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Cherish God-made Peace and Help Make it at Home and Among Nations

Metaphysical Application Ideas for the Christian Science Bible Lesson: “God, the Only Cause and Creator,” December 9, 2007
by
Dan Carnesciali, CS of Ballwin, MO
[with bracketed, italicized notes & “Possible Sunday School Topics” by Warren Huff]

Editor’s Note:  The following application ideas for the Christian Science Bible Lesson for this week 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 or FOR FREE TRANSLATIONS in French or Spanish and maybe German soon by Wednesday: SIGN UP at www.cedarscamps.org/newsletters

Golden Text:  [God causes us to praise, not to destructively criticize!]
As the earth lets its new plants grow, and as a garden causes the things planted in it to grow, in the same way, the Lord God will cause what is right and good and words of praise to grow up in front of all the nations.” (New Life Version)

Soul is germinating new ideas, bringing them to our recognition.  Our God is on the move.  [Possible Sunday School Topics (P.S.S.T!):  Are we busy planting only “right-thinking and acting” (righteousness) and praise?  Or are we sympathetically watering the weeds of wrong thinking and acting and the crabgrass of belittling criticism?  If so, why?  When you belittle yourself or another you’re belittling the very image of God and therefore God, the only Cause and Creator.  This principle doesn’t change in an election year or in our families where, more than ever, we need “uniters,” not “dividers.”]

 
Responsive Reading:  [Rejoice in your spiritual Home where you are fully known and fully loved – at peace, with “wolf and lamb” side by side both “fed by Thy love divine!”  CS Hymnal 30:5]
“Celebrate and be glad forever!  I am creating a
Jerusalem, full of happy people.”  (Contemporary English Version)  There is a great need for all nations to dwell in peace [and “peace … begin(s) with me, let this be the moment now.”]  Jerusalem, or Jeru Shalom, means “Vision of Peace”, “They shall see peace”, or “City of God‘s Peace.” (dict.die.net and focusonjerusalem.com)  Jerusalem is a spiritual concept.  Part of the definition of Jerusalem in the Glossary of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures is “Home, heaven.”  Mary Baker Eddy once said, “Home is not a place but a power.  We find home when we arrive at the full understanding of God.  Home!  Think of it!  Where sense has no claims and Soul satisfies.” (Twelve Years with Mary Baker Eddy by Rev. Irving C. Tomlinson, CSB) 

 

[Think of Jerusalem and of your homeland security: with “weeping … no more;” with no more unjust frustration (“labor in vain”); full of peacemakers instead of troublemakers (who “bring forth for trouble”); with no destructive criticism (“not hurt nor destroy”).  (P.S.S.T!):  Have you made your reservations to be (in your true) “Home for Christmas,” “where sense has no claim and Soul satisfies,” – no matter where you or your loved ones are?  What kind of “Home-style” gifts will you be satisfied to give and to get from those you fully know (with the “the knowledge of the Lord”) and fully love, no matter where we all are on any given day?]

 Section 1:  Spiritual Causation [the easiest path “o’er the hillside steep!”  Hymn 304:1]
[We at the CedarS of Lebanon are excited that it’s just a “very little while and Lebanon (our camp home) shall be turned into a fruitful field” where the deaf (seemingly unreceptive) will “hear the words of the book(s)” (our Pastor); and the blind (or ungrateful to present good) will see; and the meek and “poor (receptive) … will increase their joy in the Lord” (B3)  Many instantaneous healings and fruitful reversals are waiting in the wings!  You’ll get points for those reversals as do all of our campers and staff who wrestle.]  “You have everything backward!  You treat the potter as a lump of clay.  Does a book say to its author, ‘He didn’t write a word of me’?  Does a meal say to the woman who cooked it, ‘She had nothing to do with this’?” (B3 – The Message)  This passage is answering the question whether the world evolved itself.  Take a higher view of creation and Creator.  “Behold your God … Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things.” (B4)  “The Lord shall rejoice in his works … The glory of the Lord shall endure for ever.” (B5)

 If you have a tough or seemingly impossible problem, there is always a divine Love-inspired solution.  “Spiritual causation is the one question to be considered, for more than all others spiritual causation relates to human progress.” (S1)  Progress is forward movement, advancement, development in a positive way. (dictionary.com)  Christ is God’s perpetual activity.  Mortal mind, reasoning from effect to cause, accepts the physical senses as creators and believes and experiences both good and evil.  Reasoning correctly from cause to effect, spiritual sense does not experience evil; it experiences solely what is true – omnipresent good.  God is the only cause and creator. (S4)  Belief that the universe can be understood or explained from a material basis is fading away.  Physicists are realizing that the universe is composed of energy, light, and patterns of thought.  Over time, all will become aware that Mind, not matter, is the cause of every effect. (S6)  [P.S.S.T:  What tough problems do you see that need the quick and “Easy button” of “divine Love-inspired solution(s)?”  What are these solutions and why aren’t we more receptive to them?]

 Section 2:  Let the Nations be Glad in Brotherhood
“Have we not all one father?  Hath not one God created us?” (B6)  “With one Father, even God, the whole family of man would be brethren;” (S9)  Different people have very different beliefs about God.  We may approach Him from different directions, but we are progressing towards one God-good.  Our Father is their Father, too.  Realize that we should cherish our brothers and sisters. (B6, S9)  [I especially cherish the insights from our brothers and sisters working on my Bible Lesson with their Bible Note on the B6 Malachi passage connecting it back to our 10 Commandments covenant and also their healing suggestion to “Be loving … call someone.”]   “Let the nations be glad and sing for joy:” (B7)  Let us free ourselves and the world from ignorance of God.  Let us, “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord.” (B9)  [Possible Uplifting Sunday School Homework  (P.U.S.S.H.):  Bend over backwards to be more brotherly this week by applying each of the last six commandments: honor and respectfully work with those in authority; refuse to get angry or call names (Matt. 6:21-22); refuse to give into lustful looking (Matt. 6:27-28); refuse to justify using dishonest means such as stealing (8th Commandment) and lying (9th Commandment) even when you have an honest end in mind; refuse to be jealous of the special gifts of others, and instead be grateful for them because they show such gifts to be spiritually yours too.]

 Section 3:  Catch Anything?
Jesus told two brothers Andrew and Simon, both of whom were fishermen, to follow him.  He said, “I will make you fishers of men.”  Jesus did not offer them money, fame, or power.  When they got the calling, they followed him.  Why were they willing to do this?

Jesus is calling us to be fishers of men, too.  You didn’t think he was talking just his disciples at that time did you?  [P.S.S.T.  What will it take for you to become a “fisher of men?”  Where will you “fish?”  What will get the attention of the “fish” you wish to attract?]

Andrew and Simon were not obvious choices to follow Jesus.  Were they great speakers?  Were they seasoned learners?  Were they leaders?  Apparently not.  However, they were willing to follow Jesus.  “Those, who are willing to leave their nets or to cast them on the right side for Truth, have the opportunity now, as aforetime, to learn and to practise Christian healing.”  As students of Christian Science, that is our collective and individual calling.

There is no law that says that you have to study the Bible lesson in the same manner week after week, year after year.  Doing the right thing the same way over and over can cause a loss of freshness and inspiration.  Here are some ideas for how to make the lesson come alive.  (Feel free to make up some of your own.)  Try reading the sections in a different order.  You can study the Bible lesson in reverse order.  You can change the tense of the verbs to gain more meaning from the passage.  You can rephrase it in words that speak to you.  Look up Bible passages that you find difficult to understand in other translations.  Read the citations in context.  That is, read before and after the citation.

Read all the Bible citations and then all the Science and Health citations.  Ask lots of questions.  What was the author going through when (s)he wrote this passage?  How does it relate to my life?  For example, if Jesus is God, why would God anoint Jesus with the Holy Ghost? (B12)  Some say healing is less possible today than before.  Is the Holy God and Christ any less capable now? (S14)  [P.S.S.T.]  What did Jesus prove? (S15)  What does it take to triumph over sin, sickness, and death? (S18)  [P.S.S.T. In S17 Mrs. Eddy states that “Physical causation was put aside from first to last by this original man, Jesus.”  What arguments of physical causation (such as “size matters”) can you also put aside from first to last?]

 Section 4:  Leaders or Despots?
“Lord, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: … that man of earth may no more oppress.” (B15)  Mary Baker Eddy said, “Mankind must learn that evil is not power.  Its so-called despotism is but a phase of nothingness.”  (S&H 102:30-31)  A despot is a ruler with absolute power, a tyrant, an oppressor. (dictionary.com)  An example of man’s despotic tendency is in Venezuela where President Hugo Chavez is asking citizens to modify the Venezuelan Constitution on December 2nd and make him “president for life.”  (He’s boasted he may stay in power until 2050.)  [See a fuller story on front page of the November 28th edition of The Christian Science Monitor or in the online Monitor at http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1128/p01s09-woam.html)  Many despotic influences that we face today are not people, but aggressive systems of thought, such as extremism and terrorism, as well as the medicalization of nearly every problem.]  Mary Baker Eddy said, “The universe of Spirit is peopled with spiritual beings, and its government is divine Science.” (S22)  “Reflecting God’s government, man is self-governed.” (S&H 125:16-17)

God says, “I will save my people … I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem (city of peace) and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness.” (B16)  This promise is one of the central themes of the Bible.  One God-good heals nations;  He heals families;  He annuls the curse on man.  [P.S.S.T.]   What is God doing in your life today?  What are you grateful for today? (S23) 

 Section 5:  Feel Safe [*”full of hope and emptied of worry” B19 Contemporary English Version]
Security and stability are important in that they allow families and nations to flourish.  When there is a lack of stability, funds and focus tend move to areas where there is stability.  Also, stability and security are basic human desires.  “You will be secure, because there is hope; you will look about you and take your rest in safety.” (B19 – Today’s NIV)  Understanding and feeling this safety gives you a standpoint from which to heal. Our Leader advises, “Always begin your treatment by allaying the fear of patients. Silently reassure them as to their exemption from disease and danger.  Watch the result of this simple rule of Christian Science, and you will find that it alleviates the symptoms of every disease.” (S&H 411:27-32)

Mrs. Eddy said, “Eternal Truth is changing the universe.”  It certainly is.  We will change the world when we witness what God is doing.  With His eyes we see the true government of man. (B24)

The simple spiritual understanding that there is one creator, God changes world order – it brings order, peace, deathlessness, painlessness to both the world in general and to your world in specific. (S25)  Is this really possible?  How does God do this?

“Truth is an alterative in the entire system, and can make it ‘every white whole.'” (S28)  Whether the dysfunctional system is the body, physical or financial, educational or political, Truth is an alterative and can make it perfectly whole.  Our God is on the move.  “When we realize that Life is Spirit, never in nor of matter, this understanding will expand into self-completeness, finding all in God, good, and needing no other consciousness.” (S29)  “… be ye glad and rejoice forever in that which I create: behold I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.” (B21)  [P.S.S.T.  “Security for the claims of harmonious and eternal being is found only in divine Science” (S&H 232:7)  To feel safe – *”full of hope and emptied of worry,” it helps to glimpse that “all worry is ingratitude in advance.”  What worries or “ingratitudes in advance” are you ready to empty out today with the fullness of your active gratitude for the truths found only in Christian Science?]

 Camp Director’s Note: The above sharing is the latest in a series of CedarS Bible Lesson “mets” (metaphysical application ideas) contributed weekly by a rotation of CedarS Resident Practitioners and occasionally by other metaphysicians [with bracketed, italicized notes and “Possible Sunday School Topics” offered by me as editor]. This document is intended to initiate further study as well as to encourage the application of ideas found in the Weekly Bible Lessons as printed in the Christian Science Quarterly and as available at Christian Science Reading Rooms. * Originally sent JUST 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” 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, background and daily applicability to some of the ideas and passages being studied. The citations referenced (i.e. B1 and S28) from this week’s Bible Lesson in the “met” (metaphysical application ideas) are taken from the King James Version of the Bible (B1-24) and the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health With Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. (S1-30) 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 these ideas helpful in your daily spiritual journey, in your deeper digging in the books and in closer bonding with your Comforter and Pastor. Have fun unwrapping, cherishing and sharing your special, spiritual gift(s)!  
Enjoy!
Warren Huff, Camp Director       director@cedarscamps.org       (636) 394-6162
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The weekly Metaphysical Newsletter is provided at no charge to the 1,200 campers and staff blessed each summer at CedarS, as well as to CedarS alumni, families and friends who request it. However, current and planned gifts are needed to defray the costs of running this service and of providing camperships, programs and operations support. Click http://www.cedarscamps.org/giving for more about how you can give online or get information to talk privately about how to make a special gift to help perpetuate CedarS work.

Your needed & welcome tax-deductible support can be mailed to:
The CedarS Camps Office        THANKS TO YOU PRECIOUS DONORS
1314 Parkview Valley Drive                        FOR YOUR ONGOING SUPPORT
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FYI: LETTING SPECIAL NEEDS/OPPORTUNITIES BE KNOWN:  1) Underwriting annual CSO Summits has taken about $20,000/year in contributions;  2) Covering costs of 4 special Youth Lectures at camp has taken about $6,000 in gifts;  3) Campership funds are needed for about 300 campers (~1/3 of our 2008 campers) with $800 covering costs for a week of camp; 4) Funding is needed to help us take advantage of two Matching Grant offers from generous donors who are aware of the ongoing needs to help CedarS facilities and riding program measure up to CedarS mission!  “Maintenance Musts”) IF we raise $25,000 by 12-31-07, $25,000 will be given! (only ~$12,500 more to go)  newly renewed Adopting CedarS Herd)  Goal to raise $50,000 by 5-31-08, for $50,000 more to help cover costs of a quality herd and riding program for 1200 campers and staff.

A new, very special way to give to CedarS as well as to receive gifts in time for Christmas is to order either one or both of the books written by CedarS Founder, Ruth E. Huff.  ALL PROFITS GO TO THE CEDARS CAMPS, INC.  Ruth’s latest book, out just in time for holiday giving is Laughing Eyes.”  It is beautifully illustrated by Carol Boemer Napper and shows simple but profound ways to give happiness, love and life lessons to children of all ages.  IT’S TO BE READ BY CHILDREN, OR FOR CARING ADULTS TO READ TO CHILDREN.  The cost is $14 plus a $1 mailing charge.  You can email the author for more details or to rush shipment at:  ruthehuff@aol.com   

Please send your checks for either or both books to “Ruth Huff,” 1311 Turtle Cove, Ballwin, MO 63011 
Ruth’s first, beautifully illustrated book, CedarS Camps: Its Origin and Growth is $14 softback/$20 hardback, plus $1 shipping/book.


Go to www.myBibleLesson.com to check out a visually-oriented and very helpful study resource for the weekly Christian Science Bible Lesson.  It’s being produced by The Christian Science Publishing Society.  What a great auxiliary to lesson study – and to reading beyond citation markers using the handsome new student books now in Reading Rooms.  MyBibleLesson contains word definitions, Bible background Notes, fun topical cartoons, timelines and translations, plus many healing ideas to use.  Why not check out this vehicle to help bring new meaning and life to each beloved Bible lesson in order to bless the youthful thinker and Sunday School student (and teacher) in us all!

You can receive or stop your free subscription to CedarS weekly newsletter in your email box by Sunday or Monday of each week by subscribing – or unsubscribing via left menu at  www.cedarscamps.org/newsletter

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