Spiritual Solutions

“There is sunshine in my soul today,
It is glorious and bright . . .

“O there’s sunshine, blessed sunshine,
As the peaceful, happy moments roll;
For I behold the Christ in every face
And there’s sunshine in my soul.”

So go the words of a long-time Unity joy song.

Yes, there is sunshine in your soul today, and all you have to do is tap into it and express it in your life. Let the sunshine radiate out from your smile and bless all whom you meet.

Jesus said, “You will know the Truth and the Truth will make you free.” (John 8:32) He is speaking of that which is eternally true; he is talking about a revelation of the depths within, giving rise to a perception that evokes a spirit of joy. Again, he said, “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” (John 15:11)

One of the great discoveries of human unfoldment is that happiness is not an effect . . . but a cause, and that a person is happy, not because of what did or did not happen, but because he or she is a happy person. Unity minister Eric Butterworth was fond of saying, “Within every person is the unborn possibility of limitless joy . . . and ours is the privilege of giving birth to it.” And it was Charles Fillmore, co-founder of the Unity movement, who said, “Life for every person should be a journey in jubilance.”

Certainly everyone wants to be happy, for it is the “summum bonum of existence.” But we have been deluded into thinking that it is to be found in things, experiences, and relationships. Indeed, that viewpoint is reflected in another sunshine song which goes something like this:

“You are my sunshine, my only sunshine;
You make me happy when skies are gray.
You’ll never know, dear, how much I love you;
Please don’t take my sunshine away.”

A woman who was sick, burdened with financial crises, and troubled with discouragement, ran across these words in a Truth publication: “Until you are happy you will be neither healthy nor free.” “How can I be happy,” she thought, “when I have so much pain and trouble?” The words would not let her be. So she decided to test the idea.

Looking honestly at herself, she found that there were glaring defects in her disposition that needed correction. With effort, she began to live more calmly, to see life more clearly. She found other Truth ideas that suggested that God had implanted the spark of joy within each person, and that she had only to express joy to experience it.

The woman then discovered she could start the spirit of joy by simply “acting as if she were happy.” Now, this “act as if” practice can become a lure into sham and artificiality. It is valid only if it deals with the releasement of an inner power that is constant. You may act as if you are a child, or an expression, of God, for that is what you are. And you may act as if you are happy, for there is a bubbling fire of joy at the heart of you awaiting your commitment to express it.

The woman discovered an amazing thing. As she began to act as if she were happy, she began to feel happy, and the happier she felt, the stronger and healthier she felt . . . and thus the greater became her reasons for happiness. Before long her disposition improved, her affairs harmonized, and she was back in the fullness of life. And it all started the moment she realized that “until you are happy you will be neither healthy nor free.”

There is an important principle involved in this. We live in a world of rhythm and harmony which is limitless in potential, and each of us is limitless in the capacity to demonstrate a personal experience of that limitlessness. But we must become synchronized, and an important key is the bubbling forth of a jubilant spirit.

Begin every day with the insistent affirmation, “This is the day which the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it.” When you start your day in a happy spirit, with joy in your heart and a smile on your face, people respond. You leave a “mile of smiles” as you walk along, and all your business and social contacts are influenced by this contagion. Your day will be a day you can be happy about, because it is a day that you are happy in.

Here are some words from another Unity joy song to adopt as your own:

I let my light shine and the obstacles vanish,
I let my light shine and the light casts out fear,
I let my light shine and the radiance heals me,
I let my light shine and my way is made clear.
Son light is the Truth of my nature,
Son light is God shining through me,
I let my light shine, and my world is illumined,
I let my light shine and the light sets me free!

Remember, God is Blessing You Right Now!

Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham

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Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over thirty-nine years, invites you to enjoy more articles and/or subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, “Spiritual Solutions,” at www.spiritualsolutionsblog.com

Feel free to share this article in its entirety with a friend. You may also reproduce and publish this article if you also include this reference box. Thank you!

If you’d like to receive “Rich Words,” featuring weekday inspirational quotes, you can subscribe at www.alanrowbotham.com
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There is an ancient scriptural Truth that should be pasted on the medicine cabinet of every home: “Thou dost keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee.” (Isa. 26:3) This could be altered to read: “Thou dost keep her in perfect health whose mind is stayed on the idea that God is the healing power of nature, that God is ever with her and in her as the limitless healing and sustaining influence.” You see, LIFE is the gift of the infinite to you. You can’t get away from it. It has hold of you and it will never let you go.

Life itself is whole, complete, perfect. Life never gets sick or tired. But you can mobilize and use this gift of life in the way you choose. If you think you are weak and sickly, then that is the way you will draw upon, and use, life. You live in a world of your own making. Much depends upon what you give your mind to think about. Paul said, and I paraphrase, “Whatever is good and pure and lovely, think on these things.” (Phil. 4:8)

It requires a lot of real discipline and self-control to meet the challenges of life with peace and poise and with a positive attitude of mind. But you have no other choice. A healthy mind is essential if you would have a healthy body. It may well be more important what you give your mind for breakfast than what you give your body. Interestingly, I just received an email from fellow Unity ministers Lauren and John Mclaughlin to say that, for the past 90 days, both of them have been experiencing what John calls “opportunities to heal.” They said they accepted many of those opportunities as they worked their way through their challenges.

It’s good to remember that you have a built-in capacity for health and for the healing of the ills that have intruded their way into your system. But you must cooperate with God and also with the physical body. There are certain built-in control mechanisms that determine the needs of the body, either the need for rest or for nutrients. When functioning properly, this mechanism will lead us to desire sleep or this or that good through which the needs may be filled.

It is well to have faith in the innate perfection of the body, perhaps even to declare that the body is the temple of the living God, and then to let the inner spirit guide us in the right and wise use of mind and body. There is a wisdom within that will keep us balanced in wise action, if we believe in it and act upn the belief.

There is probably nothing more effective than the healing therapy of joy. Happiness is something too many people take for granted. Either you are happy or you’re not, and there is nothing you can do about it – so the thinking goes. But there is so much more involved. Joy is an instrument we can learn to play, like the violin or the piano. If we studied happiness and delved into it the way we do the various disease symptoms that are in vogue today, we would have less discontent – and we would find it easy to release the free flow of life.

A happy heart, a cheerful countenance, and a smiling face – all are concomitants of health. We need to have the liberating, harmonizing currents of love and  joy awakened within us. The key is to get the mind lifted up on a new level of consciousness. Start the day with a song – even when you don’t feel much like singing. Make joy your way of life.

Did you ever notice that when a person does something that is relaxing and enjoyable, he or she may say, “Ah, this is the life!” Remember, the potential for abundant life is always within you. You must express it. So, every day of your life, no matter what lies before you, declare with enthusiasm, “AH, THIS IS THE LIFE!” And feel good about it.

Begin every day with a song. Know that the body is the temple of the living God. Give thanks with joy that an Infinite intelligence within you guides you in what you eat, how you exercise, and in the complete and whole expression of life itself.

Remember, God is Blessing You Right Now!

Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham

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Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over thirty-nine years, invites you to enjoy more articles and/or subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, “Spiritual Solutions,” at www.spiritualsolutionsblog.com

Feel free to share this article in its entirety with a friend. You may also reproduce and publish this article if you also include this reference box. Thank you!

If you’d like to receive “Rich Words,” featuring weekday inspirational quotes, you can subscribe at www.alanrowbotham.com
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Today, Wednesday, March 30, is the nineteenth day of Lent. Lent is the period of time during which we can prepare ourselves for the Easter experience.
 
 
Assignment 19
 
Above all things man loves life. To miss life is to allow the days to go by without joy and fulfillment. To live in a void, to be empty, to have days that contains nothing, is to completely miss life.
 
You may be busy working or moving from place to place, but if your heart is not in it, if there is no thrill, if you are not moved with a sense of anticipation, a sense of taking life and using it, you are wasting your life-blood.
 
Every moment of living should be intuitive preconception, filled with expectation and foretaste of something wonderful beyond the imagination. The gift of life to man is the God Power itself.
 
Life should be “spilled.” To spill is to let it overflow. Life must overflow to be shared. Life is never skimpy or meager. We hoard life within and it spoils. Unused good is detrimental whether it is joy, happiness, love, peace, or freedom. Unused good in material things is loss also. Woolen clothes hung away, blankets folded, pearls unworn all lose what life gives to them, vitality and luster. Everything is to be used by life.
 
Man loses his life moment by moment, as he fails to live fully, joyously. If man does not “Live” it, it is lost. He will find that the very organs of the body become atrophied, wasted because we refuse to enjoy the experience of life.
 
Life is a vitality, and a joy of living is essential to the continuance of life; this why laughter is the best medicine, why joy is connected with expectation of good. Joy is the lubricant of the body, keeping it supple, soft in texture, making every joint flexible. Joy is the soul set free from the bondage of persons, conditions and our own false beliefs.
 
Joy nearly always comes as twins. It is sharing. Life is to emerge from the mists and shadows of the beliefs of the senses, to learn not to “judge after the flesh.” To become aware of God within is to be set free from human concepts. To become aware of true and powerful life is to be “not of this world.” Let us enter into life and make it our own. Life is an undreamed of privilege.
 
 
(This series of Lenten messages was first developed by Unity minister Dr. Sue Sikking, founder of Unity-by-the-Sea, Santa Monica, California, author of God Always Says Yes and Seed of the New Age.)
 
 
God is Blessing You, Right Now!
 
Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham
 
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Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over thirty-nine years, invites you to subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, Spiritual Solutions, at www.spiritualsolutionsblog.com
 
To subscribe for free weekday inspirational quotes, Rich Words, go to www.alanrowbotham.com
 
Feel free to share this article in its entirety with a friend.
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In the book, Trust in the Goodness of God, author and Unity minister Mary Kupferle says, “Your good is here now! There is a suppplying presence of good that includes light, life, peace, order, courage, faith, joy, wholeness, and well-being with you and within you now. This good is ever-present and unlimited – exactly what you need, when you need it, and where you need it. . . . Affirm for yuorself: ‘My good is here now! I have within me a reservoir of faith, patience, peace, strength, wisdom, courage, love, and happiness that is ready to uplift me and heal any difficulty of mind, soul, body, or life.’”

Yes, your good is here now. Your happiness is here now.  The “pursuit of happiness” is said to be one of your inalienable rights. Can you accept it for yourself now any without reservation?

The following article by Bradley Thompson, a best-selling self-development author, is one I heartily agree with, so I decided to share it with you since the “Word for the Week” is on happiness. Enjoy!

Do you ever catch yourself saying, `I’ll be happy when … I’ve moved house, changed jobs, fallen in love, achieved x,y,z?’
This moment is really all we have. If happiness isn’t in you now, then when will it be?

You see, happiness is a choice. It’s really that simple!

If you keep putting off your happiness until tomorrow, then consider this:

Don’t pin your right to happiness on external factors, circumstances, other people or future possibilities. Be happy now!

Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that buying the latest gadget, car, or material luxuries will make you happy. They may give you fleeting moments of satisfaction but they won’t make you truly happy.

Search inside yourself. You know, there’s a lot to be happy about. You’re alive! You have choices! Embrace the natural joy within.

Don’t know how to find your happiness?

Okay, well try a laughing meditation! Take some time out, let go of the day’s thoughts. Smile, and start laughing.

Feel the laughter as if it’s a bubbling pool of joy deep inside you, and let those happy vibrations surface.

Make time for laughter each day. When you’re laughing, you’re truly in the moment. Life’s challenges simply melt away and you’re left with a feeling of lightness and a sense of well-being that money really can’t buy.

And, if you’re on a journey, aiming to achieve your life’s goals, remember this nugget of wisdom by Albert Schweitzer:

 “Success is not the key to happiness.
Happiness is the key to success.
If you love what you are doing,
you will be successful.”

So, wherever you are, whatever you’re doing right now, be happy. It really is your choice!

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Dear Friend,

Everyone is looking for happiness.

Aristotle said: “Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.”

But how happy are YOU?

Do you still feel as though you’re SEEKING something else? As though you aren’t QUITE in the right place?

The potential for true happiness and freedom exists within you right now.

But most people don’t see it. Instead, they focus on the problematic grey clouds. They never realize the beautiful blue sky that always exists just behind them.

Have you heard of the “Happiness Now” technique? It’s said to be the only technique that helps you uncover your true happiness and freedom – in the most natural and simple way possible!

Let go of fears. Enjoy higher self-esteem. Embrace fantastic relationships. Uncover the real you. And much, much more – all when you ask yourself a few simple questions, using the simple Happiness Now technique.

You won’t believe how powerful this course is – and how it can change your life.

So, if you find yourself still “seeking” in any way, make the decision to explore this one final key.

Click on this link and enjoy Happiness Now – for yourself:

http://www.happiness.fm/?afl=43306

You’ll surprise yourself.

Remember, God is Blessing You, Right Now!

Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham

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Rev. Alan Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over thirty-eight years, invites you to enjoy more articles and/or subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, “Spiritual Solutions,” at www.spiritualsolutionsblog.com

Feel free to share this article in its entirety with a friend. You may also reproduce and publish this article if you also include this reference box. Thank you!

If you’d like to receive “Rich Words,” featuring free weekday inspirational quotes, you can subscribe at
www.alanrowbotham.com

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In the tenth letter, Brother Lawrence is apparently responding in regard to someone who has lost a loved one or friend; then in the eleventh letter he is seeking to console someone who is ill or in pain and to have the person accept and embrace the condition rather than resist it.

Some of the language is old-fashioned and very traditional, but in both letters he is seeking to draw the correspondents back to principle, to focus first and foremost on God’s presence rather than on the condition they are experiencing.

In the succeeding letters, Brother Lawrence empathizes with his correspondent and seeks to emphasize the importance of giving oneself completely into God’s loving care and keeping, notwithstanding suffering of any kind, and to pray for courage, humility, and love.

He then declares: “Let us seek after Him often by faith. He is within us; seek Him not elsewhere. . . . Let us begin to be devoted to Him in good earnest. Let us cast everything besides out of our hearts.”

TWELFTH LETTER

If we were well accustomed to the exercise of the presence of God, all bodily diseases would be much alleviated thereby. God often permits that we should suffer a little to purify our souls and oblige us to continue with Him.

Take courage; offer Him your pains incessantly; pray to Him for strength to endure them. Above all, get a habit of entertaining yourself often with God, and forget Him the least you can.

Adore Him in your infirmities, offer yourself to Him from time to time, and in the height of your sufferings beseech Him humbly and affectionately (as a child his father) to make you conformable to His holy will. I shall endeavor to assist you with my poor prayers.

God has many ways of drawing us to Himself. He sometimes hides Himself from us; but faith alone, which will not fail us in time of need, ought to be our support, and the foundation of our confidence, which must be all in God.

I know not how God will dispose of me. I am always happy. All the world suffer; and I, who deserve the severest discipline, feel joys so continual and so great that I can scarce contain them.

I would willingly ask of God a part of your sufferings, but that I know my weakness, which is so great that if He left me one moment to myself I should be the most wretched man alive. And yet I know not how He can leave me alone, because faith gives me as strong a conviction as sense can do that He never forsakes us until we have first forsaken Him. Let us fear to leave Him Let us always be with Him. Let us live and die in His presence. Do you pray for me as I for you.

I am,

Yours, etc.

THIRTEENTH LETTER (To the Same)

I am in pain to see you suffer so long. What gives me some ease and sweetens the feelings I have for your griefs is that they are proofs of God’s love toward you. See them in that view and you will bear them more easily.

As your case is, it is my opinion that you should leave off human remedies, and resign yourself entirely to the providence of God. Perhaps He stays only for that resignation and a perfect trust in Him to cure you. Since, notwithstanding all your cares, physic has hitherto proved unsuccessful, and your malady still increases, it will not be tempting God to abandon yourself in His hands and expect all from Him.

I told you in my last that He sometimes permits bodily diseases to cure the distempers of the soul. Have courage, then; make a virtue of necessity. Ask of God, not deliverance from your pains, but strength to bear resolutely, for the love of Him, all that He should please, and as long as He shall please.

Such prayers, indeed, are a little hard to nature, but most acceptable to God, and sweet t those that love Him. Love sweetens pains; and when one loves God, one suffers for His sake with joy and courage.

Do you so, I beseech you; comfort yourself with Him, who is the only Physician of all our maladies. He is the Father of the afflicted, always ready to help us. He loves us infinitely, more than we imagine. Love Him, then, and seek no consolation elsewhere. I hope you will soon receive it. Adieu. I will help you with my prayers, poor as they are, and shall always be, in our Lord,

Yours, etc.

FOURTEENTH LETTER (To the Same)

I render thanks to our Lord for having relieved you a little, according to your desire. I have been often near expiring, but I never was so much satisfied as then. Accordingly, I did not pray for any relief, but I prayed for strength to suffer with courage, humility, and love.

Ah, how sweet it is to suffer with God! However great the sufferings may be, receive them with love. It is paradise to suffer and be with Him; so that if in this life we would enjoy the peace of paradise we must accustom ourselves to a familiar, humble, affectionate conversation with Him.

We must hinder our spirits’ wandering from Him upon any occasion. We must make our heart a spiritual temple, wherein to adore Him incessantly. We must watch continually over ourselves, that we may not do nor say nor think anything that may displease Him. When our minds are thus employed about God, suffering will become full of unction and consolation.

I know that to arrive at this state the beginning is very difficult, for we must act purely in faith. But though it is difficult, we know also that we can do all things with the grace of God, which He never refuses to them who ask it earnestly. Knock, persevere in knocking, and I answer for it that He will open to you in His due time, and grant you all at once what He has deferred during many years. Adieu. Pray to Him for me as I pray to Him for you. I hope to see Him quickly.

                                                                                                I am,

Yours, etc.

FIFTEENTH LETTER (To the Same)

God knoweth best what is needful for us, and all that He does is for our good. If we knew how much He loves us, we should always be ready to receive equally and with indifference from His hand the sweet and the bitter. All would please that came from Him.

The sorest afflictions never appear intolerable, except when we see them in the wrong light. When we see them as dispensed by the hand of God, when we know that it is our loving Father who abases and distresses us, our sufferings will lose their bitterness and become even matter of consolation.

Let all our employment be to know God; the more one knows Him, the more one desires to know Him. And as knowledge is commonly the measure of love, the deeper and more extensive our knowledge shall be, the greater will be our love; and if our love of God were great, we should love Him equally in pains and pleasures.

Let us not content ourselves with loving God for the mere sensible favors, how elevated soever, which He has done or may do us. Such favors, though never so great, cannot bring us so near to Him as faith does in one simple act. Let us seek Him often by faith. He is within us; seek Him not elsewhere.

If we do love Him alone, are we not rude, and do we not deserve blame, if we busy ourselves about trifles which do not please and perhaps offend Him? It is to be feared these trifles will one day cost us dear.

Let us begin to be devoted to Him in good earnest. Let us cast everything besides out of our hearts. He would possess them alone. Beg this favor of Him. If we do what we can on our parts, we shall soon see that change wrought in us which we aspire after. I cannot thank Him sufficiently for the relaxation He has vouchsafed you. I hope from His mercy the favor to see Him within a few days. Let us pray for one another.

                                                                                    I am, in our Lord,

Yours, etc.

(Note: He took to his bed two days after this writing, and died within the week.)

I hope you have received good value and insights from this classic spiritual book.

God is Blessing You Right Now!

The Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham

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Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over thirty-six years, invites you to enjoy more articles and/or subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, Spiritual Solutions or go directly to the Spiritual Solutions Blog

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Last week we considered the Preface and the First Conversation in the little book The Practice of the Presence of God – The Best Rule of a Holy Life, by Brother Lawrence. 

The essence of what was covered is as follows: 

We learned the importance of establishing ourselves in a ongoing sense of God’s presence, of continually conversing with God, and of feeding and nourishing our souls with high notions of God, practices which bring feelings of great joy into our everday experience. In other words, we are to praise God and give thanks to God in an ongoing basis, in order to develop a continuing sense of God’s presence in our life through an ever-deepening feeling of gratitude.

And we are to do this without being overly concerned about others “sins” or misdeeds, praying for them but simply leaving that all in God’s hands.

Encouraged to quicken, or enliven, our faith, we are to “give ourselves up to God” in both temporal and spiritual things. As we are faithful in times of “dryness or insensibilities or irksomeness in prayer” we will find that these can be times of spiritual advancement.

Even when we cannot feel God’s presence, we are to continue in our faith in God, in our praise and gratitude toward God for all the blessings in our life.

As we are attentive to our passions in both spiritual and material things, God will give light and direction to those who truly desire to serve God’s highest purpose for our lives.

This week, we turn to the “Second Conversation.”

SECOND CONVERSATION

That he had always been governed by love, without selfish views; and that having resolved to make the love of God the end of all his actions, he had found reasons to be well satisfied with his method. That he was pleased when he could take up a straw from the ground for the love of God, seeking Him only, and nothing else, not even His gifts.

That he had been long troubled in mind from a certain belief that he should be damned; that all men in the world could not have persuaded him to the contrary; but that he had thus reasoned with himself about it: I engaged in a religious life only for the love of God, and I have endeavored to act only for Him; whatever becomes of me, whether I be lost or saved, I will always continue to act purely for the love of God. I shall have this good at least, that till death I shall have done all that is in me to love Him.

That this trouble of mind had lasted four years, during which time he had suffered much; but that at last he had seen that this trouble arose from want of faith, and that since then he had passed his life in perfect liberty and continual joy. That he had placed his sins betwixt him and God, as it were, to tell Him that he did not deserve His favors, but that God still continued to bestow them in abundance.

That in order to form a habit of conversing with God continually, and referring all we do to Him, we must at first apply to Him with some diligence; but that after a little care we should find His love inwardly excite us to it without any difficulty.

That he expected, after the pleasant days God had given him, that he should have his turn of pain and suffering; but that he was not uneasy about it, knowing very well that as he could do nothing of himself, God would not fail to give him strength to bear it.

That when an occasion of practicing some virtue offered, he addressed himself to God, saying, “Lord, I cannot do this unless Thou enablest me;” and that then he received strength more than sufficient.

That when he had failed in his duty, he only confessed to his fault, saying to God, “I shall never do otherwise if you leave me to myself; it is You who must hinder my falling, and mend what is amiss.” That after this he gave himself no further uneasiness about it.

That we ought to act with God in the greatest simplicity, speaking to Him frankly and plainly, and imploring His assistance in our affairs, just as they happen. That God never failed to grant it, as he had often experienced.

That he had lately been sent into Burgundy, to buy the provision of wine for the society, which was a very unwelcome task for him, because he had no turn for business, and because he was lame and could not go about the boat but by rolling himself over the casks. That, however, he gave himself no uneasiness about it, nor about the purchase of the wine. That he said to God, It was His business he was about, and that he afterward found it very well performed. That he had been sent into Auvergne, the year before, upon the same account; that he could not tell how the matter passed, but that it proved very well.

So, likewise, in his business in the kitchen (to which he had naturally a great aversion), having accustomed himself to do everything there for the love of God, and with prayer, upon all occasions, for His grace to do his work well, he had found everything easy, during fifteen years that he had been employed there.

That he was very well pleased with the post he was now in; but that he was as ready to quit that as the former, since he was always pleasing himself in every condition by doing little things for the love of God.

That with him the set times of prayer were not different from other times; that he retired to pray, according to the directions of his superior, but that he did not want such retirement, nor ask for it, because his greatest business did not divert him from God.

That as he knew his obligation to love God in all things, and as he endeavored so to do, he had no need of a director to advise him, but that he needed much a confessor to absolve him. That he was very sensible of his faults, but not discouraged by them; that he confessed them to God, but did not plead against Him to excuse them. When he had so done, he peaceably resumed his usual practice of love and adoration.

That in his trouble of mind he had consulted nobody, but knowing only by the light of faith that God was present, he contented himself with directing all his actins to Him, i.e., doing them with a desire to please Him, let what would come of it.

That useless thoughts spoil all; that the mischief began there; but that we ought to reject them as soon as we perceived their impertinence to the matter in hand, or our salvation, and return to our communion with God.

That at the beginning he had often passed his time appointed for prayer in rejectng wandering thoughts and falling back into them. That he could never regulate his devotion by certain methods as some do. That, nevertheless, at first he had meditated for some time, but afterward that went off, in a manner he could give no account of.

That all bodily mortifications and other exercises are useless, except as they serve to arrive at the union with God by love; that he had well considered this, and found it the shortest way to go straight to Him  by a continual exercise of love and doing all things for His sake.

That we ought to make a great difference between the acts of the understanding and those of the will; that the first were comparatively of little value, and the others, all. That our only business was to love and delight ourselves in God.

That all possible kinds of mortification, if they were void of the love of God, could not efface a single sin. That we ought, without anxiety, to expect the pardon of our sins from the blood of Jesus Christ, only endeavoring to love Him with all our hearts. That God seemed to have granted the greatest favors to the greatest sinners, as more signal monuments of His mercy.

That the greatest pains or pleasures of this world were not to be compated with what he had experienced of both kinds in a spiritual state; so that he was careful for nothing and feared nothing, desiring only one thing of God, viz., that he might not offend Him.

That he had no scruples; for, said he, when I fail in my duty, I readily acknowledge it, saying, I am used to do so; I shall never do otherwise if I am left to myself. If I fail not, then I give God thanks, acknowledging that the strength comes from Him.

God is Blessing You, Right Now!

Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham
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Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over thirty-six years, invites you to enjoy more articles and/or subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, Spiritual Solutions or go directly to the Spiritual Solutions Blog

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