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Walk with the might of the light of Truth!
Metaphysical Application Ideas for the Christian Science Bible Lesson for
July 20-26, 2015

Subject: Truth

Prepared by Kathy Fitzer of Lake St. Louis, MO
kathyfitzer@gmail.com 314-323-4083

[Space is available in CedarS upcoming 5th session before school starts for Sunday School students to experience a life-changing week at CedarS! Can you encourage any pupil you know to watch our video (#4) & apply &/or be one of the angels who gives towards camperships and the life-altaring and life-altering experiences they provide at CedarS?
Other needs where your donations will be
matched are to help CedarS: 1) $3k more to replace pasture fences washed out by recent record-high creek levels; and 2) $4k more to replace safety helmets and climbing gear nearing the end of its scheduled service life.]

Golden Text and Responsive Reading: God commanded the light to shine, and that light revealed God’s creation as good. The truth of this inspired revelation of creation (presented in the first chapter of Genesis) allows mankind to see through the matter-based lie of God cursing man — the story of Adam and Eve that has often been mistakenly accepted as reality. This unenlightened view was put forth as what seemed to be a logical explanation of why the mortal situation appears as it does. But, once it was revealed that God operates in the realm of light, the darkness of misinformation was doomed! We now have the opportunity to see things as they really are — as long as we stay in the light of Truth. This light forever reveals God’s true and eternal Kingdom of good! The first book of the Bible (Genesis) introduces this concept of light, and the last book (Revelation) details how this light fills the Holy City— the Kingdom of Heaven —where spiritual existence is found to be intact and harmonious. John demonstrated that it is possible to see and experience this Holy City here and now — in our present state of consciousness. This is the message of the Lord’s Prayer and its spiritual interpretation: “Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven … Enable us to know, — as in heaven, so on earth, — God is omnipotent supreme!” Heaven is not a far off place! It is present harmony illumined by the light that comes from God — the Christ light — ever accessible by everyone everywhere. The power of this light of Truth must be acknowledged. This week’s Lesson helps us do just that!

Section 1: The light of Truth seen in eternal Day
We read in Genesis 1 that “the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” (B-3) I like to think of “the waters” as human consciousness. God commands the light to shine, identifies it as good, and immediately sets it apart from the darkness. Light and darkness — day and night — cannot mingle with each other, and certainly have nothing to do with the earth’s relative position to the sun. (B-3) Rather, Day is “the irradiance (or bright shining) of Life:” (S-4) This true idea of day is not something that starts and stops or varies in length depending on the season. Spiritually understood, Day is a state of consciousness, ever available to us. Mrs. Eddy speaks of “the rays of infinite Truth” being “gathered into the focus of ideas” and bringing “light instantaneously.” That is the light of God’s creating. The light of Truth doesn’t require time to warm up, like some CFL light bulbs, nor is it dim and distant like the light of the sun — or a foggy idea — can seem. When a decision needs to be made, open your thought to the revelation of Truth. (S-6) A revelation is “the making known of something that was previously secret or unknown.” Though seemingly distant the right answer does exist! How do we find it? We need to start by dropping off our “mental swaddling-clothes.” (S-5) If you’ve been around babies recently, you know all about swaddling-clothes. A blanket is tightly wound around a new baby to restrict the movement of its arms and legs. The purpose is to make the baby feel more secure. But at some point he or she starts to assert their new-found sense of freedom and is determined to stretch. It can be tempting to let the security of staying in the familiar stop us from moving forward. This can even be true in the case of a physical healing — letting fear hold us back. But, we can break free and take the plunge into new ideas as long as we understand that God, Truth, is preparing the way for us and bathing our path in light! “This is the day the Lord hath made; let us be glad and rejoice in it! (Hymn 342)

Section 2: Truth uncovers and destroys the lie of evil while revealing good
When you flip on a light, what happens to the darkness? Gone, right? And what happens to all of the things in the room that you couldn’t see in the dark? They’re now visible. That includes the dust and dirt and debris hiding there. And that’s a good thing! It’s hard to clean out the stuff you can’t see. Dirt, dust, and debris sometimes hide out undetected in thought, too … appearing as things like fear, deceit, jealousy, hate, false appetite, corruption, etc. Left untended, this junk will start crowding out the joy, health, and harmony, like weeds that consume a garden. But, the Bible assures us that “there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known.” (B-9) That includes the bad being uncovered to be destroyed as well as the good that has been covered up being revealed. Kind of like nuggets of gold that are found as the sand is washed away. Just as darkness can’t fight the light, a lie — or error — can’t fight Truth. “Truth is real and error is unreal.” (S-9) Truth is supreme — entirely good and harmonious — and evil is nothingness! (S-7) Now, we know from seeing shadows in the dark that look so real and can seem so scary, that just because evil is nothing doesn’t mean it doesn’t sometimes seem real and that it can’t frighten us and affect us, if we let it! But, whether the evil appears in our body, in our personal experience, or in world injustices and wars, the answer lies in letting the light do the uncovering and destroying as it must do. “Let Truth uncover and destroy error in God’s own way, and let human justice pattern the divine.” (S-8) We can trust Truth to do both the uncovering and the destroying. OUR job is to unwaveringly acknowledge the supremacy of Truth, knowing that as light ALWAYS destroys the darkness, the lie of error must ALWAYS yield to the law of Truth!

Section 3: Prayer opens the door of Truth that we may enter into the light
Suppose there is a secret room in your house — a room full of light and filled with everything good. But, the door is locked up tight. It won’t budge. So, all that good seems worthless, unless you find the key. Well, there is a room like that in the consciousness of each one of us. And — the key is at hand! It’s called prayer! Micah’s prayer was a simple one. He turned and looked to God (watched to see God’s presence;) he patiently watched and waited for him to answer, confident that God does listen and hears our call, and knowing that God would bring him into the light where he could perceive God’s goodness. (B-11) Paul’s letter to Timothy emphasized the need to not just pray for personal needs to be met, but to pray for “all men.” And, he specifically instructed him to pray for “kings and for all that are in authority.” Why? So that all can live in peace and live in the light of Truth. (B-12) It is sooooo important that we remember to pray for our world — that the light of Truth be seen by all, revealing God’s provision of good that blesses all! We’re not praying to change evil into good. We simply strive to know and do God’s will and then watch for the good that God’s light of Truth will reveal. (S-13) What we are most responsible for is the purity of our own thought. As we work to be the best we can be, and pray for “growth in grace, expressed in patience, meekness, love, and good deeds” the light of Truth will expand in our thought. (S-14) With this key of prayer we will open the door for all to enter the Holy City — the Kingdom of God where harmony reigns!

Section 4: Let the radiancy (light) of Truth shine forth as honesty, sincerity and virtue
Understanding that God commanded the light to shine, it naturally follows that this light coexists with God’s creation. (S-16) But, it is much more powerful than the light that comes from the sun. The radiance of Truth is constituted of qualities such as sincerity, honesty, uprightness, goodness and fairness. (S-17) These adjectives are used to define the Greek word, translated as honest that is used in Romans12: 17. In fact this is how the verse is translated in the New Living Translation: “Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable.” (B-14) Letting the light of Truth shine through you lets others see God’s goodness. And, as this goodness is seen — and the credit given to God, — others see that God’s goodness is actually inherent in EVERYONE! (B-13 & B-16) The entire universe is bathed in light as the goodness of God is magnified in the lives of men. Samuel was trying to help the Israelites see the virtue of living an honest and upright life by reminding them of their history. When the Jews were obedient to God, their lives were filled with light and things went well for them. When they turned away from God, they were plunged into darkness and struggled. (B-15) Because the radiance of Truth is inherent in God’s children, we have the opportunity to walk in that light and see God’s blessings. “Honesty (integrity, uprightness, right-mindedness, goodness, fairness, truthfulness, reliability, openness, sincerity, etc) is spiritual power.” (S-19) These are the qualities of thought that we call upon as we strive — step by step — to enter into (and set up residency in) the realm of consciousness known as the Holy City (or Kingdom of Heaven.) It is a joyous adventure as we stay in the light and let it shine! (S-20)

Section 5: Knowing the truth allows Truth to make man free
Jesus was talking to a group of Jews when he made this very familiar statement, “ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (B-19) The Jews protested that as Abraham’s descendants, they had never been slaves. Although it is a bit ironic that the Jews were saying this while under Roman rule. But, Jesus was talking about a much deeper sort of freedom — one that doesn’t know ups and downs but is rooted in an understanding of what is true (what is in accordance with fact or reality; irrefutable, objective verity.) The truth that Jesus spoke of is the Word of God — the light that directs our steps. (B-18) This truth abolishes slavery and reveals the divine right of mankind to be free. (S-21& S-22) This freedom isn’t dependent on material circumstances. It comes from understanding our relationship to God — that we are the child of God, dwelling in the Kingdom of God, the Holy City that is full of light — knowing (perceiving) that truth sets you free to experience the blessings that are revealed by the light of Truth.

Section 6: Believing enables us to witness Christ, Truth, destroying all evidence of error
Light is an integral part of God’s creation — always has been, and always will be. It must inevitably rule out the darkness of error. And, yet, there are times when the human consciousness seems unaware of the light. That’s when the grace of God is needed. This grace was presented by Christ Jesus, making the light of God available to be experienced by everyone seeking Truth. The nobleman (or high-ranking official) asked Jesus to come and heal his son. It seemed to make sense that if the healing power was in Jesus, that Jesus would have to be physically present to do the healing. The fact that the nobleman turned to go home alone speaks to the fact that his faith was strong enough to trust Jesus, even if it didn’t make any sense to human logic. That faith was rewarded when he learned that his son had made an immediate and complete recovery! [See B-22 and the Cobbey Crisler Download in CedarS online version of this Met at http://www.cedarscamps.org/metaphysical/articles/2015/7/truth/ for insights on the “prayer-action-at-a-distance” described in this healing.] Where did that faith come from? Is it something we have to conjure up from within ourselves? OR, is it the grace of God shining in each of us, allowing us to glimpse the Christ-light of Truth? The definition of grace given in Strong’s according to the original Greek is so good … “the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life.” Jesus exemplified this grace, and people responded to it with a belief that was more than “blind faith.” Mrs. Eddy’s definition of “believing” includes “firmness and constancy; … the perception of spiritual Truth.” (S-23) That’s not something that a person can just dredge up — no matter how much he may want to. Christ Jesus was able to inspire such believing because the opposing material evidence was so clearly false to him! In turn, the Christ, or Truth, that Jesus embodied awakened the human consciousness to see through the illusion. (S-26) Even if we feel we don’t have enough faith, it is important to “speak the truth to every form of error.” As we firmly speak, and do our best to believe, the “waking dream-shadows, dark images of mortal thought” that we call disease will “flee before the light of Truth.” (S-29) To get rid of darkness in a room, we simply open the shades, flip the light switch, turn on a flashlight or light a candle. To get rid of dark images of disease or discord of any kind in our experience, we “speak the truth.” We don’t have to fully understand every word we are speaking. We just have to accept that the words are true, as the nobleman accepted Jesus’ words as true. In both cases, it is the “forever coming of Christ, the advanced appearing of Truth, which casts out error and heals the sick.” Sickness and sin are not part of Truth — they are illusion, and grace and Truth destroy them! (S-26 & S-24) Seek truth will all your heart and God will respond with His healing grace.

Section 7: Walk in the light of Truth stay focused on the good
It’s not always easy to see the light when the darkness seems so intense. But, remember that the only way out of a dark cave is to walk towards the light at the opening and step, by step, make your way out. So, the way out of the darkness of mortality (whether it looks like disease, depression, sin, war or poverty that is closing in on you) is to “walk in the light and turn away from a false material sense.” (S-31) Just as you focus on even a flicker of light that indicates the opening of the cave, keep thought focused on the qualities that lead to the revelation of Truth — things that are “honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good report.” (B-24) That leaves no room for deceit (even not being totally honest with ourselves), treating people unfairly (or being concerned that we’re not being treated fairly), impurity, ugly thinking (or accepting ugliness as part of another’s behavior or appearance), or bearing false witness — giving bad reports. We think our way out of mental darkness (by yielding our thought to God) as surely as we walk out of physical darkness. Mrs. Eddy says to “look where we would walk,” and “act as possessing all power from Him in whom we have our being.” (S-30) I find that really helpful when it seems a healing isn’t coming as quickly as we might like — or we feel we’re up against a wall and don’t know which way to turn. Don’t worry about the problem — just act with a sense of dominion and expectation. That is keeping the light of Truth burning brightly in your heart. As we do, we’re making room for Truth to occupy our thought and our experience. In reality all there is is Truth, because God is all!!! Just as “light extinguishes the darkness” so there is no more “night”, Truth extinguishes error. (S-32) Knowing that, we can overcome all fear of error, just as we can overcome fear of the dark! For some, it seems more of a challenge than for others. I struggled for a long time with being afraid of the dark. Sometimes that fear will still creep up on me. But, now I can assert my authority over that fear. We can all do that when we know that the light of Truth can never be put out! It is ever with us!


[Bracketed italics in each CedarS Met are added by CedarS Director and Met "Founder"/Editor, Warren Huff, who’s forever grateful for all the good already received and LETTING 3 ONGOING NEEDS BE KNOWN –
Significant funding is still needed for these special opportunities:
1. It is apparent that getting many to camp will depend on "Love's Provision" of campership assistance.
There are still several bunks available in CedarS upcoming 5th session before school starts for Sunday School students to experience a life-changing week at CedarS! Could you be one of the angels who gives towards camperships and the life-altaring and life-altering experiences they provide at CedarS?]

2. 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.

3. Adopt the Herd” Matching Opportunity! Generous donors, aware of the ongoing need to care for CedarS herd, will match donations for our horse program! (~$13k needed to reach $50k goal)]

[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 have requested it. However, current and planned gifts are a big help and are greatly appreciated in defraying the costs of running this service and of providing needed camperships, programs and operations support. Click http://www.cedarscamps.org/giving/ for more about how you can provide even monthly support online. Or you can always call the Huffs at 636-394-6162 to get information or discuss privately how to transfer securities or other assets to help support and perpetuate CedarS work.]

[You can also reach a member of the Founding family nearly anytime by
PHONE at 636-394-6162
or MAIL your tax-deductible support to our 501C3 organization
(Our not-for-profit, Federal Identification Number is #440-66-3883):

The CedarS Camps, Inc.
1314 Parkview Valley Drive
Ballwin, MO 63011

THANKS TO YOU PRECIOUS DONORS FOR YOUR ONGOING, GENEROUS and NEEDED SUPPORT OF CedarS IMPORTANT WORK!

[The Met application ideas above are provided primarily to help CedarS campers and staff (as well as friends) see and daily demonstrate the great value of studying and applying the Christian Science Bible lessons throughout the year, not just at camp! YOU CAN ALSO SIGN UP for weekly emails from past CedarS staff of possible ways to share Bible Lesson applications with older, as well as younger, Sunday School classes by clicking the "Subscribe Now" button (lower left) at http://www.cedarscamps.org/metaphysical/ ]

[For additional "Director's Notes" on the history, development & 4 translations of CedarS weekly Bible Lesson "Mets" go to Notes in our online version of it.]

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