Five people responded to the question: How do you approach the Bible Lesson as a tool for your daily life?

'A light unto my path'

BY DICKSON ARMSTRONG TUMAWU
Cambridgeshire, England

I'm encouraged by the fact that the Bible Lessons are drawn from the Christian Science pastor, the Bible and Science and Health. To me that says that each Lesson fulfills the Scriptural promise, "I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding" (Jer. 3:15). My spiritual study truly gives me knowledge and understanding that inspire and guide.

Mary Baker Eddy put great emphasis on the importance of this pastor. She said, "Your dual and impersonal pastor, the Bible, and 'Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,' is with you; and the Life these give, the Truth they illustrate, the Love they demonstrate, is the great Shepherd that feedeth my flock, and leadeth them 'beside the still waters'" (Miscellaneous Writings 1883-1896, p. 322).

I appreciate how the Bible references in each Lesson are enriched by the explanations in Science and Health, providing vast spiritual insight to elucidate each subject. The healing stories and radical ideas included each week are timeless and relevant for tackling world issues. Further, they clearly show me how God loves each of us. As I use what I'm learning from my study, my relationship to God becomes clearer and my faith in Him is strengthened. Each Lesson speaks to my very being, assuring me that nothing can occur that God's love cannot take me through.

My own experiences confirm this fact. For example, when I recently spoke with my spouse, who lives in Ghana, our homeland, I told her how challenging it has been for me to finish my studies at university here in England, in the time allotted. It was a Sunday, but she had already read the Bible Lesson for the coming week. Its message, she said, was the panacea for all my concerns. I then read it and found she'd been correct, for it assured me of God's continued care for me, for my wife so far off, and for my studies. This Bible verse in particular was helpful: "I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end" (Jer. 29:11). Then I had perfect peace and confidence to tackle my work.

The Bible Lesson always comforts me, providing a firm anchor against the perceived uncertainties of life. It assures me of my spiritual origin and teaches me to go about my day with the understanding that I am about my Father's task working for His glory. Therefore, I can expect nothing but good. The Lessons will always be "a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path" (Ps. 119:105). icss

Fresh approach to church work

BY TOSHI MORIKAWA
TOKYO, JAPAN

When I took class instruction in Christian Science, the teacher told us we could find an answer in the Bible Lesson to every challenge we face. I've found this to be the case on many occasions.

I'm currently engaged in branch church activities involved with giving lectures on Christian Science, distributing literature, working with membership, and helping in the Reading Room all avenues that have called on me to reach out beyond my church walls to my community.

In these various church activities, I've had to acknowledge the universal application of the laws of divine Science and how they bless all humanity. How often the Bible uses the word all as in, including all! I've found that the Bible Lessons abound with ideas for exploring this fact.

The multitudes that Jesus taught and the early churches were more like communities, with less emphasis on material church structure. My Bible Lesson study has enlightened me on how the people in those early communities worked to solve problems together. And in cases where differences in religious thought or ethnic divisions were acute, the Christmessage of man's wholeness as a child of God transcended those distinctions, and brought about healing.

For instance, I was greatly inspired by the recent account in the Lesson where Jesus healed a man who had palsy (see Luke 5:18-26). What faith these people had to carry the man onto a roof, remove the tiles, and lower him directly in front of Jesus! There was no impediment to their expectation and acceptance of healing and regeneration. Jesus saw their faith, the passage reads. What further encouragement this provided me to know that today receptive hearts are reaching out for the truth that will uplift their lives irrespective of religious background!

At the time that the editorial and production activities of the Japanese edition of The Herald of Christian Science were relocated to Tokyo, the board of my branch church asked all the committees to review and revitalize their work. When the distribution committee met for this purpose, I proposed that we each read the Lesson daily, with the object of looking for ideas on how we could share the Herald throughout the community. The chairman then offered to compile our thoughts from the week and share them with the group. The resulting list of ideas was enormous! Reading the Lesson with this fixed purpose, I found that it was brimming over with inspiration for fresh approaches to the work. This Bible Lesson study project built the foundation for our expanded distribution activity, and we are now sending the Herald to hundreds of public and university libraries and organizations nationwide.

The Bible Lesson is a vital force in my own life and that of my church. The spiritual education and healing momentum it fosters continue to sparkle with widening effectiveness. icss

A different kind of preaching

BY CAROL KRISHNASWAMI
Boston, Massachusetts

I grew up in a church where the Sunday sermon was preached by a resident pastor, and I was often inspired by the insights I heard from the pulpit. But there were other times when I felt I needed more. I wanted to feel a deep closeness to God that would show me the true nature of Deity.

Years later, I found a Sentinel in a laundromat and eventually began reading Science and Health. This led to study of the Christian Science Bible Lesson. It was amazing to me that Mary Baker Eddy had ordained the Bible, along with Science and Health, as pastor of her Church (see Church Manual, p. 58). Here was an entirely different kind of preaching!

Although I didn't always understand what was being revealed to me through the passages in the Lesson, I knew what I was learning was something I'd searched for all my life. I loved being introduced to sermons about the nature of God, the Christ, and Jesus. And I was finding answers to doctrinal points I'd wondered about, with subjects such as "Doctrine of Atonement" and "Adam and Fallen Man."

I was surprised to learn that there are two separate Biblical records of creation in Genesis. I'd always had a faint idea that the second chapter, with the introduction of Adam and Eve and original sin, was just a continuation of the first chapter. But now, I was learning that the first chapter is the true spiritual record of creation. Man and woman are actually innocent, made in the image and likeness of God, not from dust, or matter.

Sometimes I would argue with what I was learning, challenging the ideas I read in the Lesson Sermon. Why was I even studying correlative passages to the Bible from Science and Health, a book written by a 19th-century New England woman! But I had an intuitive feeling all along that I could trust what I was being taught. So I kept at it until I realized that Mary Baker Eddy was no ordinary woman. She'd proven what she'd written through her healing works.

At first, I studied one section of the Bible Lesson each day until I was ready to take on the entire thing, which was much more satisfying. Whenever I found a verse or paragraph appearing frequently from week to week, I was inspired to give it special attention.

The Christian Science Bible Lesson has brought these words of Christ Jesus alive for me: "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matt. 6:33). That means to me that as I seek in my consciousness the beauty and order of this kingdom, and dwell there, the added things abundant supply, good relationships, and purposeful activity become my daily experience.

I realize now that what helped bring me into Christian Science was the uplifted thought of individuals who faithfully practice the spirit of the Bible Lesson. icss

My daily bread

BY GEROGE KIRONJI WARUINGI
Karuri, Kenya

As one of the Readers in my branch church in Nairobi, Kenya, I have found that there is a huge difference between merely reading the text of the Christian Science Bible Lesson and presenting a healing message.

Starting my day with the Bible Lesson is quite rewarding. As I keep my thoughts on the things of Spirit, I find that the Truth shines out more clearly in the readings. Sometimes I may be troubled by a physical difficulty during the week, but keeping focused on the Lesson's message and refuting any thought that might interfere with reading it gives me the courage to step into the pulpit for the service. Oftentimes a headache or flu has disappeared instantaneously on my stepping up to read in the church.

I always find that I am well benefited from the study when I try to silence all that the physical senses are saying and really ponder the ideas coming out from the Lesson. Having a full text (printed) version of the Bible Lesson has also been an advantage to me because I can always put it in my pocket or bag. Whenever I am idle, whether I'm traveling in a bus or waiting in a queue, I can always go through the Lesson, sometimes as often as four times in a day. Each time I go through it, I come out with a new spiritual and uplifting idea that clearly addresses either an issue that I am facing at that moment or something that requires my prayer in the community or the world at large.

The Bible Lesson helps me identify myself as a loved child of God all the time, and reflect this love to the congregation. Studying it daily is also, to me, the clearest way of obeying Christ Jesus' command to "watch and pray". Jesus said, "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: lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping" (Mark 13:35,36).

I find the best way to be prepared for any challenge in our lives is to keep ourselves in constant communion with God. The Bible Lesson, then, is my daily bread, and my daily study brings me a great sense of peace, assurance, protection, and harmony. I am very grateful to the inspired people who unselfishly devote their time to the preparation of these Lessons. icss

Inspiration for everyday challenges

BY MICHAEL ZEDLACH
Hamburg, Germany

I read the Bible Lesson every morning to prepare spiritually for my day. This study gives me reliable inspiration for everyday challenges and provides me with the "daily bread" referred to in the Lord's Prayer.

Generally, some spiritual idea from the Lesson crystallizes with me, and I keep it in mind and pray with it all throughout the week. These nuggets of inspiration remind me of the Bible story of David and Goliath (see I Samuel 17). One stone was all David needed to defeat the giant. Just as David was confronted with an overwhelming power, we are sometimes faced with challenges in our lives that seem overpowering and insurmountable. But one simple, yet powerful, spiritual idea can help us gain our dominion.

When fearful or discouraging thoughts try to intimidate me, I like to remember that David was mocked and ridiculed by his opponent, Goliath. Yet he continued to trust in God and remained faithful to Him. This brought about his victory. Being one with God is an irresistible power. And understanding our oneness with God removes fear and gives us courage and faith in good.

By consistently keeping my thought focused on the truths I've learned in the Bible and Science and Health, my daily experience changes for the better. I've learned to pay more attention to what goes on in my thought than to what comes at me from outside circumstances. As it says in Science and Health, "Prayer cannot change the Science of being, but it tends to bring us into harmony with it" (p. 2).

To complement my Bible Lesson study, I like to look up Scriptural passages in Bible commentaries to understand them more deeply and gain new inspiration. I also enjoy the feeling of being in a spiritual community with other people around the world who read and study the same Lesson. To me this is unity of Mind, and it symbolizes the Christ consciousness the knowledge of God's presence and power available every day. icss