arrows that fly by day: do you allow them to fester in your heart…or do you take them to the Lord Jesus, and ask Him to pull them out?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Thank you, Perfect Father, that You sent Your son, Jesus Christ, so I do not have to walk around with flaming arrows in my heart. Lord Jesus, call me, daily, to submit my heart to you, along with all the arrows that are stuck there. Only You have the Power and Wisdom to remove them from my heart and replace them with Your Love, Hope, and Truth.

October 17  The Two Sources of Counsel

 

“THE WOMAN SAID TO THE SERPENT, ‘WE MAY EAT FRUIT FROM THE TREES IN THE GARDEN, BUT GOD DID SAY, ‘YOU MUST NOT EAT FRUIT FROM THE TREE THAT IS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE GARDEN, AND YOU MUST NOT TOUCH IT, OR YOU WILL DIE’”

 

“‘YOU WILL NOT SURELY DIE,’ THE SERPENT SAID TO THE WOMAN”

(Genesis 3:2-4).

 

Notice that there are two sources of counsel available to you: God’s Counsel, and Satan’s counsel.

 

Notice that Satan’s counsel opposes God’s Counsel…resists God’s instructions…attacks God’s Word.

 

“WE DEMOLISH ARGUMENTS AND EVERY PRETENSION THAT SETS ITSELF UP AGAINST THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD, AND WE TAKE CAPTIVE EVERY THOUGHT TO MAKE IT OBEDIENT TO CHRIST” (2 Corinthians 10:5).

 

What bothers me most about the counsel of Satan is that he uses MY MIND as a vessel for his arguments against the knowledge of God.  He uses MY thoughts…MY conclusions…MY perceptions.

 

I have noticed that I sometimes have to return to the MOMENT when I started feeling bad, mad, or sad in order to find Satan’s argument that had set itself up against the Counsel of God.  Often, when I think back of the thought my mind heard at the time when I started feeling unloved or unlovable, I tend to find the injurious counsel of Satan.

 

I bless you to do whatever it takes to find the injurious argument that had set itself up in your mind against the Counsel of God.  Then take that thought to Jesus.  Only after the thought had become obedient to Jesus, who is the Truth, will Satan’s counsel leave. 

 

“JESUS SAITH UNTO HIM, I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE: NO MAN COMETH UNTO THE FATHER, BUT BY ME” (John 14:6).

 

1. Whose counsel do you follow, daily, moment-by-moment? Did you know that you become a slave to the one you follow and obey?

 

 

 

1. Have you learned to make your daily thoughts obedient to Christ…or are they obedient to the father-of-lies?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, may I love You enough to take my thoughts captive, daily, moment-by-moment, and make them obedient to You. Become my Way, my Truth, and my Life.

October 18  Whose Counsel Do You Heed?

 

“THE WOMAN SAID TO THE SERPENT, ‘WE MAY EAT FRUIT FROM THE TREES IN THE GARDEN, BUT GOD DID SAY, ‘YOU MUST NOT EAT FRUIT FROM THE TREE THAT IS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE GARDEN, AND YOU MUST NOT TOUCH IT, OR YOU WILL DIE’”

 

“‘YOU WILL NOT SURELY DIE,’ THE SERPENT SAID TO THE WOMAN”

(Genesis 3:2-4).

 

Notice that there are two sources of counsel available to you: God’s Counsel and Satan’s counsel.

 

Notice that Satan’s counsel opposes God’s Counsel…resists God’s instruction…attacks God’s Word.  Listen to God’s Counsel:

 

“TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR HEART

AND LEAN NOT ON YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING;

 

IN ALL YOUR WAYS ACKNOWLEDGE HIM,

AND HE WILL MAKE YOUR PATHS STRAIGHT.

 

DO NOT BE WISE IN YOUR OWN EYES;

FEAR THE LORD AND SHUN EVIL”

(Proverbs 3:5-7).

Be aware that Satan’s counsel will oppose God’s Counsel. It will say:

 

Do not trust God,

but lean on your own understanding,

Rely on your own insight and believe everything you think.

Acknowledge your own mind in everything you do,

for your mind is sufficient to supply all the explanations you need.

Be wise in your own eyes.

Then everything will turn out OK.

Whose counsel do you heed?

“THE MIND OF SINFUL MAN IS DEATH, BUT THE MIND CONTROLLED BY THE SPIRIT IS LIFE AND PEACE” (Romans 8:6).

 

1. What have you noticed about your heart when you follow God’s Counsel? What have you noticed about your heart when you follow the father-of-lies’ counsel?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord God, may I trust YOU with all my heart and refrain from being wise in my own eyes, but acknowledge Your Perspective and Counsel in everything I do and think.

October 19  I Will Give You Rest

 

I have discovered that the things in life that burden me the most are the father-of-lies’ lies.  They are relentless.  They kill, steal, and destroy.  They cause defeat…depression…death.

 

When my sister died, I was very sad.  However, the thought that caused me the most grief was the father-of-lies’ lie “You have lost her love forever.”

 

Two of Satan’s favorite lies are “You are not loved” and “You are bad.”  Sometimes my husband and I spend hours arguing about something.  However, the things we fight about are not the things we fight for.  We think we are fighting about the situation; but instead, we are fighting for our hearts.  I am fighting to keep my heart from being labeled “bad.”  I am fighting to prove to my husband that I am worthy.  And he is doing the same.  Neither husband nor wife wants to let the other one win the battle, because that would leave the loser with Satan’s lie of unworthiness and not being good enough.  And that hurts more than the fight.

 

“COME TO ME, ALL YOU WHO ARE WEARY AND BURDENED, AND I WILL GIVE YOU REST AND YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS” (Matthew 11:28-29).

 

Do you have a problem for which you see no possible solution?  Know that your situation might be difficult, but it is the lies in your soul that are causing you to be weary and burdened.

 

“YOU, DEAR CHILDREN, ARE FROM GOD AND HAVE OVERCOME THEM, BECAUSE THE ONE WHO IS IN YOU IS GREATER THAN THE ONE WHO IS IN THE WORLD”

(1 John 4:4).

 

I bless you to look for the lies that are causing you to be so weary and burdened.  Find them and bring them to Jesus; He will give you rest for your soul.  Be encouraged that He who is in you is greater than any lie that is seeking to destroy you.  You only need to find that lie and surrender it to Him who is in you.  When I surrendered the lie of my deceased sister’s lost love to God, He revealed His Truth to me: that my sister still loves me all the way from Heaven.  Her love for me will never die. Love never fails…ever.

 

1. When you argue with someone, what are you fighting ABOUT? What are you fighting FOR?

 

 

 

1. Did you know that THAT which you are fighting FOR is something only God can give you? What are you going to do about this?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord God, I come to You to find rest for my soul. Bring me to the place where I would surrender the lies from the father-of-lies that cause me to fight for my heart, to You. How comforted I am to know that You have overcome the father-of-lies.

October 20  Become Mature through Constant Use

 

“THE WOMAN SAID TO THE SERPENT, ‘WE MAY EAT FRUIT FROM THE TREES IN THE GARDEN, BUT GOD DID SAY, ‘YOU MUST NOT EAT FRUIT FROM THE TREE THAT IS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE GARDEN, AND YOU MUST NOT TOUCH IT, OR YOU WILL DIE’”

 

“‘YOU WILL NOT SURELY DIE,’ THE SERPENT SAID TO THE WOMAN” (Genesis 3:2-4).

 

I bless you to notice that there are two sources of counsel available to you: God’s holy Counsel of Truth and Satan’s counsel, filled with deception.

 

“ANYONE WHO LIVES ON MILK, BEING STILL AN INFANT, IS NOT ACQUAINTED WITH THE TEACHING ABOUT RIGHTEOUSNESS. BUT SOLID FOOD IS FOR THE MATURE, WHO BY CONSTANT USE HAVE TRAINED THEMSELVES TO DISTINGUISH GOOD FROM EVIL” (Hebrews 5:13-14).

 

One of the ways that I have become more mature is by distinguishing between God’s Counsel and the father-of-lies’ counsel.  This has required of me to take notice of what is going on in my heart, at all times.  I have discovered that the father-of-lies’ counsel aims to kill, steal, and destroy; however, God’s Counsel brings abundant Life into every situation.

 

“THE THIEF COMETH NOT, BUT FOR TO STEAL, AND TO KILL, AND TO DESTROY: I AM COME THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE LIFE, AND THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE IT MORE ABUNDANTLY” (John 10:10).

 

Every moment, I train myself to separate and classify the counsel that enters my heart, as GOOD or EVIL.  I have perceived that if I catch Satan’s lie or counsel right when it knocks on my heart’s door, I still have time to surrender it to Jesus and overcome the evil, before it steals, kills, and destroys.  However, the deeper I allow Satan’s counsel to penetrate my heart, the harder it becomes to surrender it to Jesus and overcome the evil…and the easier it becomes to react sinfully to his painful words of deception.

 

I bless you to become acquainted with the teaching of Righteousness. Train yourself to listen carefully to the suggestions that enter your heart.  Classify your thoughts into categories of good and evil.  Learn to single out the evil one’s false interpretations.  Train yourself to perceive the difference between God’s Counsel of Truth, and Satan’s counsel of deception.  Most of all, train yourself to catch Satan’s lies as soon as possible.  By doing all this, you will become mature.

 

1. How mature are you? Have you learned to distinguish between God’s good Counsel and the father-of-lies’ evil counsel? When are you going to start?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord God, work maturity in me, that I would learn not to instantly react to the father-of-lies’ evil counsel, but instead learn to recognize it. Then, may I surrender these negative, destructive beliefs to You, O Lord, to receive Your abundant Life, before they destroy my heart.

 

 

October 21  When You Go through the Valley of the Shadow of Death

“FOR THIS PEOPLE’S HEART HAS BECOME CALLOUSED; THEY HARDLY HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES. OTHERWISE THEY MIGHT SEE WITH THEIR EYES, HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEARTS AND TURN, AND I WOULD HEAL THEM” (Matthew 13:15).

 

I still remember when I went through the valley of the shadow of death.  I felt so alone.  I felt so unloved.  I felt so unlovable.  I did not know what to do with myself.  I did not even understand what was going on…just that there was something wrong with me…and that I needed help.  I needed a way out.

 

But then I heard it—my Everlasting Father’s Comfort through the Holy Spirit.  He asked me to listen with the ears of my heart.  When I had finally calmed down and was listening, He said, “My child, you are not alone.  I am right here with you.  Can you see Me?  Can you hear Me?  Do you understand with your heart that I AM very close?  I will provide.”

 

“EVEN THOUGH I WALK THROUGH THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH, I WILL FEAR NO EVIL, FOR YOU ARE WITH ME” (Psalm 23:4).

 

I bless you to look around you when you are going through the valley of the shadow of death.  Listen carefully with the ears of your heart and you will hear your Everlasting Father tell you that you are not alone…that He already knows what you need…that He has already planned a way to provide for you.

 

“BE STILL, AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD…I WILL BE EXALTED IN THE EARTH”

(Psalm 46:10).

 

May your heart not become calloused when you walk through the valley of the shadow of death and turn against your Perfect Father.  May you hear with your ears the Hope He has for you.  May you see with your eyes the Love He has for you.  May you understand with your heart the Truth He has for you.  Become still! Listen to Him!  He wants toprovide for you!

 

1. When you go through the valley of the shadow of death, what is it that you need to hear most from your Perfect Father?

 

 

 

1. What will it take for you to become quiet and listen with the ears of your heart to what your Perfect Father wants to tell you?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Perfect Father, bring me to the place where I will become quiet and listen for You with the ears of my heart, so I may know that You are with me during this time of my life.

 

 

October 22  Lean on God with Your Entire Personality

 

“IN ORDER THAT YOU MAY NOT GROW DISINTERESTED AND BECOME [SPIRITUAL] SLUGGARDS, BUT IMITATORS, BEHAVING AS DO THOSE WHO THROUGH FAITH (BY THEIR LEANING OF THE ENTIRE PERSONALITY ON GOD IN CHRIST IN ABSOLUTE TRUST AND CONFIDENCE IN HIS POWER, WISDOM, AND GOODNESS) AND BY PRACTICE OF PATIENT ENDURANCE AND WAITING ARE [NOW] INHERITING THE PROMISES” (Hebrews 6:12 AMP).

 

I bless you to lean with your entire personality on God in absolute trust and confidence in His POWER, so that your faith might not rest on your own sufficiency, but on God’s Power.

 

“SO THAT YOUR FAITH MIGHT NOT REST ON MEN’S WISDOM, BUT ON GOD’S POWER” (1 Corinthians 2:5).

 

I bless you to lean with your entire personality on God in absolute trust and confidence in His WISDOM, for He will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.

 

“FOR I WILL GIVE YOU WORDS AND WISDOM THAT NONE OF YOUR ADVERSARIES WILL BE ABLE TO RESIST OR CONTRADICT” (Luke 21:15).

 

I bless you to lean with your entire personality on God in absolute trust and confidence in His GOODNESS, which He has stored up for those who revere Him—who acknowledge Him in all their ways.

 

“HOW GREAT IS YOUR GOODNESS, WHICH YOU HAVE STORED UP FOR THOSE WHO FEAR YOU, WHICH YOU BESTOW IN THE SIGHT OF MEN ON THOSE WHO TAKE REFUGE IN YOU” (Psalm 31:19).

 

By the practice of patient endurance and waiting, you will inherit the promises which God has promised you.

 

1. In what or whom do you trust when things go wrong…when your life does not seem to work out…when there is no way out?

 

 

 

1. What will it take for you to trust with your entire personality in God’s Power, Wisdom, and Goodness during these times?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, work Your Faith in me, that I may be able to trust in Your Power, Wisdom, and Goodness with my entire personality.

 

 

October 23  Is Your Heart Bad or Good?

 

All my life, I wanted to be good.  I wanted a good heart.  I wanted a heart filled with Goodness, Righteousness, and Holiness.  However, MY HEART WAS BAD.  It was filled with evil thoughts.  It was as heavy as stone.  Because I felt so ashamed of my heart, I desperately tried to hide it.  It became a matter of life and death to prove that my heart was good…so that people would not find out that it was bad.  That made matters worse, for I ended up with many sinful defense habits and patterns that fought for my heart.  Consequently, I felt even more ashamed.

 

“THE HEART IS DECEITFUL ABOVE ALL THINGS AND BEYOND CURE. WHO CAN UNDERSTAND IT?” (Jeremiah 17:9).

 

I found out that the father-of-lies was responsible for my bad heart.  While I was growing up, he filled me with deceit—one lie after the other.  Eventually these lies all accumulated, until a heart was formed that was carved out of a stone of lies.  Out of this heart came evil thoughts and bad conduct.

 

“FOR OUT OF THE HEART COME EVIL THOUGHTS, MURDER, ADULTERY, SEXUAL IMMORALITY, THEFT, FALSE TESTIMONY, SLANDER” (Matthew 15:19).

 

Then the Lord Jesus called me and asked me if I wanted Him to give me A GOOD HEART.  He showed me that He could remove the bad heart of stone the father-of-lies had given me, and that He could give me a new heart filled with His Spirit—a good heart.  I accepted!

 

“I WILL GIVE YOU A NEW HEART AND PUT A NEW SPIRIT IN YOU; I WILL REMOVE FROM YOU YOUR HEART OF STONE AND GIVE YOU A HEART OF FLESH”

(Ezekiel 36:26).

 

Today I have a new heart—A GOOD HEART.  I do not have to adopt sinful defense habits and patterns anymore to hide my bad heart from the world.  I do not have to be ashamed anymore of a bad heart filled with the lies and deceit of the father-of-lies.

 

Are you ashamed of your heart? I bless you to ask the Lord Jesus to give you a new heart, too and put His Spirit in you, as well.  Ask Him to remove the heart of stone that formed in you as a result of the negative, destructive beliefs of the father-of-lies.  And He will give you HIS VERY OWN HEART.

 

1. What do you think of your own heart? Does it cause you shame?

 

 

 

1. How would you like to respond to this message of Good News?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, how encouraging to know that You are able to replace my shameful heart for a new heart and a new Spirit—Your Heart and Your Spirit.

October 24  Refurbished by the Spirit of Life

 

I have heard many ministers preach: “Get rid of anger.  Release your bitterness.  Forgive yourself.”  Others preach: “Don’t care what others think.  Do not let others manipulate you.  Rid yourself from the expectations of others.”  Then again, I hear: “Get rid of your fears.  Break past your bondage.  Free yourself from blocks.”

 

I have tried all the above.  I tried for twenty years.  It did not work.  I could not do this by myself.  I needed a Savior who could break my bondage for me…a Redeemer who could get rid of my fears for me…a Deliverer who could release my bitterness for me.  I needed Jesus.

 

“I AM THE VINE; YOU ARE THE BRANCHES. IF A MAN REMAINS IN ME AND I IN HIM, HE WILL BEAR MUCH FRUIT; APART FROM ME YOU CAN DO NOTHING” (John 15:5).

 

I bless you to know that you are not able to get rid of your fears.  You are not able to free yourself from bondage.  You are not able to get rid of anger.  Jesus has to do it for you.

 

“FOR THE LAW OF THE SPIRIT OF LIFE IN CHRIST JESUS HAS MADE ME FREE FROM THE LAW OF SIN AND DEATH” (Romans 8:2).

 

Therefore, invite the Spirit of Life to free you from your iniquities.  Bring your heart that has been numbed by the pain of abandonment, rejection, and shame, to the Spirit of Jesus, to be resurrected…to be revived…to be restored.

 

Bring your mind that has been deadened by fears, blocks, and bondage, to the Spirit of Jesus, to be renewed…to be reshaped…to be refurbished.

 

Yield your heart that cares so much about what others think of you, to the Spirit of Jesus, to be repaired…to be re-created…to be replaced.

 

And you will see the bondage broken…the blocks removed…the fears banished.

 

1. In which ways have you tried to get rid of your fears, free yourself from bondage, and release your bitterness? Did it work for you?

 

 

 

1. Have you become desperate enough to try something new: to crown the Lord Jesus as Savior of your life, and to ask Him to do what you have not been able to do yourself?

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I crown You as Lord and Savior of my life. I admit that I have not been able to get rid of the blockages and bondages in my life. Therefore, I invite Your Presence and Your participation into my life, O Lord. Become my Savior, my Redeemer, and my Refuge in all aspects of my life.

 

October 25  A Light Has Dawned

 

“INDEED, THE DARKNESS SHALL NOT HIDE FROM YOU, BUT THE NIGHT SHINES AS THE DAY; THE DARKNESS AND THE LIGHT ARE BOTH ALIKE TO YOU” (Psalm 139:12).

 

Are you living in the land of the shadow of death?  Are you surrounded by the deepest gloom?  Are you walking in darkness?

 

Maybe you believe that your heartache is buried so deeply that God would not be able to find it.  Maybe you know that you have pain in your heart, but believe that it is too late to ask God for help.  Maybe you can feel the anger and bitterness in your heart, but believe that it is hidden in a hard protective coating, so that it is not accessible to God’s healing.

 

I bless you to be excited that God can see deep inside your wounded heart.  Do not despair in your darkness. God is able to find wounds that are too deep for you to access.  God is powerful enough to know where to look, when you do not even know where to start looking.  God can see through your protective coating.  Your darkness is not hidden from God.

 

“HE BROUGHT THEM OUT OF DARKNESS AND THE DEEPEST GLOOM AND BROKE AWAY THEIR CHAINS” (Psalm 107:14).

 

Be encouraged that God can see what you cannot see.  Know that God can recognize what you cannot recognize.  Realize that God can understand what you cannot understand.  Darkness does not hide from Him.  Gloom does not intimidate Him.  The land of the shadow of death is not unfamiliar to Him.

 

“On those living in the land of the shadow of death a Light has dawned.”  Take heart! The God of Light stands ready to bring you out of your darkness and the deepest gloom, and break away your chains.  All you need to do is to invite the God of Light into your darkness.  He will do the rest.

 

“THE PEOPLE WALKING IN DARKNESS HAVE SEEN A GREAT LIGHT; ON THOSE LIVING IN THE LAND OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH A LIGHT HAS DAWNED” (Isaiah 9:2).

 

1. In what ways do you experience darkness: depression, dread, and despair, during this season of your life?

 

 

 

1. How does the Light of God in this message give you Hope?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, how comforted I am that You can still see when it is dark around me, even when I cannot. I expose my darkness to You. Take my hand and lead me out of this gloom, so my chains may be broken and I may be set free.

 

 

October 26  The Serpent Deceived Me, so I Ate

 

“THEN THE LORD GOD SAID TO THE WOMAN, ‘WHAT IS THIS YOU HAVE DONE?’THE WOMAN SAID, ‘THE SERPENT DECEIVED ME, AND I ATE’” (Genesis 3:13).

 

“My friend was rude to me, so I ate of the fruit the enemy offered me.”

“My boss made a snide comment, so I ate of the fruit the enemy offered me.”

“My husband did not love me, so I ate of the fruit the enemy offered me.”

“My wife disrespected me, so I ate of the fruit the enemy offered me.”

 

I bless you to understand that the enemy, the father-of-lies, will offer you his fruit every day, to cause sin to reign in your mortal body “SO THAT YOU OBEY ITS EVIL DESIRES”

(Romans 6:12).

 

Know that the evil one will offer you the fruit of enmity, strife, fear, jealousy, mistrust, anger, fits of rage, animosity, and selfishness.  Moreover, he will offer his fruit along with the excuse, “She gave me some of the fruit, so I had to eat.”

 

I bless you to know that you DO NOT HAVE TO EAT THE FRUIT THE ENEMY OFFERS YOU, even when someone is hateful, manipulative, or condemning.

 

“SUBMIT YOURSELVES, THEN, TO GOD. RESIST THE DEVIL, AND HE WILL FLEE FROM YOU” (James 4:7).

 

You have a choice: you can eat of the fruit the enemy offers you when someone says or does something to you…or you can resist obedience to the father-of-lies, and submit your pain to God, instead.

 

I bless you to submit yourself, then, to God, and to resist the father-of-lies…and he will leave you alone.

 

1. What do you do with the fruit the father-of-lies offers you, daily, moment-by-moment?

 

 

 

1. How might the teaching in this message lead you to deal differently with these temptations from the father-of-lies?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, remind me, often, that I DO NOT HAVE TO EAT THE FRUIT THE ENEMY OFFERS ME, even when someone is hateful, manipulative, or condemning toward me. May I choose, moment-by-moment, to resist obedience to the father-of-lies: to submit my pain to You instead, O Lord, and receive Your Fruit of Love, Hope, and Truth.

 

 

 

October 27  Those Who Fear Him Lack Nothing

 

It has been a great encouragement to me to discover that there are many promises available to those who fear God…to those who honor the Perfect Father…to those who revere the Most High.  So, I asked God how I could honor and revere Him.  He answered:

 

“TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR HEART AND LEAN NOT ON YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING; IN ALL YOUR WAYS ACKNOWLEDGE HIM, AND HE WILL MAKE YOUR PATHS STRAIGHT” (Proverbs 3:5-7).

 

I bless you to acknowledge God’s Perspective in everything you do.  Honor His Counsel wherever you go.  Trust His Word above your own, for those who rely on His moment-by-moment Truth enjoy His promises.  They will lack nothing.

 

“FEAR THE LORD, YOU HIS SAINTS, FOR THOSE WHO FEAR HIM LACK NOTHING” (Psalm 34:9).

 

Be sensitive to the voices in your heart.  Be aware of the father-of-lies’ counsel.  Take notice of God’s Voice.  Know that there is always a choice.  If you submit the counsel of the father-of-lies to God in exchange for His Truth, His Righteousness will prevail in your heart and those of your children’s children.

 

“BUT FROM EVERLASTING TO EVERLASTING THE LORD’S LOVE IS WITH THOSE WHO FEAR HIM, AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS WITH THEIR CHILDREN’S CHILDREN”

(Psalm 103:17).

 

Grasp that God’s Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom, and His Dominion endures through all generations.  Capture that God is faithful to all His promises.  Therefore, fear the Lord…honor the Perfect Father…revere the Most High.

 

“YOUR KINGDOM IS AN EVERLASTING KINGDOM, AND YOUR DOMINION ENDURES THROUGH ALL GENERATIONS. THE LORD IS FAITHFUL TO ALL HIS PROMISES AND LOVING TOWARD ALL HE HAS MADE” (Psalm 145:13).

 

1. What are you going to do, in order to receive the promise of a straight path?

 

 

 

1. How might the teaching in this message challenge and change you?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Most High, work Your Righteousness in me, so I may honor You with my thoughts, my actions, and my purpose. May I acknowledge Your Perspective in everything I do and think, so I may receive Your promises and lack nothing.

 

 

October 28  Seek and You Will Find God

 

“YOU WILL SEEK ME AND FIND ME WHEN YOU SEEK ME WITH ALL YOUR HEART”

(Jeremiah 29:13).

 

I have been very encouraged by the ways God has allowed me to find Him after I have sought Him with all my heart.  I have learned from experience to lay my request at His feet…and then look to Him with expectation.

 

He does not always answer in the way I expect Him to answer.  He does not always answer in the timing I allow Him.  He does not always answer in the place I watch for Him.  However, He always answers.

 

I have become excited about the ways God speaks.  Sometimes, His Answer hits suddenly and vividly like a lightning bolt.  Sometimes, His Counsel comes quietly in a whisper, like a gentle sea breeze.  Sometimes, His Truth trickles in drop by drop, until the bucket is full and the Answer is complete.

 

I bless you to know that when you do not hear from God and it feels like He has abandoned you…He IS working on your case.  Understand that you might not see Him working, but He IS working behind the scenes.  Be encouraged that He IS busy moving the mountains.  Sometimes, that mountain is in your heart.  Sometimes, that mountain is in someone else’s heart.  Sometimes, that mountain is a circumstance.

 

Do not always expect an instant answer and instant solution, and that every mountain be moved in a second.  Sometimes it takes time to move mountains.

 

“AND WITHOUT FAITH IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO PLEASE GOD, BECAUSE ANYONE WHO COMES TO HIM MUST BELIEVE THAT HE EXISTS AND THAT HE REWARDS THOSE WHO EARNESTLY SEEK HIM” (Hebrews 11:6).

 

I bless you to believe that God WILL reward you if you seek Him earnestly.  He has done it for me.  He will do it for you. 

 

1. What questions or desires would you like to take to God in your pursuit of seeking Him with all your heart?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, build Your Faith in my heart, so that I may never forget that the Perfect Father DOES reward those who earnestly seek Him, even if it takes some time.

 

 

 

October 29  When I Fail

 

Oswald Chambers once said, “When a person fails in his personal Christian life, it is usually because he has never received anything.”

 

“JOHN ANSWERED AND SAID, A MAN CAN RECEIVE NOTHING, EXCEPT IT BE GIVEN HIM FROM HEAVEN” (John 3:27).

 

I bless you to sing a new song of joy.  Jesus came to give you what you need…so you do not have to fail anymore.

 

“HITHERTO HAVE YE ASKED NOTHING IN MY NAME: ASK, AND YE SHALL RECEIVE, THAT YOUR JOY MAY BE FULL” (John 16:24).

 

Do you need acceptance?  Receive it from Jesus!

Do you need goodness?  Receive it from Jesus!

Do you need kindness?  Receive it from Jesus!

Do you need joy?  Receive it from Jesus!

Do you need faith?  Receive it from Jesus!

Do you need hope?  Receive it from Jesus!

Do you need comfort?  Receive it from Jesus!

Do you need light?  Receive it from Jesus!

Do you need life?  Receive it from Jesus!

Do you need healing?  Receive it from Jesus!

Do you need forgiveness?  Receive it from Jesus!

 

“PRAISE THE LORD, MY SOUL, AND FORGET NOT ALL HIS BENEFITS—

WHO FORGIVES ALL YOUR SINS AND HEALS ALL YOUR DISEASES,

WHO REDEEMS YOUR LIFE FROM THE PIT

AND CROWNS YOU WITH LOVE AND COMPASSION,

WHO SATISFIES YOUR DESIRES WITH GOOD THINGS

SO THAT YOUR YOUTH IS RENEWED LIKE THE EAGLE’S”

(Psalm 103:2-5).

 

1. What do you need?  At what are you failing?

 

 

 

1. Are you willing to come to the Lord Jesus, just the way you are, and ask Him for what you need, in faith?

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, thank you that I may ask You for anything I need, no matter how small or large my request is, so I may receive, and my joy may be full.

 

 

 

October 30  Redemption

 

Once upon a time, in a place far away, humans lived according to spiritual principles: indwelled by God’s Spirit, and covered by God’s Love, Hope, and Truth.  They thought God’s thoughts and lived in God’s Light, uninterrupted by negative thoughts, far-fetched imaginations, and senseless arguments.  There was no darkness in their minds and no pain in their hearts.  They were whole and holy.

 

“FOR WE KNOW THAT THE LAW IS SPIRITUAL: BUT I AM CARNAL, SOLD UNDER SIN” (Romans 7:14).

 

But then something happened.  Humans decided that they would disobey God by listening to someone else’s counsel—THE FATHER-OF-LIES’.  Then, they became naked!  They were stripped of God’s Truth, Hope, and Love that lived directly in their hearts.  Although these attributes of God were still available to them, they were now only seen through a veil, because humans were sold into slavery under the control of sin.

 

“WHO GAVE HIMSELF FOR US, THAT HE MIGHT REDEEM US FROM ALL INIQUITY, AND PURIFY UNTO HIMSELF A PECULIAR PEOPLE, ZEALOUS OF GOOD WORKS” (Titus 2:14).

 

But we received a second chance—JESUS!  He died, giving Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, repurchase us from the father-of-lies, and purify us to be whole and holy again.

 

“BUT GOD WILL REDEEM MY SOUL FROM THE POWER OF THE GRAVE: FOR HE SHALL RECEIVE ME” (Psalm 49:15).

 

I bless you to know that you have a Redeemer.  He did a complete work.  He gave Himself to you.  He died so you may become spiritual again through the Spirit of God.  He came to offer His own Nature to you to free you from the lies of the father-of-lies.  He came to live His own life in and through you…and Jesus does not sin.

 

“PRAISE THE LORD, MY SOUL, AND FORGET NOT ALL HIS BENEFITS—

WHO REDEEMS YOUR LIFE FROM THE PIT

AND CROWNS YOU WITH LOVE AND COMPASSION,

WHO SATISFIES YOUR DESIRES WITH GOOD THINGS

SO THAT YOUR YOUTH IS RENEWED LIKE THE EAGLE’S”

(Psalm 103:2, 4-5).

 

1. Would you like to take advantage of your Second Chance—Jesus?

 

 

 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I praise You for being my Second Chance. I come to You to be redeemed from all iniquity, to be repurchased from the father-of-lies, and to be purified into wholeness and holiness, according to Your original plan.

 

October 31  Let Patience Have Its Perfect Work

 

“MY BRETHREN, COUNT IT ALL JOY WHEN YOU FALL INTO VARIOUS TRIALS, KNOWING THAT THE TESTING OF YOUR FAITH PRODUCES PATIENCE. BUT LET PATIENCE HAVE ITS PERFECT WORK, THAT YOU MAY BE PERFECT AND COMPLETE, LACKING NOTHING” (James 1:2-4).

 

I bless you to count it pure joy whenever you encounter trials or fall into various temptations.  Understand that temptations give you the opportunity to become patient and stay in the Presence of the Perfect Father, instead of running off to hide somewhere.  Temptations give you the opportunity to endure and stand firm in God’s Love, instead of blaming someone else for your own pain.  Temptations give you the opportunity to be steadfast and abide in God’s Hope, instead of hiding behind sinful habits and defense patterns.

 

“BE JOYFUL IN HOPE, PATIENT IN AFFLICTION, FAITHFUL IN PRAYER”

(Romans 12:12).

 

Be encouraged that Patience is something intrinsically valuable to the Perfect Father.  It is while you are calmly bearing the temptation, that God has an opportunity to renew your mind with His Truth.  It is while you are bearing and facing your pain, that you have the opportunity to be changed and to share in God’s Holiness.  CHANGE HAPPENS DURING PATIENCE.

 

“ENDURE HARDSHIP AS DISCIPLINE” (Hebrews 12:7).

 

Be joyful that God uses the same temptations that the enemy uses to harm you…to heal you.  When you fix your eyes on Jesus during your temptations, God uses the moment to turn your darkness into Light.  When you endure hardship and face the shame, condemnation, and abandonment in your heart, God uses that point in time to heal your heart and set you free.

 

“NO DISCIPLINE SEEMS PLEASANT AT THE TIME, BUT PAINFUL. LATER ON, HOWEVER, IT PRODUCES A HARVEST OF RIGHTEOUSNESS AND PEACE FOR THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN TRAINED BY IT” (Hebrews 12:11).

 

1. Which temptations of shame, condemnation, and abandonment are you facing, right now, that might serve as an opportunity for God to heal you?

 

 

 

1. What are you going to do with these temptations: are you going to allow the father-of-lies to harm you with them…or God, to heal you?

 

 

 

PRAYER: My Lord, may I steadfastly fix my eyes on You during my temptations, so You may use the same temptations that the enemy uses to harm me…to heal me.