Universal Life Church

Unanswered Questions

Universal Life Church

Two weeks ago when I found and made the commitment to the ULC Ministry I have been contemplating a sermon. Something has been bothering me for the last 7 months, I would like to put into my very first sermon.

Today as I cleaned up some of the files in my computer I revisited a letter I wrote May 14, 2005. It wasn't a friendly warm letter, it was a letter of pent up anger and just plain old frustration. It started with years of unsaid words and ended with a prayer.

Back to the letter I wrote. Being a mother and one quite involved in the school, and being vested in my community I have met many of the people around me. I have had the opportunity to interact on many levels. About 7 years ago I met, Donna. Donna was a single mom in the community; she had it hard. She was disabled, but mostly because of choices she made - though not all. Donna had grown up "rough" and it showed in her demeanor. She made many adversaries from sometimes honest, sometimes unneeded and hurtful words. A little ADHD was added to the mix also. I held my tongue.

Donna had a lot of life lessons to share with the world, and could have been very beneficial with the right manner of speaking. For years Donna and I watched our daughters be best friends and grow together. As typical best friends, they loved, laughed and fought. During the times of fighting Donna, would get involved in the agruements. She had this way of letting you know she always had it worse than those around her. I held my tongue.

February 12, 2005 my daughter was raped. In an attempt to make sense of the tragedy, my daughter went to Donna for advice. The attitude my daughter got was not what I would have expected from a grown adult. Donna had been raped 30 years ago and it was, of course, worse than what happened to my 17 year old daughter so she needed to 'buck up and deal with it'. I held my tongue.

The girls had a fight, and Donna got into the middle of the argument. Here is where my unsettled feelings come from, and now 7 months after May 14, 2005 I am still feeling the effects of the letter. I wrote a letter to Donna, expressing all of the years of pent up frustrations that I had held back. In my growing I have been blessed by the Heavens above with patience, I thought it was a gift. The letter started with the hard truth because after all Donna sure dealt a lot of that in her lifetime without regard for who she hurt. I didn't hold my tongue.

I held onto the letter for two weeks, I wanted to make sure it was what I really wanted to say before I sent it. Our girls were graduating, I had bought a gift for her daughter, asked her to stop by pick up the gift and give the letter to her mother. Donna got the letter and freaked out, in a very Donna style - stormed over to my house, with a response that wasn't very friendly. Three days later - Donna killed herself.

Donna's daughter didn't have a mother at graduation. Donna's daughter had to move, within 2 days of her death, out of her home and out into the world of life. Donna's daughter was left with no immediate family because of Donna's hard life and harsh words. Donna's daughter found crack pipes in her mother things as she packed. Donna's daughter is struggling.

Should I have held my tongue? All of the things I held for so many years and prided myself in got the best of me. All the things I hated in Donna came out in me. What could be learned here? We all still answer for everything we do and say. We all still have to live with what is dealt to us.

Hold strong to your convictions, you have them for a reason.

In Peace

~Laura A. Alles ~

*******************************

The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have classes in Christianity, Wicca, Paganism, two courses in Metaphysics and much more. 

Ordination with the Free Online Ordination, button.We also offer many free wedding ceremonies for your use.
 

The  ULC, run by Rev. Long, has created a chaplaincy program to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and have loved watching the continual growth of the seminary.
 

Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Paganism

Hello all!

Paganism today is as multi-faceted as it ever was, perhaps even more so. But there are fundamental aspects of The Craft which underlie the belief systems of most pagans and which inform us in our daily lives.

One of these in the Threefold Law. Most pagans know the rede "An it harm none, do what ye will." Added to this is the rule that whatever you send out into the Universe you will receive back, like for like, threefold. If you transmit love, then three times as much love will return to you. If you transmit hate, then that hate will be returned to you three times over. This forms the bedrock of pagan morality for many pagans, and as such needs to be explored a little more in relation to notions of good and evil.

As other ministers have already mentioned, most pagans do not believe in a devil, but in evil residing in the hearts of people who practice it. Others argue that paganism is not a religion. For some it is a religion, with a prescribed set of teachings, a book, rules and guidelines for living our lives. Those of us from Hereditary backgrounds are more likely to be of the latter kind of pagan. For us, notions of good and evil also come from working against the laws of nature and of the Family or Coven.

What is to do harm?

Many of us do not realise that to do harm can merely be a product of failing to act. If someone is being unjustly accused of a crime or an action, and we do not act to correct the injustice, we have allowed harm to occur. If we see someone being bullied but do nothing to correct that, we are doing harm. Failing to act in the presence of evil, when such action can bring about good or prevent harm, is to do harm as surely as if we had carried out the act ourselves.

What are the rules?

Our Family tenet revolves around Love, and all of its manifestations. This means we must act only in love, worship only in love, come together only in love, however that may manifest itself. Certain 'morality systems' might then have issues with the ways in which that is occasionally manifested, or with the ways in which certain of our group choose to work magickally in order to engender love or follow the tides of energy that flow from the Gods themselves. If we are to 'do only that which is right' then we must clearly identify the definition of right. Is it right to go against the flow of nature? Is it right to engender hate by ill-wishing through malicious gossip?

But what if the action you take is something that is right for you, but seems wrong to others?

This is where all situations, circumstances and happenings must be examined in the light of full knowledge of all the facts. Let me give you an example. A Family coven is working closely together, and the powers raised are such that two of the coven manifest them in a way that involves physical intimacy. One of the pair is married to someone outside the coven.

Is this wrong? In the light of those simple facts, yes, because it would be doing harm to betray a monogamous, sworn relationship and hurt another person.

But let us look at the full facts. The marriage was already on the point of ending, the couple had been having an open relationship for some time, and the one who engaged in this act did so knowing that it would not change anything in his marriage, only in his magickal growth and knowledge.

The other of the magickal pairing was also aware of these facts, and deemed that if Love was being made manifest in this manner, it was being made manifest as a force of change and growth, liberating the married couple from a stagnant and unhappy state and allowing both to move on to new paths and new relationships.

No harm was done until someone close to the married couple found out and began spreading malicious, cruel and evil gossip about the Family, threatening the Family with physical and psychological violence, and publicly condemning them. This person acted without full knowledge of the facts, and in the assumption that things occurred which did not occur. Their only purpose was to tell the whole world that the Family were evil.

But who was in the wrong here? It is a difficult question. I will not give you the answers, but allow you to muse upon it yourselves. Just remember, so-called Christian morality is not necessarily all-encompassing and, while it works for some people, is not the only moral standpoint. If we look at the tides of life for knowledge and understanding, we can see that life is constantly in a state of growth and change. It is, in our view, more 'right' to follow that flow, to move with the tides of nature and with life and with love.

I hope this has given you food for thought, without laying down the law.

Love and Blessings

Rev. A. Einion (Cardiff)

*******************************

The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have classes in Christianity, Wicca, Paganism, two courses in Metaphysics and much more. 

Ordination with the Free Online Ordination, button.We also offer many free wedding ceremonies for your use.


 

The  ULC, run by Rev. Long, has created a chaplaincy program to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and have loved watching the continual growth of the seminary.
 

Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Universal Life Church

Growing a Garden Where God will Go

A few years ago, I watched as my little boy was mesmerized by a

butterfly. I remember thinking, the key to having butterflies, is to have a

garden where the flowers grow. If you plant the flowers, the butterflies

will come. It is along this line of thought that motivates me towards

this endeavor I find myself in.

To grow a garden where God will come. Mere men cannot accomplish what

God can do. I hunger for the Spirit of God. A fresh glimpse of his hand

is what I have set my heart on. To build an altar where heaven touches

earth and lives are changed.

To be broken enough to see shattered lives made whole.

To be humble enough to see the Glory of God displayed.

To be transparent enough to help others see Christ.

“a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief:

There are some things that are only accomplished through careful searching and honest prayer.

This world does not need a new marketing campaign or catchy song; this world is looking for what can only be found when God is wrapped in flesh. This cannot be accomplished by will or wit. This cannot be faked or performed. This can only be brought about when the hearts of people are willing to bow down and seek the face of God. We all have heard of the power of prayer, but can we, do we really pray?

Oh Lord help us today.

To see Christ in the revelation that can only be perceived through tears. To hear him in that way only heard in the searching heart that is sincere. Life and its struggles at times cause a wall of callousness to grow where we deal with our walk of the spirit in realistic and ritualistic terms. But the call of the Spirit is not in meat or drink. The call of the Spirit is to cultivate a fresh work of God and His Spirit in your life.

In the Beginning God looked for Adam in the Garden. I believe that if we will give him a chance, he will walk with us today in a garden. Eden, God planted it. Today, it is a garden that we cultivate. Let us set our hearts to plant the things that brings the heart of God near. Honesty, humility, sincerity, mercy, forgiveness and the list could go on.

We are promised if we will hunger and thirst for righteousness, we shall be filled. Let us cultivate hunger. Let us ban from our lives those things that would quench the spirit of God in our lives.

Let us grow a garden where God will come. We need a work of the Spirit to move in our lives. For our own sake. The impact of this will have wide reaching effects. It will impact our children. It will impact our spouse. It will impact our church. It will impact our city. If we will individually begin to do things that will attract the movement of the Spirit of God. Where the Spirit of God is there is liberty. Where the Spirit of God is, his word will operate. Where the Spirit of

God is walls are broken down. Where the Spirit of God is anything is possible.

What we need is the moving and working of Gods Spirit in our lives.

Let us all grow a garden where God will come!

Anticipation!

*******************************

The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have classes in Christianity, Wicca, Paganism, two courses in Metaphysics and much more. 

Ordination with the Free Online Ordination, button.We also offer many free wedding ceremonies for your use.

 

The  ULC, run by Rev. Long, has created a chaplaincy program to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and have loved watching the continual growth of the seminary.
 

Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Universal Life Church

The Reason to Keep Standing

I was walking through the house when my wife showed my on the computer screen a video of a plane flying through the air. She explained to me that it was a Jet Blue passenger plane that had been flying around in the air for a number of hours because of a malfunctioning landing gear. A short time later she called me in as we watched it slowly land with back tires first and slowly dropping the front tire gently down on the tarmac. On first glance you could see that the tires were positioned sideways, so the momentum of the plane was going across the tire.

Almost immediately the tire started smoking and a few moments later the tire began to

ignite in a bright flame.

My wife and eye held our breath and prayed that the front tire assembly would hold. When the planed finally came to a stop, a great relief and celebration for the safety of the plane and over one hundred and fifty occupants. My wife said, "If I was on that plane, I would be shouting!"

As I reflected on this event, it occurred to me that the life and fortune of all these rested on a part of the plane that gets very little attention. On some yesterday someone in a airplane plant gave special care to assemble this important part. In the meantime, maintenance crews made sure it was strong, so when trouble came, the assembly held together. When the smoke cleared and the fire was extinguished, all of these exited the plane because a small piece of the plane played its unique role and passed the test it was designed for.

No matter your function or skill, you also play an important part.

When the pressure is on and it seems the easy thing would be to give in and give up, remember there are others who are trusting in you to stand, even when you have done all to stand, continue to stand.

You are important and you can handle it. Don't buy the lie that it is more than you can bear, you can bear it, and you can hold up, you have a special reservoir designed in you that will uphold you.

Keep Standing, no matter how insignificant you feel.

In Him, By Him, Through Him,

Scott Phillips

*******************************

The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have classes in Christianity, Wicca, Paganism, two courses in Metaphysics and much more. 

Ordination with the Free Online Ordination, button.We also offer many free wedding ceremonies for your use.


 

The  ULC, run by Rev. Long, has created a chaplaincy program to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and have loved watching the continual growth of the seminary.
 

Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Universal Life Church

By Scott Phillips

Woohooo, I feel Good!

"Woohooo! I feel good! It's a great day!" This and other types of refrains echoed through the rooms in our home early in the morning. I rolled over and wondered, "What is going on? Somebody is really feeling good!"

I asked my wife, "What is all that about?" She explained to me that Nate, our soon to be six year old bouncy boy, was excited about what lay ahead of him that day."

It really made me day; I could hear those happy refrains playing in my ears all day. His joy brought me joy. Our emotional stance is so much made up of expectations. I don't know when the last time I woke up and audibly, "WoohoooEd!" However I know that if I did, it would have a similar effect on those I came in contact with that day.

You know, later in the day I told my wife, "I sure feel good today."

"She guessed at what she thought was the reason, and she may have been right, there were a few reasons why I should feel blessed.

However, the most outstanding on that particular day was a little blond headed boy greeting his day with a Whoo Hoo.

I challenge you to consider that your expectation level and your response reverberate off the walls of the souls you encounter.

Woohhoo, I feel Good, It's a Great Day!

In Him, By Him, Through Him,

Scott Phillips

*******************************

The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have classes in Christianity, Wicca, Paganism, two courses in Metaphysics and much more. 

Ordination with the Free Online Ordination, button.We also offer many free wedding ceremonies for your use.

 

The  ULC, run by Rev. Long, has created a chaplaincy program to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and have loved watching the continual growth of the seminary.
 

Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Universal Life Church

Where are the Intercessors?

The Tragedy of our Ages is the shrinking ranks of this worthy ministry.

What will happen when you really need someone to pray for you today?

Many of us can point to salvation and safety purchased by the prayers

of these seasoned prayer warriors. Who's safety and salvation are we

purchasing with our prayers? The legion of prayer warriors that were

raised in the fiery rebirth of Pentecost are slowly and surely passing

from the stage and we find ourselves in a situation much like that

mentioned below.

'And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no

intercessor'

I have sweet memories as my life has been graced by many an aged saint

who's eyes held the history of many tears and old hands that had

clutched the power of prayer in their grasp; knees calloused from seasons

of prayer and hearty hearts from bearing burdens faithfully in prayer.

The ranks of this army are shrinking and every season we see yet

another of truly the greatest generation pass from our midst and it seems no

one is stepping up to fill their shoes. As they fade away, the

replacements shrink from this weighty responsibility.

Our churches of long standing are filled with empty places where the

precious saints of God have stood as sentries of the spirit and there

presence has passed and their prayers of ceased. The places are empty,

because no one has taken the task to stand in the gap. We see it

everywhere if we will be bold enough to look, 'Where are the

intercessors?'

We are having revival in many places in uncanny ways. If God would

allow us to pull back the veil of time and eternity we would be able to

see the benefit we are still enjoying, the benefit of prayers that are

still alive prayed by a saint that is dead. What will the next

generation do, when they no longer have a memory of these praying people?

We who live in the generation of perpetual entertainment and limitless

information. With ipods in our ears, webpages in our faces, life

filled with the clutter of emptiness. I am not talking about the

world, but the church. Can today's New Converts gain anything in our

prayer rooms?

Where will they learn the art of intercession, if there is no one

interceding? My challenge to myself is to rededicate myself to the heavy

work of intercession.

This is a lofty task can save a city! Abraham proved what we will do

when we talk with God, we will be moved from inaction to tireless

intercession.

A burden to save a fruitless tree? We see through the conversation of

the keeper of the vineyard in his words, 'Lord give me one more year!

Let me fertilize it, Give me one more chance to save the tree!'

This calling requires no degree or special intellect. It only requires

a heart that can catch a glimpse of what is important to God. Let us

enroll in the army of intercessors.

Can you hear the call to re-dig the spring where tears come from?

To reprime the pump where prayers are birthed.

Interceding for the Intercessors.

Where are you? It's time to reach and save them through the

unfailing arms of prayer. Some will only be reached in that place, that

undeniable realm of intercession. Will you heed the call and on your knees

fall? If you don't pray, they very well might be lost. Thier destiny

rests on your williness to pray.

Let us Pray!

In Him, By Him, Through Him,

Scott Phillips

*******************************

The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have classes in Christianity, Wicca, Paganism, two courses in Metaphysics and much more. 

Ordination with the Free Online Ordination, button.We also offer many free wedding ceremonies for your use.
 

The  ULC, run by Rev. Long, has created a chaplaincy program to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and have loved watching the continual growth of the seminary.
 

Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Universal Life Church

What Do Dreams Mean?

I am not feeling well tonight. I took some Niqel and laid down to go to sleep and couldn't. I came over to the computer and a very loud thought came to me, "What do dreams mean?" So, here is the momentary inspiration that came to me. I believe this is for someone in particular, however maybe you will get inspired or encouraged from it.

What do dreams mean?

Have you ever wondered this? Sure we all have the dreams that make no sense. Others we have inspire fear, confusion, weeping and laughing. These are not the dreams that I speak of. In my opinion most of our dreams are a way our mind blows off steam and helps us start each day with a clean slate.

There are dreams that are inspired by evil. We live in

a world of two realities: Physical that is experienced though our physical senses and spiritual that is experienced by our spiritual senses. It is important to be able to wash something’s from our mind and know that it is nothing but an attack and attempt to gain access to our thoughts to bring fear and confusion. These dreams, that leave you troubled -- pray over them, walk with caution and entrust it into the hands of God. Rebuke the Devil in Jesus Name, plead the Blood of Jesus and quote scriptures of praise and hope. Sometimes the Devil shows his cards when he attacks you in your dreams and you are able to walk with wisdom and no what ever he says, there is no reason to fear because he is a liar and the father of them.

Dreams that mean something, what do they mean?

I have over the years had a number of dreams that have stuck with me.

A few I can recall small details and they played out in my mind like

a riddle that caused me to ponder over them and wonder, “What does this dream mean?” I have met a few people that seemed to have some insight into dreams, however more often than not; I still was left a little unsettled, because I knew this was not the meaning of it.

In living for God, often a dream can be the source of confusion, because we grasp on to some detail of it, and when things don’t pan

out just like we anticipated our grip on where we are can be shaken.

An example of this is when I was in Bible School; I had a dream of my future wife and I. We were married and living in a house that we in time moved in when we got married. In this dream, I came in and found a little red headed girl greeting me. So, for the time that transpired from this dream, I always knew I would have a red-headed little girl. Over five years transpired and my wife and I got married, moved into this house that was in my dream and we were expecting our first child. We chose not to find out ahead of time, and I basically told everyone, “I know it will be a red headed little girl.” That day on delivery, I walk through the door and I am as much surprised as happy when I am carrying a silver haired little boy. I remember that moment in the delivery room, and the Doctor is holding it up by his little leg, and I see as he proclaims, “Mr. Phillips you have a baby boy.” I remember saying, "I thought it would be a girl."

Many of the things in this dream came true, but the ending of the dream and my interpretation was not true. I still don’t know what that little girl means, however I know that God gave me the dream, but it did teach me a lesson way back then, “Things are not always what they appear.”

If you look back in scripture, the dreams God shares with us are an allegory of sorts and leave the dreamer in wonder. That is one thing that I pinpoint as a dream that has meaning in it, because there are facts in it that cause me to go hmmm. And I am able to recall it into the day and days later.

The next thing, is unless God wants you to know what it means, the dream serves as a confirmation for some future event that God has ordained and planned for you.

Example, I have a friend who a few years ago was assisting a large thriving church. In the dream he walks out, or sees out the doors of the Church he is at then and looks into row upon row of cornfields.

People begin to walk out of the field and find salvation. He thought, “We are about to have a Revival here.” They did and are having revival in that church. However ironically, He recently was reminded of this dream. He now pastors and lives in a town that as far as the eye can see surrounding this town is row upon row of corn. The other day in prayer or ministry, God reminded him of this dream and it served as a marker of confirmation, ”I am in the will of God.”

It is my opinion, dreams are not meant to direct our lives, but later in life to bring confirmation of where we are and what we are doing.

Joseph, we don’t see that he ever understood the meaning of his dreams. He only told the details of the dreams; he did not ever elucidate the meaning. However, in that moment, when his brethren were kneeling before him he had a revelation toward his brothers, he was able to exclaim without laying blame.

This is important to grasp, our lives experience pain and hardship, however God is able to take the most terrible things in our life and use them to place us in circumstances where we could not have gotten otherwise. We should follow Joseph’s example and release the wrong and understand in faith, “I can be thankful for this, because it is setting me up for a special blessing.”

Joseph said it this way: “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.” (KJV)

This is the purpose of most divinely inspired dreams. I would say this is the purpose of most things that come into our life from a spiritual source, prophecy, visions and Words from the Lord. Don’t relegate your life to a dream or a prophecy.

Live your life, take everything one step at a time and be led by God. Just as Joseph could not have conspired his way into a position, if it is a God given dream or prophecy it will happen if you will just do what is right.

Don’t second-guess where you are or what you are doing because of a dream you had years ago. There are some things we don’t know and never will know. It could be that the dream helped you in some unforeseeable way, warned you or prepared you for something that was about to happen or will happen.

The steps of a good man are ordered of the Lord.

What God has for your life is a plan of goodness and grace. Who can know what God is doing and the why of it all? At times I consider the little girl in my dream. I wonder over it and laugh at myself. I have many things that I am anticipating that are a product of something that was inspired by God through dreams and impressions in prayer.

I have one dream that the whole dream is a picture of harmony and peace then everything goes haywire. In the end, I have killed this giant and from its decapitated head I am pulling souls that it devoured. There is simply no way for me to know what the allegory of all of it is, but I do go forward in caution and confidence, knowing in the End I win.

For whomever this is for, don’t worry over the details of your dreams. Just keep doing what you know to do and one day it will all make sense. Until then, I am going to bed. Sweet Dreams,

In Him, By Him, Through Him,

Scott Phillips

*******************************

The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have classes in Christianity, Wicca, Paganism, two courses in Metaphysics and much more. 

Ordination with the Free Online Ordination, button.We also offer many free wedding ceremonies for your use.
 

The  ULC, run by Rev. Long, has created a chaplaincy program to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and have loved watching the continual growth of the seminary.
 

Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar