Never Out of God's Presence

(This verse from the Old Testament is something I like to think about, especially while traveling these days, and I hope it brings you peace of mind.)



                                  Jeremiah 23:24 says, referring to God:
                                       "Do not I fill heaven and earth?,
                                                    saith the Lord."

                                    (To which I always say, "Yes, I know You do.")





What a faith-lighted thought this --

That our loving Father is
'
Never apart from us.

Is this not glorious?--

That His perpetual care

Surrounds all those we love,

Beside them always, above --

And not only ones we greet,

But those we may never meet;

Never out of God's presence,

Whether night or day,

At home or when away.

What would mankind do

If this were not true?

Oh, but it is the case,

Something nothing can erase.

God with us -- what a treasure,

Its comfort beyond all measure.

Immunity From Contagion

        One could hardly be unaware of the concern  many people have these days over the Ebola disease and its possible spread.  Case in point:  I was talking with a mother and daughter a few days ago at a favorite breakfast place when the conversation turned to this topic.  Esther said, "We've cancelled our flight to California for Christmas (their former home).  My husband is afraid to fly right now. He doesn't want to endanger any of us."

        Later in the day, I turned to something Mary Baker Eddy wrote that has given me comfort several times.  "A calm, Christian state of mind is a better preventive of contagion than a drug, or than any other possible sanative method; and the 'perfect Love' that 'casteth out fear' is a sure defense."  Miscellaneous Writings, p. 229)

        In harmony with the Bible's spiritual meaning, Christian Science shows that man is inherently pure and whole--not a mortal, flesh-and-blood creature, who is subject to fear, contagious diseases, and death.  We are actually God's spiritual offspring, not at the mercy of whatever disease is  believed to be prevalent, not helpless before fear of becoming a victim of it.  Divine Love, the tender Father of all, by virtue of HIs allness, excludes whatever is unlike His pure nature.  This truth destroys any supposed evidence that we could be subject to disease, suffering, death.

        The Science of Christ teaches the importance of realizing that matter, or physicality, can't talk or lay out conditions for us.  That which claims to possess power coequal with God does not; nor can it inferfere with His governing of us.  There is no material intelligence to oppose God, divine Mind. What's more, the loving Father is never telling us we're fearful, weak mortals in a vulnerable situation.  The greater our spiritual conviction that God is all-powerful and ever present, the greater will be our freedom from fear.

        Regardless of what disease outbreaks may be predicted, the fact remains that God is the only power and presence, and man is inseparable from His omnipotence.  Armed with these powerful truths, we can prove the immunity that divine Love gives us from contagion and demonstrate our eternal unity with God, good.  In God--in divine Love, where each of us has his true, uninvadable being--there is no fear, no disease,to make encroachments on our health and well-being.

     

Christ...or Self?

Whatever our work

In life happens to  be,

We should question

Ourselves regularly:



                  Am I doing what I'm doing,


                                            For His holy child, or --


                                                                    For personal homage?





"...all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father.  He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him."

                                                         Christ Jesus

Our Father Knows Best

And things go best for us

when we seek His direction.

Would you believe

only yesterday I was about

to follow through

on the very thing

I should not do!

But instead of striking off

on my own, as in the past,

I stopped long enough to ask,

"Dear Father, is this the thing

You want me to do?"

Almost at once came the

conviction that it was not.

This, another instance

of solid protection.

Had I followed through

on what I was about to do,

would it have been disastrous?

No, it wouldn't.  And yet,

a definite mis-step,

causing ripples across the pond

of  my life, un-recallable,

and in other lives,

possibly mis-construable,

Having our Father Mind's

guiding voice is glorious.

And we can always hear Him.

As Isaiah assures us:

"And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying,
 This is the way, walk ye in it,
when ye turn to the right hand,
and when ye turn to the left."

Being Mary, Not Martha

        A busy day looms, like too many of late, and what do I need to do?  Leave some things by the way, and carry out the rest, so that more of His children may be blest.  Hope the following helps you.

        To help with this, this gentle rebuke Jesus made to a friend one day:  "Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:  but Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her."  (Luke 10:41, 42)

        When I think of all the time wasted that could be devoted to better things!  Well, I can see, I must deal firmly with mundane things that get in the way, and with Jesus's pointed reminder before me, this day will be less taken up with non-essentials.

       Taking seriously what the Master said can't help but begin adjusting circumstances for you and me, as only God can do.  The result? A more productive day where it counts.