The Place Where He Dwells

"Marvellous and stately is the place where the Lord dwelleth, and therefore He willeth that we readily answer to (pay attention to) His gracious touching, more rejoicing in His whole love than sorrowing in our often fallings. For it is the most worship to Him of anything that we may do, that we live gladly and merrily, for His love.

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 81)

We want to worship and please Him. We want to honor and follow Him. And the thing that gives Him the most honor and praise, the most joy and pleases Him most, is to live happily because we know He loves us. Love is the all-important thing He wants us to focus on,  relax in and rejoice in. He doesn't want us to pay attention to our failures and be sad. He wants us to pay attention to His loving embrace and be happy! He is always touching us with His love, turning our eyes to see His eyes that look on us with love. He is always drawing our attention to Love! We can think He is looking at our sins, wanting us to improve, focusing on behavior. But Christ is just focusing on loving us. He knows we are frail humans. He knows we make mistakes. And it doesn't matter. Isn't it wonderful that the place He chooses for His home is inside our hearts? His favorite place is inside of us, and He loves dwelling there. He loves being in us and is at home in us, even with all our faults, weaknesses and imperfections. Instead of saying He is too holy to be around us humans who have mistakes and sins, He is proud and delighted to dwell in us, with those mistakes and sins. In fact, the place where He dwell is holy and is called His temple, and thus we are holy and His temple, not because we always have perfect behavior, but because the perfect and holy One lives in us, and He loves living in us.

We don't have to be perfect. That is His job! For we are vessels that contain Life, the life of God! It is the Life that is to be perfect, and do all the right things, and live perfectly. and that is what Christ, the Life inside of us, will do and is doing! Our job is to relax, rest, and be happy because we are loved! We are not far from God or separated from God or too messed up to have God near us. God is in us, accepting us as we are. God is in us, seeing the beauty of our human person beyond all the mistakes. God is in us, happy to be with us. God is in us, loving us. God is in us, filling up all our empty places with His gentle presence. We are full of God. We are full of love. And that love is coming out without our effort. We can live gladly because we are loved. That is our job: to be loved!

"Do you not discern and understand that you....are God’s temple (His sanctuary), and that God’s Spirit has His permanent dwelling in you [to be at home in you]?"

1 Corinthians 3:16 (AMPC)

"Nothing can stop God from loving us."

Romans 8:38 (EASY)

A Prayer: I thought I had to be perfect for You to be happy to be with me. But You showed me You are happy to be with me right now, as I am, with my imperfections. Thank You for that wonderful love and acceptance. 

He Shields Us from Blame

"His Goodness suffereth us never to be alone, but lastingly He is with us, and tenderly He excuseth us, and ever shieldeth us from blame.."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 80)

We can worry and fret over our failures and be haunted by shame and feelings of unworthiness. But God does not see us as unworthy or shameful or even sinful. God sees us for who we really are, not who lying voices of accusation or condemnation may say we are. God sees our true nature and sees that we are simply humans, the humans that He made in His own image and called "very good." That designation has never changed. It isn't that Christ had to come and change who we inherently are as humans. There was nothing ever wrong with our makeup or design as human beings. Christ came to remove the veil over our eyes that prevented us from seeing our true beauty and goodness and worth as God's creation, as children of God. This veil over our eyes was a veil of delusion and lies, lies that told us we were inferior, shameful, not like God, unworthy, lacking, alienated from God, rejected, or sinful. These lies also told us that God was angry with us, disappointed with us, judging or condemning us, and punishing us. Christ removed the lies or veil by showing us the true character of God - that He is good and loving -  and also how God truly feels about humanity - that we are good and lovely!

Christ not only died and rose for us, taking us with Him through death to all the lies and delusion and their effects, and up into His resurrected and heavenly life, but He also stays within us through His Spirit every single day, empowering us and reminding us of the truth. The Spirit of truth is in us, always calling to our minds the truth about God being all love and the truth about us being God's beloved children. The Holy Spirit never leaves us alone, so even when we forget about the Spirit's presence or get confused by lies and trapped in sin, the Spirit stays right there with us, reminding us of our union with Christ and our eternal and unbreakable communion with Him. The Holy Spirit always excuses us, just as Jesus did on the cross, saying we don't know what we are doing when we fail. And the Spirit always shields us from blame. The old lying voices that accuse us, tell us we are unworthy, try to shame and blame us, and tell us we are awful and pathetic, those lying voices are no match for the Holy Spirit! The Holy Spirit continually works to defend us against those voices, to block those lies and shield our hearts from them, by continually telling us the truth: we are one with God, loved by God, good and lovable children of God, and worth being around. The Holy Spirit is not criticizing us, judging us, pointing out our faults, or condemning us; the Holy Spirit is shielding us and protecting us from judgment and condemnation, shielding us from the lie that we would ever be shameful or unworthy of love! Our mistakes do not make us awful, sinful, unworthy or shameful. Our mistakes simply mean we are human. We are perfectly imperfect and that is okay. God loves us and doesn't demand perfection, just like no good parent would demand that of a child. God wants us to know that we are His beautifully designed children, worthy of love, honored and precious, made with a good nature, accepted and enbraced. God is a good Parent, who points out the best in His children and shields them from harmful lies!

“When that one I have spoken to you about comes—the Spirit of truth—he will guide you into everything that is true....He will bring glory to me for he will draw on my truth and reveal it to you. Whatever the Father possesses is also mine; that is why I tell you that he will draw on my truth and will show it to you."

John 16;13-15 (PHP)

A Prayer: Thank You, Holy Spirit, for reminding me of the truth and dispelling all lies!

Only For Us

"Only for us He is here.."

Julian of Norwich (ch. 80)

Why did He come? Why did He go through the pain and suffering of the cross to save us? Why is He here working? It was all for us, it is all for us. We are the pearl of great price that He gave everything to get. Whether the younger prodigal or the older legalist, we are the beloved child that He longed for and invited to celebrate with Him. We are the ones that are at the center of His thoughts, the center of His plans and works, the center of His heart. We are the ones He is here for right now. He is always there, filling every day with His love. He is supporting us whether we realize it or not. In our failures, He is picking us up and affirming the good in us, reminding us of His love and support. In our times of need, He is supplying more than enough and being more than enough for whatever comes our way. In the times of doubt, frustration, loneliness, anger or struggle, He is upholding us and carrying us, never letting us down, never letting us go. I am the reason, you are the reason, that He is doing all that He is doing. He simply wants to love us, to give us the best, to see us enjoy life, to see us enjoy His presence. This is how we were meant to live, never alone but always in union with Him. Relationship with Him gives a fullness to life that nothing else can. That is what it is all about, and that is what He is all about!

"Everything he accomplishes is inspired by the energy and intent of his affection [for us]."

Ephesians 1:11 (MIRROR)

"We celebrate him who supercharges us powerfully from within. Our biggest request or most amazing dream cannot match the extravagant proportion of his thoughts towards us."

Ephesians 3:20 (MIRROR)

A Prayer: You are always with me, filling me up with Yourself.

The Highest and Lowest One Does All

"For Himself is nearest and meekest, highest and lowest, and doeth all."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 80)

He is the highest, so glorious He is exalted to the highest heaven, yet He is also the lowest, taking the form and position of a servant here on earth in order to save humanity. He is the greatest and most  outstanding, far surpassing all other things, yet He is also nearest to us, closer than any other, intimate and familiar with us as a closest friend. He is the mightiest of all, full of strength and beyond an other power, yet He is also the meekest, humbly working behind the scenes of our lives whether we recognize Him or not. He is so amazing, so great, so wonderful, so high and mighty and wise, yet He is also so loving, so kind, so near, so gentle, so humble, so sweet. What a wonderful God we have. We have nothing to fear from this God, for the One who is so mighty and powerful, so great and magnificent, is our Daddy, and we are His beloved children. We don't have to worry about a thing. If the children have any needs, it is the father's responsibility to meet them. If the children get into trouble or danger, it is the father's responsibility to get them out. If the children are distraught or hurt, it is the father's responsibility to help and comfort them. Our Father would do anything for us, and He has. He does it all, all that we need for life and communion with Him, and being able to live a life of meaning, joy, peace, and love. He brings us to a life of belonging, acceptance, affirmation, creativity, and fulfillment. He takes care of His children completely and without fail. Nothing is too hard for the mightiest One, the wisest One, the most loving One of all, and He does it all, all for our creation, all for our life, all for our salvation, all for our eternity. It is His pleasure to give us His whole kingdom. What an inheritance our Father has provided for us. He has thought of everything. It is a perfect salvation and a perfect inheritance, a perfect and eternal life with Him!

"God is your Father, and your Father’s great joy is to give you His kingdom."

Luke 12:32 (VOICE)

A Prayer: Thank You, Father, for doing it all for me so I don't have to worry about a thing.

Every Single Soul Matters

"And this shall He do as long as any soul is in earth that shall come to heaven,—and so far forth that if there were no such soul but one, He should be withal alone till He had brought him up to His bliss."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 80)

The Good Shepherd, Jesus, watches over every single sheep. The safety and care of each and every one of them is His responsibility. He will make sure each of us, the sheep under His care, are taken care of and get safely home. If there was only one little sheep still wandering around in confusion in this life needing His help, He would still do all the work of salvation for that one, and be there for that one till they were safely home in His arms. That's how important we are to Him. There are billions of people on this planet. That is a very big flock our Good Shepherd has! Yet He truly cares for each one of us as if we are the only one needing help. We are each His personal concern, His beloved, His precious one. He knows everything about us and is with us every moment. He has taken care of every one of us lost little sheep! Each of us can know we will be safe with Him forever.

"Then Jesus told them this parable: 'Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.'"

Luke 15:3-6 (NIV)

A Prayer: Thank You for showing me how important and precious I am to You!

Christ Alone

"Christ alone did all the works that belong to our salvation, and none but He; and right so He alone doeth now the last end: that is to say, He dwelleth here with us, and ruleth us and governeth us in this living, and bringeth us to His bliss."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 80)

God has always been for us. He has always been on our side, working for our good and help. It has been Him all along. He has full responsibility for us, His created children, and He takes care of us. We did not have to rescue or save ourselves when we got into trouble with sin and death. Our God came to earth robed in human flesh and rescued us Himself. All we did was wander off in our minds and get lost from Him. He, the Good Shepherd, took full responsibility for the sheep and came and rescued us. And He is still the One that is taking care of us. He is always there, behind the scenes, in the background of our lives, moving and working for our good, saving us, helping us, upholding us, drawing us to Him, drawing us home. He's reigning in our souls. That means He, the One who Loves us the most, is in ultimate charge of our safety and care, and that He, our dearest Friend and Strongest Ally, has the final say on our lives, not sin or pain or doubt or darkness or shame or loss or even death! He will make sure everything works out for the best. He will make sure we get safely home.

We were never facing things alone. We were never having to do everything in our strength and with our limited resources. We have always had Christ, with His infinite supply, taking care of us.  He has always been all the sufficiency and completeness we've needed, no matter what the situation. No matter what our need, He meets it. No matter what our weakness, He fills up all that lacks so there is fullness every time. This salvation isn't a barely adequate rescue. It's an abundant salvation that gives more than enough. We have more than enough righteousness, beauty, acceptance, peace, joy and life coming from Him right now. We have Him, so we have all we need and so much more. He alone has done this work of saving us, getting rid of sin and darkness and death and making things whole and free and light. He alone has done this work of removing all that was blocking us in our minds from receiving His love and knowing oneness in relationship with the Father. Our efforts weren't required or necessary. We can relax and rest. We are safe with Him forever.

"Immense in mercy and with an incredible love, he embraced us. He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ. He did all this on his own, with no help from us! Then he picked us up and set us down in highest heaven in company with Jesus, our Messiah."

Ephesians 2:4-6 (MSG)

"God's glory is all around me! His wraparound presence is all I need, for the Lord is my Savior, my hero, and my life-giving strength."

Psalm 62:7 (TPT)

"Everything I need comes from him."

Psalm 62:2 (MSG)

A Prayer: Thank You for taking care of my every need. Thank You that You don't require my sufficiency but instead You provide Your sufficiency!

The Blessed Showing of Love Brings Comfort and Joy

"Also our courteous Lord in the same time He shewed full surely and mightily the endlessness and the unchangeability of His love; and, afterward, that by His great goodness and His grace inwardly keeping, the love of Him and our soul shall never be disparted in two, without end....In the blessed Shewing of Love I have matter of true comfort and of joy that saveth me from despair. All this homely Shewing of our courteous Lord, it is a lovely lesson and a sweet, gracious teaching of Himself in comforting of our soul. For He willeth that we [should] know by the sweetness and homely loving of Him, that all that we see or feel, within or without, that is contrary to this is of the enemy and not of God." 

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 79)

The revelation Jesus gave to Julian was of the love of God. The revelation was that this love never changes no matter what our behavior, and that nothing can ever sever our love relationship with God. What a relief to know we are always loved, that we will never be rejected, that our relationship with God cannot be broken by anything. This is the message of unconditional love and everlasting security. This is the message of grace and acceptance and loyalty. This is the revelation that gives us unending joy and comfort and saves us from despair, because we know this relationship we have with God does not depend on us and our weak faith, behaviors or attitudes. It depends wholly on God, and He is love. He won't fail. Love never fails! We find in this message that God is the love we always dreamed of knowing. We find He is all love without a trace of hatred, judgment, wrath or rejection. We find that we are beloved children that have always belonged and will always belong. We find that we are safe forevermore and there is nowhere to be but in His arms. This sweet and gracious good news comforts our soul like no other! God wants us to know that this is the truth, love is the truth, love that won't let us go, love that will always save us, keep us, help us, and be there with us. Any other voice telling us a message of judgment, anger, fear, punishment or wrath just isn't the truth and is to be let go of. Any thought or feeling we have of condemnation, shame, terror, inferiority, unloveliness, alienation or rejection is also a lie and to be discarded as not from God at all. The only voice that matters is God's voice, telling us we are the beloved of God, we are accepted just as we are, and we are held in His arms forever and never shall be separated from Him!

"And we know that the Son of God has made our understanding come alive so that we can know by experience the One who is true. And we are in him who is true, God’s Son, Jesus Christ—the true God and eternal life!"

1 John 5:20 (TPT)

A Prayer: Thank You for revealing Your love to me! Thank You for the assurance it brings to know that Your love will never let go of me but will hold me close to You forever!

Oned in Love

"I that am the least and lowest that shall be saved, I may be comforted with him that is highest: so hath our Lord oned us in charity (love)."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 78)

In Christ we are all absolutely equal. Noone is better or worse than another. Noone is higher or lower than another. Noone is superior or inferior to another. All these distinctions have to do with living under law, where we are measured by our performance and tend to judge and compare ourselves with others. Living under law is trying to measure up to a perfect standard, and noone can measure up.  But Jesus shows us God's way is grace! He has brought us up with Him into a whole new creation. It is a life under grace, not law, a life of love, not judgment. In this new creation, under grace, we are not judged by our behavior. We are simply given the free gift of perfect love, acceptance and righteousness, given the free gift of Christ Himself. We are loved for free. We are all equally loved, all equally important and precious, all equally right with God. We are all equally full of Christ's life. Christ has oned or united us all in love. Labels or distinctions that separate or divide people into categories like better and worse, more important and less important, don't apply here. There is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for racial and cultural and political differences disappear here. There is no difference between poor and rich, good and bad, male and female, strong and weak, for we are all the same before Him. We are all equally loved and we are all equally filled with Love Himself! We need never put ourselves down or think we are less than another, have less blessing than another, or have less of God than another. We all have all of God's fullness and blessing through Christ living within us all. 

Knowing we are equally valued, accepted and loved, we can relax and feel valued, accepted and loved, and we can enjoy the freedom of valuing, accepting and loving each other. When there is no competition, we can cooperate with everyone. When there is no judgment, we can accept everyone. When there is no exclusion, we can include everyone! When there is only love, hatred, division, anger and selfishness dissolve away! We are all one in Christ, one in the Love that breaks down every barrier and division and unites all in His embrace!

"In Christ, there is no difference between Jew and Greek, slave and free person, male and female. You are all the same [or united; one] in Christ Jesus."

Galatians 3:28 (EXB)

"From now on everyone is defined by Christ, everyone is included in Christ."

Colossians 3:12 (MSG)

A Prayer: Thank You that I don't have to compare myself to others or feel inferior. Thank You that I am just as loved, valued, and accepted by You as any other person is!

Like to Himself in All Things

"And the blessed creatures that shall be in heaven with Him without end, He will have them like to Himself in all things. And to be like our Lord perfectly, it is our very salvation and our full bliss."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 77)

Salvation is a word that carries the meaning of rescue, wholeness, safety, and well-being. Christ came to bring us from death to life, defeating and removing all that was not truly us and revealing and liberating all that is truly us. Christ brought us  up with Him into His resurrection life where Christ Himself is our life. We have the mind of Christ, we partake of His nature, we bear the fruit of His Spirit, all because we are one with Christ, our humanity forever joined to Him. Christ has made us just like Him, for we are one with Him and all that He is and has is ours in that union. Christ is righteous so we are righteous. Christ is pure so we are pure. Christ is loving so we are loving. Christ is good so we are good. Christ is whole so we are whole. Christ is full of joy and peace so we are full of joy and peace. We were created with Christ's nature, and now His salvation means that nature is expressed in every way through every part of humanity. Nothing can hinder His life from being expressed in us. The children of God come into their own and display the life they were always meant to display, God's own life! We were always meant to express the divine nature and have the fruit of God's own life coming forth from us in love, kindness, joy, goodness, peace and faithfulness. We are saved, made well and whole in every way, saturated with Christ's life - this will be our happiness forever. So we don't need to accept or align with any thoughts or voices that tell us we are sinful, bad, inferior, lacking or shameful. We can align our thoughts with God's thoughts about us, that we are just like Christ and thus we are good and holy, beautiful, whole and complete and honorable. We can see ourselves from heaven's perspective. We can see ourselves in Christ and one with Christ and therefore like Him in all things, full and lovely and perfect!

"Christ's resurrection is your resurrection too. This is why we are to yearn for all that is above, for that's where Christ sits enthroned....Yes, feast on all the treasures of the heavenly realm and fill your thoughts with heavenly realities, and not with the distractions of the natural realm. Your crucifixion with Christ has severed the tie to this life, and now your true life is hidden away in God in Christ. And as Christ himself is seen for who he really is, who you really are will also be revealed, for you are now one with him in his glory!"

Colossians 3:1-4 (TPT)

A Prayer: I am who I am in You, Christ!

Be Comfortable with Him

"For our courteous Lord willeth that we should be as homely (comfortable, intimate) with Him as heart may think or soul may desire."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 77)

Jesus came to earth, was born in a human body, and was immersed completely in the human experience. He had a group of people around Him that became His closest friends and He ate and talked and lived and laughed with them. They felt comfortable with Him, comfortable enough to blurt out their random thoughts, comfortable enough to lean on His shoulder, comfortable enough to have the full range of emotions in His presence. Jesus wants us to feel just as comfortable, or homely, with Him as any of His friends were during His time on earth. His friend group includes all of us. We are all in His special circle of friends. He is so accepting, so approachable, so humble, so kind, that we can relax and be ourselves in His presence. We can say all that we are feeling and admit all that we are struggling with. We don't have to always talk about spiritual matters, either; we can talk about anything with Him and He loves to just hang out with us and go through our day with us, working or relaxing together. He wants us to feel relaxed with Him, wants us to really share life together, wants us to be able to be open and vulnerable with Him because He is open and vulnerable with us. He is never going to call us out, put us down, or berate us. He is only going to call out the best in us and remind us of the beautiful and holy new creation we truly are. He is going to support us and have our back whatever we go through. We have found Someone who really accepts us as we are, who really loves us unconditionally, so we can truly be ourselves with Him with no filters. He loves the unfiltered person we are, with all our quirks and even weaknesses. He embraces the whole of us, so we can embrace the whole of us, too. He is truly Home for us and we can truly feel at home with Him. He really is family, He is really our best friend. And if we have trouble relaxing in His presence, He will just keep on loving and accepting us until we can relax. We are safe with Him!

"What I’m trying to do here is get you to relax....You're my dearest friends!"

Luke 12:29,32 (MSG)

A Prayer: I'm glad I can be myself with You and share what is really on my heart. You always make me feel better and encouraged. You are a wonderful Friend to me!

When We Have Woe

"He saith: Accuse not [thy]self overdone much, deeming that thy tribulation and thy woe is all for thy fault; for I will not that thou be heavy or sorrowful indiscreetly. For I tell thee, howsoever thou do, thou shalt have woe."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 77)

God does not seek retribution when we fall. He does not punish. He is the One lifting us up and helping us when we fall, the One showing grace and mercy and uplifting our heads so we can go forward in more love and joy. Sometimes we may worry that bad circumstances are some kind of punishment, discipline or chastening put upon us by God. But it is not so. Whatever we do in life, whether we live very lovingly or live very unlovingly, we will have some woe or trouble. Jesus told us we would have trouble in this broken world, but to take heart because He has already overcome it. So God is not sending calamity or trouble, sickness or tragedy onto people because they fall. Those things are part of the world's brokenness and are the very things Christ has overcome for us. So He is the one bringing us through those things, uplifting us from those things, giving us release and hope and comfort and strength to come out of those things. He is the One giving us ultimate and permanent victory over all the trouble and woe this world has. 

So when something bad happens to us, it is not from God. God is not angry with us, punishing us, or doing bad things to us to "teach us a lesson." God is always loving us, always at peace with us, always of one heart with us, always helping us. When we have troubles, God is the One delivering us through, over and from those things! When something bad happens, He has not turned away from us but is closer to us than ever, for He knows that is when we need His help even more. He is a good, caring, forgiving, compassionate, helpful God and Father to us. He takes the burdens and sorrows off, never puts them on. He bore all our sicknesses and sorrows on the cross to take them away from us forever. What a healing, uplifting, delivering and empowering God! What a Savior, who as His name says, saves us from calamity and pain rather than putting those things upon us! He assures us that any trouble that comes against us will be put down into defeat. 

"But he ·took [bore] our suffering on him and ·felt our pain for us [carried our sorrows/sickness]." 

Isaiah 53:4 (EXB)

"If anyone brings trouble against you, it will not be from Me. Whoever comes against you will fall because of you."

Isaiah 54:15 (NLV)

"'I know what I am planning for you,' says the Lord. 'I have good plans for you, not plans to hurt you. I will give you hope and a good future.'"

Jeremiah 29:11 (AMP)

A Prayer: Thank You for only doing good to us and never harm! Thank You for lifting off and rescuing us from the pains and sorrows of life. We could not make it through this life without You being there for us.

We Rise to More Joy

"All that is contrary to love and peace is of the Fiend and of his part. And we have, of our feebleness and our folly, to fall; and we have, of mercy and grace of the Holy Ghost, to rise to more joy."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 77)

The Christ way is the way of peace and love. Everything contrary to peace and love is the opposite of Christ's way, the opposite of the true way to live. As children of God who are filled with Christ's life, we naturally want to live in peace and joy with God, ourselves and others. Our way is not to be judgmental or unkind, say hateful things, ostracize certain groups of people, hold grudges, or be impatient or  selfish or rude. Our way is the way of the Spirit, and the Spirit naturally brings forth in us love for others, patience, goodness and generosity, friendship toward all, acceptance, a unifying influence, forgiveness, understanding, and humility. So we can easily tell God's way and that which is opposite to it: if it is Love, it is God, and if it is not Love, it is not God.

We are not always showing forth the Christ way. It's true that we fail to be in love and peace towards others sometimes. Our bodies are weak and our minds can be foolish, and we can fall into temptation to be judging, unkind, harsh or mean. But just as surely as we will fall sometimes, just as surely will the Holy Spirit raise us up. It is guaranteed. The Holy Spirit will raise us up to new heights of love, peace and joy. We will be raised up and grow even more in the ways of love. We will actually be propelled forward, The Holy Spirit will simply use the failure as a springboard to knowing God better, to experiencing more love and grace, and to growing to manifest more love, compassion and grace to others. This is the wonderful work of the Spirit in us. No failure is wasted. The Spirit of Love simply takes those failures and brings success out of them, takes the unloving things and turns all to more love in the end. The Spirit has such a beautiful and inevitable way of bringing forth the fruit of love and peace in us. We realize we are like a garden God is tending, where love is growing, and the blossoms and fruit will inevitably come forth, even if there are some storms along the way.

"The Lord holds up all who fall. He raises up all who are brought down."

Psalm 145:14 (NLV)

"The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control."

Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV)

A Prayer: Thank You for working even my failures out for good, to bring forth even more love, grace, joy and peace!

All One in His Loving

"For whether-so that we be foul or clean, we are all one in His loving. For weal nor for woe He willeth never we flee from Him."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 76)

When we fail, when we doubt, when we forget God, when we get angry, when we struggle, we can feel like running away from God because we feel ashamed, not good enough, or unclean. We may think He won't accept us or is disappointed. We may feel something is between us. We may think we need to clean ourselves up somehow before we can approach Him again. We tend to see a difference in our relationship between when we are "doing okay" spiritually and "not doing okay." 

But God sees no such difference! It is all the same in His love, and we are always the same in His love. The negative and fearful thoughts are simply lies. They are accusations against us that just aren't true. For God never wants us to pull back from Him because He never pulls back from us. Whether we succeed or fail, in good or bad moments, our relationship with Him never alters at all. None of us are perfect. We all fail at times. This doesn't change our union relationship with God one little bit! So there is nothing to feel afraid, hesitate or ashamed of. God is not rejecting us, disappointed with us, or turned away from us. We don't need to clean ourselves up before He'll allow us back in His good graces or His presence. Why? Because we never left His good graces or His presence! We are always clean before Him with the cleanness of Christ! We are always accepted and one with God. He is always  happy with us, whether we have just had a big spiritual victory or a big fleshly failure. We are always the same to Him! This relationship is one of grace, not law. It is not about some perfect performance we need to have. It is just about being loved. It is just about communion. It is just about being family together, sharing life together. Perfection is not required and isn't the focus. Love is the focus! We need His love even more when we fail or struggle or have hard times. God knows this and is even MORE tender and loving and caring with us when we fail! He is CLOSE to us when we are down, struggling, or broken-hearted. He is even ATTRACTED to weakness, hugging us even closer and pouring the grace on even more. For where sin abounds, grace abounds even MORE! How good is our God! How wonderful to be in this permanent friendship with Him. 

"The Lord is close to those whose hearts have been broken. He saves those whose spirits have been crushed."

Psalm 34:18 (NIRV)

"Where sin increased, grace increased all the more.."

Romans 5:20 (NIV)

"He said... 'I am with you; that is all you need. My power shows up best in weak people.' Now I am glad to boast about how weak I am; I am glad to be a living demonstration of Christ’s power..

2 Corinthians 12:9 (TLB)

A Prayer: Thank You for being there for me, even when I fail...especially when I fail!

The Blessed Friend, Jesus

"The most wisdom is for a creature to do after the will and counsel of his highest sovereign Friend. This blessed Friend is Jesus, and it is His will and His counsel that we hold us with Him, and fasten us to Him homely—evermore, in what state soever that we be.."

Julian of Norwich (Ch 76)

The best thing we can do is to stick with the counsel and words of our greatest Friend, Jesus. He will always uplift us, speak into us the truth about His love for us, and tell us the truth of His victory in any situation. We need His words of encouragement and positivity so much, because all around us are negative voices that can pull our hearts down into shame, doubt or fear. Our own thoughts and feelings can pull us down into the depths, too. But Jesus, our Best Friend, keeps on speaking the truth into our life. He keeps on reminding us of who He is and who we are to Him. He keeps on giving us His Word about our life and circumstances. He keeps on speaking out His promises to us. And this word He speaks won't come back void but will accomplish all He desires, because this word will stir up the seeds of hope and faith and rest that are inside us. He won't give up encouraging us, continuing to be gentle and kind to us, understanding and being so tender with our hurting parts, affirming us and giving us an uplifting word. He will keep on doing this work till He has our life into experiencing His victory, His truth, His love, His power, His life! No matter how many times we need it, He will keep doing this work. He is a faithful and true Friend, loyal no matter what the cost, always supportive, always there for us, always building us up when we are down!

"He won’t brush aside the bruised and the hurt and he won’t disregard the small and insignificant, but he’ll steadily and firmly set things right. He won’t tire out and quit." 

Isaiah 42:3-4 (MSG)

"It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it. You will live in joy and peace. The mountains and hills will burst into song, and the trees of the field will clap their hands!"

Isaiah 55:11 (NLT)

"Whenever I am anxious and worried, you comfort me and make me glad."

Psalm 94:19 (GNT)

"You will know the truth and the truth will set you free."

John 8:32 (ESV)

A Prayer: Thank You, my Blessed Friend Jesus, for speaking the words of truth, love, grace and victory over my life until I hear them and become glad!

To Behold Him Brings Forth Love

"For the soul that beholdeth the fair nature of our Lord Jesus, it hateth no hell but sin, as to my sight."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 76)

Sometimes a person may ask, "If we learn that God is all love and never punishes or gets angry with us, won't that just make people go out and sin more, knowing that God will love and forgive them anyway and not punish them?" But really the opposite is true. Oftentimes when people grow up thinking that God is angry, judgmental and punishing, they can be afraid of God, resentful of God, and even become angry and judgmental themselves, projecting onto others the judgment they think God is putting onto them. But when people find out that God is not an angry or punishing judge but a loving Father who has a blanket of forgiveness and acceptance extending to us at all times, that there is nothing we could do that would make God get angry with us or reject us, it is transforming. When we find that we are loved unconditionally now and forever, safe in the arms of God, accepted as we are and actually His beloved children, it can help that judgmental or angry or fearful person relax, feel loved and accepted, and start to feel safe with God, trusting towards God, and even loving towards God, themselves and others. They start to extend the love they feel from God to other people. They find they don't want to hate or be angry or judging anymore. They find they want to love others because we are all God's children and often just act out of fear or hurt or wrong images of God or ourselves. It is the true picture of God's nature that changes people from wanting to sin to actually not wanting to sin but instead wanting to love. To be unloving becomes the worst thing, and to be loving becomes the best thing. 

Jesus came to the earth to show us the true nature of God. He showed us a God that loved little children, ate with tax collectors, did not condemn sinners but empowered them to go free. He showed us a God that healed the sick and took time with the outcasts, went around doing good things for people, fed the hungry, gave hope to the struggling, and wept with those who were sad. He showed us a God that celebrated with the happy and took care of the weak, that befriended the lonely and believed in those that others disdained. He showed us a God that brought an end to people's suffering, gave sight to the blind, took care of the poor, and forgave those who hated and persecuted and killed Him. He showed us a God in love with humanity and made us fall in love with Him too.

And that is how it is. When we see Him for who He is, the Love that takes our breath away, that we have longed for but only dreamed of, and we know that we are taken in and accepted just as we are, lifted up out of despair, and given hope and life, healing and belonging, it is like falling in love. We are captivated by a Love that is so wonderful and so healing and so tender and so accepting that we just fall in love and all we want to do is be with our Lover, receive and bask in this love and love back. We just want to love ourselves and love everybody around us. We just want to share the love. The last thing we want to do is be unloving (sin). All we want to do is love. For to be filled up with His love is to be filled up with His Spirit, and to be filled with His Spirit is not to fulfill any desires or temptations to sin coming to the flesh. That is what knowing Him is like. That is what it is like to live not by rules or religion but romance! That is what it is like to be swept up in the arms of Christ. That is what it is like to be loved by a love that will never reject you and never let you go, a love that fills you up with joy and peace and fulfills all your dreams for tenderness, acceptance and belonging. This is what it is like to be loved by God and filled with God and watch that love and fullness overflow to those around you!

"We love, because He first loved us."

1 John 4:19 (TLV)

"We’ll see him—and in seeing him, become like him."

1 John 3:2 (NLT)

A Prayer: Being loved by You just makes me love, too!

We Will See the Cause of All Things

"In this [fulfilling] we shall see verily the cause of all things that He hath done; and evermore we shall see the cause of all things that He hath suffered. And the bliss and the fulfilling shall be so deep and so high that, for wonder and marvel, all creatures shall have to God so great reverent dread, overpassing that which hath been seen and felt before, that the pillars of heaven shall tremble and quake."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 75)

The goal and love dream of God will one day be completely fulfilled and all of us will see God face to face, know God in all of His love, and be fulfilled in the bliss of God Himself. And in that complete fulfilling and satisfying in God's love, joy and presence, we will understand the reason for all He has done, for all that has happened by His working. And we will also understand the reason for all that He allowed, for why He allowed things to happen on earth as they did.

We look around us today and see many problems and tragedies on earth. We see so much suffering and sorrow, so much hate and hurt. We cannot understand why God would let those kinds of things happen. We cannot understand how anything good could come of such things. But there in God's presence of love and joy, at the ultimate end with God, we will understand. We will see the reason these things were allowed - not willed by God, but allowed - and how He turned it all to good. We will have joy that is not even worthy to be compared to all the previous suffering. It will all come together and God will be seen to be better, more loving, more beautiful, more compassionate and caring than we ever imagined. All evil and sorrow, suffering and pain, loss and death will be gone forever. And all will be well forever!

"The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."

Romans 8:18 (KJV)

"Unending joy will crown them, happiness and joy will overwhelm them; grief and suffering will disappear."

Isaiah 51:11 (NET)

A Prayer: No matter how terrible things are right now, thank You for the assurance that You will make all things well for all people. Thank You that the end of it all will be joy in Your presence forever!

Longings Fulfilled

"I saw three manners of longing in God, and all to one end; of which we have the same in us, and by the same virtue and for the same end. The first is, that He longeth to teach us to know Him and love Him evermore, as it is convenient and speedful to us. The second is, that He longeth to have us up to His Bliss, as souls are when they are taken out of pain into Heaven. The third is to fulfill us in bliss; and that shall be on the Last Day, fulfilled ever to last."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 75)

God has a longing for us to experience joyful love relationship with Him, and that longing is behind all His workings. And that longing will be fulfilled. God longs for us to know Him, to really know Him in all His goodness and love for us. For God is nothing but love, and He will overcome all our doubts and hesitations, all the lies we've believed that would say otherwise, till we really get to know Him and experience Him as  pure love. Nothing will stop that from happening in our lives. We may think we have trouble believing in His love or trusting Him, or that we have a long way to go in really knowing Him, but God is in charge of this process and He will bring it about. He keeps revealing Himself to us, loving us, being trustworthy, till all the lies and confusion comes tumbling down and we can relax and let ourselves be loved, let ourselves sink into God in trust and assurance.

For He longs for us to know His joy. God is a joyful and merry God. He knows that everything will work out well. He knows that the happy ending has never been in doubt. He knows that every sorrow and pain will end in joy. He is already at the beautiful conclusion and is rejoicing with great joy, and He wants us to enter into His joy. And we can know for sure that He will do this. He will bring us to experience all the joy of God, the joy of heaven. We will be happy forever with a happiness we can't even fathom. All sorrow and pain will be gone. 

And we will be fully satisfied and filled to the full with the God of joy Himself. That is the ultimate happiness: to be loved by the One who is pure and infinite love, to rejoice in His rejoicing over us, to know Him fully and experience love relationship with Him to the fullest degree, forever. It is God who truly satisfies. It is God's love we long for, God we long for. And God longs for us and our love. He assures us that all these longings will be fulfilled and we will rejoice in love union with our God forever!

"My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.."

Luke 1:46 (ESV)

A Prayer: Thank You for fulfilling my deepest longings for love and joy. I am humbled to think that I fulfill Your longings for love and joy, too!

Thirst of God

"For the Thirst of God is to have the general Man unto Him: in which thirst He hath drawn His Holy that be now in bliss; and getting His lively members, ever He draweth and drinketh, and yet He thirsteth and longeth."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 75)

God longs for us all to be with Him in glory enjoying Him as He enjoys us. This longing is in us, too, for people naturally long for God and find that nothing ultimately satisfies our need for love but God. So God is longing or thirsting for us all and we are longing or thirsting for God. This is natural for we were made to be with God and will not find complete satisfaction until we experience that union fully. As Augustine has said, "You have made us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You." 

It is wonderful to think that God will not be completely satisfied until we are all safely home enjoying His love and bliss fully! Just as Jesus said the good shepherd searches for the one lost sheep until he finds it, so God keeps on longing, thirsting and drawing each and every lost sheep home, till the last one is found and brought back safely. Christ came to seek and to save the lost, and His mission is fulfilled. He saved the world, brought the lost little sheep back to God in His human flesh, uniting us with Him. And God will not stop drawing and thirsting every member of Christ's body, which is all of humanity, till every single person on earth knows, enjoys and fully experiences that salvation, that unity with God in Christ. God could not be completely happy till we are all happy in fully experiencing His love and union with us. And there is no doubt this will happen. It is sure and certain. God wants it and we want it. God longs for it and we long for it. God wills it and we will it. That is the secret - God wills it and so do we, so it is done! God will bring it about, and we will be so happy to be home. The thirst of God will be satisfied. And all will be well!

"The Lord is....not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."

2 Peter 3:9 (KJV)

"I will draw everyone to me."

John 12:32 (GNT)

"Everyone will come to you."

Psalm 65:2 (CEV)

A Prayer: Thank You for caring about each and every person and forgetting not a single one. Thank You for never being satisfied till we are all safely home enjoying Your love and presence!

Love Assures Us

"I saw that God can do all that we need."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 75)

It is not just that God can do all but that He will do all, all that we need Him to do. We see how strong He is, powerful enough to do anything. And we see how wise He is, smart enough to provide a solution for any problem or difficulty. So let us also see how loving He is, caring and kind enough to do whatever it takes to meet our needs. It is His love that gives us the certainty that He really will help us and keep every promise He makes to us.

He will always be there for us, to comfort us, defeat evil for us, protect us, help us, heal us, deliver us, save us, hold us and provide for us. Let us look at God's love and ask Him to show us His love and help us get to know who He really is, how good and kind He really is. This will help us to be assured that He will keep all His promises for us personally. God is only one way - love. He is so good and loving we can scarcely take it in! He will keep on showing us how good and loving He is and we will get to know Him better and better and we will find trust rising up in us naturally. We will be able to say that God is strong and can help us, and He is wise and knows how to help us, and He is love and WILL help us. Love assures us that He will not let us down. Love lets us know it is certain and done. Love lets us know all the promises are already complete for us. Love means we can count on God and know that all will be well for us!

"For everyone who knows your wonderful name keeps putting their trust in you. They can count on you for help no matter what. O Lord, you will never, no never, neglect those who come to you."

Psalm 9:10 (TPT)

"Love never fails."

1 Corinthians 13:8 (NIV)

A Prayer: Show me who You are, Lord. Show me how good and loving You are so I can trust You more and know You will always take care of me!

 

Reverent Fear

"All dreads other than reverent dread that are proffered to us, though they come under the colour of holiness yet are not so true."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 74)

Are we to fear God? The Old Testament speaks of the "fear of the Lord" that we are to have before God, but what does that mean in light of Christ's revelation of the Father as Perfect Love? We are not meant to be afraid of God, for God, Perfect Love, casts out fear. God doesn't want us to be afraid of Him, fearful and cowering, worried that He might destroy or hurt us or rage against us. He is great, and mighty and amazing, and we are small, and weak and humble. So it can be easy to slip into feelings of fear, especially fear of God's wrath or punishment. But this kind of fear is exactly what God, Perfect Love, casts out! Our God is pure Love and love does not harm. God would never harm us, for He is the One who keeps us from harm, rescues us from harm, and heals us from harm. Our God is pure Love and Love doesn't punish. Love isn't vindictive or retributive. Love is forgiving, patient and kind. Love puts up with anything and bears with everything. Love never goes into a rage but is instead always gentle and understanding. Love never rejects but always accepts and embraces us.

The fear of the Lord mentioned in the Bible must mean something else, then. Fear of the Lord, or "reverent dread," simply means being in awe and wonder at the greatness of God's goodness and love. He is so much more loving, kind, gentle, understanding, and friendly than we could possibly imagine, and when we experience and relate to this wonderful God, Father, and Friend, we have a sense of awe at how good He really is. It is mind-blowing. It is inspiring. It is full of wonder! It is not fear that we feel in the sense of being afraid but reverence and awe that One so great is so good to us and so loving to us! It is a reverence that leads to spontaneous worship, thanks, and praise to our God. It is a reverence that draws us to God irresistibly rather than making us cower or run away. That is "reverent fear" and the only kind of fear we ever have when we experience this wonderful God who is All-Love. 

"Love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love."

1 John 4:18 (NLT)

"They will come with awe to the Lord and to his goodness.."

Hosea 3:5 (CSB)

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, and his love endures forever.

Psalm 107:1 (NIV)

A Prayer: I am in awe of Your beauty, goodness, greatness and love! I praise Your name!

Dealing with Sin vs. Being Loved

"For when we begin to hate sin, and amend us by the ordinance of Holy Church, yet there dwelleth a dread that letteth us, because of the beholding of our self and of our sins afore done....And the beholding of this maketh us so sorry and so heavy, that scarsely we can find any comfort....For it is God's will that of all the properties of the blissful Trinity, we should have most sureness and comfort in Love: for Love maketh Might and Wisdom full meek to us.....He forgiveth our sin... right so willeth He that we forgive our sin."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 73)

We hate sin. We don't want to do it. But we keep falling into it. So we keep confessing it, promising to do better, recommitting ourselves to God, trying to make up for our sin. And yet that just makes us focus on our sin even more, filling us with shame and self-hatred and fear that maybe we didn't confess enough or repent well or dedicate ourselves well enough, and maybe God hasn't forgiven us, maybe there is something between us and God and we are not completely "right" with Him. We feel worse and worse and can seem to find no comfort. We feel that we are just not good enough for God and that He may be displeased or angry with us. We may feel afraid of Him, afraid to approach Him because we feel something is off and we are not measuring up to the standard, are not clean enough. We may even feel there is a wall between us and God. We may feel like giving up, like we just can't "do" this Christian life well enough. Our good intentions of wanting to be good and trying to stop sinning have snowballed into this endless cycle of trying and then failure, confession, trying harder, failing again, feeling shame and condemnation, feeling far from God, and on and on. 

But this is not what God has for us in the Christian life! He has for us a life of peace and joy, knowing that we are alright before Him no matter how many times we fail. He has for us a life of confidence knowing that Christ already took away all our sins at the cross and gave us His own righteousness, meaning that we are perfectly right with God and sinless in His eyes at all times. God doesn't want us to be focused on getting rid of or dealing with sin. He doesn't want us to focus on something He already got rid of! He wants us to focus on His love. That is what the Christian life is all about, a love relationship with God. His love is the ruling factor. We can be assured that God is perfect, infinite, unconditional love toward us at all times. This is a love that has already forgiven us of all the sins of our whole lifetime! This is a love that understands our struggles and never turns His back on us but supports us at every moment, whether we are standing or falling. This is a love that accepts us unconditionally whether we ever stop sinning or not. This is a love that is so wonderful and life-giving and transforming that it fills up every need we have for friendship and support and affirmation, and we find ourselves naturally being kinder, friendlier, gentler, more at peace, and more loving effortlessly just by being in the Presence of this Love! 

Love has defeated sin in our lives already, and Love will bring that out without our efforts. Love will keep drawing our eyes away from our sin struggles and onto the One who loves us so much. All we need to do is let Love love us. We don't need to worry about trying harder, focusing on sin, feeling guilty or being sorry enough, confessing and repenting over and over, trying to make ourselves better, or condemning ourselves. We don't need to focus on sin or behavior improvement at all. God isn't focusing on that. God already forgave our sin and completely embraced us in love. So we can forgive ourselves of our sin and completely embrace ourselves in love. Love has cast out all our fears about sin, for Love has cast out sin and filled us with Love. So we can revel in this Love and enjoy our perfect relationship with God that is always there for us!

"Be kind and ·loving [compassionate; tenderhearted] to each other, and forgive each other just as God forgave you in Christ."

Ephesians 4:32 (EXB)

"For God took the sinless Christ and poured into him our sins. Then, in exchange, he poured God’s goodness into us!"

2 Corinthians 5:21 (TLB)

A Prayer: Thank You for dealing with sin so I don't have to. Thank You for Your love that changes everything!

He Is All-Love and Will Do All

"Some of us believe that God is Almighty and may do all, and that He is All-Wisdom and can do all; but that He is All-Love and will do all, there we stop short. And this not-knowing it is, that hindereth most God's lovers, as to my sight."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 73)

We can see that God is Love is a general way. But can we see that God is Love for us personally? Can we see that God is delighted in us as a person, cares about our every need, accepts us unconditionally, and will do everything we need Him to do and be everything we need Him to be, holding nothing back? It can be a challenge to believe such a love can come to us and is coming to us. It is easy to believe God is all Powerful and able to do all things for us. It is also easy to believe that God is all Knowing and wise enough to do all things for us. But we hesitate when it comes to God being Loving and actually choosing to do all things for us. So God keeps on reassuring of His Love. He keeps on persuading us till we are convinced that He truly is Love and will do everything. He will do everything for each of us and He will do everything for all of us. He will make all to be well for each of us and  He will make all to be well for all of us. So we can each say, "God is strong and able to save me, and He is wise and knows how to save me, and He is Love and will save me!" And we can also say, "God is strong and able to save all humanity, and He is wise and knows how to save all humanity, and He is Love and will save all humanity!" And all will be well!

"They will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest."

Hebrews 8:11 (NIV)

"Love never fails."

1 Corinthians 13:8 (NIV)

A Prayer: Thank You for Your love that will do everything for us.

The Most Understanding in Love

"The soul took most understanding in Love; yea, and He willeth that in all things we have our beholding and our enjoying in Love. And of this knowing are we most blind."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 73)

Sometimes it can be confusing to understand ourselves, our life or even God. The simplest and best, deepest and most profound way to understand is by simply looking at Love. God is Love. That is the easiest and deepest theology. God wants us to focus on His love, know His love, understand His love, and enjoy His love. Yet sometimes it is His love that we can be blind to. We may have theologies that talk about God's wrath, how He wants to punish us and even punished His own Son, theologies that say God sends sickness onto people, or that call terrible disasters "acts of God." In these ideas we can see a blindness to the truth that God is Love. Love doesn't have wrath but is instead gentle and open-hearted. Love doesn't punish but instead forgives. Love doesn't send bad things to people but instead heals and supports people in the worst times. We can simply ask "What would love do?" And then we can see how God truly is, for if it isn't love, it isn't God! Love does no harm. Love thinks of others first. Love is humble and vulnerable. Love cannot be offended. Love always forgives. Love never runs out. Love is stronger than anything. Love wins against all hatred and unlove. Love will never fail us. Love has no conditions. Love is the most beautiful thing in the universe. Love is God, God is Love! It's as simple as that!

"So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him." 

1 John 4:16 (ESV)

A Prayer: Thank You for loving me! I love You, too!

In His Beautiful Gaze Is Only Blessing

"For in that precious blissful sight there may no woe abide, nor any weal (blessing, well-being) fail."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 72)

From the beautiful loving face of our Lord, all sorrow, pain, confusion, darkness, shame and trouble flee and recede into nothingness. In this presence of such love, of such a wonderful Father and Friend, only joy, merry-making, celebration, peace, rest and happiness exist. For in the light of His beautiful face, no hurt or darkness can exist, only wholeness and light.

So we can see that the best thing for us to do while we are here in this life is to look upon our Lord within us and know more and more His how He sees us, experiencing all His love for us. And just to be with Him and see His loving face is healing, brings joy and peace, gives rest, makes sorrow and anxiety and negativity flee away. We were made to be held in that gaze. We were made to be loved on for all eternity by the Love that made the worlds, that died to have us with Him, the Love that brings us home to Him forevermore.

"Here's the one thing I crave from Yahweh, the one thing I seek above all else: I want to live with him every moment in his house, beholding the marvelous beauty of Yahweh, filled with awe, delighting in his glory and grace."

Psalm 27:4 (TPT)

"You pile blessings on him; you make him glad when you smile."

Psalm 21:6 (MSG)

A Prayer: The more I look to You, the more my worries and dark thoughts fade. Those worries don't have a chance before Your presence of love. Looking at You I know I am well and whole.

In That Precious Blissful Sight

"And ever the more clearly that the soul seeth this Blissful Cheer by grace of loving, the more it longeth to see it in fulness. For notwithstanding that our Lord God dwelleth in us and is here with us, and albeit He claspeth us and encloseth us for tender love that He may never leave us, and is more near to us than tongue can tell or heart can think, yet may we never stint.... of longing till when we see Him clearly in His Blissful Countenance."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 72)

The more we see the face of God all loving and joyful towards us, the more we long to see it. Christ has shown us that the face of God is always towards us, always looking at us with love, always happy with us. And this just makes us want to know God more and more. Where before, we shrank back from God is fear and confusion, now we reach out for God in love and longing to know Him more. This beautiful loving God is endlessly attractive and draws us like a magnet to His marvelous love. Once we get a taste of that love, we just want to know and commune with Him more and more. And even though He is always here with us on earth, embracing us in tenderness and never letting go of us, closer to us than we can even imagine, still we long for the day when our faith will be sight and we will be face to face with God in heaven forevermore. One look at His lovely face, one gaze into those tender eyes, one sight of His merry smile, and every sorrow, pain or trouble we had on earth will be dissolved into nothing and forgotten. We were made to be held in that gaze. We were made to be loved on for all eternity by the Love that made the worlds, that died to have us with Him, the Love that brings us home to Him forevermore.

"I will be full of joy when I see Your face."

Acts 2:28 (NLV)

A Prayer: I will look on Your face for all eternity, and eternity won't even be long enough to rejoice in Your presence of love!

His Full Bliss in Us

"He shall never have His full bliss in us till we have our full bliss in Him, verily seeing His fair Blissful Cheer. For we are ordained thereto in nature, and get thereto by grace."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 72)

Our wonderful Lord won't stop showing us how good He is, drawing us to see Him smiling at us within, drawing us to see His constant loving regard of us, till we are fully caught up in that gaze of love. He won't stop wooing us until we are caught up in the love that is better than anything in the world. It is almost as if He were saying, "I can't be completely happy till I know you are completely happy in Me, My dearest darling!" This has been the plan and intent of God since before time began, for us to be caught up in the love dance of the Trinity, caught up in Their love and celebration over us, the children of God. God has always wanted to simply love us and have us find our true happiness in being loved. And God will complete His wonderful plan. It is absolutely sure and certain. We can be sure that even if sometimes we lose sight of God's oneness with us, His smiling gaze towards us, or His love for us, He will draw us to know and experience that reality, and we will know and experience it fully. We will gaze forever on the face of God, filled with love and wonder at His beautiful look of pure love and happiness towards us. We will find our full joy in God and He will find His full joy in us, and all will be well! We will gaze forever on the face of God, filled with love and wonder at His love and happiness towards us!

"How blessed is God! And what a blessing he is! He’s the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in him. Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son."

Ephesians 1:3-5 (MSG)

A Prayer: I am so glad to know that You will make sure I get to the place of full joy in Your presence. I love being loved by You!

The Highest Bliss

"The highest bliss that is, is to have Him in clarity of endless life, Him verily seeing, Him sweetly feeling, all-perfectly having in fulness of joy."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 72)

The best and highest joy is to know that Christ is inside of us, giving us endless life, to really see Him as He is, full of love and grace and goodness towards us always, and to experience Him, experience His love and peace and joy in us. That is the fullest joy, just to have Christ and to know and experience Him loving us within. He is always there within us, always loving us, always accepting us, always delighting in us. No matter what may be going on on the outside, no matter what failures or flaws we see in ourselves, inside everything is perfect. Inside Christ is one with us and we are in perfect harmony in a perfect relationship of love, and all is well! It is the highest joy to know Him, to know He is within us, to know the high regard or blissful cheer He has towards us always, to know His love that passes knowledge, and to know that this relationship of oneness and love with Him is permanent and nothing we do, think or say can change it! We encounter Him within and see that this is what God is truly like, a lover who keeps no score of wrongs, a friend who is loyal no matter what the cost. a companion for the journey who will never leave us, a God beyond all imagining who always believes the very best of us, who is always rejoicing over us, who is tender and affectionate and merry and sweet!

"God said, 'Light up the darkness!' and our lives filled up with light as we saw and understood God in the face of Christ, all bright and beautiful."

2 Corinthians 4:6 (MSG)

"You have everything when you have Christ, and you are filled with God through your union with Christ."

Colossians 2:10 (TLB)

A Prayer: Knowing You are inside me always, loving me always, makes all the difference.

Outer Cheer toward Inner Cheer

"And thus, I hope, with His grace He hath [drawn], and more shall draw, the Outer Cheer to the Inner Cheer, and make us all one with Him, and each of us with other, in true lasting joy that is Jesus."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 71)

Our inner spirit has been captivated by the beautiful One indwelling us, Christ Himself. Even if we forget this on the outside in our everyday life, inside Christ is dwelling, loving, caring, supporting, keeping us, and our inner person or spirit is always looking to Christ and happy with Christ within. So our Inner Cheer or expression is always one of love, hope, joy and peace, for our inner person is looking always at Christ and is fully satisfied, resting in His loving presence. And Christ keeps drawing and drawing our outer part to look inward to Him in the inward part, drawing and drawing us by grace to consciously be aware of, focus on, and know the beautiful and loving One inside us and to be captivated by His beauty and gaze, His loveliness and grace. And so by grace He is bringing our Outer Cheer or expression to match our Inner Cheer. And in our conscious mind we become more and more aligned with who we truly are in our spirit, more and more aligned with Christ within. Christ is doing this with us all, so we are becoming more and more consciously aware not only of our union with Christ but with each other, for Christ is in each of us, connecting us and bringing us into unity of mind and heart all together with Him!

"In us God desires to exhibit the priceless treasure of Christ's indwelling....the unveiling of Christ in human life completes man's every expectation."

Colossians 1:27 (MIRROR)

"We are not keeping any score of what seems so obvious to the senses in the natural realm, it is fleeting and irrelevant; it is the unseen eternal realm within us that has our full attention and captivates our gaze!"

2 Corinthians 4:18 (MIRROR)

"Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us."

Colossians 3:11 (NLT)

A Prayer: Draw my gaze to You inside of me!

Blissful Lovely Cheer

"Glad and joyous and sweet is the Blissful lovely Cheer (countenance) of our Lord to our souls. For He [be]holdeth us ever, living in love-longing: and He willeth that our soul be in glad cheer to Him, to give Him His meed (reward)."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 71)

What do we see when we look upon the face of Christ as He gazes on us? What does His countenance look like? We see "blissful lovely cheer." We see a smile for us, we see absolute joy about us, and we see pure sweetness of manner. He is always looking at us and His look is always one of love and delight. He is always smiling at us. He is always happy to be with us, happy with us. He is always radiating the fullest love we could ever imagine. In that one look, we know we are home. We know we are cared for as we have always longed to be. We know we are His forever. For Christ see us living here on earth in love-longing, that is, longing for love. Every person innately longs to be loved. And since God is love, what we are all longing for is God Himself. He is the love we have waiting for and longed for. Christ wants us to see that He is loving us continually, unconditionally, fully and infinitely. We are held in the gaze of love, a love that is brighter than a thousand suns and deeper than the deepest sea. What He wants is for us to see that love and rest in it, be happy in it. He longs most of all for our happiness, for our sheer joy, for our smile. Parents wait for weeks to see their newborn baby's first smile. And when they finally see that little one smiling up at them, it gives them so much joy. They love seeing their little one happy, love knowing that their little one is responding with joy to their love. And so it is with Christ, who longs to see a smile on our face and says that is all the reward needed for all the work that was done to birth us into endless life! The kingdom of God is righteousness, pure goodness from God that lets you know He fully accepts and approves of you, and it is also joy and peace for us, being completely happy and completely safe and at rest. God wants us to be satisfied with His goodness, at rest, full of joy, and happy in Him for always. He loves us more than anything and wants us to be freed to revel in that love and be full of smiles!

"May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace."

Numbers 6:25-26 (NLT)

"God’s kingdom consists of God’s approval and peace, as well as the joy that the Holy Spirit gives."

Romans 14:17 (GW)

A Prayer: I love to know You are always smiling at me. I'm smiling back!