I AM TRANSFORMED

I AM TRANSFORMED
SO THAT I MAY LIVE FOR GOD – and finally be my true self. It happened in steps, the last of those coming quickly together. Last year I had an experience of remembering some very old hurts that I thought were behind me. It made me angry and hurt. I thought they were gone and instead they were just lurking in the dark, waiting to bring me down. By God’s grace and through prayer and meditation I asked for healing. My daughter also helped and supported me through the awful ickiness of those old stories raising their ugly heads. I continued in my spiritual practices and stayed close to God. God’s unconditional love supported me and I knew I had support from the heavenly beings God has placed around me. Meanwhile, that old stuff felt so wrong, I continued to ask God to release me from its hold. Much of this was subconscious, as I concentrated on the connection of love from God.

Then, one day, I talked with my daughter, who is strongly connected to God herself. I also saw something about our ultimate destiny is reflecting the love of God in the world. I affirmed in my heart that statement and it started a ball rolling. I talked with my husband about how it is necessary to take a different approach toward negativity around us, if it persists in those we know. I know this seems random. Please hang in there with me. The next day I was cleaning out old email, since I had gotten behind. I came across one from someone related to our family. They had gotten their DNA report and Ancestry gave them a connection to our family. Later I woke up during the night and my thoughts went to this new connection from my father’s side. I began considering what we might have in common and from there it seemed like a jet-sled ride. Gracious thoughts of who I truly am started within me. This led to my KNOWING without a doubt that I didn’t need anything that had ever happened to me. The Holy Spirit let me know that I could let it all go and I would begin to know how to live as my true self. Those old experiences are not me. They happened to me and I am grateful that they have helped to teach me about life. They have served to help me understand others and the pain they lived through. Ultimately though, they are not me.

God has been helping me grow through all that into who I am meant to be. It was time to let it all go and emerge as a new being, a butterfly. Today I am living into the life I have been training for, by telling you about what happened, so you can see it as a possibility too. I know I will not miss any of that old stuff. It only got in the way of being myself. It felt awful and was heavy to lug around. I feel light and am eager to shine God’s light for others to see it. God is the reason I am alive now. God is the reason I survived all the past hurts and horrors. I thank God who has lifted all that old stuff away. The road is now clear and I can see a bright happy future ahead – one that I know will be exciting and fun.  O joyful God, who stands with us in whatever we live through, I am grateful for the love and support I have always known. You have always been there and I am overwhelmingly grateful that you helped me see and know you as the love you are. You have made me whole and will continue to keep me whole, so that I may shine your light for others, in whatever place they may be. Help me use your unconditional love to show the possibilities of a different way to live in this world. Continue to show us all the way to transformation and a more complete life with you. Thank you for the paths we have been shown through Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. Help us all walk toward the joy and away from the pain.  Amen.   I AM A NEW CREATURE – HALLELUJAH!     PEACE

GOD’S VISION OF LOVE

GOD’S VISION OF LOVE
AND WHAT CAN BE ACCOMPLISHED – through it will change our world. God’s love is so powerful that we can be changed from the inside out and thereby affect how the world around us operates. Negativity stops the effects of love, even by those of us who are trying to be loving. When we ask God to help us see things differently and then change how we react it is this process that will transform our lives. It is impossible to do any of this on our own. We need Gods’ transformative power working in us to change how we react. I have experienced this recently in my own life. I was helped to realize that certain physical characteristics have come about through negativity in my life. From the very beginning of being a pastor’s wife,  I was surrounded with negativity. Most of us are not taught how to cope with this in a positive way and it takes its toll on us over the years. I had actually absorbed this negativity, thinking of it as a loving act. It has done me much harm to do this and it left me less able to do what I need to do in my life. Negativity is very destructive and yet we let it harm us and our world. We believe it is something we must take on and then continue trying to be Christian, where we have actually made the job of living through love much harder.

God is the source of love and without that connection to the source, it is an uphill battle to live a life of love. In the great passage on love, that many have used in their wedding service, 1 Corinthians 13 tells us about the nature of God’s love.   4 “Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant  5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;  6 it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth.  7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  8 Love never ends.”  Innumerable Christians over the centuries have read or heard that passage and thought that we must love in this way and somehow do this in our own strength. We believed that if we are supposed to be a follower of Jesus, then this should just happen in us. Many have beaten themselves up because they couldn’t do it. It takes acceptance of the love God offers us, before we can begin to live life in love. Then it takes a commitment to let this love flow through us from the source. I have recently experienced that when we stop accepting negativity around us, the power of love quickly replaces it with love. Who knew? Such is the power of God, at work in us. When we love through God’s grace, without judgment, unconditionally and without reservation, God’s love changes the very atmosphere around us. Those around us who are able will react differently. This is the beginning for each of us to be involved in the transformation process. Negativity is destructive and we should not support or participate in it. Love can be the beginning of a rebirth for each of us and for the world. God’s love accomplishes the impossible.   God of vision and love, we ask that your love may flow through us, to transform not only our lives but the world around us. We are grateful to be a part of this process of a rebirth for us and the world. Guide us and give us the courage to resist negative thinking and actions from ourselves and others. Help us be a part of the process to change the world through love.   Amen.      PEACE

ASKING GOD IS THE KEY

ASKING GOD IS THE KEY
TO OPENING THE DOOR – and entering our life with God. Whenever I think of accepting God, I see an open doorway. God has arms wide open to welcome us into love. There are no obstacles between us and this open door, except when we create them. Fear is the biggest one, that can become so large we may not even be able to see there is a door there waiting for us. The way we rid ourselves of fears is by letting go of them and laying them at God’s feet. There are other ways of expressing this procedure. We can pray to God to remove the obstacles. We can acknowledge them as our sin, since they keep us away from God and ask for the help to let them go. Whatever process we each use, it is done with God. We begin by asking God to help us release the power fear has over us. God will help us from there, by communicating the best way for us to do this. We need to pay attention here because the direction may be subtle. The answer may very well be found within ourselves, since God often puts answers there. When we feel prompted to do something, especially since we have asked for help, we need to trust – if it seems beneficial it is God within us. It helps here to know something of how God acts in people’s lives, by reading the stories of this happening in the Bible. Whatever God asks of us, it will be from a loving place and designed for our ultimate good.

When we seek out God, we can look forward to unconditional love and acceptance that supports us as we grow in both knowledge and the skills to love others and accomplish things with God’s power. The passage from Jeremiah 29 so beautifully captures what God offers us when we come through the open doorway.  11 “For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.  12 Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you.  13 When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart,  14 I will let you find me, says the Lord.”  This gives us a reason to put aside or overcome fear, with God’s help, so that we too can be part of those who know God and benefit from what God promises. Getting rid of negativity is the same as fear, so when we pray for relief from the negative, God and the angels will help us move forward into the new life waiting on the other side of the doorway. Since we are human, we will need to ask for help in letting go of fear and the negative more than once. God’s response will not fail to help us move away from them and forward toward the light God’s shines on our pathway. God will never give up on us, no matter how many tries we need to put all the bad behind us and walk forward in love.  Loving God, whose plans for our lives are many and filled with joy, guide us to the path of love and light. Show us how to leave fear, doubt and the negative behind and enter into the light of your love and acceptance through the open door.  Amen.     PEACE

COMMUNICATING WITH ANGELS

COMMUNICATING WITH ANGELS
IS STRAIGHT FORWARD – and a great blessing from God, for those who love God. Even when we cannot sense heavenly beings around us, we can still communicate with them because God has designed it to be so. When we open ourselves to God, we also will be heard by angels. They have been created to praise God and serve God by helping us. Angels and other heavenly beings exist to spread love, answer our prayers to God and show us signs of what is happening beyond human activity. When we feel love for God in seeing creation and noticing particular objects, angels have enabled that experience for us. They also help foster coincidence and surprising events to draw us closer to the spiritual world where God and the heavenly beings dwell. When we take the first step to be open about all that, and we can let go of the fear of not knowing how it works, we can accept all of it to be true. This is all God’s doing, is for our good, and it empowers more love in the world.

In Ephesians 3 Paul expresses beautifully how God works within us.  16 “I pray that from God’s glorious, unlimited resources you will be empowered with inner strength through the Spirit. 17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in God. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep God’s love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.”  These unlimited resources mentioned include the heavenly beings that God directs toward this purpose. Acceptance is the beginning for us. God has put this all in place and has been working within us, even when we don’t realize it. When we accept God and open thankful hearts to God, it will be amplified. We will feel more love and we will be prompted how to show more love to others. This only works when we are ready to let go of fear and negativity. God will heal all the damage it has done and renew our lives. Relying on God will accelerate our growth and bring mountains of joy.   Loving God, we thank you for the blessings of heavenly beings, who bring us closer to you. Help us drop the fear and negative influences, so we may communicate love in all we do. Guide us in noticing how angels give us signs of your love and abundance. Help us see the support creation gives us, so we may pass on the power of blessings and love to others around us.   Amen.     PEACE

GOD’S SPIRITUAL MESSENGERS

GOD’S SPIRITUAL MESSENGERS
ARE ALL AROUND US – and give us direction. Whether we can sense them and know what they are saying to us is the question. The Bible tells us that this is true, but if we are not helped to know what it is like to experience this, we are likely to chalk it up to nothing at all or just something weird that we cannot explain. Psalm 91 is a treasure trove of how God loves us.  “Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.  2 This I declare about the Lord: God alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him. … 4 God will cover you with his feathers.    He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection.”  Those wings and feathers are wings of the archangels, designed by God to protect us. The Psalmist explains this angel protection even further.  9” If you make the Lord your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter,  10 no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your home.  11 For God will order the angels to protect you wherever you go.”  When we trust in God completely and make God our refuge we will know we are blessed with constant angel protection and guidance. They work for God and help us in the way God wants it to happen. This is a result of having a relationship with God.

In Luke 4 this blessing is again talked about.  Here Jesus is quoting Psalm 91:  “ ‘God will order the angels to protect and guard you.  11 And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’ ”  Jesus knew this to be true and is emphasizing it for us to believe it. So why don’t we believe it? Evil brings in self-doubt whenever it can. We have also not cultivated the ability to hear and sense angels around us. The heavenly beings or the Holy Spirit communicate with us and guide and protect us. The Holy Spirit as part of God directs their care of us. We do not worship them; we do express our thankfulness to God, for their help and the caring from God that puts them there. I don’t think it matters whether it is the Holy Spirit or angels that we may sense or hear. It all comes from God and has the same intention, to love and bring God’s light to the world.

The end of Psalm 91 sums it up, concerning those who love God and are committed to doing God’s work:  14 “The Lord says, ‘I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name.  15 When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them.  16 I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation.’ ”    O God of shelter and protection, we are grateful for the Hosts of Heaven placed all around each of us. As we begin to look for signs of their presence, help us sense their guidance, and tune our ears to hear their advice. Help us overcome arrogance and pride in order to follow what they are telling us to do. Build in us the assurance they will always act in love and will guard us from all evil influences. In the name of Jesus Christ our Redeemer.  Amen.     PEACE

GIVING GOD OUR NEGATIVITY

GIVING GOD OUR NEGATIVITY
WILL AVOID THE DAMAGE – it does when we spew it at ourselves, others in our way and especially on those we love. Negativity in its many forms causes harm not only to humans and animals, even to the very earth where we live. This is not a part of God’s plan either for us or our environment. What can we do about it? It is a huge problem, one that affects every being on the earth. There are so many problems, too many for us as individuals to fix or even try. Most of us live with a high level of frustration that we don’t know what to do with. It is discouraging and creates a huge mountain of anger. News stories every day testify to this. Those who are sensitive to it fear the increase they see each day. Where will it end?

In this seemingly hopeless situation, there are those who still see hope. That hope has one source – God. That kind of world is not what God wants for us and we have been given resources to use in the situation now. Our first resource is prayer. We can learn to go to God in prayer as soon as we realize we are in a precarious situation, where we are either facing negativity around us or about to spew it on others because we are not dealing with what we feel. God will help us come to terms with negative thoughts and feelings, even if the situation cannot be changed. God has also given us heavenly beings that can help us learn how to let go of negativity and replace it with love. This is the ultimate goal for our lives to learn how to get through whatever we face with love. It will be love that heals our souls and will heal the earth.

Once we change how we react to everything around us using love, we will discover others who have learned to do this as well. Until we are able to live in love, we are not able to see them fully. Love opens our eyes to the way the world could be and we find allies around us who also want to work with healing love in all they do. When we set the intention of not letting all things negative bring us down, God’s resources of love will begin to bolster our desire to live in a different way. A bit of Psalm 119 shows us that when we put ourselves into the intention of following what God asks us to do, we will start to find the path God calls us to walk, a path of love.  34 “Give me understanding and I will obey your instructions; I will put them into practice with all my heart.  35 Make me walk along the path of your commands, for that is where my happiness is found.”    O God of love, help us to let go of all the negativity around us and turn our backs to it. Teach us to reach for the love you offer instead and guide us in how to walk a path of love each day.   Amen.     PEACE

OUR SOULS ARE CRYING OUT

OUR SOULS ARE CRYING OUT
TO GOD – our Creator, comforter and guide, who will always answer us with love. Psalm 119 expresses a soul’s deep yearnings for a connection to God. It may be that it echoes our experiences with reaching for the one outside of ourselves who will feed us, comfort us and give us hope for a life with God. I have certainly been through similar experiences of crying out for God, especially when I needed the direction only God could provide.

25 I lie in the dust; revive me by your word.

26 I told you my plans, and you answered. Now teach me your decrees.

27 Help me understand the meaning of your commandments, and I will meditate on your wonderful deeds.

28 I weep with sorrow; encourage me by your word.

29 Keep me from lying to myself; give me the privilege of knowing your way.

30 I have chosen to be faithful; I have determined to live by your principles.

31 I cling to your laws. Lord, don’t let me be put to shame!

32 I will pursue your commands, for you expand my understanding.

33 Teach me your decrees, O Lord; I will keep them to the end.

34 Give me understanding and I will obey your instructions; I will put them into practice with all my heart.

35 Show me how to walk along the path of your commands, for that is where my happiness is found.

O loving God of comfort, help us reach out to find the grace only you provide. Guide us to find the direction you are calling us to follow and help us use the resources you give us for whatever we do in response to your call.  Amen.     PEACE

BEING ABLE TO FOCUS FOR GOD

BEING ABLE TO FOCUS FOR GOD
IN A DISTRACTED WORLD – is a blessing from God, through grace, to accomplish what God needs us to do. There is increasing pressure in our jobs and home life to do more than one task at a time. Some of this we do to ourselves, by wanting to be in touch with what is happening elsewhere all the time, despite what may be going on around us. It results in our doing our job and relating to friends and family in a less than wholehearted way. Even against all we do, God is able to find ways of helping us focus on work we need to do, both to make a living and to reach out to others. We, in turn, are given choices to make for God and that includes giving up some of the enticing activities offered by smartphones and other electronic devices, so we can pay attention to the call for a more focused life God is giving us.

In Mark 1, we hear the story of Jesus calling the first disciples.  16 “As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea–for they were fishermen.  17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.”  18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him.  19 As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets.  20 Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.”   These men were leading very different lives from most of us today, but one thing stands out even for us. Jesus asked them to leave what they were doing and take up a new life, with a different focus. But Jesus also had in mind what they knew how to do and converted those skills into working for God. They knew how to work together for a common purpose of getting very heavy nets full of fish into the boats, against the forces that made it hard to accomplish. God does the same with each of us and what God asks of us will be different from the kind of life we have lived. It will employ all of our skills and talents. When we have decided to set aside our distracting habits, God will provide through grace the ways to help us focus on our work for God. Some of these may include learning to be more mindful of ourselves in the present and getting in touch with the Spirit within us, who will help us learn and grow. It also includes prayer as practiced by many who have learned to know the presence of God and communicate with the Spirit as we do our work. Being able to focus on more than one thing, in this case, works for our benefit because the Holy Spirit is helping and adding to what we bring to the task. We are all called to do something for God. It is an exciting lifetime’s work to discover this and develop it for God.  O God who guides and inspires us, help us let go of what does not serve us and our work for you, as well as growing in our relationship with you. Help us discover what we are called to do and guide us as we learn how to use the gifts and talents we are given in new ways that help serve your intentions for our lives.  Amen.     PEACE

GOD PROVIDES THE BLESSINGS

GOD PROVIDES THE BLESSINGS
TO FEED US – so we will be able to serve God and help others. In Philippians 4, Paul helps us understand what we can do to stay connected to God and make sure we are living a life that will be blessed.   4 “Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! 5 Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. …  6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank God for all that has been done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. God’s peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. 8 “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 9 Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.”

Beyond these things where we actively engage in God’s work, God’s grace provides us with experiences we need to take part in, to help feed our souls. What feeds your soul? At the pace where many of us exist, it can be all too often that we feel empty and in need of filling our wells again. In a relationship with God, we have a backup plan, where God reminds us and even puts experiences in our path to feed us, so we will not suddenly be without what it takes to go on with life. Some of these nourishing activities may include seeing the joy in creation and being awed by what God has done. It might be something involving music, books or art, or the pure joy of children. It may be anything that tickles us and makes us smile. Or it may be an activity that puts us in a happy and loving mood. Most importantly, be open to seeing acts of love for others around us. Whatever touches us and helps to make us whole again is something we need to do on a regular basis, before we get so drained, we are trying to keep going on empty. When nothing appears to feed us, we may need to pray and ask to be led to find it. In reading scripture, we may be led to find something that will be nourishing to our souls. God will not leave us without this food, but we also need to make sure, as we work, that we are open to partaking of the food to keep us strong and able to finish what we have started, by listening for what God has provided for us.   Loving God, who gives us the food we need, not only for our bodies and also our souls, we are grateful. Help us find what you have provided to feed our souls and sustain us for the work we are each called to do.     Amen.        PEACE

LIVING OUT OUR FAITH

LIVING OUT OUR FAITH
WITH GOD – is a matter of becoming aware of how God is guiding each of us. The established church through the centuries has lost the ideas of how to connect to God and has not supported teaching us how to live a life of faith with God. We cannot assume that everyone will just know how. It isn’t a matter of outward habits, as the church has taught. It is more than just what we do, because God is at work within us. So it is important to help each other discover what works for each of us and help others by sharing our own experiences. This knowledge is in scripture and it is also revealed to us by the Holy Spirit. Paul gives us guidance in Romans 15.  “We who are strong must be considerate of those who are sensitive about things like this [i.e. making decisions about the right way to follow God]. We must not just please ourselves.  2 We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord. 3 For even Christ didn’t live to please himself. As the Scriptures say, “The insults of those who insult you, O God, have fallen on me.”  4 Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled.  5 May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus.  6 Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  7 Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory.  8 Remember that Christ came as a servant to the Jews to show that God is true to the promises God made to their ancestors.”

There is a fine line between helping one another in the faith and being judgmental about how someone is living out their faith. This is a job that we trust God to do and we place our trust in God to guide each of us in how to help others. It is beyond our knowing how this is accomplished and we can only trust that God will show us what we are to do and what we should not do. When we are really doing anything through God, there will be no arrogance, and what we do will be marked by humility. For our part, we are guided and inspired through prayer and allowing our hearts and minds to be guided by God, setting that intention always ahead of whatever we do. Our intention in what we do is most important, in order to do our work for God and not our own glorification. When we are able to accept one another, as Christ does, we will be living a life in harmony with God, feeling the hope and encouragement that God offers us. Living a life like this gives glory to God and pleases God above all else. It is through God’s grace that all of this happens. We do not have the ability on our own. God is waiting for us to say yes and we access these gifts to do God’s work through prayer and our love for God.  O God of guidance and grace, we are humbled that you work through us to help others find a path to you, as we walk along our own path. Help us remember that it is all for your glory and honor and the building of a life of faith for us all, as we are guided to help build your kingdom in the hearts of everyone, transforming all of creation.  Amen.    PEACE