Do not be discouraged

From today's Joyce Meyer devotional:

Why are you cast down, O my inner self? And why should you moan over me and be disquieted within me? Hope in God and wait expectantly for Him, for I shall yet praise Him, my Help and my God. 

—Psalm 42:5 

In today's verse, the psalmist is clearly discouraged. Discouragement destroys hope, so naturally the enemy tries hard to discourage us. Without hope we give up, which is exactly what the devil wants us to do. 

The Bible repeatedly tells us not to be discouraged or dismayed. God knows that we will not be strong or victorious if we lose our courage, and He wants us to be encouraged, not discouraged. When discouragement tries to overtake you, the first thing to do is to examine your thought life. What kinds of thoughts have you been thinking? Have they sounded something like this? I am not going to make it; this is too hard. I always fail; I may as well give up. God probably doesn't answer my prayers because He is so disappointed in the way I act. 

If these examples represent your thoughts, no wonder you despair! You become what you think. Think discouraging thoughts, and you will get discouraged. Change your thinking and be set free! 

Love Yourself Today: Instead of thinking negatively, think more like this: Well, things are going a little slowly, but, thank God, I am making some progress. I am sure glad I'm on the right path. I had a rough day yesterday. I chose wrong thinking all day long. Father, forgive me, and help me to keep on keeping on. This is a new day. You love me, Lord. Your mercy is new every morning. I refuse to be discouraged. Father, You sent Jesus to die for me. I'll be fine—today will be a great day. I ask You to help me choose right thoughts today. 

God is love

by Joyce Meyer - posted February 06, 2017

Wait and hope for and expect the Lord; be brave and of good courage and let your heart be stout and enduring. Yes, wait for and hope for and expect the Lord.

—Psalm 27:14

When we “wait” on God, we are not being lazy or passive, but we are actually being very active spiritually. We may not be “doing” anything, but we are trusting God to do what needs to be done. In effect, we are saying, “Lord, I will not try to do this in my own strength. I will wait on You to deliver me. And I’m going to enjoy my life while I wait for You.”

Satan wants us to be frustrated from trying to solve our own problems. He hates our joy. He wants to see anything but joy, because the joy of the Lord is our strength (see Nehemiah 8:10). Worry robs us of strength, but joy energizes us.

We are tempted to think we are not doing our part if we don’t worry or try to figure out an answer to our problems, but this will prevent our deliverance rather than aid it. It is not irresponsible to enjoy life while we wait on God and expect Him to do what we don’t know how to do!

Do not fear because the battle is not yours, but the Lord’s.

Strongholds

Breaking the cycle of defeatist thinking, of abandoning personality issues developed from emotional stress growing up. With God's help, we can be born again, and live a life without the defects in our characters that cause us so much pain. Mental destabilization manifests itself in fear-based consequences: greed, envy, pride, lust, gluttony, sloth, and wrath. 

"Since we fail to identify the battlefield, we also fail to correctly identify our foe. We tend to believe people, money, religion or 'the system' are our problems. In an attempt to defend ourselves, we build strongholds in our mind. Strongholds are areas of thinking not based on truth but lies. Instead of protecting us, they actually imprison us. Unless we renew our mind, we risk continuing to believe those lies and making important decisions based on deception."

Full article here: Joyce Meyer, Daily Battles of the Mind

Making the impossible possible

From a Joyce Meyer article. This is so important. I used to think that I could never change. I went through the Steps, and still couldn't change. I took the Eucharist everyday, and still couldn't change. I sought therapy and medication, and still couldn't change in the ways that truly crippled my connection to other people, especially to a lover. It is devastating to think that we cannot change, that we are destined to suffer forever, in whatever handicap we have that puts a block in our fulfillment of a healthy and happy life. But today, I believe that we can change in every way: spiritually, mentally, physically, and emotionally. Sometimes I do wonder if time passing needs to be a factor, so be that, if so. But I do believe that with God anything is possible, and that yes, the faith of a mustard seed can move a mountain. And this means that change can be instantaneous. 

What’s been on your mind lately? Stop and think about what you’ve been thinking about. If it’s stinkin’ thinkin’, change it. The good news is, you can think whatever you want to think. 

You can change. Everything is subject to change except God Himself.

But you have to stop wasting your time saying things like, “My life is never going to change. My finances are never going to change. My marriage and children will never change…"

Start saying what the Word says: “All things are possible with God. And I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength!” And think about good things so there’s no room for bad things.

Do your own thinking – don’t let the devil do it for you.

The answers are within

I have a new online friend who facilitates a Twin Flame group on Facebook. We talk on Messenger: I tell her about my guy, and she listens and then relates it to her guy. It is really awesome, especially since I have never gotten along with any of the moderators or group creators from any TF communities before, and I was in fact blocked from one group. Some really nasty "leaders". It's been so tough because I have been self-studying Twin Flames for over five years, and it never matters what Facebook group I'm in, it just doesn't work. 

She was telling me about her difficulty connecting with God, and as a mystic, with an extensive yoga background, I am a firm believer in knowing God through His revelation to us, personally. I have come to understand that everything that I know about God, He revealed to me, and then I used outside sources (The Bible, teachings of the Saints, or Fellowship in my Facebook groups) only to confirm it.

This email from AMORC came in last night, and I just read it. God is so good. I was so uninspired the past month after incredible hardship with my love, and I really needed something new, as I am no longer leaning toward the Reformed preachers that I have spent the past year relying so heavily on. Now new people and new forms or education are coming to me so easily. This is from the email:

Religions say we should put our faith in God, but as Rosicrucians, we say that we should put our faith in the Divine Consciousness, the Divine Wisdom and the Divine Powers that we all possess and which reside within each of us and remain more or less undeveloped in all human beings.

The answers to our questions about God are within us, the only thing (other than a willing heart) is to "Be still and know that I am God." Psalm 46.10 Whether through contemplation or meditation, or even through the gentle reprimanding of inaccurate claims, God will always tell us what he wants for us. 

God is within! Amen.

God through the serpent

This is taken from Steve Kalec's Facebook post and I want to share it, mostly as a reminder to myself, who less than a month ago started on the path of Rosicruciansim.

The pole, tree, or cross are one and the same thing. It is the body or matter. The serpents on a pole is the Caduceus , still used today as a symbolic emblem of medical centers. It is the divine energies infused, fixed and crucified in matter. Through matter, as a vehicle and receptacle, this spiritual consciousness evolves and unfolds. Likewise matter is transmuted and uplifted through the unfolding and evolving of this light within. The Rosy Cross of the Rosicrucians' beautifully symbolizes this. The Rose in the center of the Cross represents man's higher consciousness, unfolding itself as it is crucified in his body.

Full post here 

Being loved through loving

I will practice love, because lack of love will block the way. I will try to see good in all people, those I like and also those who fret me and go against the grain. They are all children of God. I will try to give love; otherwise, how can I dwell in God's spirit whence nothing unloving can come? I will try to get along with all people, because the more love I give away, the more I will have.

Hazelton's Twenty-four Hours a Day