War Inevitable?

Are you praying about war? If not, why not? I know that sometimes that I have a feeling like I should pray about war, but I feel hesitant. I had an insight that we should be praying more about big issues like war. If we never pray about it, how will it come to an end? And, if it is the objectification of evil, why wouldn't we pray . My insight was that prayer is effective, so we need to be applying it to what is needed most. That simple thought was helpful. How can prayer help delete the images of carnage, death, futility, and frustration?

Jesus never made a reality out of death. When he raised the girl from death, he told those around him that she was sleeping. He did the same when he raised Lazarus. He was alert to the fact that death is not reality - it's illusion. There's a book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures that has a lot of insights about death. It mentions death 387 times! On page 39:9, it says: "The Bible calls death an enemy, and Jesus overcame death and the grave instead of yielding to them. He was "the way." To him, therefore, death was not the threshold over which he must pass into living glory." Death isn't to be feared or welcomed. Death is a belief that life is in matter. This life apart from God, Spirit, results in death. Life in Spirit never ends.

Is the situation hopeless in Iraq? It sure seems to be. There's daily bombings. It just goes on and on, with no improvement. It sure looks like good is out of the picture and that evil is unstoppable. That sure takes God out of the picture. What's needed to turn this situation around? Would you be surprised if I said prayer? What I mean by prayer is listening for God's voice, looking with God's vision. As it says in Genesis, God created everything good and he was pleased with His creation. God, Spirit, created spiritual creation. It has never morphed into material creation, never degraded into war. We can be faithful to Jesus and love our enemies. We can pray that all love their enemies, and that all the so-called "enemies" are blessed. If everyone felt blessed they wouldn't attack anyone else, and war would fade.

I am praying to know that Iraq is not immersed in war as the carnal mind portrays. I'm adopting Jesus' view that evil is a "liar [lie] and the father of it." I am seeing what God is seeing and unseeing what the carnal mind is seeing. War is not inevitable - God's peace is.

Delaying Good

Who would delay good? I think we do that all the time. We put off listening to God, praying, accepting good.

I know that I think I'll handle some issues at work and then pray. And, then I find hours have passed and I haven't prayed about the issue at all.

I will watch an episode on TV to relax and then it gets late and I have to cut my prayers short.

Or, the busyness of modern life takes over.

All of these are examples of the carnal mind's pressure to delay good. And, delaying good is a denial of God-good.

For today, I'm going to stop delaying good. I'm going to finish that blog I started a few days ago. I'm going to pray about that headache that popped up this morning. (I'm going to pray for complete freedom from it. Jesus never accepted illness or death as God's will, so why should we?)

With Love,

Dan

Healing Sought Through The Presence of God

Last week I was working so hard at my job, (i.e., lots of personal effort, long hours), but I didn't seem to be gaining ground. It was nice to have a break for Easter, to ponder what God's plan was and to have some time away from the grind to search for healing.

Christian Scientists, like other Christians, pray for God's wisdom. They listen patiently for His direction, and pray for the wisdom and willingness to follow that direction when it comes. Sometimes His voice is that "still small voice" the prophet Isaiah refers to, and sometimes it seems louder. I have found that it is essential to quiet my own thought to make room for God's voice. Christ Jesus taught us to go into our closet (store room, pantry room) and be quiet so we could hear the heavenly Father.

I pray for healing. Sometimes as you see it's for solutions on the job, and sometimes it is to heal a physical or relationship problem. I pray for myself and for others. (If you would like me to pray for you, too, please feel free to contact me at dancarne@gmail.com.) I thought I would share what I heard when I went into my "prayer closet" last night and prayed.

I felt a rush of goodness. Before I could think of the challenges of life, there was an angel message waiting for me. They told me God is right here. Love never allowed sickness. Those whom you are praying for are free. The Bible mentions free, freedom, etc. 96 times and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures mentions it 90 times. pp 225-235 in S&H are sometimes referred to as the freedom pages because they beautifully illustrate over and over man's (the man created by God) freedom from moral and physical wrong. For example, "Love and Truth make free, but evil and error lead into captivity."

I'm ready to be free of evil's fetters. I know this is divine Love's plan!

Grace Heals

What do we have to do to be healed? Do we have to pray? Do we have to be good? Do we have to realize the Truth? I heard someone say, "Jesus said, 'You shall know the Truth, and the Truth shall make you free.' He didn't say your 'knowing of the truth' shall make you free."

What this tells me is it's God's grace that heals. We need to yield up our guilt that we haven't lived up to God's expectation and that is what's holding up healing. According to Genesis 1, you and I were made as God's like-ness, His image.

Jesus told us that the kingdom of heaven we are searching for is "within us." It's here, it's Immanuel, or God with us.

When a disease has gone on for a long time, we feel tempted to feel discouraged or frustrated. That's understandable, but it also points out that maybe we are regarding disease as a reality, even though God, the Creator, didn't make it. Let's look at it as a "presentation" of evil; it's insubstantial. For example, if you go to a cineplex and you accidentally walk into the wrong theater, do you try and heal that wrong picture? No, you walk out (you repent) and go to the proper theater. With the correct mental image before thought there is healing.

What is healing. It's God with us, it's wholeness. But, the root of the word heal is to adore. So, in obedience to Christ Jesus' command to "Heal the sick.", we can adore the sick! And, God's love for us is so great, it's grace. God loves you as you are. "Come as you are!" This healing grace is evidenced in our lives by the expression of gratitude, wholeness, progress, and by love.

Simply put, let go of the burden of guilt that you need to change to be healed. Yield to the truth that you are God's child, made perfect in His image. You are LOVED!

Starting to Pray About Climate Change

When thinking about global climate change, it looks like mankind is asleep at the wheel. However, we are suddenly seeing a great leavening of Truth going on. Industry instead of government is recognizing the need to seek solutions to climate change. Something is busting up resistance to change - it's Christ, the divine influence.

How can scientific prayer make a difference in such a big problem? I don't know about you, but I find that fear that that problem is to BIG tries to voice itself. It's a Goliath voice - how dare you challenge me. What is the solution? [pause to avoid a Sunday School answer.] I believe it is turning to and staying with God, the omnipotent, the only truth giver to man.

"As light destroys darkness and in the place of darkness all is light, so (in absolute Science) Soul, or God, is the only truth-giver to man. " Page 72:9 As from Science and Health by Mary Baker Eddy.

There is nothing else going on, despite the carnal mind's drama theater of a of threat to mankind. Maybe it's like walking into the wrong movie theater. You don't have to stay, you can walk right out and go to the right one.

www.findhealing.net
Thanks Maryl and Barry for the thoughts.

Dan

Letting Go and Getting More

This is from my sister Lisa in Colorado, who had a great experience with trusting God.

I would like to share with you what I feel to be a much needed healing of “self worth”. I was recently blessed with a new job after great angst over taking what seemed to be most cavernous leap of faith. This decision to seriously make a job change seemed incredibly difficult for me as I had been in the same position for approximately 11 years. For years I felt that I had very few options available to me due largely to the fact that I did not have a college degree and I was not keen on beginning at the bottom. Because of this I had an overwhelming feeling of entrapment and dread at enduring a very unhappy future with my current employer as it became all to clear in recent history that our previous good relationship had deteriorated.

I began to reflect on the thought that I deserved good and that I had great things offer – surely there were employers that regarded experience above a degree. I began to turn my thought to listening for God’s guidance and direction. I was comforted by a feeling that leaving a position that I was very unhappy with, would be best for all concerned.

And then things began to move quickly for me. I felt comfortable sharing in a casual conversation with a respected colleague that I was interested in pursuing other job opportunities and of course all the reasons why I felt that this was going to be a very difficult endeavor. She shared with me that changes were occurring within her company and that she felt that I would be a good candidate for a management position. Upon this information, I contacted the president of her company to express my interest and we had a phone interview right there and I was invited to see the offices the following weekend. Of course I took her up on that offer and in our meeting she made me a formal offer and I accepted. Coincidently, I had known this woman professionally for 10 + years.

What was most astounding and what I was unaware of until I accepted the offer, was the fact that this woman had contacted my prior immediate employers to let them know she was going to offer me a position and that they should do something if they intended on keeping me. In reaching out this way, this women accomplished several things. She showed great respect to my prior employers and GREAT value for me, as well as eliminating the dread I felt at confronting the inevitable resignation meeting. And because of this, all doubt and fear was erased and my transition out and the training of others was relatively painless. All of which, I am truly grateful for.

(Ed. comment - Very inspiring, Lisa!)

Always in Our Right Place

This weekend my wife and I took my son to a Segway human transporter class at the St. Louis Science Center. About a mile from the science center, the car ran out of gas. Becaue I like to play practical jokes, my son, Peter, thought I was joking around. It wasn't a joke (this time). We rolled as far as we could and Peter and his mom had to walk the rest of the way. I called a tow truck to bring some gas. However, I wanted to be with Peter to see him on this amazing transportation device. (It is an ingenious device that balances itself on one axle using computers and gyros.) The class was about to start and the tow truck was still en route. I decided to listen to God and I heard that we are always in our right place at all times.

I love that simple spiritual fact. What? Iis such a thing as always being in your right place possible? When we consider that God-good is the only Cause and the only Creator, that He is omnipresent (everywhere at the same time) and that we are truly spiritual reflections of this grand Creator, such a thing is possible.

On one-hand, humanly I was not where I longed to be and felt that I should be. But, I refused to listen to anything that said I was separated from my right place and listened to God. I reasoned that according to God, I was always in my right place. And, that my true location was with God, not in a car without gas away from my wife and son.

I felt this simple unlabored peace, this God bestowed trust that I was in my right place. I did not outline that all would be well when the tow truck came. I felt and knew that in reality, spiritually, everything was already well. My thought had yielded to the Christ, and the result was peace, trust, and comfort. Not surprisingly, as I finished my prayer, the tow truck arrived and gave me fuel. I drove to the science center and was able to see the smile on my son's face as he piloted his Segway around.

I didn't miss out on any good that evening. Quite the opposite. I learned again that scientifically we are always in our right place.