The Only Way to Avoid Destruction

To avoid destruction worthy of the name,
Embrace the narrow path Jesus taught
His followers to take in life.
Why did our Master say this to us?
To take all the joy out of living?
Ridiculous thought.
It was to save us from the sorrow,
The disillusionment and lack
Of all things worth having,
That inevitably comes from
Taking the broad way --
Fun at first perhaps,
Which has a way of
Ending up not so funny.
The prince of this world
Ultimately presents his bill.
And the worst thing about
Disregarding Jesus' words?
It causes estrangement from God,
Not that He ever leaves us,
Any sense of apartness
Is all on our side, not His.
Why do we want to miss out
On all the good things?
Our heavenly Father yearns to give.


No matter how far down the broad way
You may have gone -- if even to the end --
Turn around right now and adopt
The one, the only way, to live.


Our loving God demands this of us all.

Cause and Healing

                                                        John Robert Howell




When your body's crying out in pain,
What makes you think the Bible's Word is vain?
If sickness propagates from thought, what aid
Can come from medical opinion staid?
What fact of use can heart or lung relay,
Since thinking draws the outlines ills obey?
To rout disease, on God alone repose
Divine anatomy will causes hid expose.
If tempted, then, from fear to diagnose
Let Mind supreme, instead, the case dispose.

In His Presence, Always

What a thought of comfort this,
That all those we may be
Responsible for --
       Children or pets --
Are always in His care,
That wherever they may go,
Wherever they may be,
Whatever they may do,
They cannot be away from Him,
Never, ever out of His presence.
Is it not wonderful
That God Himself
Does surround,
Looking out for them,
Thinking for them,
And leading them safely
            Home.

Do You Love Jesus' Words?

If you don't,
This is what you can do --
Get yourself a Bible
With Jesus' words in red.
Read/ponder/do
What the Master said.
Nothing on this earth
Can bless you like this.
If you do love Jesus' words,
You know the good things
Poured out on His followers
Without measure --
Peace, joy, purpose in life,
Freedom from all kinds of fears,
Love for others, Love from others,
Tribulation encountered and overcome--
(I could go on and on).
But what I most treasure?
This from John 14:23:


"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."


I could not wish for you
Anything more wonderful
         Than this!

You Don't Have to Fear Illness

    


        As I wrote in the previous blog, people all over the world yearn for freedom from many things, freedom from the fear of becoming ill among them.  Thus the following:


        God, good, is all-powerful and ever present.  And because He is, you don't have to feel afraid when confronted with sickness or any physical disability.  The fact that God is always with us is more than comforting, however; it can be of practical benefit when we know how to avail ourselves of His healing power.


        The purpose of Christ Jesus' unequaled example was not merely to inspire mankind but to show us what God is and how to avail ourselves of His power--how to be free from every form of material bondage, physical suffering included.  The Master promised, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also."  (John 14:12)


        Christian Science maintains that this can be demonstrated now as one understands the divine laws underlying Jesus' words and deeds. These changeless laws are explained fully and clearly in the textbook of Christian Science, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. The Science revealed in this book is based on the understanding that God is the divine Principle of all that is real, the Principle of Jesus' healing and teaching.


        The law of Spirit, God, is available for anyone to learn and use in his daily life.  This law of God, which brings healing, is wherever we are and is applicable to any situation.  This law isn't a formula; it is power, specific force. It rests on the supremacy of God and is enforced by His allness.  And when His law is brought into contact with one's particular problem--and it makes no difference whether the problem is physical or moral, financial or emotional--the result is freedom from whatever fear is tormenting one.


        Mrs. Eddy writes:  "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 mighty works are not supernatural, but supremely natural.  They are the sign of Immanuel, or 'God with us,' -- a divine influence ever present in human consciousness and repeating itself, coming now as was promised aforetime,


                                                 To reach deliverance to the captives [of sense],
                                                  And recovering of sight to the blind,
                                                  To set at liberty them that are bruised."
                                                           (Science and Health, p. xi)


        Because you and I are actually spiritual and include only those qualities which God, Spirit, imparts--such as peace, joy, health, dominion--the fears that may seem so real have no genuine power over us.  They are misconceptions of God and man, false beliefs, not actual God-created conditions.  And the truth of man's inseparable relationship to God, of man's uninterrupted well-being as God's image and likeness, corrects them.


        Now, you who may be coming upon the subject of scientific divine healing for the first time might be wondering specifically how you should pray when you find yourself confronted with fear of becoming sick.  For a practical explanation of  how to demonstrate Christ-healing for yourself, you can turn to the textbook of Christian Science, Science and Healing.  This book shows that fear of sickness and disease is wholly mental, rooted in a misconception of God and man.  It can be completely overcome by the change in thought that prayer and reliance on God's law bring.  When God's nature, His power, and His law are understood, one's thoughts and actions are brought into accord with the spiritual truths of God and man.  This is a fundamental change in consciousness, and the result is invariably freedom from fear.


        It is your God-given right to experience this.

Freedom For Our Housekeeper

        People yearn to be free in so many ways.  And freedom from fear is a big one, freedom from fear of disease.


        Beverly came once a week to clean house for us, and one day she said, "I am overwhelmed with fear of disease, the disease my father had.  I'm afraid I'll pass on from the same thing.  Do you know of anything that will  help me?"  "I certainly do", I told her.  A copy of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy was at hand on a bookshelf, which I loaned to her as long as she needed it.  She was eager to see what this highly recommended volume had to say that would help lift the terrible fear that plagued her.  Over the following weeks, Beverly found many truths that gave her a new perspective on health and well-being.  She learned she didn't need to live with fear. And in my next blog, I'll go into detail on this important topic that will show anyone reading this blog why they do not need to live in fear of becoming ill.  Stay tuned.

Using Our Talents For Christ

Writers who use their talents


In the service of their King


Have so little say


In whether they write or not;


Thoughts begin to flow,


Words are set to go,


And inspiration must be attended to


Right then and there.


Those who do this gathering


Of ideas from above


Inhabit a universe they're in,


But all too often not of --


Beings who dwell apart.








      
                  You, world, are richer far


                                      That these beings are


                                                               The way they are.