Category: Obedience

Jeweled Crown

And so what appears to be death of self is actually the resurrection of self in new glory

Meditation Thought: “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:4)

When we place our delight in the Lord, we will have constant delight – for the Lord is always loving, caring, helpful, dependable, powerful – and willing to fulfill the desires of our heart. When we learn to be adept at taking our delight in the Lord, we will rejoice in the fulfillment of our desires as a natural consequence.

The ability to become adept at taking our delight in the Lord, however, is one which must be rigorously developed and practiced. There must be time to learn His Word, to listen to His Counsel. There must be courage to act upon His instructions – and His instructions may well bring the ridicule of the world, and most devastatingly, even our loved ones. We must learn to seek truth and not accept face values, we must “fight city hall”, we must be active and not passive, we must put duty above pleasure, we must sacrifice ego to become God’s weak vessel into which He pours His strength.

When we are able to submerge ourselves into what we thought was a swallowing up of our identity into God’s will, we learn that miraculously the very burying of ourself in Him crystallized us into all we were meant to be: we are fulfilled in an unsuspected joy as we emerge more totally individual than ever before – a new creature in Christ, a jewel set off more brilliantly because of our placement in His crown. And so what appears to be death of self is actually the resurrection of self in new glory, the clay reworked by God into a new and beautiful vessel to be used by Him, to be delighted in by Him, a completion of His creative process.

 

The Blessing of Confession

As we lose ourselves in prayer for another, that is when we come closest to being made in the image of God, for we are serving, unselfish, loving, and giving at that moment.

Meditation Thought: “Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed.” James 5:16

Confess. Confess is a pouring out of a thought – as you pour it out of yourself, it is no longer part of you; that thought is not inside of you, to cause festering, to be interfering with thoughts on which God wants us to concentrate: thoughts full of beauty, holiness, kindness.

As others hear of your sin, they can express the confirmation of God’s forgiveness and of their forgiveness – thereby also reinforcing their own need to confess their sins and be forgiven.

And pray – always pray for one another, for to pray is to express love and concern, and to call for power for the other. As we lose ourselves in prayer for another, that is when we come closest to being made in the image of God, for we are serving, and unselfish, and loving, and giving at that moment – a child imitating our parent. And in the imitating, becoming more like the parent, more God-like – more as He teaches by His example. Varied as His examples are, they are always consistent in their nature: they exemplify love.

The Habit of Prayer

Cultivate the habit of praying before you speak – just a quick, “Lead me, Father” will enable me to guide your thoughts and words to help those who hear you.

Meditation Thought: “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” (Ephesians 4:29)

“I have already given you the concept that people should be enriched as their lives touch yours, and not degraded. Cultivate the habit of praying before you speak – just a quick, “Lead me, Father” will enable me to guide your thoughts and words to help those who hear you. I love all of you – I want open channels to pour my loving guidance through, that we may have a communion of family – think in terms of “the more the merrier” as we expand acquaintances into our family – the more love is shared, the more it grows.”

Great Upheaval

My movements and promptings are gentle, for your free will must be honored – but, gentle as they are, they have great power…

Meditation Thought: “Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from him…” 1 John 3:21-22

As we learn of His commandments, and as we keep them, we come to know Him more intimately – as we learn to “live by His rules”, we also learn to think and to be more like Him. If we are like Him, then we ask in harmony with His will for us, which is the key to receiving what we ask.

” ‘Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only’ – that is the action that starts the chain reaction – as one person’s needs are met, the action is multiplied so that more needs are met, and a little movement can start a great upheaval – I do not ask you to go out to minister to hundreds of people – but I do ask you to minister to some, so that the little ministering can be multiplied into many large ministerings. My movements and promptings are gentle, for your free will must be honored – but, gentle as they are, they have great power which I am eager to release to bring my dear children into my loving care and protection.”

Reap in Season

No matter how tempting it is to pluck the fruit before it is completely right (ripe), it is best to have patience and wait for complete maturity. Only through My Word given in various forms can you know when the fruit is ripe.

Meditation Thought: “…in due season we will reap…” (Galations 6:9)

” ‘In due season’ – not in your season. Many things are made better through the passage of time – more mature, even changing completely sometimes. They can be properly used in the right situation only when they are allowed to come to their maturity before use. No matter how tempting it is to pluck the fruit before it is completely right (ripe), it is best to have patience and wait for complete maturity. Only through My Word given in various forms can you know when the fruit is ripe. You need to be observant, to have patience, and be willing to check time and time again as to the state of the fruit. It is there for you, but you must make your own effort to bring it to your benefit.”

Unlimited Possibilities

We have the Power of God within us – think of that, unlimited power within our own bodies, minds, spirits. We need only use the key He gave us…

Meditation Thought: “And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.” 1 John 3:23

“Commandment” – command is not a statement, it is not a request: it is an order. We believe in Jesus: believing implies we accept Him for what He says He is: we do not doubt that He is the Son of God, we do not doubt his statements are true. If we accept that they are true – then because of His obedience to the Father, we have claims to unlimited possibilities.

We have the Power of God within us – think of that, unlimited power within our own bodies, minds, spirits. We need only use the key He gave us to unlock all that Power: Believe, act on that belief and stand in awe at the results!

For God’s promises come true only when they are perceived and accepted with praise and thanksgiving. God’s promises: we get excited at some promises of men, think what we feel when we start to realize that we can have everything we want – it has been promised to us! Oh, no – we weren’t promised it would be in the form we picture – it will be in the form of our omnipotent God’s best as He responds to our actions. We have free will, so He cannot pre-package the wonderful gifts He has to offer; He must wait to hear from his believer to know what gift to send, then note the response to the gift, to know what other gifts to send. He wants us to have the desires He has created in us fulfilled but only as wonderful gifts for which we have asked, not as arbitrary imposition on us of whatever He decides to send. He wants the joy of two-way communication and a relationship of love and trust and interaction.

Burden Transformed

Our energies can be concentrated on the present not the past, on God’s will for us, and not our will for another, and upon the full, true significance of life, not a superficial misconception.

Meditation Thought: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

This does not refer to physical labor so much as the labor we force upon ourselves due to our misunderstanding of what the Father desires from us. We “load ourselves down” with guilt – Jesus will remove the burden, if we believe He came to do so.

We fret under doubt about our decisions and worthiness. Jesus lifts these from us as we perceive ourselves as He perceives us – as children of a loving Father.

God has provided a world of beauty, of order – yet of unfolding mystery – for us to discover and enjoy.

Through Christ we learn to appreciate all that is good, to forgive what is bad, when forgiveness is sought, and thus relieve much of the strain of living. Our energies can be concentrated on the present not the past, on God’s will for us, and not our will for another, and upon the full, true significance of life, not a superficial misconception.

Diligent Moments

There is no way to ‘skip grades’ in the perception of heavenly principles.

Meditation Thought:  “… with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you.” (Mark 4:24)

Do not try to go at a faster pace than you can comfortably handle; this causes you to stumble. A steady pace where you do not have to correct a stumble will be more pleasant as well as move you along rapidly.

Take your moments and deal with them diligently; there are to be moments of prayerful planning, but do not let your mind wander to daydreams or planning while you should be concentrating on the task at hand.

You must perceive, receive and embrace the truth of the moment before you are equipped to receive and retain the truth which is beyond that one. You need to get one perception firmly fixed before grasping at another – otherwise you will drop the first, and in attempting to ‘rescue’ it, you will drop the half-grasped one also, leaving you with neither. There is no way to ‘skip grades’ in the perception of heavenly principles.

 

Searching for a new direction

We are not changed by stating confined in the same old place, thinking the same old thoughts, and doing the same old things. We are changed when we meet the challenge of moving on: of seeking new revelations, of desiring new experiences, and of finding new places.

Meditation Thought: “Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God,  and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.'” (Mark 1:14-15)

Jesus “preached the gospel”: in other words, Jesus revealed the words of God for His people that His children would understand Him and have the life of the kingdom as soon as they understood.

Jesus was – and is – the interpreter of God’s directions for the living of the kingdom while still involved in the physical things. But it is not possible to understand even Jesus’ interpretation of God’s Word if a person has not repented from the commitment to the physical and animalistic dedication of self. Until one turns from the visible and the obvious in search of the invisible “things” of the Spirit, and the “things” which are hidden until they are sought, one cannot understand Jesus’ teachings.

It is the repentant heart searching for a new direction that finds the way. It does little good, however, to find the way if it is not followed!

We are not changed by stating confined in the same old place, thinking the same old thoughts, and doing the same old things. We are changed when we meet the challenge of moving on: of seeking new revelations, of desiring new experiences, and of finding new places.

The kingdom is not a place, or limited by time or even a state of mind. The kingdom is our will becoming so homogeneously blended with God’s will that His works are our works, His Word is our creed, and His Love expands our love til nothing remains in our life that is not an expression of love.

We may not succeed, as did Jesus, in living in the kingdom completely while in our human state – but in the process of trying to live out our belief in the possibility and desirability of doing so, we become “new creatures in Christ”‘ we are “transformed from glory to glory”, and we at least live in a new dimension, even if it is not quite the dimension of pure unadulterated kingdom.

Dwell in Safety

But when we know that the Lord will defend us from all harm, we no longer need to be on guard or to fight. We do need to make effort, however, making sure that we are within God’s presence so that He can protect us. He will not force us…

Meditation Thought: “In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.” (Psalm 4:8) May 5, 1983

Only when we feel we have no need to defend ourselves are we able to relax and rest.

There are many areas in life which threaten us – not just physical, but emotional, mental and spiritual. We at times fear the circumstances that might come in the future.

If we have to cope with all of these threats by our own power, we can hardly rest, for we are poorly equipped to defend from every side the things which could destroy us is they reach us, and we must constantly be on guard to meet the challenges of the foes.

But when we know that the Lord will defend us from all harm, we no longer need to be on guard or to fight. We do need to make effort, however, making sure that we are within God’s presence so that He can protect us. He will not force us to be where He is, doing what He is doing. But if we are not with Him, doing His works – then we are in the wilderness and lost and alone, forced to fight whatever would destroy us.

Prayer: Oh Lord – I desire to be with You, doing your works. Help me to be even more perceptive as to how to be with You without wandering off to follow some interesting distraction. Help me to really do Your works, not just desire to do them.

Then shall I dwell in safety and sleep in peace.

Thank you!

Amen