Predestination, II

THURS., AUG. 20, 1987, 6:49 AM
FARM, STUDY

I have urged you not to spend much time or attention reading about others’ experiences with or observations on theological or spiritual matters. This is not a prohibition, but it is an emphasis on the persistent fact that I have chosen you for this small service to Me, to your church, and to your professional field, and this is where I want your attention to be – on Me and on My Teachings to you. You are not searching for a path. I have set you on this one, and you are mostly willing. This is quite enough for this earth life.

As you tell your spiritual story you are partly correct in saying that you discovered you were a Presbyterian… or better, a Calvinist. The best statement should be that you discovered this through My leading. Like the Calvinists of old you need to fully accept that you have been chosen to accept the grace and forgiveness that I freely offer. The insight that you have that is not part of your tradition’s doctrine is that you, through spiritual growth and development before you became Bob Russell, were ready to have this experience and accept this call. Without this “perspective” it is hard to see how individual will is involved.

You were predestined to meet and marry Lenore. I was involved in many of the decisions and actions of those early years, and you know, from considering them in retrospect, that there was nothing logical about your coming together and forming a union that I truly blessed. She is the best life partner for you, and you for her. It is not just chance or environmental influence that she is as open to and supportive of these Teachings as she is. This is all part of the unfolding of a predestined picture. And you are part of that Christian tradition that still should say, “Of course, Lord!”

Another part of this picture is that this marriage brought you into relationship with My servant, Mabel, who is on a different path from you, has certain perspectives you don’t have but lacks some that you have, but on a path that crosses and comes close to yours at times. She did not initially approve of you as a son-in-law, and though she appreciates you now, as much as she is able, her path (and yours) makes full acceptance unlikely.

In 1964 you accepted direction from Me, through a message that came through her, to spend some early morning time in your sanctuary, writing what came to your mind and spirit. That was an important beginning, and it was predestined in that the call came, and you were ready to hear, heed, and accept it. You were not developed enough, in spirit and as a writer, to continue that beginning, so your dropping of it was not predestined so much as it was just expected and appropriate. It was not the appropriate time in your field, you were not in the best place, and you did not have the professional maturity and position that were essential to this destiny.

Your invitation to come to this “best place” came from a man who is not open to what you do now, but he was part of the destiny. When the time was right and all necessary elements were in place, I called, as I was destined to do, and you responded, as you were predestined to do. Because of that earlier writing experience you came to this quite naturally. I let you develop the “liturgy,” just indicating that such is important.