A Special Message from Rev. Frank
The land of yesterday is a beautiful place if we choose to recall only the good days. If we picture it with eyes of distant hope, the land of tomorrow can be a glorious mirage. Only the land of today is a reality. In the turmoil and stress of the now moment, some people are clawing and fighting for the mirage of tomorrow or stretching back to yesterday as if it were possible. Why not live today?
We often worry about a long life and forget to live in the now. Happiness is the true realization of the good and beautiful things of life in the present -- it is a decision we make today. As we move though 2010, I want to speak about building momentum towards a higher standard of living. I want to share a way of life that has no limits. This life is awaiting expression in every one of us -- today. All we have to do is allow the wisdom of the spirit in us to move us forward.
This wisdom looks beyond the appearance of our current life to the potential in the now moment. This wisdom calls us to turn our attention away from struggles and give our full attention to God; however we understand this higher power. Through what has come to be known as Christianity, Jesus originally taught about this higher standard of living. This standard can be summed up in Luke 17:21 “the kingdom of God is in the midst of you (other translations say among you or within you)”. Jesus taught us to first seek this kingdom of God, and all things would then be given to us.
Every year, we choose a theme. Our theme for 2010 is “Moving Forward”. We are going to magnify the consciousness of God that is already in us and our lives right now. There is never anything missing or broken in the present. What happens when we “magnify” something? We take our focus, expand it over a smaller area and choose to see it as a bigger picture. This is what microscopes and telescopes do. Unfortunately, many times, we magnify the negative aspects of our life. If we think there is something wrong with us, we become very good at taking that one small aspect of our personality and focusing our attention on it. As we do this, we make the negative trait bigger than it really is. Imagine now, if for the entire year, we magnified one great gift or talent in us and made that gift or talent bigger than it really is. Imagine if, for one whole year, every one of us lived this higher life in our relationships and in our finances. If we did this, we would continuously move in the direction of greatness. A truly spiritual life embraces forward movement in every moment.
In physics, they call this forward movement "momentum." Momentum is not simply the motion; momentum is the inner power residing in a moving object that keeps it moving. In other words, the power that propels the object forward without any additional input of energy. One of the consequences of this is that an object will always continue with the same velocity unless acted on by a force from outside the system.
Momentum is something we learn from Jesus. We learn it is possible to have a paradigm shift and move our lives in new directions in incredible ways. Too often, we allow ourselves to be acted upon by forces outside our connection to The Source. Moving away from today and embracing tomorrow happens naturally; with no resistance. Resistance slows down the force of momentum. God is Spirit and what we call the Holy Spirit is the activity of God projected into our minds and hearts. We know it is God because it moves us to great things; and there is never resistance in God. With no resistance, there is no end to momentum.
In 1977, NASA launched two space probes called Voyager. Even though they ran out of power long ago, they are still moving and will keep moving for eternity. That is because in outer space is there is zero resistance to slow them down. God can work the same way in our consciousness.
God, as I understand God, never blocks the flow of spirit in our life. Humans too often, focus on the letter of the Bible instead of the Spirit. Their different interpretations of the Scriptures, together with their adherence to dogma, are the cause of the divisions in churches today. Make no mistake, everyone interprets the Bible. The true church is not made up of creeds and forms, nor is it contained in walls of wood and stone. The true church is in our heart and Spirit is our guide into Truth. When we turn within, to the Spirit of Truth, we build up momentum in the direction of our highest good. And that is the truth!
God bless you.
Rev. Frank Philip