Category: Faith

Where to Run for Safety

Only when we direct our mind, our heart, our body, away from the tower are we subject to the fears, the dangers, the panic and the uncertainties of this world.

Meditation Thought: “The name of the Lord is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.” (Proverbs 18:10)

The tower stays put. Only by choosing to go so far from it that we forget about it can we really get into danger. Only when we direct our mind, our heart, our body, away from the tower are we subject to the fears, the dangers, the panic and the uncertainties that the worldly experience. When we keep ourselves in the protection and the guidance of the tower, by keeping within its sight, we can move freely, joyfully, confidently – no matter what situation might be involved. But the door of the tower opens only to those who can find it: and to find it we must be able to see it. To see it, we must have the Light reveal it to us, we must allow the Light (Jesus) to shine by allowing (asking) Him to remove our covering of sin, of unbelief, of disobedience.

Tribulation to Jubilation

I have the power, the desire and the knowledge to do this – but you must invite me to come with you.

Meditation Thought: ” In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

“If you will allow me to join you in your tribulation, I will transform it into jubilation. I have the power, the desire and the knowledge to do this – but you must invite me to come with you, and you must trust and obey Me in order to make this transformation.

Look at each tribulation as an opportunity for growth of our relationship, for growth of power in your life, for growth of a dynamic, fulfilled life. As your perception changes from negative to positive, so as a photograph changes from the negative, which is a confusing and unclear and not a proper reflection, into the positive picture, your tribulation will change into a clear reflection of My will – and My will is always for good for you. The negative must be made first, however, before the positive print can be made from it, for sin has prevented the making of a direct positive reflection of My will. At first you will see only dim outlines, but as we work together, the picture will become clearer, and finally the lovely print titled “Jubilation” will emerge.”

Human Desire vs. Divine Desire

Only when we can overcome our natural human desire to hold on to what we have, and give in to the Divine desire to surrender our will, can we look forward to our bread coming back – in more abundance, in more desirable form.

Meditation Thought: “Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days.” (Ecclesiastes 11:1)

This is another way of learning to trust God – we deliberately give up what we have to Him – trusting Him to provide our needs. When we get brave enough to let go of what we have, and especially as we continue to trust God in the period that we see nothing for us in the water, God is able through our “faith being the substance of things hoped for” (Hebrews 11:1) to make those things as a tangible substance, our prayers answered, our blessings received.

Only when we can overcome our natural human desire to hold on to what we have, and give in to the Divine desire to surrender our will, can we look forward to our bread coming back – in more abundance, in more desirable form. And the period of doing without the bread being available to us intensifies our joy as we receive the transformed bread. We know excitement and awe we never would have realized had we kept the bread to ourselves.

“Give and it shall be given you, pressed down and running over.” (Luke 6:38)

Always Gain, Never Loss

Our relationship must grow so that our time together is not even ‘second nature’ to you – but first nature.

Meditation Thought: “Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom for the future.” (Proverbs 19:20)

“Take one step at a time: the crux is to take that step in the right direction. It will be easier for you if you decide each moment as if it were just one step. You know what direction one step should be to reach the goal already planned. Do not change goals on impulse, for you only go further away from My goal for you, and then I must turn you around to retrace your mistaken steps, and you have lost time which can never be replaced. Think of the time with Me as recharging your batteries. If you go on and on, you will lose power and be stopped completely even though it appeared you were gaining time by going on the your tasks.

Your time with Me will give you:
– assurance of going in the proper direction
– extra power
– extra wisdom in choices
– extra confidence
– extra peace
– extra joy.

Time with Me – devotion to Me – is always gain, never loss. It is when you are most harried, most pressed for time, that you need time with Me the most urgently. You know this now enough to do it frequently – but it is still a conflict for you – our relationship must grow so that our time together is not even ‘second nature’ to you – but first nature. Rely on Me, obey Me moment by moment with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength”

An Immunizing Agent

…the very sort of the life that every human searches for, longs for, is even desperate for.

Meditation Thought: “For the word of God is quick, and powerful …and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)

Similar to Ephesians 6:17 “the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God”. A sword, when wielded expertly and by a person quickly discerning where to thrust it, causes an immediate change in the place it enters. So the Word of God can cause an immediate, complete change wherever it is thrust. Evil is immobilized and God’s spirit for good is free to move in the situation. We must learn to enable God to thrust this sword into any evil in our lives by becoming immersed in His Word, keeping the sword available at all times. And the Word in us serves as an immunizing agent against evil thoughts and evil intentions getting a hold in us. We must be diligent in keeping a large dose of our immunizing agent in ourselves at all times, lest the disease of evil get a foothold in our minds and hearts and bodies.

The Word of God is able to penetrate into our subconscious whereas we can only deal with the conscious. We swallow the Word of God, trusting it to do its work, but not really understanding how it penetrates and works in us. We don’t understand the ‘how’ – but we can see the results of ingesting it as our lives are changed completely by it – healthier in every area (body, mind, spirit) – and happier, more alive and enthused and excited: the very sort of the life that every human searches for, longs for, is even desperate for.

Rendering Joy

We are assured by Jesus’ own words that when we help others it is the same as helping Him.

Meditation Thought: “What shall I return to the Lord for all his goodness to me?” (Psalm 116:12)

When we are able to dispense goodness to others, our children, for example, what pleases us in return? Grateful hearts, loving actions, and happy countenances. Since we are made in God’s image, it would be logical to assume these please God also.

Our grateful hearts can be expressed in terms of praise, of time spent with the Lord in study of His Word, and in prayer. Our loving actions can be expressed to those around us, for we are assured by Jesus’ own words that when we help others it is the same as helping Him. Surely God is pleased when we smile and are enthused and in every way possible exude a joyful attitude because of the works He is doing in our lives.

As we learn to praise Him in every circumstance, knowing this action is pleasing to Him and beneficial to us, both immediately in terms of relieving stress, and later in God’s working freely in the circumstances, we do have the pleasure of joy in Him, and not a dependency of feeling on circumstances. Joy in Him must be what He wants us to render to Him for His goodness towards us. The scriptures point to this, and our human experiences point to this.

Nourishment to Thrive

Prepare yourself for peak perfection.

Meditation Thought: “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 3:18)

As a plant thrives and blooms in response to the nourishment provided, so you will thrive and bloom on the nourishment of the knowledge of your Lord. His strength will flow into you, being absorbed and used in whatever way is best for you to become at the peak of perfection in being a child of God.

Prepare yourself to absorb this knowledge, and drink it thirstily, knowing that this nourishment will change you for the better, both for your sake and for the sake of others to enjoy you more fully.

The Golden Rule Demonstrated

A bit of envy is exchanged for a bit of understanding, a bit of selfishness is exchanged for a bit of outreach, a bit of hate for…

Meditation Thought: “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” (Luke 6:31)

If you are, through Christ, doing good to everyone in your life, you are a tree producing good fruit. Subtly, little by little:
a bit of envy is exchanged for a bit of understanding,
a bit of selfishness is exchanged for a bit of outreach,
a bit of hate for a bit of love,
a bit of despair for a bit of hope,
a bit of judgment for a bit of forgiveness,
a bit of rebellion for a bit of righteousness,
a bit of ignorance for the revelation of Truth.

The miracle is that, through Christ, the exchange for the more desirable condition takes place simultaneously in you and in the person upon whom your attitude, concentration and resources are working.

Christ said “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” – but He said it only after He had become an example, only after He had embraced this concept to the point of sacrificing himself to the total commitment of His life to this principle.

Jolted

We do not understand His willingness to forgive and His desire to express mercy.

Meditation Thought: “and wen he saw their faith, he said, ‘Friend, your sins are forgiven you’ …and he rose… and went home glorifying God.” (Luke 5:20,25)

Believe – demonstrate your belief – and He whose word is true cannot deny or resist you, for He is true to His promises and true in His love.

We miss out on much healing and many blessings due to our inability to truly comprehend the depth of God’s love and the power of His Word and His Spirit. We do not understand His willingness to forgive and His desire to express mercy.

We make the mistake of attributing to God our own thoughts and feelings and manner of behavior.

Instead of seeking to become totally familiar with all that God is and patterning ourselves according to what we find, we lazily presume that the way we are must be an approximation of the way He is.

Only when we are jolted out of our long-held misconceptions can we have the revelation of the possibilities of a miracle taking place. Only when we believe enough in the possibility do we decide to seek to bring it about by requesting it in so much faith that it will take place that our Lord is so delighted with our confidence in His ability and desire to perform the miracle, can He match up our faith and His power to grant the request.

Ineptness to Effectiveness

To heed the advice of the word given to us by trusting in faith instead of relying on previous experience which has failed us is to change the pattern of our lives from…

Meditation Thought: ” ‘Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.’ …For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken … and they left everything and followed him.” (Luke 5: 5,9,11)

The difference between an empty net and a full net is ‘going it alone’ or doing it with Christ, which is automatically doing it according to the will of the Father and by the power of the Holy Spirit.

To heed the advice of the word given to us by trusting in faith instead of relying on previous experience which has failed us is to change the pattern of our lives from:
emptiness to fullness
weakness to strength
fear to courage
ineptness to effectiveness
dullness to excitement
joy in receiving to joy in giving
from our accomplishments being measured mathematically to geometrically.