Category: peace

Dispelling Darkness

When His glory is perceived, others are drawn to it like a moth to a flame.

Meditation Thought: “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)

“Let” – not “Do” shine. Our part is to allow God to have His way with us, so that He makes our light shine. If we attempt the actual lighting by trying to accomplish it by good works, then people would focus on us, not God. By allowing God to take complete control of our lives, He lights such a bright lamp by the works He does in and through us, that His glory is seen in the light. When His glory is perceived, others are drawn to it like a moth to a flame, and God is then able to work in them, too, lighting their lamp.

The more people that allow God to light their lamps, the more light there is to dispel the darkness. We may never know how many other lamps are lit from our lamp by God, but we can be happy in knowing that our lamp is completely at His disposal.

Peace comes when we are doing the good works, knowing that God is pleased because we are doing His work, according to His instructions.

Miracle Workers

Not a thought, not the smallest of actions is neutral: everything is either to the glory of God – or the delight of Satan.

Meditation Thought: “Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31)

Not a thought, not the smallest of actions is neutral: everything is either to the glory of God – or the delight of Satan. Practice, practice: learn the meaning of the Word, and having this knowledge, seek the wisdom of the Spirit – by these shall you think and act to the glory of God.

And by these shall you think and act to the salvation of the world: your world – and the worlds it touches.

Let not your preoccupation with your feelings, your desires, your will, short-circuit the flow of power from heaven into your world. The Word and the Spirit are the miracle workers – through the willing mind and body of the believer. A willing mind and body are constructed from a willing spirit seeking beyond self: seeking to know from whom they came, and to whom they belong, and to whom they give glory.

I come not with
pounding drums
Nor searchlights
and parades:
Those you could
not ignore.
I come softly,
quietly, with gentle touch.
Asking, not demanding –
Will you follow Me?
For I go to bring
glory to God;
I seek to show you the way.
The limits you have,
So I had too.
And as I overcame
by yielding My will,
So I show you too:
The Father’s will is
the grace of His glory
Bringing peace and joy
and love.

Master Weaver

Set your goal high: as high as heaven.

Meditation Thought: “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” (Romans 10:11) “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” (Romans 10:15)

“Take the thread of life which I place before you; seek to study the instructions on how to weave it into a beautiful blanket: an all-purpose blanket to be shared again and again to provide warmth, shelter and beauty for many.

Do not be dismayed by difficulties, but know that they arise so that you will seek to be more creative in using the talents (thread) which I have given you.

I do not propose for you to weave a plain, monotonous blanket. No, it must have depth of texture, contrasts of color, variety of design. It shall be as a tapestry which tells a story as it is observed from one part to another.

Do not allow Satan to make flaws in it by listening to his instructions rather than Mine – oh, they are so much easier for you to follow. They take little effort, little concentration – and the results are disastrous; they are displeasing to you and to others.

Set your goal high: as high as heaven. You know there is a “best” for each moment of your life: seek to weave the best pattern in the best colors. You can do it, if you:

  • Seek to know My will, moment by moment
  • Seek to do My will moment by moment
  • Seek to rejoice in doing My will, moment by moment.

Peace and joy are the marks of My will expressed as your “best” weaving: your peace, your joy – and the peace and joy of all who know you.”

Tears Shall Reflect Rainbows

They who wait for the Lord – instead of rushing in to take matters in their own hands – shall have the wisdom and the strength of the Lord motivating and activating them.

Meditation Thought: “but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)

They who wait for the Lord – instead of rushing in to take matters in their own hands – shall have the wisdom and the strength of the Lord motivating and activating them.

  • The contrast in the power of self and Lord can hardly be comprehended or measured.
  • The difference between the motivations of self and the Lord can hardly be compared.
  • The difference between the actions of self and Lord are almost totally unrelated, having little in common.

But when self is by faith embraced in the Father’s arms and the Father does the moving, carrying the child, then the whole picture changes.

The knowledgeable, mature, wise, loving, powerful, righteous Father, full of grace and glory, sweeps along time and circumstances doing His good will and good works. He allows the child to accompany Him, to help Him, to enjoy the varieties of experiences as they participate together in all that lies along the chosen path. But the point is that the path is the choice of the loving, wise Father and not the wilful child.

May pain yield to the pressure of His love,
And the darkness of the night yield to the brightness of the dawn.
The tears shall reflect rainbows
As a new spirit is born within:
The heart of stone is removed
And the replaced with a heart of flesh.
The heart of flesh carries the waters of the Spirit
To give abundant live and peace forevermore.

Daylight After the Darkness of Night

A poem of hope.

Meditation Thought: “For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.  I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see.  Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.  Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” (Revelation 3:17-20)

Know ye not
That I am the
Way, the Truth, the Life?
Forbid me not:
Open the door of your heart
That I may enter in.
A more welcome guest
You could not entertain.
For I come not to take,
But to give:
I am your daylight after the darkness of the night.
I give you joy after tears.
I give you victory from defeat.
I give you a depth of knowledge
That confounds the wise.
I give you love that never ends
And life that is ever sweet.
The glory of God
Shall surround you:
It is without, waiting to pour in
Through the opening of the door of your heart unto me.

What do you Fear?

Praying to the Father with Christ dwelling in you is as Christ praying to the Father for you.

Meditation Thought: “Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.  And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” (Ephesians 6:14-18)

Truthful, righteous, peaceful, faithful, Spirit-filled: This is a description of your character in Christ. Praying to the Father with Christ dwelling in you is as Christ praying to the Father for you. Christ Jesus: always doing the Father’s will, always obedient to the Word, always serving rather than being served; this Person pleads your case to the most powerful force in the universe: this Person is your Friend and Advisor. What do you fear? The armor of God Himself protects you from every enemy: the enemies of the flesh and the enemies of the spirit. All you need to do to have a life of joy, of confidence, of purpose, is to make the effort to wear the armor which is available to you. God will not dress you in His armor – for He will not violate your free will. But He delights in observing you wearing it, for you are His beloved child and He desires above all that you have the joys of His kingdom and the protection of your citizenship in it wherever you are residing.

Use all of the weapons and all of the knowledge and all of the wisdom and all of the resources of the advanced Kingdom which is your home country to your advantage as you reside temporarily in the foreign country of the world which is ruled by Satan. Any advice you need, any help you need is available -you receive it by asking for it by praying in the Spirit, dressed in the whole armor of God, believing that whatever you request will be sent to you.

Surrounding Mist

Think of a mist of prayer enclosing all of the areas of your life.

Meditation Thought: “Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.” (Colossians 4:2)

Change your thought of the word “prayer” from being a verb “to pray” to being a noun: being “in a state of prayer” – a continuous state of prayer. The atmosphere of prayer varies, according to the workings in your life, but you must assure by your awareness and your attitude that you stay within the confines of the prayer world: the prayer world is large enough to encompass all the places in heaven and on earth where you should be. If you wander outside of its confines, you lose your sense of direction, your protection, and your purpose.

Think of a mist of prayer enclosing all of the areas of your life – as a gentle rain renews the parched earth, the mist of prayer keeps your life renewed, refreshed, conscious of the Power and Love that have entered your life through your belief in the Power and Love.

The scriptures in your mind are much of the reality of the mist of prayer: worship of any form, a grateful heart, a joy in seeing the works of the Kingdom being executed on earth – all these are a atoms of the composition of the prayer mist. The more densely these atoms are concentrated in your life-atmosphere, the more concentration you have of the Kingdom on earth. Just as your home protects you when you are inside it from the storm without, so the atmosphere of prayer surrounding you protects you from evil from without. You must be enclosed in the house before it provides you any shelter – you must place yourself in the paryer atmosphere before it provides you shelter. Enter into your shelter of prayer, and keep it closed about you: You know how to do this by the instructions given to you through My Word and My ways: the choice is yours to use the knowledge or let it lie idle.

New Views; New Inspiration

Take time to be holy.

Meditation Thought: “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?” (Psalm 121:1)

Lift your eyes from the valley of despair and feast them upon the serenity of the hills – the stillness, the overall pattern of the whole. Lend Me your eyes that I may take them to see where you have not been able to go – let Me put new views into your eyes and return them to you to inspire your mind and your initiative. Take time to be holy – My purpose is worked through this more than in any other way. You do not see the spirit-waves of strength and force and direction which are released through this action – but nevertheless they exist, they are effective, and the are needed. That is why we have a relationship – to release these waves of My Spirit to the world.

Do not let stones I have placed for stepping become stumbling blocks.

From Without Rather than Within

There is nothing to fear, except the fear of forgetting to turn to Me. And so long as you are weak, you will remember to turn to Me.

Meditation Thought: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

My grace and My power – if you go under your own power, I will not violate your choice not to yield to Me – therefore, I cannot pour My power into you unless you ask for it, unless you yield your own will to receive it. The weaker you are on your own, the more witness of My power as accomplishments are made through you.

Rejoice that you are timid and fearful, for that is what turns you to Me – and it is what will turn others to Me. If you have no dynamic power of your own, then it becomes evident that the power surging and moving and changing in your life is from without: and when results are good (measured by love engendered, My commandments fulfilled, peace and joy abounding) – then the glory comes to Me; the joy of more hearts opening to My love comes to Me, and life in the Spirit is strengthened for My believers. Stand strong – in My power. Armed with My Word, My guidance, My power, My will, nothing can prevail against you – there is nothing to fear, except the fear of forgetting to turn to Me. And so long as you are weak, you will remember to turn to Me.

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.”