LEAVE ALL - FOLLOW ME

Forsaking all, taking up thy cross, and following ME, until it is understood, does not seem to be a very inviting program to follow. Consecration, praying without ceasing, perpetual thanks, and worshiping an invisible God, do not seem the easiest things to accomplish. Giving up of family, friends, and loved ones; letting go of riches and possessions, bring no sense of joy; and yet all these things Jesus said we must do if we would enter into our inheritance. Is it worth it?

"What shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"

"When the inspiration of the Almighty has come unto you, it shall lead you unto all things." It shall lead you out of the darkness of human misunderstanding, into the light of revelation, and this Searchlight of Truth will discover for you the glorious things of spirit, which have been buried in an avalanche of debris of human beliefs and appearances. We are not told that riches are evil, but the LOVE of money is the root of evil; yet the human mind has for years preached and indicated that Money and Riches were evil. The Love (worship) of anything except God is bad, no matter what that thing may be. LOVE that is bondage takes from the Recognition of the One and only Power of the Universe called God.

We are not called upon to give up money or riches, but we are told that in believing that they have power independent of God we are allying ourselves with the "root of all evil."

Monet stands as a symbol of Human Power. The Golden Calf is worshiped because it is supposed to have a power to accomplish things impossible. "Money talks," we are told, and the voice of the Golden Calf is filled with fear and trouble. Money, in itself, is just as powerless as any other token that might have been made, and yet it can be invested with such power that any crime can, and will, be committed to posses it. The strange part of it is, that the moment we "posses" it, it turns and possesses us, we become slaves to it, and an open target for all sorts of evil plans and schemes.

And yet we are told that "The Blessing of the Lord it maketh rich, and He addeth no sorrow with it"; and in a thousand other places we are told of the Riches of Gold, that are for our use and our joys.

"I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich."

A pack of contradictions seem to meet the eye all the way through the Scriptures, and yet there is not a single contradiction, when the Light of Inspiration is turned on the subject. It is all filled with wonder and glory, and we find the human laws being reversed one after another.

The thrift of the human economy counsels saving and hoarding, and providing for a rainy day, which must eventually come; but the Spirit of the Almighty says, "There is he that scattereth yet tendeth to increase, and he that withholdeth that tendeth to poverty." Yet to attempt to put this teaching into practice, from a relative standpoint, hoping by scattering to increase, is the nth degree of folly, and will result in chaos. I have seen a whole roomful of people holding a piece of money in their hands, and "giving" it to the Lord, with the distinct understanding that it was to come back to them with a hundred-fold increase. They might just as well, or perhaps better, have placed that amount on a horse, or in some stock. Doing tricks on the outside, and imagining that God is deceived by this lip service and "magnanimous" giving, is the sport of fools. Unless the gift has the soul of the giver with it, it might just as well be thrown in the gutter. "Awake. thou that sleepest." Truth is not a Stock Exchange, where you put your money on a winning number. Truth is Life, and it is all in the SOUL back of it that determines what the results will be. By the process of Revelation things are brought to sight which have always been, and these hidden things are not brought out by any "trick" method. "As a man soweth, so shall he reap," does not confine itself only to the so-called "cardinal" sins, but to the very words of the everyday life. The tricky old human reasoning has a word "SIN," under which man classifies some things which are outside the pale of the conventions of society, and, if he withholds himself from these, man imagines he is sinless - but the things which are not under this heading are usually the things that are causing him the most trouble. Picking out the beam from a brother's eye is not the least of these. The "kindness," in this case, is usually accompanied by an ability to recognize sin, and to fasten it on to another. "It takes a thief to catch a thief." Criticizing, judging, and condemning; all these are not listed under the category of "Sin," and yet they are the tares which are coming up through the harvest and destroying everything. "Watch." God has spared you the unpleasant duty of judgment and revenge. "Vengeance is mine, I will repay." The judge, and the jury, and the executioner, are still within you, and the "measure that you mete shall be measured to you again." It is wonderful how we are beginning to SEE what the Scripture says unto the Churches (temples, bodies).

The Way of Truth is the Way of Peace and Joy. The giving up and forsaking of things, resolves itself in a joyous freedom. When a man gives up the idea of a personal Jesus, who lived 2,000 years ago in Jerusalem, he acquires the glorious, radiant presence of the Power of Jesus Christ, functioning today and NOW in his life and world. He realizes the Aliveness of Life, and the glorious thrill of the Power "Searching the joints and marrow." He has lost nothing, and has gained everything; he has gained the real Jesus Christ, the resurrected Power made flesh. It is Wonderful!

"He that loseth his life shall find it." When man loses the little personal life and its limitations, he begins to take on the infinite nature power and infinite life, and the tendency to stagnation and age are diminished. A new door is slowly opened to him to which he sees great possibilities of "losing" his life and "finding" his life. What man is going to find, when he loses his personal life, will so amaze him that he will see that he has given up nothing but bondage and limitation.

When a man gives up his mother, father, wife, and all, for Christ, he merely relinquishes the human bondage and inheritance, which is full of corruption and limitations, for the "Inheritance Incorruptible" that fadeth not away - eternal in the heavens, thrilling in its glorious newness.

Three children of a very High Church dignitary, who had given his entire life to the Church, were all born with some infirmity: one blind, one deaf, and the other cripple. Heredity was blamed for these happenings. Nothing can save a man who disobeys the Law, and calls a man his father: "Call no man your father, for one Who is in heaven is your Father, even God." And the moment you begin to claim this heavenly inheritance, you will let go of the inheritance of corruption, and give up your mother, father, sister, and brother, and move into your new family: "Those who do the will of God." This giving up is not some sudden and drastic physical action, a getting rid of somebody. It is a beautiful recognition of, "Whereas before I was blind, NOW I can see," that this sight reveals the inheritance of God. You release the mental bondage and limitations of human relationship. It is all done within; "This is Life eternal, to know ME"; and "Be still and know that I AM God" - all carry their wonderful revelation with them. You are beginning to see what this Law of God is calling on you to do when it asks you for consecrating and forsaking. Your taking up your cross is your assuming of the God-power which enables you to "cross" out anything that you formerly accepted as true, which comes from the human senses. It is glorious. Rejoice and be glad. "It is your Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom." "Believest thou this?" It is so.

The consecration, and the "praying without ceasing," take care of themselves. They become automatic, a constant recognition of God in everything and everybody. "Heaven and earth are full of Thee."

When a man becomes SELF-conscious he loses his self-CONSCIOUSNESS. When the poor little human consciousness lets go of itself, it becomes conscious of the God SELF. Why is it that one will tell you, "When I am alone I play well, I sing well, I speak well"? It is because he forgets himself, and lets go, as it were, and the power, in a more or less degree of perfection, comes into expression. Why, if he can do this alone, can he not do it in public? Because he instantly becomes aware of himself; he drops down to the level of his little self, and finds all sorts of limitations, which he immediately communicates to his audience. If he forgets himself, he will have the Infinite Power expressing through him to the degree that he is able to accept this action of the Spirit. It is Wonderful! "Judge not from appearances, but judge righteous judgment." Do you begin to see what all this giving up is about, and how it is a wonderful opportunity to acquire the real things of life, instead of the shadows?

When a man can give up his love for a thing and let it go, then he can have the thing. When a man can know that no desire for a thing controls him, then that thing can come into appearance. Blessings pour into you from every possible source when you take off the bondage of things, and go back to the spirit which is behind them. When you praise the Demonstrator instead of the demonstration, and the Blesser instead of the blessing, then you can see an infinite flow of manifestation coming into being. But when you stop yourself down to the demonstration, you immediately experience the limitations of that manifestation, just as you do, when you stop yourself down to the self. When you lose self-CONSCIOUSNESS, then you gain SELF-consciousness. Do you begin to see what "letting go" and "giving up" mean? They mean freedom and joy, and a glorious revelation of the Kingdom of Heaven within you here and NOW.

Whatsoever I believe that the Father within me can do, that can He do, according to the teachings of the MASTER. That is why we see some bring out more than others. What can you ask the Father within to do for you. You know just the limit which you can go to. You remember the limit you could go to the human father. You remember you felt that it was your right to ask for certain things. The child next door might have asked for twenty times as much from his father. Why? What do you believe that your father can do for you? That is ALL that He can do, even though all riches, glory, and honor belong to him. Do you begin to sense the word "Father," and the command, "Call no man your father," and all that goes with it? "Be still and know that I AM God." Just what you conceive God to be as your Father, that can you ask to be brought into manifestation. Do you begin to see that God is no respecter of persons? "Claim your right and press your claim." Who are you, anyway - and what about it?

Just what you can ask God for, that He can do for you, seems such a strange statement, and yet the only place you can know God is within your consciousness. and what you know HIM to be there is all He can possibly be to you. No matter what He may be to another, to you He is only what you know Him to be within your own consciousness. If you know Him as a God of wrath, and one who constantly sends affliction, then He apparently is just that thing. If He is a God of blessings, then you are filled with blessings, and so on. "Awake thou that sleepest, and Christ shall give thee light" ; the Light that is to light you unto salvation from all the limited human beliefs that have hoovered about you so long. It is Wonderful!

"Come apart from among them, and be ye separate." The contemplation of God is glorious. It will fill you with light, and strength, and power. "Behold, I place before you a blessing and a cursing; choose." No one else can make the decision for you. It is up to you. You must do the choosing and be blessed or cursed, according to your choice. God does not force it upon you. "Awake, awake, wake and rise from the dead [beliefs], and Christ shall give thee light." "Arise and shine, for thy light IS come, and the Glory of God IS Risen upon you." Even as I AM writing this unto you, I feel the floods of this Love pouring out to you as you read, whoever you are, wherever you are. Suddenly the flood-tides of Love are pouring over you like a waterfall, covering the whole world. You are inundated with this Power and Love, and the Presence is lifting you right out of the human beliefs that have bound you so long. Blessings, blessings, blessings, millions of blessings. You are thrilled and filled with this sudden outpouring of Love, and Life, and Power. It is Wonderful! And So It Is.

Perhaps the word "miracle" stands between you and the manifestation of perfect health and happiness. You have looked at the appearances so long, and become so hypnotized by them, that you have come to this conclusion that only a miracle could change this thing. Get rid of this idea. Miracles belong to the uninitiate. God is not filled with miracles. He is not moved by a certain prayer to suddenly set aside His Laws, and perform a miracle. The Law of God is a constant light of revelation, which shows to man "what is the height and depth and breadth of His wondrous Love." Your condition is only as powerful as you believe it to be. "Just what you ask God for, that can He do for you." Can you ask HIM (believing that ye have already received) for perfect health? Be still. Presently, and at an unexpected moment, your "Belief" in HIM shall be rewarded. The manifestation shall come forth, and you shall stand revealed to yourself. "Ask and ye shall receive." There is something so definite about this, and so everlastingly true. "Just what you can ask God for, that can He do for you." And so, you see, you shall receive what you ask for in Spirit.

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