GEMs of Love’s assured benefits of forgiveness, healing, immortality!

GEMs of Love’s assured benefits of forgiveness, healing, immortality! (2)
insights from Cobbey Crisler, Ken Cooper & others from the Christian Science Quarterly Bible Lesson on

“Love”
for January 31, 2021

prepared by Warren Huff,
CedarS Executive Director Emeritus warren@cedarscamps.org

GEM#1: Expect “lesser ideas” to respond to the divine Love that cherishes each one.
Cobbey Crisler on Psalm 36:6 (prelude for verse 7 in the Responsive Reading (RR).
“Let's not leave out veterinary medicine as far as God is concerned, because the statement is made here, “You preserve both man and beast." Perhaps some of you have heard this story. It's a very moving one. It was reported to me by someone who is in the audience today. About the illustration of God's love and care for what we would call an animal or beast. In this case, it was a goat. The female goat was having difficulty in giving birth to its kid. The pain was so obvious that the owner of the farm on which this goat was roomed and boarded felt so deeply about what was happening that she seemed to [go] all to pieces emotionally. She canceled everything else she had to do except very priority appointments, and stayed in the stall near that goat. The plaintive cries and the appeals to help only seemed to break down the defensive mechanism of the host, as we said was a condition of virus.

Finally, in that kind of desperation that has always held-out some hope for man because we’ve given up every other exploration of alternatives, she said this, "Dear Father, please show to this one of your lesser ideas in a way that they may understand Thy love and Thy care." That brought a sense of peace so that the concern and worry were not as paramount.

As she sat there, the door of the barn was open slightly, in the crack came a rabbit. The rabbit wasn't at all concerned by the presence of a human, went right by her to the stall of the goat and began to lick the face of that goat and kept licking and loving, licking and loving. Then after the rabbit had fulfilled its assignment—it was a divine assignment—that rabbit came through prayer—it left and the goat stopped its cries, and got vertical, got well and had the kid without any after effects. That kind of song in our hearts answered directly, “Thou preservest man and beast.” How we could utilize those thoughts! That wasn’t quoted from the Psalms but it was based on a revealed fact that came from a joyous heart. The rabbit responded. Like the fish responded when Jesus needed tax money (Matthew 17:27). These are potions from God’s dispensary.”
“Leaves of the Tree: Prescriptions from Psalms,” by B. Cobbey Crisler**

Psalm 36:6-7 (RR) New Living Translation (NLT)

6 Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,
your justice like the ocean depths.
You care for people and animals alike, O Lord.
7 How precious is your unfailing love, O God!
All humanity finds shelter
in the shadow of your wings.

GEM#2: Give loving attention to God’s assured benefits of forgiveness, healing, immortality—Cobbey Crisler on Psalm 103: 2-6 (verses 2-5 in Responsive Reading):
“Psalm 103, Verse 2, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:” 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, 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**

GEM#3: Count on God’s saving grace & lovingkindness when you’re crushed & contrite! Psalm 34:18 (cit. B5) “The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as are of a contrite spirit.” [or “… he saves those that are crushed in spirit” as Love saved Ruth was when her husband died along with Naomi was when her two sons died. (citations B6 & B7, Ruth chapters 1 & 2)

GEM#4: Claim Divine Love NOT Genetics as your Good Shepherd to provide you all good!
Insights by Ruth Huff & others into Psalm 23 (S7, 578:4). 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 578:1)]

"[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 of ME & MY holy mission!

"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)

GEM#5: Join us virtually or in person for “growth in grace” – this week, this summer or fall!
Grace is CedarS one-word metaphysical theme this year as announced by our daughter, Holly Huff Bruland, Executive Director, on CedarS Facebook page today! We invite you to join us for “what we most need… growth in grace”! (citation S8, 4:3-5) One way to think about grace is as a deep sense of God’s unconditional love. Grace is not something we have to earn or deserve. Grace – affording abundant joy, loving-kindness, mercy, and gratitude – is a gift, freely received and freely given!

Here are some of the grace citations we’ve been studying so far this year. The last six mentions of grace are in the Christian Science Quarterly Bible Lesson on “Love” for January 31, 2021.

"Give us grace for to-day; feed the famished affections" (SH p. 17)

“For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” (John 1: 17)

"Grace and Truth are potent beyond all other means and methods." (SH p. 67)

"God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work" (II Corinthians 9:8)

"Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” (Colossians 4:6)

“…by grace ye are saved; … That … he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.” (1-31 Responsive Reading, Ephesians 2:5, 7, 8)

“What we most need is the prayer of fervent desire for growth in grace, expressed in patience, meekness, love, and good deeds.” (1-31 citation S8, SH p. 4:3-5)

"The miracle of grace is no miracle to Love." (1-31 cit. S6, SH 494:15)

“But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, long suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.” (1-31 cit. B8, Psalm 86:15)

We invite you to explore many more references to grace (plus more to gracious):

• 159 references in the Bible to grace
• 73 references in the writings of Mary Baker Eddy
• 93 references in the Christian Science Hymnal
• over 25,000 references in JSH Online

We expect the simplicity of this theme to result in healing for campers, staff, cabins, families, countries, and the world. With many issues facing the world today, there seem to be no viable human solutions, and yet, we have grace – and grace always wins!

GEM#6: Know that your "Ability & Opportunity are coordinate ideas" and then, every time, "Rise to the Occasion!" Application ideas from Warren Huff on citation S13, 571:16.

"Know thyself, and God will supply the wisdom and the occasion for a victory over evil." Science & Health, 571:16

“What occasions or opportunities are demanding your best these days?
1. Hard assignments, unbelievable work load and killer deadlines?
2. Important tests of our abilities or our faith and resilience?
3. A big game, presentation or performance?
4. Group Leadership role(s)?
5. An important date or social event?
6. A sticky situation where taking a moral or ethical stand and integrity are needed?
7. Challenging restrictions that keep testing your patience, equanimity and reliance on God?

Whatever opportunities you face, you can meet them as their master by obeying this powerful two-word command.
"Know thyself, and God will supply the wisdom and the occasion for a victory over evil." Science & Health, 571:16 (S18)

“Know yourself as God knows you – as an ever-perfect expression of "infinity, freedom, harmony and boundless bliss." (see S&H 481:3) Totally accept and simply express each of these elements of your divine identity to eradicate their illegitimate opposites. Without a body-based sense of self, you will be open for God to eliminate from your experience: all of matter's debilitating drag of limited energy, funds, intelligence, speed, inspiration; all its sapping slavery of restrictions (injuries, illness, red tape, tie-ups); all its regular rub of inharmonious relationships and its constant cloud of frustration and unhappiness. All gone! These are all just fables that were never part of you or of those you love.

In the next couple of days, "your assignment, should you choose to accept it," will be to simply do your part—know yourself spiritually—and watch God do Her part, to supply you with all the wisdom and occasions where victories are wanted. You may also enjoy highlighting in every lesson all of God's jobs in one color and all of yours in another color.

A friend shed new light on this passage with this one-line insight:
"ABILITY (the wisdom) and OPPORTUNITY (the occasion) are coordinate ideas."

By accepting this divine law and knowing yourself spiritually, you will never have ability without being given opportunity to express it. (no unneeded bench-sitting) And, you'll also never be given opportunities (like the seven listed at the top) without having the God-given abilities to rise to the occasion!”

Warren Huff originally posted this on CedarS website on December 5, 2002

GEM#7: [W.] Like Jesus, dismiss dualism to feel a heavenly harmony that heals EVERY PERSON & EVERY ISSUE! (cit. B9, Matt. 14:23) As a prelude to this sentence from this week’s lesson, you’ll enjoy Cobbey’s insights on Jesus’ wilderness testing experience where he overcame feeling isolated and alone, by feeling ALL One with his Abba “Daddy”! You’ll enjoy this even more if you’re feeling vulnerable to attacks from a devilish, divisive virus! (Devil or diabolos means to try to throw in 2 opposite directions at the same time.)
Cobbey Crisler on Jesus “acing” his long isolation tests & healing all, Matt. 4:1-11, 23 (B9):
[W. Before the Matthew 4:23 verse in this week’s lesson is what allowed Jesus to heal everyone.] [Cobbey:] “There is what we might call an identity-crisis test in Chapter 4 (of Matthew). The Anglo-Saxon word “tempt” has almost picked up a theological meaning. It really means “test.” That’s what the word means. It’s a test. (Verse 1) So, “Jesus was led up of the Spirit into the wilderness” to be tested on the fact that had recently been revealed (directly from God in Matthew 3:17 (and Mark 1:11) that Jesus was God’s “Beloved Son”).
Verse 2. “After forty days and nights he’s hungry.”
This reminds me of Moses. He, too, had that testing period (Exodus 24:18) just prior to receiving the Ten Commandments. For forty days and forty nights. This Chapter in Matthew is just prior to the Sermon on the Mount or the Beatitudes. This preparation is the same. And there is a test.
Verse 3. “When the tester comes,” here it is, question Number 1: “If you are the Son of God.” Why would that even have emerged if we had not had Verse 17 in the preceding chapter? “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” The test question is, “If you are,” then what? “Command that these stones be made bread.”

How does Jesus respond to this test question? He quotes Scripture. Notice how Jesus responds to temptation. If this is the way Jesus elects to respond to it, what about you and me? How eloquent might you or I try to get when we respond to temptation? Make up original sermons, choose our words carefully, perhaps?

Jesus decided the best defense was Scripture. This verse is taken from Deuteronomy 8, Verse 3. Deuteronomy is a law book. In fact, the word in Greek deuteros nomos is the second law or the repetition of the law. How did he regard this test by Satan? What was going on in Jesus’ thinking here? Had he isolated it completely?

“First of all, what does Satan mean in Hebrew? Accuser. It is also the term for prosecuting attorney. If he has the prosecuting attorney accusing in thought, Jesus in his defense cites what? The law. He quotes the law book. He doesn’t need to do anything original. The law is the law and it never varies. Therefore, what is being suggested her by Satan, or the prosecuting attorney is illegal. It is illegitimate. He proves it by citing the law. That’s a marvelous technique for us in the middle of temptation.

“Our consciousness is like a law court. And the plusses and minuses that occur there have to be dealt with, as in a law court. Where are the accusations coming from? The prosecuting attorney or Satan. Where do we get the information? The law book or the defense attorney.

“You know that Jesus promised that something would come after he had left. It’s been translated “the comforter” in the gospel of John. The Greek word is parakletos, sometimes transliterated as paraclete. In Greek it can be the technical term for defense attorney.

“Verse 4. So, where did Jesus turn for his protection and defense, the defense of his manhood, the defense of his sonship with God, which is a spiritual fact revealed directly to him by God? How does he defend it? By citing the law book, utilizing the Comforter or defense attorney against the arguments of Satan. If Jesus had to do that, can we do anything less? “Man shall not live by bread alone,” Jesus said, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” That is a great statement for survival in an emergency….

Verse 5. But Satan isn’t through yet, is he? Next thing, take Jesus out of the wilderness, and move him into an entirely different environment. The sophistication of organized religion, ecclesiasticism. “Take him to the very pinnacle of the Temple.”

Verse 6. Show him everything that could belong to him ecclesiastically if he would only go via the world’s route by following devilish suggestions. “If thou be the son of God,” the same test question again. “Cast thyself down.” Notice the suggestion is that Jesus do it himself. Apparently Satan knew that it would not succeed trying to cast Jesus down. If Satan couldn’t do it, the only way that it could be done would be for Jesus to do it to himself.” …

In verse 6 we find that Satan is quoting Scripture, “It is written, He will give his angels charge concerning thee.” In fact, that is a very key attempt by Satan. Why? Satan discovered what Jesus’ defense was, namely Scripture. O.K., if that’s the way you want it, the devil can use Scripture for its purposes. But the devil doesn’t know much beyond the 91st Psalm and everybody knows that. So, Satan quotes, “It is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee; and in their hands they shall bear you up.” You see, there is nothing to worry about, Jesus, even Scripture now backs you, so leap down.

Verse 7. Jesus doesn’t react. It’s reaction in Judo that is taken advantage of by your opponent. Jesus doesn’t react. Simply quotes once again the law book. This come from Deuteronomy 6, verse 16. “It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.” You cannot test God and His revealed Word. The high quality of Jesus’ discernment and his thought is not sufficient to dismiss Satan after one temptation, or even a second one. How valuable is the quality of persistence! Supposed Jesus had given up after the second time, “I already covered this ground.” Or listened to Satan, but he doesn’t.

Verse 8. The third charge or accusation occurs, “the devil takes him into an exceeding high mountain, and shows him all the kingdoms of the world.”

“All these things being offered to Jesus are to a degree a kind of power. He was offered personal power by changing stones to bread. Then he was offered priestly power if he’d go for the argument to be the head of ecclesiasticism. And he was offered political power by being shown all the kingdoms of the world.

“All those temptations that hit human nature… We are in the wilderness at some point along with Jesus having the exact same tests applied to us. How are our responses to those exam questions? Do we pass with flying colors?…

Verse 10. We find that Jesus answers and that the only thing he says that’s original, “Get thee behind me Satan.” He dismisses the prosecution in thought, “for it is written, thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and Him only shall thou serve.” That’s kind of a combination of Deuteronomy 6, verse 13 and Deuteronomy 10, verse 20.

Verse 11. Look at what happens. “The devil leaveth him.” No longer is there dualism in thought. “Angels came and ministered unto him.” True communication completely governed his thought, no longer a divided kingdom. The false communication is dismissed.”

Verse 23. And “healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.” Here are human problems that had defied solution, and Jesus solved them all based on his concept of theology, namely the kingdom. Remember a kingdom is not chaos. It’s an ordered government of heaven and harmony at hand.”
“Book of Matthew, Auditing the Master, A Tax Collector’s Report,” by B. Cobbey Crisler**

GEM#8a: Apply Jesus’ principles of heavenly happiness with mathematical certainty!
Cobbey Crisler on Matthew 5:8, 10 and Beatitudes (cit. B10, Matt. 5:)
[Cobbey:] “The beatitudes, the blessings. The word “blessed” in our sermon on the mount is not really the accurate translation of the Greek. The word is “makarios” which means “happy.”
Just think of the search for happiness among humanity. Here are rules laid down by Jesus simply stating that happiness can be obtained in the following ways…
… we should remember that Jesus never uttered anything that he hadn’t practiced.
The Sermon on the Mount is in essence a description of the life of Jesus…
The Sermon begins with the Beatitudes. (Verse 3). “Happy are the poor in spirit.” Doesn’t sound like they should be happy does it? But we find out the reason. Because such humility gets what results? And where is the kingdom of heaven? What was Jesus’ first announcement? “Right at hand” (Matt. 4:17). Later he says, “Within” (Luke 17:21 & cits. S14, 476: 28-32 & S16, 248:29).

“We’ve talked about mathematics. How would you like to view Jesus as a mathematician par excellence? You can take his beatitudes and make equations out of them. Which shows how much of a mathematical thinker he was. For instance,
“Blessed are the poor in spirit.” Thus, B x PS = KH. When you invest on the left side of the equation, what is the yield on the right side? The “Kingdom of Heaven.” “B” multiplied times “PS” equals “KH,” i.e., B x PS = KH.

“You have measurable results. Do you see a difference here in Jesus’ approach to religion? … here is the essence of Jesus’ thinking. And we have results…”

“… As you go down the Beatitude, read them all, scan them as they are in front of you. See if you can find results in every one of them. See if you can analyze them for those results. That becomes a very practical clue for how to lead one’s life.
The Commandments and Beatitudes have often been placed side by side. Many parallels have been used. Is that justified?
For instance, we are told in the Book of Revelation that those who have overcome the beast will stand on the sea of glass with harps. They’re singing two things representative of what has been given them. The victory over the beast, the animal origin of man.
How can we overcome that animal connection?
Those who have overcome are said to be singing two things: the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb. That sounds like they’re inseparable. They operate together. Do you know why? Because it’s part of the heavenly mathematics.

“Why did the Commandments say, “Thou shalt not,” taking care of the minus aspects in human nature? And the Beatitudes, “happy are they” that do certain things, are plus? What do you do with the minus in thought, the chaff? It is dealt with by fire. You deal with the plus in thought through the Holy Ghost. They operate together for a single purpose and a unique commitment to the totality of One infinite, God, good. The Beatitudes must be considered in conjunction with the Commandments in your study.

“These Beatitudes took the same forty days preparation of Jesus in the wilderness as the Commandments took forty days of preparation in the wilderness for Moses. It may take the same wilderness experience for you and me to really appreciate what really is there behind the Commandments and the Beatitudes. They are really the staff on which we lean. If we try to go very far without that staff it must discipline us. {Discipline is] The same root word as disciple. We must come back and learn how to deal with the plus factors and the minus factors in our own thinking. That’s the baptism of the Holy Ghost and fire…

“Let me make recommendations for your own research. I have previously assigned my high school students to see on their own, through their own Scriptural research, whether there was any Old Testament precedent for each Beatitude. In other words, is this something that Jesus is saying, “Hey, here is a new idea of humanity, why don’t you consider it?” Or was he pointing out stones already in the foundation that had been neglected?

“These are interesting things. I’ll give you one as a lead. Verse 5 of chapter 5, “Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth.” You’ll see in Psalms 37, Verse 11, that almost word for word, we find that Beatitude there.

“So, you see, it’s not always being original, but recalling human attention to something that has been already revealed, already discovered, but essential to our progress and growth.”
“Book of Matthew, Auditing the Master” by B. Cobbey Crisler**

** Bible Talks by Cobbey Crisler: Both audio recordings and transcripts of Cobbey Crisler’s popular Bible talks are now available from the Crisler Library at Oxford. You can contact the library at office@crislerlibrary.co.uk or contact Janet Crisler directly at janetcrisler7@gmail.com.

GEM#8b: Be quick to forgive to share in the blessings of Christ Jesus' promise, "Blessed are the merciful, (the “quick to forgive”), for they shall obtain mercy.” (citation B10, Matthew 5:7) Part 6 of the 9-podcast Beatitude series in audio.
https://www.christianscience.com/youth/sunday-school-teachers/the-beatitudes/the-beatitudes-podcast/the-beatitudes-blessed-are-the-merciful

This podcast by Bible scholar, Barry Huff (our son) and former Christian Science lecturer Susie (Rynerson) Jostyn is one of a nine-part, (TMCYouth) audio series on the background and spiritual basis of the Beatitudes. You can hear the other eight podcasts at https://www.christianscience.com/youth/sunday-school-teachers/the-beatitudes/the-beatitudes-podcast

GEM#9: Hear on YouTube two, custom Ken Cooper poems related to this week’s Bible Lesson. They are called “Faith, Hope and Love” and “The Leper Cleansed”.

[Ken wrote:] “The beauty of Love is that it includes all the synonyms of God, – Life, Truth, Mind, Soul, Spirit, Principle. All seven synonyms live in us as God’s expression of Himself, the All-in-all. This is the glory of God that shines effortlessly as man. The Golden Text is clear “..God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them” (1 John 4:16 God is, Holy Bible, New Living Translation). We do not live in the midst of a pandemic, we live in the omnipresence of Love, Life, Truth, Mind, Soul, Spirit, as the witness of all that God is. This guiding Principal is inseparable as Father- Mother – man.

The new poem for this week “Faith, Hope and Love” (best on full screen, and can be sung to the tune of hymn 83) is about our witness of Love, our witness of the God of glory, His and therefore ours. Love is glorious, encapsulated in the story of Ruth, and her immortal words “Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:” Ruth showed an unfailing commitment, because that is what Love is. Naomi also had faith and hope, and the response of Ruth blossomed into a shared love that led to the house of David fulfilling Scripture. When we express Love, we express the infinity and perfectness of All that God is. Joy and fulfillment is the inevitable result. It is the outflowing of LOVE. When we see Love we see God and we see ourselves. Love does the seeing.

Jesus was the embodiment of Love, – he could not help sharing that Love, because he was at one with Love, as we are. In the challenge of the pandemic, we can rejoice that it has no part in God’s kingdom, no part “within us” where God resides. Love is its own beacon, and this is what drew the leper to the Messiah. In the story of “The Leper Cleansed” the shining light of the Christ reached out to him, found him where he was, lifted him out of his self-pity, and drew him to Jesus. Love led the way The effect was transformative “I too suddenly realise with awe and amazement there is nothing to fear. Everything to love”. His bell no longer rang with warning, but with joy! What sound are we making?

The instantaneous healing of the leper shows the power of Love overcoming even the most contagious of diseases. “Nothingness” has no degrees of severity. Love is never diseased, it is a spiritual force for good that conquers all sin, disease and death. Seeing their nothingness conquers fear. When we turn to God and away from the material images of thought, fear is no more. We find Love, unconditional Love, holding our hand. For this leper, when he sought Jesus, he found the Christ, and when his true nature as a fellow child of God was seen, it was evidenced in his freedom from leprosy. When we see the Christ, we see the infinite presence of Love. Healing, the recognition of perfection, inevitably follows.”

The related PDFs of Ken’s Lesson-customized offerings are attached to CedarS online version as upper right Downloads. **

GEM#10: Listen here to an example I cherish of the blessings of forgiveness from my following of the Scripture’s advice to “bless them who persecute you, and… if it be possible, … live peaceably with all men.” (cit. B17, Romans 12:14,18)
I tell in this audio podcast of how I was saved by grace by demonstrating living in harmony when I had daily face to face opportunities of persecution in the my first, “real-world” job.

My being “saved by grace” in this way makes resonate with me these and adjoining verses paraphrases of Romans: “Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath. Laugh with your happy friends when they’re happy; share tears when they’re down. Get along with each other; don’t be stuck-up. Make friends with nobodies; don’t be the great somebody.

17-19 “Don’t hit back; discover beauty in everyone. If you’ve got it in you, get along with everybody. Don’t insist on getting even; that’s not for you to do. “I’ll do the judging,” says God. ‘I’ll take care of it.’” (cit. B17, Romans 12:14-18, The Message)

GEM#11: Live the prayer that immediately “heals the sick” and meets “all human needs” –as it did for me at TEAM 1 Architects as related in my podcast in GEM#10.
[Warren:] This year’s Christian Science Quarterly Bible Lessons, starting with “God” (the “Adorable One”), have featured lines of The Lord’s Prayer and their spiritual sense as understood by Mary Baker Eddy and as given on pages 16 and 17 of Science and Health. And, a pattern seems to be continuing that connects each succeeding Bible Lesson with each successive line of the Lord’s Prayer “which covers all human needs… and which instantaneously heals the sick.” (SH 16:10, 23)
In her opening chapter on “Prayer” in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy points out: “Jesus’ prayer, ‘Forgive us our debts,’ specified also the terms of forgiveness.” (cit. S24, 11:1-3) She concludes her chapter on “Prayer” with what she understood “to be the spiritual sense of the Lord’s Prayer.” A key line of this remarkable prayer that connects it with this week’s lesson on “Love” is in citation S25:
“And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And Love is reflected in love.” (SH p. 17:6-7)

This link to a podcast entitled The Lord’s Prayer: Forgive us our debts – Christian Science is this week’s featured one from a classic, eight-part series of audio podcasts on The Lord’s Prayer. [This series of podcasts, along with ones for each of the 10 Commandments and for each Beatitude, as mentioned in GEM#8b, was commissioned and produced by “The Mother Church” with TMCYouth’s, former Christian Science Lecturer, Susie Rynerson (now Jostyn), interviewing Bible-scholar, Barry Huff, our son. The purpose of sharing these podcasts continues to be to deepen the understanding and application of the principal elements of our wonderful Sunday School teaching curriculum as outlined by Mary Baker Eddy on page 62 of the Church Manual.]