Holy Spirit

I love this Bible Study I’m doing with a group from church. Our assignment has started off with the book of Acts (and Luke) and learning about the nature of the early Christians and Church. And it has been so inspiring to learn about!

What a wonderful time it was full of sharing of everything, no possessing anything of themselves, love expressed by everyone, physical healings happening naturally and easily, not discriminating anyone but openly accepting anyone into the Christ spirit.

And I love how after healing the lame man, Peter and John deny that it is themselves that are doing anything. Anytime they spoke or addressed people, it says they were “filled with the Holy Ghost”. And when the people in the temple attempted to worship or marvel at them, Peter corrects them saying, “Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?”. He goes on to attribute all power to God, which he learned through Christ Jesus’ teaching and example.

It is an incredible selflessness that they exerted and not accepting or attributing any power to themselves. They knew that by a sense of personal power they were denying Christ and therefore God and forsaking real spiritual power. And it talks about the terrible results of the 2 Christians who attempted to hold back some of there belongings and not to give fully to the group as everyone else was doing. This is a time of true selflessness. That is the biggest quality I see everyone expressing and facing. And look at the result – everyone’s needs were met, no one was suffering from physical disease, and everyone was so full of love and joy.

What a comparison to our churches today! Are churches really doing this same thing? And shouldn’t this constantly be the model we are striving for? It was evident that these early Christians were carrying on the works of Christ Jesus. When and how did this stop? Well there are a few significant events in history, which attribute to this change, but can’t we get back to this model? I think we can. When I read about this, it was such a craving to be part of an environment that was like this and doing these same things. So I am inspired to move forward and onward in continuing to follow and live in the Christ spirit here and now. It isn’t dead but it is alive! And we can feel it and be possessed of the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost ourselves right now, everyday!

Holiday Wishes

As I sit in a café, I overhear a conversation of 2 college age girls next to me. They are talking about being sick of hooking up with boys and wanting to settle down. The one relates that she is enjoying her first long term relationship in awhile. It makes me happy to think that people are desiring to meet some special. And that casual frivolous hooking up inevitably loses it’s appeal. I think this is the result of our true spiritual nature. We naturally desire that which is good and harmonious. And we all want life and peace, health and prosperity. And it’s so great to remember during these holiday times, that friendships are what is really important. Whether it is with family or with spouses it is the friendship in the relationship that really makes it count.

I love watching all the families walking around together on this “black Friday”. And in my prayers yesterday and today, I acknowledged that relationships are a gift from God to us. They are a way that we know the divine nature and God’s kingdom. It is how we feel God’s goodness, love, support, and peace in our lives. Imagine a world without relationships – each one would just be selfish, thinking only based on oneself. But that isn’t our nature because it feels good to give. It makes us happy to do good things. This proves that our nature is inherently spiritual and good. We love to love! And our heart goes out to others that are suffering. This compassion is humanity and it is what unites all of us. I wish everyone a wonderful holiday season filled with warmth, comfort, love and prosperity. God bless you all.

The Kingdom of Heaven is Here and Now

Yes! Yes! It’s true. How, you say? Well because all that is going on is the spiritual original – spiritual perfection. It has never changed. The substance of all being and existence has never changed because it is sustained by God. You and I are sustained by God, Spirit, and not by matter. In fact, there is no material life, intelligence, or substance. The material dream is an illusion, just as the Adam & Eve dream. All that is real and true is God’s perfect creation in his own image and likeness. And all we get to do is to deny evil – deny that it exists or that is has any power. God can not remain a mystery any longer. God must be known and is constantly revealing Himself/Herself to our consciousness. God, good, is all. Therefore, there is no evil. And evil only seems to be really by giving power and belief to that which isn’t real or true – like believing our dreams at night are real and therefore reacting and responding to them.

Evil only exists as a suggestion (although there isn’t anything in reality that can suggest anything). We are all, each, the spiritual perfection creation of God – so valuable and needed right here and now. And our identity is made up of spiritual qualities. We are each individual; the individual expression of God’s being. Anything that represents a personal ego separate from God isn’t a reality since there is one Ego/I and all that He creates.

We know that God didn’t create sin, sickness, suffering, disease, or death so let’s deny them right now. Their only power over you is by suggestions – if you believe it. And Jesus showed us the way – showed us that any discordant situation, including lack or unemployment, has no divine authority.

“Take possession of your body, and govern its feeling and action” (Science and Health).

“Rise in the conscious strength of the spirit of truth to overthrow the plea over mortal mind, alias matter, arrayed against the supremacy of Spirit” (Science and Heatlh).

Divine Love

God is Love, as the scriptures inform us. Divine Love. Divine Love is always present, is the only consciousness, Person, or Ego. Love is the only presence and is always embracing you and me. Love is infinite wisdom and has a harmonious solution for all that we face. God is an “ever present help in trouble”. Love is an ever-present help in trouble. Love hasn’t created sin, sickness, or death; therefore we don’t have to suffer from them. All that Love created is good. And good is all that there is. The more we embrace this Truth in our consciousness the more we see all human errors slip away. And it begins with each individual. Eventually we will all get there –we have too. Human errors do not have divine power to sustain them. They will all yield to Divine Love, divine Truth. This takes place here and now. We don’t need to move to another phase of existence for we are in our probationary period here and now. And the Christ is always at work in the human consciousness redeeming humanity. Matter based thinking is yielding for spiritual thinking. The supposed alternative Ego hates the Truth because the Truth ultimates in it’s nothingness. Pride, greed, power don’t get you anything. And the material mind doesn’t like this. But all is Spirit and spiritual. Spirit is the source of supply and all that satisfies us. All that we want and desire can be found in Spirit – therefore we are not dependent on anything or anyone but Spirit. Each of us has a perfect relationship with Spirit right now – for God is not a respecter of persons. We are all equal we are all valuable to divine Love. No one is better than another. God loves all of us equally. Anyone who tries to claim that God has favorites boasts ignorance and has a false sense of security. Each of us is the beloved child of God, whom God is loving right now. Love is the only consciousness and sees and knows only good. She sees and knows each of us as her perfect creation. Nothing else is real or true about us because anything less than her perfect image can only result from a belief in matter which isn’t real or true. All is Spirit and Her spiritual creation – as is depicted in the first chapter of Genesis. That is the truth and is the solution to every human woe. God is not a mystery but God can be known and very close, real, and dear to each of us for God is our friend. The truth about God must be known – that She is dear to us and only knows good. Nothing unlike her perfection can come from her. She never sends suffering or sickness or death. She is the one and only perfect Creator. So lets all love God together who is our dear friend and find fulfillment and satisfaction. Yes, there are challenges but God is forming us in her own likeness and is annihilating any characteristic that is unlike her. Thanks be to God.

Inseparable from God

I got an email from someone this morning requesting help and I began to think of our oneness with God. It became so clear to me that this individual is inseparable from God. Most errors of the human mind stem from the belief that we are separate from God so it is important to correct this illusion in our thinking.

In this week’s Bible Lesson on “Soul and Body” it states “As astronomy reverses the human perception of the movement of the solar system, so Christian Science reverses the seeming relation of Soul and body and makes body tributary to Mind.” Our work in Christian Science is counteracting the false illusion of the material senses with the spiritual facts of being. Just as it seems like the sun is moving each day around the earth, we know, through astronomy, this isn’t correct.

Christian Science works the same way. So I knew this person was inseparable from God. All fear and concern for this person went away because of this great fact. Mary Baker Eddy, the discoverer and founder of Christian Science, has given us 7 synonyms for God as a way to learn of God’s nature more fully.
I saw this individual as one with Mind and inseparable from Mind, therefore knowing all she needs to know each moment, where to go, etc; constantly directed by this Mind.

I also saw her as one with Soul – her individuality. She is one with spontaneity, creativity, and her perfect spiritual identity and uniqueness.
Because she is inseparable from divine Love, she is always loved and cared for each minute wherever she is.

These are the great facts of our being and existence. And when we acknowledge them in our experience and existence the obstacles of fear and worry and removed and God’s law can naturally govern our experience. We don’t have to do anything to make God’s law work – it always is! We simply need to help keep ourselves transparent, so to speak, for God’s law to work. This could mean annihilating any characteristics that are unlike him – such as jealousy, envy, rage, revenge, etc. Also to acknowledge that we are only made of spiritual qualities which come from God such as patience, obedience, fearlessness, peace, and joy. I relish in this glorious fact of our inseparability and oneness with God – our loving Father-Mother.

Love

One thing that I feel can be corrected and would greatly help mankind, would be to truly understand Love.

I enjoy my fair share of romantic movies especially comedies put out by Hollywood and independent filmmakers. But recently I have found that the idea of love that is being portrayed is incorrect and no wonder we have relationships that aren’t lasting or satisfying.

I recently realized that there is no such thing as soul mates or “the one”. This concept comes from the view that we are each incomplete and that there is someone else (male or female) which completes us. This idea is false and is a lie about our Creator. God created all of his ideas complete and whole. And relationships are simply an opportunity to express our divine nature. Relationships are very important because they give us an outlet to express love, patience, humility, unselfishness, and other lovely qualities. And they show us ways that we can grow.

The idea of “the one” signifies that God’s creation isn’t complete. We learn in the first chapter of Genesis that God made his creation in his own image & likeness, good and complete. And in the book of I John we learn that God is Love.

Studies have shown that they way we think about God shapes who we are. My study of the Bible and the teachings of Christian Science has shown me that God is Love and unchanging Goodness. That the divine Will is perfect and blesses all of his creation. And that God is infinite wisdom. This would show that God is the one who relates & associates us. And this relating has to be balanced and harmonious. I have found that companionship is a more spiritual way to think about relationships. It is right that we companion with others because that is part of God’s grace and goodness. But we are by no means dependant on these relationships for our happiness. Each of us is whole and complete and is totally responsible for how we feel.

I attended a “Celebrate Marriage” weekend recently in which the speaker pointed out that the purpose of marriage is to make us holy, not to make us happy. When we are looking to the other person to make us happy than there is going to be a time when that runs out. Are we then to move onto the next thing that will make us happy for a short period of time?

I think marriage is the expression of our relationship to God. Unchanging, unconditional love and support is the goal for humanity. This is God’s nature and we are striving to put off the human and put on the divine more and more in daily life. This is the role of true Christianity. Jesus said of his followers that they would be known by the love they express to eachother – that brotherly love and kindness.
So love isn’t a person. Love is God itself. And Love is manifested through our relationships with our parents, our children, brother, sister, friend, boss, mentor, boyfriend, girlfriend, or spouse. It is all the One Love manifested in infinite ways.

So we never have to feel incomplete or absent from Love because Love is ever-present. And all we need to do is start expressing it in this moment and we will immediately get a fuller sense of happiness, joy, and life. “For Love alone is Life” (from a poem by Mary Baker Eddy). When we feel love and express we just feel so full of Life (which is also God but that’s another discussion). So we can start right now by saying hi to the person next to you or smiling at a cashier. This is living in God’s kingdom here and now - by the genuine dwelling in and expressing of Love.