By John Robert Howell
The splendor of that infinite light-emblazoned
firmament
Marked the nightly vigil's silent and
meditative hours
Of those wakeful, watchful, scientific
avatars,
Who pondered not dusty constellations of
earth's deceptions,
But the higher lessons witnessed in
God's refulgence
Thus to behold the glow of that eldritch
eastern star,
Herald of Jesus' nativity, Light's advent
in the flesh,
That event once and not to be
repeated,
Yet for those whose receptive hearts
wander wearily
Among the darkly lighted trails and
travails of mortality
The promise of that holy dawn blesses
all eternally.
Sunday, December 15, 2019
Thursday, December 12, 2019
Excerpts from "The Significance of Christmas"
These words were written by Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science and are from "Miscellany", page 260:
"In Christian Science, Christmas stands for the real, the absolute and eternal, -- for the things of Spirit, not of matter. Science is divine; it hath no partnership with human means and ends, no half-way stations. Nothing conditional or material belongs to it."
"The basis of Christmas is the rock, Christ Jesus; its fruits are inspiration and spiritual understanding of joy and rejoicing, -- not because of tradition, usage, or corporeal pleasures, but because of fundamental and demonstrable truths, because of the heaven within us. The basis of Christmas is love loving its enemies, returning good for evil, love that suffereth long, and is kind,' The true spirit of Christmas elevates medicine to Mind; it casts out evils, heals the sick, raises the dormant faculties appeals to all conditions, and supplies every need of man. It leaves hygiene, medicine, ethics, and religion to God and His Christ, to that which is the Way, in word and in deed, - the Way, the Truth, and the Life."
"In Christian Science, Christmas stands for the real, the absolute and eternal, -- for the things of Spirit, not of matter. Science is divine; it hath no partnership with human means and ends, no half-way stations. Nothing conditional or material belongs to it."
"The basis of Christmas is the rock, Christ Jesus; its fruits are inspiration and spiritual understanding of joy and rejoicing, -- not because of tradition, usage, or corporeal pleasures, but because of fundamental and demonstrable truths, because of the heaven within us. The basis of Christmas is love loving its enemies, returning good for evil, love that suffereth long, and is kind,' The true spirit of Christmas elevates medicine to Mind; it casts out evils, heals the sick, raises the dormant faculties appeals to all conditions, and supplies every need of man. It leaves hygiene, medicine, ethics, and religion to God and His Christ, to that which is the Way, in word and in deed, - the Way, the Truth, and the Life."
Friday, December 6, 2019
A Christmas Message
This card came, with beautiful words for the season:
"In Him
we have the greatest joy,
the sweetest peace,
the highest hope --
May the love of Jesus,
the purpose of His life,
and the gift of His salvation
touch your heart in a
special way this Christmas.
"Unto you is born this day in the city
of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord."
(Luke 2:11 KJV)
"In Him
we have the greatest joy,
the sweetest peace,
the highest hope --
May the love of Jesus,
the purpose of His life,
and the gift of His salvation
touch your heart in a
special way this Christmas.
"Unto you is born this day in the city
of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord."
(Luke 2:11 KJV)
Sunday, December 1, 2019
December's Goal - And Way Beyond
From Matthew 28:19, 20, our beloved Christ Jesus' command
to follow in all time:
"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost,
teaching them to observe all things
whatsoever I have commanded you;
and lo, I am with you alway,
even unto the end of the world. Amen."
What a wonderful December
and all next year that
awaits us all who do this!
to follow in all time:
"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost,
teaching them to observe all things
whatsoever I have commanded you;
and lo, I am with you alway,
even unto the end of the world. Amen."
What a wonderful December
and all next year that
awaits us all who do this!
Saturday, November 23, 2019
In Love With Jesus' Words
Those who love what Jesus said,
Who feel on fire,
Whose one desire
Is to bring honor to the Name,
Are living a life, of all lives
The most blessed.
For every faithful follower,
Christ has this in store:
"If a man love me,
he will keep my words:
and my Father will love him,
and we will come unto him,
and make our abode with him."
(John 14:23)
What has the world to offer,
That even comes close?
Not a thing.
Who feel on fire,
Whose one desire
Is to bring honor to the Name,
Are living a life, of all lives
The most blessed.
For every faithful follower,
Christ has this in store:
"If a man love me,
he will keep my words:
and my Father will love him,
and we will come unto him,
and make our abode with him."
(John 14:23)
What has the world to offer,
That even comes close?
Not a thing.
Wednesday, November 20, 2019
Christ Alive in Us
When we come across someone who has love for Christ Jesus at their center, we know, oh how we know. And tell me it isn't a thrill to find those who are like-minded.
And to get to write for our Master. But still, the object of what we writers for Jesus are doing, I remind myself, is not solely to reach those who already feel as we do, but to so live our lives that others may wonder, what causes that person to be radiating such loving-kindness, to be so peaceful, so joyful, so strong in their faith. And when they ask, to be able to tell them what is blessing us so greatly.
Jesus said, "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) The heavenly privilege of being a reflector of that Light Jesus talks about, a Light that cannot be hid! People notice these things, and just the other day a neighbor commented, "I know Jesus is your guy." She's Hindu so doesn't follow in Christ's steps. We had not discussed religion, still something about what motivates me obviously came through in our dealings.
Living what Jesus taught, and loving what He said, is going to show. And it just may cause someone to seek things higher, ending up with a heart on fire for our great King.
Can you think of anything higher, more pleasing to God Who sent His Son to us than this? I can't.
And to get to write for our Master. But still, the object of what we writers for Jesus are doing, I remind myself, is not solely to reach those who already feel as we do, but to so live our lives that others may wonder, what causes that person to be radiating such loving-kindness, to be so peaceful, so joyful, so strong in their faith. And when they ask, to be able to tell them what is blessing us so greatly.
Jesus said, "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) The heavenly privilege of being a reflector of that Light Jesus talks about, a Light that cannot be hid! People notice these things, and just the other day a neighbor commented, "I know Jesus is your guy." She's Hindu so doesn't follow in Christ's steps. We had not discussed religion, still something about what motivates me obviously came through in our dealings.
Living what Jesus taught, and loving what He said, is going to show. And it just may cause someone to seek things higher, ending up with a heart on fire for our great King.
Can you think of anything higher, more pleasing to God Who sent His Son to us than this? I can't.
Saturday, November 16, 2019
A poem for Thanksgiving
(By John Robert Howell)
Does a famine of the spirit
starve health and calm and ease?
Awake to the Master's promises
and taste afresh the bread of Truth.
If of Love your loaf is made
Life divine will fill emaciation's void.
But who's to grind and knead and bake
before the grace and breaking?
If crust already cut and buttered you expect,
turn rather to the garner first
with gratitude.
Does a famine of the spirit
starve health and calm and ease?
Awake to the Master's promises
and taste afresh the bread of Truth.
If of Love your loaf is made
Life divine will fill emaciation's void.
But who's to grind and knead and bake
before the grace and breaking?
If crust already cut and buttered you expect,
turn rather to the garner first
with gratitude.
Thursday, November 7, 2019
God knows our needs
These words of our Master, Christ Jesus, have so often given me a sense of comfort: "Your Father knoweth what ye need before ye ask him." (Matthew 6:8)
If I didn't already wholeheartedly accept these words because Jesus said them, my daily experience would make me a firm believer of them. How many times God has given me what I needed when I wasn't even aware I needed it. And following days and weeks have disclosed how timely our Father's care for His children is, and how comprehensive.
I shouldn't be, but I am often amazed at what our heavenly Father does for us!
If I didn't already wholeheartedly accept these words because Jesus said them, my daily experience would make me a firm believer of them. How many times God has given me what I needed when I wasn't even aware I needed it. And following days and weeks have disclosed how timely our Father's care for His children is, and how comprehensive.
I shouldn't be, but I am often amazed at what our heavenly Father does for us!
Friday, November 1, 2019
Thanks to Christ Jesus
We have Christ Jesus to thank for revealing and proving fully our heavenly Father's constant love for His children. And when we're empowered with the spiritual truths Jesus knew about God and man, and which Christian Science makes available to everyone today, we can prove these for ourselves in healing. These spiritual truths are contained in Mary Baker Eddy's book, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures."
One example of what this book can do for mankind is recorded on page 644:
"After I had read Mrs. Eddy's work, Science and Health, a few days, I found that my ailments had disappeared and a rest had come to me which I had never before known. Like a prisoner, who had been in chains for years, I was suddenly set free. I did not know then 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 me 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."
One example of what this book can do for mankind is recorded on page 644:
"After I had read Mrs. Eddy's work, Science and Health, a few days, I found that my ailments had disappeared and a rest had come to me which I had never before known. Like a prisoner, who had been in chains for years, I was suddenly set free. I did not know then 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 me 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."
Sunday, October 20, 2019
Lowliness the way to go
If the mighty meekness Christ Jesus
In his daily life exemplified,
Lived, in ours, will keep us
Unresponsive to the prince of this world,
From unavoidable happiness free,
Then let our heartfelt asking be
Give me, O God, more humility --
The true humility our Master showed.
Didn't He seem at times
To be trying to hide himself,
Never trying to be a "star",
Wanting invariably instead
To see His Father glorified?
So let us choose life's "lowest room",*
Be unpretentious in what we do and are.
It is this not seeking things for ourselves,
Living to honor not us but Him,
That keeps us from the pride
That will make our life
Not His heaven, but a hell;
That empowers us to walk
The Christly path that blesses
Others lives and ours as well.
*(See Luke 14:7-ll)
In his daily life exemplified,
Lived, in ours, will keep us
Unresponsive to the prince of this world,
From unavoidable happiness free,
Then let our heartfelt asking be
Give me, O God, more humility --
The true humility our Master showed.
Didn't He seem at times
To be trying to hide himself,
Never trying to be a "star",
Wanting invariably instead
To see His Father glorified?
So let us choose life's "lowest room",*
Be unpretentious in what we do and are.
It is this not seeking things for ourselves,
Living to honor not us but Him,
That keeps us from the pride
That will make our life
Not His heaven, but a hell;
That empowers us to walk
The Christly path that blesses
Others lives and ours as well.
*(See Luke 14:7-ll)
Wednesday, October 9, 2019
God knows what to do
When life seems a thicket
and we can't see a way through,
by looking in God's direction
He will show us what to do.
Can anything that comes up
in our day-to-day
baffle the Creator of all?
No. He can clear the way.
"In all thy ways acknowledge him,
and he will direct thy paths"
we are told in Proverbs 3:6
Doing this can bring solutions
we, unaided, just cannot see.
Then let us, dear Lord,
Take all our problems to Thee.
and we can't see a way through,
by looking in God's direction
He will show us what to do.
Can anything that comes up
in our day-to-day
baffle the Creator of all?
No. He can clear the way.
"In all thy ways acknowledge him,
and he will direct thy paths"
we are told in Proverbs 3:6
Doing this can bring solutions
we, unaided, just cannot see.
Then let us, dear Lord,
Take all our problems to Thee.
Monday, October 7, 2019
Thanks to my Readers
From time to time, someone who has read my blog will contact me about a mistake in something I've shared from the Bible, also from the writings of Mary Baker Eddy. I welcome these corrections, and appreciate your taking the time to let me know. I certainly would not want to misquote either of these sources of inspiration and help to you, so do not hesitate to let me know of anything I've missed.
With a very busy schedule, and as writers know, it isn't always easy to proof one's own work. So it's good I have you out there on the beam!
With a very busy schedule, and as writers know, it isn't always easy to proof one's own work. So it's good I have you out there on the beam!
Tuesday, October 1, 2019
Light
Light is seen so many lovely ways:
--In ducks gliding across a pond
Leaving long streaks of
Shining in their wake;
--In a little child's happy eyes;
--In a face glowing with love.
--In setting sun rays through forest trees
But exceeding all that God's
Wondrous creation can show
Is that light Jesus promises:
"He that followeth me
Shall not walk in darkness, but
Shall have the light of life."
(John 8:12)
--In ducks gliding across a pond
Leaving long streaks of
Shining in their wake;
--In a little child's happy eyes;
--In a face glowing with love.
--In setting sun rays through forest trees
But exceeding all that God's
Wondrous creation can show
Is that light Jesus promises:
"He that followeth me
Shall not walk in darkness, but
Shall have the light of life."
(John 8:12)
Wednesday, September 11, 2019
Look to God for Health
The other day I happened to read a column in a local newspaper and was interested in the account of a woman involving her health. Or lack of it. She wrote that she eats all the right food, exercises, drinks in moderation, etc. yet feels ill all the time. Her doctor isn't able to diagnose just what the trouble is.
Thinking about her perplexity and distress, couldn't help being grateful for what Christian Science teaches about health. How it encourages one to look to God for well-being. And shows one how to do this through its teachings.
Through the study of Christian Science, we are helped to see what the healing truth, the truth found in the Bible's pages. There we learn that God is omnipotent and entirely good and that man is the image and likeness of God. As the likeness of his creator, man forever expresses the divine nature. And because God is Spirit, man is spiritual. To be sure, we appear to be merely flesh and bones and subject to bodily suffering. But physicality isn't the actual or ultimate substance of our being. Life in the flesh is a misconception of man, whose real identity as the image of God is incorporeal, untouched by debilitating conditions.
The growing understanding of man's spiritual nature has a purifying effect on the body. It awakens us to the ever presence of Christ, Truth -- and the body responds to this uplifting influence. Health is restored.
Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, writes in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures", (p. 166): "To ignore God as of little use in sickness is a mistake. Instead of thrusting Him aside in times of bodily trouble, and waiting for the hour of strength in which to acknowledge Him, we should learn that He can do a things for us in sickness as in health."
Divine healing in Christian Science is a wonderful thing to experience. You and I have a God-given right not only to enjoy sound health but to recover it through spiritual means when it is threatened. Christ 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 power. As he said "He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also." (John 14:12)
The Bible is full of assurances of God's' healing help. These are not empty promise;s. 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, proving to our own satisfaction and joy, "The Lord will take away from thee all sickness." (Debut. 7:15)
Thinking about her perplexity and distress, couldn't help being grateful for what Christian Science teaches about health. How it encourages one to look to God for well-being. And shows one how to do this through its teachings.
Through the study of Christian Science, we are helped to see what the healing truth, the truth found in the Bible's pages. There we learn that God is omnipotent and entirely good and that man is the image and likeness of God. As the likeness of his creator, man forever expresses the divine nature. And because God is Spirit, man is spiritual. To be sure, we appear to be merely flesh and bones and subject to bodily suffering. But physicality isn't the actual or ultimate substance of our being. Life in the flesh is a misconception of man, whose real identity as the image of God is incorporeal, untouched by debilitating conditions.
The growing understanding of man's spiritual nature has a purifying effect on the body. It awakens us to the ever presence of Christ, Truth -- and the body responds to this uplifting influence. Health is restored.
Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, writes in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures", (p. 166): "To ignore God as of little use in sickness is a mistake. Instead of thrusting Him aside in times of bodily trouble, and waiting for the hour of strength in which to acknowledge Him, we should learn that He can do a things for us in sickness as in health."
Divine healing in Christian Science is a wonderful thing to experience. You and I have a God-given right not only to enjoy sound health but to recover it through spiritual means when it is threatened. Christ 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 power. As he said "He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also." (John 14:12)
The Bible is full of assurances of God's' healing help. These are not empty promise;s. 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, proving to our own satisfaction and joy, "The Lord will take away from thee all sickness." (Debut. 7:15)
Sunday, September 8, 2019
Just thinking, this September morning
In pondering how many people throughout the world are desperate for what only Christ can give, these two statements come to thought:
First, Jesus' command in Mark 16:15: "Go ye into the whole world, and preach the gospel to every creature."
And from "Pulpit and Press", page 14 by Mary Baker Eddy:
"Millions of unprejudiced minds -- simple seekers for Truth, weary wanderers, athirst in the desert -- are waiting and watching for rest and drink. Give them a cup of cold water in Christ's name, and never fear the consequences,"
In order to carry out this holy endeavor, it is clear to me that we need God's help. And He does open the way for us to obey Jesus' words, and give a "cup of cold water in Christ's name". Praying to be useful to Him and our fellow beings in this way is prayer that our heavenly Father answers, I have found. In often unimagined ways -- blessing mankind and us immeasurably.
First, Jesus' command in Mark 16:15: "Go ye into the whole world, and preach the gospel to every creature."
And from "Pulpit and Press", page 14 by Mary Baker Eddy:
"Millions of unprejudiced minds -- simple seekers for Truth, weary wanderers, athirst in the desert -- are waiting and watching for rest and drink. Give them a cup of cold water in Christ's name, and never fear the consequences,"
In order to carry out this holy endeavor, it is clear to me that we need God's help. And He does open the way for us to obey Jesus' words, and give a "cup of cold water in Christ's name". Praying to be useful to Him and our fellow beings in this way is prayer that our heavenly Father answers, I have found. In often unimagined ways -- blessing mankind and us immeasurably.
Thursday, September 5, 2019
Afflictions Sanctified
After God's chastening is over,
What then for us is left?
Many things, worth more than gold.
And crowning them all must be
The dawning, "He did what He did
Out of love for me."
Removing those things
That stand between us and Him
Can leave us feeling punished, bereft;
But when process divine has run its course
Is perfected, and at last is through,
What thoughts of praise and awe there are.
And we may even wonder,
Is this the way angels feel about You?
What then for us is left?
Many things, worth more than gold.
And crowning them all must be
The dawning, "He did what He did
Out of love for me."
Removing those things
That stand between us and Him
Can leave us feeling punished, bereft;
But when process divine has run its course
Is perfected, and at last is through,
What thoughts of praise and awe there are.
And we may even wonder,
Is this the way angels feel about You?
Sunday, September 1, 2019
Don't Feel Overwhelmed
In telling his disciples about conditions that would come to pass, 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).
Many people these days, observing present world conditionals, may be ready to conclude that these days must surely be upon us. They feel afraid, overwhelmed. Many lose heart
This, however, is the thing one should not do when faced with disheartening circumstances. When Jesus warned men of eventual upheaval, he also offered a way of escape. "When these things begin to come to pass," he counseled, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh" *Luke 21:28).
Our redemption or salvation from fear and deep discouragement can come as soon as we progress in our understanding of God' government of man and His universe. To those in search of renewed hope and courage Christian Science offers this view of reality: man and the universe spiritually created. It shows one how to indeed look up, through enlightened prayer, to find God's ever-present, redeeming help Through the study and application of Christian Science, countless individuals the word over have found that there is no problem too overwhelming for God to solve.
Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, writes in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 390): "It is our ignorance of God, the divine Principle, which produces apparent discord, and the right understanding of Him restores harmony." Problems seem hopeless only if we think of man as separated from God, left to fend for himself in a material, somewhat mysterious universe controlled by amoral forces. But Christian Science teaches that man is spiritual, perfect, the expression of God, inseparable from God, loved by God, protected by God, secure in God. And the same spiritual laws that empowered Jesus to heal and regenerate men are available to all mankind.
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. God, good governs all things harmoniously, and the divine government is reflected in our daily lives. When we realize that the divine Mind is continuously maintaining all in harmony and perfection, we can begin to see that there is no hopeless condition, no insoluble problem.
Mrs. Eddy writes in "Science and Health" (p. 393): "Be firm in your understanding that the divine Mind governs and that in Science man reflects God's government." A knowledge of this keeps hope and enthusiasm intact, lifted above distressing material conditions. There is never any need to feel overwhelmed, for God, good, is the only reality.
Many people these days, observing present world conditionals, may be ready to conclude that these days must surely be upon us. They feel afraid, overwhelmed. Many lose heart
This, however, is the thing one should not do when faced with disheartening circumstances. When Jesus warned men of eventual upheaval, he also offered a way of escape. "When these things begin to come to pass," he counseled, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh" *Luke 21:28).
Our redemption or salvation from fear and deep discouragement can come as soon as we progress in our understanding of God' government of man and His universe. To those in search of renewed hope and courage Christian Science offers this view of reality: man and the universe spiritually created. It shows one how to indeed look up, through enlightened prayer, to find God's ever-present, redeeming help Through the study and application of Christian Science, countless individuals the word over have found that there is no problem too overwhelming for God to solve.
Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, writes in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 390): "It is our ignorance of God, the divine Principle, which produces apparent discord, and the right understanding of Him restores harmony." Problems seem hopeless only if we think of man as separated from God, left to fend for himself in a material, somewhat mysterious universe controlled by amoral forces. But Christian Science teaches that man is spiritual, perfect, the expression of God, inseparable from God, loved by God, protected by God, secure in God. And the same spiritual laws that empowered Jesus to heal and regenerate men are available to all mankind.
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. God, good governs all things harmoniously, and the divine government is reflected in our daily lives. When we realize that the divine Mind is continuously maintaining all in harmony and perfection, we can begin to see that there is no hopeless condition, no insoluble problem.
Mrs. Eddy writes in "Science and Health" (p. 393): "Be firm in your understanding that the divine Mind governs and that in Science man reflects God's government." A knowledge of this keeps hope and enthusiasm intact, lifted above distressing material conditions. There is never any need to feel overwhelmed, for God, good, is the only reality.
Saturday, August 31, 2019
Storms and God's Help
Several of our friends in Florida have been praying about the predicted hurricane and I know some of us here in Tennessee are doing the same.
For centuries, people who were afraid have turned to the Bible for God's help. And it is God who gives the solid help we need when storms threaten. These spiritually powerful words from Paul is so comforting: "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)
The media gives much attention to weather disturbances that can create great fear and worry in people. The physical senses tell us that we're subject to the natural elements around us, and that despite the precautions we may take, we are still potential victims of damaging weather conditions. This may seem to be the case--and we can't be blasé about potentially destructive storms. Still, there is no more reliable hep than God. There is actually no other power.
I have learned through my study of Christian Science the truth that we neither we nor our dwellings are helpless victims of violence from the weather. As the man of God's creating, each of us governed
by God, the divine Mind, the only real source of power and activity. When we realize this fact with the conviction that comes of spiritual understanding, we and those we know can come through stormy conditions without fear or harm.
Mary Baker Eddy writes in "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)
Whatever weather threatens one's well-being, it can be met through an understanding of man's oneness with God. A spiritual understanding of this is extremely practical, as I have found more than once through dire weather forecasts. The spiritual truths brought out in the Holy Bible as well as the teachings of Christian Science can enable anyone to pass through storms with calmness and confidence that they're safe in God's love and care.
For centuries, people who were afraid have turned to the Bible for God's help. And it is God who gives the solid help we need when storms threaten. These spiritually powerful words from Paul is so comforting: "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)
The media gives much attention to weather disturbances that can create great fear and worry in people. The physical senses tell us that we're subject to the natural elements around us, and that despite the precautions we may take, we are still potential victims of damaging weather conditions. This may seem to be the case--and we can't be blasé about potentially destructive storms. Still, there is no more reliable hep than God. There is actually no other power.
I have learned through my study of Christian Science the truth that we neither we nor our dwellings are helpless victims of violence from the weather. As the man of God's creating, each of us governed
by God, the divine Mind, the only real source of power and activity. When we realize this fact with the conviction that comes of spiritual understanding, we and those we know can come through stormy conditions without fear or harm.
Mary Baker Eddy writes in "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)
Whatever weather threatens one's well-being, it can be met through an understanding of man's oneness with God. A spiritual understanding of this is extremely practical, as I have found more than once through dire weather forecasts. The spiritual truths brought out in the Holy Bible as well as the teachings of Christian Science can enable anyone to pass through storms with calmness and confidence that they're safe in God's love and care.
Sunday, August 11, 2019
A Healing in Christian Science
From time to time I will post a healing from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures that can in inspire a reader who is unacquainted with its teachings about God's divine laws to investigate for himself or herself. Many people through the years have done this, and found to their great joy wonderful healing for themselves and others.
On page 382 Mary Baker Eddy, who discovered and founded this religion and wrote this book writes: "One whom I rescued from seeming spiritual oblivion in which the senses had engulfed him, wrote to me: 'I should have died, but for the glorious Principle you teach, -- supporting the power of Mind over the body and showing me the nothingness of the so-called pleasures and pains of sense. The treatises I had read and the medicines I had taken only abandoned me to more hopeless suffering and despair. Adherence to hygiene was useless. Mortal mind needed to be set right. The ailment was not bodily, but mental, and I was cured when I learned my way in Christian Science.'"
(As Christ Jesus said: "Ye shall now the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
On page 382 Mary Baker Eddy, who discovered and founded this religion and wrote this book writes: "One whom I rescued from seeming spiritual oblivion in which the senses had engulfed him, wrote to me: 'I should have died, but for the glorious Principle you teach, -- supporting the power of Mind over the body and showing me the nothingness of the so-called pleasures and pains of sense. The treatises I had read and the medicines I had taken only abandoned me to more hopeless suffering and despair. Adherence to hygiene was useless. Mortal mind needed to be set right. The ailment was not bodily, but mental, and I was cured when I learned my way in Christian Science.'"
(As Christ Jesus said: "Ye shall now the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
Wednesday, August 7, 2019
To Be Like a Child
The scene from my office window that day might be seen every day someplace in the world --a puppy jumping all over a delighted little boy. So heartwarming was this encounter, it left a vivid impression on me. The sheer joy of living, the warmth and affection the child was radiating,reached right across the street to me.
Life's responsibilities were resting heavily on me at that time, and this tender exchange lifted me right up mentally. And spiritually.
And it made me think of something Christ Jesus said to his disciples one day. They had come to him with the question of who should be greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Our Master called a little child to him and declared, "Verily, except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 18:3)
Since Jesus recommended childlikeness to us, and felt it to be of critical importance, we know it is a God-given requirement and it's for our own good. Such qualities as innocence, teachableness, trustfulness, and receptivity to good can be expressed by every of of us.
I have learned in my study and practice of Christian Science that man is, that we are, the reflection of God and that we have therefore all we need to be obedient to what He demands of us. We only need to recognize what our heavenly Father has already bestowed on us when He made us in His image. and put these qualities into daily living. You and I can be like a child and feel the freedom and joy that comes with this state of thought.
Life's responsibilities were resting heavily on me at that time, and this tender exchange lifted me right up mentally. And spiritually.
And it made me think of something Christ Jesus said to his disciples one day. They had come to him with the question of who should be greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Our Master called a little child to him and declared, "Verily, except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 18:3)
Since Jesus recommended childlikeness to us, and felt it to be of critical importance, we know it is a God-given requirement and it's for our own good. Such qualities as innocence, teachableness, trustfulness, and receptivity to good can be expressed by every of of us.
I have learned in my study and practice of Christian Science that man is, that we are, the reflection of God and that we have therefore all we need to be obedient to what He demands of us. We only need to recognize what our heavenly Father has already bestowed on us when He made us in His image. and put these qualities into daily living. You and I can be like a child and feel the freedom and joy that comes with this state of thought.
Thursday, August 1, 2019
Jesus' Words on Fear
"Fear not," "Be not afraid,"
our Lord and Master taught.
Christ's divine Science helps us
do what Jesus said we ought.
For we are God's and have His Mind,
our thoughts from Him reflected.
Claiming and understanding this, we are
from harm and fear protected.
There is no fear in God
nor in His image, you and me.
Accepting this gospel truth,
we cannot help but see
truth do what Jesus said it would:
Expose fear's reality,
Strike off mental chains,
Make us safe and oh so free!
Christ-informed, spiritually-enlightened,
we can have now rightful demonstration
of the fearlessness that belongs to all
as divine Mind's own manifestation.
For man is Mind-created and encompassed
--held intact and dear--
and there is nothing in God's infinitude
for Mind's idea, man, to fear.
our Lord and Master taught.
Christ's divine Science helps us
do what Jesus said we ought.
For we are God's and have His Mind,
our thoughts from Him reflected.
Claiming and understanding this, we are
from harm and fear protected.
There is no fear in God
nor in His image, you and me.
Accepting this gospel truth,
we cannot help but see
truth do what Jesus said it would:
Expose fear's reality,
Strike off mental chains,
Make us safe and oh so free!
Christ-informed, spiritually-enlightened,
we can have now rightful demonstration
of the fearlessness that belongs to all
as divine Mind's own manifestation.
For man is Mind-created and encompassed
--held intact and dear--
and there is nothing in God's infinitude
for Mind's idea, man, to fear.
Monday, July 15, 2019
Property of Christ
I am Christ's
And I have
The real life examples
To prove it --
(But that's another blog
For another time)
And I have
The real life examples
To prove it --
(But that's another blog
For another time)
Thursday, July 11, 2019
Keeping Our Thoughts on God
If my life is any measure.
Problems arise when thinking
Is not enough on Him --
Man's greatest treasure.
"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on thee"
Isaiah 26:3 points out;
"Stayed" on Him --
Not on earthly cares and pleasure.
We keep our life going right
When we have our thoughts
Much more on and in Him.
Problems arise when thinking
Is not enough on Him --
Man's greatest treasure.
"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on thee"
Isaiah 26:3 points out;
"Stayed" on Him --
Not on earthly cares and pleasure.
We keep our life going right
When we have our thoughts
Much more on and in Him.
Saturday, July 6, 2019
Whose Glory?
When the tempter said he ought
To seek good things for himself,
Jesus put this evil out of thought.
For our Master was here,
(As are you and I)
To be about our Father's business;
To see that God on high
Gets all the glory.
To seek good things for himself,
Jesus put this evil out of thought.
For our Master was here,
(As are you and I)
To be about our Father's business;
To see that God on high
Gets all the glory.
Monday, July 1, 2019
Being Productive for Christ
Our Master, Christ Jesus, expects his followers to do this. As he said: "Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples." (John 15:5) But this call for a productive, spiritually useful life is not limited to some ill-defined spiritual elite; it speaks to each of us.
But what if someone feels he hasn't any talents to use? While we may not always see it, everyone has ability; it just needs to be brought to light. The teachings of Christian Science can help with this. Mary Baker Eddy points out in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures: "A knowledge of the Science of being develops the latent abilities and possibilities of man. It extends the atmosphere of thought, giving mortals access to broader and higher realms." (p. 128)
Christian Science teaches man's unity with God, divine Mind. It shows that each one of us is actually a spiritual idea reflecting this Mind. All that man has, he has by reflection from God. Intelligence, originality, and ability--these do not come from some other place; ;and they aren't limited to a select few. Spiritual qualities are continuously being imparted by God to His beloved children. To all His children. Because we're God's very reflection, we're never apart from the divine source of all ideas. When we begin to understand this, we are more receptive to what He is imparting, and we can learn to make more timely and effective use of our abilities.
Our allotment of talents may seem meager to us. But we want to be sure to cultivate the ones we have. We can cherish the desire to bless others and find opportunities--whatever we do for a living--to give of ourselves in the service of Christ. As we prayerfully put our talent to use, God will see to it that our prayer bears fruit. 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 Cor. 9:8)
As Science and Health points out that unless an ability is used, we may not have it to use! "If faithful over a few things," we are told, "we shall be made rulers over many; but the one unused talent decays and is lost." (p. 323)
If we are thinking of working more actively for Christ, it can help to ponder what our Master said and did. When we examine closely Jesus' teachings and example, and then live his precepts as nearly as we can, our efforts to be more productive are increasingly fruitful. We read in John that Jesus said, "I am the vine; ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bright further much fruit: for with me ye can do nothing." (John 15:5)
We can be sure that as we are "branches" abiding in Christ, God will provide ample oppofunity for us to employ are talents in bringing His kingdom to light (something the world certainly needs). And there is no reason why we shouldn't become more fruitful for Christ, His Son.
But what if someone feels he hasn't any talents to use? While we may not always see it, everyone has ability; it just needs to be brought to light. The teachings of Christian Science can help with this. Mary Baker Eddy points out in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures: "A knowledge of the Science of being develops the latent abilities and possibilities of man. It extends the atmosphere of thought, giving mortals access to broader and higher realms." (p. 128)
Christian Science teaches man's unity with God, divine Mind. It shows that each one of us is actually a spiritual idea reflecting this Mind. All that man has, he has by reflection from God. Intelligence, originality, and ability--these do not come from some other place; ;and they aren't limited to a select few. Spiritual qualities are continuously being imparted by God to His beloved children. To all His children. Because we're God's very reflection, we're never apart from the divine source of all ideas. When we begin to understand this, we are more receptive to what He is imparting, and we can learn to make more timely and effective use of our abilities.
Our allotment of talents may seem meager to us. But we want to be sure to cultivate the ones we have. We can cherish the desire to bless others and find opportunities--whatever we do for a living--to give of ourselves in the service of Christ. As we prayerfully put our talent to use, God will see to it that our prayer bears fruit. 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 Cor. 9:8)
As Science and Health points out that unless an ability is used, we may not have it to use! "If faithful over a few things," we are told, "we shall be made rulers over many; but the one unused talent decays and is lost." (p. 323)
If we are thinking of working more actively for Christ, it can help to ponder what our Master said and did. When we examine closely Jesus' teachings and example, and then live his precepts as nearly as we can, our efforts to be more productive are increasingly fruitful. We read in John that Jesus said, "I am the vine; ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bright further much fruit: for with me ye can do nothing." (John 15:5)
We can be sure that as we are "branches" abiding in Christ, God will provide ample oppofunity for us to employ are talents in bringing His kingdom to light (something the world certainly needs). And there is no reason why we shouldn't become more fruitful for Christ, His Son.
Thursday, June 13, 2019
How Christian Science Heals
The following excerpt from a testimony of healing that appears in the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mary Baker Eddy may be helpful to someone reading my blog who is unacquainted with Christ-healing.
The writer from Portland, Oregon is telling about a healing he experienced of a sprained ankle, and he relates:
"The accident occurred in the morning, and all that day and during the night I gave myself Christian Science treatment, as best I could. The next morning it seemed to be no better, being very sore, badly swollen, and much discolored. Feeling that I had done all I could, I decided to stop thinking about it. I took my copy of Science and Health and began reading. Very soon I became so absorbed in the book that I forgot all about my ankle; it went entirely out of my thought, for I had a glimpse of God's creation as spiritual, and for the time being lost sight of my material selfhood. After two hours I laid the book down and walked into another room. When next I thought of my ankle, I found it was not hurting me. The swelling had gone down, the black and blue appearance had nearly vanished, and it was perfectly well. It was healed while I was 'absent from the body' and 'present with the Lord.' This experience was worth a great deal to me, for it showed me how the healing is done."
Anyone today can find out, from reading and pondering the divine truths in "Science and Health", how they too can be absent from the body and present with the Lord in health restored.
The writer from Portland, Oregon is telling about a healing he experienced of a sprained ankle, and he relates:
"The accident occurred in the morning, and all that day and during the night I gave myself Christian Science treatment, as best I could. The next morning it seemed to be no better, being very sore, badly swollen, and much discolored. Feeling that I had done all I could, I decided to stop thinking about it. I took my copy of Science and Health and began reading. Very soon I became so absorbed in the book that I forgot all about my ankle; it went entirely out of my thought, for I had a glimpse of God's creation as spiritual, and for the time being lost sight of my material selfhood. After two hours I laid the book down and walked into another room. When next I thought of my ankle, I found it was not hurting me. The swelling had gone down, the black and blue appearance had nearly vanished, and it was perfectly well. It was healed while I was 'absent from the body' and 'present with the Lord.' This experience was worth a great deal to me, for it showed me how the healing is done."
Anyone today can find out, from reading and pondering the divine truths in "Science and Health", how they too can be absent from the body and present with the Lord in health restored.
Sunday, June 2, 2019
No Fall from God's Care
People use the word "fall" in many ways. But the way I'm thinking of is actually falling physically--and finding the divine help we need to overcome bodily injury.
A passage from "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mary Baker Eddy has helped many students of Christian Science over the years. "When an accident happens, you think or exclaim, "I am hurt!" Your thought is more powerful than our words, more powerful than the accident itself to make the injury real." In the next paragraph she continues, "Now reverse the process. Declare that you are not hurt and understand the reason why, and you will find the ensuring good effects to be in exact proportion to your disbelief in physics, and your fidelity to divine metaphysics, confidence in God as All, which the Scriptures declare Him to be."
Because of the Bible's assurances that God, divine Love, is an ever-present, unfailing help in trouble, we can turn in complete confidence to Him. No matter what situation we may find ourselves in, God's help is always at hand, even--more accurately, especially --when the need is urgent.
Christ Jesus taught us the inseparability of man from God. We're able to see the effects of this truth as we live in harmony with the divine will. As Jesus said, "He that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him."
Knowing that man is God's child, wholly spiritual and safe in the care of his creator, regardless of appearances, the Master was able to heal. And Jesus' works bring to light the fact that man can't fall from his original spiritual state of perfection and freedom as the offspring of God. Through understanding that our real being is spiritual, and making a sincere effort to be obedient to God in our lives, each one of us can know the comforting assurance of divine Love's care, whatever the challenge may be.
Man's true selfhood, as the outcome of Spirit, God, is spiritual, not material. Thus that man--our real identity--is not at the mercy of accident, injury, or disease. The divine fact is that you and I are God's child, and we can never, for an instant, be deprived of our Father-Mother God's loving care. We're never really out of our God-provided place of spiritual security. We can't be apart from our divine source, God. As God's man, we are and always have been preserved by His unerring laws of order, safety, and exemption from harm. Such divine facts give us the authority and confidence we need to heal injury and pain.
We have Christ Jesus to thank for revealing and proving fully the Father's constant love for His children. And when we're empowered with the spiritual truths Jesus knew about God and man, we can prove for ourselves, in healing, that there can be no fall from God's omnipotent care.
A passage from "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mary Baker Eddy has helped many students of Christian Science over the years. "When an accident happens, you think or exclaim, "I am hurt!" Your thought is more powerful than our words, more powerful than the accident itself to make the injury real." In the next paragraph she continues, "Now reverse the process. Declare that you are not hurt and understand the reason why, and you will find the ensuring good effects to be in exact proportion to your disbelief in physics, and your fidelity to divine metaphysics, confidence in God as All, which the Scriptures declare Him to be."
Because of the Bible's assurances that God, divine Love, is an ever-present, unfailing help in trouble, we can turn in complete confidence to Him. No matter what situation we may find ourselves in, God's help is always at hand, even--more accurately, especially --when the need is urgent.
Christ Jesus taught us the inseparability of man from God. We're able to see the effects of this truth as we live in harmony with the divine will. As Jesus said, "He that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him."
Knowing that man is God's child, wholly spiritual and safe in the care of his creator, regardless of appearances, the Master was able to heal. And Jesus' works bring to light the fact that man can't fall from his original spiritual state of perfection and freedom as the offspring of God. Through understanding that our real being is spiritual, and making a sincere effort to be obedient to God in our lives, each one of us can know the comforting assurance of divine Love's care, whatever the challenge may be.
Man's true selfhood, as the outcome of Spirit, God, is spiritual, not material. Thus that man--our real identity--is not at the mercy of accident, injury, or disease. The divine fact is that you and I are God's child, and we can never, for an instant, be deprived of our Father-Mother God's loving care. We're never really out of our God-provided place of spiritual security. We can't be apart from our divine source, God. As God's man, we are and always have been preserved by His unerring laws of order, safety, and exemption from harm. Such divine facts give us the authority and confidence we need to heal injury and pain.
We have Christ Jesus to thank for revealing and proving fully the Father's constant love for His children. And when we're empowered with the spiritual truths Jesus knew about God and man, we can prove for ourselves, in healing, that there can be no fall from God's omnipotent care.
Saturday, June 1, 2019
A new life for you
You've been by worldly aims
Led wrongfully astray, --
Going the wrong way,
Following that road
That leads to utter ruin.
And now you regret
The life you've led.
But take heart:
It's not too late for you.
You can begin again,
Wipe the slate clean.
Say to God right now
And earnestly mean,
From this time forth
I intend to live my life
To honor Your Holy Son.
And look what waits for you:
"If any man be in Christ,
He is a new creature.
(2nd Cor. 5:17)
"Any" man, the Bible says.
And that my friend --
Now right with God --
Covers you.
Led wrongfully astray, --
Going the wrong way,
Following that road
That leads to utter ruin.
And now you regret
The life you've led.
But take heart:
It's not too late for you.
You can begin again,
Wipe the slate clean.
Say to God right now
And earnestly mean,
From this time forth
I intend to live my life
To honor Your Holy Son.
And look what waits for you:
"If any man be in Christ,
He is a new creature.
(2nd Cor. 5:17)
"Any" man, the Bible says.
And that my friend --
Now right with God --
Covers you.
Friday, May 24, 2019
Holding Our Ground
This being a soldier of Jesus Christ
Is not all charging up the hill,
I have often found.
At times there is nothing
We can do but be still,
Hold the ground we've gained,
Until incoming fire has waned,
Be like trees in there majestic-ness
Which 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)
When we're doing this,
We're actually doing much.
Is not all charging up the hill,
I have often found.
At times there is nothing
We can do but be still,
Hold the ground we've gained,
Until incoming fire has waned,
Be like trees in there majestic-ness
Which 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)
When we're doing this,
We're actually doing much.
Saturday, May 18, 2019
May Light
Carefree birds dart in and out of hedges,
Someone mows his lawn in the distance,
Cool breezes waft all around me.
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 fence
A farmer put in 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 after 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.
It's presence and its power
Followers of His can never lack.
Someone mows his lawn in the distance,
Cool breezes waft all around me.
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 fence
A farmer put in 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 after 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.
It's presence and its power
Followers of His can never lack.
Tuesday, May 7, 2019
A Feeling of Peace
We have a lovely large painting of pale pink roses my husband's grandmother had. Every time I look at it, it gives me such a feeling of peace. Was the artist that calm when she painted it? Something tangible almost seems to come through her work.
It always calls to thought words of our Master, Christ Jesus who said: "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you." How many times in my life, when troubles would have overwhelmed me and taken my peace of mind, has this eternal promise lifted me right up and restored my sense of joy and well-being.
How can we ever thank God enough for giving us His Son, the Prince of Peace!
It always calls to thought words of our Master, Christ Jesus who said: "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you." How many times in my life, when troubles would have overwhelmed me and taken my peace of mind, has this eternal promise lifted me right up and restored my sense of joy and well-being.
How can we ever thank God enough for giving us His Son, the Prince of Peace!
Wednesday, May 1, 2019
Going in a New Direction
Getting to the end of life's rope
Will drive some heavenward, it's true.
But why should one go that way to God?
There is a better way for all, for you,
Take the path Christ Jesus trod.
Above all else this one thing do --
Resolve to follow in Christ's steps.
With new hope it will your life imbue.
For by this route the wisest go,
Up and out of all life's woe.
To joy, freedom and salvation,
Now and everlasting,
It is the one,
The royal.
Way.
Will drive some heavenward, it's true.
But why should one go that way to God?
There is a better way for all, for you,
Take the path Christ Jesus trod.
Above all else this one thing do --
Resolve to follow in Christ's steps.
With new hope it will your life imbue.
For by this route the wisest go,
Up and out of all life's woe.
To joy, freedom and salvation,
Now and everlasting,
It is the one,
The royal.
Way.
Monday, April 22, 2019
Living for Christ
Glorious is the word for it. Making Jesus' words the focus of all we think and do transcends all else in this life. Am I suggesting that doing this, all challenges will suddenly cease. In no way. I would be remiss in all that I have written if it leads someone to think otherwise. There will be sharp struggles. But our day-to-day experience becomes through Christ much more alive--happier, healthier, freer. This is the way our heavenly Father wants it to be. And in the situations that once would have defeated us, we become the masters.
The carnal mind's attacks on us take different forms. One of the worst can be discouragement. "Give up, it isn't worth it" comes to everyone of us at times. Awhile back a devoted Christian lady I know told me, "Discouragement had me down for the count, not sure I could get up and continue the fight. "Evil's attempts to shut down our work for our Master can leave many of us saying this.
But you know what? Christ came to the aid of my friend, just as always happens with every committed follower. And speaking personally, I have been brought out of opposition so intense it seemed I could not endure another moment. And what caused this? His power, of course, and Jesus plain-speaking on what we can expect as we go all out for Him.
Our Savior always sees us through--no matter how rough the way. Always. As Jesus promised. "Lo, I am with you alway"
The carnal mind's attacks on us take different forms. One of the worst can be discouragement. "Give up, it isn't worth it" comes to everyone of us at times. Awhile back a devoted Christian lady I know told me, "Discouragement had me down for the count, not sure I could get up and continue the fight. "Evil's attempts to shut down our work for our Master can leave many of us saying this.
But you know what? Christ came to the aid of my friend, just as always happens with every committed follower. And speaking personally, I have been brought out of opposition so intense it seemed I could not endure another moment. And what caused this? His power, of course, and Jesus plain-speaking on what we can expect as we go all out for Him.
Our Savior always sees us through--no matter how rough the way. Always. As Jesus promised. "Lo, I am with you alway"
Friday, April 12, 2019
God's Gift of Flowers
"How do you grow
Such beautiful flowers?"
My neighbors would ask
And I would say,
By feeding and watering?"
But now I come right and say,
To God goes all the credit.
As I have learned
From Christian Science,
It is God Himself
Who is the substance*
Of each and every
Lovely little flower."
*"Science and Health
With key to the
Scriptures"
By Mary Baker Eddy,
(page 508)
And as Jesus says,
"Consider the lilies of the field,
how they grow; they toil not
neither do they spin:
And yet I say unto you,
That even Solomon in
all his glory was not
arrayed like one of these"
(Matthew 6:28, 29)
Such beautiful flowers?"
My neighbors would ask
And I would say,
By feeding and watering?"
But now I come right and say,
To God goes all the credit.
As I have learned
From Christian Science,
It is God Himself
Who is the substance*
Of each and every
Lovely little flower."
*"Science and Health
With key to the
Scriptures"
By Mary Baker Eddy,
(page 508)
And as Jesus says,
"Consider the lilies of the field,
how they grow; they toil not
neither do they spin:
And yet I say unto you,
That even Solomon in
all his glory was not
arrayed like one of these"
(Matthew 6:28, 29)
Saturday, April 6, 2019
More on "Health without Drugs"
The following words from Mary Baker Eddy regarding metaphysical healing might be of interest to those who have read the preceding blog. From my own experience of studying and applying the divine truths of Christian Science over many years, I can say that turning to God for a restoration of health and well-being certainly gets results.
This is from "Miscellaneous Writings", pages 255 and 256 -
"Advantage of Mind-Healing
It is sometimes asked, What are the advantages of your system of healing?
I claim for healing by Christian Science the following advantages: -
First: It does away with material medicine, and recognizes the fact that the antidote for sickness, s well as for sin, may be found in God, the divine Mind.
Second: It is more effectual than drugs, and cures where they fail, because it is this divine antidote, and metaphysics is above physics.
Third: Persons who have been healed, by Christian Science are not only cured of their belief in disease, but they are at the same time improved morally. The body is governed by Mind, and mortal mind must be corrected in order to make the body harmonious."
Monday, April 1, 2019
Health Without Drugs
A far too common problem these days is addition stemming from prescription drugs. Many people might be interested to learn that there is a way to combat ill health and recover health without having to depend on medication. 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" (John 8:32) point to the naturalness of healing from a purely metaphysical standpoint as he did. They point to unchanging divine law, which anyone can turn to with certainty.
Through the study of Christian Science, one is helped to see what this healing truth is, the truth found in the Bible's pages. There one learns that God is omnipotent and entirely good and that man is the image of God. As the likeness of his creator, man forever expresses the divine nature. And because God is Spirit, man is spiritual. To be sure, we appear to be merely flesh and bones and subject to suffering. But physicality isn't the actual or ultimate substance of our being. Life in the flesh is a misconception of man, whose real identity as the image of God is untouched by debilitating physical conditions.
The growing understanding of man's spiritual nature has a purifying effect on the body. It awakens us to the ever presence of Christ, Truth--of the divine healing influence--and the body responds to this uplifting influence. Health is then restored.
Mary Baker Eddy, who discovered and founded Christian Science, writes in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, "To ignore God as of little use in sickness is a mistake. Instead of thrusting Him aside in times of bodily trouble, and waiting for the hour of strength in which to acknowledge Him, we should learn that He can do all things for us in sickness and in health." (p. 166)
Spiritual healing in Christian Science is more than a recovery of health; it includes moral strengthening. Turning to God in prayer and relying on Him for healing constitute the genuine Christian way of salvation. This holy activity regenerates and purifies one's thought and life.
We have a God-given right not only to enjoy sound health but to recover it through spiritual means when it is threatened. 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 power.
The Bible is full of assurances of God's healing help. 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 study of Christian Science brings, we can turn to God for every aspect of our well-being, including health, proving to our own satisfaction and joy "The Lord will take away from thee all sickness." (Deuteronomy 7:15)
Through the study of Christian Science, one is helped to see what this healing truth is, the truth found in the Bible's pages. There one learns that God is omnipotent and entirely good and that man is the image of God. As the likeness of his creator, man forever expresses the divine nature. And because God is Spirit, man is spiritual. To be sure, we appear to be merely flesh and bones and subject to suffering. But physicality isn't the actual or ultimate substance of our being. Life in the flesh is a misconception of man, whose real identity as the image of God is untouched by debilitating physical conditions.
The growing understanding of man's spiritual nature has a purifying effect on the body. It awakens us to the ever presence of Christ, Truth--of the divine healing influence--and the body responds to this uplifting influence. Health is then restored.
Mary Baker Eddy, who discovered and founded Christian Science, writes in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, "To ignore God as of little use in sickness is a mistake. Instead of thrusting Him aside in times of bodily trouble, and waiting for the hour of strength in which to acknowledge Him, we should learn that He can do all things for us in sickness and in health." (p. 166)
Spiritual healing in Christian Science is more than a recovery of health; it includes moral strengthening. Turning to God in prayer and relying on Him for healing constitute the genuine Christian way of salvation. This holy activity regenerates and purifies one's thought and life.
We have a God-given right not only to enjoy sound health but to recover it through spiritual means when it is threatened. 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 power.
The Bible is full of assurances of God's healing help. 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 study of Christian Science brings, we can turn to God for every aspect of our well-being, including health, proving to our own satisfaction and joy "The Lord will take away from thee all sickness." (Deuteronomy 7:15)
Thursday, March 14, 2019
Road Safety and Texting
A friend told me yesterday about a piece she just read in our local newspaper. Our state leads the nation in traffic accidents due to texting. And some have been fatal, for texting driver and other motorists. Not that I text while at the wheel of my car.
But our conversation did make me think of staying safe while on the road. Fortunately, wherever our activities take us while we're driving, we can have peace of mind and freedom of action as we understand our inseparability from God.
Mary Baker Eddy, writes in "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." (38])
This urgently needed spiritual and practical understanding of man's indissoluble relationship to God is accessible to all. Through the study of Christian Science we can learn those spiritual truths which enable us to drive without the nervousness and uncertainty that bothers so many.
The Bible says, "Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. (Psalms 90:1) To
really comprehend this glorious fact of man's perfect unity with God, good, is to enjoy His protecting care under every conceivable human circumstance. We can never for a moment be outside the sphere of divine Love's protecting, saving influence. As Mrs. Eddy writes, "Existence, separate from divinity, Science explains as impossible." Science and Health, p. 522
The physical senses tell us we're subject to the material conditions surrounding us, that despite how careful we may be while driving, we still remain pretty much potential victims of other persons who can be irresponsible, distracted, dangerous. Christian Science maintains the opposite view. It's teachings assure us that man--the spiritual, God-created man--referred to in the first chapter of the Bible--is the beloved child of His Maker, divine Mind, never for an instant separated from His all-encompassing care. It is further seen that man is neither a victim nor the perpetrator of dangerous behavior. The divine Mind is the only Mind of man, and when we know this truth with the conviction that comes of true, spiritual understanding--and we aren't just talking ourselves into it--we can take to the road without fear.
Our Master, Christ Jesus, certainly relied on God whenever he was in a dangerous situation. It was his absolute conviction of being one with his Father that empowered Jesus to demonstrate dominion over any circumstance It can do the same for you and me.
Jesus said "He that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone." (John 8:29) 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. Understanding this, again, we can feel and be safe the entire time we're driving our cars.
But our conversation did make me think of staying safe while on the road. Fortunately, wherever our activities take us while we're driving, we can have peace of mind and freedom of action as we understand our inseparability from God.
Mary Baker Eddy, writes in "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." (38])
This urgently needed spiritual and practical understanding of man's indissoluble relationship to God is accessible to all. Through the study of Christian Science we can learn those spiritual truths which enable us to drive without the nervousness and uncertainty that bothers so many.
The Bible says, "Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. (Psalms 90:1) To
really comprehend this glorious fact of man's perfect unity with God, good, is to enjoy His protecting care under every conceivable human circumstance. We can never for a moment be outside the sphere of divine Love's protecting, saving influence. As Mrs. Eddy writes, "Existence, separate from divinity, Science explains as impossible." Science and Health, p. 522
The physical senses tell us we're subject to the material conditions surrounding us, that despite how careful we may be while driving, we still remain pretty much potential victims of other persons who can be irresponsible, distracted, dangerous. Christian Science maintains the opposite view. It's teachings assure us that man--the spiritual, God-created man--referred to in the first chapter of the Bible--is the beloved child of His Maker, divine Mind, never for an instant separated from His all-encompassing care. It is further seen that man is neither a victim nor the perpetrator of dangerous behavior. The divine Mind is the only Mind of man, and when we know this truth with the conviction that comes of true, spiritual understanding--and we aren't just talking ourselves into it--we can take to the road without fear.
Our Master, Christ Jesus, certainly relied on God whenever he was in a dangerous situation. It was his absolute conviction of being one with his Father that empowered Jesus to demonstrate dominion over any circumstance It can do the same for you and me.
Jesus said "He that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone." (John 8:29) 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. Understanding this, again, we can feel and be safe the entire time we're driving our cars.
Monday, March 4, 2019
Food for Thought
Why I follow Christ Jesus and Christian Science --
From a Bible Lesson written by the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy:
"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved -- Acts xvi.31.
The Scriptures require more than s simple admission and feeble acceptance of the truths they present; they require a living faith, that so incorporates their lessons into our lives that these truths become the motive-power for every act.
Our chosen text is one more frequently used than many others, perhaps, to exhort people to turn from sin and to strive after holiness; but we fear the full import of this text is not yet recognized. It means a full salvation, -- man saved from sin, sickness and death; for, unless this be so, no man can be fully fitted for heaven in the way which Jesus marked out and bade his followers pursue."
(Miscellaneous Writings, pp. 196, 197)
I truly believe and have experienced over many years as both a follower of our dear Master and a student of the teachings of divine Science contained in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mrs. Eddy that one needs both, as the above text points out, to be completely saved and free as God intends.
From a Bible Lesson written by the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy:
"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved -- Acts xvi.31.
The Scriptures require more than s simple admission and feeble acceptance of the truths they present; they require a living faith, that so incorporates their lessons into our lives that these truths become the motive-power for every act.
Our chosen text is one more frequently used than many others, perhaps, to exhort people to turn from sin and to strive after holiness; but we fear the full import of this text is not yet recognized. It means a full salvation, -- man saved from sin, sickness and death; for, unless this be so, no man can be fully fitted for heaven in the way which Jesus marked out and bade his followers pursue."
(Miscellaneous Writings, pp. 196, 197)
I truly believe and have experienced over many years as both a follower of our dear Master and a student of the teachings of divine Science contained in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mrs. Eddy that one needs both, as the above text points out, to be completely saved and free as God intends.
Saturday, March 2, 2019
Christ-healing
Christ Jesus knew God, good, to be all powerful and ever present. As a result, he was able to refute successfully the claims of material sense and to heal quickly and completely. Gaining this spiritual conviction is realizable for every person through Christian Science.
We learn through its teachings that God is sovereign, supreme, the creator of all. He is our loving Father who never fails us. If we seem not to be experiencing His help, we've become overly impressed by false beliefs, illusions--a situation always correctable through understanding divine truths.
Our rationale for disbelieving disease, inharmony, or defects is God's eternal unchangeableness. Man, like the Mind that formed him, remains perfect. Man never fluctuates between wholeness and impairment, never drops down into a material, imperfect state of being. In truth, we remain the way our creator made us. When God finished His work, the Bible says, He pronounced it very good It is simply the material view of things that a is incorrect, a belief that something is part of man which Mind neither put there nor sees. For in Mind, God, good, where each of us has his true uninvadvable being, there is no sickness, no pain, lack, or fear to mesmerize us.
Reading the New Testament, one is struck by the sense of unity that Jesus felt with the Father. No matter what the mortal senses asserted, to him God, good was always the reality. Through the illumination the Christ Science brings to the Master's words and healing works, we too can develop this sublime sense of inseparability from our Father God.
A child who trusts his parents doesn't merely theorize about their abililty to care for him. He knows it beyond a doubt, feels it to the depths of his being. And so it must be with us in our relationship to our heavenly Father. To cerebrally admit God to be all isn't enough. We need to know He is--that is, to understand God's supreme, unopposable, continuous government of all His cherished ideas. And to prove it in demonstration. A childlike, unquestioning confidence in God's care makes it realizable.
Matter can't talk or lay out conditions for us. It claims to possess power coequal with God snd to interfere with His government of us. But of course, it doesn't and it can't. Moreover, our Father is never telling us we're wretched, weak, sick mortals in a hopeless situation!l Thoughts from the one Mind, the Mind man uninterruptedly reflects, reveal only the inexhaustible good that is continually ours as Mind's beloved manifestation. These comforting healing, redeeming ideas--whatever thoughts we need to be free--are pouring forth perpetually. Our role is listening with humble, trusting receptivity to Truth. The more consistently we maintain this holiest of consciousness, the greater our conviction that God is all-powerful and ever present.
Jesus' unparalleled demonstrations show how unimpressed he was by what the physical senses were presenting, from a withered hand to violent waves. Matthew records Jesus' healing of the lunatick boy after his disciples had failed to get results. Explaining this, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy writes: "When his disciples asked him why they could not heal that case, Jesus, the Master Metaphysician, answered: 'Because of your unbelief (lack of faith), and then continued: 'If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place, and it shall remove' Also he added, 'This kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting' (refraining from admitting the claims of the senses)." (The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 222)
We turn the corner in our development of this spiritual sureness when we see imperfection for what it really is--nothing more than a false mental image, without substance or reality. No matter what material thinking suggests is wrong with us, false beliefs are powerless before the reality of omnipresent Truth. Our freedom lies in holding fast to Truth, in turning from the symptoms fear may be parading before us.
Nothing can compare to that feeling of "God with us", to the abiding conviction that our loving Father is holding us unchanged in our spiritual perfection. To reiterate, Christian Science makes this possible for everyone of us.
We learn through its teachings that God is sovereign, supreme, the creator of all. He is our loving Father who never fails us. If we seem not to be experiencing His help, we've become overly impressed by false beliefs, illusions--a situation always correctable through understanding divine truths.
Our rationale for disbelieving disease, inharmony, or defects is God's eternal unchangeableness. Man, like the Mind that formed him, remains perfect. Man never fluctuates between wholeness and impairment, never drops down into a material, imperfect state of being. In truth, we remain the way our creator made us. When God finished His work, the Bible says, He pronounced it very good It is simply the material view of things that a is incorrect, a belief that something is part of man which Mind neither put there nor sees. For in Mind, God, good, where each of us has his true uninvadvable being, there is no sickness, no pain, lack, or fear to mesmerize us.
Reading the New Testament, one is struck by the sense of unity that Jesus felt with the Father. No matter what the mortal senses asserted, to him God, good was always the reality. Through the illumination the Christ Science brings to the Master's words and healing works, we too can develop this sublime sense of inseparability from our Father God.
A child who trusts his parents doesn't merely theorize about their abililty to care for him. He knows it beyond a doubt, feels it to the depths of his being. And so it must be with us in our relationship to our heavenly Father. To cerebrally admit God to be all isn't enough. We need to know He is--that is, to understand God's supreme, unopposable, continuous government of all His cherished ideas. And to prove it in demonstration. A childlike, unquestioning confidence in God's care makes it realizable.
Matter can't talk or lay out conditions for us. It claims to possess power coequal with God snd to interfere with His government of us. But of course, it doesn't and it can't. Moreover, our Father is never telling us we're wretched, weak, sick mortals in a hopeless situation!l Thoughts from the one Mind, the Mind man uninterruptedly reflects, reveal only the inexhaustible good that is continually ours as Mind's beloved manifestation. These comforting healing, redeeming ideas--whatever thoughts we need to be free--are pouring forth perpetually. Our role is listening with humble, trusting receptivity to Truth. The more consistently we maintain this holiest of consciousness, the greater our conviction that God is all-powerful and ever present.
Jesus' unparalleled demonstrations show how unimpressed he was by what the physical senses were presenting, from a withered hand to violent waves. Matthew records Jesus' healing of the lunatick boy after his disciples had failed to get results. Explaining this, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy writes: "When his disciples asked him why they could not heal that case, Jesus, the Master Metaphysician, answered: 'Because of your unbelief (lack of faith), and then continued: 'If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place, and it shall remove' Also he added, 'This kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting' (refraining from admitting the claims of the senses)." (The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 222)
We turn the corner in our development of this spiritual sureness when we see imperfection for what it really is--nothing more than a false mental image, without substance or reality. No matter what material thinking suggests is wrong with us, false beliefs are powerless before the reality of omnipresent Truth. Our freedom lies in holding fast to Truth, in turning from the symptoms fear may be parading before us.
Nothing can compare to that feeling of "God with us", to the abiding conviction that our loving Father is holding us unchanged in our spiritual perfection. To reiterate, Christian Science makes this possible for everyone of us.
Friday, March 1, 2019
Angels on a Clock
Two atop
gilded antique clock --
Standing by the door
for all to see.
Do hotel guests
look that way?
One angel with
artist's brush in hand,
the other with a pen,
smiling, ageless, immortal,
happy in what they do.
Does this speak
to me and you?
Is this what we aspire to?
What we really are?
What we've always been?
The way God sees us now?
Whether artwork, manuscript,
or something else,
Bestow what comes from Him above
is what these Beings do.
gilded antique clock --
Standing by the door
for all to see.
Do hotel guests
look that way?
One angel with
artist's brush in hand,
the other with a pen,
smiling, ageless, immortal,
happy in what they do.
Does this speak
to me and you?
Is this what we aspire to?
What we really are?
What we've always been?
The way God sees us now?
Whether artwork, manuscript,
or something else,
Bestow what comes from Him above
is what these Beings do.
Saturday, February 16, 2019
The Might of Christ
"Now thanks be to God, which always caught us to triumph in Christ, and manifest the savor of his knowledge by us in every place."
(St Paul in II Corinthians 2:14)
When I take stock of all that
Christ has brought me through,
I can't help feeling awestruck
At the saving things He can do.
What are some of the things
That I have been delivered from?
Tribulation, fears, illness and lack,
Just to give an idea of some.
Whatever problems we may face
It is often-proven, undeniable fact
That our always-with-us Saviour
Can bring us through intact.
(St Paul in II Corinthians 2:14)
When I take stock of all that
Christ has brought me through,
I can't help feeling awestruck
At the saving things He can do.
What are some of the things
That I have been delivered from?
Tribulation, fears, illness and lack,
Just to give an idea of some.
Whatever problems we may face
It is often-proven, undeniable fact
That our always-with-us Saviour
Can bring us through intact.
Wednesday, February 13, 2019
Getting More Done
Not enough time in the day
To do all things we need to do?
Our priorities are out of whack.
When we place God's demands
Above our own, and other people's
The results will be amazing.
Think of Christ Jesus, someone
Who was never hurried or stressed,
Who was always on time for healing.
Why was this, do you think?
Could one reason have been,
"I do always those things
that please him"?
(John 8:29)
A holy example, this.
But one we can all shoot for.
Even the willingness to pray
May this day unfold
With putting You first,
Will begin adjusting things
As only God can do.
Then there will be enough time
For Him -- don't forget
And time enough for you.
To do all things we need to do?
Our priorities are out of whack.
When we place God's demands
Above our own, and other people's
The results will be amazing.
Think of Christ Jesus, someone
Who was never hurried or stressed,
Who was always on time for healing.
Why was this, do you think?
Could one reason have been,
"I do always those things
that please him"?
(John 8:29)
A holy example, this.
But one we can all shoot for.
Even the willingness to pray
May this day unfold
With putting You first,
Will begin adjusting things
As only God can do.
Then there will be enough time
For Him -- don't forget
And time enough for you.
Thursday, February 7, 2019
Free Now
To longing deep and universal -
"If I could just be free!" --
Is this fact divine and comforting
That all can come to see:
We are and ever have been in God,
His spiritual, perfect child, eternally.
For we are not helpless before circumstances
Have not been under carnal mind's curse
For a year, a day, an hour.
These are truths Christ Jesus knew,
And they gave Him wondrous healing power.
This knowledge Christian Science imparts,
Saving knowledge so glorious,
That we're not hemmed in by flesh and blood,
But are right now the way God made us.
Fortunate that there is revealed,
Freeing things that we can claim and see.
(Things about us God has ever known)
That now and through all eternity
We are His loved child, His very own --
Immensely blessed and whole and free.
"If I could just be free!" --
Is this fact divine and comforting
That all can come to see:
We are and ever have been in God,
His spiritual, perfect child, eternally.
For we are not helpless before circumstances
Have not been under carnal mind's curse
For a year, a day, an hour.
These are truths Christ Jesus knew,
And they gave Him wondrous healing power.
This knowledge Christian Science imparts,
Saving knowledge so glorious,
That we're not hemmed in by flesh and blood,
But are right now the way God made us.
Fortunate that there is revealed,
Freeing things that we can claim and see.
(Things about us God has ever known)
That now and through all eternity
We are His loved child, His very own --
Immensely blessed and whole and free.
Friday, February 1, 2019
The Secret of Achieving More
I used to wonder,
Why the disparity between
What I aspire to do
And actual performance?
Then one day it dawned,
Why it's lack of conformance
To this guideline Jesus gave:
"If any man serve me,
Him will my Father honor"*
When we shift from self to Christ,
We find life far more productive --
A life of increased giving
That blesses us and all mankind.
*John 12:26
Why the disparity between
What I aspire to do
And actual performance?
Then one day it dawned,
Why it's lack of conformance
To this guideline Jesus gave:
"If any man serve me,
Him will my Father honor"*
When we shift from self to Christ,
We find life far more productive --
A life of increased giving
That blesses us and all mankind.
*John 12:26
Saturday, January 19, 2019
His Will, Not Ours
Since one hundred percent obedient
Is what our Exemplar had to be,
Making our own terms with God
Will never be allowed you and me.
Life shows us this.
Suffering almost always does.
But by whatever way we come
To learn to say (and mean)
"Do with me what You wish,
For You, Father, know best."
Only then do we know real joy,
Feel abiding peace of mind,
Experience what Jesus taught and knew --
That our loving Father longs to see
All His children absolutely blest.
Day-by-day
obedience to God
is the Christ Jesus way.
Is what our Exemplar had to be,
Making our own terms with God
Will never be allowed you and me.
Life shows us this.
Suffering almost always does.
But by whatever way we come
To learn to say (and mean)
"Do with me what You wish,
For You, Father, know best."
Only then do we know real joy,
Feel abiding peace of mind,
Experience what Jesus taught and knew --
That our loving Father longs to see
All His children absolutely blest.
Day-by-day
obedience to God
is the Christ Jesus way.
Friday, January 11, 2019
Acting on Jesus' Words
To read the words of Christ Jesus,
glorious.
To actually carry them out,
Even more so.
Doing what our Master commanded
Will make our face glow,
Bring us a feeling of peace
The world cannot give.
What a blessed way to live,
I am finding.
Asking God to show us ways
We can do what Jesus taught,
He will always answer --
In often unexpected ways,
Sometimes sooner than we thought.
We feel so clean and free!
"Be be ye doers of the Word,
and not hearers only."
James 1:22
glorious.
To actually carry them out,
Even more so.
Doing what our Master commanded
Will make our face glow,
Bring us a feeling of peace
The world cannot give.
What a blessed way to live,
I am finding.
Asking God to show us ways
We can do what Jesus taught,
He will always answer --
In often unexpected ways,
Sometimes sooner than we thought.
We feel so clean and free!
"Be be ye doers of the Word,
and not hearers only."
James 1:22
Sunday, January 6, 2019
Never give up!
Many folks these days have challenging physical problems. They may be tempted to just give up. Fortunately no one has to merely sit back and hope for relief from crushing problems. He can do something about it!
A verse from the Bible (Psalm 55:22) points out the first step. It counsels, "Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee."
Christ Jesus did this. Regardless of what confronted him, he turned to God and found the right solution.
One example was the death of his friend Lazarus. To material appearances it was too late, completely without hope. Yet Jesus didn't give in to the despair of those around him. He challenged the testimony of the physical senses and prayed, "Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always." (John 11:41 42)
In gratefully acknowledging man's unity with God, divine Truth, Life, and Love, Jesus' prayer was the prayer of conviction, of spiritual understanding. And Lazarus emerged alive from the tomb.
Such enlightened, scientific prayer is being answered today. Christian Science faithfully follows the teachings of Christ Jesus. It brings to light the spiritual laws that made Jesus' healing possible. It shows any sincere, thoughtful seeker for freedom how he can do something constructive about his problems.
Mary Baker Eddy, who discovered and founded Christian Science, writes in the textbook of Christian Science: "Is it not a species of infidelity to believe that so great a work as the Messiah's was done for himself or for God, who needed no help from Jesus' example to preserve the eternal harmony? But mortals did need this help, and Jesus pointed the way for them." ("Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures", p. 494).
As one follows Jesus' example, and turns intelligently to God, divine Mind, acknowledging His ever-present power and care, he will find his own fearful and limited thinking being replaced with the realization of man's true nature as the spiritual, perfect child of God, all good. And with this realization will come freedom.
As Mrs. Eddy explains in "Science and Health": (p. xi) "The physical healing of Christian Science results now, as in Jesus' time, from the operation of divine Principle, before which sin and disease lose their reality in human consciousness and disappear as naturally and as necessarily as darkness gives place to light and sin to reformation. Now, as then, these might works are not supernatural, but supremely natural."
A verse from the Bible (Psalm 55:22) points out the first step. It counsels, "Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee."
Christ Jesus did this. Regardless of what confronted him, he turned to God and found the right solution.
One example was the death of his friend Lazarus. To material appearances it was too late, completely without hope. Yet Jesus didn't give in to the despair of those around him. He challenged the testimony of the physical senses and prayed, "Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always." (John 11:41 42)
In gratefully acknowledging man's unity with God, divine Truth, Life, and Love, Jesus' prayer was the prayer of conviction, of spiritual understanding. And Lazarus emerged alive from the tomb.
Such enlightened, scientific prayer is being answered today. Christian Science faithfully follows the teachings of Christ Jesus. It brings to light the spiritual laws that made Jesus' healing possible. It shows any sincere, thoughtful seeker for freedom how he can do something constructive about his problems.
Mary Baker Eddy, who discovered and founded Christian Science, writes in the textbook of Christian Science: "Is it not a species of infidelity to believe that so great a work as the Messiah's was done for himself or for God, who needed no help from Jesus' example to preserve the eternal harmony? But mortals did need this help, and Jesus pointed the way for them." ("Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures", p. 494).
As one follows Jesus' example, and turns intelligently to God, divine Mind, acknowledging His ever-present power and care, he will find his own fearful and limited thinking being replaced with the realization of man's true nature as the spiritual, perfect child of God, all good. And with this realization will come freedom.
As Mrs. Eddy explains in "Science and Health": (p. xi) "The physical healing of Christian Science results now, as in Jesus' time, from the operation of divine Principle, before which sin and disease lose their reality in human consciousness and disappear as naturally and as necessarily as darkness gives place to light and sin to reformation. Now, as then, these might works are not supernatural, but supremely natural."
Tuesday, January 1, 2019
To Start Off 2019 Aright
What better way to begin
This year brand new
Than to read our Master's words
Marked in red --
Words of Christ Jesus who said:
"Heaven and earth shall
pass away, but my words
shall not pass away."
(Luke 22:23)
Of all the things one
Can plan to carry through,
The blessings that come
To me and you
As we discover and review
These heaven-sent words,
Trust me,
Will top them all.
Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of
Christian Science writes:
"In no other one thing seemed Jesus of Nazareth
more divine than in his faith in the immortality
of his words. He said, 'Heaven; ;and earth shall
pass away, but my words shall not pass away"; and
they have not. The winds of time may sweep clean
the centuries, but they can never bear into oblivion
his words. They still live, and to-morrow speak
more loudly than to-day."
(Miscellaneous Writings, page 99)
This year brand new
Than to read our Master's words
Marked in red --
Words of Christ Jesus who said:
"Heaven and earth shall
pass away, but my words
shall not pass away."
(Luke 22:23)
Of all the things one
Can plan to carry through,
The blessings that come
To me and you
As we discover and review
These heaven-sent words,
Trust me,
Will top them all.
Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of
Christian Science writes:
"In no other one thing seemed Jesus of Nazareth
more divine than in his faith in the immortality
of his words. He said, 'Heaven; ;and earth shall
pass away, but my words shall not pass away"; and
they have not. The winds of time may sweep clean
the centuries, but they can never bear into oblivion
his words. They still live, and to-morrow speak
more loudly than to-day."
(Miscellaneous Writings, page 99)
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