Category: joy

Dawn: Moment by Moment

I desire that you see the pure, lovely, effective life ahead unmarred by the life that you lived up until this moment.

Meditation Thought: “ Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these [a new heaven and a new earth], be zealous to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace. And count the patience of our Lord as salvation…” (2 Peter 3:14-15)

“I seek to lift from you the burden you have taken up which is not My choice for you to carry: the burden of fear of not thinking, saying and doing everything perfectly according to My will.

I do desire for you to do everything perfectly according to My will, for this behavior will bring you maximum joy and will be the most effective way to be My minister to the world.

But: you do not accomplish this most perfectly by being so uptight about it that you feel constrained. As in worldly matters, you perform best spiritually when you feel such rapport and love and confidence and enthusiasm that you are content and relaxed enough to move freely to express yourself naturally.

I wish for you to be your unique self – true to My Word and My principles, but trying any way which seems right to you to express them.

Jesus came to demonstrate My tolerance: tolerance to the point of forgiveness: forgiveness to the point of doing for you what you are unable to do for yourself: cleansing you completely of all sins, including the sin of not believing that you are actually forgiven to the extent that your sins never took place in My sight – and I desire that you also see by the insight which I reveal to you the pure, lovely, effective life ahead unmarred by the life that you lived up until this moment.

Yes, you will err – and when you do, take proper steps to once again find the proper Way. But do not walk the way in such fear of taking a wrong turn that you do not enjoy it and you go along at a snail’s pace. Use the methods Jesus used: constant prayer, constant ministry, constant forgiveness, constant appropriate, creative expressions of love.

How? Take time to pray, develop your mind, use your body, be preceptive and observing and appreciative. Consider each moment as a dawn: the dark cold night of ignorance, fear and rebellion is being removed by the Son breaking into the darkness.”

Rival the Light of the Sun, Moon and Stars

May the joy of this explode in love so great as to rival the light of the sun, the moon, the stars.

Meditation Thought: “the Father who dwells in me does his works.” (John 14:10)

… but He cannot do His works in violation of my free will. If I will my will to His will, He will transform my weaknesses into strengths.

I have the sun, the moon, the stars
All within my heart.
Light by day,
And light by night.
He who created them,
Created me.
He dwells in them
And dwells in me.
Would that I see Him everywhere!
His glory cannot be hidden
From a faithful, searching child.
Oh, Lord, I’m Yours,
And You are mine.
May the joy of this
Explode in love so great
As to rival the light
Of the sun, the moon, the stars.

The Ways of Love

We have a choice as to how to conduct ourselves.

Meditation Thought: “Tend the flock of God that is in your charge. Not by constraint but willingly, not for shameful gain but eagerly, not as domineering over your charge but being examples to the flock.” (1 Peter 5:2)

We can think of Paul’s description in this passage as that of a parent, too, like a shepherd. If we find ourselves in a position of authority and responsibility, we have a choice as to how to conduct ourselves. We can choose to be self-seeking and self-indulgent – or we can be generous and self-sacrificing.

The miracle of the mystery revealed by Jesus is that the ultimate results as judged by eternity are not what we expect as we judge by finite time, by short-term cause and effect.

Just as we cannot make a true evaluation of the results of our training of a child by an action, or several actions, performed in the young stages, so we must have patience in waiting to truly evaluate the pros and cons of our choice of behavior as a leader.

There is evidence, however, that is available for us if we desire to learn what is most likely to bring us ultimate peace and joy – lasting peace and joy. Does it not make sense that God who is Creator, and who is Spirit, would guide by truth, and promote good for those whom He has created? He does not force by truth nor force good, however. He offers truth and offers good.

We must be interested enough in learning who we are and why we exist, however, to be able to find the truth and find good. Thus is our integrity respected by God – and his integrity respected by us.

Teach me the ways of love, O Lord,
And pass them on, will I,
To one – or two – or many more,
Whose lives entwine in mine.
With love the bond,
All are safe in Thee.

Creative Genius

It is for this reason that we must never allow the circumstances or appearances of the details to discourage us.

Meditation Thought: “Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins… As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.” (1 Peter 4:8,10)

“God’s varied grace. How interesting God makes all of creation! He gives variety to all things, even in His grace; and His creative character has been implanted in us. If we seek to learn of our ways of expressing our creativity we can enrich not only our lives, but many others. The true genius of creativity is released when God’s Holy Spirit enables us to wholly express the Father’s genius passed along to us.

First we must recognize that there is genius passed to us by the Father, then we must release it in appropriate (in the Father’s viewpoint!) manners.

The opportunity for us to recognize is the Father’s provision – the recognizing itself is our contribution – our faith. The implementing of the creative act is a joint venture of the Father and the child: each contributes and the results are a beautiful blending of efforts. The key to the most perfect “masterpieces” of creative endeavor being produced is the proper balance of the Father and child contributions and cooperation and understanding.

The only way for the balance to be achieved is by constant consideration and our recognition that the Father’s expertise is the more desirable way always. We can have our own ideas considered – but always they should be approved by the Father before we translate them into action.

Only when the “masterpiece” is finished an viewed from a perspective away from the close detail of the actual working can we know the total effect, and the relative value to other considerations in life.

It is for this reason that we must never allow the circumstances or appearances of the details to discourage us: Our Father has promised to work good (bring to completion a masterpiece) in every situation concerning His children, when the listen to Him.

To the extent that we believe Him, trust Him, listen to Him and obey Him – to that degree do we reflect to the world the quality of the expressions of creation produced by our lives. We may range in expression from mediocre to the most beautiful inspiring masterpiece. The choice is ours.

If we desire to create inspiring masterpieces we can do it only by diligent effort based on informed decisions and practical skills. The only way to achieve these is to seek the Way, know the Truth and live the Life. It is possible because God made it perfectly clear in the demonstration of Jesus.

The possibility only becomes fulfilled in reality when we believe to the point of attempting to emulate that demonstration in thought, in attitude, in word and in deed: thus are masterpieces produced. Thus are masterpieces multiplied as one inspires the creative spark to be expressed in a person who views it.

Our “masterpieces” may not be recognized as such by the world, or by us, at the time of completion. But the Father recognizes them as such, and it is the nuance of His opinion which gives us peace and joy and hope.

Forego the Junk Food

Let not your whim of the moment
Rob you of the glory of the future.

Meditation Thought: “So get rid of your feelings of hatred. Don’t just pretend to be good! Be done with dishonesty and jealousy and talking about others behind their backs. Now that you realize how kind the Lord has been to you, put away all evil, deception, envy, and fraud. Long to grow up into the fullness of your salvation; cry for this as a baby cries for its milk.” (1 Peter 2:1-3)

If you are to have the capacity to hold the nutritious spiritual milk, you must not fill up on the “junk food” of dishonesty, jealousy, gossip, deception, envy and fraud. You can discipline yourself to forego the junk food by concentrating on something better. Focus your mind and your energies on something more grand that your selfish indulgences!

The Way is easy – once you commit yourself totally to it – because then you are not ‘double-minded’. Decisions are easier, the Lord’s strength supplants your strength, the Lord’s wisdom envelops your wisdom – The Lord’s love enhances and expands your love.

Do not focus upon results of either your efforts or circumstances. You are to be true to the immediate task of seeking the Father’s will in every decision and action, performing His will as perfectly as you can, and trusting that the results will therefore conform to His will, no matter how they appear to you. This attitude is the procurer of peace and contentment in all circumstances!

Remember that your Creator is not a boss with a bullwhip, but a loving Father holding you in his arms, ready to help you when you have difficulty in fitting the pieces of the puzzle of life together into a meaningful pattern. It is the joy of accomplishment, the confidence of doing the task together, and the love experienced in the proximity to each other that transforms your nature, that renews your mind, that is evidence of the ingestion of spiritual milk instead of junk food.

Let not your whim of the moment
Rob you of the glory of the future.
Keep the joy of the race well-run
At the forefront of your mind,
Envision the reaching of the goal
Feel in your imagination the emotion of pride –
Yes, pride felt by the Father and by you
When you accomplish the completion of the race
Winning the goal of performing His will.

An Effective Workout

…the life which is meaningful, purposeful and full of joy.

Meditation Thought: “since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;” (1 Peter 1:23)

The living word of God: to live is to grow, to change, to produce. The word of God, as it grows in you changes you and produces the fruits of the Spirit. This is to be “born anew” – into the life which is meaningful, purposeful and full of joy – not due to any person, circumstance or event – but due to the obsession with the Creator of the universe: who He is, who you are as a part of Him, and He of you – who and what is all of creation, particularly as it relates to you – the pursuit of a concept of life that is beyond physical, beyond finite.

If you are focused on long-term ideals and goals, you react entirely differently to daily events than when you are at the total mercy of these events. Do not be at the mercy of events, but of God. God’s mercy overtakes all other mercy – when you are willing to receive it.

How can you be willing to receive it? When you recognize that it is your only hope! When you know that you cannot manage yourself, nor your affairs with any degree of success apart from God’s mercy and grace and power and love!

Would you truly be effective? Then do it through the living and abiding word of God. A “living” word is a word which prompts a response, an action! An “abiding word” is a word which is in residence!

God’s word residing in your mind is then communicated to your spirit, which then touches your emotions, and your emotions set into action your body. And the motion of your body pumps the “living water”, the cleansing, purifying, life-sustaining water, and the cleansing, purifying, life-sustaining blood of the sacrificed Lamb into the parched and starving world!

Do you not realize that to be a primer of the pump, through your faith, and an enthusiastic pumper of good works, pouring out life-sustaining, life-glorifying nourishment is the most exciting, exhilarating, healthy exercise you could have?

Up, up and away!

Transforming the thinking, the attitudes and thus the actions of the world into kind, loving, unselfish, freely expressed.

Meditation Thought: “For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment… For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.” (James 2:13, 26)

When we, through heeding His wise Word, allow our mercy to triumph over judgment, and our faith to be demonstrated by our works, we are transforming the thinking, the attitudes and thus the actions of the world from selfish, cruel, law-bound into kind, loving, unselfish, freely expressed.

No longer bound by sin and shame,
But free:
Up, up and away!
To mountain tops
and cleansing streams.
Pure air, sunshine bright.
No longer oppressed by shadows dark
And fog of unbelief
Our hope, our joy,
Our strength of faith,
Raise our hands to His!
And once He sees us reaching up –
Pure ecstasy abounds
As His arms enfold
Us, drawing us close,
And the warmth of
His embrace –
The mutual love released,
These are the “keys to the kingdom”.
And the possession,
The use of them
Opens vistas glorious,
And possible to explore.
Halleluiah! The journey is so entrancing
That the replacement
Of judgment with mercy,
and the doing of works in faith
Simply fall into place –
Naturally, easily:
Feeling His embrace,
Knowing His love,
Trusting Him to
Move us surely
Across the years,
The obstacles,
To the glories
glimpsed and beckoning,
We are so caught up
In following Him,
Mercy and good works
Become our new nature.
Not through our effort,
But through His Grace.

Scales and Concerts

To find your joy in playing the scales as well as in playing the concert is the key to the kingdom.

Meditation Thought: “Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” (Hebrews 13:20-21)

“Step back and take a more comprehensive view of your life. You are too involved in the detail of current circumstances. Seek the pattern – the past, the present – and all that you see in the future as Christ-filled. Remember the love of your Creator, the power of your Creator, and the works of your Creator are not apart from you, but part of you. No thought, feeling nor task is unimportant to Me – nor to you, if you have the perspective which is in your best interest (and thus My best interest).

As the seconds make the moments, the moments make the hours – on into a lifetime – so each thought, feeling, act creates the whole of your life. The practice of patience, of gentleness, of humbleness, of sacrifice, of forgiveness, of cheer, may not be pleasant at all times. However, to practice these is it develop a pattern which pleases you, pleases Me, pleases all whose lives you affect. Practicing the scales may not be evidence of the beautiful concert which will develop from them – yet the concert will never be brought forth without the playing of those scales. Like it or not – it is a fact.

To find your joy in playing the scales as well as in playing the concert is the key to the kingdom. This moment is yours – and Mine. The glories of the heaven and the earth are here if only you will observe them. Playing the scales can be a concert for you and for Me if you will realize that it is our practicing anything together that is our fulfillment and our joy. This is the moment you have been waiting for, longing for, anticipating – and are enjoying to the fullest. When every “this” moment is treated in this manner, you have the kingdom within – and though you may hear “scales”, I hear a lovely concert as the joy of your understanding and your obedience is revealed to Me. It is only a brief time, then, until you, too, shall hear even the scales as if they are a concert. Believe – and act on your belief – that My words are your salvation and your fulfillment – your resurrection from a life of plodding scales into a life of inspiring concert. There is abundant evidence to bear Me out. Do not allow your “feelings” to rob you of your concert by distracting you from practicing your scales.”

Soothing Harmony

Leave your fears and your doubts behind.

Meditation Thought: “He went up into the hills to pray.” (Mark 6:46)

“Come to a quiet place where you can hear My voice more clearly. Seek My counsel, and I will guide you surely. Leave your fears and your doubts behind you, and bring your faith to Me. Trust Me, my beloved child. Put your trust in Me, and I will give you peace, joy and direction.

Seek My will in My Word,
Seek My will in service,
Seek My will in prayer.

Let Me blend all of the elements in your life into harmony and beauty of the Spirit-filled life. It is in prayer that the blending takes place: only through blending the elements to Me to blend can you achieve a harmonizing of them. Instead of their being a bombardment of your senses, they will soothe and please you and aid you. Do all as unto Me. This is the binding, all-pervasive base which will unite separate elements into a beautiful whole.”

Faith or Fear

Rejoice that each opportunity for fear is also an opportunity to grow.

Meditation Thought: ““Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” (Mark 4:40)

“Look not to the storm. Look to Me. The storm will build your faith if you look to Me. The strengthened faith will then be an instrument of good available to Me. Seek My Word, and you find My will; in My will you know your faith, and in your faith shall I merit your trust.

Time after time shall we try together to harmonize our spirits: fret not that this is the pattern of life, but rejoice that each opportunity for fear is also an opportunity to grow in more harmony with My Spirit. The Word moved by My Spirit with your permission calms the storm and produces joy. Peace I give to you: peace in the midst of the storm, for I am a merciful God. I rejoice in your trust in Me and honor it. Believe My Word, and act upon My Word: so shall the storm be calmed, and so shall it serve its purpose.”