God’s word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
Inspired by Psalm 119: 105
I hear the Word in the functioning of His handy work; It reverberates clear and pure. It says to me, “I can be trusted, lean on me, I will make your pathway true.” In a shout or a whisper, the Word still echoes for me to hear, calling me to a path already prepared.
Excerpts from – GOD&I: Longing After God by Dwane Fritz Gerald
Inspired by John 1: 1 – 4
In the beginning, was The-Word, it existed with God in the beginning, and The-Word was God. That’s how it was with God from the start. All things that came into being were created by Him and through Him, and no creating was without Him. In Him was life and the life was the light of humankind.
From the instance of creation, Elohim The Self-Existent-One spoke, and His Spoken-Word has been alive and active ever since. Even from eternity, it is The-Spoken-Word that holds all of nature in place. It is the life of Creation, the cause behind the cause. Today nothing happens that is not contained in the kernel of that Spoken-Word. Nothing is out of place, nor is anything amended or requires revision. His Word never changes, it is eternally true and an everlasting assurance. One inkling or shadow of change and all that is would never have been.
Inspired by Colossians 1: 15 – 17
The-word became flesh and of such is the visible manifestation of the unseen God, the firstborn of all creation. By Him were all things created in heaven and on earth, both the visible and the invisible; all things were created by Him and for Him. He predates everything, and it is He who ordains all of creation; by Him, they exist.
Excerpts from – GOD&I: Longing After God by Dwane Fritz Gerald
Depression and hopelessness are like cancers; they will destroy the soul from within if I allow them to take root.
Inspired by Proverbs 15:13
When my heart is merry, my countenance is cheerful, but a sorrowful heart wounds my spirit.
I am not, by any stretch of my imagination, a clinical psychologist, nor have I ever been diagnosed with depression. However, I know intuitively from my experiences and those of others that depression, hopelessness, and anxiety have a lot to do with the emotions and spirituality as much as it has to do with any biological issue. I perceive that a good number of these issues are of a soulish origin.
Whenever I become aware that I am feeling hopeless, down, depressed, or anxious, I flood my mind with thoughts of gratitude, thanksgiving, worship, and imaginations of hopeful outcomes. Indulgence in acts of demonstrative love toward others is a companion therapy.
Inspired by Psalm 42: 5
Why are you depressed, O my soul? Why do you moan and rage within me? Hope in God, so I shall yet praise him for the victory of his presence.
This mentality or spiritual beingness; that is taking on the attitude I want to inculcate in myself is a surefire way to rid my soul of despair and anxiety — for example, I clothe myself in a spirit of optimism and serenity instead of depression and worry.
My hope and my trust are not in myself or any other created being or thing. I place my confident expectation in the Eternal I Am, which leaves no questioning of an expected outcome. Paradoxically I best help others who are going through such a state by surrounding them with love and care, helping them to understand themselves to be, and feel a part of, the collective (e.g., A family or a group, etc.).
Through interaction, I convey whichever spirit I am being or have taken on, unto those around. Through loving interaction, I will exude a spirit of optimism and serenity on those who are anxious and melancholy, by being optimistic and at peace.
Inspired by Proverbs 12: 25
A fearful, depressed, and anxious heart weighs me down, but kind, encouraging, and pleasant words cheer me up.
Excerpts from – GOD&I: Longing After God by Dwane Fritz Gerald
Inspired by Romans 12: 2, Ephesians 4: 23 & 2 Corinthians 3: 17
I will not conform to the behavior, customs, and thought patterns of this world, but I will allow God to transform me continually by changing the way I think. By being reformed in the spirit of my mind (that is, my thoughts, imaginations, and attitudes ). God is a Spirit, and where His Spirit is, there is liberty.
Self-talk and imaginations (that induce fear and doubts) point to deep-seated fears or insecurities that I have harbored and allowed to fester into self-defeating thoughts and actions. The roots of these habitual behaviors tend to burrow deep into the crevices of my mind and must be searched out diligently and deliberately to negate them. I am immobilized by such thought patterns if left unchecked.
I replace inhibiting self-talk and imaginations with messages of hope and images of my desired results.
Excerpts from – GOD&I: Longing After God by Dwane Fritz Gerald
Inspired by James 1: 20
My anger and stirred-up emotions do not fulfill the righteousness of God nor His purpose.
My stirred-up emotion is a compelling motivator for sustained and unswerving action towards achieving my desired goals. However, to be guided by The Unseen Hand requires much faith but produces holistic results unimagined.
Dwane Fritz Gerald. GOD&I: Longing After God. Kindle Edition.
Romans 10: 17
Faith comes by hearing and hearing the word/utterance of God.
We live in a time when men and women of faith are increasingly succumbing to the pressures of the world to renege on their beliefs. We are told not to take the scriptures literally, and even to question its relevance in this new fast-changing and technologically advanced world.
But we find that as we give in to this subtle spiritual craftiness, we are rapidly losing our voice, our ability to speak authoritatively to the advancing evils of this current age.
If the word of God is not the ultimate and indisputable standard of our faith, then our beliefs are as baseless as a lunatic’s machinations.
As believers, when we speak, we should speak only of that which we have heard from the mouth of God (His Word), speaking not by man’s authority, which is worthless, but speaking the word of God in the power and might of its author. All other wisdom leads to darkness; only God’s word has life in itself and is light.
Believers, once again, restore the pride of place for the word of God in the temples of your hearts and on your lips, for it is the source of our salvation and that of the world.
Inspired by Romans 8: 28 & 1 Thessalonians 5: 18
I know that everything works together, as if one whole, for the benefit of those appointed for God’s purpose because of His love for them. I am grateful for everything, for this is the desire of God through Christ Jesus for me.
When I label outcomes as good or bad, I limit my available options to those that are within my cognition and under my sphere of influence. In judging life’s events, I become my source instead of being one with The-Source.
Dwane Fritz Gerald. GOD&I: Longing After God . Kindle Edition.
Inspired by Jeremiah 17: 9
My heart (feelings) is deceitful about everything, and incurably so: who can know it?
I derived my self-worth from who I am and not how I am feeling about myself or my current circumstances. My feelings and emotions are fleeting and cannot be relied on to determine my self-worth. My actions should be reasonable and not based solely on emotional impulses.
Dwane Fritz Gerald. GOD&I: Longing After God . Kindle Edition.
John 3: 1 – 21
Jesus told Nicodemus that he must be born again if he desired to enter the Kingdom of God. At the very start of Jesus’ ministry, he declared that the kingdom of God was at hand.
Jesus taught us that when we pray, we should assert that God’s kingdom has come, acknowledging that as believers, the fulfillment of his will is our charge.
All have access to the kingdom of God by way of Jesus, and faith in him and his finished work of atonement on the cross.
By faith in Christ, we are spiritually reborn as citizens of the eternal kingdom of God.
As citizens, let us not only enjoy the liberty we have in the Spirit but likewise, let us also fulfill our responsibility to love as Christ loves.
Inspired by Philippians 4: 8 I choose to meditate on things that are true, honorable, equitable, pure, acceptable, reputable, anything of good virtue and courage, and anything praiseworthy.
I choose the good and the nobler virtues because I become that which I do.
My choices determine my destination. Life is a series of decision points, of which destiny awaits on the other side. NOW choose wisely!
Excerpts from – GOD&I: Longing After God by Dwane Fritz Gerald
God&i 