Victory Through Faith In Truth

 

 

“Starting Your Day With Jesus” Lifestyle Series

 

 

 

 

By Mel D Westbrook MBTh

 

 

 

 

The Book Introduction

Version: 25.10.9

 

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 Lifestyles?

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 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. 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.

 

8.     “Do What It Takes”

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.

 

 

 

Victory Through Faith In Truth

Version: 25.10.09

Truth/Prayer Chapter One

Holding To Truth

 

Week One Day Three

 

True Students Of Jesus

John 8:31-32 (NIV) To the Jews who had believed Him, Jesus said, “If you hold to My teaching, you are really My disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Let Jesus show you what He was saying to us who are putting our faith in Him or have believed Him. Let Him show you how to hold to His teaching and be set free.

Jesus, since freedom and success in life are what most people are seeking, what does it take to get and keep a life that is fulfilling, happy, and produces satisfaction? You know the keys to success in life. Give me the two major concepts for me to start working on in my life: faith and truth. That is why You are taking me through “Victory Through Faith In Truth.”

Jesus, You taught me how to make decisions and take actions on things that influence my future, while getting Your input. I now see that You help me make the best decisions and take the best actions. Now teach me two more major issues that produce real happiness, success, and fulfillment. Show me what You want to teach me about faith and truth.

Faith In Three Things

Who had believed Him: Faith is the first step into truth; you must believe three things. You must believe what Jesus is saying to you, believe He is Who says He is, and believe He has done what He says He has done. Once that starts happening, you are ready for the next step.

1.     You Must Believe What Jesus Is Saying To You

If you hold to My teaching: Jesus, show me that being trained by You is my whole life; You have and are the truths of God. If I want happiness, success in life, and the ability to win in life, I must keep getting Your truths; but, teach me that faith has to be there so I can get truth.

 

2.     You Must Believe He Is Who Says He Is

You are really My disciples: Jesus, as Your disciple, I know Who You are, know You aren’t a trainer Who just deals in instruction and information, and know You are my Creator. When You say something, it creates that result in me. Help me believe that creative-transformation comes from You, and, turns me into those things You speak into me. Teach me that power and faith flow through You and Your words. Rather than speaking English or Hebrew, help me realize that You speak through these languages a language of creation, healing, miracles, and supernatural manifestations; You are God!

 

3.     You Must Believe He Has Done What He Says He Has Done

Then you will know: Jesus, teach me that knowing is a faith from You that knows You have accomplished and completed a work or result. When You speak faith into me, all of a sudden, I know You did it and I have it. As You have taught me many times before, faith believes what You have done. Hope believes in what You are going to do. For all those things I need now, I must receive Your faith spoken into me; or, I will never know I have it. It will always be out in the future.

 

Salvation, justification, and sanctification are finished works. If you do what you are told to do, they come into your life from provisions that Jesus produced, when He was here on earth. You don’t get them until you “do what it takes” to get them; but, Jesus has already produced them. They are ready and waiting for you to “do what it takes” to get them; that takes faith.

 

Notice all the words here that are either in the past tense or present tense: And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him Who died for them and was raised again. So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come (2 Cor 5:15-17)! This is a finished provision that can only be obtained by faith and not hope.

True Information That Does More Than Inform

Then you will know the truth: As you read your Bible and hear from Jesus in your mind and heart, it must come into you as truth. It isn’t just to believe them to be true; it comes into you supernaturally as creative power. The pressure isn’t on you to accept them as being truth; you are fixing your eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of your faith (Heb 12:2). You are reading and listening while looking for Jesus’ power-words to be spoken into your heart and mind. If you yield to Jesus’ faith, you will read the Bible and get what it is creating in you.

2 Cor 5:17 (NIV) Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! Jesus, teach me that, if I read this verse and just try to get information from it, I won’t know I have been born again. I won’t be sure and certain that I have those things the Bible says and what You speak into my heart, mind, and life. Show me that faithless people read the words in the Bible and get information; faith-people receive the Bible truths and get transforming power.

 

Information That Produces Transformation

Then you will know the truth: Jesus is telling you the truth; He is giving you the facts; He is revealing how things really are. But, He isn’t just trying to convince you they are true; that would be human knowledge. He is trying to speak truth into you. Faith accepts the truths of Jesus as being something you have or have become. As you read the Bible, Jesus is speaking through it and turning you into that truth, if you are believing what you are reading. As you read it, it becomes true of you, as you believe it is true of you. It makes you into these things verse by verse. Of course, there can be six other things that can hinder; but, faith is huge.

 

John 8:32 (NIV) Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. Jesus, teach me that if Your truth stays in the Bible, it didn’t do what You wanted it to do. Being set free requires me knowing how this freedom becomes my freedom. How does all these truths of the Bible become true of me? How do I read the Bible as Your Book rather than something written by humans? Jesus, teach me that knowing the truth isn’t the same as learning the truth; they get different results. This Bible term “know” is a supernatural “know.”

 

 

Four Phases Of The Truth

There are four aspects to truth: knowledge, understanding, wisdom, and Jesus:

1.     KNOWLEDGE: Jesus, show me that, once I get the information in its correct form, which is part one of truth, I have true knowledge. I either go from, not knowing it exists or having it in a misrepresented form, to having the true information; only then do I have knowledge.

 

2.     UNDERSTANDING: Jesus, help me see that, once I have knowledge, I need to understand what it really means. Teach me that understanding takes the correct information and applies the true meaning to it, which is part two of truth. If I have a false or misrepresented interpretation to the information, show me that I still don’t have truth; I will still be misled. Teach me that, only when I have the true meaning do I have understanding.

3.     WISDOM: Jesus, help me understand that, once I have the correct information, which is true knowledge, and I have its correct meaning, which is true understanding, I am ready to learn how to correctly apply it to my life, which is true wisdom. Teach me that wisdom takes true information and the true meaning of that information and helps me know how to apply it to my everyday living, which is part three of truth. However, make it clear to me that wisdom isn’t the application of truth to the way I live, it is just the ability to know how to correctly apply it.

 

4.     JESUS: Jesus, help me realize that, once I have the correct information, which is true knowledge, and once I have its correct meaning, which is true understanding, and once I have the truth on how to apply it to my life, which is true wisdom, I must have the power to apply it to my decision making, actions, and who I am as a person, which is part four of truth. Teach me that this is my power-relationship with You.

 

Jesus doesn’t supply you with power; He supplies you with a power-relationship. Jesus has all the power and authority over heaven and earth (Mat 28:18); He can’t just turn it over to you. He controls all this power and authority with His righteousness, compassion, honesty, integrity, love, and pure attitudes and character. You may lack a “few” of these qualities in your attitudes and character. But, by a cooperative and unified relationship with Jesus (the Jesus-life), you get His truth and power flowing in and through the daily decisions and activities of your life.

 

Going From Knowing To Living

Now, there is a big difference between you knowing Jesus’ truth and you being set free by it. You can hear truth (knowledge), learn what it means (understanding), learn what it is going to take to get it benefiting and blessing you (wisdom), and finally start looking to Jesus for His power to live it. But, once Jesus shows you how that truth is going to change you, you have the right to decide (free will) whether or not you desire that change.

Jesus, teach me that truth has two sides to it; it requires me to be a certain type of person before I can use it for my own benefits. Help me see that truth not only gives me special financial, emotional, physical, and relational benefits, it also requires me to use them in such a way that they aren’t locked up inside a selfish, self-centered, and egocentric person. I must be willing to allow You to make me into a person who can be trusted with these truths and freedoms. Show me that Your attitudes and character are required for truth to set me free.

 

This concludes your reading and praying for today.

 

 

Truth/Prayer Chapter Two

Keep Holding To Truth

 

Week One Day Four

 

 

Going From Acting To Being

What if you were doing business with people who acted like they had your best interest in mind? What if they said all the things you wanted to hear? What if they treated you with kindness, respect, honor, and with concern, but were in fact selfish, self-centered, and motivated by greed. What if the reason they were doing all these “good” things was to gain your trust, your business, and your life, so they could manipulate you and all your possessions?

 

Jesus, help me be clear that using good techniques, manipulating truth, so it will serve a selfish purpose, acting like a loving, caring person, and making people believe I have their best interests in mind, are using truth for evil purposes. When I get the truth, but am using it to enslave myself and other people, it doesn’t bring freedom. Give me the truth, in such a way, that it sets me and others free. Teach me how I can get Your kind of truth that sets me and those around me free.

 

True Students Of Jesus

John 8:31-32 (NIV) To the Jews who had believed Him, Jesus said, “If you hold to My teaching, you are really My disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” People tell you just have to believe in Jesus and you are saved; and, that’s true! But, that isn’t just you praying some “sinner’s prayer,” joining a church, or saying you believe in Him. Believing in Jesus can empower you to hold to His teaching. It can empower you to know the truth. And it can cause the truth to set you free.

 

Jesus, if I don’t learn how to yield to Your truths and the power of those truths, I will live the Christian life, as a human rather than as a child of God. Being born again into the family of God changed everything about my life. My relationship with You has taken on a way to learn things that make me into a different person. Rather than being trained how to act, help me see that I am being made into a person who acts that way naturally; but, show me how that behavior happened.

 

Jesus, empower me to hold to Your teaching. Help me believe in You and Your words of power; let me yield to Your power-words. Help me hold to Your teachings by yielding to being made into one of Your disciples. Help me realize that salvation, justification, and sanctification come into my life and eternal life through believing and receiving Your words.

 

Faith

Who had believed Him: It all starts out with you hearing the gospel or good news message and believing it is true. You hear the words of Jesus; and, you “somehow” believe He is telling you the truth. “Something” caused you to start believing Jesus was telling you the truth; but, you thought you believed His teachings; and you did! But, you did it because Jesus spoke faith into you. At that time, you didn’t realize how you were able to know you were saved.

 

Jesus, thank You for speaking faith into me for salvation. Thank You for showing me that this is how I will live my life from now on. Thank You for requiring me to read the Bible and yield to Your faith. Thank You for giving me Your power-relationship that empowers me to hold to Your teaching in the Bible. Thank You for showing me that the Bible is Your Book. Help me read it through Your faith; let me do it, so I can believe it and receive its transforming power; empower me to hold to Your teaching and be Your disciple or student.

 

Training

If you hold to My teaching: When your Jesus-faith grows and spreads into His teachings, when you move from faith in the good news message, about Jesus, into faith in Jesus Himself, you discover a power that is supernatural. Your power-relationship with Jesus helps you live a life you weren’t able to live before. Jesus’ teaching is awesome; it would be so sad for you to not hold to it. All the supernatural blessings, miracles, transformations, prosperity, and successes would fail to come your way. Let Jesus help you “do what it takes” to get it all.

 

Jesus, help me read and hear Your teaching by means of Your faith. Help me study and learn all of Your teaching and then allow it to become a part of me. Give me Your faith so I can believe and receive each aspect of Your teaching as I find out about it. Help me yield to Your truth as creative power. Then help me take faith-action on each principle of Your teaching until it is a vital part of my life.

 

Disciples: Poor In Spirit (Humility)

You are really My disciples: The first step in The Seven Biblical Principles is desire. Jesus taught you that He waits on you to want to open the door to your heart. But, there is a problem you can get, that interferes with your desire. In one sense, you want to embrace and hold to every teaching of Jesus. But, you can get to the place where you can feel like you have it. You can think you already “know that.” You can think that learning truth is knowing truth. You can think that Jesus’ purpose for teaching you was to inform you.

 

Jesus, help me never feel like I have arrived or have completed my training in any area of my life. Help me realize that You have a lot more to teach me and do in me for every aspect of life and eternity. Help me remain poor in spirit, so You can show me a totally different type of teaching. Heal my heart and make it humble before You. I want to be open to all Your teaching, so You can be God in my life. Help me yield to Your supernatural power.

 

Information

Then you will know: You have “learned” a lot of things; you have exposed yourself to a lot of “information.” You think you know how to study and learn things. When you come to the Bible, you pick it up and read it just like you have read any other book. You think you are ready to read it and get the instructions on how to live the Christian life. So, you read it and it keeps telling you what to do. Since you have read instructions before, you set out to follow the instructions and start living the frustrating, confusing life of Romans 7:15-25.

 

What’s wrong with you? Why can’t you follow the instructions? One of the main reasons is, the Bible isn’t giving you instructions, information, guidelines, or advice. It’s God-breathed! 2 Tim 3:16 (NIV) All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,

 

Jesus, holding to Your teaching requires a kind of faith that allows You to create the Bible in me. Help me not read and study it using the world’s methods. Help me give up all my study systems and learning procedures. Empower me to learn a whole new way. Enable me to submit to even the basic things like studying and learning. Help me not think I know anything about how to live as a child of God. Help me be open to Your training on how to live and succeed in this life that is controlled by the spirit realm.

 

True Information

Then you will know the truth: Jesus’ teaching gives you the truth; however, how you respond to it decides whether or not it sets you free. When you read or hear a truth from Jesus, if you don’t get true knowledge, true understanding, true wisdom, and then get true power from Him, you lack four things that produce freedom. The Bible gives you true knowledge; the Holy Spirit gives you true meaning to each concept in the Bible by giving you true understanding. Then you get true wisdom from Jesus. After that it is a matter of you joining Jesus in faith-action for living it, as you spend the rest of your life thanking Him for this supernatural life.

 

Jesus, help me study the Bible to find out all those things You want to say to me. Then help me yield to the Holy Spirit, so He can tell me what each concept means. After that, help me learn from You, how to get wisdom for how to apply each truth. Then help me come to You to produce that Biblical concept in my life. Create each concept in me, so I can hold to all Your teaching. Help me see that the Bible is God’s Book that only functions in the Spirit.

 

Then you will know the truth: The truth brings freedom, by Jesus creating a life in you that really works. Truth reveals traps, bait, temptations, misinformation, dead end streets, and bad people. The truth is like having the light on, so you can see clearly where everything is. You know what to do, which people to do it with, and how to do it, because Jesus is showing you the light of truth. It is easy to succeed in life, if you are constantly being provided the truth. The truth also makes you into a light; it provides the voice of Jesus, Who turns you into the truth.

 

Jesus, help me always be desirous to find out what the truth is. Help me realize that the truth only comes through You. If I don’t make sure I am getting my information through You, then I will get fake information. Help me to always check everything out with You. I know You will always be honest and truthful with me.

 

This concludes your reading and praying for today.

 

 

Truth/Prayer Chapter Three

The Process Of Learning To Live

Week One Day Five

 

 

Suppose you see a verse in the Bible you want to start living. First, you read it and become familiar with the words. You might memorize it word for word. If you know the words, you have knowledge. If you allow the Holy Spirit to explain its meaning, you have understanding. If you get the steps for applying that verse to your life, that information is called wisdom.

The Seven Biblical Principles are the seven steps of wisdom for being able to apply Jesus’ truths to your life. They lead you into applying that verse to your life. Wisdom has seven major things you must do to get or become what the Bible offers. The final step in The Seven Biblical Principles for getting a Bible principle in your life is faith-action. Then after you get that principle, it is vital for you to be thankful for Jesus giving it to you. You are now moving into Jesus’ way to read the Bible and then take faith-action.

 

 

 

 

Submitting To The Bible, Jesus, And The Holy Spirit

There are ways for you to use The Seven Biblical Principles for submitting to the Bible, to Jesus, and to the Holy Spirit. Let Jesus show you what some of those ways are.

 

1.     Through Reading Your Bible

Jesus, I need You to help me make sure I get the correct part of Bible information for true knowledge. Help me keep in mind that true knowledge makes me aware a truth exists; it comes every time I study my Bible. But, help stay aware that knowing it exists while misunderstanding its meaning won’t help me.

2.     Through Praying Over A Verse

Jesus, help me listen to the Holy Spirit, so He can explain to me what each Scripture means; that will give me true understanding. Teach me that this is when I stop reading and start praying. Show me that when I do, the Holy Spirit gives me true understanding of each Bible verse’s meaning. But, help me realize that knowledge and understanding need wisdom for how to apply them. Teach me that application involves me finding out what a verse looks like in real life.

3.     Through Being Shown Examples Of A Verse Being Applied

Jesus, help me understand that The Seven Biblical Principles’ wisdom-steps can only help me, if I know what the truth of a verse looks like, as I go about my day using it. Help me see the importance of allowing You to show me examples of that verse being applied. Help me see that, that is the reason You gave me the Old and New Testament people’s lives as examples.

 

Power Principles

The truth WILL set you free: This is when something you know and understand is able to move into the fabric of your life. In the world, you can learn something, understand it, and then use it. It just takes these three things to start practicing it. You may have a “learning curve” with it; you may have to practice and study the matter further; but, you are able to apply the knowledge and understanding to your life through human wisdom and effort.

Jesus teach me that “the truth will set you free” means I can’t set myself free. Help me see that I can’t read it and then visualize what that verse would look like in real life. I can’t read it and figure out when I should use it during my day. I can't read it and then walk away from my Bible reading time, set free. Help me believe that knowing a truth requires a supernatural miracle of God; and being set free by a truth also takes a supernatural miracle of God.

Compartmentalizing Jesus And His Power

God requires seven steps for you to get the freedom truth provides. Once you get to steps four and six, which are faith and faith-action, there will be something special that takes place in your mind and heart. There will be a transition from a truth being something you know as simply information to something you know as a fact in your mind, and something you feel as an assurance in your heart. It isn’t until this miracle takes place that you can be set free.

 

Jesus, help me understand that there are things inside me trying to hold faith and faith-action back; show me what those “things” are. Help me see that there is a lot of information I know that isn’t true. Since the world and society have been my experts, teachers, authorities, and examples, they have tried to convince me that the Bible, You, and Christianity are all myths, lies, and ignorance. Now, You are trying to help me overcome all that training and influence. You are trying to help me get You and Your ways out of certain mental compartments.

 

Reasons For Compartmentalizing Jesus And His Power

World training isn’t all that has caused you to put the Bible, Jesus, the truth, and Christianity in a special compartment in your mind and heart. You have asked for things, believed for things, and waited on God to give you things; but, they never came. If this had happened to you just once, you might have shrugged it off. But, that may have happen several times.

 

Jesus, in the past, before I learned about the three toolsets, things happened to me repeatedly causing doubt. On the one hand, I have had many miracles in some areas, proving God, the Bible, You, and Christianity are all true. But, on the other hand, many prayers haven’t been answered positively. So, I put certain things I read, in the Bible, heard from You, and got from other Christians, into this special compartment in my mind and heart.

 

You have had your methods for asking God for things, have had your criteria for what you bring to God, and have had your way of waiting, expecting, and trying to get the results for your prayers. Because you applied your procedures, systems, and criteria to these events, if it didn’t work, it hurt you. Disappointment and confusion caused you to develop your reasons for why you didn’t “get your prayers answered.” That decided where you put your faith; and, it put those experiences into a certain compartment in your heart and mind.

 

Jesus, heal me from past prayer experiences, where I applied my own systems for getting my prayers answered. Heal me from all the negative attitudes, words, teachings, and opinions I have been exposed to from the world. Heal me from decisions I have make that caused me to put certain aspects of Your Word in special compartments in my heart and mind. Help me to allow You to pull them out and readdress issues that may feel painful for me.

 

This concludes your reading and praying for this week.

 

 

Truth/Prayer Chapter Four

The Process Of Learning To Live

 

Week Two Day One

 

 

The Process You Used To Use

Succeeding through human techniques, skills, talents, and effort have been their own reward. When you accomplish something, it gives you pleasure seeing a job well done. It is fun showing others what you did. If someone else helps you, you can’t take the full credit for it. If you can’t take the full credit, you don’t get the same amount of pleasure from the result. You have to share the glory, the rewards, and the benefits because you didn’t “do it all by yourself.”

 

Jesus, this attitude of wanting to get all the credit has hurt my relationship with You. There are times when I don’t seem to want to be set free by Your truth. I want to do as much setting myself free as I can. I want to see if I can get the job done, so I can feel good about myself and my accomplishments. Help me start getting all my joy, happiness, and pleasure from being set free by Your truth. Help me desire to give the credit, glory, and praise to You.

 

Trusting The Bible, Jesus, And The Holy Spirit

Submitting to the Bible, Jesus, and The Holy Spirit means you can’t feel good about yourself and your accomplishments through self-achievement. If you are a musician and you wrote your own music, taught yourself how to play the instruments, taught yourself how to sing well, and promoted yourself to the top, you would be able to look at all that “success” and get all the glory, praise, and credit. But, Christianity has to do with gifts that you can’t buy, grace you don’t deserve, and mercy that keeps you from suffering punishments and disappointments you do deserve. Is there a way for you to get satisfaction, pleasure, and rewards from such system?

 

Jesus, I can see the struggle I have with being set free by Your truth. I am looking for a way for me to have some say, do something, accomplish some feat, or contribute some value to the process. Help me find the rewards that come from me having faith, trust, reliance, and a dependency on You and Your provisions. Show me how to get love, joy, and happiness as I praise, thank, and worship You. Set me free from needing the credit, praise, and admiration that comes through me accomplishing things all by myself.

 

1.     Submitting Through Your Relationship With God

A relationship with the Bible, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit is very rewarding. You don’t need to try to impress Jesus; He already loves you and considers you so valuable that He was willing to die for you. Your first step into God esteem and confidence is to establish your value by seeing how He feels about you. Even if you don’t see yourself all that valuable, you can look into the Bible, listen to Jesus, and yield to the feelings the Holy Spirit are giving you and feel valuable.

 

Jesus, show me how to enjoy receiving from You; show me how to yield to You and Your truth. Help me get pleasure from my relationship with You through faith, trust, dependency, and a reliance on You. Heal my heart and its need to win through human effort. Help me win through Your system of faith, gifts, grace, and mercy. Empower me to accept the fact that You have a way of giving me great joy, happiness, and pleasure by putting all my trust in You and Your truth. Show me that You will create great things that bring much more pleasure.

 

2.     Submitting Through Being Accepted By God

If you read the Bible looking for a system, a procedure, or steps for you to use, the Bible will be a very confusing Book. Most Christians look for what they are supposed to do. You can look for where you fit into the process of succeeding at Christianity. When you are trying to impress God and God is trying to impress you, you can fail to receive His love. It is vital that you realize that God already loves you, accepts you as valuable, and is basing His relationship on the fact that you are His child. He doesn’t need any help being excited about you.

 

Jesus, help me give up the requirements of the world. Help me stop trying to prove myself. Help me stop trying to be accepted, respected, loved, and appreciated. Help me flow into Your love, acceptance, and value. Help me see that I no longer have to be an asset, a benefit, a valuable connection, or a source of important resources. Help me first establish my acceptance and respect from You. Help me see that once I understand how my relationship with You works, I will be able to establish better relationships with people.

 

3.     Submitting Through Looking To Jesus

Mat 11:28 (NIV) Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. How can a person, who is always at rest, accomplish anything? But, fruit trees, grape vines, and rose bushes do it all the time. It just involves a different kind of productivity. Jesus want to do things in and through you that you don’t understand. You are new to the spirit realm. You are new to being a child of God. And you are new to producing spiritual results.

 

Jesus, I realize that I don’t even exist without You creating and giving me life. But, I haven’t fully accepted the truth that I can’t produce any beneficial, meaningful, or satisfying results without being submitted, yielded, and in cooperation with You. Help me see how meaningless, unfruitful, and futile all my life and efforts are without You and Your input. Help me realize that You are trying to do things in and through me that require faith, trust, yielding, resting, and cooperating. Help me give up all my ideas for productivity, being an asset, being important, and being pleasing in Your sight.

 

Being Set Free Is A Journey

James 1:6-7 (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.

 

Human faith helped you have confidence in yourself. It helped you believe you could do things. And, it helped you get to a place where, if you were successful at accomplishing the same thing over and over, you believed you were good at it. But, Jesus’ faith isn’t anything like that. It is a supernatural power that causes you to know something is true. Once it happens to you, you don’t have to have proof, evidence, facts, previous results, or past experiences. Your heart and mind just “somehow” know!

 

Jesus, help me realize that faith and doubting play a very important part in what happens in my relationship with You. Help me see that human faith and doubting only influenced my willingness to try something or believe something was true. Your kind of faith and its counterpart of doubting can influence great and important events, in the spirit realm. As I see you working with Your disciples, I can see that faith and doubting are very important to You and Your training them. You held them accountable concerning them on a regular basis.

 

Being Set Free Is A Process

It isn’t always clear to you how much getting happiness and pleasure through accomplishing things by you having faith in yourself. You don’t typically think about how it affects your relationship to the Bible, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, when believing in yourself helped you show someone your accomplishments. It doesn’t seem like a problem for you to put forth your best efforts, to have faith in what you can do, to make up your mind, to stay the course, and to be the best. It feels good for you to look at all these “qualities” and feel like they make you a good, successful, and ambitious person. But, those are just human accomplishments.

 

Jesus, I can see how faith in myself is in conflict with faith in the Bible, You, and the Holy Spirit. I can see where pride in myself and my accomplishments can keep me from learning spiritual principles. The Bible, You, and the Holy Spirit are trying to teach me how to live as a child of God. I have been trying to get good at being a human. Help me understand how much world philosophy, human effort, and all the things I keep using are keeping me from learning the spiritual systems that I will be living in for eternity.

 

This concludes your reading and praying for today.

 

 

Truth/Prayer Chapter Five

Compartmentalizing

Week Two Day Two

 

Believing Fictional Things

Let’s say you are reading a science fiction book and people are able to fly and do supernatural things. As you are reading the book, you accept these special abilities as being “normal” in the fictional compartment in your mind. But, in your “real-life” compartment of your mind, that isn’t the case. You are able to know the difference between the realm of fiction and the realm of real life by keeping everything in its own mental compartment.

Jesus, teach me about these special compartments, where I put things in my mind. Help me see that they keep me from getting confused about what’s real and what’s imagined. The things I wish I had and spend time dreaming about, I keep in my “wishful thinking” compartment. After I am through with dreaming and thinking wishful thoughts from that compartment, I am able come back to the “reality” compartment. Help me see that this ability keeps me sane and healthy in my thinking.

 

You Choose Where To Put Things

When you are thinking and feeling, while in these special compartments, you are able to live in the fictional world and accept that “reality.” You can live in the realm of wishes and accept that “reality” for a while. You can plan, set goals, have discussions, and look at all kinds of possibilities for things you might put together in the future. But, you are clear about the fact that it is in a compartment were it is just a future projection; it’s not real.

Jesus, when I read the Bible, show me that I can read it in a special compartment. In this compartment, I accept the rules that people are healed, get raised from the dead, water can be turned into wine and even be walked on, and other supernatural things. But, in my “real-world” compartment, I can decide that these things don’t really happen. I don’t read it as truth. It is true to me in the Bible; but, it doesn’t happen in the “reality” of my life.

 

Jesus, I may believe it did happen; but I don’t believe it does happen to me. I may believe it could happen; but, I don’t expect it to happen. I may hope it will happen; but, I don’t have faith it will happen. I may even believe it happens somewhere but just not to me.

 

Bible Truths Kept Inside The Bible

Truth from the Bible deals with things Jesus wants you to believe, have, be, and do. It starts with an invitation into the experience of salvation. This is a moment when you are taken into the realm of the Bible and expected to actually believe these things written there are really true.

The Bible says that, if you follow a certain procedure and pray a certain prayer, you will really get something from it into your heart and life.

 

Jesus, help me see that when I experienced salvation, it was to not only make me a child of God, it was to bring me into the realm where the Bible is. If the Bible is in my fictional compartment, it is like believing in Santa Claus and that reindeer fly. If I don’t allow salvation and justification bring the Bible out of that compartment, it will remain a Book of fiction, as it relates to certain subjects. It’s interesting and fun to read; but, not always real.

 

Bible Truths And Your Experiences

Most people start reading, studying, and learning the Bible with it in a special compartment. To them it represents itself as being real and true, but, has things that are somewhat fictional. Those things they read and find in the Bible, they would like to believe are true. But, the realm of the Bible and the realm of the “real” world seem to be so different from each other.

Jesus have lived on this planet for many years; I have found out what is real and what is either fictional or wishful thinking. I have tried and experienced a lot of what works and what doesn’t. I have seen what happens and what never or almost never happens. There are things in the Bible that I may have seen happen to others but never has happened to me. I don’t doubt the testimonies of others. But, it doesn’t seem to help me believe it will happen to me.

 

Moving Bible Truths Out Of The Fictional Realm

If you experience a supernatural or miraculous result in your own life, you will notice that there are ways of explaining them away by using special “scientific” reasoning. You may have experienced something that you have never seen happen in the “real” world before. But, if you want to, you can give it a little bit of an effort and can come up with an alternative explanation. You can try to “fit it” into the “natural” events you consider to be the world of reality.

Jesus, help me see that, when I know I have experienced something that isn’t typically experienced by most people, I have two major choices. I can try to make it fit in the reality compartment, as I know it; or, I can start getting the Bible moved into the God compartment where God lives. Help me start getting major breakthroughs in this supernatural work.

 

Creating A New Compartment

You can try to bring God into “your” world; or, you can start to allow Him to move you into His world. You won’t be able to move God into your “real” compartment because it only allows for those “normal,” “natural,” and human things. The truth or God compartment is by far more real than the physical world you are used to and consider to be real. It is a place where real, supernatural, miraculous, God-sized things are done with ease and without human effort.

Jesus, develop a new God-compartment in my mind and heart, so I can make room for You in my life. Set me free from trying to explain the Bible and my experiences with You by using the rules and limitations of this world. Help me see that it is those who will typically put the Bible into their fictional or wishful thinking compartment.

 

The Almost-Fictional Compartment

Some people develop a mixed compartment in their mind for the Bible. They believe these things actually happened in Jesus’ day, but, are no longer happening today. It isn’t all in the fictional compartment; but, much of it is almost fictional to them. They wish these things would happen to them; but, so far they haven’t. They believe the Bible is true for others but not them. They believe they have done something that made them the exception. But, Jesus said in 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.”

Rules For The Almost-Fictional Approach

Jesus, help me understand that the almost-fictional approach to the Bible makes it only helpful for philosophies, advice, suggestions, guidance, and direction. There are no miracles, supernatural events, or God-sized help. Everything will stay in the realm of the natural, normal, scientifically-explainable results. Help me see that it limits my faith in You.

Jesus, show me that the almost fictional compartment makes me willing to grow spiritually in those truths that deal with attitudes and character. As long as it is something I can work on and doesn’t take miracles, supernatural power, transformation, or Your creative words, I believe. Help me see that from the very beginning of salvation, it has been all miracles.

 

Putting God In A Box

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. Religion consists of platitudes, sayings, rituals, laws, guidelines, philosophies, and principles that you can learn and put into practice. God is in a box where He doesn’t make much of a difference in your life except for the demands, requirements, rules, and laws “He puts on you.”

 

Jesus, when You say: “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest (Mat 11:28),” let me see that it is supernatural rest. It requires You to do something God-sized and miraculous; it must not just sound like relaxation.

 

Jesus, when You say: “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives (John 14:27a).” Help this sound like a power-gift of peace. But, to people who have You in their almost-fictional box, show me that it sounds like encouraging words. They think You are saying this to encourage them to feel better and more peaceful.

 

Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid (John 14:27b). This is a power-statement; the way to not let is through faith in Jesus and His creative words. It isn’t a law that you are supposed to obey. If you are a self-confident, self-determined, and self-controlled person, you will accept the challenge. You will determine to not let your heart be troubled and you will decide that you are not going to be afraid. But, none of these approaches to the Bible, to God, and to Christianity are valid approaches.

 

Jesus, help me see that this isn’t just an issue of me not getting involved in world training and human effort, it is an issue that I am not learning how to live and function as a child of God. You have put me on this planet to get my attitudes and character transformed. And, You have me here to learn how to use the things in the spirit realm with success, skill, talent, experience, and maturity. Show me that for everything I use human effort on, I am not practicing learning spiritual things.

 

This concludes your reading and praying for today.

 

 

Truth/Prayer Chapter Six

Decompartmentalizing

 

Week Two Day Three

 

 

You Choose Where To Put Things

You don’t consciously decide to make the Bible an almost-fictional book. Your decision to make it or parts of it fictional is more subtle than that. Your lack of skill with The Three Keys To All Of Christianity, The Seven Biblical Principles, The Eight Power Attitudes Of God, and the things you are now moving into, causes you to ask for things from God and fail.

When you think God should do something for you and He doesn’t, you don’t always assume it is a problem with you. When your life doesn’t match up with the supernatural lifestyle of the Bible, you gradually accept that life as true for it but not true for you.

 

Jesus, I want to believe in You and all of the Bible; help me see that You and it are all true for me in my life. Help me realize that putting some of Your Word in a fictional compartment keeps me from ever experiencing it. Show me why some of these truths haven’t worked for me. Teach me how to get it all working in my life; train me in the proper procedures for living in the spirit realm. Let me see and compare the time, training, and effort it has taken for me to learn how to do things on earth. Let me see how long it took to get the skills for doing and succeeding at those things I can now do. Then help me see that this is the kind of time, effort, and training I need in the spirit realm.

 

Bible Truths

You mostly only believe what you see and experience in your life. If something isn’t the way you experienced it, then you typically don’t believe it; or, you are at least skeptical about it. But, in God’s world you live by faith, not by sight (2 Cor 5:7). That goes against decades of experiences, training, and beliefs. If you say you won’t believe certain things until you see them, you have become the judge, jury, and executioner for what is real and true in your life.

 

Jesus, I don’t want to just believe that it happened in Bible times. I want to believe that all I read in the Bible is true now. Help me believe that just because I haven’t yet experienced it doesn’t mean it isn’t true for me. Empower me to live by faith, not by sight; change my heart and mind to this way of seeing the truth. My type of faith is based on experiences, world training, and natural occurrences. Take me into Your type of faith that knows how this temporary world and the spirit realm really work; let me live as a child of God.

 

Moving The Bible Out Of The Fictional Realm

As Jesus moves you into His world, it is important for you to keep in mind that things work differently there. Those things you are used to, have become accustom to, and are familiar with can be totally different from the way Jesus works. So, if you try to bring Jesus and the way He works into your world, you will run into disappointments, disillusionment, frustration, and confusion. But, if you are going to keep reading the Bible and believing it is true, you will find it necessary to un-fictionalize it and allow Jesus to put it where it belongs.

 

Jesus, help me see that the Bible, You, my heavenly Father, the Holy Spirit, and Christianity work totally different from what I am used to. Teach me how to allow You to speak things into me; help me accept Your words in faith; help me look for their results; give me the appreciation, praise, thankfulness, and worship for them. Take me from the fictionalizing place to the place where things do work in the spirit realm. Train me in Your ways.

 

The Creation Of A New Compartment

You have learned what works in this temporary world by seeing it work for others; then it took you a long time to make it work for you. If you wanted to learn how to live in the realm of a certain profession, trade, or sport, you entered into training. You even unlearning certain things so you could learn how to be good at it. If you want to enter into God’s world, you will have to do the same. The spirit realm can be explained by using these earthly things as examples; but, that is as far as these two worlds can be compared. See how Jesus used examples.

 

Here, Jesus is using the things of this world to help you understand God’s realm: Mat 18:23 (NIV) Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. Mat 20:1 (NIV) For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard. Mat 22:2 (NIV) The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. Jesus designed this world so that you could see similarities. There things about it that you can learn from. But, this physical realm is very limited and powerless; God’s realm is supernatural but natural to Him.

 

Jesus, I am glad You use the physical realm to help me understand the way things work in the spirit realm. These illustrations help me identify the similarities between them. It helps me start to get a foundational knowledge of where You are taking me. But, help me not take these illustrations too far. Help me not naturalize Your realm; help me stay open to where You are taking me. Help me remain humble and teachable in my relationship with You, so You can help the spirit realm start working for me in supernatural power.

 

The Almost-Fictional Compartment

The only things you experience in the Bible are the things you “know” are true. Those things in the Bible you have tried to experience but failed to have happen, you stored away on a shelf for later consideration. You don’t want to doubt Jesus and His truth; so, you store it on a shelf or in a compartment where you will deal with it “later.”

 

Maybe Jesus is trying to test you; maybe it isn’t happening because He is trying to teach you something; maybe you have done something or aren’t doing something and is keeping it from happening. The maybe’s go on and on but never come to a conclusion or bring about results; they just stay in this compartment or on this shelf for later; but, Jesus wants to deal with it now.

 

Jesus, help me realize that I am never going to figure You or Your ways out. But, help me also realize that I don’t have to figure You out. You have given me Your Holy Spirit; He is taking me through the Bible, so You can reveal to me what is going on. Let revelation knowledge form in my mind and heart. Help me just know how it works. Help me see that can’t come through my brain figuring it out. It has to come by a light coming on in my mind and heart. Deliver me from trying to figure it out, so I can look to You for revelation.

 

Putting God In A Box

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. The number one reason certain things in the Bible aren’t working for you is explained in this verse. Machines, electronic devices, and even sail boats can’t operate without power. In every area of your life, where you are struggling or failing is because Jesus hasn’t been yielded to in that area. And, the main reason Jesus hasn’t been yielded to in that area is, you are basing your future on your past. If you base your future on your past, then your future will never change. If the way things are, are the way you believe things will always be, then your future will never change.

 

Jesus, I keep trying to get the Bible to work for me; but, I keep waiting to see if it is going to work. I try all the things You teach me; but, I try them to see if they will change my results. I don’t apply them in faith; I don’t allow You to empower me to apply these principles knowing they will work. Help me see that, if I stand back to see whether or not what You are teaching me is true, then Your truths will never work for me. Show me that in the spirit realm, if I don’t operate in faith, those things that are very powerful will lack power for me.

 

This concludes your reading and praying for today.

 

 

Truth/Prayer Chapter Seven

From The “Real-Life” Compartment To The God Compartment

Week Two Day Four

 

 

God Is God

God is miraculous, supernatural, and all-powerful; He caused the Bible to be written, so you can get to know Him and all He has to offer. You live a life that has a lot of weaknesses, failures, limitations, inadequacies, and shortcomings. The Bible is leading you into a life that is far above any human’s abilities. If you take God or those parts of Him that are in the fictional or almost fictional compartment, you will set yourself up for moving into a very different future.

Jesus, help me see that one of the reasons I failed to get supernatural results, was because I applied wrong procedures. Another reason I failed, was because my attitudes and character needed work. Another reason I failed, was because I didn’t have The Seven Biblical Principles to help me diagnose why I failed. So, help me not base my future on my past failures. Help me see that the way things are, aren’t the way things are going to be.

Jesus, I didn’t know my faith will never match Your faith. I didn’t know my love would never help me love like God’s love, that is in me. I didn’t know that human effort and world training doesn’t work in Christianity. Help me realize that the truth can’t set me free, if I don’t know what that truth is. I didn’t know so many things that are mandatory, in order for me to get the results I was trying to get. Help me be ready for my future to change drastically.

 

The Real-Life Compartment

There’s an area in your mind and heart that accepts the laws and nature of Jesus’ creation as fact. You have lived here long enough to know the way things work. You believe in and trust the laws of gravity, chemistry, mathematics, engineering, physics, and aerodynamics as hard science. You don’t doubt them, question them, try to break them, or ignore them; they are real and true. But, they are real and true, because you’ve seen them work over and over again. This kind of faith is human faith. It believes because that is the way things have always worked.

2 Cor 5:7 (NIV) We live by faith, not by sight. Jesus, help me see that I am having a hard time believing the Bible because I haven’t seen some of these things happen over and over again. Help me understand that, if I see these supernatural things happen over and over again, that will create human faith; and, human faith won’t work in Christianity. Help me realize that I need to get Your faith that doesn’t require sight.

The Real-Life Compartment Transported

If you allow Jesus to take your world and bring it into His world, you allow Him to move your real-life compartment into His God compartment. He makes walking on water just as real as sinking into water. He makes speaking to a storm just as real as using the wind to sail a boat. He makes turning water into wine just as real as making water into coffee or tea. The difference is simply a matter of Jesus speaking to it rather than you applying physical means to change it.

 

Jesus, help me see that You are teaching me how to believe through that faith You speak into me. As I grow spiritually, You have been speaking Your faith into me for more and more things. All of a sudden, I just know something is true. All of a sudden, I know I have something. I don’t believe because I have seen it happen over and over again. I may have never seen it happen before; but, I know because You empowered me to know.

 

 

Faith

Jesus Faith

Heb 11:1 (NIV) Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Faith from Jesus takes something you were just hoping for and turns it into something you are sure you have. It takes something you have never seen happen before and makes you certain it has happened. It is totally controlled by Jesus; He decides what He will speak faith into you for. But, once He does, it is unshakeable, because it is an assurance and a certainty that Jesus spoke into your heart and mind. If Satan tries to get you to doubt, he is wasting his time.

Jesus, help me understand that, if I start getting faith in supernatural occurrences because I have seen them happen over and over again, I am losing my Jesus-faith and am starting to move into human faith. Show me that Your faith only comes by You speaking it into me at the moment You want me to believe something. And, help me realize that once You speak it into me, it will be powerful, unmovable, with no doubts.

 

Human Faith

You started out in this world as a beginner; you didn’t have experiences, hadn’t seen things happen, and didn’t know what you could count on. So, you started experimenting with eating things on the floor, standing on your own two feet, and moving toys and other objects around. You gradually gained a lot of faith in those activities you successfully learned to create and recreate. That is similar, but not identical, to you learning how to live as a child of God.

Jesus, help me see that, as a child of God, I started out as a beginner; I didn’t have experiences, hadn’t seen supernatural things happen, and didn’t know what I could count on. So, I started experimenting with praying for things I decided I needed; I started trying to walk in the Spirit and move spiritual circumstances and situations around. I gradually gained a lot of human faith in those activities I successfully learned to create and recreate. But, I can now see that I need to give it up and let You be the Author and Perfecter of my faith (Heb 12:2).

You Get Jesus-Faith:

1.     When you look for great ideas coming into your mind, wonderful feelings showing up in your heart, and special circumstances occurring in your life.

2.     When you identify these great ideas coming up in your mind, wonderful feelings showing up in your heart, and special circumstances occurring in your life as being from Him.

3.     When you thank Him for these great ideas in your mind, wonderful feelings showing up in your heart, and special circumstances coming in your life.

 

Jesus, teach me that these three things give You the credit You deserves. As I see it is You doing all these things, it develops supernatural faith in You. Once I get faith in You, I start receiving faith from You. Help me see that there are large quantities of things I need that cannot and will not come to me through “natural” means. I need faith from You.

 

Jesus, teach me that in the Jesus-life, things start happening by me simply joining You in believing and speaking things into existence. Show me that this is the way the spirit realm works. Just like I found out that by using my hands, I could change things in this earthly realm, I am noticing that You use words like I use hands. Help me realize that this brings the Bible and its truths into me. Help me realize that things suddenly happen in the spirit realm

 

Faith For The Spirit Realm

Mat 18:3 (NIV) And He said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Faith-action is where some people start having trouble with the Jesus-life and Jesus-faith. They are used to producing them in the natural realm. But, in the spirit realm Jesus suddenly speaks faith into you. A circumstance suddenly works out for your good. You suddenly get a healing in your body. If you can’t let go of the way things work here, because it is what you are used to, then you can’t learn and experience His spiritual procedures.

 

Jesus, You are training me how to experience things that either can’t be produced in the “natural” realm or are produced by not using “natural” procedures. You are leading me into a world where faith and faith-action are required in order for the spiritual realm to function. Help me see that this puts me back in a beginner, baby stage; and I may not like that.

 

Your Real-Life Compartment Transported

Faith from Jesus, empowers you to believe things that are supernatural and produced through supernatural procedures. “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 (Rom 8:28).” Things like this can cause you to start looking for this in your circumstance and in your life. Rather than panicking, taking matters into your own hands, or giving up, you start looking for that solution from God to suddenly and supernaturally work out for your good. This is when you start moving into the God compartment in your heart and mind.

 

Jesus, help me see that, as I keep exposing myself to these truths and asking You to transport me and my faith-system into the God compartment of my mind and heart, that gets me ready to read the Bible with a whole new approach. I will hear You speaking to me through the verses and principles. They cause me to believe what You are saying to me, believe You are Who You say You are, and believe You have done what You say You have done.

 

Jesus, as I read the Bible, help me stop and ask You to speak faith into me. Help me wait until I suddenly know that, that verse is true of me. Help me see that without You speaking faith into me for that verse, it will remain just information. Also, help me not try to decide what that verse means. Help me ask You to reveal the truth in it to me. Help me understand that this is Your Book; and, it has to have Your supernatural influence flow through it to me.

 

This concludes your reading and praying for today.

 

 

Truth/Prayer Chapter Eight

Living In The God Compartment

 

Week Two Day Five

 

God Is God To You

Sometimes you submit to the creation rather than the Creator. The creation and its laws have been so influential in governing what you can and cannot do that you have accepted it as absolute. But Jesus, the Creator, came down and lived in the likeness of a human and functioned in a way that didn’t submit to the laws of creation. He demonstrated the fact that He was superior and in control over that which has controlled you all your life. Then He started teaching you how to join Him in approaching His creation with control and authority.

 

Jesus, I have been so controlled by Your creation that I have limited Your work in my life. I have allowed Your creation to set the parameters for what You can do in and through me. Help me accept Your Godliness, Lordship, and Kingship as being greater than creation. It belongs to You and is subservient to You. Help me allow You to be God in my life. I lay my God-given will before You, so You can show me what life is like where You live.

 

Examining The Real-Life Compartment

Your real-life compartment is where you accept the way things are. It’s the place where you get all your facts and make all your decisions; you are governed by it. It is where you think, since one thing is true then this other thing must be true also. It is the foundation upon which you build your life. If anything doesn’t conform with what you believe to be true, then you have a hard time accepting it. This compartment must be restructured or you will always struggle with Bible truths. But, only Jesus can restructure this compartment.

 

Jesus, retrain and transform the areas of my mind and heart where I have accepted what I believe to be true and restructure them to conform to Your truth. Build a new foundation for me to base my life on. Make it where I can read the Bible and what I believe fits with what it says. Help me be totally prepared to accept everything it says the moment I read it. Let it conform me and reshape me into believing everything You say to me through the Bible.

 

Facilitating The Real-Life Compartment Transported

Mark 11:23 (NIV) I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.

 

This is true of you; if things like this aren’t happening, you know Jesus didn’t lie to you. Even if He doesn’t want you moving a mountain, He will be wanting to speak faith into you for big things like it. “If anyone says” is the way things work in the spirit realm; “if anyone says to this mountain” is telling you that it doesn’t matter how big or how impossible it seems. “Anyone” is talking about you, as a Christian. “And does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen” shows you that speaking through Jesus-faith is the key to the spirit realm. His faith knows it will happen, doesn’t doubt that it will happen, and gets results.

 

Jesus, teach me that to be able to live as a trained, skilled, adult child of God, I have to yield myself to You and all Your training. Since speaking in faith is the way to get things done in the spirit realm, I open my heart and mind to all You have. Give me the training I need from Your Word. Empower me to yield all am to all You are. I feel like I have a long way to go; but, I believe in You and Your abilities to lead me into it all.

 

Jesus, help me see that I have to learn about getting things that suddenly happen to me and around me. Help me see that I have to learn about my mouth being able to be used to cause things to suddenly happen. Show me that I have to learn how to expect Your faith to suddenly empower me to believe something You want me to do. Help me yield to this new way.

 

Types Of Faith

Getting Jesus-Faith

Jesus made His creation a place where you could learn how to trust, believe, rely, and put your dependency on Him. It is a place where you can practice using spiritual things to accomplish His will. It is a place where you are very limited in what you can damage. It is a place where He is joining you and teaching you by Him doing things in you, through you, for you, to you, and with you. It is the place where He gets you, as a child of God, ready for His eternal Kingdom. 2 Cor 5:7 (NIV) You live by faith, not by sight.

 

Jesus, deliver me from faith in myself, a faith that believes because I have seen it happen lots of times, a faith that sometimes believes and sometimes doesn’t. Give me Yours that is spoken into me from You, one that is in total agreement with what You want me believing. Give me the one I need that You used as You went around doing all the things You did here on earth. Help me be able to receive Your faith that is able to speak to things bigger than a mountain and them happen.

 

Giving Up Human Faith

Prov 3:5-6 (AKJV) Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Jesus gave you your life, your body, your spirit, your brain, your health, your mind, and the people and the earth around you. He has been orchestrating all these things in all of your life. All your experiences and exposures to His creation have been planned by Him to train you and shape you into a certain type of spiritual being. But, you may have been spending most of your time using human faith to become a better human.

 

Jesus, help me realize that this life has been my school, my life-classes, my playroom, and my boot camp. Show me that I am here to be in an environment where I can learn how to live as a child of God. But, You made me weak enough, small enough, and limited enough to not be able to do too much damage while learning these supernatural things. Help me give up human faith that only believes what I can do. Give me Your faith that believes what You can do.

 

Jesus, I have misunderstood what my purpose in life is. I have put my faith and trust in the things of this world. I have devoted myself to learning things in this world for the wrong reason. I have invested, purchased, worked for, trained for, and gained skills for something that is going to soon cease to be. Help me be turned around; help me be reoriented, give me a whole new reason for living. Show me how to have faith that brings great success in this life, so I will be ready for eternal life.

 

When Do You Get Jesus-Faith:

When do you start getting Jesus’ faith? What should you change in your daily activities to start living for eternity? What kind of thinking changes you from human faith to Jesus’ faith? The answer to these and many other similar questions are quite simple.

 

All during your day, Jesus has been talking to your mind and heart. Jesus came into you and has been speaking to you Spirit to spirit. This started happening the moment you were saved and justified. Better ideas and positive feelings started coming your way straight from Jesus. But, you probably assumed they were your thoughts and feelings. You probably weighed them out and gave them your consideration just like all the other thoughts that came into your mind.

 

Jesus, from now on, help me start looking for, noticing, and recognizing thoughts, feelings, and circumstances coming from You. In “The Voice Of Truth” book, You taught me Scriptures on how to hear, identify, understand, and obey Your voice. Help me remember and take advantage of Your training.

 

Jesus, help me stop giving myself credit for Your great ideas, positive feelings, and good circumstances. Help me give them greater respect than my ideas. When I stop and pray for help with what to do, help me be looking for great ideas and faith-filled emotions to come into me from You. Help me notice those powerful thoughts that all of a sudden help me know things I didn’t know before. Help me notice those feelings of faith that all of a sudden I believe things I didn’t believe before.

 

Looking for, noticing, and to continuing to recognize that the great ideas and wonderful feelings are from Jesus is the way to get Jesus-faith. Giving Jesus credit for them rather than yourself builds faith in what He is already doing in you, for you, with you, and through you.

 

This concludes your reading and praying for this week.

 

 

Truth/Prayer Chapter Nine

Starting Over

Week Three Day One

 

 

New To The World

Mat 18:3-4 (NIV) And He (Jesus) said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. The fact that you are an adult human doesn’t automatically make you an adult child of God. Just like your age, as a human, started at birth, your age, as a child of God, started when you were born again. If you don’t come to Jesus from that time on, as a little child, you will fail to grow spiritually.

Jesus, when I was a human child with a child’s attitudes, I was humble enough to be able to learn how to do things using a human body in the physical realm. Help me have this same attitude, so I will be able to learn how to live and use the things in the spirit realm.

The Benefits Of Good Attitudes

As a beginner in the physical realm, you knew you were a beginner and accepted training, examples, correction, and discipline, so you could learn how to succeed. Those children who were the most receptive were the fastest learners and best performers; they had the humility they needed.

Jesus, being born again in a whole new realm, help me understand that I need to get a childlike attitude. Help me allow You to teach me, train me, tutor me, mentor me, and guide me into a cooperative relationship with You. Let this make it possible for me to be a fast learner and best performer.

Jesus, help me not let the systems, rules, and methods of the physical realm get in the way of my learning how to operate in the spirit realm, help me not use what I have learned as a human, to block off what I need to learn for my future.

You Need Help Through Jesus-Faith

•        You need Jesus’ help with getting happiness through good procedures and good sources.

•        You need Jesus’ help with your limitations, weaknesses, and failures.

•        You need Jesus’ help with circumstances, relationships, finances, physical needs, and emotional experiences.

•        You need Jesus’ help with sin, evil, wrong, and bad decisions you have already made or actions you have already taken.

•        You need Jesus’ help with the decisions you are about to make for your present and future.

 

 

Jesus Made These Things To Teach You Spiritual Things

Creating A Temporary World For Eternal Training

John 1:3 (NIV) Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. You must keep in mind that everything in the physical realm and this physical world were all set in motion by Jesus; He had a reason for creating them. You must allow Jesus to take you from where you are to where you were supposed to have gone from the very beginnings of your life. Start looking at this world and your life as a training ground for spiritual growth. Don’t just go through your day living as a human. Start allowing Jesus to show you why He has you doing what you are doing.

 

Creating A Playroom

Jesus, help me look at my life like a child playing with toys that represent what I am going to be doing when I grow up. Children play with toys that are shaped like things they will be using in their real world as an adult. Help me see that I am in a “playroom,” so I can learn how to use these human “toys” that aren’t as dangerous as the things they represent. If I only learn how to play with these “toys” and never learn from them how to use the real ones, I will have failed in my training. Help me grow spiritually through these human life-classes.

Creating Life Classes

Jesus, since I see why I am here, help me apply myself. Help me take advantage of all the life-classes You are giving me. Help me not get so caught up with the day-to-day activities of this world, that I don’t see why I am going through that day. Show me that I need to learn how to succeed in this world, so I will be ready to do great things in my eternal life. Help me allow God to move my “reality” compartment into His world.

 

Moving Your World Into God’s World

Spiritual Arms And Legs

Heb 11:6 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. This is like saying, without eyes it is impossible to see what is going on in this physical world. Just like a child uses their human arms and legs to move toys around, you use spiritual arms and legs for moving spiritual things around. When you get to your new heaven and earth and get your new body (glorification), you will get your real arms and legs. If you properly apply yourself now, you will be trained on how to use them. You won’t still be crawling on your all fours.

Jesus, help me realize that faith takes me into God’s world in the spirit realm. Help me allow You to teach me how to start moving myself, my body, and my world into God’s world. Take this physical world, You created, and use it to teach me about Your world. Show me why You were constantly taking physical examples and applying them to spirit-world principles. Help take a new look at those parables You used to illustrate Your world through this world.

 

Faith And Faith-Action With Jesus

Jesus, teach me that faith and faith-action are like having two arms with two hands. Just like I manipulate and manage physical things with my arms and hands, I will be using faith and faith-action to start living my Christian life. Show me that they will move things around; they will produce the results I am looking for; and, they will bring me into a cooperative, unified relationship with You.

 

Moving Into Jesus-Faith And The Jesus-Life

Heb 11:6 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.

 

The Faith Requirement

Without faith it is impossible to please God: Why is faith so important in the spiritual realm? In actuality, faith is important in any realm. Without being sure, having confidence, knowing you know, and being able to move forward based on certain things you consider facts, you would be left in uncertainty, doubts, and fears. Human faith has made it possible for you to go about your day knowing you can trust Jesus’ creation. Jesus’ faith makes it possible for you to go about your day knowing you can trust Jesus. Now, it is time to give up human faith and just go with Jesus’ faith.

 

Jesus, make it clear to me that You faith is totally different from human faith. It deals with me believing, trusting, relying, and depending on the character and attitudes of God. When You speaks faith into me, it is based on the fact that God is a good God. Show me that trusting the Creator is different from trusting His creation.

 

Jesus, help me also realize that Your faith is totally different from human faith by the way I get it. Remind me that I get human faith by being able to accomplish or experience something over and over. Your faith comes to me all of a sudden. All of a sudden, I just know something I didn’t know before. All of a sudden, I believe something I didn’t believe before. All of a sudden, I can do something I couldn’t do before.

 

Faith Based On Reputation

People have difficulty doing business or having a friendship, if they don’t trust each other. Distrust causes people to have to check every word, deed, or intention the other person presents. Even when someone does something good and very beneficial for you, if you don’t trust them, it is difficult to receive what they are offering; you keep wondering why they are doing it.

Jesus, I am aware that distrust is offensive to those who are always honest and trustworthy. They expect me to see the way they talk and act; they expect me to base my relationship on their reputation. Help me see that God expects me to base my relationship with Him on His reputation; and, help me see that, when I don’t, He’s offended.

Establishing A Faith Relationship With God

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. If someone gave you money you desperately needed, that would help you trust them. If someone gave you something they dearly loved because you needed it more, it would help you with your trust relationship with them. If someone died for you, that would be the ultimate sacrifice to demonstrate their trustworthiness. However, even though that makes perfect sense, even though that should convince you that God is trustworthy, it doesn’t cause you to trust Him!

Rom 5:8 (NIV) But God demonstrates His own love for you in this: While you were still sinners, Christ died for you. Jesus, this is the ultimate sacrifice; if, after You made this incredible sacrifice, I still struggle with being able to trust, believe in, and have faith in God, I am failing to believe in spite of some very important evidences. If I can’t see how much He loves me and is willing to do anything good for me, then there is something wrong with my response to the relationship; what is it that is wrong with me?

Apart From Me You Can Do Nothing

Many Christians think they believe in God’s trustworthiness. They think they believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him; but, they are using human faith. They are trying to read the evidence and decide that God is trustworthy. And, even though there are moments when they do, there are also moment when they don’t.

 

When Jesus speaks faith into you, all of a sudden you know God is trustworthy. The Bible tells you what to believe; Jesus empowers you to believe it. The Bible tells you why you should believe; Jesus speaks faith into you, so you can believe it. The Bible tells you how to believe; it tells you to fix your eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of your faith (Heb 12:2 NIV).

 

Jesus, when I believe in Your death and resurrection, when I believe that He (God) exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him, help me see that something supernatural and God-sized has happened to me. It is a miracle of You, when I discover faith inside my heart and mind. When I feel the assurance and knowing that a truth is real, help me stop and thank You for that miracle. Help me not give myself the credit for believing. Show me that if I do, I lose the faith You gave me. And, I lose the benefits that came from it.

 

Heb 12:2a (NIV) Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith. Jesus, when this is what I desire to do, am studying and learning how to do, am praying and asking for Your help to do, then You will empower me to fix your eyes on You. Make it clear to me that this gives me Jesus-faith.

 

This concludes your reading and praying for today.

 

 

Truth/Prayer Chapter Ten

Unlearning

 

Week Three Day Two

 

 

New To The World

Mat 18:3-4 (NIV) And He (Jesus) said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

 

I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children: You didn’t have a choice when you came into this world, or, started as an infant and then grew into a little child. But, in the spirit realm, you get a choice. You decide if you are willing to change and become.

 

I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven: Jesus, I want to get my world moved into God’s world. I want my “reality” compartment moved into the reality of God’s world. I want to get it all moved from my fictional compartment into Your truths; let this verse tell me how.

 

Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child: How do you humble yourself; do you try to humble yourself; or, do you ask Jesus to empower you to humble yourself; one way works; the other way doesn’t. Moving into God’s world takes a Jesus-humility that you can’t produce. You want Jesus to speak humility into you, so that all of a sudden you start doing, saying, and being humble. You won’t lose your God-given free will, you can still be prideful, if you want.

 

Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven: This not only tells you how to get in to the Kingdom of heaven, it tells you how to be the greatest in it. Getting success through faith in truth now, also brings great success in eternity. The more you succeed now, the more you succeed in eternity.

 

Jesus, I’m glad You taught me how to humble myself. I now read things like this and I know how to take the seven steps into humbling myself. Before, I would have tried to be humble and would have failed. I might have even started thinking I had succeeded, when in fact I had failed. I now come to You for the humility of a little child. Empower me to humble myself, so I can be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. I would have never even dared to pray such a prayer without You telling me that this is how to get my world moved into Your world.

 

You Need Help Through Jesus-Faith

The reason you hear, identify, understand, and obey Jesus’ voice, speaking faith into your heart and mind, is because you are listening for it, expecting it, and giving Him credit for it. When you do this, happiness through good procedures and good sources start coming your way. You get help with your limitations, weaknesses, and failures.

 

Jesus, You are helping me with circumstances, relationships, finances, physical needs, and emotional experiences. You are helping me with sins, evil, wrong, and bad decisions I have already made or actions I have already taken. And, You are helping me with the decisions I am about to make for my present and future. You are doing it all by speaking faith into me.

 

Jesus, I am excited about all of the Bible being removed from any fictional compartment in my heart and mind. I am excited about my world being moved into Your world. Help me be changed into the humility of a little child. Set me free from the pride, self-dependency and self-confidence I have as a human adult. Help me be willing to start all over again; help me enter this new realm and new world with simplicity and a hunger to learn these new things.

 

 

Jesus Made These Things To Teach You Spiritual Things

Creating A Temporary World For Eternal Training

John 1:3 (NIV) Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. Jesus created, structured, and controls the universe, your planet, and your circumstances. He can show you how to join Him in using the spirit realm to manipulate the physical realm. Then, as you learn how to join Him in that, it gets you ready to spend eternity in the spirit realm. You learn how to do now, what you will be doing then.

 

Jesus, You created the universe, the world, and my body for a training place. Help me go about my day, while being aware that the decisions I face are providing me with opportunities to learn how to move into God’s world. I can decide to trust You and the Bible by making godly decisions; or, I can live as if it is fiction and make worldly decisions. Empower my heart and mind to accept the realities of the spirit realm and make godly decisions.

 

 

Moving Your World Into God’s World

Without Jesus-Faith

Heb 11:6 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. In your physical realm, faith doesn’t move marbles, much less mountains. In it, believing doesn’t make things become reality. In the spirit realm, failing at faith is like trying to pick something up and it passing through your hands. But, if you change and become like a little child, you will let Jesus give you spiritual hands that move the things in the spirit realm. As Jesus moves your world into God’s world, you enter into it as a little child who is ready to learn.

 

Jesus, to change and become like a little child, is an attitude change and a faith change. I am simply accepting things as they really are in the spirit realm. I am living in a world or realm for the first time, I am untrained, unskilled, and inexperienced in it. Help me simply accept the truth about my condition. Help me not cheat myself, deceive myself, or misunderstand my situation. Give me all You have to offer me; help me cooperate and yield to You and all Your preparations and training in this new life and new world.

 

Moving Your World Into God’s World

Heb 11:6 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. Why must you develop in your mother’s womb prior to birth? What’s so important about arms and legs? Where would you be, if you didn’t have them? Where do you get your body and its equipment? You don’t build them; you don’t create them; and you can’t buy them. You inherit them from the seed of your parents. At birth, you start trying to use your physical equipment to manipulate your new realm. This is what you are doing with reading, believing, and speaking.

 

Jesus, help me read the Bible with a whole new attitude. Help me see it as my Textbook for how to get ready for eternity. Show me it isn’t just helping me get into eternity. It is telling me how to get ready for being successful in it. Help me see that when I do things during my day that go against it, I am failing to train and grow in the righteousness needed for eternity. Help me cooperate with You and take my childish steps in faith-action for this new world.

 

Establishing A Faith Relationship With God

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. All these spiritual provisions were foreign to you. Before being born again, they were foolishness to you (1 Cor 2:14). They are new, but not foolishness anymore. You have a lot to learn and have a lot of skills to gain.

 

Heb 12:2a (NIV) Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith. Jesus, teach me that by fixing my eyes, as a little child, I am waiting with anticipation for Your guidance, training, power, and influence. I watch with excitement, expectancy, and great anticipation. I am like a little child learning all kinds of new things. My hunger to learn as much as I can, so I can live my new life, is strong and focused.

 

Jesus, help me see this life as a time of getting me ready to be successful in eternity. Help me see the Bible and You as training me prior to me entering into my new world rather than waiting until I get there. Help me see how different things are in this faith relationship; show me how little I know. Help me believe in my relationship with You. Help me know You will do all it takes to prepare me for now and eternity. Help me be humble, teachable, and filled with faith in You. Let me look to the future for how much You will teach and create in me.

 

This concludes your reading and praying for today.

 

 

Truth/Prayer Chapter Eleven

Developing A Personal Faith In God

Week Three Day Three

 

 

Heb 11:6 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 came to earth, lived His life, and made major sacrifices for a very important reason. Since your heavenly Father is invisible to you, you need help. Jesus was allowing you to see the attitudes and character of your heavenly Father. This was so you would see how good your heavenly Father is and want to have faith in Him. See what Jesus said about showing you the Father.

John 14:8-9 (NIV) Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” Jesus answered: “Don’t you know Me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? What is Jesus trying to cause to happen in Philip; is He asking for faith or giving it?

John 14:10 (NIV) Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in Me? The words I say to you are not just My own. Rather, it is the Father, living in Me, Who is doing His work. Is Philip to try to believe this or asking for something from Jesus?

 

Willing To Receive The Foundational Faith Of Relationship

Faith In The Earthly And Heavenly Ministry Of Jesus

John 3:12-13 (NIV) I (Jesus) have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except the One Who came from heaven--the Son of Man. It is vital for you to allow Jesus’ earthly life and ministry to help you appreciate Who your Father is, how He feels about you, and what He is going to do in you. They have the power to create child-of-God living. Only Jesus has faith for the earthly and the heavenly and can create faith in God’s world.

Faith In The Father Through Jesus

John 6:46 (NIV) No one has seen the Father except the One Who is from God; only He has seen the Father. Jesus, since I can’t see the Father, show me the Father. My heavenly Father is my Parent; You are my Brother. You are God’s first born; You know all about God’s world and the spirit realm. You said “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me (John 14:6 NIV). I will be spending eternity with my heavenly Father. He will be parenting me into greater and greater things during eternity. Train me how to be a mature, adult child of God, now!

Receiving Relational Faith

If you allow Jesus to show you He is totally honest, loving, and trustworthy, then you will know your heavenly Father is too. That faith in that relationship will help you with the foundation for all of your other faith. Your faith in Jesus and in your heavenly Father will be such a close and intimate faith, it will help you believe for all the supernatural things you will experience in God’s world. You will trust Jesus and through Him you will trust your heavenly Father. Then when you face a whole new realm, you will relax and humbly learn new things.

 

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! Jesus, I am willing to believe and trust You and my Father. Give me faith to move into God’s world and get all the things from the Bible. Take me verse by verse and lead me into the realities of His truths. Empower me to believe I received it and can take faith-action on it, since I know God is good. Thank You for speaking faith into me, so I can know it.

 

No Business Faith

It is vital that you make your relational-faith, with God, a priority before you work on getting any other aspects of the Bible. As long as this is your priority, Jesus will give you faith for all the other parts of it. Everything flows out your relationship with God. You must trust Him no matter what else happens. But, it must not be a business relationship.

 

Jesus, when I go to the grocery store and purchase groceries; the people who own it and the people who serve me are people I don’t know much about. The whole transaction is strictly on a “business” level. I need food; they want money; so, I establish a business relationship with them. Make it clear to me that God will not allow me to establish a business relationship with Him. Empower me to put a priority on my relational faith with Him.

Relational Faith-Challenges

Heb 11:1 (NIV) Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Faith is a confidence, a knowing, an accepting of a truth as a fact. When Jesus speaks faith into you, all of a sudden you are sure and certain. You don’t have to see it in order to believe, you just know it is real, true, and a fact. You know it exists and cannot be destroyed; you know it because of your faith in the honesty, integrity, power, and authority of Jesus (relational faith); but, you have to be willing to yield to this type of faith.

 

Jesus, there are situations where I can lack even wanting a relational faith in God:

•        I can lack desire because I have had no experiences in that area with God; so, I doubt whether or not God would be willing to have such a close relationship with me.

•        I can lack a desire because I tried to get something from God and failed to get it; so I am now trying to protect myself from future disappointment with Him.

•        I can lack a desire because I want to go in one direction and faith in You would take me in the opposite direction.

Teach me why I should desire You to give me relational faith in You and my heavenly Father.

 

Living Without Relational Faith

Without faith it is impossible: Without faith, things in life are impossible. You won’t even try to succeed, if you don’t believe it would do any good. Things you think are impossible are things you don’t believe will ever happen. So, you try to live your life without them. You reshape your life to compensate or work around impossible problems, difficulties, and goals. You learn how to except things as they are; you make allowances for them; and you try to make peace with them. But, Jesus has a better way. He has a way for you to use reading, believing, and speaking to change impossible problems, difficulties, and goals, and, get you living in God’s world.

 

Faith For Dealing With Life’s Challenges

Jesus, human faith opens my eyes to the possibilities; it inspires me to try; it gives me confidence to face resistance and failure while keeping on trying. And even though it isn’t nearly as powerful as Your faith, I can see how important it is to have faith. But, help me see that Your faith comes with not only the ability to see God-sized possibilities, it comes with the power to make the God-sized possibilities become reality. All kinds of things are impossible for me; but, there is nothing impossible for You (Luke 1:37). Your faith raises the quality of my life to a whole new level.

 

Faith For Winning Over Life’s Challenges

Jesus-faith takes those things that humans can typically do and it takes things that are impossible to do and makes both types of situations happen. Human faith requires you to do it; Jesus’ faith produces the results. Faith from Jesus helps you have a God-confidence to believe and try things that are within the realm of human possibility but scary or very difficult. His faith also takes those things that are impossible for you and makes them happen through God.

 

Faith For Living Above Life’s Challenges

Without faith it is impossible to please God: Jesus, show me that this where I move from the natural to the supernatural realm. Your faith, rather than human faith, helps me believe and trust God so much that I am able to succeed in the natural realm in spite of my human limitations. Your faith gives me the courage, confidence, and expectation to want to try to win at life. This empowers me to act on the basis of the fact that God brought it into being or existence in this physical realm; show me that this is the kind of life that pleases God.

God’s World

The reason Jesus kept comparing this physical world and your physical life through parables or spiritual illustrations, was so you will allow Him to move your world into His world. If you realize that those things you are familiar with came from God’s supernatural world, then it helps you see things more clearly. It helps you see that you should have looked at it and lived in it as being from God’s world in the first place. When you just live here with no eternal perspective, you are distracted by a world that will soon cease to exist.

 

Jesus, I have had to learn how this physical world works; I have had to humble myself enough to yield to its laws and requirements; I have had to spend a lot of time learning how to be “successful” in this world; and, I have had to really apply myself to a lot of training on how to live here and be able to do things with skill, abilities, and talents. Why? Is it just so I can live a better life here?

 

In the next chapter, you will enter into the supernatural, spiritual world of God, you will see how it works. You will be able to let Jesus show you how He will give you a better life now and in eternity. The Bible reveals how Jesus created the universe and the things in it. Jesus will show you the methods He used to get all this started in the first place.

 

This concludes your reading and praying for today.

 

 

Truth/Prayer Chapter Twelve

Developing A Personal Faith In God

 

Week Three Day Four

 

 

Willing To Receive The Foundational Faith Of Relationship

John 3:12-13 (NIV) I (Jesus) have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except the One Who came from heaven--the Son of Man.

 

Faith In The Earthly Ministry Of Jesus

I (Jesus) have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe: Right now you are just looking at how things work on an earthly level. You are learning how to read, believe, and speak, so you can change earthly situations. You are just looking at the power of God that effects human issues and earthly problems. You haven’t even started looking at addressing the heavenly issues. In other words, Jesus is saying that this is just kindergarten training. If you can’t get these basic principles, how are you going to be ready for the more advanced training.

 

Jesus, this earthly, spiritual training seems way over my head. Help me be able to hear You and be trained by You on these beginning principles. Help me see that I have a long way to go before I can get into the bigger, more complex issues. Let me see that even though this beginning training seems too advanced for me, through You, my eyes can be opened to heavenly things. You are a powerful, dynamic teacher Who can make all these things clear.

 

Faith In The Heavenly Ministry Of Jesus

How then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things: If you fail to get the training for the first grade in grammar school, how will you be able to understand those things in the second grade. The first grade may seem too hard for the first-grade student; but, they must master them before they can move on. 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, help me not get bogged down and give up on these beginning spiritual issues. You are just starting me out with the novice things in Your Spirit realm. Don’t let me make these things harder than they are. Help me not complicate them; help me trust You and allow You to empower me to move through them with ease. They are new to me; but, You will make them easy for me; You will reveal them to me by Your Holy Spirit.

 

Faith In The Father Through Jesus

John 6:46 (NIV) No one has seen the Father except the One Who is from God; only He has seen the Father. You didn’t believe in salvation and justification until Jesus gave you the faith to believe the message. You now believe a lot of things you didn’t know; but, Jesus spoke faith in you about them. The realm of your heavenly Father is invisible to you; but, you can watch Jesus and get to know Him well. The Holy Spirit is putting a deep love into your heart, as you learn about being God’s child. Rom 8:15-16 (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 we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.

 

Gen 1:27 (NIV) So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Jesus, I know I am my heavenly Father’s child. I know You are trying to teach me how to live based of that fact. Since I am God’s child, help me learn how to start doing those things I have inherited from my heavenly Father. Help me not stay in the human realm and only learn how to go from a human child to an adult. Help me grow and mature in the things of God. Help me realize I have His DNA; I am a product of His nature and image.

 

Relational Faith Challenges

Without faith: Heb 11:1 (NIV) Now faith is being sure of what you hope for and certain of what you do not see. You get human faith by hearing all the facts and allowing them to convince you that something is true. The facts have made you sure and certain that something is true; so you base your life on it. But, that isn’t the way Jesus’ faith comes; He speaks faith into you; all of a sudden it comes as a powerful assurance and a knowing. It is created inside you in a supernatural way; through this process, you trust and believe in Him. When you feel Jesus’ faith appear inside you, you trust it because it came from Him.

 

Jesus, when I read the Bible, when Your ideas pop up in my mind, and when the Holy Spirit speaks to me Spirit-to-spirit, help me look for that all of a sudden experience. Help me not try to get Your faith by looking to facts and reasoning. Help me not try to get it by looking to Biblical facts and reasoning to convince me. Help me remember that the Bible tells me what is available; but, You make it available by speaking faith into me. Give me experiences with it so I can know how it feels.

 

Living Without Relational Faith

Without faith it is impossible: When you are waiting for Jesus to speak and create faith in you for something, it remains something impossible for you to believe. You can feel the weakness, the confusion, the powerlessness of it. But, the moment Jesus speaks, that is the moment when you know you know. It bypassed your human brain and created a knowing in your mind and heart. The fact that you base this assurance on is your relational-faith in Jesus. You know and appreciate Him speaking this faith into you; you feel the power to be convinced concerning the truth of the matter. You know you have it because you can feel this confidence inside you.

 

Jesus, I am glad You convince me of all kinds of truths. I am thankful that You lay out all the facts and help my human mind and heart know they are real. But, help me go beyond all of these convincing facts into a faith and trust in You. Empower me to fix my eyes on You and get a faith that has power and a security that cannot be shaken.

 

Faith For Dealing With Life’s Challenges

You can live your life by examining all the facts until you are convinced of something. But, that human faith will waver, get weak, and fail in the face of other facts. Plus, it lacks the ability to produce things in the spirit realm. Supernatural things from God only come through Jesus’ faith. Relational faith in Jesus is unshakable; you get power-facts from Him that prove to you that He will never fail, can never be defeated, loves you more than you love yourself, and is incredibly generous.

 

Jesus, I am reading many Scriptures that prove to me You are completely trustworthy. As You speak faith through these convincing words, they have created a relational faith in me. I can feel the Bible words being empowered, as You use them to speak faith into me. But, I can feel Satan, the world, and some people attack this faith from time to time. Keep speaking Your faith into me, so I have a flow of power inside me that cannot be defeated or weakened.

 

Faith For Winning Over Life’s Challenges

Jesus speaks creative faith through the Bible into you; but, He and the Bible also reason with you and present convincing proofs. The first level of faith comes to you on a human level, it eases your heart and mind by helping you feel better about Jesus. It proves to you on a mental and human level that Jesus loves you, is generous to you, will not fail you, and has all authority in heaven and earth. On a mental and emotional level, it feels like you have relational faith. But, if you only get that first level of proof, you will have to keep going back.

 

Jesus, help me be able to hear, understand, and apply all these convincing proofs in the Bible to my heart and mind. Then, speak through them a creative, powerful faith that goes beyond all these reasons and proofs. Empower me to know it all on a level that moves me from my “reality” compartment into Your God compartment. Help me have a faith that You speak through each verse in the Bible, so I will never doubt or question.

 

This concludes your reading and praying for today.

 

 

Truth/Prayer Chapter Thirteen

It All Started Here

Week Three Day Five

 

 

It All Belongs To Jesus

Gen 1:1 (NIV) In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

John 1:1-3 (NIV) In the beginning was the Word (Jesus), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made.

Col 1:17 (NIV) He (Jesus) is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

Jesus, help me see this. Teach me that this is the truth about how the physical realm came into existence and how it stays in existence. This is why You were able to do all the miraculous things You did. Those supernatural things You did were actually natural for You. As You, the Creator of the universe, walked on this planet, You demonstrated Who You are, what my heavenly Father is like, and what You plan on doing in and through me.

It All Flows From Him

Mat 28:18 (NIV) Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.” As you start living in a cooperative relationship with Jesus, you unite with the One Who has the power and the authority to do those things that are too hard, too scary, too big, and too impossible for you. Plus, He will join you in doing them through honesty, integrity, and a concern, respect, and love for others.

 

Jesus, Your power only flows through love, truth, and honesty, while I and the people around me are “succeeding” through stretching the truth, trying to get people to do things that mostly benefit us, are willing to cheat them because we can, steal from them by using the law unfairly, use our authority to pay others less than they deserve, and a whole lot of other things.

God’s World

A Life Of Honesty

It is true that you can lie, so as to gain an advantage, cheat, so you can get the best, steal what really belongs to someone else, want what others have, and mislead people into giving you what you want. But, is there a way for you to gain and keep relationships in business, marriage, friendships, and with strangers without being dishonest? Jesus says yes!

 

Jesus, show me a way to live powerfully in You, by me doing to others as I would have them do to me (Luke 6:31). Customers are looking for honest business people. Marriages need honest spouses. Friendships thrive on honesty. I turn more strangers into friends through honesty. Help me always keep in mind that in God’s world I can’t mislead people by “stretching the truth;” I can’t cause people to do things that aren’t the very best for them; I can’t manipulate them; and I can’t say or do things that hurt them.

 

Jesus, help me see that God’s world takes all human techniques away from me and requires that I trust Him to supernaturally bring success into my life. You and Your power in me, only flow through faith, love, truth, and honesty. You have been working on my attitudes and character to bring me to this place where You work through me powerfully.

 

The Power To Be Honest

Mat 10:16 (NIV) I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. There is a power to live an honest, caring, and righteous life while some of those around you are free to lie to you, try to cheat you, steal from you, want what you have, talk about you behind your back, and mislead you. You have found this power in your relationship with Jesus. All your relationships have been strengthened and enhanced by your cooperative relationship with Him through the door of His faith in you.

Jesus, now that I understand that I don’t gradually learn how to live powerfully. Instead, You will speak these things into me and all of a sudden, I will believe, know, and understand things. Now that I realize that, as I read the Bible, it all of a sudden makes sense because You are speaking the truth into me. Help me see that this is the way You guide me into my assignments. When You give me faith, knowledge, and power, it will be for an assignment.

 

Jesus, speak faith into me that the resources of God will handle all the mistreatment of people, burdens of life, and temptations of the devil, that I typically carried alone. All the responsibilities I have been bearing on my shoulders, all the decisions I have had to make without great input and wise guidance, and all the issues of life I have faced, will now be jointly handled through You and me working together. The world hasn’t changed but I have.

 

Finding Out How Life Really Works

John 1:3 (NIV) Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. The natural realm came from the supernatural realm and is being held together by it. Therefore, the solutions to the natural realm are in the supernatural realm. As you realize this, it helps you start looking to Jesus for everything. It helps you realize you need the supernatural help that Jesus has to offer by speaking things into you.

Jesus, when I type on a computer, drive a car, turn on the lights in my house, talk on my phone, I push the keys on the keyboard or touch the screen on my phone. But, the real work is going on inside the electronic device or machine. I steer my car; but, the actual changing directions takes place through the mechanisms inside the car. Teach me that this is the way things work in the spirit realm. I do the small part; You do the big part.

God Is Working Behind The Scenes

Rom 8:28 (NIV) And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. You do a lot of things to the elements of this physical world; but, the real work is being done behind the scenes in the spiritual world of God. Once again, some of your best ideas that you thought were your brilliant ideas actually came from God. The very best things that have been happening in your circumstances have been through God. Plus, you got your body, mind, heart, talents, strengths, intelligence, and health from God. God has been involved in your life all of your life.

 

James 1:17 (NIV) Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, Who does not change like shifting shadows. Jesus, the problem I face concerning God working “behind the scenes” in my life is me not realizing He is doing them for me. I have often failed to give Him credit for all of it. Show me that, that has hurt my relationship with Him. It hasn’t been karma, luck, fate, or random events that just happened. It has been my heavenly Father giving me the very best.

 

This concludes your reading and praying for this week.

 

 

Truth/Prayer Chapter Fourteen

It All Continues Here

 

Week Four Day One

 

It All Belongs To Jesus

Gen 1:1 (NIV) In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

John 1:1-3 (NIV) In the beginning was the Word (Jesus), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him NOTHING was made that has been made.

Col 1:17 (NIV) He (Jesus) is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

How It All Flows From Him Through You

Mat 28:18 (NIV) Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.” There’s no mountain if Jesus doesn’t bring it into existence and keep it in existence. But, you can struggle with: I (Jesus) tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him (Mark 11:23). Moving from your “reality” compartment into God’s world can have too many concepts you just can’t accept. So, you either put statements like this on a shelf, or, put it in your almost fictional compartment.

 

Jesus, help me see that moving into God’s world is done by me joining You, Your life, Your message, Your ministry, and Your methods. You are working in and through me; and, You are actually doing the supernatural work of moving mountains. Help me realize that I don’t have to produce the supernatural results; You do! I just have to yield to You.

 

1.     This Is How Real-Life Works For Human Christians

I tell you the truth: Here Jesus is still teaching you about earthly things. They are supernatural; but, they are the supernatural realm working on the natural realm. You still haven’t moved into the heavenly issues; you are still in the beginning areas of training. Jesus is teaching you the truth about how life works here on earth; that’s all. He will get into heavenly issues later.

 

Jesus, it seems like You are talking about heavenly things. Help me realize that You are only talking about earthly things in Mark 11:23. Help me see that You are teaching me how to live right here, right now. Help me accept them as earthly principles for me start learning and applying now. Help me keep in mind that I do the small part and You do the big part.

 

2.     This Is How Human Christians Live

I tell you the truth, if anyone: This applies to anyone; no one is excluded because they are human. They will only be excluded based on what they, as a human, do with Jesus.

 

Jesus, help me realize that I am here on this planet, so I can be trained as a child of God. Help me accept that my number one purpose is to live my life in cooperation with You. Lead me into yielding to You, so I can learn how to live on this earth using principles that will flow on into eternity. Teach me principles that make me a true success now and in eternity.

 

3.     This Is What Human Christians Use

I tell you the truth, if anyone says: This is where you move from your world of “reality” into God’s world of reality. Jesus spoke to dead people, storms, demons possessing people, sick people, lost people, and trees. Now, He is talking to you and including you in the world of speaking things into reality and existence. He is teaching you how to read, believe, and speak.

 

Jesus, help me accept that this information and training is about how to live the earthly life, as a Christian. You are talking about an earthly mountain, that, if You spoke faith into me to move, I could move by speaking. This is strange and new; but, I trust You to make it real.

 

4.     This Is What Human Christians Speak To

I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain: Jesus picked something really big to use as an illustration. But, He picked something totally made up of earthly material.

 

Jesus, help me allow this training to change my thinking on earthly matters. Help me allow it to change my procedures in addressing the physical things on earth. Help me join You in doing those things You want to be doing while we are working together here on this planet.

 

5.     This Is How Human Christians Are To Talk

I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea: It is one thing to talk to a mountain; but, it is an entirely different thing to tell it what to do. This goes off the scale; this takes you into a realm where you have probably never dreamed about going. This may be the moment where you throw in the towel and walk off; but, Jesus is telling you the truth. This is you being moved into God’s world; this is how life on earth works.

 

Jesus, I expected the supernatural; I knew You did incredible things while on earth. But, You never commanded a mountain to throw itself into the sea. Help me not get fearful; help me not misunderstand; help me not limit You; and help me not doubt what You are saying to me; I know You are telling me the truth. You are trying to bring me into Your world.

 

6.     This Is How Human Christians Get Jesus’ Faith To Talk

I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart: If Jesus were talking about human faith, then you would need convincing proof. He would have to reason with you, prove it to you, and convince you that such a thing is possible; but, He talking about His faith. Jesus’ faith only comes through creative power. And, it only comes for those things that are God’s will. If God wanted you to move a physical mountain, and, if you were a yielded person to Jesus, He would speak faith into you, so you would not doubt in your heart.

 

Jesus, teach me that faith is how You control what I do in God’s world. If You speak faith into me to move a physical mountain, that will be my first evidence of what You want done. If I have the right character and attitudes, that will be my next evidence for why You want it done through me. If my faith and trust are totally in You, then that will be my additional evidence for how You want it done. I will speak, as You flow through me to the mountain.

 

Jesus, help me hear, identify, understand, and obey Your voice. Help me allow You to be God in my life. Help me allow You to teach me how to live this life Your way. These things are way over my head; but, I know it is You saying these things. Help me just relax and allow You to take me into all those things You want me to learn and do.

 

7.     This Is How Human Christians Move Into God’s World

I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen: When Jesus tells you that something you say will produce results, His words come into you with power, faith, and clarity; He isn’t trying to convince you mentally. You will automatically believe that what you say will happen. It won’t matter how big, how impossible, or how supernatural it is. It won’t be you doing it; it will by you yielding to Jesus, as He does it through you.

 

Jesus, I can see how this is going to work; You will be speaking things into my heart and mind and I will have power, faith, and a clear word from You. They will create in me a freedom from doubt; I will have faith in it happening. Help me have this relationship with You. Help me join You and cooperate with You, so You can accomplish those things You want done.

 

A Cooperative World

It will be done for him: Jesus, I see the truth here. It wouldn’t be me moving the mountain; it will be done for me, not by me. You are just allowing me to get involved in the process. Let me be fully trained on how to cooperate and get involved in my small part of the process. As You speak faith, power, and truth into me, so I will be able to yield to Your will on this earth, help my attitudes and character be totally transformed, so I will be thankful, grateful, and submitted to You.

 

This concludes your reading and praying for today.

 

 

Truth/Prayer Chapter Fifteen

From Salvation On

Week Four Day Two

 

 

James 1:17 (NIV) Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, Who does not change like shifting shadows.

 

Rom 8:28 (NIV) And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.

 

Noticing The Difference

From salvation on, God started working all things for your good; good is happening in you and all around you. You start getting great ideas and wonderful feelings; this helps you approach life with more excitement and confidence; dynamic circumstances start occurring in your life; and much better attitudes and character became resident in your thoughts, feelings, words, and deeds. However, Jesus is wanting the good to intensify. He is wanting the good to not only be the good you typically ask for, He wants a supernatural good to start flowing through you.

Jesus, Your relational-faith helps me realize I am getting these things from God. You help me notice them, appreciate them, and express my gratitude to Him for them. Help me see that the more I give God credit for them, the more I grow in my relationship, appreciation, and love. As I grow in my attitudes and character, that opens the door for You work in and through me in a supernatural way. Help me accept the mountain concept in my belief system.

After you start realizing, noticing, appreciating, and expressing gratitude for all those wonderful things that you would allow Jesus to help you believe for, He will start using them to help you start believing for “bigger” things. Mountains were just too much for you to even consider. You could have been involved in “big” things; Jesus could have used you in “big” things; but, your spiritual perspectives weren’t ready to allow Him to speak “big” things into you.

Moving Into Life-Success

Mat 17:20 (NIV) He replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

 

Because you have so little faith: Jesus, help me move from human faith to supernatural faith. Help me allow You to take the Bible out of my fictional or almost fictional compartment. Help me allow You to move me into the realities of mountain faith. Help me allow You to be God in my life. Help me stop limiting what I will allow You to do in and through me.

Joining The Creator Of Life

I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed: Jesus’ faith doesn’t have to be big; it just has to be constant. It has to help you not doubt. James 1:6-7 (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. When Jesus speaks faith into you, It won’t be overwhelming. You will be sure and certain (Heb 11:1). But, you will be able to resist it, if you want to.

 

You can say to this mountain: Jesus, help me see that You will give me big enough faith to get the job done, but, small enough that I can resist it, if I want to. Help me understand that there is a faith that I must yield to before I start getting faith to move things. Help me first yield to relational faith that believes and trusts in You. Show me that relational faith helps me yield to Your situational faith. I can believe for “big” things and God-sized things, for as long as I completely trust and believe in You.

 

Believing In The Creator Of Life

You can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move: Why will it move? First of all, you are yielding to Jesus’ faith. When He speaks it into you, you yield to it. If it scares you, goes against something you want, or you doubt His faith, it won’t move. Second of all, it will move because Jesus moved it for you.

 

Jesus, help me realize that when You speak faith into me, so I can be used to accomplish something You want to do through me, it will often be as small as a mustard seed. It will not force me to do anything. Help me have relational faith in You, so I will totally trust You to help me do anything You want to do through me. Help me not be afraid; help it not be something different from what I want; and, help me not doubt and keep it from working.

 

Living Through The Creator Of Life

Nothing will be impossible for you: Once you realize that all you have to do is yield to Jesus, you will see clearly why nothing will be impossible for you. Even though you have a small part to play, Jesus will have to speak faith and power into you, so you will be able to do that. Jesus said in 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.

 

Jesus, help me relax in the fact that You don’t expect me to do anything apart from You. Empower me to remain in You; help me see that me remaining in You and You remaining in me makes all these God-sized, supernatural things possible for me.

 

 

Getting Started With The Creator Of Life

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.

 

Taking The First Step

Because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists: Once you know God exists, you can live your life on the basis of that fact (faith-action). Since He exists, He has given you the Bible, so you can take advantage to His existence. His existence matters to you because of all His great attitudes and character. He not only exists, He exists in love, grace, mercy, power, and generosity. Reading, believing, speaking, and getting results take advantage of His existence.

 

“Without faith it is impossible to please God” Jesus, help me understand that this is telling me that it is upsetting to my Father for me to waste my time, effort, and money on living this life for this life. Teach me that the next major issue is, I won’t be available for You to speak faith into me to do something You want to do, if I am too busy doing something else.

•        Jesus, help me not live this life and only learn how to live here on earth.

•        Help me not miss God’s point and only live as a human rather than God’s child.

•        Help me not fail to get, through Him, all the things I get.

 

Help me always keep in mind that God is the only One Who represents the kind of good, love, and honesty that creates His kind of supernatural results that blesses everyone. This isn’t something I want to miss.

 

Taking The Second Step

Because anyone who comes to Him must believe that...He rewards those who earnestly seek Him: What if you knew God exists, but you didn’t know He is only good? 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!

Jesus, what if I lived my whole life not knowing that all good gifts come from God? What if I lived as though I couldn’t ask God for good gifts and get them? What would my life be like, if I didn’t come to God with faith in His existence and His generous heart? Help me see that I would live my whole life only having myself and other humans to trust and rely on.

Why Should You Take The Second Step?

What if you read about all God’s knowledge, foreknowledge of the future, understanding, wisdom, power, love, grace, and mercy that’s available, but didn’t get much of it? What if you read the Bible without knowing how to read it in faith and just read it like it was a human book?

Jesus, show me that if I read the Bible and don’t allow You to speak through it to me, You don’t! Teach me that God rewards those who earnestly seek Him; but, He only rewards those who have faith. Help me allow You to speak relational-faith into me, so I will believe and keep believing that my heavenly Father rewards those who earnestly seek Him. Help me read each verse in the Bible, while allowing You to speak faith into me.

 

Trying To Take The Second Step

He rewards those who earnestly seek Him: When you live without relational faith in God, there are many things you don’t believe. There is so much you are living without. To have faith in God starts with you knowing He exists. You have been doing all this desiring, studying, praying, believing, loving, taking faith-action, and being thankful because you know He exists. But, do you see that He exists, as God, in you and see that His rewards are God-sized?

 

Jesus, I am moving into the fact that God rewards those who earnestly seek Him. Help me read the Bible based on that fact, while looking for Him doing it. Empower me to read it, believe it is creative power, take my first step of faith-action by speaking or saying that it has just transformed me. Teach me that this moves me from information to transformation.

 

This concludes your reading and praying for today.

 

 

Truth/Prayer Chapter Sixteen

From Salvation On To Victory

 

Week Four Day Three

 

 

2 Tim 2:15 (AKJV) Study to show yourself approved to God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Humans Living A Life Of Good

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. Those who have put the Bible in their fictional or almost fictional box can’t do thing God’s way. So, if they are going to succeed after salvation, they end up using the procedures they were using before salvation.

 

All Scripture is God-breathed: Secular humanism sounds a lot like Christianity. But its emphasis is pointing you away from God to yourself. A lot of Christians are really secular humanists; they believe in themselves, consult their mind, skills, talents, and education, do good things to make themselves feel better about themselves, and go to other humans for advice when they need outside help. This keeps them from looking to the Bible for their help.

 

Jesus, if I am not convinced that the Bible is the only source of truth for relationships, I will base my life on world training for myself, finances, business, marriage, friendships, family, You and strangers. Help my heart and mind be open for You to speak truth into me about relationships. There are a lot of books and resources that give advice about these things. Help me see that, even though they sound good and make sense, there will always be contaminants that will influence my openness to what You and the Bible are saying to me.

 

You Have To Get Out Of The Box

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching: Secular humanism puts your faith in yourself. Once you put your faith there, faith in God becomes impossible for you. It doesn’t come natural for you to just remove yourself from faith in you. You can often struggle with the desire to remove yourself from self-faith. You have learned to trust what you think, what you believe, and what you can do. Jesus can do a lot of miraculous things in your life and it still not change your faith over to God; it is easy for you to simply slip back into self-faith.

 

Jesus, show me that I have a strong desire to protect myself and my personal interests. Help see that I can also have a strong desire to give up self-faith and yield to Your faith. I can have a fear that You won’t do what I want or like. And, I can have a strong desire to trust You to help me submit to Your will. As I deal with the battle between my spirit being, my body, the world, and the devil, help me understand that I need a supernatural miracle in these issues. Show me how to look to You and the Bible for a healing spoken into me that sets me free.

 

You Have To Get God Out Of The Box

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for...rebuking: As water keeps flowing along a channel, it wears a groove in the dirt. The longer it flows the deeper the ditch. This happens to you; patterns get set deeper and deeper in your heart and mind. You get set in your ways; you get used to the way things have always been. This causes you to get caught between two impossibilities. It is impossible for you to change your ways (Rom 7:15-24); and, it is impossible to please God (Heb 11:6). There are things in your life that need rebuking.

 

Jesus, you have told me that I can speak to a mountain and it will be moved for me. Help me start using the power of You and Your Word to speak against things that I don’t want in my life. Teach me how to address habits, lifestyles, and addictions by using the Bible verses to rebuke them. I now wait for You to speak faith into me, so I know I have the power and Your permission to rebuke this issue in my life.

 

You Have To Get In God’s Box

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for...correcting: Many Christians misunderstand this issue of pleasing God. They try so hard to be pleasing to God; but, they are taking those things they think will please God and using them. What pleases God? Faith! It is as clear as the nose on your face; without faith it is impossible to please God.

 

Jesus, out of all the things I have been trying to do to please God, I now see it includes only one thing. Help me see that the one and only door into pleasing God is faith. Empower me to speak correcting against anything that resists or blocks off the faith You speak into me. Help me be corrected and retrained in those things I believe that are wrong about pleasing God. When I slip back into wrong procedures, help me speak correction into my behavior.

 

You Get Into God’s Box For Righteousness

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for...training in righteousness: It doesn’t seem like God could be in a box; nothing is impossible for Him. But, God created a box or world for Himself; He has included some things and excluded others. Training in righteousness dispels assumptions and things that don’t make sense to you but are Biblical truths.

 

James 1:13 (NIV) When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone. Heb 6:18 (NIV) God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. God could be tempted by evil and lie if He wanted to. The only reason He can’t is because He put himself in a box or realm where these and other things are not allowed in.

 

Jesus, I have tried to get into God’s world by prayers using my faith. I got frustrated with God because I thought my faith should be pleasing to Him. I thought He should respond positively to my desires and opinions. Help me speak training in righteousness into those places in my heart and mind where my human opinions are. Empower me to be able to speak this new receptivity and openness to righteousness that destroys human-opinion tendencies in me.

 

You Get Into God’s Box Through Constant Believing

So that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work: Getting faith from Jesus and then walking off, isn’t enough. When you feel sure and certain that you have something, if you take your eyes off of Jesus, you will sink like Peter did, when He was walking on the water. Every good work is a lifestyle of relationship with Jesus. Let Jesus speak faith into you, every step of the way to where He wants you to go.

Heb 12:2a (NIV) Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith.

 

Jesus, I want to be thoroughly equipped for every good work. As we move forward in the life-journey, help me remain in You and You remain in me. Show me that this is a lifestyle that is constant and continuous. Help me not take my eyes off of You, once You speak something into me. Help me not get distracted by what You are speaking into me.

 

You Must Stay In God’s Box

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: This isn’t a onetime experience; you must be receiving Jesus’ teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness flowing into you all during your desiring, studying, praying, believing, loving, taking faith-action, and being thankful for all He has, is, and will be doing in and through you.

 

Jesus, make Your faith and Biblical truth be a huge river flowing into my heart and mind. Let them keep moving in and through me. Let Your faith not only be relational faith, let it be a relationship of faith. Help me have a faith relationship with You that is constant and eternal. Show me that I can’t live even for a second without Your faith flowing into me and through me. And, let that faith open You Word into my life, so that I will be thoroughly equipped for every good work. Speak every verse in the Bible into my heart and mind.

 

This concludes your reading and praying for today.

 

 

Truth/Prayer Chapter Seventeen

The Steps

Week Four Day Four

 

Heb 11:6 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.

 

Examining The First Step: Knowing God Exists

Rom 1:20 (NIV) For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities--His eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

 

Jesus, help me keep in mind that You took the creation around me and opened my mind and revealed God’s existence to me and to every person who is old enough to be responsible for their decisions. Show me that this solves step one of Hebrews 11:6 for every adult everywhere. Help me see that, that was one of my first experiences with You speaking something into me.

Examining The Second Step:

Knowing God Rewards Those Who Earnestly Seek Him

Rom 1:21 (NIV) For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. This shows that Jesus speaking things into people don’t force them to be benefited by that revelation and power. He will never breach a person’s God-given free will. That is why you need to remain in Him and allow Him to remain in you.

John 15:4 (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. Jesus, teach me that knowing God exists came to me just like it did to those in Romans 1:21. Help me understand that a major way for me to keep remaining in You and You remaining in me comes from me knowing God, glorifying Him as God, and giving thanks to Him.

Changing Your Source

Rom 1:22 (NIV) Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools: When you decided to remain in Jesus, you gave up using the world’s system to make your decisions and solve your problems. You realized that although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and rejected their opinions and training. Now you are not only living on the basis of God’s existence, you are living based on the fact that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.

Anyone who comes to Him must believe: Jesus, help me see that if it isn’t until I come to God and start noticing His rewards, that I start realizing He is rewarding me earnestly seeking Him, then I am using human faith. I am convinced because I see the results. Show me that the only way I can live by faith and not by sight is for You to speak it into me. But, once I start seeing God’s rewards of miracles, blessings, God-ideas, God-emotions, and special circumstances, and once I start acknowledging that they are from God, and once I give Him credit for them, that is when I have taken the second step.

 

Inspiring Thankfulness

Believing that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him only happens when Jesus speaks faith into you. However, you are only thankful, when you start looking for them, when you start noticing God’s good that He is pouring on you, and when, you start learning to appreciate the greatness, goodness, and kindness of these rewards or blessings coming your way. You need to stop and take out time to express your appreciation, respect, thankfulness, and joy for Him doing them for you.

Jesus, use these God-experiences to build relational-faith in me. Help me notice that God is pouring all kinds of wonderful things on me to help inspire faith-relationship, love-relationship, and a thankful relationship. Let Your faith constantly pour into me, so I always know that my heavenly Father rewards me, who is earnestly seeking Him. Empower my thinking that enables me to please Him because I believe in His honesty and integrity.

Praying For The Ability To See

Ask Jesus to start pointing out all those things your heavenly Father is doing and has been doing for you, in you, to you, with you, and through you, your faith and love for Him will grow at a rapid and intense rate. You will be able to look back over your life and see a large quantity of wonderful things that have been happening in your life all along. You will be amazed at all the things you didn’t notice that would have helped you appreciate and love Him.

Jesus, take me to a place where even the things that look bad, I will react to in faith and love. Help me know that in all things God works for my good because I am one of those who love Him, and one who have been called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). Help me believe, know for a fact, be sure, be convinced, and have faith that it will turn out for my good. Help me know that it will end up being the very best for me. Then help me take faith-action by speaking this truth to myself and those around me.

 

The System For Living God’s Word

Reading, Believing, And Speaking

Let Jesus teach you Matthew 17:20 about reading, believing, and speaking to see how this system works. Mat 17:20 (NIV) He replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

Read With Anticipation

Jesus, how do I live on the basis of the fact that if I have faith as small as a mustard seed, I can say? Show me three things that help me be moved out of the world of my reality into God’s reality. When I read something in the Bible, help me not just read it. Help me read it as something that You are wanting to speak into me.

 

Jesus, I have been reading the Bible, desiring what I read, continued studying about it, prayed for it, waited until You gave me the faith, so I could believe I had it, yielded to God’s love in regards to it, practiced taking faith-action based on the fact that I had it, and expressed my thankfulness, when I lived on the basis of it. Now help me add speaking to faith-action.

 

Jesus is introducing you into the first step into faith-action which is to say to this mountain. In James 3:2 Jesus teaches you a new principle. 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.

 

Read With Faith

Rom 10:17 (NIV) Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. As you are reading the Bible, the Holy Spirit explains what it means. Then Jesus takes that Scripture and the Holy Spirit’s meaning and speaks faith into you. So, you read it and now believe it. The next thing is to take faith-action and speak it. Speaking is a very powerful thing that steers your life. As you can see, if you are never at fault in what you say, you are a perfect man, able to keep your whole body in check.

 

Jesus, I want to live every truth in the Bible. According to James 3:2, I can see a way for me to start heading in that direction. Help me read all of my Bible; and, as I am going through, help me believe what I read. Then help me confess it with my mouth, as being true of me. Teach me this aspect of faith-action that involves my mouth in speaking truth.

 

Speak What You Read With 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.

 

We all stumble in many ways: The objective is to not stumble in many ways. Stumbling means you do something that the Bible speaks against. If you are going to be actively involved to helping people, you must learn how to not stumble in many ways. And, you need to teach other how to not stumble in many ways. Jesus is empowering you to be able to read your Bible, to believe what it says, and to be able to take faith-action and say you have what it says in your behavior.

 

Jesus, teach me this process of reading, believing, and speaking Your truth from my mouth. Help me learn how to not stumble in many ways. Help me take advantage of the fact that God rewards those who earnestly seek Him. Help me earnestly seek Him by learning how to use my mouth and tongue to steer my behavior.

 

This concludes your reading and praying for today.

 

 

Truth/Prayer Chapter Eighteen

Your Mouth And Tongue

Week Four Day Five

 

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.

 

Victory Over Stumbling

We all stumble in many ways: Since you have a perfect record with God, stumbling can’t separate you from Him. But, stumbling will hurt you and those around you. Stumbling means you have done something to yourself or someone else that God isn’t pleased with. But, your relationship with Him isn’t damaged because you didn’t do it on purpose. You didn’t jump into the sin; you stumbled into it.

 

Jesus, thank You for my perfect record; help me take advantage of it by learning how to stop stumbling. Help me learn how to steer my life into actually living those things that are now just credited to my record. Teach me this way of getting Your power to flow into certain situations, as I speak with my mouth and say those things that I need to bring into existence.

 

Victory Over Your Words

If anyone is never at fault in what he says: This is where Jesus’ power comes in. You are going to see that this assignment is totally impossible without Him. Having control over your mouth, so that you never say anything that the Bible speaks against, is talking about a miracle that is beyond imagination. But, Jesus has the power to speak great healing in your mouth.

 

Jesus, I am glad You have taught me that all my success will come through You causing it to happen all of a sudden. All of this studying is to inform me as to what I need to pray for. And, all this praying is to get You to work miracles in my life. I now bring this new issue before You, asking You to help me get the truth about my mouth and tongue.

 

Victory Over Your Behavior

He is a perfect man: Until you enter into eternity, this is only going to exist on your perfect record. But, Jesus is going to work miracles in your behavior that is going to really help you in your relationships with yourself, others, and His plan. He is going to teach you what He wants you to start saying with your mouth that will bring transformations to your words and deeds.

 

Jesus, thank You to expanding my skills, abilities, talents, and maturity. I thank You for continuing to train me for winning now and in eternity. Thank You for helping me get involved in things that I didn’t know were even available. Thank You for helping me realize that I can do a lot of things for getting ready for eternity.

 

Victory Over Your Body

Able to keep his whole body in check: This has been the main subject all through the book of Romans. You have been working on how to get control over your body for quite some time. Jesus has presented some awesome truths that have made a tremendous difference in how much you have been able to gain control over it. Now, it isn’t just a matter of gaining control, as it has to do with actually steering it precisely in the direction you want it to go.

 

Jesus, in a broad sense, You have helped me make my body do a lot of things. Thank You for introducing me into a procedure where I can actually steer it in the direction I want it to go. Help me see that this is going to be like a professional sports person mastering certain moves with their body. Help me become a professional or expert in the way I can manipulate and move my body where is does exactly with needs to be done.

 

 

Training A Horse

James 3:3 (NIV) When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal.

 

Tools For Controlling A Horse

When we put bits into the mouths of horses: This is an example of a small thing controlling a large thing. It is also an example to controlling something bigger than you. A horse is bigger, stronger, faster, and heavier than you. It can be ferocious, willful, unpredictable, and dangerous. But, with proper training, it can be brought to the place where a bit can control it.

 

Jesus, help me see all of these implications for what can be done with my body and my ability to do those things that You want done with it. You have been training me in a similar way, as what must be done to a horse. You have been bringing me to a place where I want to yield to Your training. You have presented to me incredible rewards for now and in eternity.

 

Objective For Training

To make them obey us: You have come a long way in the control of your body. Jesus has working incredible miracles in you and your body. But, now you are looking at not only controlling it, you are being shown how to train it. A horse may be calm and willing to allow you to ride it. But, it is a whole other thing to teach it how to perform certain feats or tricks.

 

Jesus, what are the things You are teaching me how to do with my body? I was very excited that You helped force it to go to church, attend small groups, listen to Christian music, read good Christian books, do these studies and prayers, and pray special prayers for my life. Help me see what is still needed, so I can cooperate with Your goals for my body.

 

The Results From Training

We can turn the whole animal: As you know, your body is very animalistic. This horse example is a good way for you to see it from a less aggressive perspective. Rather than seeing it as a wolf or something very vicious, a horse is more prone to run from you than attack you. Once you have domesticated it, it isn’t like a wolf where you had better watch your back.

 

Jesus, help me see that my body is animalistic; but, it can be brought under control where it succumbs to my leadership and becomes domesticated. I can see how it is now more like a horse and is being a lot easier to manipulate. However, help me not give it to much “rein.” Help me learn this new objective of using my body for more productive assignments.

 

Navigating A Ship

James 3:4 (NIV) 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.

 

Something Much Bigger

Take ships as an example: This is similar to Jesus’ example of moving a mountain. It is an illustration of something that could be impossible for you to navigate. A ship with sails has a lot of things to consider; the circumstances of wind, waves, and underwater obstructions have to be taken into consideration. However, the captain has a map, training, experience, authority, and a goal.

 

Jesus, this is more like my life; my body is exposed to a lot more than a horse is. There are so many things that can influence it. Its own drives, cravings, needs, and passions are similar to a horse. But, the world, the devil, and the circumstances of life have a definite affect on it. Help me learn how to navigate my body in such a way that it can perform effectively.

 

Outside Influences

Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds: The size of the ship and the strength of the wind can create some real challenges. A large ship won’t turn like a car; it can take quite awhile to finally start heading in the direction you want it to go. Your body may not be big; but, it can take a lot of time making the move you want to make.

 

Winds are another major factor; outside influences don’t come with a steering mechanism. You can’t actually control them using human efforts and skills. However, you saw Jesus tell a storm what to do and it did it. This is a part of what Jesus is heading you into. He is training you for controlling your body, so you can control various outside influences.

 

Jesus, help me see that You have plans for me to do supernatural things. You are teaching me how to yield to You, so I can let You accomplish God-sized things through my body. Help me realize that my body needs to be able to follow Your wishes and demands. This is a matter that is bigger and more complicated than anything I have experienced prior to this.

 

The Small Controlling The Big

They are steered by a very small rudder: There is a definite pattern here; big things are being controlled by small things. You may not consider your tongue and mouth to be a big thing; but, in the spirit realm, it is huge. The spiritual implications need to be observed. You are being trained about something that you are very familiar with; but, also very unfamiliar with.

 

Jesus, help me not allow my familiarity with my mouth and tongue get in the way of my training. Help me see that the spirit realm is manipulated by things that are very different from this natural world. Help me understand that there are things I say that catapult me into places where I have no idea how I got there. Teach me how to steer my life in a better way.

 

Wherever the pilot wants to go: Jesus is wanting you to allow Him to be the pilot and you be the copilot. He knows all about where, when, how, and how fast you need to go. He is teaching you these things, so you can have hands-on training, but, under supervision. If you get into trouble and things get over your head, He is right there to step in and straighten things out.

 

Jesus, I ask You to be the pilot and let me be trained to be the copilot. Use The Three Keys To All Of Christianity, The Seven Biblical Principles, and The Eight Power-Attitudes Of God to help me totally submit, learn, and grow in this assignment. Help me be proficient with these three toolsets, so You can make me the best copilot there is.

 

This concludes your reading and praying for the week.

 

 

 

Truth/Prayer Chapter Nineteen

Your Mouth And Tongue Evaluated

Week Five Day One

 

 

James 3:5 (NIV) 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.

 

The Tongue Is Like A Bit Or Rudder

Likewise the tongue: Your tongue and mouth are the steering mechanisms in the spirit realm. When you say certain things based on faith, they happen. All it takes is to say something you believe to be true and your life starts heading in that direction. If Satan gives you a thought like, “I feel depressed.” and you believe it is your thought. All you have to do to make Satan’s thought your thought is to say, “I am feeling a little bit depressed today.” and it becomes yours.

 

Jesus, teach me these important rules about navigating in the spirit realm. Help me realize that some of the things I say can become real or take me somewhere. Show me how to use this spiritual mechanism to steer myself in the directions You want me to go. Help me learn to only say those things I want to be true in my life.

 

Bits And Rudders Steer

Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body: The illustrations of a horse and a sailing ship are about the steering mechanism that causes them to go the way you want them to. It is dealing with something big being navigated by something small. Your tongue is only a very small part of your body; but, it acts like a bit in a horse’s mouth and a rudder on a ship.

 

Jesus, help me learn how to take control over my body in a much more precise way. Help me see that You are helping me not just control it in a general way, but, in a more specific way. You are helping me fine-tune my control like an athlete trains their body’s movements. Help me be skilled, talented, experienced, and professional in my body’s movements.

 

Steering Into Self-Confidence

But it makes great boasts: You have probably heard a sports competitor brag about what they were going to do to their opponent. Very often the bragging is for their own confidence building. They can feel their attitudes swell and get more confident, as they brag. When you say confidence-building things, you are building up self-esteem rather that God-esteem.

 

Jesus, help me see that I want to get rid of self-esteem. Help me get rid of great boasting. Help me open my heart to You by saying those things that bring glory to You and Your work. Help me realize that, as I share the great things You have and are doing to me, I steer myself into the wonderful work You are calling me into.

 

 

Creating A Forest Fire

 

James 3:5b (NIV) Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.

 

Forest Fires Start Small

Consider a great forest: A great forest seems to be invincible; it would take a tremendous amount of workers to cut it down. Even if very large equipment was used, it would take years to clear all that land. That is what you are dealing with in the spirit realm. Things it would take years for you to accomplish, as a human, can be accomplished in a second with your mouth.

 

Jesus, help me take another look at the supernatural, miraculous things You did with a few words. In six days, you spoke a whole world and all of its living things into existence. Help me get ready to allow You to speak through my mouth and tongue. Help me understand that You can use my mouth in a God-sized way to accomplish great things in a short time.

 

Great Destruction Or Great Accomplishments

A great forest is set on fire by a small spark: Jesus is leading you into big things being accomplished through small things. You will be doing a small thing; and, Jesus will be doing a big thing through it. A small spark can be used to light a fire to warm you or it can cause a forest fire. Your tongue can be dangerous; or, it can be used to bring miraculous healing.

 

Jesus, this illustration is helping me see what kind of power we are talking about. The power of a fire is incredible. Its ability to start out small and spread out in a mighty and destructive way in a forest is beyond human comprehension. It can burn down twenty-thousand acres in a few days. Help me see why You have been working on my attitudes and character.

 

The Tongues Evil Potential

James 3:6 (NIV) The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

 

An Important Change Is Needed

The tongue also is a fire: Now, think back to the forest fire; Hitler just had one mouth and tongue. Yet, he was able to cause World War two. Jesus, just had one mouth and tongue; and yet, He was able to provide salvation for the whole world. Your tongue is a fire! Jesus doesn’t want you to underestimate it. It must be brought under Jesus’ control.

 

Jesus, help me accept the fact that my tongue is a fire. Help me see how a spark from it can do great damage or bring mighty healing through Your power. Help me take something that has such dangerous potential, and let You use it to set the world on fire with Your good news message. Help me yield to Your mouth and tongue, so I can say transforming things to others.

The Body’s Messenger

A world of evil: To the degree you see your tongue and mouth being capable of producing this evil, is the degree you have moved the Bible from your fictional compartment to your God compartment. Let Jesus help you evaluate all the Scriptures in the Bible like this. When it says something like your tongue is a world of evil, allow Jesus to help you evaluate how much you accept those words as truth of you.

 

Jesus, help me accept everything in the Bible as truth. Help me evaluate my attitude, as I read each verse. If I don’t accept a verse in a complete way, help me see if it is because I have already been dealt with in that area and it is no longer true of me; or, help me see that I am rejecting it even though it does apply to me.

 

A world of evil among the parts of the body: When your body has urges, drives, cravings, and passions, they have to be yielded to in some way, if they are going to come into reality. One of the main ways is through you saying it with your mouth. You put the feelings of your body into words by sharing them with others. You tempt, you resist, you gossip against, you mislead, you lie, you manipulate, or you verbally attack with your mouth and tongue.

 

Jesus, help me see where the feelings in my body and the wrongs in my heart get their expression. As I go through my day, help me be able to analyze and diagnose the words that come out of my mouth. Help me evaluate them based on where they a righteous or evil. Even if they are wrong or bad, help me grade them as evil. Help me bring all of them into good.

 

It corrupts the whole person: It may be difficult to see how your mouth and tongue can corrupt you, as a whole person. But, the first part of you growing in this area is to accept this evaluation of your tongue as true, because the Bible says so. Seeing how it can be true, is an analysis of your spiritual condition. You must believe what the Bible says as your first reaction.

 

Jesus, help me not think I believe my tongue corrupts the whole person and not really. Help me allow You to examine my true evaluation of Scriptures like this. Help me look at my past history with the words I have spoken and see if I truly believe they corrupted me. Help me see the path my words have taken me on, and see if there is evidence of corruption.

 

Sets the whole course of his life on fire: This requires a look at your life from God’s perspective. If you see, through God’s eyes, what your tongue and mouth have done, you would believe that your tongue sets the whole course of your life on fire. He sees every sin, every person you hurt, all the things you did to you, and all the things you failed to do to help others. And, He sees all the things you have done to hurt His plan for your life.

 

Jesus, help me believe all these things being said about my tongue and mouth based on God’s perspective. Since I can’t see all the people I have hurt by what I said, and since I can’t see how much damage I have done to myself, and since I can’t see how much I have hurt Your plans, help me realize that this statement in the Bible is presenting the truth.

 

And is itself set on fire by hell: This is really bad news concerning the influence of your tongue and mouth. It is going to take the supernatural power of God to bring it under control. But, once it is brought under Jesus’ control, it becomes the spiritual mechanism that directs you and your life into the help and healing for the people around you.

 

Jesus, I am so thankful that nothing is impossible with You. I had no idea that my tongue and mouth were, so influential over me, my body, and the people around me. I have seen what my words have done to me and other people; but, I didn’t see it as being that bad. Help me be healed and transformed in the way I talk.

 

This concludes your reading and praying for today.

 

 

Truth/Prayer Chapter Twenty

Your Mouth And Tongue Evaluated

Week Five Day Two

 

 

Human Effort Doesn’t Work

James 3:7-8 (NIV) All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. Now you are getting back to the impossibility of human effort and world training. Jesus is your only way to the powerful place where you can steer your body.

 

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. Jesus, help me keep in mind that keeping my whole body in check is the purpose of this study and prayer time. Help me see that You are going to handle this situation. Show me how bad things are, so I can praise and thank You, once You move me into the victory over my tongue and mouth.

 

Sending Mix Signals

James 3:9 (NIV) With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. This is a very important concept; in your final exam in Matthew 25:31-46 Jesus explains that whatever you do to the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me and whatever you don’t to the least of these, you did not do for Me.

 

Jesus, help me see that I can go to church, sing worship songs during my day, and feel like I am really demonstrating my love for You. But, help me realize that the thing You evaluate is how I treat the people around me. Help me not use my tongue to praise my Lord and Father, and with it...curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness.

 

A Mouth And Tongue Out Of Control

James 3:10 (NIV) Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. When you were trying to live the Christian life using human effort and world training, your life was like that described in Romans 7:15-25. You did not understand what you did. For what you wanted to do, you did not do, but what you hated, you did (Rom 7:15 NIV).

 

Jesus, thank You for helping me move out of the Romans 7:15 to 25 life. I had to spend a lot of my time doing the wrong thing and having to go tell people I was sorry. Thank You for helping me move into the Romans chapter eight life. Now help me take advantage of all the Holy Spirit is able to empower me to do. Help me be able to yield to Your control over my mouth and tongue. Help me not have them out of control.

 

The Impossibility Of Spiritual Mixture

James 3:11 (NIV) Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? The answer is no! Which means the mouth and tongue can’t have mixed messages. If they are allowed to say wrong, bad, or evil things, they are contaminated and need to be cleansed. So, if you say something wrong, bad, or evil, you must repent, ask Jesus for forgiveness, ask Him to help you never say it again, and go make it right with the person you hurt.

 

Jesus, empower me to not say wrong, bad, or evil things. Help me see how much that does damage to me, other people, and Your plan. But, if I do, help me immediately get Your forgiveness and the forgiveness of the person I said it to. When I feel myself getting to a place where my emotions are going in the wrong direction, let that be my warning that I need to pray and ask You to heal my emotions, so I won’t react based on bad emotions.

 

Reading Your Spiritual Condition

James 3:12 (NIV) My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water. When wrong, bad, or evil things are coming out of your mouth, you need to allow what you are saying evaluate your spiritual condition. Diagnose what you are saying. What subject are you addressing with wrong words? What caused you to say it? What are you trying to accomplish by saying it? Your mouth is giving you a reading on a damaged area of your heart. This is your chance to get a healing in that area.

 

Jesus, help me be able to diagnose my words, all during my day. Help me not just talk; help me be aware of the content, my purpose for saying it, and the spiritual direction it is taking me and the person I am talking to. Help me always be looking to You to give me what You want me to say. Help me not consult my mind or my brain. Help me be looking to You for what content You want, what purpose You have, and what spiritual direction You want to take me and the person I am talking to. You chose my brain and minds content You want.

 

Where Are You Getting Your Wisdom?

James 3:13 (NIV) Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.

 

Who is wise and understanding among you: You may have an incredible brain that can remember and understand complex subjects. You may have a lot of confidence in what you are able to come up with to say. You may be so smart that you have been impressing people for years with your extremely wise mind. But, that draws people to you for their guidance. They come to you rather than Jesus for which way to go in life. Do you want that?

 

Jesus, as I go through my day, am I using my words to draw people to me or to You. Even when I am in a secular environment, where I can’t be using Your name all day long, help me set the stage for presenting righteous words that lead those around me to win/win solutions and decisions. Help me let people know, in the beginning, that I get my ideas and direction from You and the Bible. Then, periodically, help me remind them of that fact.

 

Establishing Your Objective

Let him show it by his good life: Your number one objective isn’t to be lifted up, so you can get money, possessions, positions, power, popularity, prestige, pleasure, or accomplishments. Your main objective is to treat people like you would treat Jesus. Living a good life that demonstrates incredible wisdom and understanding is to help others see it, want it, and realize they can get it through Jesus and the Bible. That’s living the good life.

 

Jesus, help me make You my number one objective. Let me see that it helps me, when I make it all about You. You bless me, encourage me, prosper me, and work miracles in my life, when I represent You. Let me also see that it helps others; it give them a chance to see what the Christian life is all about. Satan and the world have lied to them about You. I am their chance to be set free from those lies and misconceptions, so they can come to You.

 

Brilliant In Presenting Jesus

By deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom: Humility is honesty! The wisdom that is coming out of your mouth is coming from Jesus. When you make sure people know that, you are being humble through honesty. When you accomplish wise things and people know they are being done through the wisdom of the Bible, you are being humble. But, one of your most humble and wise deeds is, letting people know that everything you have they can have, by allowing Jesus to work in and through them.

 

Jesus, I now see why you want me to excel in life. I am a living example of what You are capable of doing. This is why You want my mouth to share where I am getting my success in life. Give me incredible wisdom to do incredible things. Then give me incredible wisdom for coming up with ways of telling people that they are all coming from You and the Bible.

 

This concludes your reading and praying for today.

 

 

 

Truth/Prayer Chapter Twenty-One

Contaminates In Your Mouth And Tongue

Week Five Day Three

 

 

What Contaminates Your Words?

James 3:14 (NIV) But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth.

 

Holding On To Contaminates

But if you harbor: When the Holy Spirit makes you feel bad about things you say, pray and ask Jesus to show you whether or not it is a pattern. This keeps you from having to deal with a large contaminate one piece at a time. As you are going through your day, you may see several wrong, bad, or evil things trying to flow out of your mouth. Let Jesus show you whether they are individual, unique issues or are symptoms of one big problem in your heart.

 

Jesus, help me not go through my day oblivious of what I am saying and what it is doing to me and those around me. Help me not get critical of my words; help me not get apprehensive and overly cautious of them. Let me see that You are just teaching me how to diagnose them, so You can empower me to speak healing words. Help me be motivated by love for You and the people around me. Make me a person who watches what I say, so You can help me grow.

 

But if you harbor bitter envy: This is a large contaminant that manifests itself in many ways. You would feel sorry for yourself; you would feel like you never get any good breaks; you might feel like every bad thing happens to you; and, you might feel obligated to change the situation yourself. This can cause you to have bitter envy motivate most of the words you say.

 

Jesus, help me see what my evaluation of life is. Do I have a general opinion that I am always being picked on, mistreated, cheated, unappreciated, or ignored? If I have a negative opinion about how I am always treated, help me see that You have changed that. Help me not let my past set the standard for my future. Help me see that all things are now working for my good.

 

But if you harbor...selfish ambition: This is also a large contaminant that causes you to react to life situations in different ways. It can give you a “me first” attitude; it can cause you to ignore or not be aware of other people’s needs; it can cause you to want to lie, cheat, steal, mislead, misinform, and no be able to create win/win solutions and results.

 

Jesus, help me see any signs of selfishness, aggressiveness, or an inability to think of ways to create win/win situations. Raise my eyes to the struggles, needs, hurts, and sufferings of others. Help me be able to see things from other people’s perspectives. Help me give you my needs and wants, so I can trust You for the successes in my life.

 

If you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your heart: These issues are originated in your mind, but end up lodged in your heart. Your mind can get involved in trying to figure out how to best get those things you want and need. Once you set this objective as a goal, your heart adopts it. From that point on, it causes you to feel negative emotions toward people, circumstances, and can even express them toward God, when your goal appears to be hindered.

 

Jesus, help me not start saying things that set goals that You have not agreed with. Help me see that I can get my mind planning and my heart motivating me toward things that aren’t good for me. As I look at my future, help me include You in all goal setting. Set me free from areas where I have already put goals in place that are influencing my mind and heart.

 

James 3:15 (NIV) Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. Obviously, you don’t want anything coming from the devil. However, “wisdom” from secular humanism and world training often come from him. While math, physics, chemistry, language, finance, and things like that are neutral, what you are taught, by the world, to do with them can be very unspiritual.

 

Jesus, help me see that anything neutral, when applied to relationships, becomes a spiritual issue. What I do to myself, other people, and You, as it relates to these neutral subjects, immediately enters into the realm of Your regulations. Show me that when the “wisdom” of the world gets involved in relationships, I must evaluate it with the Bible.

 

James 3:16 (NIV) For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice: The end results of yielding to these things is chaos and people practicing evil. Their mouths and their tongues started out with minor wrong and bad things being expressed. They didn’t see any harm allowing these things to flow out of them. But, gradually, the words took over their lives like a car being driven toward a cliff.

 

Jesus, help me see how this steering mechanism works in the spirit realm. Just like I have learned how to pick things up in the physical realm, help me see how I am being moved in certain directions through the words of my mouth and tongue. Help me not underestimate the end results of where they take me. Help me see this disorder and evil that these people steered themselves into, as they slowly expressed words that got worse and worse.

 

 

A Mouth And Tongue Out Of Control

Rom 1:29a (NIV) They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. It all starts with some kind gossip, running someone down, backbiting someone, or lying about someone. It starts with things the person can feel is wrong but don’t allow themselves to believe it is all that bad.

 

Jesus, if I have to try to make myself feel better about something, if I find myself justifying what I did, if I have to explain why it is okay, show me I am steering in the wrong direction.

 

Rom 1:29b-30 (NIV) They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents. Just like Jesus is helping you get better and better at yielding your mouth and tongue to righteousness, these people get better and better at talking about evil. Not everyone is willing to join them in saying the things they say. Some people totally disagree with what is coming out of their mouths. So, they move away from them and gravitate toward those who will join them in conversations about good things. The evil pick their friends; and, the righteous pick their friends.

 

Jesus, as I get more and more involved in speaking about Biblical, godly, righteous things, some people will gravitate away from me. And, I will move toward people who are more receptive to those things You want us talking about. Help me see that this happens to the evil and the righteous. People will pick their friends based on what they want to talk about.

 

Rom 1:31 (NIV) They are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. There comes a point in a wicked person’s life where what they do ceases to make any sense. Rom 1:22 (NIV) Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools. Their mouths and tongues steered them into a realm where they have convinced themselves that what they are saying and doing is the right way to live. But, the Holy Spirit keeps telling them it isn’t. So, they resist Him and make Him stop speaking to their conscience.

 

Jesus, there was a way that seemed right to me, but in the end, it was leading me in to death (Prov 16:25 NIV). Thank You for helping me see the insanity of it all; and, then I used my mouth and heart to get salvation and justification. That was when You started using my mouth to say things out of the Bible and pray prayers based on the Bible.

 

Rom 1:32 (NIV) Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them. This is your opportunity to see where you were steering your life. You were saying things that were heading you in this direction. Your conversations were alienating certain people and drawing other people in because of your expressed opinions.

 

Jesus, help me see that, as I listen to people talk, I find out what kind of a person they are. Their mouth reveals what they believe, what their goals are, and where they are heading in life. Help me share You with those who are heading toward destruction. Help me say things out of my mouth that have to potential to helping me make a course change.

 

Jesus, help me express my beliefs and convictions with the same freedom as evil people do. Help me use my mouth to influence people who typically only hear from people supporting wrong, bad, and evil. Empower my mouth to express right, good, and righteousness, so the people around me have an alternative way of thinking and talking.

 

This concludes your reading and praying for today.

 

 

Truth/Prayer Chapter Twenty-Two

Truth In Your Mouth And Tongue

Week Five Day Four

 

 

Steering Into The Blessings Of God

James 3:17 (NIV) But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.

 

But the wisdom that comes from heaven: Here is the alternative destination; Jesus has been working on your attitudes and character, so they would inspire words that would steer you into the things of God. The conversations you are having with people are becoming much more Biblical. The prayers that are coming out of your mouth are becoming much more powerful.

 

Jesus, help me see how I have reached the place where I am now. And, help me see how You have done what it takes to provide my mouth with words that are fulling Bible truths. You have changed my heart and mind, so I would be able to share wonderful things with people. You have changed them, so my prayers are so much more Biblical and miraculous. Help me see how I have traveled a long way in the spirit realm through the words You have given me.

 

But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure: Prior to salvation, your mouth spoke words that weren’t pure. You said things that steered you toward conflict. Other words steered you into business deals that weren’t good for others. Other words took you into relationships that you should have avoided. Your mouth and tongue talked you into things that didn’t turn out well. If you look back on your conversations, you will see the steering process.

 

Jesus, thank You for purifying my conversations. Thank You for helping me speak purity into the lives of those around me. Thank You for giving me pure words that I didn’t even know about before. Thank You for those pure words setting me on a journey that is far superior than I ever dreamed possible. Thank You for teaching me that it is my mouth that is doing it.

 

But the wisdom that comes from heaven is...then peace-loving: Trying to survive in a world where you had to promote yourself, defend yourself, take care of yourself, and improve yourself, you learned skills that manipulated people without them being aware of it. It was a world were being peace-loving just wouldn’t work. But now, you are gaining more respect, appreciation, friendship, kindness, and influence through the process of being peace-loving.

 

Jesus, help me see how much better it is to get my needs met by people who love me, respect me, are my friends, and like getting to know me. Help me understand how much more fulfilling it is to not just have business relationships with those around me. Thank You for showing me a way to get my needs met through win/win procedures.

 

But the wisdom that comes from heaven is...considerate: Being considerate of others is one of the main signs of love. God’s love empowers you to be able to identify with the needs and problems of others. It helps you use the pains and difficulties you have suffered and have a good idea what others are going through. This helps you take into consideration what you can do to help them with their issues of life.

 

Jesus, as You bless me and take care of my needs, help me use it as an opportunity to be considerate of others. Help me make their needs and issues a priority, because I know I don’t have to worry about my needs. Since You are taking care of them, this puts me in a place where I can be considerate of others. Help me use my mouth to be a blessing to them.

 

But the wisdom that comes from heaven is...submissive: Being submissive to Jesus empowers you to submit yourself to assignments and needs that produce win/win situations. When you start asking questions trying to find out what others need, you are submitting to their situations. You are letting them tell you how you can best help them. When the words of your mouth turn into questions of concern for others, you are steering in the right direction.

 

James 1:19 (NIV) My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. Jesus, help me submit my interests in myself to the interests of others. Help me use questions to help me be quick to listen and slow to speak. Help me see that if I don’t try to find out what others are going through, I can’t submit my conversation to issues about them.

 

But the wisdom that comes from heaven is...full of mercy: This steps outside the win/win process. This is when you do something good to someone who does not deserve it. It is a procedure where you are showing someone that Jesus loves them in spite of their attitudes and character. It helps some people, who are badly damaged, to get healed of a major suspicion and distrust of people. It shows them that Jesus has made you different than what they are used to.

 

Luke 6:27-28 (NIV) But I tell you who hear Me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. Jesus, this goes against my nature. But, grace and mercy are what You used, so as to save me. Help me apply this to those who need to see that there is another way of life available to them. Help me know when this is to be applied to someone who needs mercy.

 

But the wisdom that comes from heaven is...good fruit: This is what flows out of the fruit of the Spirit. But, it is a manifestation of the fruit of the Spirit through your mouth. It is a wisdom that God provides that comes up with incredible ideas for how to be a help and blessing to people. Whether it is a business meeting, a planning session with the family, or a discussion with a friend, Jesus gives you an idea that produces good in their life.

 

Jesus, help me see how my mouth can be used to propose ideas that are incredibly wise and good. Help me have good fruit flow out of it that helps and heals people in a miraculous way. Show me how to yield to Your mind, so I can be used by You to do things that it would have been impossible for me to think of on my own.

 

But the wisdom that comes from heaven is...impartial: You may have people that you like better than others. There are those that you have more in common with. There are those who have personalities that make them easier to like. And, there are people who do more good things to you than others. But, Jesus doesn’t want you penalize those who lack the ability or the attitudes or character to win you over as a friend.

 

Jesus, help me see that, as I speak good things to people who have a hard time getting along with others, I am helping them grow. Help me treat them with impartiality. Help me include them in on all my win/win situations. Help me address them, when I am talking to others. Help me make eye contact with them, as I am discussing things. And, help me do good to them on an equal basis.

 

But the wisdom that comes from heaven is...sincere: Since Jesus has set you free from hidden agendas, selfish ambition, ulterior motives, and deceit, He has made your conversations with other to be sincere. This gives the words that flow out of your mouth to be honest, real, true, and good. As they bless others, they are steering you into the great things of God.

 

Jesus, thank You for setting me free from saying things that are designed to manipulate people. Thank You for purifying my words, so people can believe and trust what I say. Thank You for helping me speak with love, so I am able to express win/win plans and ideas that benefit all involved. Thank You for helping my mouth steer me into Your way of life.

 

James 3:17 (NIV) But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. The subject is the tongue and the mouth. This verse is telling you what to pray for, so you can have a transformed conversation with those around you. You have just studied and prayed about those things that Jesus uses to steer you into relationships that are powerful and successful.

 

Jesus, help me spend some time getting familiar with these types of conversations that bless others and steer me into the great things You have planned for me. Help me see that all those bad things that were a part of my tongue are being crowded out with these power-words. Help me make this chapter my guide for being set free from this: The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell (James 3:6 NIV).

 

This concludes your reading and praying for today.

 

 

 

Truth/Prayer Chapter Twenty-Three

Changing Your Mouth And Tongue

Week Five Day Five

 

 

Mat 12:33 (NIV) Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.

 

Make a tree good and its fruit will be good: The climate, the soil, and the care given a tree can make it good or bad. Those things that go into the tree make it better or worse. However, if it starts out, as a type of tree that is poisonous, giving it the very best care only makes it a high-quality, poisonous tree. That is why you had to be born again. Now that you are a child of God, the next issue is, what kind of a child of God will you be?

 

Jesus, I just studied and prayed about some vital issues with my tongue and mouth. Now, help me see how I can get the right type of care, so I will always be saying those things that are a blessing to others and a steering of my life into Your great plan for me.

 

Or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad: Plant a tree in a bad environment and it will struggle with fruit production. Give it a soil that isn’t conducive to good growth, and it will be a stunted, straggly tree with poor fruit. You are exposing yourself to the very best environment by spending your time studying and praying for the things Jesus wants for you. This is making you a healthy spiritual tree that speaks good-fruit words that are from Jesus and the Bible.

 

Jesus, help me think of my attitudes and character from the perspective of a tree. Help me see that all those things that go into me are going into my heart and mind. You are my gardener; You know what is best for me to be exposed to. Help me yield to those things I know You want me to absorb into me. Help me always be aware that I am made up of those things I allow to come into me. Help me only yield to the Bible and Your input.

 

For a tree is recognized by its fruit: To start with, you are a fruit tree. Being born again turned you into a tree that is able to produce the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit that comes out of your mouth is: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Gal 5:22 NIV). Words from your mouth are based on these characteristics. When people “eat” or experience your words, they “taste” good, go into their life as nourishing food, and bring satisfying results in their spiritual growth.

 

Jesus, help me see that the next issue is, how much love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control flow out of my mouth? What quality of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control flow out of it? Work on me, like a tree, and help me be pruned, protected from spiritual “bugs,” given a lot of Your sunlight, and have my spiritual roots embedded in You.

 

Mat 12:34 (NIV) You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.

 

How can you who are evil say anything good: Before salvation your tongue was set on fire by hell. Since then, you have been allowing Jesus to give you Biblical words to say to yourself and to others. They have been blessing people and taking you into great fruit production. Before, even those things you tried to say that were good, had contaminates in them that hurt them. Giving up evil has changed everything for you and your influence on others.

 

Jesus, thank you for healing my mouth and the words that come out of it. Thank You for the power-words that are blessing my life and the lives of others. Thank You for teaching me how to get even more spiritual growth in this area. Help me yield to these truths, as You keep leading me into more and more principles that are making a miraculous difference.

 

For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks: Your mouth mainly speaks from your heart and not your mind. All of the purpose, intent, and main point of your words are being influenced by your heart. You can say, “how are you?” And, it can be said, casually, routinely, with a hope that they are doing horrible, or out of love. The words came out of your mind; but, the purpose for why you said them, came out of your heart.

 

Jesus, words that come out of my mouth are much more complex than I sometimes realize. Help me see that my heart regulates the quality of my words. Help me see beyond what I say; help me see what my motives were for why I said them. Thank You for all the work You have done on my heart through all these studies and prayers. Help me appreciate intent that my transformed attitudes and character are adding to the meaning of my words.

 

Mat 12:35 (NIV) The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. You had a lot of things that were evil stored up in you that you didn’t realize were all that evil. At salvation, all that evil got removed from your record with God. That made a major change in the things you spoke out of your mouth. However, your brain never forgets anything that has been put in it. Just because you can’t access it, doesn’t mean it isn’t there. It needs to be healed and cleansed.

 

Jesus, thank You for forgiving and cleansing me from the evil stored up in me. Thank You for all the good You have been empowering me to store up in me now. Heal my brain and cleanse my memories, that are stored up in there, that Satan tries to use to influence my words. Let me only bring good things out of the good stored up in me.

 

Mat 12:36 (NIV) But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. It is possible that you have carelessly spoke a lot of words that weren’t good. The best way to give an account for them is to take them to Jesus and let Him cover them with His blood. Then, on the day of judgment, all wrong, bad, or evil words you have said will have been cleansed by Jesus through His blood sacrifice for you.

 

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 we cry, “Abba, Father.” Jesus, help me remember that I don’t go around worrying about what I say. I can’t control the quality and content of my words by human effort. Help me say those things that will bring glory to You and be a blessing to those I talk to. I believe that You are empowering me to say things that will count for good in eternity.

 

Rom 8:1 (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. Jesus, I thank You that, if I do say something that I shouldn’t, You are protecting me from the law of sin and death. If I need to ask You for forgiveness or go make it right with someone, empower me to do so.

 

Mat 12:37 (NIV) For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned. This can sound very scarry; but, Jesus gave you some words to say that got you started off in a life of grace and mercy. Rom 10:9-10 (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. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

 

For by your words you will be acquitted: Jesus, I thank You for the Romans 10:9-10 words that got me acquitted. Now, if I mess up with the words I say during my day, I am still acquitted. But, help me always keep in mind that I may have hurt myself or others by what I said. Help me take care of it, while remembering that I am acquitted. Then from that vantage point, empower me to make it right with You and with anyone else that I hurt.

 

 

The Procedure

Rom 10:8 (NIV) But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming.

 

The word is near you: This whole study and prayer time has been about your tongue and mouth. This is because they are your steering mechanism for moving yourself and things around in the spirit realm. You have seen what your words do to you and other people. You got saved and justified by speaking with your mouth and believing with your heart. Now it is time for you to go to work on learning how to do other things with them.

 

Jesus, help me to continue to use The Three Keys To All Of Christianity, The Seven Biblical Principles, and The Eight Power-Attitudes Of God. But, as I take advantage of them, help me learn what my mouth and my heart do. Help me see that they play a very important part in the spirit realm as well. Show me that they are a major part of me taking faith-action.

 

This concludes your reading and praying for this week.

 

 

 

 

Truth/Prayer Chapter Twenty-Four

Faith-Action With Your Mouth And Tongue

Week Six Day One

 

 

Making Earth Changes

Mat 17:20 (NIV) He replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Jesus is dealing with the faith in your heart and the words coming out of your mouth. You became a child of God through the faith in your heart and the words spoken out of your mouth. You have been growing spiritually by the faith in your heart and the words in your mouth. But, mountains are a different issue.

 

Jesus, You have been working on this heart and mouth issue for a long time. You helped me be born again, grow spiritually, and make major changes in my relationship with other people. Now help me be trained on how to live a life based on me taking faith-action with my mouth and heart. Help me see that You are wanting to lead me into us working together to help people with supernatural gifts from the Holy Spirit.

 

Learning The Procedures

Rom 10:8 (NIV) But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming:

 

But what does it say: This is talking about what the Bible says. It is telling you how the Christian life works and the ministry works, that you are to do. Eph 2:10 (NIV) For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. The victories you are getting in your life are to be share with others. You are God’s workmanship. He has been shaping you, healing you, working miracles in you, for a purpose. You were created in Christ Jesus to do good works.

 

Jesus, I was created in You to do good works, which God prepared in advance for me to do. They are unique to and for me; they are the things You are shaping me for. They are the reason You put me through the life-classes You exposed me to. They are to be a part of the breakthroughs You gave me. Help me learn how to use my mouth and heart to do them.

 

Growing In The Use Of Your Mouth

It is in your mouth: You started with this procedure in the very beginnings of your new birth. However, there were a lot of other things Jesus needed to do to you after that. And, there were a lot of things that He needed to teach you. So, now you are back to the basics; but, for the purpose of adding them to the three toolsets that you are familiar with. Once you have gone through The Seven Biblical Principles and get down to faith-action, your first faith-action step is confessing with your mouth while believing in your heart.

 

Jesus, help me learn how to use my mouth to speak things into existence from the spirit realm. Help me understand that it is the steering mechanism that guides and takes me where I want to go. And, help me see that it is the creator of spiritual manifestations that produce spiritual things in this physical world. Show me that this is what Jesus was using to turn water into wine, calm storms, heal people, and cast out demons. Help me yield to You, as You do these things once again, while using my body and mouth.

 

Confessing With Your Mouth The Faith In Your Heart

It is in your mouth and in your heart: That which is in your heart is expressed through your mouth. As you desire to do good works, study and find out what good works are, pray for Jesus to empower you to be able to do good works, yield to His faith, so you can believe He has given you good works to do, and be motivated to do good works through love, you are ready to confess with your mouth that Jesus has given you good works to do. This confession is based on the faith Jesus spoke in your heart.

 

Jesus, help me understand that I must respond to the faith You spoke into my heart by confessing it with my mouth. Once I know I am yielding to Your love, I am ready to say what the faith was You spoke into my heart. Since Your faith empowered me to know I have what I have been desiring, studying about, and praying for, I must confess it with my mouth. Help see that this confession activates it in this world.

 

 

Your First Supernatural Manifestation

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.

 

If you confess with your mouth: First you confessed with your mouth what you believed in your heart. You had accepted the fact that Jesus is Lord. So, you took faith-action and confessed what was in your heart, with your mouth. You were willing to tell yourself and those around you that you believe Jesus is Lord. When you made that confession, that made Him your Lord.

 

Jesus, help me to really concentrate on this vital principle. Help me experience a deep revelation of how powerful this procedure was. Help me realize that through this simple process, I was created instantly into a child of God. Show me that this is the greatest miracle I am ever going to experience. So, from now on, as I take advantage of this mouth/heart supernature faith-action step, I will continue to experience miracles.

 

If you...believe in your heart: You believing in your heart that Jesus is Lord, empowered your mouth to confess that Jesus is Lord. Then you had to have another fact accepted in your heart. You had to believe that God raised Jesus from the dead. You had to believe that you were accepting a living Messiah or Christ. You have been basing your life on that fact from that moment until now. That produced the miracle of knowing that Jesus is alive and in you.

 

Jesus, help me see how powerful this mouth/heart procedure is. Help me see it and realize that it produced the greatest miracle I will ever experience. Let that realization help me take advantage of it to experience all the smaller miracles You will be working in and through me. Since this procedure was able to instantly transform me into a child of God, help me see that everything after that will be simpler and easier for me to believe.

 

 

Your Miraculous Life

Rom 10:10 (NIV) For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

 

For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified: From that moment on, you have been enjoying a perfect record with God. That mouth/heart procedure not only created you into a child of God, it gave you a perfect record that kept your current words and deeds from turning you back into a sinner. Because of this simple process of confessing with your mouth and believing in your heart, your life has been awesome.

 

Jesus, help me accept the power that this mouth/heart procedure has. Help me see that You and I will be using it all during my time here on earth and in eternity. Show me that this is a method of getting my mouth and tongue working for the glory of God. Help me always believe that my tongue was really as bad as James chapter three presented it. Help me realize that I am a walking, living miracle. You have transformed my mouth and tongue and got it ready for this mouth/heart method of navigating in the spirit realm.

 

And it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved: Your mouth saying that Jesus is Lord caused all of your past sins to be forgiven. In a simple confession of truth, a major, powerful work of God cleansed every bad word and deed you did in all your past life. That is how powerful this process of confession is. When you put the mouth/heart system together, you have the life you are now living. Your past was instantly forgiven; and, your current and futures sins were instantly covered with Jesus’ blood.

 

Jesus, thank You for bringing me back to this miraculous, powerful moment where my Christian life started. I wasn’t able to fully appreciate what all was happening to me at that time. And, I wasn’t able to understand what a powerful method you were teaching me then. But, because You have been doing so much teaching and training me in the Bible, You have empowered me to more thoroughly comprehend this procedure.

 

This concludes your reading and praying for today.

 

 

 

Truth/Prayer Chapter Twenty-Five

Faith-Action With The Word Of Faith

Week Six Day Two

 

 

The Word Of Faith

Rom 10:8 (NIV) But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming.

 

For the rest of your life, you will be using the word of faith. The Word part of this phrase, is you speaking things that the Bible says, by using your mouth and tongue. The faith part of this phrase, is you believing what the Bible says in your heart. So, this phrase is a very powerful phrase. It says a lot in a few words.

 

Jesus, make it clear to me that for the rest of my life, I will be living the Word of faith life. Show me that The Seven Biblical Principles will be taking me down to faith-action. Then I will be ready, as it relates to that issue, to take my first faith-action step of confessing with my mouth and tongue what I believe in my heart.

 

The word is near you: As you are studying your Bible, like you are doing now, and as you are reading your Bible during your Bible reading time, there will be a nearness that Jesus is making you aware of. Prior to The Three Keys To All Of Christianity, The Seven Biblical Principles, and The Eight Power-Attitudes Of God, you were on the outside looking in. It was like looking through a window at all kinds of wonderful things that you didn’t have access to.

 

Jesus, thank You for moving me from just reading, studying, and wishing I had all those things I was exposed to. Thank You for showing me that the word is near me. Thank You for showing me how things work in the spirit realm and in Christianity. Thank You for moving me from the Romans chapter seven life to the Romans eight life.

 

The word is near you; it is in your mouth: You have been using your mouth and tongue to pray and ask for those things you desired. That was a request for something you didn’t have that you wanted. You have been studying the Bible; and, it has been telling you about things you have been praying for. That was the word coming near you and forming in your mouth. Jesus has been guiding you through these studies and prayers helping you pray for Bible things.

 

Jesus, thank You for helping me pray for Biblical things that I may have never asked for without Your supervision. Thank You for showing me that the Word is near me; it is in my mouth. Even though I didn’t have this current information, You were seeing to it that I took advantage of it through other aspects to truth-training. Thank You for helping me get all of those prayers answered, as I used my mouth and tongue to ask for them.

 

 

Why All This Studying And Praying?

James 4:3 (NIV) When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. All the work that Jesus has been doing in your attitudes and character, have been solving this issue. You could have had all three toolsets and learned about this mouth and heart procedure and still not got what you needed. So, the Word that was near you was either going to just be something you wished you had. Or, it was going to become something you could use your mouth and heart on, and get it!

 

Jesus, You have been so good to me. I could have spent most of my life trying to get my needs met through human effort. Or, I could have spent my life asking with wrong motives. I could have spent my life asking for things that didn’t have anything to do with the Bible. But, You stepped in and changed my attitudes and character; and, You help me pray Biblical prayers that have transformed my entire life.

 

The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart: This is telling those who are allowing Jesus to transform their life, that everything in the Bible is near them. And, the way it is near them is through their mouth and heart. If you allow the Bible to enter your mouth and heart, it will be in your mouth and in your heart. Through all this studying and praying, Jesus has been put His Word in your mouth and in your heart.

 

Jesus, teach me that Your Word has to be in my mouth and in my heart, before it can be in my life. Show me that, just like I had to confess with my mouth that You are Lord and believe in my heart that God raised You from the dead, before I got salvation and justification, I must take Your Word, that is in me, and confess it with my mouth and believe it with my heart.

 

 

Proclaiming The Word Of Faith

Rom 10:8 (NIV) But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming.

 

That is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: It was a journey; but, you are ready to move into the Word of faith life. Jesus has been using your three toolsets for working on your attitudes and character. And, that was important, because you can’t give to others anything you don’t have yourself. But, now that Jesus has given all those Biblical things to you, you are ready to share them with those around you in a much better way.

 

Luke 6:38 (NIV) Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Jesus, increase my sharing of those things You did in my life. Help me start taking advantage of ministerial tools for helping others. Help me use my mouth and my heart to be used in the power-gifts of the Holy Spirit. Let the mighty work You have done on my attitudes and character allow them to flow through me.

 

Once Again, Why All This Studying And Praying?

Jesus is about to lead you into the power-gifts of the Holy Spirit. Because of His mighty work in your attitudes and character, He has prepared you for being able to be used in this area. The Corinthian church wasn’t properly prepared and failed miserably with them. However, because of their failure, the Bible provides us with a lot of vital information, as it deals with their poor attitudes and character.

 

Jesus, thank You for getting me ready for You to flow through me with the power-gifts of the Holy Spirit. Help me see that I need them in order for me to be equipped with information about the people I am working with. Help me learn how to yield to them, so You can empower me with gifts that are vital to them.

 

Loveless Power-Prayers

1 Cor 13:1 (NIV) If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. Being able to use your power-prayers by praying in the Spirit, is to bring spiritual transformation into your attitudes and character. If, for some reason, that doesn’t happen, you will use this gift for your own gratification. You will only use it for selfish reasons or for impressing other people. That will make you a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.

 

Jesus, thank You for helping me give up selfishness and pride. Thank You for getting me ready by empowering me to be able to pray in the Spirit, so the Holy Spirit could pray for me concerning things I didn’t know I needed help in. Thank You for giving me the gift of being baptized or submerged into the Holy Spirit, so I am now able to move into His power-gifts.

 

Loveless Power-Gifts

1 Cor 13:2 (NIV) If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. These are the gifts of the Holy Spirit, found in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10. It would seem like you getting the power-gifts of the Holy Spirit should be manifestations of love. Through prophecy, you would be helping people by identifying things in their life that need to be removed by Jesus. You would understand the mysteries of God. And, you would have the faith that Jesus talked about that was powerful enough to move mountains. But, the Bible is saying that all the spiritual power from these gifts can flow out of you without love.

 

Jesus, help me see that You have been protecting me from this situation. You have been helping me with The Seven Biblical Principles that lead me into checking my love. You have been making it clear to me that God’s love has been poured into my heart. You have been teaching me how to yield to God’s love. Thank you for holding me back from the power-gifts, until I was ready to be motivated by the love of God.

 

Loveless Sacrifices

1 Cor 13:3 (NIV) If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. This can be very confusing; if you allowed yourself to be burned at the stake, it would seem like such a martyr’s death would have to be out of love. But, this Scripture is saying that I could be a human effort. I could be through trying to prove to the world that you are a totally committed person. But, for whatever reason, the Bible is saying that even this sacrificial act can be loveless.

 

Jesus, I thank You for working on my yielding to Your love. Thank You for healing my attitudes and character, so I won’t be thinking that I am doing these things out of love, but not. Protect me from getting enamored with the power-gifts and start showing off. Help me only be used by them for the benefit and healing of the suffering people around me.

 

This concludes your reading and praying for today.

 

 

Truth/Prayer Chapter Twenty-Six

Your Ministry And Equipment

Week Six Day Three

 

 

The Power-Gifts Of The Holy Spirit

1 Cor 12:4 (NIV) There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. This is talking about the power-gifts of the Holy Spirit. They are supernatural manifestations that help people who are suffering with emotional, relational, physical, financial, and spiritual issues. But, because they need the intervention of Jesus, you won’t be able to help them with kind words and friendship. They need a miracle; and, Jesus wants to give it to them through you.

 

Jesus, thank You for getting me ready for this. I can see that, if You start doing all these supernatural things through me, I could feel like I had reached a special spiritual level. It would be easy for me to think I was at a spiritual place where I was accomplishing these things. Help me always let people know that You did all these things for them.

 

The Ministerial Gifts Of Jesus

1 Cor 12:5 (NIV) There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. These are the ministerial service gifts of Jesus that empower you to have a special interest in some part of people’s spiritual needs and growth. Eph 4:11 (NIV) It was He (Jesus) Who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers. Jesus is giving you one of these gifts; all your life-classes, all your interests, and all your skills, talents, abilities, and experiences have been shaping you for this gift.

 

Jesus, help me see that You have a plan for me, that You have equipped me for. You caused me to take special interests in certain things in life; You caused certain circumstances to come my way; You saw to it that I have been getting all this study and prayer. For all my life, You have been getting me ready for Your ministerial service gift. Thank You for shaping me, so I can help certain people with certain physical and spiritual needs.

 

The Unique Shaping Of The Father

1 Cor 12:6 (NIV) There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. Your heavenly Father has been and will continue to take the power-gifts of the Holy Spirit and the ministerial service gift from Jesus and mix them in such a way that you start helping people in your unique way. There will be a desire in your heart to help people from a certain perspective. That desire will be empowered through Jesus’ service-gift and the Holy Spirit’s power-gifts.

 

Jesus, help me not try to figure this out. Help me stay under Your guidance and training. Give me enough direction, so I can cooperate with the shaping my heavenly Father is trying to do in my life. Let me see the direction You are taking me by listening to You. Show me that You will give me enough information about my future, so I can have Your goals and plans.

 

 

The Purpose Of The Holy Spirit

1 Cor 12:7 (NIV) Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.

 

Now to each one: The Holy Spirit decides when, where, to whom, and how you are used to help a hurting person. As you are doing the ministry or service that Jesus has equipped you to do, you will meet a person with a need that Jesus wants to meet. You may see a physical handicap and assume that, that is the need Jesus wants to meet. But, the obvious need you see, may not be the one that is causing them the most problems.

 

Jesus, You have been working on me being totally submitted to You. You have been teaching, training, empowering, and transforming me into a person who completely trusts You. Now I can see, that if I don’t, I will try to use the power-gift of my choosing. I will try to use the ministry that I think a person needs. Help me see that if I give a person the wrong supernatural help, they will be hurt and damaged spiritually.

 

The manifestation of the Spirit: If you are in sync with Jesus, the power-gift of the Holy Spirit, that is given you, will match up with the need of the person. You will feel a supernatural ability, that will enter into you, that will meet the need Jesus wants to meet. That is why you have been doing all this studying and praying. You have been learning how to submit your God-given free will to the will of Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and your heavenly Father.

 

Jesus, help me see that if I am not submitted to You, I can hurt people. Help me realize that if I don’t submit to the Holy Spirit, they won’t get the power-gift they so desperately need. And, if I don’t submit to my heavenly Father, I will be trying to minister to people in ways that I don’t have the experiences, training, and gifts for.

 

Is given for the common good: The people you minister to, have a plan from God for their life. They have personal needs; but, they also have a gift that God is training them for. They are experiencing circumstances, life-classes, and training that is to prepare them for helping hurting people. If you minister to them in the wrong way, they could be influenced away from the common good that God had planned for them. That is why you have been submitting to Jesus.

 

Jesus, help me understand that there are complex issues that only You can see. When I minister to a person, it has to fit in with their future. You are trying to get them ready for their power-gifts, Your ministerial service gifts, and the unique ministry that the heavenly Father wants to shape them into. Help me minister to them in just that right way.

 

The Procedures Of The Holy Spirit

1 Cor 12:11 (NIV) All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and He gives them to each one, just as He determines.

 

All these: Because you have yielded to the fruit of the Spirit, your character has been transformed, so you can be open to all these power-gifts of the Holy Spirit. The Corinthian church hadn’t yielded to the fruit of the Spirit; so, they were misusing them. You have been emptied of those things that would have contaminated these power-gifts.

 

Jesus, help me see that the Corinthian church got involved in all these power-gifts before they got involved in the fruit of the Spirit, The Seven Biblical Principles, and The Eight Power-Attitudes Of God. This caused them to go around showing off, creating chaos, and not being a help to hurting people. They were using them as trophies, that they wanted people to believe were an indication of their great spirituality.

 

All these are the work of one and the same Spirit: This can be a little bit confusing. It is the Holy Spirit doing the work; but, it is possible for you to take control over these power-gifts. The people in the Corinthian church used them to create disturbances, distractions, and disunity in their church services. Jesus had to use Paul to write those rules in 1 Corinthians chapter fourteen, to give them instructions for how to yield to them.

 

Jesus, help me see how powerful my God-given free will is. Help me understand that I could have done things that would have totally corrupted the power-gifts of the Holy Spirit. Show me that You have anticipated this problem and have worked on my attitudes and character. I thank You for heading me in a spiritual direction that will keep me from hurting people and the work that You want to do in and through me.

 

He gives them to each one, just as He determines: Because you are so submitted to God, when the Holy Spirit determines to give you a power-gift, it will be used in the way He determined. The needy person He determined to use it for, will get their need met. Because your attitudes and character are transformed by Jesus, all the people you minister to, through the service gift of Jesus, will be miraculously blessed and healed.

 

Jesus, thank You so much for putting Your priority on who I am rather than what I do. Thank You for doing such a wonderful, beautiful work in me. Since You have done this wonderful work in me, I am God’s workmanship, created in You, Christ Jesus, to do good works, which God prepared in advance for me to do (Eph 2:10 NIV). Thank You for it all!

 

This concludes your reading and praying for today.

 

 

 

Truth/Prayer Chapter Twenty-Seven

Your Relationship With The Holy Spirit

Week Six Day Four

 

 

The List Of The Power-Gifts

1 Cor 12:8-10 (NIV) To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.

 

These are power-gifts that will meet the needs of various people, as they flow through you at the appropriate time. There may be one that the Holy Spirit uses you with more than others; but, He will do what is best for each individual you meet. It is just a matter of you being sensitive to the will of the Holy Spirit. You need to allow Him to do what He wants.

 

Jesus, You have been working on me being a very yielded and submitted person. Now I can see why this is so important. You and the Holy Spirit can see inside a person I am going to help. You know their future and Your plans for them. You know what miracle they need, so they will grow in the appropriate direction. I don’t know any of those things. Help me learn how to detect and respond to the particular gift the Holy Spirit is giving me at that time.

 

A Special Gift

To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom: This indicates that you will be used mostly through a particular power-gift. But, it is vital that you not limit the Holy Spirit. Once you get used to this gift flowing through you most of the time, you may not notice the Holy Spirit wanting to use you in another one. Ask Jesus to help you always stay open to the desires of the Holy Spirit.

 

Jesus, help me not get so comfortable and familiar with a particular power-gift that I ignore, fail to notice, or feel uncomfortable being used in other power-gifts. Let Your love, that has been poured into my heart, be yielded to. Help me care for a needy person so much, that I am willing to let the Holy Spirit use me in whatever way He wants. Teach me how they all work, so I will be able to know what the Holy Spirit is trying to use me with.

 

A Unified Gift

1 Cor 12:12 (NIV) The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. The following verses after the list of the power-gifts deal with Jesus’ Body. Unfortunately, the current situation of Jesus’ Body is one of a lack of cooperation, division, denominational exclusion, Christian organizational preference, and personal individualism. What was intended, was for all Christians to work like the human body. This is what this verse is saying.

 

Jesus, for any denomination I belong to, for any church I go to, for any doctrines I embrace, help me not exclude anyone You accept as a part of Your Body. Teach me how to discern who You accept, and then empower me to unite with them. Set me free from any exclusions, preferences, suspicions, disagreements, or judgmentalism. Guide me into a relationship with all Your people. Empower me to be able to work together with them to accomplish Your will.

 

The Original Plan

1 Cor 12:8 (NIV) To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit. What Jesus wants to do, is have spiritual specialists. Just like your body has special organs that are devoted to specific work, He wanted His Body to be working together in unity. Each person, that is being ministered to, would have many people helping them with their spiritual growth.

 

Jesus, help me cooperate with this plan. Help me set an example of pulling others into my ministry. Help me include as many ministers as possible, so those I am working with will have access to all these other spiritual specialists. Help me care about the unity of Your Body. Let me be open to joining as many churches, organizations, and Christians as You want me to.

 

You In Jesus’ Body

1 Cor 12:13 (NIV) For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free--and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. It is true that not all people who call themselves Christians, are Christians. It is true that not all churches are Christian churches. And, it is easy for you to find a church and a group of Christians that you know are Christians. And, it is easy for you to settle into the safety of that group. But, that isn’t what Jesus wants you to do. He wants you to be open to all of the members of His Body.

 

Jesus, help me not settle into one denomination, one church, one Christian organization, or one small group. Help me be open to cooperating with as many of Your organs in Your Body as is needed. Guide me in loving, caring for, and cooperating with as many as possible.

 

Jesus Assigns Your Ministry

1 Cor 12:16 (NIV) And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. You may admire some minister or ministry. You may think they are a much more successful and effective minister or have a better ministry than you. You can try to dictate what ministry you want. You can try to cultivate certain power-gifts you want the Holy Spirit to use you with. But, you are a certain organ in Jesus’ Body; and, you are only able to produce and contribute to that cause.

 

Jesus, help me realize that the success of my contribution to Your work will be based on my acceptance of the place You have put me. Help me not evaluate and grade other ministries as to how I think they are successful. Help me see that You grade their importance on a different scale than mine. Help me embrace the service-gift You gave me, so I can cooperate with the Holy Spirit, as He gives me power-gifts to help a person You want me to minister to.

 

Your Ministry Is Vital

1 Cor 12:17 (NIV) If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? Just like there isn’t an organ in your body that you would be willing to give up, your ministry is vital to all of the other organs in Jesus’ Body. There is an organ, in your body, taking care of some very important things right now. If it stopped, you would be in a lot of trouble. But, you aren’t aware of its importance at the moment. But, your lack of appreciation doesn’t minimize its value.

 

Jesus, You are helping me see how important my attitudes and character are right now. Thank You for setting me free from selfishness, pride, and covetousness. You got me ready to accept my place in Your Body based on Your decision. Heal me of any evaluations of who I think is doing the greatest and best work in Your ministry. Help me respect every person who is making a contribution to Your work.

 

Your Father’s Decisions

1 Cor 12:18 (NIV) But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as He wanted them to be. The Holy Spirit will use you with a special power-gift frequently. Jesus gave you a ministerial service gift, and your heavenly Father is taking them and creating a very special ministry for you. Your enjoyment, your success, your effectiveness, and your cooperation is based on your acceptance of your heavenly Father’s work in you.

 

Jesus, thank You for giving me so much respect, awe, and reverence for my heavenly Father. Thank You for teaching me how to yield to His love, so I could have a total love for Him. Set me free from any personal opinions that might interfere with His special ministerial assignment He has designed for my. Fill my heart with a love for Him, His assignment, and the people that He is going to use me to minister to.

 

This concludes your reading and praying for today.

 

 

 

Truth/Prayer Chapter Twenty-Eight

A Message Of Wisdom From The Holy Spirit

Week Six Day Five

 

 

Preparing For A Wisdom Message

1 Cor 12:8a (NIV) To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom: First, it is vital that you have a wisdom that prepares you for this gift. 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. You must be receptive to the message of wisdom the Holy Spirit wants to give you for someone else.

 

Jesus, get me ready for messages of wisdom. Help me yield to the Spirit of wisdom and revelation. Help me be open to being given this wisdom and revelation in a powerful way. Lay a foundation for it to be placed into, so I can be ready to be used in this fashion, whenever the need arises. Help me live in the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so I can be a person through which You can give a specific message of wisdom for someone.

 

Praying For A Wisdom Message

Col 1:9 (NIV) For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. Those you know, who are Christians, need you to be asking God to make spiritual wisdom available to them. Ask Him to give you wisdom and understanding, so you can present it to them. Also ask Him to reveal it to them directly.

 

Jesus, help me realize how much the Christians around me need to be given spiritual wisdom and understanding. Help me be praying for them, so they are open to messages of wisdom that need to be expressed to them. Help me yield to any messages of wisdom that You want me to give to them. Help me keep praying for them to be receptive to Your wisdom.

 

Ministering Through A Wisdom Message

Col 1:28 (NIV) We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. It is important that you ask Jesus to provide you with a message of wisdom, as you admonish and teach everyone. Jesus will want you to give them the messages of wisdom He wants to share with them as you speak.

 

Jesus, help me speak to people and groups through messages of wisdom that You have for them. Let Your messages be the words that are yielded to, as I speak. You have admonishing and teaching that You want them to have. They have needs that only Your words can meet. Help me be able to present everyone perfect in You.

 

Faith For The Wisdom Message

James 1:5 (NIV) If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, Who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. A message of wisdom is based on you having faith and the person having faith that you are sharing it with. You must believe that the Holy Spirit is giving you the message for them. And, the person you give it to, must believe it is from God. If either of you lack faith, it destroys the message of wisdom and keeps it from doing its work.

 

Jesus, help me live a life of faith in You and in the power-gifts of the Holy Spirit. Speak faith into me, as the Holy Spirit gives me a message of wisdom for someone. Help me believe in Him, as He speaks it into me for someone. Let Your faith enter into me with power and assurance. Let me help those I am speaking to, be able to get faith from You.

 

The Purpose Of The Wisdom Message

James 3:13 (NIV) Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. The message of wisdom has a purpose. Messages of wisdom must be tested; if you are giving or are given a message of wisdom, it will direct you toward a good life. It will be a wisdom that will create deeds done in...humility. If it inspires pride, selfishness, or human effort, it isn’t a message from God.

 

Jesus, help me check the messages of wisdom that come to me. Help me examine the purpose and content before I use one given to me, and before I give one to someone else. Help me understand that my body, influences of the world, and the devil will be trying to contaminate messages of wisdom.

 

Human, Worldly, Satanic Wisdom

James 3:14-15 (NIV) But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. You will know when you are using a message of wisdom for human, worldly, and satanic purposes. It will motivate bitter envy and selfish ambition. You will see characteristics in it that will be showing how to go about cheating, misleading, hurting, or lying to people.

 

Jesus, help me not use my own evaluation on messages of wisdom. Help me not try to protect myself from giving or receiving ones that are human, earthly, or devilish. Help me know that You will empower me to always know the difference. Let me be mightily used in giving and receiving messages of wisdom, without fear or self-protection.

 

Messages Of Wisdom From Heaven

James 3:17 (NIV) But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. This is a list that could serve you well, if you keep it on hand. When you give or receive a message of wisdom, this is the perfect list to measure it by. It will help you know where it came from.

 

Jesus, help me see that this verse is the testing device that not only examines messages of wisdom, it is a good evaluator of all issues of life. Help me live my whole life while being pure, peace-loving, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Empower me to make this list a part of my attitudes and character.

 

Human Effort, Reasoning, And Religion

Col 2:22-23 (NIV) These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.

 

They are based on human commands and teachings: These really look like wisdom; they make a lot of sense. They tell you to do good things; they take Bible passages and draw them out as doctrines and Biblical principles. And, they are from the Bible; you are just being required to live them based on your own efforts.

 

Avoiding The Appearance Of Wisdom

Jesus, help me avoid messages of wisdom that put the pressure on me trying rather than:

Desiring what the Bible says,

Studying the Bible to see what it says,

Praying for what it says,

Looking to You to give me faith, so I can believe I have the power to do what it says,

Yielding to God’s love, so I do what it says out of love,

Taking faith-action by joining You, as You empower me to do what it says,

And, being thankful for You empowering me to do what it says through God’s love.

 

Powerless Religion

But they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence: One of the most amazing aspects of the power-gifts of the Holy Spirit is its power. When you give or receive a message of wisdom, it can look like just a wise idea. It will have information that is incredibly wise and helpful. But, if it is received in faith, a power will enable you to do this incredibly wise thing with supernatural power. It will control circumstances, events, and satanic influences.

 

Jesus, Your message of wisdom does have the power to restrain sensual indulgence. It does have the power to make me pure, peace-loving, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Help me give and receive messages of wisdom with complete faith in You and Your power to take that wisdom and let it fulfill Your spiritual purposes.

 

This concludes your reading and praying for this week.

 

 

 

 

Truth/Prayer Chapter Twenty-Nine

A Message Of Wisdom From The Holy Spirit

Week Seven Day One

 

 

Preparing For A Knowledge Message

1 Cor 12:8b (NIV) To another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit: First, it is vital that you have a knowledge that prepares you for this gift. 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. You must be receptive to the message of knowledge, the Holy Spirit wants to give you for someone else.

 

Jesus, get me ready for messages of knowledge. Help me yield to the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that I may know You better. Make me receptive to being given knowledge in a powerful way. Lay a foundation for it to be placed into, so I am ready to be used in this fashion, whenever the need arises. Help me live in the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so I can be a person through which You can give a specific message of knowledge for someone.

 

Praying For A Knowledge Message

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. Praying for your and other’s eyes of their heart to be enlightened, is the first step in giving and receiving messages of knowledge. When it happens, a message of knowledge can be received.

 

Jesus, let my and other’s eyes of our heart be enlightened, in order that we may know the hope to which You have called us, the riches of Your glorious inheritance in the saints, and Your incomparably great power for us who believe. Let our hearts be prepared for Your powerful messages of knowledge, so we can know these things.

 

The Main Purpose Of A Knowledge Message

Eph 4:13 (NIV) Until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. A message of knowledge must have the objective of growing the recipient in the knowledge of the Son of God. It should lead the giver and the receiver away from their body, the world, and the devil. It should be knowledge that facilitates a better knowledge of Jesus.

 

Jesus, help me only get messages of knowledge that lead me and others into a greater knowledge of You. Protect us from any messages of knowledge that don’t have that result. Help me have a deep desire to get and share the power-gift of messages of knowledge, so we will all grow in our relationship with You.

 

Messages Of Knowledge That Understands Love

Phil 1:9 (NIV) And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight: Love and a message of knowledge work together to help you understand what love looks like in real life. It helps you not just have love; these messages teach you how to yield to love, as you go about your day. They prepare you, by giving you a message that informs you of what you will need to know about love that day.

 

Jesus, help me understand that messages of knowledge are based on the Bible. But, they apply the Scriptures in a specific way. They show me how the Bible is lived out in real life. It gives me and others information about our day or future that we needed to know, so we would be ready for a specific situation. Help me take advantage of them and get Biblically ready.

 

Love Abounding In Knowledge And Insight

Phil 1:10 (NIV) So that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ. A message of knowledge equips you with the ability to discern what is best. With that knowledge, the Holy Spirit gave you insight you needed to handle unexpected events. He uses you to give others knowledge that helps them make decisions that are pure and blameless until the day of Christ.

 

Jesus, help me get messages of knowledge that prepare me and others, so we will be properly prepared for whatever comes our way. Help me know what to expect, so I can study and pray about events that I need to be prepared for. Let me be used by Your Holy Spirit, so I can give Biblical messages of knowledge to others. Let them get the information they need.

 

The Results Of Knowledge Messages

Phil 1:11 (NIV) Filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ--to the glory and praise of God. Once you have this goal in mind, you will see how powerful and beneficial messages of knowledge are. The Bible gives you the unchangeable, overall knowledge about life. The messages of knowledge give direct Biblical application of that knowledge. It lets you know how to apply the Bible to difficult situations.

 

Jesus, help me be filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through You, Jesus Christ--to the glory and praise of God. Let me be used in this power-gift of the Holy Spirit, so I and others can better live the righteous life. Let us be constantly open to anything the Holy Spirit wants to speak into us. Help me serve others in this powerful way.

 

Knowing God’s Will

Col 1:9 (NIV) For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. This one has to be verified in a very careful way. It has been misused by givers and receivers of messages of knowledge. If someone wants to know what God’s will is for their life, sometimes the Holy Spirit will give someone a message of knowledge for them. But, God always speaks to the receiver with power and confirmation.

 

Jesus, help me stay neutral, when I receive or give a message of knowledge. If I am giving a message of knowledge concerning Your will for someone, help me warn them that they must confirm it by waiting on Your revelations and power. Help me stay in the realm of only reporting what You give me. Help me never present it as a commandment from You.

 

A Message Of Knowledge Example

Acts 21:10 (NIV) After we (Paul and his team) had been there a number of days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, “The Holy Spirit says, ‘In this way the Jews of Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.’”

 

A Message Of Knowledge Properly Presented

Agabus was given Jesus’ ministerial service gift of being a prophet (Eph 4:11). In this case, Agabus was clear that this was a message of knowledge from the Holy Spirit. But, it is very important to notice that it was not presented as a commandment. It was an expression of God’s will. He did tell Paul what was going to happen to him, if he went to Jerusalem. He did not tell him what he should do about it.

 

Jesus, help me see how mature and experienced Agabus was. Help me see how he presented Your message of knowledge. Show me that it is not the Bible. Help me realize that it cannot be used for more than that one person. Show me that it does not become like Scripture that can be applied in other situations. Teach me that it must be interpreted by You and the Bible.

 

A Message Of Knowledge Improperly Interpreted

Acts 21:12 (NIV) When we heard this, we and the people there pleaded with Paul not to go up to Jerusalem. This is the typical response to a message of knowledge. People who hear it want to interpret it. However, the message of knowledge was given to Paul. It was a message from God to him. They thought they had the right to hear it and interpret its meaning.

 

Jesus, help me treat messages of knowledge with the respect they deserve. But, help me not hear them and think I can just take them and do what I want. Help me be thankful for the information; but, help me bring it to You for what to do with it. Help me see it helps me know things I couldn’t know without it. But, lead me into its application.

 

Acts 21:13 (NIV) Then Paul answered, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” Paul recognized it as a message of choice. If he wanted to, he could hear it and decide he didn’t want to go to Jerusalem. Or, he could simply know what was going to happen when he went to Jerusalem. This was a martyrdom decision. It was giving him a choice.

 

Jesus, help me see that You had already been talking to Paul. He had already decided that he wanted to not only suffer for You; he was ready to die for You. Let me see that this message of knowledge was giving him a better and more vivid picture of what he was deciding to do. Show me that messages of knowledge don’t come as commands or Scriptural authority.

 

This concludes your reading and praying for today.

 

 

Truth/Prayer Chapter Thirty

A Ministry Of Faith From The Holy Spirit

Week Seven Day Two

 

 

Preparing For A Faith Message

1 Cor 12:9a (NIV) To another faith by the same Spirit. This is a little more permanent gift; it can be a specialist’s main message to the people. Their writings, messages, and ministry can all be emphasizing the importance of faith. However, they can be very involved in exercising faith in the things they do. When God wants them to accomplish something supernatural, they typically have the faith to see it through.

 

Jesus, help me be open to You giving me a specialized, ministerial faith. If you want to do big, supernatural, God-sized things through me, empower me to yield to them. Help me see that You have given this to people who are misusing it to accomplish huge worldly projects. If this is what You have planned for me, help me totally submit to Your plan.

 

Supporting Your Commitment

1 Cor 16:13 (NIV) Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. When things get tough, the Holy Spirit may put this gift in you to help you not give up. Or, He may give it as a message of faith to someone else to give to you. How ever it comes, it will put you on your guard against opposition and failure. It will make you a person of courage. And it will make you strong in your ability of be faithful to Jesus and not give up.

 

Jesus, help me, when I am struggling with my faith. Let the Holy Spirit speak this gift of faith into me at times when I am feeling like giving up. Send someone to me to speak faith into me, so I will get on my guard against discouragement. Let it cause me to stand firm in the faith. Let it give me courage to face and win against the issues and be strong.

 

Open To Instruction

2 Cor 1:24 (NIV) Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, because it is by faith you stand firm. When people who have the special ministry of faith work on a weakness in your faith, it can be offensive. Jesus won’t speak faith into you, if you are resistant. There can be times when someone has to challenge the fact that Satan, circumstances, or personal weaknesses are pushing you around. So, they work on your faith.

 

Jesus, when I get to feeling sorry for myself and just want sympathy, let someone come to me and challenge my faith. Help me be receptive, when I get low in faith and start allowing Satan, circumstances, or my spiritual weakness start pushing me around. Help me not allow this to take me down a path to defeat. Let someone get me back the faith track.

 

Getting Your Mouth Back On Track

2 Cor 4:13 (NIV) It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” With that same Spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak. Your mouth can get out of control. You may feel like you have faith for something; but, there can be words of doubt and wavering. The Spirit may need to put the gift of faith in you, so you can be strong and courageous.

 

Jesus, if my mouth gets out of control, send someone to me to speak the gift of faith to me. Help me always keep in mind that my mouth is the steering mechanism that directs me to a certain destination. Help me not end up in a place of faithlessness because of the words I am speaking out of my mouth. Show me that, in the spirit realm, words of faith really matter.

 

A Life-Supplement

2 Cor 5:7 (NIV) We live by faith, not by sight. Every second of your day must be lived by faith. If you were driving down the road, you couldn’t just all of a sudden turn you steering wheel toward a drop off. Just as sure as you have to be vigilant in steering correctly, you must be constant in your faith. In a moment where things get tough to believe, the Holy Spirit will supplement your faith what a message of faith from someone.

 

Jesus, help me see that faith isn’t something that happens on special occasions. Help me realize that I must live by faith every second of my day. Help me put my complete trust, reliance, and dependency on You. You are my Author and Perfector of my faith. Help me see that You have the power to keep me in faith constantly.

 

Faith For Generosity

2 Cor 8:7 (NIV) But just as you excel in everything--in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us --see that you also excel in this grace of giving. Finances can take a lot of faith. It takes faith to get it when you don’t have it. And, it takes faith when God wants you to give it to someone in need. Generosity is a faith challenger.

 

Jesus, send someone to me with a gift of faith, if I get to the place where I am not being generous with my money, possessions, and resources. Let them deal with my lack of faith, trust, and believing in You. Help me not get so fearful that I get stingy with my time, effort, and money. Let those with the gift of faith help me open up and be generous.

 

About To Fail The Test

2 Cor 13:5 (NIV) Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you--unless, of course, you fail the test? This is when the gift of faith is most important. If you get to a place where you are about to fail the faith test, you need someone to help you. There can be times when your faith gets low gradually. You start neglecting your prayer times, your church and small group attendance, listening to good Christian music, reading good Christian books, and doing these studies and prayers. So, gradually, your faith starts to get weak. That’s when Jesus sends a faith-person.

 

Jesus, show me that things can be going great; then, all of a sudden, I can get off track. When I get in trouble and don’t seem to notice, send someone to my rescue. Send someone who can get my faith back where it needs to be. Let them show me how I have gotten off course by neglecting my spiritual intake. Empower me to reengage with You and Your provisions.

 

Times Of Human Effort

Gal 3:12 (NIV) The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, “The man who does these things will live by them.” You can go along for quite some time living by faith. Then, something happens and you start trying to do something on your own. You may not know when it happened. But, the only answer to your problem is to get back into faith. So, God sends you a faith-person to help you take your faith out of yourself and get it back in Jesus.

 

Jesus, I am starting to understand that there can be times when things happen to me so gradually that I don’t notice. Help me see that this is why I need to be around people who know me, care about me, and are good quality Christians. Help me associate with people I can trust to be there when I need them. Help me be open with them and them with me.

 

Times Of Legalism

Gal 3:25-26 (NIV) Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law. You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. A very subtle form of human effort is legalism. It involves you working for God. You showing God and others how committed, dedicated, and hardworking you are. It is no longer a process of you looking to the Bible in study. You are no longer praying and asking Jesus for His power to do it. You are no longer waiting on Jesus for His faith, so you can believe. You are believing in yourself.

 

Jesus, teach me that the end result of legalism is, I believe in myself; I love me; I take a faith-action based on my abilities. And, I am thankful for my own skills, talents, and accomplishments. If I get in this condition, send someone with a gift of faith in You. Let them teach me the difference between legalism and grace and mercy. Let them help me back into a life where I am using The Three Keys To All Of Christianity, The Seven Biblical Principles, and The Eight Power-Attitudes Of God.

 

This concludes your reading and praying for today.

 

 

Truth/Prayer Chapter Thirty-One

A Ministry Of Faith From The Holy Spirit

Week Seven Day Three

 

 

Preparing For A Healing Ministry

1 Cor 12:9b (NIV) To another gifts of healing by that one Spirit. This too is a more permanent gift. You would be used to go around giving gifts of healing to people who needed it. You wouldn’t have the gift of healing. You would be given gifts of healing to distribute to those Jesus wanted healed; Jesus would be doing the healing.

 

Jesus, I thank You for working on my attitudes and character. Gifts like gifts of healing can be greatly appreciated by those being healed. Some of them will have life-threatening diseases and will have no hope of being cured. When You give them their life back through me, they can express great love, gratitude, appreciation, and respect for me. Help me be very clear that I am just Your person for allowing Your gifts of healing to flow through me.

 

A Gift Of Jesus’ Healing Ministry

1 Cor 12:27-28 (NIV) Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And, in the church God, has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues.

 

These are ministerial service gifts from Jesus. When the Holy Spirit gives gifts of healing to a person, it may just be a one-time gift, it may happen periodically, or it may be a continuous flow. Those Jesus gives the ministerial service gift of gifts of healing, the Holy Spirit gives them a continuous flow of gifts of healing.

 

Jesus, help me understand that You have been working on my attitudes and character, so You could give me one of Your ministerial service gifts. Help me see that You have been holding Your gifts from me, so You could prepare me for a mighty work of God. Since all of this is totally supernatural and very impressive, You have been protecting me from getting involved in God-sized things until You knew I was ready. I thank You very much for that!

 

This Is Not The End!

Mat 15:30 (NIV) Great crowds came to Him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at His feet; and He healed them. Those that Jesus flows through with gifts of healing, are people who are doing a special part of Jesus’ earthly ministry. 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. This is Jesus’ plan for His Body of believers. He wants to continue His ministry through them.

 

Jesus, I have seen You heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out demons, cleanse the lepers, and preach You message of the Kingdom. Your Holy Spirit has been taking me through the Gospels and made them real to me. He made me feel like I was actually there walking with You. Help me see what it is You want to do through me. If it is gifts of healing, help me be ready to completely yield to You doing that part of Your ministry through me.

 

The Process

Acts 3:16 (NIV) By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through Him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see. Jesus will speak faith into you for a specific person. Only if that happens, will you know who to lay your hands on to give a gift of healing. Jesus will be totally in charge; you will feel the faith come into you; and you will know who He spoke it into you for. This will guide you to those that will be healed.

 

Jesus, this helps me see how this works so perfectly. You will give me the faith that indicates who is to receive a gift of healing from the Holy Spirit. I won’t be confused, as to who I am to give it to. You will speak faith into me; and, I will know what to do, who to give it to, and when I am to do it. Thank You for making this so simple for me.

 

Attitudes And Character

Acts 3:12 (NIV) When Peter saw this, he said to them: “Men of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? You can get the impression that Jesus made you godly by working on your attitudes and character. When gifts of healing start flowing through you, you must understand that Jesus didn’t make you a better Christian. He made you a more yielded Christian.

 

Jesus, as You use me in such a powerful way, help me always know that it wasn’t by my own power or godliness that I do these things. Let me understand that You are helping me give You all the credit for my attitudes and character. You created me, as a new child of God; You forgave me of all my past, present, and future sins. You gave me a perfect record with God; and, You are keeping me cleansed, so You can flow through me powerfully.

 

The Purpose

Acts 4:8 (NIV) Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.

 

Jesus isn’t healing all these people through you just so they can be healed. That healing will only last for the time of their temporary life; eternity lasts forever! Jesus will want you to help them see, first of all, that He is the living Christ. He is alive and is still doing the work He did when He was here. Secondly, He wants them to understand His salvation.

 

Jesus, empower me to present Your good news message to every person You use me to help. Give me wisdom and love, so I can say powerful and transforming things to those who need to hear from You. As You flow through me to meet some need, give me words that explain why you are using me to help them. Let those words bring transformation into them.

 

Helping People Believe

Acts 4:13-14 (NIV) When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say.

 

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. People can’t be saved, if they don’t believe in their heart that God raised Jesus from the dead. As Jesus does mighty works through you, and you explain to them that it is being done by Jesus, they meet the living Christ or Messiah. They see His works, right in front of them, and can believe He is alive.

 

Jesus, thank You for helping me give You all the credit for all the works You are doing in and through me. It is a sobering thought that they must believe God raised You from the dead in order to be saved. Help me take every miracle and breakthrough You give me and use them to help people see You as the living Christ. Use me in the gifts of the Spirit, for more evidences.

 

It’s God’s Decision

1 Cor 12:29-31 (NIV) Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But eagerly desire the greater gifts. And now I will show you the most excellent way.

 

If Jesus and the Holy Spirit don’t give you gifts of healing for others, it is important that you respect their decision. 1 Cor 12:15 (NIV) If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. Just like you are glad you have all your body parts, Jesus needs you to be one of His Body parts. The Bible makes it clear that He does not honor one member more than another.

 

Jesus, it would really be great going around, like You, and healing the sick, raising the dead, casting out demons, cleansing the cancerous or lepers, and then telling people that it is their proof that You are the living Christ. But, help me remain totally submitted to Your choice. Help me not be seeking ways to do things that are impressive. Help me want to do those things that You know are vital for me to contribute to Your work.

 

This concludes your reading and praying for today.

 

 

 

Truth/Prayer Chapter Thirty-Two

A Ministry Of Miracles From The Holy Spirit

Week Seven Day Four

 

 

Preparing For A Miracle Ministry

1 Cor 12:10a (NIV) To another, miraculous powers. This too can be more of a continuous gift flowing through you. Things like making a shriveled hand straighten out is a healing. Raising someone from the dead, whose body has started to rot for four days, is a miracle. Making a storm become calm, is also a miracle. Jesus performed a lot of miracles. Most of the miracles Jesus performed were life and death issues.

 

Jesus, I can see that being used with supernatural miracles requires a lot of humility. Miracles really impress people. Thank You for getting me ready to be able to help people, even if it takes a miracle. Help me not be afraid of allowing You to use me in miracles. Help not feel like they are too big or too important. Help me let You be God in and through my life.

 

A Specialized Ministry

1 Cor 12:28 (NIV) And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. This is a ministerial service gift from Jesus.

 

Some of Jesus’ miracles, like cursing a fig tree, are somewhat novel. But others, like walking on water, require you to really believe, trust, depend, and rely on Jesus. When you end up out in the middle of the lake, you don’t want to have a faith failure. When you are dealing with circumstances, weather, finances, dead people, and demon possessed people, you need to be open to all Jesus has to offer you. Total commitment and faith will be required.

 

Jesus, help me not have any limits to my commitment and cooperation with You. Elevate my faith and trust in You to a level where You can do God-sized things in and through me. Help me realize that You are trying to prepare me, as a child of God, for my eternal assignments. Lift my eyes up, so I can be ready for any assignment You give me.

 

Ready For Miracles

Acts 9:40 (NIV) Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up. You never know what Jesus is going to want you to do. That is why He is spending so much time helping You with these studies and prayers. He wants to get you ready for anything He needs done.

 

Jesus, I can see that some assignments can try to push me into pride; others can cause me to want to hold back; and, some can get me in a lot of trouble. Help me with my submission to You. Help me not be a member of Your Body that doesn’t always function correctly. Give me everything I need, so I can be instant in my response to anything You ask of me.

 

Making Sure They Know

Acts 9:41-42 (NIV) He (Peter) took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called the believers and the widows and presented her to them alive. This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord. This didn’t cause people to believe in Peter. Peter didn’t allow anyone to be confused about who was doing this miracle.

 

Jesus, use me in such a way that people believe in You. Help me understand that unless You were doing these things through Peter, all those people won’t have come to You. Show me that this was Your way of using Peter to help people meet You, the risen Messiah. Help me realize that the people of my day need this message just as much as they did then.

 

Life And Death Miracles

Acts 28:3-5 (NIV) Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, “This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.” But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects.

 

Jesus wasn’t through with Paul yet; He didn’t want Him to die of a snake bite. He still had a lot of work He wanted to do through him. There are a lot of things that could have happened to you. No doubt Jesus has worked a lot of miracles for you that you didn’t know about. But, when something deadly happens and you know you should have died, that is different.

 

Jesus, help me see that I need miracles that don’t necessarily fall into the category of a miracle ministry. Help me see the faith You spoke into Paul, at the moment of the snake bite. Help me realize that Paul had to be instantly open to You speaking this faith into him. Help me not be so overwhelmed that I can’t receive Your faith to protect me from deadly things.

 

Coupling Power-Gifts Of The Holy Spirit

Acts 27:9-11 (NIV) Much time had been lost, and sailing had already become dangerous because by now it was after the Fast. So Paul warned them, “Men, I can see that our voyage is going to be disastrous and bring great loss to ship and cargo, and to our own lives also.” But the centurion, instead of listening to what Paul said, followed the advice of the pilot and of the owner of the ship.

 

Jesus gave Paul information about the ship they were traveling on. Sometimes He needs you to know things about your and other people’s future. If He can share this with you without doing damage to your attitudes and character, He will. This was a message of knowledge.

 

Jesus, help me see how impossible it is for You to do Your work without the power-gifts of the Holy Spirit. When I can’t be used in this area of power, I can see how debilitating it is to Your Body. Set me free from anything that is hindering me from being able to respond to everything You need to reveal to me and use me in.

 

A Message Of Knowledge Setting Up A Miracle

Acts 27:14 (NIV) Before very long, a wind of hurricane force, called the “northeaster,” swept down from the island.

 

Acts 27:20-22 (NIV) When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved. After the men had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up before them and said: “Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete; then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss. But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed.

 

The message is a good one; it demonstrates how powerful Jesus is. But, to stand up and tell experts what they should or should not do, takes a special faith from Jesus. You can see that if Jesus had not been teaching you how He speaks faith into you, you would either see Paul as a great Christian or someone who had a lot of confidence in himself.

 

Jesus, You have made it clear that it is all about You. Thank You for helping me not see Paul as having something You won’t give me. Help me understand that it wasn’t Paul doing these things, it was You giving him faith, power, and supernatural knowledge. Help me believe that You want to do these types of vital things in and through me.

 

Now For The Miraculous Powers

Acts 27:23-25 (NIV) Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’ So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me.

 

It was an incredible miracle; the ship was lost just like Jesus’ message of knowledge said through Paul. And, everyone was saved; just like Jesus’ message of knowledge said through Paul. This has a mighty impact on people being able to believe that Jesus is the living Christ. And, that information makes it possible for them to believe God raised Jesus from the dead; just like Romans 10:9-10 requires.

 

Jesus, help me keep these things out of my fictional box. Help me not just believe that it happens in the Bible but not to me. Set me free from reading this and it just be interesting information. Prepare me for this type of work; help me believe and get ready to listen for You to speak these kinds of things into me. Make it clear to me that I must live by faith and not by sight. Speak Your faith and Your power-gifts into me, so You can work like this.

 

This concludes your reading and praying for today.

 

 

Truth/Prayer Chapter Thirty-Three

A Ministry Of Miracles From The Holy Spirit

Week Seven Day Five

 

 

Preparing For A Prophetic Ministry

1 Cor 12:10b (NIV) To another, prophecy. In a lot of ways, Jesus was speaking through Paul as a prophecy, as well as a message of knowledge. He was predicting the future of the ship and the people on it. The same was the message of knowledge from Agabus. However, he wasn’t predicting the outcome in its entirety. It was dependent on what Paul’s decision was. If he went to Jerusalem, which he did, then it was a prophecy. If he didn’t then it was a message of knowledge.

 

Jesus, help me not get caught up in trying to draw a hard line between the power-gifts. Help me see that somethings they are so interchangeable and mixed together that it becomes impossible to clearly identify them. Help me just see how they work, how they typically manifest, and how powerful they are. Help me just be ready to do whatever You want.

 

Three Major Assignments

1 Cor 14:1 (NIV) Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy.

 

Follow the way of love: The main thing about spiritual gifts is, they must flow out of love. They are the supernatural power of God to help hurting people. They have special supernatural contributions that can change a hurting person’s life forever. They do things that humans can’t do, can’t provide, and can’t receive. Without them, many are left with no hope.

 

Jesus, help me see these power-gifts through the eyes of love. Help me go places where people are suffering and see what could happen, if only they had these gifts available to them right now. Help me “do what it takes” to be available for You to flow through me to them. Set me free from any obstructions that are keeping these people from getting this help.

 

Eagerly desire spiritual gifts: What you are studying and praying over, has to do with things you need to eagerly desire. Jesus is helping prepare you, because what He is getting you ready for, is vital for the meeting of hurting people’s needs. He sees how they are suffering; and, He is doing special things in you, so you can be a person He can flow through to them.

 

Jesus, thank You for awakening me to how important these power-gifts are. Thank You for showing me what they can do to help people. Thank You for helping me see that there is no other way for me to help people like these power-gifts can. Help me realize what You are about to do for these people, as You and I work together bringing these power-gifts to them.

 

Especially the gift of prophecy: This is a very powerful spiritual gift. It can do the most for helping people grow spiritually. It can do the most for getting people ready for eternity. It can get specific in dealing with things that are blocking off Jesus’ work in a person’s life. It can say things that are so supernatural that they will know for a fact that Jesus is speaking through you.

 

Why Is Prophecy So Important?

The Purpose Of Prophecy

1 Cor 14:3 (NIV) But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort. The purpose of prophecy is to help hurting people in a very special way. It is able to bring supernatural strength to people that will transform their life. It will bring supernatural encouragement that will motivate a person powerfully. It will supernaturally comfort a person, so that nothing can take it away from them.

 

Jesus, help me understand that prophetic words speak with Your power. You are able to use prophecy to speak directly from one person into the heart of another. Show me that the prophetic ministry can reveal hidden things in a person’s heart that it is impossible for anyone to know. Help me especially desire the gift of prophecy.

 

It Benefits The Whole Church

1 Cor 14:4 (NIV) He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. Here, Jesus is using Paul to show people the importance of praying in the Spirit, privately during their devotions alone. He doesn’t want them praying in the Spirit out loud and disturb the people in the group. Instead, Jesus wants you to be available to prophesy.

 

Jesus, use me in Your ministerial service gift, as a prophet, if that is something that would help Your Body. But, if that isn’t the ministry You want me in, help me at least be able to prophecy, so as to edify and benefit the church to grow spiritually. Open me to the power-gift of prophecy, so You can help people see that You know the internal parts of their heart.

 

The Sign

1 Cor 14:22 (NIV) Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers; prophecy, however, is for believers, not for unbelievers. Just like a person being able to speak in a tongue they never learned can be impressive to an unbeliever, a prophecy can be a sign to believers that God is using you to do what you couldn’t do before.

 

Jesus, show me that it is a sign that You are not in our midst, if You aren’t speaking to us directly through prophecy. 2 Tim 3:5 (NIV) Having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. If I am in a church where everything done could be done using human effort, help me get out of it. That is a sign that You aren’t in it.

 

Power To Reveal Hearts

Revealing The Hearts Of Unbelievers

1 Cor 14:24-25 (NIV) But if an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all, and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!”

 

Acts 5:1-2 (NIV) Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet. Prophecy has the ability to reveal the hearts of unbelievers and believers. When Jesus combines messages of knowledge with prophecy, people who are trying to deceive a church will be revealed.

 

Jesus, help me see how vulnerable a church would be, if only the outside of the person could be seen. Help me understand how vital it is for the leaders of the church to be able to see the motives and intents of certain peoples’ hearts. Help me see the necessity of some peoples’ hearts to be revealed to the whole church, so they can’t destroy it.

 

Revealing The Hearts Of Believers

Acts 5:3-4 (NIV) Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God.”

 

Ananias and Sapphira had the right to not sell the land, to sell the land and keep the money, or sell the land and give part of it to the church. But, they decided to claim to give the whole amount to the church, when in fact they kept part of it. But, instead of them secretly doing damage to the church and no one knowing why, the Holy Spirit revealed it all to Peter.

 

Jesus, help me see why so many churches are being destroyed by sinful people. Show me that I need to be made available to see into the hearts of people who are in trouble. Let me see and warn them before they destroy themselves and others. Reveal to me the vital importance of me yielding to Your power-gifts, so You can protect people and the church.

 

The Results

Acts 5:11 (NIV) Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.

 

Acts 5:13 (NIV) No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people.

 

Acts 5:14 (NIV) Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number.

 

This concludes your reading and praying for this week.

 

 

 

 

Truth/Prayer Chapter Thirty-Four

A Ministry Of Discernment From The Holy Spirit

Week Eight Day One

 

Preparing For A Discerning Ministry

To another distinguishing between spirits. If a person is possessed by a demonic, evil spirit, you would be able to know. Even if the demon wasn’t manifesting themselves at the moment, you would still know. This gift also lets you know when someone is allowing their mouth or their deeds be influenced by the satanic realm.

 

Jesus, I can see how important this is; help me be available to be protected and to protect others. Let me know who I am dealing with. If a person is being controlled or influenced, help me be aware of it. Let me be able to warn others of this situation. And, if at all possible, let me cast it out of the person who is being tormented.

 

Given Over To Satan’s Words

1 John 4:1 (NIV) Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. In this case, the person may only be allowing the evil spirit to control what they say. The demonic force doesn’t have control over them; they aren’t being allowed inside them. In that situation, their words are what is dangerous.

 

Jesus, help me be able to discern a person’s message. Let me feel the spiritual conflict inside my spirit. Help me not be gullible or misled by any false prophet. Help me be able to warn people about them, so they can stay away from them. Help me be at the right place, so I can test the spirits to see whether they are from God.

 

Testing Those Claiming To Be Christians

1 John 4:2 (NIV) This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God. The word “Christ” means Messiah. If the person acknowledges that the Messiah came in the likeness of a human body, then they are a Christian. If they don’t believe He came in an actual body, they aren’t.

 

This is what a Christian has to believe: Rom 8:3 (NIV) For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending His Own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so He condemned sin in sinful man.

 

Jesus, show me that anyone who doesn’t believe You came in an actual body can’t believe You died for their sins and rose from the dead. If they don’t believe You came at all, they are calling You and Your Word a liar. If I come across someone like that, help me see if they are confused and need help. Or, they are knowledgeably rejecting You and Your message.

 

Testing Those Who Have An Antichrist Spirit

1 John 4:3 (NIV) But every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus, is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world. The antichrist, will rule over the whole earth for seven years. He is described, as the beast, in Revelation chapters 13-19. The spirit of antichrist is a spiritual condition, where Satan convinces a person that Jesus didn’t come to earth, as the Messiah.

 

Jesus, help me know when I am dealing with a person who has the spirit of antichrist. Help me teach those who don’t know what that spirit is and what it believes. Help me protect those who are susceptible to that spirit. Let me overcome that spirit by helping more and more people believe You came in bodily form, died for our sins, and rose from the dead.

 

Discerning And Casting Out

Acts 16:16 (NIV) Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. This is the way people become demon possessed. They fool around with the occult to start with. Then they start wanting more power and abilities, so as to impress their friends. Satan takes advantage of every chance he is given.

 

Jesus, keep me away from physical exercises, mental exercises, and religious exercises that aren’t Christian. Help me check the origin of all popular physical, emotional, financial, relational, and spiritual systems. Keep me from mixing anything with You and Your Word. Help me warn those involved in games or exercises that originate from false religions.

 

Acts 16:17 (NIV) This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” Satan will try to fool you into believing he and his people are a part of Christianity. If he can’t get you away from it, then he will try to contaminate it. This woman was wrapping up a lie with the truth. She was making herself look like she was a part of God’s work.

 

Jesus, help me see that this power-gift of discernment is very important. Help me realize that Your people are under attack; Satan is trying to deceive us with great effort. Help me see that it would be impossible for us to navigate through life without Your Holy Spirit’s power-gifts. Help me be constantly open to the warnings of the Holy Spirit.

 

Acts 16:18 (NIV) She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so troubled that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her. Paul had to know which spirit he was dealing with. Because of discernment, he was clear on the matter and knew what to do.

 

Jesus, it’s not always easy to tell which spirit I am dealing with. This girl was fairly easy to discern. Help me detect those like Satan, masquerading as an angel of light. Give me a clear revelation to know what to do. Help me act with discernment and not guess work.

 

 

Common Discernment Assignments

False Christian Leaders

2 Cor 11:13 (NIV) For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. You will find these as pastors, elders, board members, teachers, and youth ministers. People fail to test leaders before they make them their leaders. You must know whether or not your leaders believe Jesus came in bodily form.

 

Jesus, help me check those who are ministering into my life. Help me listen to what they say, as they speak. Give me discernment for those who are behind the scenes that are running the church or Christian organization. Let me help those who are being fooled by false Christian leaders. Let the power-gift of distinguishing between spirits be spread into these places.

 

False Bible Studies

2 Cor 11:14 (NIV) And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is vital that you understand what this means. If Satan can’t get you to fail through sin, then he will try to get you involved in human effort. Or, he will try to get you to do Bible studies about dates, times, genealogies, kings, numerology, and unimportant issues.

 

Jesus, help me examine my spiritual interests. Help me see whether or not the spiritual things I want to study are going to help me grow spiritually or not. Protect me from human effort, legalism, and “biblical” concepts that lead me away from those things that change my attitudes and character. Get me involved in those things that help others with their relationship with You.

 

Discovering False Christians

2 Cor 11:15 (NIV) It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve. This isn’t to lead you into suspicion, judgmentalism, or worry. The people around you are innocent until proven guilty.

1 Cor 13:7 (NIV) It (love) always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

 

Jesus, fill me with Your fruit of the Spirit: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law (Gal 5:22-23 NIV). Help me approach these things with this kind of attitude and character. Let me check these things out to help build and not tear down.

 

1 Tim 5:19-20 (NIV) Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses. Those who sin are to be rebuked publicly, so that the others may take warning. This, however, is done with a kind and loving attitude with righteousness.

 

Jesus, I know that sometimes You have to use gifts like distinguishing between spirits to clean out Your Body, Your Church, and Your people. Help me only be involved in these things, so as to bring about the very best possible solution. Let me be firm; let me be Biblical; let me be loving; let me be helpful; and, let me try to salvage as many as possible.

 

This concludes your reading and praying for today.

 

 

 

Truth/Prayer Chapter Thirty-Five

A Ministry Of Tongues From The Holy Spirit

Week Eight Day Two

 

 

Preparing For Speaking In Tongues

To another speaking in different kinds of tongues. This has been totally excluded by whole denominations. In other denominations, they believe it is real; but, they ignore it. The main problem is the mystical aspects of it. Someone speaks out, right in the middle of a service, with a tongue that no one in that service understands. That can be scary, upsetting, confusing, and disrupting. This has caused many churches to discontinue its use.

 

Jesus, help me not just arbitrarily disregard any of Your power-gifts of the Holy Spirit. Help me understand its purpose and its application. Help me be willing to be used by it in such a way that Your purpose is accomplished. Teach me what this power-gift is all about, so I can cooperate with it and with You. Set me free from fear and suspicion.

 

Its Purpose

1 Cor 14:22 (NIV) Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers; prophecy, however, is for believers, not for unbelievers. The purpose of tongues is to bring an unbeliever into the realization that something supernatural is happening. But, then an interpretation must follow, that reveals their heart.

 

1 Cor 14:5 (NIV) I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. He who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may be edified.

 

Jesus, Your way of doing things are high above my head. You are able to accomplish supernatural things that I didn’t know were possible. Help me see that a message in tongues in a service or small group, must be interpreted. Help me understand how that will be better than someone skipping it and just prophesying. Help me see how it helps unbelievers.

 

Praying In Tongues

1 Cor 14:4 (NIV) He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. It is vital that you be edified or helped to grow spiritually. So, it is very important that you have this prayer language for your devotional time alone with God. But, you must not use it during a meeting, where you are with an other person or a group.

 

Rom 8:26 (NIV) In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. This is your private prayer language; this is the Holy Spirit praying through you about things you don’t know you need to be praying about; this is not for group meetings.

 

Jesus, help me see the difference between me praying in the Spirit and me giving a message in tongues. Help me not use my prayer language to disrupt or distract a group meeting. Help me wait until I get alone to yield to praying in the Spirit. Help me realize that I am responsible for deciding when I pray in the Spirit and when I give a message in tongues.

 

Your Free Will Is Still Involved

1 Cor 14:32 (NIV) The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets. As you read through 1 Corinthians chapter fourteen, it becomes obvious that the person is responsible for what they do with spiritual gifts. The Holy Spirit and His power-gifts don’t take control over you. He will give you a message of speaking in different kinds of tongues. But, you are responsible for yielding to it at the appropriate time.

 

Jesus, help me never forget that I am not being driven by the Holy Spirit. If I feel driven, help me understand that it is Satan driving me. You always lead me; Satan always tries to drive me. Help me never excuse myself by doing a mighty spiritual act, while getting out of control. Help me keep in mind that self-control is a fruit of the Spirit.

 

A Unifying Flow By The Holy Spirit

1 Cor 14:27 (NIV) If anyone speaks in a tongue, two--or at the most three--should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. This is a normal process in a Christian group meeting. If unbelievers are there, don’t forget that the message in tongues is to be explained to them. Explain that this is God giving them a language they do not know.

 

And someone must interpret: This is a message for the unbeliever or to the group for helping them know what God is saying to them. It is not a command or a permanent message. It is for that meeting, to the person or persons it was directed to. Unless Scripture is quoted, it is not to be used more than once, given to others, or used like a Scripture.

 

Jesus, help me understand the purpose of speaking in different kinds of tongues and its interpretation. Help me realize that it is You giving a message that You want the group to hear. Help me respect this process, so I will not misuse it, misunderstand it, or misrepresent it. Help me feel the awe of You speaking to Your people through us.

 

A Devotional Prayer Misunderstood

1 Cor 14:28 (NIV) If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and God. A person can get a feeling that the Holy Spirit is giving them a message. But, it isn’t a message in tongues to the group; it is a prayer the Holy Spirit wants to pray for them personally. This verse gives them permission to pray quietly to themselves.

 

Jesus, I can see that this type of meeting will take a lot of practice. Help me join a group where novice Christians get together and learn how to be used in prophecy, tongues, and interpretations. Teach me the difference in feelings, when the Holy Spirit is giving me a prayer to pray to myself and when it is a message in tongues to the group.

 

A Messages Must Be Weighed

1 Cor 14:29 (NIV) Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. This rule also applies to a message in tongues and its interpretation. Mature Christians must be present during all messages in tongues and interpretations. If a prophecy or tongues and interpretation take place, where no mature Christian is present, the message must be taken for examination before it is applied to a person or group.

 

Jesus, help me be trained by You, so I can help examine prophecies and interpretations. Let me teach others that all messages must be taken to the Bible and checked. Help me know Your Word, so I can check them for myself and can help others check them with the Bible. But, help me do it with respect, love, gentleness, and sincerity.

 

Cooperation And Unity

1 Cor 14:30 (NIV) And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop. As you can see, this church or small group has spiritual participation. It isn’t a service that is dominated by a speaker, worship leader, and moderator. If a group is properly trained in the works of the Spirit, and if their attitudes and character have been worked on by Jesus, many people will be used to bring God’s messages to His people.

 

Jesus, in its current condition, I can see why no group is able to have a service like this. I can see that they would have the same chaos that the church in Corinth had. But, help me and others get to the place where You can work through us with this kind of power and love. Help me be used to lead others into this kind of spiritual growth and ministry.

 

The Typical Christian Church

1 Cor 14:31 (NIV) For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged. It may be true that there is only one mature Christian in a group. In that case, they would be the only speaker. But, it must be the goal that more and more Christians be trained to hear from God and prophesy. This will take a might move of God though.

 

Jesus, help our churches and small groups; let them be trained in spiritual growth, so they can hear from You and minister to others. Let Your people’s attitudes and character be transformed by You, so they can be used like this without the chaos like the Corinthians. I can see that it is better to not do it this way, if there will be disunity and pride.

 

Jesus, help Your people stop being untrained and immature. Help them love to grow with You. Give them a deep desire to ask You for all those things in the Bible. Help me seek Your truths with a great hunger and thirst for righteousness. Help them realize they are to progress from the moment of new birth. Let these power-gifts of the Holy Spirit be used in mature Christians who have given their entire lives over to You and Your ministry.

 

This concludes your reading and praying for today.

 

 

 

Truth/Prayer Chapter Thirty-Six

A Ministry Of Interpretation From The Holy Spirit

Week Eight Day Three

 

Preparing For A Ministry Of Interpreting

To still another the interpretation of tongues. This is indicating that the interpretation may come from someone else. Where one person gives a message in tongues, another person gives the interpretation to it. This is another one of God’s supernatural works. The person speaking in an unknown tongue does know what is being said; and typically, the person interpreting it doesn’t understand it either. So, the person speaking in tongues and the person interpreting it are getting the interpretation supernaturally from God.

 

Jesus, help me understand how all this works. Help me see how You want to do these supernatural things, so I can see You in action. I am sure I won’t understand all that it involves; but, help me get the basics. Help me be able to explain to the unbeliever what is going on. Help me be able to do it in such a way that they can respect what You are doing.

 

A Natural Interpretation

Acts 2:5-6 (NIV) Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language.

 

In this case the message in tongues was interpreted by people who knew the languages. The Disciples didn’t know what they were saying; but, the people listening did. This isn’t a typical use of speaking in different kinds of tongues. But, God can do what He wants to.

 

Jesus, help me read this and get the point that You are sovereign; You can take these things and use them however You want. Help me not get rigid and try to put these things in a box or a category. Help me just get the general idea of how You power-gifts work. Then help me see that You can use them mixed together, in unique ways, and for different purposes.

 

The Main Purpose

Acts 2:6 (NIV) When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. Utterly amazed, they asked: “Are not all these men who are speaking, Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language?

 

God wasn’t trying to entertain them or impress them. He was showing them that He is alive, has great power, and wants to establish a relationship with them. He knows all languages; He can give them to anyone He wants; and, He has a message for everyone of them. This was these people’s opportunity to get to know God in a special way.

 

God’s Main Motive

Acts 2:8 (NIV) Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs--we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!”

 

When people are in a foreign country and hear their own native tongue, it is special to them. This is Who God is; He relates to you in special ways because He loves you. He wants your respect; but, He also wants your friendship. He wants to be God in your life; and, He wants to be able to relate to you personally. He uses His power to bring things down to your level.

 

Jesus, help me be looking at speaking in different kinds of tongues and the interpretation of tongues, and see Your greatness. Then, at the same time, look at this even in Acts chapter two and see You kindness and love. Help me see that Your works are going to be extremely complex but extremely helpful. Help me see Your power and You love as one aspect of You.

 

Things Not Understood

Acts 2:13 (NIV) Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.” Some people’s knee-jerk reaction to anything they don’t understand is to make fun of it. Be sure you will experience that. God is moving you into the supernatural, spirit realm. You are going to be experiencing and manifesting a lot of things people have never seen.

 

Jesus, help me be willing to be different, strange, unusual, and unpredictable. Help me realize that all these things You are showing and teaching me are very different. Some of them are impressive; but others, like tongues and interpretations of tongues, are strange. Help me be just as willing to yield to the strange and I am willing to embrace the spectacular.

 

It Needs Explaining

Acts 2:14-15 (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. These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning!

 

When people make fun of things that are sacred and special to you, it can be easy to react negatively. However, these things are pretty new and different to you too. Peter had never spoken in tongues before; he didn’t like being made fun of any more than you do. But, Jesus had been working on His attitudes and character for three years, and it worked!

 

Jesus, help me not forget how confused and curious I got, as You explained these things to me. Tongues and interpreting tongues are very different from what I am used to. Help me see the quality of Peter’s attitude, as he patiently explained what was going on with him and his friends. Help me explain these things with others without being ashamed or angry.

 

Take Advantage Of The Opportunity

Acts 2:16-18 (NIV) No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: “‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.

 

God wants to use tongues before He gives an unbeliever the interpretation. He could just make it a prophecy and skip the speaking in different kinds of tongues. But, He decided that it is best to preface it with a person speaking the message in a tongue they don’t understand. Then He gives them the interpretation. He sees this as being important to the unbeliever.

 

Jesus, teach me that God wants me to believe that the message in tongues is needed before the interpretation is given. Help me see that these two things working together are much more impressive to the unbeliever. Show me that they need to see the miracle of a person presenting the message first in an unknown tongue. Then they need to hear what it means.

 

Don’t Forget The Main Purpose

Acts 2:21 (NIV) And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. It isn’t enough that you explain tongues and interpretations. God isn’t trying to entertain them or impress them. He is trying to get them into His Kingdom. The tongues were to show His power; the message was to tell them what they needed to know, so they could be saved.

 

Jesus, help me not get caught up in the technicalities, systems, and structures of Your power-gifts. Help me stay focused on their purpose. You are trying to bring new people into Your Kingdom; and, You are trying to train Your older ones on how to live as children of God. Help me love these people enough to cooperate with these gifts to their fullest potential.

 

The Conclusion

1 Cor 12:11 (NIV) All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and He gives them to each one, just as He determines. With all this power flowing through a purified vessel, Jesus will be able to meet so many needs of hurting people. You just need to allow the Holy Spirit to decide what He wants to empower you with. Be looking for supernatural miracles and concepts to come your way. Keep praying that Jesus will help you be totally submissive to the Holy Spirit. He is very gentle; He will not push you, force you, or thwart your God-given free will.

 

Jesus, help me understand that I must be sensitive to the desires of the Holy Spirit. Help me realize that He is speaking to me Spirit-to-spirit, because He is inside me. Teach me what a power-gift feels like, when He is trying to get me to yield to it. Help me be looking for any one of these gifts to show up inside me. Help me be ready to allow it to flow through me.

 

Jesus, help me be ready to do some practicing. Help me realize that I will start as a beginner and a novice. Help me relax and not worry or try to make things happen. Help me be willing to make mistakes and continue to practice. Help me see that You will be patient with me.

 

This concludes your reading and praying for today.

 

 

 

Truth/Prayer Chapter Thirty-Seven

Preparing For The Power-Gifts From The Holy Spirit

Week Eight Day Four

 

 

Getting Ready For Power-Gifts

You can’t decide which power-gift or gifts the Holy Spirit will give you. But, you can believe that He will give one or more to you. Once you eagerly desire the greater gifts (1 Cor 12:31a NIV), you are ready to move from the issue of desire to believing. You have already done a lot of studying and praying; so, it is time for believing.

 

Jesus, I do eagerly desire the greater gifts. And, You have led me into studying and praying for them. Help me not let faith be the area where the Holy Spirit gets blocked off from being able to speak a power-gift into me for Your use. Help me prepare the way for the Holy Spirit to activate a power-gift into my life and ministry. Guide me into Your faith for me believing.

 

They Must Flow Through Faith

FAITH: Heb 11:1 (NIV) Now faith is being sure of what you hope for and certain of what you do not see. Jesus’ faith is a knowledge, a confidence, a conviction, the acceptance of a true fact from God. Once you get this experience, you will feel a knowing, a confidence, a conviction, and an acceptance of a true fact from God. It is a vital time for you to keep your eyes fixed on Jesus; it is a time when you give all the credit to Him for how you feel.

Jesus, help me believe that the Holy Spirit is ready to activate one or more power-gifts in me. Since this is a totally new experience, help me be able to sense what He is activating in me. As I go through my day, draw my attention to a desire of the Holy Spirit. You have helped me consult You for everything. As I look to You, let me feel the Holy Spirit.

 

They Must Flow Through Action

ACTION: This is where you get ready to speak out the knowledge, the confidence, the conviction, and the acceptance of a true fact from God. This is where you get ready to base your decisions and make your moves on what you know to be true. Rom 10:8 (NIV) But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming.

Jesus, as I wait on Your faith, help me get my opinions and desires into a yielded position. Help me realize that You know a lot more than I do. I yield to Your knowledge, foreknowledge, understanding, wisdom, and power. I am looking to You to give me faith for those things You know are the very best for me. I am ready to take action through that faith and through obedience to Your Holy Spirit’s desires and plans.

 

Actions Based On Jesus-Faith

You will take action and start speaking out things, after Jesus has given you the assurance, the confidence, and the knowledge. You wait until He gives you faith for what He wants you to say and do. You wait until you know He is directing you and empowering you. You wait until you know you are to do something that is the very best for you, those around you, and His plan. You wait on Him and His directions and do not make any statements of faith, any moves, or any decisions until you receive the faith that comes from Him.

Jesus, when Your faith comes, it will be obvious what I should start speaking out and working together with You on. You will give me the confidence, assurance, and knowledge for a specific power-gift. I will have specific faith for what I am to take faith-action on by saying that I have that power-gift activated in me. Help me understand that I will not be confused.

 

Actions Based On A Power-Relationship

This action is a power from Jesus to do something you couldn’t do before. You wait on Jesus’ faith because without the power-gift, it was impossible before. You wait on the Holy Spirit’s power-gift because the situation it solves was hurting those around you. If you do things you are able to do yourself, then you aren’t working together with Jesus. If you aren’t working with Jesus, then you are stepping out of the relationship.

 

Jesus, teach me that there is a waiting not only on Your faith but the Holy Spirit’s power to take action. If I take action through human effort, it will lack the miraculous, supernatural qualities that You give. Your type of action takes me into the realm of God and does things that only God can do. It contains His knowledge, foreknowledge, understanding, wisdom, power, love, and abilities to do God-sized things. I get supernatural power that makes even the smallest things great.

Start Out Small?

Once you know you have received the faith from Jesus and the power-gift from the Holy Spirit to take a certain action, you start practicing speaking it and taking that action. This faith-action is a process that is new to you. You are learning how to move in cooperation with Jesus to do supernatural things. Ask Jesus to give you simple assignments for you to practice on.

 

Jesus, You know what is best; but, if at all possible, let me start out with smaller assignments. Give me assignments to practice on that help me relax and obey. However, help me not limit You with my beginning assignments. Help me just trust You to give me what is needed for me and those hurting people I will be helping.

 

Practice, Practice, Practice Faith-Action

Gal 6:9 (NIV) Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time you will reap a harvest if you do not give up. It is up to you to decide how you are going to react to the process of practicing to take the faith-action of speaking and doing. You start out like a child learning to ride a bicycle or a baby learning how to walk. Let Jesus show you the process of practicing faith-action. It involves a very familiar procedure that you have looked at a lot.

 

DESIRE: Jesus, help my desire to get involve in the power-gifts of the Holy Spirit be to help hurting people. As I receive to gift, show me how to yield to it with love and compassion.

STUDY: Jesus, You know what the Holy Spirit is going to activate in me, if there are any Scriptures that could prepare me, lead me to them.

PRAYER: Jesus, is there anything I need to be praying for? Is there anyone that I should be praying that they would be ready and receptive to the power-gift the Holy Spirit is putting in me? Is there anything in me that I should be addressing with You? Help me ask for everything I am going to need, in order to do well with this gift.

 

BELIEVE: Jesus, because this is so new to me, help me already have Your faith inspiring me to believe those things I will need to believe. I know I must live by faith; help me be ready for this new and different type of assignment that the Holy Spirit is giving me.

 

Faith, Love, And Faith-Action

Faith, love, and faith-action are another issue all together. It is true that, if you don’t believe, love, and take faith-action, you aren’t doing your part in the results. But, if any of them are contaminated by you, they will be powerless and without results. The power-gifts of the Holy Spirit are only as effective as these three things are pure.

1.     FAITH: Jesus, help me not get so excited, impressed, and inspired with the Holy Spirit’s power-gift that I get self-confidence and start believing in myself.

2.     LOVE: Jesus, help me not to get so involved in helping hurting people that I start feeling like it is me that is being compassionate.

3.     FAITH-ACTION: Jesus, help me not feel the supernatural power of the power-gift and get ahead of You. Help me learn how to be used through it by letting You showing me how these gifts work.

Jesus-Directed Faith, Love, And Faith-Action

Jesus, I am used to You giving me faith that helps me believe in You. You have been working on our relationship and helping me put my total trust, dependency, and reliance in You. Thank You for getting me ready for stepping into a ministry of helping people with the power-gifts of the Holy Spirit. Just knowing that You will be with me every step of the way is so comforting and helpful. Help me know that no matter what the assignment is the Holy Spirit gives me, You will be there instructing and empowering me the whole time.

 

This concludes your reading and praying for today.

 

 

 

Truth/Prayer Chapter Thirty-Eight

Preparing For The Power-Gifts From The Holy Spirit

Week Eight Day Five

 

 

Here Is God’s Teaching On Faith-Action

Faith-Action Is Faith That Produces Deeds

James 2:14 (NIV) What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Since you have been taking advantage of salvation that forgave you of your past sins and justification that is giving you a perfect record with God, you have been continuously growing spiritually. They made it possible for you to move into this power-relationship with Jesus and the power-gifts of the Holy Spirit.

 

Jesus, You have helped me grow spiritually in the way I treat myself and those around me. You are leading me into a life of love through my relationship with You. You have set me free from seeing salvation and justification from a selfish perspective. You have given me a desire to be mightily used by You to help the hurting people around me; thank You!

 

Faith-Action Is Faith That Sees Other’s Needs

James 2:15 (NIV) Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. Through salvation, you were forgiven for how you treated and neglected people in the past. Through justification, Jesus gave you a perfect record even though you mistreated and neglected people in the past and will in the future. Through sanctification, you are learning how to love yourself and others. Through this study and prayer book, you are learning how to connect with the power-gifts of the Holy Spirit, that means you are yielding to the plan Jesus had for you.

 

Jesus it would have been easy for me to try to stop at salvation and justification and not take advantage of this special grace period to apply The Seven Biblical Principles to my relationships with others. Salvation and justification are giving me time and a power-relationship with You, so I can do to others those things I would have them do to me.

 

Faith Without Action

James 2:16 (NIV) If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? Jesus has set you free from this human tendency. Love has empowered you to see other people’s needs. It caused you to care about others; you feel as badly about what others are going through as what you are going through. Because you didn’t stay in the realm of salvation and justification, you now have the power to do a lot about it. Phil 4:13 (NIV) I can do everything through Him Who gives me strength.

 

Jesus, I now see other’s needs and can respond to them. You have given me a heart that is not only responding to my needs, I now am responding to the needs of other. Now, You are connecting me to the power-gifts of the Holy Spirit, so I can be equipped to do so much more. Thank You for training and empowering me to want to be involved in all these things.

 

There Has To Be Some Kind Of Action

James 2:17 (NIV) In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. You started out in the Romans 7:15-25 life; you were a Christian who was learning about the power and influence of your body. You found out that your desires and world training on human effort were no match for making your body take faith-action. So, you started looking to Jesus and He taught you how to take your first steps into The Three Keys To All Of Christianity and The Seven Biblical Principles.

 

Jesus, You have taken me a long way in spiritual growth. You have shown me how powerful You and the Bible are. I am a living example of the great work that You do with someone who didn’t stand a chance of living like I am living. And now, You are taking me into even greater things by introducing me into the power-gifts of the Holy Spirit; thank You!

 

Faith-Action Starts With Desire

James 2:18 (NIV) But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You know you can’t be saved by works, deeds, or actions; because Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV) says: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourself, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast.” But you didn’t stop there; you pressed on to the next verse.

 

You found out that Ephesians 2:10 (NIV) says: “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. So, you have been allowing Jesus to get you ready for the good works, which God prepared in advance for you to do. Now, Jesus is giving you the power-gifts, so you can do them better.

 

Jesus, I thank You for helping me approach my studies and prayers while under Your guidance. Thank You for keeping me from stopping off at grace and faith for salvation and justification. You helped me move into the good works, which God prepared in advance for me to do. There were so many pitfalls I could have fallen into; but, You saved me!

 

Faith Without Results

James 2:19 (NIV) You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder. Jesus taught you that just believing without results isn’t the kind of faith He provides. Believing all the verses in Romans 7:15-25 helped you see that your desires, human effort, and world training couldn’t help you treat yourself and others the right way. But, you didn’t stop with just those truths, Jesus showed you how to start doing good things. You learned that life in that condition needs the power and training of Jesus through the Holy Spirit in Romans 8:1-30.

 

Jesus, I thought I was stuck in that Romans 7:15-24 condition. I didn’t know what to think about Christianity. I didn’t know if it was just me. I didn’t know if it was Christianity. I didn’t know what to do to find out how to solve the problem. But, You helped me cry out to You; and, You helped me see that I was using human effort and world training to do things that required supernatural power and Your training. Thank You for bringing me to this point.

 

Faith Without Some Kind Of Action Is Useless

James 2:20 (NIV) You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Even though some Christians stop growing at salvation and justification, even though they lose the concern, the crying out to God, and the desire for studying more and more truth, you didn’t. Even though they move into Romans 8:1-2 and stop there, you didn’t.

 

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 (Rom 8:1-2). They use this verse to get rid of the pain from their desires; but, you used it to give you the grace period to grow in the great things of God.

 

Jesus, the same power You provided me, so there is no condemnation between me and You, You are using set me free from condemnation between me and others. You were powerful enough to not only bring salvation and justification to my relationship with You, You used it to bring sanctification into my relationship with others. Now I love my neighbor as myself. That has empowered me to want to be involved in the power-gifts of the Holy Spirit to help all the hurting people that are around me.

 

Two Types Of Faith

James 2:21 (NIV) Was not your ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? Jesus taught you the difference between what Abraham did and what you were trying to do through human effort. He showed you that it has to do with where your faith is. And, He taught you that where your faith is depends on who you are looking to for the power to do it. That has brought you to faith in the Holy Spirit’s power.

 

Jesus, You helped me have Your faith, that produces Your deeds, works, and actions. You helped me realize that when You spoke faith into Abraham to offer his son, You also spoke the power into him, so he was able to do it. That helped me have Your faith and Your works, deeds and actions flowing in and through my life; thank You for teaching me these things.

 

This concludes your reading and praying for this week.

 

 

 

 

Truth/Prayer Chapter Thirty-Nine

Prepared For The Power-Gifts From The Holy Spirit

Week Nine Day One

 

Faith-Action Has Changed The Way You Live

James 2:22 (NIV) You see that his (Abraham’s) faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. You couldn’t produce faith-action during your Romans 7:15-25 life because, your faith was coming from yourself and was faith in yourself. So, all your actions, deeds, and works during those times ended up making you a prisoner of the law of sin at work within your members (Rom 7:23). Since your faith is coming from Jesus, your actions have the power that flows from Him. That was when faith-actions started to transform your behavior; you got victory through faith in truth.

 

Jesus, I thank You for teaching me how to look to You for being my Author and Perfector of my faith. You got me ready to do the things I couldn’t do before. You set me free from the frustrating life of Romans 7:15-25. Thank You for this life in the Spirit.

 

Faith-Action Produces Results

James 2:23 (NIV) And the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. This is relational faith Jesus put in Abraham. Abraham wasn’t believing God for something; he was believing, trusting, relying, and putting his dependency on the truthfulness, reliability, and faithfulness of God. He took action by offering his son on an altar because he believed God spoke the truth.

 

Jesus, when You speak faith into me, it comes with the assurance and power to act on it. As I wait for the Holy Spirit to activate a power-gift in me, help me wait for this kind of faith from You. Help me take the kind of actions Abraham did. Let it empower me to act on that power-gift to accomplish the purpose it was given to me.

 

Jesus’ Faith Stands The Test

Heb 11:17-18 (NIV) By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” You could get the wrong message here and think that Abraham was special. You could read this about him and give him special credit for what he did. But, this just creates a faith in Abraham and doubt concerning yourself. You could think that you will never be like Abraham.

 

Jesus, help me learn the right things about Abraham and all those I read about their faith. Help me not see them as being successful through their faith. Help me see that their faith came through them being willing to put their complete trust in You. You then gave them the faith and the power to take faith-action based on the faith You gave them.

 

This Is How You Think Through Jesus’ Faith

Heb 11:19 (NIV) Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death. All those who yield to Jesus by desiring to have His faith, they study what it takes to get His faith; they pray for Him to give them faith; they wait and fix their eyes on Him for His faith, so they can believe; they allow Him to make sure they want His faith through motivations of love; those are the ones who get the same kind of faith that produced the faith-action that Abraham took. Since you have opened yourself up to the same kind of relationship with God Abraham did, faith and faith-action are coming through your relationship with Jesus. That is why you are ready for the power-gifts.

 

Jesus, make it clear to me that You don’t prefer one person over another. Show me that all those things that are available to others are also available to me. Help me see that the reason Abraham had such great faith was because of his willingness to allow You to build it in him. Reveal to me that I have the same kind of faith Abraham had and can do what he did.

 

It Takes Both

James 2:24 (NIV) You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. When you were in all the struggles that the Romans 7:15-25 life produced, and when you saw all the failures that it had, you could think that it lacked any kind of action. But, that was because you didn’t have the training you now have. You are no longer looking to yourself; you have fixed your eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of your faith (Heb 12:2a NIV).

 

When you realized that human faith and faith in yourself wouldn’t work, you started looking to Jesus. You mixed the desires expressed in Romans 7:15-25 with study. That is one of your first actions that God empowers you to do. Then through the Bible, Jesus spoke faith into you and you prayed for help. That was the next step of action you took and got rewarded for. Look at how far you have come. Look at how well Jesus’ methods have worked for you.

 

Jesus, thank You for reminding me how I got here. Help me see that it is the way I will go on from here. Help me see how effective Your procedures were in my past. Then help me believe that they will work in my future. Help me take on this power-gift assignment, while knowing that You will continue to work miracles in and through me.

 

James 2:25 (NIV) In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? This event is recorded in Joshua chapter two. You will get an evaluation of Rahab’s faith in Hebrews 11:31 (NIV) By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.

 

Here is a person who didn’t have as great a relationship with God as Abraham had. She was totally new and untrained in the ways of God. If Jesus could empower Rahab to take faith-action based on the little bit of knowledge she had, He can empower you to yield to the power-gifts of the Holy Spirit.

 

Jesus, You are helping me see how easy faith-action is. I am empowered by Your faith to take the compatible actions that the Holy Spirit is going to want me to take. Help me stop just believing things and start living them. Let these truths empower me to start having greater love relationships with those around me. Help me already have the relationships that the Holy Spirit will be giving me the power-gifts for.

 

 

Preventing Dead Faith

Protected By Justification

James 2:26 (NIV) As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. When you were living the Romans 7:15-24 life, you believed a lot of things the Bible said. You believed they were true; you believed they were real; and you believed they were the right, correct, way to live. But, because you were still living in the Romans 7:15-24 life, your behavior, your deeds, your works, and your actions weren’t on the same level as your faith.

 

Jesus, the Romans 7:15-25 life was upsetting to me; I knew something was going to have to change. I was protected by justification; but, I knew my behavior or deeds would have to start improving. So, You taught me how to apply my three toolsets; and, I was changed. Let me use that experience to help me keep moving forward. Let You great works, in my past, inspire me to great success in my future.

 

Prepared For Sanctification

Jesus’ faith had to be yielded to, as you read the Bible. You now know that you can’t read the Bible like a human book. You don’t believe the Bible was produced by Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, Peter, James, and Jude. You understand that these people were handpicked because they heard, understood, and only wrote those things Jesus wanted written. As you have been reading your Bible as God’s Book, your mind and heart have been reading it with faith.

 

Jesus, thank You for changing my approach to reading the Bible. Thank You for helping me stop and apply The Seven Biblical Principles to Its verses. Thank You for helping me receive Your faith and power through It, so my deeds and relationships were able to change. Thank You for helping me read It as Your Book, helping me wait for Your faith to believe I have what I read, then helping me start speaking it out to myself and those around me.

 

Prepared For The Power-Gifts Of The Holy Spirit

1 Cor 12:11-12 (NIV) All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and He gives them to each one, just as He determines. The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.

 

Jesus, I thank You for making me be a member in Your Body. I thank You for teaching me these things about Your Body, so You could start fitting me into it. Help me yield to all those things I need, so I can be a healthy, functional part of Your Body. Help me yield to all of those special gifts that enable me to respond to Your wishes instantly.

 

This concludes your reading and praying for today.

 

 

 

Truth/Prayer Chapter Forty

Faith For The Power-Gifts From The Holy Spirit

Week Nine Day Two

 

 

Waiting On Jesus For His Faith

Jesus is now expanding your look at practicing faith-action through The Seven Biblical Principles. He will be doing this by spending time working on the last three issues of faith, love, and faith-action. These three can be the area where you struggle the most. This is because you have to wait on Him to constantly give you direction for them.

 

Jesus, as You use this chapter to deal with the issue of faith, help me always keep in mind that I can’t just start believing anything I want. I have to wait for You to guide me in the right direction by giving me faith for what I need to believe. As I look at all the needs of the people around me, I can try to decide which power-gift Your Holy Spirit should give me. Help me wait for You to give me the faith for the power-gift You and the Holy Spirit want me to have.

The Power-Gift Indicator

When Jesus speaks faith into you, it is your indicator of what gift the Holy Spirit is trying to give you. Once you get the faith for a gift, it points you to where you are to yield to God’s love. That gives you a power-gift to start taking faith-action on that is based on faith and love.

Jesus, all this waiting, all this dependency on being directed by You, and the process of not being in control over what to believe can cause me stress, frustration, anger, disappointment, and fatigue. It can cause me to want to give up on the whole faith issue. But the Bible says in Galatians 6:9 (NIV) Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time you will reap a harvest if you do not give up. Help me stick with this training process.

Using The Seven Biblical Principles For Faith-Action

BELIEVE: This is what you do, so you can take faith-action. It may seem like The Three Keys and The Seven Biblical Principles are being beaten to death in this series; however, they are the major tools to all God has to offer. If you fail in any one of these keys or principles, you will fail to be able to respond to the power-gift the Holy Spirit gives you.

Jesus, as I go about my day, and as I see the needs of hurting people, help me believe in You. Help me maintain my relational faith in You, as my priority. As I am waiting on specific faith for a certain power-gift, keep me from getting distracted concerning my relational faith. Help me trust You, no matter what. You are more important than all other issues.

 

Faith That Leads Into Faith-Action

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. This can put a lot pressure on you that you can’t cope with. As you have already seen, human faith isn’t what God is looking for. He is looking for a faith that comes through Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of your faith (Heb 12:2). As was said, human faith comes by you experiencing something over and over again. It also comes by you being convinced, through the presentation of proof, that something is true. Jesus’ faith comes by Him speaking it into your heart and mind instantly.

 

Jesus, I am waiting for a faith that is being sure of what I hope for and certain of what I do not see (Heb 11:1). I am waiting for a faith that doesn’t doubt. 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 (James 1:6-8). That’s why I seek Your faith.

 

 

What Is Your Job In This Faith Assignment?

Keep Your Eyes On Jesus

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. When you don’t know what the Holy Spirit is going to activate in you, that is the time you just maintain relational faith in Jesus.

 

Jesus, teach me that it is my job to learn how to fix my eyes on You. Help me follow my familiar procedure. I pray and ask You to speak faith into me, so I can believe I have it. But, because I don’t know which power-gift the Holy Spirit is going to activate in me, I don’t know what to ask You to give me faith for. So, I just ask You to give me faith for whatever I am going to need to believe in. Show me that this is me believing in You.

Power Applications To The Same Principles

Since you have the desire to live a successful life through faith in truth, during your studies you read vital truths that must be a part of you. So, you need to take that Biblical truth and take the desire in your heart, and, pray to fix your eyes on Jesus to give you the faith to believe you have that truth. But, you can take your human part of The Seven Biblical Principles and give them over to Jesus. You can get Jesus’ power-desire, power-study, and power-prayer to go along with Jesus’ power-faith that empowers your believing, loving, taking faith-action, and being thankful.

 

Jesus, I am ready to turn my desire over to You, so You can get me ready for the power-gifts of the Holy Spirit. I know I can take my will back any time I want; but, it is my desire to submit it to You. Help me go through these first items in The Seven Biblical Principles and get Your power counterparts. Help me lay my will into Your will, so I can have a power-desire, power-study, and power-prayer.

 

 

Getting Jesus’ Power Principles

•        Jesus, I have decided to desire what You and the Holy Spirit desire, rather than what I “think” I should want, or what other people are telling me I should want. Give me Your power-desire that will only take me into the mighty will of God. When I pray Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven (Mat 6:10 NIV), help it include me and my will. Thank You for giving me Your power-desire.

 

•        Jesus, I have decided I want to learn the truths of the Bible through Your power-study. According to 1 Corinthians 2:16: I have the mind of Christ. Let Your mind empower me to study and be transformed by Your power-study. Thank You for Your power-study.

 

•        Jesus, I have decided that I want to pray and consult God through Your power-prayers. I ask You to empower me with Your power-prayers. According to Romans 8:26: The Spirit will help me in my weakness. Since I do not know what I ought to pray for, the Spirit Himself will intercede for me with groans that words cannot express. Thank You for Your power-prayer.

 

•        Jesus, since I can only believe through Your power-faith, I already have Your power to believe for the right things. Thank You for Your power-faith that empowers me to believe with power.

 

•        Jesus, since I already have God’s love, I already have Your power-love to love with. Thank You for Your power-love.

 

•        Jesus, I have decided I want to only take action on those things You give me the faith for. But, I don’t want to take action in my own strength. Give me Your power-faith-action. Join me in all the actions I take with Your power-faith-action. Thank You for Your power-faith-action.

 

•        Jesus, I have decided that I want to always be thankful for everything You do for me. But, I don’t want to depend on my human thankfulness. And, I don’t want to depend on me always remembering to express my thanks. Empower me with Your power-thankfulness; and, empower me to remember to express it without failure. Thank You for Your power-thankfulness and Your power-reminder.

 

This concludes your reading and praying for today.

 

 

 

Truth/Prayer Chapter Forty-One

Faith For The Power-Gifts From The Holy Spirit

Week Nine Day Three

 

Waiting On Jesus For His Faith

Galatians 6:9 (NIV) Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Sometimes Jesus will give you faith for a power-gift right away; but, there are other times when there can be great delays. This is where you take a look at this Scripture, that speaks consistency, stability, and determination into you. It is true that you now have Jesus’ Power Seven Biblical Principles; but, they need a consistent power flow.

 

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. Jesus, while I am waiting for Your faith, speak faith and power into my power-desire, my power-studying, my power-praying, my relational faith to keep believing in Your honesty, love, generosity, and grace, my power-love, my power-faith-action, and my power-thankfulness. Let this keep them and me from becoming weary in doing good.

 

Using The Promises Of God For Your Faith

Phil 4:19 (NIV) And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus. The promises for you and for your friends have already been made by God. “My God” is talking about your God; “will meet all your needs” is talking about the needs of your friends. Your God is promising to meet all the needs of those you are ministering to.

 

Jesus, since the promise is in place, help me receive the necessary power-gifts, so You can flow through them to meet my friends’ needs. Since You are saying that all their needs will be met, open up my life and ministry to them. Help me be a person who has been sent to them, so they can get all their needs met.

 

Faith That Leads Into Faith-Action

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. This is your instruction for living in the spirit realm. It is introducing you into some of The Seven Biblical Principles that give you access into the great life of Jesus and the wonderful power-gifts of the Holy Spirit. When Jesus speaks His faith into you, you get the power to believe that you receive...what things soever you desire, when you pray. It empowers you to have them.

 

Jesus, help me understand that I can’t be believing for a specific power-gift; but, I can believe for them in general. The thing soever I desire, when I pray, and the thing I believe that I receive, is that the power-gifts my friends need, I shall have them. Teach me how to pray for things like this that I don’t know exactly what it is I am praying for.

 

Keeping Your Eyes On Jesus

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.

 

Since you are now fixing your eyes on Jesus, distractions, temptations, misdeeds of your body, misinformation, and the cares of this world are no longer interfering with your faith. You no longer glance away from Jesus and put your faith and dependency on money, human effort, a job, a person, an organization, the government, insurance, or any other thing. You are no longer trying to solve your problems by other means without Jesus’ permission.

 

Jesus, I thank You that I am no longer trying to survive through human procedures. Because You have helped me get everything through Your spirit realm, it has helped me practice with small things. Then it helped me practice on larger things. You have increased my spiritual skills, talents, experiences, maturity, and abilities in You.

 

Different Applications To The Same Principles

Gal 3:2-3 (NIV) I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?

 

In math, you may get some advanced formulas for finding the numeric value of something, but, it will still involve addition and subtraction. Like with addition and subtraction, sticking with the basics doesn’t mean you will only be able to do simple things with The Seven Biblical Principles. Jesus will keep you using them on greater and more complex things as you grow and mature. The power-gifts of the Holy Spirit are dependent on them.

 

Jesus, help me not change, try to improve, or mix things with The Seven Biblical Principles. Help me learn how to use them so as to get and use more complex and greater things. Teach me how to use them to keep growing and maturing in You. Let me stay with the basics while using them to move into the supernatural. Help me honor Your seven principles of truth.

 

Jesus-Faith

DESIRE: With Jesus’ power-desire, you are wanting things that are advanced over the typical Christian’s desires. You are desiring to be used with power-gifts that will help others. You have moved from wanting to help people with human aid; you looking into the supernatural.

 

STUDY: You are now studying the Bible with Jesus’ power-study. You are looking at things that are God-sized and can only be done through the supernatural. You are studying Scriptures about abilities that you never thought were possible.

 

BELIEVE: With Jesus’ power-faith, you are believing that it is possible for you to be used to manifest supernatural wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discerning evil spirits, speaking in unknown tongues and being able to interpret them.

 

LOVE: With Jesus’ power-love, you care about people more than the typical Christian. You are seeking to be able to help people in God-sized ways. You are aware that they need Jesus’ help like He was helping them during His earthly ministry.

 

FAITH-ACTION: With Jesus’ power-faith-action, you will know things it was impossible to know, do things it was impossible to do, say things it was impossible to say, feel things it was impossible to feel, and think things it was impossible for a human to feel.

 

THANKFUL: You will be thanking Jesus for using you for things that you never dreamed or imagined you would ever be involved in. Jesus’ power-thankfulness will elevate your ability be thankful to an eternal level.

 

1 Cor 12:7 (NIV) Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.

 

1 Cor 12:11 (NIV) All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and He gives them to each one, just as He determines.

 

•        Jesus, thank You for opening my eyes to things that I never dreamed possible.

•        Thank You for helping me desire things that I didn’t even know I could want.

•        Thank You for helping me study things that are taking me into the spirit realm in a powerful way.

•        Thank You for giving me permission to actually pray for things that will revolutionize my abilities to help hurting people.

•        Thank You for helping me believe that things are possible that were out of the question not too long ago.

•        Thank You for helping me love people with a love that is God-sized and amazing.

•        Thank You for helping me take faith-action in doing things that only You can do.

•        Thank You for giving me so many things to be thankful for.

 

This concludes your reading and praying for today.

 

 

 

 

Truth/Prayer Chapter Forty-Two

Love Through The Power-Gifts From The Holy Spirit

Week Nine Day Four

 

LOVE: Now spend some time with Jesus on the issue of love. Romans 5:5 makes it clear that God has already given you His love. So, as you know, you aren’t learning how to get love or get God’s love; you are learning how to yield to God’s love. This takes place, as you go through your day. All day long, as you are making your decisions, you either make the love decision or the selfish decision. You yield moment-by-moment on each issue of your day.

 

Jesus, some decisions I make during my day have consequences. If I make the love decision, it doesn’t always please the people around me. It doesn’t always bring benefit to me. And, it doesn’t always bring appreciation from those who should appreciate my love decision. But, it always pleases You. Help me yield to God’s love no matter what the consequences are.

Love Isn’t Optional

1 Cor 13:1-3 (NIV) If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Rom 5:5 (NIV) And hope does not disappoint you, because God has poured out His love into your heart by the Holy Spirit, Whom He has given you. Jesus, help me realize that, if I am operating in the power-gifts of the Holy Spirit and don’t have love, no one is helped. But, help me keep in mind that God solved this love problem by giving me His love. So, teach me how to yield to this love on a moment-by-moment, issue-by-issue basis all during each day.

 

Learning What God’s Love Looks Like

Let Jesus show you what your attitudes and character will look like as you yield to God’s love.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8a

Love is patient: What would happen to your relationship with yourself, other people, and God, if you approached them with patience? A lot of misunderstandings come from impatience. So, you would be kind and helpful during situations where typically strife would have happened. As people see you handle these situations, they see what Jesus can do for them.

Jesus, help me stop making assumptions. Help me allow people to explain their meaning, motives, and situations. Help me not be easily hurt or offended, when things don’t go my way. And, help me not rush into situations before I have had time to talk things over with You. Show me if this is a situation where You want to meet needs with Your power-gifts.

 

Love is kind: Kindness puts a tone on everything you think, feel, say, and do; it is like gentle, soothing music playing in the background of your life. It causes you to see the importance of people over schedules, goals, deadlines, and other “priorities.” It helps you treat people with love, respect, appreciation, patience, and unity. This opens the doors to the power-gifts.

 

Jesus, let kindness make people more important than things to me. Let kindness help me love people who cost me money, inconvenience me, offend me, or are strangers to me. Let this power-character of God help me be open to You meeting their needs with Your power-gifts.

It does not envy: This also changes your thinking about the importance of people over things. When someone has money, possessions, positions, popularity, power, prestige, and accomplishments, God’s love helps you be glad. You know these things aren’t meeting their needs; they need help from Jesus through the power-gifts of the Holy Spirit.

 

Jesus, let God’s love help me keep my eyes on Your unlimited supply and care for me. Help me open my heart to the needs they are trying to meet through things. Give me a power-gift that helps me see where and how their needs can be met by You.

It does not boast: Bragging is your effort to try to get people to see how wonderful, important, and valuable you are. Since God has already satisfied this by loving you, respecting you, and valuing you so much that He died for you, then you won’t need additional emotional support.

 

Jesus, help me see that my responsibility is to help others feel loved and experience love. Let me receive a power-gift that opens my eyes to where they are hurting. Since I am valued by You, help me concentrate on Your supernatural power to transform their life.

 

It is not proud: Pride is a personal evaluation, where you have decided you are better than others. You picked the criteria; you set the standards; you did the evaluating and testing; and you made the determination, as to who won the contest. Pride draws your and other people’s attention away from the love and wonderful aspects of God and brings the focus on you.

Jesus, help me realize that, if people start looking at me, depending on me, having faith in me, and giving me the credit for all those good things You did to me, in me, for me, with me, and through me, then they will be distracted from the only One Who can really help them.

It is not rude: Being rude can be motivated by pride or by insecurity. If you think you are better than others, you’re rude, because you want people to see how important and great you are. If you feel inferior, you’re rude so as to protect yourself from being taken advantage of.

Jesus, help me feel equal to those around me. I am not better than them; and, they aren’t better than me. Rather than trying to prove my superiority or build defenses around myself to keep people from feeling superior to me, help me go far beyond all of that to the place where I am showing everyone how great You are by Your power-gifts meeting their needs.

 

It is not self-seeking: You were born with a self-awareness of your needs and wants. It became your major motivation for all you thought, felt, said, and did. It kept you from being able to sincerely help anyone else. Which is the purpose of the power-gifts.

 

Jesus, let God’s love take away my self-love and help me love my neighbor as myself (Mark 12:31b). Let it help me do to others as I would have them do to me (Luke 6:31). I would want someone to allow Your power-gifts to reach into my life and transform me.

 

It is not easily angered: The emotion of anger is mostly a method of you protecting yourself or your possessions. You get mad if someone offends your esteem, wellbeing, wealth, rights, or reputation. Anger becomes your protector of you and your things.

 

Jesus, I’m wrapped up in Your protection, supply, respect, and acceptance. I seldom need to get mad. You are my Shepherd, Who protects me and will protect them. Let the power-gifts show me why they did what they did, so they can be helped supernaturally.

 

It keeps no record of wrongs: When you are building a case or a defense for why you are right and others are wrong, you need as much ammunition and proof as you can get. So, you start making a mental or physical list of all the “wrong” things others have done to you.

 

Jesus, rather than making a record of wrongs, help me be empowered by Your power-gifts to be finding out what is driving that person. Rather than being offended, help me see the suffering that needs Your supernatural healing, miracles, and blessings.

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth: Revenge doesn’t have to come from you; you can just be glad something bad happened to someone. You can even want God to punish them. You can wish, hope, and maybe even pray for bad to happen to them.

 

Jesus, let God’s love help me identify with difficult people’s lives as if they were me. Let me hurt, when they hurt; and, rejoice, when they rejoice. Let God’s love help me feel their pain, confusions, circumstances, and experiences. Let it help me so identify with them that I suffer, understand, and sympathize with them. Let it help me want the very best for them rather than “getting even” with them. Give me a power-gift that will bring healing to them.

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres: Once God’s love moves your attention, your understanding, and your identification into those around you, you are able to take those things you want done to you and apply them to these people. Since you know how you would like to be treated, God’s love helps you apply it to those around you.

 

Jesus, help me be used by Your power-gifts to always protect, always trust, always hope, and always persevere. Help me not be distracted by impatience, unkindness, envy, boasting, pride, rudeness, self-seeking, anger, records of wrong, or delighting in evil. Help me be totally activated by Your love, so I will be open to the power-gifts that will help these people.

 

Love never fails: Since God’s love never fails, it helps you stop failing so much. His love helps you stop trying to handle your own situations. The more you yield to it during your day, the more you succeed in your relationships, finances, emotions, and physical condition. Because of your spiritual growth, the power-gifts of the Holy Spirit will launch you into sharing great miracles and blessings from God.

Jesus, thank You for helping me go from being nothing and gaining nothing, as described in 1 Corinthians 13:1-3, to being this kind of person in my relationship with myself, other people, and God. You took me from being a person lacking love to being a person who has the greatest love in all of existence. As I gradually learn how to go about my day yielding to this love, help me share this love through Your awesome power-gifts.

 

This concludes your reading and praying for today.

 

 

 

Truth/Prayer Chapter Forty-Three

Loving Through The Power-Gifts From The Holy Spirit

Week Nine Day Five

 

Loving Isn’t Optional

1 Cor 13:1-3 (NIV) If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

 

As one of the items in The Seven Biblical Principles, love isn’t something you can ignore. If you want something from God, if you want faith from Jesus, if you want success in life, you have to have and yield to God’s love. Since you have it, you just have to yield to it.

 

Jesus, teach me that love is the main reason I fail or succeed. It decides why and how I do what I do. Help me realize that God’s love is available to help me during my day. Help me take advantage of it, so I don’t think, feel, say, or do anything that lacks its influence.

 

Living God’s Love

1 Corinthians 13:4-8a

God never puts any requirements on you that He doesn’t give you more than enough provisions for you to take advantage of. Since God gave you His love, you have a power you can yield to. It produces incredible results in your life. As you look at these love-power characteristics, you are seeing things that empower you to be a different kind of person. You can’t produce them; they produce you. They are God’s power to live Biblical principles, if you use Jesus’ faith to allow them to influence you.

 

Jesus, help me see that Your love is empowering me to do the right things during my day. I can’t always see why You want me to do certain things. But, You see the people involved; You see the circumstances; and You see how the future will turn out. Help me see that the only way we can work together with Your power-gifts is, by me making love-decisions.

 

The Power To Be Patient

Love is patient: You have received the power to be patient; it came into you at salvation and justification. You have the power to be patient with a person during your day, by making a love-decision. Let’s say something happens that causes you to feel impatient with someone at a certain moment during your day. The impatient feeling is there just like many times before; but, you now know that the power of patience is waiting for you to yield to instead; this is the moment you need to pray something like this:

 

Jesus, I know You put Your power in my heart for me to be patient; I am experiencing impatience. Let it be my warning to stop and pray before I respond. Let me use the power of patience to help me at this and every moment, when I am about to yield to impatience.

 

The Power To Be Kind

Love is kind: God’s love has empowered you to be a kind person. That means there is an attitude or emotion that is filling your heart during the day. But, there are thoughts about people who do wrong things to you that challenge that power from God. And, since you have the God-given right to feel however you want, you can resist God’s love-power of kindness.

 

Jesus, when I feel the power to be kind, help me give You the credit and praise for it. Help me realize that the only reason I am feeling that way is because Your love has been poured into my heart. And, when some person does something to challenge this power inside me, help me stop and ask You to empower me keep yielding to this love-trait of God.

 

The Power To Be Free From Envy

It does not envy: Victory through faith in truth comes by believing that truth has done what Jesus said it would do. You know you have God’s love in your heart because God said so in Romans 5:5. You also know that this love does not envy because God said so in 1 Corinthians 13:4. So, when you wish you had something someone else has or you are upset because they got it, Jesus’ faith is available to empower you to resist those thoughts and feelings.

 

Jesus, teach me that when I feel envy or coveting, I am not envying or coveting. I am being tempted to envy or covet. Help me always stop and ask You to empower me to yield to the love-power of God that doesn’t envy or covet. Help me believe that unless I resist this love-power and go ahead and envy or covet, I have the right and power to not do it.

 

The Power To Not Boast

It does not boast: As you go about your day, interacting with people, when you accomplish something good, you will feel the desire for respect, appreciation, admiration, and praise. But, your goal is to let people know you got the ability through Jesus. They won’t know to come to Him; they won’t know they can get that kind of help through Him, if you don’t tell them.

 

Jesus, help me see that boasting keeps people from finding out about the miracles, blessings, ideas, and abilities you give me. Help me always keep in mind that You have given me the power to resist boasting. Show me that it flows through my awareness of people’s needs to hear about all You are doing in and through me.

 

The Power To Not Be Proud

It is not proud: God gives you great ideas all through your day. He makes things work out for your good all day long. But, when you are tempted to make yourself feel good, by taking the credit for all those good results, Satan is trying to push you into pride. Jesus is pouring His knowledge, foreknowledge of the future, understanding, and wisdom into your mind and heart to enhance your day. These words, in this verse, are saying you have the power to resist this temptation. You have the power to love people enough to tell them about Jesus.

 

Jesus, help me yield to Your power-love of freedom from pride. Help me look for, notice, appreciate, and give You thanks, all through my day, for what You are giving me. Help me teach and explain, to those around me, how all this works. Help me not just give You credit, help me share with others these studies and prayers that are making this possible.

 

The Power To Not Be Rude

It is not rude: When someone gets rude with you, when you want to let someone know you don’t like them, when you are trying to make yourself look wiser, you will be tempted to be rude. But, you are a representative of Jesus. People are to see Him in you.

 

Jesus, I don’t like it when people are rude to me; it upsets me. But, I don’t want those around me thinking that my rudeness is coming from You or Christianity. This Biblical phrase is telling that love is not rude. Help me believe it and overpower rudeness in my attitudes.

 

The Power To Not Be Selfish And Self-Seeking

It is not self-seeking: You are very aware of what you want and need. But, these love-words are telling you that you can take this self-awareness and use it for good. ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’ and ‘do to others as you would have them do to you,’ leads you into first stopping and thinking, “what would I want done to

me?”

 

Jesus, Your love has opened my eyes to other people’s situations. It has helped me see things by looking at how things affect me and then superimposing them on others. When I realize I would or wouldn’t like something, let it help me understand what it is doing to others. Help me grow in that ability, so I can be completely free from self-seeking.

 

This concludes your reading and praying for this week.

 

 

 

Truth/Prayer Chapter Forty-Four

More Love Through The Power-Gifts From The Holy Spirit

Week Ten Day One

 

 

Continuing To Yield To Love

1 Cor 13:4-5c (NIV) Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking. Jesus has helped you see love from these perspectives. Now He is going to take you on into the rest of the power-aspects of His love.

 

1 Cor 13:5d-8a (NIV) It is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

 

The Power To Not Be Easily Angered

It is not easily angered: There are good reasons for you to be angry; but, being easily angered isn’t the right way. You must be willing to hear all the facts, fully understand the situation, and be willing to put yourself in other people’s places. You must get God’s permission to be angry; He alone has all the facts, understands the situation, and can identify with the people involved.

 

Jesus, help me realize that anger can separate me from certain people. Help me also realize that since I am some people’s only source to You, if I get mad and damage the relationship, I can cut them off from getting to know You. Help me only get mad when You want me to.

 

The Power To Not Keep A Record Of Wrongs

It keeps no record of wrongs: If you are keeping a record of wrongs, you are concentrating on all the wrong, bad, and evil things the person does. The power-gifts of the Holy Spirit will also point out people’s right, good, and righteous deeds. God doesn’t just see all your mistakes; He sees your successes, your qualities, and your kindnesses.

 

Jesus, help me not just see and make note of people’s mistakes, failures, and sins. Help me establish a relationship with them based on the good things I see in them. Help me keep a record of all the right, good, and righteous things they do. Help me let them see themselves through my eyes of love, grace and mercy. Help show them that, that is Who You are.

 

The Power To Not Delight In Evil And The Power To Rejoice In Truth

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth: People can be so evil that when bad things happen to them, you feel they got what they deserve. But, what if God knows they are going to eventually repent and come to Him. If you have already written them off and the Holy Spirit gives you a power-gift for them, you won’t be receptive to Jesus’ plan for them.

 

Jesus, help me to not only forgive people with Your power-forgiveness. Help me pray that they will accept You and all Your mercy, grace, and forgiveness for all their sins. Help me realize that You gave me mercy and grace and forgave me of all my past, current, and future sins. Help me be open, so You can give me a power-gift for them, so they can be transformed.

 

The Power To Protect People

It always protects: This takes you one more step into becoming a person who does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It is true there are people who are so consistently evil that you need to stay as far away from them as possible. But, there are others who are evil because something has gone wrong in their life. These are people who may be able to be helped. Let Jesus help you protect their right to change their mind and come to Jesus.

 

Jesus, help me be a person who does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. And, help me be one who is ready to always protect those You want to salvage. Help me bring to You each person’s sins, misdeeds, wrongs, and every evil deed that they did against me. Give me as many power-gifts as are needed to help set them be free from these things.

 

The Power To Trust People

Always trusts: You know you can’t trust everyone or it would make you gullible and vulnerable. But, you also know that you aren’t the one who is capable of deciding who to trust and who shouldn’t be trusted. So, love makes everyone innocent until proven guilty. But, you will never be the one who decides if someone is guilty.

 

Jesus, teach me Your system for sticking with some and separating from others. If someone is abusive to me, help me bring the issue to You, so You can tell me what to do with them. If You want me to separate from them, help me do it with wisdom and love. If You want be to challenge them and hold them into accountability, help me also do it with wisdom and love.

 

Jesus, I frequently want to decide what kind of person others are. I watch what they do and try to judge or evaluate them. Help me realize that I am not qualified to evaluate anyone. Keep me aware of the fact that I don’t know all I need to know about them and all their situations. Empower me to leave the evaluating and judging to You. Help me come to You for any power-gifts that might supernaturally change them.

 

The Power To Have Hope For People

Always hopes: While leaving all judgments and evaluations up to Jesus, God’s love helps you hope that every person will come to Jesus for His great relationship and provisions. It can be impossible for you to hope that “some people” get forgiven and blessed by God. They can do so many bad things that you can “secretly” hope they burn in hell.

 

Jesus, I need special help with some people. Satan uses them to try to create hatred and revengeful feelings in me. Protect my feelings; heal me of all the pain and misery they have inflicted on me. Empower me to hope that they do come to You and get Your grace, mercy, and forgiveness. I need this healing almost as much as they need Your forgiveness.

 

The Power To Persevere

Always perseveres: Some relationships take a lot more perseverance than others. You aren’t to decide when to stop putting up with a person. You are to persevere until Jesus tells you to move on. But, even after He tells you to separate from them, you still persevere in prayer for them. The power of perseverance keeps you ready to go back to them if Jesus tells you to.

 

Jesus, give me a persevering heart; help me love my enemies and all abusive people. Let Your love empower me to never wish harm or judgment on anyone. Help me pray for them to change, so they can get the wonderful things You are giving me. Make me ready, to give them another chance; but, help me only do it when You tell me You want me to.

 

The Power To Never Fail

Love never fails: God’s love never fails you and never fails those people around you. As you practice yielding to God’s love for others, it helps you feel more and more of His love for you. And, it helps you provide all these great characteristics to those around you.

 

Love is a powerful “weapon” for destroying all the damage and walls Satan has caused in you and those around you. It heals your heart and heals your relationships. It even has the power to help people you have been separated from. It empowers you to keep praying for them. Because you are praying, they get a great influence from God while you are separated from them.

 

Jesus, teach me that the more I yield to God’s love, the more I feel loved, and, the more others feel His through me. Let this be the power and influence I excel in. Help me constantly practice yielding to Your love with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. Help me love You supernaturally with it. Help me yield to it for myself, so I can have a supernatural love relationship with You. Help me yield to it for others, so I can have a supernatural love relationship with those around me.

 

This concludes your reading and praying for today.

 

 

 

Truth/Prayer Chapter Forty-Five

Faith-Action Through The Power-Gifts From The Holy Spirit

Week Ten Day Two

 

 

FAITH-ACTION: This really has the potential of putting pressure on you. You face the obligation and responsibility of acting on the basis of the fact that God had done what He said He did.

 

What Do You Do Once You Get Faith From Jesus?

1.     Redirect Your Eyes

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. If you believe that it is true that you have received what things soever you desire, and you believe you have them, then, since you have them, you are to live on the basis of the fact that you have them (faith-action).

Jesus, when I didn’t realize I didn’t have to live the Christian life, I felt pressure. My Biblical actions put all the obligation, responsibility, and performance on me, because I didn’t know it wasn’t through my own power, skills, abilities, and talents. Thank You for Your better way.

 

Jesus, one of the greatest things You have given me is the Jesus-life. Its power, abilities, talents, skills, knowledge, foreknowledge of the future, understanding, and wisdom are all wrapped up in a wonderful power-relationship with You. I just desire, study, pray, believe, love, act through You, and then express my thankfulness for all You did.

2.     Fix Your Eyes On Jesus

In Hebrews 12:2 you saw that your faith-assignment was to simply fix your eyes on Jesus. It explained that He is your source of the faith you get and have. In Galatians 2:20 you see how to fix your eyes on Jesus and how to take faith-action through the life of 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 see that this is where faith-action gets exciting; it is where I am able to experience supernatural, miraculous things in and through my own life. And this is where I get to do supernatural, miraculous things in the lives of others through this cooperative relationship with You. Thank You for creating these things in me.

 

3.     Keep Your Eyes Fixed On Jesus Until You See Results

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 and you will take faith-action on things that are totally impossible for you, but, easy for Him. It will change your decision making, and your problem handling. Plus, through the power-gifts of the Holy Spirit, it will make it possible for others to get what you are getting.

 

Jesus, teach me that the major problem of cooperating with You and living Your life has to do with who I give the credit to. When You give me ideas, faith, good circumstances, power, and encouragement to do things, if I think they are from me, I cheat myself out of the relationship.

 

 

Power Without Relationship

Mat 7:21-23 (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. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from Me, you evildoers!’

 

4.     Understand The Relationship

If you misunderstand the power-gifts and take the credit, your relationship with Jesus will deteriorates rapidly. Typically, people will give you appreciation, thanks, and admiration. They will tell you how much you have helped them. If you think you are doing these things, then you will see it as you having the power to do supernatural things. You will leave Jesus and take your character, attitudes, and power out into life. You will say to Jesus: “Did I not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?” Then Jesus will tell you plainly, “I never knew you. Away from Me, you evildoer!”

 

Jesus, as I am used in the power-gifts, give me wisdom for how to let people know it is You doing these wonderful works. Help me always keep in mind that they must see the love and blessings as coming from You. Let them turn to You for further help and relationship. If I take the credit or fail to direct them to You, I will block them off from all You have to offer.

 

5.     Live The Relationship

John 15:4-6 (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. If anyone does not remain in Me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. As Jesus uses you in the power-gifts, this is the reason you are being used.

 

Jesus, help me realize that I have to have a permanent relationship with You. Teach me that it isn’t a matter of me coming to You and finding out what Your will is and me going out and trying to fulfill it. It isn’t me coming to You with a problem, getting it taken care of, and then me going out and living free from it. It isn’t me coming to You and letting You change my character and attitudes and then me using them to be successful in the life I want to live. Help me remain in You and You remain in me.

 

6.     Work Inside The Relationship

Jesus has the attitudes, character, knowledge, understanding, wisdom, power, and resources. You have the privilege of Jesus living His life through you. It feels like you are being this kind of person, like you are doing these supernatural, miraculous things, and like you are coming up with all these great ideas. Jesus so includes you in His life that it makes it feel like it is you. Pray for Jesus’ power-humility; it has to keep you realizing that it is Him doing all these things through you and not you doing them apart from Him.

 

Jesus, teach me that I am like an appliance that has to be plugged into an electric plug. The moment I get detached from You, I start winding down. I start losing the relationship and the power-gifts of the Holy Spirit. Satan starts coming to me and providing fake manifestations that bring me glory, praise, and admiration.

 

7.     How To Remain

Remain in Me, and I will remain in you: As usual, it is a matter of you praying over the crossroads of your day. You remain in Jesus through the decisions you make during your day. But, it isn’t by you trying; it is by you praying. Making godly, good, right, righteous decisions are impossible for you. Don’t forget the lessons Jesus taught you through Romans 7:15-25.

 

Jesus, help me face the issues of my day with prayer. Help me remain in You by getting Your power to do right, good, and righteous things all day long, every day. I want to be able to be used in the power-gifts of the Holy Spirit. But, I can see that if I conduct the affairs of my day with wrong, bad, or evil transactions, You can’t use me.

 

8.     What To Believe

Apart from Me you can do nothing: You will face situations that will really challenge your integrity and honesty. There will be pressures that try to threaten your financial and physical wellbeing. Satan and his people will try to get you to do things that you know are wrong. And, they will have a certain amount of control over your future.

 

Jesus, just as soon as I get into a difficult integrity-situation, empower me to immediately pray. Help me realize that if I analyze the situation, I will feel extreme fear, pressure, and confusion. Help me understand that I won’t see the righteous solution. I will feel like I have no choice but to do the wrong thing. But, help me make the decision that remains in You.

 

9.     Getting Powerful Results

Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me: Jesus show me that when I make the right decision and remain in You, “bad” things may happen to me. Help me pray and ask You to lock my eyes on You. Fix your eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of your faith (Heb 12:2 NIV). Empower me to know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose (Rom 8:28 NIV).

 

This concludes your reading and praying for today.

 

 

 

Truth/Prayer Chapter Forty-Six

Results Through The Power-Gifts From The Holy Spirit

Week Ten Day Three

 

 

FAITH-ACTION: This is the place you finally arrive at after desiring to be used with the power-gifts of the Holy Spirit, studying about them in the Bible, praying for them from God, looking to Jesus for His faith to believe you have them , and presenting them before God to see if your motives are based on love. If you pass the test of the above five things, then you are ready to base the behavior and activities of your life on them. From that moment on, you will be getting supernatural results.

 

 

What Do You Do Once You Get Faith From Jesus?

1.     Redirect Your Eyes

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. One of the ways to know for sure you are desiring the right thing, is to confirm it with the Bible. But, if you go to the Bible trying to make it say what you want it to say, you will be able to pray and ask for it; but, Jesus won’t give you His faith for it. That is the other way to know you are desiring the right thing.

 

Jesus, I am glad Your faith decides whether my desires, studies, and prayers are according to Your will. Help me realize that You only give me Your faith for a power-gift, when it is time for me to be used by it. Help me accept this important control You have over my application of The Seven Biblical Principles. If I am having trouble getting positive results, help me bring my desire before You for examination.

 

2.     Fix Your Eyes On Jesus

What things soever you desire: There are an incredible amount of desires that people have that would hurt them and the people around them. “What things soever you desire” could open the door to all kinds of disasters and calamities, if you didn’t have to believe first.

 

What things soever you desire, when you pray: There are also an incredible amount of prayers people pray that would hurt them and the people around them. “What things soever you desire, when you pray” could open the door to all kinds of disasters and calamities too.

 

Jesus, as I experience the pain and suffering of the people around me, help me remain in faith and trust in Your decisions. Help me know that You love them more than I do, and, You know what is best for them much more than I do. Help me pray for Your will to be done in their life. Then help me yield to whatever power-gift You give me. Help me yield to it with total submission and faith that it is the best one for them.

 

3.     Keep Your Eyes Fixed On Jesus Until You See Results

What things soever you desire, when you pray, believe that you receive them: Have you ever tried to bring healing to someone by believing with your faith? But, once you based your life on it, you took action on something Jesus didn’t approve of. How did that go? Waiting on Jesus’ faith is vital; but, if you go long periods of time without His faith, you may need to come to Him and let Him take you through The Seven Biblical Principles to see what is wrong.

 

Jesus, show me that Mark 11:24 isn’t a suggestion or a command. It is what happens when I get Your approval for what I desire, study the Bible for, pray for, and get Your faith to believe for. Teach me that You are speaking faith through this Scripture and saying: believe that you receive them! Help me see that I can read it, You give me faith, and I can ignore it.

 

Jesus, help me realize that Your faith won’t overwhelm me. That would damage my God-given free will. When You give me faith for a power-gift, help me accept the gentleness of it. Help me feel Your permission to believe I have it. Empower me to test it through practice.

4.     Understand The Relationship

Jesus, help me not expect You to force me to believe. Show me that I have to test feeling that I have what I have been desiring. Teach me how to practice until I recognize the feelings Your faith gives me. Let me be patient and allow this process to grow into a familiar relationship. Help me trust You, as You give me faith and then let me learn how to respond.

 

5.     Live The Relationship

Mat 17:20 (NIV) He replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Here is a passage that helps you understand how to practice getting Jesus’ faith, feeling like you know you have it, and then taking faith-action on it.

 

Because you have so little faith: Jesus, help me realize that prior to You speaking faith into me, I am stuck with the little faith of a human. It is only able to accomplish human results. Help me not get confused by moments when I feel excited by my human faith. Show me that when I practice testing it, nothing will happen in the spirit realm or the natural realm.

 

I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed: Jesus, show me how much more powerful Your faith is. Even if it is as small as a mustard seed, it will be enough to do incredible things in the spirit realm that powerfully affect the natural realm.

 

You can say to this mountain: Jesus, teach me that there will be a feeling of permission to speak to those things You are wanting changed. As I practice this part of this procedure, help me speak to things and then wait to see the results. Show me that if everything is in place, according to You will, the mountain will move. If it doesn’t, lead me back into The Seven Biblical Principles to find out what was wrong. But, help me realize I am just practicing.

 

 

Testing A Failure

First of all, do not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time you will reap a harvest if we do not give up (Gal 6:9 NIV). You must keep in mind that you are practicing. When Peter tried to walk on water, Jesus was giving him a chance to practice. When He asked Peter why he doubted, it was a time for Peter to bring his faith to Jesus and find out why.

 

Jesus, help me not do like Peter and try to figure it out. Help me bring The Seven Biblical Principles before You, with no opinions in mind. Help me just come to You and allow You to search my heart, my mind, and my life to find the problem.

 

DESIRE: Jesus, is it something I want that isn’t what You want? I lay out all my desires before You. Show me anything that isn’t in line with what You want. Help me give up pride, distractions, or self-determination that keeps You from showing me the nature of my desire.

 

STUDY: Jesus, since I have to know the truth before it will set me free, is there a missing truth that is keeping me from being used with Your power-gifts. Lead me to any Scriptures that I need to learn. Is there a misinterpreted Scripture that I am being damaged by? Is there a Scripture I know and know what it means, but, haven’t submitted my heart and mind to it?

 

PRAYER: Jesus, is there anything that I need to pray about, pray for, or pray against that hasn’t taken place? Is there something I know I should pray about, but don’t want to? Is there anything that I have prayed about, but didn’t pray in faith?

 

BELIEVE: Jesus, have You spoken faith into me, but I didn’t want that particular power-gift? Have You spoken faith into me, but I didn’t recognize it because it was so gentle? Have You spoken faith into me, but I tried to use it for something else?

 

LOVE: Jesus, is there any area of selfishness? Do I have a contaminated love, where I am not willing to make it totally win/win? Am I trying to use my love instead of yielding to Your love? Is there a struggle with knowing how to yield to Your love? Is there a person that I am not willing to yield to Your love for?

 

FAITH-ACTION: Jesus, have You spoken faith into me and I am afraid to step out in faith-action. Am I trying to take faith-action using my own strength? Am I trying to take faith-action alone rather than joining You? Am I trying to take faith-action on the wrong thing? Am I trying to take action without coupling it with faith?

 

THANKFUL: Jesus, have You rewarded me, given me wonderful things, blessed me, worked miracles in my life, protected me from harm, or anything else that I haven’t expressed my thankfulness for? Have I felt that just feeling thankful was enough, that I didn’t need to express it? Have I expressed thankfulness, but not with sincerity and real appreciation?

 

Jesus, reveal any area that needs to be taken care of, so I can be used in Your power- gifts.

 

This concludes your reading and praying for today.

 

 

 

Truth/Prayer Chapter Forty-Seven

A Child Of God With The Power-Gifts From The Holy Spirit

Week Ten Day Four

 

The Jesus-Life, A Power-Relationship

The power-gifts of the Holy Spirit are dependent on a working relationship with Jesus. If you don’t know how to allow Jesus to live through you, you will be trying to do Jesus’ part of the work. If you don’t know what your responsibility is, you will be waiting for Jesus to do something you are supposed to be doing.

 

Jesus, teach me this cooperative relationship where I can’t do this work without You; and, You won’t do it without me. Also, teach me this permission-based relationship, where You won’t do something I don’t want done; and, I can’t get You to do something You don’t want done. Help me learn how to work within these basic rules.

 

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. Let Jesus take you back to Galatians 2:20; it tells you how your relationship with Him works.

 

Considering Jesus’ Death Your Death

I have been crucified with Christ: This establishes what you can and cannot do. Since you have been crucified, you may not be aware that you are dead. You may have thought that it was a temporary condition. But, that was not the case! Rom 6:10-11 (NIV) The death He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life He lives, He lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

 

Col 3:3 (NIV) For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. Jesus, teach me that once I died to the law, I died to the sins it creates in me. I am now able to live with the character and attitudes I have flowing from You. They help me in dating, marriage, family, business, friendships, and associations. Rom 7:6 (NIV) But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.

 

Serving In The Spirit

You are now ready to establish a special relationship with Jesus where together you will serve in the new way of the Spirit. Galatians 2:20 takes you to your death in Jesus and then your life in Him. His life gives you the power to serve in the new way of the Spirit. This is how you will be able to be used with the power-gifts of the Holy Spirit. They will flow into Jesus; and He will operate them in and through you.

 

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live: Jesus, teach me that I have a life; but, it isn’t the life I had before. Help me understand that my human life-source was flowing out of my body; it was in control of me. Rom 7:23 (NIV) 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. Help me see that I don’t want to be working with power-gifts through this life.

 

 

Born In The Spirit

2 Cor 5:17 (NIV) Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! As you know, this was your born-again experience. This was the moment you became a child of God. This is the life you need to be working out of, as you are allowed to be involved with the power-gifts of the Holy Spirit.

 

Jesus, teach me how to take advantage of being a child of God. Show me how You want to work together, as we deal with the power-gifts. Help me know how to deal with being crucified with You and no longer living. Show me how to yield to my life-source through You. Show me that it is a lot like Your grape vine illustration.

 

A Child Of God

He is a new creation: Just like you were a new creature, when you were born as a human, you are a new creation, as a child of God. But, the spirit realm isn’t visible to you without the power-gifts of the Holy Spirit connected to you. Even though you, as a human, had eyes, ears, arms, and legs, you couldn’t do much with them. That is what is going on with your child of God spirit. You had to practice being a human and you have to practice being a child of God.

 

Jesus, help me see how helpless an infant is at first. They have the equipment; but, they need a lot of practice learning how to use them. Help me observe their confusion, weaknesses, lack of training and experiences, and abilities. But, You train and empower me from the inside, rather than from the outside. Help me see that this kind of training will speed up the process.

 

As A Child Of God

The old has gone: This is true on the inside of your body. You now have a child of God spirit rather than a human spirit. John 3:6 (NIV) Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. Your old human spirit is gone; but, you still have your old body to live in. Even though it can give you a lot of trouble, you and Jesus have been bringing it under your control. Now it is time to learn how to use the power-gifts of the Holy Spirit as a child of God.

 

Jesus, help me start being able to function in the spirit realm. Help me understand that they are a part of my eyes and ears and arms and legs. They empower me to see and hear things in the spirit realm and then do supernatural things in response to what I see and hear.

 

Spiritual Imaging Equipment

The new has come: Message of wisdom, message of knowledge, prophecy, and distinguishing between spirits are a part of your eyes and ears, as a child of God. If the Holy Spirit wants you to see something in the spirit realm, He uses these to show it to you.

 

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. This also is a part of your eyes. This enables you to see God’s hope, riches, and power.

 

Jesus, help me understand that just like humans use x-rays, CAT scans, MRI’s, microscopes, telescopes and infrared imagining, You use the power-gifts to reveal spiritual conditions in us humans. Just like it is necessary to learn how to use these pieces of equipment, You are teaching me how to yield to these power-gifts. Help me understand and grow in their use.

 

Learning How To Hear

Mark 4:9 (NIV) Then Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” Jesus was talking about spiritual ears. He was speaking words from the spirit realm; and, the only way they would be understood was with spiritual ears. Mark 7:18 (NIV) “Are you so dull?” He asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him ‘unclean’?

 

Jesus, heal me of spiritual blindness and deafness. Open my spiritual eyes and ears, so I can read the Bible and spiritual material, hear sermons, messages, and spiritual conversations and understand them. Open the eyes of my heart, so I can receive revelations from You and comprehend them. Teach me how to start functioning as a child of God.

 

A Breakthrough

Mat 16:15-17 (NIV) “But what about you?” He asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by My Father in heaven. This was a miracle; Peter got a glimpse into the spirit realm and Jesus was excited.

 

Jesus, help me cease seeing things from just a human perspective. Let me see the spiritual implications of those things around me. Just like You would look at this natural world and come up with spiritual illustrations, help me learn from those things around me. As You send me through life-classes, help me see and hear those things You are trying to reveal to me.

 

This concludes your reading and praying for today.

 

 

 

Truth/Prayer Chapter Forty-Eight

Relationship In The Power-Gifts From The Holy Spirit

Week Ten Day Five

 

 

The Jesus-Life, A Power-Relationship

Rom 7:4 (NIV) So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to Him Who was raised from the dead, in order that you might bear fruit to God. Why does confessing with our mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believing in our heart that God raised Him from the dead save and justify you? Faith and faith-action connect you to all the provisions and actions of Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

 

Jesus died; and, you believed His death was your death. Jesus rose from the dead; and, you believed you rose from the dead with Him. How does believing and speaking these things help you? That is the way things work in the spirit realm. Believing and speaking move you and the things around you, like storms. They also change things like water becoming wine.

 

Jesus, help me appreciate how powerful and effective Your faith and faith-action are. Show me all the transformations and miracles that are working in my life through them. They made Your death my death and Your resurrection my life. Open my eyes to the power and success of my faith and faith-action relationship with You. Help me yield to all their potential.

 

 

Considering Jesus’ Death As Your Death

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. You having eyes and ears that can see and understand this, is vital. As you read this and pray about it, you are inviting revelation and comprehension into you.

 

The Jesus-Life, A Unity-Relationship

I have been crucified with Christ: This isn’t just a slogan; this can’t be in the fictional compartment of your mind and heart; this is a fact, a truth, and a reality. The only reason you have access to Jesus, your heavenly Father, and the Holy Spirit is because Romans 10:8-10 actually worked. Rom 6:5 (NIV) If you have been united with him like this in His death, you will certainly also be united with Him in His resurrection. This happened to you!

 

Jesus, give me a clear picture of how Romans 10:8-10, through faith and faith-action, have produced all kinds of miracles in my life. Help me see that all the results I have experienced in Christianity have come from that faith and faith-action experience. Let it heal my mind and heart and deliver me from any confusion about the realities of the Bible; make it all real to me.

 

The Jesus-Life, A Death-Relationship

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live: You really did die; you have been crucified with Christ and you no longer live. You can get that old life back, if you want to; but, you won’t want to, if you see what you are being raised up into.

 

Jesus, help me know for a fact that I have died with You to my old way of life. Help me realize that I no longer live. Help me not fear this condition; help me embrace it, so I can have an open place for Your life. If I accept, in faith, that I no longer live, it makes room for Your life in me. Empower me to know I died with You, so I can know I live through You.

 

The Jesus-Life, An Imprisoned-Relationship

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me: Jesus and the Holy Spirit came into your body at salvation and justification. But, you can keep them imprisoned there if you want to. You still have your God-given free will. That is why Jesus is exposing you to all these truths. He will do His part, if you do your part and yield to Him.

 

Rom 7:23 (NIV) 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, help me understand that I can keep You and the Holy Spirit from doing much through this life-relationship. Help me release You and allow You to live Your life through me in a mighty way. Rom 8:2 (NIV) Because through Christ Jesus, the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

 

Jesus, I realize that my lack of training has kept You from doing those things Your life is capable of giving me. But, I want to be trained by You on how to yield to You and Your life. Help me give You control over me and my body, so I can see how life in You produces the supernatural miracles You are capable of; then help me give You the credit for it.

 

The Jesus-Life, A Free Will-Relationship

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body: Jesus and the Holy Spirit came into you at salvation and justification; but, you and They remained prisoners in your body. It doesn’t seem possible; but, it reveals how much you can be in control over your relationship with Jesus. If you don’t know how to yield to Jesus and the Holy Spirit, then They stay imprisoned right along with you. But, prayer is your answer: Rom 7:24 (NIV) What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?

 

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. Jesus, You are leading me into the power-gifts of the Holy Spirit. You are moving me into the spirit realm. You are taking advantage of all Your work on my attitudes and character. Now you are working on my spiritual eyes and ears. Help me see that I have to use Your power to put to death the resistances, fears, doubts, and confusions that are coming from my body.

 

The Jesus-Life, A Faith-Relationship

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: This really gets you down to the business of victory through faith in truth. “The life I live in the body, I live by faith” has to do with how life really works. If Jesus doesn’t speak faith and power into you, as you read the Bible, you and He will remain imprisoned in your body. The truths of life-success will be resisted by your body. You will want to yield to Jesus and the Bible; but, you won’t have the truths that set you free from it.

 

Jesus, as I read the Bible, speak faith and power into me. As I see You using the power-gifts in the Gospels, empower me to see You doing them in and through me. Show me how to make my body obey all Your desires. Help me read these verses, believe these verses, and start speaking my first steps of faith-action, so I can join You and force it to do everything You tell me to do. I give my body over to You and Your ministry on this earth.

 

The Jesus-Life, A Personal-Relationship

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: Faith for the power-gifts is specific faith. Jesus doesn’t just speak that kind of faith and power into you. He mainly speaks relational faith and power into you.

 

Jesus, teach me that specific faith, for power-gifts, is based on relational faith in You, the Son of God. Show me that relational faith, in You, handles all the doubts and fears that come at me, as You teach me about the power-gifts. Help me see that, as You operate the power-gifts in and through me, Satan will mainly attack my relationship with You. He will try to make me doubt Your character and integrity. He will try to get me to believe You will let me down.

 

Jesus, help me know that You don’t see me as one of many people. My faith and faith-action, in You, are based on a personal relationship. The life I live, in my individual body, succeeds or fails based on this personal relationship. You are responding to me based on Your love for me. Help me see that I have a relationship that is unique to You and me.

 

The Jesus-Life, A Love-Relationship

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 loves you with a supernatural love; you may not fully trust this deep love; but, He is trying to help you relax in His care. Let Him help you feel the depth of His love, so you won’t have times where you worry about being used with the power-gifts.

 

Jesus, help me not worry, fear, doubt, or get frustrated. Help me know You will be there for me. Help me not feel the need to protect myself from embarrassment, failure, mistakes, misunderstanding, or ignorance. Help me be willing to make mistakes, have failures, do dumb things, and misunderstand. Help me practice without putting my reputation on the line.

 

Jesus, help me believe in You and the fact that You love me more than I love myself. Help me know that You represent my best interests with a love that is greater than the love I have for myself. Speak through the Bible and give me an assurance that all my best interests are being addressed by You at all times. Help me believe all these things, so I can practice without fear, doubt, worry, or intimidation.

 

This concludes your reading and praying for this week.

 

 

 

 

Truth/Prayer Chapter Forty-Nine

Relationship In The Power-Gifts From The Holy Spirit

 

Week Eleven Day One

 

Breaking Important Concepts Down Into Small Pieces

In this chapter, you will continue looking at those things you were studying in Galatians 2:20. But, you will be looking much deeper into it. You will be looking at it concept-by-concept, so as to be able to see how to keep your eyes fixed on Jesus and how to live the Jesus-life. This verse has the vital concepts that reveal the characteristics of your relationship with 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.

 

A Death That Is A Good One

I have been crucified with Christ: As you know, the only way for the law to not be able to make you responsible for living a constant, perfect legal life is, you die to it. And, Jesus wants you to allow the power-gifts to flow through you in purity. So, Jesus taught you, in Romans chapter seven, that you were never going to be able to live it. But, as with all of God’s requirements, He provided you with the solution you needed.

Jesus, You died in my place; and, through faith and faith-action, I accepted Your death as being my death. That took away my legal responsibility for living a righteous life through my own power, skills, talents, and abilities. The first thing Your salvation provided me was this death, so I would not be considered guilty, when I hurt myself, other people, and God’s plan. But, as a new or untrained Christian, I was still hurting myself, other people, and God’s plan. Help me see that the power-gifts require purity in my relationships.

 

Jesus, help me realize that the message of wisdom, the message of knowledge, prophecy, and the interpretation of tongues must be expressed without my contaminants. And, faith, gifts of healing, miraculous powers, distinguishing between spirits, and speaking in different kinds of tongues must flow through a good representative of You. Thank You for healing my attitudes and character; but, when I mess up, help me go make it right with people.

Faith In Jesus’ Death Is A Willingness To Trade Your Old Life For A New Life

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live: “I no longer live” sounds like you cease to exist or have completely given up your freedom; but, it only has to do with what life you are no longer living and what life you are now living.

Jesus, teach me that life isn’t just existing; a plant is alive; but, it can’t do much. A dog has a much better life than a plant; but, it can’t live up to the level of a human. Show me that I, as a human, have a life; but, I can’t live up to Your life. Teach me that this kind of living has to do with existing and being able to do things or live out things on a higher and higher level.

 

A Death That Brings Life

The second thing Jesus’ salvation provided, was a way for you to get the ability to stop hurting yourself, other people, and God’s plan. When Jesus was crucified on the cross, you were also crucified on that cross. When Jesus died on that cross, you died with Him. Since you have died with Him, you are now qualified to live with Him. 2 Tim 2:11 (NIV) Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with Him, we will also live with Him.

 

Jesus, since I died with You, I can now live with You. I desire to live with You; You have empowered me to study and learn how to live with You. I am now praying and asking You to empower me to live with You. I believe 2 Timothy 2:11 spoke the power into me to live with You. I am yielding to Your love, so I can live with You, as an example of Your greatness. I am ready to take faith-action and start living with You. And, I am so thankful that You have made it possible for me to live with You.

 

Jesus, since You empowered me take out the time to apply The Seven Biblical Principles to 2 Timothy 2:11, I now take my first step into faith-action by saying with my mouth: “Since I died with You, I will also live with You.” I believe that got me ready to move on to the next issue. Teach me that this next issue is for me to start yielding to You, as You give me faith to yield to the power-gifts. I believe that You will perform them in and through me.

 

Willing To Get The Potential For A New Life

2 Cor 5:17 (NIV) Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a New creation; the old has gone, the new has come! This verse explains that this new life, through Jesus’ salvation, involved you becoming a new person; but, you kept your free will. So, being a new person doesn’t automatically make you live as a new person; it just gives you a whole new potential.

Jesus, explain to me that the thing that helps me live up to this potential is that I am in You; and You are in me. That is why this verse says: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ....” How did I get in You? Teach me that Romans 10:8-10 caused me to believe God raised You from the dead, and, caused me to confess with my mouth that You are Lord. So, I now apply the faith-action principle to 2 Corinthians 5:17, that empowers me to say: “Therefore, since I am in Christ, I am a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” I believe that I am now empowered to keep moving forward in this new life of being used with the power-gifts.

 

Willing To Join A Cooperative Relationship

Jesus’ life is a new realm for you; but, it is a totally familiar realm for Jesus. He knows what He is doing; and, He is not only sharing His life, He is sharing His knowledge and experiences with you. Be willing to trade your old way of life for the Jesus-life, He will advance your life into a life with Him. He wants to take your new life and live it with you.

 

Mat 4:4 (NIV) Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Jesus, help me see that just like the life and the way a plant gets food and power is different from a human, the way I get food and power, as a child of God, is different from how I do it as a human. Help me realize that You must keep me fed with Your spiritual food and power. Help me keep reading Your Word.

 

Life Potential Makes The Difference

What if you had an incredible amount of money and possessions? Your life potential would be far greater than if you were poor. What if you were highly intelligent? You would have the potential of living a life that could be incredibly successful. What if you had certain abilities, skills, talents, and resources, they would make it possible for you to do more than you could if you didn’t. Jesus is your new wealth, intelligence, abilities, skills, talent, and resources.

Jesus, help me see that I must get my eyes off of myself and get them on You. If my eyes are on me, I will see my weaknesses, limitations, and inabilities. If my eyes are on You, I will see what You are capable of. Empower me to understand why You are living Your life through me. Help me realize that You living Your life through me will transform my faith, skills, talents, abilities, experiences, so I will be ready for living in eternity with You.

 

A Life-Class On Taking Faith-Action

Mat 14:25-27 (NIV) During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw Him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

 

Mat 14:28-31 (NIV) “Lord, if it’s You,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to You on the water.” “Come,” He said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” He said, “why did you doubt?”

 

Jesus, this is where I am. These power-gifts are in a realm where I have never been before. I will face scary issues of stepping out and saying and doing things that are way over my head. I will know things supernaturally; but, I will have to step out and express them. I will have power to do something supernatural; but, I will have to step out and believe I will be able to. Help me see that it is very much like Peter stepping out of the boat and walking on water.

 

This concludes your reading and praying for today.

 

 

 

Truth/Prayer Chapter Fifty

Jesus-Life In The Power-Gifts From The Holy Spirit

 

Week Eleven Day Two

 

 

Dying To Live

I have been crucified with Christ: When you make a trade with someone, you have to give up something you have for something they have. If it is a fair trade, then you are trading things of equal value. But, in your relationship with Jesus, you are trading something bad for something good. Jesus took all the bad things in your life, and in exchange, gave you all the good things in His life. But, for the transaction to take effect, you had to pray the prayer in Matthew 6:9-13 or some similar sinner’s prayer; and, you had to do what Romans 10:9-10 told you to do.

 

Jesus, I have done what it took to accept You as my own personal Savior. I have obeyed Romans 10:9-10 and have Your salvation and justification. I have made the trade and have accepted Your death as being my death. I have accepted Your sacrifice for my sins as being the penalty and death for all my sins. I have given You all the bad things in my past, present, and future. I now trade all of them for all the good You have in Your life.

 

Faith In Jesus’ Death Is A Willingness To Trade Your Old Life For A New Life

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live: This is you speaking the truth about your old way of life. For as long as and as often as you want it to be, your old life is gone. If you take it up accidently or because your body is forcing you to, your perfect record with God credits you with no longer living. But, in that case, you and the people around you are suffering from behaviors based on your old life. So, Jesus is helping you get rid of that old life.

 

2 Tim 2:11 (NIV) Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with Him, we will also live with Him. Jesus, I believe “If we died with Him” was my moment of trade; I believe that it was the moment I accepted Your completed work. Since that is what I believe, I now say: “I have been crucified with Christ.” I believe that gave me my perfect record with God. I also believe that I no longer live. I believe You are gradually removing me from my old life and setting me free from its thoughts, feelings, words, and deeds.

 

Jesus, thank You for moving my death, with You, from my fictional compartment to Your reality compartment. You are empowering me to accept my death with You as a reality. I let go of my old life like two people making a trade. I handed over my old life to You, so You could hand over Your new life to me. Help me see this transaction taking place, so I can see mentally and feel emotionally the reality of the trade.

 

A Death That Brings Life

2 Tim 2:11 (NIV) Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with Him, we will also live with Him. Can you see and feel the trade? Do feel Jesus’ faith helping you know you gave up your old life, so you now have His new life? Do you accept it as a trustworthy trade? It wasn’t a fair trade; but, it was a wonderful trade for you. It is like you making an even trade of a old, beat up car for a brand new one. But, if your old car had some sentimental value to you, you might not be able to totally make the trade.

 

Jesus, to be used with the power-gifts of the Holy Spirit, I have to make a total trade. Is there anything from my old life that I am still hanging on to? Did I “reluctantly” make the trade? Are there times when I have doubts about the trade? Do I sometimes wonder if maybe I had to give up too much. Do I sometimes wonder if maybe I should at least take some of it back?

 

Jesus, help me not be so foolish as to regret losing anything from my old life. Help me make a clean trade; help me make a confident and total trade. Help me see how bad my old life was and how awesome my new life is. Give me a complete appreciation for what I now have. Help me so appreciate my new life, that I give You complete cooperation in helping me live it.

 

Willing To Get The Potential For A New Life

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me: Are you ready to say this as a truth, a fact, a reality? Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come (2 Cor 5:17)!

 

Jesus, am I just “technically” believing You live in me? Am I just “theoretically” believing You are in there? Has my heart and mind adjusted to the fact that You, the Creator of the universe, is living inside me? Do I totally believe Your life is my life? I believe I traded my old life and now say: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live.” Now, through the process of that trade, I also say in total faith: “Christ lives in me!”

 

Jesus, empower me to know in my mind and feel in my heart, Your presence inside my body. Reveal this life of Yours with a faith and power in my heart and mind. Make the truth and reality of this fact build into an assurance and knowing. Let it enable me to start reading about it, believing it, speaking it, and living on the basis of the fact that Your life is now my life.

 

Willing To Join A Cooperative Relationship

But Christ lives in me: This is where it gets confusing; I no longer live; but, there is still a “me.” Christ lives in me. That is because life and death don’t have to do with existence.

 

Do you think you started existing the moment you came alive? Do you think that before you came alive, you didn’t exist? Romans 8:29 says: “For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers.” You existed in the mind of God before you were born. Also, you don’t cease to exist when you die. You just get separated from your earthly body.

Jesus, set me free from thinking that life and death have to do with existence. Help me always see that they have to do with being connected to or being separated from something. I no longer live in connection to all those things I lived before. Therefore, I cannot be forced to be enslaved by them anymore. I am connected to You and Your life; help me accept this.

 

Life Potential Makes The Difference

But Christ lives in me: This internal residence of Jesus is expressed by the word “in.” The Bible says it all the time; it is expressed so as to let you know what it’s all about Jesus living in you and you living in Him.

 

Jesus, speak faith and power into me, so I will yield to Your life. Make “Christ lives in me” be the foundational truth that makes all other truths real to me. Teach me that You in me and me in You, connects me to You and all Your provisions. Show me some of those things You are trying to make me aware of. Speak faith and power into me concerning them.

 

Eph 2:6-7 (NIV) And God raised you up with Christ and seated you with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness to you in Christ Jesus.

 

Eph 3:20-21 (NIV) Now to Him Who is able to do immeasurably (superabundantly) more than all you ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within you, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

 

Phil 4:7 (NIV) And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your mind in Christ Jesus.

 

Phil 4:19 (NIV) And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

 

Col 2:9-10 (NIV) For in Christ, all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, Who is the Head over every power and authority.

 

1 Th 4:16-17 (NIV) For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

 

Jesus, teach me how to yield to all the things that come from You living in me and me living in You. Speak these truths into me, so they will be real and effective in me. Empower me to cooperate with You and Your life. Speak Spirit and life into me, so I can hear, understand, and obey Your voice speaking truth into my spirit.

 

This concludes your reading and praying for today.

 

 

 

Truth/Prayer Chapter Fifty-One

Living In The Power-Gifts From The Holy Spirit

 

Week Eleven Day Three

 

 

Moving From Learning To Getting

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.

As you continue the concepts of Galatians 2:20 in this chapter, Jesus will be showing you the steps into living the Jesus-life. In the previous chapter, He spent time helping you see why you need to die out to your old life and embrace the new life with Him.

 

Jesus, just like I believed that Your death was my death, and just like I started living free from the condemnations of the laws of the Old Testament and my conscience, show me how to use The Seven Biblical Principles to believe I am now living in You and You living in me.

 

Believing This Through Jesus’ Faith And Faith-Action

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me: Here you have three things that have progressively happened to you. They are three things that you had to either hear about or read about; then it became your responsibility to allow Jesus to speak faith into you, so you could believe these three things are true of you. After that, you had to base your life on these three facts. So, you started speaking these three truths out to yourself and other people. And, as you do, Jesus prepares you for being used with the power-gifts.

 

STEP ONE: I have been crucified with Christ: Jesus, I have considered, accepted, believed and said that Your crucifixion and death are my deliverance, separation, and death to the life of sin. I have believed and said that the laws can only point out what is right or wrong.

STEP TWO: I no longer live: Jesus, I have used hearing or reading, believing, and speaking to trade my old human life willingly. Since I did, I am now a new creation, who is ready to start living up to my full potential. “I no longer live” means I was ready and willing to lay down and give up my old way of thinking, feeling, talking, and doing things. You empowered me to hear or read it, believe it, and then speak it into existence. That made me ready for You to teach me how to get the power of the Holy Spirit to live a new life in the spirit realm.

STEP THREE: Christ lives in me: Jesus, I am giving up a human life; but, I am gaining Your Jesus-life. It is an unfamiliar life to me; but, it is a life that has a lot more potential. It is a joint life that requires compatibility, unity, cooperation, and team work; but, I know and accept that it has a lot of benefits that make any sacrifices, trades, or losses worth it.

 

The Way Into The Jesus-Life

1.     Weigh The Benefits

For those who want to be Christians, but live their own life, this isn’t a way of life for them. But, for those who want to move from the loneliness and emptiness of just living the human life, this is a way of life that fulfills all your heart’s desires and all your human needs.

 

John 8:36 (NIV) So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. Jesus, remind me that the Jesus-life is a life that still honors my God-given free will. Rather than giving up my free will, I am given much more freedom and choices to choose from. I am free to choose all the great things of God; but, I won’t be forced to choose them. Help me always remember that it is a permission-based relationship; I can’t make God do anything that isn’t good; and He won’t make me do anything I don’t want to; I am free indeed.

 

2.     Understand The Relationship

Christ lives in me: The Jesus-life opens the doors to a way of life that is only limited by what is possible for Jesus. As long as you were living your own life, you were limited to what was possible for you, as a human. Mark 10:27 (NIV) Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”

Jesus, now that I have accepted and am yielding to the Jesus-life, teach me that faith-action takes on a whole new meaning. Show me that it is like the difference between trying to move a mountain with a shovel and moving it with a giant earthmoving machine. I can move dirt with a shovel; but, I can move a lot of dirt with a machine. With You, I can do supernatural things. But with You, I have a power-relationship and not just power.

3.     Understand Leadership

The life I live in the body: In the machine example, the human is controlling the power of the machine. Mat 28:18 (NIV) Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.”

 

You are dealing with power; but, you aren’t dealing with a machine; you are dealing with the Creator of the universe. One of the major assignments you face, is learning how to relate to God. He is so powerful, complex, superior, and supernatural. Some try to relate to Him like He is a human; and, others try to address Him in the fashion they think a God should be like.

Jesus, teach me that the life I live in the body is lived through Your life. Help me see that this is God coming down on my level and volunteering to teach me how to relate to the Holy Spirit and my heavenly Father. You are giving me a chance to have You teach me through the process of You doing God-sized things in and through me. Even though You are actually doing them, it will look like and feel like I am doing them. Help me see that this is Your way of teaching me and preparing me for living in the spirit realm for now and in eternity.

 

4.     Understand Faith

The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God: This is a trust relationship; you are going to be given God-sized assignments; but, you won’t have to produce the results. The scary thing about this is, what if it doesn’t work? You know Jesus can do it; but, can you do it? 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. How is that ever going to happen?

 

Jesus, I find myself caught between faith in what You are capable of doing and my own limitations. I am caught between: “anyone who has faith in Me” and the part where I “will do what You have been doing.” Teach me how to trust You with my life. Help me be like Peter and be willing to get out of the boat. Help me be willing for You to challenge me with “You of little faith,”...“why did you doubt?”

 

5.     Understand Desire

Rom 8:5 (NIV) Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. You have looked at this Scripture a lot of times, as it related to sin. Now, you are moving forward and looking at God-sized desires. You have a new life that is to be lived in victory and success. To have God-sized desires is allow Jesus to be God in your life. When you yield to what Jesus is capable of doing, your desires, dreams, goals, and plans are elevated to a whole new level. The power-gifts of the Holy Spirit exist on this level.

Jesus, how do I become one of those who live in accordance with the Spirit and have my mind set on what the Spirit desires? Help me yield to His desires, so He can use me with His power-gifts. Let all that work You have done on my attitudes and character produce the mind set on what the Spirit desires. Help me totally give up my old life and totally embrace the new life You have given me.

 

6.     Understand Focus

For you to believe that you receive something the right way (Mark 11:24), you must fix your eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of your faith (Heb 12:2a). The Jesus-Powered Seven Biblical Principles take you to a whole new level.

Jesus, teach me that faith is much easier to receive, when I believe that I receive it from, through, and because of You. Teach me that fixed eyes on You means I am focused on You and Your abilities, provisions, miracles, healings, and blessings. I believe and trust Your plans, attitudes, character, love, and resources. You are supplying the power, the faith, and the plan that I am yielding to. You are allowing me to be involved; but, You are doing it through me with Your wisdom, knowledge, foreknowledge of the future, understanding, power, and love. Teach me that this is what my power-relationship with You is all about.

 

7.     Understand Love

The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself for me: This love paid a tremendous price for you to have supernatural, miraculous, and God-sized dreams, goals, plans, and benefits. Jesus went way beyond just forgiving and setting you free from your sins. That was taken care of with His death; your new life in Him is all about His resurrection power. He wants to show you how much He loves you by giving you greater and more wonderful things than you could ever imagine.

 

Rom 8:17 (NIV) Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we may also share in His glory.

Jesus, You have a supernatural love for me that wants to take me into the inheritances of God. I am co-heirs with You; but, I don’t know how to take advantage of this inheritance. So, I allow You to show me how to take advantage of this great and generous love from God. I allow my faith to focus in on the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Yourself for me.

 

 

This concludes your reading and praying for today.

 

 

 

Truth/Prayer Chapter Fifty-Two

Living In The Power-Gifts From The Holy Spirit

 

Week Eleven Day Four

 

 

Moving From Getting To Living

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. This is Jesus speaking faith and power into you. These are the words He wants you to say through the faith He has given you. These are the words that have transformed you into the Jesus-life. Now it is just a matter of living it.

 

Jesus, help me accept the full meaning of this verse as me. Help me not just read this as something that can happen to me. Let its truths penetrate into my heart and mind. Speak Your faith, power, transformation, and revelation into me. I accept the Jesus-life as making all things possible in me through You. I accept that I don’t have the power; I have the power-relationship, where You are in charge. Empower me to yield to the power-gifts through You.

 

 

Jesus Is Asking You To Live This Through His Faith

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me:

STEP ONE: I have been crucified with Christ: When your body, the world, or the devil try to get you to do something from your old life, this is the truth that you confess. This is the truth you stand on. This is the truth that you use Jesus’ power to live by.

 

Jesus, Your Word says that I have been crucified with You. You have given me the faith to believe that this is true of me. I confess with my mouth that I have been crucified with You. I believe in my heart that I have been crucified with You. I am ready to live on the basis of the fact that I have been crucified with You.

 

STEP TWO: I no longer live: As you are going through your day and you are about to make a decision or take an action, you base it on this fact. This is no longer your life. You are living Jesus’ life. He is to make the decision or take the action.

 

Jesus, I just read that I no longer live; help me understand all of the wonderful facts that this truth is speaking into me. I do believe, through the faith You have spoken into me, that I no longer live. And even though I don’t understand all of what that means, I know that this truth will make great changes in me. So, I now say with my mouth, I no longer live. I now believe in my heart, I no longer live. I give You control over my decisions and actions.

 

STEP THREE: Christ lives in me: All the potential of the Jesus-life is in you; it isn’t a problem of getting more. It is an issue of learning more, understanding more, applying more, and living more. Jesus is waiting for you to “do what it takes” to let Him teach you how to live this life.

 

Jesus, Your Word says that You, my Christ, live in me; help me understand all of the wonderful realities that this truth is speaking into me. I do believe, through the faith You have spoken into me, that You, my Christ, live in me. Help me understand all of what that means. I know that this truth has put Your life in me. So, I now speak this truth through my mouth that You, my Christ, live in me. And, I now believe this truth in my heart that You, my Christ, live in me. I give my life over to Your life.

 

 

Living The Jesus-Life

1.     Weigh The Benefits

As you are going through your day, it is a choice. If you think about the costs, penalties, loses, rejections, and pain that living the Jesus-life cause, you will make decisions and take actions that aren’t under Jesus’ control. At that point, you stepped out of the Jesus-life.

 

Jesus, this is all totally new to me; I have some human ideas. But, I want to see those things You desire to show me. I try to read the Bible and get excited about Your life; but, my human enthusiasm isn’t enough. Give me a vision, a picture, and a revelation of how great this life is. Let my desire be inspired by Your power, so I can be passionate about it.

 

2.     Understand The Jesus-Relationship

Christ lives in me: This is a supernatural relationship; it is a matter of you allowing Jesus to be God in your life. Mark 10:27 (NIV) Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”

 

Jesus, help me not look at the costs, penalties, loses, rejections, and pain that living the Jesus-life cause. Instead, help me look at the fact that all things are possible with God. Help me believe that even though I don’t see a way for Your decisions and actions to turn out good, You will fulfill Romans 8:28 and force it to turn out good for me.

 

3.     Understand Jesus’ Leadership

The life I live in the body: The Jesus-life is a way of life that is much more powerful and dynamic that anything you have ever been exposed to. If you don’t give Jesus control over your life moment-by-moment and issue-by-issue, He won’t be able to show you how it all works.

 

Jesus, I help me not miss out on what the power-gifts will be doing in and through me. Help me not put my body’s desires, the world’s pressures, or the devil’s temptations over what You have to offer. Help me keep my eyes on the prize. Help me not allow myself to look at the consequences from my body, the world, or the devil. Help me look at the benefits and rewards that come from living the Jesus-life.

 

4.     Understand Jesus’ Faith

The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God: Jesus gives you the power to believe things you wouldn’t be able to believe on your own. Jesus’ faith is a supernatural faith for natural and supernatural things; it is a God-sized faith that works miracles.

 

Jesus, show me that looking at the consequences of living the Jesus-life, will create unbelief, doubt, distrust, and fear. If I fix my eyes on You, Your supernatural, God-sized faith, will make me sure and certain. I won’t get cheated out of being used with the power-gifts. Help me cooperate, so I can move into the realm where You live. Open my heart and mind to the supernatural, miraculous, powerful, and true things that are natural to You.

 

5.     Understand Holy Spirit Desire

Rom 8:5 (NIV) Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. Seeing the wonderful Jesus-life will help you want it. But, day-by-day, as Jesus asks you to do things, you may refuse some of them and not desire them.

 

Jesus, when I feel like refusing to do something You ask, help me get further information. When I feel fearful, confused, frustrated, or upset about something You are leading me into, help me talk to You. Since the power-gifts are God-sized, miraculous, supernatural, and spiritual, help me see how important it is to always look to You for emotional and faith help.

6.     Understand Spiritual Focus

In order to believe that you receive something the right way, you must fix your eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of your faith. If you don’t, you may refuse something Jesus asks you to do or cooperate with. This is often because your eyes are on the assignment. Keep your focus on the fact that it is Jesus asking you. That will help you do what He asks.

 

Jesus, sometimes I get focused on what You are asking me to do. I look at how big, how hard, or how uncomfortable it is. Keep my eyes fixed on You and not the assignment. Help me focus on the fact that You are actually doing it through me and not me doing it myself. Help me keep in mind that this is a relationship and not You commanding me to do it on my own.

 

7.     Understand God’s Love

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 loves you more than you love yourself. He knows what will really make you happy, feel fulfilled, have success, and win at life. If you open your heart and mind to the power and safety of Jesus’ love for you, you will yield to living His life constantly.

 

Jesus, help me feel and understand the supernatural greatness of Your love for me. Fill my heart and mind with the truth of Your love; help me base my whole relationship with You on the fact that You love me more than I love myself. Help me see that You love me with a God-size, supernatural love. Let Your love motivate every aspect of my relationship with You.

 

This concludes your reading and praying for today.

 

 

 

Truth/Prayer Chapter Fifty-Three

Living In The Power-Gifts From The Holy Spirit

 

Week Eleven Day Five

 

Phil 1:6 (NIV) Being confident of this, that He Who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

 

You Can Trust Jesus’ Results

Luke 10:21 (NIV) At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was Your good pleasure.

 

Being confident of this: The power-gifts of the Holy Spirit are very challenging and can be scary. You can feel like Jesus is requiring you to lay it all on the line. As you move forward on this journey, it is new and very different. But, if you have the attitude of a little child, you will take the chance. Your ego won’t be on the line. You will fail and get up and try it again.

 

Jesus, You are alive and real; Your Word is alive and real; and Christianity is alive and real. Therefore, I can put my confidence and trust in You. Help me see that I don’t have to move into the supernatural alone. Help me move into it by faith in You. Help me live the Jesus-life with power, faith, and commitment. Let me live it based on all things being possible for You.

 

The Work Has Been Started

Being confident of this, that He Who began a good work in you: The good work of victory through faith in truth began with Jesus; He began the good work in you. Then He caused it to grow and be much more successful, as He led you into more and more truth. Right now, He is leading you into the beginnings of a good work of helping hurting people through the power-gifts of the Holy Spirit.

 

Jesus, You began a good work in me at salvation and justification. Then You began a good work in me through sanctification and spiritual growth. You began a good work in me by leading me into being equipped by the Holy Spirit with His power-gifts. Help me look back at how great a job you have already done in me, so I can relax in Your faithfulness.

 

The Work Is Being Completed

Being confident of this, that He Who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion: It doesn’t do much good to start out well if you don’t end up well. But, starting out well and ending well come through the power of Jesus in your life. The pressure isn’t on you; it is on Jesus. He started you out through salvation and justification; and, He is producing spiritual growth through sanctification. And, He will produce completion in you.

 

Jesus, help me run this race of life with You being a part of me from beginning to end. Help me not start with You and then become weary in doing good, for at the proper time I will reap a harvest if I do not give up (Gal 6:9 NIV). Help me not get frustrated or confused as I move into this new supernatural assignment. Help me not get discourage and feel defeated and start thinking about quitting. Help me realize that You will carry it on to completion.

 

The Work Has A Purpose

Being confident of this, that He Who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus: All the difficulties, problems, struggles, and issues you face will soon be over. Once you have learned how to apply the principles and truths of God to succeeding in this life, that will prepare you for a very successful life in eternity. Jesus will have trained and got you ready to do great things in the spirit realm. You will be a mature, adult Child of God; you will be ready for everything God has prepared for you in His Kingdom.

 

Jesus, help my lack of knowledge about eternity not interfere with my training and growth in You. Help me get a glimpse of how important victory through faith in truth is. Give me an understanding and vision of what eternity is all about, so I give You my full cooperation. Teach me how to turn my whole life over to Your training and development.

 

Jesus Is Coming Soon

Until the day of Christ Jesus: Only those who realize why they were allowed to be born on this planet will get victory through faith in truth. Those who have their own agenda, goals, plans, and strategies, will miss the whole reason for why they are here. Once Jesus comes and takes you to be with Him, all decisions, preparations, training, and getting ready will be over. Now is the time for you to get ready for your eternal life; true success here brings success there.

 

Jesus, help me take full advantage of my life here on earth. Put Your purpose, Your goals, and Your plans into my heart and mind. Help me cooperated with You, so I will be completely ready for eternity when You come and take me to live with You forever.

 

 

The Day Of Christ Jesus

The Salvation Final Exam

Mat 25:31-34 (NIV) When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on His right and the goats on His left. Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.”

 

Born Again Into Righteousness

Mat 25:35-39 (NIV) For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited Me in, I needed clothes and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you came to visit Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? When did we see You a stranger and invite You in, or needing clothes and clothe You? When did we see You sick or in prison and go to visit You?’

 

Why?

Mat 25:40 (NIV) The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’

 

Unborn Again And Unrighteous

Mat 25:41-44 (NIV) Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite Me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe Me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after Me.’ They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help You?’

 

Why?

Mat 25:45 (NIV) He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me.’ Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.

 

The Christian’s Final Exam

1 Cor 3:9-11 (NIV) For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building. By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the One already laid, which is Jesus Christ.

 

 

Flammable Or Nonflammable Building Material

1 Cor 3:12-14 (NIV) If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work.

 

Nonflammable Material

1 Cor 3:14 (NIV) If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If what you do counts for eternity, then it will be nonflammable. If part of what you do counts for eternity and part of it doesn’t part of it will go into eternity as rewards and part of it will be burned up.

 

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.

 

1 Cor 3:6-8 (NIV) I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, Who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor.

 

Luke 6:35 (NIV) But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.

 

Mark 9:41 (NIV) I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in My name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward.

 

Mat 5:11-12 (NIV) Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

 

Jesus, I thank You for getting me ready for eternity. Help my attitudes and character be so dynamically developed by You that all I think, feel, say, and do will count for eternity. Help me yield to the Holy Spirit’s power-gifts, so I can be used with them for helping every possible person also be saved and then helped with their attitudes and character. Let them start building their life and ministry out of gold, silver, and costly stones.

 

Flammable Material

1 Cor 3:15 (NIV) If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames. There will be Christians who only do things that count for their human life. They could have used their human life to store up treasures for eternity. But, they opted for getting all their rewards here.

 

Mat 5:46 (NIV) If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?

 

Mat 6:1 (NIV) Be careful not to do your acts of righteousness before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

 

2 John 1:8 (NIV) Watch out that you do not lose what you have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully.

 

 

This concludes your reading and praying in The Victory Through Faith In Truth lifestyle Book. CONGRATULATIONS!