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Wednesday, January 11, 2023

Theme: FEAR NOT PLACELESS EVIL

Readings from the Bible:

1) Ps. 53:1 (to 1st .), 5 (to 1st :)

The Bible The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. ... There were they in great fear, where no fear was: ...

2) Isa. 41:10 (to 3rd ;)

¶ Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; ...

3) I John 4:1 (to :), 6, 13, 16, 18 (to :)

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: ... We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error. ... Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit. ... And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. ... There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: ...

4) Gen. 15:1 the

... the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.

5) Gen. 26:18 Isaac (to ;), 19 Isaac's, 20 (to :), 21 (to :), 22–24 (to 5th ,)

... Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father; ... ... Isaac's servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of springing water. And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac's herdmen, saying, The water is ours: ... And they digged another well, and strove for that also: ... And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove not: and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, For now the LORD hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land. And he went up from thence to Beer–sheba. And the LORD appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, ...

6) I Kings 17:1, 8, 9, 12–15

And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word. ... ... ¶ And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. ... And she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die. And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth. And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days.

7) Dan. 10:7 I, 10–12, 14, 19, 20 (to 1st ,), 21 I (to :)

... I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves. ... ... ¶ And, behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands. And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling. Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. ... Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days. ... And said, O man greatly beloved, fear not: peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened, and said, Let my lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me. Then said he, ... ... I will shew thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth: ...

8) Luke 2:52 Jesus

... Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.

9) Luke 8:49–51, 54 2nd and, 55

¶ While he yet spake, there cometh one from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying to him, Thy daughter is dead; trouble not the Master. But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole. And when he came into the house, he suffered no man to go in, save Peter, and James, and John, and the father and the mother of the maiden. ... ... and took her by the hand, and called, saying, Maid, arise. And her spirit came again, and she arose straightway: and he commanded to give her meat.

10) Luke 17:22 (to 1st ,)

And he said unto the disciples, ...

11) Luke 18:1–8 a (to .)

... a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. ...

12) II Tim. 1:7

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

13) Rev. 15:3 Great, 4

... Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.

Readings from Science and Health:

1) SH 410:29–30

and correlative passages from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy Christian scientific practice begins with Christ's keynote of harmony, “Be not afraid!”

2) SH 567:7–8

To infinite, ever-present Love, all is Love, and there is no error, no sin, sickness, nor death.

3) SH 469:21

We bury the sense of infinitude, when we admit that, although God is infinite, evil has a place in this infinity, for evil can have no place, where all space is filled with God.

4) SH 479:27–5

We admit that black is not a color, because it reflects no light. So evil should be denied identity or power, because it has none of the divine hues. Paul says: “For the invisible things of Him, from the creation of the world, are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made.” (Romans i. 20.) When the substance of Spirit appears in Christian Science, the nothingness of matter is recognized. Where the spirit of God is, and there is no place where God is not, evil becomes nothing, — the opposite of the something of Spirit.

5) SH 197:16 (only)

We should master fear, instead of cultivating it.

6) SH 410:14

Every trial of our faith in God makes us stronger. The more difficult seems the material condition to be overcome by Spirit, the stronger should be our faith and the purer our love. The Apostle John says: “There is no fear in Love, but perfect Love casteth out fear. . . . He that feareth is not made perfect in Love.” Here is a definite and inspired proclamation of Christian Science.

7) SH 31:1

Pride and fear are unfit to bear the standard of Truth, and God will never place it in such hands.

8) SH 287:11

Did God, Truth, create error? No! “Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?” God being everywhere and all-inclusive, how can He be absent or suggest the absence of omnipresence and omnipotence? How can there be more than all?

9) SH 71:1

Nothing is real and eternal, — nothing is Spirit, — but God and His idea. Evil has no reality. It is neither person, place, nor thing, but is simply a belief, an illusion of material sense.

10) SH 264:3–7, 10

The crude creations of mortal thought must finally give place to the glorious forms which we sometimes behold in the camera of divine Mind, when the mental picture is spiritual and eternal. ... We must look where we would walk, and we must act as possessing all power from Him in whom we have our being.

11) SH 495:1–2, 20

God will heal the sick through man, whenever man is governed by God. ... ... Let Christian Science, instead of corporeal sense, support your understanding of being, and this understanding will supplant error with Truth, replace mortality with immortality, and silence discord with harmony.

12) SH 238:22–23, 25

Attempts to conciliate society and so gain dominion over mankind, arise from worldly weakness. ... Society is a foolish juror, listening only to one side of the case. Justice often comes too late to secure a verdict. People with mental work before them have no time for gossip about false law or testimony. To reconstruct timid justice and place the fact above the falsehood, is the work of time.

13) SH 444:16–22

Let us be faithful in pointing the way through Christ, as we understand it, but let us also be careful always to “judge righteous judgment,” and never to condemn rashly. “Whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.” That is, Fear not that he will smite thee again for thy forbearance.

14) SH 406:6

Sin will submit to Christian Science when, in place of modes and forms, the power of God is understood and demonstrated in the healing of mortals, both mind and body. “Perfect Love casteth out fear.”

HYMNS: 154, 476, 123

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