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[Dwell Safely and Securely in the Consciousness of Divine Love!]
Metaphysical Application Ideas for the Christian Science Bible Lesson on

“God the Preserver of Man”
for June 16, 2019

By Lindsey Biggs, C.S., Practitioner of Christian Science, Maryland Heights, Missouri
biggs.lindsey@gmail.com 541.460.3515 LindseyBiggs.com

This Bible Lesson contains two favorite psalms woven throughout the lesson – Psalm 23 and Psalm 91. These psalms are read and comforting to people around the globe. What a wonderful time to unite in the powerful messages and protecting power of these psalms and other passages from the Bible and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy.

Golden Text (GT) [See Warren’s PS#1 on the 23rd Psalm & its use in the GT,B2, B8, B12, B19, S26.]

This Golden Text starts out with a powerful sense of protection – “I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever!” What a promise and a law. I love thinking about house as consciousness, as Mary Baker Eddy broadens on p. 578 (S26) of Science and Health. So, the promise and conviction of this phrase is “I will dwell in the consciousness of the Lord forever!” What a promise and a gift to be able to see and know God – to be conscious of God’s presence and love and goodness – forever.

Responsive Reading

This Responsive Reading contains so many beautiful ways that God preserves us and keeps us safe. God saves us, hides us, guides us, teaches and instructs us, gives us strength, helps us, and delivers us. I especially love the idea of God hiding us. It reminds me of being a little child and hiding in a closet. When someone hides it means that person isn’t seen or discovered. So, with God hiding us and protecting us we are not even seen or known by any so-called evil power. We are completely safe. God is “hiding us” and keeping our consciousness safe and protected as we dwell on Him. “…your life is hidden with Christ in God.” (Colossians 3:3)

Section 1 … Father-Mother God upholds and preserves us

We open up with Section 1 putting our focus on God – who God is and what God is doing. Psalms and Isaiah give us metaphors for God being a Father and a Mother caring for and protecting us – just as a mother and father does for her/his children. We have a “tender relationship” with God who is always protecting and caring for us. What a gift Mary Baker Eddy gives us in acknowledging the motherhood and fatherhood of God. We get a sense of God’s protecting power, but also of God’s tender, gentleness, affection, care, and kindness.

This section reminds me of “Love” the article written by Mary Baker Eddy (Miscellaneous Writings, p.250). It says in part: “What a word! I am in awe before it. Over what worlds on worlds it hath range and is sovereign! the underived, the incomparable, the infinite All of good, the alone God, is Love…. As a human quality, the glorious significance of affection is more than words: it is the tender, unselfish deed done in secret; the silent, ceaseless prayer; the self-forgetful heart that overflows; the veiled form stealing on an errand of mercy, out of a side door; the little feet tripping along the sidewalk; the gentle hand opening the door that turns toward want and woe, sickness and sorrow, and thus lighting the dark places of earth.”

Section 2 … Divinity embraces humanity [See W’s PS#2 for CC insights on citation B11.]

In Section 2 we move into a sense of God’s relationship to man – the human and divine coincidence as it is sometimes called in Christian Science. “…divinity embracing humanity in Life and its demonstration…” (SH 561) This coincidence is so important because it is the understanding that God is ALWAYS embracing humanity. Every single moment God’s will for us is grace, peace, understanding, health, harmony, and love. God is enforcing these qualities in our lives all the time. There is no one outside of this Love.

We may encounter storms – mentally, metaphorically, and literally – but it is the Christ, the true idea voicing good, that silences those storms, calms mortal thought, and reveals the presence and peace of the kingdom of God within us. We don’t have to rely on our own limited human power or reasoning – we have the Christ, the divine manifestation of God, always uplifting us, reassuring us, and giving us the right idea that is needed at the right time. God is always embracing us in Life and its demonstration.

Section 3 … Be not afraid. Love is here! See W’s PS#3 for CC insights on Jesus' raising Lairus' daughter in Luke 8 (B15).]

We don’t have to be afraid when denying error! Fear not! Such important passages (citations S14 and S15) in Science and Health for showing us how to be healers. This section proves the nothingness of error and that there is no power apart from God. When I was thinking about how Jesus healed, I just realized that Jesus wasn’t afraid. No matter what the material sense presented to him, he wasn’t afraid and he didn’t believe the limited picture presented to him. He was so sure about God’s love.

In a letter that Mary Baker Eddy wrote to one of her students, she talks about the healing that is brought about by prayer:

". . . will grow more easy and be more immediate as you realize that God, good, is all, and good is Love. You must gain Love, and lose the false sense called love. You must feel the Love that never faileth,— that perfect sense of divine power that makes healing no longer power but grace. Then, you will have the Love that casts out fear and when fear is gone doubt is gone and your work is done. Why? because it never was undone." (We Knew Mary Baker Eddy, pp. 90-91)

I love the idea that when fear and doubt are gone the work is done because it never was undone. It is so comforting and reassuring. It points us to the spiritual fact of being that God and man are complete, whole, and perfect. God and man have a spiritual, indestructible relationship. We are God’s spiritual creation and this spiritual creation is untouchable and unseen by error. In this way we are hidden with Christ in God. Our spiritual identity is always safe and secure. So, we don’t have to believe the material picture presented to us. We can deny it and affirm God’s allness and see this revealed in our lives.

You may also enjoy this Sentinel Watch podcast: Don’t entertain uninvited guests—fear and doubt from March 11, 2019.

Section 4 … Angels are pure thoughts from God

Psalm 91:9-12 shows us the benefits of dwelling in the consciousness of the Lord. In essence, because you dwell in the consciousness of God, good — because you dwell in the presence of Spirit, Life, Truth, and Love – no evil, no sickness, no fall shall touch you. Why? Because God’s angels lift you up and keep you safe and secure. I like thinking about both concepts of “dwelling in” and “dwelling on” in relation to God. For instance, we are dwelling safely in God, and we dwell on – to think about – God’s goodness and love. So, we get a sense of God being that “centre and circumference of being” (SH, p. 203). We feel the presence and safety of God because we dwell in divine Love, and we recognize this when we dwell on (to think on) divine Love – allowing the presence and power of God to fill and flood our thinking. Dwelling on the presence and power of God counteracts a false sense of dwelling on – or ruminating on – hurt, pain, past, fear, doubt, etc. It keeps our thinking on the right side!

God’s angels help do that! There are so many helpful definitions of angels by Mary Baker Eddy (MBE). Angels are a great topic of Christian Science Sunday School classes, and they are such a help to children of God of all ages! In addition to angels being “pure thoughts from God” (S16), in the glossary of Science and Health, we have angels as “God’s thoughts passing to man; spiritual intuitions, pure and perfect;” (SH, p. 581). And, finally, there is MBE’s beautiful article entitled “Angels” that I include below because it ties in with this week’s lesson so perfectly:

“When angels visit us, we do not hear the rustle of wings, nor feel the feathery touch of the breast of a dove; but we know their presence by the love they create in our hearts. Oh, may you feel this touch, — it is not the clasping of hands, nor a loved person present; it is more than this: it is a spiritual idea that lights your path! The Psalmist saith: “He shall give His angels charge over thee.” God gives you His spiritual ideas, and in turn, they give you daily supplies. Never ask for to-morrow: it is enough that divine Love is an ever-present help; and if you wait, never doubting, you will have all you need every moment. What a glorious inheritance is given to us through the understanding of omnipresent Love! More we cannot ask: more we do not want: more we cannot have. This sweet assurance is the “Peace, be still” to all human fears, to suffering of every sort.” (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 306)

Section 5 … the red dragon is cast out by Love [See W’s PS#4 for CC insights on Rev. 12 (B23).]

What a promise! The red dragon “…is cast out by Christ, Truth, the spiritual idea, and so proved to be powerless.” (S23) Yes!

“Thus says the Lord to you: ‘Do not fear or be dismayed at this great multitude; for the battle is not yours but God’s.” 2 Chronicles 20:15

The victory is on the side of God, good! That means that whatever problem you face, whatever attempts of the serpent/red dragon, actually have nothing to do with you! It is an impersonal suggestion about a power or presence other than God. God defeats this suggestion because it is actually a lie about the power of God! It is a lie about the relationship between God and man.

God deploys His angels Michael and Gabriel to defend you and keep you! “Michael's characteristic is spiritual strength” (S20) “Gabriel has the more quiet task of imparting a sense of the ever-presence of ministering Love…The Gabriel of His presence has no contests. To infinite, ever-present Love, all is Love, and there is no error, no sin, sickness, nor death.”

(SH 567:1–8)

There is no contest! God is all and there is none else. God is not the “runner up” in a contest! God is Truth and Life and Love!

These angels are here to keep you safe and reveal that the battle is not yours, but the Lord’s.

Section 6 … God’s universal message is here for all

We finish up with recognizing this universal message of the power and presence of divine Love is true for everyone. It is powerful and practical. It is available for everyone to recognize and apply, and there is not a single one left out. We ALL dwell in the consciousness of the power and presence of God. And by dwelling on this power and presence more in our thinking, we can awaken to experience more of the kingdom of heaven within us. Psalm 91 finishes by giving us a powerful message: by giving God our love, knowing the nature of God, and calling on God, He/She delivers us, answers our prayers, preserves us and satisfies us. What a beautiful promise and fulfillment!

Mary Baker Eddy considered Psalm 91 “one of the foundation stones of the Christian Science religion” (Yvonne Caché von Fettweis and Robert Townsend Warneck, Mary Baker Eddy: Christian Healer, Amplified Edition, p. 192). We get to live and love the blessings and messages of the Bible Lesson this week and rejoice in the well-loved Psalms 23 and 91 that have given hope and comfort to many throughout the centuries. Have a blessed week dwelling in the consciousness of Love!


Watch for social media posts on progress on our Care House construction as well as on staff training weeks and more!

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[Warren: Wow!! Thanks to the generous support recently received from CedarS Newsletter subscribers and supporters, CedarS time-sensitive need is being met to upgrade to new safety standards for the four Ziplines to and from CedarS Bible Lands Park (BLP)!! This activity will annually bless thousands of visitors! It will make Christian Science Sunday School students, teachers and church members more Biblically literate and alive each summer and fall. And it will show “shoulder-season” visitors of all faiths how Christianly practical and Bible-based Christian Scientists are. From Mary’s Chapel behind Dawn Lodge all users can zip back in time to the Bible and BLP, climb its switch-back “Time-Travelers’ Trail” and learn A.P. (Answered Prayer) History lessons to take “back to the future.”


Thank you, dear friends who have already given to the needs that we have made known—as well as to those of you who still want to make a big difference in 2019 to CedarS vital work, outreach and blessings!

We have a wonderful matching gift challenge to meet! You can double your donation by helping CedarS earn our "Adopt the Herd" $75,000 Match for the horses and riding program. (still ~$28,000 to go by Sept. 30, 2019.)

So, if you have been blessed by receiving this inspiration weekly and haven't given lately, or are in a position to be able to give more, we still have many needs, big and small, that you can help meet by clicking on https://www.cedarscamps.org/give/.

Current and planned gifts are a huge proof of your ongoing LOVE made visible and are greatly appreciated!! They not only defray the costs of running this service but also provide greatly needed camperships and essential program and operations support.

Please sign up to give whatever you can on a much-needed MONTHLY basis to support CedarS life-changing work! [You can start at any amount and adjust monthly as you wish at: www.cedarscamps.org/giving ] All of your gifts add up to big blessings in the lives of today's Sunday School students (tomorrow's joyous workers in our Christ-centered church!

With heartfelt gratitude and love,
Warren, Gay, Holly & your CedarS Family

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CedarS 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. 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/meta

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