Category: Faith

The Constitution of the Kingdom

To know the love and power of God in my life is wonderful for me, but only if I pass along the grandeur of it in the living out of my days will it bring glory to the Father and fulfillment of the purpose of the Holy Spirit.

Meditation Thought: “The one who speaks in a tongue edifies himself; but the one who prophesies edifies the church.” 1 Corinthians 14:4)

There is no limit on the love of God or the knowledge of God. There is no limit on the variety of ways of God expressing His love and His knowledge.

We are to be so in tune with the will of God that we can know, moment by moment, the manner in which He desires to express His love and His knowledge to us and through us. For He desires to edify (instruct and improve) us and the church, not one or the other, for one is part of the other, as both are part of God.

The kingdom of God is not divided – the Kingdom is unified – unified, but always in a state of flux – as each part is changed as it opens itself to new revelation of love and knowledge, so it affects another part, and the Kingdom, though still the same, is also changed. The original constitution of the Kingdom remains constant, but the living out of the expression of that constitution is unique for every creature and for every moment of time and for every place and for every situation.

To edify oneself through prayer – either in known language or language of the spirit, through words or through deeds, through ministering or being the recipient of ministering – whatever the expression of the edification of the individual, it must be translated into the edification of the whole Kingdom, in one form or another, at some time, if it is to fulfill its total purpose and meaning.

To know the love and power of God in my life is wonderful for me, but only if I pass along the grandeur of it in the living out of my days will it bring glory to the Father and fulfillment of the purpose of the Holy Spirit. And only when the translation is made by the power of the indwelling Spirit, from individual to corporate, is my environment changed into what I need to fulfill the purpose for which the Father created me: both for the fulfillment of my own purpose, and for the goal of the church as the Body: the reconciling of the world to the Father.

Love Is… and Is Not

Love is delight in giving, discipline, reaching out, accepting love from another, trusting God.

Meditation Thought: “Love is patient and kind… rejoices in right… bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (1 Corinthians 13: 4,6,7 paraphrased)

Love is taking delight in giving, not receiving. Love is discipline to do as you know you aught to do – even when you don’t want to. Love is reaching out to offer help despite knowing that you may get your hand bitten instead of shaken. Love is acting according to God’s will, not self-will. The resulting clear conscience is a catalyst which makes it easier to express even more love, in more ways.

Love is accepting love from another – not ignoring it if it isn’t from someone you don’t really care about, not rejecting it because of a previous hurt, not questioning it if you are puzzled by it, and not being fearful of it because you have feelings of shame and guilt and these might have to be put out in the open.

Love is trusting God, who created us and who is Love, to overcome any problems (as we see the situation) that might result from our stepping out in faith to love.

All. Yes, All.

All must have the opportunity of knowing that the way back is known and I desire that they come.

Meditation Thought: “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.” (1 Corinthians 12:7)

“Take the direction and power of My Spirit and embrace it, absorb it, allow it to permeate every part of your being – spiritual, mental, emotional – yield to My Spirit, for by being pliable you will be conformed to My Image by My Spirit. As you are conformed to My Image, you expand My love to the world, you minister to My children, you radiate peace and joy and understanding. And so it is with everyone who seeks My will, who desires to move forward in the journey of faith, in the fellowship of the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit and the Body.

My Spirit is manifested in infinite ways, through infinite creatures, in infinite circumstances – but all for one purpose: to reconcile every one of My beloved children to Me. Be My helper – seek out My lost lambs, and bring them back to Me. For until each is sought, and each is found, I am not content. All may not choose to follow you back to Me – but all must have the opportunity of knowing that the way back is known and I desire that they come.”

Constantly & Enthusiastically

To be humble is to become teachable. If we are teachable, God will teach us gently, thoroughly, and swiftly.

Meditation Thought: “But if we indeed judge ourselves truly, we should not be judged.” (1 Corinthians 11:31)

“Judge truly”. This is possible only in light of God’s revelation of Truth to us, that we may compare ourselves to the Pure Eternal Truth: the image of the Father, as exhibited by the Son, taught by the Holy Spirit, and revealed through the Word.

If we are willing to risk comparing ourselves to this Truth, we become humble – and to be humble is to become teachable. If we are teachable, God will teach us gently, thoroughly, and swiftly, thus fulfilling His purposes for us more readily.

However, if we deceive ourselves, either by comparing ourselves to something other than Pure, Complete Truth, or by mis-evaluating our own selves as we compare ourselves to the Truth, this constitutes rebellion in the refusing to humble ourselves enough to seek a true evaluation. And rebellion against God is the – willingly or unwillingly – with knowledge or in ignorance – to join in Satan’s plans to make us allies and to alienate us from the Father.

Thus we must constantly, and enthusiastically ingest the Word, pray for the Father’s will and guidance, seek to know every facet of Jesus Christ, and prepare ourselves to be worthy containers for holding the Spirit if we are to be competent judges of ourselves.

Let Me Not Despair

No circumstance shall thwart God’s love, God’s grace, God’s will.

Meditation Thought: ““And the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into slavery in Egypt; but God was with him and rescued him from all his afflictions. He granted him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, who put him in charge of Egypt and [of] his entire household.” (Acts 7:9-10)

“sold him… but God… rescued him, gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh… who made him governor… and over all his household.”

No circumstance shall thwart God’s love, God’s grace, God’s will.

No person shall rule over God.

If we know this, if we set our trust, and our obedience on the course of God’s will, we shall not only be at peace in all places, in all circumstances, at all times, but we shall see harm transformed to good, hate transformed to love, ignorance of God transformed to knowledge of God, and famine yield to plenty. For nothing is impossible with God. (See Luke 1:37)

My prayer: “Lord, take my spirit, my mind, my body, my emotions, and all resources, both material and unseen, and conform them to your will this day. Let me not despair if it appears that I have been ‘sold to Egypt’. If I trust You wherever I am, whatever I do, You will work good for me that I might work good for many to Your glory and my joy.” Amen.

Which Way

Through faith we are one with God – not equal with God, but enmeshed with God.

Meditation Thought: “ The one who plants and the one who waters are equal, and each will receive wages in proportion to his labor. For we are God’s co-workers; you are God’s field, God’s building…. Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? (1 Corinthians 3:8-9, 16)

Through faith we are one with God – not equal with God, but enmeshed with God.

What we think, what we say, what we do, cannot be separated from God: it represents Him to the world, it does His work – or hinders it – it spreads His love – or represses it – it reveals His nature – or conceals it – it changes directions of people – toward seeking God – or toward fleeing from Him.

The following was perceived as a personal message but I believe it is also meant for any of us that seek to follow Jesus: “Oh, My child, sense My love, receive My mercy, heed My admonitions and I will bless you and all who know you. Be sensitive to your greater knowledge of Me when ministering, and aware of how little you know of Me when ministering. The Spirit indwelling shall guide you surely if you provide the joyful atmosphere of love, obedience, service and seeking of Truth. ‘Fear not, for lo I am with you always.’ “

Caring for Others as Self-care

The most gracious, loving ministering, sacrificing welcome possible.

Meditation Thought: “Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.” (Romans 15:7)

‘As Christ has welcomed you’ – the most gracious, loving ministering, sacrificing welcome possible.

Put aside your desires, your feelings, your works, your preoccupations, and your unkind tongue. Minister in empathy and with a joy of helping another. If you totally forget to minister to yourself, then Jesus ministers to you far, far more effectively than you can minister to yourself.

Footnote: These blog posts come from my Mom’s journals. For me, I’m going to try this post another way:

If I put aside my desires, my feelings, my works, my preoccupations, and my unkind tongue in order to minister in empathy and with a joy of helping another and I totally forget to minister to myself, then Jesus will minister to me far, far more effectively than I can minister to myself. (Note, this calls for intentionally putting aside, not denying, not ignoring. Just set aside. Like I might do with something that is in my way when I’m working on something.)

Accept the Power

The power is not in you but you are the vessel which either accepts or rejects the power.

Meditation Thought: “After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: ‘Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward. (Genesis 15:1)

“Do not fear any task which I assign to you, for you already have the means of accomplishing it – you need only to use what I have already provided. Ask Me, listen to Me, obey My commandments and My advice, and your reward will be great because you have brought glory to Me, fulfillment of Jesus’ promise, and the recognition of your relationship as My child, with all of the power and privileges which that implies.

The power is not in you but you are the vessel which either accepts or rejects the power. When you accept the power by cleaning yourself out through confessing sin, through seeking to obey Me through reading and heeding My word, through loving ministries, through forgiving others, through confessing Jesus as the Way, the Truth and the Life – then the tasks are a witness to My love made manifest to the world, and the revelation on the nature of the Kingdom within.”

Yield to a Better Way

I could not do this in my own sinful, rebellious, ego-centered nature no matter how long or how hard I tried. I must allow it to happen, but I cannot cause it to happen.

Meditation Thought: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.” (Romans 12:1)

In view of the mercies of God present myself as a living sacrifice. I do not have to present myself by my own effort. Instead, if I humble myself and yield myself to God, then He will do the preparation needed for me to be presented holy and acceptable. I could not do this in my own sinful, rebellious, ego-centered nature no matter how long or how hard I tried. I must allow it to happen, but I cannot cause it to happen.

It is my job to give the loaves and fishes; it is God’s job to feed the 5,000. (See Matthew 14:13-21)

Merciful Harmony

Usually it is only when the exercise of our own will and our own efforts have not ‘paid off’ as we had anticipated that we search for the best way to live.

Meditation Thought: “ So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.” (Romans 9:16)

“It depends upon God’s mercy” – therefore, we must depend upon God. We cannot do anything by ourselves, for this was not God’s original plan.

“Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33) must be accepted and acted upon if we are to reap the benefits which all eventually come to seek: peace, joy, love.

But we are so stubborn! We get ‘involved’, we would rather ‘do our own thing’, we mistakenly believe that we are able to manage nicely by ourselves. Usually it is only when the exercise of our own will and our own efforts have not ‘paid off’ as we had anticipated that we search for the best way to live – for the way that is compatible with our Creator and His creation.

In our helplessness, we cry out for mercy – and it is the recognizing of our need for mercy that opens up a new previously unsuspected level of life. A level where an awakening of possibilities causes great excitement and anticipation in us, which at the same time allows us to be at peace in our hearts.

To have the Spirit flowing within is visible without, for our health depends not upon outside circumstances, but a fully integrated program which coordinates every factor of our being (spirit, personality, body, mind) into working harmoniously – all seeking to improve the particular area of itself, but affecting the other areas in a positive manner. Only the One who created us has the knowledge of how to accomplish this to the maximum degree. If we call upon Him to teach us, He is eager to do so.