Pondering the questions...and your own answers.

This week we are studying one of our Bible Lessons that poses a question. That prompted me to consider the other questions included as well. We are students of Christian Science and should be learning something each week. More of the truth about God and our relationship to Him should be clearer and clearer. And we should be expecting and experiencing healing. If someone asked you these questions, how would you answer them?

Question. Are sin, disease, and death real?
Answer. No. Why not? Because God never made them and He maintains His creation perfectly.

Question. What is this supposed power, which opposes itself to God? Whence cometh it? What is it the binds man with iron shackles to sin, sickness, and death?
Answer. Whatever enslaves man is opposed to the divine government. Truth makes man free.

Question. What is that in thine hand?
Answer. A rod. When God tells Moses to throw it on the ground, it appears to turn into a serpent, and Moses runs from it. But in reality it is still and always has been a rod. What he thought he saw was an illusion. The illusion of Moses lost its power to alarm him. God has lessened his fear of its reality.

Question. Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?
Answer. The power of Christian Science and divine Love is omnipotent. It is indeed adequate to unclasp the hold and to destroy disease, sin, and death. ( Am I claiming this every day and demonstrating it in my own life?)

Question. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servant to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
Answer. Let the slave of wrong desire learn the lessons of Christian Science, and he will get the better of that desire, and ascend a degree in the scale of health, happiness, and existence. (Am I alert to 'wrong desires' and abstractions)

Question. Is it possible, then, to believe that the evils which Jesus lived to destroy are real or the offspring of the divine will?
Answer. Find a sovereign antidote for error in the life-giving power of Truth acting on human belief. (See next question)

Question. How can a Christian, having the stronger evidence of Truth which contradicts the evidence of error, think of the latter as real or true, either in the form of sickness or of sin?
Answer. All must admit that Christ is "the way, the truth, and the life," and that omnipotent Truth certainly does destroy error. (What am I admitting, letting into my life, accepting as real?)

Question. Who dares to doubt this consummate test of the power and willingness of divine Mind to hold man forever intact in his perfect state, and to govern man's entire action?
Answer. That is the question we each must answer.

This week's Lesson is like sitting in on one of Mrs. Eddy's classes. There is much to think about and many false beliefs to challenge and overcome. Don't dismiss the questions lightly. Look into your heart, see the serpent illusion as unreal, break off false shackles for yourself and those around you, find that sovereign antidote, admit Truth.

Golden image or true image and likeness

Today I am praying about golden images. Our Bible Lesson this week, on Unreality, starts each section with a reminder not to be deceived. The three Hebrew men were not deceived when the king created a gigantic golden statue and made a law that everyone had to bow down to it and worship it. They knew there is only one God and we do not bow down or worship any other. Jealous men, hoping to see them punished, reported their behavior to the king. He is furious when they still refuse to obey his ruling, even when faced with a burning fiery furnace. "When they get tossed into it, the only thing that gets destroyed are the ropes binding them. They walk around freely and the Son of God is with them.

Our world is constantly setting up 'golden images' that it expects us to bow down to and worship. If we do not stay alert, we can buy right into that mindset. Like the image of 'golden years' that claims certain things should be part of our life during those decades. We should have built up some kind of financial plan or retirement benefit. If we are not yet to that point, we should be planning for it because if we don't how ever will we maintain a good standard of living. Every magazine at the check out stand shows a 'golden image' of what a man or a woman should look like. The issue is filled with exercise plans and diet suggestions to help us have that image. How does one combat all these aggressive mental suggestions? Keep your eye and your thoughts on God. God, good, the only cause and creator. God, divine Love, who meets every human need. God, Principle, the law of ever present good.

When those men came out of that furnace, untouched by the flames, their hair was not singed, their clothing was intact, the fire had been unable to hurt them. Not even the smell of smoke remained as a reminder of the ordeal. God sent His angel and delivered them. The king, the jealous counselors, all the people, saw what happened....and what did not happen. How are your family, friends and co-workers seeing you? Are you a bright, happy person, filled with confidence, always expecting blessings for yourself and those around you? Do you look at others' experience and see them threatened, bowing down to a false god, or do you take a moment to see that they have the power and understanding to face down that picture. 

We honor the words of Genesis One where God saw everything (and everyone) that He had made and it (and they) were very good, made in His own image and likeness. We should be claiming that image and likeness daily, hourly if need be. We should never bow down to a false god. No one can make you do that so never give your consent. Lift your eyes and see what your God can do. He can deliver you from any and all false gods and silly laws. Mrs. Eddy says that 'Enslavement of any kind is not legitimate'. What God did in the fiery furnace, the lions' den, and in kings' palaces so long ago He can and will do today.

Admit or not admit, that is the question.

Our branch church recently hosted a wonderful lecture by Suzanne Riedel entitled Security and Living Without Fear. It was filled with inspiration and good examples of how to do that. One thing I took away with me was her references to 'admit'. I was reminded of it this week in our Bible Lesson on Unreality which focuses on not being deceived by what the material senses are presenting.

Admit has several meanings. Let in. Open the door to. Allow to enter. Give right of entry. Take in. Welcome. Accept. Those sound positive. Admit can also mean to permit, grant, tolerate, bear. Those sound a bit more negative and unhelpful, if not unhealthy. Admit can also be to approve of, to accept, to go along with.

In the first section of the Lesson there is this from I Corinthians 15:58....my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.  That is something worth admitting. From Science and Health, page 277....If  goodness and spirituality are real, evil and materiality are unreal and cannot be the outcome of an infinite God, good.  That is also something worth admitting. It is an interesting way to look at the Lesson, watching for those citations that alert us to what we might be admitting as real or unreal. The same section another passage from Science and Health says this...."We lost the high signification of omnipotence, when after admitting that God, or good, is omnipresent and has all-power, we still believe there is another power, named evil (page 469).

There are dozens of places in her writings where Mrs. Eddy uses the words admit, admits, admitted, admittedly, and admitting. I may spend some time today looking those up and pondering what she says. During my most recent rereading of our textbook I spent extra time with the chapter, Christian
Science Practice, and on page 392 there is a reference. "Admitting only such conclusions as you wish realized in bodily results, you will control yourself harmoniously".

There is an interesting conversation between error and good in Unity of Good, starting on page 21. On the next page Good says, "Thou shalt not admit that error is something to know or be known, to eat or be eaten, to see or be seen, to feel or to be felt. To admit the existence of error would be to admit the truth of a lie". That is also something worth admitting.

Be alert today to what you are admitting, accepting as truth, and what you might be admitting into thought that is not true or real. "Allow nothing but His likeness to abide in your thought" (S&H 495).

Give of your heart's rich overflow

This week's Bible Lesson on Matter includes the story of Peter and John healing the man who was born lame. How often do we come upon a scene that touches something in us. We are moved by what we are seeing. And we want to give or do something. We can always give...our prayers, our love, our attention, encouragement. Peter 'fastened his eyes' on the man. He did not look away, embarrassed for a man who had spent his whole life begging. He did not shrink from the picture, he addressed the situation. He was not overwhelmed by the great need, he responded by giving what he had, a clear understanding of that man's true identity, his completeness, his ability to rise up from a lifetime of limitation. Right where the need seemed to be, Peter offered the healing solution.

The man must have been looking around to all who entered into the temple, not really focusing on those passing by. Peter tells him to 'look on us'. He got his attention. and then he prepared thought to be receptive for the healing. Certainly that was not what the man was expecting. He just wanted some money. But Peter lifted his thought and then took him by the hand and lifted him right out of that lie.

We know how the man responded. He felt strength where there had never been strength before. He was, for the first time in his life, able to stand on his own two feet. Did he run home to share this amazing thing? No. He went with them into the temple, where he had not been able to go before, walking, leaping and praising God. Giving loud and joyous gratitude to God. I have to think Peter and John were feeling pretty happy as well.

Christian Science allows us to change any false picture because it is not us doing it, but God. He is the only cause and Creator. And all He creates and does is good. Constant unconditional love from Love. The truth of our identity as Truth is always being expressed. How wonderful to see thought stirred from a wrong concept to a change of base. Our spiritual foundation. The bedrock that cannot be shaken.

Today I will work with hymn 139. It begins...I walk with Love along the way. And in the third verse it says....give of your heart's rich overflow.

Come walk with Love today.

what are they among so many?

Often when I am studying our weekly Bible Lesson, especially when I am going to be teaching Sunday school, I like to go through and notice the questions. They make good conversation starters and a good jumping off point for further study and prayer.

This week's lesson on Substance contains several good questions. The Responsive Reading includes the story of Jesus feeding the multitudes. A large crowd of over 5,000 people had gathered to hear Jesus teach. He asked his disciple Philip 'where shall we buy bread that these may eat'? They were far from any markets. Jesus already knew what he was going to do but he was making this demonstration so that his students would see the unlimited supply provided by divine Love. Another disciple, Andrew, asks him a question in return. A lad had offered to share his five loaves and two fish but 'what are they among so many'?

Have you ever sat down to pay your monthly bills and there seemed to be a whole  multitude accumulated? Maybe about $5,000 worth? I have. It can seem daunting, especially if you don't have that much money in your check book or savings account. You can pay some of them, perhaps five loaves and two fishes worth, but 'what is that among so many'? Faced with a tall pile of bills I just took the one off the top and gratefully wrote a check.  I took a moment to thank God that I was able to pay that one and expressed gratitude for the paycheck I was currently getting and the job that I loved. There was about 'five loaves and two fishes' worth of money left so I wrote out a few more bills and mailed them off. But 'what was that among so many'? Before I left my desk I took each one of those unpaid bills and was truly grateful for what each represented. It was right for those obligations to be met, I wanted to meet them, especially the one that was from a practitioner. I prayed until I was confident that Love would answer the need, just as it did that day Jesus fed his multitude. Later that day an unexpected check arrived in the mail and I was able to send off a few more bills. By the end of the week, all of them had been paid from different sources. And I had some left over!

Another question I am pondering comes from section two where David and his men return to the city of Ziklag to find that his enemies have attacked and taken everyone captive, including two of David's wives. David was upset and his men were angry with him because their families and property had been taken. David found encouragement when he prayed. He asks God (here's the question), "Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them?'. This is a response to a problem that yields a healing solution. God assures him that he will overtake them and will recover all. And that is exactly what happens. Do we have that same type of response when faced with a sudden situation? Pray first, take it to God. Then follow His directing. You, too, can 'recover all'.

There are several more excellent questions in this Bible Lesson and all lead to a clearer understanding of true substance and a promise that ... the goodness of God endureth continually. Or as it asks in Isaiah 14:27...The Lord of Hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and His hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?

What about migraines? Well, Aunt Tootsie, let me tell you about that.

Last night I gave a testimony in our church service and I'd like to share it here as well.

Christian Science came into my life when I was in my early twenties. I had not been studying it long when I knew I wanted to join The Mother Church and a local branch church. But at that time I was still holding on to some bad habits and long held beliefs. It was not hard to give up drinking alcohol as I had never done much of that. It was also fairly easy to stop smoking. Again, I had not been doing that for very long and mostly because I thought it made me seem older and sophisticated with my co-workers. But choosing to rely completely on Christian Science for my health and well being was another matter altogether.

I had been a very sickly child, often at the doctor's office for shots and prescriptions for medicine. My relatives were familiar with my missing lots of school and dealing with frequent ailments. So they were quite surprised at my new direction. And not a little worried. I was reading Science and Health and gaining so many new and wonderful insights about God and my  relationship to Him as His beloved child, made in His image and likeness, perfect as the Original I reflected. The reading room was nearby and I spent many hours studying and asking the librarians questions. They were patient and loving and met me where I was in thought. But the two most helpful avenues at that time were the Christian Science Monitor and the Wednesday evening church services.

When the Monitor arrived in our mailbox I eagerly turned to the metaphysical article that appeared daily. While Science and Health seemed difficult to grasp, these articles were written at such an accessible level that I was always inspired. I looked forward to them and cut many out to save and ponder. Nowadays I love sharing current Monitor articles with others who are new to Christian Science and/or those who want to pray about world issues.

The Wednesday evening meetings were such a revelation! Ordinary people, friends I was just getting to know, would stand up and share experiences and remarks about how they were applying the teachings of Christian Science to any and all problems or challenges. And they were getting healed! I also fell in love with the hymnal and found so many both simple and profound ideas in the hymns. I work with a different hymn every day and keep a paperback hymnal in the car.

As I would go back to family gatherings, my relatives could see how my life was being changed for the better. But they had reservations. Some of them had been able to stop drinking or smoking by one means or another so that was not so spectacular. But all of them relied on medicine and they just couldn't imagine how I could get by without it. One of my aunties, who had sat in a darkened room with me many a time in childhood, asked how I was able to bear my migraine headaches. I told her I had not had a migraine in twenty years. (If she were still around I could extend that to forty years now) I shared with her how I had worked with a Christian Science practitioner and being healed of those migraines and this was the best part. Once healed, they never returned! That impressed her.

Sometimes I forget how truly blessed I am in all the freedom I experience and express in my life. So many limitations overcome. So much spiritual progress. My life is anything but dull and it is good to understand that God is the source of all the goodness and blessings.

Elijah - maybe he should not have slain the prophets

The story of Elijah and his contest with the 450 prophets of Baal is a familiar one so I decided to look a little deeper this morning for something new. When the children of Israel were divided in their loyalty and tempted to follow Baal worship Elijah demands that they choose whether they would follow Baal or God, you cannot serve both. A contest of sorts followed and the prophets of Baal called upon their god unsuccessfully while Elijah got an impressive display of God's power. Had he left it there and gathered the people together for teaching things might have gone differently. But he chose to slaughter the 450 prophets. God had already shown His power, Elijah did not need to show his.  Queen Jezebel reacts to the insult to her religion and the death of her prophets by promising to do the same to Elijah within 24 hours and he runs for his life. How odd. He had just seen an impressive display of God's power but he seems to think God cannot, or will not, now protect him from Jezebel. It is somewhat like Peter, who stood up to those who came to arrest Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane and within 24 hours denies him three times.

Elijah escaped into the wilderness beyond Jezebel's reach. Exhausted and upset he sat down under a tree and gives in to despair and self condemnation. He must have felt that he deserved no help from God for his act against those 450 men. (We saw such a different way of dealing with that kind of threat in the Bible Lesson a few weeks ago when Elisha spares his enemies, treats them with kindness, and sends them home.) So there sits Elijah, just wanting to die. At this point God sends an angel to encourages him to rise up and take nourishment from the food and drink provided. He does so but then just goes back to sleep. The angel comes a second time and now Elijah begins '40 days and 40 nights' in a wilderness experience. But at least now he is moving forward and headed for Mount Horeb, a holy place. When he gets there he has stopped asking to die but chooses to live in a cave, he does not ask for forgiveness nor is he willing to take up his mantle and go back to teach the people. Now God himself comes to him. I love His question, "Elijah, what are you doing here?"

There have been times when I have felt that cave experience, just wanting to be left alone to go over and over a mistake I made. But God has not left me there either. He asks me the same question, what are you doing here? I have work for you to do. In Elijah's case He had shown him His great power, I have had some remarkable healing in my life as well. Why do we choose to give up when there is so much good God wants us to do? God tells him to come outside and watch. Then Elijah sees that God is not in the earthquake, wind, or fire, but is that still, small voice of Truth. And he is ready to return to doing what God has planned for him to do. As I was ready to learn from my experiences and trust my life to God's keeping.

That still small voice reaches us even in the darkest places and times, when we are most fearful. God is always talking to us, we must choose. Do we take retribution in our own hands? If we make a mistake do we go hide in some mental or physical cave or do we choose instead to be still and listen. God already knows what we need and He supplies it. He is always with us, even in our wilderness moments. Especially in our wilderness moments.

How grateful I am for all the wisdom and practical applications of what we study in our Bible Lessons. Even the great ones had testing times. Maybe that is part of what helped them to become great. It is what we take from that experience that lift us higher into a better and closer relationship with God. Next time I am tempted to 'slay the prophets' I will remember Elijah and choose instead to listen for the still, small voice.