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"Saviour Christ into Thy hands I commend the spirit
of this Thy child...
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"There is joy here in these conditions and as I look
out over the world in general l see the joy there as
well. As the rainbow tints bring a message of hope
to those who have felt the storm, then gladly we welcome
the rainbow, for it is the promise of brighter things
to come. You have assembled here today from your many
homes with dedication in your heart. The Master Christ
has accepted this gift of gifts and it will be used
for the furtherance of His holy work.
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"I am instructed to speak to you on that which I name
The Diadem of Power. You may think that this refers
only to the Holy One, but I want to show you how you
can win a diadem of power.
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"I know so well the difficulties of daily life. I know
of the warfare that is going on, openly and secretly,
stirred up by the fires of jealousy. I know that there
are those who want to serve God who often feel that
they are shut away from the glory of the Most High,
as they continue to climb the steep hill they are sad.
Over-wearied by the strain, it seems to them that they
have missed the blessings of power that they know are
poured upon them from God the Father.
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"So here, on this Christmas morning a spiritual message
of cheer shall come for the workers, for the disciples
and for those who desire to worship before the baby
Christ in spite of the enemies that cluster around.
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"Going back to that time of long ago we know that Peace
came into a world of turmoil. Our hearts go out to
Mary and Joseph for the persecution they had to endure,
for the long journey they had to undertake and the
cruelty of the authorities. These simple people were
trying to do their duty, determined to respond to the
voices of the angels. Our link with them is strengthened
for you - in your time - have suffered as well.
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"The Divine Purpose could not have come to fruition
had the Baby Jesus been born in comfort and security.
Jesus was born in a stable without the necessities
of life as a direct message to the poor, the outcast
and the lonely. Many are still despised today because
they live in humble ways. Many are looked down upon
by their fellows because they are not a material success.
They strive and pray, but the chains of poverty dog
their steps and even though they build castles in the
air, sometimes their possessions are taken from them.
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"All this represents the spiritual signs and wonders
of the stirring spirit within man. The signs and wonders
for which man craves - that invite danger because of
his curiosity and demands through his earthly desire
- is not the spiritual dedication required to bring
about these things through the power of God.
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"Some good souls seem to have nothing but trouble.
This is a sure sign of the Divine urge within. The
Spirit within will not be denied. The Spirit within
has chosen the hard way for the sake of the joy to
come and because it knows that Divine Power must be
drawn to the earth to safeguard and uplift.
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"Even on this happy morn, we think for a moment of
the Crown of Thorns. As the Wise Men gazed upon the
infant their eyes were opened. They saw the future
Messiah and hurried home to pray because they realised
that they could do nothing. Above the head of the Child
was a flame of light and they dared not interfere.
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"Perchance when you were born, above your head in miniature
in comparison with the Christ, there was also a flame
of light. The angels who watched over you, the mother
who bore you, the guides and protectors, dared not
interfere. They did as the Wise Men of old, they prayed,
not that the burden should be lifted from the growing
child, then of the man and of the woman, but that strength
might be given. That illumination and understanding
of the hard road ahead should be realised, because
when the yoke of the Christ is felt upon our shoulders,
we must know that He is bearing part of the burden
and our own portion becomes lighter.
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"On this Christmas morning, steadied by the Christ,
we are able to lift our mind above the hurt that has
been done to us, above the depression, above the disappointment
and realise that something has been worked through.
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"Did our character need a little more moulding? Did
the hidden enemy perhaps catch us off guard? If another
struck at us, did we not strike as well?
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"When you realise that an experience had purpose behind
it then, even though it was not God's purpose that
you should suffer, looking back with acquiescence you
see Divine Will in action. In the world there are many
that do not love God. Or if they love Him, love themselves
better. Even in the profession of their allegiance
to Christ they betray Him again and again. My message
to such as these is to turn to the angel by their side
and heed the tuition and the guidance that comes from
that holy one.
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"The past can be past. The present and the future can
readjust it. If there was sin in yesterday, but the
desire to make amends, by seeking to serve, that folly
can be obliterated from the soul body and the readjustment
will be blessed by God.
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"Therefore, at this happy Festival let us not count
the thorns on the crown placed upon your brow, for
we know that every cross and every crown of thorns
can - by the Grace of God - represent a diadem of power.
You who suffer pain cannot believe that that thorn
is going to represent a strong sinew of Divine Power
when you are free from the physical body. Poverty and
anxiety are as hatchets to tear from you the shell
that holds the Divine within.
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"Looking forward to tomorrow, realising that we have
been wisely lead, that we have not swerved too far
from the path, brings a message of comfort and illumination
for everyone. There must be trial and tribulation and
those things from which you shrink, because the earth
plane must be cleansed.
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"There are forces upon the earth that are damaging
in the extreme. There are those who have escaped the
borders of their own conditions and seek to wreck the
Divine Plan. Seizing one here and there, they use ambition,
vanity of heart and mind and spiritual pride. I dare
not deceive you with fair words. Purification must
come and the only way to purify is by sacrifice and
suffering.
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"That which is bravely borne shall be shown as man's
diadem of power. Once the crown is in place, nothing
that any conditions can thrust upon you will cause
your heart to ache. With the diadem of power comes
peace and the revelation that makes you one with Christ.
Automatically, you will hold out your hand to tests
and welcome the earthly sorrows that are cleaving the
way to joy and peace evermore.
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"Our thoughts go back to the Christ Child. We know
that His childhood was not easy. We know that He was
different from other children and that He was persecuted
and laughed at and scorned. All this was preparation
for the future tests that were to come. He stood alone,
looking for kindness in the eyes of one here, one there
and finding nothing but hate.
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"Why did they hate Him? His goodness shamed them. Although
they denied the Divinity that was within them, God's
gift was there. So the Master stood alone and upon
His brow was rammed the Crown of Thorns, His diadem
of power. Because the Master Jesus was born in a stable,
took on the woes of man and refused to cast down His
Crown of Thorns, joy inexpressible has come to millions
of souls.
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"So I ask you to face the coming year with comprehension
in advance of the tests that are to come. You are training
for a mighty work. Take up your cross for it is a sign
of honour, a symbol that the soul is ready for bigger
things, it has learned some of its lessons and is passing
into further stages of development. That is the true
meaning of the cross, typified in the life of the Master
Jesus.
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"Let the coming year be welcomed by us all. If there
is great strain, then so shall our strength be great.
The cruse of holy oil shall replenish our need. This
is the promise to everyone. Trust God and do His work,
though breaking point is reached, the thread will hold
for it is Divine, charged with the power of God Himself.
Throughout all time to be, it shall be as a line of
light through all earthly conditions, providing strength
to those who have not yet won their own power, yet
are trying to do their best.
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"The peace which knowing brings, the illumination when
we have missed something of the Divine Pattern and
the wonderful sense of kinship grows between ourselves
and the Master when we can bear our burdens patiently
for His sweet sake. What do we mean by 'for Christ's
sake'?
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"We know that all that He has, all that He is, is ours.
We know that in the Heart of God there is that which
cannot be completion until all are linked to Him once
more in love and 'for His sake' which is for the sake
of His creation. All that God has is for US.
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"For the sake of raising His creation as a whole we
are willing to co-operate, willing to do our part,
willing to pass through the dark and lonesome days
knowing that if only sight had been made our own we
should look on Beauty and be at peace.
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"Gladness underlying pain, glory only hidden by the
rain of physical life, the barren soil typifying the
hidden life within is the message for the New Year.
Another sweet opportunity comes to make a compact with
ourselves to forgive and forget. Injustice seems so
hard to bear when we are attacked for trying to do
well. Do not let your diadem of power bear a tarnished
point. Your crown of thorns is there by your spirit's
choice, you know that you have the strength to bear
its pain. Therefore, whatever the hurt, remember the
Master who gave love for hate, who never had to forgive,
for He loved so well.
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"Make an effort to rise above the pain of yesterday
and to overcome the misunderstanding, to break down
the barriers and to give love its rightful place. Love
is something that can withstand all tests, otherwise
it is not love. Love is something that has such vibrant
life within it that nothing can kill it nor quench
its glory.
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"So we will honour love by putting it on a pedestal
of effort where it rightly belongs. We will send out
our thoughts to all who have injured us, wherever they
may be, saying with the spirit within us 'I will forgive
and forget'. If they fail to do their part, then retribution
must follow fast upon them, for only by retribution
can God's Law of mercy be set in motion. What they
do not work out now must be worked out with greater
sorrow in the life to come.
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"When you are in the training stages, the opposition
is great. But fight on. There is no battle worth winning
that is too easy. Take up the challenge and see it
through even though at times your heart may be breaking.
Your diadem of power is sure and the blessing shall
be all around. As you strive to give, so you are combining
with the Holy Master to do His sacred work.
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"How great is the peace, how great is the vision before
my eyes. I see among us many men and women whose lives
seemed as utter failure to themselves. They were despised
and rejected. They wanted to be great souls, but it
seemed to them that they were only puny atoms. Yet
all the time, by struggling on they were turning their
crowns of thorns into a diadem of power. Now they come
back in all the glory of their spiritual robes as messengers
to you, saying: 'this can be your lot! Go your way
in peace'.
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"You are in training for God's most holy work not only
here upon the earth plane, but in those worlds beyond.
There are so many bound souls waiting to be released.
If you are not willing to endure, how can you be used?
Thank God there are many willing to endure, willing
to make the sacrifices, small or great, which are essential
for the refining of their character. When they pass
into the Light it will be all so clear to them.
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"Many will want to scourge themselves for not understanding
what lay beneath doing their 'duty', that they did
not grasp what was going on. But Christ will be there
to comfort, Christ will be there to give the word of
cheer, Christ will be there to release and all shall
be found so wonderfully well.
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"I bless you all as I take my leave. Now and again
the tempter will come saying: 'This is too much to
bear. Let another do it. Give up'. Do not hearken to
this voice. Fix your eyes upon the Cross. Let the Star
of Bethlehem be your hope and your guide. Remembering
the toil and weariness of the Master draws you closer
to the Fount of All Power, weariness shall depart and
strength shall come. In time you shall defy all physical
laws for you are in harmony with the laws of God. Because
you have struggled many shall have the will to rise
and follow after.
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"Peace be amongst you all. Even as I speak I see those
crowns of thorns transformed by many lights. It is
the herald of the diadem of power that shall surely
come. With faith and hope in our heart and mind we
turn to the Christ, rededicating ourselves to His Holy
Service and saying to Him: 'Take all that we have,
all that we can be, for indeed we are Thy servants
now and forever more'.
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"Over the ethers comes the answer from the Voice of
Love: 'My well beloved shall be used'.
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"Father we thank Thee! May the blessing of peace be
with you now and evermore. Amen."
