By Sister Cheryl Jacobs

“In the beginning, God created …”

“In the beginning was the Word”

Praise and thanks to God the Father, who through Christ Jesus and Holy Spirit, created us, redeemed us , and beckoned us to begin real life – a life lived out in relationship with our good God and with God’s whole creation. 

(And thanks to Brother Brian for his words of last week on beckoning.)

The Lord says in Ezekiel, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you;” (36:26). This is the promise when we respond to God’s beckoning, when we begin this journey of faith in Jesus.

The Christian Ashram is a place of beginning. Our vision is to provide a life-transforming fellowship with Christ. We are thankful for the many over the years who have surrendered to Jesus and had their lives transformed as a result of attending an Ashram. And we are thankful for the many who organize and lead Ashrams to provide these opportunities.

There is a rhythm to a Christian Ashram, including a beginning and an end. Brother Stanley said: “We begin with the Open Heart and end with the Overflowing Heart. We begin with ourselves, for that is the only place we can change – now. We begin with ourselves and then work out to the problems of society” (Song of Ascents).

The Christian Ashram can also be a place of beginning again. When we get away from the regular, and spend time focusing on our walk with God, we see ways we have wandered away and can turn back. My Christian path has not been a linear one but more circuitous, perhaps even like a spiral, with many turnings and re-beginnings.

Thanks be to God, whose “compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is [God’s] faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-24).

A funny thing happened as I started to write this devotion on the theme of “beginning”. The radio played “We’ve Only Just Begun” by the Carpenters. And most interestingly, it was requested to celebrate something like a 40th wedding anniversary. What a fantastic attitude!

“So much of life ahead

We’ll find a place where there’s room to grow

And yes, we’ve just begun”

When we consider eternity, each of us has only just begun this exciting relationship with our good Father. Perhaps the Christian Ashram movement has only just begun. It is a place that provides room to grow.

Now is the time to be praying about and planning how we each can be helping this ministry to grow. Perhaps that includes beginning again attending your local Ashram or helping another person or family to begin their Christian Ashram journey.