ENDTIMES CHAT with GJ and DAN

Living a Year in Surrender “Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you.

Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.” — ‭‭Colossians‬ ‭3:13-15‬‬

The beginning of the year is the perfect time to pause and reflect—not only to recognize all the reasons we have to be grateful, but also to heal and grow in the year ahead. While reflecting, we may be reminded of hurt feelings. Rather than sweep those feelings under the rug or let them create bitterness, we can choose the freedom of forgiveness. And the first step toward forgiveness is surrender. “Surrender” can be one of those words that makes people squeamish, especially when it comes to forgiveness.

We tend to equate it with losing a battle—waving a white flag and allowing the enemy to overtake us. But when we surrender to God, we can view it differently. With God, surrender means being open handed with our lives—even our hurt and pain so that God can heal us from it. He is full of love, mercy, and compassion for each of us. We don’t have to be afraid to give our pain to God because we can trust Him to be tender, and handle our hearts with care. We can also trust God to be fair. It’s natural for us to want to see someone pay the consequences for their actions.

Even God has a righteous anger toward sin and injustice. But we have to accept that only God can judge a person’s heart. We don’t get to decide whether someone receives punishment or grace, and holding on to our need for vengeance will only leave us with bitterness. If we want to live in peace this year, we have to give our anger and pride over to God and focus on our own hearts. We must make the conscious choice to lay our pain and desire for control at His feet and ask God to do a work in us. We have to acknowledge that we need His help.

As Christ-followers, forgiveness is something we do daily—even when we don’t want to do it. Sometimes when we’re working through forgiveness, we have to surrender the same pain to God multiple times. When old feelings stir up, we forgive again and again until it no longer upsets us.

With God’s grace, all things are forgivable. Now, forgiveness doesn’t mean what happened is ok. It doesn’t mean we let people continue to hurt us. And it doesn’t necessarily mean having a face-to-face conversation—the person doesn’t even have to still be alive for us to forgive them because it’s not about them. It’s an acknowledgement in a moment that is just between us and God. It’s about inviting Him in so He can heal our hearts.

Don’t take the offenses and hurts from last year into this next year. If there’s something you need to forgive, take a moment to pray and surrender it to God. Tell Him you need His help and that you trust Him with the results.

PRAY. PREPARE. PROTECT. PROCLAIM. PERSIST. PERSEVERE. PRAY AGAIN. PASS IT ON. POWER UP! POSITION PROPERLY. PAY ATTENTION.

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DECEPTION.

Charles Baudelaire once said, “The devil’s finest trick is to persuade you that he does not exist.” Alfred Tennyson once said, “A lie that is a half-truth is the darkest of all lies.” “The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in those who tell the truth.” Proverbs 12:22

"16 So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. 17 The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. 18 But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses. 19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. 22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. 26 Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another." Galatians 5:16-26 Deception is from our enemy, the devil. His desire is to take everything God has created or said, and to deceive us into thinking it is NOT what he created or said. Deception will be the way the devil will draw masses and multitudes away from God and turn them against God. “But I am not surprised! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no wonder that his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. In the end they will get the punishment their wicked deeds deserve.” 2 Corinthians 11:14-15

“They will say, ‘See how our enemies have been destroyed. The last of them have been consumed in the fire.’ “Submit to God, and you will have peace; then things will go well for you. Listen to his instructions, and store them in your heart. If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored— so clean up your life. If you give up your lust for money and throw your precious gold into the river, the Almighty himself will be your treasure. He will be your precious silver! “Then you will take delight in the Almighty and look up to God. You will pray to him, and he will hear you, and you will fulfill your vows to him. You will succeed in whatever you choose to do, and light will shine on the road ahead of you. If people are in trouble and you say, ‘Help them,’ God will save them. Even sinners will be rescued; they will be rescued because your hands are pure.”” ‭‭Job‬ ‭22:20-30‬ ‭NLT‬‬

PRAY. PREPARE. PROTECT. PROCLAIM. PERSIST. PERSEVERE. PRAY AGAIN. PASS IT ON. POWER UP! POSITION PROPERLY. PAY ATTENTION.

Check us out at endtimes.chat