There
have been visionaries throughout history who have called us to go
beyond the materiality of religion and to lift our mind to the
Spirit. Although their teachings have been woven through
religious theology, seldom has religion gone beyond a primitive
understanding of the profound truths that the prophets revealed.
Before the Master Mind Jesus broke away from religion and religious
dogma in his teachings, seven hundred years before him Isaiah did so
similarly. We can read the strength of Isaiah's conviction in
these words: "The
Lord says: These people come near to me with their mouth and
honor me with their lips, but
their hearts are far from me.
Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men."
- Isaiah
29:13, The Holy Bible (NIV)
So
much of what holds us to lack and limitation can be traced back to the
man-made religious dogma that is assumed as truth in the collective
consciousness (race mind). There is no reward for false
humility, poverty or giving of our services free, even to a church or
temple, while we struggle with finances. Tithing is a gift that
we give from our abundance not from our lack and to give a tithe to a
church or temple while the electric company cuts off your electricity
is not going to be rewarded by the Intelligence of G-d. There is
no G-d of lack and limitation, G-d for lack of a better word, is
Intelligence first, Power always and Spirit (Mind).
G-d is not concerned about who we have sex with or don't have sex with
nor is G-d concerned about the color of our skin or the language that
we speak or whether we are illegal or legal, in this world or the
next: "For the LORD sees not as man sees:
man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart."
We know that the heart
represents the soul; consciousness, which is everything. The
judgments of appearances is the foolishness of an undeveloped
consciousness. The Master Mind Jesus taught this throughout his
ministry to the multitudes that would listen to him, but like those
who were present in Jesus' time, so many in religion have failed to
grasp this simple spiritual principle.
"If we can become aware that, right
now, we are living in a universe that is spiritual, with pure
Consciousness at its center, and that such a universe would have to be
governed by this Intelligence acting as Law; and if we can realize
that we are individualized points of consciousness in this One Power,
then we can see that each one has an intimate and personal
relationship with both the infinite Presence which flows through all
things and the universal Law through which all things are manifest.
This is a basic idea which we are going to use. It means that
each of us may control our experience to a degree beyond all present
expectations, and do so entirely in accord with law in the spiritual
world. For it is the action of thought in the spiritual or
mental world which governs our experience in the physical world,
whether it be our bodies or our affairs." -
Ernest Holmes, A New Design for Living
Faith begins with a thought. Thought puts faith into
action. "He
who floats with the current, who does not guide himself according to
higher principles, who has no ideal, no conviction - such man is a
mere article of the world's furniture - a thing moved, instead of a
living and moving being - an echo, not a voice. The man who has
no inner life is the slave of his surroundings, as the barometer is
the obedient servant of the air at rest, and the weathercock the
humble servant of the air in motion."
- Henri Frederic Amiel
Thought provides the avenue in which ideals and conviction are given
movement by faith. Faith is a definite, positive, mental
attitude that possesses the attracting power to strengthen our
conviction and therefore our soul. Faith is all that we will
ever need for it will provide for us the means and the ways in which
to obtain all that we will ever need to manifest our ideals.
Some will say, "no, what I need is money or health or friendship
or creative ideas" ... faith in the good, in G-d, will provide
all these and more. We must put our faith in action in all that
we do and all that we say and in all that we think.
AND
SO IT IS!
Keep
the
faith!
Rev.
Henry Bates
Please
share this message on Facebook or Twitter:
Share
QUESTIONS
... about this message?
contact Rev. Bates
