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 to your problem and no way out?  Do you allow Jesus to become your Wisdom from the Perfect Father…or do you reject Him?

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 like nobody loves you, or 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…or do you push Him away?

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 invite Him to shine His Light into your darkness…or do you refuse Him?

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).

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? Do you receive Him as your Savior to reign over your depression…your fear…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 my 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.

Maintain an Awareness

The father-of-lies opposes God’s Counsel by telling us the exact opposite of what God says. His deception provides the pink slippery world in our minds that do not make sense.

The Two Counsels

Keep Your Eyes on Jesus

THE ETERNAL GOD IS THY REFUGE, AND UNDERNEATH ARE THE EVERLASTING ARMS
(Deuteronomy 33:27).

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 water to become rough and turbulent.  I looked around me and started panicking, but suddenly I became aware of everlasting arms holding me.  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 pay attention to the raging waters.  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, do not concern yourself with the ups and downs of life around you.  Instead, steadily fix your gaze on Jesus.  The instant you focus on Him, instead of the turbulent circumstances, hopelessness vanishes from sight.

When the waters you see around you are rough and turbulent, give no mind to the threatening 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 around you, give no regard to the crisis.  Instead, intentionally rivet your eyes on Jesus. Rest in His arms. The minute you turn to Him, the intimidating fear evaporates.

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

May you choose to turn your eyes away from the happenings in your life, and steadily fix your eyes on God. Let Him speak to you. Let Him show you the way. Let Him comfort you. Do not place your confidence in your interpretations of your current circumstances, 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. Allow Him to give you His Perspective. You will find all the Answers you need through your intimate relationship with God.

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 in the midst of my threatening circumstances. Help me to hear You through the noise of the oppressing voices in my mind.  Let me feel Your Presence in my pain.

Maintain an Awareness

And here lies the root to all our problems: not the FACTS we experienced during our childhood circumstances…but the CONCLUSIONS we made in response to these facts.

The Two Counsels

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His Thoughts Are Higher than Your Thoughts

For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it
(Isaiah 55:8-11).

I bless you to allow God to have His way with you, for His Ways are higher than your ways and His Thoughts are higher than your thoughts. But you need to know that while He will let you know, through your intimate relationship with Him what He has in mind for you, He will never explain His whole Purpose to you. You need to trust Him.

Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out
(Romans 11:33).

Know with certainty that what God has planned for your life will be accomplished. What He has promised you, will be done, for His spoken Word to you never returns to Him empty-handed. It will do the work He sent it to do and complete the assignment He gave it.

But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance
(2 Peter 3:8-9).

Have you accepted God’s Ways with your life? If not, talk to Him about it and ask Him to show you what He is doing. Just know that He will keep some information to Himself. Ask Him to comfort you and bring you to a place of Peace and Acceptance. Ask Him to teach you to trust Him.

PRAYER: Lord God, help me to accept that the way You work surpasses the way I work and that the way Your think is beyond the way I think. Comfort me, Lord God, so I may accept Your ways and allow You to accomplish Your Purpose through my life.

Maintain an Awareness

Sin is not something mysterious…something unexplainable…something that happens to you. Sin does not stand alone. It does not happen by itself. Sinful solutions have a source—the source of the OLD MAN.

The Two Counsels

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Know Your Perfect Father

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

Did you know that the Lord Jesus came to make your Perfect Father known to you, and that He will continue to make Him known to you? He will make Him known to you through your own heart: through your own sorrow…through your own hopelessness…through your own disappointments, if you let Him.

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

Did you know that your Perfect Father sees all the good works that you do, every day, IN SECRET, and that He will reward you? Make sure these good works sprout from the Righteousness of the Lord Jesus, working in you, and not from your own deceitful desires, or you will get no reward.

YOUR FATHER KNOWS WHAT YOU NEED BEFORE YOU ASK HIM
(Matthew 6:8).

Precious Child, did you know that I, your Perfect Father, already know what you need, next, even though you might not? I already have your next Answer ready, even when you do not even know the question, yet. All you need to do is come into My Presence, just the way you are. Submit to My Purpose. Surrender to My Plan. Stay in My Presence…until I tell you My Answer.

YET A TIME IS COMING 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).

Did you know that Your Perfect Father is looking for someone special: someone who will stop doing what is right in his own eyes…someone who will stop following the deceitful desires of her sinful nature…someone who will stop believing the lies of the father-of-lies? He is looking for someone like YOU, who will worship Him is Spirit and in Truth.

Do you know the Perfect Father…or do you only know ABOUT Him?

PRAYER: Perfect Father, how blessed I am that I may know You, the only true God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, whom You have sent, so I may have Your Life in me, right now, into eternity.

AND THIS IS LIFE ETERNAL, THAT THEY MIGHT KNOW THEE, THE ONLY TRUE GOD, AND JESUS CHRIST, WHOM THOU HAS SENT
(John 17:3).

Maintain an Awareness

What a consolation to discover that God has never left us. He NEVER forsook us, even though we forsook HIM.

The Two Counsels

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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, and 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—the guilt, the confusion, the bitterness, the jealousy, and the sadness—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).

When you pray, allow the Holy Spirit to pray through you, according to God’s Will. If you let Him, He will search your heart and pray to the Father through you, according to what you need. He will address the abandonment, the rejection, the shame, and the condemnation that live in your heart. If you allow Him, He will intercede for you, so Christ’s Light might enter your heart and drive out the dark beliefs of the father-of-lies.

PRAYER: Lord God, I invite You into the troubled spots in my 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.

Maintain an Awareness

We run…and run…and run. We run towards bad distractions and destructions like alcohol, drugs, or even crime, or we run towards good distractions like entertainment, or our husbands, wives, friends, or counselors.

The Two Counsels

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. Allow Him to have the last say in your life—Words you will receive 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 fear, your anger, your guilt, your sadness, jealousy, confusion, bitterness, or hopelessness, neither will your past mistakes, neither will your unworthiness, shame, rejection, condemnation, or abandonment, neither will the belief “God does not love me.”

What has the father-of-lies told YOU?

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, my past mistakes, or any words the father-of-lies might hurl at me. How great is the Love You lavish on me…that I might be called Your child.

Maintain an Awareness

Since the beginning of our lives, the OLD MAN beliefs of abandonment, shame, condemnation, and rejection have been firmly planted in our minds and hearts by the father-of-lies.

The Two Counsels

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).

Understand that fear, hatred, jealousy, and despair do not live in your heart as single separate entities.  Instead, these are emotional reactions to the OLD MAN—the set of negative, destructive beliefs instilled in your 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).

Child, celebrate that I, Jesus, redeemed you from the OLD MAN. I took the negative, destructive beliefs form the father-of-lies upon Me; then, nailed them to the cross with Me, so that you do not have to live your life reacting to them in hatred, jealousy, despair and fear anymore. Then, I came to replace the OLD MAN with My Life in your heart.

Are you struggling with jealousy, hatred, fear, and despair? What are the negative, destructive OLD MAN beliefs supporting these painful emotions? Remember, the heart feels what the mind believes.

What would it take for you to take your OLD MAN beliefs to the cross and hand them over to the Lord Jesus where they have been crucified?

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 lay these OLD MAN beliefs down at the cross to which You have already nailed them, so I may be set free from the law of sin and death….and live.

Maintain an Awareness

Temptations are all about WORDS…and what we DO with these WORDS.

The Two Counsels

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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 this 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 living.  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.

Beautiful One, your first purpose is to remain in My Love, just as I remain in My Father’s Love. If you listen to My Voice, daily, you will remain in My Love, just as I have listened to My Father’s Voice, daily.  My Love is indispensable for the maintaining and protection of your life.  Without it, life is full of hopelessness and hatred.  Without it, being a Christian will not make sense to you.  Without it, you will have no purpose and no joy.  My Love is your lifeline! 

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

Do you have an intense desire to experience God’s Love? Do you wish your life had a purpose? Then, start listening to the Voice of His Spirit in your heart. Do what He has asked of you, already. Obey the promptings of His Spirit that have been sitting in your heart for a while.

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 your friends did not want to play with you when you were little. You will be filled with Joy.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, draw me into Your Purpose—into a relationship with You. Let me live in Your Love, the way You lived in the Perfect Father’s Love. 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, through my relationship with You, Your Joy will be in me and my Joy will become complete.

Maintain an Awareness

We run…and run…and run, but we never run to God.

The Two Counsels

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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 what shaped my mind the most was not what people said and did to me, but what I came to believe about myself in response to 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 exactly what you need to hear and believe about yourself, because He knows what the CRAFTY ONE told 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 an outcast. The Truth that Jesus Christ speaks to you will set you free, because He IS the Truth.

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

Think about it. What shaped YOUR life the most: what people did or said to you, or what you came to believe about yourself and those around you? What are you going to do about this?

Stop running to people for advice when you feel abandoned, shamed, rejected, and condemned. What they can give you is advice…only. Bring your beliefs of shame, condemnation, abandonment, and rejection to the Lord Jesus, instead. Tell Him how you feel. Tell Him what you believe about yourself. Ask Him to meet you at the place where this belief was planted in your mind and heart, for the first time. Receive the Truth.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, how I value Your Truth! I praise You for being the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Thank you for making Yourself available to me, so I may be set free from what the CRAFTY ONE told me about myself.

Maintain an Awareness

There is someone who came to bring Heaven to earth, into your troubled heart, into your dark mind, into your dead spirit, into your disease-ridden body, and into your broken life. His name is Jesus Christ, the Perfect Father’s Son.

The Two Counsels

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).

Beloved, today, I want you to 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 the negative, destructive beliefs of the father-of-lies, you will only act and react out of hatred, jealousy, and bitterness. However, if you have been filling your heart with My Love, Hope, and Truth, you will respond with Righteousness, Peace, and Faith.

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

Know that Righteousness, Peace, and Faith come directly from Me, your Perfect Father in Heaven.  You do not bring these qualities into existence by yourself.  Even after you become a Christian, you might still have hatred, bitterness, or jealousy stored up in your heart. You need My Son, Jesus, whom I sent to you, to exchange these evils for His Truth, Love, and Hope. 

What have been coming out of your heart and mouth: hatred, bitterness, and jealousy, or Righteousness, Peace, and Faith? Know that you will produce whatever has been stored in your heart.

Do you want to change? Invite the Lord Jesus to remove the negative, destructive beliefs from the father-of-lies that have been causing your jealousy, bitterness, and hatred, and ask Him to replace these beliefs with His Truth, Hope, and Love.  Then, you will not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with God!

PRAYER: Most High, I invite You into my heart where the negative, destructive beliefs of the father-of-lies dwell. I invite You to remove these and to fill my heart with Your Hope, Love, and Truth, for out of the overflow of my heart will my mouth and my actions speak. May Your Light shine in me, Lord God, before everyone, that they may see Your Righteousness in me, and praise You, my Father in Heaven.

Maintain an Awareness

Temptations give us many opportunities to be trained in God’s Holiness.

The Two Counsels

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