Letter Forty-Two

Letter Forty-Two

No Matter Where You Go, I Go

Dear Child:

Don’t hide. Don’t run away.

Draw near to me. I am Abba.

I want companionship with you more than perfection.

You are traveling a rough and dangerous road. I am with you. Nothing is too dangerous, nor is any path too rough for me to walk if that is where you choose to go. I am with you wherever you go.

I’m reaching for you. I’m searching for you.

I can cross any boundary to get to you. Even in the dark and foreboding places in life, I am there.

I am reaching out my hand. Will you take it?

Come to Papa God.

P Michael Biggs

~Hope ~ Encouragement ~Inspiration

Letter Forty-One From God

Letter Forty-One

Dear Child:

You have failed again, and now you are afraid to approach me. I’m here waiting. Invite me in.

Haven’t I proven time and again that I am more about grace, love, and forgiveness than about wrath and rejection?

It takes great courage to approach me after a fall. Come near.

Remember this -- at the end of your failures you’ll always find me. I was there in the beginning.
I am here at the end.

I am with you always, even to the end of the earth.

So, draw near.
~I have a big heart.

~I have compassion for the weak. 

~I have love for the loveless.

~I have forgiveness for the fallen.

Come to me.
You’ll always find me at the end of your failure. 

Your God Who is Always There

P Michael Biggs

Hope~Encouragement~Inspiration

Letter Thirty-Nine - from God

Letter THIRTY-NINE – from God

Dear Child:

The moment has arrived. You are facing surgery soon. There are a couple of things I want to tell you as you go through this experience.

You have fears. That is natural. Give me your fears.

~I know your name.

~I count the hairs on your head.

~I made your body.

~I instructed your physicians and nurses. What a marvel you are.

I will be with you wherever you go, even through this.

And I’ll be with your friends and family too. I’ll be present with them just as I will be with you.

Today’s medical world is in the best shape it has been in. Man has created some amazing equipment for monitoring, probing, and seeing the human body from all angles.

Trust in your medical providers.

                    Trust in the love of your family and friends.

And above all, trust in me, the God who loves you more than you could ever know.

I am with you every moment. 

God,

P Michael Biggs

Hope~Encouragement~Inspiration 

Letter Thirty-Six - From God

 THIRTY-SIX

My Dear Child:

This is the season of grief in your life. Everyone goes through this at some point and now perhaps it is your time.

I want to say some things to you about this time in your life.

This loss you are experiencing will pass in time. That may be a difficult thought for you, but it is true.

Meanwhile, know this.
I am here. I am with you in the middle of your grief. 

I AM HERE!

I’ve never abandoned you.

Shed tears if you like.
Talk with a trusted friend or advisor. They are there to help you as a part of my plan. Reach out to one if you will.

And hold onto this thought: “Do not fear. I am with you; I am your God, so do not be shaken. I will give you strength and I will help you. You are held by my righteous right hand.”

Your God of Strength,

P Michael Biggs

Hope Encouragement Inspiration

When the Heart is Heavy, Then What?

When the Heart Is Heavy, Then What? 

I’m going to talk specifically to those of us who currently have or have had what we might call “A Heavy Heart”. Heavy hearts ain’t no fun, as we used to say in the hills of Tennessee.

I’ve often not known what to do in the middle of my heavy heart moments. Have you? Perhaps you’re going through one of those times even now, in this moment of reading this.

Heavy Heart times are caused by those circumstances in life that just about crush us to death. The load is so heavy, the burden is so awesomely great, and the issue looms very large. We find ourselves scratching our head, wringing our hands, and wondering if God is anywhere nearby and does He hear and see you and me, and even care about what in the world is happening right now, this very minute.

And then some well-meaning spiritual super-power comes along and says, “well, Honey, you just need to pray more.”

Pray? I can’t even tie my shoes for the weight of this “thing” I’m carrying. “Pray” you say. 

Here’s the thing.

When the heart is so heavy, and the weight of the world seems to be resting on your shoulders in the awful times of life, maybe, perhaps, all you and I can utter is HELP! Now I used all caps and an explanation mark, but sometimes it comes out “help”. Or perhaps

H. E. L. P. !

And do you know what? God hears that kind of prayer too. Oh my. Yes indeed.

I’ve prayed that prayer before. Once someone near to me relapsed on a drug addiction that I thought was well behind her. I was so unprepared for that experience. I didn’t know what to do nor where to turn. All I could utter was “help”. (Lower case intended)

Maybe today is the day you pray the most acceptable prayer ever uttered. It’s nothing fancy. It’s not long. It’s not profound. It’s not eloquent. It’s a great cry for the God of the universe to come down and touch you in some unique way that only you need in that moment. It is a miracle prayer of one word, and this one-word-prayer gets attention.

Is your life a train wreck?
Have you made some really horrible decisions?
Is your past about to catch up with you?
Are you in a despicable and deplorably situation and you don’t know which way to turn?

This I know. A prayer like “Help” spoken in great moments of desperation and with a sincere heart gets attention from God himself.

He already knows what you did, or said, and what you are doing or have done. He wants so much for you to turn around and come to Him. He’s listening for your call.

I believe that with my whole heart.

Ann Lamott said this in here book, Help Thanks Wow:

“Prayer means that, in some unique way,

we believe we’re invited into a relationship

with someone who hears us when we speak in silence.”

So, step right up. You don’t have to get dressed up, put on your shoes, wear a necktie or a string of pearls, or even smell pretty. Just approach and say the words as you turn toward God: HELP! Help. help.

I don’t know in what form God will answer, but in time He will answer. It may be through another person, or it may be an idea that pops into your own mind, but God hears.

God hears.

P Michael Biggs

Internet Church Blogsite

Hope~Encouragement~Inspiration

Letter Twenty~Three

LETTER TWENTY-THREE

  

Dear Child:

Your thoughts are on money today.  I know it’s tough making ends meet.

What you want me to say is “I’m sending you a stash of cash and it’s coming soon.”

Yes, sometimes I’ve done that for individuals.  I’ve sent sacks of groceries.  I’ve paid the mortgage anonymously for some. 

But what I want you to hear from me most of all is this;

When the bills mount up ...

When the rent payment is late ...

When you lose your job …

I am still with you.  I still love you.  I always watch over you.

You are resourceful.  You are capable.  There are answers and I’m guiding you to them, even now. 

Don’t despair.  I haven’t abandoned you. 

I’m here.

Together, we can make your future brighter and better.

Your God Who Always Watches,

One-Hundred Letters from God,

Offering Hope~Encourgement~Inspiration

P Michael Biggs

From my book – The Letters

Who Can Receive Grace

Who Can Receive Grace

When we experience God, we experience grace.  Ignatius of Loyola said,

The direct experience of God is grace indeed, and basically there is no one to whom it is refused.

I want to focus on the part that says, “there is no one to whom it is refused”.

That is awfully hard to accept for some.

Let’s start with a refresher course in the meaning of grace. 

In our Christian/Theological context, grace refers to

  Favor

    Mercy

      Mercifulness

        Charity

          Benevolence

            Clemency

              Leniency

                Reprieve

And in the words of Ignatius of Loyola, no one is refused GRACE.  No, not one!

Titus 2:11 tells us: “The grace of God appeared for the salvation of all.”

And I love Romans 5:20: “Where sin increased, grace increased all the more.”

And don’t overlook 2 Corinthians 12:9: “God’s grace is sufficient for you, for His power shows up best in weak people.”

If you have doubts and fears that you are perhaps beyond the reach of God’s grace, take heart, my friend.  There is grace enough for you.  Just look at the bolded words above.  They light the way to the God whose heart is full of grace. 

No matter your stated faith or lack of it.

Regardless of your stance on religion, or spirituality, and it matters not if there is murder in your heart, lust eating you inside and out, or if you are living some other kind of altered lifestyle, God’s grace is available for you. 

Your job is to ask for it.  Reach up, or out, or wherever you want to reach and simply say I NEED YOUR GRACE GOD!

And then your answer comes. 

You will receive buckets and bushels full of God’s overflowing grace.

Thanks be to God!

Internet Church Blog Site

P Michael Biggs

Hope~Encouragement~Inspiration

Finding Grace

Finding Grace

This thought struck me this morning – Finding Grace.  How many times in my life have I found grace. 

The premise for this thought is Hebrews 4:16.  We are encouraged to “approach God with confidence, so as to receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

This kind of grace is of the God-kind.  It flows from his merciful and kind heart, because He always has His eyes on us. 

God’s grace has come to me in the form of a subtle sense, an inner voice, if you will that guides me to do or not to do a certain thing.  After the fact, I have found that nudging to be spot on.  That was God’s grace.

I’ve experienced God’s grace as a presence in the middle of difficulties and hard places in life.  When the challenges come, I still experience God’s grace that helps in our time of need. 

The verse that is highlighted above takes some mulling and some cogitating.  Often, we humans seem tentative in approaching God.  Our shame, our angst, our bad choices, our past life often gets in the way and we reason, “Why would God even want to see me or talk to me.  I’m such a

doo-doo (long OO).

That is the exact opposite of what this verse says.  It is as if God is saying, “I know you.  I formed you. I know your proclivities, I know your instinct and your nature.  I know your faults and failures and your victories and success.  I love you through it all.  All I want is your heart to trust in me.  Believe in my love, for I do love you everlastingly.”

If you are one who needs to find grace today, come back to the God who invites you in.  Whatever you face, GRACE can be yours in this moment of need.

Internet Church Blog Site

P Michael Biggs

Hope~Encouragement~Inspiration