A Resurrecting Consciousness by Rev. Christine Emmerling, D.D. 4/12/2026

Today I’m speaking on “A Resurrecting Consciousness.” One thing is for sure, we can’t take the old patterns of our life, into our new consciousness. These old patterns are the thoughts, beliefs, emotions and habits that we hold so dearly too. Something must change that allows for the evolved or new version of who we are to show up.

At some point we find that our old ways of being no longer fit the life we desire. Yet if we try to bring our old patterns merged with the new soon we’ll find ourselves back where we started. Our old thoughts and habits will sabotage our new endeavors. Its like so many of those failed commitments to diets, exercise or spiritual practices.

Christ Jesus gave examples of this in Luke 5:36-39 of the Cloth and Wineskins. He told them this parable: “No one tears a piece out of a new garment to patch an old one. Otherwise, they will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for they say, ‘The old is better.’”

Jesus, would give examples from everyday life so people of that time would understand him. His parables had multiple levels of meaning. And, as he said, those that have ears to hear and eyes to see will understand the inner message. At one level, Jesus is saying that it is useless to try to patch up one’s old beliefs by blending them with new beliefs. This will only water down the truth and be useless. It is better to toss out the old belief and start with a fresh new one.

Too often our current pattern in life has been to complain about this and that, doing little to help ourselves or to serve others. The parable of the cloth likens that life-style to a worn out coat, which must someday be cast aside. Then we are to find and put on our new garment, new ways of living suitable for a spiritual being of light, our Christ-light, and to shine brightly.

We cannot expect to contain the new wine of spiritual consciousness within old beliefs and customs that are no longer useful. This would match the folly of pouring new wine into old, rigid wineskins. The fermentation would destroy the skins, and the new wine would be lost. The Holy Spirit’s inspiring and quickening power needs to be poured into fresh skins. That is into a new and more positive way of living and being.

When there is a shift in consciousness from one world view to another, there needs to be an open vessel, or mind, to receive and comprehend it. We can’t be debating and arguing, and expect to learn something new. We must listen with an open mind, meditate, contemplate and then decide its value. To just overlay the new idea and let it intermingle with the old concepts and beliefs will eventually lead to a mishmash, or an unstable foundation to live upon.

These teachings threaten our old beliefs, they make us question our life, our ways of being and doing. But, that is necessary to begin the process of tearing off the old garment, and replacing with the new so that the new wine, divine inspiration of spirit may flow through us.

Jesus was teaching Oneness - the Father within us - that is love and all power. This cannot be merged with beliefs in duality, separation, victim, or a punishing God. For example, we cannot say all is God and good, and then be doing practices to ward off the evil energies. We cannot believe in Oneness and separation, good and bad at the same time, any more than we can stand up and sit down at the same time. They are conflicting opposing beliefs to our Oneness.

We have to choose and choose carefully that which we are to embrace. Do we stand in the truth of goodness or do we go around faultfinding and blaming self and others. Ask, is this Truth based in Principle; does it stand the test of time; does it strengthen and empower or does it weaken me?

At another level, we’re talking about frequency. The frequency of our soul, body and mind. There has been much talk of the new higher light energies coming into our planet. Our body is the pure energy of light. Many spiritual teachers, have been focusing their students upon the energy system of the body to bring the body into a higher frequency. They have been teaching chakra meditations, sound meditations with toning, or the use of crystal bowls, and energetic body work. These are tools to assist in the process of our resurrection. For the higher frequency to hold, we must release our old habits, emotions, thoughts and beliefs.

As, I say, its an inside out world. What we carry within our being, our inner world of consciousness; our thoughts, emotions, feelings and beliefs will manifest in our outer world of experience. We will attract and experience in this world a matching frequency. A fearful frequency will match up with a frequency of fear, while a loving frequency will match up with a frequency of love. A matching frequency can include a wide range of experiences.

There’s this old saying, “What you are speaks so loud, that I can’t hear you.” What we are expressing, which means to press out from within, tells so much more about us. People may try to put on that new outfit, but the smile or lack of it gives away their true feelings. So does their energy field.

We’re unfolding, stretching, and changing into something new and different. Its about becoming the evolved human, being it from the inside out. We can read about how to dance, take classes and listen to teachers about dancing, or even watch experts dance, but until we take that first step to dance, we are not dancing. Its taking that first step or action to be, that we become.

Luke said, that man will prefer the old wine over the new. New wine can be tart or bitter, but it has so much potential when left to age. Yet we’re comfortable with what we know, even if we are miserable. It takes time and effort for our higher frequencies and new habits to feel comfortable, and even become more desirable than our old ways. Then they will truly take hold.

We may say that we want peace on earth, or more love in our life, but how many are willing to take the steps, the discipline to monitor and adjust their inner thoughts, attitudes and actions. It is an inside job for us to get the desired results. The good news is that we already have within us everything needed, the pattern is there ready to unfold. Otherwise, we wouldn’t even have the desire.

The following is an abbreviated presentation given by Nona Brooks at an INTA Congress in the early 1900s titled “Life, Light and Power.” Its entirety is in Nona’s book In the Light of Healing.

“The natural scientists tell us that when the amoeba moves from the shadow into the sunlight it is because it craves the sunlight. First, the desire, then the endeavor, and then the accomplishment. And again, they say that the water creatures did not first acquire lungs and then live on the land, but they tried to live on land and after repeated trials, developed lungs and accomplished their great aspiration.

But they were not satisfied even then; and so, living on land, the reptiles wanted something more and began to make repeated efforts to fly. They did not have wings and then try to fly, but they tried to fly many times and then developed the wings because of these repeated endeavors to do something that had never been done before.”

First the aspiration, then the endeavor; and mind you, aspiration goes out toward something that most frequently has never before been done – certainly not by the one who is endeavoring. First the aspiration; then the repeated endeavor, and then the accomplishment.”

From the beginning to the end of expression of life there is the one great longing and that is for something higher, something better, for knowledge; and knowledge is what I mean when I say light. The spirit of a hopeful endeavor possesses everything. I do not know how it is with you, but I love to think that there is this great push, the push of life from the Universal One to express itself more and more fully, through every expression of life from the least to the greatest.”

And you know and I know how tremendous is that inner urge that pushes within us; that insists that we shall not stand still; that we, like the lower creatures, shall not be satisfied with any stage of development, but shall push onward and upward; that every attainment shall be not a stopping place, but perhaps a resting point for a moment, each resting place shall be merely a stage between the last step and the step that is to come.”

There is this great inner urge. Man is ever impelled to find something out, something more wonderful, something more beautiful than he has ever known before; and we, as New Thought people, know that there is no limit to this development; that throughout eternity (and I rejoice that I can say it) there is going to be this constant moving forward, the perceiving of new truth, the embodiment of that truth in one’s consciousness and the application of it in every detail.”

The discover of truth belongs to everyone of us. It is absolutely essential that we shall discover it. Having discovered it, the next thing is to use it, to set it into action in every thought and every deed. When we put what we know into action, we shall become so established in the Life and Health of God that we shall not need to spend minutes or hours to help others, but our very presence will purify and heal and bless wherever we go. We shall manifest outwardly the Presence of God. The Invisible and the Visible shall be one in us.” (End)

Nona, speaks of three stages of development: first the aspiration or desire, then the endeavor (the seeking, the practicing), and then the finding; for the law is “he that seeks shall find.” We find the knowledge, the Truth, that sets us free. The final stage is to put into action, to live it in our lives, and share it with the world.

We are each responding to an inner urge for greater expression. It may be for a greater purpose in life, for greater peace or love, but what we are truly seeking is a closer relationship to God within us. We are stretching, unfolding and growing into something new and wonderful.

Our desire, our endeavor then is to abide in the mind of Christ of which we bear good fruit; that is to live freely, purposed, peaceful and joyful; a life for which we have been created to live.

The blueprint or pattern is already here within us, just waiting our recognition of the possibility of bringing forth the greater expression and living it with the fullest of our being. First, the desire, then the repeated endeavor, and then the accomplishment or manifestation. The invisible and the visible are one.

Affirm: I release the old and embrace the true light that I Am.