"I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." (Christ Jesus, John 10: 10, 2nd sentence, New King James Bible). "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" (Christ Jesus, Matthew 7: 9-11, New King James Bible). "O LORD, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You maintain my lot. The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Yes, I have a good inheritance." (Psalm 16: 5, 6, New King James Bible). "In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore." (Psalm 16: 11, 2nd Sentence, New King James Bible).
Many people will go about this year's Christmas and other holidays without much joy. With losses of jobs, economic hard times (and just the depression of spirit that ensues when our human circumstances are not good) the presence and activity of divine Love for Its creation can seem merely an 'I-want-to-believe' fantasy. But it's not a fantasy. The love of God, the Creator, for Its children is still an ever-lasting reality. Just as light terminates darkness, the light of God's love terminates all the lacks and limitations this material realm of thought produces. Yet, to call this divine reality into our human experience, we must realize a few spiritual facts of existence, or we will remain deaf, dumb and blind to our own responsibility and part in the matter. Christ Jesus, who spent the days of his ministry in preaching and healing all the ills of the flesh, taught two, particularly important things: first, "...The kingdom of God is within you," (Luke 17: 21, New King James Bible) and second, "Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you." (Matthew 8: 13, New King James Bible). (My emphasis). Both of these statements point to the activity, and quality, of the thoughts we hold in day to day consciousness. Both statements address the consciousness of all humanity. Jesus was telling the world that our beliefs are powerful tools in this human, material-seeming existence. He came into this experience of good and evil manifestations to show us the way out—mainly, spiritualize our thinking so that our own beliefs don't hold on to any sense of lack (lack of supply, lack of health, lack of our right place) all forever held safe and secure in God's kingdom, which is present and active, right where the material universe seems to be reality, but is not. The very first thing to do, and the thing that will dissolve most of the fear of one's plight, is to spend some time in meditating on the fact that God's whole nature is LOVE. God's spiritual laws are laws of universal love. Our Father/Mother God loves Its entire creation, eternally. There is no evil side to God. There is no punishing by God. There is no loss of any good which God has created, be it health, abundance, place or purpose. It is false beliefs in God's absence that cause us to suffer adverse physical effects and do all manner of stupid and destructive things to ourselves and others. It's false material beliefs that make us think that God's love permits evil to touch us, when evil has never touched our true, spiritual selves for one second. Our spiritual, ever-lasting bodies, souls and minds, are still intact; despite the illusion of material being, with all its highs and lows that go with the physical-seeming life and death experiences. Spirit, God, is all-in-all to us. Spirit is our only real Source. Yet, our beliefs to the contrary (mainly our beliefs in the material, external universe of form and laws) are usually based upon what we've accepted of world beliefs—and whatever their source, beliefs in evil (any lack of God-given good) shut out the manifestations of God's divine harmony and ever-lasting good for all. Our belief in matter as substance, rather than Spirit as substance, shuts out our expression or manifestation of wholeness and health. Material beliefs shut out our individual provision of all good (supply) from Spirit, our infinite Source; and physical beliefs shut out our individual places in the heavenly, harmonious realm of Spirit. When in bad situations, we don't perceive the presence of the invisible universe of Spirit. Therefore, God's kingdom (because invisible to the physical senses) is treated as irrelevant—when it is the ONLY thing that is relevant to our deliverance from the material evils that assail us. Spiritual perception, alone, can change our earthly experience by dissolving our earthly beliefs, which continue to manifest all the seeming 'lacks' in the material dimension. What of such lacks, such as loss of a job? Just this spiritual fact: We cannot lose our divine place in God's family and God's kingdom. Just as the sun and moon have their place and purpose (even in the seeming material reality) so do each of us have our God-given place in the Mind of the Creator, and no one can move us out of this forever place! But here's the rub, as they say: We must perceive that our place and purpose under the government of God is a spiritual, everlasting place…it is NOT a particular material place of work. Material places and job assignments come and go. If we choose these job locations ourselves, based upon our limited material thinking, they may not turn out so well. Yet, our forever place and purpose in God's family and kingdom is expressed in progressively better human work situations or 'places'. When we eliminate previously held worldly beliefs from consciousness, in favor of the truth of our spiritual identity (still under God's loving care) our human conditions are healed of all lack. Our material work places can change in a heartbeat; however, many people have found that, when trusting God's care of their spiritual place, having been laid off or fired from any earthly job often turns out to the best thing that ever happened to them. Why? Because the new work situation that unfolds is usually much better than the old one. The all-knowing, all-seeing Intelligence of God has a better view of all things and can match us to new situations, or create them, if not already present in the human scene. Since we're always in our ever-lasting purpose and unique place in God's spiritual kingdom, MENTALLY TURNING TO GOD reveals a new human place to us that more perfectly patterns our spiritual place. Our conscious attention will be led to a place of our highest and best use. The new human place will be a step of progress, so that no waste occurs in our life's purpose under heaven. (Read this paragraph again, because it will bless you in so many ways.) So, trusting God to move us into our better human place also means that we've never been out of our REAL place in God's universe at any time. Our divine place in the kingdom of God is still awaiting our attention. God, alone, knows our individuality and what is best suited to use all our talents and abilities to their fullest. Trusting that infinite Love, which God holds for each of us, is mandatory. When turning to God to open our mental eyes and hearts to Its divine Love for us—and we actually feel it—we must then listen for the voice within us, (where Christ Jesus told us the kingdom of heaven resides) and then follow where we are mentally led. At those times when we don't feel 'connected', we don't need to worry. God sees us, even when we don't perceive God's presence. If we, ourselves, are not tuned in, but we are holding our thought to TRUSTING God's love for us, then someone else will call our attention to what we are to do, or where we are to concentrate our efforts. God works through the consciousness of everyone, on behalf of the whole. We are each and all connected to God through the universal Christ Consciousness within us—this is why Jesus said "the kingdom of God is within you"—he meant it is within our own conscious awareness. When we then listen for the divine guidance from within, we are led to make the right decisions to overcome any human lack. Here's an example of how trust in God's love for us can change a bad situation into a good one: Recently, a young woman was having a bad time in a teaching position at a school, which was located quite far from where she lived. The workplace became rather hostile for her, and she began to suffer stress. Even though she feared the loss of income at the time, she resigned her position. Although she felt happy upon leaving, for a couple of days she continued to worry about her lack of income. In praying about it, she stopped worrying and trusted God to lead her to her new right place. Quickly, the thought came to her to go back to the principal and offer to finish out the year, teaching a special education class, one day a week, which would maintain a small income for her each month. Not wanting her to leave, (because the special education class was hard to fill) the principal readily accepted this compromise of only one day a week. Within a couple days' time, she felt guided to continue courses in a whole new field, and became a substitute teacher in the school district very near her home. Had she NOT turned to God concerning her right place, she may have made different decisions. Her own inclination was to not go back to the old school at all; yet, she followed that voice within that told her to make that change in her plans and go back. That change allowed her to have a small monthly income from one school, with more income provided by her new substitute teaching assignments in the district closer to home. Now, only two weeks later, she is happier than she was before, at the old location, with a brighter future in the next year, as she completes her courses in the new educational field. God may be invisible to the five, physical senses; but that in no way wipes out the existence of God. Like the sun that keeps shining, though clouds block it from our view, so does God keep shining when material trials and tribulations block our perception of Spirit's presence. Our true reality, though mostly unperceived, is of our spiritual existence. We are not the descendants (sons and daughters) of Adam and Eve. That is the mythology of Adam's illusory dream. In sleep (lower level of consciousness) Adam dreamed of being a creator, himself; and in his dream-state, Adam 're-created' God's spiritual, immortal universe into finite form and identity. But Adam never woke up. His descendants are still trying to fully awaken. It is the Christ identity within each of us that has never slept. From within, it guides us through the 'bad' things in our dream-state of materiality. The Christ Consciousness is our awakened sense within, our link to God, where we have our being. It is a spiritual cognizance at the very core of our being. When we become fully awakened from the Adam dream, we will find ourselves free of pain, fear, times of poverty, sadness, sickness, and death. In this human dimension, or experience, we are only slightly awake. Yet, when living in the full light of spiritual truth, that is, when living, wide-awake, in the full light of God's eternal love, I'm thinking that most of us won't ever want to sleep again.
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