Resist Distraction

 

JULY 13, 2016
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THE BIBLE

 

PSALMS

 

37:5  Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him;

6  And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.

7  Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him:

8  Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.

9  For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.

 

ISAIAH

 

40:31 … they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

25:8  He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces;

9  ¶And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.

26:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

26:4  Trust ye in the Lord for ever:

 

DEUTERONOMY

 

4:7  … what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for?

8  And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?

9  Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life:

11:13 … hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the Lord your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul,

16  Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them;

PROVERBS

 

4:13 Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life.

14 ¶Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men.

18 The way of the wicked is as darkness:

17 But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.

19 ¶My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.

20 Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.

21 For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.

20:22 … wait on the Lord, and he shall save thee.

 

LUKE

 

11:34  The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness.

35  Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness.

21:31 … know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.

34  ¶… take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.

36   Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

 

MATTHEW

 

26:36 Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder.

39 And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.

40  And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?

41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

42  He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.

43 And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy.

44 And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.

45 Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.

 

MARK

 

13:31  Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.

32  ¶But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.

33  Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.

34  For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.

35  Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:

36  Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.

37  … what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.

 

REVELATION

 

1:3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

2:7  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

3:3 Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.

8  I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.

10  Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.

21:7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

 

I THESSALONIANS

 

5:17 Pray without ceasing.

21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.

 

II CORINTHIANS

 

7:35 … attend upon the Lord without distraction.

 

SCIENCE & HEALTH WITH KEY TO THE SCRIPTURES

BY MARY BAKER EDDY

 

SH 392:24-27 Stand

Stand porter at the door of thought. Admitting only such conclusions as you wish realized in bodily results, you will control yourself harmoniously.

 

SH 495:14-16 cling

… cling steadfastly to God and His idea. Allow nothing but His likeness to abide in your thought.

 

SH 261:4

Hold thought steadfastly to the enduring, the good, and the true, and you will bring these into your experience proportionably to their occupancy of your thoughts.

 

SH 22:11-14

“Work out your own salvation,” is the demand of Life and Love, for to this end God worketh with you. “Occupy till I come!” Wait for your reward, and “be not weary in well doing.”

 

SH 253:32-8

The divine demand, “Be ye therefore perfect,” is scientific, and the human footsteps leading to perfection are indispensable. Individuals are consistent who, watching and praying, can “run, and not be weary; . . . walk, and not faint,” who gain good rapidly and hold their position, or attain slowly and yield not to discouragement. God requires perfection, but not until the battle between Spirit and flesh is fought and the victory won.

 

SH 254:10-12

When we wait patiently on God and seek Truth righteously, He directs our path.

 

SH 496:6 in

… in Christian Science the first duty is to obey God, to have one Mind, and to love another as yourself.

 

SH 323:28-31

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.

 

SH 207:9

We must learn that evil is the awful deception and unreality of existence. Evil is not supreme; good is not helpless; nor are the so-called laws of matter primary, and the law of Spirit secondary. Without this lesson, we lose sight of the perfect Father, or the divine Principle of man.

 

SH 311:14-19

Through false estimates of soul as dwelling in sense and of mind as dwelling in matter, belief strays into a sense of temporary loss or absence of soul, spiritual truth. This state of error is the mortal dream of life and substance as existent in matter, and is directly opposite to the immortal reality of being.

 

SH 47:31

During his night of gloom and glory in the garden, Jesus realized the utter error of a belief in any possible material intelligence. The pangs of neglect and the
staves of bigoted ignorance smote him sorely. His students slept. He said unto them: “Could ye not watch with me one hour?” Could they not watch with him who, waiting and struggling in voiceless agony, held uncomplaining guard over a world? There was no response to that human yearning, and so Jesus turned forever away from earth to heaven, from sense to Soul.

 

SH 9:32

Consistent prayer is the desire to do right. Prayer means that we desire to walk and will walk in the light so far as we receive it, even though with bleeding footsteps, and that waiting patiently on the Lord, we will leave our real desires to be rewarded by Him.

 

SH 218:27-2

The Scriptures say, “They that wait upon the Lord . . . shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” The meaning of that passage is not perverted by applying it literally to moments of fatigue, for the moral and physical are as one in their results. When we wake to the truth of being, all disease, pain, weakness, weariness, sorrow, sin, death, will be unknown, and the mortal dream will forever cease.

 

SH 496:15

Hold perpetually this thought, — that it is the spiritual idea, the Holy Ghost and Christ, which enables you to demonstrate, with scientific certainty, the rule of healing, based upon its divine Principle, Love, underlying, overlying, and encompassing all true being.

 

SH 571:15-18, 12 (only) listen (to ,)

At all times and under all circumstances, overcome evil with good. Know thyself, and God will supply the wisdom and the occasion for a victory over evil.

… listen and be wise. Escape from evil,…

 

SH 263:7-10

When mortal man blends his thoughts of existence with the spiritual and works only as God works, he will no longer grope in the dark and cling to earth because he has not tasted heaven.

 

PUBLICATIONS QUOTATION

A quietness of the heart – hearing God’s Word in an “age of distraction”

By William E. Moody

Christian Science Sentinel

March 23, 1987

 

During the lifetime of the average Puritan in seventeenth-century colonial New England, each man and woman listened to “more than 7,000 sermons requiring some 15,000 hours of concentrated attention.”

The people were hungry to be assured of God’s will and purpose. They were struggling to survive, and they knew God would have to be at the center of whatever life they might hope to carve out of the wilderness. Frivolous distractions to the mind and spirit were few.

Today, of course, it’s a different story. Ours seems to be an age of a constant seeking after entertainment, amusement, recreation—an age of distraction. For many, their daily lives have little or no connection with God. There is so much “noise” bombarding the senses that the world hardly ever seems quiet enough to listen for God’s message.

Is there a way to challenge this distraction, to find a stillness and inner peace in spite of the world’s clamoring for our attention?

Perhaps an important element in finding the quietness we need has to do with a virtue that might sound a little old-fashioned today. It’s discipline. When we are confronted over and over with diversions that provide no real nourishment for spiritual development, we need to be disciplined enough to turn away from the distraction and to make our own opportunities to pray, to study the Bible, to rejoice in God’s goodness.

The actual meaning of life—of our own lives here and now—can only be found in God and His will for us. That’s why it’s so important to hear God’s message. That’s why it’s so important to be still, to pray, and to listen.

 

“Prepared and Waiting”

By Carl L. Newell

Christian Science Sentinel

May 25, 1940

 

The Christian Science Reading Rooms, maintained by The Mother Church, and by branch churches throughout the world, might well be likened to places where veritable feasts are prepared and waiting for invited guests to partake, to enjoy, and to benefit therefrom.

 

Here he will find the truth about God, and about man as His idea and perfect reflection, which will solve any problem for which he may need to find the solution.

One might be invited to a sumptuous banquet for which every available delicacy had been provided, but to become a participant in it, or a recipient of its benefits, one must needs go to the feast. This is a very important factor: if one would reap the benefit of the Reading Rooms, one must make use of them.

Many find this the one place where they may study without interruption, without distraction.

The arguments of mortal mind which arise to prevent the use of the Reading Room are not unlike those put forth in one of Jesus’ parables. It will be recalled how Jesus told of the preparations for a great supper and of the inviting of many, “and they all … began to make excuse.” How many times have students of Christian Science, church members, planned to spend some time each day in communion with God, either at home or in a Reading Room, but soon thereafter have begun mentally “to make excuse.” All sorts of reasons for not carrying out the original plan for study and quiet meditation may present themselves. Thought should therefore be alert to recognize and reject the erroneous suggestions.

In the quiet of the Reading Room one may contribute to its purpose by rendering homage to God, mentally expressing gratitude for present blessings. Then will be fulfilled the promise, as voiced by the prophet, “Prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”