Taking the Nature of a Servant

DO NOTHING OUT OF SELFISH AMBITION OR VAIN CONCEIT. RATHER, IN HUMILITY VALUE OTHERS ABOVE YOURSELVES, NOT LOOKING TO YOUR OWN INTERESTS BUT EACH OF YOU TO THE INTERESTS OF THE OTHERS
(Philippians 2:3-4).

Have you noticed that Self is not able to value others above itself? Rather, it does everything out of selfish ambition and vain conceit. It only looks out for its own interests. Why? Self does not feel special. Self does not feel loved. Self does not feel worthy. Self does not feel accepted and acceptable. Therefore, Self always needs to be first and best.

IN YOUR RELATIONSHIPS WITH ONE ANOTHER, HAVE THE SAME MINDSET AS CHRIST JESUS: WHO, BEING IN VERY NATURE GOD, DID NOT CONSIDER EQUALITY WITH GOD SOMETHING TO BE USED TO HIS OWN ADVANTAGE; RATHER, HE MADE HIMSELF NOTHING BY TAKING THE VERY NATURE OF A SERVANT, BEING MADE IN HUMAN LIKENESS. AND BEING FOUND IN APPEARANCE AS A MAN, HE HUMBLED HIMSELF BY BECOMING OBEDIENT TO DEATH—EVEN DEATH ON A CROSS!
(Philippians 2:5-8).

The Lord Jesus had no need to be first and best. He did not have to prove that He was worthy, or loved, or special, or accepted and acceptable…because He was God’s Son. However, He did not consider equality with God something to be used to His own advantage. Rather, He made Himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant to become obedient to the Perfect Father, even to death. This Jesus came to live His Life in your heart…in the place of Self.

THEREFORE GOD EXALTED HIM TO THE HIGHEST PLACE AND GAVE HIM THE NAME THAT IS ABOVE EVERY NAME, THAT AT THE NAME OF JESUS EVERY KNEE SHOULD BOW, IN HEAVEN AND ON EARTH AND UNDER THE EARTH, AND EVERY TONGUE ACKNOWLEDGE THAT JESUS CHRIST IS LORD, TO THE GLORY OF GOD THE FATHER
(Philippians 2:9-11).

Maybe God has called you to serve Him in a very special way. What are you doing with His calling? Are you using it to your own advantage to prove that you are special, or worthy, or loved? Or, are you serving God through your obedience…only?  Allow the Lord Jesus to take over the place of your insecure Self, and replace it with His own secure Self. Then, you will be able to respond to God’s calling with humble, moment-by-moment obedience, instead of using His calling to your own advantage.

What will it take for you to adopt the mindset of Christ—to invite the Lord Jesus to live His humble Life in your heart, in the place of Self?

PRAYER: Lord God, I am sorry for always wanting to be first and best, serving out of selfish ambition and vain conceit. Please forgive me for being prideful. I invite You to come live Your humble Life in my heart, so I may have a servant heart to serve the Perfect Father in obedience, and value others above my Self.

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

Beliefs/Emotions associated with this blessing.
Click on any box below to access more blessings that pertain to the topic in the box.

Who Lives in Your Heart?

For a long time I searched for my heart’s identity: “Who am I?  Who lives in my heart?”  I was looking forward to finding my heart’s glory.  When I finally found my heart, I discovered that it did not exist as an independent entity. It was connected to the OLD MAN nature of the father-of-lies. It had no glory, since it was connected to the wrong source. The only way my heart could possess glory was if it was connected to a different source.

I PRAY THAT OUT OF HIS GLORIOUS RICHES HE MAY STRENGTHEN YOU WITH POWER THROUGH HIS SPIRIT IN YOUR INNER BEING, SO THAT CHRIST MAY DWELL IN YOUR HEARTS THROUGH FAITH
(Ephesians 3:16-17).

Understand, Precious One, that your heart was never meant to have an identity separate from Me.  YOUR HEART WAS CREATED FOR ME to dwell in it, through faith. I am your Source of Love, and Righteousness, and Wisdom, and Power, and Peace, and Joy. I am your heart’s Glory.

ABIDE IN ME, AND I IN YOU. AS THE BRANCH CANNOT BEAR FRUIT OF ITSELF, EXCEPT IT ABIDE IN THE VINE; NO MORE CAN YE, EXCEPT YE ABIDE IN ME
(John 15:4).

Take notice that a branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except if it abides in the vine.  In the same way, your heart cannot function correctly, except if it is disconnected from the wrong source and reconnected to the right Source.

AND THE GLORY WHICH THOU GAVEST ME I HAVE GIVEN THEM; THAT THEY MAY BE ONE, EVEN AS WE ARE ONE: I IN THEM, AND THOU IN ME, THAT THEY MAY BE MADE PERFECT IN ONE
(John 17:22-23).

Observe that your heart was created to be made perfect in the unity “I in them, and Thou in me.” This is your heart’s glory. This is part of your identity.

If Christ, with His Nature, has not been part of your identity, then, the father-of-lies, with his nature, has been. In order to change, you need an exchange. Therefore, invite Christ to do that exchange in you, according to His redemptive work on the cross. Allow Him to establish His own Nature in you. Then, the OLD MAN nature of the father-of-lies will be extinguished from your identity to make space for Christ to dwell in your heart, through faith.

PRAYER: Majesty, how blessed I am that my heart is not alone, but was created to carry the Glory of Oneness—Oneness with You and the Lord Jesus.  I embrace that Unity, Lord God, to live from everything that You are in me: Your Righteousness, Your Hope, Your Joy, Your Power, Your Wisdom, Your Love, and Your Peace.

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

Beliefs/Emotions associated with this blessing.
Click on any box below to access more blessings that pertain to the topic in the box.

Who Is Your Treasure?

BUT WE HAVE THIS TREASURE IN JARS OF CLAY TO SHOW THAT THIS ALL-SURPASSING POWER IS FROM GOD AND NOT FROM US
(2 Corinthians 4:7).

At first, after I had become reconciled to God, I believed that God was done doing things for me, and my time had come to do things for God, and after I had done things for God, to do more things for God.  I thought the Christian life was all about WHAT I DO FOR GOD.

But God showed me that the Christian life was all about WHAT THE LORD JESUS DID FOR ME and then WHAT HE CAME TO BE IN ME AND THROUGH ME. HE was the treasure. I was the jar of clay. If I allowed Him to live in me and BE the treasure in me, He would display His all-surpassing Power in me and through me. He would live HIS ABUNDANT LIFE in me, the jar of clay.

I AM COME THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE LIFE, AND THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE IT MORE ABUNDANTLY
(John 10:10).

“Beloved, the ABUNDANT Life you have been seeking is IN MY SON, Jesus. It is HIS Life that HE lives. It is not something you can separate from Him and make your own. It is not something He can GIVE you. It is only something He can BE in you. You can only invite HIM, the Treasure, to come live HIS OWN ABUNDANT LIFE in you, the jar of clay.”

AND THIS IS THE TESTIMONY: GOD HAS GIVEN US ETERNAL LIFE, AND THIS LIFE IS IN HIS SON
(1 John 5:11).

The Lord Jesus did not come to give you abundant life. He came to BE your Abundant Life. All you need to do is invite Him to be the treasure in you, the jar of clay.

When you take this step of FAITH, it is like a switch being flipped—HIS LIFE for your life—the EXCHANGED life. This switch of faith determines who lives in you at any given time. But, it is a moment-by-moment thing. You can turn the switch on any time and turn it off any time. The choice is yours.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I invite You to become the Treasure in my jar of clay. Come and live Your Abundant Life in me, today and every day, one moment at a time.

Maintain an Awareness

God wants you to desire His Love, because He wants to pour His Love directly into YOUR heart, right there where it hurts so much.

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 I AM in You

THE WOMAN SAID, ‘THE SERPENT DECEIVED ME, AND I ATE’
(Genesis 3:13).

The serpent has deceived me many times…and I ate. I believed him when he told me, through my mother, that I was not worthy to be loved. I believed him when he accused me, through my friend, of being fatally flawed. I believed him when he declared, through my daddy, that I was a disappointment. And after I ate, I carried out the father-of-lies’ desires. I sinned…because I ate. I resorted to sinful habits and patterns to escape the pain of the murderer’s opinions…his perspectives…his impressions of me.

YOU BELONG TO YOUR FATHER, THE DEVIL, AND YOU WANT TO CARRY OUT YOUR FATHER’S DESIRES. HE WAS A MURDERER FROM THE BEGINNING, NOT HOLDING TO THE TRUTH, FOR THERE IS NO TRUTH IN HIM. WHEN HE LIES, HE SPEAKS HIS NATIVE LANGUAGE, FOR HE IS A LIAR AND THE FATHER OF LIES
(John 8:44).

Beloved Child, do you know Me? I am the I AM. I am who I AM and what I AM, and I will be what I will be. I do not change according to people’s perspectives—according to the father-of-lies’ deception. I do not change like shifting shadows to adapt to someone’s opinion of Me. I do not turn blue when someone thinks I should be blue and I do not turn pink when someone perceives Me as pink. I remain the same. I remain the I AM.

My Child, YOU are an original being made in MY Image. You are not an invention of the father-of-lies’ perspective. You are not a product of someone’s impression. There is a part in you that is of Me, permanent…unchangeable…invariable, regardless of the father-of-lies’ opinion of you. This part of you is good, gentle, and kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. It does not carry out the father-of-lies’ desires, but rejoices with the Truth. This is My I AM in you. Live from this I AM that always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres.

AND GOD SAID TO MOSES, I AM WHO I AM AND WHAT I AM, AND I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE; AND HE SAID, YOU SHALL SAY THIS TO THE ISRAELITES: I AM HAS SENT ME TO YOU!…WHO DOES NOT CHANGE LIKE SHIFTING SHADOWS
(Exodus 3:14) and (James 1:17).

 Ask God to introduce you to His Image in you—His I AM that does not change like shifting shadows, according to people’s perspectives of you.

PRAYER: Lord God, how encouraging to know that You have made me in Your Image. Introduce me to the I AM in me—Your Presence in me that is stable and secure and does not change according the father-of-lies’ deception.

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

Beliefs/Emotions associated with this blessing.
Click on any box below to access more blessings that pertain to the topic in the box.

Follow…Do Not Pass!

BUT THE PLANS OF THE LORD STAND FIRM FOREVER, THE PURPOSES OF HIS HEART THROUGH ALL GENERATIONS
(Psalm 33:11).

I was driving on a highway in Nova Scotia, Canada, when I came upon some road works.  I had to wait behind a man standing next to the road with a stop sign in his hand, for about five minutes.  Then, a pickup truck arrived with a sign on its roof that read, “FOLLOW, DO NOT PASS!”  After a while, I had to follow this truck on the wrong side of the road, passing many road workers and their machines, along the way.  As I followed, I thought of how God often tells me the same thing: “FOLLOW…DO NOT PASS,” while He leads me to unknown places, on the wrong side of the road.

Once, God led me through a dark, dense spiritual forest where I had to push through long, heavy, thick grass, in order to move forward. I could not see where I was going and multiple obstacles made my journey very slow, tiresome, and daunting. I would go one foot forward, then three feet back. But, eventually, I pushed through all the obstacles to a beautiful clearing where the sun was shining…and where the doors opened for me.

MANY ARE THE PLANS IN A PERSON’S HEART, BUT IT IS THE LORD’S PURPOSE THAT PREVAILS
(Proverbs 19:21).

Do you wish to accomplish your purpose for God, or do you wish for God to accomplish HIS Purpose through you? There is a HUGE difference. If you wish for God to accomplish HIS Purpose through you, He will first accomplish HIS Purpose IN you. Then, when you fully belong to Him, He will lead you, moment-by-moment, on the wrong side of the road, to the place He has prepared for you.

THE LORD KNOWS ALL HUMAN PLANS; HE KNOWS THAT THEY ARE FUTILE
(Psalm 94:11).

Your own plans for God have no future in God’s Kingdom. They are just…your own plans. But, if you allow God to work His Plans in and through you, you would become Someone’s vessel whose Plans stand firm forever, and whose Purpose prevails into eternity.

COMMIT TO THE LORD WHATEVER YOU DO, AND HE WILL ESTABLISH YOUR PLANS
(Proverbs 16:3).

Let God initiate and establish His Plans in you and through you.  FOLLOW…DO NOT PASS!  He knows where He is going…and He is taking you there.

PRAYER: Lord God, call me to follow You. Give me Your Patience, so I would not try to pass You and try to establish my own or Your own Purpose in my life.

Maintain an Awareness

Know that your struggle is not against the people or the circumstances in your life, but against the spiritual forces of evil—against the OLD MAN beliefs of abandonment, shame, condemnation, and rejection.

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.

No Evil Will Conquer You

MY PRAYER IS NOT THAT YOU TAKE THEM OUT OF THE WORLD BUT THAT YOU PROTECT THEM FROM THE EVIL ONE
(John 17:15).

The Lord Jesus knew that your problem would not be with the world, but with the evil one.  He knew that your problem would not be with your circumstances, but with what the evil one told you about your circumstances—that they are impossible, unsolvable, and unchangeable. He knew that your problem would not be with what people told you, but with what the evil one told you: “Your mistakes are too numerous.  Your character is too flawed.  Your defect is non-redeemable.”  Therefore, Jesus asked His Father, the Most High, to protect you from the evil one.

The evil one sets you up with his purpose, from the start. He introduces you to his lies. These lies become your purpose from the evil one. Through them, he supplies everything you need, in order to make sure you serve him with your soul, your spirit, and your body. He furnishes you with his will, his desires, and his nature, so you may carry out the deeds he commissioned you to do, in obedience to these lies. Then, he sits back and watches you fulfill his purpose for your life.

IF YOU MAKE THE LORD YOUR REFUGE,
IF YOU MAKE THE MOST HIGH YOUR SHELTER,
NO EVIL WILL CONQUER YOU
(Psalm 91:9-10).

Don’t run from the evil one’s lies. Don’t hide from them, either. Don’t blame others for the evil one’s words in your mind.  Instead, push through your fear, your disappointment, your confusion, your anger, your jealousy, and your resentment, and bring your sadness, your badness, and your madness to the Perfect Father. Make the Lord your Refuge; then, no evil will conquer you.

Expose the evil one’s lies about you to God—that your mistakes are too numerous, your character is too flawed, and your defect is non-redeemable. Tell God what the evil one said about your circumstances—that they are impossible, unsolvable, and unchangeable. You will find that His arm is not too short to deliver you from the evil one.

WAS MY ARM TOO SHORT TO DELIVER YOU? DO I LACK THE STRENGTH TO RESCUE YOU? BY A MERE REBUKE I DRY UP THE SEA, I TURN RIVERS INTO A DESERT; THEIR FISH ROT FOR LACK OF WATER AND DIE OF THIRST
(Isaiah 50:2-3).

What has been keeping you from making the Most High your shelter against the evil one?

PRAYER: Most High, protect me from the evil one, so he would not be able to fulfill his purpose for my life.  Deliver me from his deceitful desires in me, from his spiteful will in me, from his negative, destructive beliefs in me, from his sinful nature in me. Deliver me from the evil one, so I may belong to You.

Maintain an Awareness

Many of these untrue childhood conclusions grouped together to raise a spirit of defilement in us—the OLD MAN mentality that duped us into thinking we were doomed and damned, for life.

The Two Counsels

Your Father’s Unlimited Resources

WHEN I THINK OF ALL THIS, I FALL TO MY KNEES AND PRAY TO THE FATHER, THE CREATOR OF EVERYTHING IN HEAVEN AND ON EARTH.  I PRAY THAT FROM HIS GLORIOUS, UNLIMITED RESOURCES HE WILL EMPOWER YOU WITH INNER STRENGTH THROUGH HIS SPIRIT
(Ephesians 3:14-16 NLT).

Did you know that your Perfect Father, the Creator of everything in Heaven and on earth, has unlimited Resources from which He is able to supply what you need, even today?  Maybe you believe that there is no answer for your problem.  Maybe you believe that there is no solution for your unacceptable character.  Maybe you believe that there is no remedy for your sinful habits and patterns of escape.

GREAT IS OUR LORD, AND OF GREAT POWER: HIS UNDERSTANDING IS INFINITE
(Psalm 147:5).

Blessed Child, I am the Perfect Father, the Creator of everything in Heaven and on earth. I am of great Power…and I created YOU, too. Now, from My glorious, unlimited resources, I am able to empower you with inner strength through My Spirit, so you may have sufficiency in all things, from the inside out. All you need to do is DRAW from Me.

Fall to your knees and pray to Me, your Father in Heaven. My glorious Recourses are unlimited to supply everything you need for life and godliness, despite the ungodliness in your nature, the instability in your emotions, and the spitefulness in your will.

Look up, Child. I am able to make all My Grace abound toward you, so you may have what it takes to be gentle, good, gracious, faithful, patient, forgiving, and filled with self-control. My Grace is enough to cover your past failures and mistakes, to deal with your present guilt and shame, and to ensure a hopeful future.  

AND GOD IS ABLE TO MAKE ALL GRACE ABOUND TOWARD YOU; THAT YE, ALWAYS HAVING ALL SUFFICIENCY IN ALL THINGS, MAY ABOUND TO EVERY GOOD WORK
(2 Corinthians 9:8).

Regardless of your need, shortcoming, or defect, God is able to make all Grace abound toward you, so that you may have sufficiency in all things—in your will, your nature, your thoughts, your emotions, your desires…and your deeds.

For what problem in your life do you need to draw from the Perfect Father’s unlimited resources?

PRAYER: Lord God, how great You are! I pray that from Your glorious, unlimited resources You empower me with inner strength through Your Spirit, so I may have sufficiency in all things.

Maintain an Awareness

God wants you to desire His Love, because He wants to pour His Love directly into YOUR heart, right there where it hurts so much.

The Two Counsels

Put On Something NEW

THAT YE PUT OFF…THE OLD MAN, WHICH IS CORRUPT ACCORDING TO THE DECEITFUL LUSTS; AND BE RENEWED IN THE SPIRIT OF YOUR MIND; AND THAT YE PUT ON THE NEW MAN, WHICH AFTER GOD IS CREATED IN RIGHTEOUSNESS AND TRUE HOLINESS
(Ephesians 4:22-24).

The OLD MAN is real. It is the body of sin, instilled in us by God’s enemy, the father-of-lies. The OLD MAN in us is a separate spiritual being with its own negative, destructive beliefs, its own painful feelings, its own sinful nature, its own deceitful desires, and its own rebellious will. This body of sin was firmly planted inside each of us to carry a message of failure, defilement, and unworthiness, leading us down the broad road of destruction…to our death. The OLD MAN is the origin of sin that causes the effect of sin. The OLD MAN is where it all started and where it all ends…unless we are redeemed from it.

FOR HE HATH MADE HIM TO BE SIN FOR US, WHO KNEW NO SIN; THAT WE MIGHT BE MADE THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD IN HIM
(2 Corinthians 5:21).

My Child, I want you to know that I, Jesus Christ, bought you from the father-of-lies and his ally, the OLD MAN, with My own blood. I nailed the origin of sin to the cross, so that its effect on your life would be annulled…cancelled…dissolved. Through My Death, I abolished the OLD MAN’s will for your life, so that the Father’s Will may operate in your life, in its place. If you believe and accept what I have done for you, the OLD MAN message of failure, defilement, and unworthiness will stop controlling your life. As a result, you will no longer be bound to the OLD MAN’s deceitful desires and their consequent sinful deeds. Instead, you will be free to live your life according to the desires of the Holy Spirit, unto deeds of Righteousness. If you acknowledge Me as the One who bought you from the OLD MAN with its sinful nature, you will be free to practice the good deeds you have failed to do, in the past, and the evil deeds you were obligated to do, before, will have no authority over you anymore.

THEREFORE, SINCE WE HAVE BEEN JUSTIFIED THROUGH FAITH, WE HAVE PEACE WITH GOD THROUGH OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, THROUGH WHOM WE HAVE GAINED ACCESS BY FAITH INTO THIS GRACE IN WHICH WE NOW STAND
(Romans 5:1-2).

Are you tired of the OLD MAN controlling your life? Then, bring your OLD MAN with its beliefs, its emotions, its nature, its desires, its deeds, and its will to the Lord Jesus. Submit it, as a whole, to His Death and to His Life. Surrender it, in its entirety, to His finished work on the cross. Then, allow Him to redeem you from it, so you may belong to God, entirely.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I acknowledge You as My Redeemer—as the One who bought me from the OLD MAN, so I may be free to live my life for You.

Maintain an Awareness

The father-of-lies opposes God’s Counsel by telling us the exact opposite of what God says. His deception provides the pink slippery world in our minds that do not make sense.

The Two Counsels

Your Will Be Done!

YOUR KINGDOM COME, YOUR WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN
(Matthew 6:10).

I have come to the place in my heart where I often have nothing to pray about other than asking God for His Will to be done in my life—for the Desires of the Holy Spirit in me to be met in and through my life.

BUT THOSE WHO ARE ACCORDING TO THE SPIRIT AND ARE CONTROLLED BY THE DESIRES OF THE SPIRIT SET THEIR MINDS ON AND SEEK THOSE THINGS WHICH GRATIFY THE [HOLY] SPIRIT
(Romans 8:5).

It was not always like that.  I used to pray for my own will to be done…for my own desires to be fulfilled…for my own plans to succeed, because I did not know that the Holy Spirit in me had His own Desires for me, and that the Holy Spirit prayed for me, in me, according to the Father’s Will.  But I have changed.  My desires have changed.  Someone asked me the other day to make a list of my desires and lay them before God.  I looked forward to doing that, but as I got ready to write them down, my desires were not very clear to me.  What used to be such an intense desire before was not a desire at all anymore.  It seemed that all my desires had become quiet in my heart and that all I really wanted was for GOD’S WILL TO BE DONE IN MY LIFE, according to the Desires of the Holy Spirit in me.

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).

Beloved Child, you need to learn to turn to your heart and listen to what the Holy Spirit in you desires for you. Then, you will taste that I am good. My Will is good for you. The more you taste of My Goodness, the more you will trust My Will, and the more you trust My Will, the more you will taste of My Goodness. Listen to the Desires of the Holy Spirit in you. Then, you will know My Will for you. You will see that I have plans to prosper your spirit, soul, and body.

TASTE AND SEE THAT THE LORD IS GOOD; BLESSED IS THE MAN WHO TAKES REFUGE IN HIM
(Psalm 34:8).

I bless you to taste so much of God’s Goodness in your own life that you, too will come to the place where you trust God’s Will with all your heart.  Then the desires in your heart will become silent and all you will ask is, “GOD, MAY YOUR WILL BE DONE IN MY LIFE, according to the Desires of the Holy Spirit in me.”

Are you ready for God’s entire Will to be done in your life, according to the Desires of the Holy Spirit in you?

PRAYER: Perfect Father, bring me to the place where I will be able to hear the Desires of the Holy Spirit in me, for me. Then, I can learn to pray and live according to Your Will for me.

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.

Believe…And You Will Have Life

Is there something in your life that you do not like: your dysfunctional personality, the darkness in your mind, the death in your spirit, the painful feelings in your heart, the sickness in your body, or the senseless life you have lived, until now? If you could go to the pawn shop and exchange your dark mind for a new mind, filled with light, would you consider it? If you could ask a surgeon to replace your broken heart with a whole one, would you do it? If you could ask a psychiatrist to give you a pill that would eradicate your spirit of death and grow a new spirit of life, in its place, would you contemplate it? If you could ask a psychologist to replace your dysfunctional personality with a different one, would you try it? If there were a special kind of food that would heal your body from its diseases, would you eat it? If someone who is filled with life, love, and hope offered you her/his life in exchange for yours, would you take it? If someone could bring Heaven to earth, would you receive it?

FOR AS THE FATHER HAS LIFE IN HIMSELF, SO HE HAS GRANTED THE SON TO HAVE LIFE IN HIMSELF
(John 5:26).

I have GOOD NEWS for you.  There is someone who brought Heaven to earth: into your troubled heart, into your dark mind, into your dead spirit, into your disease-ridden body, and into your broken life.  The Perfect Father has Life in Himself. He gave that Life to His Son, Jesus Christ…to bring YOU that Life, as well. When you receive that Life, in faith, you receive HIS LIFE, complete with HIS MIND, HIS HEART, HIS SPIRIT, HIS BODY, and HIS PURPOSE…and this Life lasts forever.

BUT THESE ARE WRITTEN THAT YOU MAY BELIEVE THAT JESUS IS THE CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD, AND THAT BY BELIEVING YOU MAY HAVE LIFE IN HIS NAME
(John 20:31).

You cannot lead two lives, at the same time. It will either be the Lord Jesus, living HIS LIFE in you, or YOU, living YOUR life in you. The choice is yours.

What do you need to do to receive the LIFE the Perfect Father gave the Lord Jesus to give to YOU?

You give Him yours, in faith. Then, you ask Him for His, in faith.

PRAYER: Father of our Lord Jesus, I worship You with gladness for the Life that You have in Yourself. How encouraged I am that You have granted that same Life to Your Son, Jesus, and for offering that Life to me, as well. In faith, I surrender my life to You, in exchange for Your Life to dwell in me, through Your Spirit. Thank you that this Life lasts forever.

Maintain an Awareness

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

The Two Counsels