[Go to The source! God is the only source for all Good.]
Metaphysical Application Ideas for the Christian Science Bible Lesson on

“Are Sin, Disease, and Death, Real?”
for Sunday, October 11, 2015

by Rick Stewart, C.S., Dresden, Germany
+49 351 312 4736, rickstewartcs@aol.com

What would you be willing to do to rid the world of sin, disease, and death? Many individuals have devoted their entire lives in trying to eradicate dangerous diseases. Huge amounts of money have been invested in trying to end addictions. Individuals, organizations, and nations have sought any means they could find to rid the world of the evils of sin and disease that often lead to death. And the question is repeated what would you do if you could make a difference? Would you donate more to researchers trying to end specific diseases? Would you go and volunteer in regions where certain diseases wreak havoc on the populous? Or would you volunteer to help those who find their lives being destroyed by sinful patterns of thought and actions? Would you consider helping those in hospice care as they prepare themselves for what they have been told is inevitable?

Would you be willing to do something a little more radical? Would you be willing to take a stand that most of the world would think is ridiculous? Would you be willing to study this week's Bible Lesson deeply enough that you could actually furnish some proof to the fact that sin, disease, and death are not real after all? Join me?

This week's lesson begins with a Golden Text that asks a question that relates to our success.

Golden Text: James 3:11 “Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?” KJV

This verse is from a letter in the Bible written by someone who identifies himself as “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,” who is writing to the “twelve tribes scattered abroad.” James 1:1 Researchers are not sure just who this James is. Is it James, Jesus' brother? James the Just? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_%28brother_of_Jesus%29 )

Whoever wrote this Book of the Bible, one thing is sure, he had some very valuable lessons to teach about the nature of God. And one of those lessons has to do with asking us to think about what comes from God and what does not come from God. And James uses the example of a fountain or spring to start us thinking.

I grew up just a few miles from the world's largest artesian (flowing) spring, Silver Springs in Florida. It pours forth over 500 million gallons of water every day. And that water is crystal clear and pure, and it is fresh water! It is not the least bit salty! No mixing. Now if you were to drive just 25 miles away you come to Salt Springs. This is another large artesian spring. But guess what, Salt Springs lives up to its name, its water is salty, not fresh. What flows out of a spring is true to the source of the spring.

What happens to the water after it leaves the spring is another thing entirely. While the source may remain pure there are factors that can affect the water after it flows out. A clear example of this is found in the hundreds of springs that bubble up from the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico near Florida. These springs although covered by salt water from the Gulf flow with pure, clean fresh water. If you go right to the mouth of the springs 300 feet deep in the Gulf of Mexico and take a drink, it will be fresh water. This is a lesson we can use with our study this week. Go to the Source for the purity you seek.

James used this example of a flowing spring or fountain to teach that God cannot be the source for both good and evil. He also used the example of “like producing like.”

As the Good News Translation (GNT) of James 3:11 and 12 puts it:

11 No spring of water pours out sweet water and bitter water from the same opening.

12 A fig tree, my friends, cannot bear olives; a grapevine cannot bear figs, nor can a salty spring produce sweet water.

We might think about those observations and ask can God be the source of good and evil?

The sections that follow show God is indeed only the source for Good, not evil. And putting into practice what you learn from this Bible Lesson, you will indeed be able to prove in some degree that sin, disease, and death are not sourced in God and are not inevitable.

The Responsive Reading continues to ask us to think about the Source.
The translation of Matthew 7:15-20 from the Good News Translation (GNT) is interesting:

A Tree and Its Fruit 15 “Be on your guard against false prophets; they come to you looking like sheep on the outside, but on the inside they are really like wild wolves. 16 You will know them by what they do. Thorn bushes do not bear grapes, and briers do not bear figs. 17 A healthy tree bears good fruit, but a poor tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a poor tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 And any tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown in the fire. 20 So then, you will know the false prophets by what they do."

We are also introduced in the Responsive Reading to the “pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.”

What flows from God and from the Christ, the Lamb of God can only produce good. In this case, “on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.”

I have asked myself when God is the source, and His Christ, and the tree grows from the flow of the pure river of the “water of life,” and it is for the healing of the nations, could this not begin to introduce us to the hope of proving that sin, disease, and death are not real? Have you given up hope in proving this divine fact? Are you discouraged in your practice and dedication to this goal? Perhaps this lesson is indeed “Just what the Christ ordered.”

Section 1: The Bible tells us God is the Source for healing and forgiveness.
[In a cost-benefit analysis of relying on God, let’s remember all the amazing benefits spelled out] in citation B2: “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies.” (Psalms 103:2)

Mrs. Eddy exhibited the greatest courage in simply accepting the truth of the Bible promises as scientific and practical. She reasoned in a logical way that completely accepted the Bible's assurances as divine fact.

Citation S4 strongly links Christian Science to the Golden Text :“This strong point in Christian Science is not to be overlooked, – that the same fountain cannot send forth both sweet waters and bitter.” (455:28-30)

Learning to trust the Word of the Bible and Science and Health in healing is not always easy, but it is effective. We all sometimes believe we have to enter ourselves in to the equation to bring about healing, when it is most effective to keep to the simplest equation, “I and my Father are one.” Of course there are times for us to voice the Truth, other times to simply let the ever-present Good flow forth from the Source. For example:

Some years ago my mom called in the middle of the night for help. She had simply put her hand down over a sharp spindle on her desk. It went through her hand and she was not able to find a way to stand upright on her own. I only lived two doors away and was there in a few minutes. I helped her stand up and removed the spindle. Then I prayed about what to do. Should I be vehemently declaring the Truth about God and man? It came to me to simply pick up Science and Health and read. That is all I did. The Truth poured out of the book like the pure water from the tree of Life. My mom went to sleep (after all it was 3 a.m.) I continued to read and also in a little while went sound asleep. When we woke the Truth that poured forth from the book had done its work. There was no sign of the injury whatsoever.

My mom loved citation S3, “It is our ignorance of God, the divine Principle, which produces apparent discord, and the right understanding of Him restores harmony.” (390:7-9) She would say, “Well, if it is only ignorance I am always ready to learn more about God.”

Section 2: God’s complete goodness frustrates evils schemes
What a great comfort in citation B7 to know that God, good, promises us, “I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground…” Malachi 3:11

We should never feel helpless in the face of evil of any kind. God equips us. God supports us. He has our back. Well for that matter He has every single bit of our being and holds it perfect in His love.

Citation B8 tells the story of the children of Israel in Egypt after the friendly government was gone. The new Pharaoh was threatened by the Hebrews in Egypt. Their families were growing and he was worried if there was a war that maybe the Children of Israel would support his enemy. So his plan was to tell the Hebrew midwives to kill any sons that were born to the Hebrew women. But the fact was that the Hebrew mothers were so fast to deliver the babies that the babies were born before they got there! And the Children of Israel multiplied and “waxed very mighty.”

The Science and Health citations for this section read like a victory manual in overcoming the evil that claims to run rampant in the world. There is nothing that compares with the power of the Bible and Science and Health in combating the most egregious evil.

At the time my Christian Science practice was beginning I lived in a log cabin on a remote ranch called Seven Springs. The ranch was a nature preserve, no hunting allowed. I was the only permanent resident at the ranch and the owners hoped that my being there would deter any illegal activities. I had been told by a former policeman that he had been part of stake outs at the ranch trying to stop drug smugglers from using the small airstrip behind my cabin. Also there was poaching going on that seemed unstoppable.

My physical presence was not by any means going to be intimidating enough to stop the illegal activities. But I did have the weapon I needed. One November right around Thanksgiving the Bible Lesson was on the topic, “Ancient and Modern Necromancy, alias, Mesmerism and Hypnotism, Denounced.” I think I almost memorized that Lesson. The key point that stood out to me was that evil acts could not come to fruition. They had no Principle to support them. Evil acts were without legitimate support from Principle or Mind.

The first event on Monday of that week was that my brother and two of his friends asked to come out for a horseback ride. Because of that I had horses saddled at my cabin. As we talked in my front yard the sound of a high-powered rifle rang out nearby. Within seconds of hearing the poacher’s rifle, my brother, Gary, and I were riding in response. The sound of hooves thundering over the pasture must have put the fear of God into the poacher or poachers because as we approached the area where the shots had been fired we heard someone squeakily climbing the fence and running away as fast as he could. We found the poachers spoils, a deer and two small wild pigs that had been shot. But the poachers did not get to enjoy their spoils. I was alerted to even more fervent work with the Lesson.

On the Friday after Thanksgiving all my family was out visiting the ranch. I had given a friend from church the permission to hunt near the border of our property with the neighboring property. The idea was that he would be good eyes for keeping watch. Around mid-morning he came to my cabin to tell me he had seen two men slip into the ranch. I called the local Wildlife Officer and he came right over. He set up a watch near where the men had gone in to our property. It came to me to give my dad and nephew a tractor ride into the area where these trespassers had headed. As we drove we talked loudly and then headed out of that area. They must have thought the coast was clear. Just a matter of minutes after we drove out the two trespassers came walking out carrying a buck deer. They walked right into the arms of the Wildlife Officer that was keeping watch and surrendered with no resistance. They were charged with armed trespass, a felony that caused them to forfeit the right to own firearms. The poaching came to an abrupt halt.

Evils plans cannot come to fruition when we know they have no Source, no Principle.

Section 3: Disease and death are no part of God's plan
In citation S14 Mrs. Eddy writes, “The Scriptures say, “In Him we live, and move, and have our being.” What then is this seeming power, independent of God, which causes disease and cures it? What is it but an error of belief, a law of mortal mind, wrong in every sense, Seemingly independent authority embracing sin, sickness, and death? It is the very antipode of immortal Mind, of Truth, and of spiritual law. It is not in accordance with the goodness of God’s character that He should make man sick, then leave man to heal himself; it is absurd to suppose that matter can both cause and cure disease, or that Spirit, God, produces disease and leaves the remedy to matter. “(208:5)

Elijah proved this statement in citation B10, I Kings 17. Through Elijah's understanding of God He was able to raise the son of the widow of Zarephath. [See the reference to this made by Jesus in citation B13 that enraged a hometown crowd.]

How do we approximate this understanding, this ability of Elijah? First remember how powerful it is to dedicate oneself to the service of God. When you think about what you can donate, give, or do to eradicate illness and suffering simply remember that dedicating yourself to understanding God and His Christ will equip you to be a first responder of the spiritual sort.

And when you do yearn to respond remember citation S16, “When the illusion of sickness or sin tempts you, cling steadfastly to God and His idea. Allow nothing but His likeness to abide in your thought. Let neither fear nor doubt overshadow your clear sense and calm trust, that the recognition of life harmonious — as Life eternally is — can destroy any painful sense of, or belief in, that which Life is not. “(495:14-20)

Section 4: Repentance, spiritual baptism, and regeneration lead to healing.
I was struck by this section's promise of what God will make of you and me! Citation B11 states, ”Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth:” Isaiah 41:15

The New Living Translation (NLT) puts it this way: “You will be a new threshing instrument with many sharp teeth. You will tear your enemies apart, making chaff of mountains. You will toss them into the air, and the wind will blow them away; a whirlwind will scatter them. Then you will rejoice in the Lord. You will glory in the Holy One of Israel. ” (B11, Isaiah 41:15)

Although it is important to be motivated to improve, and it is important to embark on this spiritual fitness program sooner than later; it is vitally important to remember that you are God's work. He is the master builder, the architect, the potter, the refiner. The promise is not what we will make of ourselves, it is what God has made of us and will make of us. We are a work in progress; we are constantly, every moment presented with opportunities to make the right choices for progress. You see we are sourced in God! He is the very Source of our being, our abilities, our existence. And He does absolutely no “outsourcing”—He is the one and only Source and He does all work “in house.”

The Science of Christianity is at work in our lives and in the world. It is an active agent, a catalyst, a transformer. In citation S18 we read, “The Science of Christianity comes with fan in hand to separate the chaff from the wheat. Science will declare God aright, and Christianity will demonstrate this declaration and its divine Principle, making mankind better physically, morally, and spiritually.” 466:26

Section 5: Christ dispels the lie, and destroys sin, disease, and death.
It is wonderful to think of the healings that our Master accomplished, to think of how those hungering for righteousness could reach out to him and expect healing. And these events were real and because individual lives were changed and saved and God became more and more clearly understood as the source for Good alone, the Word spread. Jesus fame spread like wildfire. But then he came home and went to church—His church—where he grew up! And he told them “No prophet is accepted in his own country. … many widows were in Israel… but unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city in Sidon…” And they got mad. They didn't just ask him to step down from the music committee. They didn't just fire him as church yardman. They did their best to kill him. And you think you got it tough!

Here’s how the Contemporary English Version (CEV) renders citation B13: “When the people in the meeting place heard Jesus say this, they became so angry that they got up and threw him out of town. They dragged him to the edge of the cliff on which the town was built, because they wanted to throw him down from there. But Jesus slipped through the crowd and got away.” (Luke 4:28-30) [See CC download in CedarS online Met.]

The King James wording says they took him to the “brow of the hill whereon their city was built.” You know that always sounded just a little harmless to me. You push someone down a hill and they roll. But these former neighbors were so incensed against Jesus that their full intent was to kill him. According to the CEV translation he was going to go off a cliff. But their hate could not reach him. He slipped away in safety and went to Capernaum.

When so much of the world's energy and resources is devoted to serving the realms of sin, disease, and death do you really think the world is going to come running to you and say, “Yes, yes, yes.” You are going to have to do your sin, sickness, and death demolition where there is a receptive thought. Because even though Jesus was the target of an assassination attempt in Nazareth, he safely travelled out of the area, went to “Capernaum, a city of Galilee,” and “they were astonished at his doctrine: for his word was with power.” (B14)

I have always loved L. Ivimy Gwalters article, “Target Out Of Range.” When you are truly about God's business He does protect you and take care of you like it was the only thing He had to do. And the fact is God cherishes each and everyone one of His children. He doesn't play favorites. He just loves. So each of you should feel loved, cherished, protected and needed. [As Hymn 278 puts it “Cared for, watched over, beloved and protected, walk thou with courage each step of the way.”]

TARGET OUT OF RANGE
http://sentinel.christianscience.com/shared/view/1fkr567m76y?s=e

Section 6: Did Jesus think sin, disease, and death were real?
What I hope we have begun to see in this Lesson is that God is the Source for Good and Good alone. As we accept that we begin to feel the encouragement to prove it in our daily experience. We will find practical ways to prove the following facts. There truly is no death. There is no diseased action. There is no sinful action. But this said, it is now up to us individually to do our best to demonstrate those facts. Thank Goodness we have help. We are not alone. We are all one with God and His Christ.

Citation B16 states [what could be a puzzler of a prophesy by Jesus]; ”Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.” (John 14:12) [How could we possibly do greater works than Jesus did individually to cast out sin, disease and death? I love the way that Christine Irby Williams in an inspirational message given at Fern Lodge has thought through and expounded on Jesus’ promise of our “greater works”. She suggests that it could well be in the area of the collective offerings and achievements that we can give the world as a Movement of individuals dedicated to humbly obey all of Jesus directives—especially his new commandment to “love one another as I have loved you” (John 13:34) A group of all CS Camp Directors and of other Youth Development Professionals from Principia, TMC Youth and 10 other organizations are meeting together at CedarS today through 10-6 to see how we can better work together to love such greater works into view. We invite the support of your prayers and of the loving legs, “open hearts and willing hands” inspired by your prayers. (Hymns 58 & 438:2)]

Warren has also added three very powerful Bible commentaries (on citations B12, B13 and B16) in the CedarS online version at http://www.cedarscamps.org/metaphysical/articles/2015/10/ssd-real/ They are all from Cobbey Crisler, a Christian Scientist who was one of the world's great Bible scholars. Each one of the downloads from CedarS online version of this Met that reference Cobbey Crisler's works is worth taking the time to read with this lesson.

I won't separate out any one of the citations from Science and Health for this section; they are all so appropriate, so good, so very, very good.

Remember God is the Source of all existence. And Jesus encourages us that believing in him, we are believing in “him that sent me.” (B-15, John 12:44) Nowadays you sometimes hear someone say a little phrase, “Do the math.” Well, you could also say “add up the facts.” It is possible for each of us to follow the Source of Goodness, the Spring of Life and His Christ. It is possible for us to allow the promised Comforter to lead us into all truth. And the truth is that sin, disease, and death are not real, but God is. God is really, really Good. And God is the eternal Source of Goodness.

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[We are forever grateful for all the good already received and are LETTING BE KNOWN not only ONGOING NEEDS, BUT ALSO GOOD NEWS! Thanks to generous donors responding quickly to our announced $7k need to replace fencing washed away in a flash flood, we have funds to finish the work very soon and to turn-out our 77 horses into our lush lower pastures! We, and they, are SO grateful!!

Significant funding is still also needed for in these three special areas:
1. “Adopt the Herd” Matching Opportunity! Generous donors, aware of the ongoing need to care for CedarS herd, will match donations for our horse program! (~$7k needed to reach $50k goal)]

2. "Maintenace Musts" Matching Funds! This hugely helpful matching grant offer has been renewed by dear supporters to match up to $25,000 through year-end 2015! Thanks to recent gifts for needed fence repairs, we have "only" ~$17.5k to raise for other repair needs by 12-31-15.

3. Over 100 needed items are featured on CedarS Giving Tree that could fit the budget of every grateful Met-recipient and camper. You can choose for yourself $1-and-up ways to give to support CedarS needs. Click here to see 2 young alumni tell their reasons to give.

[You can also reach a member of the Founding family nearly anytime by
PHONE at 636-394-6162
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