President's Corner: Connecting to the Divine Within

Dear Friends,

Happy Holiday Season!

"How can I be assured God is alive, watching over me, especially when told our Creator is to us like a Father is to His children?" Ms. Cheryl Landon poses the question in her article "The Bethlehem Star: Celestial Miracle!" (see below).

Indeed, as we find ourselves in uncertain even critical times as to where we are going, this question may very well come up at some dinner table discussion, uttered by one of the children, or among friends who wonder where the world is heading at this time.

I believe this is a relevant and timely question to ask, because if God is truly alive, then there is hope for solving our current issues, through His guidance and following godly principles. Doctrines and denominations, which are man-made, answer the question only intellectually. But more important than intellect-based belief is an actual experience with God and knowing in our heart that He is alive. To receive such assurance, a person needs to ask sincerely and with passionate earnestness and an open mind.

We can also access the living God within, since we are all made in the image of the Creator, male and female, and thus carry within us that eternal divine spark that is waiting to be nurtured and unleashed. However, it takes conscious effort and personal "homework'' (as described in the article "Finding the God Within," by Myrna Lapres).

In addition, this divine spark, the God-presence, is marvelously activated in others when they experience acts of kindness, service, and unconditional love—and I refer here to the article "The Honduran Dream" .

As the holiday season is often also a time of reflecting and preparing for the New Year, I would like to leave you with a question: What sort of signs, messages, or events have you experienced that answered your searching and confirmed our Creator's aliveness and love for you?

May your holidays be filled with the spirit of peace, goodwill, and new insights, and thus renewed hope for the New Year 2023!

With love and gratitude,

Angelika