Monthly Archives: November 2018

Becoming One with Christ – Being Made Perfect

Metaphor, ,

“And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.” (John 17:22-23, emphasis added)

Be made perfect by becoming one with HimI am not perfect, yet. I must be cleansed and made perfect before I can enter the Kingdom of God. How does this happen?

Imagine a beautiful sparkling lake, high in the mountains. The water is blue in the bright sunlight, and so clean and pure that the bottom is clearly visible. There is a crystal clear mountain stream feeding the lake. The stream tumbles over rocks and falls as it rushes to the lake. Imagine one drop of muddy water falls into the stream. As it travels with the fresh spring water, the impurities fall to the bottom and the drop merges completely with the stream. It enters the lake pure and clean.

The lake is the Kingdom of God. The stream is the Lord Jesus Christ. The spring is the love of God. I am the drop of water. As I give my life to the Lord, turning my will over to Him and seeking His will in each moment, I become one with Him. My impurities fall away. I am absorbed and cleaned by His purity. Together we tumble through life over rocks and falls, side by side. When I am one with Him, He can use me to nourish and nurture the plant and animal life in and along the banks of the stream.

This can only happen if I choose to lose myself in Him. If I remain separate, holding on to my will, I remain imperfect.

Turn to Him

When I find myself stressed and unsure, rather than seeking for my own answer and approach, I turn to Him. I ask for His guidance. I make the best choice I can in the moment and wait patiently for His direction to be revealed to me. Most problems do not require immediate action. Many times, as I pause and take a breath, the problem resolves itself. If not, I am always grateful that I took time to turn to the Lord, discern His will, and embrace it.

I choose to lose myself and become one with Him so that I may be made perfect.

  • When you are stressed and unsure, what do you usually do?
  • How can you train yourself to turn to Him and embrace His will in each moment, rather than relying on the “arm of flesh?”

Please share your thoughts about this post by commenting below.

Related Posts: Practicing Instinctively Turning to the Lord, Step 2: Hope – No One is Too Broken for Christ to Fix, Ten Rewards for Embracing God’s Will

 

Receiving Revelation for Our Lives

Living in Recovery, Working the Program, , , ,

“Pray in the name of Jesus Christ about your concerns, your fears, your weaknesses—yes, the very longings of your heart. And then listen! Write the thoughts that come to your mind. Record your feelings and follow through with actions that you are prompted to take.” (President Russell M. Nelson, Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives, Ensign, May 2018, p. 95)

I love step-by step approaches to improving my life. In this talk, Russell M. Nelson, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, offers a simple, straightforward approach to receiving personal revelation for our lives. He did not present it as a set of defined steps, but that is how they feel to me.

1. Pray

What should we pray about?  Our concerns, our fears, our weaknesses, and the longings of our hearts. How do we pray? In the name of Jesus Christ.

When we pray with a true understanding of the Lord’s ability and willingness to ease our burdens and help us come unto and become like Him; if we are willing to trust Him, He can deliver us. What does He deliver us from? From bondage to our concerns, our fears, our weaknesses and shortcomings. When we take them out of the dark hiding places of our hearts and hold them up to His light, they lose their power to keep us from achieving our full potential in this life, with His help.

2. And then listen!

What a concept! This took me many years to learn for myself. I thought I was finished with my prayer when I said “Amen.” I would get up from my knees and go about my life wondering when and how I would ever hear answers to my prayers.

3. Write the thoughts…Record your feelings

The thoughts and feelings that come to us when we listen after praying can be personal revelation for our lives. When I first started listening for, and receiving answers a disconcerting pattern emerged. After a few hours I could remember that I had received an answer to my prayer, but I couldn’t remember what I had heard! I started writing – at first just the answers and then the entire prayer including the answers. My practice of written prayer has enhanced my personal relationship with the Savior so much that when I cannot write, I feel cheated.

4. Follow through with actions

Satan discourages us from seeking revelation for our lives.This is the crux or heart of the matter. It is what I still struggle with and work on daily. Almost every prayer I write includes a plea for help with recognizing and acting upon the promptings I receive that day. Activities and distractions frequently push down the thoughts and promptings under a load of urgent but often less important things. When Satan cannot stop me from praying and receiving guidance, he settles for distracting me from acting on it. I am reminded of the talk, “Good, Better, Best” given by President Dallin H. Oaks in October 2007 General Conference. It is always best to follow the personal revelation I receive from the Lord each day.

  • What are you willing to do today to enhance your ability to receive personal revelation?
  • How can you better act upon the revelation you receive?

Please share your thoughts about this post by commenting below.

Related Posts: Step 11: Receiving Meaningful Personal Revelation, Six Points to Discern the Lord’s Will, Open Your Arms to Receive His Blessings, If Prayers are Conversations with God, Why Am I Doing All the Talking?, Tools: Quality Prayer

Like a Broken Record

Metaphor,

Repetitive thoughts are like this scratched or "broken" record.Repetitive thoughts are like a broken record. When I was a kid, in the days before the internet, cds, mp3 files, and even cassette tapes (yes, I am that old), there were only a few ways to listen to music. Most kids listened to the radio, and then bought a vinyl record of the music they loved.

On a good stereo, vinyl records had great sound, but they could get scratched. If the scratch was deep enough, the needle would slide across the scratch instead of staying in the groove. Sometimes the scratch would take the needle back to a previous groove. This resulted in hearing the same thing over and over until you carefully lifted the arm and set the needle back down past the scratch.

Repetitive Thoughts

Sometimes, like a scratched or broken record, we get stuck in a pattern of dark thoughts and feelings. Tension, conflict, stress, anxiety, shame or fear seem to take over our lives. Repetitive thoughts may get so loud and play for so long that we cannot hear the sweet music being played by loved ones and friends, and the beautiful themes coming from the Spirit and the Lord.

After awhile, we may be willing to do anything to silence the thoughts, even things that we know, deep inside, are not good for us. Giving in to addiction is one way some people try to stop repetitive thoughts. That is like pouring acid on the record. It gets even further damaged. Some have thoughts of suicide. That is like breaking the record player. In either case, this makes the situation worse, especially for friends and loved ones who love the music you make just by being yourself.

Satan’s Lies

Having negative repetitive thoughts does not mean you are a failure, a loser, a nobody, or anything else Satan would have you believe. You didn’t ask for them. You don’t deserve them. They do not reflect how God sees you.

Find a way, possibly with the help of another, to gently move the needle past the bad spot. It might be a loved one, a friend, a counselor, a doctor, a trusted advisor, a priesthood blessing, or a prayer. The Lord will lead you to the help you need, if you are willing to receive it.

You have beautiful music to play. Please don’t deprive the world of your music.

  • Do dark or repetitive thoughts sometimes overwhelm you?
  • What have you done in the past to move the needle?
  • Describe what you would like to do in the future when it happens.
  • What are you willing to do today to make this better course possible?

Please share your thoughts about this post by commenting below.

Related Posts: Overcoming Discouragement: The Committee in My Head, Step 2: Hope – No One is Too Broken for Christ to Fix, Help: Encircled about in the Arms of His Love, Progress – Climbing the Mountain