Confused

August 10

The Meaning of Sin

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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 deeds, but I never really understood WHY.

Then, 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 we might 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, rejection, and shame to you, but also the solutions to the heartache these cause—SIN.  After he introduces the hurtful beliefs to your mind, he offers solutions of distraction and destruction—SIN.  After the father-of-lies plants his painful beliefs in your heart, 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 belief—HIS SELF.  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, rejection, and shame.

Which sinful habits and patterns have you adopted through-out your life, in order to escape the pain in your heart? 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?

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I invite You to be manifested in my heart, so You may destroy the works of the father-of-lies—the beliefs of abandonment, condemnation, rejection, and shame that are causing me to sin.

Maintain an Awareness

The goal of the father-of-lies is to fill us with a system of beliefs, so that we would fill our Selves with another system of beliefs that would correct the first system of beliefs.

The Two Counsels
August 08

Your Power, Ability, and Sufficiency Are from God

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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, kind, and patient.  Understand that Jesus alone has become your Source of Righteousness from God—your Patience, your Goodness, and your Kindness.  Your sufficiency of Righteousness 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 fills 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 been unable 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, through Him, and to Him are all things.

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.
He is the Source of all things, at all times, and in every way.

From where do YOU receive power to do what is right? From where do YOU receive the ability to have Hope? From where do YOU receive the means to have Peace in your circumstances? Who or what is your source of sufficiency?

PRAYER: Most High, I surrender my insufficiency to You. I admit that I do not have the power to solve my problems. Become my Source of Power. Deliver Truth to my confused mind, as I bow down to You, the Source of Truth. Become my Goodness, my Patience, and my Kindness, as I submit my heart to You, the Source of Righteousness. God, Source of Hope, fill me with Your Hope, Your Peace, and Your Joy, as I entrust my circumstances to You.

Maintain an Awareness

We did not realize it at the time, but during our childhood we made the most deterministic decisions of our lives.

The Two Counsels

Beliefs/Emotions associated with this blessing.
Click on any box below to access more blessings that pertain to the topic in the box.

Confused Guilty Hopeless Sad

August 01

You Will Trample the Serpent

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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)

THE SERPENT YOU SHALL TRAMPLE UNDERFOOT
(Psalm 91:13).

Have you learned how to trample the serpent in your circumstances? I have, after I learned to stop focusing on the troubles my natural eyes could see and started focusing on the things only the spiritual eyes of my heart were able to see—the Glory of God.

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).

Precious One, be encouraged. You will trample the serpent, if you learn to look at things with the spiritual eyes of your heart, instead of your natural eyes. If you stop focusing on the troubles you can see, but rather, fix your eyes on things only your spiritual eyes can see, you will see the Light. You will see My Answers. You will witness the Glory of the New Jerusalem, which comes out of Heaven, from Me. I will show you the open doors, which nobody will be able to shut. I will clothe you with the Robe of Righteousness, which no-one will be able to remove. When you behold My Glory that vastly outweighs the troubles you see with your naturel eyes, you will know how to trample the serpent.

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).

 Are you suffering right now? Have you learned to trample the serpent?

Develop the spiritual eyes of your heart, so you may see God’s Glory in the midst of your suffering. You do this by focusing inward, on your heart, and on what God wants to show you, through your heart. You learn to overcome when you stop running away from the serpent, but confront him, through your own suffering, in your own heart. There, when God shows you His Glory, you find the strength to trample the serpent in your circumstances.

PRAYER: Lord God, show me Your Glory, so I may see Your Answers, in my heart, and trample the serpent in my circumstances.

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
July 05

Will You Lay Down Your Life for Me?

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I was having a discussion with someone the other day about the anti-Christ.  We were wondering who the anti-Christ was, and from where he would come.  Is it a person?  Is it a force?  Is it already here or is it still to come?

Then I thought to myself, I don’t know who the anti-Christ really is, but I know that I have an anti-Christ already living inside of me.  It is very powerful.  It is very selfish.  And it is very anti Christ.  Its 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 is its own entity that 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 as Lord.  In fact, Self serves as an agent for the father-of-lies to rival Jesus Christ as Lord. Self is anti Christ.

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 He would like to establish in your life.  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).

Are you satisfied with the way Self rules your life?

If you are not happy with what Self has done with your life, consider appointing the Lord Jesus as ruler of your life. Then, you will not need your Self-esteem, your Self-righteousness, and your Self defense mechanisms, because you will have Christ.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I invite You to reign in my heart, my thoughts, and the purpose of my life. Disable my Self-righteousness to plant YOUR Righteousness in me. Disqualify my Self-esteem to create YOUR Worthiness in my heart. Disengage my Self-defense to bring about Your Truth, Hope, and Love in my being. Bring me to the place where I will deny the anti-Christ in me, so Your Anti-Self might be formed in me.

Maintain an Awareness

Truth comes to us when we speak to God…and when God speaks to us.

The Two Counsels
June 30

His Blessing of Truth

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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 the beliefs “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 of Truth.

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).

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 that lives 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).

 The Perfect Father sent you a Redeemer. Will you let Him redeem the years the locusts have eaten?

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 childhood blame, debt, and the consequences of sin. I lay these years at Your feet, my Lord. Please repair, restore, and reform the years the locusts have eaten.

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
June 29

The Light of Life

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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 His Path of Life: that pain is a part of life…and needs to be exchanged.

Precious One, pain is a result of the OLD MAN beliefs in your heart from the father-of-lies: that you are not needed here on earth…that you have no value…that you are not worthy to be celebrated.  If you react to your pain, you will walk in darkness. This will cause you to 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).

Beloved, I, the Perfect Father, sent the Light of the World to redeem the negative, destructive OLD MAN beliefs of the father-of-lies, and to exchange them for the Truth.

Your path of life is not only filled with pain, but with the Light of Life. But you have an obligation: to find the OLD MAN beliefs that are causing your pain and submit them to My Son, the Light of the World. He will fill you with joy in My Presence.

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).

Child, walk in the Light of My 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 Light of Life.  He is My Answer to your hopelessness, helplessness, and powerlessness.  He will turn your heart’s belief “I am not worthy to be loved” into “I have value.” He will exchange “I am doomed in my darkness” for “I have the Light of Life.” He will deliver you from death and your feet from stumbling.

Do you want to enter a new path?

Realize that if you want to BE someone different, you need to DO something different. Otherwise, you will always end up on the very same path, as before, and be the very same person, as before. Therefore, be ready to try something new, every day, moment-by-moment: find the beliefs that cause your pain, expose them to the Lord Jesus, and let Him take you on a new journey.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I am tired of stumbling along on my path of darkness. Please bring me onto Your Path of Life. Help me to follow You, daily, moment-by-moment, one belief at a time.

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
June 27

God, I Praise You

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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.  After everybody has left me, You are still 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, when I do not rely on the righteousness of my own Self.  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, when I ask for it.

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.

For what can you give thanks to God, today: for His Comfort when you were lonely, for His Power when you were weak, for His Light that shone in your darkness, or for His Righteousness that replaced your sinful habits and patterns of escape?

If you cannot praise God for anything He has personally done for you, you might know Him from your head, but not from your heart. If you want to get to know Him from your heart, invite His Presence and Participation into each and every perturbing perception of your heart.

Then, He will meet you there…in your heart.

Maintain an Awareness

We need to make sure that we expect Truth from the Spirit of Truth, who goes out from the Perfect Father, and not try to come up with our own counterfeit truth by logically trying to reason things out for ourselves.

The Two Counsels
June 08

Singleness of Heart and Action

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[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 if you have become hesitating…dubious…irresolute, you have become a man of two minds. You have allowed your thoughts to follow God, AS WELL AS the father-of-lies. The Perfect Father will inspire you to honor, love, and obey Him; but, the father-of-lies will steal God’s Words, Promises, and Desires from you by telling you the exact opposite of what God told you, in your own thoughts.

You cannot follow two masters!

God 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 Master 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.

Do you want to become stable, reliable, and certain in everything you think, feel, and decide?

Then, choose to make God the only master of your thoughts. Invite God’s Truth, moment-by-moment, into each accusatory, destructive thought that enters your mind.  Then, 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—to inspire me to honor You, so I would have singleness of heart and action.

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

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Confused

June 03

Be Still…Listen

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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 imaginations 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.

What do you do when all the voices in your head talk to you at the same time?

Sometimes, you need to quiet all the voices you hear. You need to clear your head. You need to start over. After you have done this, you can let them back in, one at a time…but only the ones that are in tune with God’s Perspective—the Voice of 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.

Maintain an Awareness

We did not realize it at the time, but during our childhood we made the most deterministic decisions of our lives.

The Two Counsels
May 25

Freedom from Being a Scapegoat

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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 a 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).

Beloved Child, today, I offer you freedom if you, as a child, were punished for a sin that someone else had committed. You did not deserve the harsh punishment.  You deserved to be forgiven, accepted, and comforted.

May you know that a Scapegoat already exists. My name is Jesus Christ.  You are set free to let go of your role as a scapegoat, now.  You do not have to carry the blame for others’ shortcomings anymore. Let Me become your Scapegoat, because it is for freedom that I have 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).

Why do you want to keep your role as a scapegoat? What benefits does this role offer you? Does it diminish your guilt, ease your shame, or remove the condemnation the father-of-lies dumped on you, long ago, as a child?

It is for freedom that Christ came to set you free. But you have an obligation: to surrender the yoke of slavery that has been keeping you in bondage, to the Lord Jesus.  Allow Him to become your only Scapegoat.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I invite You to become my only Scapegoat, as I release my yoke of slavery to You.

Maintain an Awareness

If the way we meet the desire to be important is not through a deep, meaningful relationship with the Desire of All Nations, then wanting to be important becomes a race with no finish line.

The Two Counsels

Beliefs/Emotions associated with this blessing.
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Bitter Confused