Responsive Reading: Luke 12 : 22-24, 27-32

22.     Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on.

23.     The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment.

24.     Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?

27.     Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

28.     If then God so clothe the grass, which is to-day in the field, and to-morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith?

29.     And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind.

30.     For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things.

31.     But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.

32.     Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

1. Numbers 13 : 20 (be ye) (to 1st .)

20     … be ye of good courage, and bring of the fruit of the land.

2. Ecclesiastes 3 : 11 (to :), 14

11     He hath made every thing beautiful in his time:

14     I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.

3. Romans 8 : 28

28     And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

4. Deuteronomy 30 : 16 (I)

16     I command thee this day to love the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the Lord thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it.

5. Deuteronomy 31 : 1-3 (to 2nd ,), 7, 8, 22, 23

1     And Moses went and spake these words unto all Israel.

2     And he said unto them, I am an hundred and twenty years old this day; I can no more go out and come in: also the Lord hath said unto me, Thou shalt not go over this Jordan.

3     The Lord thy God, he will go over before thee,

7     And Moses called unto Joshua, and said unto him in the sight of all Israel, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou must go with this people unto the land which the Lord hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it.

8     And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.

22     Moses therefore wrote this song the same day, and taught it the children of Israel.

23     And he gave Joshua the son of Nun a charge, and said, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou shalt bring the children of Israel into the land which I sware unto them: and I will be with thee.

6. Joshua 1 : 1-9

1 Now after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord it came to pass, that the Lord spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ minister, saying,

2     Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel.

3     Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.

4     From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast.

5     There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

6     Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.

7     Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.

8     This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

9     Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

7. Isaiah 40 : 28-31

28     Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.

29     He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.

30     Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:

31     But 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.

8. Isaiah 41 : 6, 13

6     They helped every one his neighbour; and every one said to his brother, Be of good courage.

13     For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.

9. Philippians 2 : 12 (work)-16

12     …work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

13     For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

14     Do all things without murmurings and disputings:

15     That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;

16     Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.

10. Ephesians 2 : 10

10     For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

11. I John 2 : 24, 25

24     Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.

25     And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.

1. 550 : 5-7

God is the Life, or intelligence, which forms and preserves the individuality and identity of animals as well as of men.

2. 487 : 27-1

The understanding that Life is God, Spirit, lengthens our days by strengthening our trust in the deathless reality of Life, its almightiness and immortality.

This faith relies upon an understood Principle. This Principle makes whole the diseased, and brings out the enduring and harmonious phases of things.

3. 258 : 13-15, 16-18, 21-27

God expresses in man the infinite idea forever developing itself, broadening and rising higher and higher from a boundless basis. … We know no more of man as the true divine image and likeness, than we know of God.

The human capacities are enlarged and perfected in proportion as humanity gains the true conception of man and God.

Mortals have a very imperfect sense of the spiritual man and of the infinite range of his thought. To him belongs eternal Life.

4. 265 : 10-15

This scientific sense of being, forsaking matter for Spirit, by no means suggests man’s absorption into Deity and the loss of his identity, but confers upon man enlarged individuality, a wider sphere of thought and action, a more expansive love, a higher and more permanent peace.

5. 317 : 16-20

The individuality of man is no less tangible because it is spiritual and because his life is not at the mercy of matter. The understanding of his spiritual individuality makes man more real, more formidable in truth, and enables him to conquer sin, disease, and death.

6. 128 : 14-19

A knowledge of the Science of being develops the latent abilities and possibilities of man. It extends the atmosphere of thought, giving mortals access to broader and higher realms. It raises the thinker into his native air of insight and perspicacity.

7. 167 : 6-7, 17-31

We apprehend Life in divine Science only as we live above corporeal sense and correct it.

To have one God and avail yourself of the power of Spirit, you must love God supremely.

The “flesh lusteth against the Spirit.” The flesh and Spirit can no more unite in action, than good can coincide with evil. It is not wise to take a halting and half-way position or to expect to work equally with Spirit and matter, Truth and error. There is but one way — namely, God and His idea — which leads to spiritual being. The scientific government of the body must be attained through the divine Mind. It is impossible to gain control over the body in any other way. On this fundamental point, timid conservatism is absolutely inadmissible. Only through radical reliance on Truth can scientific healing power be realized.

8. 483 : 30-32

One must fulfil one’s mission without timidity or dissimulation, for to be well done, the work must be done unselfishly.

9. 514 : 10-18

Moral courage is “the lion of the tribe of Juda,” the king of the mental realm. Free and fearless it roams in the forest. Undisturbed it lies in the open field, or rests in “green pastures, … beside the still waters.” In the figurative transmission from the divine thought to the human, diligence, promptness, and perseverance are likened to “the cattle upon a thousand hills.” They carry the baggage of stern resolve, and keep pace with highest purpose.

10. 28 : 32-6

There is too much animal courage in society and not sufficient moral courage. Christians must take up arms against error at home and abroad. They must grapple with sin in themselves and in others, and continue this warfare until they have finished their course. If they keep the faith, they will have the crown of rejoicing.

11. 97 : 22-25, 29-3

It requires courage to utter truth; for the higher Truth lifts her voice, the louder will error scream, until its inarticulate sound is forever silenced in oblivion.

Christianity is again demonstrating the Life that is Truth, and the Truth that is Life, by the apostolic work of casting out error and healing the sick. Earth has no repayment for the persecutions which attend a new step in Christianity; but the spiritual recompense of the persecuted is assured in the elevation of existence above mortal discord and in the gift of divine Love.

12. 254 : 2-6, 10-12

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.

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

13. 326 : 16-22

The purpose and motive to live aright can be gained now. This point won, you have started as you should. You have begun at the numeration-table of Christian Science, and nothing but wrong intention can hinder your advancement. Working and praying with true motives, your Father will open the way. “Who did hinder you, that ye should not obey the truth?”

14. 262 : 10-23

We must reverse our feeble flutterings — our efforts to find life and truth in matter — and rise above the testimony of the material senses, above the mortal to the immortal idea of God. These clearer, higher views inspire the God-like man to reach the absolute centre and circumference of his being.

Job said: “I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth Thee.” Mortals will echo Job’s thought, when the supposed pain and pleasure of matter cease to predominate. They will then drop the false estimate of life and happiness, of joy and sorrow, and attain the bliss of loving unselfishly, working patiently, and conquering all that is unlike God.