Category: Love

Pace-Setter

The transforming grace of Love changes every thought, every word, every deed.

Meditation Thought: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

Message perceived to be from Jesus:

“If you are willing to follow Me, I will take you with Myself – holding your hand when necessary, doing all that you need to be done and cannot do for yourself along our journey.

To walk in the darkness of mere physical life is discouraging to you – and limits your potential. If you will follow Me, I will light your path, revealing many things to you which will be opportunities to use your talents, fulfill your dreams, and bring joy to many. Is this not what I did on earth? I suffered but I was a dynamic force and I knew the joy of obedience to My Father. I knew the joy of healing the sick, giving hope to those in despair, and setting the pace for all who would run the race of life – if they would follow Me, they would develop in similar character, in similar works.

Many desire to make a mark upon the world – but unless it is I whom they follow, that the Way may be that leading to the Father, the impact will be satisfying to neither that person nor to the world – certainly not to the Father.

But the Way is not easy, for self must be subdued – at first a difficult sacrifice – but when self has been crucified, then is the Holy Spirit raised up off that cross crucifixion, and the new creature is formed in the old body, and old mind and old spirit: the transforming grace of Love changes every thought, every word, every deed.

It is I who will give you the courage and the strength to crucify self that the new creature may emerge.

My bodily crucifixion ‘set the pace’ for the crucifixion of self-will and the sinning involved with it. But My crucifixion did more than ‘set the pace’ for those who follow in the race. I return from My running of the course of physical life to be the Light for all who run, and who desire Me to accompany them. My Light, as does the sun, provides warmth needed for growth, and energy needed for movement as well as visibility of Truth, that all things may come together for good: that the race may go, not to the swift, but to the enlightened.”

Temples of Truth

Free from fear, from ignorance, from prejudice, from illusion.

Meditation Thought: “And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, ‘Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.’ ” (Luke 19:41-44)

Do not be confused by the strange and unfamiliar – but, in confidence of the Love which lives in you through faith, follow the opportunities opened to you. Do not be rigid in your thinking or perceiving – be rigid only in your faith, keeping it steady by day and by night – by rest and by seige.

To have a rigid faith is to provide the foundation on which to build the Truth. And Temples of Truth are the place where God dwells, and where God dwells, there no enemy shall overcome.

If you base your life – every facet of your life – upon this knowledge, upon this wisdom, then you shall be free: you shall be free from fear, from ignorance, from prejudice, from illusion. Being freed of these inhibiting ‘enemies’, you shall be fulfilled as you energetically build the kingdom – that the ‘city’ where you dwell may be more beautiful, not destroyed. The place where God dwells is impregnable from all forces which would destroy – and if you welcome God into your heart and your will and your mind and your body and your situations, He will dwell with you and you will dwell with Him in the kingdom: It becomes more lovely with every obedient response to God’s soft request. His hopeful longing that you will understand and obey, in trust, in faith, in love.

Out on a Limb

We won’t find the Life if we don’t go out on a limb!

Meditation Thought: “And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully.” (Luke 19:2-6)

Zacchaeus did just what was needed to give himself a new perspective and thus a new life. He was curious about who Jesus was; he moved himself from the ordinary place into an unexpected position, and is doing so was more visible to Jesus. He made his preparations – making sure he was on the proper road, and in the position where he could see Jesus. And when Jesus spoke to him, Zacchaeus responded promptly and joyfully and obediently.

In addition, when Zacchaeus understood who Jesus was, he responded to this knowledge by doing what he could to rectify what actions had been taken wrongfully before he met Jesus, and also decided to live differently in the future. Zacchaeus wanted to be found: he placed himself in a position where the possibility was greater to be found, though he was unaware of it at the time, and then, when Jesus called to him, seeking him, he answered as Jesus desired him to answer. Thus both Zacchaeus and Jesus were pleased with the results: both had fulfilled their desires and their missions.

Each one is sought by Jesus – and each of us who seek to see who Jesus is, and make effort to find a place where we can see who He is (going to the Word, to the places the Word is preached, to the prayer-time and concentration of thought on what Jesus is saying through the Holy Spirit) and then respond to what He does say to us promptly, joyfully and obediently – we find and He finds.

We learn who He is and He saves us because we do learn and we do obey Him, believing in His authority and in His ability. We find the Life we seek, and He finds His mission fulfilled.

But we won’t find the Life if we don’t go out on a limb!

Learning by Experience

Only by taking time to reflect upon what has taken place can we assess the results and decide which actions were wise .

Meditation Thought: “And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.” (1 John 2:3)

There is an order to life that exists commonly to every area. First comes the light of the dawn, then the opportunity to do the day’s work, then comes the evening – the time of reflection upon the results, and preparation of mind for the next day of activity.

Only by taking time to reflect upon what has taken place can we assess the results and decide which actions were wise and which should be altered to produce better results.

As in every area, we learn by experience, so it is in spiritual matters. We begin by becoming familiar with His commandments and seeking to direct our thoughts and actions to be of a similar nature. This is our part – but we do not control all that is involved. We must realize this, and acknowledge that we must be enveloped in the Father’s will so completely that there is no longer a visible “our will” and the “Father’s will”, but there is only one will – homogeneous, composed of two wills, but so thoroughly blended together as to function and appear as one will. It is this exhibition of a “one-will” life that is “keeping His commandments”, and that is our assurance that “we know Him”.

There is a vast difference in the knowledge that a certain person is our father – and the experience of our father’s love being poured out into our life, touching us and changing us, delighting us, fulfilling us, protecting us and teaching us.

The knowledge is moved into experience when we accept what our father longs for us to receive, and offers hopefully: His love, devotion, wisdom, and constant laboring for our well-being.

Only when we realize that these are the basis for His “commandments” do we come into enough understanding to change our attitude into one of joyful obedience. We have come to know that our father’s will is not for his benefit, but for ours. How could we but desire what he desires when we are the recipients of good?

From Manipulation to Transformation

When this takes place there is the brilliant radiance, comforting warmth, and assurance of power…

Meditation Thought: “So then, no more boasting about human leaders! All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.” (1 Corinthians 3:20-23)

The circle of Christ’s light, and warmth of His love, and power of His being is within reach. But I must move, by my desire to be there, to that place. Perhaps I see another that has moved into this ‘magic’ circle – and I can observe the change. This makes me desire to change also – enough to take courage and move from my familiar habitat to the new area.

At first I see only the ‘greener grass’; I do not realize fully the requirements of living in this place… and by the time I do, I am willing to forgo my own ego-centered desires for the continuing pleasure of the revealing Light, the comforting Love, the moving Power.

And then the miracle: what I have willingly given up is returned to me, but transformed by this Holy Power we call God, Creator of all. I find that though desires are still a part of my life, they are not of their former character – they seem more unselfish, more flexible, more of a spiritual nature than of a material nature. And they do not seem to be at variance with God’s Word, nor His will as I perceive His Word and His will.

And thus my transformed desires are able to be fulfilled. No longer am I trying to manipulate God into fulfilling my self-conceived desires. I am desiring those things that God seeks to fulfill my life. When this takes place there is the brilliant radiance, comforting warmth, assurance of power that Jesus’ life demonstrated.

To what extent it is possible for me to live this life – or perhaps since the total possibility exists from this moment on – I should state more accurately: though I do not know to what degree I will be able to embrace this concept and this life, I am grateful to have come this far in the perception of such a life. I desire to live it. I will try to live it. I pray to God that I will be given the wisdom, knowledge and strength to live it. So help me, God! Please!

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, O my Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer!

With All

God seeks to bless us, to nurture us and to mature us into pure images of Himself.

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)

To “love your God” is in effect to love neighbor and self. God is neighbor and self, not limited to neighbor and self, but these are a part of God, for we are His, created by Him, for Him and in His image.

Merely because we do not perceive that all of us have a “connecting link” does not deny the existence of it. Wind cannot be seen. Emotion cannot be seen. Yet the effects of wind and emotion can be of great visibility and tremendous consequence.

We need to understand that this commandment of Jesus was not given merely because God was seeking glory and adulation, but because God seeks to bless us, to nurture us and to mature us into pure images of Himself.

The greater our understanding of who He is, and how intensely He desires us to understand so that we may share joy with Him in the fulfillment of our relationship as knowledgeable participants, the more assurance we have of a life both satisfying and yet dynamic.

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.

Rejoice in Evaluation

He does not intend for us to dwell on how far we have to go to perfectly reflect His character, for that discourages us, but He intends for us to rejoice that we are moving in the direction of maturing into developing a character which reflects our inheritance accurately.

Meditation Thought: “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 1:3-8)

To become partakers of the Divine Nature, these qualities are listed in 2 Peter 1:

  • faith
  • goodness (or virtue)
  • knowledge
  • self-control
  • perseverance
  • godliness
  • mutual affection (or brotherly kindness)
  • love

Though, particularly at times, these qualities may be difficult – they are not impossible. Not impossible because God makes them possible through:

  1. Creating us in His image – therefore it is in our nature to be imbued with these qualities
  2. When, in our eagerness to use our freedom, we misjudge our capacities, He rescues us and teaches us a more balanced, true perspective of both our inherent abilities and our constant dependence upon Him as “the Original” – only when we constantly “check in” to compare ourselves with His character can we have any conception of our progress in maturing.

He does not intend for us to dwell on how far we have to go to perfectly reflect His character, for that discourages us, but He intends for us to rejoice that we are moving in the direction of maturing into developing a character which reflects our inheritance accurately, with less adulteration from habits or mannerisms adopted from our flights into expressions of our rebellious freedom, and of adoption of characteristics found in places other than the Divine Creator’s Perfection: His Ideal, His Perfect Will.

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.

Personal Evolution

I can be an important part in the fulfillment of the Father’s plan.

Meditation Thought: “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you… whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.” (James 4: 10 & 17)

The lesser must yield to the greater – but the method of yielding determines many things.

My God created me: therefore He is the greater. If He created me in love – and I believe that He did – then He has a purpose, a plan for me to be evolved which will be of benefit to me. But I cannot know it in entirety; I cannot alone fulfill it even as I understand parts of it. I am the child – still seeking, learning what my Father knows and desires me to know.

But I can be an important part in the fulfillment of the Father’s plan. I can seek His counsel and heed it. I can perceive His character and mold mine accordingly. He loves; I am His; therefore I can love – yet I can choose not to love. When I do, His plan is delayed – not destroyed, but delayed. It may disappoint Him, but it is even more harmful to me – for His plan was for the purpose of showing the fullness of His love to me.

Have your own way, Lord. You are the potter – I am the clay.