Divine Love Article by Al -- for World Healing Crusade

[jeanne]

Geoff, Al , Elizabeth and I have been invited to introduce Divine Love to the World Healing Crusade -- a worlwide organization with 2500 members. Dr. Tim O'Higgins (a member of this forum) first discovered Geoff's site, Geoff referred Tim to us and after a few skype and email contacts, Tim invited Elizabeth and Al to write articles for the organization's newsletters. Tim is now working on an itinerary that includes presentations to introduce Divine Love and participate in prayer circles in Blackpool and Manchester England, then Dublin Ireland! All going well, we're off to England and Ireland the first 2 weeks of October!

The following is a copy of Al's submission to their newsletter:

Feb. 6, 2013
Al Fike, Vancouver Canada
An introduction to Divine Love:
For many, God is a nebulous or unwanted concept of omnipotence and control. At best a benevolent dictator who likes to interfere with human existence. For some, God is a real and loving being who is eager to assist us in our life and spiritual well being. I belong to the latter category. God has touched my soul in ways that I would find difficult to describe here but suffice to say that once I accepted that He and I could have a knowing of each other, my life changed.

I started my spiritual quest when I was young. I cast about, trying different spiritual/religious constructs but did not find what I was looking for until I discovered almost by accident, the path of Divine Love. At that time I was looking into the spiritual teachings of the east so the premise of God’s Love touching my soul was so simple that, at first, it eluded me and my mind did not accept it . Yet, once hearing about it, something deep inside me was burning with joy and recognition so I persisted in this pursuit. That was forty years ago and I am so grateful for that inner prompt because the path that I stumbled upon has been my saving grace, the Amazing Grace that that wonderful hymn refers to.

What is the Amazing Grace? It is a blessing received in prayer and communion with God. It is that deep peace that comes from a profound connection with the Divine. It is an opening of your soul to the Divine essence, the Love of God. Yes, a part of God, His Love, can be gifted to you if you are open to it and if the conditions are right, you will recognize this blessing as it pours into you and it can happen again and again. This intoxicating breath of God is unmistakable as all those fears and doubts that we harbor within seem to disappear and the presence of the Creator comes near upon a wave of all encompassing love and joy. The mystical ecstasy that has been described in the bible, time and time again is this experience. The door is open to the kingdom that Jesus speaks of. The skeptical mind is overwhelmed by the ecstatic Love of God. Now who wouldn’t want an experience like that as the Holy Spirit touches your soul and a deep and dynamic relationship with the Divine is forged?

Being touched by this Love is not just a transitive jolt of good feelings. It changes you from the inside out, from soul to consciousness. Many of us have no idea what soul is. We believe it is there because we are told of it, yet like an organ in the body, there is no definitive awareness of where it is or how it works. Most of us get a glimpse of it when we feel deeply or are touched by an extreme event. Emotions and insights well up from some place that feels a bit obscure and vague but real. The soul does talk to us in this way but its presence is usually felt when the mind is overwhelmed by intense emotions or events. Thus making contact with your own soul is, at best, unpredictable and mostly unreliable. Ever gone to church and felt nothing but a mild interest in the vicar’s sermon? Words often do not bring one to an awareness of soul. Of course prayers are words but if those words are not coupled with a longing and intensity to reach God, then it will not happen nor will you become consciously aware of your soul.

Religious expression can be done by rote but the real purpose of going to a house of God is to have a soulful communion with Him. How many of us are able to put aside our busy thoughts and focus in this way? Instead, church going and prayer become ritualized and a rote practice without those deeper parts of ourselves involved and we find that we are in a place that is both empty and mechanical as God gets lost in the words and the rituals.

The struggle to know the soul and having the soul touched by the Divine has been a challenge since the beginning. For those of us who are compelled to reach inwardly to our true selves and outwardly to God, this challenge faces us daily. There is no elevator to the top, just hard work. Prayer discipline is a must and that includes taking time daily for prayer and contemplation. It means being honest with ourselves as to our true desires and motivations towards a spiritual life. It requires a commitment to set aside our mental clutter and plummet the depths of our being and from that place, reach out to God for the blessing of His Love. Going within has its own challenges as we are confronted with parts of ourselves that rarely see the light of day. The raw honesty of being with yourself in this way is not without discomfort or pain. So many of us keep ourselves very busy so as to avoid such discomfort. This inner journey is not for the faint of heart yet it is compelling and rewarding as most honest and sincere inner work is. Past the pain and discomfort comes a bliss and a growing opening to the Divine presence and Love. The journey to knowing God begins in this way and is endless in as much as the body of God is endless as are His expressions and manifestations. Nor does His Love have any limits.

For those who are intrigued by the possibility of experiencing the blessing of the Divine Love and communing with the Creator in this way I would urge you to take ‘the great experiment’. That is to sit three times daily in prayer for three weeks and say the following prayer with as much sincerity and earnestness as you can muster:
Our Father, who art in heaven, we recognize that Thou Art--art all holy and loving and merciful, and that we are the children of Thy care and not the subservient, sinful and depraved creatures that our false teachers would have us believe.

That we are the greatest of Thy creations and the most wonderful of all Thy handiworks, and that we are the objects of Thy great Soul's love and tenderest care. That Thy will is that we become at one with Thee and partake of Thy great love which Thou hast bestowed upon us through Thy mercy and desire that we become, in truth, Thy children; and not through the sacrifice and death of any one of Thy creatures, even though the world thinks that one Thy equal and a part of Thy godhead.
That Thou will open up our souls to the inflowing of Thy love, and that then will come Thy holy spirit to bring into our souls, this, Thy love in great abundance until our souls may be transformed into the very essence of Thyself; and that there may come to us faith--such faith as will cause us to realize that we are truly Thy children and that we are one with Thee in very substance and not in image only.

Let us have such faith as will cause us to know that Thou art our Father and the bestower of every good and perfect gift, and that only we, ourselves, can prevent Thy love changing us from the mortal to the immortal.

Let us never cease to realize that Thy love is waiting for each and all of us, and that when we come to Thee with faith and earnest aspirations, Thy love will never be withholden from us.

Keep us in the shadow of Thy love every hour and moment of our lives, and help us to overcome all temptations of the flesh and the influence of the powers of the evil ones who so constantly surround us and endeavor to turn our thoughts away from Thee to the pleasures and allurements of this world.

We thank Thee for Thy love and for the possibility of receiving it, and believe that Thou art our Father--the loving Father who smiles upon us in our weakness, and is always ready to help us and take us to Thy arms of love.
We pray thus with all the earnestness and longings of our soul, and trusting in Thy love give Thee all the glory and honor and love that our finite souls can give.

The prayer is very beautiful, it was given by inspiration to an American lawyer about one hundred years ago. He was a medium and believed that these words were from Jesus. To the degree to which you can cry out from soul will greatly determine a successful outcome. In fact you do not actually need any words at all, or simply make up your own if you prefer.
How will you know that something is happening? You will feel something come into you. It may be a feeling of warmth or an opening in the chest area or a feeling of deep peace. I have felt all of these things and much more.

The benefits will flow into your life very rapidly, almost immediately. This Divine Love will cause a great shift and change within. Most who take up the challenge are rewarded with at least one wonderful experience of Love and closeness with the Creator. The words themselves ask for as much. Asking is key and letting go is another. Your ego cannot be involved in this venture. We come to God as a child and in our innocent, heartfelt supplication, God our Father answers in Love and bliss. A certain amount of faith is required as well, since the entire enterprise is built on a foundation of faith.

I want to encourage you to try the experiment, take the leap of faith and see what happens. If you are a seeker and want to know spiritual truth I will guarantee you a measure of fulfillment and the gratification of your soul’s desires. No one can do this for you, or tell you exactly what it is because words are inadequate to describe your journey to God and it is yours alone to experience. It is transformative and mystical. It is also dynamic in its transformation of your inner self. One learns what true loving is and all those impediments to this are expunged as more Love floods into you. The cleansing of the soul is part and parcel of the journey but the unburdening is well worth the pain and struggle. It seems that no life altering experience such as this is not without its share of pain, discomfort and adjustments.

Life is a dynamic and changing experience as is our spiritual life. I recommend you just go with it because it is taking you somewhere, somewhere beautiful and joyful. There is nothing to fear, only eager anticipation that you are opening the doors to the kingdom and heaven is where we all want to be. May you be blessed on the road and may your souls be inspired to step forward onto this path. I know I’ve never had any regrets. Good luck to you. ………. Al Fike

[Kathryn]

What a beautiful submission Al in sharing how you came to know and trust Divine Love.

I love what you had to say about Amazing Grace – the beautiful gift and blessing of Gods’ Divine Love and when it indwells within our souls it provides us with such great faith that the skeptical mind is overwhelmed by the ecstatic Love of God.

I pray for the day that hundreds and thousands of people(souls), even if skeptical, just take the test and try it and then decide.
After reading your article and then looking up the World Healing Crusade, I cannot help to feel very excited of this invitation.

VERY EXCITING!

Love & Blessings, Kathy

[Geoff]

Tim also wanted a more "secular" article, and I offered one that Michael Nedbal and I collaborated on last year. I don't think I will copy it here, because that tends to make things less "publish worthy". We described the P messages as "a philosophy of progression"

love,
Geoff

[Zack]

Yes! I think it's a wonderful article, clear and quite easy to approach. Many thanks, Al. Love, Zack

[Kristy]

What a wonderful submission and an awesome opportunity! I immediately reflected on the "the call" that we read about in the angelic messages that y'all received while in Australia and thought: "Get ready to Rumble" - it's just the beginning.

[Kristy]

I have to share this and probably the only ones that would believe it are those that are here ....

I play scrabble "with the computer" regularly and believe that in the past I have received a couple messages from God through played words by the computer on the scrabble board. Right!? I hope I haven't lost you already. A couple weeks ago I was so inspired after I read the messages received by the prayer circles while Jeanne and Al were in Australia, I prayed to God that I would receive a specific signal from him. There are 2 ministers I know that seem to me to be "open" and I prayed to our Father to please message me with "Chuck" or "Tom" on the scrabble board (both are valid words). Depending upon which name was played, I would set up a meeting with that person to discuss the Divine Love. That very day on the scrabble board the computer played the word "Fyke". You see "Fike" is not a valid scrabble word. I thought, OK, like I originally was going to do, I should wait for a lead from Al or Jeanne to determine the best way for me to get engaged with the "call". Earlier this morning I read the submission that Al sent in for the conference and within it was for me a very enlightening means to communicate about the Love. Moreover, when I re-read the angelic messages it was very clear that I should not "think" my way through the question, I should wait to be called. So now I am planted and extremely excited. Here ends my tale.

[Kathryn]

Hi Kristy - I totally believe you

I have had God speak to me via the radio. I have shared this incredible story with Jeanne & Al before.

In a nutshell, I had a few weeks to make a huge life decision as I was asked to administrate my Grandfather's estate due to the fact that I had just recently found out that some of my family members, who I thought were very well off, turned out to be criminals and had run his estate to the ground. Their criminal activity involved taxation fraud with our government - and I am talking a couple of million dollars here.

I was very hesitant to take on this task knowing that I would have to deal with these family members. I had about a month to decide and part of this responsibility involved maintaining a home (my deceased Grandad's home) for an Aunt (my deceased Father's youngest sister) who is mentally unwell and so I did not want her to be homeless.

I was very close to my Father, a super "daddy's girl" and he died when I was 33 and I was heartbroken. I had picked a very special song for him for his funeral called "Here in the Heart of Me". This song was not a very popular song at the time of my Father's death but I loved the words and it was a song that just made me think of my "Dad" and our special connection that could not be taken from me even after his death.

Fast forward seven years post my Father's Death when I was trying to decide if I should administer my Grandpa's estate knowing that I would be entangled with these criminals, I had just come out of seeing a play at a theatre one night, got into my car, turned on the radio and that special song was playing on the radio. A song that wasn't even popular 7 years prior. I felt at that very second a surge of warmth and tingling all over my body and God telling me to do what needed to be done and that all would be okay and that he would protect me from all evil. I knew at that very moment that I would administer my Grandad's estate.

Fast forward 9 years later. I have been sued by those family members (a couple of which who are now in jail) as they have tried to bully me and each time the judge has struck out their claims entirely. I have cleaned up the estate and took care of for my disabled Aunt (I became very close with my Aunt and my bond with her has brought me so much joy). I am hopefully going to be discharged from this responsibility in March of this year 9 years later.

Would I do it again? You bet I would - with God by my side I did what needed to be done and although there were times I was extremely frightened, I always remembered that day in the car when a strong message was sent to me from the heavens above via that song on the radio.

I believe God and his Divine Angels speak to and communicate with us in many different ways - why not a scrabble board

Love & Blessings, Kathy

[Geoff]

Dear Kathy,

Good on you and what a great story,

hugs
Geoff

[AlFike]

Hi Kristy. This is a great story and I am very much suprised by the celestial word play. Often people mistake my name for Fyke, which is Scottish for to plow 'Fyke the fields". I'm glad that you are sensative enough to pick up the signals and do the dance in this way with God. It must be very entertaining for both sides. I'd love to hear more of your stories.
As for Kathy's story, I've heard her retell it before and it is inspiring to hear.
God bless both of you for exercising your faith in this way. Kristy, I had no idea I was speaking in code. I hope this is not the beginning of the cult od Al Divine speak. Spirit said that there would be suprises but this is ridiculous .
Have a wonderful day. Much love.......Al

[Terry Adler]

Al, I love your article! Every thought rings true for me. You honor the uniqueness of the journey for each soul, you acknowledge the discomfort that is part of the process of transformation, and you inspire through your personal story.
Kristy and Kathy, thank you so much for your examples of how the Creator finds ways to "speak" to us that match our needs and circumstances so beautifully! Such stories strengthen my faith and gratitude for the Creator and His/Her creativity!
Geoff, I would really love to read the article you and Michael collaborated on. If you think it is inappropriate to post it on the Sanctuary, would you consider emailing it to me? I have been thinking about how different ways of "storying" our faith in the Creator are necessary to reach different people and it sounds as if your article would appeal to the more cerebral amongst us.
With love to you all!
Terry