Closer to Cross

Freely You Have Received  Freely you  Freely  have received, freely give. Matthew 10:8. My dear child, what have you received from the Father and from Me? You were dead in sin and had no hope of eternal life. But We raised you from the dead and gave you eternal life. We replaced your hopelessness with a confident hope. When you deserved My Father’s wrath, He showed you undeserved mercy. We forgave all your sins—all of them! Even now We continue to grant you forgiveness every day. When you have been wounded, We have shown you compassion. We show you never-ending patience. We have listened to every cry of your heart, even when you couldn’t express yourself with words. We have met all your needs throughout your life. We have protected you from countless dangers, threats, and consequences. I have shared My life and My heart with you. I agonized on the cross for you. I became your sins. I endured the terrible pain of separation from the Father so I could separate you from the ...

Be Like Me  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Matthew 11:29. Because I have called you to store up treasures in heaven, I want you to understand how to do that. The Father wants you to become more like Me each day. He sent the Holy Spirit to reproduce My life in you. He desires that others will come face to face with His loving-kindness, righteousness, wisdom, and justice through you. The fastest way to accomplish this is for you to harness yourself to Me. When you and I are harnessed together, you will go My way instead of yours. Instead of relying on your own strength, you will rely on Mine. Instead of doing your will, you will do Mine. To do this, you need to daily fill your mind and heart with My words. As you do, the Holy Spirit will perform His ministry in your mind and heart. He will bring My words to your memory and apply them to whatever situation you are in. He will empower you with the gra...

Where Is Your Treasure?  Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19–21. Child, I want you to see your life and everything around you the way I see it. I am not blinded by the luster of anything this world offers. Nor am I distracted by temporary attractions that have no eternal worth. Tragically, most people overvalue that which is temporary and undervalue that which is eternal. They waste their lives pursuing earthly treasures they will leave behind while failing to pursue treasures of eternal worth. I don’t want that to be true of you. Nothing is more worthwhile than getting to know the Father and Me. As you get to know Us, I want you to love others by helping them get to know the Father and Me. So many wand...

Where Is Your Heart?  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  Matthew 6:21. The greatest commandment begins with “Love the Lord your God with all your heart.” This is so important because all behavior flows from your heart. Anything you treasure more than the Father will prevent you from loving Him with all your heart. This is because your heart focuses on that which you treasure and becomes bonded to it. That prevents you from becoming bonded to God. You may ask, “How can I treasure God more than anything else?” It happens when you get to know Him as He really is.  The more you get to know the Father, the more you will treasure Him. The only way to get to know Him intimately is to look at My life and hear My words and do them. When you listen to Me, you will hear the Father. When you obey My words, you will be loving the Father the way He wants to be loved. You will treasure the Father more than ever. And as you treasure Him, you will become bonded to...

Adding Faith to Your Prayers   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. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. Mark 11:23–24. My disciples often struggled with misunderstandings and inconsistent experiences with faith. They prayed but often without believing they would receive what they asked for. Initially they didn’t understand the nature of faith—what it is and where it comes from. Today many of My followers have the same problem. They think faith is simply a matter of mental agreement or positive thinking. But mental assertion alone does not produce the kind of faith that transforms lives and moves mountains. That kind of faith must live and grow in your heart. When you believe in Me in your heart, you gain a driving hunger to know My words. As you learn My wo...