Category: journey

Favored Position

Do not be ashamed of yourself, but accept yourself, imperfect, yes – but with value as a person created in love and to be loved and to love.

Meditation Thought: “In the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ they will be called ‘children of the living God.’ ” (Hosea 1:10)

“I am here. Turn to Me. You are looking in the wrong direction, taking the wrong paths. Check your compass: My Word. You are checking circumstances – they will mislead you. My Word is a lamp unto your feet. Take up my lamp and you will see the way to go. Fret not. Fear not. Trust me.

I say to your back, ‘you are not mine’ – for I cannot follow you. You must follow Me to be Mine. When you are turned toward Me, then you are demonstrating that you are Mine: you are realizing your position as My child and are able to act upon the favored position, moving in confidence of unburdened conscience, of energy engendered by My loving approval of your following Me, doing the works I long for you to do. I will teach you a new way to accomplish your tasks. I will be your efficiency expert, instructing you and exposing to your mind and spirit new truth, new methods. But you must turn to watch Me, not turn away to circumstances.

Believe on My Name; claim your inheritance as a member of My family in good standing by virtue of your desire to do My will. Your claims to my riches of the Kingdom need not wait until you are rid of the flesh, but ask for a portion of your inheritance as of this day. It is My pleasure to share with My beloved at all times, but you must make your desires known to Me by word and deed, according to our covenant as Father and child. Your requests are your act of turning to Me, recognizing My claim as being your Creator, and Sustainer. Why should you go grumpily and resentfully tramping off into the world to seek your desires when, if you will lay down your pride of childish attitude of ‘doing it myself’ you can then be free to ask Me, knowing I love you and desire to express that love to you in ways pleasing to you, for whatever it is you seek.

I wish to teach you full, clear communication. Misunderstandings and disappointments occur when purposes are not fully revealed, when desires are not clearly stated, when attitudes are assumed. Be honest: be transparent: be true to yourself as you are at the moment. Share yourself – not another self. Then all can know with whom they deal – including you! ‘Know thyself’. Do not be ashamed of thyself, but accept thyself, imperfect, yes – but with value as a person created in love and to be loved and to love.”

Faith and Wisdom Developed

Both wisdom and faith are developed, not given as gifts full-blown and complete with no effort put forth by the recipient.

Meditation Thought: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. Let steadfastness have its full effect so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person must not suppose that a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways, will receive anything from the Lord.” (James 1:2-7)

Both wisdom and faith are developed, not given as gifts full-blown and complete with no effort put forth by the recipient.

To develop a steadfast faith is the first step in being able to develop wisdom, for you must “ask in faith”in order to receive wisdom. That faith is developed through “testing” – as you meet challenges, pray, believe – and observe results, you develop a “steadfast” faith which enables you to ask in faith for wisdom. Your trials here bring to your attention your dire need for wisdom. When you combine steadfast faith in My desire to impart wisdom to you and your desire to receive it, then it is possible for wisdom to “make you perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” My Holy Spirit as motivator and guide of your thoughts, your words and your deeds imparts wisdom to you.

Stepping Stone or Roadblock?

You do not know where it is best for you to be in the future. But I know – and I will guide you

Meditation Thought: “You will seek me and find me; when you seek me with all your heart, I will be found by you.” (Jeremiah 29:13-14)

“You are perceiving stepping stones as roadblocks – you are looking at the stones from the wrong perspective – you have not moved from the low place to the high place, where you can move on top of circumstances.

You are seeking guidance and I shall take you to the high place if you will heed my Word, heed my Spirit within you, and use your mind to think through whatever comes into your life.

You need not be confused about praying in faith possibly conflicting with My will. When your heart desires first that My will be done, it shall be done – even if you do not pray precisely that way I desire. Yet, if you are to pray at all, you must choose a way in which to pray.

I have done works in you as you have waited, as I have done works in others. You shall abide in Me wherever we abide physically. There are a number of places where we can do what we need to do for your development. Simply relax now, praying that My desires shall be your desires, and know that in the prayer itself is the power to bring about the reconciliation. You do not know where it is best for you to be in the future. But I know – and I will guide you to be content in the  place where you reside, because your spirit will reside with My Spirit there.”

 

 

Search for Meaning …and Find It

If it truly does exist, I will find it. I will not find it if I give up part way along the search however.

Meditation Thought: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. (Hebrews 11:1,6)

If I do not believe in the existence of something, I will have nothing to do with it. I will live as if it never was – even if it affects me. I will be unaware that is is the cause of something in my life, and I will react inappropriately – perhaps even causing harm to myself.

On the other hand, if I believe there is something which I have not yet found, but desire to have exist and desire to find it, I will seek it. If it truly does exist, I will find it. I will not find it if I give up part way along the search however, because I have lost my faith.

I must try to use every means at my disposal to find what will give great meaning to my life – and faith is necessary – in fact, the first step to the other methods.

Only You

I stand at the door of the heart and knock – but I will not break down the door. Each one must respond and open the door if I am to enter.

Meditation Thought: “no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication from me,” declares the Lord. (Isaiah 54:17)

“Do not strain so much in your walk. You are focusing too much on the stones and steep places in the path, and not looking to the grandeur of the view – and to the excitement of reaching higher and higher places which will have views even more breath-taking.

The devotion of Jesus’ followers cannot be ignored. It is the very knowledge of the opposition to them – the intensity of it – that leads credence to their witness. If what they had found was not true – if it was not superior to ordinary existence – why did they suffer so to hold on to it and refuse to deny it?

When you, as did Jesus in the flesh, catch the vision of the way things should be; the way they are in My perfect plan, and when you are so enthused about helping to bring that plan into an accomplished fact that you ignore all opposition, then you are in the process of being confirmed to My character.

Only you can have the faith in Me great enough to seek My will and do it.

Only you can decide to trust Me not to cause you harm.

Only you can believe that I truly do love you, and that I created you to be the object of My love, and the delight of My heart.

Only you can respond to such a love with a similar love.

Only you can decide whether to welcome My Spirit into your spirit.

I stand at the door of the heart and knock – but I will not break down the door. Each one must respond and open the door if I am to enter.”

Education for All

If you are conscious that at all times you are being taught, and that the school is tailored to your particular needs of the moment, you can have peace and confidence.

Meditation Thought: “I do nothing on my own authority but speak thus as the Father taught me.” (John 8:28)

This moment is the classroom. This circumstance is the curriculum. The Word is the textbook. My Spirit is the Instructor.

You are in a school which is not limited, but teaches all subjects, and will keep you as a student that you may ever learn and grow in wisdom and knowledge in understanding and especially in the perception of the spiritual dimension and its relationship to all other dimensions.

Your faith is the tuition you pay, your will is the transportation to the school.

If you are conscious that at all times you are being taught, and that the school is tailored to your particular needs of the moment, you can have peace and confidence.

Think of your Teacher as using three methods of helping you:
– The Father-Method imparts knowledge by revelation,
– the Jesus-Method imparts knowledge by example,
– the Holy Spirit-Method imparts knowledge by taking you and guiding you personally – as a teacher might put a hand over a student’s hand to guide it in the task.

Triumph

Habit comes into play as affecting choice; therefore to make one choice is to also affect the next choice.

Meditation Thought: “But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumph, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.” (2 Corinthians 2:14)

First the cross, then the resurrection. Life in Christ follows this pattern. First the death on the cross of circumstances of all that is foreign to the Spirit’s nature: pride, selfishness, thoughtlessness, blindness, willfulness; then the resurrection of the personality in Christ unencumbered by negative aspects which mar the image of the Father in the personality.

To err is human – but to allow that error to be used by God as a sacrifice on the cross that which keeps us from total obedience to His will is to not only erase the consequences of the error, but to use it as the beginning of a transformation: a change which moves the believer further along the road to closer fellowship and more perception of the Father’s will, with the power to be obedient and trusting to a greater degree than formerly was possible.

We move constantly – either toward adopting the customs of the Kingdom or the customs of the world.

Our choice of reactions to new knowledge and revelations and circumstances determines which customs we choose: habit comes into play as affecting choice; therefore to make one choice is to also affect the next choice.

Bare my soul, O Lord,
To my seeking heart.
I know not who or what I am,
Save Your reveal to me.
Each moment is another facet
Cut across this hard-stone will.
Oh, please, I ask in Jesus’ name,
Shape me as Thou art shaped.
Though there be much hurt
From many blows,
I trust Thee in my pain.
For only by change in me
Can I be Your reflection true.

Now: an Ongoing Unit of Time

Enable me to choose carefully the task for which You desire to be done by me at the moment that I may proceed in orderly fashion to clear away debris and to build anew.

Meditation Thought: “With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith. We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Thessalonians 1:11-12)

Prayer: “Lord, I’m feeling the pressure of all the ordinary work that needs doing. Enable me to know which good resolves and works of faith are to be dealt with now – ‘now’ being an ongoing unit of time.

Enable me to choose carefully the task for which You desire to be done by me at the moment that I may proceed in orderly fashion to clear away debris and to build anew.

Enable me to be efficient, but always surrounding efficiency with a loving, understanding, wise attitude. Let me, as did Jesus, help those along my path, and not be distracted by other areas.

I seek to take the path where You have prepared the most appropriate tasks for my talents, for my interests, and for the delight and fulfillment of my spirit. For if I correctly choose this path, then the benefits will be great for many, as Your power boosts my natural abilities.

I desire to adhere to Your will for my life: I pray that You reveal to me all I need to know, and give me the strength and courage to cling to Your will despite adversity.

I am weak, Lord – so weak. But I know that if my resolve to do Your will is strong, Your power will strengthen every other weakness. And so this day, this hour, I pray that I will move with renewed spirit and mind and body and emotions to meet the challenges and the discouragements that serve as either stumbling blocks or stepping stones. With Your power to life me up above my own resources, the stumbling blocks shall become stepping stones.

Put joy in my heart,
Wings on my feet
That I may soar and swoop
In ecstasy of movement
Changing all in my path
To be enlightened by Thy Power.

Trough and Crest

This moment is yours – and this moment is Mine: weld our moments together.

Meditation Thought: “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:11-13)

Ebb and flow. You have a fascination for moving water. It is a symbol of life itself. Be content when you are in the trough or on the crest, for both places are necessary for life: for your life.

In the trough you learn to trust without proof: this is faith, you learn to be obedient – this is discipline to make you sturdy and steady to withstand the low places, and to keep you thankful and not prideful in the high places. On the crest you feel grace and blessings which open your heart to the fullness of joy of My love; it is easy for your expression of love to overflow onto those in the trough near to your crest.

This moment is yours – and this moment is Mine: weld our moments together that they may be expressions of both spirit and flesh which expand love, reconcile that which is separated, heal that which is hurt, bring order to chaos, bring relief to the suffering, bring peace to the broken-hearted, bring hope where there is despair, bring forth fruit where there was no sign of life in the branch.

The way is not easy – but the rewards are great, for joy, peace and hope along this way depend not upon circumstances, or others’ treatment of you – but upon our moments welded together as one moment spanning heaven and earth: the Holy Spirit reaching from Mind to mind, Love to love, Spirit to spirit.

You know the way – the way of the cross: obedient, humble, selfless, loving, grateful for all blessings and guidance wherever it leads, knowing who has the world beyond death, into resurrection.

With eyes of faith
And tongue of love
Hands to comfort
And feet to move
Where’re I bid you go
Not one place
Shall you abide
Away from Love and Hope.
This moment, be it trough or crest,
Is triumph over all.

Believing is Seeing

When it becomes a reality, it is My Kingdom on earth .

Meditation Thought: “Whoever… does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.” (Mark 11:23)

“Seeing is believing – but believing is also seeing. Keep this phrase in mind as we work together. You need a positive, trusting attitude to complete your work to My satisfaction. This is not natural for you – but it is natural for Me and therefore, you must adapt, and adopt it as your own.

Concentrate on seeing in your mind what I want you to accomplish as a completed task. The vision is only a dream until it becomes a reality; when it becomes a reality, it is My Kingdom on earth – My promise fulfilled and fulfilling – mercy, resurrection, triumphant order of life as experienced by the Body of believers. The life encompasses many experiences but all are only different expressions of the one theme.

Once you accept this, it easier to understand your journey and the understanding produces an accepting heart. The accepting heart throbs with the joy of knowing the outcome will be triumphant which raises the energy level to new heights, bringing the triumph all the sooner.

Will you choose this way? If so, you must commit yourself completely, enthusiastically, happily and whole-heartedly.