Psalm 97 Right Relationship

When we allow ourselves to acknowledge the presence and power of God in our lives, we begin the process of understanding our relationship with God.

God is in our consciousness surrounded by mystery (clouds and thick darkness). Despite this mystery, we are given a clear path by the Presence and Power of the Christ within us. Once we understand our right relationship with God (righteousness) and constructively call the laws of Mind into action (justice), we can approach the throne. We can only come forward in the knowledge that we are each children of God, inheritors of the fullness God's estate.

Psalm 25 Grace

One of the most profoundly liberating aspects of the divine/human relationship is the nature of the grace of God. We do not have to be perfect before we receive grace. It does not require us to make amends for our past mistakes (do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions). There is no scorecard. We merely have to change our minds and make God the center of our lives.

Psalm 16 Divine Protection

One of the most important aspects of a relationship with the Divine is that it improves the believer’s everyday life. This is commonly referred to as the protection of God. For the faithful there is a perspective on every situation that is beyond the worldly appearance. Without faith in God and the spiritual perspective, the world seems to be an evil place. This prayer of thanksgiving to God is a strong affirmation of faith that there is no good apart from the Divine. The spiritual life offers us the ability to see any circumstance from the divine point of view (holy ones in the land).

Psalm 26 Integrity

What does the word integrity mean? Most of us think of this word in terms of either being in accordance with worldly standards or some standard we have set for ourselves. This psalm explores an alternate meaning for the word. It is not of our own strength that we claim integrity. It is when we know that God is before us and behind us every step that we can rest in our faith. To stand in integrity is to conform unwaveringly to God’s standard or God’s will through attention to the Christ presence within us.

Psalm 111 Praise as Practice

Many believe that in order to praise God we must go to church or secret ourselves away in prayer and meditation. While these are fine ways to spend time, we must understand that with every breath we take we make a choice whether or not to praise God. If we live in worldly consciousness, we praise that giving our thoughts to the external. When we decide to view all things in our lives spiritually and act accordingly, we praise God.

Psalm 130 Morning Comes

If God were tallying errors how could any us stand tall? But in God’s eyes we are all worthy. God’s nature is merciful, so there is hope for us all. The forgiveness of God merely requires that we be receptive to changing our attitudes and thoughts, and be willing to orient our lives around our relationship to God.

Psalm 48 The Fortress of Love

Love is the most powerful force in the world. This statement sounds idealistic, at best, and insane, at worst, in world of materialism and greed. But those who have attained some level of spiritual understanding know that the power of love can conquer all evil (ungodliness). If we take the time to observe, we can easily see that love has the ability to transform any circumstance. If we can remember to apply the force of love in all of our challenging situations, we will be astounded at the level of security it provides.

Psalm 9 God Our Foundation

When we recognize God as the only Power and Presence in our world we embody the holy life This power can be perceived as having the full authority of the Presence of God at our back. This power is ours if we choose to remove our limited thoughts that prevent us from acknowledging and participating in our heritage of abundance as beloved children of God.

Psalm 20 The Victory

Many people spend their whole lives looking for a victory. Success in a career, marrying the right man/woman, owning a nice home, and financial riches are all external conquests. Although these are nice things to have, they mean nothing without the Great Victory. The victory of Spirit (salvation) within the individual is the only victory that really matters. We need not worry about the petty concerns of the world. For if we successfully attain spiritual enlightenment all of the above and more will be given to us.

But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Psalm 1 The Path to Happiness

So often we find ourselves very unhappy although we are following the culturally prescribed path to happiness. The media tells us if we buy more things, we will be happy. Our friends and family tell us that if we become powerful lawyers, doctors or CEOs we will be happy. These worldly things may bring a semblance of happiness, but it is always transient. Any time that we look outside of ourselves for happiness, we will inevitably be disappointed.

Psalm 98 Breakthrough

Spiritual unfoldment is not a straight upward climb. We find that we have times of major forward progress. Then we reach a plateau stage, where things kind of roll along smoothly. After this phase of development, we typically have some sort of major upheaval in which our faith is tested. If we pass these tests with harmlessness, we begin the cycle again. The shift from upheaval to major advancement is called a breakthrough.

Psalm 22 The Dawn

All of us suffer through experiences where the appearance of things can make us question our relationship with God: whether God is still near us and whether we are worthy of God’s attention. We know better, but at times we are overwhelmed by the enormity of our circumstance. When we are awash in negative thoughts, it feels as if that they have gained control of us. We become overwhelmed because negativity literally dominates our energy (the bulls of Bashan) and can easily run rampant over us until it consumes us. Our vital energy becomes spent (I am poured out like water), our heart is melted, and our mouth is dry. We are as good as dead, for we have lost touch with the current of Life and Spirit. It is always darkest before the dawn.

Psalm 23 Green Pastures

Green Pastures. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Green is term we use to describe those who are inexperienced and childlike in understanding. But “green-ness” is critical to a fresh perspective and new understanding. Although many of us desperately cling to the “same-ness” and stability in our lives, living is about change and transformation. If we fight to stay the same, we find everything continues changing around us. It is in the new that we are best able to embody those childlike qualities, we desire. When we can drop the facade of expertise and knowledge, we allow ourselves to just experience what is. The excitement and anticipation in facing the unknown is palpable.

Psalm 123 Spiritual Pride

Image via WikipediaServants look to their master for direction (hand). And so must we with the Christ within. Those who choose to serve God are given relief from the contempt of the worldly life. This requires a single-minded focus on the spiritual. When we begin to know the nature of God, we can have faith we will be protected in our time of trial. The mercy of God is grace—aid from God in the process of our regeneration. If we allow, Spirit can guide us so that we cooperate to the best of our abilities with God’s Law, and limit our suffering. But we cannot do this half-heartedly; it is an all or nothing proposition.

Psalm 17 Effective Prayer

Image via WikipediaWhen we approach God in prayer, we must do so with an understanding of the Truth. God is divine law and just like the laws of nature there are certain rules (principles) that must be adhered to in order to effectively communicate with God. The golden key is the phrase hears my prayer from lips free of deceit. We must approach God with a pure heart, and God will see the intention behind our supplication.

Psalm 13 In God’s Time

Image via WikipediaHow long? This is the eternal human cry. Waiting on God is one of the greatest challenges every believer faces. We must recognize that we are part of God’s plan not vice versa. It is our responsibility to maintain our faith in the divinely ordained outcome in every situation. Often we believe we are praying correctly for what we want in our lives but we get overly specific. Instead of letting go and letting Spirit reveal Its gifts to us, we become attached to a particular outcome. When we engage in this state of mind, quite often we give up and say that our prayer did not work. We delay the gifts that God has in store for us with wavering faith.

Psalm 93 God in the Center

The one fact is God. All other things are circumstance. -Unknown

If we think about it for a minute, it is a strange thing that so often we feel distant and removed from God. How is it that we experience isolation from a God who always is, has been, and will be in our presence and in our midst?

Psalm 66 God's Grace

Image by hickory hardscrabble via FlickrMost of us are blessed with grace filled moments in which we recognize that all of the blessings of our lives are not because of anything that we have done to deserve them (who has kept us among the living and has not let our feet slip). All of the marvelous works in our life and in the world are because of the nature of God (his name). When we realize that God has taken care of every detail—from our conception, to the beating of our hearts, to the way the brain processes information—we cannot help but give praise. There is so much around us that we cannot explain or replicate with human understanding. All of these gifts give us clues to the character of God.

Psalm 31 Cycles of Growth

As we walk along our spiritual path, our lives and experiences move in cycles. First, there is the time of rapid advancement in which we have a lot of activity going on and our progress feels very real and measurable. These times can be experienced as a high because we are in the flow and we can feel it with every fiber of our being. We feel the Presence and Power of God in a tangible way. These are the times in which we are acutely aware of Divine activity in our lives.

Psalm 16 Divine Protection

Image via WikipediaOne of the most important aspects of a relationship with the Divine is that it improves the believer’s everyday life. This is commonly referred to as the protection of God. For the faithful there is a perspective on every situation that is beyond the worldly appearance. Without faith in God and the spiritual perspective, the world seems to be an evil place. This prayer of thanksgiving to God is a strong affirmation of faith that there is no good apart from the Divine. The spiritual life offers us the ability to see any circumstance from the divine point of view (holy ones in the land).