You know what my decision was? He’s not ever going to stop loving sports and no matter what I do, I’m not going to make him stop liking them, so I need to get a life.

My point is I spent years getting mad about it. It never changed anything. It never stopped him. It never altered it. I was the one who was miserable and he kept doing what he wanted to. That is not freedom; that is bondage. Freedom is when you can say: you know what? I have been around this mountain 200 times, and I don’t think that I want to keep making this trip all my life so I’m going to change. I’m not going to wait for everybody else to change. I’m going to change!

I believe that the price of true freedom is obedience to god.  It’s god’s will that we live free. That doesn’t mean that we’re free to sin or free to be selfish, but it means that we’re free to walk in obedience to god and in his blessings, free to not be so easily offended, free to not be selfish and self-centered, free to be ourselves and who we really are.

I want you to look at the scripture Ecclesiastes 12:13:  all has been heard;… The end of the matter is: — you have to realize that Solomon is writing this after trying everything humanly possible in his life to be happy. — all has been heard; the end of the matter is: fear God [revere and worship him, knowing that he is] and keep his commandments, for this is the whole of man [the full original purpose of his creation, the object of God’s providence, — god’s providence means that he is, so the whole reason why god is, is to teach us what to do, to give us the ability to do it but he still gives us the choice — obedience is the root of all character, the foundation of all happiness, the adjustment to all inharmonious circumstances and conditions under the sun] and the whole duty for every man.

You cannot always do something about the way you feel, but you can decide what you will and won’t do. It’s kind of funny…I saw this on tv once. It was a story about a guy who was all messed up and had all these problems and he spent all this time and money going to a psychiatrist. He was starting to get all upset, then he was walking around repeating what she had tried to teach him, which was: Focus. Focus. Focus. So here he is ready to tear somebody’s head off and he’s saying: Okay, focus-focus-focus. And I thought: You don’t have to give somebody $125 an hour to learn that. I’m telling you the same thing.

Manage your emotions. Focus on Jesus. Don’t look at the way it is now. Look at the way it can be. I’ve got some good things yet today. vs. 27: Peace I leave with you. [Stop letting yourselves get upset and disturbed.] Until you make your mind up that you can control yourself, your life’s always going to be a mess. As long as you’re saying, “I can’t help it,” the devil is in control. Did you hear me? Yes!: I said as long as you’re saying “I can’t help it,” then the devil is in control. As long as we’re blaming somebody else, “if you wouldn’t do that, then I wouldn’t act this way.” Can I tell you something? If it wasn’t that, it would be something else because if we have a problem in us, the devil’s going to find something to bring it out of us. It took me a lifetime to learn this. Listen up and you won’t have to go through all my pain.

Now I’d like you to go to John 16:33. This is going to be good. John 16:33, Jesus said: I have told you these things, — we’re going to get around to what these things were he was telling them. — He said: I have told you these things, so that in me you might have perfect peace and confidence. In the world you have tribulation, trials, distress, and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain; undaunted]! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of the power to harm you and I have conquered it for you.] I wrote in the little column next to this scripture: Calm down and cheer up.

That’s kind of like the one-two punch that knocks the devil out. That’s what it says in this verse, literally. If I rewrote it and did my own translation, I’d say: Calm down and cheer up. God’s in control. But what are these things Jesus was telling them about? He said: I’ve told you these things, so that you might be in peace. If you go back and read most of verse 16, this is where Jesus begins to tell them that it’s time for him to go and if we start looking at verse 21, he gives them an example.

Let’s just look at verse 19: Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said, are you wondering and inquiring among yourselves what I meant when I said, in a little while you will no longer see me, and again after a short while you will see me? vs. 20: I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, that you shall weep and grieve, but the world will rejoice, and you will be sorrowful but your sorrow will be turned into joy.

We know the scriptures in the old testament: Weeping endures for a night but joy comes in the morning. One of the things that enables us to have peace and joy when we’re going through something is to realize that that’s exactly what’s happening: We are going through, and anytime you’re going through, you’re going to come out on the other side. That really is good news for a Christian because I can tell you a lot of people in the world never get through. They get stuck in the midst of their problems and they end up destroying them. They destroy their marriages, they destroy their attitudes, they destroy their bodies. We’re all going to go through things but not everybody comes out on the other side a better person. Hallelujah! When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego went through the fiery furnace, they came out better people. They had a stronger witness, a stronger testimony. The people around them decided to believe in their God and they got promoted.

Joyce Meyer Online stated that even though we pray for this and we want this, don’t you guys sometimes find yourself getting over into the murmuring part? Don’t all sit there and look so innocent. I mean, I know it’s wonderful to travel with me, but, you know… I’m kidding. Ohhh. 1 Corinthians 10, verse 8: We must not gratify evil desire and indulge in immorality as some of them did–and twenty-three thousand [suddenly] fell dead in a single day! vs. 9: we should not tempt the Lord [try his patience, become a trial to him, critically appraise him, and exploit his goodness] as some of them did–and were killed by poisonous serpents; vs. 10: nor discontentedly complain as some of them did– and were put out of the way entirely by the destroyer. Say: I see verse 10. I see verse 10.: Nor should we discontentedly complain as some of them did– and were put out of the way entirely by the destroyer. Joyce Meyer has these things happen and are being recorded here as an example to us that we might not do the same thing that they did. Amen? Psalm 91 talks about how God will give angels charge over us to defend us and to preserve us in all of our ways of obedience and service. But it starts out in verses 1 and 2 and says: He who dwells in the secret place of the most high shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the almighty [whose power no foe can withstand]. Joyce Meyer Ministries says that I will say of the Lord, he is my refuge and my fortress, my God; on him I lean and rely, and in him I [confidently] trust! So the rest of those verses only work if we’re saying the right thing to the Lord. See, what we have to realize is we just can’t go picking stuff out of here that we like and just kind of ignore the rest of it. “I will say of the Lord,” and thank God David said, “I will say.” He didn’t say he felt like saying, he didn’t say his circumstances warranted him saying; he said: I will say of the Lord. The bible tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:18: In all things – in all things – give thanks for this is the will of God for you who are in Christ Jesus.

Joyce Meyer – I believe it makes us hard to get along with because now we feel pressure because we haven’t listened to God and we’re making all kinds of excuses now, when the truth of the matter is we should have just listened to God to start with.

Joyce Meyer Online says that so if we look at that the other way, just because I feel guilty about something doesn’t even mean that I am because it can be that false guilt that you’re talking about that the enemy is really trying to put on me. And once again, it’s been so helpful to me to realize that God does not oppress me or push me down or just make me feel guilty on and on and on and on. Joyce Meyer stated that he may make me aware of a wrongdoing in my life, but his love and forgiveness is always there to heal me and to lift me out of it.

R.T. Kendall: And Paul went on to say, “I don’t judge myself.” There is a man who’s free! The one who can say that is a man happy with himself. He’s forgiven himself which is what the devil, as I said, doesn’t want you to do.

Joyce Meyer says that that’s right. It’s been so great to have you on the program today. We’re going to go at this again tomorrow and try to help people in even a greater way, so thank you. I would just like to say to our viewers if you know someone who is having a problem with this, and you probably do, you really need to give them a call and encourage them to watch the program tomorrow. Joyce Meyer Online stated that obviously, if they haven’t watched it today, they can’t watch today’s program, but they can get on the internet and watch today’s program or tomorrow’s. It’s such an important area and we want to reach out to as many people as we can with this message that God loves you and he has forgiven you but it doesn’t do you any good if you don’t receive it, which means to forgive yourself. Now today we’re offering a resource package with Joyce Meyer.It includes my 4-cd series, “do yourself a favor, forgive,” and the book by Dr. Kendall “how to forgive ourselves – totally.” I really want to encourage you to take advantage of this offer. Get the help that you need, and don’t just get it in your home and put it on a shelf somewhere and plan to do something with it at some time. Listen to these cds, read this book, and read it and read it and listen and listen until you are enjoying the freedom that Jesus died to give you. Make sure you join us again tomorrow as we conclude our discussion on forgiving ourselves.  See you tomorrow and God bless you!

Joyce Meyer Ministries – Come on now. Here’s what I’m seeing from the Lord right now: I believe when we push past that and we go ahead and walk in the flesh, I believe it makes us grouchy.

Joyce Meyer Online says that do you know that the less you think about yourself, the more joyful you will be? Somehow or another we always think if we don’t take care of ourselves, then we’re not going to get taken care of, but the truth is God wants you to cast your care on him even about yourself and let him take care of you. You need to really learn that having yourself on your mind all the time, what you’re not, what you are, what you want, what you don’t want, what you have, what you don’t have, it all is very destructive to having a healthy self-image and a right relationship with God. My dvd teaching, “your self-image and your future” and my book, “how to succeed at being yourself” will really help you. Joyce Meyer Ministries stated that we’re offering you a bonus gift today, a book by Dr. Linda Mintle called, “making peace with your thighs.” So often, the way that people see themselves is even based on different body parts they think are not right, so I think that’s very cool; you can make peace with your thighs, your feet, your nose, or whatever it is you don’t like and you can learn how to like yourself because you’re never gonna get away from yourself so you might as well have a good relationship with you because if you don’t have a good relationship with you, you’re not gonna have a good relationship with anybody else. Joyce Meyer Online stated that stay with us, get all this information down, take action right away because good intentions don’t help you. You have to actually take action and then when you get these books and dvd, you want to make sure that you watch it and you read because once you get it in you, you can begin to really benefit from the power of the word of God. God bless you and have a great day!

Joyce Meyer Online says that should I take care of myself? Should I trust God? Should I go tell them off? Should I let God vindicate me?

Ginger: Dugovich was one of those sweet, sweet little girls that will always stay with me.

Joyce Meyer stated that through their giving, they’re going to these places and they’re feeding hungry children and helping girls who have been taken into prostitution.

Pat: There’s just no reason to believe whatsoever that every one of those girls cannot come out of that life. I refuse to accept anything but that.

Joyce Meyer Ministries says that I really hope that the images, the emotions, the feelings and stuff that I experienced there don’t get diluted by life, that I don’t forget what all took place.

Joyce Meyer Ministries stated that it just needs to really become a reality in our hearts that this is what Jesus said to go do.

Chad: While the plane is taking off, I want to leave hope in these people’s hearts that we’re not leaving… We’re going to get more help.

Ginger: Please call the number on your screen, go to the website, make a difference in someone else’s lives that will last for eternity, and again, thank you so much for what you’ve already done.

Joyce Meyer says we just suddenly get selective hearing. Amen? Amen!: So, when we come to that point of knowing we’re full, we’ve spent enough, we’ve said enough, we’ve worked long enough today, we need to now rest – whatever the case might be, we’ve been watching television long enough, now we need to get up and do something else that’s going to bear some fruit – when we come to that point – now listen to me – when we come to that point and we have that decision, that little wrestling match with our flesh because the bible says that the flesh and the spirit are continually antagonistic toward one another – there’s always going to be a little war going on there Joyce Meyer Online.

Joyce Meyer Online: Are you facing a challenge which is tempting you to give up — maybe even right now in your life? Well, don’t go away because today’s program is all about perseverance and being relentless.

Joyce Meyer Ministries: Hello and thank you for being with me today. Is your past keeping you from the future that God has ordained for you? Are you overwhelmed by challenges in your life? God’s word promises us that he is faithful in every situation if we just will not give up. Today my guest is Lisa Bevere and we’re talking about staying true to the dreams that God has put in your heart, no matter what.  Lisa, it’s good to have you again.

Lisa Bevere: It’s great to be with you, Joyce.

Joyce Meyer: You know, I would not want to be talking to you about this subject if I didn’t think that you had some personal experience, because we need to really share our lives with people, as well as scriptures from the word of God — they need to know that it works. I want to talk about some real specific things today. I know that there’s always an abundance of people who are struggling financially and wondering if they’re ever going to make it. That’s one of the times when we really have to be relentless. We have to be relentless in our giving and we have to be relentless in maybe taking care of mistakes that we’ve made in the past before we knew better. So, what would you have to say today to people who are just really struggling financially and feel like this is never going to change?

Joyce Meyer Ministries – Hey, this or that.” But do it in such a way that, “hey, I’m not condemning you; I’m just making you conscious of it,” because that’s what I think Jesus did for me, is he made me conscious of certain sins that I was committing.

Joyce Meyer: We all desire to enjoy our lives and not feel guilty all the time. One major key to achieving that is learning how to forgive ourselves. That’s next on “enjoying everyday life.”

Joyce Meyer Online: Thank you for being with me today for “enjoying everyday life.” So many people suffer from past mistakes, and while we need to learn from our bad choices, we cannot allow them to torment us. Here today to discuss how to forgive ourselves totally is author and pastor, Dr. R.T. Kendall. You’ve written another wonderful book. I’ve read many of your books and enjoyed them all, but this one is called “how to forgive yourself – totally.” Is that a wide-spread problem — holding unforgiveness toward ourselves? Do a lot of people have that problem? And why is it so important that we forgive ourselves?

R.T. Kendall: I had no idea that I was going to strike oil with this book. I wrote it for myself. I needed to do it. I just shared, and as I wrote the book, I was just cleansed as I wept. Then when I sent the book to my friends — the manuscript — just to help me… I sent it to a dozen people; without exceptio19n they all came back saying, “this book has helped me. I didn’t know I had the problem.” So, is it widespread? Yes. I preached on this in Durban, South Africa a few weeks ago to 2,000 people. Eighteen hundred stood at the end of the sermon and declared that they had to forgive themselves, and did so. Wherever I go, this is the problem. Of course, the reason is that the devil loves it when we are living in condemnation. He will exploit it. I’ll tell you something: When you don’t forgive yourself, you are helping the devil do his job because he is called in Revelation, chapter 12, the accuser of the brothers. So when you’re accusing yourself, the devil can just kind of go on vacation; you’re doing his job for him. So we are commanded to do it.

Joyce Meyer – Now I’m conscious of it and that’s what I think I can share from a witnessing standpoint with someone else: “Hey, watch your language.

Joyce Meyer Ministries: We all want our lives filled with purpose and passion and we can have it. Find out how next on “enjoying everyday life.”

Joyce Meyer Online: One of the things that has really been disturbing me is Christians who are never happy, never satisfied, always have a long face, always have something to murmur about, something to complain about, always talking about their problems, always talking about their circumstances — kind of that lifeless, lukewarm, ho-hum, apathetic, pathetic attitude. The world may have that but we should not be like that. I said we should not be like that. The only way that we’re going to affect other people who need Christ is to let them see Christ in us. And that’s our job every single day, everywhere we go.

According to Joyce Meyer that people want to enjoy their life. They want to live with passion. They want to be enthusiastic. And if they can see us being that way and then ask us, “so what’s going on with you that you seem to be happy all the time?” or “you always have a good attitude no matter what’s going on,” then it’s a wide-open door to tell them, “really, I deal with a lot of the same things you deal with in life. It’s not that I don’t have any problems. It’s not that I never have a struggle, but Jesus Christ is in my life and he makes all the difference in the world. And in him, I found a way to live a resurrected life.” You may be the only Jesus that your neighbor will ever see. You are the hands and feet of Jesus. And if God didn’t have something for you to do when you got saved, he would have just beamed you out of here and gotten it over with.

Joyce Meyer Online – It’s like hearing fingernails on a chalkboard. It stands out. But that’s what God has been able to do to me; he’s made me conscious of it instead of it just becoming second nature.