Discipleship Tools
A decree is not a wish. It is not a bargain with God. It is you agreeing out loud with what He has already said about you. We do not declare in order to become. We declare because we already are. Identity first. Behavior follows.
Malachi · The Coming Messenger · Oct 25 to Nov 22 2026
I am loved by a God who chose me before I ever chose Him.
The LORD does not change, so His covenant with me does not move.
He sits as the refiner, and the fire He allows makes me pure, not ash.
I will not rob God. I bring Him my first and my best, never my leftovers.
My name is written in His book of remembrance, and I am His treasured possession.
He spares me as a father spares the son who serves him.
The Sun of Righteousness has risen with healing in His wings.
The Messenger God promised has come, and His name is Jesus.
So I will not weary of doing right, and I will never say it is vain to serve God.
I walk with victory, not to it, in Jesus' name. Amen!
Line by line, this is Malachi: "I have loved you" (1:2), "I the LORD do not change" (3:6), the refiner's fire (3:2 to 3), robbing God and the full tithe (3:8 to 10), the book of remembrance and the treasured possession (3:16 to 17), a father sparing his son (3:17), the sun of righteousness with healing in its wings (4:2), the messenger who prepares the way (3:1), and the warning against saying it is vain to serve God (3:14).
Read it out loud. That is the whole instruction. Speak it in the car, over your kids, in the room where the fear usually wins. We read this together every week of the series, right after the Scripture reading, until the room knows it by heart.
If you are new to this, start with the first line and stay there a week. Loved. Chosen before you ever chose Him. Malachi opens with God saying "I have loved you," and everything else in this decree grows out of that ground. By the last week of the series we will be declaring the promise that ends the Old Testament, and Advent opens with that promise kept in a manger.
Previous series · 1 and 2 Peter · Living Hope · Aug 30 to Oct 18 2026
I have been born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
My inheritance is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for me.
By God's power I am guarded through faith, so I rejoice even in the fire.
I was ransomed, not with silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ.
I am a living stone, a chosen race, a royal priesthood, His own.
I cast all my anxiety on Him, and the God of all grace will strengthen and establish me.
I walk with victory, not to it, in Jesus' name. Amen!
Line by line, this is the letter of Peter: born again to a living hope through the resurrection (1:3), the inheritance imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven (1:4), guarded by God's power and rejoicing in the fire (1:5 to 7), ransomed not with silver or gold but with the precious blood of Christ (1:18 to 19), a living stone and a royal priesthood who are His own possession (2:5, 2:9), casting all anxiety on Him because the God of all grace restores and establishes (5:7, 5:10), and victory already won in His name.