A NEW MAN for Your Children

I have raised four children.  I raised them to the best of my knowledge.  Ignoring my own needs, I often got up in the middle of the night to take care of their needs.  I homeschooled them for ten years.  Yet, I was utterly surprised and disappointed when I learned that they had a sinful nature inside of them, after all. Sneaking negative, destructive beliefs into their minds and hearts during the years that I was taking such good care of them, the father-of-lies contaminated their minds, hearts, and spirits, and formed in them his sinful nature.  I thought I had prevented all of this with my diligent care and love.

Disappointed and disillusioned, I took the matter to God: “What have I done wrong?  Was my love not enough to protect my children from the father-of-lies and sin?  Was my care meaningless?”

 APART FROM ME YOU CAN DO NOTHING
(John 15:5).

Filled with love and tenderness, God comforted me: Child of Mine, nothing you did for your children was meaningless.  Your love mattered.  Your care counted.  Your diligence made a difference.  However, you are no match against the father-of-lies.  Prowling around like a roaring lion, he is looking for someone to destroy all the time. He had it all figured out from the start– how to bring each person in this world to destruction through his OLD MAN nature of shame, abandonment, rejection, and condemnation. However, do not despair, My Child. I have good news for you. I sent My Son, Jesus, to save you and your children from the roaring lion.  He gave Himself as the NEW MAN to take the place of the OLD MAN nature in you and your children. Believe in Him; teach your children to believe in Him, too. Then, you and your children will receive a new life—My abundant Life.

BE STILL, AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD:…I WILL BE EXALTED IN THE EARTH
(Psalm 46:10).

As we approach the end of the year, I bless you to understand that your children need a NEW MAN nature, regardless of how well you cared for them. Surrender them to God and ask Him to exchange the OLD MAN nature of condemnation, shame, rejection, and abandonment the father-of-lies had formed in them for the NEW MAN Nature of Jesus Christ. Know that God will keep raising your children long after you have stopped…until they breathe their last breath.

FOR IT IS GOD WHICH WORKETH IN YOU
BOTH TO WILL AND TO DO OF HIS GOOD PLEASURE”
(Philippians 2:13).

Ponder the comfort these truths offer and write out a prayer for your child/children, as you surrender them to God’s care.

PRAYER: Lord God, how encouraged my heart is to know that You will keep raising my children, long after I have stopped, until they breathe their last breath here on earth.  Today, I surrender them to You. Take care of them, Lord God. Bless them and keep them. Thank you that You sent them a NEW MAN Nature to live in them in the place of the OLD MAN nature of the father-of-lies, so they may live in Your abundant Life.

Maintain an Awareness

Know that you cannot be a friend of the Light and be a friend of darkness, at the same time. Darkness and Light do not mix. They are incompatible. You are either in the dark, or in the light.

The Two Counsels

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All Scripture Is God-Breathed

ALL SCRIPTURE IS GOD-BREATHED AND IS USEFUL FOR TEACHING, REBUKING, CORRECTING AND TRAINING IN RIGHTEOUSNESS
(2 Timothy 3:16).

All Scripture is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness; however, you need the Breath of the Almighty to make it come alive in your heart.  In other words, do not separate Scripture from your relationship with God.

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).

Study the Scriptures diligently, beautiful Child, because they are useful for teaching, but do not use them as a substitute for your fellowship with ME, Jesus. Remember, I came to be your Wisdom from God.  Know that the Scriptures are useful for training in righteousness, but do not use them as a substitute for ME, your Righteousness from Heaven. Use the Scriptures for correction, but do not forget that you are solely dependent on ME for Redemption and Sanctification.

BUT OF HIM ARE YE IN CHRIST JESUS, WHO OF GOD IS MADE UNTO US WISDOM, AND RIGHTEOUSNESS, AND SANCTIFICATION, AND REDEMPTION
(1Corinthians 1:30).

Celebrate that the Scriptures testify about Truth—I am the Truth. Only My personal touch can turn the accusatory beliefs of condemnation, shame, rejection, and abandonment in your mind into Truth.  Know that the Scriptures testify about Love—I am Love. Only My Love in your heart can change you.  Understand that the Scriptures testify about Hope—I am Hope. Only I, Jesus, can turn your hopelessness into Hope.

Therefore, Child, read the Scriptures with the goal to connect with Me, so I may give you Life. Study the Word in order to invite Me—Love, Hope, and Truth—into your heart. Read the Bible, not only to know ABOUT Me, but to know ME, personally. I will breathe divine Revelation into your spirit, soul, and body through My Word.

What are your expectations when you read the Scriptures: to know ABOUT God, or to draw near to the Lord Jesus, so you may experience HIM in your life, through His Word?

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, meet with me when I read Your Word, so I may connect with YOU, personally.

Maintain an Awareness

If you surrender your pain to the father-of-lies, he will coax you into sinful solutions of hiding, blaming, and running. He will take you down that broad road of destruction where he will kill you from the inside out.

The Two Counsels

Despair That Will Change Your Life

FOR I KNOW THAT IN ME (THAT IS, IN MY FLESH,) DWELLETH NO GOOD THING: FOR TO WILL IS PRESENT WITH ME; BUT HOW TO PERFORM THAT WHICH IS GOOD I FIND NOT
(Romans 7:18).

If you have come to the place where you realize that you have the desire to do what is good, but no power to carry it out…BE BLESSED!

If you have come to the place where you realize that you have a nature in which nothing good lives…BE BLESSED!

If you have come to the place where you realize that you have failed to practice the good deeds you desired to do, but the evil deeds you did not want to do were what you accomplished…BE BLESSED!

FOR THE LAW OF THE SPIRIT OF LIFE [WHICH IS] IN CHRIST JESUS [THE LAW OF OUR NEW BEING] HAS FREED ME FROM THE LAW OF SIN AND OF DEATH.  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 8:2-3 AMP).

You are blessed because you have come to an important place in your life—the place where you realize that you have a nature in you that functions without the Holy Spirit. You have come to realize that you need a new nature—a nature that functions within the Holy Spirit. You finally understand that you need THE LAW OF THE SPIRIT to save you from the LAW OF SIN AND DEATH.

NO ONE WHO IS BORN OF GOD WILL CONTINUE TO SIN, BECAUSE GOD’S SEED REMAINS IN THEM; THEY CANNOT GO ON SINNING, BECAUSE THEY HAVE BEEN BORN OF GOD
(1 John 3:9).

Do not despair. The Lord Jesus is offering you His Nature this Christmas season—the Nature that functions within the Holy Spirit. Ask Him, in faith, to exchange your nature that functions without the Holy Spirit for His. Then, watch Him perform the good deeds you so desire to do and shun the evil deeds you never wanted to do in the first place.

How would you like to take advantage of the Law of the Spirit?

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I have the will to do what is good, but no power to carry it out. I have come to the place in my life where I want something new—Someone New—to live in me in the place of my nature without the Holy Spirit. I invite You, this season, to be that Someone for me, in me, and through me.

Maintain an Awareness

How much of our misbehavior sprouts from trying to PROVE that we are acceptable, worthy, loved, and wanted, because the OLD MAN character, conveniently formed in us by the father-of-lies, christened us unacceptable, unworthy, unloved, and unwanted?

The Two Counsels

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Start Where You Are

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).

Capture that the human mind loves to reason without the Holy Spirit.  However, reasoning without the Holy Spirit leads to sin and death, both here and hereafter.  Reasoning without the Holy Spirit causes us to reject God’s intimate Presence and Participation in the innermost parts of our beings.

The Father lived IN the Lord Jesus, while He was here on earth. They shared the intimate Glory of Oneness. And then the Lord Jesus passed this Glory of Oneness on to us—to live in us and through us, while the Father lives in Him and through Him. Imagine that! The very same Oneness that Jesus enjoyed with His Father has been made available to us. To receive this Oneness, all you need to do is invite the reasoning of the Holy Spirit into your daily, moment-by-moment tasks, wherever you are, whatever you are doing.

THAT THEY ALL MAY BE ONE; AS THOU, FATHER, ART IN ME, AND I IN THEE, THAT THEY ALSO MAY BE ONE IN US…AND THE GLORY WHICH THOU GAVEST ME I HAVE GIVEN THEM; THAT THEY MAY BE ONE, EVEN AS WE ARE ONE
(John 17:20-22).

Blessed One, cultivate Oneness with Me. Start where you are.  Do not go and look for something big or different to do for Me.  Invite the reasoning of the Holy Spirit into the conclusions of your current situations and problems.  Do you have a child?  Invite the reasoning of the Holy Spirit into your frustration, when your child becomes irritable, during your Christmas shopping.  Do you have a husband or friend?  Invite the reasoning of the Holy Spirit into your feelings of abandonment, when your husband or friend ignores you, during this busy time of the year.  Do you have a co-worker?  Invite the reasoning of the Holy Spirit into your feelings of shame and condemnation, when your co-worker ridicules you for your mistakes.  Do you have an enemy?  Invite the reasoning of the Holy Spirit into your feelings of rejection, when your enemy accuses you.  You will find that this is no easy task.  But, this cultivates ONENESS WITH ME. This allows Jesus to live HIS LIFE in you, while I, the Father, live in Him.

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).

How does this message of ONENESS with God challenge and change your thinking, this Christmas season?

PRAYER: Lord God, I want to receive Your Gift of Oneness; therefore, I lay down my own reasoning to allow the reasoning of Your Holy Spirit in me and through me, this Christmas season.

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

Led by the Spirit of God

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).

Capture that the human mind loves to reason without the Holy Spirit.  However, reasoning without the Holy Spirit leads to sin and death, BOTH HERE and HEREAFTER.  Reasoning without the Holy Spirit causes hopelessness, powerlessness, and helplessness, which lead to sinful habits and patterns of escape. If you continually surrender to your own reasoning, you will become a slave to your own mind…your own conclusions…your own irrational interpretations.

DO YOU NOT KNOW THAT IF YOU CONTINUALLY SURRENDER YOURSELVES TO ANYONE TO DO HIS WILL, YOU ARE THE SLAVES OF HIM WHOM YOU OBEY, WHETHER THAT BE TO SIN, WHICH LEADS TO DEATH, OR TO OBEDIENCE WHICH LEADS TO RIGHTEOUSNESS?
(Romans 6:16 AMP).

The reasoning of the Holy Spirit is Life and Peace, BOTH NOW and FOREVER.  If you are willing to give up your own reasoning and allow the Holy Spirit to reason through you, He will lead you out of the places of powerlessness, hopelessness, and helplessness into Life and Peace. You will have no need for sinful habits and patterns of escape. You will be called a son of God, instead of a slave.

FOR IF YOU LIVE ACCORDING TO [THE DICTATES OF] THE FLESH, YOU WILL SURELY DIE. BUT IF THROUGH THE POWER OF THE [HOLY] SPIRIT YOU ARE [HABITUALLY] PUTTING TO DEATH (MAKING EXTINCT, DEADENING) THE [EVIL] DEEDS PROMPTED BY THE BODY, YOU SHALL [REALLY AND GENUINELY] LIVE FOREVER
(Romans 8:13 AMP).

This Christmas season, I encourage you to start a new tradition. Instead of living according to your own reasoning…your own conclusions…your own irrational interpretations, start living according to the reasoning of the Holy Spirit, who directs and controls the sons of God. This decision will change your life, during this season…and forever.

FOR ALL WHO ARE LED BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD ARE SONS OF GOD
(Romans 8:14).

Ponder your choices. Then, decide whether you are going to live according to your own reasoning…or the Holy Spirit in you.

PRAYER: Most High, remind me, daily, to surrender my own conclusions to You, so the Holy Spirit may lead me into Life and Peace, continually.

Maintain an Awareness

Discipline yourself to get Understanding.

The Two Counsels

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It Is the Season of Glory

FROM HIS ABUNDANCE WE HAVE ALL RECEIVED ONE GRACIOUS BLESSING AFTER ANOTHER
(John 1:16 NLT).

I bless you to prepare differently for this Christmas Season than you have for those in the past. Do not fill yourself with dread for these days, or rehearsal of what has been, or worry of what might be. Instead, allow the Everlasting Father to take you to a higher and deeper place…a new place—a place of Glory.  Let Him show you who He wants to be for you, during this season of His Glory. Fill the next month with reflections of PAST blessings from God, and with anticipation of FUTURE blessings from Him, as well.

FOR TO US A CHILD IS BORN, TO US A SON IS GIVEN, AND THE GOVERNMENT WILL BE ON HIS SHOULDERS. AND HE WILL BE CALLED WONDERFUL COUNSELOR, MIGHTY GOD, EVERLASTING FATHER, PRINCE OF PEACE
(Isaiah 9:6).

For you a Child is born.  To you a Son is given.  Invite His Government to govern your will, your thoughts, your emotions, your desires, and your nature, during this month. Allow His Counsel to show you Joy in your sorrow, Peace in your anxiety, and Hope in your despair. Connect with the Presence of the Everlasting Father when you feel alone and lonely, during this time of Glory.

Anticipate Mighty God’s blessings when you buy gifts, when you spend time with your family, and when you look at the beautiful Christmas decorations everywhere that celebrate His Glory.  Invite the King of Kings to rule in the circumstances of your life, during this season.  Allow Him to remove your animosity, your anger, and your disappointments from your heart and from your mind.  Ask the Wonderful Counselor to lead you into all Truth, in the midst of your circumstances.  Meditate on everything that is honorable, pure, and lovely.

Invite the Prince of Peace to make new memories for you, this month of December, and to remove the pain of old memories of years gone by.  Start new traditions as you allow His Light to shine into your heart.  From His Abundance, receive the many blessings the Everlasting Father longs to give you through His precious Son, the Christ.

Whose government is going to govern your heart this Christmas season: the government of the Lord Jesus, whose birthday you are celebrating, or the government of the father-of-lies?

PRAYER: Wonderful Counselor, I invite Your Government to govern my heart, Your Counsel to reign in my mind, and Your Peace to dominate my spirit, during this Christmas season. Thank you for all the blessings of past Christmas seasons. Help me to focus and look forward to all the new and special blessings You have in store for me, this year.

Maintain an Awareness

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

The Two Counsels

The Sun of Righteousness

Have you ever found yourself stuck in the grip of the OLD MAN? I have.

The OLD MAN is the body of sin that the father-of-lies uses to control us from the inside-out. It consists of negative, destructive beliefs that contaminate our minds, along with their associated feelings that break our hearts. But, on the outside, the OLD MAN forms a circle of darkness that surrounds us and oppresses us from the outside-in. For a long time, I was stuck in this dark place, to the point of panic. There was nothing I could do to get out of the dark, oppressing OLD MAN space that controlled me from the inside-out and oppressed me from the outside-in.

BUT UNTO YOU THAT FEAR MY NAME SHALL THE SUN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS ARISE WITH HEALING IN HIS WINGS; AND YE SHALL GO FORTH, AND GROW UP AS CALVES OF THE STALL
(Malachi 4:2).

But then, the Sun of Righteousness arose inside me with healing in His wings to take care of the negative, destructive beliefs and feelings from the inside-out and to light up the circle of darkness that oppressed me from the outside-in.

GOD SENT THE SPIRIT OF HIS SON INTO OUR HEARTS…A LIFE-GIVING SPIRIT
(Galatians 4:6) and (1 Corinthians 15:45).

Blessed Child, know that I, the Most High God, sent My Son, Jesus, to overcome the OLD MAN in you, from the inside-out. The Lord Jesus took the OLD MAN upon Himself and crucified it on the cross with Himself, to arise as the Sun of Righteousness inside you. This Life-giving Spirit came to shine His Light on you from the inside-out to take care of the darkness that oppresses you from the outside-in.

THE LORD IS MY STRENGTH AND MY SHIELD; MY HEART TRUSTED IN HIM, AND I AM HELPED: THEREFORE MY HEART GREATLY REJOICETH; AND WITH MY SONG WILL I PRAISE HIM
(Psalm 28:7).

What will it take for you to become willing to surrender the OLD MAN to Jesus, so He could supply you with the Sun of Righteousness—a Life-giving Spirit that will light up your world from the inside-out?

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, how my heart rejoices that You came as the Sun of Righteousness to shine Your Light on the OLD MAN darkness around me and to become a Life-giving Spirit to live Your Life inside me. I thank You for having overcome the OLD MAN for me, from the inside-out, as well as from the outside-in.

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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No Evil Will Conquer You

MY PRAYER IS NOT THAT YOU TAKE THEM OUT OF THE WORLD BUT THAT YOU PROTECT THEM FROM THE EVIL ONE
(John 17:15).

The Lord Jesus knew that your problem would not be with the world, but with the evil one.  He knew that your problem would not be with your circumstances, but with what the evil one told you about your circumstances—that they are impossible, unsolvable, and unchangeable. He knew that your problem would not be with what people told you, but with what the evil one told you: “Your mistakes are too numerous.  Your character is too flawed.  Your defect is non-redeemable.”  Therefore, Jesus asked His Father, the Most High, to protect you from the evil one.

The evil one sets you up with his purpose, from the start. He introduces you to his lies. These lies become your purpose from the evil one. Through them, he supplies everything you need, in order to make sure you serve him with your soul, your spirit, and your body. He furnishes you with his will, his desires, and his nature, so you may carry out the deeds he commissioned you to do, in obedience to these lies. Then, he sits back and watches you fulfill his purpose for your life.

IF YOU MAKE THE LORD YOUR REFUGE,
IF YOU MAKE THE MOST HIGH YOUR SHELTER,
NO EVIL WILL CONQUER YOU
(Psalm 91:9-10).

Don’t run from the evil one’s lies. Don’t hide from them, either. Don’t blame others for the evil one’s words in your mind.  Instead, push through your fear, your disappointment, your confusion, your anger, your jealousy, and your resentment, and bring your sadness, your badness, and your madness to the Perfect Father. Make the Lord your Refuge; then, no evil will conquer you.

Expose the evil one’s lies about you to God—that your mistakes are too numerous, your character is too flawed, and your defect is non-redeemable. Tell God what the evil one said about your circumstances—that they are impossible, unsolvable, and unchangeable. You will find that His arm is not too short to deliver you from the evil one.

WAS MY ARM TOO SHORT TO DELIVER YOU? DO I LACK THE STRENGTH TO RESCUE YOU? BY A MERE REBUKE I DRY UP THE SEA, I TURN RIVERS INTO A DESERT; THEIR FISH ROT FOR LACK OF WATER AND DIE OF THIRST
(Isaiah 50:2-3).

What has been keeping you from making the Most High your shelter against the evil one?

PRAYER: Most High, protect me from the evil one, so he would not be able to fulfill his purpose for my life.  Deliver me from his deceitful desires in me, from his spiteful will in me, from his negative, destructive beliefs in me, from his sinful nature in me. Deliver me from the evil one, so I may belong to You.

Maintain an Awareness

The Bible calls it the OLD MAN. It makes us feel like a powerless CHILD. It is the reason we believe we are abandoned, bad, rejected, and shamed. It is the reason we feel mad, bad, and sad. It is the reason neither life, nor death, makes sense.

The Two Counsels

Your Father’s Unlimited Resources

WHEN I THINK OF ALL THIS, I FALL TO MY KNEES AND PRAY TO THE FATHER, THE CREATOR OF EVERYTHING IN HEAVEN AND ON EARTH.  I PRAY THAT FROM HIS GLORIOUS, UNLIMITED RESOURCES HE WILL EMPOWER YOU WITH INNER STRENGTH THROUGH HIS SPIRIT
(Ephesians 3:14-16 NLT).

Did you know that your Perfect Father, the Creator of everything in Heaven and on earth, has unlimited Resources from which He is able to supply what you need, even today?  Maybe you believe that there is no answer for your problem.  Maybe you believe that there is no solution for your unacceptable character.  Maybe you believe that there is no remedy for your sinful habits and patterns of escape.

GREAT IS OUR LORD, AND OF GREAT POWER: HIS UNDERSTANDING IS INFINITE
(Psalm 147:5).

Blessed Child, I am the Perfect Father, the Creator of everything in Heaven and on earth. I am of great Power…and I created YOU, too. Now, from My glorious, unlimited resources, I am able to empower you with inner strength through My Spirit, so you may have sufficiency in all things, from the inside out. All you need to do is DRAW from Me.

Fall to your knees and pray to Me, your Father in Heaven. My glorious Recourses are unlimited to supply everything you need for life and godliness, despite the ungodliness in your nature, the instability in your emotions, and the spitefulness in your will.

Look up, Child. I am able to make all My Grace abound toward you, so you may have what it takes to be gentle, good, gracious, faithful, patient, forgiving, and filled with self-control. My Grace is enough to cover your past failures and mistakes, to deal with your present guilt and shame, and to ensure a hopeful future.  

AND GOD IS ABLE TO MAKE ALL GRACE ABOUND TOWARD YOU; THAT YE, ALWAYS HAVING ALL SUFFICIENCY IN ALL THINGS, MAY ABOUND TO EVERY GOOD WORK
(2 Corinthians 9:8).

Regardless of your need, shortcoming, or defect, God is able to make all Grace abound toward you, so that you may have sufficiency in all things—in your will, your nature, your thoughts, your emotions, your desires…and your deeds.

For what problem in your life do you need to draw from the Perfect Father’s unlimited resources?

PRAYER: Lord God, how great You are! I pray that from Your glorious, unlimited resources You empower me with inner strength through Your Spirit, so I may have sufficiency in all things.

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

Open Your Spirit…to Receive

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, SO THAT WE CAN COMFORT THOSE IN ANY TROUBLE WITH THE COMFORT WE OURSELVES HAVE RECEIVED FROM GOD
(2 Corinthians 1:3-4).

I sometimes listen to arguments people have with atheists to convince them that God really exists.  They talk about evolution, how old the world is, and if Noah’s ark really existed.  They try to prove scientifically whether there is a God or not.  Then I think to myself, “Mr. Atheist, if only I could tell you about the Comfort I have received directly from God, during a time when there was only sorrow.  If only I could tell you about the living Hope now abiding in me where before there was only brokenness and despair.  If only I could tell you about the Righteousness of Jesus that has transferred to my soul, straight from Heaven, to turn my hatred and jealousy into Love. If only I could tell you about the LIFE OF GOD that now lives in me, because I opened my spirit to receive from God!”

What about you? Do you have something you have received directly from God that is worth sharing with someone else?  Have you ever opened your heart to receive Hope for your despair?  Have you ever opened your spirit to receive Comfort for your sadness?  Have you ever opened your soul to receive Love for your animosity?  Have your sinful behavior patterns been exchanged for the Righteousness of Jesus?

SIMON PETER, A SERVANT AND APOSTLE OF JESUS CHRIST, ‘TO THOSE WHO THROUGH THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF OUR GOD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST HAVE RECEIVED A FAITH AS PRECIOUS AS OURS’
(2 Peter 1:1).

I hope you could answer positively to all my questions.  If not, then you have not grasped that the Perfect Father loves you so much that He sent His Son, Jesus, into the world, SO THAT YOU MIGHT RECEIVE FROM HIM, directly, through your spirit!  Atheists have needs, too. Don’t bring them a dead argument. Show them what you have received from the living God when you opened your spirit to Him. Maybe, one day, when the time is right, they might push their dead arguments aside and open their spirits to receive a Faith, as precious as yours, directly from God.

God has made Life available to you through His Son, Jesus Christ. It is all wrapped up and ready to enter your spirit through the Spirit of Jesus. All you need to do is open your spirit…to receive from God.

PRAYER: I praise You, Perfect Father, that You love me so much that You sent Your Son, Jesus, into the world, so I might receive from Him.

Lord Jesus, I open my spirit to receive from You Joy for my sorrow, Hope for my despair, and Comfort for my broken heart. May I remember, daily, to share with others the Love, Hope, and Comfort I have received from You, so they, too, may receive a precious Faith from You.

Maintain an Awareness

This must be the hardest of all lessons to learn: to keep our eyes on the Eternal God during difficult circumstances, and trust that His everlasting arms are underneath us, holding us and keeping us safe.

The Two Counsels

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