Ham072003Letting your light shine

Group: Nashville, Tennessee

Teacher: Ham

Topic: Letting Your Light Shine

July 20, 2003

[Note: Also worth reading is the question about whether or not the teaching mission is getting stagnant.]

Ham: Greetings, children, I am Ham and I am grateful to have this relationship meeting time together with you tonight. Far have you come over these past few years. Each one of you is growing and blooming into your true natures. You are bearing the fruits of the spirit in your lives so that you are known as followers of the master, ones who seem to have spent time with him, who understand him not in a doctrinal way, but in a living human way. You are known in the universe as humans who commune with Michael. For you, his friendship is immediate and you exhibit security in his love.

You are people who have journeyed to a distant shore and then returned to give others a glimpse of that shore through your being, through word and deed. Increasingly, as you grow in the spirit, your delight in righteousness leads others toward that state of being.

For many centuries, men have poured over the gospels, they have created doctrine, they have marked lines between right and wrong based upon their reading of these gospels. Men have sought to teach as law what Christ lived in perfect freedom. Spiritual growth requires breaking the chains of tradition. It is forever true that the greater the spiritual influence, the freer the people. Doctrine, covenant, sacrament, all these things are well meaning outlines, but the life of the spirit naturally breaks free of the rules formulated by men.

The Master trusted God completely so he also trusted his fellow men. He trusted those who would come later to record his life and he knew that inevitably doctrine would arise. He himself left no written word, no basis for doctrine except his life as he lived it. He said, "let your light shine before men". Live your lives in such a way that you will shine a little light so that others may see more clearly.

His teachers, his disciples, taught very simple messages, that all men are the sons of God and all women are his daughters, not subjects of a king, not slavish adherents to a fossilized creed. No, the words he chose were liberated sons of the living God. Rejoice, said he, celebrate this knowledge, do not crawl toward God as a servant or a slave, but meet his as a son or daughter would greet a loving Father. This was the most revolutionary step in the long history of religion on this world and still it is incompletely understood because human beings have preferred safety and security and conformity over spiritual liberation.

The Master said, "I have never asked conformity, you should be one in spiritual purpose, but at the same time individual and unique in spiritual expression". All the holy books, all the words of the many wise teachers of yore, these should be respected but not venerated to the point of worship. Words on a page must not substitute for the word in your heart.

This week my children let your light shine. Give forth love and a loving word to all you come in contact with. Release the good news. Give it to others.

What are your questions?

Q" Ham, it was mentioned by a couple of people at the conference that they felt the teaching mission had grown stagnant. Do you agree with that?

Ham: Many times the master was urged to act and his only reply, my time has not yet come. Human beings are impatient. They desire human results in human time. Your time frame is very short and in this era when cultural change is rapid, it is even more seemingly pressing for humans to want to see earthly results from spiritual endeavors. Our time frame is very different. We cannot harvest before the wheat is ripe and our purpose in this generation is to foster spiritual growth in each one of you, individually. This is not the rapid building of a movement, no. This is the slow creation of a foundation for the future. We are working with just a few, a select few, human beings. We are engaging in a great effort to bring those few to higher spiritual levels. This will have its repercussions in the world and these repercussions will be in varying fields of human endeavor for we are not taking you out of your lives, we are enhancing the life you live. And, as you grow in the spirit, individually, your lights will shine before men and you will influence others. These others need not be the multitude, just another few people. Human history is shaped and guided and given direction by just a few people in each generation. This is not supposed to be an exercise in ego exaltation, ever. And those who are impatient, who want to see results now, are putting ego before their greater responsibilities and loyalties to Machiventa and the Master himself. Humility is a hard lesson to learn and pride always goes before a fall.

Q: Do you have anything for Rebecca?

Ham: My daughter, you do well. You are a person who can assimilate a lot of varying information quickly and form directions of thought well. You shall write a book of comparative religion contrasting the fact that Jesus did not write anything down versus Mohammed who wrote nonstop. Yes, you can do it. We will help you.

Q: Jared?

Ham: Yes my son, you are also coming into a productive period. Write both for book and record for again we would like to bring out both. Your mastery of you work continues to improve and this is a wonderful time to work diligently and seriously on this improvement. You do very well my son, be at peace. All is well.

Q: Last week a my friends and I had a conversation about death and life after death. What struck me was how certain I felt, and how confused they all seemed to feel. I did not feel like I should tell them they were thinking wrong, but I really did not know how to help them. Can you either critique my performance or give me some idea of how I might have handled this situation.

Ham: of course. Being certain about your place in the universe, receiving sonship from God is also salvation from death and this psychological readjustment occurs over a period of time. Without clear factual knowledge of the universe, such as is contained in the Urantia book, humans are naturally confused for they are without secure sign posts. Each religion carries conflicting understandings and once the medieval world of heaven, earth, and hell was shattered, there was not substitute conceptualization for the afterlife. In other words, there was no place that souls went, it was all metaphysical. Knowing that your soul and personality are reconstituted upon another physical world, this is only found in the Urantia book. There were and continue to be glimpses of these worlds flashed upon your world from time to time. But these do not give a factual account such as you find in your book. There is really no way to impart your own security with this knowledge without also imparting the knowledge itself. Steering people toward the book is not out of place. But, it is always best to wait until they inquire, where did you get this understanding, before you do so. The Urantia book can be a life preserver thrown to a drowning person. Sometimes they will take it, but most often they will cling to something else, some floating piece of wood that may take them even farther from their destiny. You have piqued their curiosity and they will undoubtedly inquire at some point. In other words wait until the next conversation then you might casually throw the Urantia book into the mix.

Q: May I ask for a personal message for Jim who wishes he were here.

Ham: My son, you do well. This simple job is giving you solid purpose and many opportunities for ministry. Let your light so shine as to give illumination, but not confusion. Demonstrate your living spiritual connection to God and to the Master as you give encouragement and hope to others. And my son, find peace in your heart. Grasp that peace that passes understanding and do not let it go. You are doing well. Have comfort and peace. That is all.

Q: May I ask for my own self?

Ham: certainly, my daughter. My dear, you are doing very well. This conference was a balm to your soul and a much needed retreat from the concerns of the world. Be at peace as you return to this world and your efforts therein. Do not worry that the way is steep or changing, but return always to your relationship with the Master himself allowing his spirit to comfort you and to guide you in all things. Your future will be just fine. Be careful in husbanding your resources and be open to many differing challenges that are coming your way.

Q: Would you mind explaining husbanding your resources?

Ham: Well, this is referring to being careful with your resources, in other words be a little bit miserly, be just careful so that you will have it when you need it.

Q:Do you have a personal message for Norbert?

Ham: Certainly, my son, you do very well. Be patient at this time for impatience is the curse of youth and many hasty decisions lead to long- lasting effects. Try to be content in what is right now. Move slowly and carefully. Go in peace my son.

Q: Do you have a personal message for Charlie B?

Ham: Certainly, my son, be at peace with yourself. You are a very forgiving person with every one else but yourself. All the times when you are tempted to judge yourself harshly, try to see it through the Master ’ s eyes. Put things in greater perspective and accept your own humanity with all its imperfection but all its potential as well.

Q: Do you have any feedback for me this week Ham?

Ham: Certainly. My son, you do well. You have come very far and the past two weeks have been a time of growth and spiritual fruition. Growth, my son, can be painful. It can cause self- doubt and some painful self- examination. But these things are temporary and perspective comes with time. Be assured that you are being led to work that is important and sometimes the little things that seem to be nuisances are those things that hold the greatest potential in the unseen worlds. So be at ease my son, your way is clear and you are doing very well.

Very well, until next week, my love and my prayers are with you each. Farewell.

END