Confused

November 04

What You Need to Be Truly Happy

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THEY SAY A PERSON NEEDS THREE THINGS TO BE TRULY HAPPY IN THIS WORLD:
SOMEONE TO LOVE, SOMETHING TO DO,
AND SOMETHING TO HOPE FOR
(Thomas Edward Bodett).

I have found this to be true in my life.
I need three things to experience true joy in this world:
to love God,
to do the good works God has prepared for me to do,
and to have the hope of possessing a heart that is good, acceptable, and worthy.

I bless you to believe that you were created with the desire to love God; however, you need to understand HOW to love God.  Loving God is not just a feeling.  Loving God is not just a one-time decision.  Loving God is a moment-by-moment interchange of surrendering and receiving—surrendering everything you are, to God, to receive everything God is, to you.

I bless you to believe that you were created to do the good works GOD has prepared for you, since the beginning of time.  These works accommodate your personality, skills, and gifts.  They allow you to be you!  When you do the good works GOD has prepared specifically for you, you experience God’s Peace, God’s Power, and God’s Joy! How do you know what those good works are? Ask Him! Get to know Him. Then, He will show them to you.

I bless you to believe that you were created with the desire to have a good heart.  People always ask, “Have you given your heart to Jesus?”  But, I want to know, “After you have given your heart to Jesus, have you asked Jesus to give His heart to you?” This spiritual exchange is absolutely necessary if you want to be happy. When you receive the heart of Jesus, you do not have to strive to make your own heart good, work to make yourself acceptable, and toil to prove that you are worthy.  HIS HEART IS ALREADY GOOD. Bring your broken heart to him just the way it is, full of fear, animosity, jealousy, resentment, anger, anxiety, suffering, and disappointment, and ask Him to exchange all of that for His own Heart. Then, with Joy, proceed to draw water out of the wells of salvation.

THEREFORE WITH JOY SHALL YE DRAW WATER OUT OF THE WELLS OF SALVATION
(Isaiah 12:3).

Have you given your heart, with everything in it, to Jesus? 

Have you asked Jesus to give His heart, with everything in it, to you? 

PRAYER: Most High, how I love loving You, moment-by-moment, through an interchange of surrendering and receiving—SURRENDERING TO YOU EVERYTHING I AM AND DO, TO RECEIVE FROM YOU EVERYTHING YOU ARE AND DO.

Maintain an Awareness

How often do we find ourselves doing “good deeds,” just to find out that our “good deeds” were not really good, but merely a reaction to the OLD MAN belief “You are bad”?

The Two Counsels
November 03

Call on Me When You Are Confused

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Life can get very confusing, sometimes.  We know something is wrong, but we do not know where to begin to find the problem, let alone the solution.  We know we feel sad, mad, or bad, but we do not know which one it is.  We are willing to take responsibility for our thoughts and surrender our own understanding to God, but we do not know what those thoughts are.  Several perturbing perceptions mull around in our minds, at the same time, but we cannot tell them apart.

CALL TO ME AND I WILL ANSWER YOU AND TELL YOU GREAT AND UNSEARCHABLE THINGS YOU DO NOT KNOW
(Jeremiah 33:3).

When things become so confusing to me that I cannot even find the problem, I call out to God to help me.  I invite His Presence and Participation into the deepest places of my heart and mind to detect and discern the confusion: the emotions that are unclear, the thoughts of my mind that are impenetrable, and the beliefs of my heart that are concealed. I ask Him to tell me great and unsearchable things about my life that I do not know.

ONLY IN RETURNING TO ME AND RESTING IN ME WILL YOU BE SAVED.  IN QUIETNESS AND CONFIDENCE IS YOUR STRENGTH
(Isaiah 30:15 NLT).

Dearest Child, when your life becomes very complicated and entangled…when your mind seems to be an insolvable puzzle…when your heart turns into a mystery, return to Me, Jesus, your Lord and Savior. Invite My Presence and Participation into your life, for I am not the Author of confusion, but of Peace. Only in resting in Me will you be saved from your confusion.  Know that during a time of perplexity, your strength is in quietness and confidence. Give Me time to show you the unsearchable things you do not know. Not only will these revelations become My promises for your life; they will also clear your mind and heart.

SURELY YOU DESIRE TRUTH IN THE INNER PARTS; YOU TEACH ME WISDOM IN THE INMOST PLACE
(Psalm 51:6).

Allow the Lord Jesus to bring you Truth in the inner parts of your mind and Wisdom in the inmost places of your heart.

FOR GOD IS NOT THE AUTHOR OF CONFUSION BUT OF PEACE
(1 Corinthians 14:33).

What are you going to do about the confusion in your life?

PRAYER: Most High, You are the Author of Peace!  I call out to You to bring Your Truths into the inner parts of my heart and Your Wisdom into the inmost places of my mind. Show me Your revelations for my life—the deep and unsearchable things I do not know—and so fulfill Your Promises for my life.

Maintain an Awareness

Capture that the human mind loves to reason WITHOUT the Holy Spirit.

The Two Counsels

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Confused

November 01

How Do I Live by Faith?

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NOW THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH: BUT IF ANY MAN DRAW BACK, MY SOUL SHALL HAVE NO PLEASURE IN HIM
(Hebrews 10:38).

What is faith? How do we live by faith, every day, moment-by-moment?

NOW FAITH IS THE SUBSTANCE OF THINGS HOPED FOR, THE EVIDENCE OF THINGS NOT SEEN
(Hebrews 11:1).

FAITH is the substance of things-HOPED-for, the evidence of things-not-seen. What are these things-not-seen that we are hoping for? How do we receive these things-HOPED-for that we cannot see? Why do we need to hope for things-not-seen?

CALL TO ME AND I WILL ANSWER YOU AND TELL YOU GREAT AND UNSEARCHABLE THINGS YOU DO NOT KNOW
(Jeremiah 33:3).

In my life, these things-not-seen that I have been hoping for are the personal promises God has given me before He supplies the things-not-seen. My faith becomes the evidence that I am hoping for those personal promises to be fulfilled, in God’s time, even when the FACTS and CONCLUSIONS of my current circumstances show me there is nothing to hope for, because there is no evidence.

But, in order to have received personal promises from God—things-not-seen—I needed to have a deep, personal relationship with God, first. I needed to make Him my eternal God, my Refuge—the One who holds me in His eternal arms, during difficult circumstances.

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

God always tells us ahead of time what to expect, so we may have faith—so we may hope for things-not-seen. Do you live in a real relationship with God? Then, what are the personal promises for which you are hoping—the evidence of things-not-seen? Are your circumstances difficult, at the moment? Find out what God has already promised you in regards to your current circumstances. If you cannot find any promises to hope for, find God. Ask Him to show you something about your circumstances. Anything that God shows you about your circumstances will be a personal promise to you from God—a thing-not-seen that you can hope for. This is how you will live by FAITH, moment-by-moment, every day.

PRAYER: My Lord, I come to You during my difficult circumstances. I seek Your Presence and Your Participation. Show me the things-not-seen for which You want me to hope, today.

Maintain an Awareness

God sent His own Son, Jesus Christ, to become the NEW MAN Truth in the place of the OLD MAN deception in us.

The Two Counsels
October 29

When I Fail

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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, today.  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!
Do you need belonging?  Receive it from Jesus!
Do you need affirmation?  Receive it from Jesus!
Do you need love? Receive it from Jesus!
Do you need strength? Receive it from Jesus!
Do you need a miracle? 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).

What do you need?  At what are you failing?

Come to the Lord Jesus, just the way you are, and ask Him for what you need, in faith. It is as simple as that.

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.

Maintain an Awareness

Every given moment of your life, you live either in obedience to the Counsel of the Perfect Father, or in obedience to the counsel of the father-of-lies.

The Two Counsels
October 27

When Love Fails

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Have you ever gone through the pain of disillusionment, when you stopped believing in love? This pain makes a person feel alone. It makes you feel that there is nobody on your side, nobody you can trust, and nobody to take care of your heart. It makes you feel that LOVE does not exist, because real LOVE would have intervened for your heart when it was hurting. Real LOVE would have been kind when you were going through a hard time. Real LOVE would have been patient and gentle when you did not understand. It would not have dishonored you during a time when you needed stability, or kept a record of your wrongs when you did not know what was right. It would have persevered when you failed.

FEAR THE LORD, YOU HIS SAINTS, FOR THOSE WHO FEAR HIM LACK NOTHING
(Psalm 34:9).

You need to know that there is a reason for the pain of disillusionment. There is a reason why love fails. The reason is SIN—the negative, destructive beliefs of the father-of-lies and their effects on our hearts. You need to take SIN in consideration when someone failed you—where there was a lack of gentleness and patience when you needed understanding, where there was no kindness when you made a mistake, where there was a grudge when you needed grace. When you understand this, you will stop having such high expectations of everybody. You will stop keeping records of their wrongs, because you know the source from which these wrongs originated. You will become patient, kind, and gentle, because you understand the reason for their bad, sad, and mad behavior.

BUT FROM EVERLASTING TO EVERLASTING THE LORD’S LOVE IS WITH THOSE WHO FEAR HIM
(Psalm 103:17).

I bless you to know that there is a different Source available for you to live from. It is the Source of real LOVE. This everlasting LOVE always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres, even when your heart is hurting, when you make a mistake, and when your love fails. Believe in this Source…and you will lack nothing.

THE LORD IS FAITHFUL TO ALL HIS PROMISES AND LOVING TOWARD ALL HE HAS MADE
(Psalm 145:13).

What have you done with the pain of disillusionment—when love was not there for you when you needed it the most?

PRAYER: I revere you, Lord God, for Your Love is from everlasting to everlasting. Your Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres. Because of Your Love, I lack nothing.

Maintain an Awareness

Truth is not something logical we can produce from our own minds; instead, Truth is the supernatural reasoning of the Holy Spirit in our minds.

The Two Counsels
October 20

Become Mature through Constant Use

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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 holy Counsel of Truth and the father-of-lies’ oppressing counsel of deception. The first one produces the Abundant Life. The other, the abandoned life. When you have become mature, you are able to differentiate and choose between the two.

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).

Are you mature? Are you able to distinguish between the holy Counsel of Truth and the oppressing counsel of deception? If not, you need to be informed about the teaching about Righteousness. This teaching suggests that you train yourself to differentiate and choose between the counsel that steals, kills, and destroys, and the Counsel that produces Life to the full.

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).

The teaching of Righteousness requires you to train yourself to classify any counsel that enters your heart as GOOD or EVIL…as Truth or deception…as part of the Abundant Life or the abandoned life. If you caught the father-of-lies’ counsel right when it knocked on your heart’s door, you would still have time to do something about it. What should you do about the counsel of deception? Embrace it, expose it to the Lord Jesus, and allow Him to replace evil with Good, deception with Truth, and the abandoned life with the Abundant Life.  However, the deeper you allow the father-of-lies’ oppressing counsel to penetrate your heart, the harder it becomes to follow the teaching of Righteousness.

Train yourself to perceive the difference between God’s Counsel of Truth and the father-of-lies’ counsel of deception.  Become mature.

PRAYER: Lord God, work maturity in me, so I would learn to distinguish and choose between the good and evil counsel that enter my mind, constantly, every day.

Maintain an Awareness

So, yes, the deepest urge in human nature seems to be the desire to be important–to matter. But, it is not the PRINCIPLE of wanting to be important that is wrong; instead, it is the way we adapt or the means we adopt to meet this most urgent desire of our hearts.

The Two Counsels

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Abandoned Confused

October 18

God’s Perspective

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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.

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).

Notice that Satan’s counsel opposes God’s Counsel…resists God’s instruction…attacks God’s Word:

Do not trust God,
Instead, rely on your own perceptions,
Trust your own interpretations and believe everything you think.
Try and figure everything out for yourself,
for your mind is sufficient to supply all the explanations you need.
Have faith in your own common sense.
Then, everything will turn out OK.

THE MIND OF SINFUL MAN IS DEATH, BUT THE MIND CONTROLLED BY THE SPIRIT IS LIFE AND PEACE
(Romans 8:6).

Do you have Life and Peace? If not, whose counsel do you heed, daily? Who controls your mind, moment-by-moment?

Are you willing to follow a different Counsel? I challenge you to stop trying to figure things out for yourself. Instead, ask God for His Perspective…and see what happens.

PRAYER: Lord God, may I trust YOU with all my heart and refrain from being wise in my own eyes, but acknowledge Your Perspective in everything I do and think.

Maintain an Awareness

If the desire to matter is not satisfied through the solid Framework of God’s Presence, from the inside-out, our hearts become a black hole that sucks everyone in, for the sole and soul purpose to receive accolades…praise…glory.

The Two Counsels
October 17

I Am the Way

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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 the father-of-lies’ counsel.

Notice that the father-of-lies’ 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 father-of-lies is that he uses his deceitful counsel to accomplish his evil deeds through MY body, soul, and spirit.  He uses MY thoughts as a vessel for his arguments against the knowledge of God.  He uses MY interpretations…MY conclusions…MY perceptions as the medium into which he deposits his negative, destructive beliefs of abandonment, shame, condemnation, and rejection. He uses MY mind to control me from the inside-out: to influence MY emotions, to contaminate MY nature, to taint MY personality, and to confuse MY God-given purpose.

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).

I bless you to know that you do not have to live according to the father-of-lies’ counsel. There is another Counsel available to you. It is the Truth. His name is Jesus Christ, God’s Son. You have a choice. If you choose to surrender your thoughts to the Truth, He will rule in your body, soul, and spirit. He will nurture your emotions, decontaminate your nature, purify your personality, and inspire your desires through a brand new purpose.

Whose counsel do you follow, daily, moment-by-moment? What effect has this had on your emotions, your personality, your desires, your nature, your deeds, and your purpose?

What are you going to do about this?

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I choose You. I choose the Truth to reign in my body, soul, and spirit.

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
October 13

The Will of the Perfect Father

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YOUR KINGDOM COME, YOUR WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN
(Matthew 6:10).

The Will of the Perfect Father is the highest Power in Heaven and on earth.  Nothing can withstand it…except our 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).

On the other hand, the father-of-lies is always ready to persuade us to do HIS will: to follow his negative, destructive thoughts “God does not love you. God only wants to harm you. God only wants to punish you, because He is a villain—someone without principles.” The father-of-lies constantly promotes his own will through your will, because he knows if we chose HIS rebellious will, he would be able to manifest his own sinful nature in us, along with his own deceitful desires, his own accusatory beliefs with their painful feelings, his own evil deeds, and his own destructive purpose.

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).

The father-of-lies will always try to persuade you that HIS rebellious will is good for your life, and that the Perfect Father’s Will is bad for you.  However, whenever you believe the father-of-lies’ negative, destructive thoughts, you will be filled with suspicion, hatred, sadness, confusion, guilt, jealousy, and anger. His beliefs of rejection, shame, condemnation, and abandonment will reign in your heart. His unworthiness will cover your soul. His hopelessness will abuse your heart. On the other hand, the more you submit to God’s Perfect Will, the more you are filled with His Hope, Truth, and Love, for by His Will you were created and have your being. Know that what the father-of-lies has been telling you about Him is not true. The father-of-lies is the real villain. He is the one without the principles. He is the one who does not love you and wants to harm and punish you. Know that when you allow the Father’s Will to reign in your life, the father-of-lies’ will has no hold on your life.  However, this all depends on YOUR will.

Whom do you serve with YOUR will: the Perfect Father…or the father-of-lies?

PRAYER: Perfect Father, with my will I choose Your Will to reign in my life: in my thoughts, in my actions, in my nature, in my desires, in my emotions, and in my purpose.

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
October 11

He Answered by Setting Me Free

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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 the father-of-lies has been dumping 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 the ways they were taught, sharing with you the beliefs they believe.  They can give you advice—opinions suggesting the proper course of action.  They can pray with you.  However, they cannot be the Truth in your mind, the Hope in your spirit, and the Love your heart so desperately needs. They cannot fix you from the inside-out.

IT IS WRITTEN: ‘MAN DOES NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT COMES FROM THE MOUTH OF GOD’
(Matthew 4:4).

Beautiful Child, cry out to Me, Jesus, when you feel unloved and unlovable. Talk to Me about your feelings. If you expect an answer from Me, I will come into your heart and furnish you with the Love you so desperately need, from the inside-out.

Run to Me when you feel hopeless.  Tell Me what is on your heart and why you feel such despair.  I am the Beginning and the End. If you invite Me, I will come into your spirit and supply you with a drink of My Living Hope, from the inside-out.

Come to Me when you feel lost and confused.  Share your troubles with Me.  Wait for My answer.  I am the Alpha and the Omega. If you are patient, I will come and dispense Truth into the most confused parts of your mind, from the inside-out.

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, from the outside.  But the Lord Jesus can set you free, from the inside-out.

To whom do you run to receive your hope, truth, love, and comfort?

PRAYER: Lord God, call me 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, because You alone are able to furnish me with Truth, Hope, and Love, from the inside-out. You alone will set me free.

Maintain an Awareness

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

The Two Counsels