Walking with Jesus

Jesus has promised us in the Bible, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20, NIV). And He makes many references in A Course In Miracles stating the same thing. I know there are many differences between the Bible and the Course, but the central message is the same: we are walking back to God with Jesus by our side.

Some time ago I had both a humbling and beautiful experience with this, while I was making a wallpaper with the ACIM quote, “If you knew Who walks beside you on the way that you have chosen, fear would be impossible.“ (T18-III.3:2) I was proud of my work, the picture I had chosen, the beautiful font, and so on. Then, suddenly, I heard a voice say inside of me:

“Let this be real to you. I AM with you always!”

Holy Mackerel! For a moment I was stunned, and then I became embarrassed. There I am, sitting on my chair, entertaining all kinds of superficial, prideful thoughts about my work, and then Jesus gives me some personal, firm guidance about what kind of perspective I should have on this. Instead of absorbing wisdom, I was daydreaming.

Yet when my initial embarrassment was fading away, I got happy. A personal message from my Savior Jesus! He reminded me, I am never alone. A message that I really needed to hear, which everyone needs to hear. Brought to me by the One Who always walks beside me! What a blessing! And, because this is true for me, it must also be true for you. Thank You, Jesus!

On behalf of Magnum Opus Ministries NL,

Thijs Hottenhuis

Antoine’s Retreat Experience

For many who are on the spiritual path, going on a retreat is a truly helpful experience, even a blessing. There are many types of retreats, and this usually means that for several days (or longer) you do not engage in worldly activities, but focus on meditation, prayer, or contemplation. Recently, Antoine Theunissen went on such a retreat, and he shared his experiences with us.

“I was really looking forward to do the retreat, as it was something I wanted to do for years. My intention for going in was getting in closer intimacy with the Christ and in more clear communication with the Holy Spirit.

The three days resulted in many benefits that I now treasure in my heart. Most importantly, I learned to be more patient with myself and let things reveal and unfold to me, even if I have to be with it for many hours through the night. I taught myself how to ask for Light and blessings from the love in my heart where I am joined with the Holy Spirit. When I am in that place, there is always an immediate response from the Light.

It is a great opportunity to be really there with my practice without having to worry about the daily life in our temple and being fully taken care of.

As the end of my retreat approached, I felt I would have liked to keep going another day. But I accepted I had to return to my brothers and take up my practice there, no matter what is going on outside of me.

When I shared my experiences with Rananda the next day, he told me that being in 4 or 5 hours of healing light a day wasn’t that much, since a day has 24 hours. I see that as an encouragement to go for it and be with it all day.”

It is always beautiful to share our experiences on the spiritual path, to encourage each other to keep choosing for the Light, until we experience only Light! I am grateful for Antoine’s testimonial. If you want to know which retreat Antoine did, please check this link. Blessings and inspiration to you!

On behalf of Magnum Opus Ministries Nederland, Thijs Hottenhuis

Rananda’s YouTube Channel

For those who don’t know it yet, besides having a website dedicated to sharing Rananda’s teachings,  we now also have a dedicated YouTube channel called Rananda’s Teachings which already hosts 95 videos at the time of writing.

All these videos have one central theme, they are “Dedicated to the spreading of the teachings of Rananda, which are dedicated to the remembrance of What You have always been and will always be.” They invite, encourage, and help us awaken to the Glorious Truth of Who We are!

Today I want to share one of the latest additions to this YouTube channel, the video “Who Are You?” A 27 minute video with a powerful and transformative teaching. Thank you, Rananda!

Who Are You?

Rananda addresses how we are defined by the world and locked into our story of who we think we are. How to break this pattern? On considering who you think you are, you cannot do it! Where then is the solution?

On behalf of Magnum Opus Ministries NL, Thijs Hottenhuis