Advance

In looking up the word ‘Blessed’, as in the Beatitudes when we read, “Blessed are the, or are they…” I found the words, ‘happy and prosperous’. Most of the time translations drop in the word ‘Happy’ for ‘Blessed’ in the Beatitudes. These Beatitudes are found in the Holy Bible in the book of Matthew chapter 5. They are a part of Christ Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.

Instead this time I followed through by looking up the word ‘prosperous’. One of the definitions for prosperous is ‘Advance(ed/ing)’. This was an interesting take on the word ‘Blessed’ so it lead me to take this word to the Beatitudes to study them with the idea that when followed there is advancement of thought, activity, growth and expression in our lives. It was a real eye opener.

Here, let me show you a few examples: (Please take NOTE that the bracketed areas are words looked up and thoughts revealed about these words to better understand the Beatitudes themselves and how they apply to life lessons.)

·   Advancing are the poor in spirit [poor=lacking; in spirit= a personal sense, ego, self-centered based thoughts]: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven [“The reign of harmony in divine Science (~Reality~); the realm of unerring, eternal, and omnipotent Mind; the atmosphere of Spirit, where Soul is supreme”¹].

AND ONE MORE:

·   Advancing are they that mourn [grieve—pained in the mind=those thoughts which creates doubt, fear, sorrow, depression…thought pangs that nag or worry…Mourn cont. afflicted=troubled or distressed]: for they shall be comforted [strengthened, consoled, encouraged; God is doing this! Consoling by removing the sorrow and personal sense of fear, doubt, and confusion, by revealing life as in and of the Consciousness of Divine Mind, not personal sense, ego, self-centeredness, selfish points of view].

Going through each of the Beatitudes in this way was eye opening. It allows us to see how far we have to go or how close we have come in the seeing of our relationship with God and His Divine Laws.

“Progress takes off human shackles. The finite must yield to the infinite. Advancing to a higher plane of action, thought rises from the material sense to the spiritual, from the scholastic to the inspirational, and from the mortal to the immortal.”²

When we work on these Divine Laws as expressions, guidance, rules for our every decision, thought, and action, we are lead by these advancing actions. They raise thought ‘from the material sense to the spiritual’.  They help us to prove, “Emmanuel…God with us.”³

By looking up words we are advancing our studies to a higher view of The Word, God’s directives of Love. By looking deeper into the Word, The Gospel, The Truth, we become better workers, better ‘seers’, better healers, provers of the Word of God. The time we take in this study is the time that we are truly being lead by Mind, God, to His higher views and understanding. This kind of study, lifts us from the ‘shallows of mortal belief’⁴ into the vision and clarity of the Divine Principle, God. This brings our lives into harmony, health, well-being, healing, into the atmosphere of Love. This advanced thinking brings to us a better understanding, wisdom, clarity of the spiritual, Spirit’s realm of thought and activity. It shines the Light of Truth and reveals what God is and what Man is as God’s reflection.

Advanced thought through advanced activity is wisdom, true understanding, humility, and focus. It gives to man that sense of peace that comes with understanding. It blesses us…

Gentle hugs  


1 Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy page 590 lines 1-3
2 ibid page 256 lines 1-5
3 The King James Version of the Holy Bible Matthew 1 vs. 23
4 Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy page 262 line 10

"Joy cometh in the Morning"

As the old time hymn proclaims:

O weary pilgrim, lift your head,
For joy cometh in the morning;
For God in His own Word hath said
That joy cometh in the morning.

Refrain

Joy cometh in the morning,
Joy cometh in the morning;
Weeping may endure for a night,
But joy cometh in the morning.

Our God shall wipe all tears away,
For joy cometh in the morning;
Sorrow and sighing flee away,
For joy cometh in the morning.
Refrain¹

…let us look to God for the joy that comes to us at the dawn of a new thought.

What is this ‘new thought’? It is the higher views of Truth, God, awakening us, showing us His view of Creation, which includes all the Universe and Mankind. They are the realization, the thoughts and ideas, of our divine relationship with God, our Creator and sustaining Maker.

How does this occur? When we turn our thoughts to Him, stand firm upon His Truth and Love, which He constantly reveals to us, we gain a sense of freedom. His Truth breaks us free from all the dismal thoughts of threat, gloom, doom, lack, loneliness, sin, sickness and death. God’s eternal, infinite Goodness is an annihilating Divine Law for all that is unlike Good.

By looking to God who is Love, we see His Christ, Truth, revealing itself as an ever-present help in times of both trouble and joy. By rejoicing in His Love, realizing His Power, this activity brings us through the nights of sickness, sorrow, and fear.  By turning our thoughts to Him, we can see that He is always with us, that Love and its Power is ever-near.

By looking to God as the one and only perfect Mind, for every thought and answer, we find answers. By placing our lives squarely into His Life instead of our personal beliefs, opinions and desires, we begin to see our lives harmonize, balance, become more healthy, abundant, useful, and consistent. A state of well-being begins to be a constant in our lives as His, Life’s, expression. By seeing that harmonious creation is His divine design and that all Mankind is included in this grand design, we let go of the false life and turn to Life as our directing Omnipotent Guide.

We can do this because He created us to be included eternally in His perfect design. We have a divine purpose. He lifts us from our lowly views of ourselves and our lives to His highest sight, His perfect vision of the Who and What that we are of His creating. God and His perfect idea, Man.

No one is left out. No one is without His constant Good. No one is outside of His guiding,
directing, powerful Hand. All we must do is turn our lives from our mortal lacking views, to Him, who is All-in-all. God is Love. To turn to Love is easy, to trust Love is imperative, to feel Love’s ever-presence is eternally possible.

Hitting ‘brick walls’, fearful, in trouble, needing? Turn your whole thought, life, experience over to Him. This brings joy with each dawning thought and happy realization that He has never left us. He is always the answer to every challenge. He is guiding us through the darkness by His Light and joy does come in this rising activity.

Gentle hugs


1 Christian Science Hymnal 425

Invisible Spirit ever available

For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even the eternal power and Godhead;¹

God, Spirit, is invisible to the material mortal view point. But this invisibility doesn’t stop His constant ever-presence in all of man’s lives. He is more clearly seen as we love Him and His offspring. The more we truly love the Spirit, the more we see His Hand, Power, in every part of our lives.

How did Christ Jesus feed the multitudes with just a few loaves of bread and a small amount of fish²? And when he stated, “And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me,”³ was he talking to himself or to the invisible God? Invisible to those who were around him. But clearly visible to Jesus’ Christ thought, he knew the ever availability of God's care and presence.

How may we more clearly see this invisible Spirit? By seeking the Truth and Love of Christ Jesus’ teachings and through the study of our Holy Bible and the works of Mary Baker Eddy, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, we can more clearly feel and ‘see’  the invisible God and His Christ activity in our lives.   As we consistently and persistently turn to God for all answers, we do see His healing power and loving direction in every portion of our lives. This Love reveals itself constantly to those who purify their lives and look to Him for all.

Though invisible to the naked eye, He is viable and ever-present in our lives. We see Him as He is, Perfect, All-knowing, all-seeing, all-powerful Love when we turn our thoughts to Him. He, through the ‘still small voice’, guides us, protects us, embraces us in His Love. We need only to turn to Him for all things and see our completeness in Him.

He has made us able to conceive of His presence, turn to His power, and to love His ways. This is the only path to freedom from fear, doubt, and mistaken beliefs that comes from not knowing His ever-present Love and constant healing ability.

In Revelation we are told of the salvation and strength of this invisible God. It states, And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of God, and the power of his Christ, for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.⁴

Love fills all space. Mind, God, and His wisdom and intelligence, created the universe including Man. He is able to take care of whatever seems to concern us. Principle, God, is the Divine Law that supersedes all falsely mistaken laws of this mortal existence and He heals us of these misconceptions. His Laws removes every false claim, false belief, false accusation the ‘accuser’ tries to set up against God’s Man. God forever frees us from the accuser’s accusations and lifts us to higher vision of thought and activity.

In the Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, the discoverer and founder of Christian Science explains, In all mortal forms of thought, dust is dignified as the natural status of men and things, and modes of material motion are honored with the name of laws. This continues until the leaven of Spirit changes the whole of mortal thought, as yeast changes the chemical properties of meal.⁵ AND  Spirit is the only substance, the invisible and indivisible infinite God. Things spiritual and eternal are substantial. Things material and temporal are insubstantial.⁶

This is a big subject, the invisibility but ever-present availability of Spirit. But let us begin with the baby steps of turning our thoughts to the invisible Spirit through prayer and listening. Let us then follow the steps He is giving, by obediently following this ‘still small voice’. By doing His loving bidding, we will begin to see Him more and more in our lives. Then let us let these steps grow into a relationship that is already there, Love loving His children.

Gentle hugs


1 The King James Version of The Holy Bible Romans 1 vs. 20 to the ;
2 ibid Matthew 14; Mathew 15 and Mark 6 and Mark 8
3 ibid John 11 vs. 42
4 ibid Revelation 12 vs. 10
5 Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy page 118 beginning on line 20
6 ibid page 335 beginning on line 12

Divine Reality is the only Reality

God creates all forms of reality. His thoughts are spiritual realities.¹

 

How can we heal our lives and all of the ends and outs of the complications that so upset us and make us feel that our future is dismal?

God, Good, the Divine Creator of All. What God knows reverses our futile feelings, our fears, our doubts, our beliefs of the gloomy now and the dismal forecast of our tomorrows.

What God knows is the Real. What we believe or think outside of God’s All-knowing is the unreal. What God knows is realized by turning to only Him and turning off our beliefs and fears.

How? By consecrating our lives to Him, looking to Him for all answers, this gives to us the vision of His harmonious Reality. This harmonious Reality is being expressed through us. This revelation of His healing presence and the removal of the chaos and doubt, frees us to live our lives as He created, lives full, harmonious, joyful and FREE.

By consecrating our lives to His Will, His Ways, His unfoldment of His Good, we can gladly see that a life with God, who is our Life, is a life that is lifted above the false pictures of gloom and doom to the vision of His Creation.

God doesn’t see what we see. God only sees what He created and that as ‘very good’². God only sees His Divine Reality. God only sees His perfection and His creation as perfect. This creation includes Man, the Universe, and all things therein.

By looking to see what God sees, what God has created, what God is giving, we become freer and freer from the burdens of our own mistaken beliefs. By looking to Love, God, for love, Love is revealed in infinite ways. By looking to Life, God, for our life, we experience more fully a healthy freer life. By looking to Principle, God, for all guidance, direction through His Divine Laws, we are guided through and out of hardships to see that His Laws supersede the mortal beliefs. By looking to Spirit, God, we begin to see, feel, and know that substance is not in matter and the mortal experience. But that Substance, true substance, is divine, strong, purely spiritual, perfect and substantial, outside of matter and in Spirit. By looking for Soul, God, we see all creativity as divine, beautiful, as spectacular as the sunrise or sunset. This creative Soul, God, created Man in His own image and likeness. Man as the offspring of Soul expresses all Art, Science, Creativity, in all His, God’s, spiritual ways. By looking for Truth, God, we begin to see through the eyes of Truth, which dispels the lies, removes the fears, and brings our vision to the higher standard of Divine Truth. By looking to Mind, God, we see true wisdom and intelligence being our guides throughout our day. This All-knowing Mind expresses its ideas throughout all of His creation, revealing His Perfect Selfhood and Perfection. His unfoldment of His Perfect Thought fills all space. His Perfect Thoughts includes each one of us. We are His Thought being expressed. We must let Him remove all of our false concepts about ourselves and reveal to us our true identity as His Ideas. Mind, God, does this.    

Let us see a higher sense of Reality by turning to the Real and only Creator, God. Let us let our lives be lifted above the false senses to see our lives having higher purposes and better experiences. Let us let go of the false fears and doubts, by turning to the ‘All-knowing, All-seeing, All-wise’, God who is our Life. Let us love His ways more than our ways. Let us trust His views more than our beliefs. Let us be the Who and What of His Creation. This ‘LETTING’ will we bring us into His Truth and reveal His purpose for us, bringing it out into the open. This will free us from the chaos, gloom, fear and doubt and bring forward His Glory into our lives.

Gentle hugs

1 Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy page 513 lines 26-27

2 The King James Version of the Holy Bible Genesis chapter 1  

God gives Love and we serve Love

Wholly apart from this mortal dream, this illusion and delusion of sense, Christian Science comes to reveal man as God’s image, His idea, coexistent with Him—God giving all and man having all that God gives…The spiritual understanding which demonstrates Christian Science, enables the devout Scientist to worship, not an unknown God, but Him whom, understanding even in part, he continues to love more and serve better.¹ Mary Baker Eddy

God gives to man the opportunities to see, prove, and serve the ever-present God called Love. We have the rejoicing, gratitude, and joy of serving this God of Love at all times and in infinite ways. By ‘loving our neighbor as ourselves’, ‘forgiving our debtors’, by ‘doing unto others as we would have them do unto us’, we are serving God, Love. By manifesting, proving His Love, we are in essence bowing down with gratitude to His constant Love. Love manifested is the substance of our lives. Love expressed is the proof of our divine service.

God gives you His spiritual ideas, and in turn, they give you daily supplies. Never ask for tomorrow: it is enough that divine Love is an ever-present help; and if you wait, never doubting, you will have all you need every moment. What a glorious inheritance is given to us through the understanding of omnipresent Love! More we cannot ask: more we do not want: more we cannot have. This sweet assurance is “Peace, be still” to all human fears, to suffering of every sort.”²

By turning to God, Love, every moment we do not miss even one opportunity to serve Love. Through trust, obedience, understanding, joy, and service we are the witnesses and proof of His constant Love. By doing this, we are not only serving, but we are also the examples of God’s purpose for mankind. By loving, we express to all the joy of Love. By sharing, we manifest the inheritance of the abundance of Love. By witnessing to Love, we are the proof of His ever-present Good. By this service to Love, we help others in their service to Love.

Christ Jesus presented Love in such a way that there was no doubt the relationship between himself and God, Love. He called Love many times, ‘my Father’ and ‘Abba, Father’³. But he didn’t hold God, Love, as just his Father. And his service to God wasn’t just his service. He shared the powerful truth that God is the all giving Father that we all are to serve. Christ Jesus’ prayer began with “Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed by Thy name.”⁴ This Father is “OUR FATHER” that we are to hallow.

To be able to see that God is giving to us all, we must see our relationship to God, His Parental relationship with us as our Creator, our Father. To know Him as our Father is to love Him. To know Him as our Father is to see all the strength, tenderness, guidance and love that He gives to each and every one of His children, His offspring, His beloved of Love. The more we know Him the better we can serve and love Him.

To emulate Christ Jesus’ example of serving, knowing, loving, and obeying Our Father is the best example we can and do have. This example witnessed and expressed not only saves us but helps others to see true Love, Our Father’s Love.

Let us too love our divine Parent, serve Him, and see all that He gives to us each and every moment. It is said, “Love is reflected in love.”⁵ Let us see our relationship to Him as constant, eternal reflection of Love expressed by love. Let us serve Love by being the examples of His Love. Let us share this with all mankind through His Goodness, His Grace and His Love.

Finally dear hearts, Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. Fear {extremely love} God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.⁶

Gentle hugs


1 The First Church of Christ Scientist and Miscellany page 5 lines 7-10, 18-22
2 Miscellaneous Writings by Mary Baker Eddy page 307 lines 2-10
3 The King James Version of The Holy Bible Mark 14 vs. 36
4 ibid. Matthew 6 vs. 9
5 Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy page 17 line 7
6 The King James Version of The Holy Bible Ecclesiastes 12 vs. 13

Poisons removed

This morning before my eyes opened a part of the Lord’s Prayer was coming to my thought. It was, Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from all evil. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever.¹

These words are not just words but heartfelt prayer to God, a statement of affirmation. God does give us the supplies of perfect ideas and thoughts that bring us through our day with grace, love and forgiveness. By turning to God alone for our needs both for direction, ideas, thoughts that come from the All-knowing Mind, God, we gain the true sense of what we’re to do today.

This daily, moment by moment activity of turning to God for all frees us from the burden of belief that we’re out in a world of chaos, fear, anger, and doubt and that we’re ‘to fend for ourselves’. What a lonely fear driven thought that is! But because God is All-in-all we must and can turn to this Love for all things. This turning of thought to God brings to our day peace, reassurance, perfect guidance, protection, and the ‘How to do’ anything in all circumstances. For only God is and can give us peace and direction, love and understanding.

To forgive all wrongs, ill-will, disappointments, angry encounters, hurt feelings, is to free not only our ‘debtors’, those who we feel have done something to us, but it also frees us from the harboring of the poisons of anger, resentment, and hard feelings. These resentments and hurts clog our thoughts, harden our hearts, and make us ‘stiff necked’ people. The attributes of resentment poison our other relationships with doubt and mistrust. They make us come into other relationships not fully engaged. They smolder in our thoughts, making us unpleasant without explanation.

To forgive frees us from the past. To forgive allows us to express grace, joy and love with all without constraint. Forgiveness frees us to be our true childlike self, God’s child, the child of Love. It brings ease and joy back into our relationships and thoughts.

Many times our Master, Christ Jesus, included the words, “Thy sins be forgiven thee” when he was healing people. He knew that the only way the sins that create disease and death may be forgiven is by the complete removal of them. He stated to many, ‘go and sin no more’. That is the fullness of forgiveness, that the sins be completely stopped. Those harboring ill-will, a sin against our fellow man, God’s child, must stop completely the holding of grudges. How? By forgiving others and letting go of the thoughts that harbor the anger and resentment. This frees us all and stops the egotism, the sin, the self-superiorities of ill-will.

In the healing in Mark we find his explanation of these words when we read, “Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only? And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts? Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house.”²

All that Christ Jesus did wasn’t just for his own good but for all to learn and do as well. When we forgive we are freeing not only ourselves but also those who we are harboring ill-will against. This grace of forgiveness heals.

It is the Christ within us, the Good of God’s creating, the perfect Ideal that we all manifest of God’s likeness that gives us the ability and freedom to forgive. This is what Jesus revealed throughout his earthly career. This Christ raised the dead, healed and fed the multitude, and broke all mortal beliefs concerning life and death. This Christ is ours by reflection. We too may heal relationships through this Christ activity of Love.

Mary Baker Eddy states in her main work, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, “Sin is forgiven only as it is destroyed by Christ,—Truth and Life.”³ Truth and Life are the synonyms of God, so sin is forgiven only as it destroyed by the Christ power of God.

How? The statement, “Love thy neighbor as thyself”⁴ brings a new view of how to see and express love to our fellow man. This activity of Love frees us. It breaks the chains and fetters of hate. Through the reflection of Love, God, our true nature and expression, we are freed from all ill-will. Love brings to our thoughts love. This love, this grace, this joyful acceptance of others as God sees them, precious, whole, complete, good, brings the wonderful ability to forgive our ‘enemies’.  Love, then, is the key to forgiveness. Love frees us to love!

Today let us stop the poisons of ill-will. Let us forgive as we would like to be forgiven. Let us free ourselves and others from the holding of grudges even for one more hour. Let us be free through the activity of love and forgiveness.

Gentle hugs


1 The King James Version of the Holy Bible Matthew 6 vss. 12, 13
2 ibid Mark 2 vss. 7-11
3Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy page 5 line 23
4 The King James Version of the Holy Bible Matthew 19 vs. 19