Resurrection of the Dead

But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.--Jesus Christ (Matthew 22)

In his teaching on immortality, Jesus explained that God knows nothing about death. If the principle of that which lives is Life, then it cannot know death. To suppose that Life knows death is to deny the Principle of Life(God).

"God is not the God of the dead, but of the living." Which means that all live unto him. Our experience of death is but the laying off of an old garment and the donning of a new one. The resurrected body is already formed within us and will be carried along when we pass from this place. God knows no decay or death, only Life.

Paul called death the last enemy to be destroyed. He believed death could be done away with. What is death but a greater claim which the soul makes upon the deathless principle of life? Physical death is occasioned by the inability of the soul to no longer function through this body, this form. It is a release which comes when the body is no longer a fit instrument for the functioning and expressive Spirit of God within us. The soul will never be limited and it instinctively knows its own freedom.

When both my parents died I grieved and I miss them even today. It is natural that we grieve, and it shouldn't be any other way, because the most beautiful thing in life is the personal love and friendship of the people we hold near in this life. In fact, this is the most Godlike attribute and expression of our human experience.

When I die from this body and place, my loved ones may grieve my absence for a short while but I hope that they will understand and quickly realize that I have passed on to a greater recognition of Life, Truth, and Beauty.

Abundant Life

Why go through life as though it were something to be endured, as though there were not enough good or joy to go around? Our thoughts, our attitude, often is the limiting factor in experiencing the possibility of more love and affection, of appreciation, and of the common everyday good things of life? If we really are in union with a Divine Source(God) then there should come a feeling of abundance in everything we do; an abundance of friendship, of self-expression, of everything. The abundant life contains all things whether we call them big or little.

I sense the flow into my consciousness of the Divine Intelligence, a feeling that the creative imagination of the whole Universe is centered in me and flows through me and everything. Everyday I consciously practice this more abundant life, not necessarily for any specific thing or good I desire, but for the realization of the All-Good flowing through everything and everyone. I attune my consciousness to this Divine abundance, automatically I find a betterment in everything I do, a broader and deeper experience, a higher realization, and a greater good.

Today and everyday I expect a more abundant life. I am keeping my whole mind and thought and expectation open to new experiences, to happier events, to a more complete self-expression. Giving out more love, I expect greater love in return. Sharing with others whatever good things I have, I expect all life to share with me the good that it possesses. Seeing beauty everywhere, I expect a revelation of still more beauty. Seeing joy in everything, I expect more laughter, happiness and greater joy. More deeply sensing the Divine tranquility in which all things exist, I expect a deeper consciousness of peace and security. Through it all I feel that I am in the embrace of a warm, loving Presence forever seeking greater expression through my life and the life of those I hold near.

Nonviolence

Gandhi built his whole philosophy of life around the theory of nonresistance and nonviolence. An ancient Chinese sage said that all things are possible to the person who can perfectly practice inaction. And my wife says that I am lazy when I am actually perfectly practicing inaction. And the Bible also exclaims: "Be still, and know that I am God." I believe there is a spiritual consciousness that, through the power of nonresistance, can change a condition that appears solid. To illustrate, think of an iceberg. When the sun's rays daily fall on it, it will dissolve. Such is the power of nonviolence.

There is Life, Energy, a Presence flowing in, around, and through all things that nothing can resist. Unfortunately, our way is the way of resistance, instead we try to change the outer without changing the inner first.

Today I practice nonresistance. I disregard everything that seems to contradict the Reality in which I believe, affirm and accept. As I believe, affirm and accept that God resolutely turns me from everything that denies the good I wish to experience. There is no situation or condition that resists this transcendent thought; for I proclaim this day the omnipotence of God, the guidance of the Mind of God that knows all things, and the Peace that is beyond every confusion in life.

Intelligence

From the Mind of God comes Intelligence that is in everything. From the smallest atom to whatever we think of as big, this Intelligence must of necessity respond to us on many levels. However, It can only respond to us at the level of our belief in, knowledge of, feeling about, acceptance and embodiment of, and identification with It. In other words, God is all there is, but to each of us individually, the God that is all there is must be the only Reality we believe in and accept.

There is but One Life present everywhere and that Life is God. I am in that Life, and of it, and It flows through me. I accept the Omnipresence of this Life as something real, definite, immediate. At the very center of my own being I realize this Divine Presence. At the center of my own consciousness I recognize a transcendent Principle forever animating, sustaining, vitalizing, re-creating, guiding, directing, inspiring. There is something within me that which knows what to do and impels me to act in accord with its perfect Law and Order and its complete Peace. I accept this Omnipresence as being alive and awake and aware within me.

And behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest.--Genesis 18:15

Power of the Word

The universe seems beyond our comprehension. The slightest fact in nature is a miracle we cannot fully explain or perform. I recognize that there is a way to work with the spiritual law of the universe. We may rely upon It, for It will not fail us. We must come not only to believe and accept, but also to know that we are one with the living Spirit, that God is all there is.

Our word, being the presence and the power and the activity of God's Spirit, activates the Law of Mind, which cannot fail to operate. Let us feel that there is something permanent about the word we have spoken. Just as we plant a seed and walk away from it, nature takes it up, and the law of its own being evolves it, so let us believe the same thing about our word--something takes it up, something evolves it, and it will manifest.

"So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void." I affirm that it is the word of Truth establishing harmony as my experience. With utmost simplicity I accept and believe in the answer to my own prayer because it is a prayer of acceptance. There is an Intelligence, a Divine Presence operating in and through my life, guiding, directing, governing, bringing me good.

He that doeth truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.--John 3:21

Identity

"Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword.
For I have come to 'set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law and a man's enemies will be those of his own household." (Matthew 10:34-36)--Jesus

I affirm that the Divine Presence is in and through all things, all people, and all events. There is one intelligent Law governing all things. We live in this Divine Presence but we usually do not identify with this One Life. We tend to identify in this life with what we do for a living or who we think we are in our role in our families. When we identify our life with what we do as a profession such as teaacher, banker, lawyer, doctor, etc., our true identity with the Divine Presence is diminished. When we identify ourselves only in the role as father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, mother-in-law, etc., it clouds our true reality and our true identity. I believe Jesus is expressing a great truth and hoping that we all realize that we are individualized expressions of the One Life(God). There is nothing else. There is no other identity we should consciously hold in our mind and thoughts. Most of us have great difficulty letting go of the human attachments and roles we have in our earthy existence. Jesus identified everything with "my heavenly father" not with the human drama unfolding around him and he was misundertood by his own family, his followers and the Jews of that day who hated him with great passion. So his own words became a self fullfiling prophecy in his own life.

Today as I pray, I am identifying myself, everyone else, and everything I do with the Divine Presence of God. I am not trying to influence people. I am not holding to thoughts to make things happen. Rather, I am still, knowing that God is over all, in all, and through all. There is nothing else to identify with but this One Life. Through my affirmations I am watching, expecting, and knowing that there will be a reaction through whatever I identify with my word. Therefore, I am at ease; I am at peace. I affirm the Divine Presence and Its manifestations as happiness, joy, health, prosperity, and well-being for myself and everyone that I meet or enters my thoughts.

We dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.--1 John 4:13

The Giver

There can be no real gift unless the giver goes with it. Giving includes more than the giving of money or things, it includes the giving of service or whatever we have to others, but always the gift and the giver must go hand in hand. The surrender of everything we have and everything we are into the joy of its own self-expression. This is the way that God gives. This is the way we should give.

Today and every day it is my desire that what Life has given to me so abundantly shall be shared with others. I desire to share this realization of the indwelling Presence with everyone. In this consciousness I say, Bless you my family, my friends. I desire for you health, happiness, and success. I desire for you love, peace, great joy, wealth and prosperity.

Acceptance

When I pray in the affirmative there is always an affirmation of acceptance that the result I desire is achieved. It is done. This is not just willing something, concentrating, visualizing, coercing, wishing or compelling something to happen. It is, rather, a quiet inward acceptance, an affirmation of my conviction, based on my deeply held belief that there is spiritual Perfection at the center of all things in the universe and that there is a fundamental Good governing all things.

I believe there is One Life, that Life is God, that Life is mine also. Consciously, I identify my self with It, I affirm the One Presence and the One Power operating in, around, and through me. Anything that denies the supremacy of Good(God) is itself but a mistake in judgement or simply an illusion of my mind. As I come to open up my thought to a greater acknowledgement and acceptance of the Divinity that resides within me, I find myself on the pathway to achieving the purpose for which I was created: to express the nature of God, the Source of my being.

Today I accept my own affirmations. There is nothing in me that can contradict them. I have a deep inward sense, feeling, conviction, and complete faith that there is a Power of Good governing everything; that It is governing completely, with absolute certainty, without deviation, without exception and that there is nothing to oppose It, to change It, to limit or circumscribe Its action. I abandon myself to this faith, live in Its atmosphere, and accept Its conclusion.

I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.--Genesis 17:1

Affirmative Prayer

I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also.--1Corinthians 14:15

I believe in the power of affirmative prayer. I finally realize that affirmative prayer is a dynamic force in my life that cannot always be explained. I believe that there is a Power greater than myself that desires good for me and all things, and a Law of Mind that all creation uses for definite purposes. I believe that while my belief in this Law is personal, the Law itself is impersonal and acts upon our thought, faith and acceptance, regardless of who we are.

Today I affirm the All-Good and Allness of God. I know that my word, being acted upon by a Power greater than I am, is sure to accomplish its purpose in me and for me. Therefore, I find peace, joy, love, happiness and an inward tranquility in my own acceptance. Knowing that the Law of God is perfect, I know that my word is certain. My faith is complete; my affirmation cannot be denied. Living in this continued acceptance, finding security in this complete trust, in gratitude I accept every good and perfect thing Life has to offer and in love I share it with all.

God is One

"Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord."

This is a statement of the unity of all life. Einstein believed in one physical law that comprehends, coordinates, and synthesizes all physical laws. This, from the greatest mathematician of modern times, philosophically and spiritually viewed, is no different from saying that there must be one Mind, one Power, one Spirit and one true Reality in the universe flowing in and through all things and governing all things. This is what I mean when I say that God is all there is, period.

Science, logic, mathematics, reason, inspiration and revelation are all on the side of the one who boldly proclaims the Allness of God. There is no opposite and good cannot be denied.

Today I affirm the supremacy of Good(God) and everything within me responds to this thought, understands Its meaning, and announces Its presence. This Power flows through me into everything I do and think, automatically making everything whole. There is a Transcendance coordinating, unifying, causing all the experience of my life to blend into Its unity, into Its oneness, and proclaiming the power of Its might. As a child accepts life without question and love without argument and action without anxiety, so do I spontaneously accept the operation of this Power as the Divine Influence and Controling Force of everything I do, The Divine Provider of all my needs, and the Divine Presence diffused through all my thinking.

Faith, Affirmation & Acceptance

A prayer of affirmation, a prayer of faith, once spoken and completely accepted, is then acted upon by the Law of Mind(God), and the effect or result is independent of the person who has made the prayer. In order to understand more clearly this concept, take a simple fact in nature. We bury an acorn in the ground and walk away from it knowing that someday an oak tree will grow. In the same way our word is acted upon creatively by this same Intelligence, or Law, which knows how to create the form the word implies.

There is reason to believe that there is this creative Law that acts upon our acceptance. This Law already is equipped with the know-how to do what we accept It is doing. It is the same Law that has governed all prayers of faith throughout the ages and brought about the results that have always been looked upon as miracles. They are miracles in the sense that it is a miracle for an egg to hatch or a human baby to be conceived and born. Faith, affirmation, and acceptance are acted upon by this creative Intelligence that comes from the Mind of God.

Today I have faith in my own affirmations. I know that there is a Power flowing through me, taking the form of my belief, acting upon my acceptance, answering my prayer, and fulfilling my affirmation. Therefore, I am calling upon myself for a deeper faith, a broader conviction, a higher acceptance, and a more complete realization. I affirm that every good and perfect thing I do this day will prosper, every person I meet or comes to mind will be blessed, every situation I touch will be helped by my faith and acceptance. I know that this day only good and perfect love, peace, joy and happiness, good health, wealth and prosperity are mine and are made manifest in everything I do.

I Am Grateful

I begin every day by feeling grateful. I am grateful for the bed I just slept in, the roof over my head, the carpet and floor under my feet, the running water, the soap, my shower, my toothbrush, my clothes, my shoes, the refrigerator that keeps my food cold, the vehicle I drive, my job, my family and friends. I am grateful for the stores that make it so easy to buy the things I need, the restaurants, the utilities, services, and electrical appliances that make my life effortless. I am grateful for the chair that I sit on, and the pavement I walk on. I am grateful for the weather, the sun, the sky, the birds, the trees, the grass, the rain, and the flowers.

I am Thankful!