Elyon122098Gabriel_Christmas

Coeur d'Alene Teaching Mission Group

Teachers:

Gabriel,

Michael,

Elyon

Topics:

Christmas,

Sharing Jesus,

Renewal/Conversion

December 20, 1998

*          Gabriel (Jonathan TR): Ministers of light, I greet you. I come to you today to prepare your minds for your upcoming holiday, to compare certain factors that you experience during these times that are quite similar to the master's experience of visiting the temple at Jerusalem during Passover. This Christmas celebration is, itself, a renewal, another opportunity for your culture and for various civilizations to rekindle the spirit of friendship and giving, of extending yourself in kindness and love to another, to put away for the time being your own needs to focus on uplifting others. Yet just as the temple was filled with money changers and profiteering, your season is fraught with similar hectic demands. I ask you during this hubbub of activity to step aside, to retire to the garden of Gethsemane of your own, to sit on that brow of Mount Olivet and contemplate that grander picture, to see the spiritual significance, and to carry your comprehension of this spiritual significance beyond the calendar event into every day. Michael lived every day as if it were Passover, the time when the angel brings its blessing upon the children of God. This is evident in his often repeated phrases, that "I do what the Father wills I do," and "I wait upon the hour when I should fulfill His will." It is our hope that each year increasing numbers of people walk in the wake of the master, begin to live truly as he lived, in full confidence of the Father's care and guidance, ever mindful of those higher realities, those ideal values which will ultimately uplift mankind and improve living conditions socially, politically, and economically throughout the world.

It was an eventful time when Michael bestowed himself here, yet this is but one birth, though it be the birth of the Creator Son in human form. How much more striking will it be when all born on this world live as the master lived! That will be the day of holiness. That will be the time of Light and Life, peace on earth and goodwill among men. This is your duty as well as your honored privilege to promote this understanding and to demonstrate in living the principles that you have come to know through faith.

I am Gabriel. As one who attended the bestowal mission, I relate to you that even these many centuries later we are still contributing to the aftereffects of Michael's ministry. The apostles have all moved on, and you are the new recruits. We salute you for your efforts; we forgive you when you fail. We have many reserves of our own who are willing to step in and aid and guide you.

Many times you are aware clearly of your responsibilities as a minister of light. Oftentimes, though, you are confused or distracted, and it is in retrospect that you perceive the better approach of events gone by. Do not stifle your forward momentum with regrets. Do not cower away from the illumination of truth, rather joyfully accept your corrected understanding as a greater empowerment of your ability to function in the future.

All is well in Nebadon these days, and Urantia is doing wonderfully in fitting into this new post-bestowal program. It is our great hope that before another dispensation runs its course, Urantia will be once again be numbered among the ordinary progressing worlds.

I give you my Christmas greetings and ask you to spend some time with our Sovereign Son. Though I have the privilege of residence at his headquarters and to be high in office in his administration, you are all equally given access to his personal presence. He does not hide behind the big desk; he dwells within your heart. Though your assignments and my assignments differ greatly, we both are equal in Michael's love for us and care for our well-being.

I thank you for your diligence and dedication. I take my leave by saying carry on, my friends.

*          Michael (Mark): Once again I am extremely pleased to come among you as the one who you would celebrate in this season. You who know of me as well as you do are aware that this anniversary is not strictly accurate of the time of my birth on your world. But I am pleased to be recognized by yourselves and by those around you anytime and under any circumstances. I am graced with these two opportunities to be the centerpiece of your fellowship. I would encourage you to share to those around you my attributes of peace and love and hope and in this way recall me in your interactions with those around you. It is more effective to portray me through any of these attributes than to cite my name or make reference to my birth.

To those of you who have an enhanced perception of who I am, it is incumbent to share me, to share what it is about me that comes to the forefront of your minds and your hearts. In this way those around you will be graced with the essence of who I am and what my mission is in your hearts and on your world. When you spread love and joy and peace you are treating all of my children as I desire that you do so. In this way you are serving me as you serve them. This is the gift I would ask of each of you during this commemoration of my life on your world; the gift which is most pleasing to me is that of service to my children. You are my emissaries; you are my hands; you are my voices. It is through you that I spread these tidings of love. It is a joyous opportunity before you to be of such service to those around you. I know you will take advantage of this opportunity and bestow upon all who you come in contact with a part of me.

This is your charge, not only during the season which we are engaged in but, as my elder brother said, during all seasons. Speak these words of comfort and joy and love and know that it is my will that you do so. When you do so I am there with you, that these are the words I would speak to those. These are the words I will speak to those with your help. I am sure I can count on you for this assistance. I know the desires of your hearts, and we will be engaged in this process together. Recall me in this season in my spirit, in my attributes, and you will see recognition in the eyes of those around you. Speak to this spirit within them. Share this love between you. It is my gift I give to you on this occasion. Remain joyous and uplifting in these times. Recall the underlying significance away from the material aspects and bring your brothers and sisters to this recollection, as well.

You are my dear ones in whom I am so well pleased. I will stay with you in your hearts always and await your beckoning call to me to be of service to you. Peace be with you all.

*          Elyon (Jonathan): Greetings, friends, this is Elyon, and we return to our regularly scheduled programming.

I would like to discuss our current lesson on renewal and conversion with another analogy. You know from your textbook that personality is changeless. If we take the imagery of a wheel, we can blend some to of these ideas together, hoping to increase our insight. If you consider the axle of the wheel as your personality, it is motionless in itself, yet the rest of you is in constant change. You can liken the axle as the Spirit of Truth, the ball bearings as the endowments of spirit ministry and mind, the spokes and hub as your education and training, your experiences gone by and those ever-important elements of faith, of trust. The treads, the tire itself, is your soul which experiences constant change. Unlike your material wheel where the treads wear bare, your soul increases in its ability to grip, becomes stronger, thicker, in every revolution.

Renewal is the cycle of the wheel when it leaves the road and rises back to the top of the revolution, picking you up and preparing you for the next episode. Conversion is when you head back down the rotation to meet a new event on your path to Paradise. The personality moves forward in this process in spite of the fact that it has never, itself, turned over. All else that makes up your being is in constant movement. This movement propels your being forward.

The Father's presence is much like the fork of a bicycle that guides you toward Him on Paradise. When you waver, the Father endeavors to bring you back into balance. Each of you has made the Supreme decision. Now your wavers are minute; it is unlikely that any of you will ever fall over. All that is left is for those morontia corrections where the weights are placed upon the rim to balance your wheel. Then you will be considered full-fledged morontia beings.

 Here on Urantia you are learning simple things like how to inflate the tire, how to prepare it for motion, how to stand upright.

The one thing we ask of you all is that you remove the fenders of your wheel and let the mud fly. Let the truth and the goodness and beauty you experience be flung far and wide.

That is all I have to share with you on the subject, and I am always am willing to respond to your inquiries.

Mark: I have been grappling with desires to jump on this renewal energy. My desire is strong but my flesh is weak. How can I gain strength to adopt some of the higher ways that my mind knows but my being refuses to embrace?

*          Elyon: You are not unlike the rest of your fellows in this dilemma, for you all are dual nature. You know that when a wheel is spun eventually it comes to a standstill due to the results of friction. You will ever be faced with this present condition, for that is part of the necessary ingredient in time and space that fosters growth through the presence of resistance. What you can do is, as you have stated, perceive, take note, of those elements in your life that contribute to the resistance, those that are hinged upon your decision-making influences, for those factors are like the application of the handbrake to the rim of your wheel.

It would be a pleasure to all of us growing souls to have a downhill coast, but this is not the case. Encourage yourself with joy when you realize you are pedaling uphill. Your question to me indicates uphill movement rather than the downhill, out of control, slide.

If you inventory deliberately, concretely, as in even on paper, your high ideals and desires and that about yourself which annoys you, it will help to clarify the many factors involved, but more so it will give you an intensified period of time for reflection that isn't merely passing thoughts as you do other things. It is a focused meditation.

You know that it is not through the resistance of what you dislike that you overcome what you do not approve of, but it is your love for what you do like that brings you closer to the ideal person you wish to be. When you list, make effort to tip the scale heavy on your hopes, your wishes, your goals, your values that are ideal to counter that all is hopeless when your list of negatives appears too long.

Both personal ministry to others and growth of oneself have the same conflicts. Applying this principle to projects will bring the same desired results they do in regard to your own growth of self. But I assure you, my friend, that your expression today is the greatest element towards forward progress.

In reflection, you know that as you grew from infancy to childhood how many toys that were loved dearly soon faded away as you began to take on interests of an older self, a more mature self. You did not have to deliberately dispose of those objects; they lost their lure. As you seek the maturity of a growing spirit being, much of what you wish to dispose of will, of its own, remove itself. But it is good to assess your condition. Far too few on this world spend time in that reflection. The master spent many hours reflecting on his life condition when here on Urantia and what his future would be in light of the Father's will. His apostles often failed in this same method because they would not fearlessly face themselves in this manner. They relied upon constructs taught to them by their culture.

It is quite common for all social creatures to feel constrained by the expectations of those around them. In order to promote social harmony a certain degree of flex is required where you may not perform to your ideal but the interworking of fellows runs smoother. But one must be willing to stand steadfast to your high ideals, to not let the social tides sway you when you know of certainty the truth of how better to behave.

I hope this brings to mind for you many aspects that can help both increase your understanding of your current position and promote a clearer view of your forward progress.

Mark: I thank you very much. I will take your advice and spend time in contemplation of this. I appreciate your help.

*          Elyon: As always, you are welcome. On the morontia spheres throughout Nebadon you will experience great focus; all beings will have the same directed perspective about their daily activities. You will experience a foretaste of the harmony of Havona as people work through their growth experiences contributing to one another in concert. Here on Urantia much of life appears like a symphony tuning up before the classic piece begins. It appears so disharmonious and random and scattered. The condition of the world today in the end will contribute to immense faith on your part. Your experience of finding a tune for yourself among all the clatter will carry with you into the stretches of eternity and will reward you again and again, age upon age. So, even though within the year or the next you still struggle with these conflicts, rest assured of your eventual triumph. You will attain your desired goals, but this assurance should never foster complacency. It does require hard work.

Mark: Thank you once again.

*          Elyon: Thank you and I will leave you now. Please ponder the words of Michael and Gabriel and also think of mine as well. Take care.

END