Awesome majesty

"Out of the north comes golden splendor;

Around God is awesome majesty." -- Job 37:22

Original photograph. Copyright Gloria Fisher 2005. All rights reserved.

The Importance of a Journal

In my experience as a spiritual director I have learned that the journal is an essential tool to bring about inner healing and spiritual redirectedness. I tell my directees that it is most important for them to get what is in their minds and hearts on paper so their eyes can see it. When they do that, components of their lives begin to fall into place. Patterns can be clearly seen. Tangles of ideas are unraveled. And fuzzy thinking becomes clear.

As a directee writes her thoughts and feelings on paper an amazing thing begins to happen. A picture begins to form. It becomes clear that there is a connective thread alive below the surface of her life that has been carrying meaning the whole way though she’s been unaware of it. That thread has woven together events, people, and activities in its effort to create the fabric of her life. This inner creativeness happens while we’re awake and while we’re asleep. As long as she only thinks about her life trying to figure it out in her head, it’s virtually impossible to see the pattern of the thread. It takes putting one’s life on paper before the picture takes shape.

Once she sees the full picture of where her life has been up until now, it is infinitely easier to see where her life is headed in the future. At that point new possibilities present themselves that were never dreamed of before. As the events of a life set themselves in order, giving perspective for the past and guidance for the future, something additional happens. It is as though previously untapped knowledge is activated so that a person is brought face to face with the meaning of her life.

Copyright 2009 Gloria Fisher.
All rights reserved.

Walk in the Light

"For Thou hast delivered my soul from death, indeed my feet from stumbling, So that I may walk before God in the light of the living." --Psalm 56:13

Original photograph copyright 2007 Gloria Fisher.
All rights reserved.

Dressing Yourself in the Full Armor of God

A Prayer for Dressing Yourself in the Full Armor of God
According to Ephesians 6:10-17

"Finally, I will be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might:
I will put on the full armor of God, that I may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.
For my struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Therefore, I take up the full armor of God, that I may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything to stand firm.
I stand firm therefore, having girded my loins with Truth, and having put on the breastplate of Righteousness, and having shod my feet with the preparation of the gospel of Peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of Faith with which I will be able to extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil one. And I take the helmet of Salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
With all prayer and petition I will pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, I will be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, and pray on my behalf, that utterance will be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador, and that I may speak boldly as I ought to speak. In the name of Jesus Christ, my Savior, Amen."

A Prayer of Salvation

As Christians one of the greatest privileges we have is the opportunity to lead someone to Christ. If you or someone you know is ever in that blessed position and may need a prayer to help them get started, share with them this simple prayer. It is not a formula. It's a way to get started. From there let the Holy Spirit guide you in knowing what to say. Let the lost person repeat the prayer, a piece at a time, until the end. When you are finished, shout for joy! Because we know that the angels in heaven are rejoicing over even one sinner who repents. (Luke 15:7)

"Lord, I want to be saved, and I want to know you. I know that I have sinned in my life, and I ask that you forgive all my sins, the ones I know about, and the ones I don't know about. I confess with my mouth that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. I believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for my sins and rose from the dead. I now receive my forgiveness, and I invite Jesus into my heart and into my life. Thank you, Lord, for saving me. Amen."

Hallelujah!

Abide in the Peace That is Already Yours

"Thou will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusts in Thee." --Isaiah 26:3

"Consider the blameless, observe the upright; there is a future for the man of peace." --Psalm 37:37

"And the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet." --Romans 16:20

"Lord, Thou will establish peace for us since Thou hast also performed for us all our works..."--Isaiah 26:12

"The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace shall be with you." --Philippians 4:9

"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ..." --Romans 5:1

"And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body, and be thankful." --Colossians 3:15

"I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep; for Thou, Lord, only make me dwell in safety." --Psalm 4:8

"The Lord will give strength unto his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace." --Psalm 29:11

"Peace, I leave with you, my peace I give unto you; not as the world gives, give I to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." --John 14:27

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." --Philippians 4:6,7

He Only Is My Rock

"My soul waits in silence for God only;

From Him is my salvation.

He only is my rock and my salvation.

My stronghold;

I shall not be greatly shaken."

--Psalm 62:1,2 (NAS)

A Reordering of Your Life

"The action of those whose lives are given to the Spirit has in it something of the leisure of Eternity; and because of this, they achieve far more than those whose lives are enslaved by the rush and hurry, the unceasing tick-tick of the world. In the spiritual life it is very important to get our timing right. Otherwise we tend to forget that God, Who is greater than our heart, is greater than our job too."

"They all make the same answer: that what is asked of us is not necessarily a great deal of time devoted to what we regard as spiritual things, but the constant offering of our wills to God, so that the practical duties which fill most of our days can become part of His order and be given spiritual worth."

"It means discipline of thought and of feeling, a more careful use of such leisure as we have; and filling our minds with ideas that point the right way, instead of suggestions which distract us from God and spiritual things."

"We must use even the few minutes that we have in this way, and let the spirit of these few minutes spread through the busy hours. This will also involve expelling from our life those thoughts and acts which are inconsistent with these times of communion. For unless we are prepared to make this the centre of our life, setting the standard to which all the rest must conform we need not hope for results."

"Many people seem to think that the spiritual life necessarily requires a definite and exacting plan of study. It does not. But it does require a definite plan of life; and courage in sticking to the plan, not merely for days or weeks, but for years. New mental and emotional habits must be formed, all our interests re-arranged in new proportion round a new centre....that God alone matters...."

Excerpts from The Spiritual Life by Evelyn Underhill

A Prayer for Peace

"Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn but the sword of righteousness, no strength known but the strength of love: So mightily spread abroad your Spirit, that all peoples may be gathered under the banner of the Prince of Peace, as children of one Father; to whom be dominion and glory, now and for ever. Amen." --Book of Common Prayer 1979

The Peace of God

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

"And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

"Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things." --Philippians 4:6-8 (NAS)

Photograph courtesy of VortexImage

Perfection of Beauty

"The Mighty One, God, the LORD, has spoken,

And summoned the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.

Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God has shone forth."

--Psalm 50:1-2

Original photograph copyright Gloria Fisher 2005. All rights reserved.

Nothing But the Blood of Jesus

"For thus says the Lord, 'You were sold for nothing and you will be redeemed without money.'"
--Isaiah 52:3

"For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body." --1 Corinthians 6:20

"This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood." --Luke 22:20

Original painting "Deposition" by Rubens, Lille.

A Rainbow Rose

"As the appearance of the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell on my face..."

Ezekiel 1:28 (NAS)

Original photograph of a real rose 2009 Copyright Gloria Fisher. All rights reserved.

Day By Day

"Day by day, Dear Lord,
Of Thee three things I pray;
To see Thee more clearly,
Love Thee more dearly,
Follow Thee more nearly,
Day by day.
Amen."

Hymn by Alfred E. Whitehead 1941.

Love At First Sight

"When God saw you, it was love at first sight." -- Author unknown

How Great a Love

Copyright 2009 Gloria Fisher.
All rights reserved.

Perhaps the most poignant and amazing scripture about love is John 3:16. It was written by the apostle John and given to a world longing to know the love of God. The words of Jesus tell us more about God’s love for us than we could ever imagine on our own. "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

John’s gospel tells us what Jesus said about the Father, and the Father’s love for His creation and for His people. How would we know that God would abide in His people if John had not written Jesus’ words in chapter 14, verse 23, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make Our abode with him." What other god makes such a claim? None.

What makes us both truly human and truly like God? Love for certain. It is love that unites us in a bond of fellowship with others. From the very beginning of creation God said: "It is not good that man should be alone." (Genesis 2:18) We were created in love for love -- to be a community of loving persons, just as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are united in love.

Jesus speaks to His disciples of the inseparable bond of love between Himself and the Father, and of Their love for humankind. In Jesus there is the fulness of God's love and how God's love is directed to our well-being. "In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world, so that we might have life through Him. (1 John 4:9) How do we know that God loves us? In the cross we see the proof of God's love for us and the incredible price God was willing to pay for our redemption. Jesus gave up his life that we might have life, a life of love and unity with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit forever.

During this Holy Week take time to think about how much God loves you, about what He was willing to do to give you eternal life, so that you might dwell with Him forever.

10 Kinds of Dreams

"To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds."
Daniel 1:17 (NIV)

The writer of the book of Daniel understood that there are "all kinds" of dreams. Just as Daniel could understand many different types of dreams, so can we. When you know what type of dream you’ve dreamed, you can use that knowledge to better understand the meaning of it. When you understand the meaning of your dream, you can use that knowledge to draw nearer to God.

Here are 10 different kinds of dreams (not the entire list of kinds):

Blessing dream
Warning dream
Instruction dream
Comforting dream
Teaching dream
Healing dream
Correcting dream
Encouraging dream
Problem-solving dream
Prophetic dream

Excerpt from Draw Nearer to God With Your Dreams
Copyright 2009 Gloria Fisher. All rights reserved.

Remembering Your Dreams

Excerpt from Draw Nearer To God With Your Dreams
Copyright Gloria Fisher 2009. All rights reserved.

Has this ever happened to you? The alarm clock buzzer jars you awake and about the time you reach over to kill it with a slap, you hear the baby crying from an adjoining bedroom. So you grab your robe and hit the floor running. Sadly, all the dreams you had fly right out the window. Or maybe the clock radio awakens you to the 7:00 a.m. drive-time disk jockey or the highway helicopter announcer describing the back up at the intersection of Such-’n-Such and So-’n-So Roads. Somewhere in the back of your mind the name of the street registers as being on your route to work. You grab the radio knob and twist it up to loud. And your dream is long gone.

How many dreams do you remember nightly? One? Two? Some people remember three or four dreams a night. Others only remember one. Some, however, feel very frustrated that they don’t remember any. Fully intending to remember their dreams, they may place a pad of paper on the night stand before retiring. But unfortunately, as soon as the buzz of the alarm clock goes off, the dreamer’s slate is wiped clean.

There are several reasons why people don’t remember their dreams. Maybe your medication is affecting your dream life. Maybe you don’t want to remember your dreams. But if you do, it is important to understand that remembering your dreams is a habit. A habit that takes practice to establish, much like playing the piano or riding a bicycle. So, first of all, make the commitment to remember your dreams, tell yourself before going to sleep, "Tonight I will remember my dreams." Try to wake up without any noise. Lie awake for a while when you first wake up and try to recall and replay any dream or part of a dream you can remember. This reinforces the dream on your consciousness.

After 30 nights of practice you should be remembering at least one dream a night. Of course, if you also commit to recording your dreams, you’ll probably start remembering multiple dreams per night. When you begin to take your dreams seriously, your dreams will begin to take your commitment seriously, and more and more dream material will present itself to you. Remember that dreams have a purpose. Their purpose is to heal your soul. The more dreams you recall and the more understanding you have of your dreams, the more inner healing you will enjoy.