That They May Be One

When I write, my heart tends to swell and the Spirit of God rises in me perhaps similar to a post-mentopausal hot flash. Although at thirty eight years of age, I have yet to experience one, I have often wondered if this sensation is an accurate depiction. I can be anywhere, doing anything, and with anyone and then I hear the Whisper. I’ll pause, feel the rush of Wind blow through me like a mighty, rushing River, and instantly I’m in immediate need of pen and paper. These days my instrument of divinely stored insight is most often the note section of my iPhone. When I write under the influence and power of such a magnificent force it is as if my cognitive functioning as been shut down. Much like when I speak in tongues, although I cannot understand the dialect, my heart hears the message and mysteries are revealed. When writing under the influence of the Spirit, a wave of pure consciousness floods through every fiber of my being and often times it is difficult for my hands to keep up with the overflow and swiftness of the message. It’s a symphony of thought often raising to a climatic peak and then slowing to a gentle melody of words. For lack of a better analogy, it’s like the sensation when you need to throw up but without the ill feelings and nastiness of the aftermath. It’s the idea of something being inside that must come forth. If suppressed it will project forth. Something has built within that must see it’s way to the surface. Afterwards, I am often observing what has been written much the same as the reader. I will feel as if something was birthed and as with all things orchestrated by God, each utterance of life matters and has been uniquely conceived to serve a specific purpose. There is a difference between when I am speaking and when directly influenced by this beautifully, pure form of God-consciousness though my life’s quest has been the merging of the two voices. Ultimately, we are One which I will expand upon later in this message.

Recently I wrote a blog post entitled, “Mom, Are You Going to Die?” (http://mistirains.com/index.php/2016/06/07/mom-are-you-going-to-die/)

It was written under the influence of the Holy Spirit, the same Spirit that is guiding me now. When yielded to this force, it is leading and not me for I have surrendered to its glorious guidance. I do not interrupt it. I do not critique it. Often I may pause to ask it questions for a greater understanding but I trust it as I know this Voice is all knowing and has the greatest good of the whole always at work. When delivering a message I do not stop to reason or rationalize the Message with a mindset built upon this world.

I wonder if Jesus the man felt similar when the Christ of God that had existed before the foundation of the world flooded his being. He too became divinity wrapped in humanity. He was a man subject to the concerns of this world and the feelings generated by those he knew and loved as they interpreted the messages he spoke. Yet, filled with the Spirit He was empowered with a Divine Presence, a Holy Spirit, God’s Spirit, which is wonderfully pure. He was definitely in this world but certainly not of it. He had found an inner kingdom that reigned from within his heart. He has found the truth revealed only by what He called, The Father, as the thought of a Heavenly parent deemed fitting for such a magnificent, guiding Light.

I am learning in my life to listen to this Heavenly Parent, this Divine Force, which in all truth is both male and female, which is both mother and father, which quite simply possesses everything we need. I used to taper these messages of divine inspiration to perhaps soften the blow of them or allow them to be more warmly received by the recipient. I use to intervene and seek to interpret them through my own lens of understanding. This was until I realized there is no greater lens through which to view life than those which have been filtered by the Spirit of Truth. Sometimes we need something to rattle our cage so that the prison door can be shaken open. I have learned to not dilute the message through alterations in an attempt to please the will of the person receiving it. The potency is thus compromised and the message’s ability to pierce the heart and melt the hard, wax exterior is lost. Squeezing and pressing the olive is what produces the rich, olive oil. To change the heart we mustn’t change the message.

In my blog post, “Mom, Are You Going to Die,” compelled and under the influence of the Spirit, I let the message come forth as it willed. If I had given thought to how my son, my mother, or my family and friends would interpret it I would have intervened and influenced the delivery of how it was destined to come forth. When Riley asked me, “Mom, are you going to die?” the first thing the Spirit replied was, “Riley, are you going to die?” The point being WE ARE ALL GOING TO DIE on this physical plane but the message I wanted my son to receive is that HE CAN LIVE FOREVER. I wanted him to mentally grasp that I had already died. I had been living but I was dead. It has been appointed for me once to die. How can I fear what has already been? Religion is for people who are afraid of going to hell. Spirituality is for those who have already been there. I wanted him to know that I had been dead but now I am alive in Christ. The Word is within me. Not a book that can wither and fade, but THE WORD that has always been, that was in the beginning, that WAS GOD, and that is IN ME, the Word that will ensure I live FOREVER! The Spirit wanted to switch the idea of death in the mind of my son to thoughts of life, to understanding what it means to live forever.

The Spirit had anointed Jesus Christ with such a wonderful gift of bridging the spiritual and the physical realms and to such a degree that a small child could comprehend. Who would not relate to the term “Father” and the role through which this natural realm understands the facets of such a role? He understood He was One with such a Force. He was the Son, “genetically” pulsating with the same blood, the same wiring, the same mindset, the same “genetic code” and possessing the inheritance of the other. It is a note worthy feat when one realizes what Jesus discovered. He did his very best to convey this truth yet most, even those who covet the words of Christ, have yet to understand it. They still separate themselves from God and fail to see themselves as One with Him. They do not see themselves as a Son or Daughter of God, God in them, and them in God, one flesh, one Spirit, and one Union. I hear them say their body is a temple of God yet speak of God as some outside force. Why would God wish to punish himself? Not heal himself? Not guide himself? Not WILL the best for Himself? Is He not IN YOU? Are you not One with God? And yet, Christians still seem to question if it is God’s will they live or heal from their infirmities? This concept must not be overlooked in the journey of one’s existence. It is core to the Truth and meaning of Life. It was core to the message of Jesus Christ. It is core to any message I will ever speak.

In the message, “Mom, Are You Going to Die,” the message THE SPIRIT chose to convey to my oldest son was that GOD THE WORD was living within me. I trust it. It IS ME. I am IT. We are ONE. How can I wish MYSELF harm? Love thy neighbor as thyself right? To love myself is to love God. To love God is to love myself.

Throughout all of nature is the will to survive and live. Even a spider will run frantically to spare its own life when it feels a threat to its existence. Yet, here is the MAIN POINT. Once you realize you are God and God is you and you are One, a shift takes place in how you view the difficult circumstances in your life. Jesus Christ acknowledged this truth and wanted us to comprehend it with statements such as “As I am in this world SO ARE YOU.” Once you realize YOU ARE THE LIVING WORD and it has consumed your temple and made its abode IN YOU, you realize that YOU WILL NEVER DIE because THE WORD OF THE LORD ENDURETH FOREVER. And once you realize you will never die, then when difficult circumstances come or things that in a world’s eye view seem to threatened your existence, you stopping running like the spider. You stop worrying or frantically panicking. You are no longer anxious. You stand firm. You realize as did the Christ that in this world you will have trouble BUT you can cheer up, the world has already been overcome. And once you realize you have overcome and you will never die and you understand that God is in you and God does not wish to harm himself, you realize that all things are working for your good. You realize that God has a plan for you, one to give you a hope and a future, and one to prosper you. You realize that you and God ARE ONE and that if God has allowed himself suffering or pain it is only for the benefit of the soul. You mount up with the wings of an eagle and see your circumstances from a higher plane and through the lens of a more elevated Truth.

The crux of Christianity is the identification of the historical character of Jesus Christ as the only incarnation in history of the second Person of the Blessed Trinity. When Paul says, “I live now not I, but Christ in me,” he didn’t say Jesus, the historical character, in me, he said “Christ in me.”

Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?” 

“We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”

Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods”? 

John 10:31-34

“I said, ‘You are “gods”;
    you are all sons of the Most High.’
But you will die like mere mortals;
    you will fall like every other ruler.”

Psalm 82:6-7

If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be set aside— what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father. But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.” Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp.

John 10:35-39

My prayer is similar to that of the prayer of Jesus. My prayer is that you may know as did Jesus that you have been set apart as God’s own son (or daughter) and that YOU have been sent into the world. My prayer is that the world may know you by your precious works. My prayer is through your life and through your works others would know and understand that God is in you and that you are in God. Though there will be those who try and seize you, my prayer is that you would both mentally and physically escape their grasp.

“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through THEIR message, that ALL OF THEM MAY BE ONE, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they ALSO BE IN US so that the world may believe that you have sent me.  I HAVE GIVEN THEM THE GLORY YOU GAVE ME, THAT THEY MAY BE AS ONE AS WE ARE ONE—I IN THEM AND YOU IN ME—so that they may be brought to COMPLETE UNITY. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

“Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.

“Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I MYSELF MAY BE IN THEM.”

John 17:20-26

The man Jesus Christ was consumed by the awakening fact of who He truly was. He was consumed by the Spirit of Christ that had existed before the foundation of the world. He was a mere man and yet He was one with His Father. He was one with God. Jesus would often switch back and forth while speaking at times referring to himself as the Son of Man and at times referring to himself as the Son of God. He was a mere man and yet also claimed to be God. He demonstrated the truth that He was both by the compassionate life he lived serving, healing, and forgiving others. Is not this the mark of One who has been set apart and sent into the world by the true Father, the God of love? There is no greater LOVE than this that He was willing to lay down his life for his friends. Jesus was murdered yet was WILLING to suffer immensely, ultimately giving his life so that He could share the discovery of what the Father had revealed to him. He wanted the world to know the path to salvation, the way to discovering this inner kingdom of heaven to be lived on this earth. He wanted what was above to be so below, the will of heaven to be found upon this earth. The teachings of Jesus Christ is the way to salvation. The Christ of God is the door through which all other truth is expanded. If you go in search of the kingdom of heaven, the Spirit will lead you to the same truths revealed to the Christ. What is difficult for many Christians to understand is that with or without the bible, the Spirit reveals these mysteries and truths to any and all who seek for them. A child without understanding of the bible can enter the kingdom of heaven. There are those that are men of the book and there are those that are men of experience. If those who follow the letter of the law fail to respect those who are led by the Spirit they will miss understanding and wisdom that is solely revealed by the Father.

Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 

Matthew 16:17

Often people refer to God as their Higher Self. I have yet to figure out why this term is snubbed upon by the Christian community yet without the eye of the eagle and an ability to see beyond the programming and conditioning of religious systems I can understand why. Jesus was one with God. He was both man and God. There was his lower nature and his Higher self, the Son of Man and the Son of God. If you are one with God, you too are exactly like Jesus. You have a lower nature and you have your Higher Self. The Higher Self is the God part of you, the one guiding you, speaking to you, and directing your steps. Jesus depicted him in human terms as the Heavenly Parent called the Father or as the Protecting and Nurturing Shepherd. This “Higher Self” is called “Self” because it is a part of YOU. God is apart of YOU.

I find it interesting that the first time around people were expecting the Christ to come in a cloud or with a majestic kingly entrance heralding a message of deliverance that would set them free from their current oppressive circumstances. That is what the current religious doctrine of the day promoted as the idea of the Christ. Although the message of the Christ was to enter as a child, live as a mere man, discover the kingdom of heaven within, and teach everyone the way to salvation and this glorious path of freedom, people failed to receive the idea that God was revealing Himself through flesh and bones. People failed to see deity through the human condition. Could we be missing the point again? Do we ever learn from our mistakes? Did we truly listen to the cry from the heart of the Christ? People are still looking for Jesus to return upon the clouds, deliver them from their current circumstances, and blissfully carry them away to Paradise. Have they failed to create Paradise amidst the lives they are currently living? Have they failed to find the spiritual kingdom existing here and now? Jesus was passionate about people realizing they were one with the Christ and with God. Was He wanting us to understand a treasure placed in earthen vessels? A place we were not searching? Have we been so busy looking for the signs in the heavens that we have failed to miss the signs within one another? Perhaps Christ is already here, within some of us? Perhaps Christ HAS BEEN RETURNING for hundreds of years. While people are busy seeking a sign or a wonder and a final act of ultimate deliverance from oppression, could we be missing the Christ which has returned through God’s most favored and treasured possessions, His people, His creation. Could we be missing the freedom to be grasped as the will of heaven infiltrates the hearts of those upon this earth? Could we be seeking to go to heaven when all along heaven is destined to come here, to find its way in our hearts.

“Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.” Luke 17:20-21

In all that I’ve written today, the theme I feel the Spirit is hovering upon us is simple, yet most miss it. I missed it most of my life and as a result was still subject to fear and riddled with uncertainties. Until one day I was sitting outside on my patio mediating on one passage that seemed to be given to me or spoken to me continually. The passage was from Psalm 46:10 and it says, “Be still and know that I am God.” As I began to repeat it in my thoughts over and over, the Spirit began leading me to place the emphasis on the I. Be still and know that I AM GOD. A burst of surging energy and Spirit power pulsated through my body and through every fiber of my being. I knew I had just spoken TRUTH. My lower nature resisted and questioned. The religious programming began to hurl insults at me as did the Pharisees to Jesus, “Who do you think you are? You’re not God. That’s blasphemous. You are just a mere human. You should be burned, crucified! Stone her!” And yet, I didn’t care. I knew it was true. I knew we were One. I was Him. He was me. And I burned with a desire for everyone to know the truth that would set them free. Christ has returned. I am no longer seeking him nor awaiting His presence on a cloud. I found him. I feel him. I see him everyday. We are the best of friends. We are the greatest of lovers. We are as the Christ prayed we would be, existing in “complete harmony.” Perhaps those still looking to meet Christ in the air still feel an emptiness or lack of completion because they are still awaiting a union that is available to them now. The kingdom of God is in your midst.

When trials or situations arrive that threaten my existence, I no longer run like the spider seeking to spare his life. I have already found life. God is in me. God lives forever. If I am faced with a tumor in my brainstem as is my current situation, I speak to the Highest Version of myself and I ask, “God, what are you wanting to experience through me? What are we wanting to learn from this experience? How is my soul seeking to expand and grow?” I never doubt that God wills something good for us. I don’t see Him outside of myself wishing to punish me or pleading for Him to hear my cry nor do I see myself subject to His beckon mercy. We are in love. We are married. We are One flesh. One unit. One being. I am Divine. I am the Daughter of God, begotten of Him. If Christ be in me, how could I not speak as Him and how could I not think with His mind. We are of the same spirit, the same mind, and the same Truth. With this knowledge, everything is counted as joy. Even death looses its sting, What is death but a continuation of a journey? When you truly know that you have merged with God you loose the concept of fear. Would God fear sickness? Would God fear a difficult circumstance? Would it steal His joy or would He count it all joy? Accept where you are and express gratitude in all things. If God be for you who or what could ever truly be against you?

I HAVE GIVEN THEM THE GLORY YOU GAVE ME,

THAT THEY MAY BE AS ONE AS WE ARE ONE

I IN THEM AND YOU IN ME

SO THAT THEY MAY BE BROUGHT TO COMPLETE UNITY.

JOHN 17:22-23

~ Misti Rains Howell