Welcome to the PlainfieldCS Bulletin Board. You will need to log in before you can post here. Click here to log in if you already have an account. If you do not have an account, please contact jeremy@plainfieldcs.com. Thank you!
The Bulletin Board is for gratitude for Christian Science and the Church, as well as timely excerpts from the Bible, the works of Mrs. Eddy, and the early workers that help and encourage. We are very grateful for all posts that conform to these guidelines, but will edit or remove anything that the Practitioners feel is not in complete accord with pure Christian Science or in any way disrespectful of it.
We also ask that you keep your postings as concise as possible. If you quote the Bible, please use The King James Version, as this is what Mrs. Eddy used. Thank you!
Yes, dear Jacob, we gaze upon the ugliness of the Adam dream and that, we learn in Science, IS a dream an illusion, although appearing to be real. There is no rectifying a dream. Our reality lies in maintaining our Oneness with the Father and thank God this is possible for us all here and now due to the teachings of the Master and Mary Baker Eddy. And so we can experience heaven on earth. The sexual element you mentioned in your other post is also part of the Adam dream and as you explained, some forms of it definitely appear better than others. It is the love, the closeness, the joy of any experience which makes it border on the divine and this is what people truly seek after. All things human, however, must pass away but the good that God gives remains with us forever – and isn’t that wonderful? Much is written on this topic of sex and I know it confuses many so I am sure we will talk more about it at the roundtable but for now, this is enough. From me anyway!
Yes, thank you JC. Intelligence is from God. Mrs. Eddy gives a beautiful definition of “intelligence” in the Glossary so comparing “intelligence” to “wisdom” is not a good example. It would be better to use the words “human intellect” or “intellectualism.” We were taught here “intellectualism” is the “bane of Christian Science.”
[This was written before the initial post was edited. The original title was “Intelligence vs Wisdom”]
Thank you Louise! I love this healing so much and am so grateful you posted it here.
Thank you! Such a wonderful quote from Mrs. Eddy to work with.
Thank you Barbara! 🙂
Very beautiful Ann – and how true! Thank you!
Thank you! And yes the article from the 1917 Sentinel will be posted on our Carousel.
Jared our organist, wrote the music for it and did such a beautiful job! We are very grateful for him and for Faith our soloist!
So beautiful! Thank you.
Thank you – this is one of my favorite prayers too. Maybe we can sing it some Sunday. Thank you for the link!
Wow – what you wrote are truly “joyful blessings”! Thank you very much. Beautiful description of God’s universe intact!
Very beautiful- and true! Thank you Melinda.
Thank you so much for this Rae. I love this quote by Mrs. Eddy and do think of it often now that the hand of God is beginning to transform all the summer greens into autumn’s blazing colors. What a tremendous gift we have in Mrs. Eddy’s words and in her works.
The author of the letter said the words ”Mrs. Eddy wept today” just had come to him in that way and were not from any particular source. It was those words that led him to our website.
I found this excerpt from the biography of Ira and Flavia Knapp by their son Bliss Knapp very helpful:
“Another interesting letter which Mr. Knapp wrote to Mrs. Eddy, describing an experience which came to him when he first accepted Christian Science, she had published in the Journal of April 1888, During this experience, as he thought on the mission of Christian Science, he exclaimed, ‘It brings a message of love,’ and then, to quote the exact words of his letter:
‘To my surprise a voice – nothing like a human voice answered and said: ‘Where shall I abide? Your house is occupied. Turn out your old tenants, and put on one measure of humility, and another measure, and yet another measure; and then I will abide with you, and Charity will abide with you.’”
This certainly describes the state of non-resistance to God – a triple portion of humility! Only as we humbly cast away our former, resistant human beliefs can we make room for the Christ-Truth which knocks quietly at the door of consciousness. Humbling ourselves before the Lord is what illumines our path and brings healing into our lives.
Carol also found a couple of very helpful quotes to pray about when handling the belief of evil as aforementioned.
“The forces of evil carry within themselves the seeds of their own destruction. Thy have no intelligence. They border on lunacy. We should say and know these things, consistently and expectantly. The truth thereby released will not return void. It is the word of God which accomplishes that whereunto it is sent.”
“Lectures and Articles on C.S. by Peter V. Ross page 22
“What is the ‘real name’ of what you have been calling evil? Obviously, the real name is God, since there is no other realness. The real name of death is Life. The real name of a mistake is Truth. Death could not be destroyed except by calling it by its real name, neither could the dragon be destroyed except by ceasing to misunderstand it and by seeing it instead for what it really is.”
Eustace page 448
Darkness (the belief in evil) is only and always the absence of Light.
“Divine Science, the Word of God, saith to the darkness upon the face of error, ‘God is All-in-all,’ and the light of ever-present Love illumines the universe. Hence the eternal wonder, – that infinite space is peopled with God’s ideas, reflecting Him in countless spiritual forms.” (S&H page 503)
This definition of “redeemer” also beautifully corresponds to what Mrs. Eddy writes on page 151 of Miscellaneous Writings: “God is our Father and our Mother,
our Minister and the great Physician: He is man’s only real relative on earth and in heaven. David sang, ‘Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee.’”
Good to remember as we approach Mother’s Day.
Thank you both! Certainly puts much deeper and more tender meaning to the word “redeem” and also to our nighttime prayer.
Thank you very much! What an important reminder to seek until all are found!
Thank you! Another good watch message!
Thank you. It is interesting because Florence was also saying today how much she loves this passage – the quote from the Bible. It will make for an excellent watch message. 🙂
Self-love is always selfish – me, myself and I!! Everything is seen from the outlook of how will this effect me, what’s in it for me and yes, self-justification, self-will etc. There is no end to “me”! While loving oneself as a child of God is completely different and “self”-liberating. It is no longer selfishly about me – but instead recognizing there is no self-hood apart from God and so naturally loving God and your neighbor also as God’s child becomes the new norm. You begin to look “out”-instead of “in”!
Thank you for these posts. Very good points. Infinite supply comes only with true acknowledgement that God is it’s source and this supply must be freely shared with others, as God would direct. We (in belief) create our own limitations.
That is wonderful! Sure proof of God’s abundant Love and yes, “God does love the orphans”! We will have to add this to our “Noteworthy News” section! Thank you so much Parthens!
Thank you for these posts! All of these articles are and have been on our website and at times have been featured on the Carousel and used in watch messages. They contain very important points to work with when praying for our nation and world!
Very beautiful – thank you Jeremy. It is so comforting to know whatever our human circumstance is we can always rise above it and make our “appeal to heaven.” God is always available to help us and lift us up and out of any seeming problem.
That is wonderful! We should do a Bible study about the rivers sometime. Thank you Parthens!
Thank you Susanne! This does and will make a wonderful watch! A unity watch! 🙂
Thank you! What a description of living out one’s human destiny in misery and thank God we have found such a better way in Christian Science – living our divine and joyous God-given destiny! And yes, whenever we have an overlap like this one between two lessons, we feel God is emphasizing an important point to us! We can always reach deeper and learn more about God’s Love for each and everyone of us as you have done.
Thank you very much for this clear distinction between “New Age” and Christian Science!
Yes, thank you so much for this quote and story from Carpenter. It is the one I was referring to at the last Roundtable (10/21/18).
Thank you very much for this post. I love the thought of aligning myself up with the “polar magnet of the Word.”! Mrs. Eddy also says on page 102 of Science and Health, “There is but one real attraction, that of Spirit. The pointing of the needle to the pole symbolizes this all-embracing power or the attraction of God, divine Mind.” I often work with this statement when handling the beliefs of false attraction – alcoholism, drugs, gaming, pornography etc. Everyone, everywhere is naturally attracted to God, Good and there is no other attraction!
Thank you for these posts. It is such an important point to understand that in order to love we must first feel that love. So many prisons are full of people who have never felt loved. And yet that love – the Love of God is freely given and available to all. This is why we pray and watch – so that all may feel the great Love of our Father-Mother God. This also relates to Parthens utube post this week. How much love do we express to each other – even the simple power of a warm and loving embrace?
“Ask God to give thee skill
In comfort’s art:
That thou may’st be
And set apart
Unto a life of sympathy.
For heavy is the weight of ill
In every heart;
And comforters are needed much
Of Christ-like touch.”
-A.E.Hamilton (Retrospection and Introspection page 95)
Thank you so much for this post! Dear Mr. Carpenter, – I am so deeply grateful for his wisdom and all he has given us. Many people complain about not making progress, and I admit I have done this as well. But here Mrs. Eddy says, “The purification of sense and self is proof of progress.”!! PROOF! It is only error’s deceptive voice that tells us we are not making progress! Would God ever say anything like that to His beloved child? Of course not! But if we only look to the physical manifestation as proof that we are making progress – then we are looking in the wrong direction. So what are you looking at? an unhealed marriage, lack of employment, a disease etc…? Look instead to the purification of sense and self.
The previous post explains some ways to make progress – being completely honest with oneself and uncovering error is certainly one way and then cleansing ourselves daily from faulty thinking and acting. So have you made some progress in that direction today, in this past hour or moment? We certainly can all purify our thoughts and deeds each and every day and this is what we need to focus on, the rest will take care of itself. Mrs. Eddy has said, “Right thought must manifest itself.” And so it is!
It would be more correct to say after they moved forward they were renamed. Getting a new name has nothing to do with their moving forward. It was the other way around. The change of name may have awakened them to grander possibilities but Abraham and Sarah had certainly been proving their loyalty and steadfast obedience to God for many years. Their new names had been earned.
Excellent! Thank you!
I love this! Thank you.
Thank you parthens. The utube video also applies to what Mrs. Eddy wrote on pages 94-95 in S&H, “Our Master read mortal mind on a scientific basis, that of the omnipresence of Mind. An approximation of this discernment indicates spiritual growth and union with the infinite capacities of the one Mind. Jesus could injure no one by his Mind-reading. The effect of his Mind was always to heal and to save, and this is the only genuine Science of reading mortal mind.” We too, should be acquiring this skill as we claim and demonstrate our oneness with the Divine Mind. We will feel the need of our fellow man and by the grace of God be ready to answer that need with His healing presence and power. This is also why Mrs. Eddy gives the definition of “EYES” in the GLOSSARY as “Spiritual discernment, –not material but mental. Jesus said, thinking of the outward vision, ‘Having eyes, see ye not?’ (Mark viii. 18.)”
Thank you Parthens – excellent watch to keep!!
Thank you Pam. And thank you for reading a Fruitage selection so beautifully! It is wonderful to hear all the different voices making for such a healing and inspirational service.
Thank you! Mrs. Eddy loved poetry and was a poet herself. What beautiful poetry to further support the truth found in her writings.
Thank you – beautifully stated. My mother was healed of cancer by reading the text book and that is how I came into Science as a child. I have often thought we could easily extend the Chapter on Fruitage to include thousands of more healings! How grateful I am for Mrs. Eddy and for our text book!
Thank you! Very helpful.
Thank you, Jeremy and Colleen. Years ago, I wrote those definitions of the words “inspires,” “Illumines,” and “designates,” in the margins of my textbook and still refer to them to this day. Another definition of “inspires” I had written down which I have found especially helpful is “to be informed by the Holy Spirit; to communicate Divine instructions to the mind.” Isn’t it true, when you feel “inspired” you feel something wondrous going on – you feel joyful and enlivened and enabled? How wonderful to know you are receiving direct communications from God! And if I am ever feeling uninspired I think about these definitions and pray to feel God’s Love taking hold. It is always the Love of God that brightens our path and points out the way and leads us joyfully on.
Thank you Parthens!! I love this and it is just what I was thinking about the other day – how very grateful I am for those in this church who have been willing to persevere, “to turn not to the right hand nor to the left,” those who have been willing to stay the course not only for a week or a month or a season but for years if need be, tireless in their efforts, many times without any reward or recognition in sight. Nothing ever gets accomplished without this type of true devotion. Thank God for those who are willing to serve Him in this manner!
“To preserve a long course of years still and uniform, amid the uniform darkness of storm and cloud and tempest, requires strength from above, — deep draughts from the fount of divine Love.” (Mary Baker Eddy, Miscellaneous Writings page ix)
Thank you, Mike. Receptivity is always an important point to consider when it comes to healing. Years ago, in one of our classes we discussed the following sentence on page 365 in Science and Health – “If the Scientist reaches his patient through divine Love, the healing work will be accomplished at one visit, and the disease will vanish into its native nothingness like dew before the morning sunshine.” Of course, we all would like to have such a speedy healing, but the word emphasized in our class that night was the word, “reaches”. The patient needs to be reached. I know in my own experience healings were rarely instantaneous, and I must admit I had many walls of resistance that needed to be broken down. I have learned and am still learning many lessons on how to become more receptive to God’s healing power which is ever with us and possesses all power.
Thank you! Very important point!
Thank you for these posts. I love very much Mrs. Eddy’s chapter on “Prayer” and the idea that we may enter into the heart of prayer, and when we obediently close the door to the erring senses and silence all materialism we can actually come into the presence of Almighty God! This a very sobering thought! It makes me question how often am I aware of His presence, for the gift of prayer, and am I always grateful for it? Mrs. Eddy continues, this audience with Spirit, this divine Principle Love is what destroys all error. So, as we humbly come before the throne of Grace, whatever our troubles maybe, all pain and sorrow etc. are destroyed by His All-powerful presence! Thank you, Mrs. Eddy, for these revelations and for teaching us how to prove them all to be true!
How beautiful! Thank you Craig!
Thank you. I love the quote you mention from Mrs. Eddy. To recognize God being the source of all good – as often as possible all day long has been a tremendous help to me. It keeps me connected to Him and to feel and to recognize His presence and power being with me every moment. There could be no greater blessing.
Thank you Colleen for finding this! Mrs. Eddy makes such clear and insightful explanations of Bible passages.
Thank you! We will make a note to have a Bible study on this – important point!
It is very encouraging to hear how you are using what is given at the Roundtable – in that way you make it your own. Thank you.
I love all of these posts Even the title, “Are His Words Holy to Me?” – is something that captures my heart and attention. Recording and passing down His Holy Word did not come easily but with untold sacrifice. What a great privilege to be able to study His Word and to be reminded never to take this privilege for granted. Thank you very much!
You have given us so many wonderful lessons from the Esther story!! Thank you – and thank you too for Washington’s wise counsel!
It was wonderful to have Dale and her husband visit us and she was such a good sport to sing so beautifully with the group “I am Here Lord.”! – after being asked at the last minute.
Thank you! Good point to always keep in mind.
Thank you! I remember too, someone who came to this church deeply in debt and began to work with a practitioner. She was given this statement from II Kings to work with knowing she would always have what she needed for each day as her supply comes to her directly from God. She was also given a few more statements from the Bible which I now have come to call, “The Biblical rules of finance.” The first one was to “owe no man any thing, but to love one another” (Romans). She was to curb back the over-spending that had gotten her into this plight in the first place and pay off all her debts – which she did over a period of time. She was also, during this time, to tithe, even though she felt she had no money to tithe with. The Bible tells us God requires our “first fruits” – not our “last fruits”! So each week before paying her bills she would set aside a tithe to give to church. As she applied these rules to her life consistently she became debt-free and found a way of life that helped her maintain a steady and eventually abundant income. Which leads to another Biblical principle – and that is to bless your neighbor with your increase. Giving to the poor and needy, who are struggling to overcome the beliefs of lack and poverty (and only as God directs you to do), is also part of living a Christian life. Mrs. Eddy was always very generous and gave frequently to charitable organization. We will talk more about this at the Roundtable on Sunday. God has an answer to all our problems, including lack, but we need to be obedient to Him and to His laws and principles.
Thank you for this quote from our dear friends the Carpenters. It is one I often use and think about before a watch. Always good to be reminded of the tremendous power that is behind unselfed prayer.
Thank you! I found it very telling to note in just a few of these Biblical verses Daniel refers to his “God” seven times. Daniel knows so clearly he can do nothing without his Father. He continually draws reference to His Holy name in total submission to His power and presence. It was this unyielding obedience and trust in God that enabled Daniel to interpret the dream – and under seemingly great pressure and duress, by the way! He also was quick to give God all the praise and all the glory when the answer was revealed – taking none for himself. There is no problem, no matter how great it may seem to be, where God is not there to lift you up and out, when you turn humbly and unreservedly to Him.
Thank you! What a beautiful story! Yes, I am always hearing and listening – let it be the “still, small voice.” “We would hear no other voices, we would heed no other call.” (Hymn #58)
Thank you Jacob – good to hear from you!
Beautiful thoughts – thank you both!
Yes thank you! You have shared with us some wonderful and inspirational videos!
Thank you. I have always loved this description about Mrs. Eddy’s childhood Church and churchmen! Something to truly keep as a model and to aspire to!
Thank you. Excellent post!
Thank you. I have been thinking a lot about this lately too. It is a good reminder, although we all innately have spiritual sense, it must be cultivated and enlarged and maintained by obedience to God and by giving expression to the graces of His Spirit – honesty, unselfishness, love, and meekness. How can we expect to hear the still, small voice within if we have allowed our thought to become clouded over with the false and aggressive suggestions of the carnal mind?
“Come we daily then, dear Father, open hearts and willing hands, eager ears expectant, joyful, ready for Thy right commands. We would hear no other voices, we would heed no other call; Thou alone art good and gracious, Thou our Mind and Thou our All.” (Hymn #58)
I love this Florence! Thanks so much. Very applicable.
Thank you! This is such a hugely important point. Very often when I hear someone complaining about the lack of healing in their lives, I never have to look far to see they have not really and genuinely been grateful for all the good that God has already brought forth. I know this because, I too, have been guilty of this “sin.” This is why we emphasize over and over again the importance of gratitude – to be aware on a daily basis for all the good God has blessed you with and to let your heart overflow with gratitude. Come Wednesday evening, are you one who feels “I have nothing to express gratitude for?”! Let it be a huge red flag that error is trying to whisper lies into your ears and to take you off the path heavenward. This is when, I have learned, to get on my knees and to thank God for His blessings – and then to get on my feet and to testify for His Goodness!
“I tell you the truth when I say there is only one Source of all good, God. The conscious recognition and acceptance of this face, acknowledged by every activity of the mind, not two or three times a day, but every few moments all day long, no matter what the outer self is doing, and this maintained, will enable anyone to express his perfect freedom and dominion over all things human.’
Mary Baker Eddy
Very beautiful thought. Thank you!
Thank Mike! Very helpful explanation.
Thank you very much for this post. I have often thought these passages from Romans serve as a good guideline for life. To take each verse and to determine to live the truth therein as sincerely as possible I am sure would do much for one’s progress spirit-ward. I will pray with this often.
I think what is so wonderful about this statement from “Unity of Good” is Mrs. Eddy is saying – God is all things Good to His creation. Yes, He is our consciousness – our very thoughts. He is also our Helper, our Guide, our best and ever Friend – what ever the need is at the moment He comes and reveals Himself to us, fulfilling that need, in whatever way we can best comprehend. What an awesome God we have! I am so grateful for Mrs. Eddy and for her writings!
Thank you! What a beautiful thought!
What beautiful posts! Thank you both so much! “Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the LORD and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” (Psalms)
Thank you. Beautiful description of that state of mind which raises the dead – total disbelief in anything unlike God!
Thank you for this post. I love this statement too. Often I have thought about God’s protecting power being with me – and also how comforting that we all have His supporting influence! Often it is easy to look to a friend, spouse, or some “authority” for support or for influence as to what direction to take. Here Mrs. Eddy is stating it is God who supports us – emotionally, physically, financially, in every way, and also it is He who will always influence us aright! What better protecting power and supporting influence could we possibly have?!
Thank you! Mrs. Evans maintained that Mother’s Day is the worst holiday of all because it perpetuated the prevalent belief that man is born into matter and will die out of it. This, however, does not mean we throw our earthly mother or any relative, for that matter, out the door! We can impersonalize all the good they do and have expressed and realize it came and comes from our true heavenly Father-Mother God. Mrs. Eddy was extremely fond and grateful for her mother for she expressed Christly love and compassion. Understanding God is the Father and Mother of all enriches our love for all our relationships by keeping God in the middle of it – otherwise it can fall into the trap of human love and human manipulation, human resentment and human ownership, and all the other etcetera’s of the Adam dream. As was sung by Faith and Jon on Sunday we must simply learn to “rise above the mist.”!
Mrs. Eddy once said some of her best and most reliable workers were the simple housewives who had no other aim or ambition than to humbly serve their Father-Mother God.
Thank you for this – really helpful to see how mesmerism can seem so real when it is not!! Thank God for Christian Science!
That is beautiful! Thank you….another definition that has helped me get over this mushy sense of the word “meek” is “submissive to the will of God”! It is always so helpful to dig deeper into the real meaning of words, to look up definitions, in order to deepen our understanding. A quick skimming over never works.
The first part of this verse tells each one that God will show you the path of life. This is no guessing game! Isn’t wonderful that God loves us so much He shows us the way we need to take – the very path of life?! We need only to hear him, to watch daily at His gates and to wait at the posts of His doors as Proverbs 8 instructs us.
What an astute definition of “impatience” – thanks very much!
I often think about these verses from Job, during my watch time. It is well to know that error cannot get away with anything! It will be found out and destroyed. God is Omnipresent, Omnipotent and Omniscient. How can anything hide from the All-knowing Mind and All-seeing Mind?! Impossible!
“God’s law reaches and destroys evil by virtue of the allness of God…. God’s law is in three words, ‘I am all;’ and this perfect law is ever present to rebuke any claim of another law.”
Mary Baker Eddy (No and Yes page 30)
The next sentences in that citation is “Now, as then, these mighty works are not supernatural but supremely natural. They are a sign of Immanuel, or ‘God with us,’ – a divine influence ever present in human consciousness and repeating itself, coming now as was promised aforetime….” At one time, I had difficulty feeling the power and presence of God with me. I would work often with these statements, knowing God WAS with me and nothing could prevent me from feeling His Love and His presence. One thing that helped immeasurably was to be grateful – to be aware of all the good that would transpire during the day and to know the source was in God and to humbly thank Him for it. Gratitude instantly connects one with the Father. When we seek to know and feel God’s presence – we CAN know and feel God’s presence but it must be the great desire of one’s heart.
Thank you Jacob. This is a wonderful explanation – error is always mesmerism, and we can all awake to the Truth of being. What you wrote certainly goes along with our discussions this week end (Bible Study and Roundtable) on “overcoming” and being able to see and comprehend now what is meant by the New Jerusalem. “This spiritual consciousness is therefore a present possibility.” (S&H)
Thank you for this. I have often thought about the word diligence. It is one thing to be diligent for a few hours, a few days, a few weeks but when you think of how Mrs. Eddy remained diligent under all the dogged attacks of animal magnetism over a long course of years it is truly inspiring. Her love for God and her desire to help mankind remained ever constant. I love what she writes in Miscellaneous Writings, “To preserve a long course of years still and uniform, amid the uniform darkness of storm and cloud and tempest, requires strength from above, – deep draughts from the fount of divine Love.” Often I ask myself – if I am truly grateful for her unselfed sacrifice – how can I do any less than to stay the course, than to remain diligent?
Thank you. This reminds me of what Mrs. Eddy states on page 210 in Miscellaneous Writings: “Christian Science never healed a patient without proving with mathematical certainty that error, when found out, is two-thirds destroyed, and the remaining third kills itself. Do men whine over a nest of serpents, and post around it placards warning people not to stir up these reptiles because they have stings? Christ said, ‘They shall take up serpents;’ and, ‘Be ye therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves.’ The wisdom of a serpent is to hide itself. The wisdom of God as revealed in Christian Science, brings the serpent out of the hole, handles it, and takes away its sting.”!! These Truths understood and applied are so powerful. My false concept of Christian Science had me in a state of constant fear and cover-up – trying always to hide error and to pretend (hope) it didn’t really exist. It doesn’t exist! BUT any false belief must be forced out of hiding and faced and destroyed with the sword of Truth and so proven to be nothing. If you had 2 plus 2 equals 5 written on a black board you wouldn’t attempt to hide it somehow but you would erase it and replace it with the right and provable understanding that 2 plus 2 equals 4. This correct application of Christian Science has made all the difference!
Wow! Excellent. Thank you!!
Thank you – excellent!
I recently found a beautiful Native American saying, “Give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way.” This is a wonderful expression of having your expectation from the Lord! This is what Christ Jesus did when he gave thanks to God even before Lazarus was raised from the dead. This is an example of expecting good – rather than predicting and dreading some horrible event to happen. Stand porter at your door of thought, as Mrs. Eddy counsels us. Are you expecting good from your Father? If you are it will help prepare the way to receive it! “Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative, and don’t mess with Mr. in-between” as the old song goes!!
Thank you. Spiritual sense is a gift from God that needs to be cultivated. The Bible admonishes us not to quench the Spirit. (1 Thessalonians) So how does one quench the Spirit? The word “quench” means to “extinguish or to put out” and although it is impossible to ever truly put out man’s oneness with the Father we can separate ourselves in belief, as in a bad dream, by repeatedly disobeying His commandments, by plunging headlong into our affairs without even bothering to listen to that “still small voice” for direction. When this is done repeatedly and willfully God’s voice becomes fainter and fainter. But as Jeremy stated in his forum remarks even at this time, God, being omnipresent, has not left us – we need only to humbly and yearningly turn ourselves back to Him, turn our face to the Light. His amazing Grace will save us every time!
Beautiful! Thank you.
“Spiritual sense, contradicting the material senses, involves intuition, hope, faith, understanding, fruition, reality.” This is the correct quote from Science and Health page 298:13.
So grateful you could join us!
Thank you! Beautifully stated.
Thank you for these posts. It is interesting that in our December “Love is the Liberator” magazine there is an article called “Go Forward” taken from an early 1886 CS Journal. The author states, “There is no standing still in Christian Science – the movement is ever onward. To halt is to give place to the enemy which pushes hard behind. Neither may we look back; for having put one’s hand to the plow he must ‘go forward,’ driving deep the plow-share, that every weed of evil may be rooted out.” And Mrs. Eddy admonishes us that it is “not wise to take a halting and half-way position…” (S&H) Sometimes we might feel like stopping, turning around or taking some big long rest, but these statements remind us to “keep on keeping on.”! The way is always upward and onward – and it is a way filled joy and satisfaction in obedience to God.
Thank you Jacob! That goes well with what we discussed at Bible study today. and we will have to read it tomorrow at the roundtable. Wonderful statement!
Thank you – well said!
Amen! Thank you Jo.
The thought that I am but “the humble servant of the restful Mind” has helped quiet any stress I may have been entertaining many times! It dissolves all sense of false responsibility. “Drop Thy still dews of quietness, till all our strivings ceasing; Take from us now the strain and stress, and let our ordered lives confess the beauty of Thy peace.” (Hymn # 49)
Thank you Jacob! We loved being together with you – it was a holy and joyous time!
Thank you! In one of Gilbert Carpenter’s 500 Watching Points, he states that after every healing it is important to understand and to know it was never true in the first place. How can something not true re-occur? It cannot! Sometimes Christian Scientists get mocked for saying sin, disease, and death are unreal, but when we fully understand the deeper meaning of this statement and realize, as you stated so well, there cannot be two powers but only the One Supreme Power – God Good, then the unreality of sin, disease and death becomes self-evident and thus provable. Just as in mathematics so in Christian Science some of these problems might take awhile to prove and to understand. But that is OK. As we take up the work day by day – we get plenty of opportunities to practice the Truth of these God-given Principles until we finally see clearly and can no longer be fooled by the lie.
It was a great post – thank you for it! Very helpful for working on the election.
The world that “continues to be the province of mortal mind” is the Adam dream – the deep sleep, a mesmerism. And yes, it is of utmost importance that we stay awake and alert having the mind of Christ! Otherwise we begin to dream the dream too and to believe its lies – not a good place to be.
Thank you Florence! That is such a beautiful thought. It goes along completely with the wisdom of starting each day knowing, “God is Life. God is my Life. God is the only pure and perfect Life.” The Lesson also states, “…God alone is man’s life. It is evil that dies; good dies not.” When we are tempted to look to matter, to the belief that somehow life is in matter, well, that’s when we run into trouble! Remember then,- God is your life and the only life there is. What wonderful freedom you will find in uplifting your thought to God and finding all true being in Him!
Ah, but remember it is not “our very own carnal mortal mind.” Evil belongs not to you or to anyone. It is only the lie and is as impersonal as is Goodness. Knowing this Truth rids one of shame and discouragement as well as of pride and ego.
I turned to this in Miscellaneous Writings page 124, which also reveals to us what Jesus saw in His heavenly Father and what we too can strive to emulate, “For ‘who is so great a God as our God!’ unchangeable, all-wise, all-just, all-merciful; the ever-loving, ever-living Life, Truth, Love: comforting such as mourn, opening the prison doors to the captive, marking the unwinged bird, pitying with more than a father’s pity; healing the sick, cleansing the leper, raising the dead, saving sinners. As we think thereon, man’s true sense is filled with peace…”
Beautiful! Thank you!
I have always loved this statement as well. It is good to remember when we are struggling with a problem not to become impatient or discouraged. As we express more and more of God’s attributes, we may be assured the difficulty – whatever it may be IS diminishing and WILL finally disappear!
This morning I turned too, where Mrs. Eddy states on page 3 in Pulpit and Press, “‘The kingdom of God is within you.’ Know then, that you possess sovereign power to think and act rightly, and that nothing can dispossess you of this heritage and trespass on Love. If you maintain this position, who or what can cause you to sin or suffer?”
Thank you for these posts. In regard to this, I love what Bicknell Young says in his article, “If We Say, ‘I Want'” – “Someone said, ‘It seems to me, the claim constantly is, that we cannot see Spirit.'” The answer was, ‘My dear, you cannot see anything else, but Spirit; it would be impossible to, even if you tried.'” This is what is meant by the “Scientific Statement of Being” by Mrs. Eddy (which took me so long to even begin to comprehend!) – “All is infinite Mind and its infinite manifestation, for God is All-in-all.” There is nothing else! And yet this Truth of all Truths cannot be taken lightly or superficially. It is very deep and requires effort and work, childlike trust, and utmost dedication to understand even in a degree the sublime perfection and beauty of it all.
Thank you. This is so true. The Kingdom of God is within each and every one and if we would all come to understand this essential Truth – all the endless discontentment and fighting would cease. Understanding and living Christian Science in our own lives and knowing it’s Divine Principles are true for all mankind will aid in ushering in the millennium.
“The Moffat Translation states, “Now faith means that we are confident of what we hope for, convinced of what we do not see.” This coincides perfectly with the Golden Text, which reminds us to have our expectation from the Lord, and not what the material senses would deceive us into believing.
That is a wonderful explanation. Thank you!
Yes, I have found out (mostly by the hard way!), why it is so important before we approach any venture to have our expectation from the Lord. In other words, when speaking to someone – expect that he will be receptive to the truth being spoken, when working on a project for God – expect you will have everything you need to accomplish the task and that it will accomplish its purpose, When traveling – expect the way to be made clear for you and for all to be in the hands of God. Be mindful of any negative thoughts that would try to argue defeat or discouragement, kick those suggestions out and let your expectation be from the Lord! It will have a tremendous effect on all you say and do!
Thank you! I really like that definition of “base.” A change of base, from the human sense of things to the Divine understanding, is requisite for progress. It does often come with suffering as the old man with his ways is cast off for the new. I love what Mrs. Eddy says on page 1 of Miscellaneous Writings, regarding this, – “Humility is the stepping-stone to a higher recognition of Deity. The mounting sense gathers fresh forms and strange fire from the ashes of dissolving self, and drops the world.”
Thank you for this beautiful quote from Henry Drummond. I am sure we have all been put in very difficult situations as thus described and yet when we remain faithful to our God wonderful things transpire! The story of David in this week’s lesson is a perfect example.
As this is never an easy question to answer I will quote Mrs. Eddy from page 563 in Science and Health, “Human sense may well marvel at discord, while, to a diviner sense, harmony is the real and discord the unreal. We may well be astonished at sin, sickness, and death. We may well be perplexed at human fear; and still more astounded at hatred, which lifts its hydra head, showing its horns in the many inventions of evil. But why should we stand aghast at nothingness?” As we begin to obtain the divine sense that “harmony is the real and discord the unreal” – this viewpoint will not be callous or unfeeling, but be so filled with God’s Love for His creation the false concept will disappear and give place to the real and eternal. We can feel this with the utmost tenderness and compassion. As our hymn states, “From sense to Soul my pathway lies before me, from mist and shadow into Truth’s clear day…” Don’t let the mesmeric picture deceive you into believing its lie. And yes, as Martha Wilcox states, this is an individual process!
As this is never an easy question to answer I will quote Mrs. Eddy from page 563 in Science and Health, “Human sense may well marvel at discord, while, to a diviner sense, harmony is the real and discord the unreal. We may well be astonished at sin, sickness, and death. We may well be perplexed at human fear; and still more astounded at hatred, which lifts its hydra head, showing its horns in the many inventions of evil. But why should we stand aghast at nothingness?” As we begin to obtain the divine sense that “harmony is the real and discord the unreal” – this viewpoint will not be callous or unfeeling, but be so filled with God’s Love for His creation the false concept will disappear and give place to the real and eternal. As our hymn states, “From sense to Soul my pathway lies before me, from mist and shadow into Truth’s clear day…” Don’t let the mesmeric picture deceive you into believing its lie.
Thank you! Beautiful quote from Mrs. Eddy and yes, one to live up to!
Beautifully stated. It is true we should be able to feel even in some small degree what our Master must have experienced. This is possible only as we are willing to walk in his footsteps and follow his example. “A great sacrifice of material things must precede this advanced spiritual understanding. The highest prayer is not one of faith merely; it is demonstration.” (S&H)
The thought that “every man will be his own physician” arrested my attention this week as well. I think it is fair to say, no one ever really likes going to the doctor or to the hospital so what a wonderful Truth – to know we can be our own physician acknowledging God as the universal answer to all our ills. It corresponds to what Mrs. Eddy writes on pages 462-463 in Science and Health. “Anatomy, when conceived of spiritually, is mental self-knowledge, and consists in the dissection of thoughts to discover their quality, quantity, and origin. Are thoughts divine or human? That is the important question. This branch of study is indispensable to the excision of error….” We can do our own mental anatomy and root out offending errors, before and even after they take form in some mesmeric belief called sin, disease, or death. God is the Great and Only Physician and we can trust Him to make us every whit whole!!
Thank you! That comment “you can’t see God but you sure can feel Him” was made by a little boy in our Sunday School class many years ago. And yes it certainly is true as our spiritual sense is illuminated we can surely “see” “feel” “hear” God in all of our daily experiences.
Beautiful! What a great definition of “vocation.” We learn so much more and our understanding is so enriched by delving deeply into these statements and not taking it on a mere superficial level.
Sometimes you will hear people listing their accomplishments or perhaps the accomplishments of their children etc. It is always best to let their “own works” praise them!
That is very beautiful! Thank you!
Wonderful example of how this parable applies! Thank you.
Those a are wonderful thoughts! Thank you! I was going to put this under a separate topic but I think it goes along with what is being discussed here – “Sickness, sin, and death are not concomitants (companions!) of Life or Truth. No law supports them. They have no relation to God wherewith to establish their power.” (S&H) Isn’t that a comforting and powerful statement? Therefore if you are struggling with a belief of sickness, or sin or death – remember no law of God supports it. Error has zero relationship with the Almighty God. How could it have any power?! Mrs. Eddy has said, “Error comes to you for life and YOU give it all the life it has.” Strip it entirely of any belief that it has power and companion only with your Maker!
Yes, it is true – sometimes we can see someone (or perhaps be so ourselves!) trying to be humanly perfect. Every tiny speck of dust constantly must be dusted away, every subject in school must be an A plus, plus, plus, every hair on one’s head must be perfectly in place etc. This is all human striving without any God in it (only pride and ego) which is why it is exhausting and ends in failure and frustration. I’ve tried it! In Science we learn even as God is the only Good, so also God is the only Perfect One. We only come close to perfection as we rid ourselves of self and let God shine through us. Look how a beautiful flower unfolds in total perfection! No muss and fuss with exhausting effort there! And so it should be with the sons and daughters of God – shine forth, be what God made you to be! for in “beauty, grandeur, order, His handiwork is shown.” (Hymn #329)
I sometimes will take an early morning walk and I too like to listen to Joseph reading the lesson. He reads slowly enough so I can think about each verse. Thank you Joseph! We have so many good people here who are helpful in so many ways!
Good one! Thank you!
And – whatever your excuses are for not being more active in the Truth they ARE NO GOOD EXCUSES! Mrs. Eddy ran her household with the motto “EXCUSES ARE INTOLERABLE.”!
Mrs. Eddy emphasizes the importance of this Sermon time and again in many of her other writings. She states in Miscellaneous Writings page 12 “Every man and woman should be to-day a law to himself, herself, – a law of loyalty to Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.” And in Message from 1901 page 11, “To my sense the Sermon on the Mount, read each Sunday without comment and obeyed throughout the week, would be enough for Christian practice.”
Yes, thank you – this is a highly important article! We are planning to make an audio of it as well!
Yes, asking the question – “what can I do today for the glory of God?” is simply a reminder to get rid of selfish motives and to keep God in the picture!
Great suggestion! Thank you.
To judge whether a thought is “Godly/real or ungodly/unreal” you can simply ask “is this a thought from God who loves me?” Declare daily you have the mind of Christ. “My mind is divine good, and cannot drift into evil.” (Unity of Good) Science is simple. Mrs. Eddy states little children easily love and respond to it. That is why we must become as a little child in order to receive it. It is only our human striving and intellectuality that would seem to make it complicated and impose stumbling blocks.
That’s ok Barbara – thanks for pointing out the mistake. Now everyone knows and next time all the proofers will be more careful!
Such a simple and yet very important and profound truth!
Who says anyone is ever better in anyway than yourself? Is God saying that? Of course not! God’s Love is impartial and infinite. Understanding and all good comes from reflection alone – it is never a personal endowment. Covetness is the ploy of the devil. It puts you in the wrong mind, disobeys God and His commandments and should never be tolerated! When I realized that fact and shut the door on this devilish suggestion it enabled me to make progress I could never have made otherwise. When I was busy wishfully thinking about what I perceived as other people’s progress, understanding and the like I was ignoring my own “wheat field” and not being grateful for the good God had bestowed on me and so limiting myself from gaining the great good God has for all His children. There is a reason we have the command – “Thou shalt not covet.”!
How true! And this ability to see the miracle in everything that God has created makes us as a little child. Little children always express such joy and delight and an awesome wonder toward God’s magnificent creation. This is why we must become as a little child in order to enter the Kingdom! Good thing to remember.
Desire implies something deep within pouring forth. It is not some superficial request. And yes if our desire is pure and unselfed (not a human want or demand) God does bless it. And as Joseph’s pointed out the answer always comes as a spiritual blessing meeting a human need.
It is easy to get caught up with what is referred to as “absolute and relative” terms and both have their place. Mrs. Eddy states in Science and Health “Earth has little light or joy for mortals BEFORE Life is spiritually learned.” I think this is what Susanne was meant. And although Mrs. Eddy doesn’t mention “second birth” she has a whole chapter on the “New Birth.”! In her chapter “Glossary” she often includes both the relative and absolute definitions as in her definition of “YEAR” which reads in part”….Eternity is God’s measurement of Soul-filled years.”
Very beautiful… I read this morning from Mrs. Eddy’s article “Cause and Effect” – “It (Christian Science) shows the impossibility of transmitting human ills, or evil, from one individual to another; that all true thoughts revolve in God’s orbits: they come from God and return to Him, – and untruths belong not to His creation, therefore these are null and void. It hath no peer, no competitor, for it dwelleth in Him besides whom ‘there is none other.'” I love to think of Christian Science as having no peer, no competitor and dwelling in God!