Rickie BB sings: "Where to find the face of God?  In the river, in the laughter, in the soul."

You see the face of God in rivers because you can see yourself.

You see the face of God in the laughter for Joy is making Itself manifest through laughter.
Where to find the face of God?  In the soul.

Soul is the servant of Spirit. So it makes sense that we can find the face of God in the soul. This soul is the great law of life.

This month’s topic is “Thanks. I Needed That.” Remember, that old commercial when the guy would get slapped by someone (usually a woman) and that would be his reply. “Thanks. I Needed That.” Well, I thought it was an appropriate monthly topic – not because God slaps us - we usually end up slapping ourselves, but because “giving thanks is an important state of your consciousness that keeps you in an awareness of oneness with divine flow.” That’s what Eric Butterworth tells us at least. He quotes Meister Eckhart who shocked his colleagues in medieval times when he said “I never give thanks to God for loving me, because He can’t help himself. It is His nature to.” Butterworth tells us that “gratitude is not for God. Being grateful flows forth from within and becomes a causative energy.” And that’s the kind of causal energy that we want. Because we know that the energy we put out is the energy we get back. That’s how the Law or soul works. It is obedient to our consciousness.

Rickie Byars Beckwith's lyrics say:

"What is it you know of God?   Greater giving, greater loving, greater joy.
Where to find the strength of God?  In the quiet of surrender, in your tears."

Today’s topic is “The Source is the Force.” Of course, we know that God is the Source of Life. But there’s a few other things to consider as well. The Mind (of God) contains all knowledge. Therefore, a scientist discovers the principles of his science through this mind. The artist embodies the spirit of her art through this mind. The saint is able to draw Christ into his or her being because we all dwell in the Mind of God.

One of the great things about life is that everything originates in the One, comes from the same Source and returns to It. Another magnificent thing is that God has given us the right to the greatest expression of life. When God made us, It made us with that intention. Did you hear that? Your source has set you up for success. So we can look beyond whatever the appearances are and see that which is perfect. Now you may say, “That’s easy for you to say, Reverend C.” Well, I can understand your hesitation given the race thought information that you have inside of your heads. Throughout all of history, people have been complaining about what they see, feel, touch, hear, taste or smell. Everything having to do with the physical realm is hypnotizing and we get caught up in it. But the coolest thing is that Good never compromises. So your good is always available for you.

Let’s talk about the force for a minute. One aspect of Spirit is Law. Ernest Holmes tells us that this intelligent Law of creative force must consciously be directed and definitely used. The Law of Mind is a natural law in the spiritual world. Now, there are three things to consider: 1) Truth knows no opposites; 2) There is power in the Word and we have the ability to use this power; 3) Truth is freedom. Therefore, we can, as Ernest Holmes suggests, do our work in quiet expectancy and in calm confidence. Just to be clear: quiet expectancy is not anxiety. Quiet expectancy is not pretending to be calm before you hurt someone you work with who is getting on your nerves and you’re waiting for the opportunity to catch them off guard and blast them. Quiet expectancy is knowing that the Good is available and it is ours now. When I was thinking about this this morning, the image of Mona Lisa came to mind. Notice how she has that look on her face. That’s calm confidence.

Keeping in mind that in dealing with the power of Mind and Spirit, we are dealing with a fluent force, prayer treatment is an intelligent Energy in the invisible world. It is a spiritual entity, working through the Law of Mind and it is an actual force now consciously directed. Therefore, it must produce specific results. Those results directly correspond to the level of the person’s consciousness. (It is done unto you as you believe.)

Spirit is the conscious Volition in the universe. Soul or law is the blind force. The law of nature is a force of nature. A tornado occurs when warm air hits cold air from a thunderstorm, right? This energy can be destructive. It is power. Know that the power of a tornado that can pick up cows and cars or the power of an earthquake that can split the ground open are merely very slight indications of the power of Spirit. And you get to decide how you use that Power.

As God’s thought makes worlds and peoples them with living things, so our thought makes our world and peoples it with experiences.

By the activity of our thought, things come into our life. We are limited only because we have not known the Truth. (We have probably heard the Truth but we have not known It.)

To know something is to know it at the level of Spirit, not mind. That’s why our best lessons are sometimes through pain. The experience is memorable. If, after experiencing this pain, we discern it spiritually, as a release or for comfort, we get it in our gut. And nobody can tell us differently, because we just know it.

We have thought that outside things controlled us, when all the time we have had that within which could have changed everything and given us freedom from bondage. Our thoughts may go down a path that takes us out of our awareness of our oneness. That’s usually when we say “Look what they’re doing to me.”

Outside things never controlled the Christ. What he had within freed him from bondage. We are programmed to concentrate on the crucifixion, but we can now choose to concentrate on the resurrection. Emotionally remove yourself from the circumstances. This is truly what it means to be in the world and not of it.

Peace and blessings!