Seven Faith Building Questions
Starting Your Day With Jesus
Lifestyle Series
By Mel D Westbrook MBTh
The Book Introduction
Using The Truth/Prayer Pages
Jesus will be
teaching you a truth then lead you into praying for that truth. Each page has power truths and power
prayers. Today read about the purpose of
Power Truths. Then, tomorrow read about
the purpose of Power Prayers. From then
on, you will read three Truth/Prayer Pages each day for five days. Please read the purpose of Power Truths
today. NOTE: This is a five-day program;
you skip Saturday and Sunday.
The Purpose Of “Power Truths”
Week One Day One
What Is Your Original Purpose?
This introduction is
used in all the “Starting Your Day With Jesus Lifestyle Series” studies and
prayers. If you
have read this introduction before, it may seem repetitious. But, it is vital
that you stay aware of where Jesus is taking you and what you are doing to get
there.
What kinds of people
are you having to deal with every day?
Do you find that, as a Christian, it hard to do what Jesus wants your
relationships to be? With the kind of people you have to deal with, how does He expect you to
treat people with unity, truth, compassion, fairness, and love? How do these things work in business, dating,
marriage, a family, or with an enemy or adversary? How do you take what you learn in the Bible
and apply it to the way you live life?
How do you do it in such a way it actually empowers you to succeed in
life in a better way than ever before?
You and Jesus will be able to solve these issues together here.
Does The Bible Help With
Your Life?
Have you ever read a
requirement in the Bible, and wondered what would happen if you applied it to
your business or a relationship? What
would happen to your business or your friends if you went around just telling them
the truth? It can look like you would be
a lot more successful if you mainly concentrated on your needs, likes,
preferences, and interests. To start
loving others and concentrating on their needs, can appear to hurt your goals,
plans, and future; but, it actually enhances
them. Wisdom from Jesus will make the
difference.
What makes you win
in life? What causes people to want to
be around you? Why would someone want to
do business with you, marry you, be your friend, or stop being your enemy? What kind of a person would you need to be to
win at life and it make you and those around you happy. What is Jesus, the truths of the Bible, and
Christianity offering that would make your life so much better that you wish
you had lived that way all of your life?
Did You Know There Are Two Lifestyle?
There are two
approaches to life; one involves dishonesty and the other involves
honesty. One involves selfishness and
the other involves love. One involves
goals that end at death and the other wins now and in eternity. One involves loving things and using people
and the other involves loving people and using things. One involves following the teachings of the
world and the other involves following the teachings of Jesus. The thing about these two lifestyles is, one
abuses people and the other blesses, helps, befriends, and cares about
people.
Would You Like To Grow With Jesus?
What if you are
already too busy to add one more thing to your life? What if you already have a full
schedule? What if you are already doing
as much as possible trying to have a relationship with God? Why would you add something like this to your
busy schedule?
It’s true you can’t
just stop your life to let Jesus teach you.
But, would reading and praying over three pages a day really be that
hard? Rather than a simple “thought for
the day” or some self-help concept, what if Jesus took you into steady,
continued growth in your relationship with Him?
What if He took you into incredible principles and taught you how to
succeed at everything you do?
Studying a truth and then praying and asking Jesus to put it in your
life is a powerful way of making your life so much better than it has ever
been.
How Is The Bible
Relevant To Your Every Day Life?
What about your
life? Would you like Jesus to teach you
how to succeed in a business, a marriage, a family, a career, or your
life? Are you willing to let Him help
you grow in your relationship with Him?
Have you ever considered how wise Jesus is? What would happen if you included Him in all
the decisions of your day? He will help
you think of incredible things that will enhance your plans. You can simply read and pray through three
pages a day for five days a week and Jesus will help you learn how to walk and
talk with Him all day long.
What about your
happiness? Have you ever thought a
certain thing or person would make you happy and it didn’t? Have you ever got something that made you
happy for a while and then it gradually lost its excitement? How would you like Jesus to guide you into
those things that bring true happiness that lasts for a lifetime? How about starting your day with
happiness?
What Is Your System For Life?
What is life all
about? Jesus and the Bible are like
turning on the light in a dark room.
Most people are trying to “feel” their way through life. They are trying to imagine and guess what
life is all about. They find themselves
going down dead-end paths, running into obstacles, and falling over things they
weren’t able to see. Jesus is the light
of the world. He illuminates the issues
and circumstances you face so you can see and understand what you are dealing
with. This is called truth. On each page, you will be letting Jesus teach
you a truth and then empower you to pray and invite Him to put it into the
attitudes, character, and behavior of your life. That is worth the little time it takes to
read and pray three pages a day.
Do You Know What Causes You To Win Or Lose?
What about your
success? Did you know there are certain
areas of your attitudes and character that are causing you to win
or lose at life? These two things are
Jesus’ priority. He knows that if you
have bad attitudes, you will fail. How
is your character? You may feel like
your attitudes and character are pretty good.
Have you ever dealt with a person who seemed to be unaware of their
faults? Their people-skills were poor; but, they didn’t seem to know it. It is difficult for you to see your own faults. Jesus will lovingly and gently help you
improve.
Who do you like? Do
you like those who are trying to use you to get what they want? Do you like those who lie to you so you will
meet their needs? Do you like those who
will cheat you, if they think they can get by with it? Do you like those who talk down to you
because they think they are superior to you?
Improving your attitudes and character are how Jesus helps you treat
people the way you like being treated.
When they find out that you are real and trustworthy, it becomes much
easier for them to be around you. Jesus
wants to teach you how. Win/win
relationships are all about doing to others what you want them doing to
you.
Your Team
Jesus’ people are
praying that you are blessed in a special way.
They are praying that you have a close relationship with Jesus.
People Are Praying This For
You:
Eph 1:16-17 (NIV) I have not stopped giving thanks for
you, remembering you in my prayers. I
keep asking that the God of your Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may
GIVE YOU the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may
know Him better.
Eph 1:18-19a (NIV) I pray also that the eyes of your
heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope
to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in
the saints, and His incomparably great power
for you who believe.
Eph 1:19b-21 (NIV) That power is like the working
of His mighty strength, which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the
dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all
rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not
only in the present age but also in the one to come.
This concludes your reading and praying for today.
The Purpose Of “Power Prayers”
Week One Day Two
Living Life For
A Purpose
How Do You Turn
Information Into A Lifestyle?
If you were a
hoarder, you would fill your house with all kinds of things. They may be very useful; but,
you would have forgotten why you obtained them.
Working on your LIFEstyle is about using what you learn, and living
life as God gives it to you. This keeps
you from just “hoarding” a bunch of information.
Let’s say you got a
degree and was licensed as a professional.
What if you worked at a fast-food place, getting minimum wages, while
getting your education, degree, and license?
But, suppose you kept working as a fast-food worker after you paid the
price, learned the information, earned the degree, and were licensed to take
advantage of your training. You didn’t
make the changes in your lifestyle.
Jesus’ methods keep this from happening.
What Makes Jesus’ Truths Different?
Have you seen people
going on a strict diet, lose a lot of weight, but later gain it all back? They didn’t make dieting and exercise a part
of their lifestyle. Your lifestyle is permanently changed by you “doing what it takes”
to get where you need to go so you can continue living there. By exposing yourself to Jesus’ principles,
you develop a lifestyle.
How can Jesus take
three-page chapters and turn those principles into a new lifestyle for you? First, He
helps you understand His truths. Then He
helps you ask Him to put those truths into your life by providing you relevant
prayers based on those truths. Plus, He
helps you be thinking about what you studied and prayed about. All during your day, He helps you see how you
can use His principles in your daily life.
How Does Jesus’ Life Help Your Life?
A baby goes through
many stages in becoming an adult; they try to pattern their life after adults.
If they saw how much smaller, weaker, and untrained they were, they might get
discouraged and not try. You have been
born again; this time you were born into the family of God. You started out as a spiritual infant. As a
beginner child of God, you are to become a mature, trained, adult child of God. Jesus will help you grow into all these
things.
Jesus is your
pattern for adulthood; But, you must see Him as your
example. Jesus is the Creator of the
universe; He is God; of course He is able to do what He did. As a spiritual beginner, you may see how
small, weak, and untrained you are; you may not be willing to try. You may not know you are to be a spiritual
adult someday by following Jesus’ examples and training. Jesus can get you ready to live in God’s
Kingdom by helping you now.
What Is Jesus Trying To
Teach You?
If a baby doesn’t
innately know the reason they have a small version of an adult body,
they won’t develop properly. They must
desire to watch, practice, grow, and gradually learn how to live life as an
adult. You are never going to be God; but, you are a child of God; you are to watch Jesus,
practice, grow, and gradually learn how to live life as a spiritual adult. Jesus IS God; but,
it is still His desire to show you how to live His adult,
Jesus-life as a child of God.
You were born as a
human so you could have a body and a life to be trained with. It is a limited life because your attitudes
and character haven’t been developed to a place where you can be trusted with
supernatural, God-sized power. If you
yield to Jesus’ training, your attitudes and character will be developed
properly. Then Jesus will gradually
give you opportunities to work together with Him. He and you will be able to train and help
those around you to experience Jesus’ power and truths in their life.
Are You Ready To
Learn How To Live The
Jesus-Life?
Ask Jesus to help you understand vital truth issues. Like in the rest of these things in this
book, spiritual understanding only comes from Jesus. If you read and understand these things, you
can be sure it is because Jesus is empowering you to understand. If you read and don’t understand, all you
have to do is ask Jesus to help you understand.
If you pray and still don’t understand, then ask Jesus to help you bring
it back up when He is ready to explain it to you.
1.
Be Born Into It
John 3:3 (NIV) In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the
truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” You know what human birth looks like; it is a small version of a human,
starting out for the first time on this planet.
They usually have all the physical equipment, but, don’t know how to use
it or take advantage of it. They have a
lot of growing to do physically, mentally, spirituality, and in
experiences. They have a long way to go
to be an adult human; but, they seem to have the
desire, hope, and determination to get the job done.
You were born again; your second
birth made you God’s child, a member of His family, and a citizen in His
Kingdom. Now you need to allow all of
this become a reality in your heart and mind.
You know you have been born into it. Now allow Jesus to help you know the other
things you need to know.
2.
Know You Are Born Again For Eternity
1 Pet 1:23 (NIV) For you have been born again, not of
perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and
enduring word of God. Being born again is different from being born
as a human. The human “seed” of your
parents produced a life that is perishable and heading for death. You do all that growing physically, mentally, and in experiences; but, if
you aren’t born again, you lose it all at death. Being born again through the “seed” of God is
imperishable; you live
forever. But like human birth, you have
some growing to do; you start from spiritual infancy and mature into an adult
child of God.
3.
Trade Your Human Life For Jesus’ Life
Gal 2:20 (NIV) I have been crucified with Christ and I no
longer live, but Christ life in me.
The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God,
Who loved me and gave Himself for me. If you want to, you can spend all your time
learning how to succeed as a human. If
you do, you will forfeit your eternal Jesus-training. As an untrained Christian, you will enter
into eternity with very little spiritual skills, abilities, experiences, or
training. Your opportunities will be
extremely limited. However, even if you
only give Jesus a few minutes of your time each day, He will use it to help you
succeed now and for eternity in many ways.
As a child of God, you have some
growing to do. Jesus will help you learn
to live in the spirit realm where your Father lives. As a new born-again beginner, you don’t know
much about this new realm. But, Jesus provides you examples through His life and
teaching. He will teach and show you
what an adult child of God looks like.
It will take a lifetime to learn; but all of it will work now and
last for eternity. Let Jesus show you
how to trade your life for His.
4. Trade
One Lifestyle For
Another
John 14:12 (NIV) I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith
in Me will do what I have been doing.
He will do even greater things than
these, because I am going to the Father.
What if a young
child didn’t see their parents as someone they were to pattern after? What if they thought they could never be like
them? That is what happens to a lot of
Christians. They don’t understand the lifestyle Jesus is trying to give them. Yes, Jesus is God; but,
He lived His life as a human, spiritual adult.
He did it so you can accept His lifestyle as
yours.
5.
Trade One Inheritance For Another
Rom 8:17 (NIV) Now if you are children, then you are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed you share in His sufferings in order that
you may also share in His glory. What if you see the Bible and Jesus’ life as
not have anything to do with your life now?
How would it affect your life if you knew your life now was influencing
your eternal inheritance? What if you
found out that you could be making investments in eternity by living a certain
way here? Did you know that your success
here affects your success in eternity?
6.
Appreciate Your New Birth And New Inheritance
Now if you are children, then you are heirs: What did you inherit when you became a child of
God? Dear friends, now you are
children of God, and what you will be has not yet been made known. But you know that when He appears, you shall
be like Him, for you shall see Him as He is (1 John 3:2). Just like a human child will
automatically grow up looking a lot like their parents, there are parts of you
that are automatic in Christian growth. But, there are skills, knowledge, experiences, abilities,
and training your parents have that you didn’t get.
7.
Take Advantage Of Your New Birth And
New Inheritance
Now if you are children, then you are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ: Not all of Christianity is automatic; a human baby
inherits their characteristics from their parents. But, what they do
with them is up to them. That is the way
Christianity is; you inherited God and His provisions. That is automatic; but,
what you do with all this is the next big issue.
You aren’t here just to learn how
to live as a human, you are mostly here to learn how to live as a spirit being. You are to
let Jesus use the things you learn about living as a human to teach you about
living as God’s child. You have applied
yourself to learning a lot about being human; and, you have applied yourself to
learning how to live as God’s child.
Now it is time to start living as a child of God.
If you need a drink,
you have learned how “to do what it takes” to get one. If you need to chew some food, you know how
to do it. If you need to pick something
up, you have learned the process of accomplishing that. But, do you know how to hunger and thirst
after righteousness? Do you know how to
“chew” spiritual truths? Do you know how
to move spiritual issues from one place to another? Learning how to walk in the Spirit, digest
God’s truth, have eyes and ears that can see and hear what Jesus is teaching,
is what you are dealing with now.
A
Prayer For You To Always Pray For Yourself And Others
Jesus’ people are
praying Ephesians 1:17-23 for you. It
contains such vital requests before God that it has converted into a prayer for
you and those around you. As others pray
it for you, please join them by praying this modified prayer for yourself and
your friends.
I keep asking that the God of my Lord Jesus Christ, the
glorious Father, may give me the Spirit of wisdom and revelation,
so that I may know Him better.
I pray also that the eyes of my heart may be enlightened in
order that I may know the hope to which He has called me, the
riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and His
incomparably great power for me, who believes. Jesus, help me see, know, and understand the
hope, the riches, and this power.
That power is like the working of His mighty strength, which He
exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right
hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and
dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but
also in the one to come. And God placed
all things under His feet and appointed Him to be head over everything for the
church, which is His body, the fullness of Him Who fills everything in every
way. Jesus, I ask that I would receive a
full revelation and vision into all this power that is available to me; and, I
ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.
It would be good for
you to pray this prayer for yourself and those around you regularly.
This concludes your reading and praying for today.
The Seven Faith-Building
Questions
(Romans 8:31-39)
Version: 25.10.8
Truth/Prayer
Pages Chapter One
Questions That
Open The Door To God Through Faith
Week One Day Three
What Are The Benefits Of
Faith?
Jesus is teaching you how to get the blessings,
provisions, healing, and power of God.
If you want to establish a close and loving relationship with your heavenly
Father, you have to do it through the pathway of faith. Faith is the acceptance of the fact that He
is totally honest, truthful, and filled with integrity. When He says something to your thoughts,
feelings, or through the Bible, you believe it because you know He
doesn’t lie.
Jesus, if I have
a problem or need and I come to God in prayer, help me understand that the
only way I am going to get my prayer answered is through a
faith-relationship with my heavenly Father.
Make it clear to me that if I don’t trust Him or believe He is telling me
the truth, then it hurts my relationship with Him. But, teach me that I can’t just decide to
have this kind of faith; the faith I am looking at here isn’t a human
characteristic, skill, talent, or ability.
Help me see that this faith only comes through You and the Bible.
What
Is True Faith?
Heb
11:1 (NIV) Now faith is being sure of what you hope for and certain
of what you do not see. Jesus’
type of faith “is being sure of what you hope for.” How did you become
sure? Through Jesus and the Bible giving
you a special type of faith. This is a
faith that empowers you to base your life on the truth of God. It is a faith that gets you those
things you were only able to desire, wish for, and hope for.
Jesus, teach me
that Your type of faith is being “certain of what I
do not see.” But, what makes me certain? Help me understand that You and the Bible
speak a confidence, a knowledge, and a certainty into my mind and heart. Show me that it makes me certain about my relationship with the love, grace, mercy, and trustworthiness
of my heavenly Father. Help me believe
that it is me being able to see what I couldn’t see before. Teach me how it works.
Why Do
Answers To Prayer Come?
2 Cor
4:18 (NIV) 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.
When you first start out in your relationship with
God and His spiritual things, the reverse of this Scripture is true. You start your relationship with Him having
your eyes fixed only on what is seen, and not on what is unseen. We, as humans, have learned to only believe
what we can experience with our five senses.
If it can’t be proven to your satisfaction through them, then you simply
don’t believe it.
Jesus wants to help you believe things you can’t
see. When you do, those unseen things
become visible and tangible to you as answers to your prayers. When these unseen things become visible and
“real,” you get miracles, supernatural blessings, and solutions in your physical
world.
Jesus, teach me
that my answers to prayer come from the invisible realm. That which I could not see before, is
made visible, tangible, and real. That
which I did not have before, I have in my physical world. However, show me that with Your type of
faith, it started out being real and tangible to me in the invisible
realm before it became physical and tangible in my natural, visible
realm. My spiritual five senses saw it
before my five senses of the physical world did.
What
Is True Faith?
Heb
12:2 (NIV) Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith,
Who for the joy set before Him endured the cross,
scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. You don’t start with your focus,
attention, and expectations locked onto Jesus.
If you need something, you typically use your natural systems to get
it. If you or others can’t provide it, only
then do you start wishing, hoping, and trying to believe in the
supernatural provisions of God. It is
then that you experiment with crying out for God’s help. But, that is a
powerless, faithless, and failing way of life; Jesus wants to show you a better
way.
Jesus, show me that
if I joined a professional football team without physical preparation or
knowledge of the sport, I would get hurt or maybe even killed the first time I went
out onto the field. But,
I often wait until I face some impossible situation before I decide it is time
to go to work on my faith. Help me see
that, that is why so many Christians face failure, disappointment, frustration,
and relational problems with their heavenly Father.
What
Is The Focus Of The Believer?
We fix
our eyes not on what is seen: Why would you do that? You do it because what is seen isn’t always
what is best and beneficial for you.
Also, what is seen isn’t all that is available for you. There are a lot of invisible,
supernatural, miraculous things that your heavenly Father can provide for you;
and, they are things you desperately need.
We fix our eyes not on what is
seen, but on what is unseen: Jesus, help me see that “We” represents the people who get results
from their relationship with You. Even
though there is a way for me to get some of what I want by manipulating the
visible world, it is best to get them through You. Show me that, that is because, if they come
through You, I know they are the very best things for me; You filter everything
so I only get the very best.
This concludes your
reading and praying for today.
Truth/Prayer
Pages Chapter Two
Questions That
Open The Door To God Because
Of Faith
Week One Day Four
What Is True Faith?
Heb 11:1 (NIV) Now faith is being sure of what
you hope for and certain of what you do not see. Your first
attempts at faith are to try to convince yourself. You try to believe by trying to do whatever
it takes to accept God and the Bible as telling you the truth. You try to believe it is true; you try to
accept the fact that the Bible and God are telling you the way it is. But, no matter how hard you try, you find
yourself having moments of doubt. You give
it your best efforts and still don’t get the positive answers you are praying
for.
Jesus, help me learn how to look to You for a life of
faith. Teach me how to be sure and certain without it being human reasoning. I am used to trying to convince myself of
what I think are truths. I am used to
trying to use my own faith and confidence to believe things. Help me give up my system of believing those
things I need to believe.
Where Do Answers To Prayer Come
From?
2 Cor 4:18 (NIV) 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. Not
only can you not use your own faith to believe in and for the things you need
from Jesus, you can’t see a lot of them.
As you look around you, you see things you “think” you need. The things you see are the motivators for
what you desire, strive for, work for, pray for, and try to believe for; but, they aren’t always what you need.
Jesus, You have taught me that I don’t know
what I should be praying for. I thought
that You meant I didn’t know which of the visible things I saw should be prayed
for. I thought You
were saying I didn’t know when, what, or how much of these visible things I
should be asking for. But now, I
understand that You are talking about many things that are invisible to
me. You are talking about things that I
don’t even know exist. Help me
understand that You have things I need that I can’t even imagine.
Where Does True Faith Come From?
Heb 12:2 (NIV) Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author
and Perfecter of your faith, Who for the joy set
before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right
hand of the throne of God. Jesus is your way, your truth, and your life
into the things that you desperately need but can’t see (John 14:6). When you are looking for the way to
solve something, when you are trying to find out what the truth is
concerning some issue, and when you are trying to make a life for
yourself, it doesn’t come natural for you to look to Jesus for these
things. You often consult yourself,
other people, or world principles.
Jesus, help me realize that You know the right way, You know the truth about everything, and Your life is
the life I really need. Help me
see You as the solution to all my questions, problems, and goals. Help me believe in the right way, the
real truth, and the best life.
When I received You into my life, I got the One Who is the way,
the truth, and the life.
You are my way into the invisible things of God. You are the truth about the invisible
things of God. And, You
are the life that gets and benefits from the invisible things of
God.
What Is My Way
Into The Invisible Realm Of God?
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen: Jesus told you that He is your access into the invisible realm of God. Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me (John 14:6).” Every answer to every need starts out being invisible to you. Even if you can see the answer as being some job, some money, some object, or some person, you having that job, money, object, or person is something you don’t yet have. You having it or them is still an invisible aspect to you. You don’t physically have it; it isn’t in the visible realm of you possessing it. But, when God answers your prayer positively, it happens; it shows up in the physical realm; it becomes visible to you; it goes from the invisible realm to the visible realm.
Jesus, help me understand this pathway through You into
the invisible realm. Help me understand
that, as You speak faith into me, You are making the
invisible become visible. Teach me how
to live in the spirit realm where this principle changes my physical life.
What Is My Truth
Into The Invisible Realm Of God?
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith: When you fix your eyes on Jesus, you fix your eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. Jesus’ life is a true representation of what the invisible looks like. As you read the Bible and see the life of Jesus in the Gospels, He shows you what the invisible looks like and how it operates. The whole Bible is from Jesus. Through it, He is telling you what the invisible things of God are all about. Through Him and His Word, you start seeing into the invisible realm of God. The truth about God and all His provisions are made clear to you.
Jesus, help me study the Bible with faith; open my heart to everything
it says. Let me believe it with Your
faith. Help me stop and allow You to
tell me what to believe about each word in Your Bible. Speak faith into me so I can be sure and certain about everything it is trying to create and transform in
me.
What Is My Life In The Invisible Realm Of God?
For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal:
When you fix your eyes on Jesus, the Author and
Perfecter of your faith, your attention moves from the temporary to eternal life. The invisible things of God pour into your visible,
temporary life and get you ready for eternal life. Every decision, every idea, every
relationship, and every situation start to bring success now and counts for all
of eternity.
Jesus, help me learn how to get the invisible things of God into the
visible aspects of my life. Help me
learn how to get a flow of the invisible things to become a major part of my
temporary and eternal life. Lead me into
getting my eyes so fixed on You that I cooperate with You concerning all those
invisible things I need. Help them be
brought into this visible life I live so I can benefit from them myself and
benefit those around me.
This concludes your reading and praying for today.
Truth/Prayer
Pages Chapter Three
Questions That
Open The Door To God’s
Invisible World
Week One Day Five
Why Is Jesus’ Type Of Faith
Important?
Suppose you work very hard, get
the money, and buy a house. But, what if you didn’t do this through talking with,
planning with, and believing in God.
There can be problems with the location of the house and hidden issues
within it. The price of the house can be
so much that it puts you into slavery to the house; the house can have major
problems that use up your money. You don’t
know everything; you can’t control the circumstances surrounding the
house.
Jesus, help me see that I don’t know what is really
best for me; but help me relax in the fact that God knows everything and can do
anything. I don’t just want a house, I want
happiness, freedom, success in life, and many other positive things. But, show me that I won’t find out if the
house provides or assists me with those things until after I buy
it. But, through Your faith, I can know before
I buy a particular house.
Fixing Your Eyes On What Is Unseen
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus: Why fix your eyes on Jesus? You focus on Him because He loves you more
than you love yourself. It was vital for
Jesus to die for your you so you could be saved and so you could see how
much He loves you. John 15:13 (NIV) Greater
love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his
friends. You fix your eyes or direct
your attention on Him because He has the wisdom, power, and love to make sure
you ask for and get the best.
Let you fix your eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of your faith:
Jesus, there
are a lot of things I don’t see; I can’t see You. But, teach me that there is a way for me to
fix my eyes on You. I can’t see what is
the very best for me or would give me a wonderful future. But, help me know that there is a way for me to
only get those things. I can’t see what
would make me happy and successful; but, help me understand that there is a way
for me to find out before I choose the wrong things. I can’t see which principles and concepts
will give me a victorious life. But, show
me that there is a way for me to be able to see them and live by them. Help me examine those things that can help me
start seeing into the invisible realm.
What Two Kinds Of Faith Help Me See
The Invisible?
The Author and Perfecter of your faith: Jesus gives you two types of faith to help you see
things you could not see before. They
help you be able to live a successful and enjoyable life. You mostly want to use the faith that
gets you the things you need and want.
But, there is a faith that helps you enjoy your
relationship with your heavenly Father.
It is actually the main type of faith; it is the faith that makes the
other type of faith possible. The most
important faith is called relational faith; and, the secondary faith is called
provisional faith.
Jesus, teach me that when I fix my eyes on You, it
means I put my focus on You. Help
me give You my attention and concentrate on You. Show
me that both types of faith come through You.
You gives me Your relational faith in my heavenly
Father. And, You
give me faith for things or provisions (provisional faith). Help me see that when I pray for something, if
and only if You speak faith into me, do I get a special power. It is a faith that empowers me to believe I have
what I have been praying for. Then will I
get my answer from God.
What Causes A Difficult Moment In The Relationship?
What if Jesus refuses to speak faith into you for
something you really want and think you need?
Then relational faith (faith in God) helps you know He loves you more
than you love yourself. And, you know
He would give you provisional faith for it, if it were the right thing
for you. If you lack relational faith,
you will get mad at God and think He is failing you. Let Jesus show you the seven questions that
help you have this relational faith in your heavenly Father.
Greater Love
Has No One Than This
Seven Faith-Building Questions
You are about to allow God’s love
for you prove that you should have or need to have total, relational
faith in Him. He is asking you seven
questions that you are to use The Seven Biblical Principles on. You must always keep in mind that neither
relational nor provisional faith are human traits, skills, talents, or
abilities. Both types of faith come from
Jesus Who is the Author and Perfecter of your faith; He starts it and He
keeps making it stronger and better.
Jesus, help me believe that relational and
provisional faith can only be spoken into me by You and Your Bible. Show me that sometimes You speak relational
and provisional faith into me by speaking to my thoughts and emotions. Other times You speaks to me through the
Bible. When this happens, let me get a supernatural
ability to know for a fact that You have, are, or will be doing
something special with me, to me, in me, for me, and through me.
Relational And Provisional Faith
The main purpose of the
Seven Faith-Building Questions is to generate relational faith in you. This is a foundational faith that establishes
a faith-relationship with your heavenly Father.
This isn’t a faith for something; it is a faith in God. This faith has to exist first before anything
else happens between you and God. It
is a faith that helps you believe in Him, trust Him, rely on Him, and depend on
Him. It was how you were able to
get saved.
Jesus, help me understand that my first faith in God
came through You using someone to speak relational and provisional faith into me
through the good news message. That
message created a special and powerful faith in me. Help me see that it was vital in order for me
to be empowered to accept Your salvation and God’s love. Help me remember that powerful faith.
Faith That Caused You To See The Invisible
Rom 10:17 (NIV) Consequently, faith comes from
hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of
Christ. Faith for salvation was your first experience with
Jesus speaking faith into you. That made
Him the Author…of your faith. Now
the Author…of your faith is being the Perfecter of your faith. Faith in new birth was for a
provisional thing…salvation; in other words, Jesus provided salvation. But, it was based on
a relational faith in Jesus for salvation; you received a relationship
with God.
Jesus, help me see that salvation was
invisible to me. I couldn’t see what
salvation was at first. Then the good
news message helped me see the benefits, the solutions it would bring,
and the relationship I needed. Then, help
me understand that through faith, the invisible became visible in my life. Teach me that this is the way the rest of my Christian
life works.
It’s Just Business
Suppose someone had a product that
you knew worked; but, you didn’t trust the person
selling it. You may go ahead and buy
that product; but, you would require a lot of proof
every time you did business with them. You
would have to have contracts, receipts, inspections, and guarantees. Your only relationship with that person would
be on a business level. You may not like
them or even want to do business with them.
You wouldn’t care about them; you would just want what they were
selling.
Jesus, help me not try to have a business
relationship with God. Help me not just
want what He has to offer, want to be able to do business with Him, want to do
what it takes to get what I need from Him; but, not care about Him or about
having a relationship with Him. Help me
see that God is all about relationships and refuses to work with me on a
business level. Help me get a relational
faith by developing a close and loving relationship with Him. Then after that, let me start to get
provisional faith from You for the specific things God provides.
This Is To Build A
Faith-Relationship
If you need something you don’t
think you need, or are trying to get something that would hurt and damage you,
you would be trying to get Jesus to give you provisional faith. But, relational
faith would be the only thing that would protect you and help you get
your real needs met.
Jesus, let relational faith build a relationship
with God so I don’t just use God for getting the provisional things
I want and then walk away. Teach me that
all of Christianity is about me having a relationship with God, myself, and
other people. Show me that my relationship
with God is the only thing between me and the mistakes I typically make in
life.
The
Faith-Relationship
Here’s how God wants your faith-relationship
with Him to be like:
Mark 12:30 (NIV) Love the Lord your God with all
your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with
all your strength.
Faith Builds A Love-Relationship With God
Your relationship with God all
starts with faith and then grows into this kind of love. First you yield to these seven faith-building
questions to see, understand, and feel God’s love for you.
1 John 4:19 (NIV) We love because He first loved us. If you
don’t first feel and understand God’s love for you, you will struggle with
loving Him back. As these seven
questions help you see His love for you, it empowers you to respond to Him in
love.
Faith Builds A Love-Relationship With Yourself And Others
Mark 12:31 (NIV)
The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
There is no commandment greater than these.
Jesus, help me see that it is all about relationships with God, myself,
and other people. Teach me that The
Seven Faith-Building Questions, if applied to my life by The Seven Biblical
Principles, will lay a relational foundation of faith that will transform and
fill me with love.
This concludes your reading and praying for this week.
Truth/Prayer
Pages Chapter Four
Things That
Open The Door To God’s
Invisible World
Week Two Day One
Relational Faith
John 15:13 (NIV) Greater love has
no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. God
loves you; but, there are a lot of people who don’t
know He loves them. There are those who
have heard that He loves them but don’t feel it. There are those who have been told He loves
them but don’t believe it. There are
those who are trying to believe He loves them but just can’t seem to get enough
proof concerning His love. Unless Jesus
speaks relational faith into you, there will never be enough proof,
experiences, Scriptures, or evidences to change your mind and your heart; only
Jesus can help you feel and know you are loved.
Jesus, I am learning more and more how much I need You. I failed at many of the things I thought I should be able to do as a Christian. I wanted to yield to God’s love; I wanted to have total faith in my heavenly Father. But, I am now learning that I need to apply The Seven Biblical Principles to all these and many more issues. Help me to desire, study and learn, pray and ask for, look to You for faith to believe, yield to Your love, take faith-action on the basis of the fact that You have given me relational faith. And then, thank You for it.
The Source Of Relational Faith
Heb 12:2 (NIV) Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the
Author and Perfecter of your faith, Who for the
joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the
right hand of the throne of God. Experiencing God’s love must be more than it being
poured into your heart. God
has poured out His love into your hearts by the Holy Spirit, Whom He has given
you (Rom 5:5b). But, you need the Author and Perfecter of your faith to help you feel
it, know it, take advantage of it, and share it with others.
Jesus, I believe Your Word that Your love has been poured into my heart. But, I struggle with taking advantage of it all the time. Help me know it, feel it, and then help me share it with those around me. It is through Your faith, as You speak it into me, that I am able to feel and respond to this great love that has been poured in me. Let Your faith empower me to take advantage of it. Perfect my faith to such a degree that none of Your love is wasted on me.
The Author And Perfecter
Rom 10:17 (NIV) Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. This word of Christ is a word that means spoken; it is a Greek word, “rhema” that is something that is spoken into you through the voice of Jesus. This verse describes your authoring experience at salvation. You may think that your decision to accept Jesus did it; but, your decision just opened the door for Jesus to speak faith into you. Jesus did all the saving, justifying, forgiving, and speaking faith into you so you would be able to believe you have salvation and justification.
Jesus, You wanted to start me out experiencing Your “rhema” spoken faith. You wanted it to become a part of my lifestyle and my relationship with You. But, because I didn’t understand what happened to empower me to believe and accept You, I went back to believing in myself. Help me remember how it all happened so I can take advantage of Your authorship of my faith. Then help me start looking to You for more and more faith to believe in God’s love.
The First Reason For The Authoring And Perfecting
Mark 12:30 (NIV) Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. If this is just a command, then you have an impossible assignment. It isn’t impossible because you feel God isn’t that lovable; it’s impossible because you don’t know how. You can think of a lot of “reasons” why you should love God. But, your heart and mind never seem to be able to yield to and act on this fact.
Jesus, I know I have God’s love in me through Your Holy Spirit; but, it sometimes lays dormant in me. Help me love You with all my heart, with all my soul, with all my mind, and with all my strength by Your power. Help me hear You speak Your power of faith into me as You create the ability for me to love You. Help me not just hear this as a commandment that puts the responsibility on me. Help me believe You are speaking and creating this truth in me right now. You alone can activate this love in me through Your faith.
The Third Reason For The Authoring And Perfecting
Mark 12:31 (NIV) The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these. Jesus is speaking faith and creation through these two verses. This isn’t just information for you to learn; it is the Creator of the universe speaking truth into you as you read this. You can’t do what you are told; you can’t obey what you are commanded; you are only able to do what you are. If you don’t yield to these verses and allow Jesus to speak faith, power, transformation, and creation into you, you will live inadequately because you are inadequate for the assignment; creation has to take place first.
Jesus, You are empowering me to live the commandments of the Bible. Enable me to read the Bible in faith; give me Your faith to believe that You are creating these things in me. Then help me learn from Your Holy Spirit how to take advantage of all these Scriptures You have created in me. Empower me to be led by Him, controlled by Him, and have the mind-set to only want the desires He has. Let me love You and my neighbors with the love of God. Create in me all those things I need so I can do it.
The Second Reason For The Authoring And Perfecting
Mark 12:31 (NIV) The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these. You received God’s love in your heart so you could be loved. You can’t love until you have been loved. You are going to be loving your neighbor as yourself. If you don’t feel God’s love in you, your neighbor won’t feel God’s love from you. To the degree you feel and know you are loved, is the degree you will be able to love your neighbor. To fulfill the third thing, you have to have the second thing fulfilled.
Jesus, help me not see my being loved as selfishness. Help me see that the more I yield to being loved, the more I am able to love. I receive, as an experience, this love You have poured into my heart. I open my life to it so You can start it flowing into all the areas of my heart. Heal all the wounds, melt all the barriers, tear down all the walls, and make my heart whole. Empower me to yield to Your love so I can feel it, know it, and be healed by it.
The Relationship
Mark 12:30 (NIV) Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. It sounds like you are doing all the loving here; but, that is not the case. God already loves you with His supernatural love. The problem in your relationship with God is, you struggle with being able, willing, and trained on how to love Him. The relationship really opens up, as you learn how to use His love to love Him with.
Jesus, help me yield to the training of the Holy Spirit. I know I have God’s love in my heart; but, I don’t seem to know the truths that lead me into taking advantage of it. Help me be led into the ways for me to give my heart, soul, mind, and strength to it. Work with me, teach me, take the controls of my life and steer me into the ways of love. Open my heart, soul, mind, and strength to a complete surrender to Your love. Get me ready to be fully trained in all its potential, power, attitudes, character, and reality.
This concludes your reading and praying for today.
The Seven Faith-Building
Questions
Truth/Prayer
Pages Chapter Five
Opening The
Door To God’s Invisible World
Week Two Day Two
You are now ready to start digging deeper into The Seven Faith Questions. You have learned what they are all about through the Truth Paragraphs. You have prayed the prayers that prepare you for being able to apply them through the Prayer Paragraphs. Now, let Jesus start exposing you to them so He can create faith and success through them.
STEP ONE: Know
How To Respond To God’s Love
Question One: Rom 8:31a (NIV) What, then, shall you say in
response to this?
What Do You Want?
What, then, shall we say in response to this: This is a question based on your free will; it is
asking you what you are willing to say and do. No one can decide for you; you must
answer it and the rest of these questions based on your desires. Are you willing to allow your heavenly
Father to build a close and loving relationship with you? Are you willing to learn how to trust,
believe, rely, and depend on Him based on this love relationship?
Jesus, since God isn’t willing to develop a business
relationship with me, help me tell Him that I want to learn how to
believe in Him and His trustworthiness. Help
me use this question to tell Him I want to learn how to love Him
with all my heart and with all my soul and with all my
mind and with all my strength. Help
me apply The Seven Biblical Principles to this question, so it will prepare my relationship
with Him. Help me do that so I will be
able to yield to and answer all the rest of these questions sincerely and
correctly.
What Do You Need?
John 8:36 (NIV) So if the Son sets you
free, you will be free indeed. We all have walls, defenses, barriers, restricted
areas, doubts, and suspicions in our heart.
You may have stopped allowing yourself to feel a love for
anyone. You may have been hurt too many
times by too many people to be willing to open your heart anymore.
Jesus, heal me so I will be able to feel a deep,
intimate love for my heavenly Father.
Empower me to believe in Him, trust Him, depend on Him, and rely on
Him. Take me by the hand and lead me through
these seven questions for as long and as often as it takes. Help me understand the importance of this
relationship, because God does.
What Are You Willing To Say?
What, then, shall we say in response to this: Jesus, I want to be free from all the damage,
hurt, and abuse that have caused me to stop being able or willing to feel
love. I want to take this first step and
tell You that I want and am willing to yield to You speaking relational faith
into me. Help me learn to believe in
Your honesty, integrity, and trustworthiness so I can learn how to yield to
Your love.
James 3:2 (NIV) We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check. From this verse you can see that what you say is vital to you being able to “steer” yourself into the faith of Jesus. Your mouth and tongue provide you with the opportunity to control the direction you go.
Gaining Control Over Your Life
You all
stumble in many ways: You are faced with errors in judgment,
bad decisions, incorrect treatment of yourself and others, and many other areas
where you make mistakes and do things that hurt you. You may try to learn from your mistakes,
determine to do better next time, and hope that you can live a better
life. But, hope, wishful thinking, and
human determination aren’t the answer to a better life.
If anyone is never at fault
in what he says: Jesus,
help me learn how to start saying the right things. Since the Bible tells me that, that procedure
will navigate me, steer me, and direct me into a way of life that has less and
less mistakes, errors, failures, and mishaps.
But, my problem is knowing how and having the
power to never be at fault in what I say. Help me!
Setting
A Goal
If
anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect
man: None of us are perfect; but that doesn’t keep you from
making it a projected goal. If you can
respond to these seven faith-building questions in the right way, it won’t make
you perfect; but, it will start heading you in that
direction. If you just give up on
striving toward perfection, then you have given up on improvement. You have also limited what Jesus is able to
do for, in, with, and through you.
Steering
Toward That Goal
If
anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able
to keep his whole body in check: Jesus is using this study, on
getting your faith built up, to head you into the process of faith-action. Jesus is moving you from just believing that He
is telling you the truth to actually basing your words and deeds on it. He will use faith-action to take the
invisible things you are praying for and bring them into the reality of your life.
Jesus,
help me join You in faith-action so we can make my body start living on the
basis of the fact that God has given me what I prayed for. As You speak faith into me for something, empower
me to base my life on it. But, sometimes this is a scary and difficult move to
make. Teach me how to steer my body in
taking faith-action by saying those things that admit God has done His
part. Help me say it out loud to You,
me, and others so my heart can hear it.
The
Small Steers The Big
James 3:3-5 (NIV) When you put bits into the mouths of
horses to make them obey you, you can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by
strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the
pilot wants to go. Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but
it makes great boasts. Consider what a
great forest is set on fire by a small spark.
What, Then, Shall You Say In
Response To This?
As you go through the rest of the
seven faith-building questions, what you say in response to them
will make all the difference in the world as to where you and your body end up
in life.
This concludes your reading and praying for today.
Truth/Prayer
Pages Chapter Six
Opening The
Door To God’s Invisible World Through Words
Week Two Day Three
STEP ONE
CONTINUED: Know How To Respond To God’s Love
Question One: Rom 8:31a (NIV) What, then, shall you say
in response to this?
James 3:2 (NIV) We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.
From Stumbling To Success
We all stumble in
many ways: This is you making the wrong decisions, basing your life on the
wrong philosophies, setting the wrong goals, and getting involved in the wrong
things. When you stumble, your life goes into things that hurt you and
those around you. But,
you don’t just stumble in a few
ways; you stumble in many ways.
Jesus, it is good to start seeing how to take
faith-action and begin living on the basis of Your truths. My mouth and tongue have been out of control
for a long time. I say things and then
wonder how I ended up where I am. I
didn’t know my tongue was steering me into failures, dead-end streets,
pitfalls, and pain. Help me learn how to
apply this principle of controlling my mouth.
Help me not try to take this principle and use it with my own skills,
talents, abilities, reasoning, and effort.
Help me yield to You and Your training on this matter.
From Fault To Success
We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault: Stumbling and being at fault are basically the same thing. We’re the ones who stumble; and, we’re the ones who are at fault. But, controlling what you say can look like you finally found something you can control. You can reason that you just need God to give you a handle, a control mechanism, a steering wheel, or a system you can use. You can think that if He would show you how, you would do better.
Jesus, help me stop trying to impress You with what I can do. Help me stop looking for ways I can steer my
Christian life. Show me how to look for
what You can do to help me direct this life.
Set me free from faith in myself; set me free from human and world
training that cause me to want to accomplish something on my own. Join me in bringing my mouth and tongue under
Your control so I can take my first steps of faith-action through what I
say.
From Words To Success
We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says: How are you ever going to never be at fault in what you say? The whole Bible is like this; if you don’t read it as God’s Book, you will get discouraged, depressed, frustrated, hopeless, and defeated. This is talking about perfection; and, only God is perfect. But, that is exactly what you are looking at and reaching out for. You want Jesus’ perfect life to flow in and through you to others.
Jesus, Philippians 4:13 says: “I can do everything through Him Who gives me
strength.” Teach me how to yield to You and Your
strength. Empower me to answer these
seven questions with words from You.
Help me start speaking those words You want me to say. Help me yield my mouth to Your thoughts and
feeling. Let me speak those things that
steer me into the places You want me to be.
Perfect Success
We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man: If you are going to keep on stumbling and being at fault in what you say, there is no hope of you answering these seven faith-building questions the right way. And, if you don’t answer them the right way, you will fail at life. The more you stop stumbling and being at fault in what you say, the more perfection you get. The more perfection you get, the more success you experience in life. But, the answer to this dilemma is asking Jesus to flow through you.
Jesus, a lot of times my mouth is out of control. I find myself saying things that I know I
shouldn’t say. I also say things that I
later find out weren’t correct. I know
that You could have helped me avoid all that stumbling and being at fault. Show me how to yield to You, Your thoughts,
Your feelings, and Your words. Help me
believe in Your perfection; let it start to flow into me. Help me say those things that steer me toward
Your perfect life. I know I will never
be perfect; but, I ask for You to help me steer in
that direction.
Having A Body That
Succeeds
We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body: You learned in Romans 7:15-25 that your major problem is your body. You were exposed to the creative power of Jesus in Romans 12:1-2. There He spoke creative faith and power into you to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. Now He is ready to help you with your mouth so you will be able to take faith-action with it and live on the basis of what He has done for you.
Jesus, I see that You are creating all the right things in me so that
I am ready to start steering my body into Your kind of success in life. Each thing You teach me is leading me in more
and more of Your Jesus-life. Take me
through these seven faith-building questions and help me say those things that
steer me into a life built on You. I
realize that my answers to these questions must be real, sincere, true, and
from my heart. Only You can empower me
to do that! I seek Your help, Your
training, Your power, and Your transformation for this.
Getting True Success
We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check: Only God is qualified to determine when your body is in check. He has presented all the information and commandments for you having your whole body in check. You are used to deciding whether or not you have, are, and will do “the right things;” but, that decision isn’t yours to make. Never being at fault in what you say is an evaluation that God alone can make. Keeping your whole body in check is an accomplishment that only Jesus can give you; He has to bring you into saying the right things.
Jesus, I can see why I have been having so much trouble living the
Christian life. I can see that I have
been trying to decide what was the right and the wrong things to say. And, I was trying to give myself the power,
abilities, and skills to live up to them.
Help me start from the very beginning and allow You to tell me
what the right things are to say; then help me say them. Give me You and Your life; permeate my life
and help me know what is right and wrong.
I will then have You guiding my mouth and tongue into the right things;
this will steer me into Your life being my life.
This concludes your reading and praying for today.
Truth/Prayer
Pages Chapter Seven
Opening The
Door To God’s Invisible World Through Knowing
Week Two Day Four
STEP TWO: Know
God Is For You
Question Two: Rom 8:31b (NIV) If God is for us, who can be
against us?
What Do You Really Need?
If God is for us: Your
heavenly Father is for you and is on your side; He loves, respects, and
cares about you. He represents
and stands for your best interests; He is devoted to your wellbeing. He is standing in your corner, and has
accepted you as His child. He feels
protective and responsible for you being safe, provided for, and
successful. He is committed to watching
over you and all you are and need. He
even knows the number of hairs on your head.
Jesus, as I allow You to use these seven questions
to build my faith, trust, dependency, reliance, and success in my heavenly
Father, let that relational faith open my eyes to the fact that God is for me
as an individual. Since God
is for me, help me feel, think, and talk about all my needs, issues, and
problems in a faith filled way. Help me direct
my mouth and tongue in the right direction.
Help me not yield to thoughts, feelings, and words that “steer” my body
away from faith and success in my God, Who is for me.
What, Then, Shall You Say In
Response To This?
Are you willing to accept the fact
that God is for you? Has Jesus’
sacrifices and death on the cross convinced you? Are you willing to apply The Seven Biblical
Principles to this issue until you know that God is always for
you? You must never forget that this
faith-building question isn’t trying to build up your human faith. You are looking to Jesus to use this question
to build your spiritual faith. You are
looking to Him to help you start saying the faith things.
There are two parts to this issue:
1.
Jesus, help me come to the place where I believe
and know for a fact that God is always for me. Help me stay here and keep applying The Seven
Biblical Principles until I allow You to speak relational faith into my heart,
mind, mouth, and actions. And, if there
is ever a moment when I struggle with faith again, help me come back here and
do it again.
2.
Jesus, once I come to the place where I know for a
fact (believe) that God is for me, make me ready for the second aspect of “if
God is for me.” I
now say, “Since God is for me,” I now know He is. Until I have reached this point, show me that
the next issue won’t have any real meaning.
Show me that, “who can be against me” is totally dependent on “if God is for me.” Help
me steer my mind, heart, and body into this truth by saying that He is. Teach me how to keep steering my life this
way.
Spend time with the God, Who is for you. If
you believe God is for you, then your heart opens to faith from
Jesus that no one can be against you.
Therefore, the first faith issue you have to get from Jesus is that God
is for you; let Jesus help you keep saying it for the rest of your life:
“God is for me.” Let it keep preparing
you for the second miracle of faith from Jesus that no one can be
against you. Now, let Jesus help
you keep saying: “No one can be against me.”
Steer Your Life Into The God Who Is For You:
·
Mat 19:26 (NIV) Jesus looked at them
and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things
are possible.” Now say it out loud with your mouth: “With God
all things are possible.”
·
2 Cor 9:8 (NIV) And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all
things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in
every good work. Now apply this truth to your life by saying it about
you: “And God is able to make all grace abound to me,
so that in all things at all times, having all that I need, I
will abound in every good work.”
·
Mat 28:18 (NIV) Then Jesus came to them
and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.” Now
accept this truth about the God Who is for you: “Jesus, You hold all authority in heaven and on earth. No one can overpower me because You are
more powerful than all of them.”
·
1 John 4:4 (NIV) You, dear children,
are from God and have overcome them, because the One
Who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
Now admit that this is also true of you: “I am from
God and have overcome them, because the One Who
is in me is greater than the one who is in the
world.”
·
John 3:16 (NIV) 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. Accept
this on a personal level: “GOD, You so loved
me that You gave Your one and only Son, I now believe
in Him and shall not perish but have eternal life.”
You just steered your life into
God Who is for you. You admitted with
your mouth that He has, is, and will do all these things for you. You accepted them as the truth for you. You allowed them to enter into what you
believe. This prepared your heart for
all attacks, battles, issues, decisions, and plans you have. Keep saying these things as a part of your
life. Allow Jesus to empower them as you
say them. Let Him speak faith through
them into your heart and mind.
The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
are more powerful than anything or anyone that exists. And God has the greatest sacrificial love
for you than any in existence. He
demonstrated that He is for you; so, who can be against and defeat you? You must ask this every time you pray, every
time you face an issue, every time you make a decision, and every time you find
yourself being afraid or doubting. Pray
and allow God to complete this work in your heart and mind. Take each word in “if God is for you,
who can be against you” and
invite God’s truth into you.
What Do YOU Want?
If: Heavenly Father, I know You are for me
because Jesus spoke faith into me. I ask
You to help me keep growing in that knowledge so I can say: “Since You
are for me.”
God: Heavenly Father, help me see how real, loving, gracious, merciful, and
powerful You are. Help me allow You to
be God in my life, my needs, and my circumstances. Help my faith, from Jesus, so see Who You are
that I relax in Your care and verbally agree with You.
Is for: Help me understand and have such relational faith that I am able to act
on the basis of what it means for You to be for me. Open the eyes of my heart and understanding
so I can see what great love, provisions, and power come from You being for
me.
Us: Heavenly Father, help me see this “us” as including me as a part of it. Let me know You care
specifically for me as an individual as well as a part of Your family. Help me have a personal relationship
with You that feels and understands what it means to be Your child.
What Do You Say?
Who can be against us: Once
you know (believe in) Who God is, you can better answer this part of
this question. Once you have the first
part settled, the second part takes on greater and more powerful meaning. Once you see the love, authority, power, and
greatness of your God, you see how powerless and ineffective your problems,
issues, needs, and struggles are. You are
able to compare God with them and see Him as the total answer to them.
Who can be against us? Jesus, help me
respond to this question: “What, then, shall I say in response to this?” Help me see that the right, Biblical, and God
answer is, “No one!” But, help me make
that answer my answer. What,
then, shall I say in response to this?
I desire to give You the right answer; help me take these
things I am studying and praying for and use them to say,
speak, and give the right answer. Empower
me to fix my eyes on You and allow You to speak faith into me so I can believe
I have and am speaking out the right answer.
Help me know I have God’s love and am speaking the right answer
for the purposes of love. Now, help me start
taking faith-action with my tongue and mouth saying: Since God is for
me, no one can be against me. I thank You for hearing and answering
this prayer.
This concludes your reading and praying for today.
Truth/Prayer
Pages Chapter Eight
Opening The
Door To God’s
Invisible World
Through Generosity
Week Two Day Five
STEP TWO
CONTINUED: Know God Is For You
Question Two: Rom 8:31b (NIV) If God is for you, who can be
against us?
Now, let Jesus give you a look at the God Who is for you. Once you have received the faith from Jesus to believe you have the answer that, since God is for you, no one can be against you, you are ready to see why and how no one can be against you. As you see what it means for God to be for you, it gives you Biblical truths that Jesus uses to speak faith into you. You just need to read, believe, and speak these truths out of your mouth as a part of faith-action.
The God Who Is For You
1.
God Has The
Right Kind Of Possibilities
Mat 19:26 (NIV) Jesus looked at them and said, “With man
this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” If God
is for you but didn’t have what it takes to help you, then you are still in the
same condition you were. He would have a
loving attitude but that’s all. You don’t
know Who God is without the Bible explaining Who He is. If Jesus hadn’t told you that with God all
things are possible, you wouldn’t know how vital it is for God to be for you.
Jesus, I want to respect, appreciate, honor, and
relax in Who God is. Help me not just
have the information that all things are possible with You. Empower me to know it through the eyes of
Your faith in my heart. Expand my
commitment to this truth; help me see it all from a supernatural view. Help me read each verse as being Your Book of
creation and power.
2.
God Has The
Right Kind Of Character And
Attitudes
2 Cor 9:8 (NIV) And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that
in all things at all times, having all that you need, you
will abound in every good work.
If God could but didn’t want to
help you, you would still remain in your struggles and situations. Since God is making all grace abound to
you, then the God Who is for you is demonstrating that He is for you
by giving you gifts.
Jesus, You are making all
grace abound to me. Help me
understand what all that means. Help me
understand and live on the basis of the fact that in all things at all
times, I have all that I need.
Help me use this fact to be empowered to abound in every good
work.
3.
God Has The
Right Kind Of Authority
Mat 28:18 (NIV) Then Jesus came to them and said, “All
authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.” It is
illegal to use power where you don’t have the authority to use it. You may be a policeman in one city; but, that doesn’t give you the authority to do police work
in another city. You would have to get
permission to use your powers in that other city.
Jesus, the fact that You are for me makes all
the difference in the world. Nothing in
heaven or on earth can exercise jurisdiction or authority over You. You and our heavenly Father are one; You and
He are for me. Help me take faith-action
and live my life on the basis of that fact.
Flow through me into the life of those around me who are open to
You.
4.
God Has The
Right Kind Of Power
1 John 4:4 (NIV) You, dear children, are from God and
have overcome them, because the One Who is in you
is greater than the one who is in the world. If God
had the power, the authority, the character and attitudes, but never shared
them with you, you would be loved by a wonderful God. But, you would be
omitted from the victorious, successful, and supernatural work He does. You have learned that God wants to share
Himself and His provisions to all who will allow Him to change their attitudes
and character. All you have to do is desire
it, study and learn what it is, pray and ask for it, keep your eyes
fixed on Jesus so He can give you the faith to believe you have it, take
faith-action through the power of God’s love, and thank Him for
it.
Jesus, You and the Holy Spirit are living inside me giving
me a special relationship with You. You
are for me so that I can join You in having a winning at life. Teach me how to join You in being an
overcomer. I give You control, so You
can show me how it is accomplished. I
yield to You, so You can live this life through me as a training for me. Let me watch You in action so I can learn
firsthand how to live the overcoming process.
Be my Lord, Savior, Tutor, Mentor, and Instructor by You living with me,
in me, for me, and through me.
5.
God Has The
Right Kind Of Eternity
John 3:16 (NIV) 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.
It would be wonderful for God to
be for you every now and then. Any help
you could get from Him would be awesome.
But, God is for you all the time and for all of
eternity. All He is and all He has is
inherited by you for eternity. He will
always be the one and only God; and, He allowed you to inherit Him.
Jesus, Your generosity is beyond anything I
can comprehend. Help me see this eternal
love relationship You are making available to me. Let it fill my heart and mind in such a way
that it empowers me to love You and appreciate You more and more. Help me cooperate with You, yield to You,
believe in You, give myself over to You, and be able to get ready for Your eternal
relationship.
This concludes your reading and praying for this week.
Truth/Prayer
Pages Chapter Nine
Opening The
Door To God’s
Invisible World
Through Sacrificial Love
Week Three Day One
STEP THREE: Know
The Greatness Of God’s Gift
Question Three: Rom 8:32 (NIV) He Who did not spare His own
Son, but gave Him up for us all--how will He not also, along with Him,
graciously give us all things?
What Is God WILLING To Do?
He Who did not spare His own Son: You just looked at the love, power, and authority
of God; you saw what God was able to do.
Now you are looking at the attitudes and desires of God. You know God can because no one and
nothing can stop Him. With this
question, you know God will because He has already demonstrated His
willingness.
Jesus, when I get in a situation where I doubt God’s
willingness to help me get what I need, ask me question three. Since God’s willingness is the issue I often struggle with, help me with it. I have received faith from You that convinced
me that God has the power and authority to help me; but,
I struggle with whether or not He will.
God’s Love Is The Answer Concerning
His Willingness
Rom 5:8 (NIV) But God demonstrates His own love for us
in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. When
you were still a sinner, you certainly didn’t deserve anything from God. If you think God bases His decisions on
whether or not you deserve it, then this love-action by God shows you that
isn’t true. You need to ask Jesus to
help you forget about the issue of whether or not you deserve His help;
you need help with the concept of gifts.
WILL God Help Us?
·
John
3:16 (NIV) 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. Jesus first, help me open my heart to and
say with my mouth that all good things come from my heavenly Father as gifts. Teach me that I will resist Your faith
concerning what God is willing to do, if I don’t see that all God’s provisions
are based on being gifts.
·
John
3:17 (NIV) For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world,
but to save the world through Him.
Jesus next, help me open my heart to God’s attitudes; He only gives
good gifts. I have experiences
where I asked for something and He didn’t give it to me. Show me that one reason could have been that
it wasn’t good for me. Help me
always keep in mind that God’s intention is for me to only get
good.
Jesus, You were a good gift; but, in God giving that good gift,
there were people who ended up being condemned.
What was God’s intention, attitude, and purpose for sending You? Show me that it was for good; but, we can turn it into a bad thing. I can reject that which was given to me as
good. Help me see that, that rejection
would turn the good intention of God into a bad thing for me.
·
John
3:18 (NIV) Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever
does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in
the name of God’s one and only Son. Jesus, teach me
that as much as is possible, God will simply not give me good gifts that I would
turn into bad things. If I need a car, a
house, money, a job, or anything else that I would use to hurt myself, God
would first, start giving me all those things that would change my attitudes
and character. That helps me not turn
good into a bad thing. Then, once
I had my heart and mind healed and was ready for a car, a house, money, a job,
or anything else, He will give it to me.
Jesus, teach me
that God had to send You into this world.
He did it even though some people would turn His gift into condemnation
on themselves. He refused to cheat me just
because some would use it to bring on themselves condemnation or separation
from Him for eternity. Help me see that His
attitudes and character provided eternal life for everyone; but,
He honors everyone’s God-given free will to accept it or reject it.
Ultimate Love For You
He Who did not spare His own Son: When you are about to have to make a sacrifice of
one thing or another, you weigh each thing out and decide what you love the
most and keep it while sacrificing the lesser thing. However, there is no one God loves more than
His Son; but, He loves you just as much.
Jesus, I thank God that He didn’t put You on the
scales and me on the scales and decide I wasn’t worth the sacrifice of His One
and only Son. Help that be all the proof
I will ever need. But, help me see that
with my human reasoning and human faith, I will not be able to base my
life on that proof. I ask You to speak Your
faith into me so I can get the full impact of this verse. I need it before I will be able to know
this about my heavenly Father.
The Ultimate Sacrifice For You
But gave Him up for us all: You need to stop reading the Bible as applying to
everyone else. The word “all” here
brings things down to you personally.
God gave Jesus up for you as an individual because He gave Him up for
us all. But, “all” must
not cause you to see yourself as some insignificant person in a large
group. God doesn’t see you as a person
in a group of people; He required you to come to Him as an individual. You had to accept Jesus as your
Lord and Savior for yourself; you and He established a personal
relationship.
Proof That He WILL Meet Your Needs
How will He not also: This
question is being asked of you; since He went ahead and sacrificed His
only Son, since He made such a tremendous and absolute decision in your favor,
what good thing will He withhold from you? That gives you something to apply The Seven
Biblical Principles to. That gives you
the ability to bring this issue before Jesus so He can empower you to desire to
understand and feel the full impact of this truth.
Jesus, reveal to me that studying brought this truth
to me; now help me pray for the faith from You to believe this truth is
strengthening my heart and mind. Show me
that it is revealing God’s tremendous love for me. And, it is opening the door for me to confess
it with my mouth as the first step of faith-action. Teach me to always confess these things with
my mouth. Help me realize that until I
confess it, I haven’t steered myself into Your provisions.
Along with Him: Just
like faith only comes through Jesus and His Bible, every good thing you
get will be coming along with Him.
Your heavenly Father’s attitudes, that inspired Him to give Jesus up
for us all, is the same attitude He has for all the relational and
provisional faith you will receive through Jesus. If God didn’t spare Jesus from you, then He
won’t withhold any other good thing from you. You can ask Jesus to speak faith into you for
believing this truth and know you are praying for something He wants
to give you.
Grace Brings Gifts Of Love
Graciously give us all things: Grace has to do with gifts; you must understand your
grace-relationship with God. Only
gifts come from Him; if you assume you got something from Him for any other
reason, you have stepped out of faith into wages, earnings and what you deserve.
·
Eph
2:8-9 (NIV) For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and
this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works,
so that no one can boast. Jesus, teach me
that it all started out with gifts; and it continues to be gifts throughout
eternity.
·
Rom
6:23 (NIV) For the wages of sin is death, but the gift
of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Jesus, help me understand that I work for
wages; I graciously get gifts. Rom
4:4 (NIV) Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him
as a gift, but as an obligation. Help me see that God will never owe me anything; it is through
grace, faith, and love. Help that bring
great thanksgiving from my heart.
What Do You Want?
God has an unlimited supply
of everything; all He has to do is speak and anything He says comes into
existence. He can make everything a gift
because it all comes easy and unlimited to Him.
You can’t “break” the bank; you can’t “overload” the system; even Jesus,
the one thing He only had one of, He made to be free for you. If He requires that you simply believe in His
honesty and integrity to get them, then He isn’t asking too much; He isn’t
trying to get you to earn them.
Heavenly Father, settle it in me once and for all
that, if You didn’t spare Jesus, Your own Son, then
there is nothing good You will withhold from me. Let this be settled in my relationship with
You in total, constant relational faith from Jesus. Help me never doubt this again.
What If…?
Okay, you get Jesus’ faith that
God will only give you things that are good for you. But, what if you don’t
like that thing God sees as being good for you?
Rom 8:28 (NIV) And you know that in all things God works
for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according
to His purpose.
Jesus, sometimes things happen that I don’t like;
but, help me realize that through Your faith, I know it is working out
for my good. Empower me to speak, out
loud, the principles of this verse and help my heart and mind accept the
end result that is coming. I don’t
know how You are going to take the situation and make it turn out
good. But, You
have given me a powerful relational faith in my heavenly Father. So, I say: “I know that in all
things God is working everything out for my good! I trust Him and His plan for me.”
This concludes your reading and praying for today.
Truth/Prayer
Pages Chapter Ten
Opening The
Door To God’s
Invisible World
Through Greatness
Week Three Day Two
STEP THREE
CONTINUED: Know The Greatness Of God’s Gift
Question Three: Rom 8:32 (NIV) He Who did not spare His own
Son, but gave Him up for us all--how will He not also, along with Him,
graciously give us all things?
What Is God Willing To Do?
He Who did not spare His own Son: You have seen that God wants everyone to be saved
but some use their God-given free will to keep that from happening. You have seen that there are things God wants
to do for you; but, because of improper attitudes and character, He can’t give
them to you until these issues are solved.
So, this could cause you to feel frustrated, hopeless, helpless, and
resentful. You can see your attitudes
and character as being something that will “always” hinder you from getting
good things from God.
Jesus, my attitudes and character aren’t too difficult for You. Help me look to You for the desire to
get them fixed so You will lead me into the study of Your Word for the
answers. Empower me to pray for
Your help with them. Help me fix my eyes
on You for the faith to believe I am being healed in my attitudes and
character. Help me feel Your love
that is working miracles in them. Take
me step-by-step into faith-action that is based on better and better
attitudes and character. And then, help
me be thankful for Your mighty work in them.
What Is God Helping You With?
He Who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us
all: Since improper attitudes and
character are keeping you from getting a lot of the good things of God, what
good thing is God doing to help you? He…did
not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all.
Salvation, justification, and sanctification all came
through God not sparing His own Son. There are a lot of things you may try to use these
seven questions on. You may want money,
possessions, positions, power, prestige, popularity, pleasure, and
accomplishments. And you, as a Christian,
may want them through God. But, God will want you to have good attitudes and
character first. But seek first
His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will
be given to you as well (Mat 6:33).
Jesus, I often want to go straight to my goal or objective. I try to find as many shortcuts, timesaving
methods, and bypasses as will get me to my objective faster. I often fail to see the importance of those
things You have put up as priorities. I
fail to understand why those things I want aren’t just as important as those
things You are working on. Help me see
through Your eyes; help me trust You with those things
I don’t yet respect. Lead me into those
things that are important to You. Give
me Your way of life as my way of life.
Why Is God Helping You?
He Who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all--how
will He not also: This isn’t
just God trying to convince you of His faithfulness. God is faithful; God is loving; God is kind;
and God is gracious; but, God is also wise. He isn’t going to make such a great sacrifice
and then let it be wasted. This was a
huge sacrifice; and, God is going to make sure it produces great results. God is helping you because Jesus, His Son
made this great sacrifice for it.
You aren’t trying to desire,
study, pray, believe, love, take faith-action, and be thankful so you can get
God to be willing to do something. Getting
things from God isn’t because of problems in God. If you could understand and feel how much God
wants to give you every good thing, you would be ready to let Him change your attitudes
and character. “How will He not also”
is laying out the impossibility of God squandering such a great
sacrifice.
Jesus, help me be set free from just wanting to get
these issues of attitudes and character over with. Help me not just yield to You so as to be
able to get on with those things that are important to me. Give me a deep desire to be healed,
transformed, and trained in my attitudes and character. Let them be a priority and necessity in me
like they are in You.
How Is God Helping You?
He Who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all--how will He not also, along with Him: You have seen people get money, possessions, positions, popularity, power, prestige, pleasure, and accomplishments to use, abuse, cheat, and hurt people. Those people who get these things before they get righteousness, will kill, steal, and destroy people. Jesus is requiring you to turn your life over to Him for training, transformation, and spiritual growth. Only those who allow Him to live His life through them will be able to see, learn, and get transformed into people God can trust with things.
Jesus, give me a living example of how attitudes and
character are obtained and lived. Take
the driver’s seat of my life and let me see You in action in me. Teach me that the best way for me to learn is
with You taking the controls, being my example and pattern. Help me yield, join, cooperate, and give
myself to You for the full training in spiritual growth.
Being Transformed, Trained, And Helped Through Jesus
He Who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all--how
will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things: When you allow Jesus to live His life in and through
you, God will graciously give you all
things. If He graciously gave you all things outside
of Jesus rather than along with Him, some very bad things would
happen to you and those around you.
Life in and with Jesus is the only way you will ever be able to get money, possessions, positions, power, prestige, popularity, pleasure, and accomplishments with true success. You will never be perfect in this life; you will always make mistakes, misunderstand things, and have failures in your attitudes and character. But, if you are under the direct supervision of Jesus, righteousness will dominate much of what you get from God.
Jesus, I have been wanting a lot of things for my life. I have prayed and asked for things that I now
realize would have hurt me and those around me.
I have gradually learned that I am not to be trusted with money,
possessions, positions, power, popularity, prestige, pleasure, and
accomplishments. But, if I yield to You,
You can handle them in me. Help me be successful; but, with true
success. Let me be under Your
leadership, Lordship, and training. Help
me get healed in my attitudes and character so you can work together to use things
to help people.
This concludes your reading and praying for today.
Truth/Prayer
Pages Chapter Eleven
Opening The
Door To God’s
Invisible World
Through Forgiveness
Week Three Day Three
STEP FOUR: Know
You Are Free From All Charges
Question Four: Rom 8:33 (NIV) Who will bring any
charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God Who justifies.
“Who” Includes Your Charges Against Yourself
Who: By applying
The Seven Biblical Principles to the above three questions, you are now
committed to yielding to Jesus speaking relational and provisional faith into
you. Through His faith, you know God is
all powerful and nothing is impossible for Him.
And you know He loves you so much He will graciously give you
all things. But, sometimes you see yourself and your bad words and deeds as being the
reason God won’t graciously give you all things.
Jesus, Satan
speaks doubts into my mind and heart; he is trying to get me to believe I don’t
deserve being given the great things of God. Bad circumstances happen to me that seemingly
indicate I must have done “something” that has caused God to not want to
help me. I think, feel, say, and
do things I think had to have caused God to refuse to help me anymore. When I feel these feelings or think these
thoughts, help me ask myself this fourth question and then allow You to give me
this answer: “It is God Who justifies.”
Two Types Of Charges
Who will bring any charge:
PEOPLE CHARGES: You know you can’t
just go out and do things wrong on purpose and not have to pay the
consequences. When you do this, people
have the right to bring charges against you.
They aren’t false charges; they are charges that you deserve to be
punished for. This is where you have to
make a distinction between yourself, people around you, and God.
GOD CHARGES: Your relationship
with God is different from your relationship with people (including yourself). Jesus’ salvation brought you into a totally
righteous, pure, holy, godly relationship with God. However, it takes sanctification (spiritual
growth) to change your relationship with yourself and other people; spiritual
growth is what you are working on now.
PEOPLE BRINGING CHARGES AGAINST US
TO GOD: You and other people can sincerely, honestly, and justifiably
bring charges against you. You are still
hurting yourself and other people during this grace period of God. But, God will not
consider them sins that separate you from Him.
It is true that you do what you do not want to do, and
you agree that the law is good (Rom 7:16), But,
your record remains clean, pure, and righteous with God.
Jesus, You helped me do an
in-depth study on this clean-record issue in the book “Victorious
Christian Living.” The Scriptures in it
helped me see what this grace period is all about and how to take advantage of
it. Show me that this question: “Who will bring any charge” is talking about me or other people bringing
a charge to God against me.
Such a charge, if possible, would separate me from God’s forgiveness and
love. I might be guilty in my relationship
with people; I might be found guilty in court.
But, help me always believe that I will not be found guilty in my
relationship with God, for as long as I don’t do it on purpose.
Want Or Don’t Want
Against those whom God has chosen: Who does God choose?
He chooses those who want Jesus and His salvation. Let Jesus show you how God’s choosing system
works.
First, God Chose Everyone
John 3:16 (NIV) 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.
“Whoever” includes
every person who lives on this planet; no one is excluded. Jesus died for every sin every person has,
is, or will ever commit. Jesus died so
every person who commits sins will not have to pay the death penalty. The only sin they can commit now is to reject
Jesus as their Lord, Savior, and King.
Jesus, help me understand that You died for every
sin that every person has, is, or ever will commit. Help me realize that the only way I and
everyone else can die of a sin is to reject You. Help me see that we have to accept You in
order to get the forgiveness for all those sins we have, are, or will
commit. Help me help others accept this
great forgiveness.
Rom 6:23 (NIV) For the wages of sin is death, but
the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. All anyone
has to do is accept Jesus’ death as their death and the penalty for all their
sins will be cleansed from their record.
So, as long as they don’t sin on purpose, they will continue to have a
perfect record with God.
Second, God Did What It Took For
Everyone To Keep Being Chosen
John 3:17 (NIV) For God did not send His Son into
the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.
Jesus, make it clear to me and to everyone else that
God’s provision has been given; our forgiveness is provided; no one has to pay
for any of their sins. The price has
been paid; the work has been done; and the gift has been given. God has done His part; and, now all I and
everyone else has to do to continue to be chosen is to choose You.
Third, God Allows Each Person To
Decide If They Want To Be Continually Chosen
John 3:18 (NIV) Whoever believes in Him is not
condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because
he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
Jesus, help me totally understand and help me
explain to others that, if we sincerely accept You as our Savior and
Lord, then we get what we wanted. If we really
don’t want You as our Savior and Lord, then we don’t get You, simply because we
don’t want You. Help us all understand
that all those who want You, God will see to it that they get You. All those who want to keep You, God will see
to it that they keep You.
An Accident Or On
Purpose
Against those whom God has chosen: Who does God choose?
He chooses those who want to do right and want to quit
doing wrong. You get this attitude
through Jesus’ salvation (Romans 7:15-25).
But, there are those who will eventually
realize they just thought they wanted Jesus.
Jesus, help me understand that there are people who
originally wanted to do the right things and stop doing the wrong things. But then they decided they didn’t want You
anymore. Show me that this is because
they wanted to do wrong things instead of the right things. They tried all You have to offer; and then
they made a knowledgeable decision that Your way of living in righteousness
was not the way they wanted to live.
But, even though we speak like this, dear
friends, we are confident of better things in your case--things that
accompany salvation (Heb 6:9). I thank You for helping me not want to
give You up.
This concludes your reading and praying for today.
Truth/Prayer
Pages Chapter Twelve
Opening The
Door To God’s
Invisible World
Through Justification
Week Three Day Four
STEP FOUR
CONTINUED: Know You Are Free From All Charges
Question
Four: Rom 8:33 (NIV) Who will bring any charge against those whom God
has chosen? It is God Who justifies.
Attitudes And Character
Who: Since
attitudes and character are God’s priority, you could look at your behavior and
decide you don’t qualify as a child of God.
However, you are looking at yourself as an unfinished person. Who and what you are now isn’t who and what
you will be after Jesus has done His work in you. Justification deals with your potential; but, it isn’t a license to go out and do evil without
guilt. Since you allowed Jesus’
salvation to give you a desire to do righteous things, God gives you justification
so you will have time to be changed by Jesus.
Jesus, help me have faith in the work You are doing in me. Help me cooperate with You as You work on my
attitudes and character. Help me not
bring charges against myself so I don’t get discouraged with who I am. Help me realize that who and what I am isn’t
who and what I will be as You work with me.
Pour Your acceptance into my heart so I will be able to be patient with
this progressive work You are doing.
Help me have faith in Your abilities to do a good work in me.
You Aren’t Perfect
Who will bring: A lot of people will say all kinds of negative things about you, to you, and against you; and, many of them will be justifiable accusations. Christians make mistakes, misunderstand, jump to conclusions, fail to use the provisions of God, and fall short in their attitudes and character. You are in a transforming, training, mentoring, and growing process. On your way toward the perfection that God is creating in you, there are a lot of relationship issues that develop. And, those people you fail, mistreat, hurt, and abuse will have a valid complaint against you. It doesn’t separate you from God; but, it can separate you from them.
Jesus, help me have the right attitude about people’s
accusations and complaints against me.
Help me sincerely bring each one before You for evaluation. Empower me to make those things right that
You give me the assignment of making right.
Train me in how to respond to the people who are making the negative
statements about me. Help me love them
and react to them with Your love. Then
help me have an open heart with You so You can make the necessary changes in my
attitudes and character.
You Aren’t Charge Proof
Who will bring any charge: Your self-criticism, other people’s comments and attitudes, bad circumstances, and a lot of things that come your way, seem to be speaking accusations and charges against you. You have learned that God doesn’t want you justifying yourself, excusing yourself, explaining why you did wrong, or forgiving yourself. So, what does He want you to do? You were taught in Romans 7:15-25 to bring every negative comment, accusation, and circumstance to God. You were taught that God sees you and your deeds as being separate. Justification makes you, who do wrong, bad, and evil things, to be a right, good, and righteous person. How? By separating your deeds from you, the doer.
Jesus, empower me to come to You for help with every wrong thought,
feeling, word, or deed. Help me not try
to hide it, justify it, explain it away, or forgive myself for it. Let me accept the fact that I and my deeds
are separate. Enable me to come to You
without condemnation, guilt, or rejection.
Show me how to come to You as a person who is just as against that
behavior as You are. Your life is
helping me come to You for forgiveness and healing in every area where I mess
up. Help me be cooperative and open with
You in dealing with every wrong, bad, or evil thing I do. Help me join You in getting rid of it.
I Am One Of Those
Who will bring any charge against those: You have learned to read God’s Book, the Bible, in faith. If you don’t believe you are one of God’s children, then you can’t be helped by the Bible. You must believe you are one of those that this verse applies to. But, you have also learned that you can’t use your faith to believe you are one of those. It is a constant process of keeping your focus, attention, and spiritual eyes fixed on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of your faith.
Jesus, You alone can make the
Bible real to me. You and Your faith
alone can make it apply to me personally.
You are the only One Who can speak through each verse and bring healing,
transformation, and truth into my life.
Help me read the Bible in faith; help me accept and speak each
truth as being my truth. Heal my heart
and mind so I can read, believe, speak, and live the whole Bible. Let my mouth steer me into Your truth.
I Have Believed In Jesus
Who will bring any charge against those whom God
has chosen: You learned that the Bible tells
you who God has chosen. Whoever
believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe
stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of
God’s one and only Son. This tells you how you to keep being chosen
or lose being chosen.
As you read the Bible, you decide whether or not it is true for you. When the Bible is accepted as truth by you, you get the results it is written to produce. If you read it without faith, if you read it as if it is a human book, if you read it as if it doesn’t apply to you, if you read it and don’t speak it out as being true of you, then you waste your time reading it.
Jesus, I thank You for teaching me how to read Your Book. I thank You for helping me open my heart and
mind to it as truth. I thank You for
teaching me that my mouth and tongue are the steering device for taking
faith-action. Help me progress in my
training and transformation as You take me through the Bible verse by
verse.
I Am Chosen And Justified By God
Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God Who justifies: You have obligations to do what the Bible says; you can’t just take faith-action without the proper desires, Scriptures to study, prayers to pray, faith to believe, love to motivate you, and it be based on these first five things. You need to always have your five reasons for applying, using, and taking faith-action with Jesus. God only justifies those who are submitted to Jesus. And who give Him thanks when they use the first six principles to get His justification.
Jesus, You know what my true motives are; You
know where I need help in my attitudes and character. Help me not try to analyze my motives; help
me bring before You, all my desires, Scriptures I am studying,
prayers I am praying, faith I am believing with, love I am
using, faith-actions I am taking, and thankfulness I am
expressing. Let me be justified by God; help me have a close and intimate
relationship with Him. I know You will show me any flaws discovered as I use of Your Seven
Biblical Principles. I know I am
justified before You.
This concludes your reading and praying for today.
Truth/Prayer
Pages Chapter Thirteen
Opening The
Door To God’s
Invisible World
Through Your Record
Week Three Day Five
STEP FOUR
CONTINUED: Know You Are Free From All Charges
Question
Four: Rom 8:33 (NIV) Who will bring any charge against those whom God
has chosen? It is God Who justifies.
You have seen that, if you want
to keep Jesus’ salvation (Rom 7:15-25), even you can’t bring charges
against yourself. You learned that
people can bring charges against you before other people or the courts, but, they can’t bring them before God. You discovered that God chose everyone; but, everyone has the right to remove themselves from God’s
chosen people. Now you need to look at
how to continue to be chosen and why some become un-chosen.
Against those whom God has chosen: There are three types of people who sin against
themselves, others, and God; but, the first one can remain
chosen, the second one remains chosen, and the third one becomes un-chosen.
1.
Jesus, teach me that some people haven’t yet
accepted Your salvation and therefore can’t stop sinning on purpose. Help me see that they can remain
chosen by You.
2.
Jesus, help realize that some people are true
Christians, who accidently sin but repent (make a U-Turn) and get Your faith to
go the other way because they want to remain in You. Help me understand that they remain
chosen.
3.
Jesus, help me see that some people try Christianity
then go back to sinning on purpose because they want to. Make it clear to me that they become
un-chosen.
Who Does God Give A Perfect Record
To?
It is God Who justifies: One of
the things this justification is talking about is a perfect record that God
gives to new, untrained, and mature Christians.
NEW: The new Christian gets this perfect
record as a gift because they are new to Christianity and haven’t had time
to learn how to be led by the Holy Spirit into actually doing good
things to themselves and other people.
UNTRAINED: The untrained Christian
gets this perfect record as a new Christian.
Then they get to keep it as a gift because they haven’t had the opportunity
to learn all the things they need to know.
They need more time and they need mature Christians to teach them,
so they can work together with the Holy Spirit and start actually doing
good things to themselves and others.
TWO TYPES OF UNTRAINED CHRISTIANS: Jesus, help me
realize that for the untrained Christian there is a time limit for certain
things. New Christians are like a baby
starting off growing and getting older.
If a person still acts like an infant but is two years old, I would feel
they had, had enough time to learn how to “act their age.” However, if a baby wasn’t given any attention
and training, it wouldn’t be their fault.
Help me understand this principle for myself and for those I am working
with. Help me apply myself to spiritual
growth.
Christians can’t help it when they
keep getting older and not being taught how to get more mature mentally
and socially. But,
there are those who don’t take advantage of their opportunities. They have church, small groups, good
Christian books, good Christian music, opportunities to pray, and these studies
and prayers. It is up to them to take
advantage of them.
Jesus, help me see that You looks at me the same way
as with untrained Christians. The
question You deal with is, why am I still untrained? Whose fault is it? If it is mine, then I lose my perfect record;
if it isn’t, then my perfect record protects me from any responsibility. Show me that it has to do with my “desire.” Am I untrained because I want to be untrained
or because no one is training me. If I
start to slip away from all my opportunities to be trained, help me get back on
track. Help me not allow the cares of
this world to distract me.
MATURE CHRISTIANS: The mature
Christian is a person who has been applying The Three Keys To
All Of Christianity and The Seven Biblical Principles
to their life for a longer period of time. More and more of those things that were
listed on their perfect record are now being lived out in their relationship
with themselves, other people, and God’s plan.
But, no body’s perfect!
They are faithfully desiring, studying, praying, believing,
loving, taking faith-action on a lot of things, and being thankful
for every breakthrough they get. They
are still failing at other things, but, not because it’s their desire.
One Subject At A
Time
The Holy Spirit typically only
works with you on one issue at a time.
He will usually speak to your conscience about something He wants you to
apply The Three Keys and The Seven Biblical Principles to. While you are learning and practicing more
and more about how to live those things He has already helped you with, He will
get you started working on one new issue.
Jesus, teach me that I become a mature Christian by growing
spiritually (sanctification). Help me
see that I do that through the Holy Spirit empowering, teaching, convicting
(causing me to feel bad about things), and working with me on new issues. Help me also understand that all the areas
where He isn’t working with me or I am not successful yet, are still covered
under my perfect record. As long as I
don’t want to sin in those areas, I am justified.
Who Does God Justify?
It is God Who justifies: Once
again, what is justification? It is that
perfect record you have with God. He
provided you with a way to be guiltless and free from the responsibility and
penalty of sin, while you are learning how to stop sinning. Justification involves substitution, grace,
faith, and gifts. They are the
provisions of God that make your perfect record possible.
SUBSTITUTION: This deals with Jesus
taking your place, as it relates to responsibility, guilt, and punishment. He was willing to take your place, pay your penalty,
and die for your sins. That gave you
forgiveness for all your past failure, your current sins, and your future
mistakes.
Jesus, help me be thankful for You taking my
place. Thank You for making me free from
the failures, sins, mistakes, and misdeeds of my body. Thank You for freeing me from all wrong, bad,
or evil. Your substitution is the reason
I got a perfect record before God.
GRACE: Removes the issue of what you
do or do not deserve. Justice
deals with what’s fair or unfair, what’s legal or illegal, what’s right or
wrong, what’s good or bad, and what’s righteousness (only doing good to
yourself, other people, and God’s plan) or sin.
Grace removes the influence of all these things, so you can have a
perfect record with God.
Jesus, help me be thankful for Your grace. I was never going to be able to live the
perfect life required for me to have the Holy Spirit live in me, to be a child
of God, to be a member of His family, to be a citizen in His eternal Kingdom,
and to inherit all Your provisions.
Thank You for giving me a grace-period, so I could take advantage of it
and grow spiritually in You.
MERCY: Jesus gave you mercy. Grace deals with getting good things you don’t
deserve. Mercy deals with you not
getting what you do deserve.
These two provisions made you free from the issues of what you do and
don’t deserve from God.
God’s grace and mercy removed the “deserve” issue from your relationship
with Him.
Jesus, now I see how I was able to get a perfect
record with You. Because of Your
grace and mercy, You give me gifts that I don’t
deserve, which is grace. And, You don’t punish me for those things I do deserve, which is mercy. Help me see that if I approach or avoid You
because of the deserve issue, then I need more training and healing in that
area. Help me see that I am asking,
seeking, and knocking by You giving me these tools as a gift. I am able to desire, study, pray, believe,
love, take faith-action, and be thankful, by You empowering
me to have these attitudes and gifts.
Help me use these tools with gratitude and appreciation.
However,
deserving and not deserving are still issues in your relationship with people. You don’t typically give or get a grace or
mercy relationship with people. This is
being dealt with by the gift of sanctification.
Salvation and justification dealt with your relationship with God. Sanctification is a process of spiritual
growth where your attitudes and character of healed, cleansed, and changed so
that you are able to have good relationships with yourself and others.
FAITH: All you had to do was confess
with your mouth, “Jesus
is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him (Jesus) from the dead, and you will be saved. For it is with your heart
that you believe and are justified, and it is with your
mouth that you confess and are saved
(Rom 10:9-10).
Jesus, I thank You that Your gospel message
empowered me to have faith. You
empowered me to believe in the fact that it was telling me the truth about You
and Your salvation. I am so glad that every
person gets the faith they need to believe that Your gospel message is true; You
see to it they get it. But, I am so sad that some resist that faith and refuse to
“do what it takes” to remain one of God’s chosen people. Help me help as many as are willing.
GIFTS: The only relationship
you can have with God is one of receiving free gifts. There is nothing you can do that will
make you worthy or deserving of anything God offers. From the moment you start to accept Jesus’
salvation, gifts become the only relationship you can have with Him. This takes the pressure off of you for having
to do something, earn something, buy something, or qualify for something in
order to get God and all He has to offer.
Jesus, make it clear to me that, because of grace
and faith, I no longer have to consider whether or not I do or don’t deserve
God or the things He offers. Help me see
that if I think I deserve God or His things, then I am rejecting His free
gifts. If I refuse to come to Him for
His gifts because I feel I don’t deserve Him or what He is offering me, then I
am misunderstanding the concept of gifts.
Help me accept this gift-relationship with my heavenly Father. Set me free from the issue of what I deserve
or don’t deserve readily receive His gifts.
This concludes your reading and praying for this week.
Truth/Prayer
Pages Chapter Fourteen
Opening The
Door To God’s
Invisible World
Through Being Chosen
Week Four Day One
STEP FOUR
CONTINUED: Know You Are Free From All Charges
Question
Four: Rom 8:33 (NIV) Who will bring any charge against those whom God
has chosen? It is God Who justifies.
God Sets The Rules
Who: This “who” is you, other people, or Satan that is trying to get God to reject you. Satan is bringing accusations before God that he feels are proof that you don’t deserve to be one of His children. This “who” can also be a thought in your mind or a feeling in your heart. You or some person may try to represent God and tell you, that you don’t qualify as His child. Satan can act like he is God by speaking to your heart or mind and tell you or cause you to feel like you don’t qualify. However, these accusations are ineffective as long as you don’t accept them.
Jesus, I am glad that Your first assignment
is to desire to be Your child. And, I
thank You for helping me have that want through Your salvation. Help me realize that when I feel fear that I
am losing my justified relationship with You that, that means I still want
to be Your child. Help me realize that I
have to not want to be Your child before I can lose it. Since I am Your child, and since no one can
talk You out of keeping me, help me move on into a successful life in You. Help me know that as long as I want,
I can remain in You.
A Justified Relationship With God And People
Who will bring any charge: You can get confused as to who you have a justified
relationship with. Only God and very
mature Christians provide justified relationships. In Jesus’ Sermon-On-The-Mount in Matthew
chapters 5 through 7, He taught what your justified or perfect record
relationship is to be between you and other people. A relationship that is justified requires you
to love, forgive, and provide grace and mercy to difficult people.
·
These
challenging principles require you to have a deep desire to obey Jesus’
teaching.
·
They require
you to study and find out what they are, what they look like in life,
and how to get them working in and through you.
·
They require
you to pray and ask Jesus to empower you to live each one of them.
·
They require
you to look to Jesus to speak faith into you so you can believe you have
the power to live each one of them.
·
They require
you to yield to God’s love so you have the power-motivation to treat
people in such a loving, forgiving, gracious, and merciful way.
· They require you to take faith-action and start living that way with the people around you.
· They require you to be thankful when you start living that way with yourself and others.
Jesus, not only do I not want to have charges brought
against me before You, empower me to not try to bring charges against
others. Help me grow into such maturity
that I live the Matthew chapters 5-7 life.
Help me be forgiving, loving, gracious, merciful, and justifying. Teach me what each item is, what it looks
like in life, how to apply The Seven Biblical Principles to them, and empower
me to live that way. Help me to have and
give justification.
God Has Chosen Everyone
Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen: You learned that everyone starts out chosen. As an infant, you were totally innocent and perfect before God. But, when you understood right and wrong, you could make yourself un-chosen. When you willfully, knowledgeably went against the Holy Spirit speaking to your conscience, that’s when you could be un-chosen. But, Jesus, died for everyone’s sins; that made everyone chosen. The only way you can make yourself un-chosen, is to refuse to believe in Jesus (John 3:16-18).
Jesus, thank You for making me chosen with God. Help me not listen to myself, other people,
or Satan. Help me look at what You
did and accept it in total faith.
Let me join You against the misdeeds of my body and put them to
death. Empower yield to Your life, so
You can live in and through me. Let the
experiences of Your life teach me how to live in the spirit realm.
God Does The Justifying
Who will bring any charge against those whom God has
chosen? It is God Who justifies: God
sets the rules for justification; He decides who is and who isn’t
justified. You, others, and Satan don’t
make the rules. Faith in God and His
rules help you fix your eyes on Jesus for faith to believe you are justified. A lot of charges, accusations, negative
proofs, and personal failures will come your way. Keeping your eyes on Jesus helps you succeed
against them all.
The Three
Justification Issues
1.
Charges
Who will bring any charge against: Jesus, show me
that my, other people’s, and Satan’s accusations, charges, negative proofs, and
false rules can come with great power.
They can come from unexpected sources, unexpected issues, and at
unexpected times. Teach me that success
in life depends on me applying The Seven Biblical Principles to all charges.
2.
Chosen
Those whom God has chosen: Jesus, teach me that I, others, and Satan
don’t make the rules for who is chosen. Help
me desire, study, and pray to be chosen. Help me believe I have been chosen. Help me love others enough to teach
them that they have been chosen. Help me
take faith-action based on the fact that I am chosen. And then thank You for choosing
me.
3.
God’s
Justification
It is God Who justifies: Jesus, help me desire to understand
justification, study to understand it, pray to understand it, believe
I understand it, love others enough to help them understand it, take faith-action
because I understand it, and thank You for helping me understand it.
Jesus, it all comes down to faith in You; if I don’t believe You and
the words in Your Bible, I lose everything.
Help me make You and Your Word the final authority in my life. I am going to be tossed around by everything
that comes against me, if I don’t stay in complete faith in Your honesty,
trustworthiness, and integrity. You are
the only way I am going to be able to be successful in life. Empower me to only look to You for my
justification.
This concludes your reading and praying for today.
Truth/Prayer
Pages Chapter Fifteen
Opening The
Door To God’s
Invisible World
Through Intercession
Week Four Day Two
STEP FIVE: Know
That Jesus Is Interceding For You
Question Five: Rom 8:34 (NIV) Who is he that condemns?
Christ Jesus, Who died--more than that, Who was raised to life--is at the right hand of God and
is also interceding for you.
Condemnation Means You Are Cut Off From
God
Condemnation is a feeling,
thought, or reason that makes you believe you no longer have a relationship
with God. You can feel like you did
something that cut you off from Him. You
can think you are not longer His child and a citizen
of His Kingdom. Since your relationship
is based on faith, it is vital that you not believe this. This is where The Three Keys and The Seven
Biblical Principles help you with the most important issue in all of
creation and eternity.
Heb 11:6 (NIV) And without faith it is impossible
to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe
that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.
Jesus, teach me that as long as I want to have a relationship with
God, I can continue that relationship.
If I do something wrong, help me believe that I can repent. Show me that once I “do what it takes” to
make You my Savior and Lord, the only way I can lose it is to decide I don’t
want You anymore. Give me faith in
that fact, so I can be pleasing to God.
God Is Helping You Not Be Condemned
John 3:17 (NIV) For God did not send His Son into the
world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. It is
God’s objective, goal, and purpose to save every person on this planet. He did and is doing everything possible to
bring every person into salvation. But, the main thing He isn’t doing, is going against your God-given
free will. He isn’t forcing salvation on
you; but, He isn’t taking it away either. Just like you have to “do what it takes”
to have salvation, Jesus, and your heavenly Father, you have to do what it
takes to reject salvation, Jesus, and your heavenly Father.
2 Pet 3:9 (NIV)
The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand
slowness. He is patient with you,
not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. Jesus, make it clear that I am not on my own
in this matter of condemnation. My
heavenly Father is on my side, helping me remain as one of His children and a
citizen of His Kingdom. Show me that the
only way to be condemned is to purposely, willfully, knowledgeably
reject His gifts, grace, mercy, forgiveness, and substitution.
Jesus Helped
You Not Be Condemned
Rom 8:1-2 (NIV) Therefore, there is now no
condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because
through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from
the law of sin and death. It is your free-will choice to believe in
condemnation or believe in the power and love of Jesus. You can pray and ask Jesus to give you
His faith and keeping power; or, you can doubt His keeping power and accept the
lie that you are condemned. But, in
accepting the lie, you are choosing to give up on Jesus and His salvation; you need
Jesus’ faith.
There are six things you need to
consider that Jesus did to keep you from being condemned. Allow Jesus’ faith to empower you to believe
in them, so you know you are not condemned. You will read, believe, speak, and live a
life without condemnation; let Jesus show you these six things and help you put
your faith and trust in them.
1.
You Are Not Condemned now That You Are Saved
Therefore, there is now: Jesus, teach me that the purpose and power
of salvation is for setting me free from condemnation; that’s why You
died. Help me believe I am are now set
free from all the responsibility for past, present, and future guilt. As long as my faith remains in You, help me
understand that You accept all responsibility for all my sins. You accepted them on Yourself, allowed them
to be nailed to Your cross, and died for them.
Now, I am free from condemnation because You
empowered me to accepted Your death as my death.
2.
You Are Not Condemned Now That You
Believe In Jesus
Therefore, there is now no condemnation: Jesus, now that I have Your salvation, I can’t be separated from the life I want. I have a perfect record with my heavenly
Father and am ready to start being led by the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:14). When I think, feel, or get concerned that I
am no longer a Christian, help me ask this question: Who
is he that condemns?
3.
You Are Not Condemned Now That You
Are in Jesus
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in
Christ Jesus: Jesus, help my faith not be in my accomplishments, my efforts, my words
and deeds, or my power; let it be in You. Show me that it is like being in a room that
has been designed to stand up against all danger. Teach
me that according to Matthew 28:18, being in You is being in the One Who has
all power and authority in heaven and earth.
4.
You Are Not Condemned Now That You
Are Living through Jesus
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in
Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus: Jesus, as You teach
me how to live and behave through the power of Your life, help me see that more
and more of my words and deeds will come from You. But, prior to me being able to yield to You
in certain areas, You will keep my record perfect by
covering me with Your own righteousness.
5.
You Are Not Condemned Now That You
Have The Law Of The Spirit Of Life
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in
Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the
Spirit of life: Jesus, help me believe that my new law, that has
replaced the law in my conscience, is for me to start yielding to it. It is the
leading and power of the Holy Spirit. As
I cooperate with Him, help me yield to His power, knowledge, understanding, and
wisdom to defeat condemnation.
Jesus, teach me that through justification, God is
protecting me from condemnation by considering me perfectly clean and
righteous. Show me that through
sanctification, the Holy Spirit is giving me all I need to win over those
wrong, bad, and evil things I do against myself, other people, and God’s
plan.
6.
You Are Not Condemned Now That You
Are Free From The Law Of Sin And Death
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in
Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life
set me free from the law of sin and death: Jesus, it is now, up to me to spend time with You, asking You
to speak faith into me. Your faith gives
me the assurance and knowledge I need.
It helps me know I am secure in my relationship with my heavenly
Father. Help me understand that His
objective, in these questions, is to convince me that nothing can
separate me from His love, if that’s what I want. I confess in faith that no one can condemn me
because You died and raised to life for me.
This concludes your reading and praying for today.
Truth/Prayer
Pages Chapter Sixteen
Opening The
Door To God’s
Invisible World
Through Jesus’ Intercession
Week Four Day Three
STEP FIVE
CONTINUED: Know That Jesus Is Interceding For
You
Question Five: Rom 8:34 (NIV) Who is he that condemns?
Christ Jesus, Who died--more than that, Who was raised to life--is at the right hand of God and
is also interceding for you.
Intercession Against Condemnation
Who is he that condemns: Like
charges, condemnation is an issue with God; it is an attempt to cause you to
believe you are separated from Him.
Charges try to bring up issues that would separate you. Condemnation is where you are already
separated. There may be reasons for why
you believe you have already been condemned; but, the
matter is already settled. You can feel
like salvation doesn’t actually apply to you.
You can feel like you have done things that have sealed your doom. Or, you can feel like salvation is something
you will never be able to live up to. But, Jesus is interceding in your behalf and is protecting
you from condemnation.
Jesus, I know You died for
everyone; I You took everyone’s sins into Your body and allowed it to be hung
on the cross. I know that it didn’t
matter what the sin was, how bad it was, or how many it was. You took all sins and received the punishment
for them all. Help me appreciate that
fact, live on the basis of it, and be empowered to resist any thoughts or
feelings that try to contradict it. As
long as I want to be saved, I am saved; You are keeping me.
It’s All About Jesus And His
Intercessions
Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus: You get hurt, as a Christian, when you get your eyes
off of Jesus. If you get your eyes on
yourself, circumstances, deeds, attitudes, desires, character issues, words,
thoughts, or feelings, without including Jesus in the matter, you get
hurt in the process. The Bible only says
you are secure in Jesus; there isn’t any security outside of Him.
Jesus is working on your attitudes and character. He is helping you with your desires, words, thoughts, and feelings. But, you can’t improve them, make them better, or even change them. As the Holy Spirit brings issues up, they must be brought to Jesus. You must not analyze them, critique them, try to do something human about them, or try to hide them. It is a matter of simply desiring to get them fixed. You must search the Scriptures through study to learn how to deal with them. You must pray and ask Jesus to help you with them. You must look to Him to give you the faith to know or believe you can win over them.
Jesus, there are things that really make me feel unworthy. There are things I think, feel, say, and do
that look like they are impossible to get help with. There are things that I keep failing at that
make me think You are getting tired of helping
me. Help me never get to the place where
I give up on You and Your power. Help me
know You love me and will get me through anything and
everything, if I just keep my eyes fixed on You.
Intercessions For Staying Dead To
Sin
Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, Who
died: What benefit did you get out of
the fact that Jesus died? Rom
6:1-3 (NIV) What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may
increase? By no means! We died to
sin; how can we live in it any longer?
Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?
Just like Jesus was
crucified on the cross, died, and was buried in a tomb, you died with Him on
that cross and were submerged or buried in the water of baptism. That demonstrated that you died with Jesus; now
you are dead to sin and to the law that makes you a sinner.
Jesus, You set me free from wrong, bad, and
evil things. Help me not use my new
freedom to take myself back into all those things that caused me to fail, to be
hurt, and to be enslaved again. Help me
appreciate what You did for me in Your death.
Help me join You in that death and stay dead or separated from anything
that would hinder your relationship.
Intercessions Concerning Things You Don’t Know
Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, Who
died--more than that: Jesus came to
earth and provided you with things that go far beyond anything you can think of
or imagine. It will take eternity and a
glorified body and mind to comprehend all Jesus did for you. 1 Cor 2:9 (NIV) However, as it is
written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has
prepared for those who love Him.”
Jesus, only Your intercessory work can take me into those great things
You have prepared for me. Help me yield
to Your will for my life; help me yield to those things You are trying to
intercede in my behalf for. I don’t know
what to pray for; I don’t know what I really need, so as to be a part of all
Your great preparations. Empower me to
cooperate with You, so I can take advantage of Your intercessions. Help me cooperate with what You are
interceding for.
Intercession For Staying Alive To
Righteousness
Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, Who
died--more than that, Who was raised to life:
The resurrection of Jesus is just as important as
His death. Salvation and justification
come out of His death; but, sanctification and
glorification come out of His life.
Jesus wasn’t just trying to provide you with freedom from sin; He raised
so as to give you a new life.
Rom 6:4 (NIV) We were therefore buried with Him through
baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the
dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new
life.
Jesus, help me understand why You are interceding for me. You have a life for me to yield to; You have
great plans for you to live out together.
You are interceding in my behalf so I can join You in a new life that is
supernatural, God-sized, and miraculous.
Let me see what Your plans are for me so I cooperate with You and so
Your intercessions for me aren’t resisted.
Intercession For A Plan
Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, Who
died--more than that, Who was raised to life--is at
the right hand of God: Jesus’ going
back to the Father accomplished great things for you. I (Jesus) tell you the truth,
anyone who has faith in Me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because
I am going to the Father (John 14:12).
Jesus is talking to
your heavenly Father about you; He is presenting your case before Him. He is working out the details of a great and
powerful new life for you now and in eternity.
John 14:12 is showing you some of what Jesus has in mind and what He is
interceding in your behalf for. Ask Him
to help you give Him complete cooperation for this great new plan.
Jesus, I have always had plans for myself; I have joined groups,
companies, and people who have plans for me; and I know the world has a plan
they want me to fulfill. Help me have
the plan You are interceding before God for me.
I see in John 14:12 that You are seated at God’s right hand so He can
work with You on a plan for my life.
Help me see and get excited about that plan. Help me do whatever must be done in order for
You to accomplish that plan in me.
Intercession For A Life
Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, Who
died--more than that, Who was raised to life--is at
the right hand of God and is also interceding for us: Now let Jesus show you 1 Corinthians 2:9 again, but,
from the perspective of verse 10 as well.
1 Cor 2:9-10 (NIV) However, as it is written: “No eye has
seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those
who love Him”--but God has revealed it to us
by His Spirit. The Spirit searches
all things, even the deep things of God.
Jesus, through the Holy
Spirit, is trying to get you to the place where you are able to see His plan
for you. He wants to live a special life
in and through you that is designed just for you as an individual.
Jesus, help me get this specially designed life You want to live in
and through me. Let me be the person You
created me to be. Empower me to fit into
that life You have been preparing me for even before I was born. Thank You for interceding, so I can have
it. Help me open my heart to it, so you can
do those things that are beneficial for all involved.
This concludes your reading and praying for today.
Truth/Prayer
Pages Chapter Seventeen
Opening The
Door To God’s
Invisible World
Through Jesus’ Keeping Power
Week Four Day Four
STEP SIX: Know
That No Person Can Separate You
Question Six: Rom 8:35a (NIV) Who shall separate you from
the love of Christ?
Two Questions Concerning Jesus’ Love
The idea and concept of
condemnation is so important that you have an additional question to ask
yourself. Within this question of “Who
shall separate you from the love of Christ?” you have two questions that
deal with two important issues. Both of
them deal with separation from the love of Jesus.
WHO: Jesus, since question six deals with “who,” help me admit that there is
no one in all of creation who is capable, powerful enough, or has the authority
to separate me from Your love. When I feel
condemned because of a person’s accusations or condemning words, help me use this
question to ask myself.
WHAT: Jesus, since the second question, question
number seven, will be dealing with circumstances, when circumstances get so
tough that I start wondering if I have done something to cut myself off from Your
love, help me ask myself that question.
A Planned Separation Or A Forced Separation From Jesus’
Love
Who shall separate you from the love of Christ: Some people try to use this statement as a license
to sin; they say that even they can’t want or do anything that would
separate them from Jesus love. They say this even though they no longer want
to live the Jesus-life. They call
themselves Christians while living a life that is wrong, bad, and evil on
purpose. Let Jesus take you through
Romans 7:18-8:14 and look at verses that show what is wrong with this
theory.
·
They don’t have the desire to do what is
good, and they don’t want to carry it out (Romans 7:18).
Jesus, empower me to always desire to do good and want to
carry it out.
·
They don’t mind that what they do is not
the good they want to do because they don’t want to do
it; they don’t have a problem with the evil they do not want
to do—because they want to keep on doing it (Romans
7:19). Jesus, help me hate the fact that what
I do is not the good I want to do and help
me hate the evil I keep on doing.
·
It’s not true that in their inner being they
delight in God’s law (Romans 7:22). Jesus, in my inner
being I delight in God’s law.
Empower me to continue to delight.
·
They don’t cry out “What a wretched man I am! Who
will rescue me from this body of death?” because they don’t want to
be rescued. Jesus, when I do things that
aren’t right, good, or righteous, help me cry out: “What a wretched man I
am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?”
·
The
righteous requirements of the law are not fully met in them, because
they do …live according to the sinful nature and not according to the
Spirit (Romans 8:4). Jesus, let the righteous requirements of
the law be fully met in me,
because I do not live according to the sinful nature but
according to the Spirit.
·
They
do live according to the sinful nature and
have their minds set on what that nature
desires; they refuse to live
in accordance with the Spirit and have
their minds set on what the Spirit desires (Romans 8:5). Jesus,
empower me to not live according to the sinful
nature and have my mind set on what that
nature desires; empower me to
live in accordance with the Spirit and have
my mind set on what the Spirit desires.
·
They
don’t want to be controlled not
by the sinful nature but by the Spirit (Romans
8:9). Jesus, help me want to be controlled not by the sinful nature but by
the Spirit.
·
They don’t want the Holy Spirit to help them put
to death the misdeeds of the body so they can live (Romans 8:13). Jesus, help me want to by the Spirit to put to death
the misdeeds of the body so I can live.
·
They don’t want to be led by the Spirit of
God and be sons of God (Romans 8:14). Jesus, help me always want
to be led by the Spirit of God and
be a son of God.
Protected From A Forced Separation From Jesus’ Love
Who shall separate you from the love of Christ: This is to help you, who want to remain in
Jesus and His salvation. This is from
Jesus to help you open your heart to the truth.
It’s a message about His power and love for you, who want Him and
His provisions. He isn’t trying to force
these things on you; but, He wants you to know that no
one can force you to be separated from Him or His love. Make these confessions to show Jesus how you
feel:
·
Jesus, I have the desire to do what is
good, but I realize I cannot carry it out on my own (Romans
7:18).
·
Jesus, I am quite concerned about the fact that what
I do is not the good I
want to do; no, the evil I
do not want to do--this I
keep on doing (Romans 7:19).
·
Jesus, it’s true of me that in my inner being I delight in God’s law (Romans 7:22).
·
Jesus, I do cry out “What a wretched man I am!
Who will rescue me from this body of death?” because I want to be
rescued.
·
Jesus,
the righteous requirements of the law are fully met in me, because I do not live according
to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit (Romans 8:4).
·
Jesus,
I do not live according to the sinful
nature and do not have my mind set on what that nature desires;
instead, I live in accordance with
the Spirit and have my mind set on what the Spirit desires
(Romans 8:5).
·
Jesus,
I want to be controlled not by
the sinful nature but by the Spirit (Romans
8:9).
·
Jesus, I want the Holy Spirit to help me put
to death the misdeeds of the body so I can live (Romans 8:13).
·
Jesus, I want to be led by the Spirit of
God so I can be a son of God (Romans 8:14).
This concludes your reading and praying for today.
Truth/Prayer
Pages Chapter Eighteen
Opening The
Door To God’s
Invisible World
Through Your Free Will
Week Four Day Five
STEP SIX
CONTINUED: Know That No Person Can Separate You
Question Six: Rom 8:35a (NIV) Who shall separate you from
the love of Christ?
Planned Or Forced
Who: The issue has
to do with your God-given free will; if you accept Jesus as your Lord and
Savior, can you change your mind and back-out of the relationship? Is Romans 8:31-39 saying you can live a life
of wrong, bad, and evil on purpose and be a Christian? The problem many people have is they try to
decide when someone gets eternally secure.
Many Christians don’t know about the opportunity for a person to try out
Christianity. They don’t realize that
God allows you to experience it so you can make a knowledgeable decision as to
whether or not you want it on a permanent, eternally secure basis.
Jesus, help me not try to use Your provisions for doing
wrong, bad, or evil. Help me not try to
see what I can get by with in sin and unrighteousness. Help me grow in righteousness so my behavior
matches Your way of life. Lead me into
spiritual growth rather than me stagnating and living on the lowest levels of
Your provisions.
Salvation And Justification
Who shall separate us: What does salvation and Christianity consist of? When does a person get saved and
justified? Rom 10:9 (NIV) That
if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that
God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
What happens if a person obeys Romans 10:9 and then wants to start sinning on purpose?
Mat 7:21 (NIV) Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’
will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My
Father Who is in heaven. The issue is, saying Jesus is Lord and
doing what He says are two different things. Some will come into Christianity, find out
what Jesus wants them to do, and learn how to do it. Others will come into Christianity, find out
what Jesus wants them to do, and refuse to learn how to do it. One tries Christianity out and likes it; the
other tries it out and doesn’t like it.
Jesus, help me learn how to “do what it takes”
to do what You say. Let me learn
how to use The Seven Biblical Principles rather than live the Romans 7:15-24
life. Empower me to live the Romans
8:1-30 life so I can have the eternal security of the Romans 8:31-39 life. Help me not just use You, Your
salvation, and justification to go on with my old life. Teach me how to grow and excel in my new life
of righteousness.
Missing The Point
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ: If you skip Romans chapter seven and skip Romans
8:1-30 and then jump into Romans 8:31-39, you end up believing you can live any
way you want and be eternally secure.
However, here is what Jesus says on the matter:
Luke 6:46-48 (NIV) “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord,
Lord,’ and do not do what I say?
I will show you what he is like who comes to Me and hears My
words and puts them into practice.
He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the
foundation on rock. When a flood came,
the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it
was well built.
Luke 6:49 (NIV) But the one who hears My words and
does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house
on the ground without a foundation.
The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its
destruction was complete.”
Jesus, I’m glad I found out I don’t try to live the Christian life
through human effort. I’m glad I don’t
have to use the world’s training and systems to try to live the Christian
life. I’m glad that all I have to do to
live the Christian life is to desire it, study how “to do what it
takes,” pray and ask for Your training, help, and power, fix my eyes on
You for the faith so I can believe You are living it with me, yield to
Your love so I can be loved and love others, take faith-action
and put them into practice. And
then spend the rest of my life thanking You.
Here’s What You Are
Doing Together With Jesus
Mat 28:18-20 (NIV) Then Jesus came to them and said, “All
authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go and make
disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey
everything I have commanded you. And
surely I am with you always, to the very end of the
age.”
Who shall separate you from the love of Christ: No one can separate you from the love of Jesus
because you are asking your heavenly Father to make you eternally secure in it:
1. Heavenly Father,
empower me to desire to stay in the love of Christ.
2. Empower me to study
the Bible, so I can learn how to stay in the love of Christ.
3. Empower my prayers,
so I can properly pray to stay in the love of Christ.
4. Empower me to fix
my eyes on Jesus so I can believe and know I have the power to
stay in the love of Christ.
5.
Empower me to yield to Your love so I can
stay in the love of Christ by using Your love to love the Lord my
God with all my heart and with all my soul and with all my mind
and with all my strength.’ And
empower me to use
Your love to love my neighbor as myself (Mark 12:30-31).’
6.
Empower me to take faith-action so
I can stay in the
love of Christ. Empower me to come to Jesus
and hear His words and put them into practice.
7. Empower me to always be thankful
for You keeping me in Your love.
Jesus, help me see the importance of applying The Seven
Biblical Principles to the issue of remaining in Your love. I want to have a permanent, eternally secure
relationship with You and Your love. I
know I can’t do it myself; I know I need Your power and security. My eternal security is because I am in You;
You alone provide eternal security.
Empower me to have my eyes fixed on You; empower me to remain in You, Your
words, and Your love. I trust You, Your Word, and Your love to make me be eternally secure
in You.
This concludes your reading and praying for the week.
Truth/Prayer
Pages Chapter Nineteen
Opening The
Door To God’s
Invisible World
Through Being Inseparable
Week Five Day One
STEP SEVEN: Know
That No Circumstance Can Separate You
Question Six: Rom 8:35a (NIV) Who shall separate us from the
love of Christ?
Question Seven: Rom 8:35b (NIV) Shall trouble or hardship or
persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
Evaluating The Circumstances
This last question, question
number seven, is dealing with circumstances.
Rather than “who,” it is dealing with what can separate
you from the love of Jesus? If you feel
circumstances are your proof that you have been cut off from your relationship
with Jesus and your heavenly Father, then this is the question you must ask
yourself.
Shall trouble: John 16:33 (NIV) I (Jesus) have told you these things,
so that in Me you may have peace. In
this world you will have trouble.
But take heart! I have overcome the world. Jesus, teach me that many of the challenges
of life were going to happen to me whether I am Christians or not. But, as Christians, I have You and all Your
provisions to help me with my troubles. I
choose to go through my troubles with You
rather than without You.
Being Able To See Clearly
I have told you these things: It is a hard life to have things happen to you and
not know where they are coming from, what to expect, or what to do about
them. It is like running into all kinds
of objects in the dark. Because you can’t
see, you have a hard time being able to find your way. All kinds of obstructions are blocking your way
that, if you had some light, could be avoided.
John 8:12 (NIV) 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.” Jesus, I
misunderstood what was happening to me; the world misinformed me, as to what
and why things were happening; and I reacted in ways that weren’t
appropriate. But, when You and Your
Bible explained the truth about life, the light came on! And, I could see what was going on. Thank You for giving me the light of the
truth!
Being Able To Do More
I have told you these things, so that in Me: Being in Jesus is like the difference between being in a car
and walking. Being in a car gives you protection
from the weather; it provides you with comfort; and it provides you with
special power. You can go faster, go
farther, and go more often. By being in
Jesus, He works with you to organize your life, speed up the healing and
success of your life, and protect you from anything that would try to destroy
it.
Jesus, help me see that I now understand what is
going on: Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness.
Show me that You have told me these things, so that in You
I may have peace. When trouble comes my way and I get
frustrated, depressed, confused, hopeless, or mad, I increase the problems that
the trouble caused. But, if I have love,
joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and
self-control (Galatians 5:22-23) from the Holy Spirit, my life is so much
better.
You Don’t Have To “Brace” Ourselves
In this world you will have trouble: That isn’t something you want to hear; you would
like for Jesus to tell you that, as a Christian, life will be smooth
sailing. But,
Jesus is the truth; whether it is good news or bad news, fun or challenging,
hard to hear or nice to hear, Jesus always tells you the truth. But, you don’t have
to “brace” yourself or prepare yourself for the worst. He makes sure you always have all the
facts so you know what to do about it. He makes sure you are empowered. And, He makes sure it all works together for
your good.
In this world you will have trouble.
But take heart: Jesus, help me realize there is always a
provision of God that helps me deal with every requirement God puts on me. There is always a provision of God
that helps me with every problem I face.
There is always a provision of God that helps me go from doubts,
fear, worry, and frustration to faith, trust, reliance and a special dependency
on You. Teach me that I can “take
heart” because the bad news is always followed by the good
news. For example: Rom 6:23 (NIV) For
the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is
eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Jesus Has Prepared Your Way
But take heart! I have overcome the world: Jesus has already gone ahead of you and prepared the
way. Rather than you suffering blindly,
rather than you going it alone, rather than you facing things without the
necessary equipment, you have the One Who has all authority in heaven and earth
(Matthew 28:18) to go with you and empower you to overcome the world with
Him. Now all you have to do is stay in Jesus
and you will win over you troubles!
How To Stay In Jesus
Heb 13:5-6 (NIV) Keep your life free
from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,
“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” So you say with confidence,
“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” Jesus, help me stay free from the love of
money and be content with what I have.
Jesus Goes With Us
Who shall separate you from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or
famine or nakedness or danger or sword: Life
isn’t going to be problem free; it isn’t going to be without hardship or
persecution; danger and the threat of death will always be there. But, you don’t need
to concern yourself with it; you have Jesus protecting and providing.
Psa 23:1-3 (NIV) A psalm of David:
Jesus, You, the LORD, are my shepherd, I shall not be in want. You make me lie down in green pastures, You
lead me beside quiet waters, You restore my
soul. You guide me in paths of righteousness for Your name’s
sake.
Psa 23:4-6 (NIV) Even though I
walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You
are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence
of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
This concludes your reading and praying for today.
Truth/Prayer
Pages Chapter Twenty
Opening The
Door To God’s
Invisible World
Through Defeating Trouble
Week Five Day Two
STEP SEVEN
CONTINUED: Know That No Circumstance Can Separate You
Question Six: Rom 8:35a (NIV) Who shall separate you from
the love of Christ?
Question Seven: Rom 8:35b (NIV) Shall trouble or hardship or
persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
You Will Have Trouble
Who shall separate you from the love of Christ? Shall trouble: Some people come to Jesus for salvation and
justification to get away from trouble.
However, it isn’t Jesus’ plan to remove you from the issues of this
world. He wants you to learn how to
defeat trouble! He is using it, so you
can get skillful, talented, experienced, and successful with your full armor of
God.
John 17:15 (NIV) My prayer is not that You take them out
of the world but that You protect them from the evil one. You
may pray to be delivered from the “normal” issues and problems of life. But, you need to see
that your assignment is to win over the issues and problems of life. Eph 6:10 (NIV) Finally, be strong in the
Lord and in His mighty power. You wouldn’t
need to be strong in the Lord if there was no trouble. Jesus wants you to fight the good fight of
faith.
Jesus, I see that my assignment isn’t to try
to have a trouble-free life. I am not to
ignore the troubles in life; and, I am not to accept them as hopeless. Help me learn how to win over them through
Your life and power. Help me yield to
the principles of Your Word and succeed in spite of them. I understand that I am not to invite them or
cause them. Instead, I ask for Your
knowledge, foreknowledge of the future, understanding, and wisdom to help me
prevent as many as is possible. But,
when they do come, empower me to solve them, defeat them, and be victorious
over them through You.
From Promise, To Battle, To Victory
Who shall separate you from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship: You read about the blessings and provisions of
God. It may sound like you will always
have everything you need. You may assume
that God promises to never allow you to face any hardships. You need to understand what makes the
promises of God take place. Phil
4:19 (NIV) And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches
in Christ Jesus. What causes these promises to come your way;
are they automatic; is there anything you are supposed to do?
Jesus, I realize I will face a lot of needs, problems,
troubles, hardships, and difficulties.
Help me learn how to start from a need or problem and move into You way
of solving it. Let me learn how to move
into You providing me with the solutions and provisions. Help me learn how to not only use The Three
Keys To All Of Christianity
but to apply The Seven Biblical Principles to them. Empower me to always do everything You
require so that Your promises are fulfilled in me and my life. Make me a mighty warrior in You.
Not Yielding To Opposition
Who shall separate you from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution:
You know about people who are persecuted for their
faith. But, you
don’t typically think about Christians who are being persecuted in their
business. John 10:10 (NIV) The
thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have
life, and have it to the full. As God blesses and prospers you, Satan and
his people try to steal, kill, and destroy God’s blessings in and through you. The unsaved must see
God doing these great things for you.
Jesus, help me win over all sources of
persecution. Help me learn how to apply
all Your principles to all the situations of my life. Help me see that my life and the successes in
it are a part of my message concerning Your greatness. You are blessing, prospering, working
miracles, and healing me so I can demonstrate Your goodness to Your
children. Teach me how to handle
persecution through Your attitudes and character.
Blessed To Bless
Who shall separate you from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine: A major way God shows the unsaved His love and generosity is through the benevolent gifts He gives you. He showers great provisions on you so you will be equipped and supplied with things to help others. If you don’t know how to get His blessings in your own life, you won’t have much to bless others with. Troubles typically require a lot of resources.
Jesus, I want to be blessed so I can be a blessing. Help me know how to take advantage of all
Your principles so I can be blessed and so I can share these principles with
others. Help the principles that are
blessing me to flow through me into the life of others. Let Your principles flow through me as Spirit
and life. Also, help me with sharing
those physical blessing You pour on me.
Let me be generous with those in need.
From Need To Solution
Who shall separate you from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness: When you don’t have even the basic needs met, you often really feel neglected by God. You may pray, beg, try to believe for it, try to solve it yourself, and a lot of other things. If you are naked because of governmental or religious persecution, you may be facing something you can’t do much about. But, in a lot of cases, you can get knowledge, foreknowledge of the future, understanding, wisdom, and power to get these basic needs met. It is a matter of you not just throwing the whole thing on prayer for help.
Jesus, if I am going through something that You don’t
want to deliver me from, help me have the things I need to endure it. But, if I am suffering from basic needs that
You want to work together with me to solve, help me realize it and yield to
Your leadership in it.
In The Face Of Death
Who shall separate you from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or
famine or nakedness or danger or sword: You know you will probably die “someday;” you just may
not want to die right now. While Jesus will come and take some people home
prior to them dying, most will die and be raised from the dead. The issue of death may not be what you worry
about; it may be about dying a painful death.
Psa 23:4 (NIV) Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of
death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your
staff, they comfort me.
Jesus, not only am I protected from being separated
from Your love, You are walking with me through
danger, threatening weapons, and death.
Just to know that the Creator of the universe, the One Who has all
authority in heaven and earth, and the One Who was willing to die for me is right
there with me through all dangers, is a great comfort to me. Help me always keep my eyes fixed on
You. Help me keep my eyes off of the
dangers and not have faith in them.
This concludes your reading and praying for today.
Truth/Prayer
Pages Chapter Twenty-One
Opening The
Door To God’s
Invisible World
Through Weakness
Week Five Day Three
STEP EIGHT: Know
Your Weaknesses
Rom 8:36 (NIV) As it is written: “For Your (God’s) sake
you face death all day long; you are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
Do You Know How To Handle Problems?
In order to have complete,
constant faith in God (relational faith), you have to understand problems with
relationships, finances, emotions, and with the physical aspects of your body. You also have to understand the problems you have
with circumstances that are outside of you.
John 16:33 (NIV)
I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the
world. Jesus, I have
just seen that people and things cannot separate me from Your love. But, I still need to
know why I have to have problems. Help
me remember what You said about trouble.
Do You Know How To Handle Problems As A Christian?
It is wonderful that Jesus has all
power and authority; it is wonderful that Jesus has overcome the
world. But, how does that help you? You have seen that He can always solve
your problems because He has the power and authority. You have also seen He has the willingness and
desire to help you overcome the world. You have additionally seen that nothing or
no one can separate you from that power, authority, willingness, and
desire.
Jesus, help me have faith in the fact that all that
power, authority, willingness, and desire are in me, through You, for a
reason. You have established a
power-relationship with me, so I can work together with You. Help me know how to cooperate with You;
help me know what my part is and what Your part is. Help me not try to do things You are doing;
and, help me not try to let You take care of things I am supposed to be
doing.
These Are Important Instructions
As it is written: Many
Christians are confused about what to let Jesus do and what to do
themselves. But,
the reason they are confused is because they haven’t read and studied the
instructions. All the things you need to
know have already been written in the Bible.
2 Tim 3:16-17 (NIV)
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for
teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the
man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Jesus, teach me that if I read a recipe, just
because I know it is the right thing, if I read a recipe, so as to get some
little thought for the day, if I memorize it so I can quote it at a moment’s
notice, if I study it, so I can teach the recipe to others, if my students
listen, take notes on it and learned some of the finer points on it, all of
that is fine and good; but, the recipe is for how to make something! I must study because the Bible is for
equipping me for every good work; teach me that this is why I
am going through all these things.
Accepting A New Assignment
As it is written: For Your (God’s) sake: Prior to Christianity, your life was lived for your
sake. You thought you were your own
best representative for what was best for you.
You faced life with all kinds of dangers lurking out in the world. Temperature, acid, poison, falling, being
hit, a lack of food, or water, or air, being shot or stabbed, and all kinds of
other things could kill you. But, the best you could do was hope you made it through the
day unharmed.
Jesus, help me see what would happen, if I decide to
live life for God’s sake, what would happen if I decide to join God and
live life the way He wants me to, what would happen if I start living a
life that is cooperative and unified with You, what would happen if I allow You
to share all You knowledge, foreknowledge of the future, understanding, wisdom,
and power with me, what would happen if I live with the full resources of God
at my fingertips.
What Has Changed?
For Your (God’s) sake we face death all day long: Nothing changes whether you live life for God’s
sake or your sake, you will still face death all day long. It was a miracle that you made it safely down
the birth canal. It has been miraculous that
you have lived as long as you have. That
isn’t the big issue here; it isn’t about death; it is why God is keeping you alive. It is only wonderful that you don’t get
killed if you use the life you continue to have in a purposeful way.
Jesus, teach me that if I live life for God’s sake,
then I face death all day long while living life so I can do and
say good things to help myself, all those around me, and God’s awesome plan for
me. I am being given incredible
knowledge, understanding, wisdom, and power to provide win/win ideas,
decisions, provisions, and miracles for all involved.
Jesus, teach me that if my faith is in You, then my life
and that I face death all day long will help me cherish and take
advantage of every moment I get. Rather
than living my life doing everything I can just to stay alive, You will help me spend my time taking advantage of
every opportunity to be helped by You, so I can help all the hurting people
around me.
What Can You Do?
For Your (God’s) sake you face death all day long; you are
considered as sheep to be slaughtered: What
can sheep do to protect themselves? They
don’t have any natural defenses; They can’t run, claw, bite, hide in a shell,
create a bad odor, or strike and inject poison into their intended enemy. What keeps such vulnerable creatures
alive? Their shepherd!
Jesus, I am vulnerable like a sheep, if a sheep
doesn’t have a shepherd to watch over and protect them, they are one of the
most endangered of all creatures. Help
me see that faith in You isn’t just something nice I can do or not do. Show me that those living without faith in You
are living on borrowed time. It is just
a matter of time before death catches up with them and they have to leave this
planet.
Rom 8:15 (NIV) For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a
slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by Him you cry, “Abba, Father.” Jesus, teach me that the Christian life
isn’t one of working all day just so I can have clothes to keep me warm, food
to keep me alive, a house to protect me from the weather, or a life that is
spent making sure I stay alive. It is a
life with many purposes from You, as my Shepherd.
This concludes your reading and praying for today.
Truth/Prayer
Pages Chapter Twenty-Two
Opening The
Door To God’s
Invisible World
Through Dependency
Week Five Day Four
STEP EIGHT
CONTINUED: Know Your Weaknesses
Rom 8:36 (NIV) As it is written: “For Your (God’s) sake
you face death all day long; you are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
Sticking With The Truth
As it is written: When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness by the devil, He didn’t discuss,
argue, reason, or debate with him. Mat
4:3-4 (NIV) The tempter came to Him and said, “If You are the Son of God, tell
these stones to become bread.” Jesus
answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on
every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Adam and Eve, on the other hand, discussed God’s words with Satan
and were defeated. When you are tempted,
feel fear, think negative thoughts, or face problems, the Bible is your answer. It is God’s knowledge, wisdom, love, and
power. If your eyes are fixed on Jesus,
if your mind goes to what the Bible says, and if you don’t have any
conversation with thoughts to the contrary, you will win.
Jesus, help me learn Your
Word and then accept it as the final authority for life. When I feel fear, sadness, worry, or down,
help me go to those Scriptures You have taught
me. Help me quote them, refer to them,
and use them to establish what I believe.
Help me not try to reason my way out of fear, depression, or problematic
issues. Empower me to do like You did
and just go over those Scriptures that refute fear, depression, or
problems.
Sticking With God
As it is written: For Your (God’s) sake: Satan and the world hate God and all He stands
for. John 17:14 (NIV) I have
given them Your (God’s) word and the world has hated them, for they
are not of the world any more than I am of the world. You
can feel the resistance from social pressure, beliefs, and systems. The world demands conformity to their
principles, styles, philosophies, and rules.
If you talk to them about Jesus, God, the Bible, Christianity, or
righteousness, they get resistive. If
you try to “convert” them, they can be hostile.
Satan hates God, the
Bible, Christianity, and Christians.
Whatever God stands for, Satan takes the opposing view. If the Bible tells you something, Satan
fights you doing it. If something is
wrong, bad, or evil, Satan will try to get you doing it. Since you are on God’s side, you must realize
people and Satan will oppose you. You will
be opposed in the market place, the work place, and by many of the people
around you. But, for God’s sake, agree
to face the social pressure, the opposition, and the persecution.
Jesus, I realize it is a choice as to who I want to
please. Help me be strong in my
commitment to You and all You stand for.
Help me join You in being willing to represent righteousness, godliness,
holiness, purity, and good. Help me be
willing to face any opposition that comes my way. Empower me to not only agree with Your ways,
let me live them in all I do. Help me love Your ways and help others learn to
love them as well.
Sticking With Eternal Life
As it is written: “For Your sake we face death: When you realize that death doesn’t mean you cease
to exist, you start to see it as not being so powerful. The more you see eternal life, the more you look
forward to dying to this temporary life and going into eternity. Heb 2:14-15 (NIV) Since the children have
flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity so that by His death He
might destroy him who holds the power of death--that is, the devil--and free
those who all their life were held in slavery by their fear of death.
Jesus, rather than spending a lot of my time trying to keep from
dying, help me concentrate on living.
Help me put my life in Your hands and spend my time living a life that
counts for eternity. I put my death, to
this temporary life, in Your hands; I give You the issues of my death; I accept
the issues of life. Help me spend all my
time thinking, working on, and praying for a great life here and a powerful
life in eternity.
Living A Temporary Life
As it is written: “For Your sake we face death all day
long: One of the problems with
you living in this temporary way of life is the uncertainty of it. You never know how much time you have on this
earth. But, the amount of time isn’t
supposed to be your concern. God is the
One Who decides how long you will be staying here. Your job is to make the very best of the time
you have here. If you face death all
day long with fear, caution, and preparing for the worst, your attention is
drawn off of the eternal issues you are to be working on right now.
Jesus, help me handle the uncertainty of this temporary life with good
principles and attitudes. Help me face
each day with my attention on Your purposes and plans. Let me live each day as if I am going to live
forever, but, while realizing this may be my last moment. Help me be involved in the very best You have
for me. Empower me to do them with
commitment but without any fear. Let the
end of my life be approached with great expectancy and hope.
Living An Endangered Life
As it is written: “For Your sake you face death all day long; we are considered as sheep: Lost sheep basically do not have any kind of protection. If they are trying to survive on their own, they are as good as dead. All their enemies have much greater abilities to attack them than they have to defend themselves. But, with a human shepherd, they are protected with one of the most advanced, equipped, and powerful creatures on the planet.
Jesus, You are my Shepherd;
all power and authority have been given to You in heaven and earth. You are far superior, in Your abilities to
protect me, than anything I would be able to develop
for myself. I give up all my defense
mechanisms, my attack modes, and my dependency on myself. Help me see that if I give all these things over
to You, You will accept the responsibility for
protecting me and watching over me. I
lay all I am and all I do before You, so You will be in charge of all the
uncertainties in my life.
Living A Challenging Life
As it is written: “For Your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered: As you look at all the impossibilities, dangers, uncertainties, and disasters, you see what the problem is. You aren’t ignoring how dangerous, life-threatening, and bad the situation is; you are seeing it from a realistic perspective. However, there are other facts that must be considered. In the face of being considered as sheep to be slaughtered, you have a much more important fact to think about.
Jesus, help me compare the uncertainties, dangers, and problems of
life with You. It’s true a lot of things
happen to me; and, it’s also true that You are willing to watch over me and
protect me. But, You require that I desire
Your protection; You require that I study and learn how to access that
protection; You require that I pray for it; You require that I look to
You for the faith so I can believe I have it; You require that I want it
through the motivations of love; You require that I take faith-action
and live my life on the basis of the fact that I have Your protection. And, You require
that I am thankful for Your protection.
Help me do these seven things so You and I can work together as I live a
protected life.
This concludes your reading and praying for today.
Truth/Prayer
Pages Chapter Twenty-Three
Opening The
Door To God’s
Invisible World
Through Conquering
Week Five Day Five
STEP NINE: Know
You Are More Than A Conqueror
Rom 8:37 (NIV) No, in all these things we
are more than conquerors through Him Who loved us.
Going From A Sheep To Being A Shepherd
Your faith in Jesus involves you believing
He is not only healing, blessing, delivering, and working miracles as a part of
His creative language of love, He is working through you, empowering you
to do great and mighty things. If
you don’t understand this part of the authority and power of God, then you will
be constantly praying and asking God to do everything for you. Much of what God will do, will be done with
you and through you.
Look At This Cooperative Life With
Jesus
Rom 8:13 (NIV) For if you live according to the sinful
nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to
death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.
John 14:12 (NIV) I tell you the truth, anyone
who has faith in Me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things
than these, because I am going to the Father.
It is true that apart from Me
(Jesus) you can do nothing (John 15:5b). However, it is also true that I can do
everything through Him (Jesus) Who gives me strength
(Philippians 4:13).
Jesus, help me be a cooperative part of much
of those things You want to do for me and through me. Keep me from expecting You to do everything
independent of me. And, keep me from
trying to do these things independent of You.
No Longer A Sheep To Be Slaughtered
No: A lot of
people live life wishing, hope, having their fingers crossed, looking to fate,
karma, or luck to save them. Or, they
are just holding their breath waiting to see what a random event will bring
their way. They are helpless sheep without
a shepherd totally vulnerable to whatever life brings their way. This “no” is saying to the Christian
that things have changed for them.
Jesus, I have already seen that “in this world I will have trouble.” And,
I have already seen that You have “overcome the world.” Now teach me how a cooperative
relationship with You deals with the trouble in the world. Help me to get involved in my part of this
issue.
The COOPERATIVE Relationship
No, in all these things: What things…trouble or hardship or persecution or
famine or nakedness or danger or sword, facing death all day long, being considered
as sheep to be slaughtered. Do you just
cross your fingers and hope? Do you just
watch and wait to see how it all turns out?
Do you just beg and plead with God to help you? What do you do in all these things? This is where you join Jesus and allow
Him to flow in and through you.
John 14:12 (NIV) I tell you the truth, anyone who
has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than
these, because I am going to the Father.
Jesus, show me that I won’t do it
by myself. Show me that I won’t have
faith in You and then go out and do it for You.
We will do it together! John
15:5 (NIV) I am the vine; you are the branches.
If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much
fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing. Teach me to remain by allowing You to
empower me to do it.
There’s A Third Alternative
No, in all these things we: Some Christians try to go out and do all those
things they see in the Bible. Other
Christians pray and keep asking God to do these things for them. But, God has a relationship
plan for all His children. Sometimes you
can pray and God does give you a total, instant, permanent miracle, blessing,
or healing. But, most of the time you get
what you get from God on a relationship basis.
Jesus, help me see that I will be doing it, as You
empower me to yield to You. You will
give me Your supernatural strength, knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. Then, as I move my body and my mouth in
cooperation with You, You flow through me in
miraculous ways. As I yield to You, I
allow my mind to think what You want me to think; I allow my mouth to say what
You want me to say, and I do, with my body, what You want my body to do.
Things Have Really Changed
No, in all these things we are: You are what? 2 Cor 5:17 (NIV) Therefore, if anyone is in
Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! Yes, you have changed! But, what have you changed into? What are you supposed to be doing? What are you now capable of doing? What is your new assignment? What are your new relationships? What are your new responsibilities? How are you supposed to go about living this
new life? You need to know all of
this!
Rom 8:15 (NIV) For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave
again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by Him you cry, “Abba, Father.” Jesus, help me always stay aware that I have
a new Father! But, help me know what I
am supposed to do with Him. What kind of
relationship can I have with Him? What
does He expect of me? How am I supposed
to respond to Him, since I am His child?
How do I go about becoming what He wants me to be? What does He automatically give me and what must
I ask for? Help me see that I must know
these things of I won’t be able to cooperate with Him.
Things Have Really Changed For
The Better
No, in all these things we are more than
conquerors: Yes, you face trouble or
hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword. Yes, you face death all day long. Yes you are
being considered as sheep to be slaughtered; but you
are more than conquerors!
That means there are things you need
to be doing so you can win at life.
1.
First, you desire
to do what God wants you to do.
2.
Then, you study
the Bible to find out what it is God wants you to do.
3.
After that,
you pray to Jesus for power to do what God wants you to do.
4.
Then, you go
to Jesus and ask Him for His faith to be spoken into your life, so you can believe
you have been empowered to start doing what God wants you to do.
5.
From there,
you take what you believe God wants you to do and allow Jesus to check your
motives. Are you doing what God wants
you to do for the same reason God wants you to do it? Are you doing it out of love for Him
and other people?
6.
If it is out
of love, you are then ready to take faith-action and work together with
Jesus, doing what God wants you to do.
7.
Once that
happens, you express your thankfulness for being empowered to do what
God wants you to do.
Jesus, show me that as a spiritual sheep, I have to
be somewhat passive; I may run; but, not very fast. I may try to fight; but, not very well. I may try to hide; but, not very
successfully. But, You, as my Shepherd,
on the other hand, have a lot more knowledge, understanding, wisdom, power,
skills, and weapons; You have a lot more options. But, how do I go from just being a sheep into
becoming a shepherd, for other people, while under Your leadership?
There’s Two Parts To It
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through
Him Who loved us: In the real
sense of the word, you will be an under-shepherd; you are a trainee shepherd;
you are a student shepherd. But, in the
future you will be a co-shepherd; a joint-shepherd; a shepherd in a
partnership. You aren’t learning how to
be a shepherd so you can leave Jesus and go out and shepherd. You are learning how to cooperate, work
together with, and maintain a relationship with Him for the rest of your life. What you learn now, will be used in
eternity.
John 15:4-5 (NIV) Remain in Me, and I will remain
in you. No branch can bear fruit by
itself; it must remain in the vine.
Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him,
he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing. Faith
and trust keep you remaining in Jesus.
Gal 2:20 (NIV)
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live,
but Christ lives in me. The life I
live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Jesus, help me realize that every time I do something good, it is
because You are living in me.
Help me also realize that when I do something wrong, bad, or evil, I
have moved out of faith in You, the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Yourself for me.
Getting Ready To Be Convinced
Jesus, through the Bible, has covered the main doubts and fears Christians face in life.
You have allowed Him to address these main issues by asking you questions
for you to answer. You have been answering
these questions on the basis of how you see things in life. Your faith has been growing, as you turned
your answers into words you have been speaking out loud.
Jesus, thank You for teaching me that my mouth and
tongue are the control mechanism that steers my body and my life. As I verbally answered these questions
correctly, I “steered” myself into a life of faith. You provided the words for me to speak out
loud and I yielded to them by speaking them out of my mouth. Help me see that this is the way I yield to
you. You provide the words or deeds and
I yield to Your power to say or do them.
Then I let people know that it was You Who gave them the words or
deeds.
If you feel you are ready to move
forward, you are now getting ready to put the final aspects of training into
your world of faith. You can become totally
convinced through Jesus.
This concludes your reading and praying for the week.
Truth/Prayer
Pages Chapter Twenty-Four
Opening The
Door To God’s
Invisible World
Through Victory
Week Six Day One
STEP NINE
CONTINUED: Know You Are More Than A Conqueror
Rom 8:37 (NIV) NO, in all these things we
are more than conquerors through Him Who loved you.
Facing The Facts
NO: Some people
consider themselves realists when they face all the negative and
life-threatening “facts.” Jesus always
presents what the problems are; He never keeps any of the truths about life
from you. But, facing the fact that as
it is written: “For Your (God’s) sake we face death all day long; we are
considered as sheep to be slaughtered,” is the smallest part of the
facts. This is a fact; it is true; but, it isn’t all of the truth in the matter.
Jesus, help me to see things the way You see them. Help me not just be a positive thinker, a
realist, or a negative thinker. Help me
have Your thoughts and feelings in me.
You see things the way they really are; You see the problem and the
solution as one issue. Help me not get
overwhelmed with the problem; help me know You already
had the answer long before I ever faced the problem. You always have the beginning, middle, and
end of a situation worked out because You finished the whole work ahead of time. Help me see that my lack of being able to see
the future just puts me in a better position to trust You.
Removal Or Victory
No, in all these things: A lot of people become Christians to escape all these things. You may have expected God to eliminate all these things. You didn’t want to have to face all these things ever again. When you pray and ask God to help you with all these things, you expect Him to take them away. You may not realize that you are supposed to join Him in defeating all these things. All these things are what you are supposed use to practice winning.
Jesus, I often forget that I am in life-classes; if
there are no problems for me to learn how to solve, then there can be no issues
for me to practice on. Help me see that
these things aren’t coming my way to defeat me. I have You right here to train me to win over
them. You are allowing these situations
of life to come my way so I can learn how to use Your principles to solve them with
You. Help me join You, cooperate with
You, and be trained by You so I can be a mature, fully developed
Christian. You and I have a lot of
things we need to do together to help other people. Help me learn from You, so You and I can help
them.
Is It Just You, Or Just Jesus, Or A Relationship?
No, in all these things we are: Jesus is already totally successful in
everything. He didn’t create you as
pets, works of art, or slaves to help Him with His needs. He wants to make you a part of Who He is and
what He is doing. He is offering you a
type of relationship that is unified, cooperative, shared, and mutually
beneficial. Jesus can do everything; you
can’t do anything. But, by unifying,
cooperating, sharing, and joining His win/win relationship you can do
everything through Him Who gives you strength (Phil 4:13).
Jesus, teach me how to cooperate with You. Help me be so cooperative that I learn all
those things You want to teach me how to do.
Thank You for being willing to share all You know with me. Thank You for being willing to teach me how
to do all those things You did on earth.
Help me understand that this is why I am alive and on this planet. Help me take full advantage of Your
generosity and receive all You have for me.
Unlimited Resources, Training, And Results
No, in all these things we are more: The generosity of God is beyond anything you can
imagine. You are going to have to just
relax and allow Jesus to take you into His plan for you. His plans are so generous, supernatural, and
gracious that it is going to take you experiencing them in order to believe
them.
This word “more” is just a small sample of the fact that God doesn’t just give you the bare necessities. He doesn’t just want you to learn how to win over sin, problems, issues, and struggles, He wants you to be totally victorious and successful in all of life.
Jesus, help me not be satisfied to win over the negative issues of
life. Help me see that You are wanting
me to succeed in obtaining the great blessings, miracles, and resources You
have. Help me appreciate every victory
over the negatives; but, help me to press on into the great blessings and
successes You also have.
This Is The Purpose Of Your Training
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors:
You have been going through all
kinds of training and work on your attitudes and character. You have seen that they are your first
assignment. Mat 6:33 (NIV) But seek
first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will
be given to you as well. But, once
you stay in the process of making that your top priority, you become ready to add
the battle and the victory to your pursuit.
You never quit seeking first God’s kingdom and His
righteousness. But,
you do move on into all these things being given to you as
well.
Jesus, help me always be seeking first Your Kingdom and Your
righteousness. But, help me also join
You in being more than conquerors as well.
I know You have great plans for me; help me
keep growing in all areas of my life.
Help me be able to add all these things to the growth You are giving me
in Your eternal Kingdom and Your righteousness.
Jesus Needs Your Cooperation
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through
Him Who loved us: You aren’t
trying to become more than conquerors. Jesus has already made you into more
than conquerors. He is just wanting
to teach you how to take advantage of the fact that you are more than
conquerors.
Faith only deals with what is already done. Jesus has already done all the work; He has already created the provisions; He is just trying to get you to learn how to apply the procedures. The first thing you need, is to apply The Seven Biblical Principles to moving into full cooperation with Jesus. Once you have done that, you need to apply them to learning how to take advantage of the fact that you are more than conquerors through Him Who loved you.
Jesus, help me learn how to apply The Seven Biblical
Principles to me being completely cooperative with You. Help me apply them to me learning how to take
advantage of the fact that I am more
than conquerors through You Who
love me. Empower me to live the more
than conquerors life. Show me that
it involves me realizing that I am more
than conquerors. But, that fact isn’t
dependent on whether I feel like I am more than conquerors. It hasn’t even been based to whether or not I
knew I was more than conquerors. It
has been so because You made me more
than conquerors when I was born as
a child of God.
This concludes your reading and praying for today.
Truth/Prayer
Pages Chapter Twenty-Five
Opening The
Door To God’s
Invisible World
Through Jesus’ Faith
Week Six Day Two
STEP TEN: Know
How To Be Convinced
Rom 8:38-39 (NIV) For I am convinced that neither
death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future,
nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will
be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
It Takes Jesus’ Faith To Convince You
“For I am convinced” is a
statement of faith in God. It is a
strong, consistent faith in God’s authority, power, willingness, and desire to along
with Him (Jesus), graciously give us all things. It is a faith that He will protect you from
being destroyed by any bad things.
Jesus, make it clear to me that I can cooperatively
read all these things in Romans 8:31-39 and spend my time trying to convince myself
through all this proof. I can reason
with myself and try to get my mind and heart to accept the validity and truth
of it all. I can read these things over
and over until I feel like I have really accepted it as a fact. But, when it comes to trouble or hardship
or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword, when I face
death all day long, when I am being considered as sheep to be
slaughtered, I will doubt, fear, worry, and fail.
Two Sources Of Faith
Let Jesus show you these truths
through Peter; he had been listening to Jesus, living with Him, being trained
by Him, and was now humanly “convinced” that his faith was ready for
anything:
The Truth
Mat 26:31-32 (NIV) Then Jesus told them, “This very night you
will all fall away on account of Me, for it is written: “‘I will
strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ But after I have risen, I will go ahead of
you into Galilee.” When Jesus says something, it is vital that
you listen and accept what He says as fact and truth. He must be the One you listen to and
accept as your authority on everything. Your
faith must be in the truth; and, Jesus only tells you the truth
because He is the truth. Mat
6:32 (NIV)
Human Faith
Mat 26:33 (NIV) Peter replied, “Even if all fall away on account of
You, I never will.” Jesus,
show me that Peter is speaking with a
lot of faith; he is convinced; he is confident; he is sure and certain that he will be able to take faith-action on
this matter. It looks like Peter is
getting his faith from the Author and Perfecter of his faith; but, he isn’t.
Heb 11:1 (NIV) Now faith is being sure of what you hope for and
certain of what you do not see. Jesus, You know the source of Peter’s faith. Peter has confidence in himself and his own
faith; he “believes” he has such great faith and commitment that he can
do everything (Philippians 4:13). Help me not try to use or build up my
human faith. Teach me how to look to You
for speaking Your faith into my faith so I will be sure and certain
through You.
The Truth
Mat 26:34 (NIV) “I tell you the truth,”
Jesus answered, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown
Me three times.” If Peter had faith in Jesus, he would have believed
Jesus’ words and sought guidance and help from Him. But, Peter had a
faith that blocked off faith in, from, and through Jesus. So, here is Peter’s next decision and action:
Human Faith
Mat 26:35 (NIV) But Peter declared, “Even if I have to die with You, I
will never disown You.” And all the other disciples said the same.
Jesus, these guys were
committed, determined, filled with faith, had a lot of training, and were
expressing their readiness to take the necessary steps of faith-action, which
was: “even if I have to die with You.”
But, even though I have these same things,
I am not and they weren’t ready for the test.
How To Get Jesus-Faith
So,
Jesus and the disciples left that place and went to the garden of Gethsemane to
pray. Mat 26:40-41 Then He (Jesus)
returned to His disciples and found them sleeping. “Could you men not keep watch with Me for one
hour?” He asked Peter. “Watch
and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”
Watch and pray:
Jesus, teach me that I am watching when I am looking for needs to pray
about. I am watching when I am trying
to make a decision and realize I need to include You in the decision. I am watching when I consult You while
trying to get a solution to something. I
am watching when I start looking for ideas and feelings to come to me from
You.
Jesus, I am praying when I get good ideas and
supportive feelings and give You the credit for them. I am praying when my thoughts
include looking to You for what You have to say about the decision I am about
to make. I am praying when
I ask You for Your knowledge, foreknowledge of the future, understanding, and
wisdom concerning a solution I am seeking.
I am praying when I ask You for You power to empower me to
do what I need to do.
Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation:
You are being tempted when you forget to include God
in your decisions and plans. You are
being tempted when you start thinking that you have reached the training,
faith, and spiritual growth where you are ready to strike out on your own. You are being tempted when you take
faith-action through self-help, determination, self-confidence, and self-esteem.
The spirit is willing, but the body is weak: Jesus, You used
Romans 7:15-24 to give me a vivid
picture of my willing but weak spirit. And,
You gave me a vivid picture of the weakness of my body. Because of my spirit’s relationship with my body,
I have to clearly understand the difference between human-faith and Your-faith. Your-faith comes through watching and
praying. Since Peter didn’t watch and
pray, he failed, even though he had a lot of human faith. Like me, he needed to fix his eyes on You,
as Author and Perfecter of his faith. Help
me keep my eyes on You for Your faith to be spoken into my faith.
This concludes your reading and praying for today.
Truth/Prayer
Pages Chapter Twenty-Six
Opening The
Door To God’s
Invisible World
Through The Truth
Week Six Day Three
STEP TEN
CONTINUED: Know How To Be Convinced
Rom 8:38-39 (NIV) For I am convinced that neither
death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future,
nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will
be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The Truth
Mat 26:31-32 (NIV) Then Jesus told them, “This very night you
will all fall away on account of Me, for it is written: “‘I will strike the
shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered. But after I have risen,
I will go ahead of you into Galilee:” When
you have applied The Seven Biblical Principles to enough Scriptures, and when
you have received enough results from it, you will read the Bible with
respect. You will accept it as God’
Book; you will allow Jesus to speak faith into you through it; and, you will
start taking faith-action based on it.
Jesus, I need this respect, faith, and submission to
Your Word. Help me read the Bible as the
Truth that it is. Help me feel its power
and authority; help me yield my own will to its principles. Let me get the full benefits of all it
says. Help me not argue, reason, try to
add my own interpretation, or ignore it.
Give me complete faith in it and You.
Human Faith
Mat 26:33 (NIV) Peter replied, “Even if all fall away on account of You, I never will:” You have been trained by the world to self-commit, get determined, speak with confidence, believe in yourself, know you can do it, and never give up. With Peter, you are seeing that human effort and world training don’t bring about spiritual results.
When You, like Peter, make up your mind, it keeps you from getting Jesus’ faith and help. Once you feel you have the answer or the ability, there is no place in your heart for Jesus’ faith and help. It is only when you open up to your need for what Jesus is offering that you succeed in life. You have to ask Jesus to help you be willing to see your weaknesses.
Jesus, I get these feelings that I know what to
do. I feel so confident that I can do
various things. Help me not close You
out and fail to get Your faith and help.
Help me recognize it when I don’t invite You into my situations and
decisions. Help me look to You for Your
guidance, Your help, and Your faith.
Keep me from making promises as to what I will do.
The Truth
Mat 26:34 (NIV) “I tell you the truth,” Jesus
answered, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown
Me three times:” You may not
like what Jesus is telling you; you may even feel like what He is saying about
you isn’t true. But, if you will stop
and ask Him for explanations and examples, He will help you see that He knows
what He is talking about.
You must start with relational
faith. You may disagree with what He is
saying about you; but, relational faith will convince you
He is right. So, you open your heart to
Him for His proof. That helps you allow
Him to show you things about you that are hard to see. Jesus will give you proof of what He is
talking about. That will give you
specific faith. You believed Him because
you trust Him; and, you believe because you can now see His point.
Jesus, help me be poor in
spirit enough that I can hear words from You that are painful to hear. Help me be saved from the pain and
disappointment that comes from failures that You would have delivered me
from. Help me always have relational
faith in You so I will trust You with all Your evaluations of me and my life;
let me join You in dealing with the problem.
Human Faith Continued
Mat 26:35 (NIV) But Peter declared, “Even if I have to die
with You, I will never disown You.” And all the other disciples said
the same: There are statements of faith that
you are responsible for speaking out loud.
However, they are statement about what you know God will, is, or has
done. Statements of faith that declare
what you will or will not do aren’t the kind of faith-statements God is
looking for. Pride is being presented
here; self-confidence is being exhibited; and, a human commitment is being
declared.
Jesus, help me see the difference between faith in
myself and faith in You. Keep me from
trying to impress You with my determination, dedication, or commitment. Help me not brag about what I will do for
You. Let me ask You for all those things
You want to do with, for, in, and through me.
Help me always see I need You, so I can do those things You want from
me.
Letting Jesus
Speak Faith Into You
Mat 26:40-41 Then He (Jesus) returned to His disciples and
found them sleeping. “Could you men not
keep watch with Me for one hour?” He asked Peter. “Watch and pray so
that you will not fall into temptation.
The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”
The Early Warning System
Then He (Jesus) returned to His disciples and found them sleeping: Peter hasn’t denied Jesus yet; he hasn’t failed the assignment yet; he can still be helped to win over this temptation. There will always be warnings, evidences, and indications that you are failing to invite Jesus into one of your life situations. Peter was, at that moment, failing a very simple assignment. If he didn’t have the power to keep himself awake, how was he going to have the power to die for Jesus. Jesus was giving him a warning that he needed help with his commitment.
Jesus, help me take advantage of any warning You give me. Even if I miss Your first warning, let me
pick up on any additional warnings. Help
me not be stubborn, too embarrassed, or too prideful to admit I was wrong. Help me join You in attacking and dealing
with anything that I have, am, or will make a mistake on.
Admitting You Can’t
Then He returned to His disciples and found them sleeping. “Could you men not keep watch with Me for one hour?” He asked Peter: What was the answer to this question? The answer was, NO! But, Peter probably felt ashamed, felt defensive, and probably made a new commitment to do better. When you fail Jesus, the reason is, you failed to get something from Him that you needed. You are always inadequate; you always fail on your own; the only way to not fail is to turn to Jesus and get His help. All Peter had to do was ask for help.
Jesus, help me always answer Your questions by asking You for the
answer. Help me ask You why I failed;
help me admit I failed and then cooperate with You to get the solution. Let me realize that I have to have You in
order to do anything successfully.
Power Rather Than Instructions
Then He returned to His disciples and found them sleeping. “Could you men not keep watch with Me for one hour?” He asked Peter. “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak: Here is the place where you can get confused. Jesus can tell you what you need to do to not fail and you can improperly apply it. You can give it your best efforts to apply His instructions and try to watch and pray. Or, you can hear Jesus speak the power and faith into you so you can watch and pray.
Jesus, help me desire to watch
and pray. Help me study and
learn how to watch and pray. Help me pray for the power and ability
to watch and pray. Help me look to You for the faith, so I can believe
I have the training, abilities, and power to watch and pray. Help me watch and pray out of love for
You, myself, and other people. Help me
take faith-action and practice watching and praying. Then help me be thankful for being
able to watch and pray.
This concludes your reading and praying for today.
Truth/Prayer
Pages Chapter Twenty-Seven
Opening The
Door To God’s
Invisible World
Through Win/Win Relationships
Week Six Day Four
STEP TEN
CONTINUED: Know How To Be Convinced
Rom 8:38-39 (NIV) For I am convinced that neither death nor
life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any
powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be
able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
WHEN Trouble Comes
For I am convinced: Romans
8:38-39 isn’t saying that none of these things will ever come your way. You must keep in mind that Jesus said in John
16:33: (NIV) I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.
Jesus, when
these things (trouble) do come my way, let it be that in You
(Jesus) I may have peace; help me also take heart because You (Jesus) have
overcome the world (John 16:33);
and, in all these things I am more than
conquerors through You Who loved me (Rom
8:37).
As long as you make Jesus and the
Bible the final authority in what you believe, accept, know, and are
convinced of, then your faith will be powerful, constant, and unwavering. But, you have to use
The Seven Biblical Principles to make sure you have the right kind of faith and
are going in the right direction.
Otherwise, you will make promises based on faith in yourself.
1.
Jesus, help me want or desire the right
things.
2.
Jesus, help me study and understand the right
things.
3.
Jesus help me pray and
ask for the right things.
4.
Jesus, help me believe I have received the
right things.
5.
Jesus, help me do all this for the reasons of love.
6.
Jesus, help me join you and give me the power and
wisdom to take faith-action on the right things.
7.
Jesus, help me always be thankful for Your
power, wisdom, and love that has helped me do the right things.
When Faith Comes
For I am convinced that: Jesus-faith
has a goal and purpose that makes sure you are believing and taking action in
the right direction. Since this faith is
coming through Jesus, you can’t just believe for anything you want. It keeps the mighty power of God under God’s
control.
Mark 11:24 (AKJV) Therefore I say unto you,
What things soever you desire,
when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you
shall have them. Jesus, show me that if I could just use
human faith, no telling what I would believe for and get done for me through
the mighty power of God. Help me see
that, that would be a very scary situation that could ruin the world. I thank You for keeping God’s power under
Your control.
Faith For Good Gifts
Mat 7:11 (NIV) If you, then, though you are evil, know
how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your
Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!
In Matthew 7:7-10 just above
Matthew 7:11, Jesus gave the three keys to Christianity and getting things from
your heavenly Father. The asking,
seeking, and knocking all have to do with good gifts. If you ask, seek, or knock for things
that aren’t good for you and those around you, then God will not give
them to you. Jesus only gives you His
faith for good gifts. Good gifts
are only good gifts, if they are beneficial to every person involved
(win/win).
Win/Win Described In The Very Next Verse
Mat 7:12 (NIV) SO IN EVERYTHING, do to others what
you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the
Prophets. Immediately after Jesus talks about the keys to Christianity
and good gifts, He gives the golden rule for all relationships; He defines how
a win/win relationship works. You are to
always make your decisions and take your actions on the basis of what we
would have them do to us.
For this sums up the Law and the Prophets: Jesus, teach me that every law, rule, commandment, and principle of
God is summed up in this one concept. If
I do to others what I would have them do to me, I fulfill all the
rules, laws, commandments, and principles that God stands for. Make it clear to me that everything the Holy
Spirit speaks into my conscience, heart, and mind is based on this
concept.
Win/Win Faith
For I am convinced that neither death nor life: This isn’t just a matter of having faith from Jesus
for individual issues of life and death, it is a principle that everyone needs
to be made aware of for every human everywhere.
They need to know why these things happen.
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor
demons: Jesus, help me
understand that most of the calamities,
wars, diseases, pestilence, plagues, disasters, and mass murders come from the
satanic realm. People are listening to
Satan and yielding to his demonic forces.
Help me realize that all these things are happening because of who
people are listening to. Help me warn
people about this issue. Many don’t
understand why all this is happening.
You want to set them free from listening to Satan.
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither
angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future: It doesn’t matter what is happening to you right now
or what will happen to you in the future; if you want Jesus’ love, none of it
can take Him and His love from you. You
can be sure of one thing; God will take everything that happens to you and make
it work together for your good.
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor
demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers:
Jesus, help me believe that no
one nor any thing is more powerful than God. I am safe in His protection and safe in His
love. Help me not only live on the basis
of this fact, but, help me share it with all who will listen.
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither
angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither
height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to
separate you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus your Lord.
Jesus,
help me believe this with all my heart and mind. Help me believe that nothing that is going on in the highest heaven or in the greatest depths
of hell have any influence or power over my relationship with my heavenly
Father and Your love. Help me see that this
next thing says it all: If I want God and all He has to offer, if I want Your
faith and Your love, then nothing in all creation will be able to take
it and them away from me.
This concludes your reading and praying for today.
Truth/Prayer
Pages Chapter Twenty-Eight
Opening The
Door To God’s
Invisible World
Through Relational Faith
Week Six Day Five
STEP TEN
CONTINUED: KNOW How To Be Convinced
Rom 8:38-39 (NIV) For I am convinced that neither
death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future,
nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will
be able to separate you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus
your Lord.
This Is Your Goal
For I am convinced: When
you don’t have Jesus’ faith causing you to know that nothing will be able
to separate you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus your Lord, you
live a life of fear, doubt,
depression, and confusion. Romans
8:38-39 is the avenue or channel through which Jesus is speaking to the
reader. He is speaking His faith into
you and causing you to know these facts.
The main issue has to do with what you are trying to get these two
verses to do.
If you apply Romans 8:38-39 to your brain and mind, you will be trying to get it to convince you through proof that they are true. If you open your heart to Romans 8:38-39, Jesus will speak assurance, peace, and security into it. If you try to get your mind to accept this, you will always be needing further proof. You will always have to come back for more evidence. If Jesus speaks the faith and truth of these verses into you, it will be a permanent, consistent, and eternal truth in your heart and mind.
Jesus, when the storms of life come my way, I need to
be able to face them with Your assurance, peace, and faith. It is a time when I need to already be
convinced. If I have to try to get this
faith in the face of great challenges, the battle is almost unbearable. But, if You have already convinced me of my
security in You, I have the emotional stability to face them with great peace,
faith, and assurance. Help me open my
heart to Your faith right now. Speak
through all these verses and bring my heart and mind into Your eternal
security.
Provisional Faith Based On
Relational Faith
For I am convinced that: You are
being led into believing for specific things; but, you
can only believe in these provisions of God because you know, are sure,
and are certain that this security is based on the love of God that
is in Christ Jesus your Lord. You have
to enter into Jesus like a strong tower or fortress. He is empowering you to see Him as having the
rights, power, authority, abilities, love, and willingness to protect you from
all these things.
Jesus, there are a lot of things listed in Romans
8:38-39; help me understand that they are very powerful and dangerous
things. Show me that they have eternal
issues attached to them. But, help me
see that it all comes down to Who You are.
It’s the love of God that is in You, Christ Jesus, my Lord; You give me eternal security by empowering me
to put into practice those things You are teaching me.
Jesus, help me keep my eyes fixed on You; help me allow Your faith to
flow through my eyes into my heart. Help
me see You and know Who You are and what You have the
authority to do. Let me see Your heart and Your position at the right hand of our heavenly
Father. Speak to my heart and give it
the assurance I need to never doubt my eternal security in You. I give You my heart, my mind, and my life
right now. I know You
will protect me for all of eternity.
For I Am
CONVINCED That
1. Neither death nor life: Life and death are things you have no control over. As long as you live and after you die, they will not be able to separate you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus your Lord. So, because you have made Christianity permanent in your life, you have also made it permanent in your death.
Jesus, thank You for teaching me and empowering me to make
Christianity a permanent part of my life; I am now eternally secure in
You. Speak faith into my heart so I can
base my life on this fact. Help me
always know You are keeping me eternally secure.
2.
Neither angels nor demons: These beings are very powerful; but,
angels are submitted to God. However,
demons are obedient to Satan. These
demons are capable of creating a lot of spiritual, circumstantial, and physical
damage to you, as a human; but, Jesus defeated them. Jesus holds all authority in heaven and
earth.
Heb
2:14-15 (NIV) Since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their
humanity so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the
power of death--that is, the devil--and free those who all their
life were held in slavery by their fear of death. None
of these beings have the power or the ability to separate you from the love of
God that is in Christ Jesus your Lord; that
makes you eternally secure for as long as you want it. Jesus will always honor your God-given free
will.
Jesus, I am so glad You have all power and authority in heaven and
earth. Help me understand that You were
able to destroy him who holds the power of death--that is, the devil--and
free me, who all my life was
held in slavery by my fear of death.
3. Neither the present nor the future: A lot of things can happen to you during your day. As time goes by, you never really know what to expect. If you were to think about all the bad things that might happen to you, you could go into depression, hopelessness, helplessness, fear, and even panic. But, since Jesus is in control of your life, you can trust Him to watch over you. You can know that today, tomorrow, the rest of your time here on earth, and eternity is locked into the love of God that is in Christ Jesus your Lord; that makes you eternally secure for as long as that is the desire of your heart.
Jesus, my life could be filled with anticipations of negative and
painful things. You have given me
security in You; You have given me love, joy, and peace. Help me stay in this attitude of trust,
faith, and dependency on Your protection, blessings, and miracles.
4. Nor any powers: A lot of people have positions, power, authority, and control. They may not be able to do anything to your relationship with Jesus directly; but, they may make you so miserable, persecuted, and tortured that you decide it isn’t worth it to suffer this much.
Jesus, help me not try to prepare for difficulties,
persecution, or torture. Help me know You will always give me the necessary attitudes, character,
grace, and power to handle any of those things that might come my way. Keep me faithful to You no matter what
comes.
5. Neither
height nor depth: There are
spiritual issues that God hasn’t fully revealed to you. But, God has
made known to you the issue of spiritual warfare. 2 Cor 10:4 (NIV) The weapons you fight
with are not the weapons of the world.
On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. Eph 6:12 (NIV) For your struggle is not
against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities,
against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil
in the heavenly realms.
6. Jesus, teach me all the aspects of
spiritual warfare. Help me stop
fighting, arguing, and attacking humans.
Help me understand what it means that my struggle isn’t against
people. Help me understand how to handle
all these things in the heights and in the depths.
7.
Nor anything else in all creation: This sums it all up; only things created might force
you out of God’s love. Since you want to
be eternally secure in God’s love, you have God’s guarantee that you have
it. None of the above-mentioned things will
be able to separate you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus
your Lord; that makes you eternally secure.
Jesus, let this be my conviction; let Your faith
convince me of all these truths. Fill my
heart with the power of Romans 8:31-39; speak Your powerful, securing faith
into my heart and mind. Help me live on
the basis of these facts. Give me a life
in You that produces results.
This concludes your reading and praying for this week.
Truth/Prayer
Pages Chapter Twenty-Nine
Opening The
Door To God’s
Invisible World
Through Warnings
Week Seven Day One
STEP TEN
CONTINUED: Know How To Be Convinced
Rom 8:38-39 (NIV) For I am convinced that neither death nor
life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any
powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be
able to separate you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus your Lord.
Moving From
Human Faith To Jesus-Faith
Dealing With Human
Faith
Remember Peter, who tried to use his human faith to resist
temptations to deny his Lord and how he declared his faith and willingness to
take faith-action? Mat
26:35 (NIV) But Peter declared, “Even if I have to die with You, I will
never disown You.” And all the other disciples said the same. Let Jesus
show you where He had to take Peter from and where He had to take him
into.
I will never disown You: Jesus, as You reveal to me Peter’s
declaration of a faith that he had in and through himself, show me how subtle
it is to mistake human faith with Your faith.
Help me understand why he wasn’t getting this faith from You. Show me that it was because he wasn’t using
spiritual principles to get Your faith. He
was using his human system.
Even if I have to die with You: Jesus, teach me that Peter
“believed in himself” because he hadn’t become poor in spirit when he
listened to You present the Sermon on the Mount. He didn’t learn that apart from You he couldn’t do anything, when you presented the vine
illustration. He didn’t listen when You
told him that the flesh counts for nothing.
Help me see that, that can happen to me as I read my Bible. You can say it to me; but,
I have to listen.
The Warning
Mat 26:34 (NIV) I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “this
very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown Me three times.” Was
this Jesus speaking faith into Peter that “this very night, before the
rooster crows, you will disown Me three times”?
No, Jesus was warning Peter about a problem he needed His faith to
resist. But, because Peter felt he
already had all the faith he needed, he didn’t heed the warning and “do what it
took” to get Jesus-faith.
John 16:8 (NIV) When He comes, He
will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and
judgment. Jesus, this can happen to me; the Holy Spirit
can warn me that I am about to do something wrong, bad, or evil. But, I can yield to pride and think
that all I have to do to heed the warning is to make up my mind to not do
it. Help me stop and pray, asking You to
empower me to resist that thing the Holy Spirit is warning me about.
The Training
Mat 26:40-41 (NIV) Then He returned to His disciples and
found them sleeping. “Could you men not
keep watch with Me for one hour?” He asked Peter. “Watch and pray so that you will not fall
into temptation. The spirit is
willing, but the body is weak.”
Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation: This is what you have to do in order to get
Jesus-faith. When Jesus said this to
Peter, he could have allowed it to create faith and the power to watch and
pray so that he would not fall into temptation.
Watch: Jesus, this can happen to me; I can try to be careful. I can evaluate situations and decide that I
can handle it. I can fall asleep when I
should be reading my Bible and praying.
Help me give up trying to be careful and use The Three Keys To All Of Christianity. Help me use The Seven Biblical Principles and
find out why I think I can handle spiritual issues. Help me use my toolset to find out why I am
too tried to study my Bible and pray.
Pray: Jesus, this can happen to me; I can go a whole day and make many
decisions and then realize that I never consulted You for any of them. I can pray and ask You for guidance and then
walk away from You and go do it with my own strength and skill. I can come up with things I think are best
for me, and then try to get You to put Your stamp of approval on them. Help me come to You, seek Your guidance, join
You in the fulfillment of its application, and then thank You for giving me
Your powerful miracles that came from it.
A Trained Christian
Acts 3:1-3 (NIV) One day Peter and John were going up to the
temple at the time of prayer--at three in the afternoon. Now a man crippled from birth was being
carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg
from those going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he
asked them for money.
Jesus-Faith
Acts 3:6-8 (NIV) Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not
have, but what I have I give you. In the
name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” Taking him by the right hand, he
helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple
courts, walking and jumping, and praising God.
Jesus, show me how I can tell the difference between
human faith and Your faith. Make it
clear to me that human faith fails; Your faith produces supernatural,
miraculous results that help and heal me and those around me. Do the same work in me that You did in
Peter. I can see that Peter’s faith
wasn’t in himself anymore; but, his faith wasn’t just in
You; it was from You. His heart
had accepted principles like those in the seven faith-building questions. Help them to do the same work in me.
Yielding To Jesus-Faith
Jesus gave Peter special training,
after he denied Him three times. Jesus
worked on Peter’s relational faith so He could later start giving him
provisional faith. Let Jesus show you
the time where Peter gets this special training from Him. It starts with some women at the tomb.
No Condemnation
Mark 16:5-7 (NIV) As they entered the tomb, they saw a
young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were
alarmed. “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who
was crucified. He has risen! He is not
here. See the place where they laid
Him. But go, tell His disciples and
PETER, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him, just as He told you.’”
You are looking at the verses
after Peter had denied his Lord three times.
He needed the faith-building question number five that says: Rom 8:34
(NIV) Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, Who
died--more than that, Who was raised to life--is at
the right hand of God and is also interceding for you. Peter thought He was condemned or
separated from Jesus.
Jesus, Peter decided he had done something
bad enough that he had cut himself off from You and God’s love. He didn’t know that the only way for him to
be cut off was to want to be cut off.
You were ready to help Peter, who still wanted God’s love. Help me see how You proved that this “want”
was all He required of him at this stage in his life. Rom 8:1 (NIV) Therefore, there is now no condemnation
for those who are in Christ Jesus.
This concludes your reading and praying for today.
Truth/Prayer
Pages Chapter Thirty
Opening The
Door To God’s
Invisible World
Through Resisting Condemnation
Week Seven Day Two
STEP TEN
CONTINUED: Know How To Be Convinced
Rom 8:38-39 (NIV) For I am convinced that neither
death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future,
nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will
be able to separate you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus
your Lord.
A Statement Of Faith
Mat 26:35 (NIV) But Peter declared, “Even if I have to die with You, I will never disown You.” And all the other disciples said the same. It is hard for you to be able to tell when you are speaking through Jesus’ faith or your faith. James 3:2 (NIV) We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check. You want to say those things that represent God’s truth. If the Bible says you have something, you need to be saying the same things. But, if you don’t say them through Jesus’ faith, you are just quoting Scripture.
Jesus, help me not just say the words in the Bible. Help me say them with the conviction,
assurance, and acceptance of the truth they represent. Help me believe them in such a way that they
become a part of what I base my life on.
Let them be facts that I know are governing me. Let them be principles that are like the law
of gravity to me.
A Fact That Can Be Changed
Mat 26:34 (NIV) I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown Me three times.” There are things that are going to happen to you no matter what; but, after they do, you can do something to handle them. And, there are things that are going to happen to you; but, only if you don’t do something about it before they do. Jesus is telling Peter about something that is going to happen because he isn’t ready to face the issue. There were things Peter could do; but, he hadn’t learned some important spiritual principles to handle them. If he had been ready, he would have been able to receive power from Jesus to resist temptation.
Jesus, help me apply myself to Your training, so I will be ready to
handle those things that are going to happen to me no matter what. And help me be ready to prevent those things
from happening to me that can be stopped by proper spiritual training. Empower me and train me to be able to handle,
with You, all problems and issues no matter what kind they are.
A Teaching That Can Be Applied
Mat 26:40-41 (NIV) Then He returned to His disciples and
found them sleeping. “Could you men not
keep watch with Me for one hour?” He asked Peter. “Watch and pray so that you will not fall
into temptation. The spirit is
willing, but the body is weak.” Jesus and the Bible have power to speak creative
change and faith into you. “Watch and
pray so that you will not fall into temptation” were power-words for Peter
to resist the temptation he was going to face.
They could have used to watch and pray so he wouldn’t fall
into temptation; but he didn’t hear them with spiritual ears.
Jesus, help me always realize that You are God; when
You talk, You and the Bible speak creative power. Help me not just get information; give me
transformation. Open my heart to
everything You and the Bible say. Give
me faith, power, and creation for a new way of living.
A Faith That Produces Results
Acts 3:6-8 (NIV) Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not
have, but what I have I give you. In the
name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” Taking him by the right hand,
he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple
courts, walking and jumping, and praising God.
Once you have “done what it takes” to establish a faith relationship with God, God-sized, miraculous, supernatural things start to happen in your life. Your attitudes and character have been brought into a condition where Jesus can flow through you in power. Peter’s faith didn’t help him; it didn’t empower him to defeat the temptation to deny his Lord. But, with Jesus’ faith, he was able to allow Jesus to flow through him into the life and body of a hurting person.
Jesus, help me to be transformed in my attitudes and
character. Help me be so cooperative
with You that You can not only meet my needs but flow through me to meet the
needs of others. I can see how important
it is for me to learn how to yield to You and all You have to offer. Take me, train me, and lead me into a life
with You.
Getting Peter Ready
For A Life With
Jesus
Mark 16:5-7 (NIV) As they entered the tomb, they saw a young
man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who
was crucified. He has risen! He is not
here. See the place where they laid
Him. But go, tell His disciples and
Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him, just as He told you.’”
Peter denied Jesus three times just like Jesus said he would; Peter and his faith had failed. You must understand that you are practicing faith-action, not taking faith-action. Peter was and you are new at accomplishing things in the spirit realm. Like Peter, you have a lot to learn. Practicing faith-action has to be with a willingness to make mistakes. Peter was very verbal all during his training. He got dealt with about it; but, it got him ready for his future.
When the angel told those in Mark 16:5-7 to go, tell His disciples and Peter, it was a special message to Peter that would change his life. That is what Jesus is saying to you right now.
Jesus, I am ready to be trained by You to work together in the spirit
realm. Help me go over Romans 8:31-39 on
a regular basis so I won’t get discouraged with all my mistakes and failures. Let me see how You were so patient with
Peter; let it help me know You will be patient with
me. Help me not get discouraged or feel
condemned when I fail to do what I was trying to do. Help me keep looking to You for further
guidance, training, and experience.
This concludes your reading and praying for today.
Truth/Prayer
Pages Chapter Thirty-One
Opening The
Door To God’s
Invisible World
Through Wanting
Week Seven Day Three
STEP TEN
CONTINUED: Know How To Be Convinced
Rom 8:38-39 (NIV) For I am convinced that neither death nor
life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any
powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be
able to separate you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus your Lord.
Moving From
Human Faith To Jesus-Faith
1.
I Want Jesus And
His Salvation
Jesus is still showing you how
Peter learned to get His faith. Peter
had denied his Lord three times just like Jesus said he would; but, the important thing was, Peter still wanted Jesus
and His salvation. Peter committed a
huge sin; and, he did it after he had been warned by Jesus. It is easy to see how Peter could think he
had cut himself off from Jesus and His salvation.
After Jesus was crucified and rose
from the dead, some ladies went to the tomb to anoint Jesus’ body for burial; but, they found the tomb empty and an angel in it. He told them: “Go, tell His (Jesus’) disciples
and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him, just as He told you (Mark
16:7).’” This was a special
message or invitation to Peter. When you
mess up in a big way like Peter did, Jesus will give you a special
invitation.
Jesus, help me put myself in Peter’s place. Help me imagine that it was me who denied
You. Help me see what You will do when I
need this kind of special help. Show me
how You were getting ready to give Peter some final training on faith. You were about to train Peter on relational
faith and miraculously put it into Peter’s heart. This relational faith became the foundational
faith on which Peter lived the rest of his life.
2.
I Know That Nothing Can Separate
Those Who Want Jesus
John 21:15 (NIV) When they had finished eating, Jesus said to
Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you truly love Me more than
these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “You know that I love You.” Jesus said, “Feed
My lambs.”
The reason there are seven
faith-building questions is because it’s difficult to deal with spiritual
questions. When Jesus asks you one of
these seven questions, you typically do what Peter did when He asked: “do
you truly love Me more than these?”.
You typically use your brain and try to produce spiritual answers. Peter was doing that trying to get faith and
love through his own reasoning. It hard
not to consult your human mind and brain when asked a question.
Jesus, I started out as a new or untrained Christian
with the principles the world taught me.
I tried to convince myself of something and thought I had faith. I tried to believe in myself; I try to love people;
I tried to have all the correct feelings and convictions to live the right kind
of life. But, my faith, love, and
efforts were all too weak; I failed.
3.
I Now Get The
Answers To All Questions From
Jesus
Let Jesus show you His work on
Peter; notice how and why He kept asking the same question over and over. See what this repetition does to Peter, as he
struggles with the transition from human faith to Jesus-faith. Try to put yourself in Peter’s place and see
if you can understand how Peter felt.
Then put yourself in Jesus’ place and see if you can understand what
Jesus was trying to do.
4.
I Now Get The
Answers As A Miraculous
Change In My Heart And Mind
John 21:16 (NIV) Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do
you truly love Me?” He answered, “Yes, Lord, You
know that I love You.” Jesus said, “Take care of My sheep.”
This is Jesus, the Creator of the
universe:
·
Jesus, this is You, Who
said: “Let there be light,” and there was light (Gen 1:3).”
·
This is You, Who said: “Lazarus,
come out!” The dead man came out,
his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his
face. You said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go (John
11:43-44).”
·
This is You, Who said: “Stretch
out your hand.” He did so, and his hand was completely restored (Luke
6:10).
·
This is You, Who said:
“Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” You declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
Jesus, help me see that You are the Creator of the
universe asking Peter to let Him to speak faith and love into him. Help me feel what Peter was feeling and
trying to do. Show me that he was still
trying to get his heart and mind to understand these spiritual principles. He didn’t realize it had to come as a
supernatural miracle that would change his heart and mind; so, You asked him again. Jesus,
help me turn to The Seven Biblical Principle in these situations.
5.
I Am Now Set Free From
Trying To Do Spiritual Things With
Human Abilities
John 21:17 (NIV) The third time He said to him, “Simon
son of John, do you love Me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the
third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, You
know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said, “Feed My sheep.
Jesus, help me see that You are asking me these seven
faith-building questions like You asked Peter the same question three
times. I can get frustrated, like Peter,
with seven questions coming at me. I can
do what Peter did and keep trying to answer them with my mind and brain. Help me apply The Seven Biblical Principles, so
my attention is drawn to the spiritual.
6.
I Have Stopped Consulting Myself And Started Consulting Jesus
Jesus told Peter and He is telling
you in Matthew 26:41 (NIV) “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into
temptation. The spirit is willing, but
the body is weak.”
The spirit is willing, but the body is weak: Jesus, Romans 7:15-25 explained that my great wants and desires aren’t powerful
enough to carry out spiritual requirements.
I can’t believe, I can’t love, and I can’t stop doing wrong things and
start doing right things. Help me see
that as long as I keep looking inside myself for the things I need, I will be
disappointed and fail.
7.
I Now Have My Eyes Fixed On Jesus
Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation: When your focus, your attention, your questions,
your figuring things out, and your decisions are done with Jesus, you are
inviting Him into the resources of your mind and heart.
Jesus, help me be looking to You for ideas to pop up
in my mind. Help me be looking to You to
help me yield to Your faith and love in my heart. Help me respond to these things so I can grow
like Peter. Let God-sized, supernatural
miracles take place in my heart and mind.
This concludes your reading and praying for today.
Truth/Prayer
Pages Chapter Thirty-Two
Opening The
Door To God’s
Invisible World
Through Knowing
Week Seven Day Four
STEP TEN
CONTINUED: Know How To Be Convinced
Rom 8:38-39 (NIV) For I am convinced that neither
death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future,
nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will
be able to separate you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus
your Lord.
Moving From
Human Faith To Jesus-Faith
1.
I Want Jesus And
His Salvation
“Go, tell His (Jesus’) disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him, just as He told you (Mark 16:7).’” Everyone messes up; we all fail; we all do things that are very disappointing to ourselves and God. But, do you want Jesus to train and empower you to improve in these area? The seven faith-building questions are for those who mess up, but still want Jesus. It is for those who are attacked and accused, but still want Jesus. It is for those who run into a whole bunch of bad circumstances, but still want Jesus. It’s for those who want to learn how to answer spiritual questions by looking to Jesus for the answer.
Jesus, help me never give up on You; I know You
will never give up on me. But, I need Your power to help me never stop believing in
these seven questions. Speak Your faith
into me through them; fill my heart with relational faith so I will always
believe in and trust You. Let me keep my
eyes on You when distracting things come my way. Help me stay focused on You and Your
greatness all during temptations, difficulties, and persecution.
2.
I Know That Nothing Can Separate
Those Who Want Jesus
John 21:15 (NIV) When they had finished eating, Jesus said to
Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you truly love Me more than
these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “You know that I love You.” Jesus said, “Feed
My lambs.” Like Peter, you feel guilty, miserable,
disappointed, and like a failure when you fail Jesus. But, He separates
you from your deeds; He is ready to join you and start to work on those failing
deeds. You are justified; you are perfect
before God; that is so you can get together with Jesus and find out what caused
the failure. Because of your perfect
record, you can join Him in concentrating on your deeds, rather than focusing
on you.
Jesus, I have all kinds of thoughts and emotions about why I am going
through various things, why I messed up, and why I can’t do better. But, help me stop examining myself and focus
on You. Give me Your power to start
joining You so you can analyze circumstances, deeds, and failures
together. Thank You for separating me
from my deeds. Help me to accept the way
You look at things so I can be in unison with You.
3.
I Now Get The
Answers To All Questions From
Jesus
Jesus, sometimes I want to prove how smart I am. I want to come up with the answers to Your
questions myself. Help me realize that
You have answers that I will never come up with. Help me learn to always go to You for
additional training. Let me learn from
You rather than trying to impress You.
Help me keep hungering and thirsting after Your righteousness and
training.
4.
I Now Get The
Answers As A Miraculous
Change In My Heart And Mind
John 21:16 (NIV) Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do
you truly love Me?” He answered, “Yes, Lord, You
know that I love You.” Jesus said, “Take care of My sheep.”
When you read the Bible, you can
feel pressure to perform; or, you can feel the miraculous power of Jesus
speaking transformation, miracles, healing, and faith into you. You can tell when you are looking to
yourself; you feel pressure. You can
tell when you are looking to Jesus for His help with each Bible verse, you feel
power. The Bible isn’t just a book of
information it is a Book of creation and transformation.
Jesus, it hurts me when I try to live Christianity through my efforts
and mental abilities. When I get my eyes
on my abilities, efforts, knowledge, and skills, my life gets difficult and
painful. Help me fix my eyes on You as
the Author and Perfecter of my faith.
You will keep pouring the faith I need for every question, problem,
failure, and need. Help me always look
to You every moment of every day. Help
me become transformed by the Bible.
5.
I Am Now Set Free From
Trying To Do Spiritual Things With
Human Abilities
John 21:17 (NIV) The third time He said to him, “Simon son
of John, do you love Me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the
third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, You know
all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said, “Feed My sheep.
Your relationship with Jesus gets
hurt, when you are trying to impress, prove, or convince Him of something. If you forget that Jesus isn’t looking for
what you can do for Him, you will always be on the “hot seat.” If you always remember that Jesus is wanting
you to be looking for what He can do for you, in you, with you, to you, and
through you, then your Christian life becomes productive and joyous. Rather than getting hurt, Peter should have
asked Jesus why He kept questioning him.
If you get offended, then you are assuming that Jesus is abusing you.
Jesus, I am used to defending myself, explaining why I did something,
and proving I did the right thing. Set
me free from this human system and help me realize that You always have a love-reason
for why You do things. Help me always be
ready to ask You what Your purpose is so I can cooperate with You. Help me get my answers to Your questions from
You.
6.
I Have Stopped Consulting Myself And Started Consulting Jesus
Jesus told Peter and He is telling
you in Matthew 26:41 (NIV) “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into
temptation. The spirit is willing, but
the body is weak.” There are four
important truths here. There is the
principle of watching and praying. And there is the attitude
of your spirit and the weakness of your body. Jesus took these four concepts and put them
together so as to reveal how to take a willing spirit and give it control over
a weak body.
Jesus, teach me how to always be watching for moments
where I am not inviting You into the situation.
Help me always pray over the moment-by-moment situations of my day. Teach me how to pray rather that consult my
mind for ideas and solutions to problems.
Empower me to use my willing spirit to take control over my weak
body.
7.
I Now Have My Eyes Fixed On Jesus
Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. You have to be aware of the temptation to do your own watching. You can try to be careful to include Jesus in everything. You can drive yourself crazy trying to make sure you are always watching and praying. But, Jesus isn’t asking you to look to yourself to always watch and pray. Watching and praying are very important; but, they aren’t principles you can implement.
Jesus, if I fail to include You in an issue, help me to
go back to You and ask You to help me watch and pray. In my spirit, I want to always watch and
pray; but, I will be constantly forgetting to do
it. My brain, in my body, isn’t going to
be able to remember. I need You to
empower me to remember.
This concludes your reading and praying for today.
Truth/Prayer
Pages Chapter Thirty-Three
Opening The
Door To God’s
Invisible World
Through Holy Spirit Power
Week Seven Day Five
STEP TEN
CONTINUED: Know How To Be Convinced
Rom 8:38-39 (NIV) For I am convinced that neither death nor
life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any
powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be
able to separate you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus your Lord.
Moving From Jesus’
Ministry To Holy Spirit Ministry
Things Were A Little Different Back
Then
Peter lived in a time when Jesus’
ministry was getting Christianity started.
Jesus was on earth in His physical form; He was doing those things that
were necessary for providing all of mankind the power and benefits of
salvation. However, Him operating in a
human body had some limitations.
Jesus, help me understand what things were like, when
You were living here in Your physical body.
Help me see that You were only able to be in one place at a time. So, after You had completed Your earthly
mission, You went back to heaven, so You could be
everywhere at once. Now, You are able to do all kinds of supernatural, spiritual,
God-sized things all over the world simultaneously. Teach me the way that happened: You
left and went back to heaven and sat beside our heavenly Father and the Holy
Spirit is now doing Your ministry.
The Holy Spirit Starts His Ministry
John 16:7 (NIV) But I (Jesus) tell you the truth: It is for
your good that I am going away. Unless I
go away, the Counselor (Holy Spirit) will not come to you; but if I go, I will
send Him to you. Peter was living during the time when Jesus was on
earth and the Holy Spirit had not yet come and started the phase of His
ministry. Therefore, there was something
Peter needed that you get at salvation.
When Does The Holy Spirit Come?
Acts 1:8 (NIV) But you will receive power when the
Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in
all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. The “when”
for Peter was going to be at a later date; the “when” for you was at
salvation. But, the “when” for
you was also at a later date; it was “when” you
decided to make Christianity a
permanent decision and lifestyle. It was
“when” you decided
to stop looking to yourself and start looking to Jesus and the Holy Spirit for
meeting all your needs.
Jesus, I want this “when” to be now.
I want to yield to the Holy Spirit’s ministry so I can be in a permanent
relationship with You. Help me
understand that I must have the Holy Spirit come on me in order for me to have
the power I need. Show me the difference
He made on Your disciples. Help me see
the difference between the Holy Spirit living in me and the Holy Spirit coming
on me.
Jesus Left So He Could Send You His Holy Spirit
Acts 1:9 (NIV) After He said this, He was taken up before
their very eyes, and a cloud hid Him from their sight. Jesus
didn’t leave you without having His ministry; He didn’t leave you without His
training; He didn’t leave you without His power; and, He didn’t leave you without
His relationship. He simply expanded
them so that all of these things were provided all the time to everyone.
Jesus, show me the importance of Your ministry being
provided to me through Your Holy Spirit.
Help me see that I don’t have to go anywhere to be with You and You with
me. Help me realize that now I am able
to remain in You and You in me. Help me see how
much better it is for me than when You were on earth in Your physical
body. Help me see the brilliance of Your
plan to leave, so You could minister to me through the Holy Spirit.
Jesus Did His Work
John 15:3 (NIV) You are already clean because of the word I
have spoken to you. Peter was very well trained; Jesus made sure
he was in good shape as it related to knowing what he needed to know. But, Peter was still
living in the Romans 7:15-25 Christian lifestyle. He was still looking to himself for faith,
dedication, commitment, love, and power.
He needed a relationship that would help him get a flow of all God’s
resources coming into him. And, that had
to happen by means of a life in the Holy Spirit described in Romans chapter
eight.
Peter And Mankind Got The Holy
Spirit!
Acts 2:1-4 (NIV) When the day of Pentecost came, they were
all together in one place. Suddenly a
sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole
house where they were sitting. They saw
what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of
them. All of them were filled with
the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled
them.
Now, Like Peter, All Christians Can Love And
Believe
Acts 1:8a (NIV) But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes
on you. Jesus, teach me
that this ministry, that the Holy Spirit provides, takes me from having to
produce faith and love on my own and opens the door to God’s love (Romans 5:5)
and the Jesus-life (Galatians 2:20). Show
me that once the Holy Spirit came on Peter, he could stop looking to himself
and what he could do. When he got the
power of the Holy Spirit, he was able to start learning a whole new way of
life. All the things You taught him were
transformed into understanding and wisdom by the Holy Spirit. His eyes were opened to all God’s
truths.
Peter Could And All Christians Can
Understand The Truth
Jesus told Peter and the other
disciples this would happen: John 16:13-14 (NIV) But when He, the Spirit
of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on His own; He will speak
only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to Me by taking from
what is Mine and making it known to you. All the things Jesus taught Peter and all
those things you are being taught in the Bible, the Holy Spirit explained to
Peter and is explaining to you.
Jesus, help me appreciate what Your Holy Spirit is
doing for me. Help me realize that I
won’t be able to understand anything the Bible says. Let me see that the reason the disciples were
struggling with understanding what You were saying to them before the Holy
Spirit came was because they needed Him to help them understand. I thank You for giving me the Holy Spirit
inside me and for helping me yield to Him coming on me.
Peter Got The Holy Spirit Inside
Him
John 20:20-22 (NIV) After He (Jesus) said this, He showed them His hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent Me, I am sending you.” And with that He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. This is when the Holy Spirit came into the disciples as a salvation experience. From that point on, they were born again with the Holy Spirit living inside them. This got Peter ready to be an example and a witness for Jesus.
Jesus, help me understand that, like Peter, I can’t be an example or a
witness of all You have done for me until I have been born again. Peter and I needed Your salvation to cleanse
us, so the Holy Spirit could come inside us to teach and train us Your
truths. Help me see that Your plan was
to not only put Your Holy Spirit inside us, You wanted
us saturated by Him so we could have the power to demonstrate the Christian
life to others.
You Got The Holy Spirit Inside You
Rom 8:9 (NIV) You,
however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if
the Spirit of God lives in you. And if
anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. This
happened to you at salvation. You didn’t
belong to Jesus until being born again brought the Holy Spirit inside you. But, you needed one
more experience and so did Peter. Your
body needs a special treatment that helps it start being an example and a
witness.
Jesus, teach me that when You saved me, I got the
Holy Spirit. So now, the Spirit of God lives in me. Help me see that, that is what Peter got when
You breathed on him. But, just like
Peter, I need the Holy Spirit to come on me.
Acts 1:8 (NIV) But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes
on you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea
and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. I want to be
one of Your witnesses who is able to live Your life with power thorough the
activities of my body.
When Jesus was asking Peter those
three questions, Peter was struggling with being able to answer them from a
spiritual standpoint. This was because
he was still in the Romans 7:15-24 life.
You and Peter hadn’t yet allowed the Holy Spirit, Who
is inside you, to lead you into all truths.
But, Peter had a head start on you; he had
already been trained by Jesus. That is what Romans 8:1-39 has been teaching
you, how to be trained by and yield to the Holy Spirit.
This concludes your reading and praying for this week.
Truth/Prayer
Pages Chapter Thirty-Four
Opening The
Door To God’s
Invisible World
Through Spirit Baptism
Week Eight Day One
STEP TEN
CONTINUED: Know How To Be Convinced
Rom 8:38-39 (NIV) For I am convinced that neither
death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future,
nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will
be able to separate you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus
your Lord.
Moving Through
Holy Spirit-Ministry To Jesus-Ministry
The Holy Spirit Ministry
John 16:7 (NIV) But I (Jesus) tell you the truth: It is for
your good that I am going away. Unless I
go away, the Counselor (Holy Spirit) will not come to you; but if I go, I will
send Him to you. Before new birth, you could read, memorize, study,
and quote the Bible using your human brain, mind, and heart; but,
they remained just words to you. It wasn’t
until the Holy Spirit came inside you and made them real that they started to
transforming your born-again mind. You
got born again but your body didn’t.
That keeps you from making your body act and talk in such a way that it
is a good example and witness of what Christianity looks like.
Rom 7:22-23 (NIV) For in my inner being I delight in
God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body,
waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the
law of sin at work within my members. Jesus, my body
isn’t a good example and witness of You and Your Christianity. It needs another special work. My mind was born again but it isn’t powerful
enough to control my body: Rom 7:15 (NIV) I do not understand
what I do. For what I want to do
I do not do, but what I hate I do.
The
Need For The Spirit To Come On You
Rom 7:17-18 (NIV) As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. If you are living like this with yourself and the people around you, they aren’t going to want Jesus and Christianity. You won’t be a good witness of what Jesus is able to do through people being born again.
Acts 1:8 (NIV) But you will receive power when the
Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in
all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Jesus, I need power to come on my body to make it do what my born-again
mind wants it to do. Submerge it into
the Holy Spirit and leave it there. Let
Him saturate it with His power and transforming character. It needs a special work that it didn’t get when
I got saved. This is keeping me from
being able to make it respond to Christianity.
The
Body Of Death
Rom 7:24 (NIV) What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? As you know, Jesus delivered you from this body of death by separating its drives, passions, and deeds from you, by giving you His Biblical wants and hates. It was still doing wrong, bad, and sometimes even evil things. But, now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it (Rom 7:20 NIV). However, as you can see, this doesn’t make the activities of your body’s words and deeds a good witness for Jesus.
The Body Of Death Solution
Luke 3:16 (NIV) John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. Jesus is your baptizer; He will submerge you into the Holy Spirit and leave you there. That will saturate your body with the Holy Spirit and make it usable for you to do those things the Bible and Jesus want you to do.
Rom 8:10 (NIV) But if Christ is in you, your body is
dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.
Jesus, help me see that the reason I am not getting much cooperation
from my body is because it is dead.
Help me understand that dead in spiritual terms means
separation. My body is dead or
separated from God. Help me yield to You
baptizing me into the Holy Spirit so He can bring it to life.
Saturating Your Body With The Holy Spirit
Acts 2:38-39 (NIV) Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off--for all whom the Lord our God will call.” Once you repent of your sins and are baptized in water, you are ready for Jesus to baptize you into the Holy Spirit. All you have to do is ask Him to baptize you into His Holy Spirit and He will.
Rom 8:11 (NIV) And if the Spirit of Him Who raised
Jesus from the dead is living in you, He Who raised Christ from the dead will
also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, Who
lives in you. Jesus, help me understand that as I yield to
You to baptize or submerge me into Your Holy Spirit, this will give life to my
mortal body through Your Spirit, Who lives in
me. Guide me into Your baptism process
so I can start getting more cooperation from my body.
Rom 12:1-2 (NIV) Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is--His good, pleasing and perfect will. Once you allow Jesus to baptize you into the Holy Spirit, it is time to use your body to do those things that build up your spirit and help others come to Jesus and grow in Him.
Jesus, help me learn how to yield to Your teaching through the Holy
Spirit. Just like You trained Your
disciples when You were on earth, let me be trained by You. Help me be one of Your best disciples. Help me yield to the power of Your words as
the Holy Spirit speaks to me Spirit to spirit.
Empower me to live those things You are teaching me through Him.
From Killing Words To Spirit
Life
2 Cor 3:6 (NIV) He has made you competent as ministers of
a new covenant--not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills,
but the Spirit gives life.
The letter kills: Jesus, make it clear to me
that the Bible lays out things that can only be accomplished through
supernatural power and provisions. Help
me see that the struggle in Romans 7:15-24 is because that person is trying to
fulfill the requirements of the Bible on a human level. Show me that it kills me to try to live
instructions that require me to perform supernatural things. But, help me see that You have provided me with
a way to read these supernatural, God-sized instructions without them pressing
down on me and my human skills, intelligence, and abilities.
From Spirit Life To Body
Cooperation
The Spirit gives life: As you who are reading the Bible while living Romans 8:1-39, the
Holy Spirit fills you with the supernatural, miraculous power of God. You accept each word as true, real, and
life-giving. Jesus’ faith empowers you to
receive them as being true of you. Your heart can feel the reality and power they
give you. You are learning the
things of God; but, you are also understanding what
they mean, how to get them, how to apply them, and how to live on the
basis of them through your body. You can
feel them empowering you to live the Jesus-life.
Jesus, take me into this powerful and dynamic way of reading the
Bible. Fill my heart with the realities
of every word in it. Let them flow into
me and mix with Your faith so that I know these life-giving truths. Give me the full benefits of all You are
providing in it. Let it penetrate my
mind, heart, and life through my body. Transform
my physical activities.
From Human Words To Spirit Words
John 6:63 (NIV) The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts
for nothing. The words I have spoken to
you are Spirit and they are life. Jesus talked with human words that those
around Him spoke. But,
His words created supernatural, miraculous results when He spoke. However, Jesus spoke these creative words to
some people and nothing happened. He
spoke these same words to others and powerful, transforming things
happened. You need to be one of those
people who experience Jesus’ words and are changed, healed, transformed, and
blessed. And, those who apply the truths
found in The Seven Biblical Principles become one of those people.
Jesus, help me receive Your words that are Spirit and life. Empower me to read the Bible, study it, and
apply it through the power of Spirit and life.
Help me transition from reading it and not being able to make my body do
it, to reading it with Your spiritual Power.
Teach me how to yield to Your creative words that move my body into
spiritual things.
From Human To Spirit Being
John 3:5-7 (NIV) Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth,
no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit
gives birth to spirit. You should
not be surprised at My saying, ‘You must be born again.’
You have been born
again; you aren’t just a human with human abilities, understanding, and
systems. You are now a child of God; you
are learning supernatural, miraculous, God-sized things. You are learning how to live through your
body in the spirit realm. You are learning
those things Jesus is teaching and creating in you. Then you are fulfilling them through your
body, as you yield to the Holy Spirit’s power to do what you couldn’t do
before.
Jesus, thank You for giving
me the desire to be born again.
Thank You for teaching me Your truths through me studying the
Bible. Thank You for teaching how to pray
for those things I need. Thank You for
giving me the faith to believe I have been born again. Thank You for pouring Your love into
my heart. Thank You for allowing me to
take faith-action through my body.
Thank you for giving me this appreciative heart, so I can thank
You for all these things.
A Prayer For Your Spiritual
Growth
Eph 1:17-19a (NIV) I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and His incomparably great power for you who believe.
Jesus, help me keep praying this prayer for myself and
for the people around me. Help me pray
it while using Your faith to believe it.
Help me apply The Seven Biblical Principles to it. Set me free from approaching You and Your
Word from a human perspective to a godly, supernatural perspective. Teach me how to apply spiritual, godly
principles to all You are trying to teach me and create in me.
From Lacking, To Having, To Yielding
1 Cor 2:14 (NIV) The man without the Spirit does
not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are
foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are
spiritually discerned. Reading the Bible without yielding to the
Holy Spirit leaves you with foolishness and a place where you cannot
understand them. Just because you have
the Holy Spirit doesn’t mean you yield to Him.
You must read the Bible with an expectancy that something special and
powerful will come out of each verse.
This is where you fix your eyes on Jesus and wait until He speaks faith
into you. Then from that point on, you will
have an expectancy and anticipation that each verse will create wonderful
things in you.
Jesus, this is the kind of life I want; I want the Bible to open up to
me. Help me believe that each verse will
speak special truths to me. Help me
believe they are creating special transformations into me. Let the Bible come alive to me; let me grow
and become the person that You want me to be.
Help me learn how to live in the spirit realm and be successful in
living there.
This concludes your reading and praying for today.
Truth/Prayer
Pages Chapter Thirty-Five
Opening The
Door To God’s
Invisible World
Through Jesus-Training
Week Eight Day Two
STEP TEN
CONTINUED: Know How To Be Convinced
Rom 8:38-39 (NIV) For I am convinced that neither death nor
life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any
powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be
able to separate you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus your Lord.
Moving From
Human Faith To Jesus-Faith
Three Important Sets Of Scriptures
Jesus, You provided me with an in-depth study on Romans 7:15-25 and
what I and people like Peter go through when we are looking to ourselves for
producing the Christian life. That study
called, Victorious Christian Living, and the Scriptures in it helped me understand what I was going through as a
new or untrained Christian who only knew human effort and world training.
Jesus, You provided me with
an in-depth study on Romans 8:1-30 on how I and people like Peter get a
whole different perspective on life once we start yielding to the Holy
Spirit. This study called, Committing To The Christian Life, helped me yield to the Holy Spirit’s power to live the Christian life. The
Romans 7:15-25 Christian life was a vital but frustrating way for me to live
life. The Romans 8:1-30 Christian life
was much better; but, it wasn’t until now that I have
really started believing in God’s powerful relationship with me. Help me yield to Romans 8:31-39 and live the
Christian life by faith and love.
A Changed Peter
As the Holy Spirit came and
started His ministry in Acts 2:1-4, a crowd gathered around the building where
the Holy Spirit was filling Jesus’ disciples with His presence. The sound of the mighty wind and the noise of
all of them speaking in different languages brought the crowd.
Jesus, help me see that even though Peter had always
been an outgoing person, his personal traits didn’t keep him from denying three
times that he knew You. But, with the Holy Spirit inside him, all Your
words, examples, and teachings came alive in his mind and heart. All of a sudden, he started understanding the
meaning of many of these things. Let
Your Holy Spirit give me these supernatural and miraculous understandings
and wisdom; help me be like Peter and be instantly changed.
From Human Weakness To Jesus’
Strength
Acts 2:14 (NIV) Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised
his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in
Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I
say.
What Peter couldn’t understand,
what he couldn’t believe, what he couldn’t feel, and what he couldn’t do, got
changed. The Holy Spirit took all the
teaching and training of Jesus and made them a known fact in Peter’s
mind and heart.
Heb 11:1 Now faith is being sure
of what you hope for and certain of what you do not see.
Jesus, help me be aware that without the Holy Spirit
and His supernatural understanding and feelings filling Peter’s mind and heart,
he would have never been able to see clearly the things He was
presenting to the crowd. He would have never
been able to feel this sure or this certain. Help
me see that first I need Your teaching and training. Then I need Your power through the Holy
Spirit to empower me to present Your message to others.
A Few Differences
Things happened differently for Peter than are now happening to you. Peter didn’t get the Holy Spirit inside him and coming on him until after his training with Jesus. You get the Holy Spirit inside you at salvation. That is before your training with Jesus.
Peter was trained by Jesus, Who was in a physical body. You get trained by Jesus through the Holy Spirit living in your physical body.
Peter heard the physical words of Jesus, saw them lived out through Jesus’ life, and got a chance to even try them out on a short assignment from Jesus. You get to see Jesus in action by the Holy Spirit taking you through the written words of the Gospels.
Jesus, let the Holy Spirit help me experience You inside me. Let Him give me special explanations,
illustrations, and instructions from the rest of the books of the New
Testament. Help me yield to Him so my journey
through the Gospels will be much like Peter’s.
Let the Holy Spirit make my reading the Gospels be like I am there.
You Need To Be Trained By Jesus
Peter would have never been able to yield to the Holy
Spirit, if he hadn’t had all the training and experiences with Jesus. John 16:13-14 (NIV) But when He, the
Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on His own; He will
speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to Me by taking
from what is mine and making it known to you.
Jesus, let John 16:13-14 make it clear to me that the Holy Spirit isn’t trying
to take Your place. He is just making You
and Your things available for my training.
Show me that if I don’t yield to the Gospels and experience You in them,
I am not giving the Holy Spirit my cooperation.
Help me see that He is waiting for me to expose myself to this material,
so He can explain it and empower it into my life.
A Continuing Ministry
Mat 28:18-20 (NIV) Then Jesus came to them and said, “All
authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go and make
disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of
the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I
have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the
age.”
Jesus,
help me learn these vital truths so I can live them and then teach them to
others. Help me teach them to obey everything
You have commanded me. Thank
You for making it clear to me that You are with me always, even
to the very end of the age. Help me
see that You are not only with me, You are now in me
empowering me to teach people to obey everything You
have commanded me.
Heb 12:2 (NIV) Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the
Author and Perfecter of our faith, Who for
the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at
the right hand of the throne of God.
Jesus,
without faith, I can’t live the Christian life.
Be the Author and Perfecter of my faith. Help me be willing to allow Your joy to
be set before me, so I can daily pick up and endured my cross,
and scorn its shame. Help me
endure any and all opposition that people send against me. Help me love enough those who want You, so
that no one can stop me getting the message to them.
The Same Basic
Training
John 14:12 (NIV) I tell you the truth, anyone who
has faith in Me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than
these, because I am going to the Father.
Jesus,
be the Author and Perfecter of my faith, so I will do
what You have been doing. Help
me do even greater things than these, because You have gone to
the Father.
Let Your ministry flow through me, so You can work in and through me
while You are working in and through others all over the world at the same
time.
The Same Basic Life
Gal 2:20 (NIV) I have been crucified with Christ and I no
longer live, but Christ lives in me. The
life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Jesus,
You allowed me to consider myself as hanging on that
cross with You. You are allowing me to
consider myself to no longer live.
You are allowing me to yield to You so you can live in me. You are allowing the life I live in the
body to be lived by faith in You, the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Yourself for me.
This concludes your reading and praying for today.
Truth/Prayer
Pages Chapter Thirty-Six
Opening The
Door To God’s
Invisible World
Through A Fixed Look
Week Eight Day Three
STEP TEN
CONTINUED: Know How To Be Convinced
Rom 8:38-39 (NIV) For I am convinced that neither
death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future,
nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will
be able to separate you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus
your Lord.
Moving From Not
Sure To Convinced
For I am convinced: It doesn’t help you if someone else is convinced. Each person must be convinced themselves before they gain the benefits of Romans 8:31-39. The Holy Spirit is trying to help you be convinced by empowering you to fix your eyes on Jesus. Jesus can do in you what you cannot do yourself. And, it is much easier for you to believe that Jesus can do it in and through you than to believe that you can do it using Jesus’ power.
The Assignment
Mat 28:18-20 (NIV) Then Jesus came to them and said, “All
authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go and
make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in
the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching
them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am
with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on
earth has been given to Me:
Jesus, help me accept the fact that it
is impossible for me to win over addictions, habits, relationship problems,
emotional struggles, financial difficulties, and physical ailments. But, when You work on them, that is a totally
different matter. Teach me that the
question isn’t, when can I finally get to the place where I can do it; the
question is, what can You do about it?
Show me that if I will yield to You, You will
do miraculous things about it.
You must allow the One Who has all
authority in heaven and on earth, to join you in the life you are
living. Once you allow Jesus to join
you, it will convince you that neither death nor life, neither angels nor
demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor
depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate
you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus your Lord.
Jesus, help me with the simple truth that all I need is You. If I can learn how to cooperate with You, you
will be able to solve all my problems.
Help me be convinced that nothing will be able to separate me from the love of God that is in You. Help me start living my life based on the
fact that I will be accomplishing everything in my life by working together
with You. Help me see that all You are
and all You can do is now flowing in and through me. This empowers me to believe that I can do everything through You
Who gives me strength. Help me be convinced that, that is the life I now have.
Don’t Look Away
Heb 12:2 (NIV) Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, Who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For I am convinced: When your life consists of deciding to do something, trying to solve something, trying to accomplish something, and trying to become something, but, doing it all with Jesus, that is when you have a life where you have your eyes fixed on Him. This is a life where you can say, I can do everything through Him Who gives me strength (Phil 4:13). It is when your faith is in Jesus’ abilities rather than your own.
Jesus, teach me how to have a relationship with You where we do
everything together. I will have a lot
more confidence when I see that You will be doing the things in my life with
me. I feel so much more faith in how
things will turn out with You and all Your provisions entering into the project
or solution. Speak Your faith into me so
I can be convinced You are working in me and all that I do. Give me the assurance that You are doing
everything with me. Fill my heart and
mind with a vision of all the potential that exists in Your relationship.
Jesus Makes This True
John 14:12 (NIV) I tell you the truth, anyone who
has faith in Me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than
these, because I am going to the Father.
For I am CONVINCED: Verses like this only make sense when you see that you have a life that is joined with Jesus. “He will do even greater things than these” can only happen if Jesus is right there doing them in you, with you, and through you. Your goals and plans change, once you see that Jesus is right there with you accomplishing those things you are about to do. The question is no longer, how am I going to do that? It is now, what is Jesus capable of doing? Once you get your goals and plans aligned with Jesus, it is just a matter of you yielding and Jesus getting them done. Let Him say and do what He wants to do in and through you.
Jesus, help me keep my eyes fixed on You. Make it so I can set my
goals and plans based on what we will do together. Teach me all the principles of how to keep my
eyes fixed on You. Help me set my goals,
make my plans, and implement them with my eyes fixed on You. We can do wonderful things together, by me
being empowered to keep my eyes fixed on You.
Jesus’ Life Makes It All Real
Gal 2:20 (NIV) I have been crucified with Christ and
I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.
The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God,
Who loved me and gave Himself for me.
For I am convinced: You now have Jesus’ life; which is much more
powerful than yours was. The new life
you got by being born again, was the life of Jesus. “I no longer live, but Christ life in me” is
a faith builder. With Jesus living His life
in you, with you, and through you, your potential increased in a God-sized
way. The only thing holding you back is
your God-given free will. “I have
been crucified with Christ and I no longer live” freed you. You start all over with a perfect
record. You are free to take charge; or,
you are free to join Jesus. The
eternally best choice is, the life I live in the body, I live by faith
in the Son of God.
Jesus, pour Your faith into me so I can be convinced
and say, “I have been crucified
with Christ and I no longer live.” And help
me say with conviction, “the life I live in the body, I live by faith
in the Son of God.” Help me
completely trust You with all the activities of my day. Help me know how to constantly be consulting
You and Your incredible wisdom. Lead me
into a total life of faith in You. Help
me join You and live this life together with You.
How Are You Convinced
Rom 8:38-39 (NIV) For I am convinced that neither
death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future,
nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will
be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus your
Lord. Jesus is now empowering you to keep your eyes
fixed on Him. He is convincing you through
His mighty power; He is giving you His esteem, confidence, and life. You have all the faith you need, because
Jesus is your Author and Perfecter of your faith.
Jesus, I
am convinced because You have made me convinced. I am so excited about living Your life with You. Open my eyes and help me see the full
potential of this life we are living together.
Let my heart and mind be filled with the love and joy that will empower
me to live a life of complete faith in You and all Your provisions. Empower me to include Your name in every
question I have about what to do. Help
me think, Jesus what should we do? Help
me look to You for every solution, every decision, and every action.
This concludes your reading and praying for today.
Truth/Prayer
Pages Chapter Thirty-Seven
Opening The
Door To God’s
Invisible World
Through Level Three
Week Eight Day Four
STEP TEN CONTINUED:
Know How To Be Convinced
Rom 8:38-39 (NIV) For I am convinced that neither
death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future,
nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will
be able to separate you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus
your Lord.
Three Levels Of
Being Convinced
Level One
For I am convinced: What if someone came to you and said, Hawaii is a
beautiful place? If you had never been
there, but, the person that told you about it was a
person you really trusted, you would be convinced that Hawaii was a beautiful
place. This was the level of being
convinced you got when someone told you that God is a good God. You were convinced on a level-one degree of
faith.
Jesus, I want to be able to tell other
people that I believe God is a good God.
I don’t want to have this conviction based on sermons, books,
testimonies, and experiences of trusted friends. Help
me be convinced that You are a good God on a much deeper level. Help my faith be based on a greater
conviction than I get through faith in my trusted friends.
Level Two
Let’s say you kept thinking about
Hawaii and all the things your friend told you about it. So, you decided to do some research. You got on the internet, you read books, you
ordered all kinds of brochures from places in Hawaii and studied them all. This would be like you studying the Bible for
yourself. As you read, study, pray, and
meditate on the Scriptures, you would get more and more convinced that God is a
good God.
Jesus, teach me a lot more about God
for myself, help me raise my conviction to a level-two degree of faith by
studying my Bible for myself. Help me
not just be convinced because someone told me God is a good God and trust them. Help me have personal information and facts
that convince me of that truth. But, show
me my faith is based on knowledge about God.
Level Three
Suppose you kept thinking about
Hawaii and all the things your friend told you and all the things you found out
about it yourself. So, one day you
decide to actually buy a ticket and fly to Hawaii. Once there, you would be finding out from
personal experience what a beautiful place Hawaii is. You would walk the beaches, swim in the
ocean, visit all the sights, and enjoy the weather there.
Jesus, I have decided to experience God for myself. I am getting personal experiences, memories,
feelings, and opinions based on a personal relationship with God. You have given me a level three
conviction. That is what these books in
the Starting Your Day With Jesus series are all
about. They have taken the Scriptures
from all over the Bible that tell me how to get all the other Scriptures in the
Bible into my life. I don’t want to just
look at all the promises and blessing of God; I want to experience God and all
His blessing for myself.
A Level Three Relationship With God
Heb 11:1 (NIV) Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. A person who is convinced that God is a good God on a level-three intensity is a person who has Jesus’ faith. They have arrived at a place where they have unshakable faith. They know God is a good God because of all He has done for, in, to, with, and through them. The faith that comes through personal experience is a strong, consistent faith that makes a person a strong believer. They know they know; they are sure of what they believe; they are certain of all the facts.
James 1:6-8 (NIV) But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
Jesus, I don’t want to base my faith on other people’s opinions, experiences,
and convictions. I want to experience
You, learn from You, and be blessed and healed by You for myself. Make
me a level-three Christian, so no one or nothing is able to shake me out of my
conviction. Let my relationship with You
settle the truth in my mind; make my heart secure; let my be life totally built on You.
Faith
That Builds
The King James Version presents a conviction and faith-building
process in a fashion that is easier to understand: Rom 1:17 (KJV)
For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to
faith: as it is written, The just shall live by
faith.
The New International Version is a
little harder to pick up but says the same thing: Rom 1:17 (NIV) For in the
gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by
faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live
by faith.”
Jesus, as I look back on all my experiences with You, let my relational
faith increase and grow. My past
relationship with You lets me know what to expect. I know what You have always done in the past
for me. You have taken me through a lot
of scary, difficult, and impossible things before. So, my faith is not only based on what You
are saying to me now, it is also based on all the things You have said and done
for me before.
Be Patient
Rom 8:38-39 (NIV) For I am convinced that
neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the
future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all
creation, will be able to separate you from the love of God that is
in Christ Jesus your Lord.
Jesus, as I go from a new and untrained Christian to a mature, adult
Christian, help me be aware that I will feel a lot more assurance and security. Help me realize that these seven questions build
assurance and security, as You help me apply myself to them. Show me that reading them over and over will
take me into a very strong level-two conviction. But, as I use The Three Keys To All Of Christianity and apply
The Seven Biblical Principles to them, I get Your faith, love, and conviction
into my mind, heart, and life. That
brings me into a level three conviction based on my relationship with You.
Mature Christians Are
Praying This For You
The Bible is God’s Book; God’s people are using a special
prayer out of the Bible for you.
As they, through Jesus, pray this prayer for you, let Jesus speak
faith into you. Accept the fact that He
is giving you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation. Accept
the fact that He is causing you to have the eyes of your heart…enlightened.
Eph 1:15-16 (NIV) For this
reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love
for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering
you in my prayers.
Eph 1:17 (NIV) I keep asking that the God of our Lord
Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom
and revelation, so that you may know Him better.
Eph 1:18-19a (NIV) I pray also
that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that
you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches
of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and His
incomparably great power for us who believe.
Eph 1:19b-21 (NIV) That power
is like the working of His mighty strength, which He exerted in Christ when
He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly
realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title
that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.
Eph 1:22-23 (NIV) And God placed
all things under His feet and appointed Him to be head over everything
for the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him Who fills everything in
every way.
Accept this prayer as being a prayer that Jesus heard and answered for you. Allow all the requests in this prayer to transform you and the activities you exert through your body. Let this prayer influence your faith and conviction, so you operate on a level three belief. This prayer is right out of the Bible and contains all the power of God’s word.
This concludes your reading and praying for today.
Truth/Prayer
Pages Chapter Thirty-Eight
Opening The
Door To God’s
Invisible World
Through A Prayer
Week Eight Day Five
STEP TEN
CONCLUSION: Know How To Be Convinced
Rom 8:38-39 (NIV) For I am convinced that neither
death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future,
nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will
be able to separate you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus
your Lord.
Three Levels Of
Being Convinced
This Is Vital For Your Jesus-Life
Eph 1:15-16 (NIV) For this reason, ever since I heard about your
faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you,
remembering you in my prayers.
The Romans 7:15-25 Christian reads
the Bible, agrees with the Bible, wants to live the things in the Bible,
and actually tries as hard as they can to obey the Bible. But, without the truths of Romans 8:1-39,
they fail to look to Jesus for the power to do the things the Bible is telling
them to do.
The Romans 8:1-30 Christian will
not be helped, if they don’t have the Spirit of wisdom and revelation. They know they can’t live the
Christian life. They know they must look
to Jesus, so they have to power to live it.
But, there is a lot they must learn about how
to yield to Jesus and His power. If they
try to take His power and use it, they will fail. If they try to find out what His will is for
their life and try to fulfill it, they will fail. It is a total surrender to Jesus.
Jesus, help me understand what it means that without You I can’t do
anything. Help me know what it is I need,
so I can move into this new way of life.
Show me the power I need to yield to, so I can start living through You. Teach me the ways of learning, being trained,
and being a new creation in You. Show me
what method You use to train me for eternity.
This Is The Power For Your Jesus-Life
Eph 1:17 (NIV) I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and
revelation, so that you may know Him better.
Before this happens to you, you just
learn about God. If you get to know
Him better, you will be
greatly influenced by the Spirit of wisdom and revelation. It is the difference between you reading
a verse and it “coming alive” for you. The
Spirit of wisdom and revelation takes a verse and causes you to know what
it says (knowledge); He then causes you to know what it means (understanding);
then, He shows you how it is to be applied to your life (wisdom). And then, if you are willing, He makes it a
part of who you are (faith-action).
Jesus, You and Your people are interceding for me to get the Spirit of wisdom and revelation. Help me receive Him into my heart and
mind. Help me yield to Him making the
Bible come alive in me. Give me Your wisdom
and revelation for what the Bible is saying, what it means, how to apply it to my life,
and how to yield to it transforming me into its truth.
This Is Your Ability To Be Trained For Your Jesus-Life
Eph 1:18-19a (NIV) I pray also that the eyes of your
heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope
to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in
the saints, and His incomparably great power
for us who believe.
Jesus, teach me that my heart is actually who I
am. My brain, in my body, and my mind,
in my spirit, deal with information that influences who I become. Help me understand that my heart decides what
I believe is truth. It controls how I feel
about the information my brain has stored and my mind accesses. As it gives me strong positive and negative
emotions about the information I am focusing on, help me see where it needs to
be changed. Then empower the eyes of my heart to be enlightened, so
it will yield to You.
You exposed your mind and your heart to world training. Now it is filled with attitudes and character traits based on that training. But, you can’t just read the Bible and decide to embrace its truths. Even with Jesus and the Holy Spirit inside you, your heart may still be embracing world training. You need a special miracle to be worked in your heart, so you can change.
When your heart is enlightened,
it is empowered to know the hope to which He has called you, the
riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and His
incomparably great power for you who believe. That
is a major miracle, and a major life-changer.
This is where you pray and ask Jesus to enlighten your heart, so it has a new power flowing in and
through it.
Jesus, enlighten the eyes of my heart.
Help me cooperate with Your intercession and the prayers of others, of
Your people, who are praying this for me.
Let the Bible come alive in my mind and heart through this enlightenment. Let the eyes of my heart…be enlightened in order that I may know the hope to which He
has called me, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the
saints, and His incomparably great power for me,
who believes in You.
This Is Your Ability To Understand
Your Heavenly Father And Jesus’ Power
Eph 1:19b-21 (NIV) That power is like the working of His
mighty strength, which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the
dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all
rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not
only in the present age but also in the one to come.
As you give up human effort and
world training, you can expect the great things in this prayer. This is the spirit realm, where the temporary
world is controlled. It’s the difference
in pushing your car or driving it. There
are things you can do using human effort and world training. But, they are a lot
harder than doing them with God’s power.
And, God’s power counts for eternity.
Jesus, help me understand Your power; teach me how
to yield to You and Your power. Let me
see how my life is to be moved into Your world of power. Heal me and set me free from seeing things
from a human perspective. Help me yield
to Your training on living in the spirit realm.
Build this power-relationship in me so I can cooperate with You.
This Is Your Lord
Eph 1:22-23 (NIV) And God placed all things under His feet and
appointed Him to be head over everything for the church, which is His
body, the fullness of Him Who fills everything in every way.
Jesus is the Head over everything;
He is doing everything for the benefit of the universal Church. This isn’t a local church. It is the unified work of all churches
everywhere. All churches, that belong
to Him, form Jesus’ body. Jesus’ new
Body is made up of all the Christians around the world. He lives His life, presents His message, does
His ministry, and fulfills His methods in and through all Christians, Who are His Body, and represent His Church.
Jesus, make me into a healthy, trained, transformed,
skilled, and mature member of Your Body.
Help me respond to You like Your body is supposed to. Just like I expect my arm to respond to my
wishes, let me be coordinated, healthy, and completely responsive to Your
wishes. Train me, empower me, and help me immediately respond to Your complete
plan.