INTRODUCTION

Who are we? Jesus responded to the Jews preparing to stone him: “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, you are gods?'” John 10:34

Jesus is quoting Psalm 82:6 … “I say, ‘You are gods, children of the Most High, all of you.”

“Then God said, ‘Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness…. So God created humankind in his image.” Genesis 1:26-27 If God made us in God’s image and likeness, then we are child gods!

So why do we think we are dust?

As the Psalmist lamented: “I say, ‘You are gods, children of the Most High, all of you; nevertheless, you shall die like mortals, and fall like any prince.” Psalm 82:6-7 The Psalmist explains why we think we are dust in verse 5: “They have neither knowledge nor understanding, they walk in darkness….” We have allowed religions to tell us we are nothing but dust. It is time we all learn to think for ourselves and to do our own research into Truth.

WHY OBSERVE A 40 DAY FAST?
 Quotes from: Charles Fillmore, KEEP A TRUE LENT

“Moses, Elijah, & Jesus observed a 40 day period of prayer and fasting as a preparation for spiritual work. Moses received the 10 Commandments on Mt. Sinai at the conclusion of his fast. Elijah talkied with God on Mt. Horeb at the conclusion of his period of prayer and fasting. Jesus began his great spiritual ministry at the close of his fast in the wilderness.”

Lent = “a preparation for the resurrection of the mind from the darkness of its sins, doubts, and false beliefs into the light of understanding.”

“Fast from all unworthy thought and feast on the good and the true.”

TRUE FASTING – “When we withdraw our attention, interest, and support from the false and the unworthy, this is true fasting. When we give the same attention, interest, and support to the enduring good, we are feasting on the things of the Spirit, and this is true prayer. When we have truly fasted in the Christ way [the Way of Love] we have increased our ability to respond to God’s good will.”

“One of the most valuable ways of observing the Lenten season is to fast from (loose and let go) the belief that men or nations can stand in the way of God’s good will for man. Now is the time to affirm the power of the Christ Spirit [the Spirit of Divine Love] indwelling in all men everywhere and influencing their thoughts, words, and actions to work for the good of the whole.”

“Divine love sees no distinction among persons. It is Principle and it feels its own perfection everywhere. It feels the same in the heart of the sinner as it does in the heart of the saint. When we let the Truth of Being into our heart and pull down all walls of separation we shall feel the flow of infinite love that Jesus felt…. Through our sense of oneness with the All-Good, the greatest possible sense of security is realized; therefore, all fear is readily and completely cast out…. [The disciple] John emphasizes the fact that in order to love God we must necessarily love our fellow man. A love that is adulterated in any degree by hatred for anything or anybody is not pure enough to discern the great love of the Infinite, which unifies all men.”

LENT IS A TIME FOR EVALUATING OUR SPIRITUAL GROWTH PROCESS
FOR FASTING FROM THE NEGATIVE
AND FEASTING ON THE POSITIVE.

LENT IS A TIME TO ACHIEVE A GREATER DEGREE OF BALANCE
BETWEEN OUR 12 POWERS/QUALITIES.

6TH DAY OF LENT – 40 DAY FAST

Lent began on February 25, 2009 — Ash Wednesday, so I am getting a late start on these Lenten devotionals
The word “fast” does not simply relate to doing without food. The more spiritually enhancing fast is to put aside the thought patterns that are not beneficial to your well-being. Determine what you are continually saying to yourself that is self-defeating, like …. I am not worthy … I am not well … I can’t find a job … I don’t qualify … I cannot afford … . On and on we go, speaking negatively about ourselves. This is self-defeating behavior.

Lent is a time when we can unite with the energies of millions on this planet observing a time of inner reflection. Ask: What thought patterns do I need to transform in order to conform to God’s thoughts about me? Remember we are ALL God’s children, thus child gods. Just as your child must learn to walk as we walk, so we–as God’s children–must learn to think as God thinks.

In order to think as God thinks about us, we must recognize: “Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” Matthew 6:8

Therefore, if your present need is a job or better health … whatever, practice the following:

INSTEAD OF telling yourself: Jobs are scarce … I don’t qualify for the jobs that are available………..

USE THIS LENTEN 40 DAYS FAST TO AFFIRM IN FAITH: “God is leading me to the perfect job and I give thanks.” OR “Perfect health is mine and I give thanks.”

Remember God ALREADY KNOWS YOUR NEED and has already prepared to supply it. “Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you HAVE RECEIVED IT, and it will be yours.” Mark 11:24

YOUR JOB IS TO LISTEN and follow through on your intuitive guidance, while maintaining your thoughts on the positive affirmations that enhance your well-being. You must do the foot work … whatever that takes.

LENT is a 40 day fast from feeling that you are separated from God and realizing that YOU AND GOD ARE PARTNERS … GOD KNOWS THE WAY … YOU ARE FOLLOWING HIS GUIDANCE.

7TH DAY OF LENT – “THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS INSIDE OF YOU.”  
LUKE 17:21

The Divine Self (Elizabeth Claire Prophet)

One of the most difficult concepts to grasp is Jesus’ teaching: “The kingdom of God is inside of you.” For that reason I am posting this Divine Self Illustration … the most comforting and enlightening depiction of this teaching I have seen.

This all important teaching—that the kingdom of God is inside of you—holds the capacity to transform your entire life. We have been taught that God is separate from us, which leaves us feeling alone and helpless, especially when life seems to have turned us upside down with its traumas. The Greek word “entos” means both “inside” and “among.” Therefore, the kingdom of God—or God—is both inside of us and among us. This concept is illustrated by the white light in which you are standing, with another stream of white light flowing down into your heart from above. The purple light surrounding you represents the grace of God transmuting and cleansing you at your request. No negativity within you need be a permanent quality. God’s grace is always available.

For clarity, the three parts of yourself are displayed vertically … in reality, they are interpenetrated. The middle figure represents the mediator between your physical self and your indwelling God presence (the spark of divinity inside of you). This mediator is your Intuitive (or Higher) Mind through which you receive guidance from God … or for Christians, also from Jesus.

The top figure represents the “the kingdom of God inside of you” that is always present as a part of who you are. The circles of color represent “the treasures you have laid up in heaven.” See Matthew 6:19-21, in which Jesus taught: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” The treasures you have laid up in heaven are a permanent part of you.

Meditating on this illustration of your Divine Self on a daily basis reminds you that you are truly God’s child and walk through life with your Heavenly Father’s loving white light enfolding you and permeating your being. As the Apostle Paul taught in Acts 17:28 — “For in Him we live and move and have our being.”

God is always inside of us and among (or surrounding) us! Let’s use this Lenten Season to firmly anchor this Truth within our conscious awareness. It can be a source of great comfort during the chaotic days ahead–as the old passes away and a “new Earth is born.”

8TH DAY OF LENT – 12 QUALITIES REQUIRED FOR 
THE CHRISTED CONSCIOUSNESS

The number 12 is one of the most sacred symbols in the Bible because it represents the achievement of wholeness that results in an expansion of consciousness into the higher realms of spirit. As we saw when Jesus’ disciples elected Matthias to take Judas’ place, it is essential to focus on 12 qualities symbolized by the 12 tribes, the 12 zodiac signs, and the 12 disciples.

In the words of Charles Fillmore, in LET’S KEEP A TRUE LENT, these 12 qualities are: faith, strength, wisdom, love, power, imagination, understanding, will, law of order, zeal, renunciation, and life.

The Lenten Season is a powerful time in which to evaluate ourselves in relationship to each of these 12 qualities. Today, we will focus on the 1ST QUALITY OF FAITH.

Quoting Fillmore: “FAITH is the perceiving power of the mind linked with a power to shape substance. It is spiritual assurance, the power to do the seemingly impossible. It is a force that draws to us our heart’s desire right out of the invisible spiritual substance.”

Faith is the means by which we follow Jesus’ instruction in Mark 11:24 — “So I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you HAVE RECEIVED IT, and it will be yours.”

Quoting Fillmore: “Faith working in spiritual substance accomplishes all things. This is the faith that co-operates with creative law. Exercised in spiritual consciousness, it finds its abode, and without variation or disappointment it brings results that are seemingly miraculous. Faith in the reality of things spiritual develops the faith center in man’s brain. When the mental eye is illumined with faith, it sheds a radiance that hovers like a halo around the head and extends in lessening degree throughout the whole body. [In the words of Jesus], ‘When thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light.'” (Matthew 6:22)

On this 8th day of Lent affirm: “I have faith in the glorious infusion of the more abundant life of Christ vitalizing me. I am lifted up and healed.” —Fillmore, LET’S KEEP A TRUE LENT

Meditate on this affirmation until it becomes a part of your thought patterns. Whenever negative thoughts try to take over your mind, replace them by repeating this affirmation. The spoken word is much more powerful than repeating the affirmation silently.

ALWAYS END YOUR AFFIRMATION WITH “THANK YOU, GOD!” Visualize your life opening to the influx of God’s glorious gifts to you!

AMEN … SO IT IS!

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