Celebrate Life without struggle today!

[Celebrate Life without struggle today! Relax. Rejoice! Renew!] 
Metaphysical Application Ideas from Cedars Camps for the Christian Science Bible Lesson on
“Life” for study during the week of January 9-15, 2012
by Dan Carnesciali, CS of St. Louis, MO (314.374.5616/dancarne@gmail.com)

[Bracketed italics by Warren Huff, CedarS Director and Editor of its Newsletters]

 

[Editor's Note: The following application ideas for this week, and the Possible Sunday School Topics (PSST) that will follow, are offered primarily to help CEDARS campers and staff (as well as friends) see and demonstrate the great value of daily study and application of the Christian Science Bible lessons year-round, not just at camp! You can sign up to have them emailed to you free — in English by Monday each week, or by each Wednesday you can get a FREE TRANSLATION in French thanks to Pascal, in German thanks to Helga and Manfred or in Spanish thanks to a team of Ana, Erick, Claudia and Patricio. YOU CAN SIGN UP at www.cedarscamps.org/newsletters]

 

This is the time of year for new beginnings. Relax. Rejoice! Renew! This is the gentle answer that came in prayer when I was praying for a family member who had been injured. I had asked God the questions, “How shall I pray?” followed by, “What do You want me to pray?” Relax. Rejoice! Renew! Rather than being afraid, trust that Truth is doing Her job and unfolding to you.  God is declaring Godself, hearing Godself, and understanding Godself. Rejoice that the Christ, which Science and Health says is the divine embracing the human, is caring for all your human needs. Renewal is needed. Tired traditions need redemption. One time my daughter was very ill. As I prayed for her recovery I opened the Bible and Science and Health for inspiration and direction. Every time I opened these books they would fall open to passages about snakes. This happened six or seven times. That's pretty hard to ignore. I pondered what God really wanted me to hear. In Science and Health, Mary Baker Eddy redeems the snake, marveling at its “adroitness.” Adroitness is ease and natural skill especially in challenging situations. As you know snakes shed their skin. This is symbolic of being willing to progress, to leave old experiences behind. If a snake held onto the past skin (past experience), it would not shed its skin. This is the time of year for new beginnings. New means fresh, recently discovered, just learned. Are you holding onto something you really want to let go of? A clenched hand is not open to receiving something new. I think about this when I want to hold tightly to a truth. There may be something new God is trying to tell you. Open your hands and be still so you can hear what grace is revealing. Today is the day to surrender to grace. Today is the day to celebrate Life!

 

Golden Text:
[“The Lord is my strength and song, and is become my salvation … I shall not die, but Iive, and declare the works of the Lord.” (Ps. 118: 14, 17)] Can you feel God animating you? Don't you want to live and be God's work? If you are God's work, surely you are not inadequate. Surely you do not lack anything necessary to succeed. This is what opens up in consciousness when you explore how you are God's reflection. God does not just give you strength. God is your strength and your song. God is your salvation. Salvation is preservation or deliverance from destruction, difficulty, or evil. [Salvation can also mean being saved–from false beliefs.]

 

Responsive Reading:
This 30^th psalm, or poetic song, is part of the dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem by King David. God, you have rescued me. I praise you. You have healed me. I weep in the darkness, but when I rise up in joy in the morning when Your truth dawns. “You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy.” (NLT) “I will exalt you, LORD, for you rescued me. You refused to let my enemies triumph over me. O LORD my God, I cried to you for help, and you restored my health. Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.” (NLT) When we are present with God, dancing, and praising, we are en-lightened, fully aware of what is real. What kind of year will this be? How will you celebrate Life?

 

Section 1 – Choose Life

Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt (B-1) and into the Wilderness. While they were in the Wilderness their clothes and shoes did not wear out. [Deut. 29:5, (B-1) There's no reason that can't be applied to get longer than normal service and satisfaction from your car, appliances, electronics…] Today may have seemed unexciting, but observe the extraordinary things God is doing. Today, you are making thousands of choices. [B-2] You are choosing between blessing and cursing. You are choosing between life and death. You are choosing between kindness and sadness. The Bible says that God is your Life. What does that mean? What does it mean if God is not your Life? The prophet Jeremiah says that it is blessed (good, happy, right, peaceful) to trust God. [B-3] The human mind says, “I will trust God when God does X.” This is like saying, “Thy will be done, my way.” This is no way to live. It's limited. It's frustrating. It's life buried in matter.  But, it doesn't have to be that way, does it? “For right reasoning, there should be but one fact before the thought, namely, spiritual existence. In reality there is no other existence, since Life cannot be united to its unlikeness, mortality.” [S-4, 492:3] That is a very radical statement. Life does not end in death. It's not partner with disease and death. Life was never meant to be a burden. You are not in the struggle. The struggle is not in you. Celebrate Life!

 

Section 2 – Celebrate the Joy of Life [“where pressure yields to presence” & “fullness of joy” (B-9)]

Science and Health states: “always begin your treatment by allaying the fear of patients.” [p. 411:27] This is important when the patient is you, too. Prayer brings release, but watch out for getting into a prayer rut. [It's been said that a rut is just a grave with the ends kicked out.] Getting into a rut happens when you pray the same way all the time. There are several types of prayer identified in the Bible. [Citation B-6 from Ps. 61:1:] “O God, listen to my cry! Hear my prayer!” is an example of asking or petitioning God.  This is also a lament (grieving) psalm.  There are times in your life where that is exactly the right type of prayer. Bless God. 

Why? Why not? Blessing God feels so biblical. “Let the whole world bless our God and loudly sing his praises. Our lives are in his hands, and he keeps our feet from stumbling.” (NLT, B-7) Consider praising and blessing God for things that are needed, when God seems lacking to thought. For example, “Thank you God for blessing me and helping me be alert and ready for school. Bless you for waking me up to the Truth. Thank you for softening my heart. Your gentleness makes me great.  Bless You for strengthening my church and my Sunday School.” Keep prayer fresh. There's not just one way to pray. It's good to change it up and change your perspective. 

Prayer is a flashlight, shining the way for you out of darkness. “You light a lamp for me. The LORD, my God, lights up my darkness.” (NLT, B-8)  For a fantastic story about God lighting up the darkness, see this true story of an ocean rescue at night from spirituality.com http://tinyurl.com/6t8gw7m.  Right here is where the presence of Love is. Right where that presence is, is full-blown joy. (B-9) You could say light equals joy. “Let the perfect model be present in your thought instead of its demoralized (disordered) opposite. This spiritualization of thought lets in the light, and brings the divine Mind, Life not death into your consciousness.” (S-11)  

 

Section 3 – Eat Well[& remain undefiled like the Hebrew boys on CedarS Time Travelers Trail map.]

King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon (the area of modern day Iraq) attacked Judah and captured it. [B-11, Dan. 1] This defeat was very sad for the Jews. They thought they had lost their connection to God. The royal family and the elite families of Judah were taken to Babylon. In this period known as the Exile, the Jews grew hugely in their understanding of God. During this exile period, four young men from the tribe of Judah named Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were chosen to participate in a 3-year intensive training program to enter the royal service of the king.  The program involved learning the Babylonian language and culture, and eating the king's meat, a very special privilege. After three years the king would judge whether they were acceptable in intelligence and appearance. The implication is that if the four were not acceptable to the king they would be punished, or worse.  

Daniel did not want to eat the king's meat or drink the king's wine. He felt it would “defile” him. Picture a swimming pool that someone has poured paint into. You see, defile is another word for polluted. Daniel knew that the king's meat and wine were not right for him so he asked the king's chief of staff for permission for all four of the young men not to eat the king's meat. Although the chief of staff respected and liked Daniel, he replied that he was afraid that the king would have him beheaded. Daniel asked for permission to have a 10-day trial where he and his three friends would eat their meatless diet. Daniel and his friends looked healthier than the other students. “Whenever the king consulted them in any matter requiring wisdom and balanced judgment, he found them ten times more capable than any of the magicians and enchanters in his entire kingdom.” (NLT, B-11) 

Daniel's stand for morality took courage – it was not without risk. Why do you think he took that stand anyway? “Isn't life more than food, and your body more than clothing?” (NLT, B-10) “The fact is, food does not affect the absolute Life of man, and this becomes self-evident, when we learn that God is our Life.” [S-12, 388:22] As some of us are on a diet at this time of year, I thought we should look at Daniel's diet as a mental diet. Let's ponder for a moment what type of mental food he indulged in. He had healthy portions of heartfelt worship, courage for his beliefs, listening to God, love of God and simplicity. He knew what his priorities in life were. Daniel removed these things from his diet: going along with the crowd; trying to just blend in; putting off spiritual growth. By removing self-focus from his daily life, he found his true Christ-self, the perfect reflection of God. “What we most need is the prayer of (earnest, eager) desire for growth in grace, expressed in patience, meekness, love, and good deeds.” (S&H 4:3-5)

 

Section 4 – [Make] Time for God  [See Warren's P.S. on God's time & when to make a move.]

This 71^st psalm was written by a man who was old and was thinking of the younger generation. He writes from the heart about how much God means to him. He wants to share how powerful God is, how many wonderful things happened through trusting God. Whether you are young or old, there is always so much to learn about God. (B-12) “For in Your sight a thousand years are like yesterday that passes by, like a few hours of the night. [“Do the math” on this with Gary Duke by clicking here to hear one of his Family Camp, after-breakfast “Prac Talks”.] Satisfy us in the morning with Your faithful love so that we may shout with joy and be glad all our days. Let Your work be seen by Your servants, and Your splendor by their children. Let the favor of the Lord our God be on us; establish for us the work of our hand – establish the work of our hands!” (B-13, Holman Christian Standard Bible) Time can limit you. But a proper sense of it frees you. To God, time is God's eternal now, the divine moment. That divine moment has everything needed for success. It lacks nothing good.

 

Section 5 – [Express gratitude in advance like Jesus did in order to see] Life Restored

“For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” (B-15, HCSB) Jesus declared that he was the light of the world and those who followed him would also have that light of Life. (B-17) Jesus adored Life, his Father. His purpose was to bring all of us into an understanding of Life. This understanding, this perception, of the kingdom of God in us heals us of physical and mental disease. 

The story of Jesus restoring Lazarus to life is an amazing story of brotherly love and of love of Life. Lazarus was Jesus' close friend. Jesus was a friend of Lazarus' family, and they treated him like family. As you know, Lazarus was sick, passed away and was buried. Jesus arrived on the fourth day after Lazarus' death and was confronted by a huge crowd who had come to mourn his loss. What's this? Jesus said that Lazarus would live again? Surely he meant spiritually. If you read the story in its complete form, Martha, Lazarus' sister, voiced that she understood that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God. Mary had a different approach. She basically told Jesus that if he had been there, he could have prevented her brother's death. The crowd was wondering why Jesus had allowed his friend's death, too. 

Jesus told them to roll aside the stone. He really did. Then he stood in front of the tomb and he honored God. He gave gratitude for the healing, which was already apparent to him. Jesus was clear on the Source of the healing. He shouted for Lazarus to walk out of the tomb. If you think Jesus was changing reality, that's not it. Reality does not change. Reality is always reality. It does not change from good to bad and back to good. See the passage on page 470-471 in S&H which mentions no lapse nor return to harmony. Prayer awakens us to spiritual reality, which is always there. It always has been. This is what Christ consciousness is always telling us. Christ is waking us up from error's ignorant perception of life as being in the body. It is shouting that Life is Life, God-good. Christ consciousness is the full awareness of Love and of good's supremacy. It is an understanding of this that Mary Baker Eddy has given to mankind.

 

Section 6 – [Stop to feel God's love and grace:] This is Eternal Life

Eternal Life is divine existence outside of time. It is Life without any beginning and without any end. That means Life is good without any beginning or end. Jesus Christ's crucifixion and resurrection proved the fact that God is Life eternal. (B-19) “And God is able to make every grace overflow to you, so that in every way, always having everything you need, you may excel in every good work.” (B-20, HCBS)  Stop for a moment and feel God's love for you. What is Soul feeling about Itself right now? Soul is feeling the stillness of grace. It is feeling the lightness of joy. It is feeling the triumph of good. By reflection you are feeling God's love for Life. Our opportunity today is to understand that God's nature is entirely loving and good. Grace is God's infinite love showered on you.   It is also God's infinite love showered on those your dislike, who you think are not worthy of God's love. Grace is unconditional love for you and everyone. It cannot be earned. Grace, God's infinite unconditional love, is the force behind healing. “God's readiness to give and forgive is now public. Salvation's available for everyone! We're being shown how to turn our backs on a godless, indulgent life, and how to take on a God-filled, God-honoring life. This new life is starting right now, and is whetting our appetites for the glorious day when our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, appears.” (B-21, The Message) Today we celebrate Life!

 

[Warren's 4^th section P.S.: How obeying God's timing shows athletes when to “make their moves”!
In her classic article on “Obedience” Mrs. Eddy says:”According to my calendar, God's time and mortals' differ. The neophyte is inclined to be too fast or too slow: he works somewhat in the dark; and, sometimes out of season, he would replenish his lamp at the midnight hour and borrow oil of the more provident watcher. God is the fountain of light, and He illumines one's way when one is obedient. The disobedient make their moves before God makes His, or make them too late to follow Him. Be sure that God directs your way; then, hasten to follow under every circumstance.” (Misc. 117: 22)  Another definition of the obedient is “the righteous” (or right thinking and acting) who are mentioned in the verse right before citation B-14: “The righteous flourish like the palm tree, and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.” (Ps. 92:1)  That is a key part of CedarS ongoing “marching orders” as one of our foundational Bible openings by Founder Ruth Huff as you can hear by clicking here to listen in on an inspiring, 10-minute, after-breakfast “Practitioner talk” by Gary Duke, C.S. (St. Louis, MO) at CedarS Jubilee Celebration at the end of our 50^th season in 2011. You can also see our 1^st 40 years in print and in pictures by ordering an autographed copy of Ruth Huff's book, CedarS Camps: Its Origin and Growth ($15 soft, $20 hard).]

 [If you have been blessed by any of CedarS 3 weekly inspirational newsletters (our Mets or our PSSTs and PYCLs for Sunday School teachers), NOW would be a wonderful time to share your appreciation. 

 

Call us anytime at 636-394-6162
to make a donation or to inquire about a custom CedarS experience!

 

To send an actual check please mail to:
The CedarS Camps Office
1314 Parkview Valley Dr.
Ballwin, MO 63011

 

[Your 50^th Anniversary gift to CedarS–as generous as divine Love directs-will play a needed part in CedarS important, year-round work for Christian Science Sunday School students.]

[Sharing the applicable principles of Christianity in CedarS Bible Lands Park:
Our new Fall-season outreach (that is fostering a proper understanding of Christian Science) has led us to give tours of our new Bible Lands Park that clearly demonstrate to Bible-loving churches and youth groups of other denominations how Christian Scientists love and “take the inspired Word of the Bible as our sufficient guide to eternal Life.” (S&H 497:3)  As shown in video clips We are currently working in our Bible Lands Park to expand our ability to share applicable New Testament insights by building a trail with activity, learning stations that follow Paul's teachings and trips from Antioch to Ephesus, Corinth, Athens, Rome … We welcome all gifts to enable such inspiring “Home Improvements” to be made NOW as weather allows.]

 

[CedarS recurring needs are listed at http://www.cedarscamps.org/giving/unrestricted-gifts.htm Just click here to use a credit or debit card (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, or Discover card) or a virtual check to make very helpful monthly donations to CedarS (or to give one-time gifts) in support of spiritual growth.  International supporters can give to CedarS via PayPal using built-in currency exchange rates by filling in an amount under International Donors and clicking on the “Donate Online” button.  

 

[Lastly you can help by telling “un-camped” children and families about CedarS being a wise and happy place for them to glimpse and demonstrate more of their spiritual natures!  We'll gladly send anyone a DVD and info on CedarS financial aid forms; programs for all ages; 2012 session dates & rates; 2012 online enrollment; transportation… to help get them or anyone in your extended church family to camp!]

 

  ^{[Camp Director's Note: This sharing is the latest in an ongoing, 11-year series of CedarS Bible Lesson “Mets” (Metaphysical application ideas) contributed weekly by a rotation of CedarS Resident Practitioners and occasionally by other metaphysicians.  (Ask and look for “Possible Sunday School Topics “and “Possible Younger Class Lessons” in subsequent emails.) These weekly offerings are intended to encourage further study and application of ideas in the lesson and to invigorate Sunday School participation by students and by the budding teachers on our staff. Originally sent JUST to my Sunday School students and to campers, staff and CedarS families who wanted to continue at home and in their home Sunday Schools the same type of focused Lesson study, application and inspiration they had felt at camp, CedarS lesson “mets “and Sunday School ideas are in no way meant to be definitive or conclusive or in any way a substitute for daily study of the lesson. The thoughts presented are the inspiration of the moment and are offered to give a bit more dimension and background as well as new angles (and angels) on the daily applicability of some of the ideas and passages being studied. The weekly Bible Lessons are copyrighted by the Christian Science Publishing Society and are printed in the Christian Science Quarterly as available at Christian Science Reading Rooms or online at eBibleLesson.com or myBibleLesson.com. The citations referenced (i.e.B-1 and S-28) from this week's Bible Lesson in the “Met” (Metaphysical application ideas) are taken from the Bible (B-1 thru B-24) and the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health With Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy (S-1 thru S-30). The Bible and Science and Health are the ordained pastor of the Churches of Christ, Scientist. The Bible Lesson is the sermon read in Christian Science church services throughout the world. The Lesson-Sermon speaks individually through the Christ to everyone, providing unique insights and tailor-made applications for each one. We are glad you requested this metaphysical sharing and hope that you find some of the ideas helpful in your daily spiritual journey, in your deeper digging in the books and in closer bonding with your Comforter and Pastor.]}

 

 Enjoy!    And, please contact us for more info about any and all things about CedarS!

[PSST-List your reasons for living (with grace)-don't be list-less!]

Possible Sunday School Topics by Merrill Boudreaux

for the Christian Science Bible Lesson on

“Life” for January 15, 2012

[bracketed italics by Warren Huff, CedarS Director & Newsletters Editor]

 

P.S.S.T. – Golden Text – What is the prayer of affirmation in the Golden Text? “I shall not die, but live…” Ask students to make a brief listing of their reasons to live. Now ask, is it possible to do anything but live – not just in theory, but in fact? Ask students to take the letters for the word Life and turn them into an acronym, such as, Life is Forever, Eternal or Life, Infinite for Everyone. [Listen Intuitively For Everything, …] You get the idea.

 

P.S.S.T. – Responsive Reading – Ask the students to select 10 key words in the Responsive Reading and arrange them into a power statement of praise. Ex: cried, healed, joy, morning, dust, sackcloth, mourning, dancing, turned, to. Rearranged as the power praise statement: cried, sackcloth, mourning, dust, turned to morning, healed, joy, dancing. Ask students to use any combination of words, then ask them to explain the meaning of what they chose to express.

 

P.S.S.T. – Section 1 – What does God command for all ideas in this section? Choose life, obey his voice, shall not see when heat cometh, shall not be careful in the year of drought. Is man, tree, flower supposed to die? What is the truth of your being in citation S4? What is the result of even a tiny portion of this knowledge?

 

P.S.S.T. – Section 2 – Use this section of the Lesson to respond to this question: What qualities might one find on the path of life? Energy, light, rocks that lift me up or for me to stand on, joy, bliss, good, health, longevity, harmony, perfection. Where do you find this path of life? It is the path you are on now. You need not look elsewhere. Open your eyes and count and experience in your present life that affirms one of the words above.

 

P.S.S.T. – Section 3 – Read aloud the Bible story in this section. Does food give you life? How was this proven by the children of Israel? See also Matt. 6: 25-30.

 

P.S.S.T. – Section 4 – What do you know for sure after reading this section? B14. What does time have to do with anything? See S&H 595: 17. What can you achieve or receive if you choose to not use time as a measurement? S18. Now is the occasion to practice seeing everyone, including yourself, as ageless. What does Mary Baker Eddy say about recording ages? See S&H 246: 17-20. That is a reason to celebrate indeed.

 

P.S.S.T. – Section 5 – How did Jesus do that? [raise Lazarus] Read the Bible story in citation B18. Now answer the question with citation S21. What is your privilege in citation S22? Live ye, see no death. It is never too early to begin this practice.

 

 

P.S.S.T. – Section 6 – What is life eternal? B19. Can you have it? B20. Create an acronym for the word grace, like you did for life. Ex: God Reigns Around Cheerfully Everyone, or Get Ready, Always Christ Expressing. [of God's Reflected Affection Cheering Everyone, Give Radiantly, Alertly Cherishing Everyone, or my favorite, God's Radiance, Affectionately Cherishing Everyone, … anything that imparts a sense of God's unconditional love] What footsteps of Christ Jesus can we follow on the path of life? S26. Walk on, dear ones.

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