Category: joy

Fearless!

Who is this One who is so imaginative, creative, powerful, intelligent, loving, forgiving?

Meditation Thought: “I sought the Lord, and he answered me
    and delivered me from all my fears.” (Psalm 34:4)

He answered me – because He loves me. He removed my fears – because He loves me! And He allows stress to come into my life – because He loves me. It is through stress that I seek Him. When I seek Him, then He answers – giving me guidance, stretching my perceptions, opening up new vistas and possibilities. And He proves His power – and grace.

His wisdom confounds both the faithful and the skeptical. His love overwhelms the expectant – and those who have never sought Him. Finding love, they seek to learn of whence it comes; how to keep it real and plentiful – who is this One who is so imaginative, creative, powerful, intelligent, loving, forgiving? He is our Source – yet we are part of Him as soon as we know we are His. We are inseparable. The Father lives in the child and the child lives in the Father. Joy! When we know the character of our Father, we know we have the hope of becoming more similar in character as we become willing for Him to teach us!… Teach me Lord!

Star Light, Star Bright

Peace, peace, joy and hope – all found in the heavens: But never seen and never found if eyes are only earthward bound!

Meditation Thought: “But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” (John 3:21)

In the darkness of the night the stars shall begin to shine, one by one – and there shall come a Star so bright that night shall be as day, and all the world shall know God’s love.

He who looks for the first star – the other stars – the brightest star – shall not be dismayed at the dark, for he knows there will be light and beauty, peace and joy beyond description as the light of the stars transforms heaven and earth and all who dwell therein.

Teach me, Lord, to seek Thy Star,
Never giving up hope,
Never turning away in fear –
or impatience –
or lack of trust.

But focus my eyes, turn my head, let me find You. Enable me to see You – in the tiniest star, the galaxy of stars, the brightest Star.

Peace, peace, joy and hope – all found in the heavens: But never seen and never found if eyes are only earthward bound!

New Beginning

A new beginning! Oh, how we rejoice!

Meditation Thought: “Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. ” (Luke 24:45-47)

A new beginning! Oh, how we rejoice whenever a new understanding has made us long to undo what our old understanding has wrought, and then the opportunity is presented to negate the old results, and start fresh with the new understanding!

Christ has brought us a new beginning. But we must first negate all of the wrong attitudes and actions and results that permeated our life before the revelation of Christ to us that we can start over. We rectify what we can, and ask forgiveness for the rest. And that is the end of it. We can accept the past as no longer being a millstone around our neck because Jesus removed it the moment we sincerely requested Him to do so.

We are as born again: we can have the innocence and enthusiasm and energy of children combined with the wisdom of our loving God working in our lives. The results should be miracles!

Why do we restrict God’s work by refusing to believe the good news? We hinder God by our stubborn clinging to the “oughts and shoulds” that other interpreters of the Word and the Spirit have either imposed upon us or we have sought out of laziness in learning for ourselves who God is, and what He wants to do in and through our life.

The only way to know who god is and what He wants to do in each person is to personally so search His Word and seek His Spirit that we receive His particular words and suggestions intended exclusively for us.

Fellowship is good and needed, shared information is good and needed – but the only way a child can have close companionship and understanding with his parent is to come to spend time and to converse honestly and deep from the heart with the parent. No matter what his brothers or sisters tell him about their parent, it is not going to bring them into intimate fellowship. It takes personal contact, with mutual communication to accomplish this.

Kingdom at Hand

…unfettered love, understanding, compassion, wisdom, purity, righteousness, joy and hope.

Meditation Thought: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:15)

The time of growing, of labor, and birth is over! That which was longed for is here: God upon earth!!! God in each one upon earth, but when recognized as being present, then does a new birth occur: a birth of unfettered love, understanding, compassion, wisdom, purity, righteousness, joy and hope.

To know that God is within us – a part of every part of us, is to transform our thinking, our actions, our emotions, and our reactions.

No longer do we believe when we are ‘attacked’ that the ‘best defense is a good offense’ – but that the best defense (the one that will benefit both ourselves and our ‘attacker’) is to love him who seeks to distress us: to love him in ways pleasing to him (fulfilling his needs, in pure, righteous manners. of course).

As long as we have in our minds a concept of ‘defense and offense’ we are continuing a battle and coping with an enemy. When we are thinking in terms of loving our attacker we have already won the battle – and so has he. Enemies no longer – but friends, seeking to use energies formerly to hurt each other now to help each other. The kingdom is at hand!

A Paradoxical Pattern

Safety lies in the words and indwelling Spirit – not safety from all physical harm – but safety from paralyzing fear, and safety from doubts.

Meditation Thought: “…when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” (Luke 21:31-33)

These words are true for each generation. The storms make the complacent fearful and thus cause them to think and to search for safety. Safety lies in the words and indwelling Spirit of the Son of man – not safety from all physical harm – but safety from paralyzing fear, and safety from doubts.

There comes a time in a person’s life where he must choose: Self or God. And he must not be deceived, but perceive the Truth: the last shall be first, and the first last. And he who cares for others assures the Father’s care for himself. The signs are clear for all to read. Woe to he who will not heed them. He brings destruction upon himself.

But to those who seek to know the Truth, shall the signs of the times be clear. To them shall be heaven on earth although they suffer from the hands of the unjust, joy shall be theirs; joy now and joy forever.

Praise be to God who can create and sustain a universe which combines freedom and obedience, order and variety, suffering and joy.

A Change-the-World-Person

To perceive the unexpected as it truly is – to explore it, and be open to it, puts us in the role of a possible change-the-world-person.

Meditation Thought: “And some of the Pharisees… said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.” (Luke 19:39,40)

Truth cannot be suppressed. And when it is discovered, there is an irresistible urge to share it – for we care for one another, we are dependent upon one another. We can do all kinds of things to ourselves to try to resist the truth – to suppress it from our conscious knowledge. But if we succeed, we only harm ourselves.

If we do not open our minds and our hearts to new possibilities, new ideas, new insights – then we restrict what we could be – we are resisting God’s overtures to us, and shall reap the consequences of our stubborn rebellion.

But to perceive the unexpected as it truly is – to explore it, and be open to it, puts us in the role of a possible disciple – a possible change-the-world-person.

The Pharisees could not perceive Jesus for who he was because they were blinded by staying within the old thought and traditions.

Look! The Kingdom of God!

The Kingdom is here, in the midst of you – inside of you.

Meditation Thought: “…behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.” (Luke 17:21)

Behold: Look. Notice. Observe! The Kingdom is here, in the midst of you – inside of you. The Kingdom is not outside of you and outside of others and near all of you – it is within each, and it is as a magnetic force drawing all together. As the parts of the Body of Christ are more closely brought to one another, so are they able to more capably affect healing and superb performance in one another.

Never fear to draw near to anyone – for it is the Kingdom within each which seeks to bring you to a person. Even though this may not be recognized by the other – yet – you can know the Truth and it makes you free to move everywhere without fear, and in confidence and joy and anticipation and hope and sure knowledge, in wisdom, and with love. Is this state of being not a perfect description of “The Kingdom”?

Giving Poured Out

You can have the desires of your heart, which are peace and joy, by your own decision to do so.

Meditation Thought: “But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” (Luke 14:13-14)

Giving is a pouring out, taking pleasure in spreading joy. Thus you can have constant pleasure, for it is possible always to give, whereas you cannot control receiving. If you find pleasure only in receiving, you limit your pleasure greatly – and you limit the pleasure released in the world even more.

You can have the desires of your heart, which are peace and joy, by your own decision to do so: the price is to surrender pride to unselfish love, and sin to righteousness through the thinking of others and acting in their behalf.

The Best Gift Ever!

You need only ask…

Meditation Thought: “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:13)

You delight in giving your children what you can, but your heavenly Father is able to give a gift ranking above all other gifts: the gift of His love and power actually transferred to be implanted within His beloved children. You need only ask and you will receive.

Unfathomably Superior

The wold has so deluded us as to what will bring us joy that we must seek to know the truth of our own nature.

Meditation Thought:  “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27)

“Love God – neighbor-self – love everyone – how! By sacrificing to do good for another! Whether it be giving of our time, our emotions, our thoughts, or the work of our hands matters not – only that we are giving. For we are ‘programmed’ to have joy in helping, joy in a clear conscience, and joy in the ministries which flow back to us as a result of our giving.

The world has so deluded us as to what will bring us joy that we must seek to know the truth of our own nature. And when we begin to know the truth, what freedom and joy it brings! No longer do we have to grasp, to manipulate, to order others to do our bidding, or to be at the mercy of others for our satisfaction.

We find peace within ourselves – more accurately, peace within our God within ourselves. And it is almost as having frosting on the cake to discover that God who gives us peace within ourselves is also in everything, every place, at every time outside of ourselves too.

And the realization that brings us to a state beyond peace – a kind of ecstasy, a transporting of life being lived on both a higher plane and the human plane – is that our God is totally loving, totally powerful, always working for our good, and at the same time never violates our free choice, respecting us as a person: This Creator, unfathomably superior in every area to all He created, nevertheless chooses to yield to us, to our decisions. He responds to those decisions, but allows us the privilege and the dignity of doing our own thinking and acting.