We ask the Holy Spirit to help us.
We don’t worry if we don’t see Jesus first time
We make a habit of looking to see Jesus with us in a favourite place.
We make a habit of looking to see Jesus with us wherever we are
We make effort to look to see Jesus with us, to pay attention to him
Roger Harper’s experience of looking to see Jesus with him.
Jesus speaks about looking to see him with us always
We ask the Holy Spirit to help us.
We cannot look with our physical eyes. We can look with the eyes of our heart, with the loving part of our imagination. Near the beginning of his letter to the Ephesians, Paul wrote:
I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power.
Ephesians 1:17-19
Paul’s prayer, expanded, is ‘Father in heaven, send your Holy Spirit to these people. Give them wisdom, to know what is best, and revelation, to see what is true. Help them to know you better, Father, as the Spirit shows them more how good you are, and they see more of you as they see Jesus. Holy Spirit, come as light shining on their hearts and in their hearts, bringing light to the eyes of their hearts. Help them to see more, and to see more clearly. Give them glimpses of the future you have for them, in this life and well beyond. Show them your great power which we cannot come close to measuring. May they know that through their small, sometimes hesitant, faith your power can work and will work. May they know all this and see all this!’
Paul didn’t specify that he was asking for the Holy Spirit to help people see Jesus with them, but the Holy Spirit is more than happy to help us to do what Jesus told us to do. We need him, the spirit of wisdom and revelation, to reveal Jesus to us. We need his light shining in our hearts to help us to see Jesus with us. Seeing Jesus with us will help us to know his Father more, and will increase our confidence that the power of the Jesus we see with us will be the same as the power of the Jesus we read about in the Gospels, the Jesus who, we know, will one day make all things new.
Paul did specify how he was asking the Holy Spirit to come – as light to the eyes of their hearts. The light of the Holy Spirit shows us Jesus and also shows us, reminds us, of any sin we still need to confess. We may have used our imagination in unclean ways, imagining people or situations which have been selfish. The eyes of our heart may have been made dark by being used in greedy, lustful, revengeful ways. The light of the Holy Spirit shines to dispel the darkness which we have invited by bad use of our imagination.
We then recognise our sins and confess them. ‘Please forgive me for misusing the eyes of my heart by …’ Be as specific as you can. ‘By imagining Lauren, naked, leaning over me, and by …’ ‘By wondering what it would be like to rob the bank on Harris Avenue, and by …’
The Holy Spirit will also help to dispel any fear we may have of Jesus being with us. Jesus is with us as our brother ‘For the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father. For this reason, Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters, saying, ‘I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters.’ (Hebrews 2:11,12) He is not with us as our judge, ready to point out faults. He is not with us as the headteacher, to tell us we should have done better. He is not with us as our employer, wanting to know how well we have worked. Jesus is our brother and will treat us as the kindest, wisest brother we can imagine, wanting us to enjoy his company as he enjoys our company, being family together. It may feel that he is older than us. Whereas we feel like a 7-year-old, Jesus is 27 years old. The foundation of our relationship is that his Father is our Father too; he is first and foremost our brother.
‘Come Holy Spirit, come as light to the eyes of my heart. Help me to see Jesus with me. Forgive me for using my imagination is unhealthy ways. (Mention any specific bad use of imagination.) Shine into my heart. Clear away the darkness of the world, the flesh and the devil. I want to see Jesus, my great kind older brother. Please help me.’
We activate our imagination
To begin, imagine being in a good, relaxing, happy place, a place where you feel comfortable, which puts as smile on your face. Some people know a hill with a lovely view, or a favourite room in their home or their grandmother’s home, or a church, or a park bench, or by a river, or part of a beach. What is your good place to be?
With your eyes closed, remember that place and see it around you in your imagination. Note how sunny or cloudy it is, who else or what else is there with you, where you are in that place. Relax and enjoy. Smile.
Some people begin with imagining they are in an event described in the Gospels. This makes sense if we are aiming to see Jesus. We can be in a crowd standing by a road with people saying ‘He’s coming!’ Opposite is a tree with thick branches starting low down the trunk. (A Middle Eastern sycamore tree.) We see a short man in rich robes climb up a couple of branches and stand, holding on with one hand, looking down the road. People are turning to each other. ‘It’s him. It really is. He’s coming.’ We see Jesus in his plain robes walking along with two young men, others following. Jesus goes over to the tree, looks up and says something to the man on the tree. As Jesus walks on, we walk on too, curious to know where he is going. (Luke 19:1-7)
Imagining ourselves in a Gospel scene is a good, time-honoured practice, but, strictly speaking, it is looking to see ourselves with Jesus rather than looking to see Jesus with us. Better to be in a place of your own, where Jesus is with you. Jesus wants to be with you always, wherever you are. It’s good to start in one of your favourite places. But, if imagining you are in a Gospel story works better for you, enjoy that way of beginning.
Some people have reservations about using their imagination in this way. Maybe these words of Oswald Chambers will reassure:
Is your imagination stayed on God or is it starved? The starvation of the imagination is one of the most fruitful sources of exhaustion and sapping in a worker’s life. If you have never used your imagination to put yourself before God, begin to do it now. It is no use waiting for God to come; you must put your imagination away from the face of idols and look unto Him and be saved. Imagination is the greatest gift God has given us and it ought to be devoted entirely to Him. If you have been bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, it will be one of the greatest assets to faith when the time of trial comes because your faith and the Spirit of God will work together.[1]
We look for Jesus
Note any idea you already have of what Jesus looks like. You may have seen pictures of Jesus by other people or have formed your own picture of Jesus in your mind. These are fine, and helpful as we start looking. Many people think of Jesus wearing long robes and then see him wearing long robes. Worth also to be ready to be surprised a little. Jesus may not be exactly as we predict him to be.
Quietly, inside yourself, say ‘Jesus, where are you? Over there? Over here? (or ‘By there, by here,’ as they say in Wales.)’ Peer around wherever you are. Relax. Jesus will be with you as he was with the first disciples, in his resurrected body, not as a spirit diffused in the atmosphere. We are looking for him with his body shape, somewhere particular.
We can also invite Jesus to come somewhere particular, maybe point to or put out a chair or a piece of grass and ask him to come and sit on it.
I keep the LORD always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
Psalm 16:8
The writer takes the initiative, he decides he wants God with him, on his right side. This can seem a strange instance of telling God what to do. But we can see this as seeing a guest at the door and saying ‘Come in! Sit yourself here.’ The writer knows that God wants to be with him, he is welcoming God in a definite way. We can do the same with Jesus. we set him at our right hand.
In a two-way conversation with Jesus, I once thought he said:
Yes indeed at your right hand is the place help comes from! The right side is the side of friendship and encouragement and peace. So that is where I am too.
Expect to see a body shape, somewhere specific. When Jesus said ‘Look! I am with you always,’ he was standing in his regenerated body in a specific part of a particular mountain. Jesus was saying that, as they saw him, in his body, then, so they would see him with them always, in his spirit, in the shape of his regenerated body.
I asked Jesus about his body and his spirit now.
‘So, your resurrected body is in the heavens. You are present with us in spirit but not in body. Is your spirit in the heavens in the widest, sense, in all the heavens?’ (I was thinking of the Jewish, Biblical, understanding that what we normally call heaven, is the seven heavens.) I think Jesus replied.
Carry on with this good thinking with me with you. Why not? My spirit can form a body shape whenever and wherever in the heavens, including in the first heaven.
The first heaven is the spiritual equivalent of the first level of sky. The first heaven is between cloud level and the surface of the earth. Jesus can and does form a body shape, with us, alongside us. His body shape underlines that he is our human brother.
Go with whatever impression comes, however vague and uncertain it is. You may know exactly where Jesus is sitting or standing. You may only have a sense of a brightness somewhere, a hunch that Jesus is by that tree. Paul wrote, twice, that when we see now, we see like a reflection in a piece of beaten, polished metal, which was all they had for a mirror then. An outline of someone may be all you notice. Relax, welcome that, and keep looking.
In a two-way conversation with Jesus, I once thought he said:
Yes more than a hologram, a presence. I am present here and you feel my presence more than you would do with a hologram. But it is something like…
If you want to look more, look at the hands. On the day of the resurrection Jesus came to his disciples and showed them his hands and his side. (John 20:20) John did not write that Jesus showed them his face. You are more likely to see Jesus’ hands than to see his face.
In a 2-way conversation with Jesus I thought he said:
Yes indeed my face is too bright and my heart is hidden, so look to my hands and arms which I showed you and the gash in my side. You cannot see my heart fully but you can see the way in to my heart!
One prisoner found himself in an old quarry which he did not know, with stone in front of him, lush grass underneath him and an apple tree with red apples. He probably needed a closed space where no-one could attack him. As he looked around to see Jesus with him, all he saw was a large light brown bear. He felt fine with the bear, which for him was a giant teddy bear. He went closer and looked at the bear’s hands. He saw a deep nail wound in each hand.
Jesus was showing himself to this young man as a great teddy bear. Jesus is happy to be imagined, by C S Lewis and millions of readers, as the great lion, Aslan. Jesus knew that this man had been wounded by his own family so seeing Jesus as his brother would have been too hard to start with. Seeing the wounded hands was the proof that this great teddy bear was Jesus.
Relax. On the day of the resurrection Jesus said ‘Peace be with you,’ twice. (John 20:19, 21) Jesus will want to bring you the same message. ‘Relax. You’re safe. You have nothing to be afraid of. Peace be with you.’ Take a deep breath or two and breathe out slowly. Wriggle your body and let it rest in a comfortable position.
We don’t worry if we don’t see Jesus first time
Some people look around the scene in their imagination and don’t see Jesus. They have no clue where he might be. Worth praying again, ‘Holy Spirit, please show me where Jesus is here.’ Wait and look round in curiosity. If you still don’t see Jesus anywhere, relax and enjoy your time in your favourite place. Today is not the day for seeing Jesus. For today the pleasant peace of being in a favourite place is all you need.
If you have a picture of something which is not Jesus Himself, maybe light coming to you or a wind blowing on you, welcome this and look to see where this is coming from. If you cannot see more, don’t worry, enjoy what you can see and how that feels. Relax and absorb what is coming to you. If sunshine is coming, sunbathe in it, taking the warmth into your skin. Look again at another time to see Jesus himself.
We welcome Jesus closer
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’
Matthew 28:16-20
The disciples went to a particular place chosen by Jesus, apparently for them to meet him there. It is good for us to go, in our imagination, to a particular place for us to meet him there.
The disciples saw Jesus and responded to him, each in their own way. Then Jesus came to them. They must have first seen Jesus a little distance away, enough to recognise him and speak to him, in wonder or with questions. Jesus then came closer. Jesus moved to be alongside his disciples rather than a little distance away.
The pattern of Jesus coming and staying a little distance away at first is common today too. When someone looks, they may see Jesus in the doorway of a room or by a tree 5 metres away. They have the choice to welcome him closer, or to move closer to him, or to keep the slight distance between themselves and Jesus. All these choices are fine.
Jesus is entirely comfortable staying a few yards away. He knows that some people need time to become familiar with him with them. They may have suffered from someone intruding too close to them. Everyone needs to feel comfortable with Jesus with them. This is probably why Jesus often shows himself a little distance away. As with the first disciples, you may have some doubts or questions you need to voice first. Whether this is ‘Where were you when I really needed you?’ or ‘What do you want from me?’ or something else, don’t keep the sharp question inside. Speak out honestly, even in doubt, as the first disciples did.
Jesus will probably also, at the right time, want to come closer, as he did with his first disciples. He will probably wait for our invitation, because he never insists on his own way. (1 Corinthians 13:5) ‘Come closer Jesus. You’re welcome.’
We can also take the initiative and go closer to him, especially if Jesus is in a place we would like to be. John describes how, after the resurrection, Jesus showed himself to his disciples early one morning by the lake of Galilee when they were in their fishing boat on the water. He was a little distance away, close enough for them to talk with each other. He helped them to catch a huge amount of fish. They brought the fish to shore and then saw a charcoal fire, with bread and fish on it. This was an attractive puzzle. A sizzling breakfast ready to eat. But where did Jesus’ fish come from? Jesus said to them, ‘Come and have breakfast. (John 21:12) Jesus wanted them to come closer to him and he made it easy for them by offering them fresh food. If we see Jesus somewhere which looks interesting or attractive, we can go closer to him. If we see Jesus walking, we can choose to watch him walk on or we can go closer so we are walking with him.
If Jesus seems to be inviting, taking the initiative, go along with him. Allow the picture of Jesus in your imagination to change and develop by itself. You may find yourself in a different place or being taken on a journey with Jesus. Even if what comes is unexpected or odd, welcome it and go along with it. I remember two different men in different prisons who were taken on great aerial journeys with Jesus – a great antidote to being incarcerated.
We make a habit of looking to see Jesus with us in a favourite place.
Personally, I started being led on an imaginary walk along the Sea of Galilee by Mark Virkler. See The #1 Tool for Hearing God’s Voice. At the end of the stroll, I found myself on a boat on the Sea with Jesus and a few other people. I went back to that boat a couple of times. The next time I was standing by the boat, in the water, as the boat came to shore.
Each time I chose to give some time to looking to see Jesus in that boat. I relaxed and went back in my memory / imagination to where I had been before. At the time I did not think of myself as a man of imagination. The images I saw were very faint, outlines, But these hazy impressions felt good. I enjoyed going back, so that making time for this wasn’t too difficult.
The next time I found myself on the top of a hill near my house in Derbyshire. This was a surprise, but felt easier. I was in a place I know well, I could use many memories of the top of that hill with its views, not only my imagination. My experience and the experience of leading others is that such a favourite place is indeed a good place to start.
Near the beginning of my looking to see Jesus, I was leading the second session of a small group in looking to see Jesus with them. I invited them again to go to their favourite place and ask ‘Jesus, where are you?’ A woman put up her hand. ‘Do we have to go to a different place? I can see Jesus sitting on the end of my bed.’ Taken aback, because her experience was different from mine, I hesitated. ‘I can’t see any reason why not,’ was my less than enthusiastic response.
Now I would say ‘Brilliant! Enjoy Jesus close to you somewhere in your normal life.’ This is what we are aiming for, to be able to look and see Jesus with us wherever we are. He is with us in our everyday life. The favourite meeting place is a good beginning to help us become used to offering our imagination to the Holy Spirit to use, to become used to looking and seeing Jesus, to become comfortable with him. We can keep returning to this place as long as we want. Sooner or later, we trust that we will also see Jesus walking alongside us in the supermarket, sitting near us at our work, or in our kitchen.
After seeing myself several times on that hill, with the eyes of my heart, I walked up it with my physical legs and enjoyed the view with my physical eyes. I was alone. Blustery wind brought short showers, interspersed with sunbeams. I sat just below the summit, sheltered from the wind by rock. A small rainbow formed in front of me arcing over the slope. The wind continued to blow from behind me. The cloud moved away in front and to my right. The rainbow moved with and under the cloud, away in front and to my right. An extraordinary light show, which felt a personal gift.
The rainbow moved to the distance and faded. I suddenly realised that it had moved in the direction of my house and faded roughly where my house was. Could I be being told to look to Jesus in my house? Was this particular rainbow just for me, to draw me away from the hill-top and to my own house? Would our Father manipulate the weather only for one person? Now I am convinced that the showers and the rainbow were for me, probably bringing blessing to other people too. A definite gentle invitation to move forward in looking to see Jesus with me always. From then on, my ‘go to’ place to look to see Jesus has been my kitchen, with Jesus, mostly, sitting in one armchair.
My experience of helping other people to look to see Jesus with them, is that they see Jesus in a favourite place, or a place which the Holy Spirit has shown them, maybe connected with the Bible. They return to this place a good few times. Each time may be similar, or different. Jesus may be in a different place or posture. They may move to a place near the first place. They may be taken on a journey to a new place, for instance to a new field. They can develop the habit of looking to see Jesus in one place, or different places.
When you can look to see Jesus with you in a particular place, make this a habit. At least once a week, devote 10 minutes to this way of praying. Relax. invite the Holy Spirit. ‘Come Holy Spirit. Come and flow in me, Help me to see what you want me to see. Help me to hear what you want me to hear.’ Imagine you are in your good place. Say within yourself, ‘Jesus, where are you?’ Look round. Enjoy his company as he enjoys yours.
Even when you are able to see Jesus with you everywhere, having your special place, your ‘watchplace,’ to meet with him in your imagination remains helpful. Going to our familiar, relaxing, place is easy when we are stressed or in a particularly busy place. Habakkuk had his ‘watchtower’ from where he looked to see what God would say to him. (Habakkuk 2:1) From our watchplace we can not only see Jesus but, with Jesus, we can see trouble ahead and know how to avoid it or go through it.
We make a habit of looking to see Jesus with us wherever we are
If you have not been led to see Jesus with you in your everyday life, when you pray at your normal time, ask the Holy Spirit to show you where Jesus is with you, in your room. Look round in your imagination to see Jesus.
If you find this hard, begin by seeing Jesus in your special place. Seeing him there in your imagination helps you to see him with you where you are. This can all happen very quickly, just a look rather than a stare.
Our looking needs to be deliberate and not casual. We make some internal effort to make looking from our heart the priority for now. We will need to develop our attention to what is real but immaterial, as C S Lewis wrote, which is difficult and therefore needs concentration and practice.
As you move from place to place, try to remember to look to see Jesus with you in each place. A little pause, a deeper breath, a brief sweep with the eyes of your heart. Then your attention can be focused fully on the reason you are there, the people you are with, while, inside yourself, you know where Jesus is, with you.
I played squash, an indoor rackets game, for a few years, with someone who was more naturally talented than I am. The more I looked to Jesus between points, seeing him standing at the right side of the viewing balcony above the back wall, while I looked intently at the ball when playing a point, the more I was able to win a match. Not often, but enough to keep trying.
Try to look from your heart. Become aware of where your heart is in your chest. Remind yourself that you love Jesus. Say ‘Jesus, I love you. Make your presence known here.’ Encourage a sense of yearning from your physical heart, reaching or beaming out towards Jesus. You know that your love for Jesus is a faint echo of his love for you, but express your love as you try to look.
Singing a little worship song to Jesus helps. Worship expresses your desire to focus on Jesus, for him to be, at least for a moment, the centre of your attention. Try to find a song or two which is not all about Jesus seated at the right hand of the Father or Jesus coming again one day. Part of the song Waymaker is ‘You are here, standing in our midst, I worship you, I worship you.’ This can become ‘You are here, sitting by my side, I worship you, I worship you.’ A good old chorus is:
Jesus, name above all names,
Beautiful saviour, glorious Lord.
Emmauel, God is with us,
Blessed redeemer, living word.
When we are alone. simply talking to Jesus also helps. As we talk, out loud, if under our breath, we affirm our faith that he is with us always. As we talk to Jesus, as with anyone, we turn our attention to where he is. This confirms and strengthens our sense that he is sitting next to us or walking alongside us.
We may well be aware of Jesus replying to us, or of thinking that he may be replying to us. Talking out, with our mouths, what Jesus might be saying, experimenting with the possibility that Jesus can use our voice to talk to us, is a helpful practice. We may have to, again, push aside our internal critic who warns us against having an imaginary friend at our age. We will be surprised and delighted at the kind wise insights which come this way. At the worst, this is the kind, wise, version of us talking to ourselves. Hardly something to avoid.
If there seems no space or place for Jesus, as when you are in a full car, look for his hand your shoulder, often your right shoulder. You may not understand where the rest of his body is, but his hand is on you, either near your neck or at the top of your arm, on in between. This is enough for you to connect with him, relax with him, and be prompted by him, maybe in speaking up or in keeping quiet.
Jeff Lucas, in his Life Every Day Bible Reading Notes, 16 May 2012 wrote:
Challenged by Enoch’s walking with God (Hebrews 11:5, Genesis 5:22-24)), I decided to experiment yesterday by spending the day more consciously ‘strolling around’ with the Lord… As an activist I tend to rush around for God rather than walk around with God. … as the day proceeded I sensed there were words that I had to speak, and attitudes I needed to embrace, because I was determined to obey Him.
Walking with God means that we determine each day to go to the same place – and at the same pace – as the Lord.
The more we see Jesus with us, the more we realise that he relates to us not as a master but as an older brother. He comes to be with us, wherever we are. We can then see, receive, copy, his relaxed posture and at least some of the things he is doing.
Jesus with us always connects with Jesus being present where two or three of his people gather. (Matthew 18 20) In w two-way conversation with Jesus I asked ‘What is the connection with you present where two or three are gathered? Do we need a meeting place with others when you are with us always?’ I thought Jesus replied:
Carry on doing both as usual. There is an importance attached to my presence when you are gathered, which is somewhat different. But it is much the same and if you can see me there with you, you can see me with you everywhere more easily.
Greg Boyd has also written of the importance of developing our awareness of God with us in our ordinary lives more than in special church meetings and events:
Some think God is more active over there than he is right here. Others think God was more present in the past, or hope he’ll be more present in the future, than he is right now. Related to this, many think that the quality of their life and their relationship with God would have been much better if only certain things hadn’t happened in the past or weren’t happening in the present. Or they imagine the quality of their life and their relationship with God will be greatly improved if only things pan out in the future.
If we can’t discern God’s presence in our day-to-day lives, it’s unlikely that we’ll find him at a revival or some other spiritual event. We may find a lot of excitement, great speakers, superb music, and maybe even some “signs and wonders.” But unless a person learns to find God as much in the ordinary as in the exciting, the exciting will do nothing more than serve as a momentary distraction…
While there’s no denying that God moves differently in different places and times, the ultimate truth is that God is as present as he ever was or ever will be, right here and right now. And because of this, the fullness of life and intimacy with God you long for is available to you right here and right now, as much as any other place and any other time.[2]
We make effort to look to see Jesus with us, to pay attention to him
C S Lewis wrote ‘What is concrete but immaterial can be kept in view only by painful effort.’[3] Nowadays we are more likely to use the word ‘real’ instead of ‘concrete.’ We think of concrete as very material, so immaterial concrete makes no sense. Jesus with us is real, a reality of life with Christian faith. Jesus with us is immaterial, cannot be touched with our physical hands nor seen with our physical eyes. We need the Holy Spirit to keep helping us, keep giving us spiritual ability to obey Jesus’ command to look to see him with us, even though this is difficult. Best always to call on Holy Spirit help.
We need also deliberately to use our imagination, the eyes of our heart. We summon our will. We make internal effort. Imagining ourselves in a favourite place and looking to see Jesus there does not come naturally to most of us. We choose to make time and look. We feel hesitant, foolish, vulnerable. If we tell someone else, they may laugh at us for having an imaginary friend. We are doing something others will find weird, something which we were not taught to do at school or at work, or even in church, something which is unusual in our culture. Some people may think we are being drawn into New Age or Pagan practice. We have to remind ourselves that Jesus told us to look to see him with us, that people have found this a great help in life, a way to all kinds of blessing. We have to push ourselves to put aside our reservations and just do it.
Brother Lawrence wrote of the ‘Practice’ of the Presence of God. We practice tasks which do not come naturally to us. As an athlete or musician trains themselves through determined practice, so we train ourselves. Greg Boyd recommends putting reminders somewhere which we see through our day to prompt us to remember the presence of God. He puts Post It notes up on which he has written: ‘Are you awake?’ We can try to note the time and, every half hour, pause a moment and look to see Jesus with us. Some people set an alarm on their phone. Having set times of prayer in the day, maybe lunchtime or early evening, when we can, helps us to be more aware of Jesus through the rest of the day.
Mark Virkler, who has taught me most about seeing Jesus with us, says that, when we are not seeing Jesus with us, we are not seeing reality. Going through the day unaware of where Jesus is with us is living a false life. This false life is very common but not the life in all its fulness which Jesus came to bring us. Who wants to live a false life?
We are more used to being distracted than to paying attention. Our TV, social media, etc. are there to distract us. By switching on, by picking up our phone, we choose to be distracted. Seeing and thinking about something interesting or trivial or amusing helps us to cope with life, we say.
And while we are attending to our distraction, we are also being fed messages from advertisers. TV, films, social media only survive through advertising, through putting seeds of purchasing in our minds and hearts, the subtler the better. If we take in what is presented to us without thinking about it, we are not as in control of our thoughts and feelings as we think we are. Our distraction makes other people rich.
This is nothing new in human history. The Roman Empire kept its people quiet and accepting by giving them ‘bread and circuses.’ People had basic needs met and were entertained, distracted, by chariot races in circuses and armed combats in arenas. This meant they were less likely to challenge decisions made by senior leaders, more likely to cooperate. Not that most Romans could make any kind of effective challenge. In our democratic countries we are more able to challenge our leaders, and their backers. The need to keep the population entertained, distracted, remains, but is greater. Looking to Jesus as our priority is a resistance to advertisers and human powers.
When we pay attention to Tv, films, social media, we are building a habit of costly distraction; we are welcoming a spirit of distraction. This weakens our ability to pay attention. We need to confess our responsibility in this, to ask the Holy Spirit to remove from us the ungodly spirit, influence, of distraction, and to build more holy habits of paying attention only to whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (Philippians 2:8) Jesus with us is the Truth himself, the most just, honourable, pure, pleasing, commendable, excellent person, the most worthy of praise.
Lent is traditionally the time when Christians practice self-control, with food, and with everything. Lent lasts 40 days, 47 with Holy Week taking us to Easter. 47 days is enough to break a bad habit and establish a new one. 47 days is also an achievable goal, much better than a New Year resolution for the whole year, if not for our while life. After Easter we are free from the compulsion of a habit and have a choice as to whether to continue without it, or to go back to it, with less compulsion.
In Lent, and at other times, we can practice self-control with our attention. Not paying attention to any advertising for 47 days is a challenge but, as we work out our habit-breaking as the Holy Spirit is at work in us (Philippians 2:12,13), it is also achievable.
Switch off the sound and shut your eyes for TV, film, internet adverts, or go out of the room briefly. Focus away from billboards and onto trees, sunshine, people. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, (Colossian 3:2) Paradise will have no advertising; paradise will have people and light and trees, including the tree of life (Revelation 2:7)
We can also, or instead, limit our attention to TV or social media, including news, to 2 or 3 times a week. Each of us decides which habits to break and which habits to develop.
Recognising and deliberately limiting our exposure to distraction, in Lent or at any time, is helpful if we want to be more able to pay attention to Jesus with us. Mostly, though, we need to train ourselves simply to focus on Jesus. A brief look, more than a glance, many many times a day, is Jesus’ invitation and our goal.
The review of each day taught by Ignatius of Loyola, known as the ‘examen,’ is also helpful. As we look back at the end of a day, we will notice where we felt in harmony inside, ‘consolation,’ and when we felt disharmony inside, ‘desolation.’ We will probably notice that the times when we did not know where Jesus was beside us, because we had failed to look, are also the times of desolation. The times when we looked and saw Jesus with us, while also occupied with tasks and activities, will be the times of consolation. Jesus is a consoling presence, always kind, cheerful, very positive about us.
Having identified the times and feelings in hindsight, we are then more able to be aware of them at the time. That sinking, slightly depressed, feeling can become a prompt ‘Are you aware of Jesus with you at all?’ Looking to see Jesus with us will calm us and lift us. That edgy tetchy feeling, which, in me can become an unnecessary urge to go to the toilet, is not to be ignored but recognised as a warning. ‘It’s a while since you turned your attention to Jesus with you. Come on!’
In the end, looking to see Jesus with us is a choice we make many times through the day. Shall I just continue to be absorbed in these emails or this repairing or this meeting or shall I choose to look briefly to Jesus with me as I write emails or do my repair work or in take part in a meeting? The practice of the presence of God takes determined effort, in many small decisions and moments. I know how hard this is because I have, for years, failed to look to see Jesus with me for great parts of each day. I have not made the ‘painful effort, of which C S Lewis wrote.
Roger Harper’s experience of looking to see Jesus with him.
Looking to see Jesus with me in my kitchen felt closer, cosier. I could see Jesus in ‘his’ chair while I was eating or washing up. I could then look to see him with me in my car, in my study or office, as I walked the Derbyshire Dales, wherever. I was more able to have two way conversations with Jesus. See How to have two way conversations with Jesus – Fresh Bible Answers Jesus said that it is in the looking that we express a desire for him to speak. Jesus has kept inviting, reminding, urging me to look to see him with me always. This has been a great gift, but one of which I have not made use as I should have.
Seeing Jesus with me first thing in the morning as I pray is now a habit for which I am very grateful. But, as the day goes on, my ingrained independence means that, for great stretches of every day, I just carry on with my life, thinking my own thoughts, doing what I have to do or want to do and not stopping to look to see Jesus with me. Sometimes I have made serious mistakes when I think my own thoughts on my own, without looking to see Jesus with me, not checking out my thoughts with him. When I remind myself to look, Jesus with me gives peace and guidance, blessing me and blessing other people through me.
The picture that I have of Jesus with me is still not at all clear, more an outline or an impression than a detailed picture. Once I have that impression I can use my mind to focus in on him, usually on his hands. As I focus in like this, the picture becomes a little clearer and I feel calmer.
Jesus is always relaxed. He knows he has won his victory. He is now able to sit down and wait for the final outworking of his triumph. Very often I see Jesus sitting, looking that he has everything under control. When I am working, he sits with me not working. His work is finished. When I am running, he is alongside me, but not running. He seems to be carried along beside me by angels. Seeing him so relaxed helps me to be at peace too. Seeing Jesus relaxed nudges me to copy him, to relax like him. If he is leaving back with his legs stretched in front of him, it’s good for me to lean back and stretch my legs in front of me.
I also find that the thoughts that come to me as I am seeing Jesus with me are good useful, practical thoughts, thoughts that come from him, from his Spirit within. One day, I was investigating why my washing machine was not draining. Having taken off the back cover and looked in all the pipes, I could see no problem. I then thought Jesus said to look again with him with me. I looked and saw him sitting close by with his back against the wall. Then I looked again at the washing machine and saw that the inside of the pump was rusty. I thought it worth trying to spray it with oil. The oil fixed the problem and the machine carried on working for a few more months, until I was ready to replace it.
Sometimes I am aware that Jesus is not simply sitting or standing by me. For instance, if I am praying with someone else, I may see or sense Jesus kneeling by their feet. It then seems right for me to kneel by their feet too and place my hands by or on their feet. Copying what Jesus seems to be doing is a great way of letting him lead us.
If I am feeling tired, Jesus wants me to come to Him and rest. This is one of his commands. ‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.’ (Matthew 11:28) Jesus seems to want me, as soon as possible, to lie down or sit down somewhere, look to see where he is and move, at least a little, towards him. If sitting, I lean towards him. If lying, I shuffle a little towards him. I reach out my arm and rest it on him. I rest or doze for a little while. This often makes me feel much better and everything goes back into its proper perspective.
In a recent tragic bereavement I found that Jesus had moved closer to me. When I looked to see him, there was now very little distance between us. He reached out his hand to me. I reached out my hand for him to hold. Holding hands with Jesus is now a habit.
More recently, working as a Prison Chaplain. I thought Jesus told me a few times to look to see him with me as I walked around the prison. I had no-one else with me, was in between meetings with prisoners and staff, so these walks were the ideal time to tune in to Jesus during the day, seeing him walk alongside me.
But I rarely looked to see Jesus with me even then. I carried on my habit of thinking my own thoughts, often unimportant thoughts, and made very little effort to look to see where Jesus was. One day, about three months before I was to retire, I walked from the furthest part of the prison to the Art Class in the Education block to try to borrow a camera. I enjoyed a bright Spring day, thought with some concern about my task in hand, and at no point turned the eyes of my heart to see Jesus with me.
In the Art class I was goaded by a Moslem prisoner, who, like a few others, took the opportunity to argue how foolish Christianity, and I, was. I gave him a calm confident response. He continued goading. As he was talking, I could have looked to see Jesus with me and didn’t.
I wondered about giving this young Moslem man my strongest response, from which I had refrained over my years as Prison Chaplain. Provoked, annoyed and recklessly thinking there could be no repercussions so close to retirement, I hit back with the strongest response, still not looking to see Jesus with me.
Five working days later, I was directed by the Head of the prison to leave that day. I was unable to say farewell to men with whom I had worked closely, sharing much fellowship. I was unable to enjoy my last months of the flow of the Holy Spirit among these men which was definitely building. I lost part of Jesus’ plan for my life at that that time.
Now I see that, had I looked to see Jesus with me as I walked to the Art class, he would have calmed and restrained me. Had I looked to see Jesus with me in the Art class, he would have shaken his head at my thinking, or warned me in some other way.
Despite being told many many times, over many years, to look to see Jesus with me more, I had not developed the habit as I could and should have done. I missed out on the fulness of life, the good works and good relationships, Jesus had planned for me.
I needed to confess my sin and go through a time of grim regret.
Jesus forgave me and ensured me that he, the Father and the Holy Spirit, are working to repair the damage I have done. On the morning that I write these words, I thought Jesus said to me: We are enjoying the life we share with you. Carry on enjoying the life you share with us! Jesus is good all the time, full of grace, truth, forgiveness, patience, love.
Writing about Looking to see Jesus with us and being reminded how half-hearted I have been for years, has been sobering and has made me look to Jesus more. I think Jesus has also said Yes indeed you have looked a little more, even if only a little more, and the benefits are being felt! The first benefit has been better sleep.
Jesus speaks about us looking to see him with us always
Over many years, my two-way conversations with Jesus have included him urging me to look to see him with me more. A great regret of mine is that I have not heeded these reminders as much as I could and should have done.
Here are words which I think came from Jesus. I have put them in categories to make them easier to read. Jesus, though, is impossible to categorise! Most of what he says can go into various categories. Each saying which I think was from Jesus is in italics and ends with … or !.. Jesus often speaks with happy emphasis, with an exclamation mark, far more than I do.
Benefits
In love and with love
With praise
Relax, welcome peace
Jesus at our right hand
Seeing Jesus’ hand
Jesus’ clothes
First thing
Looking and talking
All the time
When running, swimming
In our special place still
At Easter and Christmas
All the time
Guidance
Copy Jesus
Be bold
Thoughts
Distraction
Hindrances
Failing to look
Keep trying
Unusual thought
Father, Son and Holy Spirit
Benefits
You are meant to listen to me in all things. Turn over thoughts with me with you, even faintly, and you will receive wisdom from on high!..
Carry on as you are, looking to me more and more and there will be blessing for you and for your nation!…
Yes indeed, enjoy the good things that come as you are close to me like this and better. As you are with me, so life comes into alignment with what my Father wants, the blessings of heaven, or Eden, come indeed. My hand on you really is a heavenly blessing in itself. So do not look for more than that in and for itself, for everything else comes from that…
There is a sense in which your looking to me invites me to come to you. If you are looking for me I can come and as I come the heavens and the earth rejoice as in Narnia. Blessing comes as I come, as the earth rejoices in my presence. As you look for me, I come. As you invite me and make a place for me with you, then I am able to bless the area and make it flourish. Enjoy that sort of blessing everywhere you are as you look to see me with you.
1 John 1V6 Anything to say about this?
There is a need simply to look at the light and carry the light with you, looking to me with you means and encourages the light shining everywhere! So you keep doing that and the light will shine indeed…
Thank you that when I am deeper in you, you say, the evil one cannot touch me, with sickness or persecution, for his attacks seem feeble. Sorry for not looking more to you so far today…
Carry on enjoying the great life that I give and is to enjoy!..
In me you are safe. As you focus on me, so the worst becomes safe indeed! Then you can watch or be involved in much more than otherwise, protected by my presence…
Note too the sense of peace and standing tall that you have when you are in me indeed! It is such a stress-free place to be, to stand tall as you have been doing…
Note indeed that there is peace in abundance for those who look to me wholeheartedly. That is the thing, nothing else in the way, or first in the heart, indeed. Then life goes much better in every way!..
Yes, you say that looking to you will mean that I work more fluently, more is done with less stress and I manage to do things I struggle to find time for now. And my body is not subject to so much stress and I live longer!..
As for looking to me, yes indeed I am here and you do need to look to me a little more to feel properly secure. I am your rock and foundation if you will settle back into me more often…
As for you and your busy life, it will never be frantic with me with you. Keep settling back, leaning back into me through the day and enjoy what comes!…
Yes indeed! There is a future and a hope for all who are in touch with me but especially for those who are in me and can do greater things than even I did as they live longer and build on what others have done before….
In love and with love
As for looking to me just know in your heart that I love you and have your best interests at heart as always…
Yes indeed, Geoffrey Roger I am your refuge and your strength for in me is peace more than you realise. Yes indeed, keep looking to me with your heart, tell me that you love me too! That’s what people are supposed to do!…
Are the eyes of our heart any different from our imagination?
Yes there is a little difference in that one is more from the heart and the other has the mind active as well. There is a seeing with the heart only and that is what you need to develop. Your mind can work along with your heart but it needs to be the heart which takes the lead as you know…
Carry on in peace with a better day now that you understand more about looking with your heart meaning looking in love, devotion, more outgoing indeed…
If I had looked to you more things would have gone better I reckon.
Yes indeed it really is not so hard to look to me with love and trust that I am not angry or if I am it is only for a moment…
Thank you for loving me so much and for showing me, leading me, to know that I am loved with an everlasting love. Thank you that you will never leave me nor forsake me. Alleluia!
Yes indeed you are loved for eternity and from eternity and always will be. Know that I am with you, loving you…
Yes Jesus, telling you I love you makes me more willing and able to look to you through the day. Thank you.
Even when you think that I am far away I am close to help and encourage. So think of me as watching with care, not with pernickety aloofness. I am not aloof!..
With Praise
Yes indeed praise does help you see me indeed, a burst of praise, loving praise, thankful from the heart praise, is good indeed. So guard your heart indeed and with your heart you can see me and praise!..
Relax, welcome peace
Relax and enjoy my presence with you always. Yes indeed there is a peace that flows in peace, deepening the peace that you choose to enter into. This peace is my peace flowing in your peace. So enjoy all that comes as you relax even as you work today in me!..
There is a peace that comes from those who are close to me. The angels dwell in my presence and carry my peace wherever they go! So also, with my little brothers and sisters who are to carry my peace to people wherever they go! Wherever you go today, make my peace be the most important guideline. Sometimes you have not followed that peace and things have gone awry a little. But mostly you are grateful for the peace and joy there has been in your church which is simply a sign that Jesus is close!..
Tired yesterday because of not looking to me more! When you feel unaccountably tired it is because you have been relying on your own strength rather than mine. Carry on forgiven and ready to look more today for you know that I am with you indeed…
Yes indeed, relax and lean back again. That is important for you and for many others, simply to lean back into where I am with you. Close, the Kingdom which I bring, the Kingdom of my Father, is close, for you to step into, lean back into…
Yes, you never have your hands crossed, your legs neither?
Here, as usual, you can see my legs and they’re not crossed! That is important for those who are relaxed and open, not needing to defend themselves in any way.
There is a peace that comes when you have spent a day with enough looking to me that you sleep straight through! Carry on enjoying these nights and making them more in number indeed…
Jesus at our right hand
Ecclesiastes Chapter10 The wise incline to the right, where you are. You are in the place of honour, of the trusted best friend. Yet, in a strange way, because what we see now is reflected in a mirror, we are at your right hand also! It’s OK to think and eventually talk like this?
No, it is more than OK it is very helpful…
Yes indeed it is good to have a habit of seeing me in a particular place so 1
that you can settle into seeing me easier…
Seeing Jesus’ hand
Yes my hand is on you, by your neck. And the warmth is good indeed. You can put your hand there when you want to celebrate my love upon you…
I know I could have looked to see you with me a lot more. Anything to say about that?
Build a picture in your mind like this, where it is easy to see me with you. Yes a piece of furniture helps. See me with you standing sometimes, but mostly sitting because my work is finished. See my hand on you when you cannot or do not have a piece of furniture for me to sit on!..
Jesus’ clothes
Enjoy seeing me and all the different clothes I have! Like your brother, not many, but more than you probably!..
Ash Wednesday
A holy day. You are big and wearing something like a tunic?
Something like! Ordinary clothes with a special sheen which makes them harder to see? Enjoy the sense of something a little different again, unexpected again…
Thank you Jesus, purple T shirt today! Nice. I might look for one like that.
Yes, why not copy what I am doing indeed, including what I am doing with my clothes…
Carry on enjoying the readings indeed. I am dressed in grey like you? I am, as I am the brother who likes to be close to you indeed!..
Looking first thing
Yes Good Morning again Geoffrey Roger! Well done for looking to me early. Try to make it earlier still, the moment you wake up as C. S. Lewis wrote!..
… the real problem of the Christian life comes where people do not usually look for it.It comes the very moment you wake up each morning. All your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals. And the first job each morning consists simply in shoving them all back; in listening to that other voice, taking that other point of view, letting that other larger, stronger, quieter life come flowing in. And so on, all day. Standing back from all your natural fussings and frettings; coming in out of the wind.
(Mere Christianity p166)
That’s right! Go back to the beginning of the day when you first turn your attention to me and keep doing that again and again. It will become easier the more you truly practice, not half-heartedly which only ends up with you losing out…
Looking and talking
You do the looking, that is all you do and let the rest flow. It is only the looking that takes determination, attention, effort. The rest will come…
Maybe I need to talk out loud to you more?
Yes that would be good as you know. Just look to me and talk with me and let my questions change what you are thinking of. Questions may come up in your mind which are from me too! I put in your mind the questions that I want you to think about…
All the time
Carry on as you are knowing that I am, I am with you. That is all you need to know at first and even later. Everything else flows from that! I am with you although you don’t think I am and don’t look to me enough! Carry on with this good day…
Yes indeed you are still with me even when you go away and come back you find that I am here and have been with you there too! Always means always…
Yes indeed it is good to be wise by fearing me, respecting me and what I say! So be wise for today and look to me more! Please!..
Seeing me with you is the main thing still. What can help you do that more? Fasting more? Not a lot. But the more you have stricter times of prayer the more you are able to look to me between the times of prayer. Carry on in peace, at least every half an hour is good!..
When walking, running, swimming
Yes indeed, seeing me is still the main thing, for life, for ever. Beyond this life it is a lot easier but in this life you see more when you see me with you as you know. The shape of the hills from Mininglow, (local high point) more vivid, making a greater impression than you had when you simply looked on your own. Carry on enjoying walking with me!..
Yes indeed running with me was good, leaning back a little in to me and letting your body move freely. Carry on living in this way, full of the life and peace that I bring…
Note that running with me is great indeed for all the good thoughts that come to you…
Sorry for not looking to you more through the day. Thank you for a good holiday day.
Carry on. Yes indeed next time you swim in the cold sea do it with me with you, partly for me to have the fun with you!..
In our special place still
Habakkuk 2:1 Do we keep looking when we are in our special place?
A tower sticks in the mind more? Yes indeed, and it is aimed at those who can build a tower a place to watch out from. That is what a tower is, a place from where you can see trouble coming and prepare for it. So it means a lookout, a place where there is a good view of the surrounding country. So with you, you look to me as you should and there needs to be a place from where you can see clearly. Carry on like this indeed for there will be trouble that you will be able to see because you have built this tower, this place
where you can see with me with you!
At Easter and Christmas
Yes my presence on this Good Friday is a more ghostly presence you think? It is! Carry on knowing that I will rise again, return early to my body, to show you all that the victory is mine! Carry on indeed Alleluia!..
Thank you for being here, alive. On Friday and Saturday your presence was thin, almost ghostly. Yesterday it is as though you have a new, bright body, not so much the brown skin, more translucent and big!..
Yes indeed, my little brother…
Today you are brighter, not ghostly, but does it take a while for your body to solidify in some way?
Yes indeed my hand on your shoulder, now in the middle, for now, but you need to look each day!..
Easter Monday
Yes indeed, note that I am with you, golden in my resurrected body indeed!..
At Christmas we may find ourselves seeing baby Jesus with us, or Jesus our little brother rather than our great older brother.
After Christmas worship in prison: I think you’re bigger than yesterday?
Yes my feet don’t reach the stool! Carry on
See you sitting back in the corner of the chair with your feet up. You are quite little still. Good.
Enjoy indeed all that comes like this, and, yes, the innocence you see in me now so clearly is there all the time!
And your little hand in mine! So trusting, so loving. Thank you.
Enjoy my presence indeed…
Yes, you are in me and, now that the holiday is nearly over, I am fully grown again! Carry on enjoying my grace even more than before indeed!..
Yes, having known you small and innocent and weak, I can indeed sense these things in you now more. Thank you for the child in you, as there is a child in all of us. Alleluia!
Enjoy all that comes as we live together like this…
Carry on enjoying me being with you even young! For when you are with me my age, of 30, is still in some way your age. You have the company of a 30 something year old so you live like him!…
Guidance
Keep looking to me yourself and the way will be clear. I am the way. Don’t look too much for the way ahead just look to me!..
Thank you for keeping on trying, at least a little, to do what needs to be done to become someone I can lead properly!..
Enjoy knowing that my hand on you is a warm and friendly, yes indeed it was good and fine yesterday not to speak to anyone as my hand was not pushing you forward! Keep noting these things and enjoying following my prompting in this way…
Although my picture in your head and heart is not as clear, you know plenty of where I am and what I sound like to not worry about this being my voice…
A beggar / seller came last night. What should I have done with him? Asked him why he was out so late? Offered to pray with him?
Yes Geoffrey Roger, where was I with you as you opened the door? You weren’t looking then so look now.
Between me and the lad? To my right.
And indeed, as I stand there, you say to the young man?
‘It’s late, far too late to be calling on people like this, you won’t be receiving any money here.’ Seems harsh?
In the dark there are problems. more than you are aware of already, so keep me with you and be strong sometimes in this hard and wicked, antagonistic age…
Yes indeed it is good to look to me with you for that is the way through all your trials. You look to me and I will show you the way through, through death or through the wilderness to the promised land. Join with my people, listen to my word and do what I say, looking to me like this and more so. Carry on knowing that this is truly crucial for my people to survive the harsh times coming…
Keep loving me too with all your heart, turning your heart and mind to me, which takes strength and determination. As you do these things I can lead you into the future which is my desire for you…
Thank you for your hand regularly reaching out to me, for me to reach out to.
Enjoy my life which you are joining. This is indeed my life which I share with you. Think of it that way rather than your life which you share with me!..
Carry on enjoying life with me with you indeed. You can ask me anything about any practical problem or decision and help will come indeed!..
Sometimes you are in the wrong place but I am still with you. It is when you no longer sense that I am with you that you know that you have gone far wrong…
When everything seems lost, you simply look to me and the way ahead opens up amazingly…
Copy Jesus
There is a sense in which my goodness causes you to be good too, as you look to me and see my goodness, the child part of you copies naturally. This is part, maybe the key part, of becoming little children, indeed, that you become natural copiers of your Father in heaven and of me who shows him to you so completely. Carry on copying me indeed and all will be very well indeed…
Be Bold
Yes, relax and enjoy what comes. Just know that this is a day for being bold and forthright in speech, with grace of course! With me with you, you can speak your mind!..
Looking to me means that you have a confidence which other people see as arrogance. Don’t worry Just carry on with me with you! Other people do not matter as much as they think they do, compared with me!..
A hard truth for some to take in, that I am with them so that those who are with me are strong and steadfast and stand up when needed!..
Thoughts
Yes indeed. Now keep looking to me as though your life depends on it – which it does, eternally! Look to me and submit all your wayward thoughts, which are many, to me and all will go even better than it does now…
Yes a little pride in being in me! Beware of that and carry on in humility relying on my Spirit to show you..
Distraction
Yes Geoffrey Roger there is peace for all who look to me, turning to me in their hearts away from the things of this world, of your world. Carry on.
This is what Lent is about, turning to me! Away from the things of this world, TV and news even. Carry on and enjoy this day with your heart turned even more to me as you need the peace that only I can bring…
Thank you for ridding me again of the spirit of distraction from watching a little TV. Amazing how that affects me now, like a little alcohol messes up my head.
Yes indeed, I am with you and it is easier now that that little spiritual influence is not there. Yes, easier but still needs attention as you know. Loving attention is best…
And how to focus more first thing I wake up? I half focus and then distraction comes back and I lose it. More rejoicing I think?
Yes, good morning. It is better now that you are watching no TV at all! Keep going as you are, with prayers to start the day, immediately looking to me, abiding in me.
Keep looking to me more even when you are tired, especially when you are tired. Keep up the focus and you will do well. Yes indeed, thousands of times a day, with love in your heart and with the eyes of your heart. Then I will indeed lift you above the bother that distracts you…
Keep your eyes clean avoiding all television, even the glimpse yesterday was not so good. And encourage others to do the same…
Aware of how often I assess what I am doing, which is distracting and self obsessed. Sorry Jesus for being so self obsessed. Thank you for your patience and grace and forgiveness for me.
Yes indeed the more you focus on me rather than on yourself in any way, the more blessing that comes…
Hindrances
Yes you will be in me more as you conquer your pride and independence and go ahead with me with you. You have discovered that apart from me you can do nothing, not really do anything! Your ministry is so tiny compared to mine through you!..
Sorry for not looking to you more. First thing is still a problem. Please expose any darkness in me that needs to come out. Pride and independence you say… Anything more to say about that?
Yes Geoffrey Roger, the first thing is simply to become secure, more secure in my presence as a loving older brother. Yes, I made you, involved with the Father in planning and making you! Yes, you are good, a good one! Yes, you need to relax in me more. As you do this more through the day it will be easier, become easier in the morning too.
Note that when you are weak physically it is harder to focus on me. So practice during the strong times so that it is easier during the weaker times…
Sorry for not looking to you more.
Try to look to me more indeed! Even when you are tired it is more possible that you sometimes think…
Thank you for saying again that you love me and I am to carry on being myself with you with me.
Yes indeed, loving each other is great! You love me, mostly, although there is still some fear there stopping you from looking at me, to me, more often! Carry on and this too will drop away indeed. The independence of the human spirt is amazing, I like it and enjoy it and want you to be independent, be yourself, with me with you indeed, as for eternity…
You say that my motive to look to you is because you love me and I love you. You tell me off, with a smile, for thinking more of what I can gain from our relationship. Quite right too.
1 Corinthians 13: We see as in a mirror. The rich the had a silver mirror, the poor have to make do with a reflection in water. Others piece of iron beaten flat. The poor in this world have a silver mirror spiritually.
Note the truth about the rich and poor and know that I am still with you, but in a poor way, a poor reflection. The poorer you are the richer the reflection! A good thing to say and to know and, yes, the rich find this hard because they are jealous and downplay the importance of seeing like this. You are just about OK but you need to keep being generous so that you can see me more or even see as you are now. You have been generous and so keep being generous, as you know…
Failing to look to see Jesus
Yes apologise for that for that is the one thing that I keep telling you to do. Don’t worry about not speaking so much, but do realise that in not looking to me you are not making use of a gift that you have been given, a Talent that is worth more than you think. Think about what you will say if I come at the end and ask you about what you are doing with that gift of seeing me that I gave you, a gift that needs working on and developing as all my gifts. I am the giver of gifts and those who do not recognise my gifts as gifts to be taken and used and developed and enjoyed and lived to the full miss out on my blessing and my frown is more clearly seen than my smile! So LOOK TO ME MORE. That’s all…
No it is not so hard as you think. Believe, open your heart to the possibility. I am here and all you need to do is to see me with you as you write and as you do everything! It is so simple and so hard…
Yes, ordering yourself to look to me is good. Use the authority you have. ‘Look to Jesus!’ You repeat the command and you’ll be fine…
You can imagine me when you try to and believe that you can. Knowing and believing that what you see is true is half the battle. The other half is just discipline to keep doing this when you can…
Yes, see me with you and you will not be against me. Note that it is a reassurance that you do not suddenly find that you have been against me…
Yes, Roger there is confession to make too. Confession for not looking really looking. It is for you to look, not just to wait for the picture to come. Look, really look with your heart, and let me show myself to you more. Give me more of your attention and there will be more wisdom and more blessing….
I am with you and you know that. Know it in your heart and keep looking to me! I will never grow tired of saying this until you see me more clearly more consistently even without being told every day!..
Keep trying
You know that you have not looked to me as steadily as you needed to, that is why you went wrong yesterday a little. Yes, I was with you and you needed to stop and talk with me from time to time. Try it out loud like that, speaking and allowing the Holy Spirit to bring you the answers…
As for looking to me, just keep going more and more. It is good to fall back into me when you are at the PC so continue with that more…
Sorry for not pushing myself to look to you more. Make more effort!
Yes indeed just a little, but often, very often. You tune in a little and then turn away too quickly indeed. Carry on with a longer, lingering, focus on me!..
Failing to look, again. Apologising again.
Yes, you are forgiven and your heart eyes are seeing better already! Carry on keeping KEEPING looking to me!..
Not much looking to you even yesterday. When I pray, especially with someone, or I play squash, I am motivated. Otherwise, I just drift and sort of think ‘What’s the point?’ Sorry for using you like this. But I am in you whenever I care to settle back and look.
Yes indeed you are with me and in me and that’s the way it should be. Keep looking and relaxing, you already are far more relaxed than you were, keep going, for the more you can relax in me the more you can enjoy life, yes, in all it’s fullness...
Yes, I am with you and every time you come back to me you reinforce the habit and the pattern, the neural pathway of looking. So keep doing it and it will be easier…
Thank you for such a rich life, despite not looking to you as much as I could have done.
Carry on looking to me as much as you can, even up to a thousand and more limes a day! Thinking of looking to me is half way there so give thanks for those times too…
Carry on with the day rejoicing and looking to me more indeed! That is what I want, command, for you, so do it more! Even as you drive look to see me more so that your mind gets out of its wandering habit…
As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on.
Luke 24:28
Certainly the sense that you want us to want your company.
That is why it is good always to confess, say sorry when you have not wanted my company, have not looked to see me as much as you could have done…
Note, indeed, that forgiveness is stronger if you will just spend time with me! Taking out the time to look to me doesn’t take long, it just seems unnecessary at the time!
Again, I should have looked to you more. Life too engaging. My will too weak, my independence too strong.
You are my little brother and you go your own way more than you should. But yesterday was fine, a relaxing away-from-it-all day. Just lean back in me more and more and you’ll be fine…
Thank you for turning, slowly, to me more and more. As long as you are trying in some way, recognising how important this is, you will be fine and stay in my love indeed…
Yes, both your will and my Spirit are needed as ever. My Spirit is flowing more than you realise as you add your will. Strengthen your will and be determined to keep looking for me at least every 30 minutes…
Yes, I need to look to you more focused, as soon as I wake up.
Peace be with you. You are doing well for a human who does not have the training that angels have! Carry on enjoying my presence…
You say that I need you, and I need to admit that I need you, be dependent on you, vulnerable without you, as has been amply proved. You say that you need me, which is a surprise.
Much need to make more effort to look to you more, much more.
Peace be with you indeed and know that my blessing is not dependent on your wholehearted cooperation, as you know from Jacob! Some willingness, small faith, serious, is all that is needed!..
Thank you Holy Spirit for cleaning my heart when I have not been looking to Jesus and looking elsewhere instead. Anything else to say for now?
Yes indeed I am with you and that is enough! Carry on enjoying the day and know that with repentance it is not difficult to return to me and to your right state of peaceful mind!..
Be alert to me as much as you can, that is your responsibility. The rest is up to me…
Carry on indeed! You are doing fine and will enjoy it a little more as you look to me with you a little, or a lot, more!..
Sorry again for not looking to you more.
I can carry you and back you up even when you don’t look. It’; s so much better when you do!..
Carry on indeed WITH ME WITH YOU. Even as you go downstairs look for me with you indeed.
Yes, sorry for being so independent. Anything else for today?
As you look, really look so that you know where I am in every place you are in and every attitude you adopt, every view, indeed all will go well…
Yes to look to you more indeed, once again… Sorry for not looking more yesterday.
It takes a long to time to develop this practice but you will be more at ease, indeed, when you are doing it more, indeed…
Carry on enjoying the way I make things work out for your good, for you do love me even though you don’t look as much as I want!..
I do need to be less casual with you.
Enjoy the life you have, life with me which lasts forever, indeed, and yes, you can bear more fruit as you enjoy my presence more!..
Unusual thought
The eyes of our heart are many and circular, a little like on the wheels in Ezekiel. So we can see in all directions at once! A heart covered in eyes. At the moment I can only look in one direction at once but more may come.
Enjoy the weirdness of this indeed as other people may think of it.
Father, Son and Holy Spirit
How lovely it is for you all to be in harmony, looking at me. The Father sees me and sees you with me. That’s it, simple and good and lovely. A lovely picture for you to know that you are with me now and will be always…
Father now sees your face because of me and he loves it. He is so happy to see your face. You do not know how happy that makes him. He is over the moon, and all the stars, just to see your face. For when you look at me, He can see your face. That’s wonderful for you and wonderful for him, for that is what he intended all along. Not to turn away like Adam, as Adam, as you all do when you are unrighteous. But to turn to Him by turning to me. That is great and good. Keep doing it! Keep doing it. Look at Jesus and make His day!..
[1] Oswald Chambers My Utmost for His Highest Dodd, Mead NY p68
[2] The God of the Here and Now – Greg Boyd – ReKnew
[3] CS Lewis Letters to Malcolm US 1963 p114