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God is God — one Mind. From this Mind comes a future of hope!
Metaphysical Application Ideas for the Christian Science Quarterly Bible Lesson on

“Mind”
for February 15-21, 2021

prepared by: Kathy Fitzer
kathyfitzer@gmail.com

Here’s AN AUDIO LINK to enable you to hear Kathy Fitzer read her metaphysical application ideas on this week’s Christian Science Quarterly Bible Lesson on “Mind”. Details of citation locations are NOT in the audio version, but are written below and online at www.cedarscamps.org. To hear the Met you can also use this address:
Audio Met by Kathy Fitzer on “Mind” – CedarS Camps

To me, this week’s Lesson powerfully brings home the fact that there is one God, one Mind. As we acknowledge (admit) this, the goodness and unity of God’s creation is realized. God is God, and God is good, and there is nothing else! Period, full stop, end of discussion. Start there, stay there, and bear witness to God’s gifts of good — no matter what the material senses try to throw at you. God is supreme, and there is nothing to oppose Mind. There’s just the all-good, all-knowing, all-seeing, all-acting, all-wise Mind — and Mind’s ideas (that’s us and all of creation)!

What a wonderful promise is in this week’s GOLDEN TEXT: “I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” Sometimes we can get so caught up in all the “stuff” we’re dealing with — personally or collectively — that it’s hard to see “the light at the end of the tunnel”, so to speak. But, God knows each of us and has not only the desire, but the ability, to give good to each one — to give us hope and encouragement and deliverance. Every parent wants the best for her or his child. God — being God, perfect Love — not only wants the best for every one of us, but also has the power to deliver it in the best way and at the perfect time for each of us.

The RESPONSIVE READING goes on to describe the covenant — the contract or binding agreement — that God has made with His creation. God has put His law into the minds and hearts of each of His dear children, so not one can possibly be separated from that law of Good. All we have to do is look around to see the order of the stars and planets as an example of Principle and order in action. Even if we don’t hear God’s wisdom spoken in human tones — or if it looks like things are falling apart — look for evidence of God’s order and wisdom in His creation (the beauty of a sunrise or sunset, the peace of a snow-covered field or mountain top, the soft wind rustling through the leaves.) Do storms and disaster seem to arise in nature? Yep! But, we can’t be distracted by that — or by the appearance of disease and division and lack that would try to bring us down. Eagles spread their wings and fly in a storm … and so can we!

The focus must be on God’s law, that never changes or lapses. “The law of the Lord is perfect.” It revives the soul. The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy and instructional. “The commands of the Lord are clear, giving insight for living.” (Ps. 19: 8, NLT) We have to look to God — the source of splendor — as the only power, who gives strength to His people and blesses us with peace. God has never stopped being God. Our duty and privilege is to keep thought aligned with what God is doing and thinking. Let’s continually and humbly pray with David, “Let my words and my thoughts be pleasing to you, Lord, because you are my mighty rock and my protector.” (Ps. 19:14, CEV) Fear, anger, doubt, pain, disease aren’t pleasing to God … so have no place in our thinking — no place in anyone’s thinking. God has put his law of good in us (in all), and we are safe!

SECTION 1: ACCEPT ONLY ONE I AM — FULLY EXPRESSED!

This section opens with one of my favorite verses, “I am the Lord and there is none else …” (citation B1, Isaiah 45: 5) The second part of the verse has been translated, “I have equipped you for battle (or I have made you strong), though you don’t even know me.” (NLT & CEV) When faced with a challenge, we can trust that God gives us the strength to face whatever comes our way, even if we don’t know everything there is to know about God. He enables us to battle down false suggestions and win!

Verse 22 says, “I invite the whole world to turn to me and be saved. I alone am God!” (cit. B1, Isaiah 45: 5, CEV) If we find ourselves stumbling about in a dark space, finding a light-source can make all the difference. To take advantage of the illumination that eliminates darkness, we simply have to turn to the light or open our eyes. So, when things seem dark in life, we simply need to turn to or look to, the allness of God. But, how? We turn to Him/Her by acknowledging the presence and power of unchanging Love, Truth, Principle, Life, and infinite Mind (cit. S2, SH 330:19). And, know that there isn’t anything else.

At the burning bush God identified himself to Moses as “I AM THAT I AM”. (cit. B2, Exodus 3: 14) Mary Baker Eddy defines I AM as “the only Ego.” (citation S1, SH 188: 20) The term Ego is simply Latin for I. So, God is the only I, leaving no place for individual pride, egotism … or for self-deprecation. Good thing to think about when we find ourselves saying or thinking, “I am sick, or I am afraid, or I’m lousy at something, or I am really good at something! God only knows good, and as the only I, does only good! Make sure you’re claiming for yourself only what is true about God! Give God the glory and reject anything that isn’t from God.

As we see that qualities such as kindness, honesty, law, vigor, and wisdom have their source in the I AM, we can see that they must be universally inherent in the image of the I AM, the one Ego. They are inherent to man — to all! Bearing witness to the oneness of God’s creation, we can insist on seeing the unity and harmony of the world as the full expression of the great I AM — no matter how things seem to be! We have to stick with what is! God is God and there is none else!

I highly recommend an on-going series on the Sentinel Watch podcast focusing on the “omnis” — omnipotence, omnipresence, omniscience, and omni-action. They are really helpful in clarifying this idea of God’s allness and there being nothing else.

Here are links to the first three programs:

https://sentinel.christianscience.com/sentinel-audio/sentinel-watch/omnipresence-god-s-presence-embraces-our-past-present-and-future

https://sentinel.christianscience.com/sentinel-audio/sentinel-watch/omnipotence-god-s-power-for-good-heals

https://sentinel.christianscience.com/sentinel-audio/sentinel-watch/omniscience-what-god-knows-you-can-know

SECTION 2: BELIEF IN MANY MINDS IS IDOLATRY. STICK TO ONE MIND!

I doubt anyone reading — or listening — to this thinks he or she is guilty of worshipping other gods. But, are we really as innocent in that area as we would suppose? I suspect most of us (and I might dare say all) are guilty to various degrees of believing in many human minds that either agree or disagree with each other. Mary Baker Eddy writes, “finite belief … seeks to divide the one Spirit into persons and souls. Through this error, human belief comes to have ‘gods many and lords many.’ … behold the zeal of belief to establish the opposite error of many minds” (cit. S5; SH 280:10-17, 19-21).

The story of the tower of Babel is a fascinating one that we may not give enough attention to. The idea was for many humans, all possessing individual human minds, to come together and build a city and a tower to “make a name” for themselves, “lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.” Ironically, that is exactly what happened to them. (cit. B5, Genesis 11: 1, 4-9) Some scholars believe their motivation may have been a fear of the future. They thought if they came together sufficiently, they could determine and control that future. Their mistake (and one we may be tempted to make) was to think they could achieve unity and strength by bringing many human minds together, while isolating themselves from the rest of the world. The problem is a tendency of the human mind to leave God out of the equation, placing more faith in itself, and in physical evidence, than in God. By scattering the people and causing them to speak different languages, God was forcing them to stop relying on themselves and to lean on Him.

As is written in the definition of Babel in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, “The higher false knowledge builds on the basis of evidence obtained from the five corporeal senses, the more confusion ensues, and the more certain is the downfall of its structure.” (cit. S6, 581:19) Could it be that if we think our goal is to bring lots of human minds together to dwell in harmony, that we may be missing the mark? We can’t start with many and hope to arrive at one. Instead, by starting and staying with the one God (one Mind) we can expect to see this Mind expressed individually, but harmoniously, by all the peoples of the world. The effect is then more like light that is refracted in a prism. All of the various colors inherent in the light are individually expressed. But as they retain all of the attributes of light, they remain part of the whole and are incapable of conflicting with one another.

As we face the divisiveness of today, perhaps we can learn something from the story of Babel and the refraction of light. We don’t have to be afraid of the future — or of the influences of one “group” or another. We need to see the unity of the one God, expressed in multifarious forms, that can dwell together harmoniously. Start and stay with the one God — ONE MIND!

SECTION 3: DESIRING TO KNOW GOD ALLOWS GOD TO REVEAL HIMSELF TO US.

“Desire is prayer; and no loss can occur from trusting God with our desires, that they may be moulded and exalted before they take form in words and deeds” (cit. S12, 1:10). I find this statement from the opening of Science and Health so reassuring. To me, the key is trusting God with our desires. That means we can’t outline what the solution is going to look like. But, as we trust God to make it be just right, the outcome will be better than we could ever plan for.

The Athenians had covered all their bases when they made an altar TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. One translation of “ignorantly worship” is simply “worship without knowing.” (NLT) Paul then proceeded to tell them about this God that doesn’t live in man-made temples and whose needs human hands can’t serve because He has no needs. Rather, He gives life and breath to everything, and satisfies every need. We, in fact, exist in Him. (cit. B7, Acts 17:22-25, 28) What a different, but liberating concept of God that must have been! I love how Mary Baker Eddy defines “unknown” as “That which spiritual sense alone comprehends, and which is unknown to the material senses.” (cit. S10, 596:1-10) And that is why we have to trust God with our desires and not limit His plan in any way by putting material constrictions on infinity.

Many times, when I’ve been struggling with something, I’ve found release as I’ve stopped “warring … over the corporeality, and [rejoiced] in the affluence of our God.” (cit. S11, 140:7-12) To me, warring over the corporeality is coming up with human scenarios of solutions — what a healing is going to look like. We don’t need to know how our nation is going to come together, or how all people can live in peace and justice, or how a family matter or a physical need is going to be resolved. We just need to know that God — infinite Mind — is unbounded by human constrictions. Nothing is too hard for God.

Affluence includes not only a sense of abundance, but also a flowing together or confluence of ideas. God is forever sending forth unlimited, good ideas. Corporeality is the belief of a limited, material body (whether a human body or political body or social body.) The inharmonies of such bodies would try to mesmerize us and cause warring within thought. But, all we have to do is desire to see God’s infinite plan unfold and then rejoice in Mind’s abundant nature, and let Love meet every human need — no matter how big or small the need!

SECTION 4: EMBRACE THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE A PEACEMAKER FOR THE WORLD.

Do the problems we’re facing personally, in our communities, nations, and world seem so big that we wonder what we could possibly do to help? What if the “poor wise man” that we read about in Ecclesiastes had thought that? (cit. B10, Ecclesiastes 9:1, 14-18) He reportedly saved the city after it was besieged by a mighty, enemy king, and no one seemed to acknowledge what he had done or even thank him.

There may be two lessons here. One, to pay loving attention to the quiet voices that present options other than violence. And, two, to not underestimate our individual roles as we persist in prayer to solve the seemingly overwhelming problems facing us today. Mind has solutions. And the fact is that “man is tributary [or subject] to divine Mind.” (cit. S14, 209: 5-8) Why not expect Mind to reveal a helpful idea or a viable solution to those humbly communing with Mind? Our job is to do that communing and respond to messages we receive. And also, to bear witness to the purity of all of God’s children … to know that God, Mind, is speaking and revealing right ideas, and there is no other power to interfere with the receptivity to those ideas by the people that need to hear them.

We can be like that “poor wise man” as we conscientiously pray for our nation and the world and strive to be active peacemakers — whether we are called on to take action, or simply be the faithful witness to God’s almighty power. All error (that which is no part of Truth’s harmony) springs from a false sense of what constitutes Mind’s creation. The world is quick to point fingers and blame others or blame outside influences (like a non-intelligent disease or centuries of history) for the problems we are facing. But, as Christian Scientists, we know we have to start with “mental causation, the truth of being, to destroy the error.” And, as we do this corrective work, we see Truth “reaching to every part of the human system” and rebuking and destroying the baseless and causeless error! (cit. S18, 423: 8-12)

SECTION 5: YIELD TO THE TOUCH OF CHRIST AND BE HEALED.

These words of the prophet Isaiah are full of promise: “Fear not; I will help thee” (cit. 11, Isaiah 41: 13). I have tangibly felt this promise more than once, as if God was physically holding my hand and reassuring me. Healing didn’t always come instantly, but the assurance that healing would come was enough to keep me going — and, of course, my needs were met. Chapter 30 of Isaiah spells out what we need to do to feel God’s saving power. Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase puts it this way: “Your salvation requires you to turn back to me and stop your silly efforts to save yourselves; Your strength will come from settling down in complete dependence on me.” (cit. 12, Isaiah 30: 15, 21, MSG) And as we turn, we will hear direction in a way we can understand telling us which way to go — what to do, when and how.

And this brings us right back to the 1st section … “look unto me and be ye saved.” Notice a theme? Keep our sights on Mind and Mind will surely communicate. We just can’t get distracted by the throngs of mortal mind’s many, many suggestions of disturbance and destruction.

Jesus was walking amidst throngs of people when a woman seeking healing reached out and touched the “border of his garment.” I was struck by a scholar’s comment that it was believed at the time that if this “impure” woman even brushed against another’s clothes, that person would be rendered unclean. But, in this case, contact with the tassels on Jesus’ prayer shawl cleansed the woman, rather than making Jesus unclean. There was no room in Jesus’ pure thought for contamination. It made me think about current beliefs of contagion, suggesting that we can become sick from contact with a sick person. Keeping thought (which has the same source in Mind as the thought of Jesus) pure and free of fear, we can expect to see only blessing … even if touching or being touched by another.

Although surrounded by a crowd, Jesus’ quiet thought perceived the woman’s mental touch and met her need (cit. B13, Luke 8:40, 43-48; cit. S21, 86:1-8). How important to remember that thought is what we’re dealing with. “… neither sensation nor report goes from material body to Mind. The intercommunication is always from God to His idea, man.” (cit. S22, 284:28-32) So, when the body tries to talk to us, we have to see that it has no voice or intelligence.

What Christian Science terms mortal mind (the suppositional opposite of divine Mind) is all that talks — and it is powerless. We can follow Jesus’ example and talk back — or “mentally contradict every complaint from the body.” (cit. S23, 391:18-22, 24-2) And then, we need to lift consciousness to see what Mind is telling us about its idea (us). We conquer fear — and thus conquer disease — as we identify with Mind alone and argue on the side of Truth. Mind enables us to bear witness to Truth and heal as Jesus did. Just keep turning to that Mind.

SECTION 6: IN THE ONENESS OF MIND THERE IS NO US AND THEM.

What if we all greeted each other (even silently) as Paul greeted the Corinthians: “the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all.” (cit. B14, II Cor. 13: 14) The word grace, here, comes from a Greek word meaning joy. Greeks would greet each other … Joy be to you! How different out world would be if we embraced everyone that way.

In contrast to the story of the tower of Babel where people were separated and made to speak in different languages, on the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit spoke in such a way that everyone heard the message in their own language! Here Mind was uniting all in the family of Christ. Healing took place, and resources were shared. No longer was there division, with an us and them mentality, but a feeling of oneness. As God introduced himself to Moses as I AM, He introduces through Christian Science the idea of Mind as “the only I, or Us” (cit. S25, 591:26).

I encourage you to give a lot of thought to Science and Health citation 27 in the Lesson, on page 205, line 22. I was struck by this statement: “a belief in many ruling minds hinders man’s normal drift towards the one Mind, one, God, and leads human thought into opposite channels where selfishness reigns.” We are naturally drawn to Mind! Constantly holding to the fact that there is only one Mind governing ALL is enough to bring peace to our world!

SECTION 7: ACKNOWLEDGING ONE GOD ENABLES US TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

This section has in it both the 2nd and 6th tenet (or principle) of Christian Science. (cit. S29, 497:5-6; cit. S31, SH 497:24) We must start by acknowledging (admitting to be true) that there is only one God – one Mind. And then, promise to watch thought and pray to think out from that one Mind as Jesus did. This allows us to treat others (and think about others) as we would want others to treat and think about us … and to be merciful, just, and pure (as Jesus showed us to be.) What’s wonderful is the prayer and assurance from Romans that God enables us to live up to this demand. I found this modern translation helpful: “May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (cit. B18, Romans 15: 5, 6, NLT)

Living in harmony with each other can only come from seeing the oneness of God and our oneness with Him. There is nothing but God., Where there is one, there is no room for conflict. As WE join together in prayer and give praise and glory to God, we can expect Mind to communicate to everyone in a way they can understand (like on the day of Pentecost).

EXPECT good! EXPECT harmony! EXPECT cooperation! EXPECT health! EXPECT usefulness and employment and supply! These are included in the thoughts God has for us — in His plan for His children, plans of good to give us a future of good and reason for hope! God is God, Mind is Mind, and it’s all good. There is nothing else!


CLICK below for more APPLICATION IDEAS for this Lesson from CedarS-team:

  • “Be Mind-ful of your God-given GEMs” this week. This week’s GEMs will be sent ASAP with insights and application ideas from Cobbey Crisler and others.
  • Hear a custom Ken Cooper poem related to this week’s Bible Lesson. It is called “Reach Out” — (about the hemmoraging woman reaching out boldly for her healing).

Enjoy OPPORTUNITIES for SPIRITUAL ENRICHMENT with fresh insights WEEKLY!

CedarS Sunday Hymn Sings are being enriched every Sunday through February by representatives of Longyear Museum giving a feature presentation each week on a different one of the seven hymns written by Mary Baker Eddy. We will focus on one hymn per week, in order of their composition, through February 28. Each Sunday, right before the final hymn of the Hymn Sing, a representative from Longyear Museum will share about five to seven minutes of historical insights on what was happening in Mary Baker Eddy’s life and the Christian Science movement at the time she wrote that hymn/prayer as a poem.

We look forward to deepening our appreciation and understanding of these hymns, not only in how they reflected Mary Baker Eddy’s experience, but also in how they continue to bring healing to our world today. Invite family, church and other friends and even neighbors to join us by Zoom every week at 7pm Central Time for CedarS Sunday Hymn Sings. (A precious prelude precedes each sing at 6:45pm CT.) We encourage singing along in Zoom’s gallery view to share the joy of seeing dear ones in virtual family-church reunions that bless all generations.

To protect privacy and copyrights, these “brief, but spectacular” sessions are NOT recorded. So, calibrate your time-zone clocks, mark your calendars, and remind friends, so that no one misses any of these inspiring, weekly reminders of our precious, spiritual oneness with each other and with our ever-loving, Father-Mother God who owns and embraces us all!

Lovingly singing prayers and praise to God for 30 minutes each Sunday is such a warm, “Welcome Home” tradition to bless the start of each week with joyous, peaceful GRACE. (Our 2021 theme.) We have loved singing-in this grace with longtime as well as first-time friends—not only from ALL 50 of the United States, but also from 21 other countries! So far, our “Hymn Sing family” has clicked or dialed-in from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, England, Germany, Ghana, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, New Zealand, Pakistan, Paraguay, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Scotland, Spain, South Africa, Switzerland, as well as from each of the United States! In the universal language of divine Love, thestill, small voice”’ of scientific thought reaches over continent and ocean to the globe’s remotest bound.” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 559:8–10)


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