dgscsinspirations

What Do Think Jesus Was Praying About During His Three Days In The Tomb

2009-04-07T17:33:00.000-07:00

I think Jesus was praying to forgive his enemies. He already started this when he said on the cross “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”

He was praying to see more than every before that man is not a sinner but the pure idea of God. Perhaps he also was claiming what his real life was as the child of God. He knew that since he had no beginning he could not have and ending.

Since God gave him his life then no man could take it away. He wanted to show mankind once and for all time there is no matter by raising from the dead.

Jesus loved us so much. Everything he did in his life was to show us an example to follow. Even in his death and resurrection he was teaching us. He proved by example that all things are possible to God

What Does Jesus Died For Our Sins Mean To You?

2009-04-02T17:45:00.000-07:00

Can it mean that Jesus died to show us that life is eternal? Can it mean that our sins are simply a wrong view of looking at things? Perhaps Jesus was showing us that life in matter is not that important. Jesus showed to us that no matter how painful our lives are there is hope.

To me this does not mean we are miserable sinners. It means that are lives should be one of purifying and elevating our thought. We need to see ourselves the way God made us in His perfect image and likeness. This is an opportunity to get rid of selfish limited thinking and embrace a life which blesses others. Jesus loved us so much. His life was an example to all of us. He died on the cross to show us that even in pain and suffering God is there. He showed us that life is not about his death but about his life He was resurrected on the third day.

Perhaps instead of dwelling on his death spend more time thinking about his life. The Bible has a reason for not ending in his death. He was resurrected and then he later ascended. This Easter season perhaps spend more time lifting your thought off the cross and look deep into his message by studying the gospels more closely Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John

Peace at Christmas

2008-12-24T14:35:00.000-08:00

What is Christmas to you? Is it buying presents for others? Is it a time to visit family and friends? Often holidays can be quite a burden on many of us. Sometimes it can bring up very unhappy memories we would like to forget.

I use to have a hard time during the Christmas season. Often I would get sick. However as I prayed about this I began to realize that Christmas is about celebrating the life of Jesus. As I began to focus on the life of Jesus instead of unhappy memories my Christmases have been happier ones.

Three things that stand out to me are:

1. Light. Jesus is the light that was brought to end the darkness in the world. How did he do this? By the life that he lived. He showed man that there was a better way to live. Instead of hating we can love. Instead of suffering with disease we can be made well. Instead of a life of fear and doubt we can have happiness and certainty. Every where Jesus went things changed for the better. He said we can also let our lives be a light to others by living what he taught.

2. Wonderful Councilor. How did Jesus council us. He did it with his teachings. His Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew chapters 5-7 is a guide to live our lives. The guide says how we can be blessed and how we can pray for ourselves and the world.

3. Prince of Peace. How was Jesus a prince of peace? He brought peace to his disciples when he quieted a violent storm while they were at sea. He brought peace to a woman whose only son had died. He was her means of support. He healed her son. He brought peace to a man who was very troubled by many demons. Jesus healed the man of his insanity and we are told the man sat at Jesus feet clothed and in his right mind.

This holiday season you can have peace. Jesus left us this peace by the life he lived and taught us to follow. “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (Matt 14:27)

Election Day

2008-11-03T15:42:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is Election Day in the United States. All citizens who are registered to vote have the right to elect the candidate of their choice. This seems simple enough. However both parties are trying to influence our vote by pushing their candidate. Some of the ads are good but some are lies about one of the candidates. Let’s be sure we let God decide our vote. Pray to God for a righteous government and for a leader that follows principle rather than politics.

We can pray that the voting will be fair and honest and that the candidate that is right to govern our nation will be elected. The Bible tells us “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” (Isa 9:6)

Our job is not to react to the election process. One person cannot change our country for good or for evil. Our prayers for our country both now and after Election Day will keep our country and all the countries of the world in peace and prosperity.

Jesus’ Guide for Lasting Happiness the Beatitudes

2008-08-31T15:10:00.000-07:00

1. God blesses those people who depend only on him. They belong to the kingdom of heaven.

Do you rely on God for everything in your life? Is God your top priority?

2. God blesses those people who grieve. They will find comfort.

How often do we turn to God when everything else fails? Our loving God always is caring for us. Life is God we can never be separated from the loved ones who have passed on.

3. God blesses those people who are humble. The earth will belong to them.

We need to let go and trust God. We need to get rid of our self importance. There is one ego and that is God.

4. God blesses those people who want to obey him more than eat or drink. They will be given what they want.

Do you think the riches of the world bring happiness? How often the more we get from the world the sorrier we feel. Where are your priorities are is it in things or in serving God?

5. God blesses those people who are merciful. They will be treated with mercy.

Can you forgive your ex husband or wife. Are you angry with one of your neighbors? We must forgive that is the only way these hurts can be healed.

6. God blesses those people whose hearts are pure

Is our heart and soul pure or is it a mixed bag. Are you lusting after women in your heart? Do you watch sensual images?

7. God blesses those people who make peace. They will be called his children.

Are there other ways than war? Can you be the peacemaker in your family? Can you make peace with someone who has treated you badly?

8. God blesses those people who are treated badly for doing right. They belong to the kingdom of heaven.

Are you persecuted for your religious beliefs or for being honest in the face of dishonesty? God is with you. He will defeat your enemies. You can only be blessed for doing good.

Understanding Heart

2008-08-19T17:09:00.000-07:00

Each week Christian Scientists study a weekly Bible Lesson. This week the subject is Mind. When Mrs. Eddy uses the capital Mind it is referring to God. She refers to God in this way, “GOD. The great I AM; the all-knowing, all-seeing, all-acting, all-wise, all-loving, and eternal; Principle; Mind; Soul; Spirit; Life; Truth; Love; all substance; intelligence. God is one God, infinite and perfect, and cannot become finite and imperfect.”

In section 2 of the Bible Lesson, there is the story of Solomon. He takes over as king of his nation at a very young age. He prays for wisdom to govern his nation. Instead of treasures or power he wants an understanding heart to judge the people. Perhaps that is a good lesson for us to follow. We need to pray for more understanding of God. We need to let God be the lead in our lives. All things are possible when we turn to God instead of to ourselves or others for advice or council.

Since God is Mind then God knows our needs every moment. When we have an understanding heart we are receptive to God. This requires humility and unselfishness on our part. We are then able to listen to God and make decisions that will bless ourselves as well as others.

Healing Bad Relationships

2008-08-18T15:20:00.000-07:00

Do you feel angry about how someone has treated you? Perhaps you’re ex husband or wife left you hurt and bitter. Maybe you just can’t get along with someone in your family. What can we do about it?

1. Evil is never a person. God is love and he made his child only loving and kind.

2. God loves you. All the good you can get comes from God. No person can give you love or can take it away.

3. What God says is always loving and kind. If God has not said it nothing has been said so you cannot react.

4. Jesus said the kingdom of God is within us. This kingdom is peace, love and joy. It is ours and can never be taken from us.

5. Claim who you are the perfect child of God. You are at one with all of His blessings today.

Memorial Day

2008-05-24T13:48:00.000-07:00

Let’s always remember those who served and gave their lives for their country. These brave men and women should always be remembered. However I firmly believe these brave solders do not want us to mourn over them but to remember the wonderful qualities of God that each of them expressed fully in their lives while they were with us. Some of these qualities are courage, strength, perseverance, integrity, and discipline. These are qualities that come from God and can never be lost.

Mary Baker Eddy in her main book, Science and Health says, “Man is not the offspring of flesh, but of Spirit, — of Life, not of matter. Because Life is God, Life must be eternal, self-existent. Life is the everlasting I AM, the Being who was and is and shall be, whom nothing can erase.”(289:31-2)

God is with us in our work place

2008-05-19T15:37:00.001-07:00

There is no limitation with God when we trust our care with Him. It was a Sunday morning where I worked as the day supervisor of nurses at a Christian Science Care facility. We had about 32 patients to care for. Normally we had six or seven nurses on staff on Sunday but this day only I and one other nurse arrived. The other nurses had all called in sick.

My first thought was how I am going to take care of all these patients. This Bible verse came to thought “With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.” I knew that I was about God’s business and He was the one performing it. Since all of those patients were loved by God He certainly would give them all the proper nursing care they needed.

When I told the night supervisor that there were just two of us working she volunteered to stay for an extra four hours after her shift had ended. Two nurses were on their way to church and said when they got back from church they would also help.

I refused to be afraid. I kept praying that “all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”(Rom. 8:28) I also affirmed that it was not physical care that was needed for the patients but peace and the presence of the love of God. A calm presence was maintained on the floor and everyone felt it.

The day went very smooth and all the patients got all the care they needed. Mary Baker Eddy said in her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, “The calm and exalted thought or spiritual apprehension is at peace.” (506:11-12)

Loving All Your Neighbors

2008-05-18T19:48:00.000-07:00

God is Love. He loves all of His children impartially and without reservation. “God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.”(Gen. 1:31) He does not know man as white or black, Jew, Christian or Muslim, male or female or even as gay or straight. Man is His perfect idea. Man is here only to love one another and to do nothing else.

Recently in California the Supreme Court ruled in favor of gay marriage. Many in the gay community were encouraged by this ruling. Those opposed felt horrified that such a ruling could take place, believing that gay living is against the Christian principles they were taught.

Jesus once had an adulterous woman thrown down at his feet by a mob. They screamed that their law said she must be stoned to death. Jesus calmly replied to them, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” (John 8:7) Each person in the mob was moved by Jesus’ remark, “convicted by their own conscience,” to quietly walk away “one by one.” Jesus finally told the woman to go and not sin again.

How often we hear stories of gays being harassed by an angry mob or being cast aside by their own families. Jesus pointed out to us “Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven” (Luke 6:37).

When I first met the woman who is now my wife, she told me she had a few friends that lived a gay lifestyle. When she wanted me to meet them, I refused. I felt they were different than me. It disturbed me that two people of the same sex would have a relationship together. However, I have always been attracted to my wife’s wonderful quality of caring for others. She never put labels on people, especially her friends. She loved them because of the qualities they expressed. It did not matter whether they were straight or gay, white or black, Christian, Jew or Muslim.

When I was in high school, I was with a friend driving around in New York City when he saw a gay man and stopped the car. My friend got out of the car and slapped and pushed the man while I sat watching in the car, doing nothing to help the man. This has always bothered me. I knew that feeling prejudiced against any group of people was wrong. If I wanted to heal the problems of the world (and I did!) I needed to start with my own thinking about others.

Soon after I began to pray about this, I came across this statement in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures: “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.” I began to examine my thinking in light of this statement. I saw that I had no right to judge another’s behavior. My duty was to love everyone I came into contact with, in spite of their behavior, and that includes those who call themselves gay. God made man in His own image and likeness, pure and perfect. If I was seeing a sinning, lustful person, then I believed that God made a mistake. God does not make any abnormalities. Man is the perfect idea of God and I could see and witness nothing else. All that I can ever see is God and His idea, man. I made it a goal to hold firmly to this truth about God and man. My prejudiced ideas about gays began to fade. I started to see the spiritual qualities my wife’s friends expressed, such as kindness, gentleness, and grace. I began to be more receptive to socializing with more of her friends. Later, I began to get calls in my practitioner work from people that called themselves gay.

Jesus pointed out that we must love our neighbor as ourselves. He ate with sinners, touched and healed persons with contagious diseases, and even forgave those who crucified him.

Let us pray that we can love all our neighbors. Let us put no labels on man but love him like God does. Mary Baker Eddy once said, “Students are advised by the author to be charitable and kind, not only towards differing forms of religion and medicine, but to those who hold these differing opinions. Let us be faithful in pointing the way through Christ, as we understand it, but let us also be careful always to "judge righteous judgment," and never to condemn rashly.”(444:13-19)

Valentine’s Day

2008-02-13T21:46:00.000-08:00

It is Valentine’s Day. Time to get that special someone candy or flowers. Is that all we can do? Perhaps this year we can commit ourselves to learning more about love and sharing this love with others.

Jesus told us that the two great commandments were” thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: and Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” (Matt. 12:30, 31)

There are three commands of us Jesus is making here.

1. We must love God. This should be easy. God is love and he gives us everything good in our lives. So maybe that first Valentine should be sent to God. Mary Baker Eddy says in her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures “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.”(3:22-24)

2. We must love ourselves. This sometimes might not be easy. However God loves us so there must be something in us worth loving. As the child of God we are pure, innocent, unselfish gentle, and confident. Why? Because that is the way God made us. If at present you are struggling with self- worth this is a lie. God made you perfect. He made you complete. Everything in you came from God. The more we love the qualities of God in us the more we will see it in others.

3. Love your neighbor. Love that special someone not as that cute guy or girl but the qualities of God they express. Get rid of me first thinking. Be a giver not a getter. Give a valentine of unselfishness, gentleness and consideration. Look for the good and value the good in your special someone. Avoid being critical, envious or jealous. “Hold thought steadfastly to the enduring, the good, and the true, and you will bring these into your experience proportionably to their occupancy of your thoughts.”(261:4-7)

Have a happy Valentine’s Day! Fill your heart full of the love of God and share it with others. .Give your special someone your unselfish love and devotion, and you will find it will mean more to them then any box of chocolates or even long stem roses. Be who you are the beautiful, good, and pure child of God. This will make your Valentine’s Day be every day of the year for your love is genuine and real.

Praying About Gang Violence

2008-01-25T10:14:00.000-08:00

Recently my Christian Science branch church voted to have a pray vigil once a month on the gang violence in our community. We are also in April 2008 going to have a Christian Science Lecture on the subject.

From my Christian Science study on this subject these are some ideas that came to me.

1. Mary Baker Eddy writes in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, “Evil has no reality. It is neither person, place, nor thing, but is simply a belief, an illusion of material sense.”(71:1-4) From this statement I realized that there are no evil persons called gang members. There is no evil place where they hang out since all space is filled with God and His goodness.

2. God made man in His own image and that is only good. Since God does not commit violence then His idea man is incapable of committing violence.

3. Man does not need to be in a gang to be safe, his protection comes from God. The Bible says The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.”(PS. 121:7, 8)

4. Since God made man he did not make man of a color or a creed. We are all the sons and daughters of God

5. Is healing of gang violence possible yes. All things are possible to God. I know of two instances.

The first was a Principal at a public school that prayed that God was the only Mind.. Through his prayer he was lead to tell leaders of various gangs in his school that they were all brothers because they all prayed the Lord’s Prayer which begins “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.”(Matt. 6:9) This hit home in their thought. The boys realized that they indeed all had one father. They began to see good in each other and instead of being enemies many of them became friends. They could not harm their brother.

The other instance took place at a prison. Three gangs were about to have an all out war. A man at the prison who was studying Christian Science asked if he could be a mediator between the gangs. He prayed to see each of these men as the children of God. He realized that no child of God wished harm to another child of God. He knew that right in the midst of that prison God’s love was there. He stopped a riot from taking place and gained respect of all the gang members.

The power of prayer is so powerful. I know right now the boys can feel this prayer. They can feel the love of God in their lives instead of hate. Evil has no power but to destroy itself. It cannot harm those boys nor can it touch any innocent member of our community. “Love is the liberator.”(225:21-22)

You Are Not An Alcoholic

2008-01-24T16:07:00.000-08:00

Yes, you heard it right, you are not an alcoholic. Perhaps for years you have struggled with alcoholic problems with very little success. You are obedient and go to an AA meeting each week. Good for you for doing this. However Christian Science can help you find a permanent solution to addiction.

To start with you have to change the way you have been thinking about yourself. You are God’s perfect child. Why because God is love and He created you in His own image and likeness. There is nothing God has made that is not perfect. Jesus told us this. “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”(Matt. 5:48)

You need to stop believing all the history about addiction. You are not part of a family of alcoholics. You are the child of God and so is every member of your human family. There is nothing that can be past down to you because your life is spiritual and not material. You are not made up of blood and bones but of spiritual ideas. Some of these spiritual ideas are unselfishness, kindness, purity and integrity. Can purity be drunk of course not?

Perhaps the reason you started to drink was to be more socially acceptable. However you have always been acceptable to God because you are His adorable darling. He accepts you just the way you are. How can God not love what He created?

Maybe you drink because you think you are more relaxed. Is there something to fear? If you think this then there is a time when God is not with you. This is a lie God is always with you every minute. “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”(Isa. 41:10)

You need to destroy the power of the addictiveness of alcohol. Alcohol is not your God and you do not need to bow down and worship it. Mary Baker Eddy in her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures says, “You must control evil thoughts in the first instance, or they will control in the second.”(234:26-27) You can control it, when you see that addiction is not a stimulus but an aggressive suggestion that there is a power besides God. You do not need it for your life. Life is God always has been and always will be. You do not need to be dependent on anything but the presence and the power of God.

A speaker at my Christian Science Association a few years ago said this startling statement about alcohol. She said if Jesus could turn water into wine why cannot you turn wine into water. You can when you cease to believe that it has a power over you. You will not be lured by its desire because your thought will be focused on the things of God and not of the things of the world.

AA is wonderful because by saying I am Bill I am an alcoholic it was the first step at facing down alcoholism. Now take the next step by saying with absolute affirmation I am Bill the perfect child of God now and forever. “Citizens of the world, accept the "glorious liberty of the children of God," and be free! This is your divine right.”(Science and Health 227:24-26)

We Are All Brothers

2008-01-22T13:01:00.000-08:00

Recently, we celebrated Martin Luther King’ day. What a man to pay tribute too. One thing I can remember that in his dream speech he said that some day men of all races would put away their differences and walk together as brothers. I had an experience in my life in learning how a man of another race was my brother.

The year was 1968, and there were many racial tensions going on in this country. I was in boot camp in the United States Air Force. My new roommate was an African American man from the Deep South. When we first met neither one of us had much to say to each other. I felt uncomfortable living with him and I think the feeling was mutual. I realized early on that this situation needed prayer.

The Bible states, “Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? (Mal. 2:10) I began to see that I did not need to feel uncomfortable with this young man. God was my father and he was also his father so there were no differences between us. I then needed to love him as a brother and as the child of God.

Soon I had an opportunity to share my love with him. One day our drill instructor reprimanded my roommate during an inspection because his white underwear had turned blue because he washed it with his black socks. I volunteered to wash his clothes for him so it would not happen again. He then said he would help me make my bed because my bed never passed inspection.

We began to form a friendship together. I loved the qualities of God he expressed such as kindness, humility, and unselfishness. These qualities had nothing to do with what color man is. One day he open up to me and told me I was the first white man to treat him kindly. He introduced me to one of his black friends and we became friends as well.

Once during in the middle of the night an African American man sabotaged my foot locker by poring shaving cream all over it right before our inspection. Of course the next day I was reprimanded by our drill instructor. The man brag to his black buddies on what he did to me. To my surprise, the other black men did not take his side. They told him I was their brother and an act against me would be an act against all of them as well.

God had brought us together. There was love between us. Even though we were of a different race we were brothers. I never saw my roommate again but will always remember the love in his heart.

Mary Baker Eddy in her main work Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures says, “With one Father, even God, the whole family of man would be brethren; and with one Mind and that God, or good, the brotherhood of man would consist of Love and Truth, and have unity of Principle and spiritual power which constitute divine Science.”(469:30-5)

Gratitude For Our Blessings

2007-11-19T17:06:00.001-08:00

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

God Is Our Protection

2007-11-15T14:09:00.000-08:00

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.

The Receptive Thought

2007-11-13T12:56:00.000-08:00

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?

You Are Perfect and Upright

2007-11-12T15:19:00.000-08:00

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.

How can I support a dear friend who has invited me to sponsor her in a breast cancer cure walkathon?

2007-09-24T21:03:00.000-07:00

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.

My Car Needs Met with God’s Guidance

2007-09-06T10:52:00.000-07:00

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.

Control Anger with Love

2007-08-27T10:46:00.000-07:00

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.

Encompassed By God’s Everlasting Arms

2007-08-10T18:38:00.000-07:00

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)

Sunday School Teacher not me

2007-07-12T14:26:00.000-07:00

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.

Fight Fire with Prayer

2007-07-11T18:16:00.000-07:00

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.

You Are Always Loved

2007-06-14T11:30:00.000-07:00

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)