Authority to do good

You cannot serve your own selfish will and My will at one and the same time unless, through your desire to serve Me, you reform your will to conform to My will, by the prayers and My Word saturating your mind.

Meditation Thought: “When the crowds saw it (the paralytic walk after Jesus said ‘Your sins are forgiven’) they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men.” (Matthew 9:8)

“Given such authority to men” – not just to Jesus, but to men. To those people who seek me, seek to know me, seek to obey me, do I give authority to do good.

I sent Jesus to teach you the Way – the Way to do good. Whether you are called upon to enable paralytics to walk, or free the guilt-ridden from sin, or minister to any other need matters not. Only pray constantly, seeking My will for you, and obey My Word and My softly-speaking Spirit – and rejoice in the works that the Spirit does using your will and spirit, your mind and body. Align your emotions with the spiritual that is, the ordinances which I have outlined, rather than concentrating them on the physical. In this way do you allow greater flow of My Spirit, to effect healing and wholeness.

You are weak-willed. But you can yield to My will in weakness rather than to that which tempts you away from My will. When you recognize that you are wandering and need steadying, call upon Me! Pray! Read My Word or recall it to your mind. Think of the sacrifice Jesus made so that you could resist temptation as He did, through His own power withing you – if you will allow it to flow.

You cannot have it both ways: ‘You cannot serve God and mammon.’ You cannot serve your own selfish will and My will at one and the same time unless, through your desire to serve Me, you reform your will to conform to My will, by the prayers and My Word saturating your mind.

Your faith in Jesus as your Lord and your Savior shall enable you to reform your will. This is precisely the purpose of His birth into human form.

Take this gift – the most valuable, helpful and sacrificial gift ever given – or ever received. Do you realize how privileged you are to have if offered to you?

Go; be it done for you as you have believed.

I respond because I love you as the Father has loved Me. I respond to give glory to the Father. I respond to liberate you from your prison of self-incarceration.

“Jesus said, ‘Go; be it done for you as you have believed.'” (Matthew 8:13)

You believe in My integrity, in My power, in My desire to heal, to do good for you, to you, and for all who believe that I have the power to do these things. And I shall heal, I shall do good, I shall respond to your faith.

Do I respond to impress you with My power? Do I respond to receive your applause? No – I respond because I love you as the Father has loved Me. I respond to give glory to the Father. I respond to liberate you from your prison of self-incarceration. Self incarceration: It is the concentration on self which holds you bound within yourself –  and within yourself alone is very little wisdom or power or knowledge or generosity or mercy or kindness or righteousness. There is however, within yourself a longing to obtain these things: and so you shall obtain them – by trusting me enough to follow me out of the prison door when I open it for you in response to your cry for help. It is at the moment your recognize that your self is insufficient to fulfill your needs that I come to release you.

What an exciting, beautiful joy-giving world awaits you when you follow Me! I must teach you a new Way to live outside of prison: here must you discipline yourself, must you give of yourself, must you humble yourself – this is the pattern necessary to cut out the fabric of faith. And when you have been clothed in your new garment of faith, you shall be seen by yourself, by your God and by all who know you as a different person than the one who was in prison and clothed in unbelief. You have exchanged the convicted’s garment for the garment of a princess: but not due to your power. You have been freed, and given authority because you have humbled yourself and exalted your God through recognizing Him as Lord of your life gladly, with a profound sense of relief.

There is provision for all good things: for choice, for variety, for initiative, for response, for unity, for fulfillment.

You, my beloved,
I seek for my own:
When you see me
as I am – (not with you in your prison)-
But freely moving
With you by my side
In the wide, wide world, –
If you believe your eyes,
If you hear My Word,
If you imitate My acts,
You shall hear,
As do all who believe in me:
“Go, be it done for you as you have believed.”

 

Change the Course of History

This is why 12 men could change the course of history…

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 7:21
“For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,” Romans 14:17

He who is righteous in attitude, who promotes peace, and who works in joy through the power of the Holy Spirit, shall enter into the kingdom of God who is in heaven and shall abide therein while at the same time abiding in the flesh. The time will come when flesh is shed and still there is abiding in the kingdom, but to abide in the kingdom it is not necessary to shed the flesh.

This is the message of the crucifixion – though it appears that the message is to reassure of life after shedding the body, its key message is that the Power which can bring a spirit to be expressed in bodily form is the same Power which also is able to reverse the process; that is, the body is to be expressed spiritually. This is the basis and meaning of all commandments which have been taught by Jesus.

Those who sought God before the life of Jesus were seeking for this knowledge, finding it to various degrees – but once Jesus lived in the flesh it became possible to know God intimately, and to dwell with Him personally while still in the body with full knowledge of this fact. This is why 12 men could change the course of history even when their Leader was not longer in the flesh – they had no earthly power: no political authority, no wealth, no ‘family connections’ – only the sure knowledge that God had come to dwell with them, to show His love, and to empower them to do His works. And they did, Despite all kinds of obstacles and persecutions, they followed their Jesus dwelling within them in the form of the Holy Spirit as surely and as devotedly as they had followed Him in the flesh.

And their example is clear to us. They not only wrought great change in history, but recorded the process of how they did it so clearly that we have no difficulty in understanding the process or imitating it, if we so chose.

There are ‘miracles’ changing the course of history wherever a loyal heart follows Christ, doing the Father’s works, expressing the Father’s love, carrying on in the tradition of those who knew Jesus in the flesh – and knew Him just as intimately in the Spirit.

For God is Generous

God desires you to serve – and to serve both willingly and devotedly.

Meditation Thought: “No one can serve two masters, for he will hate the one and love the other or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and Mammon.” (Matthew 6:24)

(Mammon is a personification of riches as an evil spirit or deity.)

You cannot serve two masters. You can, however, serve one master and do good to another master in the process of serving the one, provided this is according to the will of the one served.

Therein lies the crux: To serve God will not preclude doing good in many areas – even if this good actually constitutes a temporary serving of another master. But to serve Mammon is another matter. For God is generous, but Mammon is a tyrant, and Mammon desires more and more serving to himself for his own selfish gain. He will not be so generous as to allow you to serve God: He desires to enslave you to himself. God desires you to serve – and to serve both willingly and devotedly. But He will give you assignments which place you in the position of doing good in many places, thus bringing service to many masters. This is a far cry, however, to doing good to only one master: Mammon.

By doing service for many masters, according to the instructions by God, this is serving God as one master. When we run ‘hither and yon’ serving masters on our own decision, then we are attempting to serve more than one master; and not only are we ineffective in serving them, we give disservice to both God and ourselves.

Guideposts: God’s Will Revealed

We are shown clearly the guidepost we need now, where we are, and trust the other guideposts to stretch on into our future, whether we can see them clearly from this place or not.

A meditation image:

“I saw telephone poles going off into the distance. We see the close ones so clearly, and only as we travel on do the ones in the distance become clear to us – and then we see more in the distance that were not even visible at all initially.

It seems God’s meaning for our life is revealed in this manner – we are shown clearly the guidepost we need now, where we are, and trust the other guideposts to stretch on into our future, whether we can see them clearly from this place or not.”

A Tide, River, Iceberg and Prism

In our lives we cannot continually give treasures of ourselves without returning for periods of renewal to receive these treasures in order that we might share them.

Back in 1974, when Mom first started her journals, she had several ‘images’ in her prayer and meditation time that helped her see some of the ways God works in our lives:

Like a Tide: In our lives we cannot continually give treasures of ourselves without returning for periods of renewal to receive these treasures in order that we might share them. (Just as the tide goes out and collects shells, etc., then brings them to the shore.)

Like a River: Our lives alternate periods of a flurry of activity and periods of involvement in harassing situations, and if we will just flow along, accepting that as time moves on, we will come to a wide, shallow, peaceful place in the river of our lives, it all has perspective.

Like an Iceberg: The part of us that others see is only the part above the water. Underneath is what is supporting that above – and the stronger the underneath part, the more steady will be the top as it is buffeted by the wind (circumstances of our lives). The  lower part is strengthened through faith and obedience to God.

Like a Prism: As a prism focuses a beam of light into separate colors, so God sends His power through His believers (who act as the focusing prism) – using their prayers for others to send the solution for the particular need. In this concept it would seem logical that the more people praying for an individual the more ‘rays’ would be concentrated on the one in need, perhaps explaining the effectiveness of group prayer.

Glimpses of Heaven

Fret not that there are rocky paths and high mountains. I am here to help you move around them and over them. Do you understand that I traveled them first? I am an authentic, competent guide. Trust Me!

Meditation Thought: Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” Mark 14:38

“Watch. Be conscious of who you are and where you are and what you are doing. Be especially aware that you are not alone. I am with you. Fear not. Fret not. Regret not. Simply walk with Me, communing in harmony, moving constantly toward a more perfect relationship and a more perfect understanding of what is taking place and My guidance in that situation.

Remember our past walks together – many roads frightened you – but it was these roads which let us commune in a more vital and closer way. So it shall be again. This road is difficult for you to travel – but you are not travelling alone, nor are you travelling without a perfect destination for you and I to travel to and revel in at the end of the journey.

You are fascinated that you experience more than the physical qualities of life. You love “coincidences” that bring joy to you or to someone else. Do not forget your inspirational moments and the results of them. These moments are not the only moments you are to experience. Trials are a part of life on earth – but trials are also a way of moving closer to heaven – not simply heaven after death of the body, but glimpses of heaven while you are on earth.

TRUST: It is a pattern of life that the one who needs knowledge must seek it to find it. You are on the Way; fret not that there are rocky paths and high mountains. I am here to help you move around them and over them. Do you understand that I traveled them first? I am an authentic, competent guide. Trust Me!

 

Lost and Imprisoned – for Good

Therefore I am assuming by faith in your faithfulness that my dark time will end and the day will become even more beautiful. How I will praise You and thank You! 

One of my mom’s greatest desires is that her struggle with Alzheimer’s somehow benefit others. Today’s post comes from the first year she was diagnosed. It doesn’t follow the usual pattern, but may offer comfort and hope.

“For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost”.  Luke 19:10

Mom’s prayer:

Oh Lord, thank you that are saving me from my “lostness” – that’s just the way I feel now: Lost and confused and frightened. It’s almost like someone else – someone I don’t like much – replaced the old me but imprisons me too.

I know in my mind and my faith and my experiences with Your loving care in the past that you ARE working good out of this morose I am in – perhaps not just for me, maybe for others also.

Thank you that you never did reveal that your people had to be perfect for you to love them and help them – me too, as one of your creations. Therefore I am assuming by faith in your faithfulness that my dark time will end and the day will become even more beautiful. How I will praise You and thank You!

The beginning

Just as a drop of food coloring will make water a pale tint, as you add more drops, it becomes vivid – a complete change. So as we let Jesus come into our lives, we are completely changed.

Mom had a well-established routine of prayer time and meditation before she ever began recording them in these journals. (See about this blog page.) We are forever grateful to her friend Mary Lou for giving her the blank book that inspired her to begin writing them down. Today’s entry is from the first page of the first book.

“For a long time I have wanted to keep a journal of family events and spiritual progress – of ideas as they come, feelings, etc. Much is lost, but I hope to keep a current record now, and as time (and memory) permit, to reflect on what has happened previously.”

The entry is fairly long, and totally awesome, and I will type the whole thing here – but if you don’t have time to read it all, let me start with an illustration from the middle so you don’t miss that:

“Just as a drop of food coloring will make water a pale tint, as you add more drops, it becomes vivid – a complete change. So as we let Jesus come into our lives, and as the Holy Spirit guides us, and we become more and more mature Christians, our lives are completely changed.”

Now, back to the beginning…

“This morning I had a particularly moving prayer and meditation time. For some time I have been concerned that my desire for beauty, harmony and order was a selfish, impractical desire. However, today it seemed God was conveying to me that He has a plan for each of us – that He made us in His image, yet each person uniquely fitted for the job he is do do. The qualities of beauty, harmony and order are all in keeping with His World and His Word.

It seemed I was to do my work through qualities of yielding, softness – although these are not particularly in my character, it seemed that (as experienced in ‘My Heart’ – ‘Christ’s Home’) – if I will relax and let Jesus guide my hands (tongue, etc.) He will reach others through me, using these very qualities of beauty, harmony and order that are comforting to me, and yet have up til now been a source of aggravation because I could not attain them to my satisfaction.

I turned in the Bible then to Romans 10:8 through 15:6. It all seemed very clear. Especially interesting: 10:15 ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the Gospel of peace with God.’ Also 11:6 ‘And since Abraham and the prophets are God’s people, their children will be too. For if the roots of the tree are holy, the branches will be too.’

12:3 ‘Be honest in your estimate of yourselves, measuring your value by how much faith God has has given you. Just as there are many parts to our bodies, so it is with Christ’s body. We are all parts of it, and it takes every one of us to make it complete, for we each have different work to do… (6) God has given each of us the ability to do certain things well.’

13:9 ‘All 10 (commandments) are wrapped up in this one, to love your neighbor as you love yourself… It is the only law you need.’

In meditation, I had the concept that just as a drop of food coloring will make water a pale tint, as you add more drops, it becomes vivid – a complete change. So as we let Jesus come into our lives, and as the Holy Spirit guides us, and we become more and more mature Christians, our lives are completely changed.

Romans 13 ‘Obey the government.’ (Obey authority: This brings order.)

Romans 12:18 ‘Don’t quarrel with anyone. Be at peace with everyone, just as much as possible.’

Late afternoon – Karen came in to talk with me, and I was writing in mid-afternoon. We had a wonderful discussion about God, and I felt I wanted to see if she’d like to read “A Man Called Peter”. She read one of the sermons to me while I ironed and washed dishes. She really liked it and wants to read the book. Then we read ‘The 4 Spiritual Laws’ and the ‘Holy Spirit’ booklets. It’s been a wonderful day – thank you Lord!”

I would have been 12 at the time and don’t have a specific memory of that day but reading about it brings a smile and a warm sense of love. So typical of a summer day with my Mom. Today is my birthday – this entry is her birthday gift to me. I echo her sentiment “Thank you Lord!”

Beloved, Cherished, Trusting

Lord, here I am – your beloved child, your cherished child and at least at some level, your trusting child. Therefore, I yield to your will; I seek your guidance; I trust you to take good care of me.

Meditation Thought: “In his great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 1:3)

How exciting a new birth is – the joy of creation, the awe for this little one who is so helpless, yet so precious. That must be the way you feel about me! It must be the way you feel about everyone!

If I can think of myself as your precious little one whom you are giving wonderful, loving care – but are also having to be ‘tough’ with at times because you know what is best for me, then perhaps I will trust you more fully and obey you more diligently, knowing that you will in the end be the one that was right after all!

Lord, here I am – your beloved child, your cherished child and at least at some level, your trusting child. Therefore, I yield to your will; I seek your guidance; I trust you to take good care of me.