The Last Shall Be First

SO THE LAST SHALL BE FIRST, AND THE FIRST LAST: FOR MANY BE CALLED, BUT FEW CHOSEN
(Matthew 20:16).

The other day, I relived a memory: I was five years old. My family was at a festival where they invited all five-year old children to enter a race. My daddy registered me to run in this race.

When the whistle blew I hardly knew in which direction to run, but the little boys and girls to the right and left of me shot forward like bullets aimed at a target and ran with all their might. I came in last.

The other day, this same memory was triggered when I looked around me at all the people who were running the race of success, acclaim, and accolades. I could not keep up with them. Time after time I came in last. Feeling forsaken and forgotten, I submitted my defeat to God: “Save me, Lord Jesus. I am tired of running the race of success. I am always last.”

Suddenly, I was five years old again, running the race at the festival, trying in vain to keep up with my fast and furious competitors. Then, with the eyes of my heart, I spotted Him—the Lord Jesus. He was sitting next to the race track, beckoning me to quit the race and come to Him, instead. When I reached Him, He placed me on His knee. Then He whispered lovingly, “Beloved Child, I love you so much. I am so proud of you for WHO YOU ARE. You do not have to prove yourself to Me by WHAT YOU DO. I already know you. Only do the things I tell you to do. That is all I want from you. In the world’s eyes, you might not be important, but in My eyes, those who are last will be first.”

Then, for the first time, I saw that the Lord Jesus was sitting with His back to the finish line. He was not at all interested in the winners that were competing for accolades and acclaim. In fact, He did not even know who was first, because He was not even looking. He was only interested in a relationship with me.

How have you fared in the race for accolades and acclaim, so far? Are you first, or have you been coming in last, most of the time?

I urge you to bring your needy heart to the Lord Jesus—the needy heart that causes you to want to be first all the time. Find the oppressing beliefs from the father-of-lies that are causing you to look for accolades and acclaim. Then, ask Jesus to exchange these beliefs for His Love.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I am tired of trying to prove myself to You and to the world, over and over again. Help me to quit the race for accolades and acclaim, to come and sit by You, instead. Meet me on the race track, so I may know that You love me just the way I am.

Maintain an Awareness

It is very important that you understand that it is not so much what happened to you during your childhood that affected you the most, BUT WHAT YOU CAME TO BELIEVE ABOUT YOUR SELF, OTHERS, AND GOD, IN RESPONSE TO THE CIRCUMSTANCES (facts) of your childhood life.

The Two Counsels

Beliefs/Emotions associated with this blessing.
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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

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

Come to Me to Abide in Me

COME TO ME
(Matthew 11:28).

ABIDE IN ME, AND I IN YOU
(John 15:4).

Pay attention that the Lord Jesus did not say, “Come to Me to abide WITH Me,” but rather, “Come to Me to abide IN Me…and I in you.”  To abide means to remain or to stay.

Understand that there is a difference.  To stay WITH Jesus means that you try very hard to keep up with Him…to be like Him…to follow a set of rules.  It is about fixing your mind, heart, and circumstances. It is about mending the past, changing the present, and controlling the future.  It is all about what you ought to DO to be acceptable, loved, and worthy.

However, to abide IN Jesus means to let go…and let God. It is all about inviting God’s Participation into the minute details of your life, instead of controlling, complaining, and criticizing. It is about allowing God’s Presence into the black stone of bitterness in your heart, instead of covering it up with vows and resentment. It is about exposing the negative, out-of-control thoughts in your mind to God’s infinite Understanding, instead of letting them attack you and those around you. It is about letting the Law of the Spirit set you free from the Law of Sin and Death, instead of trying to cope with sinful habits and patterns, on your own. It is about inviting God’s Will to take control of your life. It is about asking Christ to crucify the OLD MAN in you, so you may be free to follow the desires of the Holy Spirit in you.

To abide IN Jesus is all about what you cannot do. It is all about what Christ came to do for you…IN you.

BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO HAVE LEARNED TO ACCLAIM YOU, WHO WALK IN THE LIGHT OF YOUR PRESENCE, LORD
(Psalm 89:15).

I bless you to come to the Lord Jesus and abide IN Him.  Stop striving, fixing, and doing.  Stop hiding, running, and blaming.  Instead, let Him be in you what HE has always planned to be. Let Him do in you and through you, using His own Presence. Let go…and let God.

What would you like to change today, in order to start abiding IN the Lord Jesus, moment-by-moment, from now on?

PRAYER: Majesty, I come to abide IN You. I come to acclaim You and to walk in the Light of Your Presence.  Come and take control of my life. Be in me what You want to be. Do in me and through me what You want to do. Thy Kingdom come. Thy Will be done…in my life, as it is in Heaven.

Maintain an Awareness

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

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 defense mechanism of blaming has been with us since the beginning of time.

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

When your heart hurts, both the Lord Jesus and the father-of-lies stand ready to lead you out of that pain to a solution.

The Two Counsels

Your Heart Matters to God

KEEP THY HEART WITH ALL DILIGENCE; FOR OUT OF IT ARE THE ISSUES OF LIFE
(Proverbs 4:23).

Realize that your heart is a fountainhead—the point of origin from which God wants to generate His Living Water.  If your heart is dead and clogged with the negative, destructive beliefs of the father-of-lies, God’s Living Water cannot stream forth from your heart.

THEN JESUS TOLD HIS DISCIPLES A PARABLE TO SHOW THEM THAT THEY SHOULD ALWAYS PRAY AND NOT GIVE UP. HE SAID: ‘IN A CERTAIN TOWN THERE WAS A JUDGE WHO NEITHER FEARED GOD NOR CARED ABOUT MEN. AND THERE WAS A WIDOW IN THAT TOWN WHO KEPT COMING TO HIM WITH THE PLEA, ‘GRANT ME JUSTICE AGAINST MY ADVERSARY’
(Luke 18:1-3).

Know your adversary.  It is not your mother.  It is not your father.  It is not your brother or your sister. It is not your husband or your wife. It is not your neighbor.  It is not your friend.  It is the father-of-lies…the evil one…Satan.  HE HAS COME TO KILL YOUR LOVE, STEAL YOUR JOY, and DESTROY YOUR HEART!  I bless you to keep coming to your Father with the plea, “Everlasting Father, grant me justice against my adversary, the father-of-lies.  Grant me a new heart…a new fountainhead…a new beginning, so Your Living Water may flow through me.”

FOR SOME TIME HE REFUSED. BUT FINALLY HE SAID TO HIMSELF, ‘EVEN THOUGH I DON’T FEAR GOD OR CARE ABOUT MEN, YET BECAUSE THIS WIDOW KEEPS BOTHERING ME, I WILL SEE THAT SHE GETS JUSTICE, SO THAT SHE WON’T EVENTUALLY WEAR ME OUT WITH HER COMING!’
(Luke 18:4-5).

I bless you to come to the Most High, again…and again…and again, even if you have come a thousand times before. God is not unjust, refusing to help you, but you might not have been ready to receive justice for the effects of the adversary on your life, before. Come to Him, again…today. Today, your heart might be ready to receive the justice for which you have been praying for—the bitterness in your heart, the confusion in your mind, and the heaviness in your spirit. At the right time, He will remove the obstructions, so God’s Living Water may stream forth from your heart.

AND THE LORD SAID, ‘LISTEN TO WHAT THE UNJUST JUDGE SAYS.  AND WILL NOT GOD BRING ABOUT JUSTICE FOR HIS CHOSEN ONES, WHO CRY OUT TO HIM DAY AND NIGHT?  WILL HE KEEP PUTTING THEM OFF?  I TELL YOU, HE WILL SEE THAT THEY GET JUSTICE, AND QUICKLY’
(Luke 18:6-8).

What is clogging YOUR heart, the fountainhead of your life? Is it guilt, or confusion, or oppression? Will you bring it to the Lord God, today…again?

PRAYER: I praise You, God, that You grant justice to all Your chosen ones, who never give up coming to You. I bring the obstruction in my heart to You, Lord God. Show me what it is, so I may lay it before you…and receive justice against my adversary, the father-of-lies.

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

Make the Most of Every Opportunity

BE VERY CAREFUL, THEN, HOW YOU LIVE—NOT AS UNWISE BUT AS WISE, MAKING THE MOST OF EVERY OPPORTUNITY, BECAUSE THE DAYS ARE EVIL
(Ephesians 5:15-16).

I bless you to be very careful how you live.  Make the most of every opportunity…every task…every incident. Set your mind on what God’s Spirit desires, through His Divine Nature, and not on what the father-of-lies desires, through the sinful nature.

THOSE WHO LIVE ACCORDING TO THE SINFUL NATURE HAVE THEIR MINDS SET ON WHAT THAT NATURE DESIRES; BUT THOSE WHO LIVE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE SPIRIT HAVE THEIR MINDS SET ON WHAT THE SPIRIT DESIRES
(Romans 8:5).

You need to understand that it is during all the ordinary little conversations that you have the chance to make the most of every opportunity. It is during your regular daily tasks that you have the choice to either set your mind on what the father-of-lies desires for your life, through his sinful nature, or what the Holy Spirit desires for your life, through His Divine Nature.

 MAN IS NOT FULLY CONDITIONED AND DETERMINED BUT RATHER DETERMINES HIMSELF WHETHER HE GIVES IN TO CONDITIONS OR STAND UP TO THEM.
(Victor E. Frankl)

Grasp that to “live in accordance with the Spirit” is a moment-by-moment opportunity.  This does not only apply to the big incidences of crises and chaos in your life, but to the little daily happenings: the simple assignments…the basic chores…the ordinary errands.

FOR FROM HIM AND THROUGH HIM AND TO HIM ARE ALL THINGS. TO HIM BE THE GLORY FOREVER!
(Romans 11:36).

I bless you to live FROM God, THROUGH God, and TO God during your daily errands—when the disappointment, confusion, and frustration strike—because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

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

 How do you make the most of every opportunity, every day?

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, remind me to submit the little moments of each day to You: the moments of disappointment…the moments of loneliness…the moments of fear.  May I live FROM You, THROUGH You, and TO You, during each moment, and so make the most of every opportunity.

Maintain an Awareness

It is very important that you understand that it is not so much what happened to you during your childhood that affected you the most, BUT WHAT YOU CAME TO BELIEVE ABOUT YOUR SELF, OTHERS, AND GOD, IN RESPONSE TO THE CIRCUMSTANCES (facts) of your childhood life.

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

It is very important that you understand that it is not so much what happened to you during your childhood that affected you the most, BUT WHAT YOU CAME TO BELIEVE ABOUT YOUR SELF, OTHERS, AND GOD, IN RESPONSE TO THE CIRCUMSTANCES (facts) of your childhood life.

The Two Counsels

Beliefs/Emotions associated with this blessing.
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Believe…And You Will Have Life

Is there something in your life that you do not like: your dysfunctional personality, the darkness in your mind, the death in your spirit, the painful feelings in your heart, the sickness in your body, or the senseless life you have lived, until now? If you could go to the pawn shop and exchange your dark mind for a new mind, filled with light, would you consider it? If you could ask a surgeon to replace your broken heart with a whole one, would you do it? If you could ask a psychiatrist to give you a pill that would eradicate your spirit of death and grow a new spirit of life, in its place, would you contemplate it? If you could ask a psychologist to replace your dysfunctional personality with a different one, would you try it? If there were a special kind of food that would heal your body from its diseases, would you eat it? If someone who is filled with life, love, and hope offered you her/his life in exchange for yours, would you take it? If someone could bring Heaven to earth, would you receive it?

FOR AS THE FATHER HAS LIFE IN HIMSELF, SO HE HAS GRANTED THE SON TO HAVE LIFE IN HIMSELF
(John 5:26).

I have GOOD NEWS for you.  There is someone who brought 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.  The Perfect Father has Life in Himself. He gave that Life to His Son, Jesus Christ…to bring YOU that Life, as well. When you receive that Life, in faith, you receive HIS LIFE, complete with HIS MIND, HIS HEART, HIS SPIRIT, HIS BODY, and HIS PURPOSE…and this Life lasts forever.

BUT THESE ARE WRITTEN THAT YOU MAY BELIEVE THAT JESUS IS THE CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD, AND THAT BY BELIEVING YOU MAY HAVE LIFE IN HIS NAME
(John 20:31).

You cannot lead two lives, at the same time. It will either be the Lord Jesus, living HIS LIFE in you, or YOU, living YOUR life in you. The choice is yours.

What do you need to do to receive the LIFE the Perfect Father gave the Lord Jesus to give to YOU?

You give Him yours, in faith. Then, you ask Him for His, in faith.

PRAYER: Father of our Lord Jesus, I worship You with gladness for the Life that You have in Yourself. How encouraged I am that You have granted that same Life to Your Son, Jesus, and for offering that Life to me, as well. In faith, I surrender my life to You, in exchange for Your Life to dwell in me, through Your Spirit. Thank you that this Life lasts forever.

Maintain an Awareness

Thus, the OLD MAN became the origin of sin that causes the effect of sin in each of us. The OLD MAN is where it all started and where it all ends…unless we are delivered from it.

The Two Counsels

What You Need to Be Truly Happy

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

The Lord Jesus has always lived His Life for God, the Father. When we invite Him to come live HIS LIFE in us, He will live it for God, the Father, in the same way He has always done.

The Two Counsels