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.


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.)

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..."

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.

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


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)