Isn't it wonderful how God has revealed His Son IN us! Paul talked about that, how God revealed His Son in him..what a wonderful and blessed mystery the good news is, the good news of great joy to all people, the good news of God with us, of Christ in us! What a hope (expectation) of glory that is, glory that breaks forth like dawn right now and keeps on growing brighter and brighter to an eternal daylight that shines for ever and ever, in us! That wholeness that is God has always been within us, and it's glowing forth, lighting the whole universe as it goes forth! That beautiful joy and peace and love that is God, His very Spirit of grace and love, has always been in us as our very spirit, and He's pouring forth in rivers of living water from within us, watering the whole parched world as He goes! What a beautiful thing it is to find God in us and have the ultimate peace and joy that is HIM dwelling right inside us at all times, carrying us along, being our ultimate reality, a Wholeness within us all, upholding all, infusing all!
I was reading a devotional this morning by Richard Rohr, and he wrote about about the reality of "a fundamental wholeness at the heart of everything."
Wonderfully, I
dreamed about this last night! In my dream I was going over this idea, that there is wholeness and joy and peace (GOD!) at the heart of all things. In my dream I was pondering how we can simply be honest about how
we are feeling and thinking, don't have to 'do' anything or 'become'
anything but can simply BE, and that God shows us the joy at the heart
of all things, for He is the center, and we are living life from the
Center even as our minds are unaware of it for a time. We come to the bottom of our selves by simply being ourselves in
stillness, come to the bottom of our life, of our pain, of our
confusion, of our thoughts and feelings, and we find God there, Life
there, Joy there, Love there, beneath the surface, at the bottom of all
things, for He is our core, and everything is existing upon the
foundation that is Him/Love/Joy! In the quiet at the depth of our souls, God IS! There at the depths where all is still, where all simply IS, there is a Presence, a Loving Presence wrapping us in peace and acceptance, and we are part of that Presence - we find that Presence that is Love Himself, God Himself, God in us, Emmanuel truly in us, as us, as our core!
And seeing this, experiencing this Love in the depths of us, our minds and senses experience Life from
the Center, experience the heart of all things, the wholeness and joy
and peace and love that has always been there and always will be. For
underneath are the everlasting arms - the whole world, all our lives,
existence itself, each of us personally, has always been in His hands,
literally in Him, and actually grows forth from Him and is part of Him,
as branches grow on the vibrant grapevine! We have always been one with
that stillness and part of that stillness. Our minds just weren't
always aware of the fact that we are part of God, thus we are love
beings, we are solidly built on wholeness and made of peace, all is well
with us and all is complete!
This
shows the ultimate acceptance too, for since we are Love Himself at the
core, part of Love and beings of Love, we have perfect love towards our
confused minds and ALL our confused thoughts, feelings and actions have
always been and always are accepted. We are thus purveyors of and
enjoyers of the deepest acceptance! Our Spirits ARE 'Accepting Love'
and our minds and bodies are always received that Accepting Love!
Finding out we are really part of Love Himself and therefore complete
and perfect, whole and holy, peaceful and joyful, accepting and loving,
our minds experience the deepest acceptance there is! We know in our
minds that God accepts us, that we are actually perfect accepting love
ourselves, and that we accept ourselves! We are part of and also
experience the deepest love - and in it, the deepest peace, the deepest
wholeness, the deepest security, the deepest acceptance!
We
have always been in this, have always actually BEEN this at the core,
this Peace and Love that is God. We can't get out of Him and have never
been away from Him. He shows us this. We experience it. Plunged
beneath the surface by the swirls of life, we experience simply BEING
and it's His Being that we find we are experiencing and are part of! We
don't have to do anything to get to God, we just ARE part of Him.
Wow! We are simply being ourselves at all times, and lo and behold,
that is God's being Himself in us! We can never stop being ourselves,
can never stop being at all, and..that's God! HE is the heart of us,
our core, our deepest self, our very being! We are being God in this
human form at every moment! We have always been God in a body, that's
what humans are! Made in His image, branches on the vine of God..His
Spirit animating flesh matter as a human!
HE
has always been our heart, and is the heart of ALL things, ALL history,
ALL existence, ALL life, ALL reality, ALL comes from Him, exists in
Him, and returns to Him.
The
Spirit returns to God who gave it! Everything rises and must
converge! All streams flow to the sea..and even more fundamentally, all
raindrops from the sky that are now in rivulets return to their source
as the water flowing into the sea evaporates into the clouds! We are
cloud people. We are sea people. We are part of Him like drops in the
ocean. The ripples always calm down to stillness. The sea is always
calm at the depths. Still and quiet and serene. That is who we are!
We are the stillness at the bottom of the sea, the cloud that floats
through the sky, the light that shines in the darkness no matter what!
Just
by being, by doing nothing, just simply being, we discover that joy is
at the heart of all things, that everything is perfect, that we are
safe, that we are loved, that all is accepted, that we are whole, that
God is Love and is the deepest part of us!
Peace
is the eternal pillow upon which all human existence rests. It is the
everflowing stream within, an infinite and bottomless spring that never
dries up, the fountain from which we ourselves spring and also draw our
life from. It is the solid, strong, fundamental basic material we are
made of, the deepest part of us that makes us WHO we ARE.
Peace
is our center. God is our center. And all is well! It always has
been and always will be, and just by simply being, we experience the
peace at the heart of all things, the peace we are part of, the Peaceful
One who is our core, the Peace we are!
Peace to you all this Christmas, tidings of comfort and joy knowing that HE and His Love are at the heart of all things! Emmanuel, God with us, Love with and in us, the foundation stone upon which all of us are built..Christ Himself showing us in the ultimate way that Love is at the core, that we are accepted, that we are held, that we are whole, that we are secure...that 'God is in us, God is for us, God is with us, Emmanuel!'
Oneness, Yet Twoness - the Beautiful Mystery of Our Union With God
Wonderful to think of being one with God yet still unique
persons who can have relationship with God..the same substance as God
and yet children of God found in our Father always..from Him and through
Him and to Him are all things..we exist in Him and are part of Him..our
whole existence is wrapped up in Him, our beings contained by and one
in substance with Him..what a safe life! What a wonder to know we're
always at home and are so connected with Him and so much a part of Him
that there is no difference between us in substance and nature! Wow!
God is my nature, I have the mind of Christ, we are His body..wow!
Oneness and all the safety and joy that entails..and yet Twoness, all
the joys of a real relationship of two beings! Two united as one, One
with offspring growing forth from Him and so relating as Two! Like
branches on the Vine, Children in the Womb, Drops in the Ocean!
Operating as two in some way, yet One within, where we are ONE SPIRIT!
One, not two!
I love this quote from a Richard Rohr devotional that celebrates our connectedness with God:
"Dame Julian of Norwich (c. 1342-1416) has this deep sense of the organic union between the soul and God. Hers is still an optimistic worldview. In Chapter 54 of Revelations of Divine Love, Julian writes, "So greatly ought we to rejoice that God dwells within us, and more greatly ought we to rejoice that our soul dwells in God. . . . In fact I saw no difference between God and my substance. [Wow!] But as it were we were all one. And still my understanding accepted that our substance is in God." That is to say, God is God, and our substance is a creature in that God. This is why she's still considered orthodox. Julian is fascinated with that absolute unity, and yet she maintains the I-Thou relationship of the two. [3] We are one and not two, and yet we are two and not one! Think about that." (Richard Rohr)
We see this oneness and just know it's true, our natural state of being, our "indigenous nature," as Rohr says, as we "pray from within," that is, from the Spirit!! Seeing with our true Spirit eyes, we see we are part of Him and can't be separated..that would be like trying to separate our DNA from "us"..it is just part of our makeup and can't be separated out..wow! We are part of God, He is our very substance, we are made of Him...we came forth from Him and return to Him, exist in Him as part of Him always. We are found in God and in God alone can we be found. Where can we go from His presence? Nowhere, for He is in us, as us! He is the deepest part of us, making us who we are!
And yet in all the oneness there is a distinct set of beings who are in relationship! We look out from His eyes yet look through our eyes, whether blue or brown or hazel green..we feel with His heart yet it's our heart that beats within our chest, in calm beats or rapid thumps! We speak from the Spirit within who prays in and through and for us, yet it is our words that go to the Father's ears! We are one with Him yet we can relate to Him, talk to Him and hear His response..we are one with Love and ARE Love in the deepest sense, yet we can still BE loved, feel His love for us and respond back in love to Him!
Isn't it wonderful how we are in union with Him, isn't it wonderful, this mystery of being, of just being a human, a body somehow in union with God, His Spirit in our flesh and bones! And what a Grace Moment when God reveals Christ in us - IN US! Not outside us, wanting to get in, but inside, wanting us to just let Him on out! Haha! Isn't it wonderful? He was there all along, we just needed to see. Faith is simply the seeing of this reality with our Spirit eyes.
What a wonderful thing this oneness with God really is!!
I love this quote from a Richard Rohr devotional that celebrates our connectedness with God:
"Dame Julian of Norwich (c. 1342-1416) has this deep sense of the organic union between the soul and God. Hers is still an optimistic worldview. In Chapter 54 of Revelations of Divine Love, Julian writes, "So greatly ought we to rejoice that God dwells within us, and more greatly ought we to rejoice that our soul dwells in God. . . . In fact I saw no difference between God and my substance. [Wow!] But as it were we were all one. And still my understanding accepted that our substance is in God." That is to say, God is God, and our substance is a creature in that God. This is why she's still considered orthodox. Julian is fascinated with that absolute unity, and yet she maintains the I-Thou relationship of the two. [3] We are one and not two, and yet we are two and not one! Think about that." (Richard Rohr)
We see this oneness and just know it's true, our natural state of being, our "indigenous nature," as Rohr says, as we "pray from within," that is, from the Spirit!! Seeing with our true Spirit eyes, we see we are part of Him and can't be separated..that would be like trying to separate our DNA from "us"..it is just part of our makeup and can't be separated out..wow! We are part of God, He is our very substance, we are made of Him...we came forth from Him and return to Him, exist in Him as part of Him always. We are found in God and in God alone can we be found. Where can we go from His presence? Nowhere, for He is in us, as us! He is the deepest part of us, making us who we are!
And yet in all the oneness there is a distinct set of beings who are in relationship! We look out from His eyes yet look through our eyes, whether blue or brown or hazel green..we feel with His heart yet it's our heart that beats within our chest, in calm beats or rapid thumps! We speak from the Spirit within who prays in and through and for us, yet it is our words that go to the Father's ears! We are one with Him yet we can relate to Him, talk to Him and hear His response..we are one with Love and ARE Love in the deepest sense, yet we can still BE loved, feel His love for us and respond back in love to Him!
Isn't it wonderful how we are in union with Him, isn't it wonderful, this mystery of being, of just being a human, a body somehow in union with God, His Spirit in our flesh and bones! And what a Grace Moment when God reveals Christ in us - IN US! Not outside us, wanting to get in, but inside, wanting us to just let Him on out! Haha! Isn't it wonderful? He was there all along, we just needed to see. Faith is simply the seeing of this reality with our Spirit eyes.
What a wonderful thing this oneness with God really is!!
God Carries Us
God carries us!
God carries me!
God carries you!
That's the message of grace to my ears..that whatever you do or have done, wherever you go or have been, whoever you are or have become, it doesn't matter, because no matter what, God carries you..
God carries you along..He carries you in sickness and in pain..He carries you in hurt and confusion..He carries you in doubt and anxiety..He carries you in terror and loneliness..He carries you in rage and bitterness..
No matter what, you are never too 'bad' for Him..He carries you no matter what you do or think or believe!
He carries you through it all..He carries you in want and need..He carries you in happiness and in calamity, in peace and in turmoil..in good times and bad..He carries you, takes care of you, won't drop you..He continues working out His very good love plan, no matter how rotten or crappy you act sometimes..no matter whether you talk to Him or turn your back on Him, no matter whether you are acting like a saint or royally messing up..
No matter what, He's got you, He's carrying you, He's taking care of everything, He won't let go of you!
No matter what, He's carrying you..that means the destination is assured..you will arrive safely home no matter what (after all, grace a says you're already there inside, in spirit, and in fact you never left)! Grace says God carries you, through all of life, through all the trials, through all the suffering, through all the tears, through all the joys and sorrows, through it all, God carries you, and He won't let you down, won't leave, won't desert or abandon you..
He carries you and He will get you through anything, He will make it all work out right in the end, He will bring you to a happy ending, for sure, guaranteed, easy-peasy, without a doubt..
God carries you..He has started your life, He maintains and moves along your life, He will bring your life right where He wants it to go, to a good end..a happy ending!
You never did have to carry yourself or your life..this life was never 'all up to you,' was never in your hands to 'make or break.' That's law, anyways, and HE has always been Grace! He has always had your life in His hand, always had the end safely wrapped up from the beginning. You could never have messed this up! You have never been in any real danger. You have always been SAFE in His arms. This God has been our Home for all eternity, from all eternity TO all eternity! From everlasting to everlasting He is our God, the God who carries us, who daily bears our burdens, who believes all good things about us, who never lets us down, who is faithful and true even if we are not, who never fails even when we fail!
So what if we fail! When we fall, we fall right into His strong arms, for underneath us are the everlasting arms, holding us up no matter what! It's like falling on an escalator - whether you stand or fall, you still keep on going up, up, up! It was never up to us to fail or succeed, or even believe or doubt - it was always up to God, who shows mercy, compassion, heartfelt love and kindness that never ends but is new every morning, surer than sunrise! It was always all about Him, and HE never quits, never gives in, never fails..He is the Love that lasts forever, goes on without end! If it were up to us, things would be in doubt..but since it is up to God, it's DONE! Love never fails! Love is always there to catch us, hold us, bring us through anything..Love always will always carry us through!
Mr. Love ALWAYS carried you, and He ALWAYS WILL!
Papa carries us, no matter what! That is real security..that is true Grace!
God carries me!
God carries you!
That's the message of grace to my ears..that whatever you do or have done, wherever you go or have been, whoever you are or have become, it doesn't matter, because no matter what, God carries you..
God carries you along..He carries you in sickness and in pain..He carries you in hurt and confusion..He carries you in doubt and anxiety..He carries you in terror and loneliness..He carries you in rage and bitterness..
No matter what, you are never too 'bad' for Him..He carries you no matter what you do or think or believe!
He carries you through it all..He carries you in want and need..He carries you in happiness and in calamity, in peace and in turmoil..in good times and bad..He carries you, takes care of you, won't drop you..He continues working out His very good love plan, no matter how rotten or crappy you act sometimes..no matter whether you talk to Him or turn your back on Him, no matter whether you are acting like a saint or royally messing up..
No matter what, He's got you, He's carrying you, He's taking care of everything, He won't let go of you!
No matter what, He's carrying you..that means the destination is assured..you will arrive safely home no matter what (after all, grace a says you're already there inside, in spirit, and in fact you never left)! Grace says God carries you, through all of life, through all the trials, through all the suffering, through all the tears, through all the joys and sorrows, through it all, God carries you, and He won't let you down, won't leave, won't desert or abandon you..
He carries you and He will get you through anything, He will make it all work out right in the end, He will bring you to a happy ending, for sure, guaranteed, easy-peasy, without a doubt..
God carries you..He has started your life, He maintains and moves along your life, He will bring your life right where He wants it to go, to a good end..a happy ending!
You never did have to carry yourself or your life..this life was never 'all up to you,' was never in your hands to 'make or break.' That's law, anyways, and HE has always been Grace! He has always had your life in His hand, always had the end safely wrapped up from the beginning. You could never have messed this up! You have never been in any real danger. You have always been SAFE in His arms. This God has been our Home for all eternity, from all eternity TO all eternity! From everlasting to everlasting He is our God, the God who carries us, who daily bears our burdens, who believes all good things about us, who never lets us down, who is faithful and true even if we are not, who never fails even when we fail!
So what if we fail! When we fall, we fall right into His strong arms, for underneath us are the everlasting arms, holding us up no matter what! It's like falling on an escalator - whether you stand or fall, you still keep on going up, up, up! It was never up to us to fail or succeed, or even believe or doubt - it was always up to God, who shows mercy, compassion, heartfelt love and kindness that never ends but is new every morning, surer than sunrise! It was always all about Him, and HE never quits, never gives in, never fails..He is the Love that lasts forever, goes on without end! If it were up to us, things would be in doubt..but since it is up to God, it's DONE! Love never fails! Love is always there to catch us, hold us, bring us through anything..Love always will always carry us through!
Mr. Love ALWAYS carried you, and He ALWAYS WILL!
Papa carries us, no matter what! That is real security..that is true Grace!
God's Word of Grace to Us
God's beautiful word of Grace to us, otherwise known as the
gospel, opens our eyes to the truth of Christ in us..what relief floods
our soul as we find that we already have what we were seeking - God,
relationship with God, nearness to God, union with God, safety, eternal
security, love and acceptance, a Home, belonging, peace and joy, good
will from God to us!! We are already Home inside, already safe, already
His very own dear child..already connected, delighted in, embraced,
cherished, taken care of, free, okay..everything is okay, all is well,
all is eternally WELL for us!
That is the good news of the gospel! That is the best news in the universe! That is the truth of the ages!
We are in God, His children, He is in us, and nothing can change that! Christ came to prove that even our worst act - murdering God's Son - cannot take us from God's heart or take Him from our lives! He came to prove that even when we were doing our worst deed of killing God's Son, God was still calling us innocent! Christ came to prove that we are innocent, righteous little children in God's eyes, His dear little babies, the delight of His heart!
In His eyes we can literally 'do no wrong,' for He knows that the things we did (and still do) are out of fear and confusion and pain, and so Christ can honestly state, 'they don't know what they are doing.' He remembers we are dust, knows our frame, is a good Parent..good parents don't hold it against their babies when they act out..good parents see beyond the tantrums to the hurting child that is acting out because of fear, hunger, loneliness, discomfort, need or pain.
Our Papa is so good! He always looked beyond our fault and saw our need of Love! He always saw our heart was good, we were just scared and felt alone in the world. He sent Jesus to draw us up in a big bear hug of Love! And Jesus' cross did just that, drawing all men to Him, embracing the world with a Love Hug. And He rose to give us such a fresh start, wiping away all the pain of our misdeeds, literally erasing the crime we committed! (Murder? What murder? Where is the evidence of the crime? Where is the dead body? It's gone!!) Haha, He 'made death work backward,' as C. S. Lewis says, erased our sin, restored the feeling of innocence! Isn't He wonderful! He takes away the sting, the pain, the shame..cleanses our conscience! We can stop beating ourselves up, because God knew that our hearts were good and that we were only acting out of pain and fear and confusion from religious lies we were told..He knew we were innocent inside and He proved it to us, justified us, vindicated us before the accuser, putting down every voice of accusation that might rise within us! (Yes, His babies are really good, good-natured, sweet and loving, for they take after their good, loving Papa, of course!) And He wiped away our 'crime' by erasing what we did, raising up the One we killed! Daddy took care of everything, Daddy made it all better!
Now we can go on with our Papa in this beautiful Edenic love existence, enjoying life as we walk on through it all with Him, just reveling in all the Love He pours out, able to talk to Him at any time, free to just BE ourselves in union with Him, enjoying a life of true peace and joy in His presence, knowing all is well and all WILL end up well! Aaahh, deep sigh!
We've been searching for this fountain of life and love all our lives, and we've finally found out it's been within us all along! Christ in you, the hope of glory..the mystery revealed - we are just like Christ, we are little Christs, God in human bodies, flesh encasing Spirit, one Spirit within, part of God, having a true River of Life flowing out of us!! Heaven was within us all along, part of us, and us part of it/Him..the wonderful place we've been longing for with that deep down ache inside..was God Himself, found to be within us all along, found to be our very core, our very nature, our very spirit/Spirit, the seed and root from which we sprang forth! I carry God around wherever I go, for deep within me God carries me wherever He goes!
What a wonderful God who is in us (and we in Him - beautiful union) and what a wonderful gospel!
That is the good news of the gospel! That is the best news in the universe! That is the truth of the ages!
We are in God, His children, He is in us, and nothing can change that! Christ came to prove that even our worst act - murdering God's Son - cannot take us from God's heart or take Him from our lives! He came to prove that even when we were doing our worst deed of killing God's Son, God was still calling us innocent! Christ came to prove that we are innocent, righteous little children in God's eyes, His dear little babies, the delight of His heart!
In His eyes we can literally 'do no wrong,' for He knows that the things we did (and still do) are out of fear and confusion and pain, and so Christ can honestly state, 'they don't know what they are doing.' He remembers we are dust, knows our frame, is a good Parent..good parents don't hold it against their babies when they act out..good parents see beyond the tantrums to the hurting child that is acting out because of fear, hunger, loneliness, discomfort, need or pain.
Our Papa is so good! He always looked beyond our fault and saw our need of Love! He always saw our heart was good, we were just scared and felt alone in the world. He sent Jesus to draw us up in a big bear hug of Love! And Jesus' cross did just that, drawing all men to Him, embracing the world with a Love Hug. And He rose to give us such a fresh start, wiping away all the pain of our misdeeds, literally erasing the crime we committed! (Murder? What murder? Where is the evidence of the crime? Where is the dead body? It's gone!!) Haha, He 'made death work backward,' as C. S. Lewis says, erased our sin, restored the feeling of innocence! Isn't He wonderful! He takes away the sting, the pain, the shame..cleanses our conscience! We can stop beating ourselves up, because God knew that our hearts were good and that we were only acting out of pain and fear and confusion from religious lies we were told..He knew we were innocent inside and He proved it to us, justified us, vindicated us before the accuser, putting down every voice of accusation that might rise within us! (Yes, His babies are really good, good-natured, sweet and loving, for they take after their good, loving Papa, of course!) And He wiped away our 'crime' by erasing what we did, raising up the One we killed! Daddy took care of everything, Daddy made it all better!
Now we can go on with our Papa in this beautiful Edenic love existence, enjoying life as we walk on through it all with Him, just reveling in all the Love He pours out, able to talk to Him at any time, free to just BE ourselves in union with Him, enjoying a life of true peace and joy in His presence, knowing all is well and all WILL end up well! Aaahh, deep sigh!
We've been searching for this fountain of life and love all our lives, and we've finally found out it's been within us all along! Christ in you, the hope of glory..the mystery revealed - we are just like Christ, we are little Christs, God in human bodies, flesh encasing Spirit, one Spirit within, part of God, having a true River of Life flowing out of us!! Heaven was within us all along, part of us, and us part of it/Him..the wonderful place we've been longing for with that deep down ache inside..was God Himself, found to be within us all along, found to be our very core, our very nature, our very spirit/Spirit, the seed and root from which we sprang forth! I carry God around wherever I go, for deep within me God carries me wherever He goes!
What a wonderful God who is in us (and we in Him - beautiful union) and what a wonderful gospel!
Seen in a Garden...
Here's a lovely a photo taken by my daughter..recently we were walking in a local public garden and I saw this and asked her to take a picture of it..and just wanted to share it here with you all...what a wonderful grace thought to share with the world!
Sometimes it's hard to believe how wonderful, good, beautiful, sweet and amazing we are, isn't it? It has been for me. I had heard for so long what a sinful and terrible person I was, had so much shame and self-hatred going through my mind. Yet all along God was whispering to me how beautiful and good and perfect I was and am! I think of the cross and how it proved, not only His love for us, but also our innocence and perfection before Him. He justified us not in His eyes so much as in our own eyes! He vindicated us, proved our worth and purity and belovedness and righteousness! The stamp of our innocence was the resurrection, verifying that we truly were and are righteous and holy in His sight, without flaw, blameless, perfect and beloved, His very own darling children in whom He is well-pleased!
What a relief to find out we are good, innocent little ones!
What a relief to find out we are wonderful and even magnificent!
What a relief to find out we are created in His holy image of LOVE!
Sometimes it's hard to believe how wonderful, good, beautiful, sweet and amazing we are, isn't it? It has been for me. I had heard for so long what a sinful and terrible person I was, had so much shame and self-hatred going through my mind. Yet all along God was whispering to me how beautiful and good and perfect I was and am! I think of the cross and how it proved, not only His love for us, but also our innocence and perfection before Him. He justified us not in His eyes so much as in our own eyes! He vindicated us, proved our worth and purity and belovedness and righteousness! The stamp of our innocence was the resurrection, verifying that we truly were and are righteous and holy in His sight, without flaw, blameless, perfect and beloved, His very own darling children in whom He is well-pleased!
What a relief to find out we are good, innocent little ones!
What a relief to find out we are wonderful and even magnificent!
What a relief to find out we are created in His holy image of LOVE!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)