He Holds the Keys

[bluidkiti]

He Holds the Keys

Today's Scripture

" I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades" (Revelation 1:18, NIV).

Today's Word from Joel and Victoria

Have you ever been locked out of your car or house? It can be very frustrating and inconvenient. Not having your keys can keep you stuck and unproductive. It steals your time and can steal your peace and joy if you let it.

In the same way, we need spiritual keys to access what God has for us—eternal life, peace, freedom and blessing here on earth. But we don’t have to stand on the outside and be frustrated because Jesus holds the keys, and He has opened the way for us to walk through the door of eternal life. Eternal life begins the moment you make Him your Lord and Savior. You don’t have to live in defeat, mediocrity, sickness, sin or any kind of bondage any longer; you have access to the abundant life Jesus came to give!

Today, if you feel stuck, locked out or defeated, remember, Jesus is the one who holds the keys. All you have to do is call on His name and He will answer. He promises to hear you and will deliver you. He wants to be the hero of your story, so call on Him today and receive the victory He has prepared for you!

A Prayer for Today

Father God, I boldly come to You thanking You for giving me access to eternal life through Your Son, Jesus. I surrender every area of my heart to You and invite You to make me whole and complete. Set me free from every bondage so I can live free in You. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

[MajestyJo]

My key is my God and my relationship and connection to Him. He is my only defence against my dis-ease.

They say that willingness is the key. To find it, I have to go to my God to find it some days, and pray for the willingness to be willing.

"We...get a good look at what these defects are doing to our lives. We begin to long for freedom from these defects."

Basic Text, p. 33

Becoming entirely ready to have our defects of character removed can be a long process, often taking place over the course of a lifetime. Our state of readiness grows in direct proportion to our awareness of these defects and the destruction they cause.

We may have trouble seeing the devastation our defects are inflicting our our live and the lives of those around us. If this is the case, we would do well to ask our Higher Power to reveal those flaws which stand in the way of our progress.

As we let go of our shortcomings and find their influence waning, we'll notice that a loving God replaces those defects with quality attributes. Where we were fearful, we find courage. Where we were selfish, we find generosity. Our delusions about ourselves will disappear to be replaced by self-honesty and self-acceptance.

Yes, becoming entirely ready means we will change. Each new level of readiness brings new gifts. Our basic nature changes, and we soon find our readiness is no longer sparked only by pain but by a desire to grow spiritually.

Just for today: I will increase my state of readiness by becoming more aware of my shortcomings.

This was a new spiritual awareness for me. I was very aware of my defects that were glaringly apparent to me and those that were made known to me.

I never thought of going to my Higher Power and asking if there were some I was missing. I always pray and ask for help with what I need to be the best me I can be today, so maybe I was doing it indirectly and didn't know. I just know I don't want to be the person I use to be, that the person that is still needs lots of healing, and hopefully the person who wakes up each morning is just a little bit better and has progressed although she is long way from perfection. One of my defects is trying to live up to the perfectionism and expectations that I put on myself, and have to remember it is one day at a time and I do have that willingness. I have had it since the day I walked through the doors of recovery and I pray daily that it be continued.

Posted on another site in 2004