Reality - 4/1/1917

​REALITY
April 1, 1917

Golden Text
Ez 37:22 I
I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all: 


Responsive Reading
Joel 2:19,21-24,26-29,32
Yea, the Lord will answer and say unto his people, Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith: and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen: 

Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the Lord will do great things. 

Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength. 

Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month. 

And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil. 

And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed. 

And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed. 

And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: 

And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. 

And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call. 


Section I
( 1)   Is 43:12,13,21 
I have declared, and have saved, and I have shewed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, that I am God. Yea, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it? 

This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise. 

( 2)   Prov 8:1,22,23,30 
Doth not wisdom cry? and understanding put forth her voice? 

The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. 

Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him; 

( 3)   John 1:3 
All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 

( 4)   II Cor 4:1,18 
Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not; 

While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. 


( 1)   331:11-13 
    V.  The Scriptures imply that God is All-in-all. From this it follows that nothing possesses reality nor existence except the divine Mind and His ideas.  

( 2)   513:26-27 
    God creates all forms of reality. His thoughts are spiritual realities. 

( 3)   109:32 
    The three great verities of Spirit, omnipotence, omnipresence, omniscience, - Spirit possessing all power, filling all space, constituting all Science, - contradict forever the belief that matter can be actual.  These eternal verities reveal primeval existence as the radiant reality of God's creation, in which all that He has made is pronounced by His wisdom good. 

( 4)   257:12 
    Mind creates His own likeness in ideas, and the substance of an idea is very far from being the supposed substance of non-intelligent matter. Hence the Father Mind is not the father of matter. The material senses and human conceptions would translate spiritual ideas into material beliefs, and would say that an anthropomorphic God, instead of infinite Principle, - in other words, divine Love, - is the father of the rain, "who hath begotten the drops of dew," who bringeth "forth Mazzaroth in his season," and guideth "Arcturus with his sons." 

( 5)   258:1,21 
A mortal, corporeal, or finite conception of God cannot embrace the glories of limitless, incorporeal Life and Love. Hence the unsatisfied human craving for something better, higher, holier, than is afforded by a material belief in a physical God and man. The insufficiency of this belief to supply the true idea proves the falsity of material belief. 

The human capacities are enlarged and perfected in proportion as humanity gains the true conception of man and God. 


Section II
( 5)   Jer 33:3 
Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. 

( 6)   Is 65:24 
And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. 

( 7)   II King 6:15-17 
And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots.  And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see.  And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. 

( 8)   Matt 7:7,8 
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. 

( 9)   Matt 6:5,6 
And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men.  Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. 


( 6)   2:4,15 
Are we benefited by praying? Yes, the desire which goes forth hungering after righteousness is blessed of our Father, and it does not return unto us void. 

    Prayer cannot change the Science of being, but it tends to bring us into harmony with it. Goodness attains the demonstration of Truth. A request that God will save us is not all that is required. The mere habit of pleading with the divine Mind, as one pleads with a human being, perpetuates the belief in God as humanly circumscribed, - an error which impedes spiritual growth. 

( 7)   15:14-22 
    In order to pray aright, we must enter into the closet and shut the door. We must close the lips and silence the material senses. In the quiet sanctuary of earnest longings, we must deny sin and plead God's allness. We must resolve to take up the cross, and go forth with honest hearts to work and watch for wisdom, Truth, and Love. We must "pray without ceasing." Such prayer is answered, in so far as we put our desires into practice. 

( 8)   8:14-18 
If we feel the aspiration, humility, gratitude, and love which our words express, -  this God accepts; and it is wise not to try to deceive ourselves or others, for "there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed." 

( 9)   11:22-27 
We know that a desire for holiness is requisite in order to gain holiness; but if we desire holiness above all else, we shall sacrifice everything for it. We must be willing to do this, that we may walk securely in the only practical road to holiness. 

(10)   326:16-21 
    The purpose and motive to live aright can be gained now. This point won, you have started as you should.  You have begun at the numeration-table of Christian Science, and nothing but wrong intention can hinder your advancement. Working and praying with true motives, your Father will open the way. 


Section III
(10)   Deut 30:19,20 
I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: That thou mayest love the Lord thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them. 

(11)   Job 34:4 
Let us choose to us judgment: let us know among ourselves what is good. 

(12)   Joel 3:14 
Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. 

(13)   Josh 24:14,15 
Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. 


(11)   322:3-7 
    When understanding changes the standpoints of life and intelligence from a material to a spiritual basis, we shall gain the reality of Life, the control of Soul over sense, and we shall perceive Christianity, or Truth, in its divine Principle. 

(12)   359:29-18 
    A Christian Scientist and an opponent are like two artists. One says: "I have spiritual ideals, indestructible and glorious. When others see them as I do, in their true light and loveliness, - and know that these ideals are real and eternal because drawn from Truth, - they will find that nothing is lost, and all is won, by a right estimate of what is real." 
    The other artist replies: "You wrong my experience.  I have no mind-ideals except those which are both mental and material. It is true that materiality renders these ideals imperfect and destructible; yet I would not exchange mine for thine, for mine give me such personal pleasure, and they are not so shockingly transcendental.  They require less self-abnegation, and keep Soul well out of sight. Moreover, I have no notion of losing my old doctrines or human opinions." 
    Dear reader, which mind-picture or externalized thought shall be real to you, - the material or the spiritual?  Both you cannot have. You are bringing out your own ideal. This ideal is either temporal or eternal. Either Spirit or matter is your model. If you try to have two models, then you practically have none. 

(13)   208:20 
Let us learn of the real and eternal, and prepare for the reign of Spirit, the kingdom of heaven, - the reign and rule of universal harmony, which cannot be lost nor remain forever unseen. 


Section IV
(14)   II King 5:1,10-15 
Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the Lord had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper. 

And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean. But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper. Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean?  So he turned and went away in a rage. And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean? Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him: and he said, Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, take a blessing of thy servant. 

(15)   John 7:14-17 
Now about the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and taught. And the Jews marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned? Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. 

(16)   John 14:12 
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. 


(14)   109:4 
    Christian Science reveals incontrovertibly that Mind is All-in-all, that the only realities are the divine Mind and idea. This great fact is not, however, seen to be supported by sensible evidence, until its divine Principle is demonstrated by healing the sick and thus proved absolute and divine. This proof once seen, no other conclusion can be reached. 

(15)   393:32 
It is well to be calm in sickness; to be hopeful is still better; but to understand that sickness is not real and that Truth can destroy its seeming reality, is best of all, for this understanding is the universal and perfect remedy. 

(16)   318:18 
Weary of their material beliefs, from which comes so much suffering, invalids grow more spiritual, as the error - or belief that life is in matter -  yields to the reality of spiritual Life. 

(17)   418:12-15 
    It must be clear to you that sickness is no more the reality of being than is sin. This mortal dream of sickness, sin, and death should cease through Christian Science. 

(18)   419:4 
Your true course is to destroy the foe, and leave the field to God, Life, Truth, and Love, remembering that God and His ideas alone are real and harmonious. 


Section V
(17)   Job 32:7,8 
I said, Days should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom. But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding. 

(18)   Ps 119:18,27,34 
Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law. 

Make me to understand the way of thy precepts: so shall I talk of thy wondrous works. 

Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart. 

(19)   Mark 16:17 
And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 

(20)   Acts 2:1,4 
And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 

And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. 


(19)   209:31-32 
    Spiritual sense is a conscious, constant capacity to understand God. 

(20)   349:18 
The elucidation of Christian Science lies in its spiritual sense, and this sense must be gained by its disciples in order to grasp the meaning of this Science. Out of this condition grew the prophecy concerning the Christian apostles, "They shall speak with new tongues." 

(21)   505:20-28 
Spiritual sense is the discernment of spiritual good. Understanding is the line of demarcation between the real and unreal. Spiritual understanding unfolds Mind, - Life, Truth, and Love, - and demonstrates the divine sense, giving the spiritual proof of the universe in Christian Science. 
    This understanding is not intellectual, is not the result of scholarly attainments; it is the reality of all things brought to light.  

(22)   297:12-16 
    Erroneous belief is destroyed by truth. Change the evidence, and that disappears which before seemed real to this false belief, and the human consciousness rises higher. Thus the reality of being is attained and man found to be immortal. 


Section VI
(21)   Ps 46:1-3,7,10 
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.  Selah. 

The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. 

Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. 

(22)   Heb 6:13,14,17-19 
For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. 

Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; 


(23)   335:27-28 
Reality is spiritual, harmonious, immutable, immortal, divine, eternal. 

(24)   261:24 
Breaking away from the mutations of time and sense, you will neither lose the solid objects and ends of life nor your own identity. Fixing your gaze on the realities supernal, you will rise to the spiritual consciousness of being, even as the bird which has burst from the egg and preens its wings for a skyward flight. 

(25)   306:21 
    The myriad forms of mortal thought, made manifest as matter, are not more distinct nor real to the material senses than are the Soul-created forms to spiritual sense, which cognizes Life as permanent. Undisturbed amid the jarring testimony of the material senses, Science, still enthroned, is unfolding to mortals the immutable, harmonious, divine Principle,  - is unfolding Life and the universe, ever present and eternal.