Category: Faith

THE Bridge; not just a bridge

Seek Jesus, heed the Holy Spirit and skip joyfully to all that the Father has for you.

Meditation Thought: “But I have not come of my own accord; he who sent me is true, and him you do not know. I know him, for I come from him, and he sent me.” (John 7:28-29)

God the Father is so far beyond human concepts of fatherhood that it is difficult to know Him. So He sent Jesus! Jesus is the bridge. He bridges the ‘credibility gap’, the ‘wisdom gap’ – most of all – the ‘love gap’.

Picture your joy in realizing that you do not have to remain marooned in a limited physical, difficult environment – lonely, confused and ignorant. You have come upon a bridge: a sturdy, easily crossed bridge which leads to a new kingdom. A place to dwell in peace, in love, in joy – dreams fulfilled. An exciting, interesting place!

You are on the bridge – and even to be this far brings hope and pleasure, even though some old problems remain from the former environment. Don’t look back – and don’t look down – look ahead. Look ahead to the Kingdom which has been described in such glowing terms throughout scripture.

If you find you’ve turned back; back to old ways and old thinking: stop! pray! Seek the Father’s will and the sturdy bridge beneath you, to turn yourself around, moving once again towards the promised Kingdom.

You will find others on the bridge. Encourage them! Be encouraged! Seek Jesus, heed the Holy Spirit and skip joyfully to all that the Father has for you.

Jesus’ Job Description for Us

Love from someone and love for someone both cast out fear.

Meditation Thought: “‘What must we do to do the works God requires?’ Jesus answered, ‘The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.’” (John 6:28-29)

If you believe in he whom God has sent (Jesus) to show you the way of life – which you were meant to take for your fulfillment and your joy – you will then desire to follow the pattern of his life: trusting in the Father; obedience to the Father and such love that all selfishness is eliminated as the joy of serving and observing the transformed lives as a result of that serving becomes natural and total.

What appears to the selfish ego as sacrifice and distasteful is the very light that reveals the kingdom beyond the more easily seen world. It is in the kingdom-revealed knowledge that one becomes a follower of Christ’s ways. It is possible to observe Christ’s ways from the viewpoint of the world, but it is only possible to emulate them through the viewpoint of the kingdom.

“Perfect love casts out fear.” Love from someone and love for someone both cast out fear. And when the love is flowing freely, this is the force that clears out sin and rebellion, that promotes health and healing, that produces joy and beauty and appreciation.

The Desires of your Heart

Be alert, pray, have faith, act, praise God!

Meditation Thought: “Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! For the Lord has comforted his people, and will have compassion on his afflicted.” (Isaiah 49:13)

“If I do everything you pray for instantaneously, you will become as a spoiled child – you would expect to have your every wish granted, and thus you would be a dictator – a dictator to Me, your Lord, your Father, the highest authority. This cannot be. You are my beloved child, and I do delight to please you. Nevertheless, you are far too ignorant of the ways of the world and My Way to be able to decide what is to be done. You must learn, step by step, from Me, how to cope with life – how to think and act. This is what you learn from prayer and praise and trust and hope and faith. What more could a loving Father do for a beloved child?

Do not fret when you must make effort for, and must wait for, the desires of your heart. Your life is so much a part of all life – and vice versa – that it takes time to have proper movement and proper results for health and happiness for all concerned.

There are ways you can facilitate the process: be Alert for the signs of the Kingdom – both within the world and without; Pray; have Faith; Act; Praise God.”

Unity of Spirit

You need not fear anything, or fret about anything, so long as you believe that My power is sufficient for you. Is the greatest power in the universe sufficient for you?

Meditation Thought: “To the pure all things are pure, but to the corrupt and unbelieving nothing is pure; their very minds and consciences are corrupted.” (Titus 1:15)

“The way to have purity in your life is be be pure. You be pure through the constant purifying stream of the Holy Spirit. This pure stream sustains you, refreshes you, cleanses you – if by your will, you allow it to flow into your being.

Seek to be pure and holy – not through stress of trying to work this out as your own accomplishment – but by simple faith that your loving Father has provided the way for you, through belief in Jesus as Lord and Savior, and as present strength, helper and guide in the form of the Holy Spirit.

We are one in spirit; we dwell together in unity of spirit, mind, conscience and purpose when you desire this and seek it. You need not fear anything, or fret about anything, so long as you believe that My power is sufficient for you. Is the greatest power in the universe sufficient for you?”

The Source for Power, Love & Self-discipline.

Relax your mind, and your emotions. You will not be disappointed. Trust Me.

Meditation Thought: “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” (2 Timothy 1:7)

Do no allow others’ actions to affect your knowledge of who you are, and what is going on in your life – especially your inner life. I am your strength; I am your power; I am your guide; I am your stronghold.

Trust Me. I have brought you to this place for a purpose. Seek Me; seek My will. There is much good to be done for many. Do not anticipate Me. Pray constantly; be a cheerful, faithful servant to all who enter into your life. It is in servanthood that you will find and demonstrate power, self-control and love. Relax your mind, and your emotions. I go to prepare a place for you. When it is ready I shall come for you, to take you that you may have the thrill of a happy surprise. You will not be disappointed. Trust Me – trust Me.

Release Your Burdens & Rejoice

O, Little One, My beloved child, My precious lamb – I would, I did, lay down my life that you may live. You are my beloved, my pride and joy.

Meditation Thought:  “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

“Yield yourself to Me – including your emotions and your desires. When you absorb My word, do My works of kindness and love, rejoice in the Spirit and seek Me as your constant companion, you can trust that I will provide the emotions which are pleasing to you and the fulfillment of your deepest longings and desires.

‘My yoke is easy and My burden is light’ (Matthew 11:30) is to be your theme song. When you yield the stress of decisions to Me, through prayer, praise, trust and doing what seems appropriate without fretting, you then put into operation My grace and My strength. I cannot take your burdens unless you let go of them as I reach for them.

I will not violate your free will. No, even I, who created you, who created the marvels of the universe, will not force you to do My bidding. Does this reveal to you the extent of your value to Me? Do you have any ides of the joy it brings Me to have you freely listen to Me and believe Me when I say I love you and seek good for you in all circumstances? (Romans 8:28)

O, Little One, My beloved child, My precious lamb – I would, I did, lay down my life that you may live – truly live – not just exist. This is who you are – a new creature in Christ: My beloved, but more than My beloved, my pride and joy.”

Crushing Evil: The Role of Peace and Wisdom in Our Lives

Evil can mask itself as good to an unsuspecting mind, and especially to unguarded emotions.

Meditation Thought: ” I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.” (Romans 16:19-20)

Only by the power of the indwelling Spirit can we know what is good – and what is evil. Evil can mask itself as good to an unsuspecting mind, and especially to unguarded emotions.

To be filled with the Spirit is to allow eternal wisdom to flow into the mind, peace and joy flow into the heart (the emotions), and energy to do good works course throughout the body. Given these conditions, evil is simply not known – it is ‘crushed under the feet’, never being allowed to affect the Spirit-protected body. It is the way Christ lived, and the way the Father would have all of His children live.

When the children realize it is the way we want to live as well, then the Spirit is able to rush into our being – cleansing, renewing, transforming, reforming – doing a complete remodeling job according to the specifications set down at the beginning of creation.

Fruits of the Spirit: Cultivating Peace and Joy

Sighing shall flee away

Meditation Thought: “…a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Holy Way… the redeemed shall walk there… they shall obtain joy and gladness and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” (Isaiah 35: 8,9,10)

The Holy Way is the Father’s will. It is the way of the Son’s obedience and it is they way of the Spirit’s power. It is the natural way – the way which is best for God’s beloved children.

So long as we do not, out of rebellion brought on by stubborn self-will, refuse the walk the Holy Way, we travel with peace, joy, love and all the other fruits of the Spirit which we can gather along the way. This is true regardless of circumstances. Only as we believe this, and integrate it into every area of our lives, does the kingdom within become recognized. And as we realize that we are in the kingdom, through our knowledge that it is an internal place, we are able to bring changes in the external world which liken it to the kingdom.

We all seek approval – but we need to seek the approval of the Father more than the approval of our human companions if we are to be producers of the fruits of the kingdom. The world needs farmers to feed fruits of the spirit to a starving world!

Seeds of Opportunity May be Found in the Weeds

Which means we may have to get dirty.

Meditation Thought: “Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him and rescued him from all his troubles. He gave Joseph wisdom and enabled him to gain the goodwill of Pharaoh king of Egypt. So Pharaoh made him ruler over Egypt and all his palace.” (Acts 7:9-10)

“God rescued him out of all his afflictions and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharoah.” God raised Joseph from despair, from a low place, and put him in a place where he could be happy, fulfilled and honored while at the same time helping others. This was a process; it took time.

This is often the pattern. We may not choose to go where we must, to do what we must. Yet in those very circumstances are the seeds of the opportunity God perceived for us. If we are faithful, trustful and work to do our best no matter what the circumstances, then God’s provision for His faithful results in a joyful conclusion.

GPS to God’s Kingdom

There is no coercion, for love must be given freely to qualify as love.

Meditation Thought: “nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.” (Luke 17:21)

The kingdom of God exists wherever it is recognized as existing. When we, who have the capacity to do so, respond to God’s Presence within us, we are transformed by the knowledge of the magnificence of the Whole of which we are a part.

When we recognize that we are a part of a Whole and that the Whole is good – good for us and for others – and that goodness is that Whole’s innate Character and Nature, we perceive ourselves in an entirely new way. We perceive that the kingdom which Jesus referred to is actually within us! – to be discovered there and to be explored there.

We are so accustomed to having outside forces be the influence of our perception and decisions that it is difficult for us to realize that the Force within our own being is available and more powerful than any other.

We look inward in the wrong place: we look to the way we feel, and to the selfish desires of our own heart. We need to look inward to the right place: to the Father, the One who can guide us surely through the maze of life, that the Whole is healthy, as the parts are healthy.

We can find the Father and His kingdom within. Jesus is the key. God constantly urges us, and gives clues to us as to His whereabouts – but He desires for us to seek Him that both He and we are aware that the choice is ours. There is no coercion, for love must be given freely to qualify as love.