The hardness of heart...the harshness of spirit is healed by Love

We are taught “In patient obedience to a patient God, let us labor to dissolve with the universal solvent of Love the adamant of error,--self-will, self-justification, and self-love,--which wars against spirituality and is the law of sin and death.”¹

The ‘adamant of error’: the hardness in hearts and minds of mistaken beliefs about ourselves and others. Harsh thoughts, egotistical thoughts, the strength of opinions that leads us away from spirituality, the following of God’s commands, takes us further and further from our birthright as the Children of God, the Children of Love.


'Lift not up your horn on high: speak not with a stiff neck. For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another."²

Strongly held belief that hardens our hearts against others, especially based upon a personal sense of egotism, prejudice, or unfounded opinion gets us nowhere. These are based upon self-will, believing others should act like us, be like us; self-justification, not wanting to see the wrong in our own self; and self-love, the arrogance of egotism and self-centered immaturity. We do not want to be nor can we actually be a 'stiff necked' people. We must be the representatives of Life, Truth, and Love. The images and likeness of God, Good.

“ Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the Lord of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the Lord of hosts. Therefore it is come to pass, that as he cried, and they would not hear; so they cried, and I would not hear, saith the Lord of hosts:”³

We are told the way to ‘dissolve’ this ‘adamant of error’ is through ‘the universal solvent of Love’. The Holy Bible states that if we do not stop listening to, obeying, and following these adamant errors of thought and action then we cannot hear God and God cannot hear those thoughts animating us into the wrong stands.

Love brings us out of the ugliness of selfishness and egotism. Love lifts us above the hardness and harshness of opinions. Love leads us into kindness, consideration, forgiveness, forbearance. Hardness of thought and action leads us into hatred, willfulness, discord, anger, resentment and finally violence.

Love is the animating power that should direct us every step of the way. We have been taught, “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.”⁴

Humility and love brings us farther than egotism, harsh thoughts and words, and the hardness of prejudice. Love brings to us peace between neighbors. Love gives to us the joy and fulfillment of Goodness.

Let us ‘labor to dissolve with the universal solvent of Love the adamant of error’. Let us love our fellow man. Let us not only be loving but also think loving thoughts. Let us rejoice in letting go of the hardness of heart and the harshness of thoughts and words. Let us let Grace be the lead of our activities. Let us remove all the ‘self’ opinions of egotism and self-love that leads to self-superiority and ugliness.

 Let us let Love be our compass and guide in all that we think, say, and do. Let us be and do the will of Love.

Gentle hugs

1 Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy pg 242 line 17
2 The King James Version of The Holy Bible  Psalms 75 vss. 5-7
3 ibid Zechariah 7 vss. 12 and 13
3 ibid I John 4 vss. 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 16 (God)

Anger

As I sit here in front of  my laptop screen trying to put down the sudden anger that came to me due to a silly Facebook commit, I'm finding the lessons of staying out of other people's dreams helpful.

When anger strikes and sometimes at odd moments for odd reasons, we have to realize that we have the control, anger doesn't. It is rare that I get angry any more. There are too many things that would try to rile me up and I've learned that in actuality there are no reasons for anger.

Anger is an emotion lead by the devilish temptations of a personal sense of self. It is a feeling that others are stepping on our 'toes'; a warmonger trying to create problems between people or societies. It is an emotion that I do not wish to play party to, a loss of control of humility. Anger is a loss of personal control, a loss of graciousness.

Anger blinds people and creates factions. Anger causes long term disputes. Anger brings with it damage of violence or words that cannot be taken back.

Anger misrepresents us, showing our animality, ugliness, gracelessness, uncontrolled self-centeredness. It doesn't bring to the table of communication  arbitration, listening, open mindedness. Anger closes the eyes and ears to another's side and only makes us feel like our side is the only side.

Anger's lingering effects is resentment, hurt feelings, loss of friendships, family, and relationships. Anger doesn't bring us the reward of gain but instead the outcome of loss.

Anger is destructive not constructive. Anger tears down, abuses, removes. It doesn't build up, protect, give us anything productive or constructive.

We are told in The Holy Bible, the King James Version, "He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city."1

Mary Baker Eddy, the founder and discoverer of Christian Science, states, "There is immense wisdom in the old proverb, "He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty." Hannah More said, 'If I wished to punish my enemy, I should make him hate somebody.'"2

To handle anger, by a slow methodical process or a quick denial of anger's claims that there is something worthy to lose control over, keeps us above the temptations of the devil's attempts to use and abuse us. It saves us from regret! It protects us from backlash and harm. It allows us to stay mentally and physically in control of our own environment. It gives to us a sense of God's ever- present Peace and Love. It allows us to be better examples of the Christ.

We can handle situations that comes to us in the knowledge that what comes from God is Good, giving, happy, calm, peaceful. What comes from the liar, the tempter, is agitating, ruffling, upsetting, distracting. The Good God gives to us is progressive and soothing. The temptations of evil is destructive and irritating.

Let us see that anger isn't our normal state of being. Let us see that anger isn't a natural part of us as the children of God. Let us see that anger is a temptation as any other emotion that takes us away from joyfulness and grace.

Let us pray that we always stay above all the temptations of the devil and not ever be a part of its dismal darkness.

For we are told, "rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil."3
By turning to this gracious and merciful God of great kindness He will change our thoughts from the evil to His ever-present blessings of Good.

Thank you God, I feel much better under Your loving control.

Gentle hugs

1 King James Version of The Holy Bible Proverbs 16 vs. 32
2 Miscellaneous Writings by Mary Baker Eddy pg 223 lines 25-28
3 King James Version of The Holy Bible Joel 2 vs. 13

Laugh, Party, Play!!??

Being a ‘church’ person and never one to really stray too far from my church duties as a productive member at home, at church and in society, the word ‘fun’ has alluded me and turned on me. I could never see how to have ‘fun’ and still stay in the confines of the rules and guidance of church work. Through the years I’ve grown to realize that what others consider ‘fun’ would have turned on me and made my moments of ‘fun’ become hours, days or years of regret. So I kept working and finding ‘fun’ in other ways such as writing, sharing, loving others, kindness. I didn’t look like the ‘fun’ type. I’m not invited to a lot of parties. But I’ve gained a sense of peace in this area with the lessons I’ve learned from what life really is.

Still…When I was looking towards the Holy works for humor, laughing, light heartedness, I was kind of dismayed that humor, wit, laughing isn’t a huge subject matter in the deep works of salvation.

One can only imagine that true salvation isn’t a laughing matter. But I was hoping for some lightness to my work.

When looking for laughter most of the time in The Holy Bible it is derisive, laughing the important ideas to scorn, it is mocking. This is not the laughter I was looking for and surely not the kind that would lift thought and heart. 

Over time I have realized that hymns, Psalms, parables, the work of salvation, gives us a sense of joy that is incomparable to the lacking spasmodic joys this life gives to us. It may be hard to see at times how constant Church work has a reward of joy. But the lessons we are learning here are for a lifetime of eternal joy. It is just our definition of ‘fun’, ‘joy’, ‘frivolity’ that needs to be adjusted, not the Church and its branches of learning.

Looking I found, Sarah laughed at the idea of have a child so ‘late’ in life. God ‘winked’ at the ignorances of mankind and then demanded men to repent.¹ The idea of others also winking was a form of laughing or making fun of others. Not a kind or happy version of laughter…laughing AT others!

Jesus was laughed to scorn² when he was just about to show how Life defeats death!

Actually when one begins to look we find there are many warnings against laughter, such as, “Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep.”³ AND “Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep; let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.”⁴

Pretty heavy stuff! But where’s the joy, the rejoicing, the happiness? Is life doing God’s work all drudgery and woe? NO!  There is so much love and joy that comes with it. A joy that nothing and no one can take away from us, it is a joy that comes from loving Love.

It comes from understanding. It comes from realization. It comes from a lifted spirit and thought. It comes from seeing where joy comes from and who gives it to us.

Is it from drinking and partying? Nope. Is it from sensuality? Nope. Is it from laziness and procrastination? No. It is from serving God, Good. It is from turning away from our personal sense of what is ‘fun’ and seeing that all Good comes from a Divine Source. It is turning away from the beliefs of life in matter and realizing that Life is God, Life is ever-present Good, Life is the fulfilling of the Law and our fulfillment. It is finding and understanding true Love. It is witnessing to wisdom, joy, and intelligence from a higher source than just our meager beliefs, opinions and lack luster thoughts.

Joy that is based upon the mortal experience is extremely fleeting. But joy and happiness found in God is ever-present, progressive, growing, and when understood—it is a constant in our lives. It isn’t just a weekend thing it is a moment by moment expression, a reflection, a rejoicing of Truth, Life, and Love. It is not a wished for lacking commodity. But a constant expression of knowing who and what we are as the children of God. We can turn to Him always and feel the joy of His perfect presence. It is truly the words of David, “I rejoice at thy word, as one that findeth great spoil.”⁵ AND “Let Israel rejoice in him that made him: let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.”⁶

In the Christian Science textbook we are warned, “Final deliverance from error, whereby we rejoice in immortality, boundless freedom, and sinless sense, is not reached through paths of flowers nor by pinning one’s faith without works to another’s vicarious effort.”⁷ “Then shall Soul rejoice in its own, in which passion has no part.”⁸  “Christians rejoice in secret beauty and bounty, hidden from the world, but known to God.”⁹

Those that think that life here is just one big party of fun and games have the rug pulled out from them when times get tough. Then they try to run with the crowd that have been working for their own and other’s personal salvation. But it doesn’t work that way. We must all “work out our own salvation with fear and trembling.”¹⁰

The life of a Christian may not look like all fun and games to those that do not understand or want to work at anything that is so life altering. But that’s okay! Those of us who are working and rejoicing sing with the Revelator, “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.”¹¹

Come, join us, work, learn, understand the higher sense of joy. Let us be ready at all times for His Good and rejoice!  It may not be a belly laugh and a party. But the work, love, joy, happiness that gratitude brings makes me smile and feel I’m with Peace. Let us look towards His pleasures, for after all, our Master reassured us by sharing this delightful truth, “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”

Just think! ‘the kingdom’! Now that is worth the wait, the work, and skipping a lot of parties. The gift of our Father’s good pleasure! That’s how I roll…

Gentle hugs

1 The King James Version of The Holy Bible The Acts of the Apostles 17 vs. 30
2 ibid Matthew 9 vs. 24; Luke 8 vs. 53
3 ibid Luke 6 vs. 25 (Woe unto you that laugh)
4 ibid James 4 vs. 9, 10
5 ibid Psalms 119 vs. 162
6 ibid Psalms 149 vs. 2
7 Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy pg 22 line 23
8 ibid pg 64 line 21
9 ibid pg 15 line 25
10 The King James Version of The Holy Bible I Corinthians 2 vs. 3
11 The King James Version of The Holy Bible Revelation 19 vs. 7

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

Teach me!!!

 This morning in reading a poem by Louise Knight Wheatly called, “Teach me to love”¹, I began to pray those same words. But it grew from there. It was more than ‘teach me to love’. But also, ‘teach me how to pray, to think, to serve, to give, to share, to forgive’! TEACH ME! 

A prayer of frustration, perhaps, but one from a meek heart, a yearn to see things from a higher perspective, the standpoint of Love.

In looking up the word ‘meek’ in several dictionaries I found the definition I had been looking for for years. It was ‘teachable, the ability to be taught’.

In times of need, how we long for better ways. When things are not working out, how we wish for better thoughts, activities, expressions of love. When we see how lacking our own personal views are, how we treasure those times of spiritual growth. It all comes from the meekness, the teachable attitude, the waiting to learn a higher expression of life as God reveals His Life to us.

Through that desire, that meekness, those moments of deep desire, when we finally get tired of trying to do things from our own lacking personal beliefs, we turn to the highest source, God, Mind, divine Life itself for all the answers.

At times in life we are brought down to our knees both figuratively and literally. But these moments of childlike cries of need we are brought up higher. Higher not in our own selfish view of a ‘me’ or ‘I’, but of God’s highest view of His perfect creation, Man.

The sincere cry, “Teach me” has been prayed throughout the ages. We read David’s plea throughout his Psalms, “Shew me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths.”² “Teach me thy way, O Lord; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name.”³ “Teach me, O Lord, the way of thy statutes; and I shall keep it unto the end.”⁴ Just to share a few of his many “teach me” prayers.

Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians states, “Pray without ceasing.”⁵ Our constant thoughts of ‘ceaseless prayer’ can and should include, ‘Teach me, O Lord’. But it can also be the acknowledging, the affirmation, ‘You do teach me, O Lord, Your perfect ways. You do lead me by Your still thoughts about me and all. You show forth Your constant Love. You are my God, in You I do forever trust.’

Mary Baker Eddy states, “In order to pray aright, we must enter into the closet and shut the door. We must close the lips and silence the material senses. In the quiet                  sanctuary of earnest longings, we must deny sin and plead God's allness. We must resolve to take up the cross, and go forth with honest hearts to work and watch for wisdom, Truth, and Love. We must "pray without ceasing." Such prayer is answered, in so far as we put our desires into practice.
       The Master's injunction is, that we pray in secret and let our lives attest our sincerity.”⁶

God knows all, does all, expresses all Good through man. Let us turn to Him for all things. Let us let Him teach us today what He is and what we reflect of Him. Let us meekly turn to Him ready to be taught His Love, His ways, His strength and ability. Let us let these teachable moments lift us above all to the highest views of God.

I need Thee every hour,
Most gracious Lord;
No tender voice like Thine
Can peace afford.

Refrain
I need Thee, O, I need Thee;
Every hour I need Thee;
O bless me now, my Saviour,
I come to Thee.

I need Thee every hour;
Stay Thou near by;
Temptations lose their power
When Thou art nigh.
Refrain

I need Thee every hour;
Teach me Thy will;
And Thy rich promise, Lord,
In me fulfill.
Refrain⁷

Gentle hugs

1 Poem entitled “Teach me to Love” written for the Christian Science Journal and published in 1908
2-4 The King James Version of They Holy Bible Psalms 25 vs. 4; 86 vs. 11; 119 vs. 33
5 ibid I Thessalonians 5 vs. 17
6 Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy pg. 15 lines 14-24
7 Christian Science Hymnal No. 137