Shameful

September 07

Name the Pain

Posted by

0

SEE, I HAVE REFINED YOU, THOUGH NOT AS SILVER; I HAVE TESTED YOU IN THE FURNACE OF AFFLICTION
(Isaiah 48:10).

I have a certain attitude towards emotional pain that helps me to cope with it.  When I have emotional pain, I deal with it by comparing it with something materialistic—something physical that helps me to identify it.  I become aware of its attributes, its intensity, and its resemblance to something else I know.

Sometimes, I identify my emotional pain as a distortion in my heart.  Other times, it feels like a heavy rock at the bottom of my heart.  Often, it feels like a stabbing knife that is sunk deeply into the tender tissues of my heart.  All of these images help me to identify the darkness that makes me feel so unloved and unlovable, so unaccepted and unacceptable, and so unworthy and unwanted.

After I have identified and named the pain, I invite the Presence and Participation of the Lord Jesus into each of these dark spots in my heart.

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).

Child, when you submit your emotional pain to Me, Jesus, the Son of God, I will remove the rock of hopelessness that sits at the bottom of your heart.  It is I who will pull out the knife of non-acceptance that causes the sharp pain of jealousy in your heart.  I am the One who will erase the distortion that causes you to stumble in confusion. I will do this, because nothing in creation is hidden from My sight…not even the pain that hides in the dark corners of your heart.

Know that each time you lay an image of emotional pain at Mt feet, I will turn My Light on in your heart.  Soon, everywhere in your heart, My Light will shine.  Then, your darkness will disappear, and you will be able to say, “I have been tested and refined in the furnace of affliction.”

BUT THANKS BE TO GOD, WHO GIVES US THE VICTORY THROUGH OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST
(1 Corinthians 15:57).

How would you describe the pain in YOUR heart? After you have identified it, is there anything that is hindering you from giving it to God?

PRAYER: God of Glory, how good it is to know that nothing in all creation is hidden from Your sight. How encouraged I am to know that everything is uncovered and laid bare before Your eyes, even the deepest, darkest pain in the most hidden corners of my heart. I invite Your Presence and Participation into the stabbing pain of jealousy that fills me with torment, into the deep dungeons of despair that leaves me hopeless and helpless, and into the perplexing confusion that causes me to stumble around in darkness. May I be refined when I am tested in the furnace of affliction.

Maintain an Awareness

Discipline, the training to enter God’s Holiness, cannot be exercised AFTER we have already entered a route of escape to resort to a sinful solution.

The Two Counsels
September 05

A New Befitting Heart

Posted by

0

THAT YE PUT OFF CONCERNING THE FORMER CONVERSATION THE OLD MAN, WHICH IS CORRUPT ACCORDING TO THE DECEITFUL LUSTS
(Ephesians 4:22).

Realize that there is an OLD MAN living his life inside each one of us: an agglomeration of negative, destructive beliefs, instilled in our minds by the father-of-lies.  These OLD MAN beliefs of abandonment, failure, and defilement grouped together to form a Deserted ME, a Defiled ME, a Deprived ME, and a Defeated ME in each of us, since childhood.

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

Understand that the father-of-lies shaped these OLD MAN personalities in you for a reason.  Through the Deserted ME, Defiled ME, Deprived ME, and Defeated ME, he placed in you an ally through which he can control you from the inside out, breaking your heart with belittling beliefs: “You are inept; You are improper; You are offensive.”  He knows that your heart is the wellspring of life—whatever it believes will make or break you.

I WILL GIVE YOU A NEW HEART AND PUT A NEW SPIRIT IN YOU; I WILL REMOVE FROM YOU YOUR HEART OF STONE AND GIVE YOU A HEART OF FLESH
(Ezekiel 36:26).

I bless you to believe that the Lord Jesus came to remove your OLD MAN personalities, with their heart-breaking beliefs, to give you a new heart with new beliefs. He came to dwell in your heart, by faith, for He knows that out of your heart flow the issues of life.

THAT CHRIST MAY DWELL IN YOUR HEARTS BY FAITH
(Ephesians 3:17).

How have the OLD MAN personalities of the Deserted ME, Defiled ME, Deprived ME, and Defeated ME broken your heart?

Do you want to stop living your life under the influence of these OLD MAN personalities? Then, find the beliefs that are keeping these characters alive in your heart and submit them to the Lord Jesus. He will give you a new heart with new beliefs.

PRAYER:  Lord Jesus, You are the Lord of my salvation. I praise You for what You have done to save me from the OLD MAN personalities of the Orphan ME, Bad ME, Victim ME, and Despicable ME that broke my heart. I realize that my heart is the wellspring of my life, Lord God. Therefore, I submit the accusatory beliefs from the father-of-lies that have torn my heart to pieces, to You. Create in me a new heart with new beliefs, my God, so You may dwell in my heart by faith.

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
September 04

The Two Fathers

Posted by

0

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

I urge you to be careful how you live.  Make the most of every opportunity.  Know that the father-of-lies wishes to feed you his bad counsel, during every opportunity, so you may serve him.  Do not live as unwise…but as wise.

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

Understand that the father-of-lies uses every opportunity to get you to live FROM him, and THROUGH him, and TO him.  He came to take the place of God in your life, to live in your own Self-nature, from his own counsel.

I KNOW THAT NOTHING GOOD LIVES IN ME, THAT IS, IN MY SINFUL NATURE.  FOR I HAVE THE DESIRE TO DO WHAT IS GOOD, BUT I CANNOT CARRY IT OUT. FOR WHAT I DO IS NOT THE GOOD I WANT TO DO; NO, THE EVIL I DO NOT WANT TO DO—THIS I KEEP ON DOING
(Romans 7:18-19).

Realize that nothing good lives in your sinful Self-nature, because it lives under the authority of the wrong counsel. It does not submit to God’s Counsel. Instead, it has its mind set to live FROM the father-of-lies, THROUGH the father-of-lies, and TO the father-of-lies.

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

I bless you to understand that the Perfect Father sent His Son, Jesus, to make a new Nature available to you—the Nature of the Spirit of God, who lives according to God’s Counsel.  Therefore, those living in accordance with the Nature of the Spirit of God have their minds set on what the Spirit desires: to live FOR the Lord Jesus, THROUGH the Lord Jesus, and TO the Lord Jesus.  They give honor to the Perfect Father, and the father-of-lies has no hold on them.

From and to and through whom do you live: the Perfect Father…or the father-of-lies? How can you tell?

PRAYER:  Perfect Father, I desire to live my life from You, and to You, and through You; therefore, help me to set my mind on what Your Spirit desires from me, and not what my own Self-nature desires. May I choose, moment-by-moment, to listen to the Counsel of Your Spirit, so I may live my life wisely, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.

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
September 01

Take Hold of That for which Jesus Took Hold of You

Posted by

0

BUT I PRESS ON TO TAKE HOLD OF THAT FOR WHICH CHRIST JESUS TOOK HOLD OF ME
(Philippians 3:12).

Has the Lord Jesus taken hold of you?  Have you taken hold of Him?  He bought you salvation from your OLD SELF: from your Bad ME, your Despicable ME, your Victim ME, and your Orphan ME.  Have you taken hold of that?  He came to nail your beliefs “I am bad; I am fatally flawed; I am not wanted; I am forsaken” to the cross, so you may be freed from the effects of these beliefs on your heart.  Have you taken hold of that?

PRAISE BE TO THE GOD AND FATHER OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST! IN HIS GREAT MERCY HE HAS GIVEN US NEW BIRTH INTO A LIVING HOPE THROUGH THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST FROM THE DEAD
(1 Peter 1:3).

Recognize that there is a Living Hope available to you, moment-by-moment: a dynamic, effective Living Hope for your despair, a functional, invigorating Living Hope for your fear, a powerful, rejuvenating Living Hope for your depression and grief.  Have you taken hold of that?

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).

Precious One, I, the Lord Jesus, want to show you the way to feel wanted, loved, accepted, and approved, but you need to take hold of Me, so I may lead you there. I, Jesus, want to tell you the Truth about who you are and who I am, but you need to take hold of Me, moment-by-moment, without giving up.  I, Jesus, am offering you My Life, so you may have a life, but you need to take hold of Me, just the way you are.

MAY YOU REALIZE THAT JESUS TOOK HOLD OF YOU

SO THAT YOU MAY TAKE HOLD OF HIM!

Have you taken hold of that for which the Lord Jesus has taken hold of you?

Why don’t you start today? Invite Him into your OLD SELF: into your Bad ME, Despicable ME, Victim ME, and Orphan ME that live in your heart. Embrace the feelings that live there. Expose the beliefs that keep these feelings alive. Ask the Lord Jesus to exchange these OLD SELF characters for His Self. He will give you HIS LIFE, in the place of yours.

PRAYER:  Thank you, Lord Jesus, that You have taken hold of me. Today, I take hold of You. I invite You into my heart to become a dynamic, rejuvenating Living Hope for me, moment-by-moment. Lead me to the place where I will know who You are and who I am. Become a new way for me—a Way of Truth and Hope and Life.

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
August 31

Your Decisions Matter

Posted by

0

BUT SEEK YE FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD, AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS; AND ALL THESE THINGS SHALL BE ADDED UNTO YOU
(Matthew 6:33).

In my life, I have discovered that it is so easy to become a representative of the father-of-lies’ kingdom: a spokesperson for his domain of lies…an advocate for his godlessness and wickedness.  I only need to offer him my will. All I need to do is ACCEPT AND ADOPT the thoughts he introduces on a moment-by-moment basis, and SUPPRESS THE TRUTH offered by the God of Truth, in opposition to these.

Precious One, you need to know that when you adopt a thought offered by the father-of-lies, you have MADE A DECISION to invite the father-of-lies to govern your life, at that moment.  You have placed your whole will under the authority of the father-of-lies and his kingdom.  You have MADE A DECISION to offer your spirit, soul, and body to him to kill, steal, and destroy.

MAN IS NOT FULLY CONDITIONED AND DETERMINED BUT RATHER DETERMINES HIMSELF WHETHER HE GIVES IN TO CONDITIONS OR STAND UP TO THEM.  IN OTHER WORDS, MAN IS ULTIMATELY SELF-DETERMINING.  MAN DOES NOT SIMPLY EXIST BUT ALWAYS DECIDES WHAT HIS EXISTENCE WILL BE, WHAT HE WILL BECOME IN THE NEXT MOMENT
(Victor E. Frankl).

On the other hand, when you turn the father-of-lies’ thoughts over to Me, the God of Truth, you have MADE A DECISION to invite Me to govern your life, at that moment. At that instant, you have placed your whole will under the authority of My Kingdom.  You have MADE A DECISION to offer your spirit, soul, and body to Me, the Most High. Because of your decision, My Truth, Love, and Hope will be revealed to you and through you to those around you.

THE WRATH OF GOD IS BEING REVEALED FROM HEAVEN AGAINST ALL THE GODLESSNESS AND WICKEDNESS OF MEN WHO SUPPRESS THE TRUTH BY THEIR WICKEDNESS
(Romans 1:18).

I bless you to become a self-determining being. Don’t let anyone steal from your spirit, soul, and body. YOUR MOMENT-BY-MOMENT DECISIONS MATTER to the father-of-lies, to the God of Truth, to you, and to those around you.

What do you do with your daily thoughts?

PRAYER:  Lord Jesus, help me to take my will back and become a self-determining being. Bring me to the place where I will stand up and embrace Your Truth for each situation in my life, instead of giving in to the negative, destructive beliefs of the father-of-lies. May I understand how important my decisions are, each day, each moment, whatever I do, wherever I go.

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
August 30

Ambassadors for Christ

Posted by

0

WE ARE AMBASSADORS FOR CHRIST
(2 Corinthians 5:20).

It is so easy to be a representative of my own kingdom…a spokesperson of my own domain…an advocate of my own possessions.

BUT SEEK YE FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD, AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS;
AND ALL THESE THINGS SHALL BE ADDED UNTO YOU
(Matthew 6:33).

I bless you to become an ambassador for Christ—
a representative of your Perfect Father’s Kingdom.

May your body become available to Christ, through which someone may experience
the Dwelling Place of Jesus.

May your hands become available to Christ, through which someone may experience
the Kindness of Jesus.

May your mouth become available to Christ, through which someone may experience
the Gentleness of Jesus.

May your feet become available to Christ, through which someone may experience
the Presence of Jesus.

THY KINGDOM IS AN EVERLASTING KINGDOM,
AND THY DOMINION ENDURETH THROUGHOUT ALL GENERATIONS
(Psalm 145:13).

May your mind and heart be available to Christ, through which you may experience
Jesus as the Truth, the Way, and the Life.

May your will and desires be available to Christ, through which you may experience
the Obedience of Jesus towards His Father.

God’s Kingdom lasts forever!

Of whom are you an ambassador: your Self or the Lord Jesus? In other words, who lives in you and through you: your Self or the Lord Jesus?

PRAYER:  Lord Jesus, establish Your Self in my mind, my heart, my will, my desires, my nature, and my whole body, so I may become Your ambassador in everything I think, say and do…and in everything I am.

Maintain an Awareness

Since the beginning of our lives, the OLD MAN beliefs of abandonment, shame, condemnation, and rejection have been firmly planted in our minds and hearts by the father-of-lies.

The Two Counsels
August 27

In the Midst of Suffering

Posted by

0

MAN IS NOT FULLY CONDITIONED AND DETERMINED BUT RATHER DETERMINES HIMSELF WHETHER HE GIVES IN TO CONDITIONS OR STAND UP TO THEM.  IN OTHER WORDS, MAN IS ULTIMATELY SELF-DETERMINING.  MAN DOES NOT SIMPLY EXIST BUT ALWAYS DECIDES WHAT HIS EXISTENCE WILL BE, WHAT HE WILL BECOME IN THE NEXT MOMENT
(Victor E. Frankl).

Life is full of joy, but also full of pain.  There is the pain of feeling alone, companionless, or forsaken.  Then there is the pain of rejection—feeling unwanted and victimized.  Still yet, there is the pain of shame—a painful emotion caused by consciousness of guilt, shortcoming, or impropriety.  There is also the pain of being bad, evil, or condemned.

Regardless of which pain you have, the determining question is, “What are you going to do with it?”  You see, you do not simply exist, but God made you into a self-determining being—a being whose quality of existence depends on your choices.  YOU ARE NOT CONTROLLED BY ANYBODY.  You have the freedom to choose what you will become in the midst of your pain, even in the next moment.  You have the freedom to decide whether your pain will control you…or you, your pain.  If you believe that you HAVE to obey the message your pain conveys, the father-of-lies has deceived you.  YOU HAVE CHOSEN TO OBEY THE FATHER-OF-LIES!

HE IS DESPISED AND REJECTED OF MEN; A MAN OF SORROWS, AND ACQUAINTED WITH GRIEF…SURELY HE HATH BORNE OUR GRIEFS AND CARRIED OUR SORROWS
(Isaiah 53:3-4).

I bless you to know that you DO have a choice: to decide who you will be in the midst of your heartache and suffering.  You have the choice to run from your sorrows, hide from your anguish, or blame someone else for your wounds.

In contrast, you have the choice to allow Jesus, a Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief, to bear your suffering and carry your sorrows for you. Then, you will be set free from your emotional pain, regardless of the circumstances that caused them.

WORTHY IS THE LAMB WHO WAS SLAIN TO RECEIVE POWER AND RICHES AND WISDOM, AND STRENGTH AND HONOR AND GLORY AND BLESSING!
(Revelation 5:12).

After looking at the list above, what kind of pain lives in your heart? What is the message your pain transmits?

What have you decided to do with your pain?

PRAYER:  Lord Jesus, Man of Sorrows, I praise You that You have borne my grief and carried my sorrows, so I do not have to bear my grief and carry my sorrows anymore. I surrender the pain in my heart to You, so I may be set free to follow You.

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
August 23

When You Surrender, God Will Accept

Posted by

0

I live a life of surrender—surrendering every thought that enters my mind and every feeling that enters my heart to God.  I do this every day of my life…no exceptions—thoughts of fear, doubt, disappointment, guilt, shame, rejection, and abandonment.

THAT YOU MAY STAND PERFECT AND COMPLETE IN ALL THE WILL OF GOD
(Colossians 4:12).

Sometimes, when I try to yield something or someone to God, the father-of-lies would tell me that I am not surrendering in a way that is acceptable to God—that God would not accept my surrender, unless I do it perfectly.

Today, I want you to know that there is no wrong way to surrender anything or anyone to God.  He will accept and guard what you have entrusted Him, even if you do not submit someone or something to Him in a perfect way. He understands your heart. He knows what you are trying to do, even if you don’t. He will fill in the gaps for you—the thoughts you forgot to mention, the words you neglected to say, and the feelings you did not even know you had.

THEREFORE, BROTHERS, SINCE WE HAVE CONFIDENCE TO ENTER THE MOST HOLY PLACE BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS, BY A NEW AND LIVING WAY OPENED FOR US THROUGH THE CURTAIN, THAT IS, HIS BODY, AND SINCE WE HAVE A GREAT PRIEST OVER THE HOUSE OF GOD, LET US DRAW NEAR TO GOD WITH A SINCERE HEART IN FULL ASSURANCE OF FAITH
(Hebrews 10:19-22).

I bless you to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of the Lord Jesus.  Draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance that He accepts what you entrust Him, even when it feels so unreal and unacceptable.  Enter boldly into the Presence of the Most High with a heart fully trusting Him, for He has never forsaken those who seek Him.

THOSE WHO KNOW YOUR NAME WILL TRUST IN YOU, FOR YOU, LORD, HAVE NEVER FORSAKEN THOSE WHO SEEK YOU
(Psalm 9:10).

Do you sometimes struggle to find the right words, the right feelings, and the right thoughts to surrender to God?

Get as close to your feelings, words, and thoughts as you can. Then, lay these down at the feet of the Lord Jesus, in full assurance of faith.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I lay my feelings, thoughts, and words down at Your feet. Redeem them, my Lord, and show me Your Truth. Fill in the parts that I missed. You know what I need.

Maintain an Awareness

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

The Two Counsels
August 18

Let Light Shine out of Darkness

Posted by

0

BUT IF YOUR EYE IS BAD, YOUR WHOLE BODY WILL BE FULL OF DARKNESS. IF THEREFORE THE LIGHT THAT IS IN YOU IS DARKNESS, HOW GREAT IS THAT DARKNESS!
(Matthew 6:23).

Is the light that is in you darkness? How great must your darkness be, then! I know how this darkness feels. It used to live in my mind and my heart, too, in the form of the OLD MAN—the set of oppressing beliefs “I am guilty!”  I learned that this darkness could not be improved. It had to be replaced…with the NEW MAN, Jesus Christ. When He knocked the OLD MAN in my heart off its throne and took its place, the darkness in me was replaced with the Light that shone from the Person of the Lord Jesus, the NEW MAN. Any darkness that tried to come into me, after that, was overcome by the Light in me.

THEREFORE TAKE HEED THAT THE LIGHT WHICH IS IN YOU IS NOT DARKNESS
(Luke 11:35).

Beloved, if you live from the dark core of guilt, everything in you and everything around you will be covered in darkness, too. When you live in the set of negative, destructive beliefs of the OLD MAN: “I am guilty!” your eye will be bad, too. Since the light that is shining from you is guilt, you will see everything and everyone through the lenses of condemnation, abandonment, rejection, and shame.

If your eye is contaminated with speckles of abandonment and rejection, you will look at everything through the lenses of feeling alone, unprotected, and overlooked.  If your eye is polluted with blotches of condemnation, you will experience everything and everybody through the lenses of feeling doomed, wronged, and incriminated.  If your eye is smeared with streaks of shame, you will view everything and everyone through the lenses of shortcoming and impropriety.

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).

But, there is Hope. There is Light. My name is Jesus Christ. I will knock the OLD MAN of guilt that lives in your heart off its throne, and take its place as the NEW MAN…if you invite Me in. When I live in your heart, the light that is in you is My Light. It is the Light of a Person. My Presence will shine on everything in you and everything around you. You will feel like a new person with a new eye. Instead of seeing condemnation, abandonment, shame, and rejection, you will see and experience My Hope, My Love, and My Truth in you and around you.

If the light that is in you is Light, how blessed you are. You have submitted the dark core of guilt in you to the Lord Jesus…to be replaced with His Person and His Light.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, come into my heart as a Person and replace the guilt that is in me with Your Light, so I may live in Your Light and experience Your Hope, Your Love, and Your Truth.

Maintain an Awareness

Woe to us, the rebellious children, when we take counsel from the father-of-lies, and when we cover ourselves with coverings that are not from God. We will add sin to sin.

The Two Counsels
August 11

The Meaning of Temptation

Posted by

0

Be reminded that sin is not something mysterious…something unexplainable…something unknowable.  Sin is not just something that happens to you.  Sin is explainable.  Sin has a purpose.  Sin is the father-of-lies’ solutions to escape the heartache his painful beliefs of abandonment, condemnation, rejection, and shame cause in your heart. 

Know that the father-of-lies is constantly tempting you to adopt his solutions of distraction and destruction to ease your heartache.  The father-of-lies is continually enticing you to do what is wrong.  The father-of-lies is incessantly luring you into harmful habits and patterns that point you away from God’s solutions.

BLESSED IS THE MAN THAT ENDURETH TEMPTATION: FOR WHEN HE IS TRIED, HE SHALL RECEIVE THE CROWN OF LIFE, WHICH THE LORD HATH PROMISED TO THEM THAT LOVE HIM
(James 1:12).

I bless you to stand firm when the father-of-lies invites you to adopt his sinful solutions for your heartache.  Understand that his answers to your heartache cause harm…ruin…loss, because his solutions are counterfeit.  In fact, his sinful solutions are only enticements to keep you away from experiencing God’s saving solutions of Life.

NO TEMPTATION HAS SEIZED YOU EXCEPT WHAT IS COMMON TO MAN. AND GOD IS FAITHFUL; HE WILL NOT LET YOU BE TEMPTED BEYOND WHAT YOU CAN BEAR. BUT WHEN YOU ARE TEMPTED, HE WILL ALSO PROVIDE A WAY OUT SO THAT YOU CAN STAND UP UNDER IT
(1 Corinthians 10:13).

Capture that the temptations from the enemy are explainable.  Celebrate that the enticements of the father-of-lies are surmountable.  Be encouraged that the allurements of the evil one are endurable. Realize that Jesus stands ready with the real solution to your heartache of abandonment, condemnation, rejection, and shame…if you would only turn to Him for the answer.  He will redeem you from the grip of the terrible and bless you with the crown of His Life.

I WILL DELIVER YOU FROM THE HAND OF THE WICKED, AND I WILL REDEEM YOU FROM THE GRIP OF THE TERRIBLE
(Jeremiah 15:21).

How do YOU deal with temptations—when the father-of-lies lures you to adopt his sinful solutions of distraction and destruction to ease your heartache of abandonment, shame, rejection, and condemnation?

What would it take for you to turn to the Lord Jesus, so He may redeem you from the grip of the terrible and show you His solutions of Life?

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, bring me to the place where I will endure temptation and wait for Your solutions, instead of following the father-of-lies into his solutions of distraction and destruction.

Maintain an Awareness

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

The Two Counsels