+My beloved, rest in Me. No matter what is swirling around you, there is a place of perfect peace that was won for you and that I have designed for you. It is My Heart. In Me, you are completely protected and sheltered. I created the wild, Hickory Horned Devil caterpillar you saw yesterday on the bike path. When you searched the internet to find out what it was, there were so many different types and varieties of caterpillars, you couldn't even find it to identify it.! I created it in all its color and creativity...wild...fantastical...dropped from a tree to continue the wonder, as he searched for a place on land to weave his cocoon and emerge in time, with wings... ..totally transformed! All of creation continually shouts My Name...declares the mystery of rebirth! Death to life! What was I thinking? ...thoughts too high and deep for your mind to even begin to contain! Proclamation...invitation into the Wonder of Who I am. Your Father, Who created you and sustains you,  leads you to the place of transformation too. Who would even imagine that could be possible? And yet...with an obedience that is pure and unresisting...the caterpillar wraps itself up in its own tomb/womb...creates out of itself its own placenta - a seeming act of perfect faith - substance of things not seen ...and with time...emerges with a totally new identity that knows the giddy joy of flight. I am constantly revealing Who I am and what I have designed for my best and most  beloved creation - man. Look with eyes that see. Listen to the sermon...the testimony of even the tiniest elements of nature. When you become aware of the miracles that surround you, your heart and soul and spirit are flooded with the knowledge of I AM. Best and most empowering of all, I created you to be known and loved perfectly. I have blessed you with the Spirit...your best Champion and Mentor...to help you and strengthen you to grasp, just a tiny bit, the enormity of a Love that beckons to you at every moment. ..a Love that never stops wooing you and blessing you. This Love is eternal and it is yours. I will never leave you or forsake you .I only know blessing and beauty. I always bring death to life...life from death. The lesson: caterpillar - cocoon - butterfly - reveals the vast impenetrable mystery of My perfect plan. Nothing can thwart My Purposes! This is why you can rest and rejoice. Open your eyes and sing your heart out to the One Who loves you the best. "Spread your wings and fly. God will help you dare to try."    

"So don't you see that we don't owe this old do-it-yourself life one red cent? there's nothing in it for us, nothing at all. the best thing to do is give it a decent burial and get on with your new life. god's Spirit beckons. There are things to do and places to go!" Romans 8:12-14   ~The Message

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live but Christ lives in me."   
                    Galatians 2:20 


-My beloved...My own! This is the mystery of the grain of wheat fallen to the ground. And just as I laid My life down, I call you to do the same - to give that old self- with its insecurities and fears and lies - a decent burial! You pick up the shovel and dig this grave by filling your mind and your heart with thanksgiving. You cover over that old self by proclamations of praise...declarations of faith in all the promises that have been given to you in this great exchange that was finished once and for all 2000 years ago. Don't even think of putting back on the old grave-clothes of poverty and lack and intimidation...of a sense of not measuring up...not measuring up to what? to who? This is such a blatant lie of the enemy. Comparison and striving to measure up are his language of death. It's easy to spot. When you feel that heavy heart...the yoke of the unfulfilled law start to pull you down, throw that old, dead self in a grave of faith! You have been made totally new. The old law with its judgments and fears of punishment no longer applies to you. All this was nailed to the cross. Your eyes have been opened. You understand this great mystery of death to life...the mystery of a  Love so overpowering that everything about you that was trapped and heading for destruction has been totally rescued and redeemed. You are a new creation. The old is buried along with all the lies that shrouded your mind and heart. The new came the very moment the Spirit of God raised Me from the grave. That same Spirit is at work in you...helping you believe the Good News. I have come that you may have life and have it to the full. So rejoice and sing your songs of freedom at the gravesite of the old, never-to-return you! This is such a mystery. Once you understand it fully, there will be no stopping you from enjoying the bounty of your inheritance. Your Father gave everything for you to be His. Be His then...never again to suffer under your old tyrannical task master. His power has also been nailed to the cross. He has no jurisdiction over you any more ever again! This should make you dance and sing for Joy for the rest of your days! Open your eyes! Look for all the blessings that are yours. You have been set free...given eternal life and all the blessings of Heaven! So rejoice and be glad each and every day!  The Kingdom of Heaven has come to earth in you...in your rescued, redeemed, resurrected self.

-Lord, I feel far away from You and I can't stand the feeling. Help me sense Your Presence...to know that "You will never leave me or forsake me." Why do I pay ANY attention to what I feel? I need to submerge myself in what You say. Your Word is True. It is alive and unfailing. Thank you that Your Word assures me that nothing can separate me from Your Love.


+The enemy has no access to you except through your thoughts and your feelings. I want you to learn to live your life completely FREE from his negative influence. He is the father of lies. That's all you need to know. Never forget Who is IN you! Never forget that you are protected and guarded and made whole by the Prince of Peace. All that I won is yours for the taking: confidence, truth, peace, the ability to love (remember this is not about feelings!) You have all you need to live your life fully , operating completely as you were created to be...filled with all the gifts of the Holy Spirit - love, joy (gladness), peace, patience (an even temper - forbearance) kindness, goodness (benevolence) faithfulness, gentleness (meekness) humility, self-control (self restraint). When the enemy comes in like a flood, remember that these gifts that are yours are the standard you can lift up. You are in the High Tower of God's perfect Love. You are guarded by angels on all sides and indwelt with the Power and Presence of the Holy Spirit. Long ago, the high priest...one high priest...once a year...would be allowed to enter the Holy of Holies. I came and opened the sanctuary by offering the perfect sacrifice for all time. Your 'yes' to Me is all you need. You are now a tabernacle where God Lives by the power of the Holy Spirit. Let not your heart ever be troubled. Trust your Father. Trust that He has put you in Me. This is a union forged in heaven...ratified by the blood of the Lamb. Never again...never...do you have to submit to the lies of the enemy. simply choose this day Who you serve and know,
without a shadow of a doubt, that all of heaven is with you to help you maintain and celebrate that choice. The Good News is so clear...so simple. Say yes and believe. You need not even glance at how well you're doing (that actually is a trick of the enemy!).
Your 'yes' transfers you completely out of darkness into the Kingdom of Light. Peace is yours when you fix your eyes on Me and let everything else go. Your Father knows exactly what you need at every turn. The Holy Spirit in you is carrying the good work begun in you to completion. so rest and rejoice this day. Throw every anxious thought and care on Me...the One Who is your joyous Strength. Laugh and rest and rejoice. Live in High Praise of your perfect, adoring Father, Who is smiling over you...singing over you every second. This is the Truth you need to meditate on. Leave the cares with Me. Come and drink from the waters of life. Freedom is yours.