Tell the Truth

Archive for June, 2009

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.  John 14:12 (KJV)

Last December, the analyst for the system I’m programming was let go. I had depended on her for understanding of what needed to be done and relied upon her grasp of how everything in the system fit together—how a flag set in this process would affect it in another one, etc.

We had just completed development of the last major function of the system and it went live in January (after she was gone). As with any new process, a number of problems were discovered that needed to be adjusted. But now, she was not there to show me what needed to be done. I had to figure it out for myself. After several stressful weeks, I finally began to understand more clearly how the process worked and what needed to be done to correct the problems. I also saw a number of things that could be changed to make the process more streamlined and user friendly. In short, with her leaving, I had to step up to the plate and take on the responsibility that I had been happy for her to exercise when she was around.

The disciples were in the same situation. After Jesus’ crucifixion and ascension they had to stop relying on their personal sense of Jesus. Because Jesus went to the Father, the disciples had to take on the work for themselves.

Sometimes we can become too dependent upon another person (a parent, a practitioner, a minister, a coworker) in a way that is not conducive to our growth. It can be difficult when that support is removed from us, but ultimately better for our spiritual growth.

If thought is formative, and it is, then ideas and experiences that life our thought to broader, unbounded possibilities is critical to a freer experience of life. That’s why Christ Jesus was so critically important to us! He showed us what God’s man looked like. He demonstrated what the divine idea would do in and for man. He revealed the power of divine Mind to destroy sin, disease and death. He showed its power to cast out demons (negative, destructive mental states.)

Mrs. Eddy said that when the stone of Jesus’ tomb was rolled away, it wasn’t just a physical stone:

45:16
       Glory be to God, and peace to the struggling hearts!
   Christ hath rolled away the stone from the door of hu-
18 man hope and faith, and through the reve-           The stone
   lation and demonstration of life in God, hath           rolled away
   elevated them to possible at-one-ment with the spiritual
21 idea of man and his divine Principle, Love.

Those in the New Thought movement who push Christ Jesus aside in favor of the newest semi-metaphysical flavor of the month are sadly giving up the greater for the lesser. We must abandon merely physical, or combined physical and mental remedies, for the spiritual.

It is through the example of Jesus, and through the power of the divine idea that he revealed, that we are able to rise into a higher consciousness and permitted to “sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” (Eph. 2:6)

We must not allow over-familiarity with the story of Jesus to become jaded and bland to us. It is a story bearing infinite transformative power, if we only have ears to hear it.

A while back I began to wonder if I was with the right practitioner for me; I just wasn’t getting the healing I was looking for.

I called my class teacher to get her advice. She asked me, “Are you growing spiritually?” and said, “If you’re growing spiritually, I’d stick with her. Spiritual growth is what will bring the healing.” But I wondered, what is spiritual growth? And how do I know if I’m growing?

I found the answer in a citation from the Lesson Sermon this week:

67:20-24 through
                            through spiritual ascendency 
21 our Lord and Master healed the sick, raised 
   the dead, and commanded even the winds and waves to
   obey him. Grace and Truth are potent beyond all other
24 means and methods.

Merriam-Webster defines ascendency as: “governing or controlling influence”.

In other words, spiritual growth or spiritual ascendency is an increase in the governing or controlling influence of Spirit in my life. If I’m increasingly drawing closer to God; turning to Truth more and more frequently in my daily life; finding myself thrilling to the “atmosphere of Love divine” in the hymns; feeling a greater sense of gratitude for the healings I have seen and experienced, then I can know that I’m growing spiritually.

I’ve been a songwriter for many, many years. In the past few years they have all been songs about Christian Science.  Some of these have been posted on this blog.  The links are listed below. The audio is posted as mp3 files and the written music itself is in pdf format. These are not professional recordings, but I think you’ll enjoy them. Most were recorded during church services at the local Unity church here in Knoxville which I’ve remained in touch with.

Perpetual Harmony - http://manoftruth.net/truth/?p=286

Life is Found in God - http://manoftruth.net/truth/?p=285

Change Your Way of Thinking - http://manoftruth.net/truth/?p=282

Time to Move On - http://manoftruth.net/truth/?p=228

Standing on the Rock - http://manoftruth.net/truth/?p=204

No One Separate - http://manoftruth.net/truth/?p=203

Lifting Me Up - http://manoftruth.net/truth/?p=202

God Doing Business as Me - http://manoftruth.net/truth/?p=174

God’s Perfect Child - http://manoftruth.net/truth/?p=167

Shift Your Paradigm - http://manoftruth.net/truth/?p=154

No God but God - http://manoftruth.net/truth/?p=153

I’ve really been so blessed by the weekly Bible lessons coming out of the Plainfield Christian Science Church, Independent. Just this week, they’ve made them available via pdf format as well.  Click the link below for the current lesson. Visit their website at http://plainfieldcs.com for recordings of past Sunday and Wednesday night services, publications, inspiring articles and testimonies and more.

2009_SUNDAY JUNE 28 CHRISTIAN SCIENCE

Having come to Christian Science out of another metaphysical group, one Mrs. Eddy would call “semi-metaphysical”, I understand many of the misconceptions other metaphysicians have of Christian Science, for I have had to work through them myself. On the surface, there are important similarities we share, including a similar vocabulary and a common mental approach to life. Below the surface, however, there are fundamental and profound differences, which are difficult to grasp because of those similarities.

Unity, for example, begins each service with the affirmation,

“There is only one presence and one power in the universe and in my life: God the good, omnipotent.”

This is a lovely, and true, statement of metaphysical fact with which every Christian Scientist would agree. Similarly, Christian Science reads its scientific statement of being at each service which includes the statement,

“All is infinite Mind and its infinite manifestation.”

The essential difference between our understanding, however, is a profound one. These semi-metaphysical movements share a common, human understanding of man’s condition. Medical treatment is sought. Prayers often emphasize emotional comfort and encouragement; frequently including visualizations of physical healing activity taking place in the body.

There has also been a general movement away from physical healing to mental and emotional healing. A Science of Mind practitioner told me that the medical community was doing such a good job with treatment these days, that there just wasn’t a need for an emphasis on physical healing.

Christian Science takes a entirely different perspective. It posits that not all that we see around us is real. Mrs. Eddy repeatedly proclaims the unreality of sin, disease and death in statements such as the following:

“To mortal sense, sin and suffering are real, but immortal sense includes no evil nor pestilence.”  210:28-30

“One disease is no more real than another.” 176:24-25

“DEATH… the unreal and untrue;”  584:9

This is enormously confusing to semi-metaphysicians who look upon experience as the standard by which reality can be measured.  To say there is no disease when the physical symptoms are obvious seems an absurd statement! Especially when the human mind, despairing of healing, above all wants sympathy and understanding. “What do you mean I’m not sick!”

The key to understanding these baffling statements, for me, lay in grasping the nature of this world. Genesis presents two stories of creation: Genesis 1, the spiritual creation, and Genesis 2, the material one. Mrs. Eddy teaches that the first is true; and the second is untrue. God’s creation is a spiritual one. God did not make matter, nor does He use matter as a medium for His creation. In this, she is consistent.

“All is infinite Mind and its infinite manifestation.”

Semi-metaphysical movements see matter as a medium for God, as paint and canvas are a medium for a painter; or clay for a potter.

Mrs. Eddy, however, correctly points out the dilemma to which this theory leads:

“When we endow matter with vague spiritual power, —  that is, when we do so in our theories, for of course we cannot really endow matter with what it does not and cannot possess, — we disown the Almighty, for such theories lead to one of two things. They either presuppose the self-evolution and self-government of matter, or else they assume that matter is the product of Spirit. To seize the first horn of this dilemma and consider matter as a power in and of itself, is to leave the creator out of His own universe; while to grasp the other horn of the dilemma and regard God as the creator of matter, is not only to make Him responsible for all disasters, physical and moral, but to announce Him as their source, thereby making Him guilty of maintaining perpetual misrule in the form and under the name of natural law.” 119:1

We must grasp the fact that the world of appearances is the Genesis 2 world, not the world of God’s spiritual creation. Metaphysically, this world is the embodiment, not of God’s spiritual creation, but of man’s mortal consciousness. I will say again, our experience in this world is the outpicturing of our mental state, not of spiritual reality. To try to grasp an understanding of spiritual reality from our experience is like trying to grasp a clear understanding of the principle of mathematics by looking over the shoulders of a class of second or third grade students learning math! Impossible!

Scripture repeatedly separates spiritual reality from the worldly point of view.

“Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind. Rom 12:2

“Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God.” I Cor 2:12

“For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God.”  I Cor 3:19

“Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.” John 7:24

Christian Science teaches that this world is a material dream. Semi-metaphysical systems want to make the dream a more happy and fulfilling one. Christian Science would have us wake up from the dream altogether, and live in the Genesis 1 world, the world created in God’s image and likeness. That is the only eternal one for it is the one God eternally sustains.

“There is but one creator and one creation. This creation consists of the unfolding of spiritual ideas and their identities, which are embraced in the infinite Mind and forever reflected. These ideas range from the infinitesimal to infinity, and the highest ideas are the sons and daughters of God.” 502:29

I would encourage you to read Mrs. Eddy’s textbook on Christian Science, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures with these ideas in mind. Jesus showed us the power of the Truth to heal mankind and to overcome the evils of sin, disease and death. Mrs. Eddy discovered how to lead each of us to this mind which was in Christ Jesus. It is a consciousness that belongs to the Genesis 1 world. In Science and Health, Mrs. Eddy constantly refers to this state of mind with the phrase, “In Science”:

“In Science, all being is eternal, spiritual, perfect, harmonious in every action. Let the perfect model be present in your thoughts instead of its demoralized opposite. This spiritualization of thought lets in the light, and brings the divine Mind, Life not death, into your consciousness.” 407:22

I’ve have been so blessed from participating in the Plainfield Adult Sunday School class. Every week has been a wonderful learning experience, and I so look forward to each class. Having never gone through a Christian Science Sunday School, I relish the opportunity to do so now.

What I really appreciate is the practical nature of the material. It’s not just intellectualism toying with ideas, but spiritual power at work!

Here are some of the gems that I’ve collected over just the past month:

If your healing is delayed, look for pride
Pride is the belief that you are separate from God
    that you’re not worthy
    that your situation is too difficult for God
    that you should be able to handle the problem without a practitioner

If my pride hurts, good! I don’t want it!

Homeless can be caused by pride. It may be that mortal mind is too proud to conform, too proud to be governed by others, too proud to be helped.

God is not the one who needs to change. He already knows, and He’s already doing everything. We’re the ones that need to change.

Self-condemnation is pride, and the greatest sin. It keeps you in your problem.

If a problem persists, thank God that it is driving me toward spiritual growth. Have the attitude that “Nothing but good can come from this.”

In practice, spank the child. In metaphysics, see the child as perfect.

Never neglect working with the three daily duties every day. Also, “God is Mind. God is my Mind. God is the only Mind.”

When a problem arises, don’t get down in the trenches with it
Don’t look for a reason for the problem
Don’t get into mental warfare with it. Don’t mentall wrestle with it
Stop and go right to God
Operate from the thought that it’s a right idea, and the devil isn’t going to stop it
“This problem is not from God”
“God governs!”

Bitterness is a poison you make for someone else but drink yourself

If your feelings are hurt, get rid of the feelings. (Bicknell Young)

Your world must become spiritualized
There is nothing but God. Feel it!
Nothing ever “just happens”—there was a falling away
Worry has no power

Journal article:  Overcoming vs. Overlooking

When a negative image comes to mind, say “Impossible!” and handle it. Your premonitions can save you.
Hit it hard. Don’t back off!

Belief is passive. Knowing is active.

See the pattern of mortal mind and laugh at it; this will keep you from identifying with it. “There it goes again.”

You’re either identifying with the word of God or with the world

Mortal man:
   The belief that Life or Mind was ever in a finite form
   The man that live from cradle to grave; that was born, grows, matures, decays, dies
   Physical or corporal man: man as body
   Genesis 2 man
   The sinning, diseased and dying man
Immortal man
   The spiritual man
   Man as God’s image and likeness
   Genesis 1 man
   God’s idea
   One with His Principle, God
 
You can’t have understanding without demonstrating
Be in a state of mind that is indignant to the attitude that God is not with us
Mortal belief = material sense
Immortal Truth = spiritual sense
Morning prayer is the wind in your sails

Mental malpractice—bland denials of Truth

Hand—spiritual power
Poor—receptive thought

Take responsibility
God is the only cause
“What I did didn’t cause anything bad”
It never happened in divine Mind
On relationship problems: Get yourself in the divine Mind and keep the other person in divine Mind

Think about what God has already done for you
These are demonstrations of God as the only cause and creator
Cultivate gratitude

“I am dead indeed to sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:11
    Use this for every problem. It is very powerful. 
        “I am dead indeed to overeating…”; 
        “I am dead indeed to disease…”, etc.

For more information, visit the Plainfield Christian Science Church, Independent website.

Exodus 18 : 5, 13-21 (to 4th ,), 22 and they-24 and they

5  And Jethro, Moses’ father in law, came with his sons and his wife unto Moses into the wilderness, where he encamped at the mount of God:

13  ¶ And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people: and the people stood by Moses from the morning unto the evening.
14  And when Moses’ father in law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What is this thing that thou doest to the people? why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the people stand by thee from morning unto even?
15  And Moses said unto his father in law, Because the people come unto me to inquire of God:
16  When they have a matter, they come unto me; and I judge between one and another, and I do make them know the statutes of God, and his laws.
17  And Moses’ father in law said unto him, The thing that thou doest is not good.
18  Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou, and this people that is with thee: for this thing is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone.
19  Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee: Be thou for the people to God-ward, that thou mayest bring the causes unto God:
20  And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt shew them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do.
21  Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them,

22  and they shall bear the burden with thee.
23  If thou shalt do this thing, and God command thee so, then thou shalt be able to endure, and all this people shall also go to their place in peace.
24  So Moses hearkened to the voice of his father in law, and did all that he had said.

There’s a teaching for us about using common sense in this story. Moses was trying to carry the burden of judge of the Israelites alone. His father-in-law saw that the burden was too much for him and urged him to allow others to take on the work. Moses showed wisdom in seeing  the common sense of what he had been told, and responded to the urging.

Philippians says, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me”, but we must also use common sense when there is wisdom in it. We can sometimes be tempted to affirm, “There is no sensation in matter”, when it would be better to just take the rock out of our shoe.

“Constant toil, deprivations, exposures, and all untoward conditions, if without sin, can be experienced without suffering. Whatever it is your duty to do, you can do without harm to yourself.”  S&H 385:15-18

I’ve been struggling with a new project at work. It’s supposed to be occupying half of my time, but that hasn’t been happening. I’ve been dragging my feet. I love the project I’ve been working on for the last 9 years, and that’s where my heart is. I’ve been dragging my feet, feeling depressed, and avoiding the work on my desk.

This morning, I was reading the passage above and realized that I was suffering, mentally and emotionally. Where’s the God in that? God has given me a task to do as part of my job and I should be doing it with joy and enthusiasm. After all, I am God’s expression! As God’s expression, this emotional strain is not personal. There’s nothing in me as God’s expression to cause it and nothing in God’s expression to sustain it.

Can’t you just picture God (in a voice like Eeyore’s) saying, “I wish I had never started this project. Why, oh why did I do this? Now I’ve got to drag myself through the whole process. Creation is such a bother! Why, oh why did I get this world started?” No, I can’t either. God is an infinite expression of joy, and as God’s expression, so am I!

As I worked with these ideas this morning, the depression lifted and I was able to get a lot done on the new project without the mental and emotional baggage I was carrying. Today, I feel lighter and more optimistic and am operating on all cylinders. God is truly my strength. Thank you, God!

“There is nothing wrong with our world, or with the people living in our world. It is our mental interpretation that is erroneous, and causes us to think and act from incorrect viewpoints.”  From Addresses by Martha Wilcox, p. 257