Agree with the One Who Loves You Week 2 Day 3 of Living Loved

 

Why does it seem easier sometimes to hold onto the lies of the devil, rather than to truly embrace the truth of God’s promises? I know for many years of my life the reason I held onto the lies is because I feared I’d be disappointed. And yet the reality was I lived in disappointment because I wouldn’t let go of the lies. Disappointment surrounded me. I was disappointed with myself, my marriage, my husband, with God, my finances, and I lived with a fear that my life would never change and the desires of my heart would never come to pass. Even though I heard, “All things are possible with God,” my heart believed the lie that it probably wasn’t going to happen for me.

The devil deceived me into believing that if I truly trusted God, I’d just end up disappointed, so I thought I was protecting my heart from that pain by holding onto this lie, when all along this lie was creating the pain and keeping me in bondage to disappointment.

Agreeing with the lies of the devil created so many broken places in my heart that when the truth was presented to me it just leaked out of the holes in my heart. Just like the parable of the sower, the enemy came immediately to steal the truth so that it never produced God’s promise in my life. I remember being so filled with doubt and unbelief that my heart became hard and angry. I was miserable. The lie I thought was protecting me was actually bringing death to every area of my life.

I can remember like it was yesterday the day my heart began to heal. I cried out to God from the depths of my heart. I so desperately wanted to be free. “Jesus, help me! Show me the truth that will set me free. Help me to trust You with all of my heart.” That simple prayer has totally changed my life.

Now that I know that negative emotions are symptoms of believing the devil’s lies, every day when the devil throws his lies at my heart, I have a choice to make. I now know if I hold onto the lie, it will produce death in my soul; so once again I turn to the One Who loves me and say, “Lord, show me the truth of your love. Set my heart free.” He is so faithful to whisper once again His words of love into the depths of my heart and then gives me the power to trust that what He says about me and my family is the absolute TRUTH! I am who my Father says I am because of Jesus!

My life has been totally transformed by letting go of the lies and agreeing with the One Who loves me. I no longer live in disappointment. The truth has set me free. I continue to experience the abundant life that Jesus came to give me because the truth is “those who agree with Jesus and put their trust in Him will never be disappointed” (Romans 10:33)

Be encouraged by viewing the video teaching of week 2 of Living Loved at: http://www.becauseofjesus.com/video-broadcast

Breaking Free from the Enemy's Lies Week 2 day 2 of Living Loved

Has your heart ever felt discouraged, depressed, fearful, or condemned? Have you ever felt jealous, resentful, or judgmental toward someone? Did you know that none of these negative emotions are your Heavenly Father's will or plan for your heart? He sent Jesus to heal your heart with the Good News of His love so that you would experience His perfect peace and joy in this world.

In II Corinthians 11:2 & 3 the Apostle Paul said that we have been presented
to Jesus as His pure and righteous bride, but he feared that just as the devil deceived Eve with his lies, our minds would also be corrupted from our pure devotion to Jesus. Every day the devil prowls around looking for one of God's beloved children to devour (I Peter 5:5,9). He throws his lies at our minds in an attempt to fill our hearts with insecurity and fear. He wants us to question God's love and faithfulness and our true identity in Jesus.

My heart experiences both positive and negative emotions. Just as pain in my body is an indicator that sickness is trying to attack my body, pain in my heart is an indicator that the devil's lies are attacking my mind. And just as Jesus is the Healer of our bodies, He is also the Healer of our hearts. He loves us so much that He came for us to experience wholeness in our spirit, soul, and body! When we become aware that negative emotions are symptoms of the devil's lies we can break free from their affect on our hearts by turning to the One Who loves us.

Every day I am very much aware of how my heart feels, I want more than anything to live in my Heavenly Father's perfect will and experience His promises in every area of my life. My heart is an indicator of whose voice I am listening to and whose plan I am experiencing in my life. So whenever my heart feels negative emotions, I turn to Jesus and say, "Lord, what lie is the devil tempting me to believe? Show me the truth that will set me free." With the lie exposed to the light of Jesus, it dissipates in the truth of His love. I find myself once again experiencing positive emotions, my heart filled with the fullness of God- living loved and living free!

Be encouraged by this week's video teaching of Living Loved Living Free at: http://www.becauseofjesus.com/video-broadcast

The Fight for your Heart: Week 2 day 1 of Living Loved

John 10:10 says, “The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life and have it in abundance to the full, until it overflows.”

As I was reading this Scripture out of today’s study, the Holy Spirit really impressed on my heart to go back and read the context of this Scripture. It became very clear to me that we experience abundant life when we listen to the Shepherd’s voice. When we listen to His voice, we come to Him and find salvation (John 10:9). Salvation literally means wholeness, peace, health, happiness, and life. The Lexical aids defines it as “inclusive of all of God’s blessings.”

The thief is anyone or any voice that tries to deceive the sheep to go through a different door (besides Jesus) to find wholeness and salvation for their soul (John 10:1, 5-8). We all know that the devil is behind every deception because he is a liar and the author of all lies (John 8:44). He comes in many forms, but always for the same purpose: to steal, kill, and destroy the people that God loves.

I am aware that there is a fight going on for my heart. I hear my Shepherd’s voice drawing me to Himself. He knows if I’ll listen to and receive His love, I'll live free and my heart will be made whole-filled with love, joy and peace, but there is another voice of deception attempting to draw me away, tempting me to look somewhere else to meet the needs of my heart so that I remain broken-full of insecurity, fear and disappointment.

That’s why our Heavenly Father admonishes us so strongly with His words of love in Proverbs 4:20-23: “My child, Pay attention to what I say. Listen closely to my words. Don’t lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart, for they bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body. Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.”

The voice I choose to listen to determines the course of my life. The abundant life that Jesus came to give you and me is found in listening to the One Who loves us and letting His words of life penetrate deep into our hearts. Today He is saying, “My child, listen to me when I say, “In Christ, You are approved! You are favored! You are blessed! You are qualified! I’ll take care of you! I’ll work all things together for your good! I’ll perfect that which concerns you! Trust Me, I am able to do beyond what you could hope or dream. I love you, dearly!”

What peace and wholeness fills our soul, when we listen to the One Who loves us and think deeply upon His words of love. As we agree with the One Who loves us, we truly experience the abundant life that our Savior came to give us.

Watch the video teaching of week 2 of Living Loved Living Free, "The Fight for your Heart,"  at: http://www.becauseofjesus.com/video-broadcast