Monday, April 17, 2017

Free

                                                  (If the Son shall make you free,
                                                              ye shall be free indeed.)


                                                                      John 8:36






It keeps happening,


I'm happy to say,


When desire to do what


God knows is best


Becomes paramount,


Circumstances change,


Often amazingly fast.


We're removed from places


We no longer need to be.


Things we no longer


Need to do just fall away.


Life becomes simpler, free --


The way our dear Father


Wants it to be.               








      



Tuesday, April 11, 2017

Oportunities Without End

Why accept limited opportunity


     to be and do


what God created His child


     to be and do?


Infinite Mind, God knows


no limitation whatever.


Limited good, or finiteness


has to do with a false, mortal


concept of man only.


To think that endless opportunities for usefulness


                  stretch before us!






                                          "God's being is infinity, freedom,
                                           harmony and boundless bliss."*


                                     And so is that of His reflection, man.


                                                       You and me,


                                                        Forever more.


                                              




                                         *"Science and Health with Key to the
                                              Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy


  

Stamina For Life's Work

        How to work at capacity day after day and not get worn down by it is a question many face these days.  Across the board, people seem to be busier than ever. Can one lead a super demanding life without paying the price in fatigue?


        There is an effective way to combat fatigue.  The teachings of Christian Science, in harmony with the Bible, invite us to learn of God as inexhaustible Spirit, as the one infinite Mind, which is never limited or depleted.  The Bible asks, "Hast thou not known?  hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth  not, neither is weary?"  When we come to realize that man is the very expression of God, made in His likeness, as the Bible teaches, we begin to see a spiritual basis for overcoming weariness.


        Your real identity and mine is not material; it is spiritual, because our creator is Spirit.  This selfhood is characterized by such God-derived qualities as inspiration, energy, strength, and vitality.  It is refreshing to realize that our real nature already includes all these qualities.  And knowing how natural it is for us to express the strength and stamina God imparts can take some of the strain out of work.  It can lift the sense of  burden and heaviness from our day-to-day responsibilities.


        Mary Baker Eddy, ,the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, writes in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, "When we reach out limits of mental endurance, we conclude that intellectual labor has been carried sufficiently far; but when we realize that immortal Mind is ever active, and that spiritual energies can neither wear out nor can so-called material law trespass upon God-given powers and resources, we are able to rest in Truth, refreshed by assurances of immortality, opposed to mortality."


        When duties seem exhausting to us, there is something specific we can do that invigorates more thoroughly than physical rest.  We can affirm in prayer our unity with Mind and insist on our God-given authority over weariness.  This strong stand for the spiritual reality of our being,  held to, invariably brings relief.  Appealing to the law of God, Spirit, inexhaustible Life, overrules belief in the inevitability of fatigue, unfinished projects, and loss of joy in what we're doing.  In fact, turning to God for help will  not only lift weariness; through the freshness divinely imparted we'll have even more energy than usual.


        Something else that will help us maintain a high level of activity and usefulness in our career is expressing humility--the kind of sublime humility that shines through Christ Jesus' words "The Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works."  As our Master illustrated for us in his life and teachings, man's reason for existing is to reflect God, to express the spiritual qualities that constitute his true selfhood and that glorify the creator.  Acknowledging God as the sole source of action, ability, intelligence honors Him, and it does wonders for one's whole experience.  As you and I look to God, exhaustless divine Life, for renewal, energy, support, and stamina, we'll find ourselves demonstrating the staying power we need in order to fulfill a demanding schedule.  And we'll keep our joy and enthusiasm in the process.

Sunday, April 9, 2017

Springtime Without the Suffering

        Spring in the American South can be something to see.  Stunning trees and flowers all around.  But for some people, it is a dreaded season of the year.  They think physical suffering and diminished activity must come with all the beauty.


        Someone reading this blog might be interested to learn that there is a way to prevent this. That way is the healing power of Christianity that Christ Jesus practiced. His words, "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" point to the naturalness of healing from a purely metaphysical standpoint, as he did. They point to an unchanging divine law, which we can all turn to with certainty.


        Christian Science offers solid help in this direction.  Its teachings have their basis in the Holy Bible.  They bring out that God is the only genuine cause, the sole creator of the universe, including man; that the true nature of creation is spiritual, expressing God's nature, and that from the standpoint of absolute truth, all cause and effect are spiritual, and all is the perfect handiwork of God, divine Spirit.


        In particular, this statement from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy can bring one a reassuring sense of God's healing power:  "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 a few lines afterward:  "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."


        We have a God-given right not only to enjoy sound health, but to prevent seasonal suffering through spiritual means. Jesus has furnished us with a precedent, indicating that as we follow his example we can learn what God is and how to avail ourselves of His healing power.


        The Bible is full of assurances of God's. These are not empty promises.  They come to life for us in clear-cut healing when we are equipped with practical knowledge of God's eternal law of harmony and of our relationship to Him.  Empowered with the Christly understanding that a study of Christian Science brings, we can turn to God for every aspect of our well-being, including health. 


        As the Old Testament states:  "I am the Lord that healeth thee." 


       

Tuesday, April 4, 2017

Yea to Blogging

        Just thinking this morning that one of the great things about having a  blog to help the world know God and His Holy Child (or better,t if one already does), is that one can send out what he or she is inspired to write. 


        A writer I admire immensely told about this time someone he knew took exception to what he had written.  "I wouldn't have said that", the friend said.  And what was his reply?  "I must give out what God gives me.  If I didn't, I would be failing in my responsibility to Him."


        Ditto, here.  To think that one can instantly share the inspired thoughts that come without any worry that some people may not approve.  Or would say it differently.  When words are set to go, inspiration must be attended to.  And how wonderful to have the freedom to do so.


        If we listen reverently to what God is inspiring us to write, we have this assurance: He is certainly going to take care of it and see that it goes where it needs to go in the world, and does what it needs to do.


        To think that people in parts of the world we may never visit will be reading what we've blogged and get solid help from it, does it need to get any better than this for a writer?

Saturday, April 1, 2017

The Peace Christ Gives Us

        "Peace I leave with you" Christ Jesus said, "my peace I give unto  you, give I unto you.  Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."  The number of men and women in the world right now who would give almost anything they own to feel some of this peace in their lives must be off the charts.  Serenity, when we aren't experiencing it, can seem more important than food or drink.  Fortunately, we're never actually in a situation where we can't gain it.




        If you and I want to experience the deep peace the Master promised us and so obviously felt himself, a logical way to begin would be to cultivate the same awareness Jesus had that God is all-powerful and constantly near.


        A life with peace and equilibrium can be gained when we take to heart the Scriptural promises of God's ever-present love for us.  We can learn to trust in Him and actually feel His constant care.  This is a very natural thing to do, actually.  For, as the Bible tells us, we are God's offspring.  Material appearance notwithstanding, He has made you and me spiritually in His own image and likeness, and He is never absent from His children.


        One learns from the teachings of Christian Science that God knows us not as buffeted material beings but as His spiritual reflection, in possession right now of His dominion and peace--the same peace that Jesus manifested and said was ours.  Christ is always at hand to calm any turbulence we may be going through.


        Everything our great Master said and did is worthy of the most careful study.  An incident recorded in the Gospel of Luke, which tells about the time Jesus and the disciples encountered a storm on the Sea of Galilee, offers great comfort.  When  his frightened followers woke him with "Master, master, we perish," not only were the wind and waves rebuked,  his students received a rebuke as well.  It's interesting to note that Jesus didn't ask them, "Why don't you have any faith?" but "Where is your faith?"


        Whatever personal storm we may be in, Christ is in the "boat" with us.  It is always wrong for a Christian to let himself or herself become agitated, alarmed, overwhelmed, by human conditions.  Why?  Because to do so is to show open disbelief in the God Christians profess to trust for their life and well-being.


        A tranquil life doesn't mean a life without challenges.  The teachings of our Saviour make this clear.  "In the world," he said, "ye shall have tribulation:  but be of good cheer; I  have overcome the world."  Abiding peace of mind isn't found in spiritual stagnation.  Would we really expect it to be?


        Jesus not only "told it like it is"; he showed us the way to behave as we're praying and working through difficulties.  Jesus didn't float above the human scene unaffected by the animosity, fatigue, sorrow, and agony he faced; he experienced life deeply.  Yet he never let trials turn him away from God.  Nor should we.


        Sometimes it's not the earthshaking troubles that disturb our peace; it may be common everyday worry that keeps us stirred up.  It's no wonder Jesus spoke against our being anxious or fearful about anything, because anxiety selfishly fosters that which is anti-Christ and make s serenity impossible.


        However, by adopting Jesus' attitude of always seeking God's will, of doing all to the Father's glory, we will find that there is less and less left in human consciousness that responds to "the prince of this world"--to doubt of God's omnipotence, to self-will and worry.


        Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science has this in one of her articles:  "Mortals have only to submit to the law of God, come into sympathy with it, and to let His will be done.  This unbroken motion of the law of divine Love gives, to the weary and heavy-laden, rest."


        Existence free from anxiety is vastly more than lack of emotion.  There are people who, to keep some measure of control over their experience, suppress joy, warmth, acts of kindness to their fellow travelers on life's road.  But this isn't the way Jesus deals with everyday living.  And it has the tragic effect of depriving us and others of feeling the presence of divine Love, which would enhance our peace and well-being.  This negative approach to life yields through our stricter attention to our Master's command not to let things worry us.


        Abiding peace of mind carries a price tag.  Through consistent, heartfelt communing with God, we feel the peace of our unity with Him as His beloved child.  And how long should we spend in this prayer?  Until our self-filled, materially distracted thoughts begin to yield to trust in God, until we feel some measure of conviction that God--the all directing, supremely governing intelligence of man and the universe--is indeed in charge of everything that concerns us. Thus we experience the peace Christ gives us.