Every Thanksgiving every Christian Science church has a special service of prayer and gratitude of blessings.
Our service contains a reading from the Bible and Science and Health prepared especially for the occasions. After the reading those present in the congregation are invited to stand up and share what they are grateful for. You can find a church in your area in your telephone directory or on line on my website www.davidgshields.com.
So my question to you is what are you grateful for? I am sure you can think of at least one thing you are grateful to God for. Mary Baker Eddy in her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures says, “Are we really grateful for the good already received? Then we shall avail ourselves of the blessings we have, and thus be fitted to receive more. Gratitude is much more than a verbal expression of thanks. Action expresses more gratitude than speech.” (3:22-26)
Here is part of my gratitude list:
1. I am grateful to God who cares for me and loves me always.
2. I am grateful that the healing power of God heals all diseases
3. I am grateful that all things are possible to God and therefore nothing is impossible for me.
4. I am grateful that only good is going on and evil has no power but to destroy itself.
5. I am grateful Jesus Christ came to the world and told us that his peace would always be with us.
6. I am grateful that Mary Baker Eddy discovered Christian Science
7. I am grateful that God is with everyone when they open their heart to His blessings
8. I am grateful for a wonderful home, wife, family and friends
Monday, November 19, 2007
Thursday, November 15, 2007
God Is Our Protection
In the state of Maryland there is a law that states that all children should be vaccinated before they are allowed in school. According to the Washington Post on November 14, 2007, “The parents of more than 2,300 Prince George County students who failed to get needed vaccinations could face fines of $50 a day and up to 10 days in jail if their children do not meet the state's immunization requirements, county officials said yesterday.”
ABC News has on the Web an opinion poll of what people think of being forced to have their children vaccinated. Of the comments I read, most everyone seemed to be fearful either that children can catch a disease without vaccination or can have a terrible after affect from being vaccinated.
However, it has been my experience the God is the best source of protection. When I was a child I never received any vaccinations. Yes, I had some childhood diseases but through prayer and the help of a Christian Science Practitioner these diseases were met quickly without any after affects.
When I went into the military service, my aunt who was an experienced Christian Science Practitioner advised me to take all the shots that the military service required.
I remember the first time I had to take a shot I was afraid. My aunt had me study this quotation from the discoverer and founder of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy’s writings, “neither red tape nor indignity hindered the divine process.” (Unity of Good 11:23-24)
The divine process was that all that was going on was God and His idea. I was God’s idea and He was always watching over me. I did not have to fear that a shot could protect or cause and after affect. I knew that a shot had no more power than I gave it and I refused to give it power. God was the only power and He was the one that protected me from disease and nothing else. I took those shots with no fear. I never had any side affects.
God is right there with your children. The Bible promises us this protection. “He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.” (Ps. 91:4-6)
God’s love is with you at all times no matter if you decide to take vaccinations or not. God is guiding you and if you listen to God you can never be harmed and neither can your children.
ABC News has on the Web an opinion poll of what people think of being forced to have their children vaccinated. Of the comments I read, most everyone seemed to be fearful either that children can catch a disease without vaccination or can have a terrible after affect from being vaccinated.
However, it has been my experience the God is the best source of protection. When I was a child I never received any vaccinations. Yes, I had some childhood diseases but through prayer and the help of a Christian Science Practitioner these diseases were met quickly without any after affects.
When I went into the military service, my aunt who was an experienced Christian Science Practitioner advised me to take all the shots that the military service required.
I remember the first time I had to take a shot I was afraid. My aunt had me study this quotation from the discoverer and founder of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy’s writings, “neither red tape nor indignity hindered the divine process.” (Unity of Good 11:23-24)
The divine process was that all that was going on was God and His idea. I was God’s idea and He was always watching over me. I did not have to fear that a shot could protect or cause and after affect. I knew that a shot had no more power than I gave it and I refused to give it power. God was the only power and He was the one that protected me from disease and nothing else. I took those shots with no fear. I never had any side affects.
God is right there with your children. The Bible promises us this protection. “He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.” (Ps. 91:4-6)
God’s love is with you at all times no matter if you decide to take vaccinations or not. God is guiding you and if you listen to God you can never be harmed and neither can your children.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
The Receptive Thought
In reading the Christian Science Bible Lesson today, I have been pondering the bible story about the woman who comes to Jesus to heal her daughter. Jesus tells her, “It is not meet to take the children’s bread and cast it to dogs”. (Matt. 15:26) The women could of reacted when Jesus told her she was a dog. The Jews and the Canaanites had a history of not liking each other. The Jews thought of the Canaanites as dogs because they considered them heathens. However, the women believed Jesus could heal her daughter and replied “Truth, Lord yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table”. (Matt. 15:26) She was persistent and wanted to work with Jesus no matter if her stature was accepted in his community or not. Jesus saw her receptivity and his heart went out to her. He healed her daughter. He realized that he was not there just to heal the children of Israel but to anyone who honestly came to him for healing.
From this story I have been pondering, am I receptive to those coming to me for healing. Who is the sincere seeker for Truth? How much are we willing to work to receive our healing? Here is a small list for the receptive thought of patient and the practitioner
The Christian Science Practitioner
1. Are we willing to work for patients who know nothing about Christian Science?
2. Should we worry if the patient will be paying us?
3. Should we care if the patient is going down a list of practitioners each day for healing?
4. Do we care if the patient likes us as individuals?
5. Are we willing to help the sinner with his disease?
6. Should we expect our patient to study the Bible and Science and Health?
The Patient
1. Are you just seeking to have your body healed?
2. Are you willing to pay for your healing?
3. Is healing your main objective or is it spiritual growth?
4. Are you willing to work out your own salvation by changing long beliefs about yourself or others?
5. Do you give up on a practitioner after one treatment?
6. Are you willing to dig deep into your Bible and Science and Health? For example are you willing to read 50 pages of Science and Health per day?
7. Are you willing to stop sinning?
8. Are you willing to fight it out through Christian Science even if there are not results within a short period of time?
9. Are you looking for God to heal you or the practitioner?
From this story I have been pondering, am I receptive to those coming to me for healing. Who is the sincere seeker for Truth? How much are we willing to work to receive our healing? Here is a small list for the receptive thought of patient and the practitioner
The Christian Science Practitioner
1. Are we willing to work for patients who know nothing about Christian Science?
2. Should we worry if the patient will be paying us?
3. Should we care if the patient is going down a list of practitioners each day for healing?
4. Do we care if the patient likes us as individuals?
5. Are we willing to help the sinner with his disease?
6. Should we expect our patient to study the Bible and Science and Health?
The Patient
1. Are you just seeking to have your body healed?
2. Are you willing to pay for your healing?
3. Is healing your main objective or is it spiritual growth?
4. Are you willing to work out your own salvation by changing long beliefs about yourself or others?
5. Do you give up on a practitioner after one treatment?
6. Are you willing to dig deep into your Bible and Science and Health? For example are you willing to read 50 pages of Science and Health per day?
7. Are you willing to stop sinning?
8. Are you willing to fight it out through Christian Science even if there are not results within a short period of time?
9. Are you looking for God to heal you or the practitioner?
Monday, November 12, 2007
You Are Perfect and Upright
Mary Baker Eddy states in her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures: “The parent of all human discord was the Adam-dream, the deep sleep, in which originated the delusion that life and intelligence proceeded from and passed into matter.” (306:32-2) How can we wake from that dream?
1. We must quit believing that we were born in matter in the first place. We are not the children of mommy and daddy. We are the children of God
2. Our life is not the accumulative result of events in it. Wake up out of thinking that our present problems have something to do with the mistakes of our past.
3. Stop dreaming about a future where your life will be so much better. There is nothing better in your life than what is going on right this very moment.
4. The apostle Paul said “now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” (II Cor. 6:2) So right now we have everything we need. Right now we are the perfect child of God
5. God loves you and you can feel this love right this very minute. Wake up and stay awake. You are needed by God. You are chosen by God to be about His business.
1. We must quit believing that we were born in matter in the first place. We are not the children of mommy and daddy. We are the children of God
2. Our life is not the accumulative result of events in it. Wake up out of thinking that our present problems have something to do with the mistakes of our past.
3. Stop dreaming about a future where your life will be so much better. There is nothing better in your life than what is going on right this very moment.
4. The apostle Paul said “now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” (II Cor. 6:2) So right now we have everything we need. Right now we are the perfect child of God
5. God loves you and you can feel this love right this very minute. Wake up and stay awake. You are needed by God. You are chosen by God to be about His business.
Monday, September 24, 2007
How can I support a dear friend who has invited me to sponsor her in a breast cancer cure walkathon?
We believe with all our heart that prayer can heal any problem, no matter how severe.
Christian Science prayer has healed many cases of breast cancer over the years. Testimonies of healing are available online at http://www.spirituality.com/framework/search_redirect.jhtml;jsessionid=QNWWEJD33R3SFKGL4LYCFEQ?queryText=breast+cancer .
In Christian Science we believe that God is Love. Mary Baker Eddy, who founded this religion, once said: “God is our Father and our Mother, our Minister and the great Physician :”( Miscellaneous Writings 151:13-14) The Bible tells us that God made man in His own image and gave man dominion over every creeping thing. Breast cancer (or any cancer) is one of those creeping things that God gave us dominion over. We gain this dominion over cancer by wholeheartedly believing in the allness and oneness of the power of God’s love, and the nothingness of anything outside of Him.
Since God made us in His own image, and God is purely spiritual, we believe this image can only be spiritual. Disease is material, not of God, and therefore cannot be part of God nor of man. Disease then is a lie about us. If disease is part of us then it must have come from God. The Bible tells us, “Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity:” (Hab. 1:13) This is our authority for telling disease, as Jesus did, “Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me” (Matt 16:23)
When we consistently and humbly align our thought with God’s pure love, we begin to witness healing in all areas of our life. We pray to understand our perfect relationship with God that is always intact. Science and Health, Mrs. Eddy's masterwork, says it this way: “The Christlike understanding of scientific being and divine healing includes a perfect Principle and idea, — perfect God and perfect man, — as the basis of thought and demonstration.” (259:11-14)
So I rejoice that I can support the breast cancer walkathon with all my heart. I can support it with earnest prayer to God for the strength and safety of every participant that walks. I can keep turning to the spiritual fact that God loves His children, and keeps them secure. God gave us life, and he maintains our life. Science and Health states, “Health is not a condition of matter, but of Mind.” Mind in Christian Science is a synonym for God, so health is a gift from God, a gift which is always perfect. The only man God made is pure, perfect, whole, and complete.
This is my fight against breast cancer, and I will fight it with all I have in me.
Christian Science prayer has healed many cases of breast cancer over the years. Testimonies of healing are available online at http://www.spirituality.com/framework/search_redirect.jhtml;jsessionid=QNWWEJD33R3SFKGL4LYCFEQ?queryText=breast+cancer .
In Christian Science we believe that God is Love. Mary Baker Eddy, who founded this religion, once said: “God is our Father and our Mother, our Minister and the great Physician :”( Miscellaneous Writings 151:13-14) The Bible tells us that God made man in His own image and gave man dominion over every creeping thing. Breast cancer (or any cancer) is one of those creeping things that God gave us dominion over. We gain this dominion over cancer by wholeheartedly believing in the allness and oneness of the power of God’s love, and the nothingness of anything outside of Him.
Since God made us in His own image, and God is purely spiritual, we believe this image can only be spiritual. Disease is material, not of God, and therefore cannot be part of God nor of man. Disease then is a lie about us. If disease is part of us then it must have come from God. The Bible tells us, “Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity:” (Hab. 1:13) This is our authority for telling disease, as Jesus did, “Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me” (Matt 16:23)
When we consistently and humbly align our thought with God’s pure love, we begin to witness healing in all areas of our life. We pray to understand our perfect relationship with God that is always intact. Science and Health, Mrs. Eddy's masterwork, says it this way: “The Christlike understanding of scientific being and divine healing includes a perfect Principle and idea, — perfect God and perfect man, — as the basis of thought and demonstration.” (259:11-14)
So I rejoice that I can support the breast cancer walkathon with all my heart. I can support it with earnest prayer to God for the strength and safety of every participant that walks. I can keep turning to the spiritual fact that God loves His children, and keeps them secure. God gave us life, and he maintains our life. Science and Health states, “Health is not a condition of matter, but of Mind.” Mind in Christian Science is a synonym for God, so health is a gift from God, a gift which is always perfect. The only man God made is pure, perfect, whole, and complete.
This is my fight against breast cancer, and I will fight it with all I have in me.
Thursday, September 6, 2007
My Car Needs Met with God’s Guidance
I was driving to my annual meeting for Christian Science Chaplains in Southern California. When I was taking the exit off the freeway to where I was going to be spending the night. I noticed two lights on my dash board. My first thought was this is probably nothing to worry about. I was going to get a hamburger at a local fast food place. It was about to rain and the angel message came do not do this your car might brake down and you will be in the poring rain.
As I continued I stopped quickly at a gas station and the attendant said it was probably my alternator going out. I drove about another half mile or so and made it to where I was spending the night. The problem was it was Friday night and the next day I would be busy all day at my conference. I only would be staying Friday and Saturday. I had to check out Sunday morning. I was about 150 miles away and did not know any garages nor did I have time to wait for my car to get fixed.
However God is always governing. First I was protected because the car could have stopped in the middle of my destination but it did not. I called my wife and she told me two people that were going to the meeting where I was staying... One of them graciously offered to take me to a mechanic she knew just before the meeting we attended. This we did and the car was worked on during my conference and was all fixed and ready to drive home.
God’s love is always with us meeting our need wherever we are. Mary Baker Eddy in her textbook Science and Health states “Divine Love always has met and always will meet every human need”. (494:10-11)
God is with us every minute and there is always a solution for every problem when we are obedient to be about His business.
As I continued I stopped quickly at a gas station and the attendant said it was probably my alternator going out. I drove about another half mile or so and made it to where I was spending the night. The problem was it was Friday night and the next day I would be busy all day at my conference. I only would be staying Friday and Saturday. I had to check out Sunday morning. I was about 150 miles away and did not know any garages nor did I have time to wait for my car to get fixed.
However God is always governing. First I was protected because the car could have stopped in the middle of my destination but it did not. I called my wife and she told me two people that were going to the meeting where I was staying... One of them graciously offered to take me to a mechanic she knew just before the meeting we attended. This we did and the car was worked on during my conference and was all fixed and ready to drive home.
God’s love is always with us meeting our need wherever we are. Mary Baker Eddy in her textbook Science and Health states “Divine Love always has met and always will meet every human need”. (494:10-11)
God is with us every minute and there is always a solution for every problem when we are obedient to be about His business.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Control Anger with Love
Are you feeling angry? You are angry with your spouse. Why can’t he or she do what I ask? How about your boss? He does not appreciate my hard work. The neighbor can be the worst. Why doesn’t he do something about that messy yard of his? Does this sound familiar to you?
Mary Baker Eddy in her book Science and Health states, “It is our ignorance of God, the divine Principle, which produces apparent discord, and the right understanding of Him restores harmony”. (390:7-9) When we are angry then we are not filling our thoughts full of God but full of hate. Is the problem out there or is it within us?
What is the right understanding of God? In Christian Science God is love and nothing else. Man is God’s reflection so man can only be the reflection of love. Those people whom you are angry with are all the children of God. Can we be angry at God’s creation?
The Bible tells us, “…choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Josh 24:15) This house that is referred to is our consciousness and we have the right to choose the consciousness of love instead of the consciousness of hate.
Fill your thought full of love. Spend your time seeing the good that is going on and anger will cease to control your thought. You will begin to feel at peace and see the love of God all around you.
Mary Baker Eddy in her book Science and Health states, “It is our ignorance of God, the divine Principle, which produces apparent discord, and the right understanding of Him restores harmony”. (390:7-9) When we are angry then we are not filling our thoughts full of God but full of hate. Is the problem out there or is it within us?
What is the right understanding of God? In Christian Science God is love and nothing else. Man is God’s reflection so man can only be the reflection of love. Those people whom you are angry with are all the children of God. Can we be angry at God’s creation?
The Bible tells us, “…choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Josh 24:15) This house that is referred to is our consciousness and we have the right to choose the consciousness of love instead of the consciousness of hate.
Fill your thought full of love. Spend your time seeing the good that is going on and anger will cease to control your thought. You will begin to feel at peace and see the love of God all around you.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Encompassed By God’s Everlasting Arms
Right now while I am writing this, there are many efforts going on to dig out trapped coal miners and bring them to safety. In news reports, we hear many facts about how this rescue operation is being pursued, and we hope those operations are successful. We also hear many dire predictions about the trapped miners. But those who read the Bible may notice what news reports say about many people that are praying on behalf of the coal miners. Can prayer help bring about a rescue? The Bible shows how prayer can and does save mankind.
All through the Bible there are many instances where prayer saved lives. Moses, by listening to God and obediently following God’s directions, almost single-handedly defeated the most powerful country in the world, and delivered the children of Israel to freedom. It was his constant faith in God that brought the victory.
When Daniel was put in the lions’ den, it looked certain that his life would be lost. What chance did he have against a bunch of hungry lions? But when Daniel prayed, God kept the lions’ mouths shut and Daniel was delivered unharmed.
The Bible promises, “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.” (Psalms 91:1-3) Prayer brings to light that man is never alone, but is in the secret place of the most high; that man is protected and governed by God, and can feel God’s love right there with them. They can trust God, as Moses and Daniel did, and God will deliver them like Moses and Daniel were delivered from Egypt and from the lion’s den.
No matter what the dire predictions the news makes that does not make it so. If God did not say it nothing has been said. Jesus said “With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.” (Mark 10:27)
A few years ago there were news reports about a little girl that had been abducted. For several days she was not found, and news reports predicted that the chance that she would be found was very slim. In my prayer, I refused to believe that harm could come to the girl... I felt that God was love and was with that girl right that very minute. She was not helpless; she had the power of God on her side. I thanked God that there was no evil person to abduct a child. God did not make an evil man, but God made only good. All around her were God’s angels protecting and guiding her.
A day or two later there were news reports that she luckily had escaped unharmed. They reported that the kidnapper had left her in an empty warehouse. While she was there she saw a window and managed to open it a crack. She screamed for help, and a couple of other children helped pull her through the window to safety. My prayers, as well as those of countless others, led to her release. The power of prayer is what freed her.
This collective prayer to divine Love is effective and powerful. We all can witness the effects of our unselfish prayer for others right now. Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Science, said in her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, “When man is governed by God, the ever-present Mind who understands all things, man knows that with God all things are possible. The only way to this living Truth, which heals the sick, is found in the Science of divine Mind as taught and demonstrated by Christ Jesus.” (180: 26)
All through the Bible there are many instances where prayer saved lives. Moses, by listening to God and obediently following God’s directions, almost single-handedly defeated the most powerful country in the world, and delivered the children of Israel to freedom. It was his constant faith in God that brought the victory.
When Daniel was put in the lions’ den, it looked certain that his life would be lost. What chance did he have against a bunch of hungry lions? But when Daniel prayed, God kept the lions’ mouths shut and Daniel was delivered unharmed.
The Bible promises, “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.” (Psalms 91:1-3) Prayer brings to light that man is never alone, but is in the secret place of the most high; that man is protected and governed by God, and can feel God’s love right there with them. They can trust God, as Moses and Daniel did, and God will deliver them like Moses and Daniel were delivered from Egypt and from the lion’s den.
No matter what the dire predictions the news makes that does not make it so. If God did not say it nothing has been said. Jesus said “With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.” (Mark 10:27)
A few years ago there were news reports about a little girl that had been abducted. For several days she was not found, and news reports predicted that the chance that she would be found was very slim. In my prayer, I refused to believe that harm could come to the girl... I felt that God was love and was with that girl right that very minute. She was not helpless; she had the power of God on her side. I thanked God that there was no evil person to abduct a child. God did not make an evil man, but God made only good. All around her were God’s angels protecting and guiding her.
A day or two later there were news reports that she luckily had escaped unharmed. They reported that the kidnapper had left her in an empty warehouse. While she was there she saw a window and managed to open it a crack. She screamed for help, and a couple of other children helped pull her through the window to safety. My prayers, as well as those of countless others, led to her release. The power of prayer is what freed her.
This collective prayer to divine Love is effective and powerful. We all can witness the effects of our unselfish prayer for others right now. Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Science, said in her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, “When man is governed by God, the ever-present Mind who understands all things, man knows that with God all things are possible. The only way to this living Truth, which heals the sick, is found in the Science of divine Mind as taught and demonstrated by Christ Jesus.” (180: 26)
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Sunday School Teacher not me
Our church was looking for some Sunday school teachers. I knew I was off the hook on this one. After all I had not taught Sunday school in over twenty years. I also had no children of my own and very little contact with any. However has time went by I found myself volunteering for this service and was happily accepted for the committee. The Bible says, “I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.”(Isa.6:8)
Now that I was willing to be called to this service I thought what do I do next? I cannot relate to children. As I began to pray about this important duty the thought came you are not doing this God is doing it. I remember when I was in school a Christian Science practitioner told me, “The same Mind that makes the questions makes the answers.” By this I have learned that Mind is God and Mind already knows what those children need. If I am listening to God He will give me the questions to ask the children and He also will give me the answers to the questions they will ask.
The discoverer and founder of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy in her infinite wisdom gave us instruction on teaching the children on page 62 and 63 of her Church Manual. Part of this instruction is as follows, “The Sabbath School children shall be taught the Scriptures, and they shall be instructed according to their understanding or ability to grasp the simpler meanings of the divine Principle that they are taught.” She also tells us to teach things such as the Lord’s Prayer, Sermon on the Mount and the Ten Commandments. This was a big help to me. I was also given some guidelines on what to teach my age group from our Sunday school guidelines from a seminar on Sunday school teaching by an experienced teacher.
As I have prayed about this class it has come to me that there is not me and them it is only God and His idea. These children are the sons and daughters of God and they are receptive to His voice and so am I. We are all learning together. I am not the wise professor bringing knowledge to my ignorant students. God knows nothing of an age group. There is no generation gap to God. We are all his children and are receptive to His voice. Didn’t Jesus say, “Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein?”(Mark 10:15).
I started with two children whom did not always come on a regular basis. I have to admit that when they did not come I was often relieved. However I have learned that that was the wrong attitude to take. Our Sunday school is a Manual provision provided by Mrs. Eddy. I realized that she has said in Science and Health that there are, “Millions of unprejudiced minds — simple seekers for Truth,” (570:14, 15) I was not asking for a million students but there are the receptive thoughts out there. God would not call me to teach Sunday school and then give me no students to teach, that certainly is not God. God is love and wants to bring His love to His children.
A few months ago, I met women in another capacity I was serving the Christian Science Church in. In our conversation she told me she had three grandchildren living with her and soon a fourth moved in with her. I told her that two of the children would be in my class if she took them to our church. Soon she took them to our Sunday school and they were embraced by our members. One of them was very new in Christian Science but as been soaking in the teachings of it. She recently came home from a Christian Science camp which our church helped finance.
More recently I had a new visitor in my class who had gone to a school that studied the Koran. She was a little shy at first and brought her puppy with her. However the other children’s love made her feel very welcomed to the class. She was a big addition the class and participated in our lively class discussion.
I am so grateful for what I have been learning in Sunday school and am still learning. Yes, as I teacher we are learning probably as much or more than the students. We are learning to listen and to follow in the way that the Christ truth points out. We are as a sheep in His pasture. Christ Jesus told us, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.”(John 10:27, 28) What a reward for teaching Sunday school and being one of its students.
Now that I was willing to be called to this service I thought what do I do next? I cannot relate to children. As I began to pray about this important duty the thought came you are not doing this God is doing it. I remember when I was in school a Christian Science practitioner told me, “The same Mind that makes the questions makes the answers.” By this I have learned that Mind is God and Mind already knows what those children need. If I am listening to God He will give me the questions to ask the children and He also will give me the answers to the questions they will ask.
The discoverer and founder of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy in her infinite wisdom gave us instruction on teaching the children on page 62 and 63 of her Church Manual. Part of this instruction is as follows, “The Sabbath School children shall be taught the Scriptures, and they shall be instructed according to their understanding or ability to grasp the simpler meanings of the divine Principle that they are taught.” She also tells us to teach things such as the Lord’s Prayer, Sermon on the Mount and the Ten Commandments. This was a big help to me. I was also given some guidelines on what to teach my age group from our Sunday school guidelines from a seminar on Sunday school teaching by an experienced teacher.
As I have prayed about this class it has come to me that there is not me and them it is only God and His idea. These children are the sons and daughters of God and they are receptive to His voice and so am I. We are all learning together. I am not the wise professor bringing knowledge to my ignorant students. God knows nothing of an age group. There is no generation gap to God. We are all his children and are receptive to His voice. Didn’t Jesus say, “Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein?”(Mark 10:15).
I started with two children whom did not always come on a regular basis. I have to admit that when they did not come I was often relieved. However I have learned that that was the wrong attitude to take. Our Sunday school is a Manual provision provided by Mrs. Eddy. I realized that she has said in Science and Health that there are, “Millions of unprejudiced minds — simple seekers for Truth,” (570:14, 15) I was not asking for a million students but there are the receptive thoughts out there. God would not call me to teach Sunday school and then give me no students to teach, that certainly is not God. God is love and wants to bring His love to His children.
A few months ago, I met women in another capacity I was serving the Christian Science Church in. In our conversation she told me she had three grandchildren living with her and soon a fourth moved in with her. I told her that two of the children would be in my class if she took them to our church. Soon she took them to our Sunday school and they were embraced by our members. One of them was very new in Christian Science but as been soaking in the teachings of it. She recently came home from a Christian Science camp which our church helped finance.
More recently I had a new visitor in my class who had gone to a school that studied the Koran. She was a little shy at first and brought her puppy with her. However the other children’s love made her feel very welcomed to the class. She was a big addition the class and participated in our lively class discussion.
I am so grateful for what I have been learning in Sunday school and am still learning. Yes, as I teacher we are learning probably as much or more than the students. We are learning to listen and to follow in the way that the Christ truth points out. We are as a sheep in His pasture. Christ Jesus told us, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.”(John 10:27, 28) What a reward for teaching Sunday school and being one of its students.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Fight Fire with Prayer
Recently on the news, there have been many reports of fires in various parts of the country. Many people have lost their homes; valuable property has been destroyed as well as lives lost. Can prayer be an ally in our fight against fires? I believe it can.
A few years ago, I witnessed how prayer can eliminate fire. I was working at a new job that was right near a hillside. We started having many brush fires which was a concern to us all. The fire department was called on a regular basis. Many of us started to pray about this situation.
In my prayer, I was led to look up Mary Baker Eddy’s glossary definition of fire in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures which states that fire is “Fear; remorse; lust; hatred; destruction; affliction purifying and elevating man.”(586:13,14)
I knew that the place the fire needed to be burned out was not out there, but in my own thought. So I took each word in this definition of fire and applied it to my present life.
First was fear. What was I afraid of? So far I was very unhappy in my new job. I was afraid that I was stuck in this job and had no other options for work. This I saw was a lie. I was about my Father’s business and His work was always rewarding, fruitful, and harmonious. God was directing my career and placed me where I can bless and be blessed the most. There are never limits to the wonderful opportunities in His employment.
What about remorse? I had worked for a company for over 12 years where I had been very happy. But recently the company was dissolved and taken over by my present employer. I kept rehearsing over and over in my thinking that the company should not have closed. I kept wondering why my old company closed instead of the one I was presently working for. This line of reasoning was getting me nowhere. How can God be at one company and absent from another? God is everywhere. I could never for one moment be separated from Him. He fills all space with His love. I needed to feel this love right where I was.
How was lust part of this picture? In my thought, I felt my manager had a lust for power. She seemed to intimidate all of us. We were like putty in her hands. Many of my friends were either being fired or quitting their jobs. The more I thought about what she was doing, the more I saw myself hating her and my job. I remember calling a Christian Science practitioner and reciting all my problems to her. She pointed out this statement in Science and Health, “Nothing is real and eternal, — nothing is Spirit, — but God and His idea. Evil has no reality. It is neither person, place, nor thing, but is simply a belief, an illusion of material sense.”(71:1-4)
I began to realize that I could not see an evil person because if I did then God must be evil. I knew that had to be a lie. The Bible says of God, “Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity:” (Hab. 1:13(to 1st :) God is love and would never create an evil person or cause anything that is unlike His perfect nature. I knew that in reality all that was going was God’s goodness and nothing else. If I was accepting anything else then I believed that evil was real and it could cause destruction in my experience. I was here only to bring my understanding of God. This understanding included only perfect God and perfect man any other thought would be destructive and unproductive.
How was this experience purifying and elevating me? I was lifting my thought to a higher idea of God and man. I realized that my manager was not the problem it was my mistaken thought about her and my company. Every day I worked to control my thinking. I knew that harmony was the truth and inharmony was the lie. God was in charge of this company and not persons. I was working for God and so was everyone else.
I made a point to see all the good qualities that my manager expressed such as order, beauty, and thoroughness in her work. I began having a better working relationship with her and harmony on the job. The manager soon resigned and was replaced by someone whom everyone was able to work with more harmoniously. Soon the brush fires stopped. Their have been no more fires since.
My work experience at the company became satisfying. Within a few years, I was able to leave the company on a pleasant note
We can heal fires in our thought and our thoughts will heal the fires taking place in our environment. We can do this right now. We can stand up to the belief that anything in our lives or anything in our world can be out of control. God good is in control of our life and He is in control of our world. Let’s begin to accept this divine fact and thank God for His loving administration of all things.
A few years ago, I witnessed how prayer can eliminate fire. I was working at a new job that was right near a hillside. We started having many brush fires which was a concern to us all. The fire department was called on a regular basis. Many of us started to pray about this situation.
In my prayer, I was led to look up Mary Baker Eddy’s glossary definition of fire in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures which states that fire is “Fear; remorse; lust; hatred; destruction; affliction purifying and elevating man.”(586:13,14)
I knew that the place the fire needed to be burned out was not out there, but in my own thought. So I took each word in this definition of fire and applied it to my present life.
First was fear. What was I afraid of? So far I was very unhappy in my new job. I was afraid that I was stuck in this job and had no other options for work. This I saw was a lie. I was about my Father’s business and His work was always rewarding, fruitful, and harmonious. God was directing my career and placed me where I can bless and be blessed the most. There are never limits to the wonderful opportunities in His employment.
What about remorse? I had worked for a company for over 12 years where I had been very happy. But recently the company was dissolved and taken over by my present employer. I kept rehearsing over and over in my thinking that the company should not have closed. I kept wondering why my old company closed instead of the one I was presently working for. This line of reasoning was getting me nowhere. How can God be at one company and absent from another? God is everywhere. I could never for one moment be separated from Him. He fills all space with His love. I needed to feel this love right where I was.
How was lust part of this picture? In my thought, I felt my manager had a lust for power. She seemed to intimidate all of us. We were like putty in her hands. Many of my friends were either being fired or quitting their jobs. The more I thought about what she was doing, the more I saw myself hating her and my job. I remember calling a Christian Science practitioner and reciting all my problems to her. She pointed out this statement in Science and Health, “Nothing is real and eternal, — nothing is Spirit, — but God and His idea. Evil has no reality. It is neither person, place, nor thing, but is simply a belief, an illusion of material sense.”(71:1-4)
I began to realize that I could not see an evil person because if I did then God must be evil. I knew that had to be a lie. The Bible says of God, “Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity:” (Hab. 1:13(to 1st :) God is love and would never create an evil person or cause anything that is unlike His perfect nature. I knew that in reality all that was going was God’s goodness and nothing else. If I was accepting anything else then I believed that evil was real and it could cause destruction in my experience. I was here only to bring my understanding of God. This understanding included only perfect God and perfect man any other thought would be destructive and unproductive.
How was this experience purifying and elevating me? I was lifting my thought to a higher idea of God and man. I realized that my manager was not the problem it was my mistaken thought about her and my company. Every day I worked to control my thinking. I knew that harmony was the truth and inharmony was the lie. God was in charge of this company and not persons. I was working for God and so was everyone else.
I made a point to see all the good qualities that my manager expressed such as order, beauty, and thoroughness in her work. I began having a better working relationship with her and harmony on the job. The manager soon resigned and was replaced by someone whom everyone was able to work with more harmoniously. Soon the brush fires stopped. Their have been no more fires since.
My work experience at the company became satisfying. Within a few years, I was able to leave the company on a pleasant note
We can heal fires in our thought and our thoughts will heal the fires taking place in our environment. We can do this right now. We can stand up to the belief that anything in our lives or anything in our world can be out of control. God good is in control of our life and He is in control of our world. Let’s begin to accept this divine fact and thank God for His loving administration of all things.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
You Are Always Loved
Right this very minute you are God’s most precious child. You are the image of His love. Where ever you are and whatever you are doing God loves you unconditionally. Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Science, reminds of this when she says in her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures “Divine Love always has met and always will meet every human need.”(494:10-11)
Are you searching for love and coming out empty. You don’t need to search out love because all the love you need comes from God. Do you feel unappreciated at work? You do not need to please people and get approval from other people. God appreciates everything you do. When you are doing honest hard work this is glorifying God and He loves you for it. Do you have a lot of turmoil and confusion in your life? Bring God into the equation. Fill your thought full of the love of God and you will empty out confusion and turmoil.
Since God is love we need to begin to acknowledge this in our lives. If real love comes from God it can’t run out. God is infinite and ever present. You are at one with God and His love every minute. The apostle Paul said, “For 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.”(Rom. 8:38,39)
Christ Jesus spoke often in his ministry about the kingdom of God. He pointed out that this kingdom is not something we need to look for but is already within us. Love is within us and we have to begin to realize this for ourselves. The material senses cannot give us love nor take love away.
Based on Jesus teachings, we need to take a stand for ourselves as the beloved of the Lord. We want to cherish the spiritual things over the things of the world. What are the spiritual qualities of love? Some of these qualities are compassion, gentleness, kindness, mercy, unselfishness and grace. Since we are the reflection of Love, we can demonstrate these qualities right now and see them expressed in others.
You are the loved son or daughter of God don’t forget it. He loves us regardless of who we are or even if we have made mistakes in our lives. He is always with us no matter where we are. He does not care where we live or what our family history is, He still loves us. No matter how difficult at present your life seems to be still God loves you. You are someone always worthy of His love, there are no exceptions.
So don’t wait until tomorrow right now claim God’s love for you. You do not need to go out and get it you already have it. The Bible promises us “Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.”(Luke 15:31)
Are you searching for love and coming out empty. You don’t need to search out love because all the love you need comes from God. Do you feel unappreciated at work? You do not need to please people and get approval from other people. God appreciates everything you do. When you are doing honest hard work this is glorifying God and He loves you for it. Do you have a lot of turmoil and confusion in your life? Bring God into the equation. Fill your thought full of the love of God and you will empty out confusion and turmoil.
Since God is love we need to begin to acknowledge this in our lives. If real love comes from God it can’t run out. God is infinite and ever present. You are at one with God and His love every minute. The apostle Paul said, “For 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.”(Rom. 8:38,39)
Christ Jesus spoke often in his ministry about the kingdom of God. He pointed out that this kingdom is not something we need to look for but is already within us. Love is within us and we have to begin to realize this for ourselves. The material senses cannot give us love nor take love away.
Based on Jesus teachings, we need to take a stand for ourselves as the beloved of the Lord. We want to cherish the spiritual things over the things of the world. What are the spiritual qualities of love? Some of these qualities are compassion, gentleness, kindness, mercy, unselfishness and grace. Since we are the reflection of Love, we can demonstrate these qualities right now and see them expressed in others.
You are the loved son or daughter of God don’t forget it. He loves us regardless of who we are or even if we have made mistakes in our lives. He is always with us no matter where we are. He does not care where we live or what our family history is, He still loves us. No matter how difficult at present your life seems to be still God loves you. You are someone always worthy of His love, there are no exceptions.
So don’t wait until tomorrow right now claim God’s love for you. You do not need to go out and get it you already have it. The Bible promises us “Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.”(Luke 15:31)
Friday, May 4, 2007
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Prayer for Blacksburg, Virginia
My heart goes out to those grieving after the shooting at Blacksburg, Virginia. Right where that tragedy seems to be, God is there comforting His children. The Bible tells us, “As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem.” (Isa. 66:13)
Right this minute, God’s love is everpresent and eternal. Right now, this love can be felt. We can never be separated from the ones we love. Why not? Because Life is eternal.
I remember a woman told me years ago when her husband passed on, that she could not be separated from him. Even though her husband was no longer with her, the qualities that he expressed from God were always with her as were the wonderful memories they had shared.
Those friends that have passed away at Blacksburg can never be separated from us. We can treasure their memories. We can hold to what these friends brought to our lives. These wonderful qualities of our friends can never be lost. They are ideas and ideas can never die.
Mary Baker Eddy says in her textbook Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures: “This is the doctrine of Christian Science: that divine Love cannot be deprived of its manifestation, or object; that joy cannot be turned into sorrow, for sorrow is not the master of joy; that good can never produce evil; that matter can never produce mind nor life result in death.”(304:9-14)
Right this minute, God’s love is everpresent and eternal. Right now, this love can be felt. We can never be separated from the ones we love. Why not? Because Life is eternal.
I remember a woman told me years ago when her husband passed on, that she could not be separated from him. Even though her husband was no longer with her, the qualities that he expressed from God were always with her as were the wonderful memories they had shared.
Those friends that have passed away at Blacksburg can never be separated from us. We can treasure their memories. We can hold to what these friends brought to our lives. These wonderful qualities of our friends can never be lost. They are ideas and ideas can never die.
Mary Baker Eddy says in her textbook Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures: “This is the doctrine of Christian Science: that divine Love cannot be deprived of its manifestation, or object; that joy cannot be turned into sorrow, for sorrow is not the master of joy; that good can never produce evil; that matter can never produce mind nor life result in death.”(304:9-14)
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Prayer for a Final Exam
I was junior in college. I was failing a class in my major area of study. I knew that if I did not get a good grade on my final, I would need to repeat the class.
Our final was a take-home open book exam. What a relief! This should be easy, I thought. However, when I started doing the research to answer the three exam questions, I couldn’t come up with anything useful.
As the night wore on, there still was no answer. I realized that prayer was the only possible solution. Two verses from the Bible came to me: The first was, “Fear thou not; for I am with thee” (Isa .41:10). The second was, “And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.” (Isa. 65:24) Didn’t that mean that God, infinite Mind, already knew the answer?
I remembered a Christian Science practitioner telling me that the same Mind that made the questions, also made the answers to those questions. My intelligence was not material, but spiritual. I did reflect God, infinite, divine Mind, and Mind would reveal to me what I needed to know about these three questions. During the night I researched my questions in the material from my class.
All night long I continued to pray, affirming over and over that I was taking this test for the glory of God. I kept affirming my oneness with Him. I gave thanks that I was intelligent, that I could comprehend this material. Even though I didn’t have an answer to this problem, I prayed that something would be revealed.
By 6:30 am, there was still no answer. I needed to turn in my test by 7:00 am. During that final hour, a few ideas repeatedly occurred to me, but I squelched them and resisted writing it down; surely they weren’t the right answers. Since the test was due in a few minutes, and no other answer came to mind, I frantically scribbled three sketchy answers to the three questions.
I felt uneasy about how my final exam would turn out. When I worried about repeating the class, I knew that I had to trust God. Since He had given me an answer, it had to be sufficient. To my surprise, I received a “B” on the final, so I finished the class with a grade of “C”! The answers I scribbled on the exam were the right answers. I celebrated the fact that I had raised my grade by trusting that God already knew the answer, as He had promised in the Bible.
Our final was a take-home open book exam. What a relief! This should be easy, I thought. However, when I started doing the research to answer the three exam questions, I couldn’t come up with anything useful.
As the night wore on, there still was no answer. I realized that prayer was the only possible solution. Two verses from the Bible came to me: The first was, “Fear thou not; for I am with thee” (Isa .41:10). The second was, “And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.” (Isa. 65:24) Didn’t that mean that God, infinite Mind, already knew the answer?
I remembered a Christian Science practitioner telling me that the same Mind that made the questions, also made the answers to those questions. My intelligence was not material, but spiritual. I did reflect God, infinite, divine Mind, and Mind would reveal to me what I needed to know about these three questions. During the night I researched my questions in the material from my class.
All night long I continued to pray, affirming over and over that I was taking this test for the glory of God. I kept affirming my oneness with Him. I gave thanks that I was intelligent, that I could comprehend this material. Even though I didn’t have an answer to this problem, I prayed that something would be revealed.
By 6:30 am, there was still no answer. I needed to turn in my test by 7:00 am. During that final hour, a few ideas repeatedly occurred to me, but I squelched them and resisted writing it down; surely they weren’t the right answers. Since the test was due in a few minutes, and no other answer came to mind, I frantically scribbled three sketchy answers to the three questions.
I felt uneasy about how my final exam would turn out. When I worried about repeating the class, I knew that I had to trust God. Since He had given me an answer, it had to be sufficient. To my surprise, I received a “B” on the final, so I finished the class with a grade of “C”! The answers I scribbled on the exam were the right answers. I celebrated the fact that I had raised my grade by trusting that God already knew the answer, as He had promised in the Bible.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Healing the effects of War
What can we do to support our troops coming home from the war in Iraq? According to an article in the Los Angeles Times Friday May 16, 2006 said “A Journal of the American Medical Assn. study published in March found that more than a third of troops who served in Iraq sought help for mental problems within a year of returning home” These brave young men and women deserve a better fate after risking their life to defend the freedoms of others.
As a Christian Scientist I cannot sit back and accept this verdict about these brave soldiers. I know that God is love and is always caring for each and every child. The evils of war are not from God and they cannot leave permanent damage to man. War is a lie. God never made it and man cannot suffer from it. The scars of war cannot repeat themselves. Since God is Mind man reflects that Mind. Evil has no power. It cannot attach itself to man.
The Bible tells us “As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem.”(Isa. 66:13) Just like God comforted His people years ago He is continuing to comfort and heal His children now. Right this very minute love is with these solders. It is with them when they are awake and when they sleep. Man cannot be bullied by the nightmares of the past. Since they never happened to God they can never happen to His idea man.
When I came back from Vietnam I had many issues to be healed. Although I did not see hand to hand combat I still was very distressed over my experience there. I felt I was a victim of my circumstances. A dear friend of my family which I have always claimed as my adopted aunt gave me much comfort in my time of need. For probably a week or more she spent hours with me right into the night affirming my relationship with God. She praised me for serving my country. She told me I could not suffer for doing right. God is love and God protected me while I was there. Evil no matter what it calls itself is a liar and the father of it. Since God is love then love is more powerful than hate. I was the child of God before I went to Vietnam and I was still the child of God. This experience was like a bad nightmare and I could awake out of it. I was at one with God and not at one with that nightmare. Since I was at one with God this meant that I was at one with His thoughts such as peace, calmness, happiness, and holiness. During that week, I began to focus my thoughts on the power of God’s love rather than the episodes of my Vietnam experience. This recognition of the power of God’s love brought healing.
Over the years I have learned what Mrs. Eddy says of the past. “It is well to know, dear reader, that our material, mortal history is but the record of dreams, not of man's real existence, and the dream has no place in the Science of being. (Ret. 21:13-15)
Our dear ones coming back from the war can find that their experience as well was a dream and not a reality. They can claim their oneness with God and deny the existence of any other power and any other experience. God is the only power the only presence and the only reality. Man is loved. He has always been loved and always will be loved.
We are not alone fighting with our nightmares of the past. God is with us raising our thought above the nightmare into the ever present oneness with Him. Right now we have the ability to elevate our thinking above the nightmare because we know the nightmare was and always will be a lie about God’s creation. In God’s creation all is in harmony and all is peace. We have a right to claim this peace for ourselves or for our loved ones right this very minute.
Welcome home dear heroes. Welcome home not to the nightmares of the past but of the calmness of the present. You are the beloved of the Lord and don’t you forget it. Your consciousness is filled only with the thoughts from God because that is all that really exists in God’s kingdom where you have always reigned. “Pilgrim on earth, thy home is heaven; stranger, thou art the guest of God.”(Science and Health with Key to the scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy p.254:31-32)
As a Christian Scientist I cannot sit back and accept this verdict about these brave soldiers. I know that God is love and is always caring for each and every child. The evils of war are not from God and they cannot leave permanent damage to man. War is a lie. God never made it and man cannot suffer from it. The scars of war cannot repeat themselves. Since God is Mind man reflects that Mind. Evil has no power. It cannot attach itself to man.
The Bible tells us “As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem.”(Isa. 66:13) Just like God comforted His people years ago He is continuing to comfort and heal His children now. Right this very minute love is with these solders. It is with them when they are awake and when they sleep. Man cannot be bullied by the nightmares of the past. Since they never happened to God they can never happen to His idea man.
When I came back from Vietnam I had many issues to be healed. Although I did not see hand to hand combat I still was very distressed over my experience there. I felt I was a victim of my circumstances. A dear friend of my family which I have always claimed as my adopted aunt gave me much comfort in my time of need. For probably a week or more she spent hours with me right into the night affirming my relationship with God. She praised me for serving my country. She told me I could not suffer for doing right. God is love and God protected me while I was there. Evil no matter what it calls itself is a liar and the father of it. Since God is love then love is more powerful than hate. I was the child of God before I went to Vietnam and I was still the child of God. This experience was like a bad nightmare and I could awake out of it. I was at one with God and not at one with that nightmare. Since I was at one with God this meant that I was at one with His thoughts such as peace, calmness, happiness, and holiness. During that week, I began to focus my thoughts on the power of God’s love rather than the episodes of my Vietnam experience. This recognition of the power of God’s love brought healing.
Over the years I have learned what Mrs. Eddy says of the past. “It is well to know, dear reader, that our material, mortal history is but the record of dreams, not of man's real existence, and the dream has no place in the Science of being. (Ret. 21:13-15)
Our dear ones coming back from the war can find that their experience as well was a dream and not a reality. They can claim their oneness with God and deny the existence of any other power and any other experience. God is the only power the only presence and the only reality. Man is loved. He has always been loved and always will be loved.
We are not alone fighting with our nightmares of the past. God is with us raising our thought above the nightmare into the ever present oneness with Him. Right now we have the ability to elevate our thinking above the nightmare because we know the nightmare was and always will be a lie about God’s creation. In God’s creation all is in harmony and all is peace. We have a right to claim this peace for ourselves or for our loved ones right this very minute.
Welcome home dear heroes. Welcome home not to the nightmares of the past but of the calmness of the present. You are the beloved of the Lord and don’t you forget it. Your consciousness is filled only with the thoughts from God because that is all that really exists in God’s kingdom where you have always reigned. “Pilgrim on earth, thy home is heaven; stranger, thou art the guest of God.”(Science and Health with Key to the scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy p.254:31-32)
Monday, March 12, 2007
The Important Points of Christian Science
1. As adherents of Truth, we take the inspired Word of the Bible as our sufficient guide to eternal Life.
2. We acknowledge and adore one supreme and infinite God. We acknowledge His Son, one Christ; the Holy Ghost or divine Comforter; and man in God's image and likeness.
3. We acknowledge God's forgiveness of sin in the destruction of sin and the spiritual understanding that casts out evil as unreal. But the belief in sin is punished so long as the belief lasts.
4. We acknowledge Jesus' atonement as the evidence of divine, efficacious Love, unfolding man's unity with God through Christ Jesus the Way-shower; and we acknowledge that man is saved through Christ, through Truth, Life, and Love as demonstrated by the Galilean Prophet in healing the sick and overcoming sin and death.
5. We acknowledge that the crucifixion of Jesus and his resurrection served to uplift faith to understand eternal Life, even the allness of Soul, Spirit, and the nothingness of matter.
6. And we solemnly promise to watch, and pray for that Mind to be in us which was also in Christ Jesus; to do unto others as we would have them do unto us; and to be merciful, just, and pure.
from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures
by Mary Baker Eddy page 497
2. We acknowledge and adore one supreme and infinite God. We acknowledge His Son, one Christ; the Holy Ghost or divine Comforter; and man in God's image and likeness.
3. We acknowledge God's forgiveness of sin in the destruction of sin and the spiritual understanding that casts out evil as unreal. But the belief in sin is punished so long as the belief lasts.
4. We acknowledge Jesus' atonement as the evidence of divine, efficacious Love, unfolding man's unity with God through Christ Jesus the Way-shower; and we acknowledge that man is saved through Christ, through Truth, Life, and Love as demonstrated by the Galilean Prophet in healing the sick and overcoming sin and death.
5. We acknowledge that the crucifixion of Jesus and his resurrection served to uplift faith to understand eternal Life, even the allness of Soul, Spirit, and the nothingness of matter.
6. And we solemnly promise to watch, and pray for that Mind to be in us which was also in Christ Jesus; to do unto others as we would have them do unto us; and to be merciful, just, and pure.
from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures
by Mary Baker Eddy page 497
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Stopping domestic abuse through prayer
We were renting a little apartment for the weekend in a college community in San Diego. One night, I was awakened by a couple of college kids that were yelling at each other right outside our window which was near an alley way. My first thought was can’t they do their screaming somewhere else, I am trying to sleep. They were very drunk like many of the college kids in that community. As I looked out the window, I saw the boy was pushing the girl and was very angry. I heard him yell at the girl that he was going to beat her up. The girl yelled back at him and told him to stop. She tried to plead with him not to hit her. The thought came to me you want to be a healer now is your chance to put your prayers into action.
The first thing I did was affirm that right there in that alley way that all that was going on was God and His complete harmony. I saw that the picture of man that I was seeing was a lie and I did not need to be impressed by it. Man I knew was the child of God and was given dominion. God’s child is not abusive but kind and loving. Alcohol was not a God and man did not need to fall down and worship it. I thought of what Mary Baker Eddy says in her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, “There is no power apart from God. Omnipotence has all-power, and to acknowledge any other power is to dishonor God.”(228:25-27) Alcohol then had no power to make man drunk or to cause him to be drunk and disorderly. I refused to believe that man was out of control. Since God is always in control His idea must be in control. God good is the all and the only there is nothing else.
Within about 15 minutes or so the couple stopped yelling and calmed down. They both left calmly in separate directions. A few months later I was talking to a woman who lived in the apartment in which I stayed that weekend. She said that for several weeks many of the residences of that apartment building had heard this couple fighting night after night. There had been a lot abusive behavior going on. However, since that night when I prayed, they have not heard any yelling or evidence of abusive behavior.
This incident proved to me that disorderly behavior is not the natural state of man. Man as the child of God can act only the way God created him loving, gentle, and kind. Since God created man do be this way we should expect nothing else.
The Bible says, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.” (Ps. 8:4-5) This concept of man is a much different one then that is often presented to us. However it is the correct one. It was the way Jesus viewed man. Jesus never saw a sick or a sinning man. He saw man the way God created him perfect and whole. Everywhere he went the sick and the sinful responded to his prayer. Wherever Jesus was the community was certainly blessed and healed.
Our community needs us right this very minute it needs our prayers. It needs our unselfishness. We can pray for the community and we can expect results. Our community is what we see of it. We can either view it full of crime and restlessness or we can see it like Jesus did peaceful and tranquil. It is up to us and we can start right this very moment.
The first thing I did was affirm that right there in that alley way that all that was going on was God and His complete harmony. I saw that the picture of man that I was seeing was a lie and I did not need to be impressed by it. Man I knew was the child of God and was given dominion. God’s child is not abusive but kind and loving. Alcohol was not a God and man did not need to fall down and worship it. I thought of what Mary Baker Eddy says in her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, “There is no power apart from God. Omnipotence has all-power, and to acknowledge any other power is to dishonor God.”(228:25-27) Alcohol then had no power to make man drunk or to cause him to be drunk and disorderly. I refused to believe that man was out of control. Since God is always in control His idea must be in control. God good is the all and the only there is nothing else.
Within about 15 minutes or so the couple stopped yelling and calmed down. They both left calmly in separate directions. A few months later I was talking to a woman who lived in the apartment in which I stayed that weekend. She said that for several weeks many of the residences of that apartment building had heard this couple fighting night after night. There had been a lot abusive behavior going on. However, since that night when I prayed, they have not heard any yelling or evidence of abusive behavior.
This incident proved to me that disorderly behavior is not the natural state of man. Man as the child of God can act only the way God created him loving, gentle, and kind. Since God created man do be this way we should expect nothing else.
The Bible says, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.” (Ps. 8:4-5) This concept of man is a much different one then that is often presented to us. However it is the correct one. It was the way Jesus viewed man. Jesus never saw a sick or a sinning man. He saw man the way God created him perfect and whole. Everywhere he went the sick and the sinful responded to his prayer. Wherever Jesus was the community was certainly blessed and healed.
Our community needs us right this very minute it needs our prayers. It needs our unselfishness. We can pray for the community and we can expect results. Our community is what we see of it. We can either view it full of crime and restlessness or we can see it like Jesus did peaceful and tranquil. It is up to us and we can start right this very moment.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Getting Purpose Back In Our Life
It doesn’t take a lot of time to get that joy and purpose back in our lives, only a change of thought. We must begin with our thinking. Instead of endlessly analyzing what’s wrong with our life, we must find what’s right about it. We can do this by gaining a better understanding of God and our relationship to Him. And we can begin right now.
When I left college, I went into a profession that was exciting and satisfying. I was able to spend my life in service to others, fulfilling a longtime dream. But over the years, the work became more and more like drudgery. When I began dreading going to work, the problem became obvious. I called a Christian Science practitioner to help me through prayer
The practitioner listened to me say that if I could get out of this job or find a new career, things would be better. Then she told me that I didn’t need to look for change anywhere but inside my own thinking. She reminded me of Jesus’ saying, “The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” (Luke 17:20-21)
That statement became a beacon and an anchor to me. I yearned to find this kingdom of God, but realized it would require a better understanding of Him than I presently had. This was evident when I read this statement in Mary Baker Eddy’s book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures: “It is our ignorance of God, the divine Principle, which produces apparent discord, and the right understanding of Him restores harmony.” (390:7-9) I wanted some of that harmony, whatever it would take.
So, over the next month or two, I spent several hours each week studying the Bible and Mary Baker Eddy’s writings, both of which illuminate God who is all loving and omnipotent. My relationship to Him started taking center-stage in my thinking. I was learning about a God who is all-in-all, who only gives good things to his children. As I strove to be more loving to others (off and on the job), it became clear that everything I needed in my life could come from Him, and that living this way brought glimpses of joy into sight.
As I spent minutes daily in quiet communion, I started looking to God for fulfillment, and finding it. Work became easier and more fun when I expressed God-given joy at my workplace, along with other Godlike qualities like tenacity, humor, and unselfishness. I felt carefree because I trusted God more, and that brought more confidence. I was able to express what I was learning about my oneness with God with others.
When I think about how God cleared out the cobwebs of doubt and fear, I just thank Him again and again.
Let’s keep these cobwebs out of our thinking right now by claiming our forever oneness with God. We are in the kingdom of God right now. We cannot be anywhere else.
When I left college, I went into a profession that was exciting and satisfying. I was able to spend my life in service to others, fulfilling a longtime dream. But over the years, the work became more and more like drudgery. When I began dreading going to work, the problem became obvious. I called a Christian Science practitioner to help me through prayer
The practitioner listened to me say that if I could get out of this job or find a new career, things would be better. Then she told me that I didn’t need to look for change anywhere but inside my own thinking. She reminded me of Jesus’ saying, “The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” (Luke 17:20-21)
That statement became a beacon and an anchor to me. I yearned to find this kingdom of God, but realized it would require a better understanding of Him than I presently had. This was evident when I read this statement in Mary Baker Eddy’s book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures: “It is our ignorance of God, the divine Principle, which produces apparent discord, and the right understanding of Him restores harmony.” (390:7-9) I wanted some of that harmony, whatever it would take.
So, over the next month or two, I spent several hours each week studying the Bible and Mary Baker Eddy’s writings, both of which illuminate God who is all loving and omnipotent. My relationship to Him started taking center-stage in my thinking. I was learning about a God who is all-in-all, who only gives good things to his children. As I strove to be more loving to others (off and on the job), it became clear that everything I needed in my life could come from Him, and that living this way brought glimpses of joy into sight.
As I spent minutes daily in quiet communion, I started looking to God for fulfillment, and finding it. Work became easier and more fun when I expressed God-given joy at my workplace, along with other Godlike qualities like tenacity, humor, and unselfishness. I felt carefree because I trusted God more, and that brought more confidence. I was able to express what I was learning about my oneness with God with others.
When I think about how God cleared out the cobwebs of doubt and fear, I just thank Him again and again.
Let’s keep these cobwebs out of our thinking right now by claiming our forever oneness with God. We are in the kingdom of God right now. We cannot be anywhere else.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Painful Rectum and Elimination Problem Healed
How can I control pain and destroy its power over me? This is the question with which I approached a painful challenge with elimination that I began to have about seven years ago.
Sometimes the trouble went on for almost a week, and when I did eliminate, I would be in extreme pain. I couldn't sit or lie down with any sense of comfort. I called a Christian Science practitioner for support through prayer, and sometimes talked with her several times a day, and often during the night. At one point, I found myself wanting to do anything just to feel comfortable. I began to think that perhaps a doctor could give me something to relieve the pain or to alter the condition in some way.
As I wrestled with this, I thought of this passage from the Bible: "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases" (Ps. 103:2, 3). This was a reminder to me that all my life, I had relied on God for all of my needs, and He had never failed me. But now I was very fearful. I had never experienced this much discomfort before. At one point, however, I realized that I could not just hope the pain would go away. I had to take an active stand for what I understood about God's healing power.
I turned to a passage in Science and Health that went to the core of my struggle: "Discussing his campaign, General Grant said: 'I propose to fight it out on this line, if it takes all summer.' Science says: All is Mind and Mind's idea. You must fight it out on this line. Matter can afford you no aid" (p. 492). I felt I must fight it out-mentally resist the claim of disease-with what I understood of Christian Science. I couldn't put it off. I felt I needed to trust the healing power of divine Love, starting right that minute.
My outlook brightened. When the pain started again, I would firmly challenge it: "You, pain, are a lie, and you are no part of me. I am God's child. And because God loves me, He does not send pain and suffering." I voiced this out loud. I also sang many loved hymns from the Christian Science Hymnal.
And I diligently studied Science and Health. There were times when I read 50 pages a day. I memorized whole paragraphs that particularly inspired me. When I was in pain, these passages would come to thought, bringing spiritual light and comfort. Although I continued to struggle with recurring discomfort, I kept up my study, and my denial that the condition had any reality-because God was the only creator. I also continued to lay claim to God's love for me, and knew that He would not desert me in my hour of need.
During this period, the word feel really began to stand out to me. In prayer, I asked, "What does it mean to feel? Is feeling material or spiritual?" The immediate answer that came was that feeling is spiritual, a faculty of divine Mind, God. Then I looked up every reference in the Bible and in Mary Baker Eddy's writings on this subject. One statement from Science and Health particularly comforted me: "Let us feel the divine energy of Spirit, bringing us into newness of life and recognizing no mortal nor material power as able to destroy. Let us rejoice that we are subject to the divine 'powers that be.' Such is the true Science of being. Any other theory of Life, or God, is delusive and mythological" (p. 249: 6-11).
Through this study, I was gaining new insight into the fact that pain was not coming from my body, but from my thought-it was a mental illusion. I realized that I had a choice to make. I could choose to feel pain, or I could choose to feel "the divine energy of Spirit." It was up to me. I could not feel pain and the care of divine Love at the same time. So whenever the condition flared up-and it sometimes came with a vengeance-I immediately prayed with the spiritual facts, and held to my prayer. In the course of this work, I was seeing that because my own true identity was spiritual, all I could really feel was the power and presence of Love. I saw that the physical body itself has no feeling. I realized that it was only fear that prolonged pain, and came to regard both fear and pain as lies, false suggestions, nothing more. Because God was always with me, I realized that I could refuse to fall into the trap of fear any longer.
A turning point came one day when I was talking with the practitioner. She said, "Well, David, you know that there is nothing but God." It was like a light had been turned on in my consciousness. "There is only God." I knew that was true. He is All and there is nothing else. Nothing exists but God and His creation. Because of God's allness, there could be no room in my thinking for fear, disease, anything unlike Him.
When I was no longer afraid of the pain, it lost its grip on my thought, and therefore, in my body. Soon, I was completely healed. I was able have eliminations with no blockage and no discomfort. And I have remained free ever since.
Sometimes the trouble went on for almost a week, and when I did eliminate, I would be in extreme pain. I couldn't sit or lie down with any sense of comfort. I called a Christian Science practitioner for support through prayer, and sometimes talked with her several times a day, and often during the night. At one point, I found myself wanting to do anything just to feel comfortable. I began to think that perhaps a doctor could give me something to relieve the pain or to alter the condition in some way.
As I wrestled with this, I thought of this passage from the Bible: "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases" (Ps. 103:2, 3). This was a reminder to me that all my life, I had relied on God for all of my needs, and He had never failed me. But now I was very fearful. I had never experienced this much discomfort before. At one point, however, I realized that I could not just hope the pain would go away. I had to take an active stand for what I understood about God's healing power.
I turned to a passage in Science and Health that went to the core of my struggle: "Discussing his campaign, General Grant said: 'I propose to fight it out on this line, if it takes all summer.' Science says: All is Mind and Mind's idea. You must fight it out on this line. Matter can afford you no aid" (p. 492). I felt I must fight it out-mentally resist the claim of disease-with what I understood of Christian Science. I couldn't put it off. I felt I needed to trust the healing power of divine Love, starting right that minute.
My outlook brightened. When the pain started again, I would firmly challenge it: "You, pain, are a lie, and you are no part of me. I am God's child. And because God loves me, He does not send pain and suffering." I voiced this out loud. I also sang many loved hymns from the Christian Science Hymnal.
And I diligently studied Science and Health. There were times when I read 50 pages a day. I memorized whole paragraphs that particularly inspired me. When I was in pain, these passages would come to thought, bringing spiritual light and comfort. Although I continued to struggle with recurring discomfort, I kept up my study, and my denial that the condition had any reality-because God was the only creator. I also continued to lay claim to God's love for me, and knew that He would not desert me in my hour of need.
During this period, the word feel really began to stand out to me. In prayer, I asked, "What does it mean to feel? Is feeling material or spiritual?" The immediate answer that came was that feeling is spiritual, a faculty of divine Mind, God. Then I looked up every reference in the Bible and in Mary Baker Eddy's writings on this subject. One statement from Science and Health particularly comforted me: "Let us feel the divine energy of Spirit, bringing us into newness of life and recognizing no mortal nor material power as able to destroy. Let us rejoice that we are subject to the divine 'powers that be.' Such is the true Science of being. Any other theory of Life, or God, is delusive and mythological" (p. 249: 6-11).
Through this study, I was gaining new insight into the fact that pain was not coming from my body, but from my thought-it was a mental illusion. I realized that I had a choice to make. I could choose to feel pain, or I could choose to feel "the divine energy of Spirit." It was up to me. I could not feel pain and the care of divine Love at the same time. So whenever the condition flared up-and it sometimes came with a vengeance-I immediately prayed with the spiritual facts, and held to my prayer. In the course of this work, I was seeing that because my own true identity was spiritual, all I could really feel was the power and presence of Love. I saw that the physical body itself has no feeling. I realized that it was only fear that prolonged pain, and came to regard both fear and pain as lies, false suggestions, nothing more. Because God was always with me, I realized that I could refuse to fall into the trap of fear any longer.
A turning point came one day when I was talking with the practitioner. She said, "Well, David, you know that there is nothing but God." It was like a light had been turned on in my consciousness. "There is only God." I knew that was true. He is All and there is nothing else. Nothing exists but God and His creation. Because of God's allness, there could be no room in my thinking for fear, disease, anything unlike Him.
When I was no longer afraid of the pain, it lost its grip on my thought, and therefore, in my body. Soon, I was completely healed. I was able have eliminations with no blockage and no discomfort. And I have remained free ever since.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Unceasing Prayer
Many of us strive to become as good a person as we can. Mary Baker Eddy, in her textbook Science and Health, tells us how: “The habitual struggle to be always good is unceasing prayer.” (4:12-13) Unceasing prayer sounds like a tall order. However, Science and Health shows us how to work in this direction. We have a prayer to use for each part of our day.
First we have a morning prayer. Morning is defined as “Light; symbol of Truth; revelation and progress.” (584: 1-2) What a way to wake up in the morning, expectant of the light of Truth. Each morning, know that today is going to be a revelation. So you do not need to worry about what you need to do at work or in your family life. Since your day is a revelation, you do not need to outline. Instead, trust that God’s goodness is directing every step. Your day is harmonious because you reflect God. He is Love, and you can only express love and be loved. Every morning, you can know that today is unique day of progress. Why? Because each day you are growing more in your understanding of God. What a glorious day is in store for you when you start with this morning!
As the evening comes, so can another prayer. Evening is defined as “Mistiness of mortal thought; weariness of mortal mind; obscured views; peace and rest.” (586:1-2) The first part is a description of the mortal view of evening; then comes the divine definition, peace and rest. Just because we worked all day, we do not need to be weary. Remember that we are working for the Lord. How can God’s business be weary? The Bible tells us, “Be still, and know that I am God” (Ps. 46:10). Quiet the suggestion that there was even one moment in our day that was not filled with God’s goodness and love. Since God is all, how can there be room for anything else?
Now for the biggest challenge of your prayer -- how to pray during the night? Mrs. Eddy tells us that night is defined as “Darkness, doubt, fear.”(592:21) When we pray, it is with the light of the Truth. This light extinguishes darkness and fear. God is ever-present, omnipotent good. He is with us 24 hours a day. We can never be separated from His love. You cannot doubt that your prayers are effective. You cannot be afraid. You are His beloved child and He cares for you and is always with you. Wherever you are, God is with you.
God, good is illuminating the way. God’s unceasing love in your life can never be taken from you. The light of Truth that you have been holding onto cannot turn into darkness since the truth of our prayers cannot be reversed. “This unfolding is God's day, and ‘there shall be no night there.’” (584:7-8)
First we have a morning prayer. Morning is defined as “Light; symbol of Truth; revelation and progress.” (584: 1-2) What a way to wake up in the morning, expectant of the light of Truth. Each morning, know that today is going to be a revelation. So you do not need to worry about what you need to do at work or in your family life. Since your day is a revelation, you do not need to outline. Instead, trust that God’s goodness is directing every step. Your day is harmonious because you reflect God. He is Love, and you can only express love and be loved. Every morning, you can know that today is unique day of progress. Why? Because each day you are growing more in your understanding of God. What a glorious day is in store for you when you start with this morning!
As the evening comes, so can another prayer. Evening is defined as “Mistiness of mortal thought; weariness of mortal mind; obscured views; peace and rest.” (586:1-2) The first part is a description of the mortal view of evening; then comes the divine definition, peace and rest. Just because we worked all day, we do not need to be weary. Remember that we are working for the Lord. How can God’s business be weary? The Bible tells us, “Be still, and know that I am God” (Ps. 46:10). Quiet the suggestion that there was even one moment in our day that was not filled with God’s goodness and love. Since God is all, how can there be room for anything else?
Now for the biggest challenge of your prayer -- how to pray during the night? Mrs. Eddy tells us that night is defined as “Darkness, doubt, fear.”(592:21) When we pray, it is with the light of the Truth. This light extinguishes darkness and fear. God is ever-present, omnipotent good. He is with us 24 hours a day. We can never be separated from His love. You cannot doubt that your prayers are effective. You cannot be afraid. You are His beloved child and He cares for you and is always with you. Wherever you are, God is with you.
God, good is illuminating the way. God’s unceasing love in your life can never be taken from you. The light of Truth that you have been holding onto cannot turn into darkness since the truth of our prayers cannot be reversed. “This unfolding is God's day, and ‘there shall be no night there.’” (584:7-8)
Friday, February 23, 2007
My healing of an eye injury
When I was sixteen years old, my family moved about thirty miles away from our previous residence. To visit my old friends on the weekend, I would hitchhike.
One day about halfway through my journey two boys stopped and told me I could not hitchhike in their town. I told them both to get lost. One of them pushed me, and I pushed him back. We started to wrestle and I got one boy pinned down. But the other boy pulled me off his friend and then suddenly one of them kicked me right in the eye.
A storekeeper who was watching us came out and broke us up. He asked me if I wanted a ride to a doctor. Instead, I asked him to phone my aunt to pick me up.
My aunt was in the fulltime practice of Christian Science healing. All my life, I had used Christian Science as a means of healing. I was always healed when I called her to pray for me. Why should this time be any different? I thought to myself.
When my aunt picked me up, she, too, asked me whether I wished to visit the doctor or use the prayer of Christian Science. I told her, Christian Science. Okay, she said, we must radically turn our thought to God; you may pray with me now. And we did pray. She gave me a homework assignment to read and study this passage from Science and Health by Mary Baker Eddy: “When Jesus declares that ‘the light of the body is the eye,’ he certainly means that light depends upon Mind, not upon the complex humors, lenses, muscles, the iris and pupil, constituting the visual organism.”(393:25-28)
In Science and Health, Mind is a synonym for the omnipotent God. I realized that if God, Mind, gave me light, then nothing could take it away. I had complete confidence that God would heal me. Within a few days the black eye and all the evidence of the injury were completely healed.
My aunt then insisted that we go to a local doctor to confirm the healing. In his examination, the physician said, Young man, you are lucky that you can see. You were kicked right near the pupil and there is evidence you had an injury. However, your eye is just fine now, like nothing ever happened.
I am grateful for this healing. This experience was an opportunity to learn more obedience, since hitchhiking was against the law where I was doing it. I never hitchhiked again.
One day about halfway through my journey two boys stopped and told me I could not hitchhike in their town. I told them both to get lost. One of them pushed me, and I pushed him back. We started to wrestle and I got one boy pinned down. But the other boy pulled me off his friend and then suddenly one of them kicked me right in the eye.
A storekeeper who was watching us came out and broke us up. He asked me if I wanted a ride to a doctor. Instead, I asked him to phone my aunt to pick me up.
My aunt was in the fulltime practice of Christian Science healing. All my life, I had used Christian Science as a means of healing. I was always healed when I called her to pray for me. Why should this time be any different? I thought to myself.
When my aunt picked me up, she, too, asked me whether I wished to visit the doctor or use the prayer of Christian Science. I told her, Christian Science. Okay, she said, we must radically turn our thought to God; you may pray with me now. And we did pray. She gave me a homework assignment to read and study this passage from Science and Health by Mary Baker Eddy: “When Jesus declares that ‘the light of the body is the eye,’ he certainly means that light depends upon Mind, not upon the complex humors, lenses, muscles, the iris and pupil, constituting the visual organism.”(393:25-28)
In Science and Health, Mind is a synonym for the omnipotent God. I realized that if God, Mind, gave me light, then nothing could take it away. I had complete confidence that God would heal me. Within a few days the black eye and all the evidence of the injury were completely healed.
My aunt then insisted that we go to a local doctor to confirm the healing. In his examination, the physician said, Young man, you are lucky that you can see. You were kicked right near the pupil and there is evidence you had an injury. However, your eye is just fine now, like nothing ever happened.
I am grateful for this healing. This experience was an opportunity to learn more obedience, since hitchhiking was against the law where I was doing it. I never hitchhiked again.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Peace Maker
It was about 2am. I suddenly woke up to hear a man and woman screaming at each other in the alleyway behind the apartment we were renting for the weekend. They both sounded drunk. My first reaction was Why cannot they stop this racket so I can go back to sleep? I even felt like going outside and telling them this. Then it got worse. The man began to threaten to beat-up the woman. The woman pleaded with him not to hit her. The thought came to me: You want to be a healer; now is your opportunity to put Christian Science into practice.
I began to think about what Jesus would do in this situation. Mary Baker Eddy, in her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, described what Jesus had done: “Jesus beheld in Science the perfect man, who appeared to him where sinning mortal man appears to mortals. In this perfect man the Saviour saw God's own likeness, and this correct view of man healed the sick." (476:32-4)
Then I thought about God, who created man loving, pure, tender, and free. Then, evil is a lie. It can never be part of man. The first commandment says “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”(Ex. 20:3) I knew that man cannot be addicted to alcohol nor would he want to worship alcohol. God created man to serve Him, so man must be obedient to God’s law.
God is always in control of every situation; He governs all. There is no power beside God. There is no other presence, no other reality. I thought about how Jesus, right in the middle of a violent storm, said “Peace, be still” and the storm ceased. I knew peace was a God given right for man. Man is satisfied, because that is how God created him. Man needs nothing from the material senses to be satisfied. Man is already complete, in God's image. There is nothing going on but God, good and His idea, and that is all that is true and ever will be true.
Within about a half hour, the couple quieted down. I heard them both get in their cars and drive away. I was grateful for the feeling of peace that embraced the neighborhood.
I began to think about what Jesus would do in this situation. Mary Baker Eddy, in her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, described what Jesus had done: “Jesus beheld in Science the perfect man, who appeared to him where sinning mortal man appears to mortals. In this perfect man the Saviour saw God's own likeness, and this correct view of man healed the sick." (476:32-4)
Then I thought about God, who created man loving, pure, tender, and free. Then, evil is a lie. It can never be part of man. The first commandment says “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”(Ex. 20:3) I knew that man cannot be addicted to alcohol nor would he want to worship alcohol. God created man to serve Him, so man must be obedient to God’s law.
God is always in control of every situation; He governs all. There is no power beside God. There is no other presence, no other reality. I thought about how Jesus, right in the middle of a violent storm, said “Peace, be still” and the storm ceased. I knew peace was a God given right for man. Man is satisfied, because that is how God created him. Man needs nothing from the material senses to be satisfied. Man is already complete, in God's image. There is nothing going on but God, good and His idea, and that is all that is true and ever will be true.
Within about a half hour, the couple quieted down. I heard them both get in their cars and drive away. I was grateful for the feeling of peace that embraced the neighborhood.
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