How Do I Live by Faith?

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

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

The Two Counsels

When I Fail

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

We do not understand what is going on within us and we are too afraid to find out. We are too afraid to live…and even more afraid to die.

The Two Counsels

The Serpent Deceived Me, so I Ate

THEN THE LORD GOD SAID TO THE WOMAN, ‘WHAT IS THIS YOU HAVE DONE?’THE WOMAN SAID, ‘THE SERPENT DECEIVED ME, AND I ATE’
(Genesis 3:13).

“My friend was rude to me, so I ate of the fruit the enemy offered me.”
“My boss made a snide comment, so I ate of the fruit the enemy offered me.”
“My husband did not love me, so I ate of the fruit the enemy offered me.”
“My wife disrespected me, so I ate of the fruit the enemy offered me.”

I bless you to understand that the enemy, the father-of-lies, will offer you his fruit, every day, to cause sin to reign in your mortal body “SO THAT YOU OBEY ITS EVIL DESIRES”
(Romans 6:12).

Know that the evil one will offer you the fruit of enmity, strife, fear, jealousy, mistrust, anger, fits of rage, animosity, depression, and selfishness.  Moreover, he will offer his fruit along with the excuse, She offered me the fruit. I had no excuse. I had to eat it.”

I bless you to know that you DO NOT HAVE TO EAT THE FRUIT THE ENEMY OFFERS YOU, even when someone is hateful, manipulative, or condemning.

SUBMIT YOURSELVES, THEN, TO GOD. RESIST THE DEVIL, AND HE WILL FLEE FROM YOU
(James 4:7).

You have a choice: you can eat of the fruit the enemy offers you when someone says or does something selfish to you…or you can resist obedience to the father-of-lies, and submit your pain to God, instead.

Submit yourself, then, to God, and resist the father-of-lies…and he will leave you alone.

What do you do with the fruit the father-of-lies offers you, daily, moment-by-moment?

How might the teaching in this message lead you to deal differently with these temptations, from now on?

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, remind me, daily, that I DO NOT HAVE TO EAT THE FRUIT THE ENEMY OFFERS ME, even when someone is hateful, manipulative, or condemning toward me. May I choose, moment-by-moment, to resist obedience to the father-of-lies and to submit my pain to You, instead. Then, the devil will flee form me, each time.

Maintain an Awareness

When you pray and lay your problem before God, give Him the freedom to answer you in any way He wants to, according to His great Mercy and Grace. Push your own preconceived answers aside. Then, HIS Answer will enter your mind and heart.

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.

I am the Vine, You Are the Branches

I have heard many ministers preach: “Get rid of anger.  Release your bitterness.  Forgive yourself.”  Others instruct: “Don’t care what others think of you.  Do not let others manipulate you.  Rid yourself from the expectations of others.”  Then again, many people advise: “Get rid of your fears.  Break past your bondages.  Free yourself from these blockages.”

I have tried all the above.  I tried for twenty years.  It did not work.  I could not accomplish any of these self-help methods by myself. I could not stop caring what others thought of me. I could not stop myself from being manipulated by others. I did not have the power to rid myself of others’ expectations, nor the wisdom to let go of my bitterness, nor the patience to change. I needed a Savior who could break my bondage of anger and the unwillingness to forgive, a Redeemer who could remove my multitude of fears, a Deliverer who could release my blockage of bitterness.  I needed Jesus.

I AM THE VINE; YOU ARE THE BRANCHES. IF A MAN REMAINS IN ME AND I IN HIM, HE WILL BEAR MUCH FRUIT; APART FROM ME YOU CAN DO NOTHING
(John 15:5).

Blessed One, I want you to know that, in your own strength, you are not able to get rid of any fears, permanently.  You are not able to free yourself from bondage.  On your own, you are not able to get rid of anger.  I, Jesus Christ, need to do this for you, because without Me you are helpless, powerless, and hopeless against the father-of-lies who instilled these bondages and blockages in your heart in the first place. He is the one who subjected you to the law of sin and death; therefore, you need Me, your Redeemer, to bring you under My Law of Life.

FOR THE LAW OF THE SPIRIT OF LIFE IN CHRIST JESUS HAS MADE ME FREE FROM THE LAW OF SIN AND DEATH
(Romans 8:2).

I bless you to invite the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus to free you from your iniquities.  Bring your angry heart, numbed by bitterness and unwillingness to forgive, to the Spirit of Jesus, to be resurrected. Bring your mind that has been deadened by fears to the Spirit of Jesus, to be renewed. Yield your heart that cares so much about what others think of you to the Spirit of Jesus, to be replaced. You will see the bondages broken and the blockages removed.

In which ways have you tried to get rid of your bondages? Did you succeed? Have you become desperate enough to try something, or rather, Someone new—to crown the Lord Jesus as Savior of your life and ask Him to do what you have not been able to do yourself?

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I crown You as Lord and Savior of my life. I admit that I have not been able to get rid of the blockages and bondages in my life. Therefore, I invite Your Presence and Your Participation into my life, O Lord. Become my Savior, my Redeemer, and my Refuge in all aspects of my life.

Maintain an Awareness

Regardless of which pain you have, the determining question is, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH IT?

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.

God’s Perspective

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

We need to acknowledge that we cannot free our spirits, souls, and bodies from the entanglement of the OLD MAN’s rebellious will. But, with our free will, we can choose to go to the Person who can—the Lord Jesus Christ, who came to live HIS NEW MAN Life in us, in the place of the OLD MAN.

The Two Counsels

I Am the Way

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

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

The Two Counsels

The Will of the Perfect Father

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

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

The Guilt of Experiencing Pain

Sin does not stand alone.  It does not happen by itself.  It sits on a pillar of beliefs, suggested by the father-of-lies: beliefs of abandonment, condemnation, rejection, and shame.  Understand that these beliefs cause anguish: anger, animosity, jealousy, fear, disappointment, confusion, guilt, and despair.  Know that these painful emotions are interconnected with the disheartening beliefs of abandonment, condemnation, rejection, and shame. You do not experience one without the other. They are both part of the OLD MAN, the body of sin that came to live its life in each of us.

 KNOWING THIS, THAT OUR OLD MAN IS CRUCIFIED WITH HIM, THAT THE BODY OF SIN MIGHT BE DESTROYED, THAT HENCEFORTH WE SHOULD NOT SERVE SIN
(Romans 6:6).

I used to feel very guilty whenever I experienced painful emotions in my heart.  I always thought these painful emotions of anger, animosity, jealousy, fear, disappointment, and despair rendered me bad; therefore, I concluded that I had to flee from them as soon as possible.  I did not know that these painful emotions were merely an indication that a negative, destructive OLD MAN belief, planted in my heart by the father-of-lies, was being triggered. What a revelation it was when I realized it was not the PAIN in my heart, but my REACTION to it, that rendered me sinful.

THEREFORE DO NOT LET SIN REIGN IN YOUR MORTAL BODY SO THAT YOU OBEY ITS EVIL DESIRES
(Romans 6:12).

Blessed One, be patient when your heart is aching. Do not react to your pain. Do not hide from it, run away from it, or blame it on someone else. If you do, this will cause sin to reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Instead, cry out to Me, Jesus, your Savior. Find the negative, destructive OLD MAN beliefs that are associated with these painful emotions in your heart. Then, ask Me to crucify these beliefs for you. I will answer you by setting you free.

IN MY ANGUISH I CRIED TO THE LORD, AND HE ANSWERED BY SETTING ME FREE
(Psalm 118:5).

What will you do with the current pain in your heart: will you react to it sinfully…or will you submit it to the Lord Jesus?

Did you know that your painful emotions are not really a result of your circumstances, but a result of the negative beliefs, instilled in your mind by the father-of-lies? Your pain serves as a temptation to obey the father-of-lies…or as an opportunity to surrender to God. Which one will it be for you?

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, thank you that You came to set me free from the OLD MAN, the body of sin that came to reign in me through its negative, destructive beliefs and its associated emotions. Call me to You whenever I feel like reacting to these painful emotions, Lord Jesus. Crucify the OLD MAN in me, so the body of sin in me might be destroyed.

Maintain an Awareness

Regardless of which pain you have, the determining question is, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH IT?

The Two Counsels

The New Is Here

SO GOD CREATED MAN IN HIS OWN IMAGE, IN THE IMAGE OF GOD HE CREATED HIM; MALE AND FEMALE HE CREATED THEM
(Genesis 1:27).

What was man like right after God created him?  What was it like to not only be created in the image of God, but to be living in the image of God and acting in the image of God, as well?  It must have been a life of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

But, something changed. The father-of-lies instilled an OLD MAN in us. This OLD MAN, the body of sin, consists of its own beliefs, its own nature, its own desires, its own emotions, its own will, its own deeds, and its own purpose. The OLD MAN lives in us and through us. He uses our minds as the tool to think his negative, destructive beliefs of abandonment, shame, condemnation, and rejection. He uses our emotions as the catalyst to feel his feelings of disappointment, shame, fear, anxiety, hatred, jealousy, and resentment. He uses our hearts as the vehicle to execute deceitful desires that only benefit him. He uses our personalities as the mechanism through which he lives his nature—the pitiful, pathetic victim-nature, the guilt-ridden, unworthy blame-nature, the negative, lamenting doom-nature, and the fake, alluring show-off nature. He uses our wills as the launcher of his own spiteful, rebellious will. And he uses our bodies as his instruments of unrighteousness—the sinful deeds of the OLD MAN. The image of God in man was forever distorted…maimed…disabled when the OLD MAN body of sin moved in, because when the OLD MAN moved in, God moved out.

 AND HAVE PUT ON THE NEW MAN, WHICH IS RENEWED IN KNOWLEDGE AFTER THE IMAGE OF HIM THAT CREATED HIM
(Colossians 3:10).

But then, God sent us a NEW MAN—the Lord Jesus Christ, His Son. Not only is He created in God’s image, but He also lives in God’s image and acts in God’s image, as well. And He came to live His Life in us—His Beliefs with His Emotions, His Nature, His Desires, His Will, His Purpose with His Deeds.

THEREFORE, IF ANYONE IS IN CHRIST, THE NEW CREATION HAS COME: THE OLD HAS GONE, THE NEW IS HERE!
(2 Corinthians 5:17).

Invite the Lord Jesus to replace the old in you with the new. Then, you will finally be able to live a life of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I desire for everything in me to become new. I desire a new nature, a new will, new desires, new beliefs, new emotions, and a new purpose with new deeds. I know that the only way to change is to be exchanged—the old for the new. Therefore, come and live Your Life in me, Lord Jesus, in the place of the OLD MAN…and make everything new in me.

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

Obedience That Liberates

WHOEVER HAS MY COMMANDS AND OBEYS THEM, HE IS THE ONE WHO LOVES ME. HE WHO LOVES ME WILL BE LOVED BY MY FATHER, AND I TOO WILL LOVE HIM AND SHOW MYSELF TO HIM
(John 14:21).

I have learned the secret of OBEDIENCE. But, I am not talking about obedience to the Ten Commandments or a different set of rules and regulations. I am not talking about a method. That kind of obedience constricts, chains, and chokes. I am talking about a reciprocal relationship of submission and revelation. This kind of obedience liberates…unshackles…disencumbers. This kind of OBEDIENCE requires you to “lean not on your own understanding,” so God may show you His Infinite Understanding.

TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR HEART AND LEAN NOT ON YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING
(Proverbs 3:5-6).

This kind of obedience opened the doors of Heaven to me.  You see, each time I obeyed God by not leaning on my own perturbing perception, but allowed Him to exchange it for His Perspective, He showed me the Truth about a person, a situation, and me, just like He promised He would do: “AND I TOO WILL LOVE HIM AND SHOW MYSELF TO HIM.” And once I knew the Truth about something or someone, it set me free to love my Self…and my neighbor as my Self.

TO LOVE HIM WITH ALL YOUR HEART, WITH ALL YOUR UNDERSTANDING AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND TO LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN ALL BURNT OFFERINGS AND SACRIFICES
(Mark 12:33).

In the end, through the reciprocal relationship of submission and revelation, God fulfilled His Law in me. I stopped hating my enemy, because I knew the Truth about him.  I stopped coveting my neighbor’s stuff, because I knew the Truth about me.  I stopped giving false testimony against someone, because I knew the Truth about the situation. God showed me the Truth when I obeyed—when I opened my mind to His moment-by-moment revelation.

DO NOT THINK THAT I HAVE COME TO ABOLISH THE LAW OR THE PROPHETS; I HAVE NOT COME TO ABOLISH THEM BUT TO FULFILL THEM
(Matthew 5:17).

I bless you to discover the OBEDIENCE that liberates—a reciprocal relationship that exchanges your perception for His Perspective.  It will change your life, because you will come to know the Truth about the people in your life, the situations in your life, and about your Self.  Most importantly, you will know the Truth about God. Therefore, you will be able to love Him with all your heart, all your strength, and all your understanding…and your neighbor as your Self.

What kind of obedience do YOU know: the kind that constricts…or the kind that liberates?

PRAYER: Lord God, teach me OBEDIENCE—to have a reciprocal relationship of submission and revelation with You. Remind me, moment-by-moment, to stop leaning on my own way of thinking, but to ask You for Your Perspective, in each situation, during every occasion.

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