God's Qualities, Our Demonstration

One of the lessons I have learned from my biblical studies is when anything seems wrong, upsets or angers me that I should simply turn my attention to God. In doing this I focus not on the problem or situation but on the inifite possibilities of God. In my studies I have found that there are certain characteristics that many of the world's religions attribute to the Divine and over the next several days I am going to focus on them.

In a class I took at Metro Life Church, I read a book called "Knowledge of the Holy" by AW Tozer. It was a very impactful book on my spiritual life. 

One of my favorite quotes from the book is this:

“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” 
― A.W. Tozer

So what do we think about God? What should we focus on when we turn our attention away from our problems and to God. Over the next few days I am going to look at this questions and examine the qualities of God. I know that as I focus on things, whatever they are, my experience begins to mold to those thoughts. I know this from personal demonstration. So it is with excitement that I turn my thoughts towards these characteristics of the Divine, so that my life may become more of a reflection of those qualities.

 

The first main aspect of God is LIfe. As Emmet Fox said "Joy is one of the highest expressions of God as Life. Which is actually a mixture of Life and Love". Anyone who knows me know that this is exactly how I live. My mantra during yoga is very simply "love". We need to recognize that when we act in depression, sadness, or discouragement, we are not fully alive. Thoughts of lack, depression, anger and fear contract and destroy. It is only the opposite thoughts of love, abundance, peace and joy that can bring a full expression of life in our mind and our bodies. It is then that we can be truly joyful.

 

I see this most in the minds of people around me when I hear things like, "I can't" or "That won't work" or "that'll never happen". These thoughts are then expressed through action and create experience. Why don't we try to think a different way? See how those thoughts become our actions and how our experiences get transformed. Through God we have Wisdom, Knowledge and Happiness, I would think if we begin to turn our minds to these qualities in times of trouble, they will transform and renew our experience. Not easily done, I know.

 

 

 

 

 

Persistence Brings Results

Today I begin the first day of a 21 day fast. I do this fast every year and I look forward to the changes that I experience in my mind, body and soul. Most years I choose to use a devotional of some kind to help me focus my prayer activity during this time of fasting and this year I am choosing to learn from and read a devotional written by Emmet Fox. I enjoy his Unity based teachings and focus on Biblical Principle. Check it out.

Today's reading is about persistence. January is always a time of renewed resolutions and commiting to plans for the year. Right about now we are still going strong with whatever we have started, a new exercise routine, quiet time with God, or eating better. The gyms are all more crowded and my Zumba and Bikram classes are all packed... but within a few months that will change. People will get caught up in life and priorities will shift. Only the truely persistent ones will keep up the practice and see the results. I think this is especially true for our spiritual lives. 

We often get impatient, whether it is with our bodies not changing as fast as we want them to or our prayers not being answered as quickly or in the way we want them to. Our first inclination is to quit, to think "this isn't working". We plant seeds in our lives, only to "dig them up" just to check to see why its taking so long. In doing this, we fail to see the results we desire. We inadvertantly destroy the harvest.

So today I focus on persistence. Being persistent in the practice of those things I desire, whether it is Bikram or Zumba for a healthier body, or Spiritual Enrichment Education classes for my mind and soul. I need to be persistent and not give up. Prayer is the one thing that can change your life. Prayer changes the patterns of thought in your mind and what you think, you beome. With that, if i choose to be persistent in anything, I choose to be persistent in prayer.

I am excited about this Fast and look forward to the new thoughts, and new insights that are part of spending time in the Presence of God.