“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, . . . though the waters thereof roar and be troubled”
(The Bible – Psalm 46: 1-3)
Author Archive
God – Our Refuge Leave a comment
The Peace of Righteousness 1 comment
… the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever. And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places;
(The Bible – Isaiah 32: 17, 17)
A Person of Integrity 1 comment
The upright man is guided by a fixed Principle, which destines him to do nothing but what is honorable, and to abhor whatever is base or unworthy; hence we find him ever the same, — at all times the trusty friend, the affectionate relative, the conscientious man of business, the pious worker, the public-spirited citizen.
He assumes no borrowed appearance. He seeks no mask to cover him, for he acts no studied part; but he is indeed what he appears to be, — full of truth, candor, and humanity. In all his pursuits, he knows no reproachable means. He never shows us a smiling countenance while he meditates evil against us in his heart. We shall never find one part of his character at variance with another.
(Miscellaneous Writings 1883-1896 by Mary Baker Eddy p147:19)
War – An Evil 1 comment
Nothing is gained by fighting, but much is lost.
Peace is the promise and reward of rightness. …
War is in itself an evil, barbarous, devilish. Victory in error is defeat in Truth. War is not in the domain of good; war weakens power and must finally fall, pierced by its own sword.
(The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany by Mary Baker Eddy p278: 21)
‘Mark’ the Man and Woman of God’s Creating Leave a comment
An article from the Christian Science Monitor by Blythe Evans
When my children were in elementary school, they played soccer through a local sports program. Before each game, the coach would assign each child a player on the opposing team to “mark.” That meant to focus on and stay right with the player at all times, rather than meandering around the field of play. Sometimes the coach would even say, “Mark that player so closely you feel like you’re in their shirt! Stay right with them.”
The importance of this was not lost on the young athletes, and the better they each marked their player, the better the game went for them.
I think of this sometimes when I read in the Bible, “Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace” (Psalms 37:37). Practically speaking, who is “the perfect man” we are to “mark”? How do we do that? And why should we?
Well, it is clear there is no perfect human being, so the “perfect man” must be a higher, more spiritual concept of man than we experience with our material senses. In fact, the teachings of Christian Science help us see that the “perfect man” is the spiritual man (meaning all of us) of God’s creating, made in the image of divine Spirit.
Blythe goes on to explain how this reasoning and spiritualisation of thought brought about a quick healing of her young grandson’s injured finger. She concludes by saying:
This doesn’t mean putting our heads in the sand when we or someone we encounter is not well or acting wrongly. Rather, we can silently affirm that everyone’s true nature is one of harmony, health, and integrity, because God, Spirit, is all good. Understanding this enables us to overcome illness or bad character traits, and to help others do the same.
Click here to read the complete article.
God’s Promise Leave a comment
.
… prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
(The Bible – Malachi 3: 10)
Freedom – a Divine Right Leave a comment
Wednesday Testimony Meeting Readings
This recording is of readings on the topic: Freedom – a Divine Right
.
I love Thy way of freedom, Lord,
To serve Thee is my choice,
In Thy clear light of Truth I rise
And, listening for Thy voice,
I hear Thy promise old and new,
That bids all fear to cease:
My presence still shall go with thee
And I will give thee peace.
(Christian Science Hymnal 136 by Violet Hay)
Hearing God Leave a comment
Spirit, God, is heard when the senses are silent.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy p89: 20)
Identity – Distinct and Eternal 1 comment
.
The divine Mind maintains all identities, from a blade of grass to a star, as distinct and eternal.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy p70: 12)
All One in Love 1 comment
‘Love’ what a word!
Isn’t it Love that makes us happy? Isn’t it Love that heals our hurts and fears? Isn’t Love the thing that at every stage of our lives we need in order to flourish and thrive, not just survive?
Isn’t it Love that makes life worth living? Isn’t it Love and only Love that can bring ‘… on earth peace, goodwill to men’?
Golden Rule
Love is what unites us all. No matter what our religion or philosophy, Christian, non-Christian, atheist, sectarian, Love is at the heart of us all. In fact, most great spiritual thinking has the Golden Rule as a core value.
Judaism says, ‘What is hateful to you do not do to your neighbour.’
Buddhism – ‘Hurt not others with that which hurts yourself.’
Sikhism – ‘Treat others as you would be treated yourself.’
Islam – ‘Not one of you truly believes until you wish for others what you wish for yourself.’
In the Christian Bible, Christ Jesus says, ‘… all things whatsoever you would that men should do to you, do even so to them.’
Love for one another is at the core of all of them.
However, this Love that is such a core principle, has to be more than mere human affection. So, what then is it?
What Does the Bible Say?
The Bible does tell us very clearly when it says in 1 John, ‘God is Love’.
For many, that term ‘God’ is variously thought of as the non-physical, all good, supreme Being; the governing benevolent power in our lives and of the universe. Too often though, we can also overlay our sense of God with all sorts of human traits and limitations. But, to think of the supreme, wholly good, governing power of all things, as Love, lifts our thoughts of God beyond the human into something far greater; it lifts it into the realm of the divine. It takes away a sense of the distance and unknowability of God, the humanness and variability, and brings it to the here and nowness, the closeness of Love, of what we already know within the core of ourselves.
A Powerful Force
It makes Love a powerful force in our lives.
Love is the true essence of all religion. This is certainly true of Christian Science. I grew up in Christian Science, but you can’t inherit an understanding of what a religion has to offer. There has to come a point when you decide for yourself that its ideas and Principles are right and good.
Personal Experience
For me it was this sense of God as Love, that helped me see its worth. Like most of us, I went through a period where I felt lost and alone, and very unloved, but it was the inner voice that kept telling me how much God loved me and knew me, that blew away the darkness and brought me into the light – the light of feeling loved. It literally transformed me.
In fact, the founder of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy, has made Love an essential quality for being a Christian Scientist. She said, “Christian Scientists, their children and grandchildren to the latest generations, inevitably love one another with that love wherewith Christ loveth us; a love unselfish, unambitious, impartial, universal, — that loves only because it is Love.” (Pulpit and Press p21:1)
Original Christianity
It’s a high ideal to live up to, but no less a standard than Jesus set for original Christianity. Original Christianity loves without discrimination; unites and never divides; values a person by the quality of character not material riches. This original standard is at the heart of Christian Science.
Find Out More
If you would like to know more about this religion of Love, please meet us at our Sunday Services (10.00 am) and our Wednesday Testimony Meetings (6.15 pm). We are located on the corner of Macquarie and Bligh Streets in Barton. Sunday School for students up to the age of 20 is also at 10.00 am – new students are always welcome.
This article was contributed by Beth Packer who is a full-time Christian Science healer.
Christian Science Canberra 