Forgetting the Past

NO, DEAR BROTHERS AND SISTERS, I HAVE NOT ACHIEVED IT, BUT I FOCUS ON THIS ONE THING: FORGETTING THE PAST AND LOOKING FORWARD TO WHAT LIES AHEAD
(Philippians 3:13).

I had a wonderful childhood.  I grew up on the shores of the Indian Ocean, South Africa, with good parents.  I had everything I needed.  Yet, regardless of my good circumstances, I noticed, at some point, that my heart had retained a lot of pain from my childhood.  As an adult, I often felt rejected, condemned, abandoned, and ashamed.

Maybe you also had a very good childhood with favorable circumstances.  Maybe you had a horrible past.  Maybe you had a good childhood with only one horrible experience.  Maybe some people have told you to put the past behind you…that it is time to move on.  Maybe you would like to let go of your past, BUT YOUR PAST DOES NOT WANT TO LET GO OF YOU.

HE WAS A MURDERER FROM THE BEGINNING. HE HAS ALWAYS HATED THE TRUTH, BECAUSE THERE IS NO TRUTH IN HIM. WHEN HE LIES, IT IS CONSISTENT WITH HIS CHARACTER; FOR HE IS A LIAR AND THE FATHER OF LIES
(John 8:44).

Grasp that it is not the PAST that is holding on to you, but the painful BELIEFS of the past.  The father-of-lies handed these negative, destructive beliefs out whenever he found an opportunity, regardless whether your childhood circumstances were good or bad.  The circumstances were ALWAYS favorable to him. Always remember that it was not the circumstances during your childhood that caused your pain, but the LIES that came from the father-of-lies during that time: “You are not good enough. You are not loved. You do not have a voice. You are bad. Nobody wants you. Nobody delights in you. Nobody cares about you.”

Therefore, I bless you to know that if you want to forget the past and look forward to what lies ahead, you need to ask the Lord Jesus to exchange the lies of the past for His Truth.

TEACH ME YOUR WAYS, O LORD, THAT I MAY LIVE ACCORDING TO YOUR TRUTH!  GRANT ME PURITY OF HEART, SO THAT I MAY HONOR YOU
(Psalm 86:11).

Which negative, destructive beliefs of the past are holding on to you?

Embrace the pain in your heart. Expose these negative beliefs to the Lord Jesus. And let HIM exchange them for HIS TRUTH. Then, the past will lose its grip on you.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I invite you into my past and into the negative, destructive BELIEFS of my past. As I embrace the pain in my heart and expose these beliefs to You, I ask for You to come and exchange these beliefs for Your Truth, so the past may lose its grip on me and I may live my life in the present.

Maintain an Awareness

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

The Two Counsels

Fall into the Fertile Soil…and Grow

AND THE LORD GOD COMMANDED THE MAN, SAYING, ‘OF EVERY TREE OF THE GARDEN YOU MAY FREELY EAT; BUT OF THE TREE OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL YOU SHALL NOT EAT, FOR IN THE DAY THAT YOU EAT OF IT YOU SHALL SURELY DIE’
(Genesis 2:16-17).

 Have you noticed that God’s relationship with man in the beginning of time was based on obedience? But, man chose to obey the father-of-lies…and became naked.

 SO WHEN THE WOMAN SAW THAT THE TREE WAS GOOD FOR FOOD, THAT IT WAS PLEASANT TO THE EYES, AND A TREE DESIRABLE TO MAKE ONE WISE, SHE TOOK OF ITS FRUIT AND ATE. SHE ALSO GAVE TO HER HUSBAND WITH HER, AND HE ATE. THEN THE EYES OF BOTH OF THEM WERE OPENED, AND THEY KNEW THAT THEY WERE NAKED
(Genesis 3:6-7).

There was a time in my life when I followed the father-of-lies…and became naked. My disobedience delivered me to the government of the father-of-lies, who used his deception to render me abandoned, rejected, shamed, and condemned. All I had to cover myself were my own defense mechanisms. But, the covering my habits and patterns of defense offered was hard and brittle. Since I was always on the look-out to attack or to be attacked, it rendered me irritable, sensitive, and belligerent. Like the hard shell of a little seed, the outer covering of my defense mechanisms kept my heart from falling into fertile soil to yield a crop of Righteousness.

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).

 Then, God called me to come under the reign of a new government. But first, I had to let go of my covering—my own defense mechanisms that rendered me naked. Thus, I allowed Him to strip me of my outer shell that was always ready to attack or be attacked, so I may fall into the soft, fertile soil of his Presence…and grow.

BUT OTHER SEED FELL ON GOOD GROUND AND YIELDED A CROP THAT SPRANG UP, INCREASED AND PRODUCED: SOME THIRTYFOLD, SOME SIXTY, AND SOME A HUNDRED
(Mark 4:8).

 What about you? Under which government do you live, day-by-day? How do your defense mechanisms serve you? Do they render you naked? What is keeping you from giving up your hard, outer covering, so you may fall into the fertile soil of God’s Presence…and grow?

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I am tired of living a naked life—always ready to attack and be attacked. Strip me of my hard, brittle defense covering, so I may fall into the fertile soil of Your Presence and yield a crop of Righteousness.

Maintain an Awareness

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

The Two Counsels

The Misinterpretations of Childhood

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).

 You did not know it at the time, but as a child, you founded a permanent emotional position, grounded on your childhood interpretations. You developed fear, because you believed God had abandoned you. You suffered shame, because you believed that you were tainted. You took on guilt, because you believed that you were responsible.  Since then, these childhood beliefs have been influencing your whole world: how you think, how you talk, and how you reason.

As a child, you did not know that many of your childhood conclusions were false, even though your experiences were real. The father-of-lies used these to take you captive and bring you under his control, while leading you further and further away from the Truth.

As an adult, you did not know that the permanent emotional position you founded as a child was going to make you feel as if you have two very different personalities—one child-like…the other, adult-like. You now seesaw between these two states in a matter of minutes, living in a normal logical adult mind, one moment, then thrown into an irrational child mind, the next moment. Because of your false childhood conclusions, you are often involuntarily displaced into the past to relive the fear over and over again, to suffer the shame over and over again, and to experience the guilt over and over again.

I SOUGHT THE LORD, AND HE ANSWERED ME; HE DELIVERED ME FROM ALL MY FEARS
(Psalm 34:4).

How often do you turn into a child, reliving your fear, guilt, and shame over and over again, when you least expect it? Did you know that God has a solution for this behavior?

The Lord Jesus knows how you felt as a child, because He was there. He wants to deliver you from all your fears, but you need to seek Him. When you feel like a child, you need to find the belief from the father-of-lies that is causing you to think, talk, and reason like a child. Then, after you have submitted these beliefs to the Lord Jesus, He will exchange your false childhood conclusions for the Truth.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, remind me, daily, that it is not what happened to me as a child that crushed my spirit, but what I came to believe about myself as a result of my experiences. Call me, moment-by-moment, whenever I am fearful, ashamed, and guilt-ridden, to submit my childhood conclusions to You, my Lord. Deliver me from these false interpretations, so I may become a stable adult, even today.

Maintain an Awareness

How often do we find ourselves doing “good deeds,” just to find out that our “good deeds” were not really good, but merely a reaction to the OLD MAN belief “You are bad”?

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.

Take Responsibility for Your Life

THEREFORE, MY BELOVED, AS YOU HAVE ALWAYS OBEYED, NOT AS IN MY PRESENCE ONLY, BUT NOW MUCH MORE IN MY ABSENCE, WORK OUT YOUR OWN SALVATION WITH FEAR AND TREMBLING
(Philippians 2:12).

Be watchful, you have an enemy—the father-of-lies. He delights in tempting you to believe his suggestions of abandonment…his thoughts of condemnation…his proposals of shame.

Take responsibility for your life.  Query the beliefs of abandonment in your mind. Dispute the interpretations of condemnation in your heart. Question your conclusions of shame, lest the father-of-lies have deposited these into your mind and heart to make you stumble.

TO HIM WHO IS ABLE TO KEEP YOU FROM STUMBLING AND TO PRESENT YOU BEFORE HIS GLORIOUS PRESENCE WITHOUT FAULT AND WITH GREAT JOY—TO THE ONLY GOD OUR SAVIOR BE GLORY, MAJESTY, POWER AND AUTHORITY, THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD, BEFORE ALL AGES, NOW AND FOREVERMORE! AMEN
(Jude 1:24-25).

Understand that blaming others for the pain of shame in your heart will not get the job done.  You cannot get rid of your heartache this way.  Running away from the ache of condemnation does not help, either.  Your agony will always catch up with you again.  Do not hide behind walls to escape the sting of abandonment.  The father-of-lies knows how to climb over walls. Instead, confess these negative, destructive beliefs to the Lord Jesus, and allow Him to purify your heart from all unrighteousness.

IF WE CONFESS OUR SINS, HE IS FAITHFUL AND JUST AND WILL FORGIVE US OUR SINS AND PURIFY US FROM ALL UNRIGHTEOUSNESS
(1 John 1:9).

What do you do with your beliefs of shame, abandonment, and condemnation? Do you hide them, run from them, or blame them on those who have hurt you, or do you confess them before the Lord Jesus, who is able to purify you from them, so you would stop stumbling over them?

I urge you to climb out of the hole where you have been hiding from these beliefs, all your life, and allow the Lord Jesus to have His way with you. Then, He will present you faultless before His glorious Presence…and keep you from stumbling.

PRAYER: Precious Savior, I come before You to confess the negative, destructive beliefs that have caused me to stumble. Forgive me and cleanse me from all unrighteousness, so I may be without fault in Your Presence.

Maintain an Awareness

I found out that I had an enemy. You do, too. We have had him from the beginning of our lives. His name is the father-of-lies. His native language is…lying!

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

Be certain that your Father DOES answer your prayers, but His Answer might be different from the one you are expecting.  It might be radical… revolutionary…extreme.  His Answer might not fit your purpose, but it will fit God’s Purpose for you.

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

Discipline yourself to get Understanding.

The Two Counsels

When You Do Not Feel Loved

Did you know that your Perfect Father loves you even as He loves His Son, Jesus?  There is no other Love in existence like that of your Everlasting Father’s.  There is no other Love with which you can compare your Perfect Father’s Love for you. Why not? Because He made you! He delights in you, because YOU ARE HIS CREATION!

 I HAVE GIVEN THEM THE GLORY THAT YOU GAVE ME, THAT THEY MAY BE ONE AS WE ARE ONE: I IN THEM AND YOU IN ME. MAY THEY BE BROUGHT TO COMPLETE UNITY TO LET THE WORLD KNOW THAT YOU SENT ME AND HAVE LOVED THEM EVEN AS YOU HAVE LOVED ME
(John 17:22-23).

 Precious Child, understand that it is when you do not feel loved that you are prone to fall into sinful behavior patterns, especially if you do not feel loved by Me, your Perfect Father.  It is when you feel abandoned by Me that you fall into hopelessness.  It is when you feel rejected by Me that you fall into bitterness.  It is when you feel that you are not good enough for Me that you fall into shame.  It is My Love you crave the most: My personal attention…My reassuring confirmation…My healing affirmation.

Child, you need to understand that I made you. I formed you in your mother’s womb. I created you. You were not created by your father, or your mother, but by Me, the Perfect Father, the Creator of Heaven and earth. Why would I abandon My own creation? How could I reject what I have made? How could I be ashamed of My own Workmanship? Therefore, become rooted and established in My Love, filled to the measure of all My Fullness, as you grasp how wide and long and high and deep My Love is for you.

AND I PRAY THAT YOU, BEING ROOTED AND ESTABLISHED IN LOVE, MAY HAVE POWER, TOGETHER WITH ALL THE SAINTS, TO GRASP HOW WIDE AND LONG AND HIGH AND DEEP IS THE LOVE OF CHRIST, AND TO KNOW THIS LOVE THAT SURPASSES KNOWLEDGE—THAT YOU MAY BE FILLED TO THE MEASURE OF ALL THE FULLNESS OF GOD
(Ephesians 3:17-19).

Do you feel you are not good enough or worthy to be loved?

Engage in an intimate relationship with your Everlasting Father. Get to know Him. Get to know His personal Love for you that surpasses your understanding. That is all you really need, for the cares of this world—the rejection…the abandonment…the shame…the condemnation—will all fade in the Light of your Perfect Father’s Love for you.

PRAYER: Most High, how good it is to hear about Your everlasting Love for me. How encouraged I am to know that Your Love surpasses all my knowledge. Perfect Father, I long to be filled to the measure of Fullness with Your Love, so that my soul might be satisfied, and my pain of abandonment, rejection, condemnation, and shame might be healed.

 

Maintain an Awareness

Thus, the OLD MAN became the origin of sin that causes the effect of sin in each of us. The OLD MAN is where it all started and where it all ends…unless we are delivered from it.

The Two Counsels

Hidden in Our Conclusions

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

Be reminded that you have an enemy—the father of lies. His weapon is deception—the practice of filling your mind with negative, destructive beliefs that are not true. This is the cause of your affliction. This is why you feel so abandoned, ashamed, rejected, and condemned.

Know that the father-of-lies always makes sure he stays hidden, while he lives in your childhood conclusions…your illogical interpretations…your perturbing perceptions. He hates the Truth and will try to keep it from you with every tool at his disposal, his favorite gimmick being…blaming others. This way, the focus is taken away from him, the cause of your affliction.

Nobody suspects him of the misinterpretations “I am a mistake…I don’t have what it takes…I am defenseless,” because he always makes sure the blame falls on someone or something else.  “It is your mother who does not love you.  It is your friend who does not care about you.  It is your dad who thinks you are a failure.”  Thus, while the father of lies remains hidden in our conclusions, he devours everybody with his deceit.

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).

Whom do YOU blame for your failures, your imperfect personality, and your feelings of shame, condemnation, and abandonment?

Accept that it is not what a person said or did to you that is causing your pain; it is what you came to believe about yourself. The father-of-lies lives in your conclusions.

Are you tired of being the victim of the father-of-lies? Do you desire a better life, filled with Peace, Love, and Joy? Then, stop living according to the conclusions in your mind. Instead, trample the great lion by EMBRACING these perturbing perception, EXPOSING them to the Lord Jesus, and allowing Him to EXCHANGE them for the Truth. Because you acknowledge His Name, He will rescue you from the father-of-lies. He will protect you from the roaring lion.

PRAYER: Dear Lord Jesus, help me to see the hidden enemy for who he is: the father-of-lies…the cunning serpent…the roaring lion. Remind me, daily, to stop blaming my family, my friends, and my enemies for the illogical interpretations that live in my mind, but instead, to trample the roaring lion with Your Truth. I love You, Perfect Father, I acknowledge Your Name, Lord Jesus, and I accept You, Holy Spirit of Truth. Be my God. Be my Savior. Be my Truth.

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

You Are Already Clean

IF I AM GUILTY—WOE TO ME! EVEN IF I AM INNOCENT, I CANNOT LIFT MY HEAD, FOR I AM FULL OF SHAME AND DROWNED IN MY AFFLICTION
(Job 10:15).

For the biggest part of my life, I lived in shame.  I was ashamed, because I had an OLD MAN living in me—a corrupted being who was shaped by the lies of the father-of-lies.  I could not lift my head, for I was drowned in affliction, filled with beliefs of abandonment, condemnation, rejection, and shame that were instilled in me by the father-of-lies.  Being in constant despair and distress, I reacted to this OLD MAN by trying to make myself good, by trying to fake a being who was acceptable, and by striving to become someone of worth and value.  I desperately wanted to get rid of my shame, but in order to do that, I had to get rid of the OLD MAN, the source of my affliction, first.

YOU ARE ALREADY CLEAN BECAUSE OF THE WORD I HAVE SPOKEN TO YOU
(John 15:3).

Then, one day, I heard the life-changing words of the Lord Jesus: “CHILD, YOU ARE ALREADY CLEAN BECAUSE OF THE WORD I HAVE SPOKEN TO YOU.  I, the Son of God, your Savior, have done something that you yourself are not capable of doing.  I have spoken you clean of the OLD MAN, the source of your affliction.  You do not have to strive to become good anymore.  You do not have to pretend to be someone else in order to be acceptable.  You do not have to work to become worthy.  I have done it all for you on the cross. Accept it. Believe it. Receive it.”

I did!

 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).

Have you ever wondered why you feel rejected, abandoned, condemned, and ashamed? Do you understand the source of your affliction?

Realize that you do not have to strive to be worthy.  You do not have to fight for your heart to make it good.  You do not have to be fake in order to be acceptable. You just have to get rid of the OLD MAN in you, the source of your affliction. And the Lord Jesus is present to do that for you…as soon as you let Him. Simply hand your OLD MAN—the source of your abandonment, condemnation, rejection, and shame—to the Lord Jesus.  He will nail it to the cross.  Without your source of affliction, you will be able to lift your head.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, in faith, I surrender my OLD MAN to You, so You may set me free from the source of my affliction.

Maintain an Awareness

Each time we hear from God, we are changed…or rather EXCHANGED, for the Words He speaks are Spirit and are Life.

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.

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

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