Just received a special card for this time of year, and its simple message stirred my heart. It was sent by a man of business we know, who is first and foremost a Christian. I feel it should be repeated on this blog:
"We celebrate Jesus, love's pure light."
And the Scriptural passage that accompanied it -- "In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him."
(I John 4:9)
What better way to celebrate Christmas -- and Jesus --than reflecting more of God's dear love to all.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Power: His, Not Ours
With Christ we shall prevail.
Without Christ we're sure to fail.
"I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the
same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing."
JESUS
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
A Heads-Up From Jesus
In telling his disciples about things to come, Christ Jesus spoke of "men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth." (Luke 21:26, 28)
Many people may be ready to conclude that these days are upon us. They feel disillusioned, depressed. Many lose heart.
This, however, is the thing we shouldn't do when faced with disheartening circumstances, because Jesus not only warned us of eventual upheaval, but also said, "When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads: for your redemption draweth nigh."
Our freedom from fear and hopelessness can come as we begin to understand something of God's government of man and the universe. Christian Science, in accord with the spirit of the Bible, shows one how to look up, through enlightened prayer, to find God's ever-present, redeeming help. In the Old Testament the prophet Jeremiah exclaims: "Ah Lord God! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee." (Jeremiah 32:17)
Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, writes in
Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures: "It is our ignorance of God, the divine Principle, which produces apparent discord, and the right understanding of Him restores harmony." (page 390) Challenges do seem hopeless to us if we believe God to be less than infinite, almighty good and if we think of man as separated from God, left to fend for himself in a haphazard, material universe. But there is great reason for hope when we come to see that God is indeed the supreme benevolent power the Bible teaches Him to be and that man is His expression, inseparable from Him, loved by Him, secure in Him. And so important to know, governed by divine law.
The basis of Jesus' unfailing ability to subdue difficulties of every description was his practical understanding of divine law, his consciousness of man's spiritual relationship to God. He saw beyond the faulty, fleshly sense of man as a sinful or sick mortal to the reality of man as God's spiritual likeness. When we come to realize through prayer that God is continously maintaining all in spiritual harmony and perfection we can begin to see there is no hopeless situation, no insoluble problem, no matter how bad things look.
"But I have every right to feel depressed, downhearted," one may say. "Personal problems are very challenging for me right now." But not even this places one in a hopeless situation, because prayer is being answered today through an understanding of what God and man really are, through an understanding that the actual status of man is spiritual perfection, transcending what the eye beholds. Christian Science shows any sincere, thoughtful seeker for freedom how he can find healing, and it doesn't matter whether the trouble is physical, emotional, moral, or financial.
What we think of as a physical condition is, in the most fundamental sense, the objectification of our thinking. And so as we purify--or spiritualize--our thoughts, it naturally follows that our life becomes more harmonious, more in line with God's law of good.
Because your daily experience, like mine, is an expression of thought, the great need is for a change of mental standpoint. Through prayer we need to gain a correct, spiritual view of man as the image of God. In other words, we need to realize that inharmony of whatever kind is not a parat of our real selfhood made in God's likeness.
Accepting the premise that God is perfect Spirit, as the Bible teaches, we realize that the creations of Spirit can only be spiritual, perfect. And this is the reality of our being, despite appearances to the contrary. No matter how real it appears to be, a hopeless condition has no true existence in God's sight. Why? Because God never made it.
Regardless of how joyless or desolate life may sometimes seem, there is no need for anyone to give up. God's love is in continuous operation, and it is sustaining each one of us. Our Saviour, Jesus, showed us this--conclusively.
Many people may be ready to conclude that these days are upon us. They feel disillusioned, depressed. Many lose heart.
This, however, is the thing we shouldn't do when faced with disheartening circumstances, because Jesus not only warned us of eventual upheaval, but also said, "When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads: for your redemption draweth nigh."
Our freedom from fear and hopelessness can come as we begin to understand something of God's government of man and the universe. Christian Science, in accord with the spirit of the Bible, shows one how to look up, through enlightened prayer, to find God's ever-present, redeeming help. In the Old Testament the prophet Jeremiah exclaims: "Ah Lord God! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee." (Jeremiah 32:17)
Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, writes in
Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures: "It is our ignorance of God, the divine Principle, which produces apparent discord, and the right understanding of Him restores harmony." (page 390) Challenges do seem hopeless to us if we believe God to be less than infinite, almighty good and if we think of man as separated from God, left to fend for himself in a haphazard, material universe. But there is great reason for hope when we come to see that God is indeed the supreme benevolent power the Bible teaches Him to be and that man is His expression, inseparable from Him, loved by Him, secure in Him. And so important to know, governed by divine law.
The basis of Jesus' unfailing ability to subdue difficulties of every description was his practical understanding of divine law, his consciousness of man's spiritual relationship to God. He saw beyond the faulty, fleshly sense of man as a sinful or sick mortal to the reality of man as God's spiritual likeness. When we come to realize through prayer that God is continously maintaining all in spiritual harmony and perfection we can begin to see there is no hopeless situation, no insoluble problem, no matter how bad things look.
"But I have every right to feel depressed, downhearted," one may say. "Personal problems are very challenging for me right now." But not even this places one in a hopeless situation, because prayer is being answered today through an understanding of what God and man really are, through an understanding that the actual status of man is spiritual perfection, transcending what the eye beholds. Christian Science shows any sincere, thoughtful seeker for freedom how he can find healing, and it doesn't matter whether the trouble is physical, emotional, moral, or financial.
What we think of as a physical condition is, in the most fundamental sense, the objectification of our thinking. And so as we purify--or spiritualize--our thoughts, it naturally follows that our life becomes more harmonious, more in line with God's law of good.
Because your daily experience, like mine, is an expression of thought, the great need is for a change of mental standpoint. Through prayer we need to gain a correct, spiritual view of man as the image of God. In other words, we need to realize that inharmony of whatever kind is not a parat of our real selfhood made in God's likeness.
Accepting the premise that God is perfect Spirit, as the Bible teaches, we realize that the creations of Spirit can only be spiritual, perfect. And this is the reality of our being, despite appearances to the contrary. No matter how real it appears to be, a hopeless condition has no true existence in God's sight. Why? Because God never made it.
Regardless of how joyless or desolate life may sometimes seem, there is no need for anyone to give up. God's love is in continuous operation, and it is sustaining each one of us. Our Saviour, Jesus, showed us this--conclusively.
Monday, December 12, 2011
God's Artistry
Winter's here, for a time,
and I love its glitter:
shining streams,
brilliant tree trunks,
sparkling grass,
all look to me
like crushed diamonds.
And in a certain light,
on the ground,
rubies, emeralds,
and sapphires, too.
His priceless gifts
are all around.
And so is He.
and I love its glitter:
shining streams,
brilliant tree trunks,
sparkling grass,
all look to me
like crushed diamonds.
And in a certain light,
on the ground,
rubies, emeralds,
and sapphires, too.
His priceless gifts
are all around.
And so is He.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
The Greatest Gift
With people scurrying around
Christmas gifts to find,
This comes to mind,
Something some time ago I read:
"Have I thanked You enough today
For Your unspeakable gift?"
A famous man more than once said,
Was heard by his men to pray --
American Civil War general
Robet E. Lee.
It was, of course, Jesus
He was referring to.
Think of the influence for good
On those who heard him say it,
And on those who have read
His stirring words since.
How grateful are we
For what God has given us?
Let us
Boldly, Humbly, say.
(Can't help thinking this morning about another gift to mankind, and that the Discovery of Christian Science by Mary Baker Eddy -- especially her great book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. The truths therein honour God's holy child in a sublime way in that it makes available to suffering humanity the truths that were the basis of Jesus' marvelous works.)
Christmas gifts to find,
This comes to mind,
Something some time ago I read:
"Have I thanked You enough today
For Your unspeakable gift?"
A famous man more than once said,
Was heard by his men to pray --
American Civil War general
Robet E. Lee.
It was, of course, Jesus
He was referring to.
Think of the influence for good
On those who heard him say it,
And on those who have read
His stirring words since.
How grateful are we
For what God has given us?
Let us
Boldly, Humbly, say.
(Can't help thinking this morning about another gift to mankind, and that the Discovery of Christian Science by Mary Baker Eddy -- especially her great book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. The truths therein honour God's holy child in a sublime way in that it makes available to suffering humanity the truths that were the basis of Jesus' marvelous works.)
Friday, December 2, 2011
Mind Can Show Us How
At exactly 5:50 the other night
(I could hardly wait!)
Turned on the tiny white lights
Around doorway, on bushes and trees,
And around the front of the house.
A lovely, magical sight.
Twice I almost called a neighbor
To help me connect the maze.
Instead, I turned to Mind,
And voila the job was a breeze.
(I can never be thankful enough for what Christian Science has taught me about God as the ever-present, all-knowing Mind that has an answer to every problem we encounter in daily life.)
(I could hardly wait!)
Turned on the tiny white lights
Around doorway, on bushes and trees,
And around the front of the house.
A lovely, magical sight.
Twice I almost called a neighbor
To help me connect the maze.
Instead, I turned to Mind,
And voila the job was a breeze.
(I can never be thankful enough for what Christian Science has taught me about God as the ever-present, all-knowing Mind that has an answer to every problem we encounter in daily life.)
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Avoiding Destruction
To avoid destruction worthy of the name,
Embrace the narrow path Jesus taught
His followers to take in life.
Why did our Master say this to us?
To take all the joy out of living?
Ridiculous thought.
It was to save us from the sorrow,
The disillusionment and lack
Of all things worth having
That inevitably comes from
Taking the world's way.
And the worst thing about
Disobeying Jesus' command?
It leads to a sense of
Living apart from God,
To absence of the lasting good
Our wonderful God alone can give.
So, no matter how far down the broad way
You may have gone -- even if almost to the end --
You can turn around now and adopt
The true, the only, way to live.
Your heavenly Father wants you safe with Him.
Embrace the narrow path Jesus taught
His followers to take in life.
Why did our Master say this to us?
To take all the joy out of living?
Ridiculous thought.
It was to save us from the sorrow,
The disillusionment and lack
Of all things worth having
That inevitably comes from
Taking the world's way.
And the worst thing about
Disobeying Jesus' command?
It leads to a sense of
Living apart from God,
To absence of the lasting good
Our wonderful God alone can give.
So, no matter how far down the broad way
You may have gone -- even if almost to the end --
You can turn around now and adopt
The true, the only, way to live.
Your heavenly Father wants you safe with Him.
Our Reason for Being...
...is to bless others. At least, I hope this is what many have awakened to as their purpose in life. Of course, there are a host of things that will try to prevent this divine activity. And what I'm thinking about right now is what discouragement and self-pity will do to block the good we might otherwise do.
Let's take self-pity. This is bad, really bad. If it were from our heavenly Father, we would do the best we could with it and grow stronger thereby. But of course it isn't. It's from the carnal mind, evil if you will, and while we're wallowing in such a state of thought, and wallowing is not too strong a word, (picture yourself doing this -- dignified, isn't it?) we're lost in self , and can't be about our business of loving and serving others.
Remember this: it isn't us the devil is after; it's to interfere with Christ working in us to bless others.
As the woman who founded Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy, points out in her writings: "All power and happiness are spiritual, and proceed from goodness. Sacrifice self to bless one another, even as God has blessed you."
(Miscellaneous Writings, page 155.)
Let's take self-pity. This is bad, really bad. If it were from our heavenly Father, we would do the best we could with it and grow stronger thereby. But of course it isn't. It's from the carnal mind, evil if you will, and while we're wallowing in such a state of thought, and wallowing is not too strong a word, (picture yourself doing this -- dignified, isn't it?) we're lost in self , and can't be about our business of loving and serving others.
Remember this: it isn't us the devil is after; it's to interfere with Christ working in us to bless others.
As the woman who founded Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy, points out in her writings: "All power and happiness are spiritual, and proceed from goodness. Sacrifice self to bless one another, even as God has blessed you."
(Miscellaneous Writings, page 155.)
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
November Wind
Ah, the wind is in the tree
And there are few sounds to me
As comforting in nature,
Yes, comforting --
Not mournful or forboding
As it seems to some.
The wind makes me feel
Enveloped, safe, protected.
And why not,
Since God is all around.
(When out and about on windy days, or evenings, I always think of something Mary Baker Eddy points out in her book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures where she says of wind: "That which indicates the might of omnipotence and the movements of God's spiritual government..."
And there are few sounds to me
As comforting in nature,
Yes, comforting --
Not mournful or forboding
As it seems to some.
The wind makes me feel
Enveloped, safe, protected.
And why not,
Since God is all around.
(When out and about on windy days, or evenings, I always think of something Mary Baker Eddy points out in her book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures where she says of wind: "That which indicates the might of omnipotence and the movements of God's spiritual government..."
Thursday, November 10, 2011
What a treasure!
A lady I know in New Zealand just emailed me her sentiments about free public libraries. She's with a library in one of her country's largest cities, and she said, in essence, "To me libraries are a wonder and a treasure, and I can't imagine my life without them." Needless to say, I agree with her completely.
But her comments about something being a treasure made me think of my religion, Christian Science. It is a God-given treasure to me (and to many others), and I can't imagine what my life would be, and would have been, without its teachings.
How often I've thought with gratitude what I owe my mother and the neighbor who spoke to her of Christian Science when there was such a need for better health. Battling a condition kind doctors had not been able to heal, for many years, this neighbor noticed my mother's suffering. She had two small children, and existence was not easy given her ill health. Mary Baker Eddy's book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures was mentioned as having brought healing to many around the world, and this interested my mother greatly. She obtained a copy of this book, began reading and pondering the truths therein. And not all the way through her reading, a dramatic healing took place. Her joy was unbounded, as anyone can imagine. She became a devoted student of Christian Science and had many proofs of God's mighty power over the years, as did we children.
There are treasures in this life, and then there are treasures. And at the top of my list is the invaluable help Christian Science brings to my life every single day.
But her comments about something being a treasure made me think of my religion, Christian Science. It is a God-given treasure to me (and to many others), and I can't imagine what my life would be, and would have been, without its teachings.
How often I've thought with gratitude what I owe my mother and the neighbor who spoke to her of Christian Science when there was such a need for better health. Battling a condition kind doctors had not been able to heal, for many years, this neighbor noticed my mother's suffering. She had two small children, and existence was not easy given her ill health. Mary Baker Eddy's book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures was mentioned as having brought healing to many around the world, and this interested my mother greatly. She obtained a copy of this book, began reading and pondering the truths therein. And not all the way through her reading, a dramatic healing took place. Her joy was unbounded, as anyone can imagine. She became a devoted student of Christian Science and had many proofs of God's mighty power over the years, as did we children.
There are treasures in this life, and then there are treasures. And at the top of my list is the invaluable help Christian Science brings to my life every single day.
Monday, November 7, 2011
God is With You
"God is with you in everything you do"* -- words so very true, words meant for me and you. They're on a bookmark a friend sent us from afar, and I see this little gift in a book I read every day.
Whether it's day or night, whether we're at home or far away, whether we're feeling up and cheery, or downhearted and weary, what a faith-lighted thought this is, that our loving Father is never apart from us.
Is this not glorious to think about? That His care does surround us. Not only us, but those we love--beside them always, above. And not only those we're close to, and friends we greet, but people on the other side of the world we may never meet.
What would mankind do if these words were not true? But oh they are -- something which circumstances we encounter cannot erase.
God with us -- what a treasure, a comforting presence without measure.
*See Genesis 21:22
Whether it's day or night, whether we're at home or far away, whether we're feeling up and cheery, or downhearted and weary, what a faith-lighted thought this is, that our loving Father is never apart from us.
Is this not glorious to think about? That His care does surround us. Not only us, but those we love--beside them always, above. And not only those we're close to, and friends we greet, but people on the other side of the world we may never meet.
What would mankind do if these words were not true? But oh they are -- something which circumstances we encounter cannot erase.
God with us -- what a treasure, a comforting presence without measure.
*See Genesis 21:22
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
The Radical Difference Christ Makes
Am I suggesting that making
Christ the focus of one's life,
Looking to Him for all that
Makes life wonderful,
Living in obedience to what He taught,
That challenges will suddenly cease?
In no way.
As many of us already know,
there are going to be difficulties.
But our day-to-day experience
Becomes, because of Christ,
Much more alive --
Healthier, happier, free --
The way our Father wants it to be.
Life becomes a real adventure.
And in the situations that once
Would have defeated us,
We now find ourselves
Having the mastery.
(As only Paul could put it: "We give thanks to God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ...Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son" (Colossians 3 and 13)
Christ the focus of one's life,
Looking to Him for all that
Makes life wonderful,
Living in obedience to what He taught,
That challenges will suddenly cease?
In no way.
As many of us already know,
there are going to be difficulties.
But our day-to-day experience
Becomes, because of Christ,
Much more alive --
Healthier, happier, free --
The way our Father wants it to be.
Life becomes a real adventure.
And in the situations that once
Would have defeated us,
We now find ourselves
Having the mastery.
(As only Paul could put it: "We give thanks to God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ...Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son" (Colossians 3 and 13)
Friday, October 14, 2011
Giving back to God
We watched an interesting documentary last night on the remarkable building that Egyptians did a couple of centuries before Jesus appeared. And thinking about the monuments they raised to honor their Pharoahs, I couldn't help pondering this verse from the Old Testament: "What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me?" (Psalms 116:12) Is this not a sublime prayer!
When one thinks of all the blessings our loving heavenly Father daily pours out upon us, it is natural that we would want to give back in some way. One can well understand men's desire through the centuries to erect structures reaching up to the heavens. Contemplating all this on my early morning walk with one of our dogs, I concluded that the best way to acknowledge God's gifts is to take seriously what He gave His Son to give to us. As God says in the New Testament: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him." (Matthew 17:5)
What higher monument could we build to show our gratitude than living what Jesus commanded? And being a student of the Christ Science, I followed out my thinking on this theme, that the way we honor our Father is staying true to what Mary Baker Eddy has revealed of the truths that were the basis of our Master's glorious teachings and healings.
When one thinks of all the blessings our loving heavenly Father daily pours out upon us, it is natural that we would want to give back in some way. One can well understand men's desire through the centuries to erect structures reaching up to the heavens. Contemplating all this on my early morning walk with one of our dogs, I concluded that the best way to acknowledge God's gifts is to take seriously what He gave His Son to give to us. As God says in the New Testament: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him." (Matthew 17:5)
What higher monument could we build to show our gratitude than living what Jesus commanded? And being a student of the Christ Science, I followed out my thinking on this theme, that the way we honor our Father is staying true to what Mary Baker Eddy has revealed of the truths that were the basis of our Master's glorious teachings and healings.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
A book that transforms lives
Every so often I re-read the testimonies of healing at the conclusion of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy's masterwork, and just now came across something I must send into cyberspace. It's found on page 644 and describes so well what many of us have experienced through our encounter with this God-inspired volume.
The writer from Bloomfield, Nebraska says: "Like a prisoner who had been in chains for years, I was suddenly set free. I did not then know how the chain had been removed, but I had to acknowledge that it came through the reading of this book. I then felt an ardent desire to read more and to know what this power was that had freed in a few days of that which I had been trying for years to shake off and had failed. It then became clear to me that this was the truth which Jesus Christ taught and preached to free humanity almost two thousand years ago."
How many of us can say an Amen to this. This book the man refers to is available today, thank God, and is in most public libraries where you can check out a copy. Or it can be obtained on-line, or from a Christian Science Reading Room. What has done wonders for countless others, can transform your life. And God being in charge of this blog I'm doing, I know He can cause someone in need in any part of the globe to read this, be inspired to get Science and Health, and start on an amazing spiritual journey.
The writer from Bloomfield, Nebraska says: "Like a prisoner who had been in chains for years, I was suddenly set free. I did not then know how the chain had been removed, but I had to acknowledge that it came through the reading of this book. I then felt an ardent desire to read more and to know what this power was that had freed in a few days of that which I had been trying for years to shake off and had failed. It then became clear to me that this was the truth which Jesus Christ taught and preached to free humanity almost two thousand years ago."
How many of us can say an Amen to this. This book the man refers to is available today, thank God, and is in most public libraries where you can check out a copy. Or it can be obtained on-line, or from a Christian Science Reading Room. What has done wonders for countless others, can transform your life. And God being in charge of this blog I'm doing, I know He can cause someone in need in any part of the globe to read this, be inspired to get Science and Health, and start on an amazing spiritual journey.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
As to "The Broken Net"
In an August blog post here, I mentioned a new website my husband had just started. Well, some readers noticed a similarity to another website on Christian Science which was widely read and discussed, and inquired if that one could have had the same author. My husband replied as follows:
Things without all remedy/Should be without regard: what's done is done. -
"Macbeth" (Shakespeare)
Let me say, of all the people I know who feel a deep love for the Cause of Christian Science, and respect for its Discoverer and Founder, Mary Baker Eddy, and have worked tirelessly to uphold the purity of the teachings of Divine Science, I'm married to one shining example.
Things without all remedy/Should be without regard: what's done is done. -
"Macbeth" (Shakespeare)
Let me say, of all the people I know who feel a deep love for the Cause of Christian Science, and respect for its Discoverer and Founder, Mary Baker Eddy, and have worked tirelessly to uphold the purity of the teachings of Divine Science, I'm married to one shining example.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Mind's Artistry
I may not come in until December! Autumn being my favorite month -- especially October -- it's just too glorious outdoors to do much inside. Not the autumn we knew in New England, but close. Really close. Case in point: while sitting outside just now with one of our dogs reveling in the crisp, invigorating air, I happened to see something quite amazing. There above a shrub was the most perfect spider web I've ever seen. A perfect, large circle with the little artist sitting inside. How one tiny thing could create something so symmetrical and so beautiful with the sun hitting it! But being one of God's, Mind's creatures, it shouldn't be so surprising to me.
Couldn't help thinking of something Mary Baker Eddy writes in her book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures (page 468): "All is infinite Mind and its infinite manifestation, for God is All-in-all."
To think that from the smallest of His creations to man himself, we are what God has formed, a manifestation of Mind. What an eternal truth -- a truth Christ Jesus exemplified in dazzling demonstrations -- to take with me today and every day.
Couldn't help thinking of something Mary Baker Eddy writes in her book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures (page 468): "All is infinite Mind and its infinite manifestation, for God is All-in-all."
To think that from the smallest of His creations to man himself, we are what God has formed, a manifestation of Mind. What an eternal truth -- a truth Christ Jesus exemplified in dazzling demonstrations -- to take with me today and every day.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Opportunity and Employment
It was an unhappy friend who sat across from me the other day at lunch. This woman was feeling frustrated with a lack of employment, wishing she had the opportunity to make use of her training and expertise.
Many people have a desire, and downright need, to express their particular abilities in a satisfying and rewarding way. But you know what? We each can lead a fuller, more useful life, whatever our line of endeavor may be, no matter what challenges we may be facing.
Instead of wasting time waiting for opportunity to knock at the door of their lives, people can wake up the fact that bountiful good lies within their grasp now. Christ Jesus said, "The kingdom of God is within you." (Luke 17:21) And this is just where opportunity is, too.
This kingdom of good, this absolute reign of God, divine Principle, is not dependent on people, places, or the world economic situation. It is intact -- within the true consciousness of each of us, which is a reflection of God Himself, of the one perfect Mind. We can begin to discern this reality through prayer and through a spiritual understanding of God and man.
As we learn from the Bible, man is actually the spiritual image of God. He is the loved likeness of divine Love. This realization helps us to turn radically away from the discouraging view of inactivity or frustration. It encourages us to accept the spiritual fact that because God is infinite, ever-active good, man, His image, must be continuously expressing that good in satisfying activity.
In assuring mankind of God's tender relationship to each of His offspring, and of man's spiritual value, Jesus said: "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows." (Matthew 10:29-31) Each and every one of us is important, useful individual, because we are all God's beloved offspring, made in His image.
Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science writes in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures: "If God, who is Life, were parted for a moment from His reflection, man, the Father would be childless, -- no Father." (p. 306)
As an individual grows in the understanding of man's unity with his Maker, he comes to realize that he can't be forgotten, lost in the crowd; he can't be deprived of God-given avenues for self-expression.
Nothing brings opportunity to one's door quicker than the desire to be useful to God and to one's fellow beings. With this holy aspiration even the most under-utilized person will find his life blossoming into activity that blesses more widely than he imagined. No matter how desolate one's circumstances may sometimes seem, they can be turned completely around as he begins to understand his actual, spiritual nature and strives wholeheartedly to reflect the divine will.
You and I exist to bear witness to God, to reflect Him in every thing we do. Our purpose or activity, then, is not actually at the disposal of individuals, places, or time. As we know ourselves to be God's prefect child, we see the opportunity to lead a meaningful life can never really be absent. As the Bible assures us, "God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work." (II Corinthians 9:8)
Many people have a desire, and downright need, to express their particular abilities in a satisfying and rewarding way. But you know what? We each can lead a fuller, more useful life, whatever our line of endeavor may be, no matter what challenges we may be facing.
Instead of wasting time waiting for opportunity to knock at the door of their lives, people can wake up the fact that bountiful good lies within their grasp now. Christ Jesus said, "The kingdom of God is within you." (Luke 17:21) And this is just where opportunity is, too.
This kingdom of good, this absolute reign of God, divine Principle, is not dependent on people, places, or the world economic situation. It is intact -- within the true consciousness of each of us, which is a reflection of God Himself, of the one perfect Mind. We can begin to discern this reality through prayer and through a spiritual understanding of God and man.
As we learn from the Bible, man is actually the spiritual image of God. He is the loved likeness of divine Love. This realization helps us to turn radically away from the discouraging view of inactivity or frustration. It encourages us to accept the spiritual fact that because God is infinite, ever-active good, man, His image, must be continuously expressing that good in satisfying activity.
In assuring mankind of God's tender relationship to each of His offspring, and of man's spiritual value, Jesus said: "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows." (Matthew 10:29-31) Each and every one of us is important, useful individual, because we are all God's beloved offspring, made in His image.
Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science writes in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures: "If God, who is Life, were parted for a moment from His reflection, man, the Father would be childless, -- no Father." (p. 306)
As an individual grows in the understanding of man's unity with his Maker, he comes to realize that he can't be forgotten, lost in the crowd; he can't be deprived of God-given avenues for self-expression.
Nothing brings opportunity to one's door quicker than the desire to be useful to God and to one's fellow beings. With this holy aspiration even the most under-utilized person will find his life blossoming into activity that blesses more widely than he imagined. No matter how desolate one's circumstances may sometimes seem, they can be turned completely around as he begins to understand his actual, spiritual nature and strives wholeheartedly to reflect the divine will.
You and I exist to bear witness to God, to reflect Him in every thing we do. Our purpose or activity, then, is not actually at the disposal of individuals, places, or time. As we know ourselves to be God's prefect child, we see the opportunity to lead a meaningful life can never really be absent. As the Bible assures us, "God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work." (II Corinthians 9:8)
Monday, September 26, 2011
A Calming Influence
It was one of those days we probably all experience at some point. Too many demands being made, everything needing attention at once. Chaos was at the door.
Then I recalled a phrase I had seen earlier when in an office downtown, waiting for the owner of the business to arrive. Looking at his plaques on the wall, this one caught my eye: "Be still, and know that I am God." It's from the Old Testament (Psalms 46:10), and when my friend came in, I pointed to it and said, "Definitely a good idea." He nodded and just smiled, being a quite religious man. We were on the same page we realized.
As I thought about this Biblical admonition, I called a time-out and just sat on the sofa, turning thoughts to God's everpresence. Also, the truths I've learned through years of studying and practicing Christian Science were a great help, primarily the thought that all is actually under the control of God, divine Mind. It wasn't long at all before I felt a calming influence come over me.
Another statement from the Bible came to mind and was a great help: "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee; because he trusteth in thee." Also from the Old Testament, Isaiah 26:3 to be exact. "Stayed" on Him -- not on the surrounding distractions.
Turning to God in the upheaval around me, as our blessed Master habitually did, brought me a measure of that peace Christ Jesus promises us in these words: "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." (John 14:27) And the rest of the day went smoothly with everything getting accomplished without the stress and strain I was feeling earlier.
Then I recalled a phrase I had seen earlier when in an office downtown, waiting for the owner of the business to arrive. Looking at his plaques on the wall, this one caught my eye: "Be still, and know that I am God." It's from the Old Testament (Psalms 46:10), and when my friend came in, I pointed to it and said, "Definitely a good idea." He nodded and just smiled, being a quite religious man. We were on the same page we realized.
As I thought about this Biblical admonition, I called a time-out and just sat on the sofa, turning thoughts to God's everpresence. Also, the truths I've learned through years of studying and practicing Christian Science were a great help, primarily the thought that all is actually under the control of God, divine Mind. It wasn't long at all before I felt a calming influence come over me.
Another statement from the Bible came to mind and was a great help: "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee; because he trusteth in thee." Also from the Old Testament, Isaiah 26:3 to be exact. "Stayed" on Him -- not on the surrounding distractions.
Turning to God in the upheaval around me, as our blessed Master habitually did, brought me a measure of that peace Christ Jesus promises us in these words: "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." (John 14:27) And the rest of the day went smoothly with everything getting accomplished without the stress and strain I was feeling earlier.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
The Teachings of Jesus
This starts off my 4th year of blogging for Christ Jesus and Christian Science, and words can't do justice to the privilege I feel in being able to do this work. And why so? Because of the blessings my religion has brought into my life and into the lives of people I know. To be involved in extending and perpetuating the teachings of Christ Jesus as given through the revelation of Christian Science by Mary Baker Eddy...what a joy.
Was saying just the other day to a friend in Wisconsin, "What would we do without Christian Science in our lives!" And she replied, "Fortunately, we don't have to think about that."
For the feedback I've gotten from around the world -- not all favorable to be expected, some comments rather hostile toward what Mary Baker Eddy discovered and founded (not to mention against her!), I thank you. It is heartwarming to learn that individuals have been led to investigate the writings of this God-inspired woman, and have begun studying Christian Science, with solid healing results. And those who are already faithful students of this religion have found encouragement through this website. This is enough to keep me blogging.
So, onward and upward in this endeavor -- all to the glory of God.
Was saying just the other day to a friend in Wisconsin, "What would we do without Christian Science in our lives!" And she replied, "Fortunately, we don't have to think about that."
For the feedback I've gotten from around the world -- not all favorable to be expected, some comments rather hostile toward what Mary Baker Eddy discovered and founded (not to mention against her!), I thank you. It is heartwarming to learn that individuals have been led to investigate the writings of this God-inspired woman, and have begun studying Christian Science, with solid healing results. And those who are already faithful students of this religion have found encouragement through this website. This is enough to keep me blogging.
So, onward and upward in this endeavor -- all to the glory of God.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
God Has Need of You
(Written for someone
to Christ brand new)
If nothing else gets
accomplished this day,
this potentially life-changing
thing I'm going to say.
While you may never have
been told such a thing,
the title of this poem
should make your heart sing.
"Oh, that couldn't apply to me.
It sounds too good to be true."
Oh no it isn't, not at all.
God specifically needs you.
There is so much good
that needs to be done.
And many worthy deeds
can be by you -- just one.
Since I don't know
where this poem will go,
let me say again, my friend...
God not only loves you so,
He has need of YOU.
to Christ brand new)
If nothing else gets
accomplished this day,
this potentially life-changing
thing I'm going to say.
While you may never have
been told such a thing,
the title of this poem
should make your heart sing.
"Oh, that couldn't apply to me.
It sounds too good to be true."
Oh no it isn't, not at all.
God specifically needs you.
There is so much good
that needs to be done.
And many worthy deeds
can be by you -- just one.
Since I don't know
where this poem will go,
let me say again, my friend...
God not only loves you so,
He has need of YOU.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Staying healthy
Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, points out something we can do to maintain sound health. She writes in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures on page 392: "Stand porter at the door of thought. Admitting only such conclusions as you wish realized in bodily results, you will control yourself harmoniously. When the conditon is present which you say induces disease, whether it be air, exercise, heredity, contagion, or accident, then perform your office as porter and shut out these unhealthy thoughts and fears. Exclude from mortal mind the offending errors; then the body cannot suffer from them."
No, we certainly do not need to feel helpless when symptoms of disease appear, just doing nothing while they develop into bodily discomfort or incapacity. Christian Science, in accord with the Bible, teaches that God is the only genuine cause, the sole creator of the universe, including man, and that the true nature of creation is spiritual, wholly good, expressing God's nature. From the standpoint of absolute truth, all cause and effect are spiritual, and all is the perfect handiwork of God, divine Spirit.
Christ Jesus emphasized the effect of what we entertain in thought. He said: "Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man...Those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart." (Matthew 15:11)
When one learns that thought affects every aspect of his life, he sees the necessity of replacing fearful, sickly thoughts with spiritual truths that uplift, transform and keep one whole. He sees the importance of conforming to the Christly standard Jesus established for all mankind. No matter what others may be falsely believing about sickness and disease, we don't have to abjectly surrender our peace and harmony, but may instead exercise our God-given power over suffering.
Because you and I are actually the reflection of infinite, harmonious Spirit, and we include only those qualities Spirit imparts--peace, joy, health, dominion--the suffering and fear that may seem so real have no genuine power over us. They are misconceptions, false beliefs, not actual, God-created conditions. And being misconceptions, they can be corrected with the truth of man's inseparable relationship to God, of his uninterrupted well-being as God's reflection. This truth heals.
Mrs. Eddy writes in Science and Health, "Instruct the sick that they are not helpless victims, for if they will only accept Truth, they can resist disease and ward it off, as positively as they can the temptation to sin." She continues further along: "The fact that Truth overcomes both disease and sin reassures depressed hope. It imparts a healthy stimulus to the body, and regulates the system. It increases or diminishes the action, as the case may require, better than any drug, alterative, or tonic." (page 420)
Thousands of people today are experiencing regeneration and the healing power of Truth, of Almighty God. They are successfully warding off pain and disability--proving them to be untrue. Empowered with the Christly understanding of Truth, you, too, can keep yourself healthy.
No, we certainly do not need to feel helpless when symptoms of disease appear, just doing nothing while they develop into bodily discomfort or incapacity. Christian Science, in accord with the Bible, teaches that God is the only genuine cause, the sole creator of the universe, including man, and that the true nature of creation is spiritual, wholly good, expressing God's nature. From the standpoint of absolute truth, all cause and effect are spiritual, and all is the perfect handiwork of God, divine Spirit.
Christ Jesus emphasized the effect of what we entertain in thought. He said: "Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man...Those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart." (Matthew 15:11)
When one learns that thought affects every aspect of his life, he sees the necessity of replacing fearful, sickly thoughts with spiritual truths that uplift, transform and keep one whole. He sees the importance of conforming to the Christly standard Jesus established for all mankind. No matter what others may be falsely believing about sickness and disease, we don't have to abjectly surrender our peace and harmony, but may instead exercise our God-given power over suffering.
Because you and I are actually the reflection of infinite, harmonious Spirit, and we include only those qualities Spirit imparts--peace, joy, health, dominion--the suffering and fear that may seem so real have no genuine power over us. They are misconceptions, false beliefs, not actual, God-created conditions. And being misconceptions, they can be corrected with the truth of man's inseparable relationship to God, of his uninterrupted well-being as God's reflection. This truth heals.
Mrs. Eddy writes in Science and Health, "Instruct the sick that they are not helpless victims, for if they will only accept Truth, they can resist disease and ward it off, as positively as they can the temptation to sin." She continues further along: "The fact that Truth overcomes both disease and sin reassures depressed hope. It imparts a healthy stimulus to the body, and regulates the system. It increases or diminishes the action, as the case may require, better than any drug, alterative, or tonic." (page 420)
Thousands of people today are experiencing regeneration and the healing power of Truth, of Almighty God. They are successfully warding off pain and disability--proving them to be untrue. Empowered with the Christly understanding of Truth, you, too, can keep yourself healthy.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
A practical appreciation of Christ Jesus
(These thoughts this morning are being shared primarily for you readers of this blog who are not yet acquainted with the teachings of Christian Science. Hope it brings you enlightenment. And divine healing, too.)
Many people gain inspiration and comfort from thinking about the man Jesus, for whom we could never, ever feel enough reverence and love. But perhaps even more important, we need to gain a practical understanding of the Christ-power he expressed.
The purpose of our Master's unequaled example was not merely to inspire mankind but to show us how to be free from every form of bondage, physical suffering included. He promised, "He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also." (John 14:12)
Underlying Jesus' words and deeds was eternal divine law, which we all can apply. Through prayer that springs from an understanding of God as the perfect ,totally good Principle of the universe, and of man's actual nature as His image, we can experience a restoration of harmony. And it makes no difference whether our problem is physical, financial, emotional, or moral.
Christian Science teaches the eternal Biblical truth of man's indestructible relationship to God. And, as indicated above, many have found freedom from sickness and other ills through the study and application of this truth. Perceiving something of man's actual nature as spiritual and whole, reflecting the perfection of Spirit, they have proved by healing that no one need be subject to such debilitating conditions as sin, disease, lack.
On the basis of man's eternal likeness to God, Jesus healed all types of troubles. His works vividly illustrated the fact that man, as God created him, has never fallen from his original, spiritual state of being, that nothing can truly interfere with his harmony and well-being as the reflection of divine Love. The Master healed pain, impairment--apparently hopeless difficulties of every sort-- through the Christly understanding of divine law.
Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, points out, "The Christlike understanding of scientific being and divine healing includes a perfect Principle and idea-- perfect God and perfect man--as the basis of thought and demonstration." Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, page 259.
More times than I could tell you about in this posting, not mere admiration or reverence for Christ Jesus' teachings, but a correct understanding and application of the scientific, spiritual rules of these teachings, is what has established health and normality in my life. And it can do the same for you.
In the book I quoted from above of Mrs. Eddy's, is this statement: "To be 'present with the Lord' is to have, not mere emotional ecstasy or faith, but the actual demonstration and understanding of Life as revealed in Christian Science." (Ibid., page 14)
Many people gain inspiration and comfort from thinking about the man Jesus, for whom we could never, ever feel enough reverence and love. But perhaps even more important, we need to gain a practical understanding of the Christ-power he expressed.
The purpose of our Master's unequaled example was not merely to inspire mankind but to show us how to be free from every form of bondage, physical suffering included. He promised, "He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also." (John 14:12)
Underlying Jesus' words and deeds was eternal divine law, which we all can apply. Through prayer that springs from an understanding of God as the perfect ,totally good Principle of the universe, and of man's actual nature as His image, we can experience a restoration of harmony. And it makes no difference whether our problem is physical, financial, emotional, or moral.
Christian Science teaches the eternal Biblical truth of man's indestructible relationship to God. And, as indicated above, many have found freedom from sickness and other ills through the study and application of this truth. Perceiving something of man's actual nature as spiritual and whole, reflecting the perfection of Spirit, they have proved by healing that no one need be subject to such debilitating conditions as sin, disease, lack.
On the basis of man's eternal likeness to God, Jesus healed all types of troubles. His works vividly illustrated the fact that man, as God created him, has never fallen from his original, spiritual state of being, that nothing can truly interfere with his harmony and well-being as the reflection of divine Love. The Master healed pain, impairment--apparently hopeless difficulties of every sort-- through the Christly understanding of divine law.
Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, points out, "The Christlike understanding of scientific being and divine healing includes a perfect Principle and idea-- perfect God and perfect man--as the basis of thought and demonstration." Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, page 259.
More times than I could tell you about in this posting, not mere admiration or reverence for Christ Jesus' teachings, but a correct understanding and application of the scientific, spiritual rules of these teachings, is what has established health and normality in my life. And it can do the same for you.
In the book I quoted from above of Mrs. Eddy's, is this statement: "To be 'present with the Lord' is to have, not mere emotional ecstasy or faith, but the actual demonstration and understanding of Life as revealed in Christian Science." (Ibid., page 14)
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
My Husband's Website
Just as any supportive wife would do, I'd like to recommend to my readers a
website just begun--one that should be enlightening and uplifting to viewers.
(Am I a wee bit prejudiced here? Of course!)
It will be written by John R. Howell, and given the scholarly and conscientious
attention he gives to whatever he writes, I feel it will be worth checking
out. Though this is done with his fellow Christian Scientists in mind, it should
prove of interest to any serious student of the King James Bible -- the Word of
God made available to mankind in majesty and beauty never equaled, in my
opinion.
You may access it this way:
http://biblenoteskjvcs.wordpress.com/
Or Google "biblenoteskjvcs" and you've got it.
website just begun--one that should be enlightening and uplifting to viewers.
(Am I a wee bit prejudiced here? Of course!)
It will be written by John R. Howell, and given the scholarly and conscientious
attention he gives to whatever he writes, I feel it will be worth checking
out. Though this is done with his fellow Christian Scientists in mind, it should
prove of interest to any serious student of the King James Bible -- the Word of
God made available to mankind in majesty and beauty never equaled, in my
opinion.
You may access it this way:
http://biblenoteskjvcs.wordpress.com/
Or Google "biblenoteskjvcs" and you've got it.
Friday, August 12, 2011
The Limelight's for Christ
It's been my privilege to know a few rare individuals whose lives just glow, whose devotion to God bless others far and wide. I used to wonder, what is it that this person has that attracts so? It isn't what they say or do so much, as something almost intangible. Why do they inspire such love in others they interact with? Then it became clear: why on the throne of their lives, so to speak, is not petty self but Christ. It is their humility, which draws others in.
There's no mistaking when we come across someone who has love for Christ in their hearts. It is as Jesus said, a city set on a hill that cannot be hid. It's as though, whether and probably through hard experience in life, they have settled this question once and for all: whose glory am I living for? my own or for His?
And obviously early on, they've come to grips with what Paul points out in these words: "Do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ". (Galatians 1:10)
To cater to others in order to fulfill personal ambitions, to gain preferment over others, is not why they are doing what they do. And worse still, they wouldn't dream of pushing Christ out of the limelight so that they may bask in it!
We each have two mental roads that confront us in this life -- the broad one leading to self, worldly honour, and destruction sure, and the narrow one that paradoxically leads to self-renunciation, expanding horizons -- real happiness. Thank God there have been given to us such sublime examples of those who chose the Master's path, whose lives are shedding light upon the rest of us.
There's no mistaking when we come across someone who has love for Christ in their hearts. It is as Jesus said, a city set on a hill that cannot be hid. It's as though, whether and probably through hard experience in life, they have settled this question once and for all: whose glory am I living for? my own or for His?
And obviously early on, they've come to grips with what Paul points out in these words: "Do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ". (Galatians 1:10)
To cater to others in order to fulfill personal ambitions, to gain preferment over others, is not why they are doing what they do. And worse still, they wouldn't dream of pushing Christ out of the limelight so that they may bask in it!
We each have two mental roads that confront us in this life -- the broad one leading to self, worldly honour, and destruction sure, and the narrow one that paradoxically leads to self-renunciation, expanding horizons -- real happiness. Thank God there have been given to us such sublime examples of those who chose the Master's path, whose lives are shedding light upon the rest of us.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
For someone looking for work
Being that people read my blog posts who are not adherents of my religion, thought these thoughts on someone who's out of a job and looking might be helpful.
Just yesterday as I was driving along, heard a reporter interviewing a lady in the London area about the rioting going on there. She said it was a lack of jobs for the young people fueling the unrest, that her own son went out every day to find a job and could not. There are opposite views of the cause of all this, some saying it's mere hooliganism. But it did start me thinking about those who need work and can't find any.
And closer to home, we have a friend who feels desperate about being unemployed. He's sent out hundreds of resumes, gone to other states for multiple interviews, and still no offers. Don is a self-sufficient individual, and feels too proud to ask God for help.
And this reluctance to seek divine help when we need it led me to think of something. We were at some neighbors' house recently. They have the cutest little girl, and she happened to be building a castle with wooden blocks. She stopped, however, when the pieces wouldn't fit, and without a moment's hesitation said, "Help me,Daddy". This brought her father's immediate help.
As I observed this simple display of childlike confidence, I thought, "If adults would only turn as wholeheartedly to their heavenly Father, how much more easily would complex, challening problems be resolved!"
Each of us, regardless of circumstances or problems we face, can turn immediately to God, divine Love, our ever-present help. Christ Jesus taught this. He said, "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?" (Matthew 7:11)
In Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, writes, "Divine Love always has met and always will meet every human need." (page 494) God is a tender, loving Father, One we can turn to for help with any problem -- and this covers unemployment as well. In fact, we can turn to Him nonstop, and still not exhaust His tenderly patient, unlimited care. It's so right to seek God's help. As Jesus counseled, "Ask, and it shall be given you." (Matthew 7:7)
How should we turn to Him? With half hopes that He will favor our request? Or should we approach Him with the prayer of heartfelt understanding -- that is, with a knowledge of and respect for His eternal laws? When one is equipped with what Christian Science reveals of God and man, seeking out God's solution to a problem is no hit-or-miss proposition.
Let me repeat, Christian Science shows one not only how to ask God to deliver him but how to do so in confident expectation of answers. Its teachings which are in accord with the inspired message of the Bible, reveal the Christianly scientific prayer that Jesus practiced so successfully.
Before our great Master raised his friend, Lazarus, from the grave, he spoke this prayer of spiritual affirmation: "Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always." (John ll:41, 42) The human picture portrayed hopelessness and grief. Yet Jesus thanked God for being all-powerful and ever present! This may have seemed startling. Jesus didn't turn to God in mere optimism, just hoping He would hear; he knew He would. His understanding of man's unity with God, divine Love, gave him absolute assurance that God answers every call.
Christian Science makes available to any seeker the understanding Christ Jesus had that man is actually the child, the spiritual reflection, of God, divine Love. This realization will help any man or woman to turn radically away from the discouraging human picture of inactivity or frustration. It will encourage him or her to accept the spiritual fact that God, divine Mind, is ever active, and that man, His image, must also be continuously and happily engaged in meaningful, worthwhile activity.
And do you know, opportunity can never really be absent. As the Bible assures us: "God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work." (II Corinthians 9:8)
As we confidently claim our God-given right to satisfying purpose, joy, and achievement, you and I will find more and more occasions for being about our real business. And what is this business? Reflecting God, good. Because God has created His child as His own perfect expression, no matter how despairing or desolate any circumstance may seem, it can be turned completely around, and we can be restored to our normal state of activity, joy, and purpose.
Finding out who we really are, beginning to grasp the glorious fact that in our true, spiritual being we are now the beloved, constantly cared-for expression of our heavenly Father, gives us the confidence and intiative we need to express more of good, more of God, in everything we do. This is where successful activity lies.
Nothing brings opportunity to our door quicker than the desire to be useful to God and to our fellowmen. We don't even have to take a very long look about us today to see how desperately needed our efforts are. Endless opportunities abound! As we recognize and take advantage of the means God is continously providing us to show love to our fellow beings, we will not only be making a difference in this world; we'll find ourselves continuously employed in satisfying work that human conditions cannot touch.
Just yesterday as I was driving along, heard a reporter interviewing a lady in the London area about the rioting going on there. She said it was a lack of jobs for the young people fueling the unrest, that her own son went out every day to find a job and could not. There are opposite views of the cause of all this, some saying it's mere hooliganism. But it did start me thinking about those who need work and can't find any.
And closer to home, we have a friend who feels desperate about being unemployed. He's sent out hundreds of resumes, gone to other states for multiple interviews, and still no offers. Don is a self-sufficient individual, and feels too proud to ask God for help.
And this reluctance to seek divine help when we need it led me to think of something. We were at some neighbors' house recently. They have the cutest little girl, and she happened to be building a castle with wooden blocks. She stopped, however, when the pieces wouldn't fit, and without a moment's hesitation said, "Help me,Daddy". This brought her father's immediate help.
As I observed this simple display of childlike confidence, I thought, "If adults would only turn as wholeheartedly to their heavenly Father, how much more easily would complex, challening problems be resolved!"
Each of us, regardless of circumstances or problems we face, can turn immediately to God, divine Love, our ever-present help. Christ Jesus taught this. He said, "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?" (Matthew 7:11)
In Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, writes, "Divine Love always has met and always will meet every human need." (page 494) God is a tender, loving Father, One we can turn to for help with any problem -- and this covers unemployment as well. In fact, we can turn to Him nonstop, and still not exhaust His tenderly patient, unlimited care. It's so right to seek God's help. As Jesus counseled, "Ask, and it shall be given you." (Matthew 7:7)
How should we turn to Him? With half hopes that He will favor our request? Or should we approach Him with the prayer of heartfelt understanding -- that is, with a knowledge of and respect for His eternal laws? When one is equipped with what Christian Science reveals of God and man, seeking out God's solution to a problem is no hit-or-miss proposition.
Let me repeat, Christian Science shows one not only how to ask God to deliver him but how to do so in confident expectation of answers. Its teachings which are in accord with the inspired message of the Bible, reveal the Christianly scientific prayer that Jesus practiced so successfully.
Before our great Master raised his friend, Lazarus, from the grave, he spoke this prayer of spiritual affirmation: "Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always." (John ll:41, 42) The human picture portrayed hopelessness and grief. Yet Jesus thanked God for being all-powerful and ever present! This may have seemed startling. Jesus didn't turn to God in mere optimism, just hoping He would hear; he knew He would. His understanding of man's unity with God, divine Love, gave him absolute assurance that God answers every call.
Christian Science makes available to any seeker the understanding Christ Jesus had that man is actually the child, the spiritual reflection, of God, divine Love. This realization will help any man or woman to turn radically away from the discouraging human picture of inactivity or frustration. It will encourage him or her to accept the spiritual fact that God, divine Mind, is ever active, and that man, His image, must also be continuously and happily engaged in meaningful, worthwhile activity.
And do you know, opportunity can never really be absent. As the Bible assures us: "God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work." (II Corinthians 9:8)
As we confidently claim our God-given right to satisfying purpose, joy, and achievement, you and I will find more and more occasions for being about our real business. And what is this business? Reflecting God, good. Because God has created His child as His own perfect expression, no matter how despairing or desolate any circumstance may seem, it can be turned completely around, and we can be restored to our normal state of activity, joy, and purpose.
Finding out who we really are, beginning to grasp the glorious fact that in our true, spiritual being we are now the beloved, constantly cared-for expression of our heavenly Father, gives us the confidence and intiative we need to express more of good, more of God, in everything we do. This is where successful activity lies.
Nothing brings opportunity to our door quicker than the desire to be useful to God and to our fellowmen. We don't even have to take a very long look about us today to see how desperately needed our efforts are. Endless opportunities abound! As we recognize and take advantage of the means God is continously providing us to show love to our fellow beings, we will not only be making a difference in this world; we'll find ourselves continuously employed in satisfying work that human conditions cannot touch.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
"Got Jesus?"...
...read the tee shirt
on someone at the mall,
something one sees
every now and then
here in Tennessee.
But what if displaying
our love for Christ
on our apparel is
not what we want to do?
How can the world tell
that we are to Jesus true?
Fortunately, our Master
gives us this gold standard:
"By this shall all men know
that ye are my disciples,
if ye have love one for another."
(John 13:35)
No, we're not called upon
to walk barefoot on hot coals
to show our devotion,
nor wear it on our clothes,
to show we love Him best.
Something simpler, yet
more difficult is the test...
showing love for others.
How easy to read about--
how much less so to act out.
Is it this way for everyone?
Not for me to say, or judge.
But there are commands
one just cannot fudge.
Then if loving more is
what it's got to be,
may you and I do so --
enthusiastically.
on someone at the mall,
something one sees
every now and then
here in Tennessee.
But what if displaying
our love for Christ
on our apparel is
not what we want to do?
How can the world tell
that we are to Jesus true?
Fortunately, our Master
gives us this gold standard:
"By this shall all men know
that ye are my disciples,
if ye have love one for another."
(John 13:35)
No, we're not called upon
to walk barefoot on hot coals
to show our devotion,
nor wear it on our clothes,
to show we love Him best.
Something simpler, yet
more difficult is the test...
showing love for others.
How easy to read about--
how much less so to act out.
Is it this way for everyone?
Not for me to say, or judge.
But there are commands
one just cannot fudge.
Then if loving more is
what it's got to be,
may you and I do so --
enthusiastically.
Some Beautiful Words on Humility
The first is something the Discoverer and Founder of my religion, Mary Baker Eddy, wrote. It's from her book, Retrospection and Introspection (pages 91 and 92) where she is speaking of Jesus:
"What has this hillside priest, this seaside teacher, done for the human race? Ask, rather, what has he not done. His holy humility, unworldliness, and self-abandonment wrought infinite results. The method of his religion was not too simple to be sublime, nor was his power so exalted as to be unavailable for the needs of suffering mortals, whose wounds he healed by Truth and Love."
"May we unloose the latchets of his Christliness, inherit his legacy of love, and reach the fruition of his promise: 'If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.'"
And from a sermon Albert Schweitzer preached in 1905:
"To content oneself with becoming small: that is the only salvation and liberation. To work in the world as such, asking nothing of it, or of men, not even recognition, that is true happiness. There are things which one cannot do without Jesus. Without Him one cannot attain to that higher innocence -- unless we look to Him in the disappointments of life, and seek in Him the strength to be childlike and small in that higher sense. Whoever has gone through the world of smallness has left the empire of this world to enter into the kingdom of God. He has gone over the border as one goes over the border in a dark forest -- without taking note of it. The way remains the same, the surrounding things the same, and only gradually does he realize that whilst everything is familiar, it is different, that life is the same and yet not the same because of the clarity which lights up in him, and because of the peace and strength which have taken possession of him because he is small and has finished with himself.
L'humilite est la gloire de toutes les vertues."
"What has this hillside priest, this seaside teacher, done for the human race? Ask, rather, what has he not done. His holy humility, unworldliness, and self-abandonment wrought infinite results. The method of his religion was not too simple to be sublime, nor was his power so exalted as to be unavailable for the needs of suffering mortals, whose wounds he healed by Truth and Love."
"May we unloose the latchets of his Christliness, inherit his legacy of love, and reach the fruition of his promise: 'If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.'"
And from a sermon Albert Schweitzer preached in 1905:
"To content oneself with becoming small: that is the only salvation and liberation. To work in the world as such, asking nothing of it, or of men, not even recognition, that is true happiness. There are things which one cannot do without Jesus. Without Him one cannot attain to that higher innocence -- unless we look to Him in the disappointments of life, and seek in Him the strength to be childlike and small in that higher sense. Whoever has gone through the world of smallness has left the empire of this world to enter into the kingdom of God. He has gone over the border as one goes over the border in a dark forest -- without taking note of it. The way remains the same, the surrounding things the same, and only gradually does he realize that whilst everything is familiar, it is different, that life is the same and yet not the same because of the clarity which lights up in him, and because of the peace and strength which have taken possession of him because he is small and has finished with himself.
L'humilite est la gloire de toutes les vertues."
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Second to None
It is a holy day
when this becomes clear:
we aren't going to be
the smartest, the richest,
or the best-looking one around
but this one great thing
we all of us can do:
worship and serve that One
Who is second to none...
work to become second to none
when it comes to acknowledging
Him who gives us life
and breath and all things.
With Christ's example in full view --
such a faithful Son! --
there's no higher goal,
nothing with more bliss in it,
than making this our lifetime work...
to love and praise our God,
as Jesus did -- wholeheartedly.
So when it comes to adoring You,
dear loving Father,
I intend to be second to none.
Even now, You hear me say:
"You may have a daughter somewhere
who thanks You more than I do."
"But I doubt it,"
I always tell Him.
when this becomes clear:
we aren't going to be
the smartest, the richest,
or the best-looking one around
but this one great thing
we all of us can do:
worship and serve that One
Who is second to none...
work to become second to none
when it comes to acknowledging
Him who gives us life
and breath and all things.
With Christ's example in full view --
such a faithful Son! --
there's no higher goal,
nothing with more bliss in it,
than making this our lifetime work...
to love and praise our God,
as Jesus did -- wholeheartedly.
So when it comes to adoring You,
dear loving Father,
I intend to be second to none.
Even now, You hear me say:
"You may have a daughter somewhere
who thanks You more than I do."
"But I doubt it,"
I always tell Him.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
A Very Practical Religion
(This was written by my dear friend, John Wellsman, and I love being able to share it with you.)
Many years ago as a new student of Christian Science, I had the privilege to meet personally with an experienced Christian Scientist whose name at that time would have been considered a household fixture to most Christian Scientists due to his lifelong dedication to and work for the Cause of Christian Science.
Although I had known this individual for several years, this particular conversation was our first on some of the deeper aspects of Christian Science. At one point this gentleman asked me how I worked to protect myself with regard to crime. After hemming and hawing for a moment, I admitted that I guessed I didn't have anything specific that I worked with. Undoubtedly this man had sensed a need on my part because he lovingly shared the fact that he often worked with this idea: "The same Mind that protects me prevents them." The same Mind.
That simple phrase has stayed with me over the years and I can't begin to express my gratitude for the individual's sharing it with me. It has provided much food for thought and proved applicable to a wide variety of situations in areas such as business and supply. It applies literally to "office politics." And it's been very helpful to know that "the same Mind that supplies me, directs potential clients to me."
Recently another application occurred with regards to the current political situation here in the United States Almost despairingy I yearned for some comforting truth to apply to the situation. Instantly this thought came to me: "The same Mind that inspired, illuminated, directed and governed the formation and establishment of the greatest Christian-based nation this world has ever seen will most certainly preserve, protect and prevent its' destruction." The same Mind.
It was so clear that the establishment of the United States of America was no accident. The Founding Fathers, and over the years the countless individuals who have served in so many capacities to preserve and protect the concept of individual self-government upon which this nation is based have been divinely inspired and guided whether they realized it or not. The same Mind that created this nation will prevent its destruction from without or within. All anyone needs to do is to see this truth, accept it and cherish its' power.
Many years ago as a new student of Christian Science, I had the privilege to meet personally with an experienced Christian Scientist whose name at that time would have been considered a household fixture to most Christian Scientists due to his lifelong dedication to and work for the Cause of Christian Science.
Although I had known this individual for several years, this particular conversation was our first on some of the deeper aspects of Christian Science. At one point this gentleman asked me how I worked to protect myself with regard to crime. After hemming and hawing for a moment, I admitted that I guessed I didn't have anything specific that I worked with. Undoubtedly this man had sensed a need on my part because he lovingly shared the fact that he often worked with this idea: "The same Mind that protects me prevents them." The same Mind.
That simple phrase has stayed with me over the years and I can't begin to express my gratitude for the individual's sharing it with me. It has provided much food for thought and proved applicable to a wide variety of situations in areas such as business and supply. It applies literally to "office politics." And it's been very helpful to know that "the same Mind that supplies me, directs potential clients to me."
Recently another application occurred with regards to the current political situation here in the United States Almost despairingy I yearned for some comforting truth to apply to the situation. Instantly this thought came to me: "The same Mind that inspired, illuminated, directed and governed the formation and establishment of the greatest Christian-based nation this world has ever seen will most certainly preserve, protect and prevent its' destruction." The same Mind.
It was so clear that the establishment of the United States of America was no accident. The Founding Fathers, and over the years the countless individuals who have served in so many capacities to preserve and protect the concept of individual self-government upon which this nation is based have been divinely inspired and guided whether they realized it or not. The same Mind that created this nation will prevent its destruction from without or within. All anyone needs to do is to see this truth, accept it and cherish its' power.
Friday, July 22, 2011
And angels smile
My husband comes from the pet food store with tears in his eyes. "A pitiful little dog is at the adoption center, and desperately needs God's love", he tells me. Not thinking about getting another dog, his words hang in the air. But not too long after, I drive over to the store to take a look.
There the dog is, dirty, almost starved, shaking with fear -- the light of hope nearly gone from her eyes. (Folks at the Oak Ridge, Tennessee Humane Society rescued her, and they think her former owner or owners left her by the side of the road to die. Which she almost did.) I pick her up gently, cradle her in my lap, and begin filling out adoption forms.
And angels smile.
The young man who helped me with the paper work, asks with moist eyes, "May I carry her to your car?", so glad is he that someone was taking her home, as she probably had only a few more days to live.
This little trooper, so thin she can scarcely stand up, amazes us by actually climbing our back stairs to look around her new home. A careful, warm, soapy cleaning comes next, then a bit of food for her. That night, I decide to make her a little bed by my side of the bed, in case she needs comforting in the night. Several old blankets piled up, covered over with a soft, clean sheet does the job, for the best night's sleep this little girl has probably had. The glow of Love divine surrounds us all.
And angels smile.
There the dog is, dirty, almost starved, shaking with fear -- the light of hope nearly gone from her eyes. (Folks at the Oak Ridge, Tennessee Humane Society rescued her, and they think her former owner or owners left her by the side of the road to die. Which she almost did.) I pick her up gently, cradle her in my lap, and begin filling out adoption forms.
And angels smile.
The young man who helped me with the paper work, asks with moist eyes, "May I carry her to your car?", so glad is he that someone was taking her home, as she probably had only a few more days to live.
This little trooper, so thin she can scarcely stand up, amazes us by actually climbing our back stairs to look around her new home. A careful, warm, soapy cleaning comes next, then a bit of food for her. That night, I decide to make her a little bed by my side of the bed, in case she needs comforting in the night. Several old blankets piled up, covered over with a soft, clean sheet does the job, for the best night's sleep this little girl has probably had. The glow of Love divine surrounds us all.
And angels smile.
Humble yet strong
Sometimes daughters of the South are too sweet and light. They lack might, are reluctant to fight when the Cause is right.
Acting humble, while standing up for oneself -- what a challenge this can be. After centuries of half the race being put down, being told to be seen and not heard (with a few exceptions) can make one want to go overboard in expressing oneself. Sometimes it's tough keeping the rejoinders in and not commit the sin of being unloving.
But there's our Hero for all time, our Exemplar sublime, who though his rebuke was something one would not have wanted to be on the receiving end of, was the most loving man that ever walked the earth. And the most humble.
Somewhere I have read that the 3 most important things in the Christian life are humility, humility, and humility. There's no denying that this is a winsome quality. And I should think that emulating Jesus in this way makes us strong as well.
Being daughters (and sons) of the King, shouldn't we be able to express humlity and strength? This we followers of Christ will increasingly need to do, I do believe.
Acting humble, while standing up for oneself -- what a challenge this can be. After centuries of half the race being put down, being told to be seen and not heard (with a few exceptions) can make one want to go overboard in expressing oneself. Sometimes it's tough keeping the rejoinders in and not commit the sin of being unloving.
But there's our Hero for all time, our Exemplar sublime, who though his rebuke was something one would not have wanted to be on the receiving end of, was the most loving man that ever walked the earth. And the most humble.
Somewhere I have read that the 3 most important things in the Christian life are humility, humility, and humility. There's no denying that this is a winsome quality. And I should think that emulating Jesus in this way makes us strong as well.
Being daughters (and sons) of the King, shouldn't we be able to express humlity and strength? This we followers of Christ will increasingly need to do, I do believe.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Why pay a practitioner?
This question comes up in the work I do. And it might be helpful to my readers to address this.
As this blog reaches far and wide, I get requests for Christian Science treatment, from those who know next to thing about my religion. And in some cases, what the individual is looking for (not to put too fine a point on it) is something for nothing. It can come as a surprise to such a one that a practitioner expects some payment, and should receive something for the metaphysical work they do. It's almost as though a person is saying, I don't really respect what you do, but if you can throw a little prayer at my problem, fine and dandy. Meanwhile, I won't even crack the Christian Science textbook (which one who is serious about help should be more than willing to obtain and work with.)
The woman who founded and discovered Christian Science said that she had found that those who were willing to pay what they could afford, experienced better results from the treatment they were getting.
I, too, have found this. When I first began in the public practice of Christian Science, I wanted to help any and every one who wandered by. But experience and spiritual growth showed me this wasn't right--for the individual nor for me. Of course, what I'm engaged in is not to make money. Many are the individuals for whom I have reduced my charges, often halving them, more than once waiving them altogether. But I do expect someone on the other end to be serious about the treatment they are requesting.
In a book titled "Prose Works", Mrs. Eddy states: "Metaphysical healing, or Christian Science, is a demand of the times. Every man or woman would desire and demand it, if he or she knew its infinite value and firm basis." Miscellaneous Writings, page 232
Amen to this, from someone who knew whereof she spoke.
As this blog reaches far and wide, I get requests for Christian Science treatment, from those who know next to thing about my religion. And in some cases, what the individual is looking for (not to put too fine a point on it) is something for nothing. It can come as a surprise to such a one that a practitioner expects some payment, and should receive something for the metaphysical work they do. It's almost as though a person is saying, I don't really respect what you do, but if you can throw a little prayer at my problem, fine and dandy. Meanwhile, I won't even crack the Christian Science textbook (which one who is serious about help should be more than willing to obtain and work with.)
The woman who founded and discovered Christian Science said that she had found that those who were willing to pay what they could afford, experienced better results from the treatment they were getting.
I, too, have found this. When I first began in the public practice of Christian Science, I wanted to help any and every one who wandered by. But experience and spiritual growth showed me this wasn't right--for the individual nor for me. Of course, what I'm engaged in is not to make money. Many are the individuals for whom I have reduced my charges, often halving them, more than once waiving them altogether. But I do expect someone on the other end to be serious about the treatment they are requesting.
In a book titled "Prose Works", Mrs. Eddy states: "Metaphysical healing, or Christian Science, is a demand of the times. Every man or woman would desire and demand it, if he or she knew its infinite value and firm basis." Miscellaneous Writings, page 232
Amen to this, from someone who knew whereof she spoke.
And the tree leafed out!
In early spring, a prize ash tree over 40 years old (we didn't know it was so valuable until someone who knows trees said so) started dying. To this tree expert, the curling brown leaves looked like trouble. He told us this tree was on its way out, that it had some special disease. "You're going to have to cut it down", he predicted. Sure enough, the leaves came raining down over the next few days.
Another person who was fertilizing some shrubbery about this time said he knew of something he could try on the tree, to see if the condition could be arrested. He tried it; it didn't work at all.
Losing this tree was the last thing we wanted, as it provides such shade in our hot summers and is beautiful to look at. So, we set to work in Christian Science.
What do I mean by this? We began praying from the standpoint that there is no disease in God's universe, that His universe is the only one there is. Speaking for myself, I worked metaphysically to see that right where the material senses reported a hopeless condition, right there was a vibrant, healthy, un-diseased expression of divine Mind, God, the Creator of all things.
Something Mary Baker Eddy says in her book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, came to thought: "Jesus beheld in Science the perfect man ,who appeared to him where sinning mortal man appears to mortals. In this perfect man the Saviour saw God's own likeness, and this correct view of man healed the sick." This is on pages 476 and 477.
Well, if the correct view of man removes things needing healing, then the same principle applies to this tree, I reasoned. My job is to see the opposite of what would appear to be going on, to hold to the spiritual fact governing the situation.
And do you know, it wasn't 2 weeks until the nearly bare branches began showing light green baby leaves! The tree began leafing out again, and this just doesn't happen we're told. Now it's full and lovely and just as it should be.
Just one more proof of what Christianly scientific understanding can do in our daily experience.
Another person who was fertilizing some shrubbery about this time said he knew of something he could try on the tree, to see if the condition could be arrested. He tried it; it didn't work at all.
Losing this tree was the last thing we wanted, as it provides such shade in our hot summers and is beautiful to look at. So, we set to work in Christian Science.
What do I mean by this? We began praying from the standpoint that there is no disease in God's universe, that His universe is the only one there is. Speaking for myself, I worked metaphysically to see that right where the material senses reported a hopeless condition, right there was a vibrant, healthy, un-diseased expression of divine Mind, God, the Creator of all things.
Something Mary Baker Eddy says in her book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, came to thought: "Jesus beheld in Science the perfect man ,who appeared to him where sinning mortal man appears to mortals. In this perfect man the Saviour saw God's own likeness, and this correct view of man healed the sick." This is on pages 476 and 477.
Well, if the correct view of man removes things needing healing, then the same principle applies to this tree, I reasoned. My job is to see the opposite of what would appear to be going on, to hold to the spiritual fact governing the situation.
And do you know, it wasn't 2 weeks until the nearly bare branches began showing light green baby leaves! The tree began leafing out again, and this just doesn't happen we're told. Now it's full and lovely and just as it should be.
Just one more proof of what Christianly scientific understanding can do in our daily experience.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Healing of Broken Toe
It's wonderful to hear of Christian Science healings from those who are new to what it teaches, and have taken hold in a big way. A friend who lives nearby just shared such an experience, and I know it will lift up many readers of this blog.
This girl began reading Mary Baker Eddy's book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures about a year ago, and took to it like a duck to water, as the saying goes. She has just drunk in what it brings out about God, and man as His image and likeness, among many other spiritual truths
Well, last week she told me as they were carrying some things down from the attic in preparation for a move to a new place, she happened to drop a 10-lb. weight on her big toe. The pain was intense, and it looked like there was a broken bone. Her husband who doesn't study Christian Science wanted her to see a doctor. But having had other proofs of God's healing power, this friend chose to apply what she had learned in her study.
She prayed earnestly all that day. Then the next morning, as she was continuing to know what was true about herself as God's child, the thought came, because she was made in God's likeness, and He wasn't going through this mortal dream of accident and pain and disability, it had no power over her. It was no more real than a dream she might have at night.
And this is the best part. "It wasn't 15 minutes more before I knew the toe was healed", she told me. The pain stopped and all that is left is slight discoloration, which is disappearing". The look on people's faces when they experience Christ healing!
Listening to this wonderful experience, I couldn't help contrasting this with that of a neighbor whose foot was broken in a recent car accident. She won't be able to even put any weight on the foot for about 6 weeks.
What a difference it makes when someone challenges pain through spiritual knowledge that lifts it off. And what this girl experienced, an understanding of the divine truths that were the basis of Jesus' healings Science and Health makes possible for anyone else.
This girl began reading Mary Baker Eddy's book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures about a year ago, and took to it like a duck to water, as the saying goes. She has just drunk in what it brings out about God, and man as His image and likeness, among many other spiritual truths
Well, last week she told me as they were carrying some things down from the attic in preparation for a move to a new place, she happened to drop a 10-lb. weight on her big toe. The pain was intense, and it looked like there was a broken bone. Her husband who doesn't study Christian Science wanted her to see a doctor. But having had other proofs of God's healing power, this friend chose to apply what she had learned in her study.
She prayed earnestly all that day. Then the next morning, as she was continuing to know what was true about herself as God's child, the thought came, because she was made in God's likeness, and He wasn't going through this mortal dream of accident and pain and disability, it had no power over her. It was no more real than a dream she might have at night.
And this is the best part. "It wasn't 15 minutes more before I knew the toe was healed", she told me. The pain stopped and all that is left is slight discoloration, which is disappearing". The look on people's faces when they experience Christ healing!
Listening to this wonderful experience, I couldn't help contrasting this with that of a neighbor whose foot was broken in a recent car accident. She won't be able to even put any weight on the foot for about 6 weeks.
What a difference it makes when someone challenges pain through spiritual knowledge that lifts it off. And what this girl experienced, an understanding of the divine truths that were the basis of Jesus' healings Science and Health makes possible for anyone else.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
To readers of my blog
To one and all, I say thanks for letting me know that what appears here is doing some good in your lives. Your feedback is so appreciated. Although my motivation in continuing to post on this site is not primarily to garner comments from you, and I would share my inspired thoughts because God leads me to, it is kind of you to take time out of your busy lives to contact me.
To pick up on a phrase from a much-loved hymn, "I love to tell the story of Jesus and his love" (think I have this right), what a joy it is for me to tell the story of what Christ Jesus and Christian Science can do for any one of us!
To pick up on a phrase from a much-loved hymn, "I love to tell the story of Jesus and his love" (think I have this right), what a joy it is for me to tell the story of what Christ Jesus and Christian Science can do for any one of us!
Sunday, July 3, 2011
On being free
With all the attention given in my country to Independence Day, July 4th, can't help thinking about freedom. While it's a blessing to live in the United States, for many reasons, what I'm most thankful for is the freedom that has come to me and mine (and many others) through the writings of Mary Baker Eddy.
Could not list all the ways Christian Science has brought freedom--from lack, from fear and worry, from the effects of accidents, from all kinds of physical challenges. But I think what means most is the sense of the unlimited good God has for us, the ever-expanding horizons of usefulness and joy that come from understanding and accepting this. Learning the divine truths that Christ Jesus obviously knew makes this inevitable in one's experience. There just isn't as aspect of daily life that our Master's teachings, as made even clearer to me by Mrs. Eddy's words, do not touch beneficially.
And one of the statement in Mrs.Eddy's book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures I particularly love is this: "God's being is infinity, freedom, harmony, and boundless bliss." (p. 481)
And so is that of His reflection, man. You and me. Now.
Could not list all the ways Christian Science has brought freedom--from lack, from fear and worry, from the effects of accidents, from all kinds of physical challenges. But I think what means most is the sense of the unlimited good God has for us, the ever-expanding horizons of usefulness and joy that come from understanding and accepting this. Learning the divine truths that Christ Jesus obviously knew makes this inevitable in one's experience. There just isn't as aspect of daily life that our Master's teachings, as made even clearer to me by Mrs. Eddy's words, do not touch beneficially.
And one of the statement in Mrs.Eddy's book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures I particularly love is this: "God's being is infinity, freedom, harmony, and boundless bliss." (p. 481)
And so is that of His reflection, man. You and me. Now.
Friday, July 1, 2011
The radical difference Christ makes
Am I suggesting that making
Christ the focus of one's life,
Looking to God for all that
Makes life wonderful,
All challenges will suddenly cease?
In no way.
There will be sharp struggles
From time to time.
And how could there not be,
Given the monumental
Activity we're involved in?
But our day-to-day experience
Becomes, because of Christ,
Much more alive --
Happier, healthier, free.
Life becomes a real adventure,
And in the situations that once
Would have defeated us,
We now find ourselves
Having the mastery.
Nothing can equal that feeling
Which comes to us
When Christ sets us free.
Christ the focus of one's life,
Looking to God for all that
Makes life wonderful,
All challenges will suddenly cease?
In no way.
There will be sharp struggles
From time to time.
And how could there not be,
Given the monumental
Activity we're involved in?
But our day-to-day experience
Becomes, because of Christ,
Much more alive --
Happier, healthier, free.
Life becomes a real adventure,
And in the situations that once
Would have defeated us,
We now find ourselves
Having the mastery.
Nothing can equal that feeling
Which comes to us
When Christ sets us free.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
To keep love flowing
We who follow Christ, who reverence the Name, can't allow the shame of feeling indifferent to others wherever in this world they may be. I hope this fellow traveler is learning that when loving others starts to slip, it's more than a blip on the divine screen: it's deadly serious and needs to begotten at as quickly as possible.
The worst thing about such blatant disobedience to what our Master taught? A sense of estrangement from God--not that He ever stops caring about us. But our heavenly Father who is all Love is not going to follow us out the door while we indulge in a little hate! Do we want to lose the look of approval on His face?
If nothing else, a concern for our own well-being should impel a return to Him before it's too late. (Not that it ever is, not divinely-speaking.) But how many diseases can be traced to a lack of love being felt and expressed, a Canadian friend said.
With the armour of the Word, and no fooling praying, this need not be the case. I John puts it clearly: "God is love; and he taht dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God and God in him."
There is no safe or healthier place we can be.
The worst thing about such blatant disobedience to what our Master taught? A sense of estrangement from God--not that He ever stops caring about us. But our heavenly Father who is all Love is not going to follow us out the door while we indulge in a little hate! Do we want to lose the look of approval on His face?
If nothing else, a concern for our own well-being should impel a return to Him before it's too late. (Not that it ever is, not divinely-speaking.) But how many diseases can be traced to a lack of love being felt and expressed, a Canadian friend said.
With the armour of the Word, and no fooling praying, this need not be the case. I John puts it clearly: "God is love; and he taht dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God and God in him."
There is no safe or healthier place we can be.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Why I'm a Christian Scientist
I practice the teachings of Christian Science for this reason: it is clear to me that only the truth of spiritual being which Jesus demonstrated can open and bring freedom to human consciousness. This truth of spiritual being is now available to humanity in the religion Mary Baker Eddy discovered and founded. And my life has been infinitely blessed by what it brings out about God and man.
Once an individual has felt the transforming touch of Christ--that cleansing of consciousness indescribably priceless--he or she isn't content with anything less than God's healing power. This moment of spiritual quickening, of realizing the utter unreality of whatever is opposed to God's loving presence and power (whether it be sin, illness, lack, unhappiness), comes to everyone individually. But it does leave one wanting to understand more of what has brought such freedom into his experience. And this quest for more of the knowledge our Master had of God's allness leads one to deeper study, prayer, a fuller reliance on God when help is needed--a purer and more spiritually-minded thought and life. St. Paul writes: "For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace."
Actually, such all-out commitment to the demands of divine Spirit is the sine qua non of successful Christian Science pratice, for oneself and others. We don't begin to realize the results we should until we are pursuing Science for growth Godward first, and only second for relief from our own woes. Holding to the higher goal, we name the name of Christ. Indeed, an unhealed condition could well indicate a need to get ourselves right with God, to conform more to His laws.
Nothing has such a purifying, liberating effect on us as an understanding of vital spiritual facts. Regrding ourselves as mortals cut off from a God we have to struggle to reach would be working from an unreal basis. This would subject us to frustration, weariness, and worse--leave us vulnerable to unnecessary false beliefs and fears. On the other hand, putting on the scientifically accurate view of ourselves as evidencing Mind's conscousness of its own perfect self, enable us to feel Christ's transforming touch in divine healing.
There's nothing quite like it. And to continue experiencing this blessing, which I have not found available from any other source, is what keeps me practicing Christian Science.
Once an individual has felt the transforming touch of Christ--that cleansing of consciousness indescribably priceless--he or she isn't content with anything less than God's healing power. This moment of spiritual quickening, of realizing the utter unreality of whatever is opposed to God's loving presence and power (whether it be sin, illness, lack, unhappiness), comes to everyone individually. But it does leave one wanting to understand more of what has brought such freedom into his experience. And this quest for more of the knowledge our Master had of God's allness leads one to deeper study, prayer, a fuller reliance on God when help is needed--a purer and more spiritually-minded thought and life. St. Paul writes: "For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace."
Actually, such all-out commitment to the demands of divine Spirit is the sine qua non of successful Christian Science pratice, for oneself and others. We don't begin to realize the results we should until we are pursuing Science for growth Godward first, and only second for relief from our own woes. Holding to the higher goal, we name the name of Christ. Indeed, an unhealed condition could well indicate a need to get ourselves right with God, to conform more to His laws.
Nothing has such a purifying, liberating effect on us as an understanding of vital spiritual facts. Regrding ourselves as mortals cut off from a God we have to struggle to reach would be working from an unreal basis. This would subject us to frustration, weariness, and worse--leave us vulnerable to unnecessary false beliefs and fears. On the other hand, putting on the scientifically accurate view of ourselves as evidencing Mind's conscousness of its own perfect self, enable us to feel Christ's transforming touch in divine healing.
There's nothing quite like it. And to continue experiencing this blessing, which I have not found available from any other source, is what keeps me practicing Christian Science.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
You Want to Feel Close to God, Do You Not?
There is a way open to you: --
To take Christ Jesus at his word.
Jesus did not go around saying things
Because he had nothing better to do!
It's a fatal mistake for one to doubt
That what our Master said is true.
You must take the Son of God
Seriously and believe what he said
Applies specifically to you.
"Son, thou art ever with me,"
(Words so reassuring, words so true)
"And all that I have is thine"*
Ought to make you rejoice.
These wondrous words,
Among so many others,
Are meant just for you.
For you are God's, His very own,
And all the good to be found
Within the Father's house --
Just think about it! --
Now belongs to you.
*Luke 15:31
To take Christ Jesus at his word.
Jesus did not go around saying things
Because he had nothing better to do!
It's a fatal mistake for one to doubt
That what our Master said is true.
You must take the Son of God
Seriously and believe what he said
Applies specifically to you.
"Son, thou art ever with me,"
(Words so reassuring, words so true)
"And all that I have is thine"*
Ought to make you rejoice.
These wondrous words,
Among so many others,
Are meant just for you.
For you are God's, His very own,
And all the good to be found
Within the Father's house --
Just think about it! --
Now belongs to you.
*Luke 15:31
Thursday, June 9, 2011
A Poet Still
(c) By: Sharon Slaton Howell
Carved platypus sits atop bookcase
Made from rare Tasmanian wood
By our dear Aussie friend --
WWII veteran of the Pacific campaign,
Devoted husband and father,
Generous friend to many,
And a follower of Jesus Christ.
What "puts me on another plane"
He used to say to us, is poetry
On eternal themes;
Reading, writing, and encouraging
Others to pursue this joyful
And heavenly occupation.
I feel he is writing still,
Life made even more fruitful
By that unseen felt Presence
So many poets know.
This poem refers to Paul Jones of whom a close friend and I were speaking this week. It's from one of my books, "And Angels Smile".
But what has prompted me to share this, and do this blog post this morning is gratitude for the religion Paul and I and my friend have been fortunate enough to practice--Christian Science. I recall two memorable things this Australian told me along the lines of the help he got during the war years. He was engaged in jungle warfare in the Solomon Islands and said what brought him through ferocious fighting was realizing that he was one with God, that he and God were not two, but one and that one was God.
This is brought out in something Mary Baker Eddy writes in her book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, page 18: "Jesus of Nazareth taught and demonstrated man's oneness with the Father, and for this we owe him endless homage."
Paul also told us of an outstanding healing he had when he returned from the fighting. Recurrent malaria was a challenge. He was dramatically healed with the help of a dedicated Christian Science practitioner in the Melbourne, Australia branch church. This instance of Christ-healing, along with those which thousands of others have experienced through the years, validate what Christian Science claims: that a practical knowledge of the truths underlying the Master's healing works gets results.
Carved platypus sits atop bookcase
Made from rare Tasmanian wood
By our dear Aussie friend --
WWII veteran of the Pacific campaign,
Devoted husband and father,
Generous friend to many,
And a follower of Jesus Christ.
What "puts me on another plane"
He used to say to us, is poetry
On eternal themes;
Reading, writing, and encouraging
Others to pursue this joyful
And heavenly occupation.
I feel he is writing still,
Life made even more fruitful
By that unseen felt Presence
So many poets know.
This poem refers to Paul Jones of whom a close friend and I were speaking this week. It's from one of my books, "And Angels Smile".
But what has prompted me to share this, and do this blog post this morning is gratitude for the religion Paul and I and my friend have been fortunate enough to practice--Christian Science. I recall two memorable things this Australian told me along the lines of the help he got during the war years. He was engaged in jungle warfare in the Solomon Islands and said what brought him through ferocious fighting was realizing that he was one with God, that he and God were not two, but one and that one was God.
This is brought out in something Mary Baker Eddy writes in her book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, page 18: "Jesus of Nazareth taught and demonstrated man's oneness with the Father, and for this we owe him endless homage."
Paul also told us of an outstanding healing he had when he returned from the fighting. Recurrent malaria was a challenge. He was dramatically healed with the help of a dedicated Christian Science practitioner in the Melbourne, Australia branch church. This instance of Christ-healing, along with those which thousands of others have experienced through the years, validate what Christian Science claims: that a practical knowledge of the truths underlying the Master's healing works gets results.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Standing Fast for Christ
This being a soldier of Jesus Christ is not all charging up the hill, I have found. At times, there is nothing that one can do but be still, hold the ground gained, until incoming fire has waned...be like trees in their majestic-ness who just stand there and take it.
Does not the Bible command us to "Hold fast that which thou hast, that no man take thy crown"?
(Revelation 3:11)
And I'm also thinking this morning of this, from the Discoverer and Founder of my religion, Christian Science. Mary Baker Eddy says: "When the smoke of battle clears away, you will discern the good you have done, and receive according to your deserving."
Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, page 22
It is a great thing to be willing to stand fast for Christ. Given the crying need of mankind for what the teachings of Jesus alone can give, can you and I think of doing less?
Does not the Bible command us to "Hold fast that which thou hast, that no man take thy crown"?
(Revelation 3:11)
And I'm also thinking this morning of this, from the Discoverer and Founder of my religion, Christian Science. Mary Baker Eddy says: "When the smoke of battle clears away, you will discern the good you have done, and receive according to your deserving."
Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, page 22
It is a great thing to be willing to stand fast for Christ. Given the crying need of mankind for what the teachings of Jesus alone can give, can you and I think of doing less?
Friday, June 3, 2011
The Patience of Jesus
Just read the following statement from something Mary Baker Eddy wrote in Miscellaneous Writings (page 7), that "the loving patience of Jesus we must strive to emulate". And immediately, couldn't help thinking of a Christian Science friend know who is such a shining example of this virtue.
Her family concerns at the moment, and the extraordinary demands being made on her by a couple of relatives who require more care than most people can imagine, is patience exemplified. Not only does she remain calm and longsuffering, she stays sweet through it all.
Were someone to mention what an inspiration she is to many who know her, she would probably reply in humility (another Christly attribute): "Oh no, you can't be talking about me!" And she would mean it.
In addition to the Holy Bible where patience is enjoined upon the follower of Christ, a book that has helped Christians through the years, The Greatest Thing in the World by Henry Drummond, lists patience at the head of the list of 9 qualities one must embody.
So, long and short of my blog post this morning: I am thankful that we have among us those who are doers of what walking in Jesus' steps demands.
Her family concerns at the moment, and the extraordinary demands being made on her by a couple of relatives who require more care than most people can imagine, is patience exemplified. Not only does she remain calm and longsuffering, she stays sweet through it all.
Were someone to mention what an inspiration she is to many who know her, she would probably reply in humility (another Christly attribute): "Oh no, you can't be talking about me!" And she would mean it.
In addition to the Holy Bible where patience is enjoined upon the follower of Christ, a book that has helped Christians through the years, The Greatest Thing in the World by Henry Drummond, lists patience at the head of the list of 9 qualities one must embody.
So, long and short of my blog post this morning: I am thankful that we have among us those who are doers of what walking in Jesus' steps demands.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Wild Weather and God's Help
We had never experienced anything like the storms that hit Farragut, Tennessee about a month ago. There was one announcement after another from the weatherman to "take cover now!" Tornado warnings kept rolling along, hour after hour, far into the night. One particularly bad barrage of hail came through, but a really bad one was to follow. Golf ball size hail rained down on us, with baseball size hail being reported just down the road.
At a time like this, when all one can do is get in a basement (if one has a basement) and get through the night, was I grateful for what I've learned in Christian Science. And that is to pray, pray, pray--know that no matter how frightening things look, God is always in control. I was affirming that we can never be in a place or a situation where God is not watching over and caring for us. I thought of this verse from the book of Jeremiah: "Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord" (23:24).
The next morning presented an almost unbelievable sight. But no neighbors were injured or killed, no houses made uninhabitable. Some windows broken down the street, and most roofs damaged. But as one friend said, "My loved ones are safe, and we have shelter. What more do we need?"
At one point, another Bible verse came to thought and gave me much comfort. It's where Paul powerfully states: "I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38, 39)
I reasoned,"Well, if all that can't separate man from his Maker, then fierce storms certainly can't." Of course,we can't be blase about potentially destructive forces, Still, there is no more reliable help than God. There is actually no other power. And realizing this, is a wonderful companion when we're going through a situation like we experienced.
As the man of God's creating, each of us is governed by God, the divine Mind, the only real source of power and activity. Mary Baker Eddy points out in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures (page 387): The history of Christianity furnishes sublime proofs of the supporting influence and protecting power bestowed on man by His heavenly Father, omnipotent Mind, who gives man faith and understanding whereby to defend himself, not only from temptation, but from bodily suffering."
When anyone realizes God's all-power and everpresence with the conviction that comes of spiritual understanding, he or she can come through dangerous storms without fear or harm, with calmness and confidence that God is always in control.
At a time like this, when all one can do is get in a basement (if one has a basement) and get through the night, was I grateful for what I've learned in Christian Science. And that is to pray, pray, pray--know that no matter how frightening things look, God is always in control. I was affirming that we can never be in a place or a situation where God is not watching over and caring for us. I thought of this verse from the book of Jeremiah: "Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord" (23:24).
The next morning presented an almost unbelievable sight. But no neighbors were injured or killed, no houses made uninhabitable. Some windows broken down the street, and most roofs damaged. But as one friend said, "My loved ones are safe, and we have shelter. What more do we need?"
At one point, another Bible verse came to thought and gave me much comfort. It's where Paul powerfully states: "I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38, 39)
I reasoned,"Well, if all that can't separate man from his Maker, then fierce storms certainly can't." Of course,we can't be blase about potentially destructive forces, Still, there is no more reliable help than God. There is actually no other power. And realizing this, is a wonderful companion when we're going through a situation like we experienced.
As the man of God's creating, each of us is governed by God, the divine Mind, the only real source of power and activity. Mary Baker Eddy points out in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures (page 387): The history of Christianity furnishes sublime proofs of the supporting influence and protecting power bestowed on man by His heavenly Father, omnipotent Mind, who gives man faith and understanding whereby to defend himself, not only from temptation, but from bodily suffering."
When anyone realizes God's all-power and everpresence with the conviction that comes of spiritual understanding, he or she can come through dangerous storms without fear or harm, with calmness and confidence that God is always in control.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Sordid, Senseless, Self-indulgence
One doesn't have to be a reader of the tabloids to know what has been happening in the world with respect to certain individuals and their travails. When even the Wall Street Journal covers the wrongdoing of the 2 men whose lives have been up-ended, people are aware of what such mindless self-indulgence can lead to.
Thinking about what walking the broad way of worldliness can do to someone, not to mention their family, couldn't help but reflect on the teachings of Christ Jesus vis-a-vis the 2 paths open to us in this life: the one that leads to destruction (amen to this) and the other that seems difficult and un-appetizing to take, but that leads to all worth having--now and eternally.
In the words of our Master, "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat;
Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." This is from the Sermon on the Mount, as many will recognize.
Jesus isn't saying that one is doomed if he has chosen unwisely, just that there seem to be few who are willing to exercise the self-denial it takes to choose the better way. One should make every effort to ensure that he's among the "few". God be thanked for His infinite love and mercy, that now is not to soon to start getting one's heart right with God, if following Christ is something one has not contemplated. Nor is it too late to retrace one's steps, if he (or she) has wandered off the path through deplorable living for one's own self-gratification.
Be serious about doing what Jesus commanded. Your heavenly Father wants you to be safe with Him. It is the one sure, the royal, the only way.
Thinking about what walking the broad way of worldliness can do to someone, not to mention their family, couldn't help but reflect on the teachings of Christ Jesus vis-a-vis the 2 paths open to us in this life: the one that leads to destruction (amen to this) and the other that seems difficult and un-appetizing to take, but that leads to all worth having--now and eternally.
In the words of our Master, "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat;
Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." This is from the Sermon on the Mount, as many will recognize.
Jesus isn't saying that one is doomed if he has chosen unwisely, just that there seem to be few who are willing to exercise the self-denial it takes to choose the better way. One should make every effort to ensure that he's among the "few". God be thanked for His infinite love and mercy, that now is not to soon to start getting one's heart right with God, if following Christ is something one has not contemplated. Nor is it too late to retrace one's steps, if he (or she) has wandered off the path through deplorable living for one's own self-gratification.
Be serious about doing what Jesus commanded. Your heavenly Father wants you to be safe with Him. It is the one sure, the royal, the only way.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
It's in His Hand
When God tells me to do a thing...I do.
I trust...that this is true as well of you.
And the best part...when we're working for Him?
(And this truth will bring assurance to any heart)...
Instead of thinking...but what will be the outcome?
what will the end result be?...let God Almighty
take care of all aspects of what we do
for His beloved Son...not just some.
To want to not only scatter seed...
but see the harvest...confirm that others
have been reached...blessed...is not our need...
this we do not have to know.
Cannot He who sent His Word...
take care of it...see to it...
that it does what it needs to do?
Of course our dear Father can.
Two passages to underscore...
(of course, there are many more)...
From the Old Testament (Isaiah 55:11)
"So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth; it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it."
And from the New (1 Corinthians 3:6
"I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase", said Paul.
Truly is it all in His Hand.
I trust...that this is true as well of you.
And the best part...when we're working for Him?
(And this truth will bring assurance to any heart)...
Instead of thinking...but what will be the outcome?
what will the end result be?...let God Almighty
take care of all aspects of what we do
for His beloved Son...not just some.
To want to not only scatter seed...
but see the harvest...confirm that others
have been reached...blessed...is not our need...
this we do not have to know.
Cannot He who sent His Word...
take care of it...see to it...
that it does what it needs to do?
Of course our dear Father can.
Two passages to underscore...
(of course, there are many more)...
From the Old Testament (Isaiah 55:11)
"So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth; it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it."
And from the New (1 Corinthians 3:6
"I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase", said Paul.
Truly is it all in His Hand.
In Praise of Public Libraries
I love to visit public libraries;
They're full of such treasures.
Chief among them to me,
Are books about heroes of the faith --
Intrepid followers of Jesus Christ,
Who, rather than be remiss
In their duty to God and man
Endured often unspeakable hardship.
For the years of uplift I have found
In these public institutions free,
I say, may God prosper them every one.
They're full of such treasures.
Chief among them to me,
Are books about heroes of the faith --
Intrepid followers of Jesus Christ,
Who, rather than be remiss
In their duty to God and man
Endured often unspeakable hardship.
For the years of uplift I have found
In these public institutions free,
I say, may God prosper them every one.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Dealing with Life's Glitches -- Jesus' Way
When a household item stopped operating, we were not concerned as we had a service contract for just such a contingency. The store was called, a technician scheduled to come take a look. Then all along the line, the wheels seemed to come off (in a manner of speaking). Day after day of frustrating phone calls followed, with much time spent holding on the phone and being shunted from one person to another. The household item we needed was still broken.
Then this morning all appeared at its worst. Misunderstanding reined, with the store manager/the repairman/the supplier and us at odds. When it looked as though the problem was just going to go on and on with no satisfactory conclusion, it dawned on me what I needed to do. If the item in question never got fixed, and we had to go out and purchase a new one, this was not the overriding consideration, I realized.
Re-establishing peace of mind, clearing up the misunderstanding that had taken hold, was paramount, I could see. Dealing with this situation in a Christly and loving manner was what was being required.
I sat quietly and began getting hold of my thinking about just who was in charge here, to-wit God. And what He requires of everyone--that Jesus' guidelines for living be observed. I felt better very soon. "If this apparatus never gets repaired, who cares? There are more important things than this."
And this phrase from something Mary Baker Eddy points out in her book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures (p. 207) came to thought while I was praying. "...the opposite discord, which bears no resemblance to spirituality, is not real." This helped me see that under God's law, there was only harmony being experienced by us all, that inharmony had no divine law to support it, that the whole sense of frustration and delay was not going on in His kingdom--the only place we truly dwell.
Not surprisingly, the technician we hadn't been able to reach, drove up. After trying to repair the item, he realized one more part would be needed which he proceeded to order. But, and this is neat part, he offered to get us a loaner to use in the meantime--something he did not have to do. Not only this, he will have to drive 40 minutes out of his way, going down to another town, and 40 minutes back. But we will be back in business by 6pm today.
There's just nothing like dealing with life's little glitches -- Jesus' way.
Then this morning all appeared at its worst. Misunderstanding reined, with the store manager/the repairman/the supplier and us at odds. When it looked as though the problem was just going to go on and on with no satisfactory conclusion, it dawned on me what I needed to do. If the item in question never got fixed, and we had to go out and purchase a new one, this was not the overriding consideration, I realized.
Re-establishing peace of mind, clearing up the misunderstanding that had taken hold, was paramount, I could see. Dealing with this situation in a Christly and loving manner was what was being required.
I sat quietly and began getting hold of my thinking about just who was in charge here, to-wit God. And what He requires of everyone--that Jesus' guidelines for living be observed. I felt better very soon. "If this apparatus never gets repaired, who cares? There are more important things than this."
And this phrase from something Mary Baker Eddy points out in her book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures (p. 207) came to thought while I was praying. "...the opposite discord, which bears no resemblance to spirituality, is not real." This helped me see that under God's law, there was only harmony being experienced by us all, that inharmony had no divine law to support it, that the whole sense of frustration and delay was not going on in His kingdom--the only place we truly dwell.
Not surprisingly, the technician we hadn't been able to reach, drove up. After trying to repair the item, he realized one more part would be needed which he proceeded to order. But, and this is neat part, he offered to get us a loaner to use in the meantime--something he did not have to do. Not only this, he will have to drive 40 minutes out of his way, going down to another town, and 40 minutes back. But we will be back in business by 6pm today.
There's just nothing like dealing with life's little glitches -- Jesus' way.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Life-altering Words
Someone has said, if you want
to feel a life-altering force,
put into practice what
Christ Jesus said to do.
This I have found to be true,
as have many of you.
These sayings, merely read,
are sublimely glorious.
But the power that comes to one,
when they are literally done!
Not that our Master's commands
are always easy to do,
as no one knows perhaps
better than I and you,
who may have walked the floor
and shed a tear or two, thinking
"This thing I just cannot do."
Yet, keeping on in the fight,
realizing if we put things off,
we'd delay with Him being right;
so we persevered and won our way.
As encouragement to one reading this:
Begin living as a child of God ought --
actually doing what Jesus taught --
and you'll need to hold on tight;
changes for the better you will see.
Such is the power that comes
from taking Jesus' words seriously.
to feel a life-altering force,
put into practice what
Christ Jesus said to do.
This I have found to be true,
as have many of you.
These sayings, merely read,
are sublimely glorious.
But the power that comes to one,
when they are literally done!
Not that our Master's commands
are always easy to do,
as no one knows perhaps
better than I and you,
who may have walked the floor
and shed a tear or two, thinking
"This thing I just cannot do."
Yet, keeping on in the fight,
realizing if we put things off,
we'd delay with Him being right;
so we persevered and won our way.
As encouragement to one reading this:
Begin living as a child of God ought --
actually doing what Jesus taught --
and you'll need to hold on tight;
changes for the better you will see.
Such is the power that comes
from taking Jesus' words seriously.
Thinking About Light
(Composed one evening in May)
Candy-pink roses blow in cool breeze,
Care-free birds dart in and out of hedges,
Someone mows his lawn in the distance.
Of all the May delights that confront me
As I sit here on stone garden bench,
It's setting-sun rays that get me most --
Light shines on forest floor,
Light plays on trunks of trees,
Light glints off rusting-wire fench
A farmer put up long before we moved in.
But there's a thought much higher
Than enchanting light of earth --
It's something Christ Jesus once said:
"I am the light of the world; he that
Followeth me shall not walk in darkness,
But shall have the light of life."
(John 8:12)
The beauty of this Light
Can never fade to black.
Its presence and its power,
Followers of His can never lack.
Candy-pink roses blow in cool breeze,
Care-free birds dart in and out of hedges,
Someone mows his lawn in the distance.
Of all the May delights that confront me
As I sit here on stone garden bench,
It's setting-sun rays that get me most --
Light shines on forest floor,
Light plays on trunks of trees,
Light glints off rusting-wire fench
A farmer put up long before we moved in.
But there's a thought much higher
Than enchanting light of earth --
It's something Christ Jesus once said:
"I am the light of the world; he that
Followeth me shall not walk in darkness,
But shall have the light of life."
(John 8:12)
The beauty of this Light
Can never fade to black.
Its presence and its power,
Followers of His can never lack.
To Hold Our Ground
This being a soldier of Christ
Is not all charging up the hill,
I have often found.
At times there is nothing
One can do but be still,
Hold the ground gained,
Until incoming fire has waned --
Be like the trees in their majestic-ness
Who just stand there and take it.
Does not the Bible say,
"Hold that fast which thou hast,
That no man take thy crown?"
(Revelation 3:11)
And as Christian Science brings out,
"'Work out your own salvation,' is the demand of Life and Love, for to this end God workerth with you. 'Occupy till I come!' Wait for your reward, and 'be not weary in well doing.' If your endeavors are beset by fearful odds, and you receive no present reward, go not back to error, nor become a sluggard in therace.
When the smoke of battle clears away, you will discern the good you have done, and receive according to your deserving."
(Science and Health with Key to the Scritpures by Mary Baker Eddy,
p. 22)
Is not all charging up the hill,
I have often found.
At times there is nothing
One can do but be still,
Hold the ground gained,
Until incoming fire has waned --
Be like the trees in their majestic-ness
Who just stand there and take it.
Does not the Bible say,
"Hold that fast which thou hast,
That no man take thy crown?"
(Revelation 3:11)
And as Christian Science brings out,
"'Work out your own salvation,' is the demand of Life and Love, for to this end God workerth with you. 'Occupy till I come!' Wait for your reward, and 'be not weary in well doing.' If your endeavors are beset by fearful odds, and you receive no present reward, go not back to error, nor become a sluggard in therace.
When the smoke of battle clears away, you will discern the good you have done, and receive according to your deserving."
(Science and Health with Key to the Scritpures by Mary Baker Eddy,
p. 22)
Friday, May 13, 2011
The Trees Lift Up Their Leafy Arms
After too many days of ground-cracking hot weather and lack of rain, thirsty trees in our woods are lifting up their leafy arms in what must be thanks to their Creator. How silly, you may think. But I do believe that they are. For God is doing right now what no human agency can -- send heaven-sized buckets of cool, refreshing rain.
I can almost hear them saying, "Praise be to God on high!" And so am I.
As a student of Christian Science, which is a practical way of life and encourages its adherents to turn to God in prayer in all the challenges of daily life, I have prayed about extremes in weather before, making sincere efforts to carry out what the following words from the Old Testament point out:
"I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause:
Which doeth great things and unsearchable; marvellous things without number:
Who giveth rain upon the earth, and sendeth waters upon the fields."
(Job 5:8-10)
I can almost hear them saying, "Praise be to God on high!" And so am I.
As a student of Christian Science, which is a practical way of life and encourages its adherents to turn to God in prayer in all the challenges of daily life, I have prayed about extremes in weather before, making sincere efforts to carry out what the following words from the Old Testament point out:
"I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause:
Which doeth great things and unsearchable; marvellous things without number:
Who giveth rain upon the earth, and sendeth waters upon the fields."
(Job 5:8-10)
Keeping Our Joy Intact
Does someone wish he knew
The way to go through life
Without feeling all used up?
Jesus' "Your joy no man
Taketh from you (see Luke 16:22)
Holds a vital clue.
The Master's promise here
Can seem too much to believe
Given the things that
Humankind can sometimes do.
But it is nonetheless spiritual fact,
Within the reach of me and you.
Inharmony never really touches
Man's true, like-God selfhood --
Ours and theirs. What's more,
Understanding this truth divine
Will lingering bitterness relieve,
One's joy and faith in good restore.
The way to go through life
Without feeling all used up?
Jesus' "Your joy no man
Taketh from you (see Luke 16:22)
Holds a vital clue.
The Master's promise here
Can seem too much to believe
Given the things that
Humankind can sometimes do.
But it is nonetheless spiritual fact,
Within the reach of me and you.
Inharmony never really touches
Man's true, like-God selfhood --
Ours and theirs. What's more,
Understanding this truth divine
Will lingering bitterness relieve,
One's joy and faith in good restore.
Thursday, May 12, 2011
The Power of Gratitude
When the latest catastrophe,
Or the news, or who-knows-what
Begins to get me down,
I thank God and my joy
Starts to rebound.
Nothing cures depression,
Nothing lifts me back up
I have often found
Like thanking Him
For everything around.
Such is the power of gratitude.
And before I know it,
By expressing gratitude,
I find very soon,
A whole new attitude.
Giving way to thanks giving
Makes the day feel right;
This makes the day much brighter;
Lifts at once mental darkness,
Makes my step much lighter.
And more -- expressing gratitude
Is naturally infectious,
Reaches others I have found;
Helps and gets someone
Else's chin up off the ground.
No wonder Jesus commended
That leper of the ten he healed--
That obviously thankful one
Who came back to give God thanks
For all that He had done.
So, whenever I feel tempted
To let life get me down;
Whenever I feel a trifle blue,
I'll thank our loving Father,
Which is only His due.
Or the news, or who-knows-what
Begins to get me down,
I thank God and my joy
Starts to rebound.
Nothing cures depression,
Nothing lifts me back up
I have often found
Like thanking Him
For everything around.
Such is the power of gratitude.
And before I know it,
By expressing gratitude,
I find very soon,
A whole new attitude.
Giving way to thanks giving
Makes the day feel right;
This makes the day much brighter;
Lifts at once mental darkness,
Makes my step much lighter.
And more -- expressing gratitude
Is naturally infectious,
Reaches others I have found;
Helps and gets someone
Else's chin up off the ground.
No wonder Jesus commended
That leper of the ten he healed--
That obviously thankful one
Who came back to give God thanks
For all that He had done.
So, whenever I feel tempted
To let life get me down;
Whenever I feel a trifle blue,
I'll thank our loving Father,
Which is only His due.
Why We Exist
While driving along just now, I recalled some words of Mary Baker Eddy's which tie right in with the blog post I did earlier, and thought I'd share it with you readers.
In a letter to the First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York, she wrote: "Goodness never fails to receive its reward, for goodness makes life a blessing. As an active portion of one stupendous whole, goodness identifies man with universal good. Thus may each member of this church rise above the oft-repeated inquiry, What am I? to the scientific response: I am able to impart truth, health, and happiness, and this is my rock of salvation and my reason for existing." (First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 165)
This statement applies to not just church members, in my view, but to all who would like to adopt a noble reason for existing. And our dear Master, Christ Jesus, left no doubt what was expected of his followers, in his time and in ours. That is, of course, to love God supremely and to show our love for Him in our love for others. In sum, to do all the good we can do in this world.
In a letter to the First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York, she wrote: "Goodness never fails to receive its reward, for goodness makes life a blessing. As an active portion of one stupendous whole, goodness identifies man with universal good. Thus may each member of this church rise above the oft-repeated inquiry, What am I? to the scientific response: I am able to impart truth, health, and happiness, and this is my rock of salvation and my reason for existing." (First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 165)
This statement applies to not just church members, in my view, but to all who would like to adopt a noble reason for existing. And our dear Master, Christ Jesus, left no doubt what was expected of his followers, in his time and in ours. That is, of course, to love God supremely and to show our love for Him in our love for others. In sum, to do all the good we can do in this world.
On Being More Useful
While chatting with a neighbor this week who was lamenting the boredom she experiences with a husband working long hours and her children off to college, I couldn't help thinking about this idea of usefulness and satisfaction in life.
There is no doubt many today long to feel needed, to have a satifying purpose, to express their own particular abilities, hopes and ideas, independent of what their family is doing. In short, to feel that they matter.
In assuring mankind of God's tender care for each of His children, and man's spiritual value, Jesus said: "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than manuy sparrows." (Matthew 10:29, 31)
Each of us is important, useful, unique. Why? Because man is God's beloved child, made in His image and likeness, as we read in the first chapter of the Bible. In full accord with this revelation, Christian Science shows that man is the spiritual reflection of God, divine Love, and as such is perfect and immortal.
As we grow in the understanding of man's unity with his Maker, each of us is assured our secure place and purposeful activity. We cannot be forgotten, lost in the crowd, swallowed up in our rapidly-changing world. Our life is governed by God, directed and sustained by His unchanging divine law. Any individual can begin to glimpse his or her importance to God.
The woman who discovered and founded my religion, Mary Baker Eddy, writes in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures (p.306): "If God, who is Life, were parted for a moment from His reflection, man, during that moment there would be no divinity reflected. The Ego would be unexpressed, and the Father would be childless, -- no Father."
Beyond living a worthwhile life ourselves, yours and my contribution toward world problems is vitally needed. It's challenging at times not to feel overwhelmed by the enormity of the difficulties confronting mankind. Don't we all know this. And we may think, "But what can just one person do?" When we feel this way, we can find encouragement and inspiration in the life of the Master.
Christ Jesus' earthly mission proved what can be accomplished by just one God-directed individual. It was Jesus' understanding of man's true selfhood and oneness with God that empowered his far-reaching acts. This same understanding of man's real being and spiritual vaue will enable anyone to have a more meaningful, satisfying life.
The impressions that one person cannot achieve very much, that he is limited, ineffective, and unimportant, is the result of false education, the material belief that one is a solitary mortal, helpless and separated from God, good. But this is not the true concept of man. One finds freedom from such a misconception as he appplies his understanding of this spiritual fact.
As the perfect child of our loving, heavenly Father, you and I are needed--whatever our human circumstances happen to be. This is divine, provable fact and it pertains to my neighbor down the street, and to any one who comes across this blog.
There is no doubt many today long to feel needed, to have a satifying purpose, to express their own particular abilities, hopes and ideas, independent of what their family is doing. In short, to feel that they matter.
In assuring mankind of God's tender care for each of His children, and man's spiritual value, Jesus said: "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than manuy sparrows." (Matthew 10:29, 31)
Each of us is important, useful, unique. Why? Because man is God's beloved child, made in His image and likeness, as we read in the first chapter of the Bible. In full accord with this revelation, Christian Science shows that man is the spiritual reflection of God, divine Love, and as such is perfect and immortal.
As we grow in the understanding of man's unity with his Maker, each of us is assured our secure place and purposeful activity. We cannot be forgotten, lost in the crowd, swallowed up in our rapidly-changing world. Our life is governed by God, directed and sustained by His unchanging divine law. Any individual can begin to glimpse his or her importance to God.
The woman who discovered and founded my religion, Mary Baker Eddy, writes in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures (p.306): "If God, who is Life, were parted for a moment from His reflection, man, during that moment there would be no divinity reflected. The Ego would be unexpressed, and the Father would be childless, -- no Father."
Beyond living a worthwhile life ourselves, yours and my contribution toward world problems is vitally needed. It's challenging at times not to feel overwhelmed by the enormity of the difficulties confronting mankind. Don't we all know this. And we may think, "But what can just one person do?" When we feel this way, we can find encouragement and inspiration in the life of the Master.
Christ Jesus' earthly mission proved what can be accomplished by just one God-directed individual. It was Jesus' understanding of man's true selfhood and oneness with God that empowered his far-reaching acts. This same understanding of man's real being and spiritual vaue will enable anyone to have a more meaningful, satisfying life.
The impressions that one person cannot achieve very much, that he is limited, ineffective, and unimportant, is the result of false education, the material belief that one is a solitary mortal, helpless and separated from God, good. But this is not the true concept of man. One finds freedom from such a misconception as he appplies his understanding of this spiritual fact.
As the perfect child of our loving, heavenly Father, you and I are needed--whatever our human circumstances happen to be. This is divine, provable fact and it pertains to my neighbor down the street, and to any one who comes across this blog.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Letting Our Light Shine
One doesn't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows (to borrow Bob Dylan's words); when he comes across someone who has Christ at the center, who has Christ alive, he knows. Oh, how he knows.
And tell me it isn't a thrill to find those who are like-minded. But still, the object of what we're doing, we who write and speak for Christ is not solely to reach those who already feel as we do--though getting to proclaim the Truth is wonderful wherever we happen to be doing it--but to so live our lives that others may wonder, what causes that person to radiate such joy and health and lovingkindness?
And when they ask, being able to say what is blessing us so very grateful, to be able to give credit to God, to Christ Jesus, and to Christian Science. Oh the privilege of being this very day a reflector of that light our blessed Master commands*, a light that cannot be hid, and just may cause one to seek things higher, ending up with a heart on fire for our great King.
Can you think of anything more glorious?
("Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Matthew 5:16)
And tell me it isn't a thrill to find those who are like-minded. But still, the object of what we're doing, we who write and speak for Christ is not solely to reach those who already feel as we do--though getting to proclaim the Truth is wonderful wherever we happen to be doing it--but to so live our lives that others may wonder, what causes that person to radiate such joy and health and lovingkindness?
And when they ask, being able to say what is blessing us so very grateful, to be able to give credit to God, to Christ Jesus, and to Christian Science. Oh the privilege of being this very day a reflector of that light our blessed Master commands*, a light that cannot be hid, and just may cause one to seek things higher, ending up with a heart on fire for our great King.
Can you think of anything more glorious?
("Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Matthew 5:16)
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Soldiers of Christ
A couple of years ago I wrote a poem titled "No Walk in the Park" to help others gain a mature grasp of what following in Jesus' steps requires of us.
In fact, let me share the poem here, then comment on something from the writings of Mary Baker Eddy that has been of inestimable help to me in the Christian warfare, and could just be what someone else needs today:
"No Walk in the Park"
(c) By: Sharon Slaton Howell
Doing what God requires
Is of course no lark.
Jesus never even hinted
It'd be a walk in the park.
In fact, Jesus left no doubt
Just what could lie ahead
In these words to those
God-called men he led:
"Whosoever killeth you will
Think he doeth God service."
(John 16:2)
Doesn't need to be put
Plainer than this for me.
Nor I suspect for you who
Love Christ unconditionally.
But becoming more like our Saviour,
The most obedient-to-God man on earth,
Shouldn't this some all out,
Go-for-broke commitment be worth?
For we know, disobeying the God
We are taught to adore,
Is sooner or later sure to
Cost us so much more.
Now for a statement that has sustained me in the challenges that confront every soldier of Christ Jesus. This is from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 48: "Remembering the sweat of agony which fell in holy benediction on the grass of Gethsemane, shall the humblest or mightiest disciple murmur when he drinks from the same cup, and think, or even wish, to escape the exalting ordeal of sin's revenge on its destroyer?"
The words that jumped out at me the first time I looked this statement in the face was "exalting ordeal". Especially that word she used, "exalting". And as so many others can attest, the challenges God's own face in their daily lives of living Jesus' words, do leave us much stronger, blessed. May you, reader of this blog, take comfort in this divine fact.
In fact, let me share the poem here, then comment on something from the writings of Mary Baker Eddy that has been of inestimable help to me in the Christian warfare, and could just be what someone else needs today:
"No Walk in the Park"
(c) By: Sharon Slaton Howell
Doing what God requires
Is of course no lark.
Jesus never even hinted
It'd be a walk in the park.
In fact, Jesus left no doubt
Just what could lie ahead
In these words to those
God-called men he led:
"Whosoever killeth you will
Think he doeth God service."
(John 16:2)
Doesn't need to be put
Plainer than this for me.
Nor I suspect for you who
Love Christ unconditionally.
But becoming more like our Saviour,
The most obedient-to-God man on earth,
Shouldn't this some all out,
Go-for-broke commitment be worth?
For we know, disobeying the God
We are taught to adore,
Is sooner or later sure to
Cost us so much more.
Now for a statement that has sustained me in the challenges that confront every soldier of Christ Jesus. This is from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 48: "Remembering the sweat of agony which fell in holy benediction on the grass of Gethsemane, shall the humblest or mightiest disciple murmur when he drinks from the same cup, and think, or even wish, to escape the exalting ordeal of sin's revenge on its destroyer?"
The words that jumped out at me the first time I looked this statement in the face was "exalting ordeal". Especially that word she used, "exalting". And as so many others can attest, the challenges God's own face in their daily lives of living Jesus' words, do leave us much stronger, blessed. May you, reader of this blog, take comfort in this divine fact.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Where Our Safety Lies
With the news that Osama Bin Laden has been finally been taken out, some people are warning of possible retaliation against us here in the USA, and against Americans and its allies abroad.
I, of course, am thinking about staying out of harm's way, about where our safety lies. And the religion I practice, Christian Science, is of great help in this. Whatever our circumstances may be, we can gain peace of mind and safety through an understanding of our unity with God.
Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, writes in the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures: "The history of Christianity furnishes sublime proofs of the supporting influence and protecting power bestowed on man by his heavenly Father, omnipotent Mind, who gives man faith and understanding whereby to defend himself, not only from temptation, but from bodily suffering." (p.387)
This spiritual and practical understanding of man's indissoluble relationship to God is accessible to all. We can all begin to discern and practice those spiritual truths that will enable us to carry on our day-to-day activities with perfect confidence in our safety.
The physical senses tell us we're subject to the material conditions surrounding us; that despite the precautions we may take for personal security, we still remain potential victims of others' actions. While this may seem to be the case, and we certainly can't naively ignore danger, still there is no more reliable help than God. There is actually no other power.
The teachings of Christian Science stress the truth of God's supremacy. And, in accord with the Bible, they show us that man is the beloved child of his Maker, never for an instant separated from God's all-encompassing care. In truth, man is neither a victim nor the perpetrator of violent acts. He is governed by the divine Mind, the only genuine Mind. And when we realize this truth with the conviction that comes of spiritual understanding, we can live without fear.
For centuries people have been turning to the book of Psalms for reassuring promises of God's protecting care. This is just one of the books of the Old Testament that show us God's mighty help and deliverance. And our great Master left no doubt of God's powerful love and care for His children. It was Christ Jesus' absolute conviction of being inseparable from his Father that empowered him to demonstrate dominion, whatever the circumstances. Jesus said, "He that sent me is with me; the Father hath not left me alone." (John8:29) Nor does the Father ever leave us alone and unprotected; rather, He keeps each and every one of us continuously secure in His omnipotent care. You and I can prove this.
The Christian Science textbook states, "Jesus of Nazareth taught and demonstrated man's oneness with the Father, and for this we owe him endless homage." (Science and Health, p. 18) To really comprehend the fact of man's perfect unity with God, good, is to enjoy His protecting care 24/7. How reassuring it is to know that we can never for a moment be outside the sphere of divine Love's protecting, saving influence!
I, of course, am thinking about staying out of harm's way, about where our safety lies. And the religion I practice, Christian Science, is of great help in this. Whatever our circumstances may be, we can gain peace of mind and safety through an understanding of our unity with God.
Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, writes in the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures: "The history of Christianity furnishes sublime proofs of the supporting influence and protecting power bestowed on man by his heavenly Father, omnipotent Mind, who gives man faith and understanding whereby to defend himself, not only from temptation, but from bodily suffering." (p.387)
This spiritual and practical understanding of man's indissoluble relationship to God is accessible to all. We can all begin to discern and practice those spiritual truths that will enable us to carry on our day-to-day activities with perfect confidence in our safety.
The physical senses tell us we're subject to the material conditions surrounding us; that despite the precautions we may take for personal security, we still remain potential victims of others' actions. While this may seem to be the case, and we certainly can't naively ignore danger, still there is no more reliable help than God. There is actually no other power.
The teachings of Christian Science stress the truth of God's supremacy. And, in accord with the Bible, they show us that man is the beloved child of his Maker, never for an instant separated from God's all-encompassing care. In truth, man is neither a victim nor the perpetrator of violent acts. He is governed by the divine Mind, the only genuine Mind. And when we realize this truth with the conviction that comes of spiritual understanding, we can live without fear.
For centuries people have been turning to the book of Psalms for reassuring promises of God's protecting care. This is just one of the books of the Old Testament that show us God's mighty help and deliverance. And our great Master left no doubt of God's powerful love and care for His children. It was Christ Jesus' absolute conviction of being inseparable from his Father that empowered him to demonstrate dominion, whatever the circumstances. Jesus said, "He that sent me is with me; the Father hath not left me alone." (John8:29) Nor does the Father ever leave us alone and unprotected; rather, He keeps each and every one of us continuously secure in His omnipotent care. You and I can prove this.
The Christian Science textbook states, "Jesus of Nazareth taught and demonstrated man's oneness with the Father, and for this we owe him endless homage." (Science and Health, p. 18) To really comprehend the fact of man's perfect unity with God, good, is to enjoy His protecting care 24/7. How reassuring it is to know that we can never for a moment be outside the sphere of divine Love's protecting, saving influence!
Monday, April 25, 2011
"Feed My Lambs"
It wasn't a little lamb looking back at me just now as I opened the door to the garage to put out trash--but a little creature, very, very hungry. It (a mother with young to feed?) had been drawn in by the bag of dog food, some of which we pile near our woods for the woodland creatures that visit each night--foxes, skunks, possums, coyotes now and then, and of course raccoons. The night's supply had all been eaten obviously, or this animal was especially hungy. Soon this darling thing came back and fell on the food I put out. With an ever-shrinking habitat, wild creatures have to find food wherever they can.
As satisfying as it was to, in its way, to help an animal in need, I couldn't help thinking of another kind of nourishment millions of people are hungry for, though they know it not. Not yet. And what is this life-giving nourishment? The teachings of Jesus Christ. What a privilege, what joy it is for you and me to be doing what we can to feed His lambs, to be carrying out something dear to our Master's heart--Jesus' solemn charge to Peter: "So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs." (John 21)
As satisfying as it was to, in its way, to help an animal in need, I couldn't help thinking of another kind of nourishment millions of people are hungry for, though they know it not. Not yet. And what is this life-giving nourishment? The teachings of Jesus Christ. What a privilege, what joy it is for you and me to be doing what we can to feed His lambs, to be carrying out something dear to our Master's heart--Jesus' solemn charge to Peter: "So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs." (John 21)
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Help Always With Us
The other day driving back from North Carolina, I happened to see a billboard with this message: "In an emergency, experience counts." What it referred to was a health care group. But the phrase stuck with me, and being a student of Christian Science, very naturally led to thoughts of God's help that is always with us.
Sometimes people, when learning that I'm a Christian Scientist and rely on God for deliverance, will ask, "But could you trust God's help in an emergency?"My answer to that is always "yes," because I've experienced God's everpresent intervention in many and varied ways in my life. Who can imagine One more experienced than God Almighty?
One of the many passages throughout the Bible that reveal God as the tender, watchful guardian of all is, "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.. (Psalm 46:1) This has divine truth has come to my aid many times over the years. It can come to yours, too. One doesn't have to panic in emergencies, or accept as final the evidence of accident, injury, or illness. Instead, he or she can rely on God's help with confidence and success.
And Christ Jesus who was ever conscious of God's unfailing care for His children, said: "He that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone." (John 8:29) God's constant love and support are still at hand for all who yearn for heavenly help.
Many who have felt alone and afraid before the challenges that come up in everyday life have found solace, support, and healing through the study of Christian Science. Mary Baker Eddy,the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, writes in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures (p.332): "Father-Mother is the name for Deity, which indicates His tender relationship to His spiritual creation. As the apostle expressed it: "For we are also His offspring.'"
I've often marveled that the creator of the universe, the Father of all things, is our Father who not only loves us unconditionally, but is always with us in every circumstance. It is due to the teachings of Christian Science that I have this spiritual conviction, it must be said.
My religion shows that since man is God's offspring, His image and likeness, as the Bible reveals, man is spiritual and perfect, continuously reflecting the Father's love and care. This spiritual identity, the true selfhood of us all, is not helpless before the mortal claims of accident, injury, illness. These erroneous beliefs, which seem so real to the unenlightened thought, stem from ignorance of man's inseparable relationship to God, divine Love, and are corrected by spiritual understanding.
Mortal suffering is an illusion of the physical senses, a lie about God's perfect creation. It is like the bad dream a child has at night--frightening to him, yet not real to the loved one awake at his side. And what comfort the child feels when he wakes and sees that he is not alone, and there is nothing to fear.
When, through spiritual understanding, one arouses himself from the mortal dream of life in matter to the reality of the truth of spiritual being, he experiences the sense of security that comes to one who has a knowledge of spiritual reality.
This knowledge our great Master obviously had. It is encouraging to note that when Jesus was himself confronted with an emergency situation (an angry crowd had led him to the top of a hill to throw him off), "he passing through the midst of them went his way." (This is from Luke 4:30)
As we gain an approximation of that rocklike spiritual recognition Jesus had that the loving Parent of us all is always caring for His children, we're empowered to demonstrate dominion in emergencies. It is divine fact that no situation which arises, whether it concerns the well-being of ourselves or those we love, is beyond God's omnipotent help.
Sometimes people, when learning that I'm a Christian Scientist and rely on God for deliverance, will ask, "But could you trust God's help in an emergency?"My answer to that is always "yes," because I've experienced God's everpresent intervention in many and varied ways in my life. Who can imagine One more experienced than God Almighty?
One of the many passages throughout the Bible that reveal God as the tender, watchful guardian of all is, "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.. (Psalm 46:1) This has divine truth has come to my aid many times over the years. It can come to yours, too. One doesn't have to panic in emergencies, or accept as final the evidence of accident, injury, or illness. Instead, he or she can rely on God's help with confidence and success.
And Christ Jesus who was ever conscious of God's unfailing care for His children, said: "He that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone." (John 8:29) God's constant love and support are still at hand for all who yearn for heavenly help.
Many who have felt alone and afraid before the challenges that come up in everyday life have found solace, support, and healing through the study of Christian Science. Mary Baker Eddy,the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, writes in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures (p.332): "Father-Mother is the name for Deity, which indicates His tender relationship to His spiritual creation. As the apostle expressed it: "For we are also His offspring.'"
I've often marveled that the creator of the universe, the Father of all things, is our Father who not only loves us unconditionally, but is always with us in every circumstance. It is due to the teachings of Christian Science that I have this spiritual conviction, it must be said.
My religion shows that since man is God's offspring, His image and likeness, as the Bible reveals, man is spiritual and perfect, continuously reflecting the Father's love and care. This spiritual identity, the true selfhood of us all, is not helpless before the mortal claims of accident, injury, illness. These erroneous beliefs, which seem so real to the unenlightened thought, stem from ignorance of man's inseparable relationship to God, divine Love, and are corrected by spiritual understanding.
Mortal suffering is an illusion of the physical senses, a lie about God's perfect creation. It is like the bad dream a child has at night--frightening to him, yet not real to the loved one awake at his side. And what comfort the child feels when he wakes and sees that he is not alone, and there is nothing to fear.
When, through spiritual understanding, one arouses himself from the mortal dream of life in matter to the reality of the truth of spiritual being, he experiences the sense of security that comes to one who has a knowledge of spiritual reality.
This knowledge our great Master obviously had. It is encouraging to note that when Jesus was himself confronted with an emergency situation (an angry crowd had led him to the top of a hill to throw him off), "he passing through the midst of them went his way." (This is from Luke 4:30)
As we gain an approximation of that rocklike spiritual recognition Jesus had that the loving Parent of us all is always caring for His children, we're empowered to demonstrate dominion in emergencies. It is divine fact that no situation which arises, whether it concerns the well-being of ourselves or those we love, is beyond God's omnipotent help.
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