Q&A by the Reverend Doctor Durrell Watkins, Senior Pastor
Question: We are given such a positive message and warm experience at Sunshine Cathedral every Sunday morning. How can we maintain that feeling of joy and optimism during the week, Monday — Saturday? How do we keep shame, regret, and fear from creeping back into our consciousness?
Answer: How many years did we hear that God was angry with us, or that God’s love somehow excluded us? How many years were we presented a picture of God as a distant and disapproving relative? If we received that message in our formative years, and carried it around for 30, 50, or 70 years, then it might take a few years of hearing something consistently positive and nurturing to replace those old messages. I suggest that you keep coming to Sunshine Cathedral week after week (or, if you were to move, find a similar progressive and positive thinking church to attend). Read inspiring, loving literature. Spend time daily in meditation, simply experiencing the goodness of God’s presence. Come to our Sunday evening services to hear in-depth teaching sermons. Take a Light University class. Read Spirit & Truth, and watch Sharing the Light on the Internet. Surround yourself with positive people who recognize the sacred value of all living beings. Beliefs are just thoughts that we’ve rehearsed until they became habits. Once we rehearse the positive, uplifting, thoughts consistently enough, they will begin to shape our worldview. So just keep hearing the Good News over and over until it becomes part of you.
If you have questions about faith, the bible, the church, or sexuality & spirituality, you can email your questions to durrell@sunshinecathedral.org, or go to the Ask the Reverend Durrell Watkins page and click on the link there. Rev. Durrell Watkins will answer your questions and publish the answers here and in the weekly SunBurst. Your name will always be withheld, so only the actual question and the response will be published.
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