APRIL FOOLS (DAY) HAS PASSED, SO STOP BELIEVING THE BIGGEST HOAX AT LAST!
A few Application-idea GEMs to make MODERN-DAY DEMONSTRATIONS of FREEDOM from all limits that flesh is heir to!
Let God Expressed Meekly/Mightily in you sparkle brightly with insights from Cobbey Crisler
and others as found in The Christian Science Quarterly Bible Lesson on
“ARE SIN, DISEASE, AND DEATH REAL?”
for April 10, 2022 (With an intro from the “Unreality” Lesson)
(Cobbey’s insights are shared with the blessing of Janet Crisler janetcrisler7@gmail.com)
by Warren Huff, CedarS Executive Director Emeritus, warren@cedarscamps.org
“APRIL FOOLS” (DAY) HAS PASSED,
WAKE UP FROM FOOLISH FABLES AT LAST!
[Warren’s April 10th Lesson “prelude” inspired by the April 3rd Golden Text for “Unreality”:]
Last week I missed the opportunity to share how much I enjoyed the Bible Lesson Committee’s having the word “foolish” in the Golden Text and so connecting the “April Fool’s” Day pranking tradition with all the deceptive disappointments of a supposed life in matter. It reads: “Many empty promises are like many foolish dreams. They mean nothing. You should honor God.” Ecclesiastes 5:7 The Golden Text is from the International Children’s Bible®
This idea is a perfect set-up for the last of our Spring series of Christian Science Quarterly Bible Lessons on “Are Sin, Disease, and Death Real?”(after “Reality” & “Unreality”) This timeless trilogy serves as a trio of Bible-based wake-up calls which “turn the tables” on all the fables of the Adam-dream myth originating in dust-man of Genesis 2 instead of in the God-given dominion man of Genesis 1.
CLAIM YOUR BLESSINGS as the DIVINE BENEFITS: SINS REMOVED,
ALL DISEASES HEALED, DEATH OUTDONE! Cobbey Crisler on Ps. 103: 2-6 (Responsive Reading):
[Cobbey:] “We’re all covered by insurance policies, perhaps life and health insurance. The Canadian spelling is probably better, “assurance” as far as biblical therapy is concerned. If you’ve ever wanted to know what benefits we have, Psalm 103 lists them: Verse 2, “Forget not all his benefits.” We have “Forgive us iniquities,” that’s sin removed from man. “Disease,” all of them healed, Verse 3. Removed from man’s experience and nature.” Verse 4, “Redeemeth thy life from destruction,” death no longer the arbiter of man’s potential and capability. Those are the benefits. They’re not only individual; they’re collective because verse 6 says, “The Lord executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.”
“Leaves of the Tree: Prescriptions from the Psalms”, by B. Cobbey Crisler**
TAKE EACH STEP LIKE A SHEEP WHO TOTALLY TRUSTS ITS SHEPHERD!
Insights by Ruth Huff & others into Psalm 23 (Responsive Reading). Apply each line to yourself!
“Psalm 23 and ME”
Claim these divinely REAL definitions of YOUR heritage in the TWENTY-THIRD PSALM!
They negate the supposed “23 and me” genetic domination of 23 pairs of ancestral
X-Y chromosomes and can prove that they Do Not Apply (D.N.A.) to the real you!
[Bracketed substitutions from Mary Baker Eddy to show “the light which
Christian Science throws on the Scriptures” with an “incorporeal
or spiritual sense” of Love. (Science & Health 578)]
“[Divine Love] is my shepherd;” That’s MY RELATIONSHIP
“I shall not want.” That’s MY SUPPLY!
“[Love] maketh me to lie down in green pastures:” That’s MY REST!
“[Love] leadeth me beside still waters.” That’s MY REFRESHMENT!
“[Love] restoreth my soul [spiritual sense]:” That’s God’s way of HEALING & MINE!
“[Love] leadeth me in the paths of righteousness” That’s God’s GUIDANCE & MINE!
“For His name’s sake.” That’s MY PURPOSE!
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,” That’s MY TESTING!
“I will fear no evil:” That’s MY PROTECTION!
“For [Love] is with me;” That’s God’s FAITHFULNESS and MINE!
“[Love’s] rod and [Love’s] staff they comfort me.” That’s God’s DISCIPLINE and MINE!
“[Love] prepareth a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:” That’s MY HOPE!
“[Love] anointeth my head with oil;” That’s God’s CONSECRATION and MINE!
“My cup runneth over.” That’s God’s ABUNDANCE and MINE!
“Surely goodness & mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:” That’s God’s BLESSING & Mine!
“And I will dwell in the house [the consciousness] of [Love]” That’s MY SECURITY!
“forever.” That’s God’s ETERNAL HERITAGE and MINE!
(partly penned by CedarS Founder, Ruth Huff, partly by her son, Warren Huff)
REVERSE the DUST-RECORD CURSE of MOB THINKING, of ADULTEROUS ACTING & of LUSTFUL LOOKING. (Matt 5:28)
Cobbey Crisler on Jesus saving the adulterous woman, John 8:3-11/cit. B15 + SH 447:30 “A sinner is afraid to cast the first stone.” & SH 11:1”When forgiving the adulterous woman, he said ‘Go, and sin no more.’”:
[Cobbey:] “John 8:3 Suddenly here is “a woman taken in adultery.” One should at least ask the question, where is the husband who would usually make the charge, and where is the fellow she was with? How come only the woman is here?
The event takes place in the area of the temple. If the stones suddenly start flying, both Jesus and the woman were there. Who did they really care about eliminating?
John 8:5 They face him with a rabbinical question. “Moses said that this “lady” should be stoned. What do you say?…
John 8:6, While they’re all saying this, Jesus has disappeared from view, which would actually happen to those in the rear rows if they’ve encircled. You have to look around. Where did he go? He just disappeared. He’s writing on the ground. A record about as evanescent as the material in which he’s writing. Is that the permanent record of womanhood? It’s a dust record. A dust record that can be dominated by the first foot that walks over and decides to change it or trample it.
John 8:7, “They keep asking him,” because he’s doing nothing but writing on the ground. This is a brilliant way to control a mob. It was a method that was successful. He has kept the mob from being an unthinking gang. He’s kept them all as individuals because they’re thinking, “What’s he doing? What’s he doing?”
“So, they continue asking.” He says “He that is ‘anamartetos’, that is, above error, who never erred or who cannot error or sin among you, let him first throw a stone.” He hasn’t objected to Moses’ sentence. He hasn’t set himself apart. He simply returned the sentence to everyone’s individual conscience and let it be established in the mental courtrooms of those present. You can’t have a mob scene when conscience is at work individually. That’s what destroys a mob.
John 8:8, “Again he stoops down and writes on the ground”— giving them a chance for it to work. It’s an impersonal treatment of the situation for all concerned. No condemnation. No anything.
John 8:9, What happened? “They filtered out and they began at the eldest.” This is a significant start. The custom in the Sanhedrin… was that after a decision of any major import was made, the youngest left first. The honor was for the eldest to be the last one you saw.
Not in this case. The eldest were the first you saw leaving. This is not surprising when you think since they had been around longer, they likely had accumulated more sin. So, the eldest left first. “The woman is left standing in the midst.”
John 8:10 What is Jesus going to do? Is he for permissiveness? He said, “Woman” again, “womanhood”, “Where are your accusers? No man hath condemned you?”
John 8:11, “I’m not in that business either. But,” and you can imagine the authority that went behind this, “go, and sin no more.” Terminate that link to the flesh.”
“Book of John: A Walk with the Beloved Disciple” by B. Cobbey Crisler**
[Ken Cooper wrote:] The monologue, “Go and Sin No More”, read by Sue, traces the thoughts of the condemned woman. Jesus addresses her accusers, turned the lie upon itself. He recognized her true nature. His knowledge of man’s purity, his expression of Love, washed through her thoughts, cleansed the past so that it was no longer part of her, and left her renewed, — whiter than snow! She saw the man / woman of God’s creating, in which is complete freedom, the desire to be good and do good.
Communing with God, we discover our inherent purity, for our prayers shut the door on materiality and behold all that God sees and is.
FOLLOW THE MASTER’S METHOD, LIKE PETER DID,
TO CLEAR OUT FUNEREAL THOUGHT & RAISE THE DEAD!
Cobbey Crisler on Acts 9:36+/cit. B22 & Peter raising Tabitha when all believed her dead:
[As a prequel in Acts to the raising of Tabitha, Cobbey said:] “at nearby Lydda, Peter heals a man named Aeneas who for eight years has been paralyzed, unable to move. It didn’t take long for the news to get around that this kind of healing work was being accomplished by the early Christians [and for Tabitha’s friends to send for Peter].
“In a neighboring “town of Joppa we find a woman named Tabitha. … She had had an exemplary life, had done much good for many.” (See Acts 9:36) …
Acts 9:39 Then Peter arose and went with them. When he was come, they brought him into the upper chamber: and all the widows stood by him weeping, and shewing the coats and garments which Dorcas made, while she was with them.
“Do you recall back in the narratives of the gospel where a similar situation occurred, and Peter was there? (Mark 5:22, 36-42, Matt. 9:24, 25) It was the raising of Jairus’ daughter… Do you remember when Jesus came into that environment that you could almost cut it into square blocks of moisture, the grief was so thick? There were paid mourners at that point. As a matter of fact, we are told that even the poorest individual was entitled to at least three instruments at the funeral service. You can imagine Jairus, being a ruler of the Synagogue, the extent of noise, and activity, and mourning that must have occurred at the passing of Jairus’ daughter.” [W: Peter clearly had an indelible image of what Jesus did and followed the Master’s method as shown in another video ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGJ0TKRTEFI&t=13s ) Peter began to follow Jesus’ method by clearing out the funereal thought of the mourners.]
Acts 9:40 But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down, and prayed; and turning him to the body said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes: and when she saw Peter, she sat up.
Acts 9:41 And he gave her his hand, and lifted her up, and when he had called the saints and widows, presented her alive.
Acts 9:42 And it was known throughout all Joppa;”
“After the Master, What? – The Book of Acts,” by B. Cobbey Crisler**
