Inspiring GEMs of Repentance, Everlasting Mercy, Love, and Abundance!
Sunday, October 22nd, 2023
By Warren Huff (with insights from Cobbey Crisler)
Inspiring GEMs of Repentance, Everlasting Mercy, Love and Abundance!
GEMs = God Expressed Meekly/Mightily in you to sparkle brightly with insights from Cobbey Crisler & others as inspired by God and
The Christian Science Quarterly Bible Lesson on
“Everlasting Punishment”
for Sunday, October 29, 2023
(Cobbey’s insights are shared with the blessing of Janet Crisler janetcrisler7@gmail.com)
by Warren Huff, CedarS Executive Director Emeritus, warren@cedarscamps• 314-378-2574
FIND SATISFACTION AND HEALTH ONLY IN THE ORIGINAL!
Cobbey Crisler on Psalm 17:15, Responsive Reading
[Cobbey:] “Verse 15 of Psalms 17 [tells us] that God’s prescriptions, precisely filled, bring satisfaction. Satisfaction because “we awake in God’s likeness.” But that results first from the prerequisite of “beholding God’s face in righteousness.” That requires us to go back to the theology of Genesis 1 to comprehend what that means. If we indeed are image, or likeness, and God is the original, the only way we can find out about our nature is to spend our time studying the original. Then we know the image. We also know what’s not the image by studying the original.
Just as Treasury Department experts know counterfeit bills, not because they have studied all the many thousands of counterfeit attempts, from poor work to expert work, but rather, simply study the original and you will know the counterfeit immediately. That’s in a sense akin to surgically removing in a mental way, or taking the purgative cathartic Word of God to remove what does not belong to our nature. Imagine the joy of letting go what has burdened us for so long. It’s part of that darkness that is ignorance, that the light, the laser beam of revealed truth, simply removes, and not painfully at all. It just does what light is supposed to do. It removes any rationale for the existence of darkness.”
“Leaves of the Tree: Prescriptions from Psalms,” by B. Cobbey Crisler**
TAKE EACH STEP LIKE A SHEEP WHO TOTALLY TRUSTS ITS SHEPHERD!
Insights by Ruth Huff & others into Psalm 23, verses 1, 4, 6 (Responsive Reading) & references to “[Divine Love] is my shepherd” in SH 577:32-8 to “…I will dwell in the … (the consciousness] of [Love] forever” SH 578:16).
APPLY EACH LINE TO YOURSELF!
“Psalm 23 and ME”
Hear APPLICATION EXAMPLES FOR EACH LINE as shared by Warren Huff in his inspirational interview for the 2nd half of Arden Wood’s 2022 Annual Meeting at https://www.ardenwood.org/events/annualmeeting22/
CLICK HERE and on the DOWNLOADable Transcript of Warren Huff’s 2022 Arden Wood inspirational Talk of application ideas for the 23rd Psalm
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 show ”the light which Christian Science throws on the Scriptures” with a ”…spiritual sense” of Love. (S&H 577:32+/cit. S5)]
”[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)
EXPUNGE FABLES! AWAKE to EVERLASTING, TENDER MERCIES HOLDING YOU!
Make the psalmist’s prayers to God your own to “withhold not thy tender mercies…” “remember…thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesses” (citation B3, Ps. 25:6) … let thy lovingkindness and thy truth continually preserve me.” ” (Ps. 40:11) and “according to the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.” (Psalm 51:1)
“The human history needs to be revised, and the material record expunged.”
“Retrospection and Introspection,” by Mary Baker Eddy, page 22:1
“I awake each morn to a brand new day… Tender mercies are holding me” Words and Music by Susan Booth Mack Snipes, Hymn 500 in 2017 Hymnal. [My favorite performance of it to hear it sung on the back deck of CedarS Care House as a duet by then CedarS Met contributors Craig Ghislin, CS, and David Price, CS, who were both serving as Christian Science practitioners a couple of years ago.]
FIND FRESH, HOLY WAYS DAILY to EXPRESS MORE OF “GOD’S BEING …(of)
INFINITY, FREEDOM, HARMONY AND BOUNDLESS BLISS.” (citation S4/481:2)
As we more fully embrace Life’s forever newness and substantial, eternally sustained supply as outlined in the Bible Lesson this week, you and I will fully expect fun, fresh ways for God to supply answers to all our needs.
As our lives sing with new manifestations of “infinity, freedom, harmony, and boundless bliss,” all their supposed opposites will naturally be ruled out of us thereby enabling us to overcome: every lie of limitation; every seemingly enslaving habit; every thought of inharmony, division and strife; and every unhappiness arising from disappointed human will.
And, what a relief to know that it’s by God’s “amazing grace”— not by any of our own efforts, other than that of leaning on God — that we are given lives “big with blessings.” As Mary Baker Eddy has proven and promised: “To those leaning on the sustaining infinite, to-day is big with blessings” (SH vii:1) What could be bigger blessings for us than daily demonstrations that the newness of Life in God is ALL-inclusive: “Behold, I make all things new!” (Revelation 21:5).
LET’S FIND APPLICATION’S OF JONAH’S EXPERIENCE IN THE TODAY’S NEWS & APPLY ITS LESSONS TO OUR OWNS LIVES
CLICK HERE AND ON THE JONAH DOWNLOAD TO SEE a “Free Bible Images” PowerPoint with captions connected to Bible
citations B6/Jonah 1:1-17; cit. B7/Jonah 2:1-10; and B8/Jonah 3:1-10
P.S. Of note as related to CedarS Bible Lands Park (CBLP), Tarshish (in Spain) and Nineveh where God told Jonah to go can be seen to be in opposite directions from Joppa on the Mediterranean Sea. Also of interest and humorous note, in a 2019 naming contest for CedarS new bus that shuttles visitors to and from CBLP, “THE WHALE” was chosen because it always picks you up at the exact right place and time and “spits” you out at the exact right place and time, where God wants you to grow spiritually and fulfill your mission.
There are some great correlative citations on disobedience and obedience from Science and Health, cits. S6/19:26; S7/256:19; S9/183:21;and, S11/vii:18-20; S13/240:24-32 “sooner or later… unwinding one’s snarls”; S20/14:9; S21/242:15 “in patient obedience to a patient God…’.
CHERISH UNIVERSAL HUMANITY—DO GOOD FOR ALL MANKIND
WITH a “WALK TO EMMAUS” SPIRIT & INSIGHTS!
Cobbey Crisler on citation B10/Acts 10:38 (+verses before & after)
[Cobbey:] “Acts 10, verse 34, begins a lecture or sermon to the first group of Gentiles. And the opening statement that Peter makes is one that could be well considered by every denomination of Christianity today… Here Peter expressed his new view of God, that God is no respecter of persons, that God speaks to receptivity.
Acts 10:34 Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:
This new view of God, of course, leads to this next question: Should man as well be no respecter of persons?
This is a tradition-shattering concept.
And Acts 10, verse 35, Peter summarizes it by saying “in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.” …
Then he begins to explain to Cornelius and the friends and acquaintances of Cornelius, the history of early Christianity. “The beginning of Christianity is traced from Galilee after John’s baptism, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth.” … Of course, that word “anointed” immediately identifies Jesus as the Messiah. This is a point that Peter is obviously going to get across to this Gentile audience that would need some instruction in this. (See below)
(Bonus Prelude to cit. B10/Acts 10:38 “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.”
And you find in Acts 10, verse 43, he does that by stating that “all the prophets had given witness to the Messiah, namely Jesus.”…
As soon as Peter gets into this “Walk to Emmaus” approach, in other words the comprehension of Jesus’ role in the earlier scripture, we find in Acts 10, verse 44 that “the Holy Ghost falls on all the listeners.” …
It wasn’t Peter’s idea that this should happen; it’s at the Holy Ghost’s initiative. This is disturbing to some of those that came with Peter: Jewish Christians.
And we will find it becomes even more disturbing to other elements in the church later on, for this is a departure. The question underlying this event is “Should the church be parochial or universal?” Is it simply a sect of Judaism or an outcome of Judaism, or is it the fulfillment of God’s will as expressed in prophecy with its ultimate mission to embrace universal humanity?”
“After the Master What? – The Book of Acts,” by B. Cobbey Crisler**
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. B13 + SH 447:30 “A sinner is afraid to cast the first stone.” & cit. S23/11:1 “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.”
WE’RE FORGIVEN as soon as WE NO LONGER BELIEVE SIN to be PLEASURABLE & STOP IT!
CLICK HERE to SEE the EVOLUTION of the THIRD TENET and others
AS RESEARCHED BY THE MARY BAKER EDDY LIBRARY (citation S27/497:9)
Here’s a link that was shared for the October 15, 2023 Bible Lesson which featured the 4th and 5th Tenets. You can cut and paste the URL link address below to a wonderful article from The Mary Baker Eddy Library on “The Evolution of the Tenets of Christian Science”: https://www.marybakereddylibrary.org/research/the-evolution-of-christian-science-tenets/
