FEBRUARY 1 FOLLOW ME ONE STEP AT A TIME. That is all I require of you. In fact, that is the only way to move through this space/time world.

MY PROMISE to be with you always ensures that you never have to face anything alone. The evil one uses three Ds to keep you from finding Me: distractions, deception, and discouragement. As you resist these tricky tactics and look for Me, you will find Me.

Which lies and partial truths do you need to replace with My absolute truth? The Holy Spirit will faithfully reveal them.

Though the world applauds quick-witted retorts, My instructions about communication are quite different: Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry. Ask My Spirit to help you whenever you speak.

LISTEN TO ME CONTINUALLY. I have much to communicate to you, so many people and situations in need of prayer.

The only thing you can grasp without damaging your soul is My hand. Ask My Spirit within you to order your day and control your thoughts, for the mind controlled by the Spirit is Life and Peace.

God did not give the Bible so we could master him or it; God gave the Bible so we could live it, so we could be mastered by it. The moment we think we've mastered it, we have failed to be readers of the Bible.

The Jesus Creed teaches us that a disciple's responsibility is to love God by following Jesus. You only follow someone else when your own lights or sense of direction are not good enough.

This entire book—don't forget this please—is for each of those seven churches. Every vision, every interlude, every song is for each of them.

It tells us that God gave the Bible a mission: God speaks to us so we will be the kind of people he wants and will live the way he wants us to live.

Religion forces every individual to take responsibility. Specifically, take it away from yourself and give it to God. If we had to be accountable for every one of our actions, we'd be crippled with indecision. But with religion pointing the way, we can feel confident in our choice to picket our children's elementary school when we find out the art teacher is gay.

If you read a map with directions to get somewhere but you don't follow it, you shouldn't get mad at God when you become spiritually lost. The Bible is a love letter from God. But if you don't read it and believe it, you may wonder why you'll walk through life feeling unloved.