July 17, 2021

“God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” —James 4:6 (ESV)

I love you, My child! In your trial, I meet you where you are every day. And know I love so much, I won’t leave where you are. And every day, you’re in a different place than the day before. You may not notice it, but you are. You still feel like you’re having more bad days than good—like you’re stuck in the mud. Emotionally, that may be true. But know each day we talk, you & I are growing closer in our relationship. Remember the Prodigal Son? He was stuck in the mud feeding pigs before he got really tired of it and decided to repent and go back home to his Father. His Father never forgot his son and always longed for him to come back home. And when he did, the Father ran to his son while he was still a long way off—meeting him where he was, a big embrace, a kiss and all. This is what happens when you come to Me in true repentance. And you have, My son; you really have. Don’t forget that! I love hugging you! I love kissing you! While all this may not be the fix you desire to your current relationship trial, know it’s the fix in our relationship! I am changing your life, My son, to a lifestyle of humility and continual repentance. One that keeps you running back to Me—one that gives Me yet another chance to meet you where you are with a big embrace and kiss! I’m not advocating you to keep running off and doing what you want apart from Me. But the truth is, you will sin and run away from Me again. It’s your nature, yet I do not condone it. But My love is endless and keeps Me waiting for you to come back home each time—so I can keep changing your life with My Grace. A life that keeps growing our relationship—where you run away less & less…Until that day when you come home to heaven and you repent no more! My child, imagine the hug and kiss then! I love you!

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.” —Luke 15:20

“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” —2 Peter 3:9

July 16, 2021

“The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.” —Job 1:21

I love you, My child! I love our growing relationship. I love that we talk intimately every day. Your trial has been a catalyst for our intimacy. It’s not the way I prefer, but our relational intimacy is of utmost importance. I didn’t orchestrate your trial. But I allowed it. Trials are inherent in your fallen world. Everyone will experience trial. Quite honestly, I prefer that our intimacy grows from gratefulness; from a truly thankful heart; from a position of true humility, knowing that I give & take away. But in your fallen world, when times are good, your position of gratefulness, thankfulness and true humility often lasts only for a little while until the theology of the world overtakes your mind. Entitlement, pride, and self slowly creeps in and embeds itself into your heart and mind. You start to look at the things you have and the things you accomplished, and you take credit for them. Your humility starts to erode, and in its place your pride slowly erects itself. You give Me thanks every day, but you don’t really mean it anymore, because your gratefulness has been replaced with entitlement. You don’t think that I will take away what I gave because you think you’ve earned it. You become comfortable in yourself while losing your reverent fear of Me. This is when our intimacy has been replaced with convenience. This is when the world becomes your idol, and you don’t even see it because you live under the guise of “I’m a good Christian, I deserve all I have.” And this is exactly why I Am allowing your trial. To keep you humble, grateful, and connected to Me—so as to keep growing our intimacy. In My time, your trial will end and good days will return for you. When this happens, it’s My hope that our intimacy continues to grow with this painful trial serving as a constant reminder to stay truly humble and grateful all day long, every day in My Presence—all so others see Me through you, so they too desire intimacy with Me. Stay humble, My child. I love you!

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom” —Proverbs 9:10

“For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” —Matthew 23:12

“When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.” —Proverbs 11:2

July 15, 2021

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” —Hebrews 11:1 (ESV)

I love you! I want you to contemplate about My child, Abraham, and his faith. I recorded the latter phase of his life in My Word, in Genesis. It was in this phase is where he grew and demonstrated his faith in Me. He wasn’t perfect—he made mistakes, but he remained faithful. Re-read Genesis 22. You know the story. I tested his faith by telling him to sacrifice his son Isaac, whom he loved, to Me. In previous chapters I confirmed twice to Abraham that of his two sons, it was through Isaac shall his offspring be named. Abraham’s faith was tested indeed! He had to reconcile in his mind how his lineage would continue through Isaac if he were dead. While not sure how this would happen, he had such faith in Me that he even considered that I would raise Isaac from the dead. Well, you know how it ends. I stopped Abraham at the last moment from sacrificing Isaac and provided a ram for the offering instead. But you see, Abraham was willing to go through with it because of his faith. This is what I need you to do as you go through your trial. I need you to be prepared to go through with it. Have faith that I will take care of everything, even if you don’t know how I will do it. Be prepared either way on how your trial may end up. I may stop it, and I may not. But have faith in Me that regardless of the outcome, that I have a purpose behind all this. And part of that purpose has already been happening since June 1st. Since then, you & I have been intimately talking; you’ve been close to Me, in My Presence! And you’ve been recording it all. Don’t look now, but your faith in Me is growing! I love you, My child!

“…God tested Abraham…Then God said, ‘Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering…’” —Genesis 22:1-2

“even though God had said to him, ‘It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.’ Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead” —Hebrews 11:18-19

“My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” —Exodus 33:14

July 14, 2021

“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men” —Colossians 3:23 (ESV)

I love you! I’m glad you’re up. We have a couple things to get done today. I know you’re still struggling from your trial and you’re unmotivated. But these things are important. My child, please keep Me at the center of these things, okay? Work at it for Me, and not for anyone else. Regardless of who is the primary recipient or who benefits from these things, ultimately you are doing it for Me. I determine the results. If you work for people, you’ll find yourself ultimately working for yourself, as trying to please others breeds the goal of self-gratification. If you delight in your work for Me, I will affirm you not for your self-gratification, but for My glory, which in-turn brings you closer to Me in My Presence—as I Am the ultimate source of your motivation. My child, this is the true desire of your heart. For you to be in My Presence all the time. This is how we get things done—when you’re working on My strength from being in My Presence. But the Enemy is constantly trying to convince you that it’s about you, your own strength, and what your flesh desires. He twists Psalm 37:4 all the time to make it about what you think you want from this world—making Me look like some personal cosmic genie that is at your beck & call. The truth is, as My child, you can ask whatever you wish and it will be given to you—as long as it glorifies Me, first & foremost. I Am your loving God Who is glorified when you are full of My joy. Right now, you’re sad and not full of My joy. And that’s why we need to get things done together. For you to delight in Me, as you work, so your heart is full of My joy. This is your true heart-desire. This is where your sadness starts to fade and My joy in you begins. Let’s do this! I love you, My child!

“Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” —Psalm 37:4

“If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” —John 15:7-8

“I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” —Philippians 4:13

July 13, 2021

“The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.” —Proverbs 13:4 (ESV)

I love you, My child! I’m sorry you haven’t been feeling well lately. As we discussed before, part of it is your health. Please start exercising. Also, be mindful of the food you put in your body. You are starting to react negatively to certain foods. For both exercise and diet, let’s start off small & reasonable. Let’s do this together, okay? The other part of why you haven’t been feeling well lately is because you’re sometimes slowing down your sanctification by choosing not to focus on Me. In doing so, you’re even more vulnerable to the Enemy’s temptations. More specifically, he has been tempting you to be idle. You have heard, “An idle mind is the devil’s playground.” My child, you are going through a difficult trial right now. You’re sad, lonely, and depressed…a perfect target for idleness. This is one of the Enemy’s schemes to keep you down & out. To make it exclusively about you, thus you miss out on the joy of God’s gifts to you—most notably the people He still has in your life. When you’re so focused on your sadness, it’s hard to feel the joy of those who love & care about you. They feel your sadness too. Too much of your self-pity, and they start to slowly withdraw from being in your presence. Then you’re back to being lonely, and the cycle continues. Idleness breeds laziness and will keep your mind wandering about your sadness and apart from being busy with Me. While you know that excessive busyness is one of the Enemy’s schemes to keep you out of My Presence—now you know that so is idleness. My child, for now, let’s start staying busy together with exercise and diet, okay? But more importantly, stay busy by being in My Presence through prayer and My Word. I love you!

“For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” —1 Timothy 4:8

“Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep, and an idle person will suffer hunger.” —Proverbs 19:15 (ESV)

“If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.” —James 4:17

July 12, 2021

“Be still, and know that I am God.” —Psalm 46:10

I love you! You’ve been anxious, My child. I’m sad that you had a couple anxiety attacks lately. I know you have a condition that is prone to anxiety. But these attacks were triggered because you continue to ruminate on your trial. Anxiety is the anti-thesis to faith. My child, I know your trial is still painful, and My heart continues to break for you. Your trial is pretty much out of your control—and that’s why you have anxiety. But it’s when things are out of your control is when I’m in control. That is when your faith in Me is put to the test. Truth is, I’m always in control. But at times I allow you freedom to choose within My sovereign will. Stay in My Presence, My child. Never cease praying to Me—talk to Me all day long whether it be out loud or in your mind. I hear every word spoken and unspoken. So keep praying to Me. It keeps you in My Presence. Keep reading My Word daily. Whether it be a chapter or a verse. Listen and hear Me when I speak back to you through My Word. This way, you’ll feel My Presence in return. This is what I desire all day long from you. This is when your faith in Me grows. This is when you learn to trust Me and My will—especially in your trials of which you have no control. Stay in My Presence and know Who I Am. I love you, My child!

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” —Philippians 4:6

“pray without ceasing” —1 Thessalonians 5:17

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” —Hebrews 11:1

July 11, 2021

“Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.” —1 Corinthians 13:7-8 (ESV)

I love you, My child. Your trial is painful because you mourn the relational loss the most. You might have lost material things & financial flexibility—but you will get over those things easier than you could relational loss. This relational loss will hurt for a while—long after the logistics of your trial are over. Why? Because you truly loved. You really did. I saw it. I saw the intention of your heart. Your execution of love sometimes left a lot to be desired, but those things can and need to be worked on. Let’s work on them with Me first, okay? Only when you love Me first with all your heart, mind, soul & strength will you be able to love others in the same manner. Yesterday, I told you that love is expressed in serving. My child, I want you to remember this—just because you don’t serve the ones you love all the time, doesn’t mean you don’t love them. I know this has been one of your biggest regrets. You will fall short in servanthood. And that is why you will never love Me perfectly with all your heart, mind, soul & strength, hence neither will you with others. But because you do love is why you keep pressing on to be perfect in servanthood knowing you never will. It’s seems like a dichotomy. But unlike anything else, true love never ends. Love isn’t about being perfect. It’s about never giving up! You have let Me down so many times in servanthood, but yet I know you love Me. I don’t count the number of times you served Me to determine your love for Me. I see the true intent of your heart and your continued desire to serve Me because you love Me. My child, regardless of what happens in your trial, keep loving Me as imperfectly as you do. And keep loving others in the same manner. Your relational loss means a status change to your relationship. It doesn’t mean to stop loving them. Remember, true love never ends. Keep loving, keep pressing on! I love you, My child. I never stopped and never will!

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” —Mark 12:30-31

“We love because he first loved us. Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.” —1 John 4:19-20

“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” —Philippians 3:12

July 10, 2021

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” —John 13:34-35

I love you! If I were to ask you how do you know that I love you—how would you answer? Because I died on the cross for you? Then you would be right. I gave My life for you, so you could have yours—not just here on earth but for all eternity. That is love! Right before I died on the cross, I gave a new commandment to love one another, just as I have loved you. Loving your neighbor isn’t a new commandment. What is new is the standard by which you love your neighbor—Would you be willing to die for them? This new standard clearly establishes the essence of love: to serve each other. Dying for someone will likely never present itself in your lifetime—but always be willing. Always be willing to serve one another, especially the ones closest to you. My child, your trial has revealed that you fell short of My new commandment. And this guilty feeling is part of the reason you struggle in your trial. I know your heart, My child. No need to feel guilty, okay? It’s not that you didn’t love and didn’t want to serve. It’s you didn’t show your love and servanthood to the point of dying for those closest to you. I know you would have given the situation, but you forgot to show that you would. And those then closest to you didn’t feel and know what you would truly do for them because of your love. You loved them, but you didn’t show them that you loved them. Going forward, let’s work on this, okay? Let Me lead the way on showing love. Just emulate what I do. No matter what happens in your trial, love them all and show it! I love you, My child!

“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” —John 15:13

“just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” —Matthew 20:28 

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” —Romans 5:8

July 9, 2021

“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” —Philippians 3:12

I love you! Lately, you’ve been having more bad days than good. You haven’t been feeling well. And last night you were in tears as you realized part of why you’re struggling in your trial. You’re selfish, My child. I say this with love. Your trial has been too much about you & your feelings. I understand you’re sad & depressed—you lost so much. Your life has been dramatically altered, yet again, so quickly that your feet haven’t landed. Know My heart continues to break for you as much as I desire for you to heal. I said to you yesterday, let’s start to move away from your sadness at your pace. Pace means movement, no matter the speed. Right now, you’ve stopped. You’re drowning in your sadness. You’re stuck in the mud constantly asking Me, “Why is all this happening to me?” I want you to ask Me more, “What do You want me to learn?” The focus of your trial is too lopsided towards you & your sadness. You’re struggling, I get it. The Enemy is persuading you to keep the focus on you. He doesn’t want you to move forward to healing. But I do. My child, look to Me so we can shift your focus to a more healthy balance towards Me & the others still in your life. When this happens, you’ll start to slowly press on, move forward, away from the Enemy and begin to see the answers to the “What” question. And eventually you won’t be stuck asking “Why” as much. Stay in My Presence and you will be able to resist the Enemy and grow into this balanced mind set on a more consistent basis. My child, stay in My Word and keep talking to Me, okay? Keep asking Me “What” more. And you’ll naturally start to see the “Why.” I love you!

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” —Philippians 2:3-4

“Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.” —Psalm 25:5

“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you.” —James 4:7-8

July 8, 2021

“For I am the LORD your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.” —Isaiah 41:13

I love you! I really do. You believe in it, but you don’t take it all in. You hear it every day from Me. But then you go on thinking about your trial and how difficult it is. My child, this is what is making you sad every day. My love is greater than your trial. And you’re not receiving My love in its entirety. When you fully receive My love, you think about Me—which yields joyous thoughts. I understand that your trial is painful. My heart still breaks for you every day. I know your circumstances have changed such that you are often in lonely situations—and this contributes to your sadness. But please remember, you are never alone—I Am always with you. I really Am! Similar to My love, you believe in My Presence, but you don’t take it all in. Remember, you are My child because you believe in My Son, Jesus—But also because you received Him! And that’s when our relationship became real! Know My love for you is real! Please receive all of it! My Presence with you is real! Please receive all of it! When you pray, I hear you, it’s real! When you hear back from Me while in My Presence or in My Word, it’s real! Sometimes you hear My silence reminding you to be still, to know I Am real! When you’re sad, know I Am right there next to you—My arms around you comforting you. I really Am! It’s real! My child, let’s start taking baby steps away from your sadness, okay? Beyond believing, keep your eyes on Me so you can fully receive My love and Presence. Easier said than done, I understand. But more than ever in the backdrop of your trial does My love and Presence become more real. Let’s do this, okay? We’ll do this at your pace. I’m right here, My child. Let Me take your right hand. I love you!

“Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” —John 1:12

“whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” —Philippians 4:8

“Be still, and know that I am God” —Psalm 46:10