What are Divine Devotions? It’s a Journal of sorts.  It’s a place where I ask the Lord to give me guidance on a topic of His choosing and I provide a supplemental message with it. How does it work? I tend to put on my headphones and start to listen to music in the background.  Somehow that actually silences my mind to allow the flow to begin.  Next, I start off taking a few deep breaths, then recite The Lord’s Prayer. I then ask Him to choose a scripture that is most relevant to what He wants me to speak on. I grab my Bible, close my eyes and open to a random page. Whatever my eyes fixate on, is the scripture I use as a prompt for me to begin writing.  This begins the true message of divine devotion.  When I’m finished, I either ask for another scripture OR I may shuffle my playlist of songs on my phone. The first song or bible scripture that pops up is relevant to the message of the day.

HEAVEN ON EARTH

 

“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude.  It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice, but rejoices wherever the truth wins out.  Love never gives up, never loses faith,  is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance” 1 Corinthians 13 4-7

 

“I have made you a light for the Gentiles,  to bring salvation to the farthest corners of the earth.” Acts 13:47

 

Imagine if you could bring a little bit of heaven to this earth.  What if I told you it’s possible??  Everything starts from within… by you flipping that internal light switch and radiating love.  Becoming brighter each day, only showing love and compassion to those around you. Oh, how rapidly we could grow as a society if everyone started to do this.  

Self-love is a journey within.  You may think loving yourself as selfish or egotistical, but honestly this is the gas that fuels your car (aka you). If you don’t have self love, you sit idle until someone can fill that tank for you.  But someone else filling it up only gets you so far. You must find yourself, and doing so takes kindness and patience.  

As much as you want to fast-track rapidly to finish the course of the “journey of self,” it’s really a slow process.    I think about how I cook my mawmaw’s famous roast and gravy.   You could cook it in an hour, but it’s going to be tough.   The meat will still be rubbery and tough to eat.   Just like you may look if you try to heal too quickly… looking good on the outside, but you’re still tough on the inside. Your heart is not softened. However, if you let the roast and gravy simmer for a few hours, not only does the gravy taste good, but you are also tender on the inside.   This is like heaven on earth to me…my mawmaw’s famous roast and gravy 🙂

Of course there are times we get irritated and wish for all the pain and insecurities just to go away with a magic wand.  But know it all starts with us.   You must take a long, hard look at what love means to you.  You must begin to love yourself first.   You always hear people say that, but what does that really mean? It means looking at your heart… looking at your fears and regrets.  Knowing all these experiences formed us. There was a purpose for that pain.  Reflect on those experiences.  Let them come to the surface and try to decipher the meaning of your journey.   

Have you begun to open your heart again?  As I’m starting to love life again, doing things I enjoy, I can feel my heart opening like a tulip blooming in the spring…Ready for love and to be loved.  I have simmered long enough, have you?.  It’s time for all of us to bring Heaven to Earth. Love one another.  Love is “patient and kind.” 

The song I hear as I write this is “Heaven on Earth” by Belinda Carlisle.