The Light of Life

YOU HAVE MADE KNOWN TO ME THE PATH OF LIFE; YOU WILL FILL ME WITH JOY IN YOUR PRESENCE
(Psalm 16:11).

I often hear people say, “Pain is part of life…and needs to be accepted.”  But, the Perfect Father has made known to me His Path of Life: that pain is a part of life…and needs to be exchanged.

Precious One, pain is a result of the OLD MAN beliefs in your heart from the father-of-lies: that you are not needed here on earth…that you have no value…that you are not worthy to be celebrated.  If you react to your pain, you will walk in darkness. This will cause you to stumble and die.

FOR YOU HAVE DELIVERED ME FROM DEATH AND MY FEET FROM STUMBLING, THAT I MAY WALK BEFORE GOD IN THE LIGHT OF LIFE
(Psalm 56:13).

Beloved, I, the Perfect Father, sent the Light of the World to redeem the negative, destructive OLD MAN beliefs of the father-of-lies, and to exchange them for the Truth.

Your path of life is not only filled with pain, but with the Light of Life. But you have an obligation: to find the OLD MAN beliefs that are causing your pain and submit them to My Son, the Light of the World. He will fill you with joy in My Presence.

WHEN JESUS SPOKE AGAIN TO THE PEOPLE, HE SAID, ‘I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. WHOEVER FOLLOWS ME WILL NEVER WALK IN DARKNESS, BUT WILL HAVE THE LIGHT OF LIFE’
(John 8:12).

Child, walk in the Light of My Presence.  Do not accept your pain of abandonment. Do not comply with your pain of shame. Do not submit to your pain of condemnation. Instead, follow the Light of the World into the Light of Life.  He is My Answer to your hopelessness, helplessness, and powerlessness.  He will turn your heart’s belief “I am not worthy to be loved” into “I have value.” He will exchange “I am doomed in my darkness” for “I have the Light of Life.” He will deliver you from death and your feet from stumbling.

Do you want to enter a new path?

Realize that if you want to BE someone different, you need to DO something different. Otherwise, you will always end up on the very same path, as before, and be the very same person, as before. Therefore, be ready to try something new, every day, moment-by-moment: find the beliefs that cause your pain, expose them to the Lord Jesus, and let Him take you on a new journey.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I am tired of stumbling along on my path of darkness. Please bring me onto Your Path of Life. Help me to follow You, daily, moment-by-moment, one belief at a time.

Maintain an Awareness

When your heart hurts, both the Lord Jesus and the father-of-lies stand ready to lead you out of that pain to a solution.

The Two Counsels

Turn and Live!

I HAVE SET BEFORE YOU LIFE AND DEATH, BLESSINGS AND CURSES. NOW CHOOSE LIFE, SO THAT YOU AND YOUR CHILDREN MAY LIVE AND THAT YOU MAY LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD, LISTEN TO HIS VOICE, AND HOLD FAST TO HIM. FOR THE LORD IS YOUR LIFE
(Deuteronomy 30:19-20).

Did you know that a big hard hailstone starts with a speck of dust?  Under the right circumstances, a layer of ice builds up around the dust speck.  Then, as the little ice pellet cycles through the thundercloud multiple times, more and more layers accumulate, until a huge stone the size of an egg forms that can do a lot of damage.

This is the way a stronghold is built in your life.  It starts innocently as a speck of a thought, “Why did he betray me?”  Then, as you dwell on these thoughts, layers of beliefs build, each one more potent than the one before, “He betrayed me, because I am not worthy. I am not loved. I am bad.”  Following that, these beliefs billow into the pernicious POWER of HOPELESSNESS. Thus, a stronghold is formed that will keep you captive for the rest of your life…unless you allow God to set you free.

‘FOR I HAVE NO PLEASURE IN THE DEATH OF ONE WHO DIES,’ SAYS THE LORD GOD. ‘THEREFORE TURN AND LIVE!’
(Ezekiel 18:32).

Grasp that if you want to get rid of the strongholds in your life, you need to reverse the action.  To break down the stronghold, you need to peel it back one layer at a time…one belief at a time…one lie at a time, until you can find the speck of dust that started it all.

FOR I WILL SURELY DELIVER YOU, AND YOU SHALL NOT FALL BY THE SWORD; BUT YOUR LIFE SHALL BE AS A PRIZE TO YOU, BECAUSE YOU HAVE PUT YOUR TRUST IN ME,” SAYS THE LORD
(Jeremiah 39:18).

What set of oppressing beliefs from the father-of-lies is causing the stronghold in your life? What are you going to do about this? What will you choose: life…or death, the blessings of God…or the curses of the father-of-lies?

I bless you to choose LIFE! Turn and live! Find these beliefs and expose them to the saving Power of the Lord Jesus Christ. He will redeem you. He will deliver you from the stronghold.

PRAYER: Lord God, I choose Life. I choose to surrender my stronghold to You, for I cannot get rid of it by myself. Show me the various beliefs from the father-of-lies that comprise this stronghold, so I may hold these up to You for deliverance. Work Your Obedience and Love in me, Lord Jesus, so I may hold fast to You and listen to Your Voice as You lead me out of my stronghold, one belief at a time.

Maintain an Awareness

The goal of the father-of-lies is to fill us with a system of beliefs, so that we would fill our Selves with another system of beliefs that would correct the first system of beliefs.

The Two Counsels

Beliefs/Emotions associated with this blessing.
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YOU Must Follow ME

WHEN PETER SAW HIM, HE ASKED, ‘LORD, WHAT ABOUT HIM?’  JESUS ANSWERED, ‘IF I WANT HIM TO REMAIN ALIVE UNTIL I RETURN, WHAT IS THAT TO YOU? YOU MUST FOLLOW ME’
(John 21:22).

I often get distracted by other people’s actions and character.  Once, I got distracted by the person in the fancy clothes in the fancy car who seemed to have it all together, and then I asked God, “Lord, what about him?  Why can’t I be like him?”  God answered me, “What is that to you?  Keep your eyes on Me, so I may establish the work of your hands. YOU must follow Me.”

I remember meeting this flawless couple who seemed to do everything perfectly.  Their marriage seemed flawless.  Their children seemed flawless, too.  I felt so much less of a good wife and a mother after I saw what THEY could do.  I asked God, “Lord, what about them?  I am not like them.”  And God answered, “What is that to you?  Your Righteousness comes from Me.  YOU must follow Me.”

I often look at ministers and other people involved in church ministry, and ask God, “What about them?”  God’s answer is always the same, “What are they to you? Some of those people work for Me, but do not even have a relationship with Me. They do not know Me and I do not know them. Do not let them distract you from your relationship with Me. YOU must follow Me.”

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).

Know that every person is responsible to work out His own salvation, regardless of what other people are doing.  Every person is responsible to bring his own beliefs of shame, abandonment, rejection, and condemnation to God, regardless of what other people do with their heartache…because each person’s Truth, Hope, and Righteousness come from God.

AND LET THE BEAUTY OF THE LORD OUR GOD BE UPON US, AND ESTABLISH THE WORK OF OUR HANDS
(Psalm 90:17).

 What emotions are exposed in your own heart when you compare yourself to the other person(s) in your life who seem(s) so perfect?

I bless you to bring those emotions and their underlying beliefs to God. Let Him tell you who YOU are and how He wants YOU to follow Him.

PRAYER: Lord God, bring me to the place where I would only follow YOU…where I would only keep my eyes on YOU…where I would only obey YOU, and stop looking around to see what others are doing.

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

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More of His Wholeness

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

Realize that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, but this is only the first part of what Jesus came to do for us.  There is MORE.

Capture that the Lord Jesus did not only come to forgive us our sins, but also to cleanse us…to decontaminate us…to purify us, so that we might stop sinning, in the first place.

 CHRIST, WHO FILLS ALL THINGS EVERYWHERE WITH HIMSELF
(Ephesians 1:23).

“But how does the Lord Jesus purify us?” you might ask.  “Is it even possible?” The answer: It IS possible, because the Lord Jesus did not come to IMPROVE us, but to EXCHANGE us for HIS SELF, who knew no sin.

BUT WE ALL, WITH UNVEILED FACE, BEHOLDING AS IN A MIRROR THE GLORY OF THE LORD, ARE BEING TRANSFORMED INTO THE SAME IMAGE FROM GLORY TO GLORY, JUST AS BY THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD
(2 Corinthians 3:18).

Know that each time you yield a belief from your Self that has caused you to sin to the Lord Jesus, He exchanges it for a part of His Self.  Each time you surrender a belief of unworthiness or abandonment from your Self to Jesus, He exchanges it for a part of His Fullness.  Each time you offer a belief of condemnation or shame from your Self to Jesus, He exchanges it for more of His Wholeness.  Each time you yield your Self to Him counts toward Righteousness, until you are fully transformed into the Image of Him who knew no sin.

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

From what do you need to be forgiven? And from which unrighteousness do you need to be cleansed?

Do you understand the difference between having your own Self improved by God, versus having your Self exchanged for the Image of the Lord Jesus Himself, through His Spirit?

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, how encouraged I am that my Righteousness is not a matter of being improved, but being exchanged—to be transformed into the Image of You, who knew no sin.

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

The Only Thing That Counts Is Faith

MARK MY WORDS! I, PAUL, TELL YOU THAT IF YOU LET YOURSELVES BE CIRCUMCISED, CHRIST WILL BE OF NO VALUE TO YOU AT ALL. AGAIN I DECLARE TO EVERY MAN WHO LETS HIMSELF BE CIRCUMCISED THAT HE IS OBLIGATED TO OBEY THE WHOLE LAW. YOU WHO ARE TRYING TO BE JUSTIFIED BY LAW HAVE BEEN ALIENATED FROM CHRIST; YOU HAVE FALLEN AWAY FROM GRACE
(Galatians 5:2-4).

These are the revelations that have helped me to change:  First, I realized that the father-of-lies has formed in me an OLD MAN—a corrupted being shaped by beliefs of condemnation, shame, and abandonment: “I am bad. I do not count. I have been left.”  Second, I noticed that these negative, destructive OLD MAN beliefs in my mind produced pain, shame, and distress in my heart.  Third, I understood the meaning of sin: TO REACT TO THE OLD MAN beliefs by trying in vain to make myself good, acceptable, and worthy.

BUT BY FAITH WE EAGERLY AWAIT THROUGH THE SPIRIT THE RIGHTEOUSNESS FOR WHICH WE HOPE. FOR IN CHRIST JESUS NEITHER CIRCUMCISION NOR UNCIRCUMCISION HAS ANY VALUE.  THE ONLY THING THAT COUNTS IS FAITH EXPRESSING ITSELF THROUGH LOVE
(Galatians 5:5-6).

Receive the GOOD NEWS. The Lord Jesus Christ knows about the painful beliefs of abandonment, shame, and condemnation that are causing you to sin—that are causing you to look for your own righteousness, acceptability, and worth. He nailed the OLD MAN to the cross, to give you His Acceptability, Righteousness, and Worth, through FAITH.

KNOWING THIS, THAT OUR OLD MAN IS CRUCIFIED WITH HIM
(Romans 6:6).

How have you been reacting to the painful OLD MAN beliefs the father-of-lies has formed in you, since childhood? What have you been trying to do, in vain, to deem yourself righteous, acceptable, and worthy? 

Do you want to change? Then, let Him nail YOUR OLD MAN to the cross. Let Him circumcise your heart.  Let Him give you HIS Acceptability, Worth, and Righteousness, for nothing YOU do will get rid of your OLD MAN. The only thing that counts is…FAITH!

PRAYER: Lord God, help me to understand that I cannot achieve Your Righteousness, Worth, and Acceptance through my own laws. Help me to accept that You are the only one who are Worthy, Righteous, and Acceptable to come and live these attributes in my heart, in FAITH.

Maintain an Awareness

There is someone who came to bring 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. His name is Jesus Christ, the Perfect Father’s Son.

The Two Counsels

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Lord Jesus, I Can’t

APART FROM ME YOU CAN DO NOTHING
(John 15:5).

I usually do not know that I have been trying to do something in my own strength, until I discover I was not able to carry it out.  Then, I know it is time for me to stop dead in my tracks and look to someone else to take over.  It actually feels good to surrender to someone else’s Power to get the job done, on one condition—that Person is Jesus.

Lord Jesus, I can’t;
You never said I could.
Lord Jesus, You can;
And always said You would!
(Major Ian Thomas)

If you have been trying to go forward, but have been going backwards instead, you have probably been trying to accomplish things in your own strength.  I bless you to give up trying.  Throw in the towel.  Call it quits.  Apart from Jesus, you can do nothing.

NOW TO HIM WHO IS ABLE TO DO EXCEEDINGLY ABUNDANTLY ABOVE ALL THAT WE ASK OR THINK, ACCORDING TO THE POWER THAT WORKS IN US, TO HIM BE GLORY IN THE CHURCH BY CHRIST JESUS TO ALL GENERATIONS, FOREVER AND EVER. AMEN
(Ephesians 3:20-21).

 Know that He who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that you ask or think, wants to do it in you, for you, and through you. How? He will use your body…but His Power!

Have you been trying lately to live a holy life?  Have you been trying to think all the right thoughts?  Have you been trying to live a life filled with hope, joy, and trust?  I have only one more question.  Have you been failing?

Confess to the Lord Jesus that you are not able to trust, nor able to be joyful, nor able to be holy.  Declare to your Savior that you are not able to keep the negative thoughts at bay, nor able to overcome your jealousy, nor able to forgive.  Admit to your Redeemer that you are not able to keep your emotions positive, nor able to stop hating your enemy, nor able to stop worrying. Then, ask Him to do it IN you, FOR you, and THROUGH you. He will.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, come and do in me that which I cannot do myself. Be my God. Be my Savior. Be my Deliverer.

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

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Your Steps Are Directed by God

A MAN’S STEPS ARE DIRECTED BY THE LORD.  HOW THEN CAN ANYONE UNDERSTAND HIS OWN WAY?
(Proverbs 20:24).

I ask God many questions, every day, so I might understand the way I should go.  God does not necessarily tell me the whole plan for my life, but many of those questions He answers! I have filled many pages with the moment-by-moment instructions I have received from God…with His directions for my life…with His guidelines that show me the way I should go.

But, it was not always like this in my life. First, I had to learn to recognize God’s Voice when He speaks to me, personally. I had to develop an ear to listen. I had to learn to sift through all the thoughts in my mind and find the ones that are from God. I had to remember to come to Him when I felt all dried up inside to ask for a drink of water.

THE LORD WILL GUIDE YOU CONTINUALLY, GIVING YOU WATER WHEN YOU ARE DRY AND RESTORING YOUR STRENGTH.  YOU WILL BE LIKE A WELL-WATERED GARDEN, LIKE AN EVER-FLOWING SPRING
(Isaiah 58:11).

God might not tell you everything He is doing with your life, but know that the Perfect Father guides you with His eye, continuously. He wants to give you water when you are dry and restore your strength when you are weak. But, you need to develop an ear to listen and hear His Voice. You need to learn to analyze your thoughts and seek the ones that are from God. You need to remember to come to Him when you are dried up to ask for a drink of water.

I WILL INSTRUCT YOU AND TEACH YOU IN THE WAY YOU SHOULD GO; I WILL GUIDE YOU WITH MY EYE
(Psalm 32:8).

Did you know that your steps are directed by the Perfect Father, who instructs you and teaches you, daily, in the way you should go? Do you have a close enough relationship with Him to hear His moment-by-moment instructions?  Are you tuned in enough to receive the water He offers you when you are dry?

Be comforted by the knowledge that God is perfect.  He does not make mistakes.  He finishes what He has started. He has all the steps of your journey under control, from the beginning to the end. What’s more, He wants to show you what He is doing in your life.  Will you let Him? Will you listen? Will you obey?

PRAYER: Thank you, Perfect Father, that You guide me with Your eye that sees the past, the present, and the future, at the same time. May I choose to follow You, instead of choosing my own way. May I always obey, while You lead the way.

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

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Everything Has Its Time

[EVERYTHING HAS ITS TIME] TO EVERYTHING THERE IS A SEASON, A TIME FOR EVERY PURPOSE UNDER HEAVEN
(Ecclesiastes 3:1).

Believe that God has a specific Purpose for you for this segment of time in your life.

Realize that to God time is very important.  God is very organized.  He is very time-specific.  He is very structured.  Therefore, God has allocated to everything…A SEASON.

I bless you to accept the season of time in which you are living, right now.  Embrace the Purpose God has in mind for THIS season.  Do the good works God has chosen for you to do during this section of time. Do not try to exchange this season for a different season of time.  Do not run ahead of God into the season that lies ahead.  Do not stay behind in the season that is over.

Capture that God is with you during THIS season of time, whether it is a time to sow, or a time to reap, whether it is a time to gather, or a time to let go, whether it is a time to weep, or a time to laugh.  God’s Grace is sufficient for this season of time…EVEN IF YOU ARE WEAK.

BUT HE SAID TO ME, ‘MY GRACE IS SUFFICIENT FOR YOU, FOR MY POWER IS MADE PERFECT IN WEAKNESS’
(2 Corinthians 12:9).

If it is time to be healed, may you succumb to it.  If it is time to suffer, may you accept it.  If it is time to keep silent, may you surrender to it.  If it is time to speak, may you agree to it.  If it is time to love, may you submit to it. Embrace…Enjoy…Endure.

HE HAS MADE EVERYTHING BEAUTIFUL IN ITS TIME
(Ecclesiastes 3:11).

It is important that you know what season you are in, right now, and know God’s Purpose for this season. What beauty is He providing for this time? Are you making use of His Power when you are weak? How are you responding to His Purpose for this section of time?

I bless you to accept the Purpose God has for this season of your life. If you do not know His Purpose for this time interval, I encourage you to ask God to show it to you. Then, surrender this season of life, with its Purpose, to God, allowing His Power to work in your weakness.

PRAYER: Precious God, I praise You for the season of time I am living in, right now. Thank you that You have made this period of time beautiful, too. Help me to accept your Purpose for this season, and to see the beauty You have provided for now. Remind me, daily, to make use of Your Power during my weaknesses, in this time.

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

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Sincere and Pure Devotion to Christ

For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.  Now, when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard…Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise. “So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, ‘Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.’ And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius. But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius. And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner, saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.’ But he answered one of them and said,…I wish to give to this last man the same as to you
(Matthew 20: 2-14—The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard).

I bless you to focus on the job God gave YOU to do.  It does not matter HOW BIG or HOW IMPORTANT your job is compared to those of others.  It does not matter HOW LONG you have been doing the job God gave you compared to those of others.  All that matters is that you DO the job God gave you to do and that YOU DO IT FOR HIM.

God wants you to know that He will give you a complete reward for the job He gave you to do.  You will be paid according to what was expected of YOU.  The success of your job is not measured by comparing it to those of others.  It is not a matter of ratio…correlation…comparative size or extent. It is merely a matter of obedience.

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).

How do you perceive the job God called YOU to do in His vineyard? Do you feel that your job is inferior to those of the other workers who have been laboring for so much longer and done so much more than you?

I bless you to know that, to God, each job He gives stands alone.  It is complete…self-contained…whole.  It is not judged on the principles of comparison. It is merely judged on the principles of obedience. Therefore, focus on the job God gave YOU, and DO IT IN SINCERE AND PURE DEVOTION TO CHRIST. Then, you will receive your entire reward, whether you were first or last, whether your job was long or short, whether your job was big or small.

PRAYER: Lord God, thank you for the job You gave me to do in Your vineyard. Thank you for the part I play in Your Purpose…in Your Plan…in Your Projects. Help me to understand that You do not judge my work in relation to other workers, but that You only judge my work in relation to how well I am willing to obey Your instructions, in Your Presence.

Maintain an Awareness

Temptations are all about WORDS…and what we DO with these WORDS.

The Two Counsels

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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

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