WEDNESDAY EVENING READINGS JULY 11, 2012 “CHILDLIKE RECEPTIVITY” THE BIBLE

PSALMS

25:2 O my God, I trust in thee: 5 Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day. 143:10 Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.

PROVERBS

4:1 Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding. 2 For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law. 7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.

10 Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many.

I SAMUEL

3:2 … it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see; 4 That the Lord called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I. 5 And he ran unto Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he said, I called not; lie down again. And he went and lay down.

6 And the Lord called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And he answered, I called not, my son; lie down again. 8 And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the Lord had called the child.

9 Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 10 And the Lord came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.

LUKE

2:40 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him. 42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast.

43 And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. 44 But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day’s journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance.

45 And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. 46 And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions.

47 And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers. 48 And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. 49 And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?

MATTHEW

18:1 … At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? 2 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, 3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. 9:27 And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed him, crying, and saying, Thou Son of David, have mercy on us.

28 And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? 29 They said unto him, Yea, Lord. 30 Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you.

31 And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straitly charged them, saying, See that no man know it. 32 But they, when they were departed, spread abroad his fame in all that country.

LUKE

18:15 And they brought unto him also infants, that he would touch them: but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them.

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16 But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. 17 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.

10:1 After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come. 17 ¶And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.

II TIMOTHY

3:14… continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; 15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

PSALMS

34:11 Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

I JOHN

4:16 God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.

SCIENCE & HEALTH WITH KEY TO THE SCRIPTURES BY MARY BAKER EDDY

SH 582:28-29 children. The spiritual thoughts and representatives of Life, Truth, and Love.

SH 236:28-10

Jesus loved little children because of their freedom from wrong and their receptiveness of right. While age is halting between two opinions or battling with false beliefs, youth makes easy and rapid strides towards Truth. A little girl, who had occasionally listened to my explanations, badly wounded her finger. She seemed not to notice it. On being questioned about it she answered ingenuously, “There is no sensation in matter.” Bounding off with laughing eyes, she presently added, “Mamma, my finger is not a bit sore.” It might have been months or years before her parents would have laid aside their drugs, or reached the mental height their little daughter so naturally attained.

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SH 130:20

Laboring long to shake the adult’s faith in matter and to inculcate a grain of faith in God, — an inkling of the ability of Spirit to make the body harmonious, — the author has often remembered our Master’s love for little children, and understood how truly such as they belong to the heavenly kingdom.

SH 382:19

A patient thoroughly booked in medical theories is more difficult to heal through Mind than one who is not. This verifies the saying of our Master: “Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, shall in no wise enter therein.”

SH 359:20

From Puritan parents, the discoverer of Christian Science early received her religious education. In childhood, she often listened with joy to these words, falling from the lips of her saintly mother, “God is able to raise you up from sickness;” and she pondered the meaning of that Scripture she so often quotes: “And these signs shall follow them that believe; . . . they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.”

SH 412:13

The power of Christian Science and divine Love is omnipotent. It is indeed adequate to unclasp the hold and to destroy disease, sin, and death. To prevent disease or to cure it, the power of Truth, of divine Spirit, must break the dream of the material senses. To heal by argument, find the type of the ailment, get its name, and array your mental plea against the physical. Argue at first mentally, not audibly, that the patient has no disease, and conform the argument so as to destroy the evidence of disease. Mentally insist that harmony is the fact, and that sickness is a temporal dream. Realize the presence of health and the fact of harmonious being, until the body corresponds with the normal conditions of health and harmony.

SH 154:16-21, 24

If a child is exposed to contagion or infection, the mother is frightened and says, “My child will be sick.” The law of mortal mind and her own fears govern her child more than the child’s mind governs itself, and they produce the very results which might have been prevented through the opposite understanding.

That mother is not a Christian Scientist, and her affections need better guidance, who says to her child: “You look sick,” “You look tired,” “You need rest,” or “You need medicine.”

SH 412:28-2

If the case is that of a young child or an infant, it needs to be met mainly through the parent’s thought, silently or audibly on the aforesaid basis of Christian Science. The Scientist knows that there can be no hereditary disease, since

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matter is not intelligent and cannot transmit good or evil intelligence to man, and God, the only Mind, does not produce pain in matter.

SH 413:7

Mind regulates the condition of the stomach, bowels, and food, the temperature of children and of men, and matter does not. The wise or unwise views of parents and other persons on these subjects produce good or bad effects on the health of children.

SH 27:22

Jesus sent forth seventy students at one time, but only eleven left a desirable historic record. Tradition credits him with two or three hundred other disciples who have left no name. “Many are called, but few are chosen.” They fell away from grace because they never truly understood their Master’s instruction.

SH 358:19

Why are the words of Jesus more frequently cited for our instruction than are his remarkable works? Is it not because there are few who have gained a true knowledge of the great import to Christianity of those works?

SH 323:28

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. Willingness to become as a little child and to leave the old for the new, renders thought receptive of the advanced idea. Gladness to leave the false landmarks and joy to see them disappear, — this disposition helps to precipitate the ultimate harmony. The purification of sense and self is a proof of progress. “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.”

SH 333:19-23

Throughout all generations both before and after the Christian era, the Christ, as the spiritual idea, — the reflection of God, — has come with some measure of power and grace to all prepared to receive Christ, Truth.

SH 6:17-18

“God is Love.” More than this we cannot ask, higher we cannot look, farther we cannot go.

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PUBLICATIONS QUOTATION

“Receptivity” By Gordon V. Comer The Christian Science Sentinel January 28, 1956

“The student of Christian Science recognizes his need for greater receptivity to the Christ, Truth. He sees that as he actually accepts the Christ as his own true nature and being, he embraces reality, and step by step all that is unreal will cease to influence him. When error is deprived of its false claim to place, power, or influence, it can no longer manifest itself either as a bodily condition, or as any other material thing or experience.

“When two blind men asked Jesus to have mercy and to heal them, he asked if they believed that he was able to do the work. After they had said they believed, they were healed, and Jesus said that it was their faith, which had made them whole.

“In this experience is it not evident that their thoughts were opened to the power and presence of the Christ, which dispels the darkness of error? Jesus recognized this truth; and as the blind men responded, they saw for themselves the power of the Word made manifest in their healing.

“At the instant of absolute acceptance, the light of Truth dispels the darkness of error. The error does not need to be treated to get out, nor does the light of Truth need to be pleaded with to come in. The acknowledgment of the presence of the Christ awakens consciousness to ever-present reality, in which there is no discord.”

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