Our Father, we ask your blessing on all present today as we honor this child of yours as he begins his journey to your presence. May your light shine upon us all and your love and glory be a part of our lives each day. Amen.
Before I begin, I wish to pay personal tribute to the friendship and love of this man I have known and taught for over 22 Years. This is just one example of his kindness and understanding of others: As he spent each evening that week with me, 2 years ago while my only son was dying with cancer of the colon. We had only known for less than 3 weeks that that my Son was ill, he was 55 years old and appeared to be in good health. He and his fiancée arrived here at the MD Anderson Hospital for the last 10 days of his life –Tom made it a point to have dinner with me in the cafeteria and visited with some of the many who came to see my son, some of whom he already knew.
Tom picked me up at the airport and delivered me to the airport each of the 4 times that I needed transportation to and from the airport. After my son passed on, his fiancée Kathy, and I spent 2 days arranging for his transfer to El Paso for the funeral and Tom took the time to take Kathy and I to lunch and the airport in the middle of the day. I could not have asked for a more caring friend during this most grievous and painful event of my whole life.
Tom also had a great sense of humor and one of the best examples I had was in 1995 late in November we decided to have the annual conference out of town and arranged to go to Oklahoma’s Lake Murray Camp. He called to say he would be arriving later since some 15 carloads were going to caravan early that morning. Only one of my students had been to the camp with me before--- so she would pick him up at the airport and come on.
Getting this many organized and on the road took a while and patience but finally we were on our way! My group had begun to call on my cell phone to get me to stop in Lewisville for gas and whatever. So as I started to pull off the exit my car phone rang. Frustrated at one more call, I punched the speaker button so I could hear, and one of my students from out of town who had not met my entire group and was curious about them was also listening.
Out of the blue came a deep voice sounding, very military, that I did not recognize:
“Is this the Mother ship?”
Frustrated I replied, “Who is this?”
And the voice said, “This is Bluebird One checking in.”
I was stunned and it got very quiet as I didn’t know what to say for I had no idea what he was talking about----
Then an eruption of laughter and I just broke up for it was Tom and Martha and he had caught an earlier flight and they calling to let me know were close behind us. . My passenger, Tom French from Miami doubled up with laughter and still does when the story is told to this day—and it still is-----
Death is indeed a transition – a transition from the material into the beginning of our real life – the spirit life that lasts forever. For those of us here, think of Tom as though he has gone on an extended vacation. You will see him again in the future.
In the beginning after death, we are asleep. We are told that the “passing of time is of no moment to the sleeping mortal. He is wholly unconscious and oblivious to the length of his rest.”
The physical body is not a part of the resurrection of the sleeping survivor. It has returned to dust; but your guardian angels sponsor your new body that will contain your soul, the sacred trust that your guardian angel has kept for you until you are awakened. You will again have the same Fragment of the Father or Divine Spirit that indwelt you through this life, and He has kept the spirit transcript of your mind intact for you to have in your new life.
Think about this: the only thing we can see of ourselves now is our physical body. But we believe and accept that we have a soul, consciousness, mind, selfhood, intellect, free will, personality, conscience, and our God Fragment or Divine Spirit as well as being indwelt with the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of Truth.
Isn’t it interesting that none of these ingredients are a material or visible part of us and yet everything we are, can be, or will be – our very life itself – is totally dependent upon these ingredients – none of which we can see, feel, or touch. We accept that they exist because of evidence and experience.
Well, God is not seeable or touchable in the physical sense. But He does exist and is the cause of everything we can ever know. Our very own Fragment of the Father comes down from Paradise to help us in the long journey back to Paradise. Every step of the way we have His incredible guidance and loving care – and yes, even here we have that – if we listen, are willing to change our way of life---- and pay attention.
There truly exists within you a conspiracy of spiritual forces, a confederation of divine powers, whose exclusive purpose is to affect your final deliverance from material bondage and finite handicaps.
The purpose of all this ministration is, “That you may be strengthened with power through His spirit in the inner man.” And all this represents but the preliminary steps to the final attainment of the perfection of faith and service, that experience wherein you shall be "filled with all the fullness of God," "for all those who are led by the Divine Spirit of God are the sons of God."
And when such a life of spirit guidance is freely and intelligently accepted, there gradually develops within the human mind a positive consciousness of divine contact and assurance of spirit communion; sooner or later "God bears witness with your spirit (the Fragment of the Father) that you are a child of God."
The consciousness of the spirit domination of a human life is presently attended by an increasing exhibition of the characteristics of the Spirit in the life reactions of such a spirit-led mortal, "for the fruits of the spirit are--- Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance."
These characteristics describe the Tom I that I came to know and love as a son, beautifully.
Such spirit-guided and divinely illuminated mortals, while they yet tread the lowly paths of toil ---and in human faithfulness perform the duties of their earthly assignments, have already begun to discern the lights of eternal life as they glimmer on the faraway shores of another world; --- already have they begun to comprehend the reality of that inspiring and comforting truth, "The kingdom of God is not meat and drink but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit."
Having started out on the way of life everlasting, having accepted the assignment and received your orders to advance:
Do not fear the dangers of human forgetfulness and mortal inconstancy,
Do not be troubled with doubts of failure or by perplexing confusion,
Do not falter and question your status and standing,
For in every dark hour, at every crossroad in the forward struggle, the Spirit of Truth will always speak, saying, "This is the way."
The Spirit never drives, only leads.
- If you are a willing learner,
- If you want to attain spirit levels and reach divine heights,
- If you sincerely desire to reach the eternal goal,
Then the Divine Spirit will gently and lovingly lead you along the pathway of sonship and spiritual progress.
Every step you take must be one of willingness, intelligent and cheerful cooperation. The domination of the Divine Spirit is never tainted with coercion nor compromised by compulsion.
Tom was ordained as a Minister in the Michaels Church on November 9, 2002.
My beautiful group of three in the middle Tom Lawrence, Mike Horton, and Diane Cowdenwith Mary assisting)
Tom wrote the following for the history book about the Michaels Foundation as a record of his feelings and thoughts on this day.
Tom Lawrence’s Memories
My own ordination, the third in Michael’s church, was a magical day as well. Much different than the first, but very special in its own way. Again high energy, but it was much more electric. I was receiving considerable help from my friends and from God. This energy, while being warm was also energizing. I was operating on a different plane of reality, and in many respects the whole experience was like a living dream.
This was a day that was the culmination of many things, and the beginning of a journey. It was at the same time a day of pride, and extremely humbling. The reality of a person who had so totally missed the path and the message that was living inside of himself his entire life, could come to this public declaration and promise to teach any way possible and become ordained into a church of applied truth, is indeed proof that anything is possible through God.
It was a fun day too! There were three of us being ordained this day, Mike Horton, Diane Cowden, and myself, and I remember there being much commotion in the room behind the sanctuary where we were all preparing. Not unlike the commotion of a wedding ceremony, people smiling and laughing, lot of talking and a lot of people trying to maintain an air of decorum at the same time. I remember that there was a lot of other “stuff”, things we had to work around in the room that added to the general commotion.
Finally, things were set, Jean came in with last minute instruction, and when she did I felt a fireball, her energy again so strong, had hit me. I paid attention as best I could, I remember hoping that I wouldn’t trip or faint once the ceremony began, and then it began. When it did, and once I was still on the altar in the church, it was as though I was being held by God. I could see Him in the faces of all those I looked upon. My strength and my purpose were His. I could hardly wait to do what I could, what I would be led to do to help spread the good news of the Kingdom of Heaven and the love of the living God!
End Tom Lawrence’s memories
The students who had been ordained wanted to stand with the three in their robes as a show of solidarity. What a beautiful sight!
In conclusion:
“Men all too often forget that God is the greatest experience in human existence. Other experiences are limited in their nature and content, but the experience of God has no limits save those of the creature's comprehension capacity, and this very experience is in itself capacity enlarging.
When men search for God, they are searching for everything.
When they find God, they have found everything.
The search for God is the unstinted bestowal of love attended by amazing discoveries of new and greater love to be bestowed.”
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