Being Free Now

“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” (Matthew 7: 13-14)

The narrow way is really the better way. That “strait” gate that leads us safely home to goodness, harmony, heaven, requires the key of our devotion to enter and obedience to God’s wise directions in order to find the road within and follow it. Focus and precision, some inspired listening and disciplined acting, will be necessary on this true path of Life.

The “broad” way is the material way. It is running with the pack and essentially running amok. It may seem the easier way because we only have to follow what everyone else is doing, but that, too, is the reason it fails to please us. Your life is not meant to be just like everyone else’s. It is meant to be yours uniquely—expressing the full radiance of God’s qualities in you and serving a holy purpose that offers the most to the world and to yourself.

Be a standout from the pack and fearlessly choose to try that other door, the one that beckons you deep in your heart not merely through your senses. Don’t limit your life by taking the easy way. Your choices don’t need to follow some proscribed path for human success and happiness (as if there really was one!). Such an uninspired life will only lead to destruction, to a feeling of dissatisfaction and discomfort and endless yearning.

The narrow way means one where there are pauses to listen and to follow; to watch others settle for whatever seems most popular and easy, while we choose a different direction, off the beaten path but on the real highway to freedom—God’s way. And remember that while this gate and the path of this Life may seem narrow, in Truth this only means we are being led in a more direct way to the very place where we belong, where our true happiness waits for our grateful, expected arrival.

This is today’s e-inspire. These messages are based on passages from the Bible and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy. These books are our “pastor” in Christian Science. Come back every Tuesday and Thursday for fresh inspiration. Or get a free subscription to receive an inspirational message like this one every morning directly to your inbox by contacting me at lamolitercs@aol.com. A downloadable compilation of categorized messages is also available by request.

“The effect of this Science is to stir the human mind to a change of base, on which it may yield to the harmony of the divine Mind.” (Science and Health, page 162)

The Truth can’t help but stir things up. Don’t panic if you feel a little less than comfortable, if what you’ve come to rely on has become unreliable and you feel a little off your game. It’s not a sign of trouble, but a harbinger of progress, growth, and healing. Calm down and trust.

Letting go of long held beliefs can be difficult. We cling to the familiar because it is familiar, even comfortably uncomfortable at times. It is what we know, even if it is limiting, even if its premises lead to conclusions that are not so promising or peaceful. But this Science of God, this higher understanding, has to get our attention, to show us that those limits are arbitrary and unnecessary, and that life is about so much more. Our eyes need to adjust to the new light. We have to give up our faith in a flat earth now that we have discovered it is round. The human mind has been stirred up so that it is awakened and attentive.

And then the yielding comes. The Truth that changes our base of thinking is gentle, good, and it makes sense. It comforts and enlightens. It is power and it is love. Our new and true understanding of Life as limitless Love becomes the very cozy armchair we can settle comfortably into. It just feels right and natural. And now our weary minds and bodies are ready to relax, rejuvenate, and rejoice in this new clear and pleasing view.

This is today’s e-inspire. These messages are based on passages from the Bible and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy. These books are our “pastor” in Christian Science. Come back every Tuesday and Thursday for fresh inspiration. Or get a free subscription to receive an inspirational message like this one every morning directly to your inbox by contacting me at lamolitercs@aol.com. A downloadable compilation of categorized messages is also available by request.

“Every time I think of you, I thank my God. And whenever I mention you in my prayers, it makes me happy. This is because you have taken part with me in spreading the good news from the first day you heard about it.” (Philippians 1: 3-5, Contemporary English Version)

Paul took the words right out of my mouth! It gives me such great joy to share these ideas with you, and to keep all of you in my thoughts and prayers. Your inspiration and love supports me and awakens me to God’s good news more and more every day. My persistence in spreading the good news has so much to do with your devotion, your love of goodness and Truth, and your enduring hunger to know more and so to heal.

Every time I think of you I am thankful and happy. I feel uplifted in knowing that there are warriors out there joining me in this cause, which is to know and express divine Love better. We are all students together and being among a classroom of eager learners is a blessing. It raises the bar for discovery, encourages receptivity, and gives me comfort as I work to know better how to live and to love.

I love that we are in this together. I know that if there are fellow believers, practicing this Truth in new ways every day; that my cause is a good one; not only because God told me so, but because my loving, faithful friends agree!

Thank you for reading my thank you note this morning. Paul’s words touched a place in me and I couldn’t be silent about your contribution another minute! God bless you all.

This is today’s e-inspire. These messages are based on passages from the Bible and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy. These books are our “pastor” in Christian Science. Come back every Tuesday and Thursday for fresh inspiration. Or get a free subscription to receive an inspirational message like this one every morning directly to your inbox by contacting me at lamolitercs@aol.com. A downloadable compilation of categorized messages is also available by request.

“…you must wear the whole armour of God that you may be able to resist evil in its day of power, and that even when you have fought to a standstill you may still stand your ground. Take your stand then with truth as your belt, righteousness your breastplate, the Gospel of peace firmly on your feet, salvation as your helmet and in your hand the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God.” (Ephesians 6: 13-18, JB Phillips New Testament)

The material world and its suggestions of gloom and doom, sin and sickness, danger on every side, requires an alertness and readiness. We can’t simply roll over and let the tyrant take our good lives away! But we can’t take a stand that is thoroughly victorious without thoroughly preparing in the way that is most powerful–spiritually.

We need to build up a strong defense as well as a confident offense. How do we do that? What is this armor and weaponry that Paul tells us about here? Are we fighting material sense with its own weapons, or are we equipping ourselves from the armory of Spirit, that which is indestructible and omnipotent? Our preparation to battle down the false beliefs presented to us, whatever their form, and to live in our own land in peace, comes from God.

I think that Paul’s description of what is needed mirrors Mary Baker Eddy’s description of God’s attributes, the seven synonyms, in her textbook Science and Health. We have Truth, which girds us. We have Principle which upholds and protects our hearts and our lives. We have divine intelligence, the perfect and saving Mind as our helmet, our protected and clear thinking. We have that Gospel of peace which is certainly a Life that is Love. We have that full armor, that wholeness that is oneness with Soul and its integrity, its completeness. And we have that Spirit, that animating ideal that cuts through material lies and limits with unflinching certainty and power.

And so in God’s armor, equipped with His intention, we can win the day and share the rich bounty of peace and joy and love with the whole world.

This is today’s e-inspire. These messages are based on passages from the Bible and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy. These books are our “pastor” in Christian Science. Come back every Tuesday and Thursday for fresh inspiration. Or get a free subscription to receive an inspirational message like this one every morning directly to your inbox by contacting me at lamolitercs@aol.com. A downloadable compilation of categorized messages is also available by request.

“And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.” (Genesis 28: 15)

Our lives are in good hands. God’s plan for us is sound and safe and He is accompanying us in every aspect of it. That means that His Truth, Life, and Love hold our hand in every place, whether it be dark and unknown, or a place of play and rest. He will never leave us, for we are the very ideas in His creative Mind, living forth His own right concepts, here, there, everywhere.

No physical journey will take you away from God. No travels into the wilderness mentally ever go unwatched and unloved. You are guarded on all sides and God’s intention for you is unimpeachable, guaranteed, prepared, and already complete. He is always leading us home to the awareness of ourselves as His own children, as the ones He caused in order to show forth His own glory and goodness, here, there, and everywhere.

Never fear that you will stray too far from God’s purpose, your right life and mission. This plan is not yours to lose or to mess up. It is God Who accomplishes His purpose, and the Omnipotent does not allow obstructions to His vision for us. He is conscious at all times of what we need and of how we will bless others. You are always and now in good hands and so no matter where you are, you are truly home—loved, comforted, supported, and at peace.

This is today’s e-inspire. These messages are based on passages from the Bible and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy. These books are our “pastor” in Christian Science. Come back every Tuesday and Thursday for fresh inspiration. Or get a free subscription to receive an inspirational message like this one every morning directly to your inbox by contacting me at lamolitercs@aol.com. A downloadable compilation of categorized messages is also available by request.

“By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” (John 13: 35)

Jesus didn’t have a special insignia for his disciples. They weren’t recognized as part of his club through a secret handshake or some physical distinction of their hair, body, or dress. Jesus’s followers were known to be true disciples, true students of his teachings, by the love they expressed to one another.

This should be our goal as well. The signet we wear should never include behavior that excludes others or is rigid. Our mark of distinction should not be that we have more intellectual understanding than some other individual or more degrees after our name. The clear symbol of our true devotion is the manner and the extent of our love.

And as Jesus reminded us, when we love God supremely we are naturally able to love one another as well. And as this is a true love, reflected of divine Truth, it isn’t mere personal affection or an outward showing of niceness. It is a pure love containing all that God’s own love would require—mercy, tenderness, understanding, respect, honor, patience, helpfulness, and compassion.

This love must extend beyond those who are on our “team,” who believe just as we do. This spiritual love recognizes the principle that Jesus taught—that God is love and His children are beloved by Him. Therefore, all are lovable, worthy, and our very own brothers and sisters to cherish and appreciate. And by this genuine love we feel, we show the world that we are followers of the Christ, that active Spirit of God that is universal and perfect Love and that lovingly, naturally, heals.

This is today’s e-inspire. These messages are based on passages from the Bible and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy. These books are our “pastor” in Christian Science. Come back every Tuesday and Thursday for fresh inspiration. Or get a free subscription to receive an inspirational message like this one every morning directly to your inbox by contacting me at lamolitercs@aol.com. A downloadable compilation of categorized messages is also available by request.

“The seed shall be prosperous; the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew;” (Zechariah 8: 12)

Each idea of God was made to flourish. God created all things out of the substance of His own Life, out of that which naturally blooms, radiates, expands, endures, and remains intact. The seeds of understanding–those inspirations small and great–contain the whole tree, the fully grown garden. The complete idea is within. We are guaranteed the abundance.

Trust the fact of God’s Allness. The universe dwells in His Mind, as the very perfect concepts of His creation. In every place there is Love, ready to bless us with goodness, peace, and provision. Recognize that every right idea, the very thought of God which you are, is made to thrive. Our vineyard is never barren or empty or untended. Our life is never dark and dry and old.

Open your eyes to the dew, the seed, the tender saplings of life. These may seem small and weak, but they are simply the humble indication to us of the golden fields in which we already dwell, which are beginning to sweetly bear fruit. These small signs of life are not the remains of something lost, but reveal renewal, freshness, a brand new and abundant crop, prepared and planted by God to be enjoyed thoroughly by His offspring, you and me.

This is today’s e-inspire. These messages are based on passages from the Bible and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy. These books are our “pastor” in Christian Science. Come back every Tuesday and Thursday for fresh inspiration. Or get a free subscription to receive an inspirational message like this one every morning directly to your inbox by contacting me at lamolitercs@aol.com. A downloadable compilation of categorized messages is also available by request.

“For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.” (Psalms 27: 5)

You are sheltered. You are preserved. You are hidden from the enemy. You are held in the secret solitude of God’s tender sanctuary. This is your refuge. It is not distant or locked. It is yours here and now, to retreat to and to remain in–untouched by harm, calm, fearless, and inspired.

This is God’s promise. Our spiritual nature is the reality of ourselves and it dwells in Spirit, in the Life that is God. Material circumstances and the threats that mortal belief would make against us, can’t ever remove us from where we belong, from who we truly are—pure and perfect ideas in the Mind of God, in the flawless pavilion of His own creating and under His unblinking control.

Be still and know this. See yourself and others as secure in the Truth of Life and safe in God’s unceasing and boundless Love for His own. Know that the world’s temptations can’t harm that ideal that rests with God, hidden from the lies of evil mortality, and held in the reality of the Life that is immortal goodness, peace, and love.

This is today’s e-inspire. These messages are based on passages from the Bible and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy. These books are our “pastor” in Christian Science. Come back every Tuesday and Thursday for fresh inspiration. Or get a free subscription to receive an inspirational message like this one every morning directly to your inbox by contacting me at lamolitercs@aol.com. A downloadable compilation of categorized messages is also available by request.

“The effects of Christian Science are not so much seen as felt. It is the ‘still, small voice’ of Truth uttering itself. We are either turning away from this utterance, or we are listening to it and going up higher.” (Science and Health, page 323)

Stop looking for evidence of God in matter and material circumstances. God’s saving, healing, loving presence is too large and lovely to confine to sense testimony. We limit His all-informing Love when we relegate His spiritual goodness to matter, to that which has nothing to do with His nature: pure and infinite Love.

The effects of our prayers and spiritual understanding are revealed to us through that gentle voice within, a feeling of well-being, peace, inspiration, goodness, and Truth. We are awake to this voice and it is speaking to us, to our hearts, with the good news and the assurance that heals, that can’t help but reveal that infinite good right where we are, in our bodies and our lives.

Don’t turn away from that voice. Don’t second-guess that feeling of Love’s promise that dawns upon thought and calms and assures and feels just right. Don’t negate that tender Truth felt within when the world wants to make you deny it. Stay loyal to the feeling, the still, small voice that came to you clearly and gave you peace. This is the effect of prayer and it is the very healing you seek. Know this. Trust it, and let yourself rest in the certainty that all is well.

This is today’s e-inspire. These messages are based on passages from the Bible and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy. These books are our “pastor” in Christian Science. Come back every Tuesday and Thursday for fresh inspiration. Or get a free subscription to receive an inspirational message like this one every morning directly to your inbox by contacting me at lamolitercs@aol.com. A downloadable compilation of categorized messages is also available by request.

“Father-Mother is the name for Deity, which indicates His tender relationship to His spiritual creation.” (Science and Health, page 332)

God, the One Principle which creates and governs reality, is all-powerful. But what is His nature and what is our connection to Him? How do we feel and know His presence, His comfort, His saving grace and right direction? How do we, in essence, relate to God?

Just as a child to his parents does. We are not responding to some Principle that enforces a law written in some corner of space far from our understanding and awareness. The name of the divine Governor, the author of the Law, is Father-Mother. This Deity relates to us as a Father to a child, as a Mother to her own offspring. Her laws are loving and protective. His enforcement is strong yet tender, present, clear.

God did not create His family and then abandon them. He remains as the Parent of His household, watching each one of His children as they learn, grow, play, explore, seek, and find. She is with Her children, mothering them into maturity and yet always remaining at hand to perpetually nurture, guide, and comfort.
Our God is Father-Mother-Love so our relationship with our Parent is unbroken, secure, tender, perfect, and permanent.

This is today’s e-inspire. These messages are based on passages from the Bible and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy. These books are our “pastor” in Christian Science. Come back every Tuesday and Thursday for fresh inspiration. Or get a free subscription to receive an inspirational message like this one every morning directly to your inbox by contacting me at lamolitercs@aol.com. A downloadable compilation of categorized messages is also available by request.