Group 2 – Section 1

…Heart, hear it that repentance requires that we change how we think. So, true repentance focuses on my heart-level thinking and NOT my outer behavior. Behavior is the result, not the cause.

“For as he thinks within himself, so he is…” (Pro 23:7). “…they were thinking in their heart…” (Luke 9:47).

“…the heart of man reflects man.” (Pro. 27:19).

“For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the…evil things…” (Mark 7:21-23a).

“They always go astray in their heart…” (Heb. 3:10); “…rend your heart and not your garments…” (Joel 2:13); “…the obedience of faith…” (Rom. 1:5).

…repentance is a zealous process of calming my fears and aligning my heart-level thinking with the Kingdom of God.

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Mat 3:2); “…be zealous and repent.” (Rev. 3:19).

I am saying boldly to my heart that Heart Training will work for me because I am directing my heart away from idolatry (1 Sam. 7:3) and into increasingly greater freedom and faith. I am turning to make God my refuge by trusting like a child that I am receiving the Kingdom of Heaven around me here as the armor of Light that helps me with holiness (Rom. 13:12-13)! Thank You, God, that the Earth is the footstool of Your feet (Acts 7:49), and though You have promised to dwell in us and to walk among us (2 Cor. 6:16), You have also asked us to pray that your Kingdom would come. So, I thank You, God, for my role in this! I can open up like a child (Mark 10:15) to Heaven above and trust that I am entering before the Lord as the mountain of God and the Kingdom of Heaven are coming down around me here. By this, I am filling my role in helping to establish Jesus as King on the Earth more fully! Heart, “…your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32) because He is “…the God of all grace…” (1 Peter 5:11). So, I set my heart to believe that I am receiving the Kingdom with gratitude even now (Heb. 12:22-24, 28)! (pause to let yourself feel delighted about the significance of your role in this!)

…Behavior flows from our hearts about how to best ease our insecurities from falling short of God’s glory. Therefore, I am declaring to the ears of my heart that it changes me best when I tell myself what to believe and love about where I can best find confidence, hope, courage, security, and worth. “My soul, wait in silence for God only, for my hope is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I shall not be shaken. On God my salvation and my glory rest; the rock of my strength, my refuge is in God” (Psa. 62:5-7).

“Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God” (Psa. 43:5).

“Return to your rest, O my soul, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you” (Psa. 116:7). “My soul will make its boast in the Lord; the humble will hear it and rejoice” (Psa 34:2).

…I CAN change and grow by responding to my thoughts with reassurance and reminders about the truth… “We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5).

“…and will assure our heart before Him in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God” (1 John 3:19-21). (pause to hear, believe, and love the truth!)

…real change happens by changing the beliefs, loves, and fears of my heart. I change the best when my heart hears, believes, and loves the truth about God, drawing near and being God to me here. (pause & let yourself feel confident because of the truth!)

“…confess with your mouth…and believe in your heart…” (Rom. 10:9)

“for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness…” (Rom. 10:10). (pause to hear it)

“…faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” (Rom. 10:17). (pause to hear it)

“return to the Lord with all your heart, remove the foreign gods…and direct your hearts to the Lord…and He will deliver you…” (1 Sam. 7:3).

“So take diligent heed to yourselves to love the Lord your God…” (Jos. 23:11). (pause to hear it)

“Delight yourself in the Lord…” (Psa. 37:4). “for where your treasure is, there will your heart be…” (Mat. 6:21).

…Heart, rejoice that I can change. The truth gets “planted” in my heart by my hearing it with my heart… “And the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance” (Luke 8:15). (pause to believe and love it)

“…Jesus said, ‘He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Mark 4:9). (pause to believe and love it)

…Heart, rejoice that I can direct my heart toward God by reassuring myself with the truth. It worked for David; it will work for me. (pause to let yourself feel confident because of the truth!)

“…David was greatly distressed because the people spoke of stoning him, for all the people were embittered…But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God” (1 Sam. 30:6). (pause to hear it)

…heart, rejoice that I can glorify God by declaring truth with thanks and praise. In context with other verses about growth and change, it changes me, when I listen and really hear what I am thanking Him for!

“…the truth of God abounded to His glory…” (Rom. 3:7).

“…the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God” (2 Cor. 4:15)

…Heart, rejoice that I can change, by zealously directing the beliefs, cravings, and the treasures of my heart toward being more childlike about depending on and loving the Kingdom of Heaven (Heb. 12:22-24, 28) and the presence of God (Acts 3:19; Matt. 19:14).

“…we [should] not crave evil things…” (1Cor. 10:6)

So, “…confess with your mouth…and believe in your heart…” (Rom. 10:9)

“…take into your heart all My words which I will speak to you and listen closely” (Eze. 3:10). “for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness…” (Rom. 10:10). (pause to hear it)

“Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters…delight yourself in abundance” (Isa. 55:1,2).

“…be zealous and repent.” (Rev. 3:19)

“for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Mat. 6:21). (pause to hear it)

“Behold, the man who would not make God his refuge, but trusted in the abundance of his riches And was strong in his evil desire” (Psa. 52:7).

“…direct your [heart] to the Lord…and He will deliver you…” (1 Sam. 7:3).

“applying all diligence, in your faith…” (2 Peter 1:5).

“…building yourselves up on your most holy faith” (Jude 1:20). (pause to believe and love that repentance with joy will work for you!)

…My heart has LEARNED what to believe, love, and what to be afraid of. My heart CAN be re-trained!

“But Jesus, knowing what they were thinking in their heart…” (Luke 9:47).

“…having a heart trained in greed…” (2Pet 2:14).

…it helps me to hear and believe better when I humble myself and diligent to submit into believing… “…in humility receive the word…” (James 1:21); “Behold, as for the proud one, his soul is not right within him; but the righteous will live by his faith” (Hab. 2:4).

“For the one who has entered [God’s] rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His.

Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest…” (Heb. 4:10,11). (pause to believe and love it)

…the more I repent of feeding on earthly things, the easier it will be to believe and to receive from God.

“…receive the Spirit…by hearing with faith” (Gal. 3:2—implied). (pause to believe and love it)

“How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God?” (John 5:44). (pause to hear, believe, and love the truth!)

“…repent and believe…” (Mark 1:15). (pause to believe and love it)

…training my beliefs and loves so that my heart is free to make God my God, removes the idolatry in my heart even before I sin.

“return to the Lord with all your heart, remove the foreign gods…and direct your hearts to the Lord…and He will deliver you…” (1 Sam. 7:3).

“And it will be said, ‘Build up, build up, prepare the way, remove every obstacle out of the way of My people” (Isa. 57:14); “…turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and soul.” (Deu 30:10).

…heart, hear this. Experiencing God requires that I let myself hear, believe, and apply the truth about experiencing Him. So heart, believe it strongly! (pause to let yourself feel confident because of the truth!)

“…receive the Spirit…by hearing with faith” (Gal. 3:2—implied). (pause to believe and love it) “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Rom 10:17).

“…he who comes to God must believe that…He is a rewarder of those who seek Him” (Heb. 11:6).

…it is right that I set my heart on dying to earthly sources.

“He did evil because he did not set his heart to seek the Lord” (2 Ch 12:14).

“always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.” (2 Cor. 4:10). (pause to hear, believe, and love the truth!)

“…there was no strange god among you; so you are My witnesses…I am God’” (Isa. 43:12).

“…be zealous and repent” (Rev. 3:19); “When the days were approaching for His ascension, [Jesus] was determined to go to Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51), so I will not be afraid of repentance I will turn my heart toward God with joy because the dying of Jesus in me brings the life of Jesus (2 Co. 4:10)!

…being assertive in my tone of voice will help my heart to hear…

“…you are to tear down their altars and smash their sacred pillars and cut down their Asherim for you shall not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God” (Exo. 34:13,14).

“[Jesus] made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables” (John 2:15).

“Circumcise yourselves to the Lord and remove the foreskins of your heart…” (Jer 4:4).

“…turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and soul.” (Deut. 30:10)

“…be zealous and repent” (Rev. 3:19). (pause to hear, believe, and love the God who is close!)

…heart, love the truth! Over and over, I will “impress” the truth on my heart. Repetition helps me to repent. I will speak the truth over and over until my heart softens enough for me to believe it.

“You shall therefore impress these words of mine on your heart and on your soul; and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall teach them to your sons, talking of them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road and when you lie down and when you rise up.” (Deut. 11:18,19). “Bind them continually on your heart…” (Pro. 6:21).

…I will be confident about being able to change by repentance that directs my heart toward God! My behavior will change because obedience and right living flow from what I believe.

“…the obedience of faith…” (Rom. 1:5).

“For with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness…” (Rom. 10:10).

“…repent and turn to God, performing deeds appropriate to repentance” (Acts 26:20).

…Heart, let yourself believe and love that I can “change my mind” by giving my heart reasons to treasure God with the joy and freedom of a child. By this, I CAN receive the presence of God and His Kingdom.

“…whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.” (Mark 10:15).

“for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Mat. 6:21). (pause to hear it)

…repentance that removes obstacles, breaks up the hardness, frees me to love God more, and prepares me for freely receiving God’s tangible presence and His Kingdom like a child.

“And it will be said, ‘Build up, build up, prepare the way, remove every obstacle out of the way of My people” (Isa. 57:14).

“…Clear the way for the Lord…Make…a highway for our God…Then the glory of the Lord will be

revealed…” (Isa. 40:3-5).

“…clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple…” (Mal. “…repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19). (pause to hear, believe, and love the truth!)

“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you…” (James 4:8).

“…receive the kingdom of God like a child…” (Mark 10:15).

“…Break up your fallow ground…seek the Lord until He comes to rain righteousness on you.” (Hos. 10:12).

“…building yourselves up on your most holy faith” (Jude 1:20). (pause to believe and love it)

…faith is not something that I can achieve! It is more like falling into an over-stuffed chair after being hard at work — I have to rest into believing. I repent of trying to work myself into faith. I submit to the truth, and I rest into the place of believing that applying it works for me.

Repentance by “changing my mind” is good for me because IT IS WRITTEN, “…In repentance and rest you will be saved…” (Isa. 30:15). (pause to hear, believe, and love the truth!)

“For thus the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has said, ‘In repentance and rest you will be saved, in quietness and trust is your strength…the Lord longs to be gracious to you, and therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; how blessed are all those who long for Him” (Isa. 30:15-18).

… I am repeating this to my heart because I want to hear and believe it more deeply! I repent of trying to work myself into faith because faith is not something that I can achieve! It is more like falling into an over-stuffed chair after being hard at work — I have to rest into believing. I rest into faith. (pause to hear and believe it!)

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me…and you will find rest for your souls” (Matt. 11:28,29). (pause to hear it)

“For the one who has entered [God’s] rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His.

Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest…” (Heb. 4:10,11). (pause to believe and love it)

“…In repentance and rest you will be saved, in quietness and trust is your strength.” (Isa. 30:15). “…applying all diligence, in your faith…” (2 Pet. 1:5). (pause to hear, believe, and love the truth!) “…taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5).

…I don’t have to be afraid to look at the sin of my heart because I CAN change. I love the truth that repentance will work for me! I turn from helplessness about repentance that changes the way I think. I AM changing to thinking patterns aligned with the Kingdom of God.

“But a man must examine himself…” (1 Cor. 11:28). (pause to hear, believe, and love the truth!)

“Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them…is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation…” (Luke 6:47,48). (pause to believe and love it)

After leaving slavery and bondage in Egypt the people wanted to go back to their old ways. To this God said that, “…If you really set your mind to enter Egypt and go in to reside there, then the sword, which you are afraid of, will overtake you there in the land of Egypt; and the famine, about which you are anxious, will follow closely after you there in Egypt, and you will die there.’” (Jer 42:15b,16).

“He did evil because he did not set his heart to seek the Lord” (2 Ch 12:14).

…I am turning my affections away from the “other gods” of this world. I grab my soul and turn it to loving You, Lord. (pause to hear, believe, and love it as the truth!)

“So take diligent heed to yourselves to love the Lord your God. For if you ever go back and cling to the rest of these nations, these which remain among you, and intermarry with them, so that you associate with them and they with you, know with certainty that the Lord your God will not continue to drive these nations out from before you; but they will be a snare and a trap to you, and a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good land which the Lord your God has given you” (Jos. 23:11-13). (pause to hear, believe, and love the God who is close!)

…heart, rejoice that by changing my thinking about depending emotionally on God to draw near more fully, I am making Him my God instead of earthly and human idols. I am removing the obstacles that keep me from experiencing His presence by being utterly dependent on God to draw near because without that, He can’t be my refuge, strength, and glory as He desires! I am building my childlike faith and love for God so that as my soul learns to cling to Him, it gets easier for me to stay in God’s presence and abide in Him. (pause to let yourself feel confident because of the truth!)

“And it will be said, ‘Build up, build up, prepare the way, remove every obstacle out of the way of My people” (Isa. 57:14). (pause to hear, believe, and love the God who is close!)

“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me” (John 15:4). (pause to hear, believe, and love the truth!)

…I am setting my desires on God Himself to be what quenches my thirsty desires—and nothing else.

“If riches increase, do not set your heart upon them” (Psa. 62:10b). (pause to feel reassured by it!)

“…set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God…” (1 Chron. 22:19). (pause to hear it) “He did evil because he did not set his heart to seek the Lord” (2 Ch 12:14).

It is an “…everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants…” (Gen. 17:7; Gal. 3:29).

“Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters…delight yourself in abundance” (Isa. 55:1,2).

“for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Mat. 6:21)

…Heart, rejoice that I can be a doer of the truth by focusing my effort to hear, believe, and love the truth in the deepest part of my heart: “…prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers…” (James 1:22).

“…the obedience of faith…” (Rom. 1:5).

“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you…” (James 4:8).

“…receive the Spirit…by hearing with faith” (Gal. 3:2—implied). (pause to feel confident about it!)

…Heart, let yourself believe and love that I can “change my mind” by giving my heart reasons to treasure God with the joy and freedom of a child. By this, I CAN receive the presence of God and His Kingdom.

“…whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all” (Mark 10:15).

(pause to let yourself feel confident because of the truth!)

“for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Mat. 6:21). (pause to hear it)

…I love that God’s way of repentance works; the benefits are great, and the payout is guaranteed.

“always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.” (2 Cor. 4:10). (pause to hear, believe, and love the truth!)

“…repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19). (pause to hear, believe, and love the truth!)

“…God said, ‘I will dwell in them and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people” (2 Cor. 6:16). (pause to hear, believe, and love the God who is close!)

…God is good! I rest into confidently believing that what God offers is also offered freely to me.

Heart hear this! “O taste and see that the Lord is good; how blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him! (Psa. 34:8). (pause to hear, believe, and love the God who is close!)

“All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.” (John 6:37). (pause to hear, believe, and love the God who is close!)

…Heart, rejoice that I can and will direct the cravings, and the treasures of my heart toward God…

“Behold, the man who would not make God his refuge, But trusted in the abundance of his riches And was strong in his evil desire” (Psa. 52:7). “…we [should] not crave evil things…” (1Cor. 10:6).

“Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters…delight yourself in abundance” (Isa. 55:1,2). “…confess with your mouth…and believe in your heart…” (Rom. 10:9); “for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness…” (Rom. 10:10).

“for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Mat. 6:21). (pause to hear it)

…It is right and good for me to do what the Bible says! So, “Let us examine and probe our ways, and let us return to the Lord” (Lam. 3:40). And, even though it hurts to expose the sin in our heart, the Bible says that our sin is “…exposed…so as to restore you from captivity…” (Lam. 2:14).

…I will turn my love toward God. I will let my heart believe, and I won’t hold back. I will not settle for less than the fountain of God. I will not turn away.

“O Lord…All who forsake You will be put to shame. Those who turn away on earth will be written down, because they have forsaken the fountain of living water, even the Lord” (Jer. 17:13).

“Has a nation changed gods when they were not gods? But My people have changed their glory for that which does not profit. Be appalled, O heavens, at this, and shudder, be very desolate,’ declares the Lord. ‘For My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, to hew for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water” (Jer. 2:11-13). (pause to hear and embrace it as truth)

…I love that God so freely clothes me with His presence. I love the truth I can worship Him in holiness. His presence makes me holy! (Your name) , “Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name…come before Him; worship the Lord in holy array.” (1 Chron. 16:29). When I come before the Lord, He clothes me in “holy array” by cleansing me with His righteous presence. He clothes me with His own holy presence.

…I can and will be honest about what is in my heart. And, I set my heart to love the truth so much that I hold onto it and become “good ground” for the truth to produce fruit in me… (pause to let yourself feel confident because of the truth!)

“But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance” (Luke 8:15). (pause to hear it)

“So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent…” (Rev. 3:3).

“…listen obediently…love the Lord your God and to serve Him with all your heart and all your soul” (Deut. 11:13). (pause to hear, believe, and love the God who is close!)

“…receive the Spirit…by hearing with faith” (Gal. 3:2—implied)

…Heart, rejoice that I can change! I repent of agreeing with demonic pressure to harden my heart. “…The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). So, wake up and think in alignment with the truth! It is right that I should be thrilled that I don’t have to live in hopelessness about being able to change! I will not be afraid to be honest about my heart because, by faith, I can present myself before God, and He comes to wash my heart and my body clean (Heb. 10:19-22; James 4:8). I am determined to be zealous about changing how my heart thinks. Delight in my tone of voice reassures me and helps me to hear the truth and believe it in my heart.

“Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them…is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation…” (Luke 6:47,48). (pause to feel reassured by it!)

“…be zealous and repent” (Rev. 3:19).

…I love that I can repent by loving the refuge of strength and beauty that I can find in God.

“How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! And the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings. They drink their fill of the abundance of Your house; and You give them to drink of the river of Your delights. For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light.” (Psa. 36:7-9)

…heart, rejoice that I can repent because I can hear and believe the truth by taking it into me.

“…take into your heart all My words which I will speak to you and listen closely” (Eze. 3:10).

“…Jesus said, ‘He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Mark 4:9). (pause to believe and love it)

“…building yourselves up on your most holy faith” (Jude 1:20). (pause to believe and love it)

“…prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers…” (James 1:22).

…Lord, it is only by Your presence drawing near to me here that I can honestly say, “You are my hiding place and my shield…” (Psa. 119:114); I set my heart to actively believe that You are coming to me by Your radiance upon me here. (pause to let yourself feel confident because of the truth!)

Heart, “On God my salvation and my glory rest; The rock of my strength, my refuge is in God” (Psa. 62:7).

“I love You, O Lord, my strength.” (Psa. 18:1)

“How blessed are the people who know the joyful sound! O Lord, they walk in the light of Your countenance. In Your name they rejoice all the day, and by Your righteousness they are exalted. For You are the glory of their strength…” (Psa. 89:15-17).

…I can turn my heart toward God—and I love that the payout for repentance is guaranteed.

“…repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19). (pause to hear, believe, and love God!)

“always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body” (2 Cor. 4:10). (pause to hear, believe, and love the truth!)

“…there was no strange god among you; so you are My witnesses…I am God’” (Isa. 43:12).

…Heart, God is seeking worshipers, and dependence on something for emotional stability results in gratitude and praise. So God designed my humanity to fall short of His glory because this makes me emotionally needy. Because of this, I am a motivated worshiper driven to always depend on something I can drink from with gratitude and praise. Heart, if I am not experiencing the presence of God, I must be drinking in some other way. So heart, rejoice that God is washing me clean and that I can repent by a simple trade. My earthly idols can be traded for the presence of God! What God offers by grace pulls me forward to love His nearness. “Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and delight yourself in abundance” (Isa. 55:1-2). (pause to delight yourself in the abundance of God’s presence drawing close!)

…I can change from idolatry of the heart because I can depend on God to be God to me! I don’t have to rely on the little “gods” of this world because, God has promised with an “…everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants…” (Gen. 17:7; and also Gal. 3:29). God CAN quench my thirsty need! “I, the Lord, am your God…Open your mouth wide and I will fill it.” (Psa. 81:10).

..I love the truth that God tells me to turn to Him. Therefore, HE is the one who also gives me the ability to do it and be successful at opening up to God and receiving His presence so I can depend on His nearness. (pause to let yourself feel confident because of the truth!)

“repent and turn to God” (Acts 26:20b).

“…turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and soul” (Deut. 30:10).

“Repent and turn away from your idols and turn your faces away from all your abominations.” (Eze. 14:6).

“…taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5).

“…applying all diligence, in your faith…” (2 Pet. 1:5). (pause to hear, believe, and love the truth!)

…I love that the repentance that works best is that which reassures my heart until I find freedom to put on and wear the presence of God all around me here…

“…put on the armor of light…put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.” (Rom. 13:12 and 14)

“…and will assure our heart before Him in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God” (1 John 3:19-21).

…I turn my heart from trying to feel religious by putting myself down. Self-hate won’t prevent fleshly indulgence… (pause to hear, believe, and love it as the truth!)

“…the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body…are of no value against fleshly indulgence” (Col 2:23)

“Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement…” (Col. 2:18).

… (Your name) , I am turning away from believing I can’t change. I CAN change because God tells us how to do it…

“return to the Lord with all your heart, remove the foreign gods…and direct your hearts to the Lord” (1 Sam. 7:3). (pause to hear, believe, and love the God who is close!)

“Circumcise yourselves to the Lord and remove the foreskins of your heart…” (Jer 4:4). (pause to hear it) “…sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts” (1 Pet. 3:15a). (pause to hear, believe, and love the truth!) “…rend your heart and not your garments…” (Joel 2:13).

… (Your name) , I can and I will plow up the hard ground of my heart so that I can believe and love God. By this I can stay before Him. Heart, believe that the Kingdom is here with power, love, and with the righteousness of God; “…Break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord until He comes to rain righteousness on you” (Hos. 10:12). (pause to let yourself feel confidence because of the truth!)

… (Your name) , I delight that abiding in God’s presence is not hopeless for me. I repent of looking for refuge in despair or sadness. I turn from disappointment as a place of refuge….

“Glory in His holy name; let the heart of those who seek the Lord be glad.” (1 Chron. 16:10)

…I can turn from earthly distractions. And, I love the truth that God is far greater than anything else I could ever see, touch, taste, or want… (pause to hear, believe, and love it as the truth!)

When speaking of the Old Covenant, “…what had glory, in this case has no glory because of the glory that surpasses it” (2 Cor. 3:10).

“…the nations will bless themselves in Him, and in Him they will glory” (Jer. 4:2).

…I love that God has promised to be God to me! It is an “…everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants…” (Gen. 17:7; and also Gal. 3:29). “…God said, “I will dwell in them and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people” (2Cor 6:16).

…I love the truth that God is so good! His promise to quench our thirst includes me! I love that God is a radiant fountain that floods me with the abundant presence of the Holy Spirit.

“…on…the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ‘If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.” But this He spoke of the Spirit…” (John 7:37-39).

“Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters…delight yourself in abundance.” (Isa. 55:1a and 2b). “I, the Lord, am your God…Open your mouth wide and I will fill it” (Psa. 81:10).

“…the fountain of living water, even the Lord” (Jer. 17:13). (pause to feel confident from it!) “So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent…” (Rev. 3:3).

When I “…direct your [heart] to the Lord…He will deliver you…” (1 Sam. 7:3).

“…all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.” (Mark 11:24). (pause to hear, believe, and love the truth!)

“…taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5).

“…applying all diligence, in your faith…” (2 Pet. 1:5). (pause to hear, believe, and love the truth!)

“…your heavenly Father [will] give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him” (Luke 11:13, implied)

I am saying again boldly to my heart that Heart Training will work for me because I am directing my heart away from idolatry (1 Sam. 7:3) and into increasingly greater freedom and faith that lets me make God my refuge by trusting like a child that I am receiving the Kingdom of Heaven around me here as the armor of Light that helps me with holiness (Rom. 13:12-13)! Thank You, God, that the Earth is the footstool of Your feet (Acts 7:49), and though You have promised to dwell in us and to walk among us (2 Cor. 6:16), You have also asked us to pray that your Kingdom would come.

So, I thank You, God, for my role in this! I can open up like a child (Mark 10:15) to Heaven above and trust that I am entering before the Lord as the mountain of God and the Kingdom of Heaven are coming down around me here.

By what I receive from God, I am helping to establish Jesus as King on Earth more fully! Heart, “…your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32) because He is “…the God of all grace…” (1 Peter 5:11). So, I set my heart to believe that I am receiving the Kingdom with gratitude even now (Heb. 12:22-24, 28)! (pause to let yourself feel delighted about the significance of your role in this!)