Good morning.
Welcome to today's episode of Reflective Hour with Tammy Toney—Butler.
I'm your host today, but we all know who the real host of this show is—Christ.
Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit come have Your way during this time together.
That we have, that we get to share as we invite others
to this broadcast,
to the podcast, or the YouTube.
(pause)
Wherever you're listening from, we invite you in today to come, and let's reflect together. Let's journey inward and take a look at ourselves.
Are we deceiving ourselves?
Are we working under a spirit of self-sabotage?
Are we destroying ourselves with words?
And we're planting negative seeds in the ground, which grow weeds.
Words matter, and we can no longer deceive ourselves.
We have to walk in the love and Light of the Lord.
And today's episode explores the connection between unforgiveness and forgiveness: self-sabotage, self-deception, and more.
Grab your coffee or tea, and let's dive into today's episode of Reflective Hour with Tammy Toney-Butler.
Oh Father, Abba Father in the name of our precious Lord Jesus, have Your way in this time, Holy Spirit. Guide us, guide us, guide us. And to speak on our behalf, open hearts, open eyes to see, ears to hear, spiritual and physical.
Help us to unite, become stronger as one, and speak Your Truth to a world that You've called us to minister to, embrace, and show Your light, humility, love, and kindness.
The greatest commandment of all is love.
Love.
When we look through a lens of love, a heart filled with love and gratitude, we can't sow seeds of hate, not even to ourselves. We'll speak to ourselves in love. We'll speak to others in love.
Love transforms, renews, heals, rebirths,
transcends, guides, and comforts.
Love.
We all need love. Some of us seek it in the wrong places.
We want the love of a father that we never received, the love of a mother, the love of a friend, boyfriend, and husband, and we are all looking for love.
But what do we know to be true? The love of our Savior.
He'll never leave us nor forsake us. He is a steadfast anchor in any storm you're facing.
Christ will see you through.
He's the Redeemer. He's everything.
He gives us true freedom. He set me free from addiction, shame, guilt, fear, regret, and so many other things.
He can set you free, too. Trust in Him.
And today, let's explore His Truth. Through His Word, His Word.
His Word that never fails because He keeps His promises, He guides us, strengthens us, and gives us the strength to endure every trial we're facing, whether it's the loss of a loved one, the loss of a job, a child, or maybe our inner child.
Maybe we finally let go of that little girl or boy that all that shame and guilt and fear and regret and all that stuff was attached to.
That child that was victimized at an early age, maybe you finally let go and let God.
And now you're in the uncomfortable, comfortable.
Now you're in the stillness, which can be quite uncomfortable when you're used to chaos.
If you suddenly have that weight of trauma lifted off, and you find yourself in a place where the leaves look greener, skies bluer, and bird sounds you can hear,
and you truly are living for the first time, and you've unyoked from all your trauma of the past, from all the trauma of the past.
And you've let that little girl, little girl, little girl, little boy go.
Maybe they're living with me on my ranch.
Maybe you finally released it all and trusted God. You've been reborn, and now you have to walk in that newness.
Who am I?
Where do I belong?
All I've ever known is trauma.
Who'll guide me?
Who'll keep me?
Who'll show me the way?
Christ will. He will show you.
How does He show you the way?
In His Word, in your relationship with Him. Talk to Him like I talk to you. I take Him everywhere with me. When I'm in the car, I've got praise and worship music on, or I'm praying everywhere I go. If I'm on the lawn mower, the John Deere, I'm just fellowshipping with Father.
When I walk the grounds of our ranch, we're just friends. But I also have the healthy fear and respect of our Lord. He's God.
He's everything. He sent His Son to die on the Cross so we could live fully and abundantly, free from the shackles and chains of sin and condemnation, all those things that even religion can try to place on us.
But when we have a relationship and we know the Truth of who our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is, was, and will be,
we know that we walk in His love, goodness, and mercy.
His strength alone will help us endure every trial for love. Love transcends, transforms, unites, and gives us purpose and hope.
Wow!
Boy, that's something to reflect on, isn't it, in our time together.
This is even shaping up in a direction I didn't see coming. I switched to a new platform to use, and I've been on the struggle bus with the technology and had to rerecord.
And this episode is changing from even minutes ago.
Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit, help me, help me, help me.
Let them see You, Jesus, and not me.
Let them experience Your peace that surpasses all understanding: Your freedom, glory, stillness, and peace.
Let them walk in hope, Light, strength, and Truth.
Let them walk free, free, free, free.
For who Christ sets free is free indeed.
Now, let's read some scriptures that have carried me through and continue to carry me through.
I'll read from the Life Application Study Bible, the New International Version.
In this psalm, God is seen as a caring shepherd and a dependable guide. We must follow God and obey His commands. He is our only hope for eternal life and security.
Psalm 23
New International Version
A psalm of David.
1 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.
Forever, Forever.
Psalm 24,
New International Version
Of David. A psalm.
1 The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it;
2 for he founded it on the seas
and established it on the waters.
3 Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord?
Who may stand in his holy place?
4 The one who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not trust in an idol
or swear by a false god.
5 They will receive blessing from the Lord
and vindication from God their Savior.
6 Such is the generation of those who seek him,
who seek your face, God of Jacob. Selah.
7 Lift up your heads, you gates;
be lifted up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
8 Who is this King of glory?
The Lord strong and mighty,
the Lord mighty in battle.
9 Lift up your heads, you gates;
lift them up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
10 Who is he, this King of glory?
The Lord Almighty—
he is the King of glory.
Jesus the Messiah is the King of Glory.
We must die to ourselves and enter the gates of heaven into Glory.
We enter into His Truth, the Words He speaks over us, and we stop the self-sabotage, the self-deception.
I want to read something that stuck out to me.
Self-deception is a wall that hinders us when we lie to ourselves and say bad things to ourselves.
We're lying in court because we're in a courtroom of God's Truth.
What does God say we are?
Who does God say we are?
We are daughters and sons of the King, fearfully, beautifully, and wonderfully made.
So we're actually operating from a spirit of deception, self-sabotage, lying to ourselves, and self-deceiving ourselves.
Every time we yield to that whisper, that's not of God, but of the devil.
How do you know when the Holy Spirit is whispering to you?
It's kind; it's words of truth, it edifies, it builds up.
It doesn't condemn. It doesn't hurt. It shows love and love for yourself.
When I read in the notes of the Life Application Study Bible, it says that Swearing by what is false means telling lies under oath. How greatly God values honesty. Dishonesty comes easily, especially when complete truthfulness could cost us something (Life Application Study Bible, NIV).
When that could cost us something, then we have a problem. When we look at God's Truth and what God says about us, we can look through a different lens, as I was talking about.
It says dishonesty comes easily, especially when complete truthfulness could cost us something, make us uncomfortable, or put us in an unfavorable light (Life Application Study Bible, NIV).
Dishonest communication hinders relationships. Without honesty, a relationship with God is impossible.
If we lie to others, we begin to deceive ourselves. God cannot hear or speak to us if we are building a wall of self-deception (Life Application Study Bible NIV).
It's a stumbling block. It hinders us.
Even if we lie to ourselves, that's just as bad because you're under oath in the courtroom of God, and you have to let those negative thoughts, those dishonest words go, that self-deception, that self-sabotage.
You have to let all of that go and let God.
And when you do that, you'll no longer hinder your spiritual growth or maturity.
You will operate from a position of trust, blind obedience, faith, walking by faith and not by sight.
When you trust that you're on the right path, that you're serving God and going where He's guiding you and leading you,
whatever that looks like for you, don't let society define you.
Don't let the world define you,
don't let politics define you,
don't let anyone speak death over you.
Speak life over yourselves.
Show the Light and love of Christ to others.
Transform ourselves, transform a world, transform a nation, transform your home.
But it first starts with rebuking the spirit of self-sabotage.
Unyoking yourself from all the lies of the past, even the ones you've spoken over yourself, and walking in the true countenance, trust, and love, of what living a life fully surrendered to Christ, to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, to Abba Father brings.
Let go and let God.
Walk in this new freedom you've experienced now that you've let go of that little girl or boy.
Maybe you're tuning in for the first time and started with this episode.
Go back to episode one of Reflective Hour, where I give my testimony of all that God set me free from. Start with one and walk your way to this point.
By the time you get to this point, you'll be able to surrender the little girl and little boy that all that bad stuff happened to.
You'll give it to God.
You'll let Him come into your heart and be the Lord and Savior of your life.
Not your will, but His be done.
And when you believe that Jesus was fully man and fully God, came to earth, was born of a virgin, died on the Cross, was resurrected, and now sits at the right side of the Father.
When you believe that, you know it in your heart to be true, and you truly surrender with your heart.
And that's hard for us who've been victimized to allow someone else to control us or to surrender our will for others.
What do we do?
We refuse to be broken because evil tried to break us and break our spirits.
But something inside of us knew that we had to resist that and fight, and we did for so long, and we survived.
But now we don't just get to survive; we get to thrive, thrive in Christ Jesus.
So let go and let God.
Trust and obey.
He's waiting.
He's waiting.
He's waiting.
That is today's episode of Reflective Hour with Tammy Toney-Butler.
May God bless you, keep you, and strengthen you this week as you conquer and live the victorious life of freedom that knowing the love of Christ brings.
Amen.
