Category: Encourage

Clear Vision

Gently, ever so gently…

Meditation Thought: “I send you to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light.” (Acts 26:18)

“See, my child, clearly, and to far distances, that you may help others to remove the lids that are so tightly closed. Use the warmth of My love flowing through your hands placed over those lids, to relax the tightened muscles. Lubricate the crusted sin holding them by your forgiveness as I have forgiven you. Gently, ever so gently, place your hand and move the lid by your words, your actions, your ministries.

Do not move ahead of My instructions, or you will cause pain, and resistance to your movements. Each lid is a special case – a particular condition, and only I can see into the interior structure. My x-ray perception is needed for you to know how to best move to open the eye. Some eyes will open suddenly, as did Paul’s, some will open gradually, as did yours. But I would open all eyes if I have clear-visioned stewards to reach every closed lid.

Keep your own vision clear through obedience to My rules of health: remove any crust of sin by prayer for forgiveness after your heart repents, open your lid by obedience to My will as you understand it, focus by concentrating on My Word, expand your range of vision by performing loving ministries. Only then can I use you to open lids of others. My Kingdom is always here and now, for those who open their eyes to see it. But Satan would blind by rebellion, by sin, by ignorance, by selfishness, by pride. Flee from him – turn to Me, that you may see and lead others to see the Kingdom and My glory, praising in thanksgiving the depth of My love, and the expanse of My grace.”

Strength in Construction

When it appears that destructive forces enter into your life, it is only an illusion.

Meditation Thought: “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:11)

“When you must reach to build another up, it stretches your own muscles and builds you up at the same time. What may appear to be difficult for you, and a sacrifice for you, is actually the means of perfecting and purifying you and accomplishing My plan for you. With this knowledge held in your heart, you will be able to reach further, to work harder and give of yourself more than you even thought possible.

My will is always to build – not destroy – when it appears that destructive forces enter into your life, it is only an illusion – for all forces are at My command to build, to work good, to complete My plan. Your view of some of the forces is not the same as Mine and therefore you must trust that from My view they are building and not destroying. Their force to build is variable, however, according to your ability to cooperate with Me in the applying of the forces in the proper places at the proper time.

To work together to use the forces speedily and properly, you must become adept in My methods of work. These are not the methods used by the world. These are the methods revealed to you through My instructions, and only as you study these instruction and understand them and obey them can you become a competent builder. The more quickly you learn My methods, the more building you will accomplish. Do not dawdle and slowly read the instructions – grasp them quickly and firmly in your hand, and devour them with your eyes – then quickly get to work to use them to accomplish My will in your life and in other lives which you are helping to build. I want a whole city – a whole Kingdom – of beautiful edifices, not just an edifice to My glory here and there.

Picture yourself as creating a beautiful, sparkling area wherever you are working, whatever you are doing. That is exactly what I do, and precisely why when apparently destructive forces appear that they are needed: they are clearing out the decay which has accumulated so that the new beauty will be unmarred!”

Gourmet Cooking

It takes time and effort to learn to cook God’s gourmet meals – but the results are so outstanding that we can be only glad that we spent our time and effort in learning to cook in this manner.

Meditation Thought: “Let your speech at all times be gracious and pleasant, seasoned with salt, so that you will know how to answer each one [who questions you].” (Colossians 4:6 AMP)

A good cook is accomplished because they have had experience. Just pouring ingredients together in any mixture or any proportion does not make a tasty dish, and in fact, can make on that is actually harmful or wasteful.

We can become good cooks with the ingredients God provides for us (His Word, His Spirit, our minds, our bodies, our spirit) – only if we follow His recipes and advice as to how to use and mix these ingredients. Even then, the more time and effort we spend in “cooking”, the better we will become at producing tasty, nutritious and attractive dishes for ourselves and for others. We must learn that perfect proportion and method to produce the best result for the particular dish we are preparing – for no salt can make a dish too bland to be interesting, and too much salt can make it unpalatable.

It takes time and effort to learn to cook God’s gourmet meals – but the results are so outstanding that when we are enjoying the dish, and others are enjoying it, we can be only glad that we spent our time and effort in learning to cook in this manner.

God is thinking about… You!

What are some of those thoughts the Lord is thinking about me?

Meditation Thought: “How precious it is, Lord, to realize that you are thinking about me constantly!” (Psalm 139:17)

What are some of those thoughts the Lord is thinking about me constantly? Perhaps His promises give me a clue: (Insert your name into each ____)
“I love ___.
I will help ___.
I will teach ___.
I will make ___ joyful.
I will make ___ peaceful.
I will allow ___ freedom, but provide the opportunity for him/her to find the ways of love, peace and joy – therefore “making” him/her these ways if he/she is willing.
I will help ___ to find Truth, to see wide vistas instead of narrow canyons.
I will help ___ to feel needed, appreciated, accomplished, enthusiastic, grateful, willing, and loved.
I will give ___ hope and justify his/her faith in Me.”

Prayer of response:
Dear Lord,
Just as you think about me constantly, I want to think about You constantly – I ask Your guidance in helping me bridle my ego and my worldly desires that more and more this thinking makes itself apparent in my life.
Amen.

Finally: Real Health Food!

This food will keep you in good health, good spirits, and enthused about life.

Meditation Thought:  “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes out of the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4)

“The Word of God needs to become more and more delicious: develop a hunger for the taste of it – a craving that is satisficed by no other food. For this food is the perfect nourishment for your total being: body, mind, and spirit. It will keep you in good health, good spirits, and enthused about life.”

Golden Moment

Treat yourself as kindly as you attempt to treat others.

Meditation Thought: “Be gentle to everyone, able to teach, and patient.” (2 Timothy 2:24)

‘To everyone’ – including myself! “Treat yourself as kindly as you attempt to treat others when you are really concentrating. If you think gentle thoughts about yourself, you can relax and absorb apt teaching more readily. And do not be impatient when you do not learn the lesson immediately: practice is needed – and there is a purpose in practice. Practice gives the opportunity to choose to grow, or to be slothful and neglect practice and miss the goal. It is a way of separating again the choice of good and evil, God’s way and Satan’s way, the Kingdom way and the world’s way.

Be diligent – but forgiving, set your standards high – but be merciful, step out in faith – but lovingly, not overbearingly. As you see Jesus’ qualities in those around you, note each one of them and picture them all incorporated into one person: this mage will help keep man made in the image of God more of a reality to you. Search out the commandments and the manner in which Jesus lived out these commandments as the model for your life.

Look at each moment of your life as a door to a new beginning – clean, fresh, unmarred by sin, by selfishness, and an opportunity to bring glory to Me and peace and joy to you. Condition yourself to react to each moment – not each circumstance – as a believer in faith, in hope, in love, in charity, in mercy and in My power and My grace that each moment will be considered a ‘golden moment’ unconnected with any circumstance, but standing apart as a covenant time between you and your Lord.”

Do as I Do

My people must be as lightening rods – raising themselves up to draw My Spirit unto themselves.

Meditation Thought: “Commit your work to the Lord, then it will succeed.” (Proverbs 16:3)

“Although you may chafe at the variety and number of your duties [you have not seen that because a wife and mother does fulfill so many roles that she is able to spread My Love, My Mercy and My Compassion to many more people than most persons are able to do], when you do your solitary tasks, absorb My teaching – when you do your public tasks, teach My Way by your example:
– Sacrifice as I sacrificed
– Love as I love
– Adapt as I adapt
– Be joyful as I am joyful
– Be understanding and kind as I am compassionate
– Communicate with your spirit – not just your mind.

My people must be as lightening rods – raising themselves up to draw My Spirit unto themselves.”

Clear Focus

When God is the focus of our devotion, all else focuses clearly in our lives too.

Meditation Thought: “Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.” (Matthew 4:10)

Even in our earthly activities, we are most effective when we loyally execute our commitments – our energies are multiplied as we enthusiastically and with concentration commit them to our purpose. When we choose God to be the purpose of our commitment, He takes our energies in serving Him and transforms them into His worship, His miracles, His purposes – when we serve Him only. This assures that our efforts are channeled in effective, pure, positive, loving results: God’s final results – not the results we might see, for we see only partial results, while God sees the whole. When God is the focus of our devotion, all else focuses clearly in our lives too. Gradually, as we come to know our Master as we serve Him, the meaning of our lives in every area, in total inter-relationship of all brought together, focuses more clearly and more brightly; our hesitant first trust and tentative service changes to complete trust and eager service as His glory and love are revealed more completely to us… “Praise God from whom all blessing flow.”

Mission Possible

Picture a row of ladders lined up against a wall. At the top of the wall is God’s ultimate fulfilled plan. Now with that in mind:

  • Each of us has a mission and talents to be used to perform that mission to the completion of God’s ultimate Plan and His glory.
  • We are to help each other discover the individual mission and to enable each other to complete the mission.
  • There is an inter-relationship in the ability of each mission to be completed; all missions are connected by a link of some kind so that the progress of the mission of one affects the progress of all. Therefore, it behooves each person to not only work on the completion of his own mission, but to give any possible help to the completion of all missions.

Back to the ladder image – each person must climb his own mission-talent ladder to God’s final Plan – but arms can be reached out: to pull another up, or push another down, or both arms can be used on one’s own ladder. However, since the final Plan can be realized only when everyone is up the ladder, the person who climbs without helping the others to rise too, finds that reaching the top alone has no purpose. That person has to wait longer to have the ultimate satisfaction because they must wait for the others to arrive at the top. Their ultimate satisfaction could be reached more quickly if they help others move ahead more rapidly as they move up, and if they push another down, it will take that person that much longer to reach the top and contribute to the completion of the ultimate satisfaction of all.

Protected Shelter

The choice is yours to use the knowledge or let it lie idle.

Meditation Thought: “ Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.” (Colossians 4:2)

“Change your thought of the word “prayer” from being a verb “to pray” – to being a noun: being in a state of prayer – a continuous state of prayer. The atmosphere of prayer varies according to the workings in your life, but you must assure that by your awareness and your attitude that you stay within the confines of the prayer world: the prayer world is large enough to encompass all the places in heaven and in earth where you should be. If you wander outside of its confines, you lose your sense of direction, your protection, and your purpose.

Think of a mist of prayer enclosing all of the areas of your life – as a gentle rain renews the parched earth, the mist of prayer keeps your life renewed, refreshed, conscious of the Power and Love that have entered your life through your belief in that Power and Love. The scriptures in your mind are much of the reality of the mist of prayer; worship of any form, a grateful heart, a joy in seeing the works of the Kingdom being executed on earth – all these are as atoms of the composition of the prayer mist. The more densely these atoms are concentrated in your life-atmosphere, the more concentration you have of the Kingdom on earth. Just as your home protects you when you are inside it from the storm without, so the atmosphere of prayer surrounding you protects you from evil from without. You must be enclosed in the house before it provides you any shelter – you must place yourself in the prayer atmosphere before it provides your shelter. Enter into your shelter of prayer, and keep it closed about you. You know how to do this by the instructions given to you through My Word and My Ways: the choice is yours to use the knowledge or let it lie idle.