December 1  Ephesians 2:10

“FOR WE ARE HIS WORKMANSHIP…”

Fathom that YOU reflect the skill of the Perfect Father…the Most High…the I AM.  He is the husbandman and He created you to live in His Son, Christ Jesus…in dependence of His Love…united with His Spirit…conditioned by His Truth…relying on His Purpose…subject to His Will.

“CREATED IN CHRIST JESUS…”

Capture that you are created to live IN Christ Jesus…to dwell in Christ Jesus…to function in Christ Jesus…to experience Life in Christ Jesus.  You have been created IN Christ Jesus, because living in Christ Jesus sets you free from the corruption that lives in your human nature…that which expires naturally and sinfully in your everyday thoughts…beliefs instilled by the father-of-lies.

“UNTO GOOD WORKS…”

Realize that you are created unto GOOD works…not bad works.  The father-of-lies would like you to believe that you are good for nothing… that you are a disgrace… that your actions IN Christ only harm people.  Do not let the father of lies disable your GOOD works by convincing you that your GOOD works are bad.

“WHICH GOD HATH BEFORE ORDAINED…”

Understand that your good works have been before ordained…prepared beforehand…planned in advance.  Theses good works are waiting for you IN Christ Jesus, when you take your eyes off the natural and what is seen…and place them on the spiritual and what cannot be seen with the natural eyes.

“THAT WE SHOULD WALK IN THEM” (Ephesians 2:10).

I bless you to live IN Christ Jesus, for it is only when you live in Christ Jesus that your OLD MAN is crucified…that the negative beliefs instilled in you by the father-of-lies no longer exert dominion over you…and you can see what is really transpiring around you...that you can experience God’s Truth, Love and Hope.

December 2  The Mind of Human Nature

“NOW THE MIND OF THE FLESH [WHICH IS SENSE AND REASON WITHOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT] IS DEATH [DEATH THAT COMPRISES ALL THE MISERIES ARISING FROM SIN, BOTH HERE AND HEREAFTER]. BUT THE MIND OF THE [HOLY] SPIRIT IS LIFE AND [SOUL] PEACE [BOTH NOW AND FOREVER]” (Romans 8:6 AMP).

Capture that the mind of human nature is sense and reason without the Holy Spirit.  Understand that the purpose of human nature is to live according to the OLD MAN.  Know that the intention of human nature is to obey the destructive beliefs instilled in the mind by the father-of-lies.

“FOR IF YOU LIVE ACCORDING TO [THE DICTATES OF] THE FLESH, YOU WILL SURELY DIE. BUT IF THROUGH THE POWER OF THE [HOLY] SPIRIT YOU ARE [HABITUALLY] PUTTING TO DEATH (MAKING EXTINCT, DEADENING) THE [EVIL] DEEDS PROMPTED BY THE BODY, YOU SHALL [REALLY AND GENUINELY] LIVE FOREVER” (Romans 8:13 AMP).

Know with certainty that if you live according to the mind of human nature you will be inundated with the OLD MAN, the cluster of negative beliefs instilled in you by the father-of-lies.  If you live according to your human nature and therefore continually surrender yourself to the OLD MAN to obey its negative thoughts, you will become its slave…held in servitude to the father-of-lies.

“DO YOU NOT KNOW THAT IF YOU CONTINUALLY SURRENDER YOURSELVES TO ANYONE TO DO HIS WILL, YOU ARE THE SLAVES OF HIM WHOM YOU OBEY, WHETHER THAT BE TO SIN, WHICH LEADS TO DEATH, OR TO OBEDIENCE WHICH LEADS TO RIGHTEOUSNESS…? (Romans 6:16 AMP).

Believe that you have a choice…to live according to the beliefs of the OLD MAN, who directs and controls the mind of human nature…or to live according to the reason of the Holy Spirit, who directs and controls the sons of God.

Notice that if you allow the Holy Spirit to continually put to death the negative thoughts and destructive beliefs prompted by the OLD MAN in your human nature, you will be called a son of God…and you will experience true Righteousness.

“FOR ALL WHO ARE LED BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD ARE SONS OF GOD (Romans 8:14).

December 3  Alive in Christ Jesus

"Don't ask yourself what the world needs: ask yourself what makes you come alive. Then go and do that. Because what the world needs are people who have come alive." Harold Whitman

Know with certainty that if you live according to the mind of human nature, you will be inundated with the OLD MAN who controls and directs the mind of human nature with its DEADENING beliefs of “You are unworthy.  You are unacceptable.  You are bad.”  The mind of human nature is sense and reason without the Holy Spirit, but the mind of the Holy Spirit is Truth…Peace…LIFE.

“NOW THE MIND OF THE FLESH [WHICH IS SENSE AND REASON WITHOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT] IS DEATH [DEATH THAT COMPRISES ALL THE MISERIES ARISING FROM SIN, BOTH HERE AND HEREAFTER]. BUT THE MIND OF THE [HOLY] SPIRIT IS LIFE AND [SOUL] PEACE [BOTH NOW AND FOREVER]” (Romans 8:6 AMP).

If you live according to the dictates of the mind of human nature, the lies of the father-of-lies will steal every drop of LIFE from you…your heart will be DEADENED…your mind will be corrupted.  But, I have good news for you!  If you stop living according to the dictates of the mind of human nature and live according to the Truth of the Holy Spirit, YOUR HEART WILL BECOME ALIVE.

“FOR IF YOU LIVE ACCORDING TO [THE DICTATES OF] THE FLESH, YOU WILL SURELY DIE. BUT IF THROUGH THE POWER OF THE [HOLY] SPIRIT YOU ARE [HABITUALLY] PUTTING TO DEATH (MAKING EXTINCT, DEADENING) THE [EVIL] DEEDS PROMPTED BY THE BODY, YOU SHALL [REALLY AND GENUINELY] LIVE FOREVER” (Romans 8:13 AMP).

For God has given you a chance to come ALIVE…living IN CHRIST JESUS.  You see, the OLD MAN with its negative beliefs, deadens.  The father-of-lies kills.  The mind of human nature paralyses…incapacitates…desensitizes.  However, Truth inspires.  Jesus Christ makes alive.  The Holy Spirit quickens…invigorates…resurrects. 

“FOR AS IN ADAM ALL DIE, EVEN SO IN CHRIST SHALL ALL BE MADE ALIVE”
(1 Corinthians 15:22).

Has your heart been deadened by the lies of the father-of-lies?  Do you want to be made alive?  Stop believing the negative voice that lives in your natural human mind, and start living in Christ…allowing Him to speak Truth and Life into your mind, heart and body…and you will come alive.

I bless you

December 4  Turn in Repentance

“IN FACT, THEIR MINDS WERE GROWN HARD AND CALLOUSED [THEY HAD BECOME DULL AND HAD LOST THE POWER OF UNDERSTANDING]; FOR UNTIL THIS PRESENT DAY, WHEN THE OLD TESTAMENT (THE OLD COVENANT) IS BEING READ, THAT SAME VEIL STILL LIES [ON THEIR HEARTS], NOT BEING LIFTED [TO REVEAL] THAT IN CHRIST IT IS MADE VOID AND DONE AWAY.  16BUT WHENEVER A PERSON TURNS [IN REPENTANCE] TO THE LORD, THE VEIL IS STRIPPED OFF AND TAKEN AWAY”
(2 Corinthians 3:14, 16 AMP).

I bless you to understand that your mind has become dull and has lost the power of knowing the Truth.  Know that the understanding of human nature is defective… undependable…inaccurate.  It is not an accurate guidepost from which to receive direction for your life.  Capture that the father-of-lies has devised a set of negative destructive beliefs in each human mind…the OLD MAN.  The OLD MAN is always present in your mind, because it is inseparable part of human nature. 

How often have you wished to save yourself from feeling unworthy,
But you could not carry it out?
How often have you wished to rescue yourself from feeling lonely and abandoned,
But you could not perform it?
How often have you wished to free yourself from hopelessness,
But you could not succeed?

You could not save yourself, because you could not see the Truth.  You could not see the Truth, because your understanding is calibrated to the OLD MAN, who controls and directs the mind of human nature.  The OLD MAN is NEVER going to leave the mind of human nature.  Moreover, you cannot purify the OLD MAN.  It will never change.  It belongs to the father-of-lies with the purpose to direct and control the human mind from the inside out.

I bless you to realize that Jesus has a new set of beliefs ready for you…the NEW MAN.  These beliefs are filled with His Hope, Love and Truth.  These beliefs are infused with Comfort, Peace and Joy.  I bless you to turn in repentance to Jesus from the OLD MAN and receive the NEW MAN…and you will see the Truth.

December 5 The NEW MAN…Created by God

“FOR WE ARE HIS WORKMANSHIP, CREATED IN CHRIST JESUS…” (Ephesians 2:10).

My life used to be different.  Although I accepted Jesus as my Savior, I did not live as saved at all.  In fact, it felt to me at most times that I was the father-of-lies’ workmanship, created in the OLD MAN, the negative beliefs which he has prepared in my mind and heart…that I should walk in sinful habits and patterns.

Although I had accepted Jesus as my Savior, I never expected Him to save me while I was still alive…to rescue me from the father-of-lies…to deliver me from the destruction of the OLD MAN…to unshackle me from the hold of the beliefs “You are bad.  You are unworthy.  You are unacceptable.  Therefore everybody is set to reject you…to annihilate you…to hate you.”

14BUT GOD FORBID THAT I SHOULD GLORY, SAVE IN THE CROSS OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, BY WHOM THE WORLD IS CRUCIFIED UNTO ME, AND I UNTO THE WORLD.  15FOR IN CHRIST JESUS NEITHER CIRCUMCISION AVAILETH ANY THING, NOR UNCIRCUMCISION, BUT A NEW CREATURE.  16AND AS MANY AS WALK ACCORDING TO THIS RULE, PEACE BE ON THEM, AND MERCY, AND UPON THE ISRAEL OF GOD. (Galatians 6:14-16).

But then I learned the Truth.  Because of Jesus Christ, a NEW MAN is available to me.  This NEW MAN is created by God and is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him.  This NEW MAN is created in Righteousness and true Holiness.  This NEW MAN is a new creature with a renewed mind and a new heart.  This NEW MAN exists of new beliefs of “You are good.  You are worthy.  You are acceptable.”

AND THAT YE PUT ON THE NEW MAN, WHICH AFTER GOD IS CREATED IN RIGHTEOUSNESS AND TRUE HOLINESS” (Ephesians 4:24).

I bless you to stop walking in the ways of the OLD MAN, instilled in you by the father-of-lies, but to put on the NEW MAN, created by the perfect Father in Christ Jesus.

AND HAVE PUT ON THE NEW MAN, WHICH IS RENEWED IN KNOWLEDGE AFTER THE IMAGE OF HIM THAT CREATED HIM” (COLOSSIANS 3:10).

December 6  Subject to God

“FOR THOSE WHO ARE ACCORDING TO THE FLESH AND ARE CONTROLLED BY ITS UNHOLY DESIRES, SET THEIR MINDS ON AND PURSUE THOSE THINGS WHICH GRATIFY THE FLESH, 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).

I bless you to understand that the father-of-lies has devised a set of negative destructive beliefs in each human mind…the OLD MAN.  The OLD MAN is always present in your mind, because it is an inseparable part of human nature.  The OLD MAN will NEVER leave the mind of human nature.  It belongs to the father-of-lies with the purpose to direct and control the human mind from the inside out.  It gratifies the FLESH.  It satisfies the mind of human nature.  It pleases the father-of-lies.  Notice that if you live according to the mind of human nature, you are controlled by the OLD MAN.

AND HAVE PUT ON THE NEW MAN, WHICH IS RENEWED IN KNOWLEDGE AFTER THE IMAGE OF HIM THAT CREATED HIM” (COLOSSIANS 3:10).

I bless you to notice that a NEW MAN is available to you, renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him.  The NEW MAN pleases the Perfect Father and sets its mind on seeking those things that gratify the Holy Spirit.

“BECAUSE THE CARNAL MIND IS ENMITY AGAINST GOD: FOR IT IS NOT SUBJECT TO THE LAW OF GOD, NEITHER INDEED CAN BE.  8SO THEN THEY THAT ARE IN THE FLESH CANNOT PLEASE GOD” (Romans 8:7-8).

Capture that the mind of human nature with its OLD MAN cannot please God.  It is enmity against God.  The OLD MAN cannot be purified.  It is not subject to God.  It belongs to another.  It reports to the father-of-lies.

Therefore, I bless you to allow Jesus to create in you a NEW MAN.  The NEW MAN is created IN Christ Jesus…complete with His Power, Life and Light.  It has come to replace and overcome the OLD MAN…the destructive beliefs the father-of-lies has formed in your mind through deception…so that you can behave in a new way and be a new creature.

I bless you

December 7  Servants of Righteousness

“FOR WE ARE HIS WORKMANSHIP, CREATED IN CHRIST JESUS UNTO GOOD WORKS, WHICH GOD HATH BEFORE ORDAINED THAT WE SHOULD WALK IN THEM”
(Ephesians 2:10).

I love the fact that I am God’s workmanship.  I have discovered that I am a very different person living WITHIN CHRIST JESUS than I am living within the OLD MAN…the person the father-of-lies says I am.

“WHO HATH SAVED US, AND CALLED US WITH AN HOLY CALLING, NOT ACCORDING TO OUR WORKS, BUT ACCORDING TO HIS OWN PURPOSE AND GRACE, WHICH WAS GIVEN US IN CHRIST JESUS BEFORE THE WORLD BEGAN” (2 Timothy 1:9).

I love the fact that God has called me with a holy calling to be the person whose inward nature functions WITHIN Christ Jesus…whose inner thoughts, character and feelings are united with the thoughts, character and feelings of Christ Jesus.

“AND HAVING BEEN SET FREE FROM SIN, YOU HAVE BECOME THE SERVANTS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS (OF CONFORMITY TO THE DIVINE WILL IN THOUGHT, PURPOSE, AND ACTION) (Romans 6:18 AMP).

I love the fact that the perfect Father sent His Son, Jesus, to set me free from the OLD MAN, so that I can have different thoughts, a different purpose and different actions.

I am now a servant of Righteousness…in my thoughts…in my purpose…and in my actions.  I do not automatically think the thoughts the OLD MAN wants to think through me anymore, but allow Jesus to think His thoughts through me.  My thoughts have become servants of Righteousness according to God’s holy calling.  I do not automatically fulfill the OLD MAN’s purpose, but allow Jesus to fulfill His purpose through me.  My purpose has become a servant of Righteousness according to God’s holy calling.  I do not automatically do the actions the OLD MAN wants to do through me, but allow Jesus to act through me.  My actions have become servants of Righteousness according to God’s holy calling.

I bless you to become a servant of Righteousness in thought, purpose and action.

December 8  Your Perfect Father of Compassion

“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).

I bless you to grasp that your everlasting Father is perfect.  He never makes mistakes.  He is perfectly holy.  He is steadfast despite opposition, difficulty or adversity.  He is perfectly patient.  His heart is not influenced by the lies of the father-of-lies.  He is perfectly good.  He does not forget.  He is firm in adherence to His promises.  He is perfectly faithful. 

Notice that your perfect Father is also your Father of Compassion and He wants you to know that He wants to be your daddy.  Capture that He is everything a child could ever want in a daddy.  He is the God-of-all-Comfort.  He is the perfect Father.  Understand that your perfect Father does such a good job at comforting that you can use that same comfort with which He comforts you to pass on to others who need it too.

“…YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER IS PERFECT.”
(Matthew 5:48)

I bless you to come to your perfect Father for comfort and believe that He will reward you with His perfect Comfort simply because you asked Him.  Remember, He is the perfect Father.

“ANYONE WHO COMES TO HIM
MUST BELIEVE THAT HE EXISTS AND
THAT HE REWARDS THOSE WHO EARNESTLY SEEK HIM”
(Hebrews 11:6).

I bless you

December 9  Eternal Life through His Spirit

“FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE GAVE HIS ONE AND ONLY SON, THAT WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM SHALL NOT PERISH BUT HAVE ETERNAL LIFE”(John 3:16).

I bless you to believe that God sent His Son to die for everybody.  You are not the exception…an excluded one…the one shut out.  Know that even though your past is a special case, He died for you too.  Though your circumstances are out of the ordinary, He gave His life for you too.  Though you might be unconventional, He went to the cross for you as well.  God did not single you out to hate you…to punish you…to reject you.

“FOR GOD DID NOT SEND HIS SON INTO THE WORLD TO CONDEMN THE WORLD, BUT TO SAVE THE WORLD THROUGH HIM” (John 3:17).

Capture that God did not send His Son into the world to condemn you…but to save you…to rescue you…to deliver you.  Recognize that God sent His Son into the world so that you would not perish…in this world…or hereafter.  He brought you Life…now and hereafter.

“IT IS THE SPIRIT THAT QUICKENETH; THE FLESH PROFITETH NOTHING: THE WORDS THAT I SPEAK UNTO YOU, THEY ARE SPIRIT, AND THEY ARE LIFE.”(John 6:63).

I bless you to understand that it is the Spirit of Jesus who brings Life, because He reveals the Truth.  Know that the Spirit of Jesus quickens…renews…revives.  The Spirit of Jesus does what the natural cannot do, because He is spiritual. 

"God's perfect will was for the natural to be changed into the spiritual through obedience.  Sin is what made it necessary for the natural to be sacrificed."(Oswald Chambers).

Capture that if you only look at circumstances through your natural eyes, you will only see what the father-of-lies wants to show you: death…defeat…destruction.  But if you allow the Spirit of Jesus to quicken your spirit, you will see what Jesus wants to show you…what the natural cannot see…and you will receive Life…abundant Life…eternal Life that starts NOW.

December 10  That You Should Walk in Them

“FOR WE ARE HIS WORKMANSHIP, CREATED IN CHRIST JESUS UNTO GOOD WORKS, WHICH GOD HATH BEFORE ORDAINED THAT WE SHOULD WALK IN THEM” (Ephesians 2:10).

There have been times in my life when I have felt extremely ashamed of myself.  I did not necessarily feel bad for the person I was…BUT FOR MY ACTIONS…for how I behaved when other people caused me pain.  After analyzing the situation, I discovered that I felt ashamed for walking in the OLD MAN… committing the deceitful deeds the father-of-lies required to quiet my painful emotions…performing certain deeds in a certain way because of other folk’s misdeeds.  I did to others what was wrong because others did to me what was wrong.

“DO YOUR BEST TO PRESENT YOURSELF TO GOD AS ONE APPROVED, A WORKER WHO DOES NOT NEED TO BE ASHAMED AND WHO CORRECTLY HANDLES THE WORD OF TRUTH” (2 Timothy 2:15).

I was relieved to discover that I could put off the deeds of the OLD MAN and present myself to God as one approved… someone who did to others what was right after others did to me what was wrong…someone who walked in the Truth.

“PUT OFF THE OLD MAN WITH HIS DEEDS” (Colossians 3:9).

Now, after I have put on the NEW MAN, who lives in the Truth according to Jesus, I carefully ponder my actions before I perform them.  I now know that if I just react to the OLD MAN, the cluster of negative beliefs that live in my mind, I am going to feel ashamed of my behavior later.  So, I do what is right.  If someone responds to me with evil intentions, I do what is right…I overcome evil with good.

“BE NOT OVERCOME OF EVIL, BUT OVERCOME EVIL WITH GOOD” (Romans 12:21)

I bless you to overcome evil with good.  Overcome your OLD MAN with the NEW MAN, who knows the Truth.  Do this, so that you do not have to be ashamed for your deeds, but present yourself to God as one approved…someone who walks in the good works, which God has before ordained.

December 11  Forgive and Forget

Capture that forgiveness is not only an act performed by the mind…but also by the heart.

Understand that if you forgive from the mind, you make a deliberate decision to give up resentment and your claim to requital for the wrong deeds done against you EVEN IF YOU DO NOT FEEL LIKE IT.  Understand that many people will advise you to forgive only from the mind, since it does not involve your heart with its hurtful feelings.  However, Jesus requires MORE!

“FORGIVE YOUR BROTHER FROM YOUR HEART." (Matthew 18:35)

Jesus requires you to forgive FROM YOUR HEART!

Understand that forgiveness from your heart requires your heart to be involved…to be engaged as a participant…to feel.  To forgive from the heart, Jesus requires you to feel the effect the wrongful deeds committed against you had on your heart… to feel the rejection… the betrayal… the abandonment…the shame.

“IT IS FOR FREEDOM THAT CHRIST HAS SET US FREE” (Galatians 5:1).

I bless you to believe that Jesus wants to set you free from the pain caused in your heart by the wrongful deeds committed against you.  He wants you to be able to forgive and forget.

I bless you to know that if you forgive from the mind, you will only be able to give up your resentment partially, because the other part is still lodged in your heart.  However, if you also involve your heart during the process of forgiveness, you have the opportunity to experience a miracle.  If you invite Jesus into your heart to deal with the heartache caused by wrongful deeds committed against you, Jesus will heal your heart.  In turn, you will not only be able to let go of your resentment, but you will also be able to forget the wrongs committed against you…because the pain will be gone.

I bless you

December 12  The Kingdom of Light

“IN WHOM THE GOD OF THIS WORLD HATH BLINDED THE MINDS OF THEM WHICH BELIEVE NOT, LEST THE LIGHT OF THE GLORIOUS GOSPEL OF CHRIST, WHO IS THE IMAGE OF GOD, SHOULD SHINE UNTO THEM” (2 Corinthians 4:4).

I bless you to understand that the father-of-lies is keeping many things hidden from you: God’s Truth…God’s Righteousness…God’s Redemption.  He hides everything God has to offer you, lest the Light of the glorious gospel of Christ should shine on you.  It is the father-of-lies’ goal to keep you in darkness.  Know that as long as you live from the OLD MAN, the beliefs that live in your human mind, you will walk in darkness, because the natural mind cannot see.

“…GIVING THANKS TO THE FATHER, WHO HAS QUALIFIED YOU TO SHARE IN THE INHERITANCE OF THE SAINTS IN THE KINGDOM OF LIGHT.  FOR HE HAS RESCUED US FROM THE DOMINION OF DARKNESS AND BROUGHT US INTO THE KINGDOM OF THE SON HE LOVES” (Colossians 1:12-13 NLT).

I bless you to understand that the perfect Father sent you Jesus, His Son, to bring you into the Kingdom of Light.  Know that in the Kingdom of Light you can see God’s Truth…God’s Righteousness…God’s Redemption.  In the Kingdom of Light, you live in the NEW MAN, believing thoughts that are from Christ.

“BUT IF WE ARE LIVING IN THE LIGHT, AS GOD IS IN THE LIGHT…THE BLOOD OF JESUS, HIS SON, CLEANSES US FROM ALL SIN” (1 John 1:7).

I bless you to live in the Light.  Do not live from your own natural mind.  It lives in darkness, because it cannot see.  Do not rely on your mind’s opinion of who you are.  It will give you the OLD MAN version.  Do not believe the thoughts that dwell in your human mind.  They are not true.

Capture that when you live in the Light, sin has no hold on you.  Know that you sin when you cannot see the Truth…when you cannot see the Hope…when you cannot see the Light.

 “FOR GOD, WHO SAID, “LET THERE BE LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS,” HAS MADE THIS LIGHT SHINE IN OUR HEARTS….” (2 Corinthians 4:6).

I bless you

December 13 Your Father Rewards

“BUT WHEN YOU PRAY, GO INTO YOUR ROOM, CLOSE THE DOOR AND PRAY TO YOUR FATHER, WHO IS UNSEEN.  THEN YOUR FATHER, WHO SEES WHAT IS DONE IN SECRET, WILL REWARD YOU.  AND WHEN YOU PRAY, DO NOT KEEP ON BABBLING LIKE PAGANS, FOR THEY THINK THEY WILL BE HEARD BECAUSE OF THEIR MANY WORDS” (Matthew 6:6-7).

I bless you to know that you have a perfect Father in Heaven.  He always rewards you if you pray to Him.  He will never fail you.

Therefore, I bless you to come to your Father with confidence.  When you pray, do not just babble empty words as if your Father does not listen and does not hear.  However, when you pray, know that every word you utter counts…every thought you surrender matters…every request you submit is heard.  Your perfect Father sees what is done in secret.

I bless you to believe with your whole heart that your Father listens and hears what you pray in secret…AND HE WILL REWARD YOU, BECAUSE HE IS PERFECT.

“…YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER IS PERFECT.”
(Matthew 5:48)

I bless you

December 14  Why Are You so Afraid?

“WITHOUT WARNING, A FURIOUS STORM CAME UP ON THE LAKE, SO THAT THE WAVES SWEPT OVER THE BOAT.  BUT JESUS WAS SLEEPING.  THE DISCIPLES WENT AND WOKE HIM, SAYING, "LORD, SAVE US! WE'RE GOING TO DROWN!"  HE REPLIED, "YOU OF LITTLE FAITH, WHY ARE YOU SO AFRAID?" THEN HE GOT UP AND REBUKED THE WINDS AND THE WAVES, AND IT WAS COMPLETELY CALM” (Matthew 8:24-26).

What did Jesus do when His circumstances got rough?  What did Jesus do when a situation changed unexpectedly?  What did Jesus do when everybody else panicked?

“BUT JESUS WAS SLEEPING.”

I bless you to understand that Jesus was sleeping during the storm, because He knew His Father.  He knew His Father would watch over Him and make sure that He was safe.  He knew His Father would provide a way out of the storm.  He knew He could trust His Father.  He knew His Father, because He was ONE with His Father.

“THAT THEY ALL MAY BE ONE; AS THOU, FATHER, ART IN ME, AND I IN THEE, THAT THEY ALSO MAY BE ONE IN US…” (John 17:21).

I bless you to ask yourself, “Why am I so afraid?”  Why am I so afraid when my circumstances get rough?  Why am I so afraid when my situation changes?”

"YOU OF LITTLE FAITH, WHY ARE YOU SO AFRAID?"

What do YOU believe about your perfect Father?

May you become ONE with God!

I bless you

December 16  I Have Come that You Might Have a Heart

I have noticed that there is a father-of-lies, who has declared war against my heart.  His goal is to take the property that belongs to another and put it out of existence.  By the time I found this out, my heart had already been ripped from my being through various beliefs of abandonment, shame and condemnation introduced by the father-of-lies.  I did not have much of a heart left anymore. 

“THE THIEF COMETH NOT, BUT FOR TO STEAL, AND TO KILL, AND TO DESTROY…” (John 10:10).

I adored my sister.  Being six years younger than she was, I spent a lot of effort trying to be with her.  I remember one incident where I was talking to her, asking her questions.  But she chose not answer me…deliberately.  No matter how many times I asked the question, she deliberately refused to answer me or even acknowledge that I was talking to her.

It was a perfect set-up for the father-of-lies.  He introduced a killer thought…that I was randomly chosen to be rejected…by my sister…by others…and by God.  There was NOTHING I could do to become part of God’s chosen ones.  I was an outsider: excluded…rejected…banned from God’s Kingdom of Light, Love and Life…all because my sister ignored me.  I fell for this belief bait, hook and sinker. 

But the perfect Father asked me to consider giving this belief to Jesus, because Jesus was sent  to give me back my heart.  It is in your heart where Life resides.

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

When I went back to the memory, the perfect Father showed me that it was not the deliberate act of unfairness committed against me by my sister…but the deliberate act of hatred committed against me by the father-of-lies….that put my heart out of existence.  However, Jesus has come to bring me Truth and give me back my heart!

What were the beliefs that took your heart out of existence?

December 17  Christ in You…Your Hope of Glory

Do you sometimes feel that you would never be able to overcome the unrighteousness that lives in you?

Know that in your natural mind lives the OLD MAN, a set of destructive beliefs instilled in you by the father-of-lies.  Understand that in the OLD MAN dwells the law of sin and death and that if you live a life ruled by the standards set up by the dictates of your natural mind, you will live a life of unrighteousness.

“TO WHOM GOD WOULD MAKE KNOWN WHAT IS THE RICHES OF THE GLORY OF THIS MYSTERY AMONG THE GENTILES; WHICH IS CHRIST IN YOU, THE HOPE OF GLORY” (Colossians 1:27).

I bless you to capture that the OLD MAN is not the only one who lives in you.  The perfect Father has sent you Christ…to live in your spirit.  Understand that Christ-in-you is the Spirit of Life.  Christ-in-you is the Spirit of Righteousness.  Capture that Christ-in-you is your Hope of Glory.

“THERE IS THEREFORE NOW NO CONDEMNATION TO THEM WHICH ARE IN CHRIST JESUS, WHO WALK NOT AFTER THE FLESH, BUT AFTER THE SPIRIT.  2FOR THE LAW OF THE SPIRIT OF LIFE IN CHRIST JESUS HATH MADE ME FREE FROM THE LAW OF SIN AND DEATH” (Romans 8:1-2).

I bless you to believe that Christ-in-you overcomes the OLD MAN.  Christ-in-you overcomes unrighteousness.  Christ-in-you overcomes the law of sin and death.

I bless you to believe that you have a choice…to walk in the OLD MAN, believing and reacting to the negative beliefs that live in your natural mind, or to walk in Christ-in-you, believing and reacting to the new beliefs of Righteousness, Love and Hope that live in your spirit.  Remember, Christ-in-you is your Hope of Glory.  May you become perfect in Christ Jesus.

 “WHOM WE PREACH, WARNING EVERY MAN, AND TEACHING EVERY MAN IN ALL WISDOM; THAT WE MAY PRESENT EVERY MAN PERFECT IN CHRIST JESUS”
(Colossians 1:28).

December 18  Blessed Are You Who Believe

“BLESSED IS SHE WHO HAS BELIEVED THAT WHAT THE LORD HAS SAID TO HER WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED!" (Luke 1:45).

I bless you to keep your eyes on your own personal vision that God has given you.  Do not look to your right and to your left at the visions God has given others.  Do not set your eyes on success.  Set your eyes on God’s promises.  Know that God will keep him in perfect Peace, whose focus is on Him.

“THOU WILT KEEP HIM IN PERFECT PEACE, WHOSE MIND IS STAYED ON THEE: BECAUSE HE TRUSTETH IN THEE” (Isaiah 26:3).

I bless you to look forward to seeing the promises that God has given you come into fulfillment.  Be strengthened according to His glorious Power.  Anticipate His revelations.  Joyfully give thanks to the Father.  Keep the Faith.

I bless you to know that no matter what vision God has given you, His purpose will always be for Jesus, His Son, to be revealed through you to the world around you.  May you acknowledge every good thing which is in you IN CHRIST JESUS.

“THAT THE COMMUNICATION OF THY FAITH MAY BECOME EFFECTUAL BY THE ACKNOWLEDGING OF EVERY GOOD THING WHICH IS IN YOU IN CHRIST JESUS” (Philemon 1:6).

I bless you to fix your eyes not on what your natural mind understands or perceives, but on God’s written and spoken Word.

“SO WE FIX OUR EYES NOT ON WHAT IS SEEN, BUT ON WHAT IS UNSEEN. FOR WHAT IS SEEN IS TEMPORARY, BUT WHAT IS UNSEEN IS ETERNAL” (2 Corinthians 4:18).

I bless you

December 19  Born of God

“ JESUS ANSWERED HER, ‘IF YOU KNEW THE GIFT OF GOD AND WHO IT IS THAT ASKS YOU FOR A DRINK, YOU WOULD HAVE ASKED HIM AND HE WOULD HAVE GIVEN YOU LIVING WATER’” (John 4:10).

There was a time in my life where I had an intense desire to do what was good, but I could not carry it out.  But then I learned of the Living Water…and I drank.  I drank deeply of God’s Hope.  I drank deeply of God’s Righteousness.  I drank deeply of God’s Love.  And I changed.  I had the desire to do what was good…and I started carrying it out.  Streams of Hope, Righteousness and Love flowed through me.  I cannot quite explain what happened to me.  All I know is that I stopped being the irrational, childish and needy person I used to be.  I stopped living in my sinful patterns.  Jesus started living His Righteousness, Love and Hope through me.  I learned that to stop sinning was a GIFT from God through the Living Water of Jesus Christ.

NO ONE WHO IS BORN OF GOD WILL CONTINUE TO SIN, BECAUSE GOD’S SEED REMAINS IN THEM; THEY CANNOT GO ON SINNING, BECAUSE THEY HAVE BEEN BORN OF GOD” (1 John 3:9).

I bless you to know that if you are born of God, you will not continue to commit the same sinful patterns over and over, because God’s seed remains in you; therefore, you will stop sinning, because you have been born of God.  Understand that Jesus came to take away your sins.  He came to live His Life through you, and in Him is no sin.

“BUT YOU KNOW THAT HE APPEARED SO THAT HE MIGHT TAKE AWAY OUR SINS. AND IN HIM IS NO SIN.  NO ONE WHO LIVES IN HIM KEEPS ON SINNING. NO ONE WHO CONTINUES TO SIN HAS EITHER SEEN HIM OR KNOWN HIM” (1 John 3:5-6).

I bless you to realize that the reason Jesus came was to destroy the father-of-lies’ work by living His own sinless Life through you.

“THE ONE WHO DOES WHAT IS RIGHT IS RIGHTEOUS, JUST AS HE IS RIGHTEOUS.  THE ONE WHO DOES WHAT IS SINFUL IS OF THE DEVIL, BECAUSE THE DEVIL HAS BEEN SINNING FROM THE BEGINNING. THE REASON THE SON OF GOD APPEARED WAS TO DESTROY THE DEVIL’S WORK” (1 John 3:7-8).

December 20  Despair That Will Change Your Life

“FOR I KNOW THAT IN ME (THAT IS, IN MY FLESH,) DWELLETH NO GOOD THING: FOR TO WILL IS PRESENT WITH ME; BUT HOW TO PERFORM THAT WHICH IS GOOD I FIND NOT. (Romans 7:18).

If you have come to the place in your life where you realize that you have the desire to do what is good, but no power to carry it our…MAY YOU BE BLESSED!

If you have come to the place in your life where you realize that nothing good lives in your natural flesh nature and mind …MAY YOU BE BLESSED!

If you have come to the place in your life where you realize that you have failed to practice the good deeds you desired to do, but the evil deeds you did not desire to do were what you accomplished…MAY YOU BE BLESSED!

“FOR THE LAW OF THE SPIRIT OF LIFE [WHICH IS] IN CHRIST JESUS [THE LAW OF OUR NEW BEING] HAS FREED ME FROM THE LAW OF SIN AND OF DEATH.  FOR GOD HAS DONE WHAT THE LAW COULD NOT DO, [ITS POWER] BEING WEAKENED BY THE FLESH [THE ENTIRE NATURE OF MAN WITHOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT].  SENDING HIS OWN SON IN THE GUISE OF SINFUL FLESH AND AS AN OFFERING FOR SIN, [GOD] CONDEMNED SIN IN THE FLESH [SUBDUED, OVERCAME, DEPRIVED IT OF ITS POWER OVER ALL WHO ACCEPT THAT SACRIFICE]” (Romans 8:2-3 AMP).

I bless you to understand that you have come to the place where you realize that you need a Savior…that you cannot save yourself from your own sin patterns that have set themselves up against the set of destructive beliefs instilled in you by the father-of-lies.  You have grasped that you need THE LAW OF THE SPIRIT OF LIFE IN CHRIST JESUS to free you from THE LAW OF SIN AND DEATH.  You finally realize that God has done what you cannot do through your own human nature.  You understand that God, through His Son, Jesus, deprived sin of its power over you…if you accept Jesus as the sacrifice to take away your sinful habits and patterns.

NO ONE WHO IS BORN OF GOD WILL CONTINUE TO SIN, BECAUSE GOD’S SEED REMAINS IN THEM; THEY CANNOT GO ON SINNING, BECAUSE THEY HAVE BEEN BORN OF GOD” (1 John 3:9).

I bless you

December 21  The Desire to Please

“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).

Have you ever heard people say, “You are only doing that to please God”, insinuating that you are doing something wrong?

I bless you to know that the desire to please comes from God.  God put that desire in you with the purpose that you would please and obey the Father.  Capture that Satan, the evil one, wants you to use the desire to please for his own purposes.

Understand that when you offer yourself to someone to please and obey him, you become the slave of the person that you have been pleasing.  A slave is a person who is bound in servitude as the property of a person.  Satan wants you to please and obey him so that you can become a slave to sin, which leads to death.

“BUT NOW THAT YOU HAVE BEEN SET FREE FROM SIN AND HAVE BECOME SLAVES TO GOD, THE BENEFIT YOU REAP LEADS TO HOLINESS, AND THE RESULT IS ETERNAL LIFE” (Romans 6:22).

Know that if you please and obey your Father, you become a slave to God.  You become a person who is bound in servitude to God as His property.  Your Father wants you to know that if you offer yourself to Him to please and obey Him, you will reap a tremendous benefit---holiness, which leads to life.

I bless you to use the desire to please, which God built into you, to please your perfect Father and experience Life here on earth into eternity.  Know that if you abide in Jesus, He will take away your sinful habits and patterns, because He Himself will start living His Life through you, and in Him is no sin.

“BUT YOU KNOW THAT HE APPEARED SO THAT HE MIGHT TAKE AWAY OUR SINS. AND IN HIM IS NO SIN.  NO ONE WHO LIVES IN HIM KEEPS ON SINNING. NO ONE WHO CONTINUES TO SIN HAS EITHER SEEN HIM OR KNOWN HIM” (1 John 3:5-6).

I bless you

December 22  Your Purpose in Life

“AND HE WHO SENT ME IS WITH ME.  THE FATHER HAS NOT LEFT ME ALONE, FOR I ALWAYS DO THOSE THINGS THAT PLEASE HIM” (John 8:29).

I bless you to be encouraged that you do not have to go and find yourself a purpose in life.  You do not have to find out why God put you here on this earth.  You do not have to be anxious, thinking that you do not have a purpose.  You have a purpose…TO PLEASE YOUR PERFECT FATHER.

I bless you to notice that Jesus left you an example when He was on earth.  Capture that He always did those things that pleased His Father.  HIS PURPOSE WAS TO PLEASE HIS FATHER.

“SO THEN THOSE WHO ARE LIVING THE LIFE OF THE FLESH [CATERING TO THE APPETITES AND IMPULSES OF THEIR CARNAL NATURE] CANNOT PLEASE OR SATISFY GOD, OR BE ACCEPTABLE TO HIM” (Romans 8:8 AMP).

Notice that if you live the life of the flesh…catering to the natural impulses of your own understanding…obeying the set of negative beliefs instilled in you by the father-of-lies…believing every thought you think, you cannot please or satisfy the perfect Father.

“BUT YOU ARE NOT LIVING THE LIFE OF THE FLESH, YOU ARE LIVING THE LIFE OF THE SPIRIT, IF THE [HOLY] SPIRIT OF GOD [REALLY] DWELLS WITHIN YOU [DIRECTS AND CONTROLS YOU].  BUT IF ANYONE DOES NOT POSSESS THE [HOLY] SPIRIT OF CHRIST, HE IS NONE OF HIS [HE DOES NOT BELONG TO CHRIST, IS NOT TRULY A CHILD OF GOD]” (Romans 8:9 AMP).

I bless you to please your perfect Father and fulfill your purpose by not living according to your own understanding, but by living the Life of the Spirit…allowing the Holy Spirit to direct and control your thoughts and understanding.

“BY MYSELF I CAN DO NOTHING…FOR I SEEK NOT TO PLEASE MYSELF BUT HIM WHO SENT ME” (John 5:30).

May you follow the example of Jesus…and fulfill your purpose.

I bless you

December 23  Baptized into Jesus Christ

“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 bless you to come to the place where you realize that life lived in your own understanding needs to be given over to death…so that the Life of Jesus Christ may be lived through you.

“KNOW YE NOT, THAT SO MANY OF US AS WERE BAPTIZED INTO JESUS CHRIST WERE BAPTIZED INTO HIS DEATH?” (Romans 6:3).

Realize that you cannot save yourself from your own sinful defense patterns that have set themselves up against the destructive beliefs instilled in you by the father-of-lies.  You need to be baptized into Jesus Christ.

“THEREFORE WE ARE BURIED WITH HIM BY BAPTISM INTO DEATH: THAT LIKE AS CHRIST WAS RAISED UP FROM THE DEAD BY THE GLORY OF THE FATHER, EVEN SO WE ALSO SHOULD WALK IN NEWNESS OF LIFE” (Romans 6:4).

Realize that you need THE LAW OF THE SPIRIT OF LIFE IN CHRIST JESUS to free you from THE LAW OF SIN AND DEATH.  Realize that God has done what you cannot do through your own human nature…to deprive sin of its power over you.  You need to be baptized into Jesus Christ, so that you might walk in newness of His Life through you.

“FOR IF WE HAVE BEEN PLANTED TOGETHER IN THE LIKENESS OF HIS DEATH, WE SHALL BE ALSO IN THE LIKENESS OF HIS RESURRECTION” (Romans 6:5).

Realize that if you have been baptized into Jesus Christ, He will live His own sinless Life through you, for the OLD MAN, with its mind of negative beliefs and sinful defense patterns, does not live in Jesus.

“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).

I bless you

December 24  Submit Yourselves to God

 “TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR HEART
AND LEAN NOT ON YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING;
IN ALL YOUR WAYS ACKNOWLEDGE HIM,
AND HE WILL MAKE YOUR PATHS STRAIGHT”
(Proverbs 3:5,6).

Realize that the OLD MAN…the set of degrading beliefs instilled in you by the father-of-lies…lives in your own understanding.  It is an inseparable part of human nature.  Your natural understanding is calibrated to these negative beliefs, because the mind of human nature is void of the Spirit of Truth.  This set of annihilating beliefs is the ally through which the father-of-lies manages you from the inside out…operating your mind…manipulating your emotions…directing your actions.  A thought might seem the truth to you, but not to others, and not to God.  It might be a misguided belief and a lie from the father-of-lies.

“SUBMIT YOURSELVES, THEN, TO GOD.  RESIST THE DEVIL, AND HE WILL FLEE FROM YOU” (James 4:7).

I bless you to resist the devil by submitting every argument in your mind to God, EVEN THE ONES THAT FEEL TRUE AND VALID…and the roaring lion will flee from you.

I bless you to resist the devil by taking every thought captive and submitting it to God’s authority, EVEN THE THOUGHTS THAT FEEL RELIABLE AND SOUND…and the father-of-lies will flee from you.

I bless you to resist the devil by trusting God with all your heart and leaning not on your own understanding, EVEN WHEN YOUR UNDERSTANDING SEEMS TO BE PURE AND JUST…and the enemy will flee from you.

I bless you to resist the devil by acknowledging God in ALL your ways, EVEN THE WAYS THAT SEEM RIGHT AND CONFIRMED…and Satan will flee from you.

“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).

I bless you

December 25
A Christmas Blessing

"FOR TO US A CHILD IS BORN,
 TO US A SON IS GIVEN,
 AND THE GOVERNMENT WILL BE ON HIS SHOULDERS.
 AND HE WILL BE CALLED
 WONDERFUL COUNSELOR, MIGHTY GOD,
 EVERLASTING FATHER, PRINCE OF PEACE"
(Isaiah 9:6-7).

I bless you to receive the Gift your perfect Father has for you today.

“AND THAT YE PUT ON THE NEW MAN, WHICH AFTER GOD IS CREATED IN RIGHTEOUSNESS AND TRUE HOLINESS” (Ephesians 4:24).

Capture that only the NEW MAN, which is created after God in Righteousness and true Holiness, will accept the government of Jesus Christ.  The OLD MAN operates under the government of the father-of-lies.

“AND HAVE PUT ON THE NEW MAN, WHICH IS RENEWED IN KNOWLEDGE AFTER THE IMAGE OF HIM THAT CREATED HIM” (Colossians 3:10).

Understand that only the NEW MAN will receive Jesus as the Wonderful Counselor, therefore becoming renewed in knowledge.  The OLD MAN receives its counsel from the father-of-lies, therefore is corrupt and lives according to deceitful desires.

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

Believe that your heart will never be at peace until you submit it wholly to the Prince of Peace to bring it under the NEW MAN management of Jesus.

May you receive your Everlasting Father through Jesus, His Son and know that He is the Perfect Father who gave the Perfect Gift.

I bless you

December 26  If Our Heart Condemns Us Not

“FOR IF OUR HEART CONDEMN US, GOD IS GREATER THAN OUR HEART, AND KNOWETH ALL THINGS.  BELOVED, IF OUR HEART CONDEMN US NOT, THEN HAVE WE CONFIDENCE TOWARD GOD.  (1 John 3: 20-21).

I have discovered that it is important to get to the point in life where my heart does not condemn me…where I do not live in guilt because of what I do or have done…where I do not feel ashamed for who I am.  This is important, because if our heart does not condemn us, THEN we have confidence toward God.

I have noticed that if I live in guilt and shame, I cannot enter into a relationship of trust and intimacy with God, because certain beliefs in my understanding tell me that I am not good enough for God…or that God is not pleased with me.  If my heart pronounces me wrong or evil, I do not have faith that God will act toward me in Goodness and Faithfulness.

“HOW CAN YOU BELIEVE IF YOU ACCEPT PRAISE FROM ONE ANOTHER, YET MAKE NO EFFORT TO OBTAIN THE PRAISE THAT COMES FROM THE ONLY GOD?”
 (John 5:44).

If your heart condemns you, find out WHY.  What are the beliefs on which the condemnation is based?  Do you feel condemned because of a sinful defense pattern you are still committing?  Then you need to ask God to help you get rid of that.  God is greater than your heart.  Do you feel condemned because of sinful defense patterns you committed in the past?  Then you need to submit these past events to God and allow Him to strip the guilt from you.  God knows all things.  Do you feel condemned because of who you are?  Then you need to surrender the person you think you are, to God, SO HE CAN TELL YOU WHO YOU REALLY ARE.

“AND A VOICE FROM HEAVEN SAID, "THIS IS MY SON, WHOM I LOVE; WITH HIM I AM WELL PLEASED"” (Matthew 3:17).

I bless you to realize that God longs to tell you that you are His child, whom He loves and with whom He is well pleased, just like He did with His Son, Jesus.  When God does this, your heart will no longer condemn you, and you will have confidence toward God.

December 27  My Peace I Give You

“PEACE I LEAVE WITH YOU; MY PEACE I GIVE YOU.  I DO NOT GIVE TO YOU AS THE WORLD GIVES.  DO NOT LET YOUR HEARTS BE TROUBLED AND DO NOT BE AFRAID” (John 14:27).

I bless you to understand that the Peace Jesus offers is not the same peace the world offers.

The peace the world offers is a kind of cease-fire between battles…a suspension of hostilities…a breathing spell before the next conflict.  The peace the world offers depends on the circumstances…the amount of antagonism…the degree of the crises.

The Peace that Jesus offers depends on His Truth…His Faithfulness…His Goodness.  The Peace that Jesus offers does not depend on the circumstances.  The Peace that Jesus offers lasts forever.

When you are anxious because of the future…or perturbed because of what someone said…or shaken because of what someone has done, do not look at the circumstances.  Look at your heart.  What does your heart believe?  Why is your heart perturbed?  Know that Jesus wants to give His Peace into your HEART!

“FOR GOD, WHO SAID, “LET THERE BE LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS,” HAS MADE THIS LIGHT SHINE IN OUR HEARTS….” (2 Corinthians 4:6).

I bless you to understand that your heart will never be at Peace while it lives under the management of the OLD MAN and the beliefs of the father-of-lies.  Therefore, bring your heart under the management of the NEW MAN and the mind of Jesus Christ.

“THOU WILT KEEP HIM IN PERFECT PEACE, WHOSE MIND IS STAYED ON THEE: BECAUSE HE TRUSTETH IN THEE” (Isaiah 26:3).

I bless you

December 28  Fruit That Will Last

When I committed and surrendered my life to Jesus and asked Him to do everything in my life He had planned to do, I was afraid that Jesus would start doing something good with my life, but that the fruit would not last.  I was wrong!  Every time I have thought that my fruit has dried up, my life started bearing MORE FRUIT.  The Kindness that Jesus has produced in me years ago has persevered.  The Faithfulness that Jesus has created in me long ago has stayed.  The Patience that Jesus has furnished in me a while back has lasted.  Furthermore, not only has the fruit lasted, but multiplied.

“YOU DID NOT CHOOSE ME, BUT I CHOSE YOU AND APPOINTED YOU TO GO AND BEAR FRUIT—FRUIT THAT WILL LAST…” (John 15:16).

I bless you to recognize that you were chosen and appointed by Jesus to bear fruit…much fruit---much kindness, much goodness, much patience, much faithfulness, much gentleness, much self-control.

I bless you to grasp that you were chosen to bear fruit that will last: fruit that will outlive the evil your enemies have planned against you…fruit that will hold up against Satan’s schemes…fruit that will persist during bad circumstances.

“I AM THE VINE; YOU ARE THE BRANCHES.  IF A MAN REMAINS IN ME AND I IN HIM, HE WILL BEAR MUCH FRUIT…” (John 15:5)

I bless you to become a branch on the vine, Jesus---so His sap can flow through you abundantly and permanently.  Similar to the xylem and the phloem of a plant, allow your pain to flow into Jesus and His Love and Righteousness to flow into you.  Then you will bear much fruit…fruit that will last.

Know that if Jesus has started producing fruit in your life, He will continue, but you must abide in Him moment-by-moment…not leaning on your own understanding…yielding each thought and belief to Him in obedience.
And Your fruit will last!

“THIS IS TO MY FATHER'S GLORY, THAT YOU BEAR MUCH FRUIT…”(John 15:8).

I bless you