Lesson 355 There Is No End To All The Peace And Joy…

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II.  SECTION 14. What am I?

Lesson 355.  There is no end to all the peace and joy and all the miracles that I will give when I accept God’s Word.  Why not today?

  1. Why should I wait, my Father, for the joy You promised me?  For You will keep Your Word You gave Your Son in exile.  I am sure my treasure waits for me, and I need but reach out my hand to find it.  Even now my fingers touch it.  It is very close.  I need not wait an instant more to be at peace forever.  It is You I choose, and my Identity along with You.  Your Son would be Himself, and know You as his Father and Creator, and his Love.[1]

As we come to our devotional practice today, pray along with words of Christ: “Why should I wait, my Father, for the joy You promised me?”   Are you ready for the joy that is God’s gift?  Even in our separated state, our exile, we are assured of joy.  We do not have to wait until we reach the other side.  We do not have to get to Heaven’s gate.  When we choose God, we choose for ourselves, we find our Selves.  When we find our Selves we find the joy that overflows from our hearts and minds and blesses those who have lost their way.  When we find who and what we really are, we become miracle workers.  When we bless instead of curse; laugh instead of cry; correct instead of make worse, we stand as one with Christ, we walk in His forgiveness, we know ourselves as Sons of God. 

Today bring joy to the world!  We may be in exile – caught up in the body and in a thought system dominated by ego, survival, and limitations but we are at Home in God.  Our treasure is in knowing Jesus, in standing with Him, in becoming one with Him. 

As we stand with Christ, all that would tempt us to reflect anything but His love is replaced by the mercy of God.  Our petty grudges, our deep sorrows, our terrible wounds and afflictions we lay at His altar to be corrected or if beyond correction, erased from the record.  Instead of offering others spite and vengeance, we give them riches of tenderness, brotherhood, and healing.  We give life, not death.  We bring heaven, not hell.  Laughter replaces tears and sadness.  Togetherness replaces estrangements and strife.  Forgiveness corrects all forms of fear and hatred, disease and destruction, separation and specialness.  We can only do this when we accept the Word of God.

Accepting the Word of God does not mean that we accept a particular holy book or manual, a doctrine or dogma.  Accepting the Word of God means that we accept the Expression of God.  When we use words, when we speak, we express.  We accept the word of God when we express God through our words, thoughts, and deeds.  We are not ashamed to speak of His Love, His Fatherhood, the ways in which God draws us close to Him.  We are not ashamed to share our stories and testimonies, we are not afraid to forgive, to correct, to heal, to forget. 

Today let us express our Love for God, let us share our holiness, and put away our unworthiness.  Let us share God’s mercy, peace, and joy.  When we express God through our thoughts and words and deeds, we empower others to express God’s Word through their life.  We experience the treasures of God when we express God through our lives.  When we express God through our lives, we become Him, and He becomes us.  We find who and what we are! 

This Christmas season we can accept God’s Word by sharing the joy of Jesus’ birth.  As we decorate our homes and prepare our feasts, wrap our presents, and partake in our traditions – quietly, calmly, assertively we keep Christ at the center of Christmas.  When we keep Christ as the reason for the season, as we accept the baby Jesus as God’s Holy Son and bring to Him our broken selves, our shattered, splintered, troubled selves, in Him we become whole again.  In Him we know ourselves as one with Him – God’s beloved Son.[2]

[1] A Course in Miracles, Workbook for Students, Lesson 355. Foundation for Inner Peace, Second Edition (1992).  p. 482.

[2] Portions of this post are reprinted by permission from post 12/21/2019 Lesson 355 @ www.eckiefriar.com

Audio credit: www.eckiefriar.com

Published by eckief

My love for God, home and hearth, my husband and family fueled my decision to devote the rest of my life only to pursuits which brought love, joy, peace, and purpose. I am a writer, seeker, student, and teacher with experience professional and otherwise from waitressing to teaching the English language in China, Taiwan, and Singapore. I hold a BA in Psychology from Bloomsburg University, which took nearly 30 years to attain while I squeezed courses in between raising my children, journaling, relationships, work, and an assortment of escapades, some of which I would rather forget! An ongoing passion for reading, writing, adventure, food, and fun, eventually led me to the love of my life, James, whom I met in 1996 and married in 1997. Our life together has been an exciting journey of work and travel, spiritual awakening, and domestic bliss ever since. Although we have experienced the tragic loss of family members and friends through death and estrangement, we have managed to turn our special relationship into a holy one by the grace of God and an acute and growing awareness of “there must be a better way!” In 2006, I published my first novel, Luella’s Calling, and am currently working on my second, Grover Good and the Stone Chateau. From 2013 through 2018, I worked as a Prevention Education Specialist for Transitions, a local domestic violence sexual abuse victim’s service agency. My work there, fueled by a lifelong enthusiasm for teaching, led me to obtain an MS in Education from Scranton University. In 2018, I resigned to accompany James on his work travels while focusing on my calling to study and teach A Course in Miracles. To that end, I dedicate the rest of my days to writing, sharing, and teaching the message of salvation found within the Course pages. Thank you for your interest in this blog. As I do not respond to comments on the posts, if you care to contact me, please email me at eckief@yahoo.com.

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