Many lies are being perpetrated today in the name of tolerance. Here are a few:
1) All belief systems lead to God.
2) A good God would not allow people to go to Hell.
3) As long as I am a good person, I will go to Heaven.
Please allow me to address each of these lies since believing one or all of them will result in your eternal damnation.
1) First, the lie that all belief systems lead to God. All belief systems are not equal in the sense that all do not teach the truth. What is the truth? The truth is a Person named Jesus Christ. He said, "I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." (John 14:6).
To believe anything that contradicts that Christ is the Truth is to believe a lie.
Jesus taught that there is only one way for man to be saved, and that way is to accept Him as the Savior. In the Gospel of John, chapter one, verse 12, the Word tells us that ". . . to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God." One cannot enter God's family without accepting Jesus Christ, the Door to the family.
2) Second, the lie that a good God would not allow people to go to Hell. The truth is that God does not send anyone to hell. A person sends himself to hell. Hell is the tormenting absence of God. When one moves away from God, one moves toward Hell. The less of God one has in one's life, the more of Hell one has in one's life. There will come a point at which the decision to remain estranged from God will be a permanent one. That point is called death. Thereafter, Hell will be a permanent state for the person who has chosen not to follow Christ while on this earth.
3) Third, the lie that as long as I am a good person, I will go to Heaven. Getting to Heaven has nothing to do with what we do, but it has everything to do with what Jesus Christ has done. No matter how many good works we do, they will not get us into Heaven. Why? Because our good works mean nothing in relation to our sin. Our good works can never erase the sin nature from our hearts. Only God can do that, and He did it through Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ took our place and paid the price for our sin. He became our scapegoat because of His infinite love for us. He knew we could never earn salvation on our own, so He earned it for us. All we have to do is believe and receive that salvation.
The time is short before the return of Jesus Christ to judge the earth. Please take to heart what I have written. Please research it for yourself. Most of all, please ask God to reveal His truth to you so that you may have eyes to see and ears to hear.
If you have any questions, please write to me at maryann@maryanndiorio.com. My prayer is that you will know the truth that will set you free (John 8:32).
Showing posts with label bondage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bondage. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Unloading Emotional Baggage
Emotional baggage is a heavy weight, a weight you were never meant to carry. I define emotional baggage as the sum total of all the negative experiences you've had that have warped the image of who you really are and were meant to be.
Why do we accumulate emotional baggage and how can we unload it?
Here is a simple explanation. When God created you, He created you with a plan for your life. That plan included only blessings. But Satan also has a plan for your life, and his plan is the exact opposite of God's plan for you. Satan's plan includes only curses.
Because our original parents, Adam and Eve, messed up God's original plan through their rebellion against Him, God had to set up Plan B. Plan B was the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In other words, by His death and resurrection, Jesus restored the blessings of Plan A. But to benefit from this restoration of blessings, one must accept Jesus Christ as the Savior through Whom these blessings become ours. This acceptance of Christ is called justification and means becoming right with God. There is no other way to become right with God except through Jesus Christ. Jesus said, "I am THE WAY, THE TRUTH, and THE LIFE. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6, emphasis mine).
Once you accept Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, He begins the process of helping you unload your emotional baggage. This process is called sanctification, or becoming whole and set apart from the effects of Satan's curse.
Two important steps are involved in unloading our emotional baggage. We will talk about these two steps in future posts, but, for now, I will simply mention them. They are:
1) Surrendering our wills completely to God's will;
2) Reprogramming our thinking to align with God's thinking as found in the Bible.
If you are carrying emotional baggage that is causing you great pain, or even just a little pain, begin unloading it now. Start by accepting Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord if you have not already done so. Once you have accepted Christ as your Savior and Lord, begin reading the Bible, also called the Word of God. As you read it and apply it to your life, you will notice that, little by little, the emotional pain will decrease and you will feel more light-hearted and free as our compassionate Lord unloads the baggage from your heart and soul.
Why do we accumulate emotional baggage and how can we unload it?
Here is a simple explanation. When God created you, He created you with a plan for your life. That plan included only blessings. But Satan also has a plan for your life, and his plan is the exact opposite of God's plan for you. Satan's plan includes only curses.
Because our original parents, Adam and Eve, messed up God's original plan through their rebellion against Him, God had to set up Plan B. Plan B was the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In other words, by His death and resurrection, Jesus restored the blessings of Plan A. But to benefit from this restoration of blessings, one must accept Jesus Christ as the Savior through Whom these blessings become ours. This acceptance of Christ is called justification and means becoming right with God. There is no other way to become right with God except through Jesus Christ. Jesus said, "I am THE WAY, THE TRUTH, and THE LIFE. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6, emphasis mine).
Once you accept Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, He begins the process of helping you unload your emotional baggage. This process is called sanctification, or becoming whole and set apart from the effects of Satan's curse.
Two important steps are involved in unloading our emotional baggage. We will talk about these two steps in future posts, but, for now, I will simply mention them. They are:
1) Surrendering our wills completely to God's will;
2) Reprogramming our thinking to align with God's thinking as found in the Bible.
If you are carrying emotional baggage that is causing you great pain, or even just a little pain, begin unloading it now. Start by accepting Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord if you have not already done so. Once you have accepted Christ as your Savior and Lord, begin reading the Bible, also called the Word of God. As you read it and apply it to your life, you will notice that, little by little, the emotional pain will decrease and you will feel more light-hearted and free as our compassionate Lord unloads the baggage from your heart and soul.
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
How to Identify the Lies You Are Believing
In this week's post, I am assuming that you have already accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord and that you are a believer. If you have not yet accepted Christ, I urge you to read last week's post entitled "Lies and How They Hinder You".
Today we're going to discuss how to identify the lies that you are believing and that are keeping you in bondage. Here is a basic rule of thumb in identifying lies: Any thought you have that contradicts what God says about you is a lie.
So how can you know what thoughts contradict what God says about you? Great question! A question to which there is an easy answer. But first let me tell you a story.
When a person trains to become a bank teller, she has to learn to recognize counterfeit money. But, amazingly, she never handles counterfeit money to learn what it feels like. She handles only real money. And she handles real money so often and so well that if a counterfeit bill should pass through her fingers, she would instantly recognize it as counterfeit. Why? Because she knows what real money feels like, and she can immediately recognize when false money is in her hands.
The same is true with us. If we handle God's Word (the Truth) often enough and well enough, we will instantly recognize the counterfeit (the Lie) that Satan sends our way.
So the first step in identifying the lies you are believing is to study the Bible. Read it. Memorize verses. Meditate on the Word. Saturate yourself with it as much as you can so that when Satan throws a lie at you, you will instantly recognize it as a counterfeit.
If you have not formed the habit of reading the Bible every day, start today. Begin with the Gospel of John in the New Testament. Read slowly and apply what you read to your personal life. As you do, you will be handling the Truth and you will be getting to know it well.
Next week, we'll explore what it means to want to get well.
Today we're going to discuss how to identify the lies that you are believing and that are keeping you in bondage. Here is a basic rule of thumb in identifying lies: Any thought you have that contradicts what God says about you is a lie.
So how can you know what thoughts contradict what God says about you? Great question! A question to which there is an easy answer. But first let me tell you a story.
When a person trains to become a bank teller, she has to learn to recognize counterfeit money. But, amazingly, she never handles counterfeit money to learn what it feels like. She handles only real money. And she handles real money so often and so well that if a counterfeit bill should pass through her fingers, she would instantly recognize it as counterfeit. Why? Because she knows what real money feels like, and she can immediately recognize when false money is in her hands.
The same is true with us. If we handle God's Word (the Truth) often enough and well enough, we will instantly recognize the counterfeit (the Lie) that Satan sends our way.
So the first step in identifying the lies you are believing is to study the Bible. Read it. Memorize verses. Meditate on the Word. Saturate yourself with it as much as you can so that when Satan throws a lie at you, you will instantly recognize it as a counterfeit.
If you have not formed the habit of reading the Bible every day, start today. Begin with the Gospel of John in the New Testament. Read slowly and apply what you read to your personal life. As you do, you will be handling the Truth and you will be getting to know it well.
Next week, we'll explore what it means to want to get well.
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Lies and How They Hinder Us
If you're like a lot of people, you are walking around with deep emotional pain but you are keeping it to yourself. You may feel as though you're the only one going through what you're going through. Sometimes, you may even feel as though you're losing your mind. If this describes you, take heart. There is a reason for your dilemma, and there is a way out of it.
Please bear with me as I build a foundation for you. This foundation is important to your understanding of what follows and to getting free of your emotional pain.
You are a three-part being. You have a spirit, a soul, and a body. How do I know this? This information is found in the Holy Bible in the First Book of Thessalonians, chapter 5, verse 23. I believe that the Bible is God's manual for man and explains who we are, how we function, and how we should live to create a successful life for ourselves.
When you were born into this world, your spirit was dead. In other words, it was separated from God by what is called original sin. Original sin is the state of separation from God that resulted when Adam and Eve sinned against God by disobeying Him. Their disobedience separated them from God and severed their relationship with Him. Because Adam and Eve could pass on to their children only what they were, we inherited their sin nature and are also born into this world separated from God.
But God the Father loved you so much that He sent Jesus Christ, His Son, to give you a new spirit so that you could be reconnected to God. That is the message of the Gospel, also called the Good News!
Now before you decide that all of this is nonsense, please hear me out.
Adam and Eve sinned because they believed a lie that Satan told them, the lie that God was holding out on them by commanding them not to eat the fruit of a certain tree in the Garden of Eden. In reality, God was protecting them. In disobeying God's command, Adam and Eve essentially called God a liar. The truth was that Satan was the liar.
And he still is. Satan is still whispering lies into people's minds, including yours. But you may not recognize them as Satan's lies. You probably think they are your own thoughts, and sometimes those thoughts drive you nuts.
If you are in bondage in any way to harassing thoughts, bad habits, or tormenting emotions, you can be sure that Satan has whispered lies into your mind and that you are believing those lies. The only way to get rid of the harassing thoughts, bad habits, or tormenting emotions is to identify the lies you are believing, renounce those lies, and replace them with the truth.
The first step in doing this is to accept Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord. If you have never done this, I urge you to do so now. None of what I will be talking about will make sense nor will it work unless you have accepted Christ. The reason is that Jesus Christ alone is the Truth. You will never be free without Jesus Christ because He is the Truth Who sets you free. He Himself said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6). So pray this simple prayer with me now:
Lord Jesus, I come to You just as I am. I believe that You are the Son of God, that You died on a Cross for me, and that You rose from the dead. I receive You now as my Savior and Lord. Make of me what You created me to be. Set me free by Your power, by Your Spirit, and by Your Love. Amen.
If you prayed this prayer, please let me know so that I can send you some follow-up information. You may reach me at drmaryann@healingthehurtingheart.com.
In future blog posts, we will talk about some of the most common lies that keep people bound. And we will talk about how to identify those lies, renounce them, and replace them with the truth of God's Word.
If this post has helped you, please let me know. And please tell others about Healing the Hurting Heart.
Please bear with me as I build a foundation for you. This foundation is important to your understanding of what follows and to getting free of your emotional pain.
You are a three-part being. You have a spirit, a soul, and a body. How do I know this? This information is found in the Holy Bible in the First Book of Thessalonians, chapter 5, verse 23. I believe that the Bible is God's manual for man and explains who we are, how we function, and how we should live to create a successful life for ourselves.
When you were born into this world, your spirit was dead. In other words, it was separated from God by what is called original sin. Original sin is the state of separation from God that resulted when Adam and Eve sinned against God by disobeying Him. Their disobedience separated them from God and severed their relationship with Him. Because Adam and Eve could pass on to their children only what they were, we inherited their sin nature and are also born into this world separated from God.
But God the Father loved you so much that He sent Jesus Christ, His Son, to give you a new spirit so that you could be reconnected to God. That is the message of the Gospel, also called the Good News!
Now before you decide that all of this is nonsense, please hear me out.
Adam and Eve sinned because they believed a lie that Satan told them, the lie that God was holding out on them by commanding them not to eat the fruit of a certain tree in the Garden of Eden. In reality, God was protecting them. In disobeying God's command, Adam and Eve essentially called God a liar. The truth was that Satan was the liar.
And he still is. Satan is still whispering lies into people's minds, including yours. But you may not recognize them as Satan's lies. You probably think they are your own thoughts, and sometimes those thoughts drive you nuts.
If you are in bondage in any way to harassing thoughts, bad habits, or tormenting emotions, you can be sure that Satan has whispered lies into your mind and that you are believing those lies. The only way to get rid of the harassing thoughts, bad habits, or tormenting emotions is to identify the lies you are believing, renounce those lies, and replace them with the truth.
The first step in doing this is to accept Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord. If you have never done this, I urge you to do so now. None of what I will be talking about will make sense nor will it work unless you have accepted Christ. The reason is that Jesus Christ alone is the Truth. You will never be free without Jesus Christ because He is the Truth Who sets you free. He Himself said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6). So pray this simple prayer with me now:
Lord Jesus, I come to You just as I am. I believe that You are the Son of God, that You died on a Cross for me, and that You rose from the dead. I receive You now as my Savior and Lord. Make of me what You created me to be. Set me free by Your power, by Your Spirit, and by Your Love. Amen.
If you prayed this prayer, please let me know so that I can send you some follow-up information. You may reach me at drmaryann@healingthehurtingheart.com.
In future blog posts, we will talk about some of the most common lies that keep people bound. And we will talk about how to identify those lies, renounce them, and replace them with the truth of God's Word.
If this post has helped you, please let me know. And please tell others about Healing the Hurting Heart.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
What's Your Hang-Up?
Have you ever thought about the word "hang-up"? It is a word that usually indicates a problem in our lives.
For example, a "hang-up" is usually an emotional problem that keeps us from being free. A hang-up can be a bad habit or an addiction we can't seem to overcome.
One definition of the word "hang-up" that I found very interesting was this one: "To be attached from above with no support from below" (TheFreeDictionary.com). When we have a hang-up, we often feel that we are just "hanging" there with nothing to catch us should we fall.
Along the same lines, isn't it interesting that when people ask us how we are, we often respond, "Hanging in there"? Why do we use that expression? Because we feel that we are hanging by a thread, waiting to fall unless someone rescues us.
Well, I have great news for you today! Someone has rescued us. Someone has rescued you. And His Name is Jesus Christ!
Who is this Person called Jesus? Let me introduce Him to you.
--Jesus is Love. Yes, His very nature is Love. Everything He does is motivated by His love.
--Jesus is Compassion. He cares about your deepest hurts. He cares that you're sick or depressed or lonely. He cares that you don't have enough money to pay your rent. He cares that your husband just walked out on you.
--Jesus is Mercy. He understands your struggles with sin, and He wants to set you free from those struggles.
As you follow this blog, you'll learn that Jesus wants to set you free from all of your hang-ups. Every single one! All you have to do is believe not only in His ability to set you free, but in His intense desire to set you free.
So stay with me on this journey of faith, and watch Jesus take the ashes of your broken life and turn them into something beautiful!
For example, a "hang-up" is usually an emotional problem that keeps us from being free. A hang-up can be a bad habit or an addiction we can't seem to overcome.
One definition of the word "hang-up" that I found very interesting was this one: "To be attached from above with no support from below" (TheFreeDictionary.com). When we have a hang-up, we often feel that we are just "hanging" there with nothing to catch us should we fall.
Along the same lines, isn't it interesting that when people ask us how we are, we often respond, "Hanging in there"? Why do we use that expression? Because we feel that we are hanging by a thread, waiting to fall unless someone rescues us.
Well, I have great news for you today! Someone has rescued us. Someone has rescued you. And His Name is Jesus Christ!
Who is this Person called Jesus? Let me introduce Him to you.
--Jesus is Love. Yes, His very nature is Love. Everything He does is motivated by His love.
--Jesus is Compassion. He cares about your deepest hurts. He cares that you're sick or depressed or lonely. He cares that you don't have enough money to pay your rent. He cares that your husband just walked out on you.
--Jesus is Mercy. He understands your struggles with sin, and He wants to set you free from those struggles.
As you follow this blog, you'll learn that Jesus wants to set you free from all of your hang-ups. Every single one! All you have to do is believe not only in His ability to set you free, but in His intense desire to set you free.
So stay with me on this journey of faith, and watch Jesus take the ashes of your broken life and turn them into something beautiful!
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