October 1: 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 begging God that His Will be done in a situation.

It was not always like that.  I used to pray that my own will be done…for my own desires to be fulfilled…for my own plans to succeed.  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 became quiet in my heart and all I really wanted was for GOD’S WILL TO BE DONE IN MY LIFE.

“FOR I KNOW THE PLANS I HAVE FOR YOU," DECLARES THE LORD, "PLANS TO PROSPER YOU AND NOT TO HARM YOU, PLANS TO GIVE YOU HOPE AND A FUTURE” (Jeremiah 29:11).

I remember years ago when I used to be afraid of God’s Will.  I used to view God as someone who wants to hurt me…who wants to take away from me…who wants to punish me.  I used to think that His Will was something bad…something ill fated… something threatening.  As I started trusting God with more and more of my life, I TASTED THAT HIS WILL WAS GOOD.  The more I tasted, the more I trusted Him and the more I trusted Him, the more I tasted of His Goodness.

“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 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.”

I bless you

October 2: “Did God really Say?”

"‘BUT YOU MUST NOT EAT FROM THE TREE OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL, FOR WHEN YOU EAT OF IT YOU WILL SURELY DIE’" (Genesis 2:17).

I bless you to notice that God’s counsel is clear…straightforward…uncomplicated.

“NOW THE SERPENT WAS MORE CRAFTY THAN ANY OF THE WILD ANIMALS THE LORD GOD HAD MADE. HE SAID TO THE WOMAN, "DID GOD REALLY SAY, 'YOU MUST NOT EAT FROM ANY TREE IN THE GARDEN'?"” (Genesis 3:1)

I bless you to notice how Satan attacked God’s Word.  He proposed, “Did God really say?”

I bless you to look out for these words of doubt in your life, “Did God really say?”  Understand that Satan is cunning and subtle.  The enemy tries to distract from the Truth.  He tries to confuse God’s clear and uncomplicated Word.  He tries to separate you from God’s counsel.

I bless you to answer Satan with the very words of Jesus Himself, “'MAN DOES NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT COMES FROM THE MOUTH OF GOD' ” (Matthew 4:4).

I bless you

October 3: Persecuted, but not Forsaken

“THE GOD OF THIS AGE HAS BLINDED THE MINDS OF UNBELIEVERS, SO THAT THEY CANNOT SEE THE LIGHT OF THE GOSPEL OF THE GLORY OF CHRIST, WHO IS THE IMAGE OF GOD”
(2 Corinthians 4:4).

Be aware that the Most High has an enemy…the god of this age…the accuser of brethren…the father of lies. 

Be cautioned that the god of this age loves to darken your understanding, so that you would not recognize the Light of the message concerning Jesus Christ…that He offers Hope during despair…that He offers Love when you feel unloved…that He offers Truth for your negative thoughts.

“WE ARE HARD-PRESSED ON EVERY SIDE, YET NOT CRUSHED; WE ARE PERPLEXED, BUT NOT IN DESPAIR; PERSECUTED, BUT NOT FORSAKEN; STRUCK DOWN, BUT NOT DESTROYED”
(2 Corinthians 4:8, 9).

I bless you to recognize the voice of the deceiver…the father-of-lies:
When you are hard-pressed,
he will demand that you are crushed.
When you are perplexed,
he will want to drive you to despair.
When you are persecuted,
he will hint that you are forsaken.
When someone strikes you down,
he will claim that you are destroyed.

I bless you to continually expose your thoughts and reasoning to the Light of Jesus Christ.  He will make sure it is filled with the Truth.  His Light is powerful enough to expose any lies the enemy might plot.

I bless you

October 4: I Gave my Heart to Jesus

I hear many people say, “I gave my heart to Jesus!”  Well, I did too.  I gave my heart to Jesus…but then I took it back again.

You see, I do not view my heart as one entity only, but as an entity that also exists of many chambers.  In my heart, there are rooms that belong to Jesus.  Those rooms are filled with the nature of Jesus, because He lives there.  I have given the self-nature that used to live there …to Jesus.  I have surrendered the lies that used to live there…to Jesus.  When I am required to react from these parts of my heart, I react with the Love, Truth and Hope of Jesus.

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

However, I still have chambers in my heart that are not filled with Jesus yet.  They are filled with the father-of-lies and his lies.  When I am required to react from these parts of my heart, I react with anger, jealousy and bitterness. 

“THE LORD YOUR GOD WILL CIRCUMCISE YOUR HEARTS AND THE HEARTS OF YOUR DESCENDANTS, SO THAT YOU MAY LOVE HIM WITH ALL YOUR HEART AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND LIVE.” (Deuteronomy 30:6).

I bless you to give your heart to Jesus, even if you have done it before.  This time, do not only give your heart as an entire entity, but do it one chamber at a time…one lie at a time…one thought at a time.

By doing this, Jesus has the opportunity to fill each part of your heart with Himself as you surrender those parts to Him until you love Him with all your heart.  Therefore, next time you experience the painful feelings of anger, resentment or jealousy, know that Jesus does not reside in that chamber of your heart yet.  However, it is an opportunity for you to invite Him in.  Know that He will come in and circumcise your heart…obliterating the lies that live there.  Then He will fill you with Himself.  And this part of your heart will belong to Jesus as well.

I bless you