Don't Despair

        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, observing present world conditions, may be ready to conclude that these days must surely be upon us.  They feel overwhelmed at times.  They say, "What next?!  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)


        One's redemption or salvation from fear and despair can come as soon as one progresses in his understanding of God's government of man and the 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, comforting help.  Through the study and application of Christian Science, countless individuals the world over have found and are finding 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 (page 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 find 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 enabled Jesus to heal and regenerate men are available to everyone today.


        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 spiritual harmony and perfection, we can begin to see there is no hopeless condition out there, no insoluble problem, no need to feel overwhelmed by world events.


        Knowing that all-powerful God is govern His creation keeps hope and confidence intact, lifted above distressing material conditions.  There is never any need to despair, for God is the only reality.
       

Never Out of God's Care

       
        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--or 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 put our trust in God's all-powerful care. As Jesus said, "He that sent me is with me:  the Father hath not left me alone." Nor does our loving Father ever left you and me alone or desolate.


        Knowing that man is God's child, wholly spiritual and safe in the care of his creator, regardless of how desperate things may seem to be, the Master was able to overcome all difficulties.  And Jesus' works bring to light the fact that man can't be apart from God for a moment.  Through understanding that our real being is spiritual, and turning to God for a way out of trouble, each one of us can know the comforting assurance of divine Love's care under all circumstances.


        Our true selfhood, as the outcome of Spirit, God, is spiritual, not material.  Thus our real identity is not at the mercy of human circumstances.  The divine fact is that you and I are God's child, and we can never, for an instant, be deprived of our Father's loving help.  We're never really apart from our divine source, God.  As God's man, we are and always have been preserved by His unerring laws of safety and exemption from harm.  Such divine facts give us the authority and confidence we need to prevail over difficulties.


        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 that we are never out of His wonderful care.






       

Intact

(Something I recently emailed to someone I was helping in Christian Science.  Thoughts to go with one of you possibly as you go about your evening or daytime activities.)


        God has made you in His image and likeness,

             and He has maintained you this way.

        What more could our loving Father do?

        Accept this as the trusting, uncomplicated

                           child of His

                          that you are.  

Ashamed of Jesus? God forbid!

"Not me", you may be saying.


And you may be right.


But one can think he's obeying


What God expects, and not be.


Inattentiveness to what Jesus


Demanded of those who follow


Can be unbelievably subtle.


Christians there are in name only,


(One hesitates to give them that much)


Who without realizing it


Have moved our dear Master


Off the cover of their life


To the inside pages.


Jesus is not first, as He deserves,


But secondary to so much


Of little or no importance.


You and I then need to stay alert,


And not be robbed of God's unspeakable gift.


If you think the carnal mind


that hates Christ Jesus


and hates those who love Him


want us to have this treasure,


guess again.

Christ Gives Us the Victory, Always

 


       (Written for a friend who feels she's having a rough time right now.)


       We who have named the Name of Christ  may feel we're in a battle at times.  And so we will be, in a sense.  But we're not alone in this.  Most, if not all, the shining lights that have gone before us went through the same thing.  But they stood with Christ and were brought to a lasting victory.  So will you and I, if we take to heart what our Saviour says about God's unfailing, everpresent  love for us.  Jesus, never someone to waste words, had this to say about what is coming at us, that it's from the devil, the father of lies.  And we must not believe what he is telling us about us.


         Say to God, I will trust the words You gave Your Son to give the world.  I will not doubt the immense power behind these words to deliver us from whatever comes at us. The false suggestions will cease, as they always do.  As they always will.  The blessings this brings are beyond most of to imagine.


         Then we will find ourselves saying, "Thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."






       

Kansas School Teacher: Only Months to Live

        This young woman was happily teaching school in a small town in Kansas when she contracted tuberculosis.  At first, her father who was a doctor, tried to treat her successfully.  But he wasn't able to cure her, so she was taken to a nearby sanatorium for rest and hopefully a cure.


        However, it wasn't long before the verdict came in:  they gave her at most six more months to live.  It was at this critical point in her life that something quite unexpected happened.  One day a lady in the town who knew of her situation came to visit.  She happened to be a Christian Scientist, and she told my friend of the many cures being brought about by the truths in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy.  My friend said at once, "Oh, give me the book that can do that for me!" A copy of this book was brought to her which she began reading, night and day.  And the wonderful thing about this, she walked out of that facility completely and permanently free of the TB.


        Not only this, she was on fire to help others gain the freedom and good health God had brought her.  She spent the next six decades in the public practice of her new religion, taking thousands of cases needing help.  Her dedicated work in Tulsa, Oklahoma reached way beyond that city and state, and impacted the lives of people all over the world who called on her for help. 


        I met this woman many years later and was fortunate to have her help at times while growing up.    More than once, I phoned her for prayerful Christian Science treatment or went to see her with this or that problem.  I was always restored.  Healed when healing of a physical difficulty was needed.  And sometimes the need was urgent.


        Christ Jesus said:  "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."  The divine truths as contained in Science and Health certainly did this for my friend.  And it is still doing this today.

Grateful Daughter

All those who trust  God,
How He does bless.
As for me,
I must confess,
The overflowing good
He gladly does bestow,
leaves me in gratitude awash,
So much so,
that each day I say,
(and sometimes
several times a day)
"Thank You, dear loving Father."


And more than once
I have said,
"You may have a daughter somewhere
who is more grateful to You than I am."


"But I doubt it",
I always add.