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

Defeat Terrorism

Terrorism comes in lots of different forms. There seems to be people that delve into this form of battle towards others. Citizens or groups of people making others afraid through fear based tactics. But there is also a form of self-terrorism.
 
Self-terrorism can be found through the thoughts that come to us day in and day out. Sometimes thoughts are repeated relentlessly, coming to us morning, noon, and night. These thoughts that make us afraid, depressed, angry or helpless, making our lives difficult or continually in upheaval, are terrorizing. Just as the terrorism from others has to be handled, the fearful thoughts that lurk in our own thinking must be handled and removed.

The fear that comes to our thoughts and then runs like a broken record, repeating it’s diatribe of harassing, nagging thoughts have to be stopped! They are less than useless and take our joy away from us.

The first time the word ‘fear’ appeared in The Holy Bible was in Genesis 9. God was blessing Noah with dominion over all that was around him. But when did fear turn the tables against man? Making man fear and forget he had dominion over his thoughts, his life, his circumstances? That was in Genesis 3 when after being disobedient Adam found himself naked and without excuse, hiding in the Garden from the Lord God.

We are told, “Be not afraid” many times in the Bible. Christ Jesus stated, “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” But with this promise also came a directive, “Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding, that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching;”¹

"St. Paul says, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling:” Jesus said, “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” This truth is Christian Science.

    Christian Scientists, be a law to yourselves that mental malpractice cannot harm you either when asleep or when awake.”²

This ‘mental malpractice’ are those thoughts that come to us through the intensity of fear or the subtle suggestions that steal our joy. They are the thoughts that do not come from God through His Love for us. But instead the aggressive mental suggestions of all error and wrong premises, thoughts that try to steal our peace. We must not mentally malpractice ourselves or others through the constant repeating mentally of wrong opinions, theories, fears, anger, envy, or malice. We must make sure that our thoughts are pure and above these aggressive mental rehearsals of fears and wrongs. We must lift our thoughts above to the clearer higher views of God’s Truth, Mind’s ideas, Love’s views. Then we will always be ready and alert to see the Good that God is giving to us, the dominion, the promise, the fulfillment of our joyful Being.

If we have key thoughts that make us continually afraid, sad, angry, resentful, envious, remorseful, depressed, let us stop them in their mental tracks by turning to what God gives to all man, dominion, joy, happiness, through gratitude, love, and understanding.

Instead of spending our time with fearful thoughts, let us spend our thoughtful time working and watching continually for the Good God brings to us all! Then we will have dominion instead of fear and excuses to enjoy today.

Gentle hugs

1 King James Version of The Holy Bible Luke 12 vss. 32-37 (to ;)
2 Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy 442 lines 25-32

The call, "Put your armor on"!

In Ephesians 6 in the King James Version of The Holy Bible we find the warning that “we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness [supreme goodness[;”¹ It goes on describing the armor that one needs to make sure they have always.

But the description of the armor is not material. The description of the battle and the ‘powers’ that we must win over are not material but mental. These ‘principlalities’, ‘powers’, ‘rulers of the darkness’, and ‘spiritual wickedness in high places’ are the temptations, fears, concerns, doubts, dreads, opinions, false claims, and false opinions that we must wrestle with not physically but mentally. They are the lies of the devil, the temptations that ruin our lives or at least make our lives uncomfortable after we fall for their claims of pleasure. The intense fears or subtle worries, the works of the devil, try to make us feel hopeless, abandoned, lost.  How do we defend ourselves from these mental principalities and powers, temptations and fears?

We do it when we begin our day in prayer and communication with God, Good, Principle, The Only and One Power, the Creator of the Universe and Man; listening to and being obedient to this Divine Love. When we do this prayerful work every day we are putting on our ‘armor’. We are putting on His Truth as our defense; His Love for our protection; His Mind for our wisdom and understanding; His Spirit for our joy, happiness, and strength; His Soul as our beauty and grace; His Principle for our Law that counteracts all false claims of another law or potentate; His Life for our eternal well-being. This is putting on our whole armor. We are seeing we are at one with God, Good, and His All-knowing, All-seeing Power.

This armor of God puts us in our right frame of mind as witnesses to the Power of God and His glory and victory. This armor protects us during our day, leads us in His way, and defines who and what we are as His perfect image and likeness, His offspring, His child. This armor is for our protection and defense against the wiles of the devil, evil, error, mistaken beliefs and opinions, false personal desires. This armor is really the embrace of Love. The Love that loves and guards us. The Love that watches our every step as a Mother. The Love that protects us, fortifies us, and gives us strength as a Father. This Love loves us because this Love knows us. The Truth concerning this Love arms us every day with the Truth of the what and who we are as Love’s perfect child.

When we take the time every morning and all through the day to put on this armor, adjust it, make sure we are fully under the cover of it, then we see God’s healing, protective, directive hand throughout our day. He leads us in His way. He reveals to us what we are to do, say, know, and express. He sustains us and gives to us all we need. This armor protects us from the lies stating otherwise, making us afraid, tempting us into believing in another life outside of God’s ever-presence. This armor protects us from feeling lost, less than, or uncared for. The time we take to put on our spiritual armor fortifies us, clarifies issues, and embraces us in Love. It is ‘unceasing prayer’ that keeps us armed throughout the day.

“in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses,…by pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned, by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness [supreme goodness] on the right hand and on the left…be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness [supreme goodness] with unrighteousneness? And what communion hath light with darkness?”²

This isn’t persons that we are to be unyoked from. It is the false temptations, fears, and vanities that can never believe in nor express Good. For they do not come from Good, they are the mental pull that pulls us away from who we are as the children of God. The armor of supreme goodness stands forever against the lies and temptations, the counterfeits of Good. They are the works of evil.

“What, then, is the material personality which suffers, sins, and dies? It is not man, the image and likeness of God, but man's counterfeit, the inverted likeness, the unlikeness called sin, sickness, and death. The unreality of the claim that a mortal is the true image of God is illustrated by the opposite natures of Spirit and matter, Mind and body, for one is intelligence while the other is non-intelligence.”³

Every day therefore we must prove ourselves in this armor of Love. Every day we must take a stand for our God, put on this spiritual armor, and do battle with ourselves and all of the false claims of the errors that come mentally to us to fall prey to. We get to see this armor as important as any piece of clothing. It is for our protection. It is the spiritual embrace of Love. It is a part of our daily defense against the wiles of the devil.

If we see the battle is between the spirit and the flesh, where the victor is on the side of God, Spirit, how foolish it would be not to put on this armor of Love every day.

“A voice from heaven we have heard,

The call to rise from earth;
Put armor on, the sword now gird,
And for the fight go forth.
The foe in ambush claims our prize,
Then heed high heaven's call.
Obey the voice of Truth, arise,
And let not fear enthrall.
 
The cause requires unswerving might:
With God alone agree.
Then have no other aim than right;
End bondage, O be free.
Depart from sin, awake to love:
Your mission is to heal.
Then all of Truth you must approve,
And only know the real.”⁴

Gentle hugs

1 King James Version of The Holy Bible Ephesians 6 vss. 12-14
2 ibid II Corinthians 6
3 Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy page 285 lines 7-14
4 Christian Science Hymnal No. 5

Say No!

The smallest most powerful word in the dictionary, to me and many others, is the not the word ‘I’…which brings with it ego, a personal sense of self when it should bring the ever-present power of the only ‘I am”, God. But the most powerful word right now that we all have, and the youngest of our own examples, and uses often, is the word ‘no’.

The word ‘No’, when used properly and often, can stop the subtlest to the most aggressive suggestions that one faces during each day, each hour. Each time we are tempted to do any wrong, the false tempting thoughts that will lead us into the depths of trouble and despair, if we would use the word ‘No’ we are saved.

When we know ‘No’, understand why we must say ‘No’, and use it unsparingly we are saved!

The temptations of anger, fear, doubt, resentment, self-indulgences, hostility, envy, and the myriad other temptations alike, can all be turned from us if we would just say, ‘No’ to ourselves and these thoughts. The aggressive mental suggestions that come to us each day tries to tempt us to fall for, follow, and then become in broiled in, lead us into all sorts of discomforts. They can be stopped in our mental tracks with the simple, powerful, understanding, intelligent use of the word ‘No’.

It is interesting to find that the King James Version of the Holy Bible uses the word ‘No’ one thousand three hundred and sixteen times. How many more times we get to, we must, we have to use this word with ourselves and others…

When we say ‘No’ to the temptations that lead us away from the Good that God bestows upon us and our day. What we are saying, as David in his Psalms states, “I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word.”¹

And Job said, “God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me. My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live. Let mine enemy be as the wicked, and he that riseth up against me as the unrighteous. For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God taketh away his soul? Will God hear his cry when trouble cometh upon him? Will he delight himself in the Almighty? will he always call upon God? I will teach you by the hand of God: that which is with the Almighty will I not conceal.”²

"Stand porter at the door of thought. Admitting only such conclusions as you wish realized in bodily results, you will control yourself harmoniously. When the condition is present which you say induces disease, whether it be air, exercise, heredity, contagion, or accident, then perform your office as porter and shut out these unhealthy thoughts and fears."³  

The personal sense thoughts of ‘I will not’ and the “I want to” must be turned from so that our lives bear witness to all the “I will”, “I can”, “I get to” thoughts that glorify God and His ways and means.

The use of this simple word “No” to all personal opinions, wants, desires, as well as fears, doubts and concerns, bring to us the power to defend ourselves and others from the wrong, by doing and thinking the right. By saying “No” to all the wrong allows us to more fully express the Good that we have and know. It brings us in line with what God is to have us do today, everyday.

We must say ‘No’ so that we may say ‘YES’ to all that God is having us to do instead. The more we use this word ‘No’ against our selfish ways we are keeping ourselves ready and in line with the Divine Will.

Let us then see the powerful use of this word towards all temptations that try to bring us down from the highest and holiest of thoughts that would save and regenerate us. Let us see all the thoughts that are useless disappear by our standing firm with the Truth and Love of God. Let us say often ‘No’ to ourselves and be free from the misleading thoughts that would bring us more burdens. Let us rejoice that we have the power to say ‘No’. When the Tempter tries to tempt let us simply, firmly, understandingly say “NO!”

“I love Thy way of freedom, Lord,
To serve Thee is my choice,
In Thy clear light of Truth I rise
And, listening for Thy voice,
I hear Thy promise old and new,
That bids all fear to cease:
My presence still shall go with thee
And I will give thee peace”.⁴

Gentle hugs

1 King James Version of The Holy Bible Psalms 119 vs.16
2 ibid Job 27 vss. 5-11
3 Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy page 392 lines 24-30 (Stand)
4 Christian Science Hymnal No. 136 vs. 1

Glorify God...no self-pity here

Are we glorifying God if we are feeling sorry for ourselves?

What would happen if God felt sorry for Himself? Started thinking of all the times man has turned its back on Him and all His glorious nature? Feeling hurt, resentful, pained by the actions of man in this sphere of thought? What would happen then if God was that type of god and turned His back on us? That is how it feels sometimes. But can God really turn His ‘back’ on His own image and likeness, man? Would that be possible? It feels that way at times?

No! It is untrue and actually impossible, for Mind, God, fills all space with His Love, Wisdom, Perfect Divine Selfhood. God created man, His perfect idea, to be His very ‘image and likeness’¹. Man cannot really turn his back on God and God cannot turn His ‘back’ to Man. It is only a man-made suggestion. It is not an actual possibility.

God sees the Real Man has happy beloved, joyful, kind, the image of Himself. Self-pity sees the dream, the unreal, the ego and vanity of hurt feelings. God expresses the Real through His offspring, Man. Mortal man sees through the eyes of self-glorification. He is rebuffed if he isn’t glorified in other’s thoughts and actions towards himself. Mortal man is a demi-god of the devil and has no true creation, existence, or power. Divine Man, the image of God, created to glorify and magnify God, imaging forth all of God’s nature, character and divinity, sees only what God is doing and manifesting.

God is to be the only One glorified, praised, loved. This love is the love of Love and it is all-inclusive. The vanities are self-absorbed, self-centered love that darkens the thoughts of the mortal and its self-aggrandizement. God is the One and Only Good. Man, the image of God is the witness to this Divine Glory.

The importance of this thought is brought out in three of the four gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke. They all write of Christ Jesus when “one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?” and Jesus said, “Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.”²

It is highly important for us to emulate the Christ example. To awake to the realization of God and His perfect idea, Man. It is recommended that we follow as closely to the Christ example in our daily lives and as quickly as possible. If we fall for the opposite of the Christ example we are letting the anti-christ use us and therefore abuse us into doing wrong. The right at every point is to see and understand the example of the Christ and to follow it. This Christ is in us all and must be glorified in all of our actions and thoughts.

Instead of crying all the day long, “Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none.”³

We must see where true comfort lies. The Comforter and comfort comes from the knowledge that God created man already loved, already perfect, ready to be of His service, His witness to His Allness and Good, not self.

Selfhood is divine. It is not a mortal, personal sense of self. Selfhood is what God is doing and manifesting. Selfhood is pure of the personal senses. It is the reflection of God’s perfect Divine Will. How important it is then for willfulness, sadness, hurt feelings to be turned from immediately and the glorification be always to and for God, Love.

How? Mary Baker Eddy, the discover and founder of Christian Science instructs, “Prayer, watching, and working, combined with self-immolation, are God’s gracious means for accomplishing whatever has been successful done for the Christianization and health of mankind.”⁴  

‘Self-immolation’ isn’t self abuse. It is a turning away from a false sense of self to see what mankind is, the reflection, the image and likeness of God. It is a turning away from a personal sense of self and its false sense of self-glorification and a turning to God’s gracious expression manifested in Man.

Mrs. Eddy also shares, “Self-forgetfulness, purity, and affection are constant prayers.”⁵ AND “St. Paul wrote, ‘Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,’ that is, let us put aside material self and sense, and seek the divine Principle and Science of all healing.”⁶

If the sting of self-pity, hurt feelings, the ‘poor me, they hurt me’ tries to set in, Let us turn from these anti-chirst like views and turn to glorify the only perfect One, God. He it is that is to be glorified at all times. Let us turn away from sense and self to Soul, God, and magnify Him in all our ways, views, thoughts and activities. Let us remember that only God is to be praised and not we ourselves. Vanity, ego, self-centered thoughts must be put down, removed from our thinking. The magnification of God and all of His Good is to be glorified.

Let us pray, “To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever.  Amen.”⁷

Gentle hugs


1 The King James Version of The Holy Bible Genesis 1 vs. 26
2 ibid Matthew 19 vs. 17

3 ibid Psalms 69 vs. 20

4 Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy page 1 line 6

5 ibid page 15 line 26

6 ibid page 20 line 30

7 The King James Version of the Holy Bible Jude 1 vs. 25  

God gave us dominion!

In life’s crisis sometimes we feel less than strong, far from feeling dominion, burdened, enslaved by the fears and concerns. But God gave man dominion over all things. He put everything under man’s feet (power) so that Man is the free born not the enslaved by matter, by cares, by fears.

It is said in the very first book, the very first chapter of the Holy Bible in Genesis, “God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl in the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”¹

Dominion is the “Sovereign or supreme authority; the power of governing and controlling. Power to direct, control, use and dispose of at pleasure; right of possession and use…Territory under a government; …right of governing…” Man has been given dominion not enslavement! Man has been given ‘sovereign or supreme authority’. Are we acting like we have dominion? Or are we bowing down to all the hardships this life is throwing at us?

David questions and marvels in his Psalms, “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. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:”²

We have been given dominion. To practice dominion is to learn how to say, “NO” to all falsehoods. To those things that are not like God, the lies, fears, temptations, doubts, concerns, based upon the serpentine suggestions of all errors concerning the truth about God and Man. These falsehoods can and must be removed from our thoughts and lives. God is good, perfect, All. Man is His perfect image and likeness. He cannot be anything less than God’s perfection as His image and likeness. Therefore the false conclusions, the aggressive demonic suggestions, the lies put upon man must and can be removed. Man is Godlike. When he knows what he is as ***God’s offspring, all that God is is manifested through Man, God’s image. Man has the dominion to stop following lies and instead see himself as reflecting all that God has made him to be, perfect, whole, and free.

Let us today start thinking of ourselves as God’s image and likeness. Let us see how those thoughts help us gain dominion over the enslaving beliefs of fear, doubt, concerns and sickness. Because God cannot fear, be in doubt of His Perfection, concerned about the future or any lack, nor can God be sick or die, in actuality neither can His perfect image and likeness, Man. Let us regain our dominion through His Truth, Life and Love. Let us start taking back our lives through the simple but strong statement, “NO” and the why, because we are God’s offspring.

Gentle Hugs

1 The King James Version of The Holy Bible Genesis 1: 26-28
2 ibid Psalms 8 vss. 4-6

We are 'Note Worthy' in God's Grand Plan!

We have become lulled by the serpent liar to believe that we are just lowly, who cares, people that are struggling or have quit even trying to be the grandness that God has created in each of us!  We think that Noah, Abraham, Moses, Elijah, Elisha, Jacob, David, Ruth, Mary, Jesus, Paul, Martin Luther, and to some of us Mary Baker Eddy, just name a few, are the shining stars of God and the rest of us are just here to fill up space, dull bulbs in the universe. But this is totally untrue!

Each one of us are the shining lights of God just as the above mentioned. Each one of us are ‘note worthy’. Each one of us are as important in God’s grand design. But by being fooled into believing that they are important and we’re just failing or hopefully succeeding mortals, lulls us into believing that our lives and work isn't as important. Because of this we do not see our part in the beauty of God’s Wonderfulness, His perfect unfoldment of Life, our grand part!
 
We are the reflections of God. We are not dull bulbs, but radiant lights reflecting His Light of Life, Truth, and Love. If His radiancy was bright in some and dull in others God would look like Swiss cheese or like pictures of the dark side of the moon filled with pockets of craters of darkness and small segments of light. But this isn’t true! We are all note worthy, all important, all radiant lights!  Therefore we must step up and take our place, that only position that we can be and do, and start reflecting as bright and brilliant as the others.

How? By wrestling with the lies, opinions, fears, doubts just as Jacob did, Jesus, Moses, and all the others. Jacob wrestles the devil until the break of dawn in his thought where he saw the difference between the wrong of the darkness of his ways and the light of Truth and Love. It was so bright and clear to him, it was so life changing that even God gave him a new name, Israel.

“Moses said unto the Lord, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue. And the Lord said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the Lord? Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.”¹

Moses handled his fear, doubt and lack of understanding of who he was as the child idea of God. He went step by step with God doing what he was meant to do, the plan of the Holy Spirit.  We too must do our part. We must wrestle with the error in our thought, the belief that others are designed for greatness but we’re just struggling mortals not doing all that much in the big picture. We must get up every day ready for the fight and the win over the liar and become who we were meant to be, Note Worthy, able, precious in the fight.

“It is your province to wrestle with error, to handle the serpent and bruise its head;…”²

The word ‘province’ means office, business, and I add ‘duty to’ wrestle with the liar, the devil, the serpent, error, mistaken belief, fears, aggressive mental suggestions. It is our right, our duty, our ability through the Christ to wrestle with and handle the lies that come to our thoughts everyday and win the battle that tries to hide our bright light in God’s perfect design.

God has given to each and everyone their place as His perfect brilliant reflection. Let us stop being fooled into being less than who we were created to be. Let us everyday step up alongside with the 'great ones' and be grand reflections of God. We are to light the world more brightly with the Light of God. Divine Mind, God, is waiting for us to be who He created, His shining Lights of Love.

Gentle hugs

1 The King James Version of the Holy Bible Exodus 4 vss. 10-12
2 Miscellaneous Writings by Mary Baker Eddy pg 336 partial sentence on lines 4-5

The full sentence by Mary Baker Eddy:

“It is our province to wrestle with error, to handle the serpent and bruise its head; but you cannot as a Christian Scientist, resort to stones and clubs—year, to matter—to kill the serpent of a material mind.” Miscellaneous Writings by Mary Baker Eddy page 336 lines 4-7

 

 

Self-pity or Christ Jesus' example?

Have you ever seen how self-pity can poison relationships, lives, health?

Job in the Bible was a classic example of an extreme case of self-pity when he stated, “Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived. Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it. Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it; let a cloud dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it…Because it shut not up the doors of my mother’s womb, nor hid sorrow from mine eyes. Why died I not from the womb? Why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly? …”¹ And yet towards the end of Job’s ordeal he was praising God and it is said, “And the Lord turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.”²

If anyone was going to feel sorry for himself, it would have been Christ Jesus. In the garden of Gethsemane Jesus had prayed that he didn’t have to go through the crucifixion. But immediately he turned those thoughts back to humble obedience. He knew that sometimes we are required to do things for gain not only for ourselves but as examples for others as well.  The crucifixion of the mortal self brought in the light of the immortal eternal self that we all express and manifest. It was an extreme measure to bear witness to the ultimate reality of us all. Jesus was required to do this in a very big way so that all mankind for all times may see Life as eternal manifestation of God, not the limited view of life in a material aging body.

If Jesus had fallen for the temptations of self-pity how mankind would have missed a ‘great teaching moment’. We would have all missed the opportunity to see and understand eternal life.

When we fall for the voice of self-pity what we’re dealing with is a bad case of ego and ‘poor me’. Jesus felt the sting of pity. But immediately turned away from it and went forward on his course towards eternal life of Good. We must also silence self-pity so that we can be about ‘our Father’s business’³  

Mary Baker Eddy states, “God's ways are not ours. His pity is expressed in modes above the human. His chastisements are the manifestations of Love. The sympathy of His eternal Mind is fully expressed in divine Science, which blots out all our iniquities and heals all our diseases. Human pity often brings pain.”⁴

When we deny self-pity we actually are lifted up into God’s ways, care, and design. We stop listening to the ‘what’ we wanted and didn’t get. As well as the ‘how’ we were treated badly and how hurt we feel. We begin to view life and its activities as opportunities to rise above self. We get to see God’s higher attainments of thoughts and actions.

It is important that we watch our step by watching our thoughts. Are we thinking how we can give to others and lift others in spirit and support? Or are we thinking how others have hurt us and how we can ‘repay them’? Our thoughts lead us astray or lead us to that precious day of happy realization that God is All-in-all.

The Great Designer of all Good sees us in a very different view. We must have our thoughts in place so that we are ready and willing to take each step from the standpoint of God’s direction, not self-pity’s reactions or self-will’s misleading. God doesn’t see the pettiness and the hurts. God only sees what He has created for us to do and express.

When we listen to what we are saying to others it shows a lot about what we are thinking. Are we speaking self-pity in the words of  “She did this to me” or “He said that about me”? Our words speak volumes about what we are thinking. When we listen to ourselves we can see things that needs to be cleared up in our thinking.

By praying to God, He gives to us better ideas through His Word in the Scriptures and better ways. He reveals to us how these thoughts are misleading us or His Ideas are saving us.

“They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent; adders' poison is under their lips. Keep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked; preserve me from the violent man; who have purposed to overthrow my goings. The proud have hid a snare for me, and cords; they have spread a net by the wayside; they have set gins for me. I said unto the Lord, Thou art my God: hear the voice of my supplications, O Lord. O God the Lord, the strength of my salvation, thou hast covered my head in the day of battle. Grant not, O Lord, the desires of the wicked: further not his wicked device; lest they exalt themselves. As for the head of those that compass me about, let the mischief of their own lips cover them…I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and the right of the poor. Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name: the upright shall dwell in thy presence.”⁵

Let us see how self-pity, revenge, reactions, self-will play a part in our own unhappiness. Let us see that by looking to God and His ways we are lifted above all the senses of ‘self’ that tries to separate us from God’s perfect Allness and Good. Let us see that by holding onto self-pity we are the one’s poisoning our days and lives. Let us be as precious of examples as Christ Jesus gave us to be, following his lead.

Gentle hugs


1 The King James Version of the Holy Bible Job 3 vss. 3-12 (not all typed)
2 ibid Job 42 vs. 10
3 ibid Luke 2 vs. 49
4 Miscellaneous Writings by Mary Baker Eddy page 102 lines 17-22
5 The King James Version of the Holy Bible Psalms 140 vss. 3-9, 12, 13

Father Mother God

May 12, 2013, Mother's Day. This day is bitter sweet for some who either have no children, have no mom's here still to celebrate, or who have children that are estranged or who have committed suicide. It may be a day fraught with sadness, empty arms, and broken hearts.

Yesterday a friend of mine buried her mom. Today is a day of complicated feelings of sadness, happiness, hope, futility, concern, and joy. But to lift our spirits and give us back the day I wish to share in this blog a fuller understanding of God as 'Mother'.

Many people think of God as "Our Father". God, the Creator of all mankind, the Father of the Universe and beyond including Man is so much more than just a Father of us all. But God is a Mother of us as well. It is interesting to view in the King James Version of the Holy Bible and how this Fact is subtly wound through to show us God’s Motherhood. Few times the translators allowed the female ‘gender’ of God to shine through.

Such as: “…how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!”¹

“As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem.”²

“…wisdom is justified of all her children.”³

What are mothers without the Divine Motherhood imaged forth? The motherly symbols of comfort can only come perfectly from our Mother God. She sustains and maintains us, tenderly caring for us, revealing to us our balanced nature as complete whole ideas of an all loving Father Mother God.

In the first chapter of Genesis it states, "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."⁴

Mary Baker Eddy, the discover and founder of Christian Science explains, “Man and woman as coexistent and eternal with God forever reflect, in glorified quality, the infinite Father-Mother God.”⁵

It would be impossible for the Creator to create man as 'male and female', a combined perfect form of being, without the perfect Male and Female balance of a Father Mother God. Man couldn’t express both the qualities of strength and nurturing if God was only the masculine heading, "Father". Without the Mother’s influence of love, gentleness, God, as a perfect and complete Divine Being, would be impossible. God must be the perfect balance and combination of both the masculine and feminine qualities revealed by His/Her idea 'Man'. Otherwise there would be no balance, no perfect Whole Divine Being. All masculine and feminine expression melds as one harmonious Being, God.  Man, as the reflection of this 'male AND female’ creation manifests this balance in his/her wholeness as God’s perfect child idea. God, Who see all that He created as 'very good' has to be both the masculine and feminine combined as One. Man as His/Her reflection manifests this perfect combination.   

This revelation of God's completeness gives to us all the Divine Parent, the Father Mother God. This perfect Parent tenderly loves Her Idea, Man. She gently tends to our every need. She never leaves us. But is constant protection to Her divine sweet babe, Man, through Her Christ.

“God is known in loving-kindness,
God, the true, eternal good;
Zion, ne'er will He forsake thee,
Trust His Father-Motherhood.
Can a mother leave her children?
Can unchanging Love forget?
Though all earthly friends betray thee,
Lo, His arm enfolds thee yet.”⁶

Let us be reunited, strengthened, blessed, reassured by our Father Mother God. Let us feel the wholeness and completion this brings. Let us honor our Father Mother God by acknowledging Her beautiful Selfhood that created us in Her and His great goodness and Divine Being.

We are never parents alone in this vast wilderness trying to be good mortals. But we are the reflections of the Perfect Parent who is guiding and loving us all. If we are not parents ourselves we still can rejoice in this day’s revelation of true Mother’s Day. A day to rejoice and celebrate our true Mother-Father God. Happy MOTHER'S Day!

Gentle hugs


1 The King James Version of the Holy Bible Luke 13 vs. 34
2 ibid Isaiah 66 vs. 13
3 ibid  Luke 7 vs. 35
4 ibid Genesis 1 vss. 27, 28
5 Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy pag3 516 line 22
6 Christian Science Hymnal No. 76 vs. 1

God is the Answer ...'Is' not just has

Challenges, problems, mistakes, questions all have solutions, answers. But when we try to figure things out on our own we end up making them bigger, more tangled, less understandable, more of a mess. We can get lost in the struggle for personal answers. We can become bamboozled, lost in the ends of outs of our problems, to the point where it can seem that there are no right answers. What do we do then?

Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord:¹

Instead of the struggle, the tangles the mess we must begin with God in the first place not as a last resort. By going to God for all the answer to our problems, no matter how small or big, it lifts the personal burden of us trying to know everything or find the answers on our own for anything.

God, the only perfect Mind, is giving to us the way, the thoughts, the solutions to every challenge that comes to us. Some problems threaten our very sense of peace. But if we go to Love, God, then the right ideas come to us step by step that solves all claims of a problem or challenge. By following these ideas we then see the unfoldment of His perfect solutions.

Mary Baker Eddy, the discoverer and founder of Christian Science, writes in her textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,  “Trials teach mortals not to lean on a material staff, — a broken reed, which pierces the heart. We do not half remember this in the sunshine of joy and prosperity. Sorrow is salutary. Through great tribulation we enter the kingdom. Trials are proofs of God's care. Spiritual development germinates not from seed sown in the soil of material hopes, but when these decay, Love propagates anew the higher joys of Spirit, which have no taint of earth. Each successive stage of experience unfolds new views of divine goodness and love.”²

Love brings to each of us His solutions and reveals to us His care during the hard times as well as in the times of rest and joy. By seeing that God has all of the answers we can remove ourselves from the idea that we are burdened, lost, incapable, lacking in ability or strength to meet the need of today. We can turn everything over to God and obediently, prayerfully listen for His directives, His angel messages, His unfoldment of His Good in our lives.

This isn’t ignoring or passive but very active waiting, listening, and following each step of the way. By establishing thought upon God and having the strength of obedience to His Word we are gaining trust, experience, lessons on how to turn to Him actively, habitually, lovingly. It is being honest when dishonesty tempts us into ‘easier ways’, which in turn leads us into bigger problems. It is loving Love more through obedience and meekness. It is patiently allowing Mind and His timing to unfold the answers.

Watching, working, learning more of the ways of the Christ healing activity brings answers to every problem. Demonstrating the strength and fortitude by waiting for each revealing thought, answers from God, the Holy Ghost, Who knows all, does all, expresses all, and maintains all.

“The Scriptures refer to God as saying, ‘Come now, and let us reason together.’ There is but one right Mind, and that one should and does govern man.”³

By removing our beliefs, fears, opinions, doubts, confusion, and lack of understanding from any given situation, turning to God for everything, we are ‘reasoning together’ with the ‘one right Mind’. This brings solutions in ways and activities that we never could think of ourselves. God knows all and does all so the beliefs and opinions we hold in any given situation is far lacking from God’s superior design and plan.

“Our God is Love, unchanging Love,
And can we ask for more?
Our prayer for Love's increase is vain;
'Twas infinite before.
Ask not the Lord with breath of praise
For more than we accept;
The open fount is free to all,
God's promises are kept.
 
Our God is Mind, the perfect Mind,
Intelligence divine;
Shall mortal man ask Him to change
His infinite design?
The heart that yearns for righteousness,
With longing unalloyed,
In such desire sends up a prayer
That ne'er returneth void.

O loving Father, well we know

That words alone are vain,
That those who seek Thy will to do,
The true communion gain.
Then may our deeds our pure desire
For growth in grace express,
That we may know how Love divine
Forever waits to bless.”⁴

Let us start today to see that God is here waiting to bless us with His solutions to every problem.  Let us humbly, wisely, meekly turn to Him, to the Mind who knows all. Let us move past our beliefs that we ‘know what is best’ and go to the All-knowing Mind. Let us love Love more and rejoice that God is ready and waiting to give to us all that we need.

The Christ Idea that God provides for all is the perfect idea, solution. Let us take our burdens to God and see the unfoldment of His ‘perfect design’. Let us yearn for His righteousness, supreme Goodness, to meet every need.

Let us trust that His tender love and constant care meets our every need. Let us all enjoy and see the freedom that this activity brings.

God has the answers. God is the answer. God is Love. Love, God, is the answer to every problem we must meet and defeat with His Christ, Truth.

Christ Jesus reasoned with us, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”⁵

Gentle hug


1 The King James Version of the Holy Bible Isaiah 1 vs. 18 (to :)
2 Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy page 66 lines 6-16
3 Miscellaneous Writings by Mary Baker Eddy page 59 lines 19-21
4 Christian Science Hymnal No. 269
5 The King James Version of the Holy Bible Matthew 11 vss. 28-30