LOVE IS PATIENT, LOVE IS KIND. IT DOES NOT ENVY, IT DOES NOT BOAST, IT IS NOT PROUD. IT IS NOT RUDE, IT IS NOT SELF-SEEKING, IT IS NOT EASILY ANGERED, IT KEEPS NO RECORD OF WRONGS.  LOVE DOES NOT DELIGHT IN EVIL BUT REJOICES WITH THE TRUTH.  IT ALWAYS PROTECTS, ALWAYS TRUSTS, ALWAYS HOPES, ALWAYS PERSEVERES.  LOVE NEVER FAILS
(1 Corinthians 13:4-7).

GOD IS LOVE
(1 John 4:16).

Precious One, I, the Savior, want you to know that I am patient, even when your pain and weaknesses show…because I am Love.

Ponder that I, the Redeemer, am kind and do not condemn as people do…because I am Love.

Value that I, the Good Shepherd, am not boastful, but came to this earth to serve you and share everything I am, with you…because I am Love.

Embrace that I, the Resurrection and the Life, am not rude, but gentle…because I am Love.

Know that I, the Wonderful Counselor, am not self-seeking, but came to share My own Wholeness and Holiness with you…because I am Love.

Celebrate that I, the Author and Finisher of your faith, am not easily angered, even when you come undone…because I am Love.

Speculate that I, the Bread of Life, keep no records of your wrongs, after you have asked forgiveness…because I am Love.

Capture that I, the God of Light, do not delight in evil done against you or anybody else…because I am Love.

Recognize that I, the Way, the Truth, and the Life, rejoice whenever you are set free by the Truth…because I am Love.

Acknowledge that I, Immanuel, yearn to protect you from the negative, destructive beliefs of the father-of-lies…because I am Love.

Understand that I, the Everlasting Father, always trust and hope that you will bring your pain and weaknesses to Me, instead of hiding from them, running away from them, and blaming them on someone or something else…because I am Love. My Love never fails. I will never fail you.

AND SO WE KNOW AND RELY ON THE LOVE GOD HAS FOR US. GOD IS LOVE.  WHOEVER LIVES IN LOVE LIVES IN GOD, AND GOD IN HIM
(1 John 4:16).

What has the father-of-lies told you about God: that He has forsaken you…that He wants to harm you…that He is not faithful?

If you have been believing these lies, you have been missing out on God’s Love for you. Submit these beliefs to the Way, the Truth, and the Life, just the way you hear them in your mind. Then, experience the Truth…and God’s Love for you.

PRAYER: Lord God, I submit my beliefs about You to the Truth. I realize that I have an enemy—the father-of-lies—who wants me to think that You are phony…that You are cruel…that You are easily angered. But I come to YOU. Show me who You really are, so I may EXPERIENCE Your LOVE…and believe.

THE SON OF MAN DID NOT COME TO BE SERVED, BUT TO SERVE, AND TO GIVE HIS LIFE AS A RANSOM FOR MANY
(Matthew 20:28).

Celebrate that the Lord Jesus has been raised from the dead…to become your Life.

Beloved One, I, the Bread of Life, want you to know that, first and foremost, I did not come to be served by you, but to serve you: to care for you…to minister to you…to save you.  Know that in the first place it is not about what you do for Me, but what you allow Me to do for you.  It is not about how useful you are to Me, but how valuable I am to you.  I am offering My Life to you, so you may be unchained from sorrow, discharged from guilt, and unyoked from slavery to harmful habits.

SO IT IS WRITTEN: ‘THE FIRST MAN ADAM BECAME A LIVING BEING; THE LAST ADAM, A LIFE-GIVING SPIRIT’
(1 Corinthians 15:45).

Precious Child, it is not about what you have done in the past that was wrong, but about what I have done in the past…that was right.  I died for you, then became alive for you, to offer you My Self—a Life-giving Spirit.

THEN JESUS DECLARED, ‘I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE. HE WHO COMES TO ME WILL NEVER GO HUNGRY, AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN ME WILL NEVER BE THIRSTY’
(John 6:35).

Are you so busy serving the Lord Jesus that you are missing out on Him serving you with His Life? What is it that you need the Lord Jesus to do for you and to BE for you through His Life-giving Spirit, today?

Receive from Jesus, the Bread of Life, so your hunger for Hope may be stilled, your longing for Righteousness may be satisfied, and your yearning for Wholeness may be fulfilled.  Accept that it is only after you have received from Him that you can give back to Him, because without Him you are nothing and you have nothing.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I come to be served by You. I come to receive Your Life, so I may be unchained from the sorrow that has lived in my heart for so long. I come to receive a drink from Your Living Water, so I may be unyoked from the guilt my past mistakes have caused in my heart. I come to You to be my Bread of Life, so that my hunger for Righteousness may be satisfied and my thirst for Love may be quenched.  How joyful I am that You have been raised from the dead…to become my LIFE! How blessed I am that You have given Your Life to me as a Ransom.

Describe the SITUATION that evoked your feelings of sadness, badness, or madness.

Example: Today, while we were driving, I felt very sad when my husband spoke to me in a gruff manner, after I asked him to slow down his driving for me around a dangerous curve.

Focusing on the FEELINGS evoked by this incident, find your PERTURBING PERCEPTION of the situation and the people involved, especially yourself.

Example: I felt intense sadness in my heart during this incident. My perturbing perception was that I did not count, and that I did not matter to anyone, not even my husband.

Still focusing on the feelings, find the PLACE during your life where you felt like this FOR THE FIRST TIME, whether that be this day, last year, or fifty years ago.

Example: Focusing on the sadness, I discovered a memory that matched it: I was about eight years old. I had just cleaned the whole kitchen floor while my parents were out shopping and could not wait for them to come back and be proud of me. But after they returned from shopping, my dad walked over my clean floor with his dirty shoes. When I tried to tell him not to dirty my newly washed floor, he was gruff with me, the same way my husband was with me when we were driving.

INVITE GOD’S PRESENCE AND PARTICIPATION into your feelings, perceptions, and place where you experienced these for the first time. Allow Him to exchange your perception for His Perspective—THE TRUTH.

Example: Lord Jesus, I invite You into this place of sadness in my heart. Although my mind is telling me that I am unimportant and do not count because my dad walked over my clean floor (and my husband does not want to slow his driving down just for me), I surrender my own perception to You and ask for Your Truth.

Allow God to SPEAK into your feelings of sadness and your perturbing perception that nobody cares about you. LISTEN for His voice. LOOK inside the memory and see, hear, and feel if there is anything different there. God speaks in many different ways. Be open, and be patient.

Example: While focusing on the memory where I felt unimportant for the first time, I saw, with the eyes of my heart, a little girl standing in front of her daddy. She was wearing a royal robe and a crown. Then I heard with the ears of my heart: “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9). I knew that I counted. I mattered. I was important, because I was important to God and I counted to Him. My feeling of sadness disappeared. Today, I know that I count, even when my husband is gruff.

Has there been a situation this week that evoked feelings of sadness, madness, or badness in you? Do not focus on what someone said or did to you. Instead, turn your heart to you own interpretation of the situation, because our interpretations were sold under sin to the father-of-lies. Find out where this interpretation entered your mind for the first time, and surrender it to God to receive His Truth…and a new heart.

BEHOLD, I STAND AT THE DOOR AND KNOCK; IF ANYONE HEARS AND LISTENS TO AND HEEDS MY VOICE AND OPENS THE DOOR, I WILL COME IN TO HIM AND WILL EAT WITH HIM, AND HE [WILL EAT] WITH ME
(Revelation 3:20).

Be mindful to whom you open the door to your heart.  Know that your heart is vulnerable…susceptible to attack…easily hurt.

Therefore, listen carefully who is knocking at your heart’s door. Listen intently to the voice behind the closed door.  Give your full attention. Heed the words…and their intentions. Make sure it is the Lord Jesus, before you unbolt the latch.

BUT WHEN HE, THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH, COMES, HE WILL GUIDE YOU INTO ALL TRUTH. HE WILL NOT SPEAK ON HIS OWN; HE WILL SPEAK ONLY WHAT HE HEARS
(John 16:13).

My Beloved, may you discern between the pure Voice of Truth of My Holy Spirit…and the empty voice of the father-of-lies.  Know that when the Spirit of Truth knocks, He will offer you Hope, Peace, and Joy.  He will never knock with a voice of despair.  Understand that when the Holy Spirit knocks, He will propose Light, Power, and Life.  He will never suggest darkness, powerlessness, and death.  When the Spirit knocks, He will set before you Wholeness, Holiness, and Wisdom.  He will never put forward brokenness, unrighteousness, and confusion.  He will not speak on His own, but will only speak what He hears from Jesus…and Jesus will only speak what He hears from Me, the Perfect Father.

HE WILL BRING GLORY TO ME BY TAKING FROM WHAT IS MINE AND MAKING IT KNOWN TO YOU.  ALL THAT BELONGS TO THE FATHER IS MINE
(John 16:14-15).

To whom have you decided to open your heart’s door? Who got permission to control YOUR heart, each moment of each day: the father-of-lies…or the Spirit of Truth?

Make a decision, today, from whom your heart is going to receive its counsel. Then, stick to your decision, daily, moment-by-moment, even when hopelessness tempts you to run away, when anger tempts you to blame others for you dilemma, and when fear tempts you to hide.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, help me to discern between Your Voice of Truth and the voice of deception from the father-of-lies. Help me to only take counsel from You, because what belongs to You belongs to the Perfect Father, the Most High God.

FOR THEY THAT ARE AFTER THE FLESH DO MIND THE THINGS OF THE FLESH; BUT THEY THAT ARE AFTER THE SPIRIT THE THINGS OF THE SPIRIT
(Romans 8:5).

Discern that your life is based on one of two purposes: the purpose to live according to your natural Self…or the purpose to live in accordance with the Spirit of Jesus. 

HE THAT COMMITTETH SIN IS OF THE DEVIL; FOR THE DEVIL SINNETH FROM THE BEGINNING
(1 John 3:8).

Know that the goals of these two purposes are opposing…conflicting…incompatible.  The natural Self is obligated to please the father-of-lies, but the Spirit is set to please the Perfect Father.  The natural Self obeys the OLD MAN, the set of negative, destructive conclusions instilled in our minds by the father-of-lies; the Spirit obeys the NEW MAN, Jesus Christ. The natural Self reacts to the negative, destructive OLD MAN conclusions through sinful defense habits and patterns of hiding, running to distraction and destruction, and blaming others. The Spirit contains the Truth of Jesus, and does not have to sin. Therefore, at any given moment in your life, you are living either to please the father-of-lies…or to please the Perfect Father.  There is no middle ground!

FOR THIS PURPOSE THE SON OF GOD WAS MANIFESTED, THAT HE MIGHT DESTROY THE WORKS OF THE DEVIL
(1 John 3:8).

Understand that you need to make a choice, whether you are going to live your life according to your natural Self…and sin, or live your life according to the Spirit of Jesus, who was manifested that He might destroy the works of the OLD MAN conclusions in your spirit, soul, and body.

THEREFORE, BROTHERS, WE HAVE AN OBLIGATION…IF BY THE SPIRIT YOU PUT TO DEATH THE MISDEEDS OF THE BODY, YOU WILL LIVE
(Romans 8:12-13).

Whose works are being displayed in your life: the works of the father-of-lies…or the works of the Perfect Father?

Know your moment-by-moment choices: to live according to the natural Self and obey the OLD MAN conclusions…or to live according to the Spirit and allow Jesus to put to death these negative, destructive OLD MAN conclusions, instilled in your mind by the father-of-lies.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, how encouraged I am that I do not have to live my life according to the negative, destructive OLD MAN conclusions…and sin. How glad I am that I have a choice. Today, I am making that choice: to allow You to destroy the works of the father-of-lies in my life…to allow Your Spirit to put to death the conclusions that have controlled my spirit, soul, and body, so that I may live.

‘WHAT SHALL I DO, THEN, WITH JESUS WHO IS CALLED CHRIST?’ PILATE ASKED. THEY ALL ANSWERED, ‘CRUCIFY HIM!’
(Matthew 27:22).

 What do you do with Jesus, every day?

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

What do you do with Jesus when you are at wits end and there seems to be no answer to your problem and no way out?  Do you allow Jesus to become your Wisdom from the Perfect Father…or do you reject Him?

JESUS STOOD AND SAID IN A LOUD VOICE, ‘IF ANYONE IS THIRSTY, LET HIM COME TO ME AND DRINK’ (John 7:37).

What do you do with Jesus when you are thirsty: when you feel like an outcast, when you feel like nobody loves you, or when you feel that this life does not make sense?  Do you come to Him for a drink of His Hope, His Love, and His Truth…or do you push Him away?

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).

What do you do with Jesus when the darkness of despair closes in around you—when you feel there is nothing left to live for?  Do you invite Him to shine His Light into your darkness…or do you refuse Him?

FOR IF, BY THE TRESPASS OF THE ONE MAN, DEATH REIGNED THROUGH THAT ONE MAN, HOW MUCH MORE WILL THOSE WHO RECEIVE GOD’S ABUNDANT PROVISION OF GRACE AND OF THE GIFT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS REIGN IN LIFE THROUGH THE ONE MAN, JESUS CHRIST
(Romans 5:17).

What do YOU do with Jesus?  Do you receive Him as your abundant provision of Grace when your weaknesses threaten to take over?  Do you receive Him as your Gift of Righteousness to reign over your jealousy, animosity, and rage? Do you receive Him as your Savior to reign over your depression…your fear…your confusion?  Or do you crucify Him?

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I receive You as my Drink of Living Water. I accept You as my Wisdom from the Perfect Father. I invite You to be my Light in my present darkness. Lord Jesus, be my abundant Provision of Grace when I feel like an outcast.  Be my Gift of Righteousness in my sin.  May I reign in life through You.

AND HE WHO SEARCHES OUR HEARTS KNOWS THE MIND OF THE SPIRIT, BECAUSE THE SPIRIT INTERCEDES FOR THE SAINTS IN ACCORDANCE WITH GOD’S WILL
(Romans 8:27).

The Perfect Father cares about your heart.  He cares about the abandonment that lives there, the betrayal that hurts so much, and the rejection that was so unfair.  He knows about the scar of shame—that painful emotion caused by guilt and the feeling that you are fatally flawed.  He cares about the anxiety that lives in your heart—that fearful concern about the future.  Believe that your Father cares so much about your heart that He sent His Light, Jesus Christ, to shine in your heart when the darkness—the guilt, the confusion, the bitterness, the jealousy, and the sadness—threatens to take over

FOR GOD, WHO SAID, ‘LET LIGHT SHINE OUT OF DARKNESS,’ MADE HIS LIGHT SHINE IN OUR HEARTS TO GIVE US THE LIGHT OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE GLORY OF GOD IN THE FACE OF CHRIST
(2 Corinthians 4:6).

The Perfect Father knows about your struggle against the father-of-lies…and He did something about it. He sent His Son, Jesus, to overcome the father-of-lies and his lies.  Furthermore, He provided you a Helper, the Holy Spirit, to intercede for your heart, daily—to intervene between your heart and the negative, destructive beliefs of the father-of-lies…if you invite Him into these beliefs.

I HAVE TOLD YOU THESE THINGS, SO THAT IN ME YOU MAY HAVE PEACE. IN THIS WORLD, YOU WILL HAVE TROUBLE. BUT TAKE HEART! I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD
(John 16:33).

When you pray, allow the Holy Spirit to pray through you, according to God’s Will. If you let Him, He will search your heart and pray to the Father through you, according to what you need. He will address the abandonment, the rejection, the shame, and the condemnation that live in your heart. If you allow Him, He will intercede for you, so Christ’s Light might enter your heart and drive out the dark beliefs of the father-of-lies.

PRAYER: Lord God, I invite You into the troubled spots in my heart.  Teach me how to trust in You: to rely on Your Truth…to lean on Your Love…to abide in Your Hope. Shine Your Light on the darkness in my heart, so it would flee in the Light of Your Glory.