Divine Timing

If you want to experience more harmony, happiness, and effortless manifestation of your desires in life, you have to let go of all resistance towards whatever that comes your way. The reason why we fight against what comes is because we think that we are being kept from having our way. But the truth is whatever that happens is exactly what is meant to be, and it is all part of the process of the manifestation of our desires. Everything is happening in divine timing and we can flow if we do not limit ourselves.

Sometimes you were expecting to meet someone on a certain day, but when that day comes, the person cannot meet you for some valid reason. Flow with it and meet that person on another day. The reason why you might be resisting change of events is because you have been anticipating it and thinking a lot about it. But when it does not happen at the expected time, you do not know what to do in place of it because you do not feel like doing anything else other than that, which you already had in mind.

If something does not happen at the expect time in the expected way, it means it is going to happen at a better timing in a better way. Do not resist what is happening, but instead focus on doing something else. You will discover things gone a much better way after the whole event has passed. You did something important, which enhanced the meeting with the person that would not have happened otherwise. Hence, it is better not to resist what is happening when it is not necessary, but to just go with the flow.

You tend to feel disappointed when you were expecting a particular result at a certain time based on your intention and actions to produce that result. What you intended did not turn out the way you expected and therefore you feel frustrated, worried, and doubtful. That is because you are resisting what is happening. There is always a reason for everything that happens and it is something that is meant to make you a better creator of your reality. If you can stop resisting and gain awareness, you will discover it.

There are no problems, only resistance. Our desires are on their way towards us, but we only fail to receive them because we are resisting them. If you find yourself in a place where you do not fully wish to be, but desire to be in a better place, what makes you think you have to stay where you are instead of moving on? You are resisting your desire to move on because of self-limiting beliefs that you have placed on yourself. It is OK to resist being where you are, but you do not have to resist your resistance.

Resistance can only perpetuate if you struggle against it. If you meet resistance with more resistance, it will only grow stronger inside. Surrendering is a way of embracing your resistance, allowing you to release attachment to it, and see the perfection in each moment. Whenever you have resistance about anything, let it go by accepting it and acting on it. Perhaps you could physically act to move yourself to where you want to be, or you could change your mental actions to realize that things are going well.

There are no mistakes, everything is happening the way it should be. To think that there are mistakes is to think that the universe is defective. If that were the case, everything would fall apart because nothing could ever be sustained at all. The universe is always arranging every intention and its manifestation to happen in the best possible way according to divine order and diving timing. Things are always in perfect flow for perfect enfoldment of their creation. All we have to do is to flow with the flow.

Therefore everything that happens is really good and not evil. If we choose to see things as good, we are in harmony with the flow of the universe and we will see the truth of it manifested from moment to moment. But if we choose to see things as bad, we resist the flow and create the experience of it being bad. The universe does not create mistakes, we do. All the mistakes we experience are when we resist the flow. The universe is always creating through us and when we co-create with it, things are perfect.

Fear is resisting what is. Love is accepting what is. When we resist what is happening, we are living in fear because we feel separated from the universe and that, which we desire. When we accept what is happening, we are living in love because we know that we are one with everything that the universe does and that includes our desires. Because we and our desires were created together by the universe to express and experience itself. We and our desires are the universe manifested into what we call life.

The universe is love, and life is love expressed. The universe wants to play giver and receiver so that there can be the experience of happiness being created as a result. All separation is an illusion created for the purpose of re-experiencing oneness and the joy of it all. Therefore, if you know the truth that the universe loves you, you do not have to fear that you will not have what you desire. Because the universe wants you to experience the fulfillment of the desires, which you were created with to be most glad.

Where you are is perfectly fine. There is nothing wasted although it appears to be so. Everything you have experienced is to be embraced as part of the work that the universe is doing through you. You are only out of the flow whenever you perceive yourself to be so. But when you perceive yourself as in the flow, you will realize that you have always been. That is because there is nothing that enters your experience unless it is part of your purpose. Only incorrect perception makes a thing appear that way.

A life of perfect harmony, happiness, and effortlessness is all about being in the moment and not trying to create for the future. You do not have to set detailed goals about what you want to achieve five, or ten years or even a few weeks from now. By trying to create, you are saying that the universe is not creating through you. The simple way is to allow all your creation of your goals to be inspired as and when they come to you. Less and less do you need to do until when nothing is done, nothing is left undone.

When you have the awareness of divine timing, patience is not an issue. In fact, you do not even need to think of patience because you are never really waiting for anything. You are always acting in the moment and experiencing the instantaneous and spontaneous fulfillment of your desires in every moment, in their own time and own way. Release all resistance to whatever comes your way and make use of it as you flow with perfect flow of the universe. Trust the universe. Everything happens in divine timing.

Praying in faith

Faith is the workings of consciousness. You need to have faith to manifest anything that you desire. Faith is a state where your consciousness is in alignment with your desire. Intending is a conscious realignment of our consciousness on what we want. Prayer is a form of intending. We tend to lose faith over time therefore we must pray to rebuild our faith. Build up yourself on your most holy faith with prayer. Holy faith is wholly faith. The first use of prayer is for edification. It’s to make faith complete again.

We all have a personal magnetic energy field that determines what we attract into our reality. When that energy field is weak, our power of attraction is weak. When that energy field is strong, our power of attraction is strong. You build up your energy field with prayer. Everything in the universe is energy. When energy is not replenished, it diminishes over time as it is converted to other forms. Anything that is alive undergoes a constant act of renewal. You have to keep your faith alive by praying unceasingly.

It is a mechanics of the universe that when you put in 68 seconds of pure thought, it will soon be on its way to manifestation. Many people never hold a thought for more than a few seconds, that’s why they fail to manifest much desires in life. Those who pray weak and fleeting prayers also never get much answer. When you understand the workings of the universe, you can pray more effective prayers. Spend enough time in prayer to have answers arriving. Those that seek God diligently shall be rewarded.

Only emotionalized thoughts have any action influence upon the subconscious mind. A thought only becomes emotionalized when it has been concentrated upon with enough energy. Prayer is a means to emotionalize your thoughts. The subconscious mind affects the universal field of energy which alters reality manifestations. When you pray, you are also carrying your thoughts to the subconscious mind. You are accessing the place of all power where what you want can be delivered to you magically.

Pray in the secret place where there is no interference or distractions. Prayer is a sacred thing. When you pray, you are in direct and intimate communication with The Source. It is just you and God, and no one else. You do not wish to share the space of prayer except with someone special. Your most powerful prayers can take place when you are by yourself. When you are alone, there are no conflicting thoughts from other people to interfere with your prayer. Your frequency is free from contamination.

If you are a Christian, you can plead the blood of Jesus over what you pray for. Acknowledge that it has been purchased by the blood. According to the law of karma, all things have a price. You need spiritual merit in order to receive the equivalent of what you are asking for. The blood of Jesus was shed so that you may be redeemed from the curse of the law and the blessings of Abraham be upon you. The blood gives you legal right in heaven to claim the blessings as yours. Plead the blood for redemption.

The blessings of righteousness are yours. Success, prosperity and preservation of good are yours. We are righteous not by our works, but by faith in the Son of God. The death of Christ on the cross brought the gift of God’s righteousness to the whole world. Those who live under the righteousness of God experience more blessings than those who live according to their own righteousness. This is according to the principle of karma. Having consciousness of righteousness attracts all blessings of the divine.

You have a legal claim to that which you ask for in prayer when you know you are a son of God. All things working according to law on all levels of the universe. When you pray, you are making a claim. Powerful prayers are prayers that come from a place of beingness. You attract what you are. If you think prayer is begging God, then you are praying from a place of no position. If you pray with the consciousness that you are a divine being with joint ownership of the universe, your prayers emanate authority.

Believe that you have received all that you ask. It is sealed by the blood of Jesus. The most sacred contracts have a blood seal upon them which means they cannot be broken. Such is the level of confidence you can have when you pray for the manifestation of your desires. Put yourself in the state of receiving. Imagine that what you want is already on its way and it is fully secured for you. You won’t have to worry, doubt or fear if it wouldn’t come because it will. The feeling of faith is the feeling of assurance.

Put your trust in God more than your prayer itself. Believe that your faith in God always works and your hope in him never disappoints. Prayer is dependence on God. It is an expression that you are depending on the divine when you pray. It is the great act of honor and humility. You are not relying on your own strength but on the strength of God. Do not think that you are acknowledging power to something external when you pray. God is your innermost true self. Prayer is connecting to the core and essence.

Leave with a feeling of assurance or faith. Pray until you reach a point of faith, and then stop. Pray until you feel a feeling of fullness. That is when it is enough. The energy system within you knows when it is full, and will let you know by feeling. It lets you know how long to pray about a matter. You do not want to leave with some lingering doubts and anxiety. Therefore pray complete prayers. Prayer is a deliberate act of redirecting your consciousness onto what you pray for until it becomes your only reality.

Christ our higher self

There are many people in this world that focus on the importance of love and being loving. But it is only those who pursue spiritual intelligence are those who can be truly loving. Loving with ignorance is the root cause of all evil, as many kill, destroy and do stupid things all in the name of love. Whereas loving with awareness is the root cause of all good. One who is spiritually intelligent knows that to love others is to love oneself. Only when you know the true nature of reality can you love with proper love.
There is no such thing as selflessness in the truest sense because there is nothing other than self. The Self is All there is. In the beginning there was One. The One was living infinite being and pure consciousness. It was the Self. That Self is your original nature and true essence. That Self differentiated into the many in order to experience itself as different forms and perspectives. Your true Self is not just your individual soul and body. Who you really are is the entire universe. All that exists is your Total Self.Serve God by realizing Christ as your Higher Self. Christ is nothing to you unless there is a concept of you. Christ is nothing when simply thought of as The Lord. Christ must be considered Your Lord and Your Savior. When Christ is yours, he becomes an extension of your self. Your personal consciousness of your self identity or ego is an aspect of your Total Self. Just like there are multiple personalities within a person’s consciousness, the universe consists of multiple personalities within the God Mind.
Attaining Christ Consciousness means having an expanded sense of self to include the whole universe. The family is an extension of self and the country is an extension of self. Man’s environment is an extension of his physical body. The state of your environment affects the state of your mood. That is because you and your environment are one. Take care of your environment and you take care of your self. Harm your environment and you harm your self. The greatest good of all is the greatest good of you.
Unenlightened Christians condemn enlightened Christians for acting in selfish ways or not being selfless and loving. It is actually those Christians who are selfish and not being truly loving themselves. They are being selfish for protecting their own spiritual ego and not seeing past themselves to know what is true. It is often those who think they are more spiritual than others who are the least spiritual. To pursue spiritual intelligence more than love is the most loving thing one can do, because true love is wise.
Enlightened Christians know that following the principle of non interference can be the best way to help others sometimes. When we take away the lesson from which they can grow, we destroy their ability to rely on their own strength. We have to become their god instead because they now depend on us for salvation of their needs. A well meaning but foolish person helped a butterfly break from its chrysalis. But in so doing, killed the butterfly instead because it couldn’t develop the strength needed for flight.
To love with wisdom is to truly love. People who seek to change the world without wisdom often make it even worse. Much of the great work of charitable and government organizations do with tremendous sums of money to solve big problems in this world, actually create more of the same problems. That is because the true problem is not caused by lack of money and therefore money cannot solve it. The root of problem is in the consciousness of those experiencing it, and unless it is changed, nothing will.
This is the topsy turvy state of the world. We tend to look at the size and amount of what other people give and think they give a lot, when what truly matters is the impact of their giving. There are some wise people who seem to give a little but yet their giving cause the greatest impact and contribute to the greatest good of humanity on the long run than all the big gifts of unwise people put together. The greatest act one can do is the act of non-doing, which is to do nothing that goes against the natural order.
For a person who realizes that the Self is God, there would be no need for anyone else to tell them to serve God, to surrender to God or to live for God. They would do for God because they are doing it for themselves. God is not something a part from us in another time and space. God is where we are, in the same time and space. All is God because All is One. When you take on the Mind of God as your own true mind, obedience becomes a non issue. It is because God’s will is realized as your true will.
We are all here to rediscover who we are and to know God. We have been given freewill to choose our own thoughts and beliefs. We can choose to know God as fully as we want to, or we can choose not to. Some people know God only halfway even though they think they know God fully. It’s because they still identify God as a separate being from themselves. Those who choose to know God to the fullness realize God as their Self. There is no one else but God. To know God fully is to know our Self fully.
We are all personal aspects of God, although the Most High personal aspects are the trinity. We are literally God in form or God in the flesh. We are meant to give our help where we naturally have love for; because that is the part we have chosen by our higher self to play in this universe. Follow your heart because it is programmed with the instructions of your specific purpose in this dimension. Love that which you have love for and let others love what they have love for. Play your unique part as God here.

Principles of Hermetic

The Theory of Everything which all scientists of the world are looking for has already been existing in ancient times. It is found in what is known as Divine Science.

It exist as the Seven Hermetic Principles of Hermes Trismegistus (Trice Greatest). The seven principles explain the nature of all reality in the most perfect, complete and concise statements.

The Seven Hermetic Principles and the Hermetic Philosophy are now contained in the Kybalion written by Three Initiates.

The Kybalion is the master key that unlocks all the doors of the Temple of Knowledge. It is the Light of Understanding that illuminates all the pathways of knowledge.

It is the highest Source Knowledge above all other source knowledge. It is the ultimate core of all cores. It contains The Principles of all principles.

THE SEVEN HERMETIC PRINCIPLES

The principles of truth are seven; the seven hermetic principles, upon which the entire Hermetic philosophy is based, are as follows:

1. The Principle of mentalism: “The All is mind, the Universe is mental.”

2. The Principle of correspondence: “As above, so below; as below, so above.”

3. The principle of vibration: “Nothing rests, everything moves; everything vibrates.”

4. The principle of polarity: “Everything is dual; everything has poles; everything has its pair of opposites; like and unlike are all the same; opposites are identical in nature, but different in degree; extremes meet; all truths are but half-truths; all paradoxes may be reconciled.”

5. The principle of rhythm: “Everything flows, out and in; everything has its tides; all things rise and fall; the pendulum swing manifests in everything; the measure of the swing to the right is the measure of the swing to the left; rhythm compensates.”

6. The principle of cause and effect: “Every cause has its effect; every effect has its cause; everything happens according to law; chance is but a name for law not recognized; there are many planes of causation, but nothing escapes the law.”

7. The principle of Gender: “Gender is in everything; everything has its masculine and feminine principle; Gender manifests on all planes.”

There is no portion of the occult teachings possessed by the world which have been so closely guarded as the fragments of the Hermetic Teachings which have come down to us over the tens of centuries which have elapsed since the lifetime of its great founder, Hermes Trismegistus.

The term occult simply means hidden or concealed. The reason why it is hidden or not easily revealed is because it is the most powerful kind of knowledge in the universe. The lips of wisdom are closed except to the ears of understanding. A prudent man conceals knowledge. It is revealed only to those who are ready for such power.

The principles of the occult are usually hidden from view in plain sight. They are there for everyone to notice and realize in the workings of nature, life and the universe.

But most people having eyes yet unseeing and having ears yet unhearing. They perceive not, neither do they understand because they do not have clarity of discernment.

Secret Knowledge is the most powerful kind of knowledge. It is about knowing how things work and understanding what’s going on.

Knowledge is power. In order to rob the Children of Light of power, the Devil takes the most powerful knowledge of the universe and associates himself with it. He causes the Church to shun such knowledge as Satanic so that people will abstain from it. In doing so, he keeps the world in as much ignorance and powerlessness as possible.

The Bible says that the Angel of Light Lucifer was full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. But because of his belief that he can be God, he wanted to exalt his throne above the stars of God, upon the mount of the congregation, to the sides of the north and to become like the Most High. (Ezekiel 28:11-19) Therefore Jesus cast him out of heaven and he and a third of heaven’s angels who joined him made their dwelling place on the Earth.

Lucifer wants to make himself known as the God of the Universe, even higher than the God of Christianity. Because he was full of wisdom and perfect in beauty, he had complete knowledge of the workings of the entire universe and was the most powerful heavenly being. The name Lucifer means Bringing Light.

Lucifer uses universal knowledge in any of his work so as to present an abundance of truth and light to people. Universal knowledge is received by people from God through direct inspiration. But Lucifer’s great deception is organizing it in the most subtle and ingenious ways to lure mankind away from the true God of Christianity.

The Devil’s only real weapon is the weapon of Deceit. By deceiving good as evil and evil as good, he weakens his enemies minds towards opposing him. You are never too far away from error. It’s only a few degrees away from the truth. You are never too far away from the truth either. It is only a few degrees back.

Rat poison is 99 percent wheat and 1 percent poison. He that has ears to hear let him hear. The occult is in every area of human science, arts, religion, philosophy and business. There is no escape from it. Truth is mixed with error in every place. It is only stupidity to shun truth just because there is error. This is one of the main causes of ignorance. We are called to be a light in the darkness, for what good is there with light among light?

Only the truly wise see through such things and know how to discern without the perceptive filters imposed by other lesser minds. The opposite is true, those that see through will become wise. The Devil loses when we know the Truth. Clarity is victory, obscurity is defeat.

The Devil plays the game of mixing truth and error knowing that one out of four situations can happen. Three which are in his favor and only one in yours. Because it is the nature of the subconscious mind to make associations, he knows that the first two situations that could occur would be:

1. You would think that they are both true.
2. You would think that they are both false.

To exercise discernment which is an aspect of the conscious mind, is to differentiated between what’s real and what’s not. The next two situations that could occur would be:

3. You would believe the lie as the truth and the truth as the lie.
4. You would discern what is truly true and what is truly false.

The final option is the one where the Devil is outgamed. To be able to discern correctly requires true wisdom.

The time has come when Children of Light should become wise as serpents, by embracing the truths that were kept hidden away from them and use their God given powers to overcome the Forces of Darkness. Good will always overcome Evil on the mental plane.

The tendency of the universe is upwards and towards good. This is true only with the True Light in control (Jesus), but the reverse is true with the Other Light (Lucifer). All it takes is Awareness. You are unstoppable when you use ultimate power for righteous intention.

The Bible says that Lucifer abides not in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a truth, he is merely using what belongs to Jesus. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own. For he is a liar and the father of lies. Lucifer is no longer really an Angel of Light but a Prince of Darkness.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Universal Knowledge is good because it is originally from God, although Lucifer has it too. The heart of the prudent gets knowledge. A man of knowledge increases power.

But believing in Jesus Christ as God and your savior from your sin through his death on the cross and resurrection on the third day is the key to eternal life. This is the true saving knowledge that Lucifer doesn’t want you to embrace. What good does it profit you to gain the whole world but lose your own soul?

The false security mentality

The church is meant to be the place of the greatest good, but contrary to mass thinking, it can also actually be the place of the greatest evil. When the way of Christianity is taught in a way that is faulty, it can actually do more harm than all the other evils in the world. That is because when people think they are being led to do good when it is actually evil that they are doing, it is even worse compared to when they are doing evil but know that it is so. Evil presented as good is the greater evil than evil by itself.
It is better to be out there in the world, than to be in a church with the wrong kind of mentality. Instead of bring people to salvation, such a church would actually lead more people to hell. It doesn’t necessarily mean the literal hell, because Christians would still go to heaven after they die. But while on earth, they would be experiencing the effects of hell over their lives, even more so than the world alone could ever cause. They would be experiencing lack of power, freedom and happiness, which is hell indeed.
The two reasons why the church is in such a state, is because of the ingenuity of the devil and the stupidity of men. The devil knowing that he cannot outrightly oppose the power of the church with the world, has cleverly manipulated the church mentality, so as to cause it to destroy itself with its own power. The power of the church is that of godliness. By changing Christians idea of what true godliness is to an inferior form of godliness and making it as a superior form, the church is made worse than the world.
Truth always exists in a state of balance. By pushing to one extreme or another, it becomes falsehood. Perfect truth is always the integration of two opposite half truths. The church is actually meant to be a superior state of the world. But its mentality has been shifted to pit itself against the world. It rejects many things that the world and the devil use when those things are actually neutral. By doing so, the church loses much power, freedom and happiness, which is why the world is better than the church.
The world does not have so many of those restrictions that the church brought unto itself. Christians refrain from pursuing certain knowledge that is considered occult, which is why they remain in ignorance. Christians refrain from being exposed to certain activities classified as secular, which is why they are weakened in their ability to handle such things. Therefore children of world are wiser than children of light. All things are actually neutral and it’s only the intent of the user that determines good or evil.
The devil may play a part, but it is the stupidity of men that allows such things to take place. Sometimes when considering whether it is the devil’s work or the stupidity of Christians that is the greater factor, the answer might very well be that it has all got to do with the stupidity of Christians and nothing to do with the devil. One can devise great plans to conquer, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself. Many Christians do not use their God given right to think intelligently.
A stupid person cannot be considered to be good since he does good things without knowing any better. Only one who can see both sides and choose to do no evil can be considered to be truly good. The church has kept its people in ignorance so that they will do only what it considers to be good without knowing any better. This is truly evil since the people will not know whether what they are doing is truly good in the first place. The only way to having true goodness is by developing conscious goodness.
A bad guy who turns good becomes truly good. That is because the bad guy has seen the bad side and now makes a conscious choice to choose the good side. A good guy who turns bad was never truly good in the first place. That is because he simply did good things without knowing what the bad side was like. Then when he has seen the bad side, he makes a conscious choice to choose it, which means he would never have been good in the first place if he was given a view of the two sides at the start.
Do not be afraid to enter Satan’s territory even to the point of falling out from Christianity. One who passes from light to darkness and back to light is more powerful on the side of light than ever before. The majority of Christian theory causes many people to be afraid of entering Satan’s territory lest they be corrupted and turn away from God. How can we call ourselves true Christians if we never made our choice based on complete awareness of light and darkness? The truest Christians are the fully conscious.
The principle of defying mass consciousness in Christianity in order to know God, is also the same principle in the world for achieving success. The only way to be at the top is to get there in the same way that those at the top got there. What is considered dangerous by the masses is safe to a master, because of his greater competency in handling those things, whether be they investment strategies or spiritual issues. He has ploughed through those things and learned so as to achieve mastery over them.
You need the challenges to develop the necessary skills in your area of business to become powerful. By taking the safe and easy path, you’ll never face the challenges which will give you greater mastery. You will never develop your strength because you are not required to use it anyway. It is not the investment that is risky, but it is the investor that’s risky. It is not the temptation that’s strong, but it is the person that’s weak. The only danger is the danger of false security. Being powerful is true godliness.

Are you faithful or fickle?

Have you noticed that some words fairly drip with meaning? Even the sounds of these words help convey their meaning. You know the kind I mean. Words like: snap, boom, sizzle, (or fizzle) – words like expunge, lunge, whack and whirl. Interesting, you might say, but not very significant. Yet words do have an impact.

As we deal with other people on a personal level, whether it is those who provide services to us, or fellow workers, or those with whom we interact socially, sometimes we have a good experience and at other times we are let down, disappointed or maybe even abused by the actions of others. Certainly, there are some positive experiences that we all desire along the way.

There are many colorful words to describe people. On the negative side there is the “feckless” person who doesn’t have a clue. You know the type; ineffective, incompetent, having no sense of responsibility, one who is indifferent and lazy. Things just don’t work out for this kind of person, but it never seems to be his or her fault. Someone else or some circumstance is the cause of their problems, at least in their own eyes.

Then there is the “fickle” person who is likely to change course because of lack of commitment or instability. This kind of person is not constant or loyal. A fickle person is easily distracted and is blown about by every wind. You probably don’t want them on your team, no matter what your endeavor.

And then, there is the faithful person. You know the type; one who is true to one’s word, steady in allegiance, being loyal and constant, reliable, trusted, believed. This is a rare trait. King Solomon wrote about it in Proverbs 20:6, “Most men will proclaim each his own goodness, but who can find a faithful man?” Jesus also commented on it in Luke 18:8, “Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”

It is a rare commodity today, but there are a faithful few who can be counted upon. These individuals are highly prized, or should be, in every organization or endeavor. They are the bedrock, the backbone that steadfastly cling to the values and core beliefs that sustain and propel a person or an organization forward, regardless of the obstacles faced.

Now, not everyone can be neatly categorized into one of three groups. Life is not that simple, and we all have our good days and our bad days. But, in the main, our habits and our attitudes determine our results, our success or our failure. Again, King Solomon wrote much about the “wise and the foolish” in the books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes.

The words “feckless and fickle” seem to characterize the foolish and the word “faithful” characterizes the wise.
“Even a child is known by his doings” wrote Solomon, long ago (Proverbs 20:11). So as we go our way each day, let us not be feckless or fickle, but faithful to those who depend upon us and to the Way of life described in the Bible. For Christians especially, it is the only way that brings true happiness and success.

Greater success to fulfill a great purpose

Untold millions of people in our modern society are striving for "success." They read books, listen to tapes, attend seminars and do all manner of things in order to be successful. But what is "success?" It is vital to realize that you cannot attain true success unless you fully understand what it is! Many people equate success with having or making a lot of money. Others feel that if they could just become a famous star of film, television, music or sports—or reach any kind of "celebrity" status—that would make them successful. But would it, really? When it came to making money, J. Paul Getty was the most "successful" man of his generation. He was worth billions of dollars at a time when a dollar was worth at least two or three times what it is today. Yet he had a failed marriage, was often lonely and frustrated, and has been widely reported to have said: "I would give up all the money I have ever made if I could just have one happy marriage!" Surely most of us are aware that countless television, film and sports celebrities end up very frustrated later in life. The stories of their involvement in heavy drinking, drug addictions and marital discord—and their all-around "emptiness"—are legendary. Younger "stars" quickly come along to replace them, and without any sense of an overall goal in life, they wither on the vine. They certainly do not feel "successful" as their celebrity status recedes, their income goes down and people regard them as "has-beens."
The "Key" to TRUE Success
The most important key to genuine success is learning to set the right goals—and learning to doggedly pursue those goals. I say "goals" because it is necessary to set and attain a number of interim goals in preparation for attaining the ultimate goal. Many become confused as to what true success is all about, so they decide that "making money" is one of their major goals. They do not realize that while having generous financial resources may add slightly to the degree of happiness one has already attained, it is not the real source or foundation of happiness or of success. Most truly successful people come to realize that, though millions of others never do. Some of the important areas of success involve one’s family, one’s career and one’s health. Recognized for several years now as the "world’s greatest golfer," Tiger Woods believes his success comes from trust in family, believing in goals, maintaining an unflinching focus and serving in the community. This outstanding young man says: "The many ideals and lessons I’ve learned from my mother and father define who I am and make me proud of who I am. Their unwavering trust and confidence in me keep me going each day. No matter how tough we think we are, we can’t do it alone." His father, Earl, has said that as the two embrace after a win, Tiger always says, "we did it"—never "I did it." An outstanding family can certainly contribute immensely to one’s sense of self-worth. It can help give a person a feeling of stability and purpose, and add immeasurably to one’s happiness and sense of fulfillment. As we become older, if we not only have a loving mate, but are surrounded by loving children, grandchildren and other responsive individuals in an extended family, the deep sense of pride, satisfaction and sense of fulfillment this brings is worth more than all the money in the world! That is why our Creator said: "It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him" (Genesis 2:18). In a loving family, if children and grandchildren come along (eight grandchildren and "counting," for me!), the feelings of warmth, security and happiness that come with this cannot adequately be measured. As the psalmist wrote: "Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them; they shall not be ashamed, but shall speak with their enemies in the gate" (Psalm 127:3–5). And in the very next Psalm, we read: "Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in the very heart of your house, your children like olive plants all around your table. Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord" (Psalm 128:3–4). The American writer/philosopher Elbert Hubbard advised: "Get your happiness out of your work." Those who have pursued a career path that truly "fits" them will all agree that this is a major area in which to build success and happiness—or, on the contrary, to experience frustration and emptiness if the wrong type of career is chosen. Our Creator stated: "Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth" (Genesis 1:26). Mankind was made in the image of the great God. We were made, to a limited extent, to be "like" our Creator—to think, to plan, to rule and to exercise a creative imagination in many different ways. If you direct your path into a career where your capacities can be fully and fruitfully exercised, then your job or career can indeed bring a feeling of success and fulfillment. People who train and discipline themselves to make the "best" cabinets, automobiles or houses can rightly take a great deal of satisfaction from this. A dedicated teacher, physician or similar professional garners a tremendous sense of fulfillment by knowing that he or she has greatly contributed to improving the lives of hundreds or even thousands of people, and helping them reach their human potential more fully. Even so, achieving success only in one’s business or career will leave most people feeling empty. Billionaire J. Paul Getty describes his own emptiness in this regard in his fascinating book, How To Be Rich. After describing how he made his first million dollars by age 24, Getty writes about how he "retired" and plunged "full tilt into the Southern California-L.A.-Hollywood world of fun and frolic." But he then relates: "It took me a while to wake up to the fact that I was only wasting time and that I was bored. By the end of 1918, I was thoroughly fed up. Early in 1919, I was back in the oil business—not a little abashed by the ‘I told you so’ smile I got from my father when I informed him that, having retired at 24, I was coming out of retirement at 26!" Nearly every wealthy person with whom I have talked, or about whom I have read, freely acknowledges that "things" do not make one happy. With the blessing of good health and a happy family, financial success can bring reasonable contentment. However, genuine success goes far beyond financial or business achievements. As a number of authors have stated, in effect, "beyond success lies significance."
Does Your Life Have Deep MEANING?
At certain points in life, most people begin to ask themselves: "Is this all there is?" You need to face that question squarely! For if you are willing to carefully and fully consider the real answer to the question, "Why was I born?" you will be on the road to discovering how to have a truly significant life—a life and a purpose that goes deeper and deeper into fulfilling the ultimate purpose for which you were placed on this earth. Most of you Tomorrow’s World subscribers are no doubt willing to consider that great purpose, or you would not be subscribing to or reading this magazine. So let us now consider how this ultimate purpose relates to attaining "success" in life. Please be willing to think things through carefully, to get at the genuine answers to life’s most important questions—not "quickie answers" that consider only part of the story and give only part of the real answer. Most of you know that Jesus Christ said: "Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word of God" (Luke 4:4). The only written "word of God," at that time, was what most of us call the Old Testament. Notice how Jesus again validated the Old Testament: "Jesus answered them, ‘"Is it not written in your law, "I said, ‘You are gods’’’? If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?" (John 10:34–36). In this passage, Jesus Christ clearly describes the Old Testament as "Scripture," and then states that "the Scripture cannot be broken." I mention this because it is vital that we each prove for ourselves the existence of the very real God—the Creator of heaven and earth. It is also vital that we prove that the Bible is the inspired revelation from God, telling mankind why we are here, and revealing the true purpose for our lives. We need to understand that without this divine revelation—which can be proved—we simply wander around in the wilderness of human confusion. For, apart from such a real God, each man’s opinion is just as valid as every other man’s opinion! Where would that leave us? It would leave us in emptiness and confusion, and in a state of failure to find any transcendent purpose for life. We each need to consider, carefully, what God said: "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth" (Genesis 1:26). As beings made in the "image" of God Himself, created to have "dominion" over the earth, where are we ultimately headed? How can we reach that goal? And will that goal give our lives wonderful meaning?
The Good News
The answer to this last question is a resounding "Yes"! Once you have proved to yourself the real meaning of life—and once you start fulfilling the great purpose of life—every phase and facet of your life takes on significance. Every day is filled with meaning. The morning paper and the evening news are filled with significant meaning as you see, day by day, how God’s purpose for the nations is slowly but surely unfolding, and how each individual’s life is blessed to the degree that he or she is responding to the awesome purpose for human existence. God inspired ancient King David to write: "What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him with glory and honor. You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet" (Psalm 8:4–6). In the New Testament, God inspired the author of Hebrews to repeat David’s words. Then, after the final phrase—"You have put all in subjection under his feet"—the Apostle Paul adds: "‘For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him. But now we do not yet see all things put under him" (Hebrews 2:8). Biblical scholars acknowledge that the phrase, "has put all in subjection under him [mankind]," may well indicate man’s eventual rule over the entire universe! As Paul adds, God "left nothing that is not put under him. But now we do not yet see all things put under him"! For millennia, mankind has studied the moon and stars, and philosophized about how we might reach them someday. With our modern technological capacity, we are now able to "probe" some of the nearest planets in our own solar system. But the vast universe out there—containing stars and planets billions of light years away—would require men and women to live, reproduce and die in some kind of space vehicle for many generations before reaching even the closest edge of other galaxies! So will we conquer space? Yes! We will eventually "conquer" space, but in the way our Creator has ordained. For Paul continued, in this inspiring section of the book of Hebrews: "But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone. For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings" (vv. 9–10). God will eventually use mankind—created in the "image" of God to become full sons of God as Christ is bringing "many sons to glory" (v. 10)—to assist Christ in ruling the entire earth and later, in all probability, the entire universe, as indicated in Hebrews 2:8! Talk about a great purpose! Talk about a transcendent goal! Although most professing Christians have never heard about it, this is the ultimate Good News! This is why you and I were born! We were not created to "float off" to heaven with nothing to do. Rather, God created us to learn to use our time, our talents and our creative capacities to serve our God—our Father, for true Christians are told to address God as "Father" (Matthew 6:9). Remember, God’s word tells us that Jesus is to be "the firstborn among many brethren" (Romans 8:29). We are to be actual "younger brothers"—not "pseudo-brothers" on some lower level of existence, like a cow or a goat is beneath a human being!
God’s Eternal PURPOSE
Again and again, God tells us in His inspired word that those whom God truly calls to understanding in this current age will be given the opportunity to be kings and priests in Christ’s soon-coming Kingdom, and assist Him in ruling over cities and nations—in bringing genuine peace and prosperity and joy to this confused world. Paul wrote: "Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life?" (1 Corinthians 6:2–3). Paul tells us, in plain language, that we have an eventual "goal" of ruling over the nations of this earth under Jesus Christ—if we will believe the plain words of the New Testament, and if we will fully give our lives to God through the true Jesus Christ! In Revelation 2:26, Christ is speaking in the first person: "And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations." Yes, the true saints—the "overcomers" who understand and surrender themselves to God’s great purpose—will be given power over the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, China, Russia and all the nations of this world under Jesus Christ in His coming world government! This is the wonderful "Good News" of the Kingdom, or Government, of God, which the Bible proclaims from one end to the other! No! That part of government will not be up in heaven! For God’s inspired Word pictures the true saints singing to Christ: "For You were slain and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth" (Revelation 5:9–10). After describing how the soon-coming False Prophet "shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High" (Daniel 7:25), Daniel shows the final deliverance and rulership given to the saints of God: "Then the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him" (v. 27). This is not just some allegory or vague dream, as some modern theologians like to imagine! Jesus Himself told the Apostles: "And I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me, that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel" (Luke 22:29–30). Yes! If we will give our lives wholeheartedly to God, through the true Jesus Christ of the Bible, we can attain a degree of success and awesome significance far beyond what most people even begin to imagine! How, then, can we attain a certain degree of success and satisfaction in this life, as we prepare for our ultimate goal? We can do our best in building a solid, God-fearing family. We can develop talent in our chosen career, using the "fruits" of our success to help and serve others. We can follow the principles of good health and try to "glorify God" in our bodies (1 Corinthians 6:20). God certainly desires that we become reasonably happy and successful in these areas. Moreover, truly growing and productive Christians—the "overcomers"—will learn to live a life of personal development and accomplishment to prepare themselves for the coming job of assisting Christ, and straightening out the problems of this world. In doing so—in knowing our ultimate goal—true Christians’ minds should be comforted by the deep "peace of God, which surpasses all understanding" (Philippians 4:7). For Jesus said: "I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly" (John 10:10). But far above and beyond all of this—if we will "catch the vision" of why God created us in the first place, and will "seek first" above all else the Kingdom of God and His righteousness—God will (through His Holy Spirit working with us) fashion and mold us through a life of spiritual growth and overcoming, and make us His full sons in His Spirit-filled family, which will soon rule this entire world! That is true success! Can you imagine the sense of exhilaration and the thrill of helping, feeding, encouraging, teaching and serving the billions of confused, diseased and starving people at Jesus’ return? Can you appreciate the opportunity to bring profound peace and joy into billions of lives by teaching them and leading them in God’s way? All this will indeed bring the final success and fulfillment for which we have been created. There is no greater calling—there is no greater "success"—than to fulfill that great purpose for which you and I were born!