Will You Lay Down Your Life for Me?

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

If you would turn to the Desire of All Nations and receive the Love, Righteousness, and Purpose He has stored up for you in His Presence, you will be satisfied.

The Two Counsels

The Light of Life

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

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

Life for Death

WE ALWAYS CARRY AROUND IN OUR BODY THE DEATH OF JESUS, SO THAT THE LIFE OF JESUS MAY ALSO BE REVEALED IN OUR BODY
(2 Corinthians 4:10).

Beautiful Child, there is something I want you to know, today:

In order for you to be alive—to carry around in your body the Love, the Truth, and the Hope of Jesus, My Son—there are negative, destructive beliefs from the father-of-lies in you that need to be given over to death, first. Sometimes it is the belief that I do not favor you, or that I do not take care of you, or that I do not love you.  Sometimes it is the belief that you are not good enough, or that you do not count, or that you are a disappointment. Before you can expect Life, you need to be willing to give these hindrances over to death, first. Why? Because these oppressing beliefs kill your spirit, soul, and body from the inside-out.

FOR WE WHO ARE ALIVE ARE ALWAYS BEING GIVEN OVER TO DEATH FOR JESUS’ SAKE, SO THAT HIS LIFE MAY BE REVEALED IN OUR MORTAL BODY
(2 Corinthians 4:11).

Death precedes life.  My Son, Jesus, makes alive what is dead.  He does not make something alive that still has a life of its own. Therefore, give the negative, destructive beliefs that live in your heart over to death. The Lord Jesus will exchange them for His Life.

MOST ASSUREDLY, I SAY TO YOU, UNLESS A GRAIN OF WHEAT FALLS INTO THE GROUND AND DIES, IT REMAINS ALONE; BUT IF IT DIES, IT PRODUCES MUCH GRAIN
(John 12:24).

May you, who are alive, always give over to death every oppressing belief that hinders and hurts, so that the LIFE OF JESUS may be revealed in your bodies, instead.

FOR TO ME, TO LIVE IS CHRIST AND TO DIE IS GAIN
(Philippians 1:21).

What negative, destructive beliefs are alive in you, causing you to have fear, jealousy, and animosity? What will it take for you to give these over to death, so that the Lord Jesus could remove them from your spirit, soul, and body and exchange them for His Life?

Remember, the Lord Jesus did not come to change you, but to exchange you for His Life.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I long to give the negative, destructive beliefs that are killing me from the inside-out over to You, so that they may die and I may live. Accomplish Your work of death in me, Lord, to establish Your resurrected Life in me.

Maintain an Awareness

And after we have sucked others empty and they have nothing more to give, we turn to distraction and destruction to ease the excruciating pain that oozes from our hearts…because we still believe we do not matter.

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.

My Words Are Sharper Than Any Sword

FOR THE WORD OF GOD IS LIVING AND ACTIVE. SHARPER THAN ANY DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD, IT PENETRATES EVEN TO DIVIDING SOUL AND SPIRIT, JOINTS AND MARROW; IT JUDGES THE THOUGHTS AND ATTITUDES OF THE HEART
(Hebrews 4:12).

Precious One, how I love to communicate with you through My written and spoken Words, when you invite My Counsel into your own mind. 

My Words are sharper than any sword. They have the ability to penetrate deeply into the many voices of your mind, dividing good from evil. My Words show, sort, and sever the words of the father-of-lies from your heart, before they kill, steal, and destroy.  But, you need to allow My active Words to enter into the negative, destructive thoughts of your mind…and cut them out. You need to invite My living Words to access the abandonment, shame, and rejection in your heart from the father-of-lies…and slice them out.  You need to let My powerful Words infiltrate the sorrow, despair, anger, and jealousy in your emotions…and carve them out.

BUT JESUS ANSWERED HIM, SAYING, ‘IT IS WRITTEN, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE BY BREAD ALONE, BUT BY EVERY WORD OF GOD’
(Luke 4:4).

Child, you need to become dependent on My daily Words to you.  Then, the Sword of the Spirit will slice the darkness from your mind, cut the hopelessness from your heart, and sever the brokenness from your life. 

TAKE THE HELMET OF SALVATION AND THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT, WHICH IS THE WORD OF GOD
(Ephesians 6:17).

Which place in your heart would you like God’s living and active Words to penetrate? What do you need severed by the Sword of the Spirit?

Know that the living and active Words of God will affect anything with which they come in contact.  They will determine and detect, estimate and evaluate, and sever. They are effective, sufficient, and practical. The Sword of the Spirit will cause a miracle in your heart.

PRAYER: Sword of the Spirit, come and penetrate my heart and my mind. Evaluate my emotions and search them for negative, destructive beliefs from the father-of-lies that leave me hopeless, helpless, and powerless. Then, do Your severing work in my heart, so I may be set free to worship You in Truth.

Maintain an Awareness

There is someone who came to bring Heaven to earth, into your troubled heart, into your dark mind, into your dead spirit, into your disease-ridden body, and into your broken life. His name is Jesus Christ, the Perfect Father’s Son.

The Two Counsels

Be Still…Listen

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

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

Faithful in the Lord

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
(Proverbs 3:5).

I bless you to make “lean not on your own understanding” and “in all your ways acknowledge Him” a lifestyle—a way of living…a way of thinking.  I DID…AND IT CHANGED MY LIFE! 

Every action starts with a THOUGHT—an understanding.  Every emotion starts with a THOUGHT—an understanding. Every purpose starts with a THOUGHT—an understanding. And a THOUGHT—an understanding—comes either from God, or from the father-of-lies.  There is no middle ground.

I have discovered that if I follow the thought or understanding that comes from the father-of-lies, I end up in anger, hatred, jealousy, fear, and despair.  However, if I follow the thought or understanding that comes from God, I end up in Hope, Truth, and Love.  This is the moment-by-moment way of life in Christ Jesus.

FOR THIS REASON I AM SENDING TO YOU TIMOTHY, MY SON WHOM I LOVE, WHO IS FAITHFUL IN THE LORD. HE WILL REMIND YOU OF MY WAY OF LIFE IN CHRIST JESUS, WHICH AGREES WITH WHAT I TEACH EVERYWHERE IN EVERY CHURCH
(1 Corinthians 4:17).

Do you know the thought that precedes your daily depression? Do you know the thought that triggers your frequent anger? Do you know the thought that often makes you jealous? Do you know the thought that sometimes causes you to want to give up?

Acknowledge the Lord Jesus in everything you think, everywhere you go, every moment of your life.  Present that thought to Him, just the way it is, and ask Him whether that thought is from Him—the Truth—or from the father-of-lies. Then listen to His Perspective. It will change your life, one thought at a time!

PRAYER: Most High, I live to honor You, every moment, in everything I do, in everything I think, and in every purpose I pursue. Thank you for Your Way of Life in Christ Jesus. Remind me, daily, of my obligation to trust You from the bottom of my heart, to follow Your Voice of Truth, and to stop trying to figure things out on my own. Lead me to make “lean not on your own understanding” and “in all your ways acknowledge Him” my daily lifestyle.

Maintain an Awareness

God wants you to desire His Love, because He wants to pour His Love directly into YOUR heart, right there where it hurts so much.

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.

The Father’s Blessing of Acceptance

Did you fail to obtain your mother’s or father’s blessing of acceptance, as a child?  Did these circumstances leave you with a feeling of being overlooked, disregarded, and passed over, even as an adult?  Do you now feel there is an empty spot in your heart that can never be filled?

LET THE MORNING BRING ME WORD OF YOUR UNFAILING LOVE, FOR I HAVE PUT MY TRUST IN YOU. SHOW ME THE WAY I SHOULD GO, FOR TO YOU I LIFT UP MY SOUL
(Psalm 143:8).

I bless you to acknowledge the emptiness in your heart: the void…the barrenness…the lack, and offer it to your Perfect Father, to fill with His unfailing Love.

Do not respond to your neediness by sucking others dry, as you try to fill that lack.  No human, or object, or place can make up for the unmet need for acceptance.  You will always end up as you started—disappointed and empty.  You will only drain others of their desire to listen and help, as they try in vain to satisfy your need for acceptance.

THIS IS WHAT THE SOVEREIGN LORD, THE HOLY ONE OF ISRAEL, SAYS: ‘IN REPENTANCE AND REST IS YOUR SALVATION, IN QUIETNESS AND TRUST IS YOUR STRENGTH, BUT YOU WOULD HAVE NONE OF IT’
(Isaiah 30:15).

I bless you to recognize your need for acceptance as genuine and valid.  Do not hide it.  Do not run from it.  Do not blame it on the person who neglected to bless you with acceptance and approval, in the first place.

FORGET THE FORMER THINGS; DO NOT DWELL ON THE PAST. SEE, I AM DOING A NEW THING!
(Isaiah 43:18-19).

Then, lift up your soul to the Perfect Father. Allow Him to do a new thing—to fill the non-acceptance in your heart with His Acceptance, Love, and Approval, for He is the only one who can meet the unmet need of acceptance.

What will it take for you to finally face the empty spot in your heart, give it a name, and submit it to the Perfect Father’s Love, Acceptance, and Approval?

PRAYER: Everlasting Father, I admit that my heart feels empty and that I need a blessing from You. Come and do something new in my heart, as I lay my past, filled with non-acceptance, at Your feet. I know that it does not help to merely dwell on the past and have fellowship with the darkness, but to allow You to fill my past with Your Blessings of Love and Acceptance. I cannot overcome the non-acceptance of the past, Lord, but You can, because what is impossible for me is possible for You. Therefore, I lift up my soul to You. Show me the way I should go, for I place my Hope in You.

Maintain an Awareness

Our relationship with God is not just one-sided—us praying to God. When we pray, God also needs to talk to us…and He WANTS to.

The Two Counsels

You Will Trample the Great Lion

BE SELF-CONTROLLED AND ALERT. YOUR ENEMY THE DEVIL PROWLS AROUND LIKE A ROARING LION LOOKING FOR SOMEONE TO DEVOUR
(1 Peter 5:8).

The world we live in is divided into the World of Truth and the World of Deception. Imagine with me an imaginary line on the ground from left to right that reaches into infinity, both ways.  On this side of the line is the World of Deception. On the other side is the World of Truth.

You and I start out in the World of Deception, where each and every one of our interpretations has been given over to the governance of deception. We would love to enter into the World of Truth, but there is no way we could cross the line into the Truth, because it is guarded by a fierce lion that paces back and forth, guarding the Truth with his own life.

However, this is not the end of the story.  There is someone else also standing on the line that separates the World of Truth from the World of Deception.  His name is Jesus. Jesus beckons you to come closer to witness a demonstration of the fierceness of the roaring lion that is guarding the Truth.  He pulls a blowtorch the size of a cannon forward, and aims it at the lion.  Suddenly a huge flame leaps from the cannon and the lion’s mane blows in the force of the flame, but the lion is not affected by the flame…at all.

I AM THE GATE; WHOEVER ENTERS THROUGH ME WILL BE SAVED. THEY WILL COME IN AND GO OUT, AND FIND PASTURE
(John 10:9).

But then, Jesus shows you something else that you did not notice before—He is holding the fierce lion by a chain!  Tenderly, Jesus explains, “I am the gate. If you surrender your own understanding to Me, you will enter through Me into the World of Truth. You will trample the great lion and find pasture. Because you love Me, I will rescue you. I will protect you, for you acknowledge My Name. I am in control of the lion.”

‘YOU WILL TREAD UPON THE LION AND THE COBRA; YOU WILL TRAMPLE THE GREAT LION AND THE SERPENT.  BECAUSE HE LOVES ME,’ SAYS THE LORD, ‘I WILL RESCUE HIM; I WILL PROTECT HIM, FOR HE ACKNOWLEDGES MY NAME’
(Psalm 91:13-14).

In which world do YOU live, most of the time: in the World of Truth…or the World of Deception? How do you know?

Do not try to fight the great lion by yourself.  He is a spirit and cannot even be destroyed by fire.  Instead, surrender your interpretations to Jesus.  He will make sure you cross the line and enter the World of Truth safely, through Him.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I want to live in the Truth…always. Therefore, I yield my daily interpretations…my assumptions…my conclusions to You. Redeem them, Lord, and redeem me from the World of Deception, so I may live in the World of Truth.

Maintain an Awareness

Therefore, do not despair of the evil done against you: the insincerity…the depravity…the immorality.  They might have meant evil against you; BUT GOD will cancel the effects of any evil done against you, in the past, in the present, and in the future, if you submit to His discipline.

The Two Counsels

To Love Jesus Is to Obey Him

WHOEVER HAS MY COMMANDS AND OBEYS THEM, HE IS THE ONE WHO LOVES ME
(John 14:21).

Know that to love Jesus is to obey Him.  One way to obey Jesus is NOT to surrender to your childhood pain…but to surrender your childhood pain to Him.

 ‘BECAUSE HE LOVES ME,’ SAYS THE LORD, ‘I WILL RESCUE HIM; I WILL PROTECT HIM, FOR HE ACKNOWLEDGES MY NAME.  HE WILL CALL UPON ME, AND I WILL ANSWER HIM; I WILL BE WITH HIM IN TROUBLE, I WILL DELIVER HIM AND HONOR HIM’
(Psalm 91:14-15).

Do you sometimes feel like a little six-year-old orphan: someone who is in the way…someone who is lost…someone who does not belong?

Do you sometimes feel like a shameful little eight-your-old criminal: someone who is evil from the inside out…someone who is irredeemable…someone who is not going to make it?

Do you sometimes feel like a twelve-year-old outcast: someone who is just a worthless bum…someone who is not accepted as part of the in-crowd…someone who does not matter?

I bless you to bring the little abandoned orphan, who still lives in your heart, to the Lord Jesus. Allow Him to heal the abandonment, fix the neediness, and get rid of the loneliness. Because you love the Lord Jesus, He will rescue you from the childhood conclusions that have been keeping you captive.  I encourage you to introduce the shameful little eight-year-old criminal to the Lord Jesus, your Savior. Allow Him to redeem it…forever. When you call upon Him, He will answer you.  I urge you to bring the twelve-year-old outcast, who still hides in your heart, to the Lord Jesus. Invite Him to heal the rejection, fix the unworthiness, and remove the depravity. He will protect you from the control of the father-of-lies, because you acknowledge His Name.

JESUS SAID, ‘IF YOU HOLD TO MY TEACHING, YOU ARE REALLY MY DISCIPLES. THEN YOU WILL KNOW THE TRUTH, AND THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE’
(John 8:31, 32).

What six-year old pain is still stuck in your heart? What eight-year-old conclusions still dwell in your spirit? Which twelve-year old interpretations still inhabit your mind?

Do not avoid the burden.  Do not deny the problem.  Do not simply endure the emotions.  Embrace the little child in you…and expose it to Jesus. He will exchange it for a mature adult.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I expose the child in my heart to You. Rescue me from the false childhood conclusions. Protect me from the evil one. Deliver me from the past.

Maintain an Awareness

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

The Two Counsels

Everything That Hinders

FOR WE WHO ARE ALIVE ARE ALWAYS BEING GIVEN OVER TO DEATH FOR JESUS’ SAKE, SO THAT HIS LIFE MAY BE REVEALED IN OUR MORTAL BODY
(2 Corinthians 4:11).

I have realized recently how many times a day Self, the OLD ME character the father-of-lies has shaped in me, needs to be given over to death, so that the Life of Jesus might be revealed through my actions and reactions.

There are so many opportunities in my daily life where I have a choice to give Self over to death, for Jesus’ sake.  There are the times when my Self feels threatened by other people’s successes.  There are the times when my OLD ME character feels attacked by other people’s selfishness.  There are the times when I feel discouraged, alone, and afraid. The sin that lives in Self so easily hinders and entangles.

The other day I felt my Self cancelled by someone’s selfish remarks. When I took the pain of feeling annulled and deleted to the Lord Jesus, He answered, “But your Self DOES need to be cancelled, so that I may live in you. Stop defending your Self…and let it die.”

LET US THROW OFF EVERYTHING THAT HINDERS
AND THE SIN THAT SO EASILY ENTANGLES,
AND LET US RUN WITH PERSEVERANCE THE RACE MARKED OUT FOR US
(Hebrews 12:1).

I bless you to throw off everything that hinders the Life of the Lord Jesus being revealed in your actions and reactions, even if it means that your Self gets knocked off its throne.

What will it take for you to stop defending your OLD ME…and let it die? Are you willing to allow the Lord Jesus to use another person’s selfishness to delete, annul, or cancel your Self?

Know that the only way to give Self over to death is to give Self over to JESUS, every day, a hundred times a day, whenever it is provoked.  JESUS IS YOUR SAVIOR.  All authority has been given to Him.  He is the only one who has the power to tie the noose around Self and its sinful habits and patterns.  Since there is only space for one or the other in your body, will you allow Jesus to get rid of Self and put HIMSELF in its place?

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, let me run with perseverance the race marked out for me. Help me to realize that each person’s race is customized and that I cannot run another person’s race for her/him and that another person cannot run my race for me. I surrender my Self to You—the OLD ME with its sin that so often hinders and entangles. Knock it off its throne, Lord God, and take Your rightful place on the throne in my heart.

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