Being delivered by recognizing Christ

To recognize a song, you have to have heard it before.

To recognize a face, you have to have seen it before.

To recognize Christ, means you already have a relationship to the Christ. Christ in already your heart.

And what is amazing, is that everyone is already capable of recognizing the Christ, no matter who they are, or what kind of life they've led. Everyone has an intuitive sense that awakens when you recognize something spiritually good. And that can only happen because the Christ is already within you, already known in your heart-of-hearts.

When Mary Magdalene (see Luke 7) barged univited into Simon the Pharisee's house to wash Jesus feet with her tears, dry them with her hair, and anoint them with perfumed ointment, she was proving this very thing. She recognized the Christ because that Christliness was already within her. Had that not been the case, she would have never acted like she did. Fear or shame or ignorance would have kept her out. But her impulsive actions acknowledged something that even the priestly Simon couldn't: that Jesus was the Christ. Mary knew it.

Her devotion and love of Christ was "Love being reflected in love" - her debts, her sins, being forgiven - forsaken - in the awakening of her native state, her original Christliness, her natural likeness to God. The tears she shed were her painful past being released in the joy of her awakening to her true relation to God. And she received the blessing that Simon missed, because "she loved much" because much was forgiven her. While Simon clung to his pride and position, Mary dropped her mistaken sense of self (ego) in her love for the Christ.

She entered that house - not as the prostitute (though that is all Simon saw) - but as the daughter of God. And to paraphrase Mrs. Eddy: "Jesus beheld in Science the perfect [woman], who appeared to him where sinning mortal [woman] appeared to [Simon]. In this perfect [woman] the Saviour saw God's own likeness, and this correct [Christly] view of [her healed and sealed her own Christly awakening].

Mary Magdalene continued to sit at Jesus feet the rest of her life. That was her true life purpose. She recognized the Christ because it was already within her, and she went on to live and to learn and to love much.

This Christ is also already within you. Right this moment. May you seek"...Truth, Christ ... like Mary Magdalene, from the summit of devout consecration, with the oil of gladness and the perfume of gratitude, with tears of repentance and with those hairs all numbered by the Father.

And may you recognize your own Christliness, be awakened by it, redeemed by it, changed by it, impelled by it, and in so doing, awaken that Christly recognition in everyone you meet.

Riff on "And lead us...deliver us..."

"And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil"
And God leadeth us not into temptation, but delivereth us from sin, disease, and death."

And God does not lead us into:

...unwillingness to work, failure to work, and unemployment - because Principle delivers us into creative purpose;
...disbelief, ignorance, and unconsciousness - because Mind delivers us into intelligent being;
...ridicule, contempt, and ingratitude - because Soul delivers us into deepest bliss;
...restriction, limitation, and materiality - because Spirit delivers us into limitless ability;
...idleness, weakness, and death - because Life delivers us into enduring joy;
...cheating, deception, and corruption - because Truth delivers us genuine reality;
...disobedience, apathy, and hatred - because Love always, always delivers us into wholeness and holiness: Love-reflected-in-love!

"And lead us... And deliver us..."

"Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."
And God leadeth us not into temptation, but delivereth us from sin, disease, and death.

And God leads us...

Just stop for a minute and think about what that means.

God leads us. He's there in front showing us the way, the Good Shepherd guiding and guarding, His staff and rod at hand to comfort and to correct. His watchful eye always and only looking out for your welfare, leading you out of the dream of trials and tempatations - whatever would cause you to stray from Him - to think that you are separated, or ever could be separated, from Him.

And God delivers us...

Think: God actively, purposefully, delivers us from every evil - every lie - about our true nature, our true will, our true identity. God delivers you from whatever would cause you to stray from your true purpose, weaken your true calling, or try to kill off your true likeness to Him.

He delivers you from sin: the mistake of thinking that you can enjoy a lie.
He delivers you from sickness: the mistake of thinking that you can suffer from a lie.
He delivers you from death: the mistake of thinking that a lie can be fatal!

Jesus called Satan - evil - "a liar." A liar would trick you into believing his lie is actually the truth. But it never is. It never has any power. It can only "suggest" its lie. And therefore, it can only seem to be true (i.e., real) if you believe the lie!

But in this verse of the Lord's Prayer, Jesus awakens you to understand that you never have to be tempted to believe evil's lie. Never. Instead Jesus awakens you to the fact that God only ever leads you to, delivers you to, Truth.

And Truth is the antidote - the cure - for every lie. Truth always exposes the lie for what it is. Truth, understood, immediately annihilates the "power" of any lie, no matter how big and scary the lie seems to be - whether it calls itself sin, sickness, or death. It is still just a lie. Without power. Without reality. Without effect. Why? because sin, sickness, and death are evil. They are never from God. And so they can never survive exposure to God's Truth any more than the night can survive the sunrise.

"Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."
And God never leads us into the temptation to believe in - or experience - any evil, any "lie," but already - right now - truly delivers us wholy, holy, healthfully, blissfully, vigorously, at-one with Life!

And lead us...

"And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil"
And God leadeth us not into temptation, but delivereth us from sin, disease, and death.

And lead us not inot the tempation to think we are nice little egos, "independent workers, personal authors, and even privileged originators," but deliver us from this evil parading as a personal id and ego, a mortal being, an animal self, separated from God. Deliver us from this evil - this mistaken upside down view of who we really are.

Instead, think more about being - reflecting and understanding - God's true nature instead of patting your "ego" on the back for how clever and creative and smart it is. God is the great I Am - not you. Don't get your relationship to God confused: you are not God. You are God's reflection, God's expression, God's inseparable manifestation. You are God-being.

Focus on that.

Ask yourself: how much "being" am I doing? How vibrant is my reflection of God's nature? How active is my expression of Love? How rich and fruitful and alive is it? How conscious am I of Mind? How much do I listen to divine inspiration, to the inspired intuition that is constantly present in thought?

The answer may depend on how clean your mental "window pane" is. Is your thought clear and clean for the Light of God to shine through you, as you? Can you see it? Does everyone around you see it? Do you share it freely? or do you think you can hoard it to yourself? think that it's personal to you? think it needs to be guarded or doled out only to those whom you deam "worthy."

If the latter, then you have things horribly backwards. Let that go, and reverse course! Take your light out from under that dismal bushel basket of the human ego and let the Light of God shine! This is not only your true purpose, it is your divine right.

God never leads us into the temptation to think we are separate little egos that must fend for ourselves. Therefore we can rejoice that God delivers and awakens us to our true purpose: to reflect the unconditional, glorious, Light of Divine Love - to everyone, everywhere.

Aspects of Forgiveness, Part 6

"And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us."
And Love is reflected in love.

Forgive us for trespassing - walking over the sacred ground of another's spiritual identity with our muddy boots of criticism, accusations, blame, anger, and annoyance! Oh please forgive us!

As you let Love, God, be reflected in your heart by being loving - as you yield your projected (yes, projected) and mistaken (yes, mistaken) views of others, for the only view that really matters - that's really true - then you make space for forgiveness. You make space for God's crystal-clear view of things to take precedence. And that then gives you a clearer view of His already perfect spiritual likeness - right where "sinning mortal man appears to mortals."

And remember, you have complete authority over what criticisms, accusations, blame, anger, and annoyance - what thoughts - you let into your consciousness! God gives you dominion - and that includes having complete authority over what you accept into your thinking. You have complete God-given authority to stop trampling over someone else's soul, over their sense of worth, over their sense of peace. And that means you also have complete authority to stop doing those same things to yourself!

All the sorrow and meloncholy, all the deeply felt losses of relationships, jobs, pets, friends, lovers, parents, money, health, joy - if not guarded against - all these can trespass on your true spiritual identity, and your views of others' true identity. Don't do it! Don't get sucked into wallowing there! Snap out of it! Declare the Truth that God actually exists, that God actually is already Love, and that God actually is already All here and now. And since this is actually true, everything is possible!

"God is Love. Can we ask Him to be more? God is intelligence. Can we inform the infinite Mind of anything He does not already comprehend? Do we expect to change perfection? Shall we plead for more at the open fount, which is pouring forth more than we accept?"

So stop pleading and whining and for Heaven's sakes stop blaming other people for your situation! Accept the love that God pours forth for you! and then reflect it, shine it back out, share it, live it! This is your authentic purpose. God will not leave you wallowing in the egotism of self-pity or standing pridefully in the egotism of self-importance! Just as God wouldn't let that whale of egotism swallow Jonah, so He will not let it swallow you! God will stir you, stir you, stir you to action and wake you up to live His Love and let it shine! And God will give you the voice you need to fulfill His mission for you, as you.

Love is always reflected in love, never in criticism, accusation, blame, anger or annoyance! And you are called to reflect that Love. God insists on it! You are Love's witness and Love will not be silent!

Love is always reflected in love (Part 3)

"Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors."
And Love is reflected in love.

In the dream, you might be beaten and abused. But only you can let that touch your spirit by reacting with hate.

Refusing to react with hate, but instead with love, is following your Master, Jesus. He knew that your spiritual identity can never be touched by hate. He more than just knew it. He proved it. And you can only seem to be touched by hate when you yourself think hate is a solution - or a defense. It isn't. It NEVER is. Only Love can protect you. Only Love is power.

So be willing to let go of the grudge. Be willing not to react - but to act, to act from the highest sense of Love you can muster. That highest sense might only be silence. It might only be a willingness to not replay the offense over and over in your thought. It might be only a willingness to work off your anger with a good run, a good workout, a good cry, or even a good scream. But none of these ultimately will help you. Because what you really need to do is wake up.

So again, be willing to let go of the grudge! Why? because it keeps you from moving forward, from getting to the point of forgiveness, from waking up. The grudge may feel good for the time being - may even feel justified - but the grudge is your enemy. It punishes you be keeping you in the loop of hatefulness. It monopolizes your feelings and your thinking. It sickens you worse than the original offense ever could.

So refuse to let that offense have that kind of impact on you. Snap out of it! Quit being your own worst enemy! Put your trust in God. He will correct every and any evil situation. And love God enough to listen to your intuition. And if it says "Get out!" then get out. And if it says "Stay and face this!" then stay and face it.

And let your clearest, strongest sense of Love move you. "Love your neighbor as yourself" implies that first must love yourself! Love what is true about you, love what God made you to be, and love how God expects you to act. Then, desiring - praying - to do the best you can, move forward with Love for your "enemy." That intuitive sense of Love will guide you, guard you, heal what needs healing - just as surely as a light turned on will expose the darkness for what it is: nothing. No thing. No person. No power.

"Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors."
And Love is always reflected in love.

Love is always reflected in love (Part 2)

"Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors."
And Love is reflected in love.

Forgive us our withholding love, as we forgive those who we think have withheld love from us.

There is only one way your lack - debt - of love is paid: it is by being loving. It'll never be paid by withholding it or by being stingy. Divine Love requires reflection - requires that you mirror forth in your life the love that God is pouring out on you non-stop like sunshine.

Love is always a declaration of what is spiritually real and true - right in the face of hate. And withholding love is hateful. Withholding puts you in a position of indebtedness, of lack, of the poverty of absence. Why? because Love is presence. Without it, you have nothing. You have absence. And the absence of Love, is hate.

Just as the presence of Light annihilates darkness, so the presence of Love annihilates hate. This is Love's power. Love's somethingness (abundance) fills that nothingness (debt) called hate just as light does when it enters a dark room. Instantly. Effortlessly. Completely.

Love insists on lighting you up. Love insists on being expressed. Love saves you from the dark indebtedness of withholding love: which is any form of hate. And when you let yourself live Love, its light wipes out that dark indebtedness. You awake to Love's everpresent abundance.

Love is always reflected in love.