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[Practice the Science of seeing spiritually: See the Safe Man/ See Man Safe!]
Metaphysical Application Ideas for the Christian Science Bible Lesson
for Dec. 6-12, 2010 on “God the Preserver of Man”
by Kerry Jenkins, C.S. of House Springs, MO [with bracketed italics by Warren Huff]
 
[Editor's Note: The following application ideas for this week, and the Possible Sunday School Topics 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 or in Spanish thanks to a team of Ana, Erick, Claudia and Patricio. YOU CAN SIGN UP at www.cedarscamps.org/newsletters]
 
 The Golden Text in this week's lesson immediately confronts the common theological belief that God created man and then “cut him loose” to make his own mistakes and follow his “free will”. The Bible clearly states here that “thou preservest them all;” There is no sense here that man is abandoned to find his own way in the world, rather throughout the Responsive Reading it is confirmed that God even keeps our feet from being “moved” and never sleeps on the job! He keeps us from all evil and preserves our “going out and our coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.” Wow! What tenderness and care is shown in this statement. There is an overriding sense in the lesson this week that while man may appear to be vulnerable to evil whether in the form of natural disasters, imprisonment, disease, or maybe just darkness or depression, when we lift our thought above the view that mortality presents and align our thought with God and His accurate view of creation, we get to see that our safety has always been intact, man is ever preserved in perfection and grace.
[With today's fluidity in financial markets and currencies as well as in diminished commitment to long-term relationships, “Preservation of Capital” and of in-come as well as preservation of friendships and marriage vows are more important than ever. The RR passage from Ps. 121:16 can be applied literally to show God's steady hand and promise at work in many areas: “The Lord will keep your going out (dating and expenses) and your coming in (or income) from this time forth and forevermore.” This continues to be a landmark verse in our prayers for safe CedarS Express travel days; it is a perfect affirmation for your family's holiday travels as well.]

Section 1:
In citation B1 we are instructed to “Make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation”. As a singer I love such instruction. (Of course there are many ways to make a joyful noise, not just vocally!) The reference to the “rock” here is a common one in the Bible and throughout Mrs. Eddy's writings as a symbol of the Christ, Truth, the recognition of the healing power within that Christ. It is this Christ or rock that is the source of our salvation, and not the commonly accepted sources such as people (parents, children, friends, employers etc.), or in a perfect or slimmer body, or money, (to pay bills, or meet needs-food, shelter, transportation-or even to buy Christmas presents). Adults especially can labor under the illusion that our salvation rests in money. But here it tells us clearly our salvation is in God! What does that really mean? We are asked here to find our salvation in Spirit and not through some material avenue. “Man is tributary to God…” (S5) and that means that not only is man comprised solely of that which flows from God, but that everything that man needs is also supplied through that channel of Love.  We cannot be separated from our source, from the “headwaters”, so to speak. And if you look in the dictionary at the definition of Principle you will find one of the definitions includes the term “source”.

[We share with CedarS counselors what Mary Baker Eddy gave us as an uplifted definition for “Rock of our salvation” (B1); she says that our “rock of salvation” and “reason for existing” is our ability to “impart truth, health, and happiness.” (My. 165:19-22) We can all certainly find our reason for the Christmas season and as well as for existing and can keep those reasons on the rock by hourly exercising our ability to impart or give to others “truth, health, and happiness.” Click below for many good insights on giving that are sure to be shared in response to spirituality.com's Question of the Week How have you prayed about giving to others during the holidays?]
 
Section 2:
This section could be seen as comprising a contradiction. On the one hand we have the first citation (B6) that affirms that we are kept in safety. On the other hand we have the story of Noah in which God vows to destroy most of his very unsatisfactory creation. (B7). Here it states in part that “…all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth…The end of all flesh is come before me.” I recently heard a known author discuss his latest book on the Bible and how he discovered that, while an interesting book, he realized that God is truly a terrible being because of all the horrible acts of vengeance that are recounted in the Bible. It is interesting to note the clarity of the statement in citation B7. It says “The end of all flesh is come before me.” Couldn't that be seen as an admission that flesh or matter can't be in the presence of God? Noah could hear and obey the saving voice of God's direction. Is not this voice audible to all of God's creation? Flesh is not His creation. God made His eternal covenant with the true man, the Christ-like man of his creating, not with the counterfeit! This section also addresses the question of nature's power and its fragility. If we recognize that matter forces are counterfeits (S9) of His creation, that His laws govern in balance, harmony, wisdom, economy, and integrity-then we are truly bringing this scientific, true view of the universe into our experience. We witness man's safety and the preservation of the infinite variety and beauty of creation. [Click here to see a photo gallery and read about of a replica of Noah's ark that was recently built in Holland.]
 
Section 3:
God helps those in need! Hmmm, so what about all those circumstances that come to thought where needs do not appear to be met? Mrs. Eddy addresses this question in every Science and Health citation of this section. Essentially Science brings us to a higher view. It lifts us above the narrow view that matter tries to make us focus on, and shows us the mountain-top perspective that reveals Truth. Man is cared for. The bumps and challenges that come as we “climb” the mountain of Science, merely cause us to rise up in thought and give us the opportunity to get clear of the ground fog and see the brilliantly lit landscape of God's creation. This is why trials prove God's care (S15); they do this not because God sets out traps and troubles for us to prove our faithfulness, nor because God has created us and then set us loose to mess up, but because our struggle to see the Truth as Science reveals it brings us up higher and we can then see only God's presence and care-the trial no longer holds any substance for us. In other words we bask in the healing Truth. 
We don't know much about Jehoiachin, the young king of Judah in citation B13, except that he was kept in captivity in Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar for 37 years. After this he was suddenly given a position of privilege by the new King Evil-Merodach. Like Joseph who spent all those years in prison continually worshipping and acknowledging God's saving power, Jehoiachin, king of Judah, must have spent time repenting, praying and lifting his thought to truer views of freedom. 
 [Click for an archeological confirmation of the accuracy of the Bible about Jehoiachin and the provisions given to him by the new king of Babylon during the exile. Since camp we have built 3 switchback platforms (for the Exodus from Egypt, the United Monarchy and the Babylonian Exile) that are about 500 years apart on “Time Travelers Trail”. We will add stone steps with engraved Bible book and character names in CedarS Bible Lands Park to help set Bible events in context and to bring them to life.  The trail will be under construction this spring in segments from our “Before Abraham Spring” to our “Christ's Rolled-away-stone Cave” to a “Time Flies Zipline” (“back to the future”). Watch our blog for future postings of pictures, details and requests for volunteers and funds needed to complete this project before the Memorial Weekend Grand Opening of CedarS 50th summer.]
 
Section 4:
Man is one with God not one with the body. The images in citations B15 and B16 of man's safety in God as a tower, as casting a protective shadow over His children are powerful and loving symbols for how man is really never separated from the protecting care of his Father-Mother. There can be no “plague” no matter how terrifyingly ugly, contagious, painful, that can even come near our “dwelling”.  The leper in citation B17 is met with Jesus' fearless love. In touching this man, an outcast who can never enter a temple and must live outside society because of his “unclean” status, Jesus broke a rule of Judaic law. But this Christly touch of Love revealed the man's inherent, innate purity, his ever-present perfection as a child living under the “shadow of the almighty”, never outcast, never unclean, but ever preserved as the original image and likeness of God.
 
 Section 5:
The final section emphasizes the theme running throughout this week's lesson that as we view life from a scientific standpoint our safety and harmony, ever existent, is revealed to us! Even as we have been “scattered in the cloudy and dark day…” Even when we see only darkness, confusion-our Shepherd is bringing our thought to see the truth, that we are safe and blessed-even when we appear to be in the wilderness (B19) which Mrs. Eddy defines in part as “loneliness; doubt; darkness” (S&H 597:16). Then, indeed right where we seem to experience loneliness, doubt and darkness, suddenly (or incrementally!), the second part of that wilderness definition becomes clear; and we experience “spontaneity of thought and idea; the vestibule in which a material sense of things disappears, and spiritual sense unfolds the great facts of existence.” (S&H 597:17). [We hope you can come to CedarS Bible Lands Park to also see a new, 140'-long scale model of the “Wilderness of Judea” on the west bank of the Dead Sea where Jesus, John the Baptist, David and many others retreated to find their safety in oneness with God. A focus on the spiritual meaning of Wilderness will help fulfill CedarS 50-year old, but ever-new purpose: “To give each camper an appreciation of spiritual sense and an abundance of wholesome, joyous activity.”]
Spiritual sense shows us one great fact of existence: the man of God's creating is always safe. And we can experience this safety right now through the Science of seeing spiritually.
 

[PSST-Put on your Life Preserver & Cleanser! Dominion is your divine right!**]
Possible Sunday School Topicsfor the Christian Science Bible Lesson on
“God the Preserver of Man”
forDecember 12, 2010
By Amy Robbins Evans, St. Louis, MO [with bracketed italics by Warren Huff]
 
PSST for Golden Text and Responsive Reading
Why do we declare the great things about God? What does God’s greatness and goodness mean for us? Why do we praise God with our whole heart? What does it mean for God to not sleep? Think about what it means for God to preserve our going out and coming in forever.  The Contemporary English Version translates the verse as, “The Lord will protect you now and always, wherever you go.”  What does that say to you?
 
PSST for Section 1
What does it mean to be the people of God’s pasture and the sheep of his hand (B1)? How do you see your relationship with God?  Look at citation B4.  What happens when good goes before us?  What do we witness?  What do we experience?  What does Spirit, “symbolized by strength, presence, and power, and also by holy thought, winged with Love” (S2) look like?  Think about citation S3.  What does “enough” mean?  What does it mean to have enough?  What is enough?  When do you know that you have enough?  Is your definition of what is enough the same as Mrs. Eddy’s?  What are tributaries (S5)?  How are we tributaries to God?
 
PSST for Section 2
Noah started building the ark before it started to rain.  How do we have the same faith?  What does the story of Noah and the ark mean to you?  How is it an example of God preserving and protecting his creation?  What’s significant about the covenant God makes with Noah (the rainbow)?  What did God promise?  What are the laws of God (see citation S8)?  How are these different from material laws?  Which has more power?  Citation S10 includes a list of what God’s creatures are.  Notice how there’s no “and”.  What else are God’s creatures?  Think about your pets.  What qualities do you notice about them?  Are these the same qualities that all of God’s creatures express (hint: YES!)?  Look at the definition of ARK in citation S12.  How do we find that safety on a regular basis?  How can you enter your own personal ark?  If you built an ark, what would you take with you?
 
PSST for Section 3
How does God help, protect, and deliver in times of challenge?  How was the king cared for during the captivity (B13)?  What does citation S15 mean to you?  How are trials proofs of God’s care?  Give an example of a trial in your life that was a proof of God’s care for you.  Read the Footprints in the Sand poem as a reminder of how God never leaves us.  What does it mean for happiness to be readily attained (S16)?  How do you look for it in Soul?  What is the “miracle of grace” (S19)?  Have you ever witnessed it?  Notice that the sentence before in the same citation says that divine Love meets every human need.  Do we always get what we want?  Who knows best what we need and meets those needs?  How can we make sure we are trusting God to provide?
 
PSST for Section 4
Imagine running into a tower for protection (B15).  That’s what it’s like when turning to God.  Think of another example of what trusting God is like.  What’s so special about the 91st Psalm (B16)?  We turn to it a lot.  Why?  What do you like about the psalm?  Citation B17 is the first recorded healing in the book of Mark.  Why do you think it would be one of Jesus healing a leper?  What’s so important about that healing?  Think about how lepers were outcasts in society in Jesus’ time.  Why? (Hint: they were unclean).  Yet, Jesus touched the leper.**  Does this matter today?  Think about contagion for a minute. (S22)  Why can we see through that lie?  How do we address the fear of contagion first?  What are some truths that you can hold to when handling fear?  What has more power, health or sickness?  So, which should affect someone else?  In other words, when a healthy person and an unhealthy person are together, what should the result be, two unhealthy, or two healthy people (hint: HEALTHY!!!)?  See Mrs. Eddy’s article on contagion in Miscellaneous Writings, page 228.  Define the word “vehemently” (S25).  How do we hold so strongly to the fact that “there is no disease“?

** [“Jesus touched a man here who had not been touched physically by anyone but another leper. … look at the humanity breaking through the wall. Where was ecclesiasticism on the subject of leprosy? “Stay out!” Shout unclean, unclean everywhere you go,” so there is no danger of contagion. … Jesus reached through that barrier and touched a man. What do you imagine the leper was thinking as Jesus touched him? Imagine what happened within him. We’re talking about the Holy Ghost cleansing. Cleansing is the thing that’s needed.  … Jesus’ words and acts reveal what his theology is. So, “be thou clean” is the precious privilege of that man who thought he was a leper. He has dominion over it. “Now exercise it,” Jesus said, and supports his divine right to exercise it.” B. Cobbey Crisler’s comments on this citation in What Mark Recorded as available to be ordered from The Daycroft School Foundation]
 
PSST for Section 5
The section again presents the image of God as shepherd.  Think of how we witness this in our lives.  Citation B19 describes many different ways that God preserves us.  He cares, leads, protects, feeds, shelters, heals, comforts, and so on.  What else does He do?  What doesn’t He do?  What stands out to you about the 23rd Psalm (S30)?  Why do you think Mrs. Eddy substituted Love for God?  How does it change the psalm?  Think of Love as leading us every step along the way.  What comfort does that give?  How have you witnessed Love shepherding you this week?  What is it like dwelling in the consciousness of Love (remember, this is forever!)?

[CedarS weekly Metaphysical Note Newsletters are provided at no charge to the 1,200 campers and staff who have been blessed each summer at CEDARS--as well as to thousands of CEDARS alumni, families, Sunday School teachers and friends who request it, or who find it weekly on our website or through CS Directory. But, current and planned gifts are much-needed: to cover the costs of running this “free” service; to provide camperships to make inspirational opportunities possible for deserving youth; and to help our facilities keep pace with our mission. (Click on –http://blog.cedarscamps.org/– for pictures and write-ups on CedarS Bible Lands Park part of this mission.)

[FYI: CedarS can almost always use late-model mini-vans, Suburbans & trucks, w/ lower mileage, in good condition, 4-wheel or 2-wheel drive. Please just email bill@cedarscamps.org or call Bill (Nisbet) at 417-532-6699 to discuss your vehicle, its transfer and tax-deductible gift acknowledgement.  Letting the need be known  justbrought about a donation of a nice late-model Suburban!]

[Important Matching Fund Grant Offers Recently Renewed for Year-End Givers:
Donors made a recent pledge, that if CedarS can raise $25,000 by year-end for “Maintenance Musts”, they will matching those gifts to cover the whole need! This will enable timely off-season repairs to buried pipes, floors, decks, equipment, vehicles, … After last weekend's meeting of CedarS not-for-profit Board of Trustees, we have “only” $6,000 to raise by 12-31-10 in order to receive a $25,000 grant to accomplish all this overcoming of evil with good! And, thanks also to a recent pledge from other donors, if CedarS can raise $50,000 by next summer for our “Adopt the Herd” Riding Fund, they will match those gifts to cover the needs of feeding, shoeing and caring for our large and precious herd!] 
[AND OF COURSE, donations are always needed and welcome for camperships because without campers there would be no camp!  Funds are also being gratefully realized and spent to help complete CedarS Bible Lands Park (BLP) and its “Mediterranean S(k)ea”. We will be happy to share more details if you wish to support any of these divine ideas that are coming to full fruition! 

[Thanks in advance for GIVING ONLINE! Just
click here to use a credit or debit card (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, or Discover card) or a virtual check to make monthly and one-time donations to CedarS' “Mediterranean S(k)ea”, Bible Lands, Camperships, “Maintenance Musts”, “Mets”, Unrestricted, or Endowment Funds as you specify. We have added a link as requested by our international supporters to allow giving to CedarS through PayPal!
However it comes, your support is tax-deductible and always welcomed–but during the economic downturn, your generous, unrestricted gifts have been and continue to be especially needed and appreciated!  
To support CedarS work you can make a charitable donation to our 501C-3 tax-exempt, charitable organization in many wonderful ways.
 
Writing a monthly check would be an answer to prayer. Please make it payable to “CedarS Camps” and mail it to: CedarS Camps Office, 1314 Parkview Valley, Manchester, MO 63011; or call Warren or Gay Huff at (636) 394-6162to discuss gifts of securities or property you are considering giving to help underwrite all the spiritual growth and progress at CedarS.]
 
 [Camp Director's Note: This sharing is the latest in an ongoing, 10-year series of CedarS Bible Lesson “Mets” (Metaphysical application ideas) contributed weekly by a rotation of CedarS Resident Practitioners and occasionally by other metaphysicians. (To keep the flow of the practitioner's ideas intact and to allow for more selective printing “Possible Sunday School Topics” come in a subsequent email.) 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” 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.]
 
[You can now click on the pdf symbol (at the right of the webpage) to download a pdf version of CedarS Lesson mets for easier printing and for better reading from mobile devices.

Enjoy!     Warren Huff, Executive Director   director@cedarscamps.org]

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