Category: grace

Good Gifts Specifically for You

Do not be impatient, my beloved child!

Meditation Thought: “Which of you, if your son or daughter asks for bread, will give them a stone?” (Matthew 7:9)

No, of course you will not give them a stone. But at times the bread is not quite finished baking at the time the child asks for it.

Do not be impatient, my beloved child! You may have a few hunger pangs before the bread is placed before you, but it shall come long before you would have a problem with lack of nutrition or starvation.

Trust your Father. Go on with the task which is your occupation as you wait for the appearance of the bread. Not only will the waiting time be less bothersome to you, but you will accomplish much while you are waiting.

The Path to Lasting Peace and Joy

Do not anticipate where the Father instructs Me to lead you. Look to Me, follow Me, for with Me you are in the right place at the right time doing the right thing.

Meditation Thought: “My sheep listen to my voice: I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life.” (John 10:27,28)

My voice reveals My love, and guides my sheep to hope. No more are you lost in the briers, but I shall lead you to nourishing pastures – to protected places. You need fear no more, when you follow Me, I am the resurrection and the life – your resurrection and your life. I came – and I come – that you may live within My loving care, that you may be – and feel – secure wherever we are together.

The way is simple, but not considered “easy” for it requires obedience and discipline. The way dictates that you not run off to places other than where I lead you – for I lead you where the Father has first led me. But in your choosing obedience and discipline rather than bearing the consequences of the alternate path, you will gain. You will gain the peace of obedience to the very best hope – the Father’s ultimate will. To suffer in struggle is not as painful as to suffer in conscience for realizing that there was a path which could have been a way to feed the sick, clothe the naked, love the unlovely – and transform the woes of the world into the joys of the kingdom – and you chose another path, a path which left the world in as sad a condition as you found it – perhaps even a worsened condition.

Do not anticipate where the Father instructs Me to lead you. Look to Me, follow Me, for with Me you are in the right place at the right time doing the right thing. What is ‘right’? ‘Right’ is the process of the cohesive working of the Father’s will: the process of wooing His children, who have strayed foolishly in their freedom, back into His loving Presence. He does not force them – for that would negate their freedom to, of their own choice, love Him – or reject Him. And love forced is not love at all, but coercion.

The Father sent Me to bring His message: “I love you. All is forgiven. Come home to Me, where I will welcome you with open arms, and prepare celebrations of our reunion. Fear not that you have rebelled against Me, disappointed Me, distrusted Me. All that is in the past. I desire – I have always desired – only that you allow Me to love you, for when you allow Me to love you, it follows as day follows night that you will love Me. Our mutual love and understanding expressed as we once again dwell together is My plan for the ‘fullness’ of time. It happens at the time you understand that My desire to lavish My love upon you is compatible – in fact, is identical with your desire to have Me do so, knowing that My love shall wash you clean, heal your wounds, bring joy to your heart and peace to your soul. And when My child is clean, healed, full of joy and peace, then is My will done. Then am I well pleased.”

The Power of Worship: Finding Your Path to Serve the Lord

The first step is to acknowledge that I am not master of my own destiny. The second step is to realize that I do affect my destiny. The third is to seek how to choose wisely as I am confronted with alternatives.

Meditation Thought: “Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.” (Luke 4:8)

Who is the Lord that I should worship him? Who is the Lord that I should serve him?

The Lord is more powerful than any other creature of power.
The Lord is everywhere.
The Lord is wise, loving, just, righteous, merciful.

Are these qualities which I should value? Of course – and not only value, but determine the significance of them in relationship to me.

To be ignorant of the structure of life is to lack the knowledge and the wisdom to make decisions which will be in harmony with that structure, and thus bring positive results.

The first step is to acknowledge that I am not master of my own destiny. The second step is to realize that I do affect my destiny. The third is to seek how to choose wisely as I am confronted with alternatives.

The whole eludes me,
The part entraps me.
Or is the entrapment truly a cocoon
Protecting me, nourishing me, preparing me
Until I am ready to soar above
To see beyond the limits of my childhood place?

To venture out into the vastness of creation
Without preparation for the awesomeness, character, and challenges it presents
Is to be a fool, to endanger myself, to be prey to the unknown.

But to choose to follow my nature,
Be patient to learn before I leap,
To seek to know who I am, and what I should become
That I may be true to my best potential
And satisfy my soul:
This is to be a worshiper of the Lord,
And a servant unto Him.
Hallelujah!

Transforming Despair into Hope

We must trust our Father as to the design that will be needed for eternity even though it may look out of place in the earthly realm.

Meditation Thought: “I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting.” (2 Corinthians 7:9)

Death – Resurrection
Despair – Hope
Dormant – Live
Passive – Active
Proud – Humble
In-self – In-God
In weakness – in power
Ineffective – dynamic
Sinful – righteous

We choose one of each pair – we must choose one of each pair with each breath we take. The process determines our life in human form. As in a test in school, we may choose to the read the instructions carefully, rise to the challenge of doing our best and seek to learn. Or we may plunge into the test ignoring the instructions, defiantly, sloppily working along to get it over with, with the least inconvenience to our feelings, ignoring our Teacher’s signals that would correct our misunderstandings. Our moment-by-moment choices count on the ‘test’.

Our choices will repeat a pattern – a lovely one, prepared for display in the Kingdom – or a haphazard disordered one better suited to the back room. Remember, we can see only the limited dwelling places of the world. Patterns we would make for the world would look out of place in a mansion in heaven. We must trust our Father as to the design that will be needed for eternity even though it may look out of place in the earthly realm.

Trusting God’s Hand: A Path to Healing and Strength

Rejoice in the security of My hand enclosing yours.

Meditation Thought: “For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:15)

“Come, My children – take My hand in yours, and with your other hand, reach out to clasp another. I would pass on the warmth of My love and grace and power through you. Be not afraid of the hand you hold – even if it feels cold, clammy, dirty, rough. Your other hand which clasps Mine will be all the comfort you need. And as the ministering of My ways passes from Me to you to another, their hand is cleansed, relaxed, healed, made strong and sure. Sure enough one day to let go of your hand and reach directly for My hand, which became visible to them through your hand which they could see with their eyes before they could see My hand in faith.

Do not go seeking far and wide for hands to hold. Only hold My hand, look to Me, and you will realize that a hand has taken hold of your other hand. Do not strain to serve Me: only rejoice in the security of My hand enclosing yours. Let me lead you gently but firmly. The more you trust Me, the more relaxed you can be in our world together. Turn over the cares of your life to Me, for I wish to dissolve them. Sometimes they will disappear one by one – sometimes they are so entwined that the release of one will release many. But always the care comes as a potential for My blessing, if you will but trust My leading in it and through it and out of it.

Learn to reinforce your trust in Me, and you will learn how to cast your burdens away quickly, becoming stronger in faith and trust and releasing more of yourself to Christ within you with each cast.”

Creating a Beautiful Life

Will you allow God the pleasure of loving and caring for you?

Meditation Thought: “whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31)

“Picture yourself choosing various objects laid out before you to drop into a transparent cylinder of time. The overall pattern is determined by the objects you choose. If you listen to Me, I will enable you to choose objects which will produce a pattern of glowing loveliness and beauty. It will be a column of time giving pleasure to the world and to the Kingdom.

If you choose to ignore My wisdom and knowledge of the whole in selecting the objects, the column of time will be clouded and dark and jumbled. It will make no pattern of loveliness. Do not become so preoccupied with the necessity of selecting that you forget to consult Me. Walk in the Way, the Word, the Spirit, to discover My selections for your ideal pattern.

Trust Me – knowing that as the child, you cannot function properly without the care of your Father. I desire to love you and care for you – allow Me this pleasure.”

Caring for Our Bodies in Christ’s Image

Meditation Thought: “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?” (1 Corinthians 6:15)

Christ in each cell! With the yielding of my will to His will, my body is transformed into Christ living in the world today! How can I treat His body with anything but care and love?

Bodies come in all shapes and sizes. Genesis 1:27 says that God created people in His own image. That cannot refer to our physical beings – if it did we would all look like each other! Therefore, spiritually we are made in God’s image. Made to seek Him and His way. Made to care for the body He chose to encase our spirit. Not to abuse it, not to bemoan it, but to care for it and love it. And by so doing, we are then able to love others.

Cleansing and Beautifying Your Inner Temple

Meditation Thought: “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16)

Look at yourself – look at your heart! Take time to compare the temple you are with the temples of those who walked with Jesus. This will help you to restructure and redecorate your own temple in a manner more befitting the residence of God on earth. You! A residence of God on earth!

Jesus as a man was the perfect temple: no mortal can become a perfect temple – but it is possible to yield to the Spirit within you to the point of becoming a pleasing temple, a temple based on the Ideal Temple.

Suggested Prayer: Oh Lord, help me to every day improve my temple to be more fitting as a place for You to dwell. Cleanse me of sin, shine me with Your righteousness, beautify me with Your love. Let me be a place where others are drawn to worship You, to come to learn more about You, to rejoice in You. Amen.

Food for Thought – Literally

“Brain-wash” yourself with the Word…

Meditation Thought: “…present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” (Romans 12:1)

As you can learn to bring health by proper nutrition, so you can learn to bring health by proper spiritual food. You ae ‘wonderfully made” (Psalm 139) – many interrelated and interacting parts, which need to be kept in good working order. Sin would rob you of the best health of body, mind and spirit.

By the sacrifice of choosing what is healthy instead of choosing what is appealing at that moment, you bring the blessing of the peace of a healthy body, mind and spirit. The healthy foods are listed in your ‘instructional handbook’ (Bible): read it every day that your choice of all the foods may be healthy!

“Brain-wash” yourself with the Word, for this kind of cleansing of old sinful thoughts will purify your mind and renew it with the thoughts of the Father being fed into it. His thoughts prompt actions which are within His will and acting in His will is the presentation of a holy body to Him as sacrifice. And His will is infinitely more healthy, more desirable, more rewarding to you than your own will.

You are Called

Yield to the softening flow of grace…

Meditation Thought: “So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.” (Romans 11:5-6)

Take heed not to have pride that you feel the call of God in your life. It is by grace you are called, not by your worth or your works. Rejoice in your call that God’s grace has been poured upon you, and know that this grace is poured upon you for the transforming of your mind and your heart that you may be the means of God’s love poured into the world. Yield to the softening flow of grace – do not resist the change it is the accomplish in you: God’s purpose will quickly be accomplished if you yield your will to his grace.