Rejected

August 04

Ye Must Be Born Again

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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 bless you to realize that there is an OLD MAN living his life inside you—an agglomeration of negative, destructive beliefs, instilled in your mind by the father-of-lies.  This collection of OLD MAN beliefs carries corruptible seed of unrighteousness, unworthiness, and non-acceptance: “You are dirty.  You are doomed.  You are deserted.”

MARVEL NOT THAT I SAID UNTO THEE, YE MUST BE BORN AGAIN
(John 3:7).

 Rejoice! The Lord Jesus came to nail your OLD MAN, with its corruptible seed, to the cross, so you may be born again as a NEW MAN of incorruptible seed, by the Word of God.

BEING BORN AGAIN, NOT OF CORRUPTIBLE SEED, BUT OF INCORRUPTIBLE, BY THE WORD OF GOD, WHICH LIVETH AND ABIDETH FOR EVER
(1 Peter 1:23).

Are you ready to receive the NEW MAN? Then, you need to EMBRACE and EXPOSE the negative, destructive OLD MAN beliefs, and surrender them to God, to be EXCHANGED for a NEW MAN, filled with incorruptible seed, by the Word of God.

Envision a life-size drawing of your OLD MAN, covered with black sticky notes. On each sticky note is written a negative, destructive belief from the father-of-lies. Thus, the whole OLD MAN is labeled in terms of the corruptible seed of unworthiness, unrighteousness, and non-acceptance.

Get to know your OLD MAN character. Observe what is written on its black labels. Then, peel each label off and hand it to the Lord Jesus Christ. He will destroy the old black labels of unworthiness, unrighteousness, and non-acceptance, and write new white labels of Righteousness, Acceptance, and Worth in their place. Then, you will be born again of the incorruptible seed of the NEW MAN, by the Word of God.

AND BE RENEWED IN THE SPIRIT OF YOUR MIND; AND THAT YE PUT ON THE NEW MAN, WHICH AFTER GOD IS CREATED IN RIGHTEOUSNESS AND TRUE HOLINESS
(Ephesians 4:23-24).

If you could draw your OLD MAN on your wall and fill it in with sticky note labels, what would you write on the labels: “I am unworthy…I am unacceptable…I am unloved”? What else?

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I bring my OLD MAN to You with all its labels of corruptible seed. Replace each label with Your incorruptible seed, O Lord, by Your Word that lives forever.

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
August 02

Do Not Slander Anyone

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THEY MUST NOT SLANDER ANYONE AND MUST AVOID QUARRELING.  INSTEAD, THEY SHOULD BE GENTLE AND SHOW TRUE HUMILITY TO EVERYONE
(Titus 3:2).

Do you like to slander others? Do you know what you are doing? You are delighting in another’s iniquity. You are taking advantage of another person’s sinful actions and reactions. You are rejoicing with the father-of-lies over the negative, destructive beliefs he has built into this person’s mind and heart, since childhood. But God wants you to rejoice in the Truth!

LOVE SUFFERS LONG AND IS KIND; LOVE DOES NOT ENVY; LOVE DOES NOT PARADE ITSELF, IS NOT PUFFED UP; DOES NOT BEHAVE RUDELY, DOES NOT SEEK ITS OWN, IS NOT PROVOKED, THINKS NO EVIL; DOES NOT REJOICE IN INIQUITY, BUT REJOICES IN THE TRUTH
(1 Corinthians 13:4-6).

Beloved, you need to know that if you fall into the sinful behavior pattern of always slandering someone, you are siding with the father-of-lies. Instead of being gentle and showing true humility to everyone, you are puffed up. Instead of using your tongue to praise Me, you are using it to curse people, who have been created in My Image. Instead of helping a person find Truth for the iniquity in his heart, you are helping him accept and believe the accusatory beliefs the father-of-lies instilled in him, since childhood.

WITH THE TONGUE WE PRAISE OUR LORD AND FATHER, AND WITH IT WE CURSE MEN, WHO HAVE BEEN MADE IN GOD’S LIKENESS
(James 3:9).

Beautiful One, I want you to greatly rejoice in Me. I want you to rejoice in the Truth. Instead of slandering someone, help her seek Me, so she may rejoice in the Truth, as well. I will clothe her with the garments of Salvation and cover her with the robe of Righteousness. Then, there will be no need for anyone to be puffed up and rejoice in the iniquity the father-of-lies caused in her mind and heart, but only reason to rejoice in My Truth.

I WILL GREATLY REJOICE IN THE LORD, MY SOUL WILL EXULT IN MY GOD; FOR HE HAS CLOTHED ME WITH THE GARMENTS OF SALVATION, HE HAS COVERED ME WITH THE ROBE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, AS A BRIDEGROOM DECKS HIMSELF WITH A GARLAND, AND AS A BRIDE ADORNS HERSELF WITH HER JEWELS
(Isaiah 61:10).

Why do you slander people? Is it simply to rejoice in someone else’s iniquity, because it thrills you?

How might your life change if you would stop rejoicing in the iniquity the father-of-lies placed in others’ hearts, and start rejoicing in the Truth?

PRAYER: I desire to do Your Will, O Lord God. Create in me a pure heart and a renewed mind, filled with Your Truth. Wash out my eyes, so I may see the sinful pattern of slandering, in my own heart and mind. Redeem my tongue that it may praise You, and serve those who have been made in Your likeness.

Maintain an Awareness

Understand that HOPE needs to come to you through your heart. Therefore, you need to CONNECT with your heart and find the places of sorrow, despair, fear, disappointment, bitterness, and anger that reside there.

The Two Counsels
August 01

You Will Trample the Serpent

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FOR I RECKON THAT THE SUFFERINGS OF THIS PRESENT TIME ARE NOT WORTHY TO BE COMPARED WITH THE GLORY WHICH SHALL BE REVEALED IN US
(Romans 8:18)

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

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

FOR OUR PRESENT TROUBLES ARE SMALL AND WON’T LAST VERY LONG. YET THEY PRODUCE FOR US A GLORY THAT VASTLY OUTWEIGHS THEM AND WILL LAST FOREVER! SO WE DON’T LOOK AT THE TROUBLES WE CAN SEE NOW; RATHER, WE FIX OUR GAZE ON THINGS THAT CANNOT BE SEEN. FOR THE THINGS WE SEE NOW WILL SOON BE GONE, BUT THE THINGS WE CANNOT SEE WILL LAST FOREVER
(2 Corinthians 4:17-18).

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

HIM THAT OVERCOMETH WILL I MAKE A PILLAR IN THE TEMPLE OF MY GOD, AND HE SHALL GO NO MORE OUT: AND I WILL WRITE UPON HIM THE NAME OF MY GOD, AND THE NAME OF THE CITY OF MY GOD, WHICH IS NEW JERUSALEM, WHICH COMETH DOWN OUT OF HEAVEN FROM MY GOD: AND I WILL WRITE UPON HIM MY NEW NAME
(Revelation 3:12).

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

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

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

Maintain an Awareness

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
July 27

To Die to Sin

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HE HIMSELF BORE OUR SINS IN HIS BODY ON THE TREE, SO THAT WE MIGHT DIE TO SINS AND LIVE FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS; BY HIS WOUNDS YOU HAVE BEEN HEALED. FOR YOU WERE LIKE SHEEP GOING ASTRAY, BUT NOW YOU HAVE RETURNED TO THE SHEPHERD AND OVERSEER OF YOUR SOULS
(1 Peter 2:24-25).

Take note that Jesus bore our sins in His body on the tree, so WE might die to our sins. The Lord Jesus nailed the body of sin—the cause of our sinful actions and reactions—to the cross to remove the origin of sin, so we might have the opportunity to live for Righteousness.

WHAT SHALL WE SAY, THEN? SHALL WE GO ON SINNING SO THAT GRACE MAY INCREASE? BY NO MEANS! WE DIED TO SIN; HOW CAN WE LIVE IN IT ANY LONGER?
(Romans 6:1-2).

I have died to many sins.  I have died to willfulness, withdrawal, and pushing people away.  I have died to blaming, hating, and condemning others.  I have died to gossiping.  I have died to boasting.

FOR WE KNOW THAT OUR OLD SELF WAS CRUCIFIED WITH HIM SO THAT THE BODY OF SIN MIGHT BE DONE AWAY WITH, THAT WE SHOULD NO LONGER BE SLAVES TO SIN
(Romans 6:6).

I have died to these sinful actions and reactions, because I have had no need to live in them any longer.  You see, my old Self—the abandoned Orphan Me, the shameful Despicable Me, the condemned Bad Me, and the rejected Victim Me—was crucified with Jesus, so that it might lose its power over me.

Therefore, since my condemnation turned to acceptance, I did not have to hate anymore in order to take revenge. Since my shame turned to worthiness, I did not have to gossip and boast anymore in order to gain respect from others.  Since my abandonment turned to belonging, I did not have to withdraw anymore in order to protect myself. Because the Lord Jesus took care of the old Self—the body of sin—I did not have to serve it anymore through sinful actions and reactions.

IN THE SAME WAY, COUNT YOURSELVES DEAD TO SIN BUT ALIVE TO GOD IN CHRIST JESUS
(Romans 6:11).

Let your old Self, the body of sin, be crucified with Jesus. Then you, too will have the opportunity to live your life for Righteousness, since sinful actions and reactions will serve no purpose to you anymore.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I long to live my life for Righteousness. Therefore, I invite You to nail my old Self to the cross, so I would stop serving the body of sin through sinful actions and reactions.

Maintain an Awareness

God wants you to desire to be good, because He wants to fill YOU with His fruits of Righteousness.

The Two Counsels
July 20

Do Not Depend on Your Many Warriors

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BUT YOU HAVE PLANTED WICKEDNESS, YOU HAVE REAPED EVIL, YOU HAVE EATEN THE FRUIT OF DECEPTION. BECAUSE YOU HAVE DEPENDED ON YOUR OWN STRENGTH AND ON YOUR MANY WARRIORS, THE ROAR OF BATTLE WILL RISE AGAINST YOUR PEOPLE, SO THAT ALL YOUR FORTRESSES WILL BE DEVASTATED
(Hosea 10:13-14).

I have many warriors, because I have eaten the fruit of deception. I have believed negative, destructive beliefs that are not true about my Self, God, and others.  I have one warrior who fights to the bitter end to defend me, whenever I believe that I am not loved.  This warrior will attack, blame, and drive anybody away who makes me feel unloved.

I have another warrior who is very good at hiding me in the dark dungeons of depression or behind a mask, whenever I believe that I am not worthy or special.

Yet, another warrior is a bit of a coward.  It scoops me up and runs to the safety of distraction and destruction, whenever I feel condemned, not daring to come close to the battlefield.  It lets me watch from a distance, while I lean on my own misunderstandings.

BUY THE TRUTH AND DO NOT SELL IT; GET WISDOM, DISCIPLINE AND UNDERSTANDING
(Proverbs 23:23).

Grasp that if you depend on your own defense mechanisms to fight the negative, destructive beliefs of the father-of-lies, the roar of battle will rise against you, causing you to plant wickedness and reap evil, every time. This will make you miserable.

Change your ways.  Dismiss your warriors.  Instead of hiding, get God’s Wisdom for the belief that you are not loved. Instead of running away, discipline your Self to get Understanding from the Lord Jesus for your unworthiness and shame. Instead of defending your Self, buy the Lord’s Truth and do not sell it.

WE KNOW ALSO THAT THE SON OF GOD HAS COME AND HAS GIVEN US UNDERSTANDING
(1 John 5:20).

What will it take for you to dismiss your many warriors and depend on God to give you Understanding, so you may get rid of your misunderstandings?

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, how many times have I depended on my many warriors to save me from feeling ashamed, condemned, and abandoned, instead of depending on You. Forgive me, my Lord, for making the wrong choices. Bring me to the place where I will lay down my many warriors—where I will buy the Truth and not sell it. Then, exchange my Self for Your Self, who is filled with Wisdom, Discipline, and Understanding.

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
July 19

Saved to Be Holy

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WHO HAS SAVED US AND CALLED US TO A HOLY LIFE—NOT BECAUSE OF ANYTHING WE HAVE DONE BUT BECAUSE OF HIS OWN PURPOSE AND GRACE.  THIS GRACE WAS GIVEN US IN CHRIST JESUS BEFORE THE BEGINNING OF TIME
(2 Timothy 1:9).

One of the things that turned my life inside-out was the realization that God did not just barely save me, in a meager manner. He saved me enough to be holy.

Throughout my life, I had the idea that God saved me just enough to go to Heaven. I believed Holiness was something extra…and holiness was up to me.  I believed that if I wanted to be holy, I had to muster together all my strength to better my own Self—to rid my Self of condemnation, shame, rejection, and abandonment, which caused me to complain, control, and criticize.

However, big was my surprise when God showed me, one day, that my holiness did not depend on me, but on His Grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus. This has always been part of the package of Salvation, even before the beginning of time—to stop sinful actions and reactions from controlling our behavior, through His Grace.

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).

Beloved Child, do you know what to do with My Grace? Understand that I, your Savior, want you to come UNDER My Grace, moment-by-moment, whenever you feel rejected, ashamed, condemned, or abandoned. Instead of submitting to the beliefs of shame that cause you to complain, come and live UNDER My Grace, which will release you from disgrace. Instead of surrendering to beliefs of rejection that cause you to criticize, come and hide UNDER My Grace, which will deliver you from feeling unwanted and unworthy. Instead of bowing down to the beliefs of abandonment that cause you to control, step UNDER My Grace, which will discharge you from loneliness and dismay. Then, sinful actions and reactions will no longer control your behavior.

“FOR SIN SHALL NO LONGER BE YOUR MASTER, BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT UNDER THE LAW, BUT UNDER GRACE”
(Romans 6:14).

How might your life change if you stopped striving to better your Self, but allowed God to bring you under His Grace?

PRAYER: Thank you, Perfect Father, for Your Gift of Grace, through Jesus Christ. Call me, daily, to come under Your Grace, instead of living from my own strength. Help me to remember to live under Your Grace whenever I feel rejected, condemned, ashamed, or abandoned. Then, sinful actions and reactions will no longer control my behavior.

Maintain an Awareness

We have all eaten from the fruit of deception—believing and accepting negative, destructive beliefs about ourselves, God, and others that are not true.

The Two Counsels
July 18

To Be Exchanged

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I AM CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST: NEVERTHELESS I LIVE; YET NOT I, BUT CHRIST LIVETH IN ME: AND THE LIFE WHICH I NOW LIVE IN THE FLESH I LIVE BY THE FAITH OF THE SON OF GOD, WHO LOVED ME, AND GAVE HIMSELF FOR ME
(Galatians 2:20).

I bless you to know that there is a part of you that needs to be crucified with Christ.  There is a part of you that needs to be exchanged for the Lord Jesus Christ. He gave His Self for you to live His Life inside you, by His Faith.

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).

Understand that there is an OLD MAN living his life inside you: an agglomeration of negative, destructive beliefs, instilled in your mind by the father-of-lies.  This collection of OLD MAN beliefs carries a painful, negative message of failure, defilement, and unworthiness.

Realize that this set of OLD MAN beliefs functions as the root or source of bad behavior in you.  This set of accusatory beliefs “You are bad…You do not count…You are a disgrace” causes painful emotions of unworthiness, hopelessness, and shame.  When you feel unworthy, you envy…you strife…you fail.  When you feel ashamed, you become angry…you become unkind…you become selfish.  When you feel hopeless, you argue…you give up…you become depressed.  Thus, the body of OLD MAN beliefs in you is the father-of-lies’ ally to control your mind, your emotions, and your behavior from the inside out.

AND BE RENEWED IN THE SPIRIT OF YOUR MIND; AND THAT YE PUT ON THE NEW MAN, WHICH AFTER GOD IS CREATED IN RIGHTEOUSNESS AND TRUE HOLINESS
(Ephesians 4:23-24).

The Lord Jesus Christ came to crucify the body of OLD MAN beliefs in you, so that the source or the root of sin in you might be destroyed.  And in the OLD MAN’s place, He gave His Self to come and live in you, by His Faith.

May you allow the body of OLD MAN beliefs in you to be eliminated, so that the Lord Jesus Christ might live His Life in you, instead, by His Faith.

How do you think your life will change if you lived your life by the Faith of the Lord Jesus, instead of living from the negative, destructive OLD MAN beliefs of the father-of-lies?

PRAYER: Thank you, Lord Jesus, that You nailed the OLD MAN to the cross, so that this body of sin might be destroyed and You might live Your Life in me, by Your Faith.

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
July 14

Nothing Is Hidden in God’s Sight

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WHEN I WAS A CHILD, I TALKED LIKE A CHILD, I THOUGHT LIKE A CHILD, I REASONED LIKE A CHILD. WHEN I BECAME A MAN, I PUT CHILDISH WAYS BEHIND ME
(1 Corinthians 13:11).

I bless you to understand that it is not what happened to you as a child that is causing you so much heart-ache, today, but your misinterpretations of these events—what you came to believe about yourself, others, and God. Know that the father-of-lies used your false childhood conclusions as a weapon of deception to take you captive, even as an adult. He used them to shape a Deserted Child, Defiled Child, Defeated Child, and Deprived Child in you.

AND SURELY I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS, TO THE VERY END OF THE AGE
(Matthew 28:20).

Keep in mind that the Lord Jesus was present…on duty…alive when you made your false childhood conclusions. He was there. He saw it all. He knew the circumstances; but most of all, He knew the misinterpretations that distorted your mind and the lies that disturbed your heart.  Nothing in all creation is hidden from His sight.

The Lord Jesus knows of the Deserted Child, Defiled Child, Defeated Child, and Deprived Child that still live in your heart, today, as a result of your childhood misinterpretations. He understands the lies.  But, most of all, He knows the Truth.

NOTHING IN ALL CREATION IS HIDDEN FROM GOD’S SIGHT. EVERYTHING IS UNCOVERED AND LAID BARE BEFORE THE EYES OF HIM TO WHOM WE MUST GIVE ACCOUNT
(Hebrews 4:13).

If you listen carefully, you will hear the Lord Jesus say, “My Child, I have become your Wisdom from God: your Redemption from the deception that has been living in your heart, since childhood…your Redemption from the negative, destructive beliefs of the father-of-lies…your Redemption from the Deserted Child, Defiled Child, Defeated Child, and Deprived Child. Allow Me to set you free from being a victim to these OLD MAN personalities.”

IT IS BECAUSE OF HIM THAT YOU ARE IN CHRIST JESUS, WHO HAS BECOME FOR US WISDOM FROM GOD—THAT IS, OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS, HOLINESS AND REDEMPTION
(1 Corinthians 1:30).

What have you done with your childhood conclusions—with the Deserted Child, Defiled Child, Defeated Child, and Deprived Child that were formed in you through deception? Have you allowed these to rule your life…or have you allowed the Lord Jesus to become your Wisdom from God—that is, your Righteousness, Holiness, and Redemption?

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, remind me, daily, that I have a choice: to live the rest of my life as a victim to the Deserted Child, Defiled Child, Defeated Child, and Deprived Child in me, or invite You to become my Redemption from God.

Maintain an Awareness

We run…and run…and run. We run towards bad distractions and destructions like alcohol, drugs, or even crime, or we run towards good distractions like entertainment, or our husbands, wives, friends, or counselors.

The Two Counsels
July 09

Will You Lay Down Your Life of Over-indulgence?

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THEN JESUS ANSWERED, ‘WILL YOU REALLY LAY DOWN YOUR LIFE FOR ME’
(John 13:38).

How do you deal with the emotional pain in your heart—the pain that sits on top of the negative, destructive beliefs that you are not good enough…that you are doomed and damned…that you are a disappointment?

Do you deal with your pain through the defense mechanism of over-indulgence—turning to excessiveness of some sorts, rather than Jesus, to ease your pain?  Know for certain that if you sow overdo and overuse, you will reap DESTRUCTION, but if you sow to surrender your pain to the Spirit, from the Spirit you will reap LIFE and PEACE.

THE ONE WHO SOWS TO PLEASE HIS SINFUL NATURE, FROM THAT NATURE WILL REAP DESTRUCTION; THE ONE WHO SOWS TO PLEASE THE SPIRIT, FROM THE SPIRIT WILL REAP ETERNAL LIFE
(Galatians 6:8).

I bless you to give up seeking relief from your pain through over-indulgence of any kind.  Instead, allow yourself to pause before you indulge, and EMBRACE the pain that instigates you to overdo.  Identify the hurt.  Find the beliefs the father-of-lies has planted in your mind: the thoughts that persuade you to run to FOOD to eliminate the heartache, to run to DRINK to shut out the hurt, and to run to DRUGS to squash the anguish.  Then, EXPOSE these interpretations to the Lord Jesus in EXCHANGE for His free-setting Truth.  He knows you. He will tell you who you really are. Then, the Peace of God will rule in your heart, through His Spirit, allowing you to be thankful for who you are and what you have.

AND LET THE PEACE OF GOD RULE IN YOUR HEARTS, TO WHICH ALSO YOU WERE CALLED IN ONE BODY; AND BE THANKFUL
(Colossians 3:15).

 Are you aware of the reason of your over-indulgence—negative, destructive beliefs instilled in your mind by the father-of-lies? Do you know what these beliefs are telling you?

What will it take for you to stop turning to someone or something other than the Lord Jesus to still the pain in your heart?

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, teach me to EMBRACE the emotional pain in my heart, instead of running away to excessiveness of all kinds. Help me to find and EXPOSE the underlying beliefs of abandonment, condemnation, rejection, and shame in my heart. Then, EXCHANGE these perturbing perceptions for Your Truth, my Lord, for without Your work of EXCHANGE in my heart, there will be no CHANGE in me—there will be no LIFE and no PEACE.

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
July 07

Will You Lay Down Your Life of Mind-reading?

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THEN JESUS ANSWERED, ‘WILL YOU REALLY LAY DOWN YOUR LIFE FOR ME’
(John 13:38).

Have you adopted the sinful defense mechanism of mind-reading? Do you always assume you know what others are thinking?  Do you read between the lines?  Are you always gathering information to prove your presupposed point?  Do you like to surmise, basing your ideas on scanty evidence?

THE MAN WHO LOVES HIS LIFE WILL LOSE IT, WHILE THE MAN WHO HATES HIS LIFE IN THIS WORLD WILL KEEP IT FOR ETERNAL LIFE
(John 12:25).

Grasp that the father-of-lies, the master of deception, will take advantage of your willful mind-reading, each time.  He will use your rebellion as an opportunity to drag misinterpretations into your mind, inserting more than is there, causing you to see yourself and others in a false light.

If you sow to please your sinful nature through obstinate mind-reading, you will reap destruction, but if you sow to deliberately and entirely submit your will to the Spirit, from the Spirit you will reap Truth. This Truth will set you free, will bring you Joy, and will give you Hope.

THE ONE WHO SOWS TO PLEASE HIS SINFUL NATURE, FROM THAT NATURE WILL REAP DESTRUCTION; THE ONE WHO SOWS TO PLEASE THE SPIRIT, FROM THE SPIRIT WILL REAP ETERNAL LIFE
(Galatians 6:8).

 I bless you to consider letting go of your rebellious mind-reading. Stop holding onto it as something precious. Don’t assume you know what others are thinking.  Don’t read between the lines.  Stop gathering information to prove your presupposed point.  Quit surmising.  Stop guessing. Instead, focus on finishing the race YOU have to run, and to complete the task the Lord Jesus has given YOU.

HOWEVER, I CONSIDER MY LIFE WORTH NOTHING TO ME, IF ONLY I MAY FINISH THE RACE AND COMPLETE THE TASK THE LORD JESUS HAS GIVEN ME
(Acts 20:24).

Why do you mind-read? What good has ever come of it? On the other hand, how has your mind-reading hurt you and others?

What will it take for you to stop guessing what others are thinking of you by arriving at your conclusions through your own understanding?

PRAYER: Lord God, I repent of my mind-reading. I am sorry, my Lord. I wish to change, but I know I can do nothing by myself. Work Your Grace and Mercy in my heart, so I would change and give up reading others’ minds. May my mind belong to You only and may everything it thinks only honor 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