Being Free Now

“Bow down and worship the Lord our Creator! The Lord is our God, and we are his people, the sheep he takes care of in his own pasture. Listen to God’s voice today!” (Psalms 95: 6-7, Contemporary English Version)

Try to take on the mindset of a sheep. Get into that humble place of trust and obedience. You are in a pasture that is perfect for your sustenance as well as for your exercise, your healthy growth, your play. And you are not alone in this place. You know that there is a Shepherd, and when He calls to you, you hear His voice above all else. You know His job is to protect you and lead you, and so you listen and follow. Naturally.

We dwell in God’s own pasture. This is where He cares for us—in this gentle and perfect place of His own Mind, this secret place which is also large and lovely. We can’t wander out of His pasture into a dangerous place. Nor do we at any time possess that pasture, own its assets, or have the power to either make it more beautiful or to mess up its fruitfulness and comfort.

The pasture belongs to God and yet it is ours to enjoy freely. This pasture is Life, and God is Life. You roam without limits and yet safe in God’s Life. He is in control of this Life-pasture. He keeps it full of what is healthy and good and pleasing and wise for our care. Listen for God’s voice today. Hear your Shepherd telling you that you are safe, that you are cared for, that you are the little sheep that trust and obeys easily because you know so well that you are perfectly loved.

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.

“Neither sympathy nor society should ever tempt us to cherish error in any form, and certainly we should not be error’s advocate.” (Science and Health, page 153)

What are we cherishing and why? Are we coming to hold to and care for the great Truth of God, good, or are we cherishing some form of safety in numbers, following the flow of the world even if we don’t feel confidence in its way of thinking and acting?

Watch out for temptation. We, just like Jesus, are receiving the news daily of our holy heritage, of God’s own love for us and His own perfect control and care for all. Those temptations to an easier life, a more powerful life, a merely material experience, did not cause Jesus to change his devotion or to move off his own best understanding of Life, of God, or his firm trust in the ever-presence of spiritual Truth.

We can and must be as strong in our faith, our confidence in what we know to be right and true and healing. If we do adore this Truth of Life as Love, as God, then we can’t allow ourselves to be hypocrites, thinking one thing in our hearts, but changing our words or behavior to satisfy society, or to gain or give sympathy to that which we have no desire to experience and don’t really trust. It may seem alluring to join error’s team, to sympathize with trouble and fear and danger and anger. But if this is what we cherish, then this is what we experience for it is what our thoughts hold dear. On the other hand, if we are cherishing Truth, Life, Love, the good and enduring and true, we will experience a life full of God’s intention and one that not only feels healing to us, but heals others as 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.

“The discoverer of Christian Science finds the path less difficult when she has the high goal always before her thoughts, than when she counts her footsteps in endeavoring to reach it. When the destination is desirable, expectation speeds our progress.” (Science and Health, page 426)

The marginal heading on this paragraph in our textbook reads “Our footsteps heavenward.” We are being encouraged to know that we are ascending, not merely moving forward humanly. Our work and prayer and spiritual growth is not about a human process of achievement. It is an upward way to understanding of reality.

While this passage surely applies to any human endeavor we may aspire to, the high goal is never to attain personal success; for with a sense of mere human accomplishment as our aim our movement will not be toward heaven, but remain earthbound, limited. Personal wealth, fame, or self-centered attainments are never going to be a high goal, a holy one. These are worldly allurements, which are not the desirable destinations to which our leader refers.

Our progress is sped by focusing on the goal of spiritual awareness, of an expanded vision of life. We should see that what we seek is the mount of revelation, not some particular human goal. God’s inspiration and the possibilities this brings for our human experience are not nearly so limited. The vision from the mount, from a more exalted, spiritual viewpoint, always reveals the true destination and gets us there more directly, more wisely, and with more real and deep satisfaction and peace, and blessings for us and for 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.

“Pilgrim on earth, thy home is heaven; stranger, thou art the guest of God.” (Science and Health, page 254)

A pilgrim is one who travels and wanders in a foreign land, traversing strange ground. He is also defined as one who journeys to a sacred place as an act of religious devotion. It seems some times that we feel unmoored and out of our comfort zone, merely wandering without a sense of where or how to get there. At other times we are feeling that every step is leading us to that holy place and that we walk with intention.

Whether we are a purposeful pilgrim or a confused and frightened one does not change the welcome, the hospitality, the understanding that comes of being God’s guest. No matter whether we feel we have lost sight of our promised land or stopped believing it exists, we are still traversing God’s fertile plain, where new ideas are ready to spring up, where landmarks will come into view and lead us back onto our path.

And when we feel we are focused on the goal, to reach with pure motive, that full understanding and demonstration of Life as Love, we are not alone or comfortless in that mission. For that heavenly home is not a destination, but is the very place in which we are now journeying, the holy ground on which we stand.

Take heart. God does not see a wanderer or a far-off traveler. He sees His own child always with Him, always in His Life, and never a stranger to His approving, assuring, guiding light of 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.

“And in that day thou shalt say, O Lord, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me.” (Isaiah 12: 1)

God does not hold a grudge. The anger that we may feel He has for us over certain behavior and circumstances in our lives, does not sit on us like a curse. God is not like that. He is sustained Love. He is not subject to the whims of human emotion and reaction. He is the divine Principle that stands firmly as Truth, Life, and Love.

We may feel at times that we have disappointed Him and so we are suffering. But we have only strayed from what is His highest ideal, what He caused us to be, and because we are not being ourselves, it feels uncomfortable, like punishment, like we have riled God’s wrath. But we can never truly be anything or anyone but who we are. God knows this. His comfort toward us for our mistaken belief about ourselves is ever at the ready. Love is always His activity and intention.

So, let’s do see that clinging in thought to the mistakes of our past as well as self-judgment for ignorance in this moment, are the only things that are damning us to hell. God is ready to show us that children are here to learn right from wrong, through trial and error at times, and that it doesn’t make the Mother-Father love us any less. Her child is always worthy of a comforting and cleansing embrace, a second chance to know and prove his true goodness and the joy and peace that brings.

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 I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8: 38-39)

To be persuaded is to be convinced by way of an appeal to reason or understanding. It is a response to an entreaty to believe. Paul, the author of this quote, was not an immediate believer by any means. He did not come into his Christianity and healing work by way of an easy and ignorant faith. He needed to have the understanding, needed to have every reason to believe in what he came to see was a vital force for good in the world.

The Christ message and its light did not fail to bring about a conviction in Paul, just as it must in us. It must become clear and inarguable to us that separation from God is not only something we strive to overcome, but that which is utterly impossible. Paul’s persuasion didn’t come through human argument or material methods of reasoning. He knew that the Love of God was always with him and in him, by means of divine revelation. Mary Baker Eddy refers to this compelling force as “Science…a law of divine Mind, a persuasive animus.” (Miscellany 3: 15)

This animus, this animating spirit, purpose, and intention is the Truth acting upon us and for us. It is that divine impetus that moves us to know in our hearts that what Paul says to the Romans is true for us. We are persuaded by God Himself, by the honest Truth, that He is always with us and that nothing, no matter how evil or dark or aggressive, can separate us from Him and His faithful, tender, perfect 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.

“All that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine.” (I Chronicles 29: 11)

Everything is God’s own creation. There is nothing that came from outside His thought, that has drifted out of His care, or that has lost His qualities and loving intention. All belongs to God, to Truth, to Spirit. He governs everything there is, and the earth is as blessed as His heaven, the limitless reality.

The earth is simply a limited perception of heaven. This world still belongs to God, since He governs all. God sees all clearly as the ideal concept that He created, and He keeps this perfect idea in His Mind. His Love owns and embraces every detail of what seems to the human senses to be a material experience, consisting of an imperfect creation. The flawed, limited human viewpoint never changes the fact that all God created was and is perfect. This earth simply must be as glorious and good as His concept of heaven would be. His presence is everywhere, so it is in the seeming physical as much as the actual, the spiritually absolute and real.

Let’s not try to take ownership of the earth, of our human experience, or of our bodies. They belong to the only One Who is absolutely clear about His creation, Who sees through that mist of sense to the reality of His perfect idea. God is in the here and now. He is the very substance of His own expression, and that expression is everywhere and at all times. We can accept the glory of this earth and man in it, for we belong to God, and God has made only what is right, loving, and good. Heaven and earth are one, and that one is God, good.

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.

“He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye.” (Deuteronomy 32: 10)

God’s love finds us wherever we are. He is with us in the wilderness, in those times that feel confusing, dark, and lonely. We are never without His eye upon us and His arms around us. We are not small and unworthy or too far off for God to see or to tenderly care for. We are always the very apple of his eye, the center of His thought and the very focus of His sight.

You are never lost from Him, from the direct gaze and immediate help of God’s Love and His wise guidance. God brought the children of Israel out of the desert of limit and fear and into the knowledge of their heritage as the very sons and daughters of God. We, too, are His beloved children, never far from His heart and the very expression and object of His perfect Love.

The wilderness cannot hold us captive when we are in God. He fills the place of doubt and fear with the calm, confidence of His loving presence and holy purpose. The desert land is not dry and dull and fruitless with God in it. His wisdom instructs us, opens our eyes to see the abundant garden of promise, one that we are capable of faithfully tending and causing to grow and blossom.

You are the apple are His eye. You are the pupil in His eye and the pupil of His instruction. You will never be lost in the dark or lost in ignorance. God sees you clearly and loves you dearly, always, perfectly, and now.

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.

“Thou shalt increase my greatness, and comfort me on every side.” (Psalms 71: 21)

We are made to succeed. God has caused us to flourish and continues always to lead us to our best selves, our most perfect, satisfying, and productive lives. This ever-present divine Love is constantly lifting us up to a clearer awareness of our greatness, our real gloriousness and worthiness in the eyes of God. We can accept this, our true nature, and by doing so bless the world with our goodness and light.

This spiritual success and its expression in our life and work, does not leave us then to fend for ourselves. We may realize our true stature and all that we have to give, and people may respond to our qualities and our pure motives. This does not mean that we are now taking over for God, or that we are left to suffer and be burdened for our goodness and success, like some martyr. As the psalmist knew, we get to be comforted “on every side.”

You never fail to be surrounded by the very things that keep you feeling safe and at peace. Greatness, spiritual understanding and power, may put us on the front lines, but we have God before us and behind us and beside us. We are in a mighty company, and we will always have that protection, that reliance. It isn’t up to us to go it alone. We may at times feel misunderstood or that our purpose makes us both attractive to others as well as a target. But we can’t forget that a comfort is ours at all times and under all circumstances. This is the Christ, the Comforter that revealed our glory to us to begin with. This same tender Love is still here to show us that we are always cared for, supported, blessed, and beloved.

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.

“It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes. The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver.” (Psalms 119: 71-72)

The afflictions of material life serve a purpose. While God doesn’t give them to us, each time we are challenged or tempted, we have a new opportunity to become even more well acquainted with God’s statutes, the answer and resolution that only comes through divine law. God has a remedy for every affliction in His loving law of Life, and these answers are more than just quick fixes. They are riches that uplift, renew, and continue to give.

The psalmist knew just as Paul later did as well, that fleshly troubles were stepping stones to a higher understanding of God and our reliance on Him, on the infinite good. Each of His statutes is applicable to the errors and trials that would confront us and try to lure us away from our grateful peace. We truly learn and fully appreciate these truths and their power when we put them to use in our lives. Thus our afflictions become a testing ground for God’s laws, for the Science that relies on one God and love for one another, those two great commandments Jesus gave us.

And this understanding gained and put into practice is our treasure. As we overcome these temptations to believe in other gods and powers and purposes, we are able to see Soul’s bounty before us, in us, and in others. Our increased devotion to God is an expansion in blessings, for we are claiming our true inheritance, knowing ourselves to be children of God and gratefully obedient to His cleansing, healing, saving law of 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.