Worthless

April 26

To Have Fellowship with God

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THIS IS THE MESSAGE WE HAVE HEARD FROM HIM AND DECLARE TO YOU: GOD IS LIGHT; IN HIM THERE IS NO DARKNESS AT ALL. IF WE CLAIM TO HAVE FELLOWSHIP WITH HIM YET WALK IN THE DARKNESS, WE LIE AND DO NOT LIVE BY THE TRUTH
(1 John 1:5-6).

The other day my husband and I had a two-hour long argument.  He was holding onto his opinions and I was holding onto mine.  I desperately wanted him to accept my opinion as the correct one and I was determined not to give up until I won the argument.  Just as I thought I was on my way to victory, the Spirit of Truth tugged at my heart, “Child, you are the one who is wrong.  You have a false belief in your mind that proclaims that you do not count.  This accusatory belief from the father-of-lies is the reason you are so vehemently defending your point.  It is not important to Me that you win the argument, but it IS important to Me that you walk in the Light—that you surrender this belief to Me, so that you may live by My Truth.”

I felt touched that God went to all the trouble to tell me what was going on in my heart, but I also felt humiliated.  I now had to tell my husband that I was wrong: that there was a belief in my mind from the father-of-lies that made me feel that I did not count—that this was the reason I was arguing in the first place.  I had to give up the argument and let him win.

I confessed my wrong belief to my husband and to God, because I wanted to live in the Light.  It was more important to me to live by the Truth and have fellowship with my God than to win the argument with my husband. But, the choice I made allowed my heart to be set free from the accusatory belief from the father-of-lies that had been oppressing it, since childhood. Although I lost the argument, I won back my heart…and fellowship with God and my husband.

May it become more important to you to walk in the Light and enjoy intimate fellowship with your God and your conversation partner…than to win the argument.

Why do you argue with other people? Are you trying to prove to yourself or them that you are worthy…that you are valuable…that you count?

When you feel like arguing, become sensitive to your own heart. Listen to what it is trying to tell you. Find the accusatory beliefs from the father-of-lies that are driving your deceitful desire to argue…to fight for your heart…to achieve victory over your conversation partner. Then, turn your ear to God and listen to His Counsel, instead.

PRAYER: God of Light, how encouraged I am that there is no darkness in You. I long to walk in Your Light. I desire to have fellowship with You, even during the times when the father-of-lies lures me into senseless arguments. Lead me to live by the Truth, at all times, so I may know that I am worthy, that I count, and that I am important. Then, I will not have to argue to achieve victory over my conversation partner.

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.

Worthless

April 21

God Is Love

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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.

Maintain an Awareness

When God speaks to us, we receive a revelation—a secret or surprising fact that is made known to us by the Father through the Spirit of Truth.

The Two Counsels
April 20

Why Don’t I Hear God’s Voice?

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BUT THEIR MINDS WERE MADE DULL, FOR TO THIS DAY THE SAME VEIL REMAINS WHEN THE OLD COVENANT IS READ. IT HAS NOT BEEN REMOVED, BECAUSE ONLY IN CHRIST IS IT TAKEN AWAY
(2 Corinthians 3:14).

I love the ocean.  One of the things I love the most is the fog.  Often, the fog would lie low on the water, rendering the fishing boats mysterious and undefined.  During times like these, the fish shacks become hazy, as if someone has drawn a veil over them.  I love watching with wonder, as everything around me becomes obscured and hidden in the fog.

The last time I witnessed the obscurity of the fog, I heard myself whisper, “God, sometimes You are like the objects in the fog: out of focus…remote…distant.  Why is that?”

Through the continuous drone of the ocean I heard a palpable answer in my heart, “My Child, if you are not seeing or hearing Me, it is not because I have chosen to be unresponsive…unsociable… unfriendly.  I am not trying to hide Myself from you.  I am not trying to make it hard for you to find me.  You cannot see Me, because I have been obscured by your own understanding…veiled by your own perturbing perceptions…dimmed by your own negative, destructive thoughts.  I am always close to you—just on the other side of the veil.  Nothing will separate you from My Love.”

And then He added, “You can lift the veil and experience My Presence by exchanging your own understanding for Mine.  You can remove the veil by yielding the messages the father-of-lies has delivered to your heart, to Me.  The only thing that is standing between us is the deception of the deceiver: the darkness of your own tormenting thoughts, the murkiness of your own childhood conclusions, the gloominess of your own irrational interpretations. Turn to Me. Then, the veil will be taken away…and you will experience Me.”

BUT WHENEVER ANYONE TURNS TO THE LORD, THE VEIL IS TAKEN AWAY
(2 Corinthians 3:16).

Do you often hear God’s Voice? Do you regularly experience His Love? Or has God been someone who is hidden from you? Do you want to see His Hope, hear His Truth, and feel His Love in your life?

What has the father-of-lies told you is the reason you are not experiencing God’s Presence in your life? If you believe these lies, they have been doing exactly that—drawing a veil over your understanding, so your mind becomes dull, unable to connect with God.

Turn to the Lord Jesus. Submit these beliefs to Him. Then, look for Him.

PRAYER: Lord God, I want to see You. I want to hear Your Voice. I want to experience Your Presence. Therefore, I submit these negative, destructive beliefs to You that claim that I am unworthy of Your Presence. Show me the Truth, so the veil can be lifted…and I can come into Your Presence.

Maintain an Awareness

And here lies the root to all our problems: not the FACTS we experienced during our childhood circumstances…but the CONCLUSIONS we made in response to these facts.

The Two Counsels
April 17

It Is All about the Relationship

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BUT I AM AFRAID THAT JUST AS EVE WAS DECEIVED BY THE SERPENT’S CUNNING, YOUR MINDS MAY SOMEHOW BE LED ASTRAY FROM YOUR SINCERE AND PURE DEVOTION TO CHRIST
(2 Corinthians 11:3).

The father-of-lies had a perfect plan when he attacked our relationship with God. He led our minds astray through our own childhood misinterpretations. Using them to his advantage, he turned these into his negative, destructive beliefs—deception that is strong enough to kill, steal, and destroy. Thus, the OLD MAN was born—a personality that speaks to us through our very own thoughts, with our very own voices, through our very own childhood conclusions.

PUT OFF…THE OLD MAN, WHICH IS CORRUPT ACCORDING TO THE DECEITFUL LUSTS
(Ephesians 4:22).

Over the years, these childhood misinterpretations—the negative, destructive beliefs in the OLD MAN—grouped together to form a Deserted Child, a Defiled Child, a Defeated Child, and a Deprived Child in us. The Deserted Child consists of the negative, destructive beliefs that deem us forgotten and abandoned by God. The Defiled Child is made up of the group of accusatory beliefs that deem us doomed and damned by God. The Defeated Child, raised by the father-of-lies, functions as the set of shame-infested beliefs that accuse us, daily, of not being good enough for God. And the Deprived Child oppresses us, moment-by-moment, with beliefs that God has rejected us.

Together, these OLD MAN characters keep us from experiencing God’s Presence. We desire to be loved by God, but the Deserted Child, under the management of the father-of-lies, barges in and lies “God does not care about you.” We want to be good, but the Defiled Child, controlled by the father-of-lies, interferes with the words, “You are evil from the inside out and nothing and nobody can change you…not even God.” We long for a purpose that would make us special, but the Defeated Child, formed by the father-of-lies, always reminds us that “You are a disappointment to yourself and God. There is nothing special about you. You do not count and have no purpose.” We long to have a relationship with God, but the Deprived Child intervenes by saying, “God does not want you!” Thus, the father-of-lies achieves his purpose—to oppose God’s Truth, so we might be separated from our relationship with God, to belong to him, instead.

PUT OFF THE OLD MAN…AND…PUT ON THE NEW MAN, WHICH IS RENEWED IN KNOWLEDGE AFTER THE IMAGE OF HIM THAT CREATED HIM
(Colossians 3:9-10).

How have you noticed these OLD MAN personalities interfering with your relationship with God, over the years?

Do you want to experience God’s Presence, daily? Then, you need to stop relying on your Deserted Child interpretations, your Defiled Child conclusions, your Defeated Child assumptions, and your Deprived Child beliefs. Instead, ask God for HIS Truth. Then, He will exchange these beliefs for a Redeemed Child, created in His Image.

PRAYER: Lord God, bring me to the place where I will have a real relationship with You through the NEW MAN.

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
April 14

Put Off the OLD SELF with Its Deeds

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PUT OFF YOUR OLD SELF, WHICH IS BEING CORRUPTED BY ITS DECEITFUL DESIRES…AND PUT ON THE NEW SELF, CREATED TO BE LIKE GOD
(Ephesians 4:22). 

We all have a CORRUPTED PERSON living inside of us: a being, shaped in us by the father-of-lies, filled with negative, destructive beliefs of condemnation, shame, abandonment, and rejection—the OLD SELF.

When these OLD SELF beliefs of condemnation, abandonment, shame, and rejection are triggered, we hurt so much that we want to bandage the pain as soon as possible.  And the father-of-lies stands ready with his SOLUTION: sinful habits and patterns of hiding, running, and blaming others.  THESE ARE THE PRACTICES OF THE OLD SELF.

Some people think that in order to become holy, they only need to put off the PRACTICES of the OLD SELF.  They think that all they need to do is to stop their harmful habits of hiding, running, and blaming in order to become whole and holy.

SINCE YOU HAVE TAKEN OFF YOUR OLD SELF WITH ITS PRACTICES
(Colossians 3:9).

But I have discovered that it does not help to only put off the PRACTICES of the OLD SELF.  You have to put off the PERSON of the OLD SELF, first.  If you only put off the PRACTICES of the OLD SELF, the OLD SELF PERSON is still in you.  This deceived OLD SELF PERSON is void of God’s Love, Hope, and Truth, and feels unloved, unworthy, and unacceptable. The OLD SELF PERSON NEEDS ITS PRACTICES OF DEFENSE, so it can take care of its pain.  If you take its defense patterns away, it will find new ones.  You cannot do this backwards.

Have you noticed the OLD SELF PERSON that lives in you? What are the negative, destructive beliefs that keep it alive? What are its practices—the harmful habits that take care of its pain?

I urge you to invite the Lord Jesus to put off the OLD SELF in you, and to put on HIS SELF in you, who is filled with new beliefs of Love, Truth, and Hope.  Then, your harmful habits will disappear, because it is only if there is someone NEW living in you with whole and holy beliefs that you do not need your sinful defense patterns anymore.  Know that you cannot better your SELF from the outside; you need to be exchanged on the inside for a NEW SELF—the SELF of the Lord Jesus Christ.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I lay my corrupted OLD SELF PERSON by Your feet. Please come and replace it with Your Self—the NEW SELF. Then, I will not need my harmful habits anymore. Then, I will be new.

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
April 12

Jesus Did Not Come to be Served…but to Serve

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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.

Maintain an Awareness

Every given moment of your life, you live either in obedience to the Counsel of the Perfect Father, or in obedience to the counsel of the father-of-lies.

The Two Counsels
April 11

But God Intended It for Good

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YOU INTENDED TO HARM ME, BUT GOD INTENDED IT FOR GOOD TO ACCOMPLISH WHAT IS NOW BEING DONE, THE SAVING OF MANY LIVES
(Genesis 50:20).

I am sorry if anybody intended to harm you at any point during your life.  I am sorry about the evil done against you.  I wish I could have protected you against it.  I am sorry about any harsh punishment you had to go through as a child.  I wish that did not happen.  It breaks my heart.  I am sorry about your dad’s or mom’s disapproval and condemnation.  I wish their hearts had been healed from their own pain, so they would have treated you differently.  I feel your pain.

I am sorry for any unjust blame that you had to endure, during your life.  I wish people could have owned their own stuff instead of blaming it on you.  I know how you feel.  I am sorry if you were abandoned by a parent or a friend.  I wish I were there to comfort you and take their place.  I know how much it hurts to be left.  I am sorry for any shame you had experienced at the hand of a smooth criminal.  I am sorry if nakedness was involved.  I wish I could have washed off all the unrighteousness and clothed you.

PRAISE BE TO THE GOD AND FATHER OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, THE FATHER OF COMPASSION AND THE GOD OF ALL COMFORT, WHO COMFORTS US IN ALL OUR TROUBLES, SO THAT WE CAN COMFORT THOSE IN ANY TROUBLE WITH THE COMFORT WE OURSELVES HAVE RECEIVED FROM GOD
(2 Corinthians 1:3-4).

Today, I want to comfort you with the Comfort I myself have received from God during times of unjust suffering. Listen to how God comforted my heart: Child, do not despair of the evil done against you—the injury…the depravity…the immorality.  They might have meant evil against you; BUT I, the God of all Comfort, will cancel any evil done against you—any manipulation…any iniquity…..any corruption—if you yield it to My Power and Control.

What evil has been done against you? Have you been abandoned, condemned, or shamed? What are you going to do about this?

I bless you to yield any evil done against you to God’s Power, so He may turn it into Good.  Yield the abandonment to God’s Love, so He may replace it with Belonging.  Yield the condemnation to God’s Holiness, so He may exchange it for Acceptance.  Yield the shame to God’s Truth, so He may turn it into Glory.

PRAYER: Most High, I bring all the evil done against me, to You. I yield it to Your Power. I surrender it to Your Goodness. I submit it to Your Authority. Reverse the purpose of the evil, so it would serve Your Purpose, instead. Turn the evil into Righteousness. Turn the sin into Holiness. Turn the disgrace into Grace. Change the hopelessness into Hope. Change the abandonment into Belonging. Change the condemnation into Acceptance. To You be Glory…forever…and ever.

Maintain an Awareness

It is very important that you understand that it is not so much what happened to you during your childhood that affected you the most, BUT WHAT YOU CAME TO BELIEVE ABOUT YOUR SELF, OTHERS, AND GOD, IN RESPONSE TO THE CIRCUMSTANCES (facts) of your childhood life.

The Two Counsels
April 07

Forgive Them, for They Do Not Know What They Are Doing

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WHEN THEY CAME TO THE PLACE CALLED THE SKULL, THERE THEY CRUCIFIED HIM, ALONG WITH THE CRIMINALS—ONE ON HIS RIGHT, THE OTHER ON HIS LEFT. JESUS SAID, ‘FATHER, FORGIVE THEM, FOR THEY DO NOT KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING.’  AND THEY DIVIDED UP HIS CLOTHES BY CASTING LOTS
(Luke 23:33-34).

Has someone offended you, recently, or long ago? Is this offense still lingering in your heart, stabbing you with each heartbeat?

Understand that your offenders do not know the extent of the hurt they caused you when they lashed out at you in anger.  At the time, they were only focused on their own pain and reacting to their own heartache.  He did not get the full scope of the result of his offense.  She did not know what she was doing to your heart.

FATHER, FORGIVE THEM, FOR THEY DO NOT KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING

Know that it is not what your offender said or did to you that is causing all the pain, but what you came to conclude about yourself, over the years.  The father-of-lies is responsible for these negative, destructive beliefs of rejection, abandonment, condemnation, and shame…not your offender.

Understand that when someone offends you, the father-of-lies uses this as an open door to hurl all the past rejection, abandonment, condemnation, and shame at your heart that you perceived through your previous offenders.  You do not just perceive the pain of the present offense, from your present offender, but the pain of a lifetime.  The father-of-lies is responsible for this…not your offender.

Sometimes we make mistakes…and others do, too. To make a mistake means to make a wrong judgment. This happens to all of us, even you and me. Please forgive those who made a mistake, because they did not know what they were doing, at the time. They made a wrong judgment. Maybe you did, too. Forgive yourself.

Is there resentment in your heart because of what a perpetrator said or did to you?

I encourage you to investigate the conclusions that got stuck in your heart “because of what your perpetrator said or did.” Surrender them to the Lord Jesus and ask Him for Truth. When you receive Truth, you will recognize the real perpetrator. Then, you will be able to forgive as Jesus did.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, help me to realize that it is not what my offender said or did to me that caused all the pain in my heart, but what I came to believe about myself in response to what he said or did. May I forgive like You do, Lord Jesus, for my perpetrators did not know what they were doing, but the father-of-lies did.

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
April 06

The OLD ME and the NEW ME

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IF INDEED YOU HAVE HEARD HIM AND HAVE BEEN TAUGHT BY HIM, AS THE TRUTH IS IN JESUS:  THAT YOU PUT OFF, CONCERNING YOUR FORMER CONDUCT, THE OLD MAN WHICH GROWS CORRUPT ACCORDING TO THE DECEITFUL LUSTS, AND BE RENEWED IN THE SPIRIT OF YOUR MIND, AND THAT YOU PUT ON THE NEW MAN WHICH WAS CREATED ACCORDING TO GOD, IN TRUE RIGHTEOUSNESS AND HOLINESS
(Ephesians 4:21-24).

One of the revelations that opened my eyes was the discovery that I had an OLD ME living inside of me, since childhood: a corrupted person, formed by deception…a needy being, shaped by the lies of the father-of-lies…a flawed personality, influenced by negative, destructive beliefs of abandonment, condemnation, shame, and rejection.

The father-of-lies did not necessarily need BIG TRAUMATIC childhood experiences to install his negative, destructive beliefs into our minds. Although he DID use the traumatic incidences in our lives to make sure we believe that “God is disappointed in you” and “You are fatally flawed,” he only needed a little word like “NO!” when we were three years old to tell us that “You are not loved.” This negative, destructive belief, instilled in us during an insignificant event, would have the same adverse effect on our hearts than the one instilled in our minds during a traumatic event.

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).

But then I learned that the Lord Jesus nailed the OLD ME to the cross with Himself.  Then, on the third day, He rose again to become the NEW ME in each of us—Someone who is created without the lies of the father-of-lies, in true righteousness and holiness.

FOR IF, WHEN WE WERE GOD’S ENEMIES, WE WERE RECONCILED TO HIM THROUGH THE DEATH OF HIS SON, HOW MUCH MORE, HAVING BEEN RECONCILED, SHALL WE BE SAVED THROUGH HIS LIFE!
(Romans 5:10).

Are you aware of any childhood incidences during which the father-of-lies formed an OLD ME in you—a needy being, filled with negative, destructive beliefs of “I am not OK”?

Would you be willing to allow your OLD ME to be crucified with Jesus, and then invite Him into your heart to become the NEW ME from whom you may live? This is the only way you can get rid of your flawed personality, forever.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, thank you that I am not doomed to be a needy person, shaped by the father-of-lies, but that there is a NEW ME available to me through 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
April 05

When Do I Sin?

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I have often pondered the meaning of sin: I am not a murderer. I am not a liar. I do not steal. I do not even kill a spider. So, when do I sin?

DON’T YOU KNOW THAT WHEN YOU OFFER YOURSELVES TO SOMEONE TO OBEY HIM AS SLAVES, YOU ARE SLAVES TO THE ONE WHOM YOU OBEY—WHETHER YOU ARE SLAVES TO SIN, WHICH LEADS TO DEATH, OR TO OBEDIENCE, WHICH LEADS TO RIGHTEOUSNESS?
(Romans 6:16).

I became aware that to sin or not to sin depends on whose counsel I obey, moment-by-moment: the negative, destructive counsel of the father-of-lies, or the Counsel of the Perfect Father. I am not talking about obedience to the Ten Commandments, but the effects of a mutual, moment-by-moment relationship between God and His children.

AND EVERYTHING THAT DOES NOT COME FROM FAITH IS SIN
(Romans 14:23).

You see, when I obey the counsel of the father-of-lies—that I do not matter…that I am not acceptable…that I am not loved—I feel like sinning.  It is when I obey this dark counsel of doom, dread, and despair that I am drawn into the harmful habits of sinful solutions.

MANY TIMES HE DELIVERED THEM, BUT THEY WERE BENT ON REBELLION AND THEY WASTED AWAY IN THEIR SIN
(Psalm 106:43).

Precious One, how often have I called you to refrain from the counsel of the father-of-lies, but you were bent on rebellion. You wasted away in your sin. How often have I wanted to deliver you from feeling unloved, unwanted, and unworthy, but you were set in your own ways. You became a slave to the harmful habits of sinful solutions.

Know that you have a choice: to turn to the oppressing counsel of the father-of-lies…and sin, or to turn to Me, the Most High, in obedience to My Counsel. If you turn to Me, I will deliver you from the effects of the father-of-lies’ counsel and lead you into My Righteousness.

When do you usually feel like sinning—drawn into the harmful habits of sinful solutions? Whose counsel usually precedes this behavior?

What would it take for you to change—to turn to the Lord’s Counsel, in obedience, instead of relying on your sinful solutions to rescue you from the father-of-lies’ counsel?

PRAYER: Lord God, remind me, daily, that You can deliver me from the harmful habits of my sinful solutions and bring me into Your Counsel…if I am not bent on rebellion.

Maintain an Awareness

How much of our misbehavior sprouts from trying to PROVE that we are acceptable, worthy, loved, and wanted, because the OLD MAN character, conveniently formed in us by the father-of-lies, christened us unacceptable, unworthy, unloved, and unwanted?

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.

Abandoned Rejected Worthless