Agony to Glory

It is free choice rightly used that constructs temples in which I reign, and peace reigns wherever I reign.

Meditation Thought: “…my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you. (Isaiah 54:10b)

“You fear too much what might happen if you follow the way. Yes – there are crosses – but not without My strength to bear the agony of them while the glory of the resurrection is being prepared.

I seek to bring you joy, not pain. I allow free choice, and circumstances at times are not according to My will; thus I must work good out of them still working with the state of free choice.

It is free choice wrongly used that constructs crosses on which pain reigns.

It is free choice rightly used that constructs temples in which I reign, and peace reigns wherever I reign.

Move on in confidence, in hope, for I am with you to conquer every cross, and to bear the brunt of your pain while you move that cross from the pain of it at Golgotha to the glory of it at the pinnacle of the temple.”

Transforming Beauty

Yield your spirit to My grace, your sins to My forgiveness, your will to My guidance, your body to My service, your emotions to My love.

Meditation Thought: “For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.” (1 Timothy 4:4-5)

Thanksgiving consecrates – by the Word and by prayer.

“Take everything in your life, both physical and spiritual and by your will, run it through the glowing mist of My pure Spirit within you: it will be cleansed from all sin, ugliness, tarnish, evil and emerge glowing and beautiful with reflected light and internal light.

If you do not see beauty, then it is because you are looking through your own eyes and not the eyes of faith by the Spirit. Correct your vision at once: by immediate prayer and supplication, by yielding your spirit to My grace – your sins to My forgiveness, your will to My guidance, your body to My service, your emotions to My love.

My power is released, not through pious self-consciousness of seeking me, but through the un-self-consciousness of total absorption and fascination with the Personalities of the Trinity.”

Education for All

If you are conscious that at all times you are being taught, and that the school is tailored to your particular needs of the moment, you can have peace and confidence.

Meditation Thought: “I do nothing on my own authority but speak thus as the Father taught me.” (John 8:28)

This moment is the classroom. This circumstance is the curriculum. The Word is the textbook. My Spirit is the Instructor.

You are in a school which is not limited, but teaches all subjects, and will keep you as a student that you may ever learn and grow in wisdom and knowledge in understanding and especially in the perception of the spiritual dimension and its relationship to all other dimensions.

Your faith is the tuition you pay, your will is the transportation to the school.

If you are conscious that at all times you are being taught, and that the school is tailored to your particular needs of the moment, you can have peace and confidence.

Think of your Teacher as using three methods of helping you:
– The Father-Method imparts knowledge by revelation,
– the Jesus-Method imparts knowledge by example,
– the Holy Spirit-Method imparts knowledge by taking you and guiding you personally – as a teacher might put a hand over a student’s hand to guide it in the task.

The Spiritual Sorter

If all parts, and the sum of the parts, are kept in place, there is no envy, confusion or irrelevancy. There is peace and purpose.

Meditation Thought: “For God is not a God of confusion but of peace.” (1 Corinthians 14:33)

Take the jumbles of your life and pour them into the Sorter – the Spirit within you – that your life may reflect the glory of God: each part in its place – not trying to push another part out of the way; each part meshing and enhancing the other parts; the whole making a statement of God’s goodness and greatness and mercy and love.

If all parts, and the sum of the parts, are put in place and kept in place by the power of the Spirit in your life, there is no envy, confusion or irrelevancy. There is peace and purpose.

Life consists of infinite variety: not to compete nor conquer – but to enhance and delight and provide continual interest.

Only be being willing to give up the parts yourself and put them into the Sorter to re-arrange them properly can you find peace.

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Triumph

Habit comes into play as affecting choice; therefore to make one choice is to also affect the next choice.

Meditation Thought: “But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumph, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.” (2 Corinthians 2:14)

First the cross, then the resurrection. Life in Christ follows this pattern. First the death on the cross of circumstances of all that is foreign to the Spirit’s nature: pride, selfishness, thoughtlessness, blindness, willfulness; then the resurrection of the personality in Christ unencumbered by negative aspects which mar the image of the Father in the personality.

To err is human – but to allow that error to be used by God as a sacrifice on the cross that which keeps us from total obedience to His will is to not only erase the consequences of the error, but to use it as the beginning of a transformation: a change which moves the believer further along the road to closer fellowship and more perception of the Father’s will, with the power to be obedient and trusting to a greater degree than formerly was possible.

We move constantly – either toward adopting the customs of the Kingdom or the customs of the world.

Our choice of reactions to new knowledge and revelations and circumstances determines which customs we choose: habit comes into play as affecting choice; therefore to make one choice is to also affect the next choice.

Bare my soul, O Lord,
To my seeking heart.
I know not who or what I am,
Save Your reveal to me.
Each moment is another facet
Cut across this hard-stone will.
Oh, please, I ask in Jesus’ name,
Shape me as Thou art shaped.
Though there be much hurt
From many blows,
I trust Thee in my pain.
For only by change in me
Can I be Your reflection true.

Trust Rightly Placed

This Lord… leads me to new horizons, to satisfy my longings, to bring to me peace and joy.

Meditation Thought: “But the Lord is faithful, he will strengthen you and guard you from evil.” (2 Thessalonians 3:3)

Trust in the Lord. Trust in the Lord only – not your mind, your feelings, circumstances, people. Only the Lord is totally faithful, totally strong, totally able to control circumstances.

This Lord who has such strength and power chooses not to dictate, not to subjugate, but by gentleness and love leads me to new horizons, to satisfy my longings, to bring to me peace and joy.

Why should I chafe at the reality of cause and effect, when I am told of the possible consequences of my choices? I have my will – without it I would not be a beloved child, capable of intelligent interaction with my Father, but an animal of instinct, with automatic programming.

I have a purpose and that purpose may take me in dangerous paths where evil dwells – but my purpose is to dispel and disarm evil: and the power to do it lies in faith in my Lord who is faithful and strong.

Fear has been my companion.
I shun him now.
There is not room for my Lord and he.
Frustration has had his day.
It is time now for peace in faith.
No terrors now, by night or day.
No trembling in my soul.
For God is here,
And God is true
He will not flee
Nor remain while I move on
Not unless, in stubborn pride,
I bid that He do so.
I choose this day
To have Love by my side,
Knowing that only He truly cares
Totally for me.

Now: an Ongoing Unit of Time

Enable me to choose carefully the task for which You desire to be done by me at the moment that I may proceed in orderly fashion to clear away debris and to build anew.

Meditation Thought: “With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith. We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Thessalonians 1:11-12)

Prayer: “Lord, I’m feeling the pressure of all the ordinary work that needs doing. Enable me to know which good resolves and works of faith are to be dealt with now – ‘now’ being an ongoing unit of time.

Enable me to choose carefully the task for which You desire to be done by me at the moment that I may proceed in orderly fashion to clear away debris and to build anew.

Enable me to be efficient, but always surrounding efficiency with a loving, understanding, wise attitude. Let me, as did Jesus, help those along my path, and not be distracted by other areas.

I seek to take the path where You have prepared the most appropriate tasks for my talents, for my interests, and for the delight and fulfillment of my spirit. For if I correctly choose this path, then the benefits will be great for many, as Your power boosts my natural abilities.

I desire to adhere to Your will for my life: I pray that You reveal to me all I need to know, and give me the strength and courage to cling to Your will despite adversity.

I am weak, Lord – so weak. But I know that if my resolve to do Your will is strong, Your power will strengthen every other weakness. And so this day, this hour, I pray that I will move with renewed spirit and mind and body and emotions to meet the challenges and the discouragements that serve as either stumbling blocks or stepping stones. With Your power to life me up above my own resources, the stumbling blocks shall become stepping stones.

Put joy in my heart,
Wings on my feet
That I may soar and swoop
In ecstasy of movement
Changing all in my path
To be enlightened by Thy Power.

The Counter-intuitive Key to Abundance

You carry within you joy, peace and hope, for you carry within you the Holy Spirit of God who is joy, peace and hope.

Meditation Thought: “Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right.” (2 Thessalonians 3:13)

Joy! Peace! Hope! These are the gifts you carry and the gifts you will find will give meaning to your life when you distribute them.

Remember, there is such a thing as a “second wind”. If you will force yourself to keep moving even when you are exhausted, you will reach a point when your “second wind” – the movement of the Spirit – will relieve you. Your will to keep moving is your faith and your faith is the mover of the power of the Spirit.

Look not at the road, or at your feet – but at your goal.

Inspire your mind with the vision of the goal before you, renew your strength with trust in the Word, lift up your emotions by receiving the gentle Spirit into your heart and cherishing Him, delighting in His company.

Seek the example of Jesus as to how to most effectively pursue your goal.

You carry within you joy, peace and hope, for you carry within you the Holy Spirit of God who is joy, peace and hope. No one can take this priceless gift from you. Only you can choose to throw it away – by rebellion, by laziness, by ignorance.

You can also generate more of this gift by giving it away to others. This is the key to the kingdom: sharing, caring enough to share all that is pure and good and true; not hoarding the treasure you find, but giving it away in joyful abandon, knowing that the more freely you give, the more abundantly you will receive.

Do you understand that as a pruned tree actually produces more fruit, so your removing all the gifts that are given to you from your own storehouse into the service of others causes an increase in the production of the gifts into your own storehouse?

If you understand this principle, and apply it in every area of your life, then you are not only perceiving the goal – total communion with and commitment to your Father – but you are rightly following the example of Jesus, who promised abundant life to those who would follow Him.

You see, the whole New Testament is but this story in many forms: although to the world it appears the way to a large harvest is to keep all you have, to the Kingdom the knowledge is given that in taking away, the opportunity is then provided for a multiplying of the branches and fruit.

All are given the opportunity to try this method, but only those who have courage to actually allow the trimming are produces of the abundant harvest.

Set your will on trust in the Lord and not trust in yourself only.

I would cultivate an orchard fair,
With blossoms blooming everywhere
Not sparsely scattered from nature wild,
But multiplied by the Spirit’s care:
Welcome, welcome, lonely tree,
The One who Ministers love to thee.

Think Lovely

To think on that which is lovely is to produce that which is lovely.

Meditation Thought: “Whatsoever things are lovely… think on these things.” (Philippians 4:8)

The seen reflects the unseen. The body reflects the mind. Actions reflect the will. You can control your will: will to reflect the image of God to the best of your ability at any given moment. The most effective way of perceiving God’s images in order that you may reflect them is to observe the evidence of Himself in the world: that which is lovely – ‘love-ly’, pertaining to love; not just beautiful in an aesthetic way, but reflecting the qualities of love: willing to think of others before self, considerate, orderly and not chaotic, effective in adapting to other’s personalities and needs.

To think on that which is lovely is to produce that which is lovely: both in that which is observed and in the observer.

Do not concentrate on a flaw in either another person, an object, or yourself – concentrate on all that is pleasing according to God’s definition of pleasing; this definition is clear as revealed by Christ. Delight in the Lord and all created by Him, and the qualities of His nature revealed in the Word and in the Man! This is to ‘think on lovely things’!

Birth of the Spirit

For the Spirit is Love, Wisdom, Kindness, Grace, Forgiveness, Righteousness and Glory: the Kingdom within.

Meditation Thought: “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit…the Son of Man [must] be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” (John 3:6-8, 14b-15)

Like begets like: your birth in the Spirit is conceived when you choose by faith to accept the Spirit as real and desirable to live in you and guide you.

No one sees, or hears, the birth of the Spirit within you – nevertheless all can see the results of that birth. And as the Spirit grows within you, so even more clearly are the results seen: there is a marked change for the better in temperament, in personality, in emotions, in behavior, in attitude, in the physical areas: no part is left untouched by the Spirit, and no part is left unenhanced by the Spirit. For the Spirit is Love, Wisdom, Kindness, Grace, Forgiveness, Righteousness and Glory: the Kingdom within.

The very existence of the Kingdom so close to the world makes a difference in the world.