Meditations of Marie's Heart

“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come. Worthy art thou, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for thou didst create all things, and by thy will they existed and were created.”  (Rev. 4:8,11)

Do not seek to usurp My power and My authority over you, but know that by humble obedience, and gracious respect for My power and authority, you shall exchange the cross for the crown. In the wakeful hours last night the words of “The Old Rugged Cross” came to you over and over. I spoke to you in these words. Learn to love the crosses in your life because you recognize them as My works to perfect you as My image. They are the means of your growing into maturity, forming your character, your thoughts, your words, and your deeds as accurate reflections of My character, My thoughts, My words, My deeds. This knowledge and this acceptance of My intended will for you is the living of your life in the world simultaneously as you live your life in the kingdom. As a prisoner can serve “concurrent” sentences, so you can serve concurrent lives; you actually live in two dimensions in the same time span.

 As an indoor swimming pool may have water flowing into a connected outdoor pool, so I remove the barrier of sin that would separate the interchange. You were created to span the inside and outside: the spiritual and the physical. If sin divides the two, then the physical is confined, retaining all of the debris that lights on its surface as it is the “outside” part of the water. But if through prayer and obedience you seek Me to remove that sin barrier, then the pure, protected spirit-water rushes in, tossing the debris over the edge of the pool, removing it from the whole body of water. Neither pool should be isolated, but always they should be interconnected that both areas may be refreshing to all who come in contact with the water.

This analogy is not perfectly clear to you at this point, but trust that your searching for the truth of all of life, both spiritual and physical, shall result in greater understanding which in turn is the tool that transforms the shape of the cross into the shape of a crown.

 

“Thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider how you have fared. Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may appear in My glory, says the Lord. You have looked for much, and lo, it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why?” says the Lord of hosts. “Because of my house that lies in ruins; while you busy yourselves each with his own house.” (Haggai 1:7-9)

Do you understand that whenever the Word refers to physical substance, it is merely to clarify a spiritual truth? The admonition to “build my house” in the Old Testament is expressed in the New Testament as “feed my sheep”. The Spirit must be interpreted to each generation according to its understanding.

To one generation, communication between My people and Myself was most easily expressed as building altars and worshiping at them; to another, the revelation of the Spirit was taught within the context of daily life, of which shepherding was a part. In your generation, the realm of the mind has gained recognition, and My Spirit seeks to renew minds, converting them to be conformed to the mind of Christ. I have worked in all generations, for neither My nature nor human nature changes, but the particular characteristics of a civilization, a nation or a person require an adaptability of expressions of the Spirit. I seek to reveal to you the relationship of mind to the spiritual, to that which is physical and to circumstances. There is a relationship and those who have sought it have been set apart from those who have ignored My plea to seek to understand it.

Where the Spirit is welcomed, there is the renewing of the mind. The accumulation of sin, of guilt, and of disobedience is scraped away by repentance and dedication to Me and My will.  This brings us to the clean, strong, beautiful foundation of your yielded will on which we build a new home:  this time we build on edifice to serve two purposes: it is a home for both your spirit and My Spirit.

I can re-shape your spirit as you allow Me to do so. Your spirit has been deformed by your free will not having sought to be conformed to the shape of My will. Now we can tear down all that is misshapen and rebuild your spiritual house in a properly shaped manner. You see now the shape: the shape is a cross.  There is a place in the cross which is central where all four extensions meet. The analogy is this: The expression of the father Spirit, the expression of the Christ Spirit, the expression of the Holy Spirit, and the expression of your spirit all meet together at the place where you accept the reality of the other three parts of the cross being attached to you. Once you realize that your spirit is not a separate entity with all of your life limited within it, but that there is contact possible with three other spirits which will then bring a new shape, a new strength, a new purpose, and a new future to your life, then the things that were impossible become possible, the bad is changed into good, unrighteousness into righteousness, discord into harmony, hate into love, stained into pure, pain into peace, despair into hope, sadness into joy, and darkness into light.

Those who approach the door of your life cannot know what lies beyond the door unless you invite them, unless you encourage them to come with you beyond the entryway of yourself. Invite your guest into the central room where all of us meet together. This room is at the same time an “all-purpose room: and an “altar room”.  The hungry are fed at the Lord’s table, the weary find comfort in the Father’s loving arms, the discouraged find strength in the power of the Holy Spirit. The lost find the Way through your spirit leading them to this room where the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit await to minister.

If you can become humble enough to admit that you do not have the capacity to live a full life in only the entryway of self, and furthermore you do not resent the fact, but find relief and pleasure that this is so, then we can, every moment in time, work together to enhance our common dwelling-place.

Do not turn away anyone who seeks to enter into the door of your life, that all may be baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

 

“Have faith in God. Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea’, and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you will receive it, and you will.” Mark 11:22-24

When you ask ‘in prayer’ you are asking properly – you are recognizing God as authority, God as loving, God as powerful. You are led to seek God’s will – and God’s way, because to ask ‘in prayer’ is to ask in the wisdom of the Spirit, and the hope of God’s promises.

It is one thing to demand a desire as a spoiled, petulant child, and another thing to request the granting of a desire in an attitude of a simple request to a loving Father, willing to accept His decision graciously, realizing that His experience gives Him better long-term judgment of what is best.

Mom’s prayer: Father, what I truly desire is the development of perception to know your will for me, and thus to know more accurately what desires I should develop.  Enable me to come into closer fellowship with you, that I may be more perceptive, wise and efficient as I serve you as a mature daughter thus being all I need to be for my family and also for my own fulfillment as I become comfortable in the performance of my tasks, and rejoice in the rewards of doing them well.

More than 30 years, later, I echo my mom’s prayer.

                 (Photo courtesy of Chuck Dorway.)

Here is how mom worded her meditation thought on July 6, 1984:

My concern: “My soul languishes for the salvation; I hope in thy word: (Palms 119:81)

The Lord’s response: “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, that yields its fruit in season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.” (Psalm 1:1-3)

“My law is the stream of living water that sustains your faith, your hope, and your salvation. My law is simply an expression of my character in a manner which is comprehensible to you. I express my character in various ways, that all of my children may comprehend it, desire it, and appropriate it.

Day by day, you have opportunities to learn more about my law – about my character. Day by day you have opportunities to appropriate my character.

As a child plays “dress up” in her mother’s garments, and they do not fit, so you “try on” my righteousness and character and it does not fit with your sin-shape. Yet, a time comes when the child grows into the mother’s garments – and so can you grow into my righteousness and character as you contemplate my law, and seek to obey it.

Jesus said to become as a child: be trusting, be teachable, be enthusiastic, be willing.

You have many abilities and I am more eager than you to get them developed into accomplishments which serve me well, serve the world well, and serve you well.

Relax in my Presence, knowing that the Word in your mind, the kindness in your heart, the love in your emotions, and the willingness of your body to sacrifice for those you love and for those to whom you are kind, as you listen and obey the Word in your mind, shall all assure that you will prosper and produce fruit.

Thus shall your abilities develop into accomplishments. Thus shall you bring glory to me, joy to the world, and grace to yourself.

With grace, you glow in the realization that your peace comes from love given freely to you – no matter what you are – nor what you do.

But – that same grace is operative under the law. It must always work toward developing your abilities, into accomplishments – and if you attempt to ignore or circumvent the law, then you will not understand nor appreciate the workings of that grace.

When you know the law, and seek to abide by the law, you secure for yourself a freedom of expression that is enhancing in every way, for every one. This is my hope for you – this is what I long for you to desire, and to seek. I will move heaven and earth to provide the opportunity for you to choose this, and the means by which you can accomplish it.

If you believe this is so, it shall be.

 

“For because he himself has suffered and been tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted.” Hebrews 2:18

To really understand how anyone else feels in a situation, one must have had a similar experience. Thus Christ – God himself – put himself deliberately in a situation which would identify himself completely with those He desired to help. But in doing this, He not only was totally assured of knowing completely how His beloved felt, but He also assured that they know He understands, through actual experience, how they feel. It is this knowledge that opens a heart and a mind to receive His advice, and to be willing to do as He suggests.

How do we, who are not with Him as He was in the flesh, come to know what He advises, and how do we actually do what He suggests?

As one who is blind develops the other senses to a higher degree, we must develop our spiritual sense to a greater degree, so that we may perceive Him – and do, by His help, as He suggests.

The Word is a vital aid in developing our spiritual sense. Practicing doing what the Word suggests helps prayer and meditation. But all of these hinge on the development of faith. Faith does not burst full-blown just because we decide we want to believe the Word and follow the way.

We must, experiment by experiment, find the paths which lead us to greater faith – greater confidence that God is who He reveals Himself to be in Christ: loving, kind and concerned – and we must believe that He does desire to provide us a more abundant life – a life that focuses our attention so raptly on Him that we start to automatically imitate Him – in loving, in kindness, and in concern.

We will have good experiments and bad ones – but as long as we keep trying to develop our spiritual sense, we will also develop more faith in the one promise which is always true – that God is, God is who He expresses as the life of Christ, and we are His beloved offspring – a part of all He created, and thus dear to Him. In fact, He has revealed that as humans we have more privileges – thus more responsibility – than other parts of His creation. He is eager to help us develop into spiritually mature people, just as we develop physically and mentally. The spiritual is the highest attribute we possess – for it affects all other attributes. But it is a special treasure for us to have the joy of discovering and to help others discover.

Even our sense of curiosity and desiring to overcome challenge are considered in the manner in which we are formed, and the opportunity which is placed before us.

We are not merely cells which respond to stimuli, but thinking creative creatures formed in God’s own image! When we realize the potential of this, we come to have an exuberant faith that totally believes “nothing is impossible with God.”

 

 

Mom made this note before her “meditation thought”:

“I am to do what I can and not fret for God will do what I do not do – I cannot control circumstances a great deal, but I can live a righteous life, by God’s grace and power and my faith and obedience. I need not be concerned with details of how I am living a righteous life – only to look for God in all circumstances seeking His will and His way.”

Meditation Thought: “For the righteous man is taken away from calamity, he enters into peace. They rest in their beds who walk in their uprightness.” Isaiah 57:1a,2

Guilt is such a heavy burden that it destroys the joy of works and hinders the accomplishment of great works.

Yet God has provided a way for us to never have that burden of guilt for long – as soon as we repent – realizing we have been wrong, and desiring to be right(eous), He takes it from us. We are free to carry the lighter burdens of the duties of life, the works of God and discharging of our responsibilities.

If we labor under the burden of guilt, we are overtired from it, and cannot rest. But exercising in carrying our proper load – all we were meant to carry, in God’s perfect plan for us – we can rest in peace at night, knowing we accomplished our day’s tasks as we should, and nothing nags at us to interfere with our relaxation.

We can avoid guilt in two ways: by doing right, and by realizing that it is possible to correct our wrong actions, and then taking action to do so. This is the “priceless pearl”, the “treasure”  – it is what everyone longs for – the joy of clear conscience, and thus unfettered thinking and movement. Jesus bought this for us – He sacrificed dearly for it, and wants us to accept the gift, that His joy may be full in the giving – in this expression of His love for us.

 

“Thus says the Lord: Keep justice, and do righteousness, for soon my salvation will come, and my deliverance be revealed.”

“As a baby must grow and mature in order to comprehend who he is as a person, and who his parents are as his nurturers, so must a believer grow and mature to know who he is as an offspring of my Spirit, and who I am as the nurturer of his being.

Babies are inclined to get into all kinds of predicaments as they search for knowledge of the world and of themselves. Only the devotion of the parent keeps them from harm – or rescues them from their position of danger.

As the child grows, the more he is able to comprehend the love and devotion of the parent, the more he can understand the parent’s actions – even the actions which are not to his liking, such as denial of some of the child’s desires, and discipline for wrong-doing – then the more he can accept these with calmness and a lack of rebellion. In understanding and cooperating with the parent, the child creates a climate – a relationship – which enhances his maturity and furthers his growth into the character that is pleasing to both the parent and himself. With such a character, providing the parent is wise and knowledgeable, the child has what he needs to cope with all conditions he will meet in his life.

Be a perceptive believer – a perceptive child of mine. I will teach you the wisdom and knowledge which will enable you to cope with all conditions you will meet. I will not do this all ahead of time, however. You must trust me to know what to reveal to you before you have need for it, and what to reveal in the urgency of the moment.

You can remove fear and doubt from your life by trusting me, by believing in me and believing the communications which I give to you. Assume that everything which comes to light in my message to you – my lesson which you are to learn for your own immediate or future benefit.

If you will start to base all of your decisions on the premise that I am your loving Father actively guiding you into maturity and growth which will move you closer and closer to developing character which is like my character, you will release the power of the Spirit in your life as I have intended, and as Jesus demonstrated.

Truly accept my forgiveness of all that you have done which was not perfect in your sight or mine – as you forgive your children. Do not thwart the power of the Spirit by blocking it with guilt, unbelief, laziness or apathy.

The Spirit is released as you remove the blockage of the channel into which It desires to flow. As a physician through surgery clears clogged arteries so that blood may flow freely to give vitality of live, so do I clear your spirit when you place yourself before me, allowing me to operate – even if it is painful for a time.

Only as you believe in me, only as you trust me, only as you obey me, will you be free from fear and doubt, and find peace and fulfillment – wherever you are, whatever the circumstances may be, and whatever you are called upon to do.

I beckon to you – to love you.

I teach you – because I love you.

I need you – because I love you.

If I, who created you, am in such a state, what position are you in? Think, pray, be alert: Learn who you are, why you are, and what you are. When you recognize yourself as a part of me – and our mutual dependence upon one another, you will open yourself to the free flow of the Spirit and the possibilities of the kingdom now within you.

In the realm of the kingdom:

There is no fear nor doubt.

There is Love.

There is Beauty.

There is Service.

There is Satisfaction.

There is Peace.

There is Joy.

There is Hope.

There is Harmony.

There is the Fulfillment of all the longings of the heart.

Is this the place where you desire to live? Allow me to take you there. Believe I can. Trust I shall. Test Me! I have used every available means of encouraging you to do so, for how can I prove myself unless you give me opportunity to do so?”

 

 

 

Mom’s journal dated 3/30/1984

Ephesians 5:1-2

…be imitators of God, as beloved children, and walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Meditation Thought:

“Beloved children should be loving children – responding to the love offered to them. If the child responds in love to the parents, the child will be an imitator of the parents.

We need to remember our heritage as we go through life. We are not animals nor are we robots. We are beloved children of God the creator of the universe! : not to be “spoiled brats” – but to respond to Him in love, to please him – for in pleasing Him, we will be pleased ourselves, even when we are called upon Him to make sacrifices. For sacrifices are only the energies moving circumstances to bring desired changes – changes which move someone – perhaps many – closer to God the creator, closer to being an accurate imitation of Him. This movement of closing the gap between Father and children is the renewal for which all long – whether or not it is recognized that the renewal of our intimacy with the Father is the thing needed for satisfaction of our hunger. We realize that we need peace and joy. It is when we realize we are beloved children of the King of the Kingdom that we are able to find the way to that peace and joy.

Mom’s journal dated 6/22/1984

Isaiah 52:12-13

…go out… purify yourselves, you who bear the vessels of the Lord, for you shall not go out in haste and you shall not to in flight, for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard. Behold, my servant shall prosper, he shall be exalted and lifted up very high.

Meditation Thought:

“You bear the vessels of the Lord: Holy Spirit and Jesus – the person and personality of Jesus is present in you, and the power of the Spirit is in you. WHY BE AFRAID? WHY DOUBT? WHY CONSIDER YOURSELF UNABLE TO COPE WITH LIFE?

You have the Word of the Father, the presence of the Son, and the power of the Spirit with you at all times through your faith. Nothing evil can defeat this team! You may face evil and do battle with evil – but you shall not be harmed by evil. You are the temple containing the vessels of the Creator and Sustainer of the universe, and He shall not allow His temple to be destroyed, nor His vessels to be desecrated.

Do not focus on areas which confuse you – but on the wisdom which comes to you as you seek meaning in the right places – in the Word, in prayer, in loving service, in faithful actions.

Concentrate on the positive, eliminate the negative! You know which is which. The Word tells you, the Spirit tells you, your conscience tells you, circumstances tell you. In seeking the positive and forgetting the negative you will be transformed – as Christ was transformed by focusing on the power of the resurrection rather than the pain of the cross.

When you feel pain, concentrate on the coming resurrection power which will evolve when the circumstances move along to their conclusion!

Visualize healing, wholeness, holiness, beauty, love – all good things. Hold fast to the vision for it is the revelation of what I have gone ahead to prepare for you. I have prepared the kingdom; I take you to it in each circumstance. The circumstance is the way which must be traveled in order to reach the destination of the kingdom, that lovely place where you actually experience in every sense what you visualized through faith.

You realize by now that you live in multiple areas at the same time. As human events are varied, so are spiritual events varied. There are always projects in the planning stage, projects in the production stage, and projects in the completed stage.

You need to accept this and to appreciate each stage. Do not be discouraged by difficulties, for challenge serves two purposes: it inspires your mind and imagination, and it turns your focus to our relationship. It is through these factors that I am able to do My will freely, having received your consent and cooperation , and thus prosper you and raise you up. And then shall nations understand (Isaiah 52:17) through your devotion and obedience to me, the way, the Life and the Truth.

Each day will have its pain of the cross – but each day will have the joy of resurrection. While in pain, visualize the resurrection, and while in joy, be glad for the appearance of the pain which brought such an abundant harvest, which brought the reality of the kingdom.

In this way you can be thankful to me for all circumstances, and it is this key which opens the door of the kingdom upon which you knocked, that within the kingdom you have the gift for which you asked – a perfect understanding of our relationship of love and trust – the peace which you have sought.

When you are in pain, let me bring relief to you; through my Word, my Spirit – let me use the pain to bring forth new birth of an aspect of the kingdom. Do not abort the birth of something beautiful by lack of faith, or lack of labor, or lack of love.

The kingdom is to be born as an offspring of the world – through my faithful children, by my unbounding love and aid. Rejoice in your labor, knowing that it will produce the life which will give you utter joy.”

   no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed,
    and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord
    and their vindication^[a] from me, declares the Lord.”

These are the thoughts Mom perceived as being from God the Father (6/27/1984):

“You must realize that despite the difficulties that Jesus encountered, He was always prepared for them. He had wisdom, strength and spiritual power to overcome every one of them – including death! In His teachings and in His life, which was an example of all He taught, He revealed the Truth of the nature I intended for my children to possess – if only they would choose to possess it, rather than to reject it by attempting to let self-will be their nature.

Do not strain so much in your walk along the way. You are focusing too much on the stones and steep places in the path, and not looking to the grandeur of the view – and to the excitement of reaching higher and higher places which will have views even more breath-taking.

When you read the Word, although Jesus and His followers did suffer from a misunderstanding world, how much did they talk about that?  – very little. Most of their concern was with the message – they had found a transformed way of life, and had a passion to share it. It brought them such fulfillment that nothing the world did to them could cause them to give it up, nor to stop recommending it to others.

Their devotion cannot be ignored. It is the very knowledge of the opposition to them – the intensity of it – that lends credence to their witness. If what they had found was not true – if it was not superior to ordinary existence, why did they suffer so to hold on to it, and refuse to deny it? They learned and grew in wisdom, in faith, in trust, in competency, in confidence, step by step – and that is the proper pattern for all to follow.

Seek my will for this moment, and do your best to be my obedient child at this moment; I have you in my loving arms. Only that which will further my purpose for your life – and for all of life – will be allowed to touch you.

Trust me. I conceived you in love; I teach you in love; I treasure your response of love. Fear has no place in such a relationship. Faith is one another’s love is the basis of the relationship. I need your love just as crucially as you need my love.

Don’t you see – I will not cause situations which will alienate your love for me. I will not treat you as a spoiled child and cater to your every demand, whether it pleases me or not – but I will seek to please you within the context of good parenting.

When you, as did Jesus in the flesh, catch the vision of the way things should be, the way they are in My perfect plan, and when you are so enthused about helping to bring that plan into an accomplished fact that you ignore all opposition, or turn it aside by the power I give to you – then you are in the process of being conformed to my character, rather than your own selfish character, or the character that the world would impress on you.

Doesn’t it make sense that if you were formed in my image, that any distortions which have occurred are better removed, even with pain, in order that you may return to that true image of your Father, who has no equal on earth or in heaven?

And if this is true for you, isn’t it true for all? Aren’t you willing to sacrifice some of your own preferences in order to bring more of my children into a realization of who their Father truly is, and what He desires to do for them?

I have tried my best to show how much I love you – to the point of doing almost everything for you that will assure your peace and joy – but one thing I cannot do – I cannot violate your free will, and force you to seek my will and do it even though I know that this is what will bring you your deepest heart’s desired fulfilled. Only you can have the faith in me great enough to seek my will and do it. Only you can decide to trust Me not to cause you harm. Only you can believe that I truly do love you, and that I created you to be the object of my love, and the delight of my heart. Only you can respond to such a love with a similar love. Only you can decide whether to welcome my  Spirit into your spirit. I stand at the door of the heart and knock – but I will not break down the door. Each one of my children must respond and open the door if I am to enter.

I know that I can bring good if I am allowed to enter. When my child knows, then is Truth perceived, the way perceived, and the kingdom come upon the earth as my Spirit communes with the spirit of my child, in harmony, in love, in mutual trust and mutual understanding. My Spirit is the ‘kingdom’, my child’s spirit is the ‘earth’. The uniting of the two is the fulfillment of the heart’s desire of both the Father and the child.”