Lent (21-40)

Keep A True Lent By Charles Fillmore

The Grace of God
21st Day, Friday.

Read Matthew 5:17-20, 38-48.

“As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.”

Grace means good will, favour, disposition to show mercy. Therefore, we do not hold ourselves as bond servants of the law, but as recipients of the grace of God, as sons of the Most High.

The grace of God extends to all people, not alone to one sect or creed. All men are equal in favor with God. The grace of God is greater than the laws of man. We may make certain laws and restrictions for ourselves and “his servants ye are whom ye obey.” If we are servants of the law, our obedience is unto death; if we are servants of righteousness, our obedience is unto life. To become recipients of that which the Father would bestow, we should take the element of grace into consideration; that even beyond what we ask, seek, earn, or deserve under the law, God is more than willing to give.

God, as the great creative principle of the universe, will always meet us more than half way. By becoming receptive to the “grace of God,” we receive the measure of God’s provision, which exceeds any of our imaginings.

I realize that “grace and truth came through Jesus Christ”; that is, the real saving, redeeming, transforming power comes to me through the work that Jesus did in establishing for the race a new and higher consciousness in the earth. I enter into that consciousness by faith in Him and by means of the inner spirit of the law that He taught and practiced.

I affirm: “Through the grace of God I am forgiven and healed.”

Fourth Dimension
22d Day, Saturday.

Read John 21:1-17.

The fourth dimension is that which embraces and encompasses the other three; it is realization, the doing away with time and space and all conditions. It is the process in which forms lose their apartness and become one under divine law. The human mind, with its limited reasoning faculties, is bound by time, space, and conditions. By itself it can get no further into the spiritual realm than reason will take it; but when we invoke the aid of the Christ in us we go beyond reason into the realm of pure realization; then we have attained the consciousness of pure be-ing, the fourth dimension of the being.

The one way to enter the realm of the fourth dimension, or of realization, is through scientific prayer, commonly named “the silence.” First, I take with me the word Jehovah and go within and hold it steadily in mind, until the word illumines the whole inner consciousness. I am now functioning in the fourth dimension, and the way is open for concentrating on the prayer I have in mind for the special demonstration.

I fix my attention powerfully on the consummation of an idea until the idea has nucleated a certain amount of thought substance, and I am assured that it will be followed by that silent power of thought which, working throughout my whole being, is bringing forth the thing desired.
When my thoughts radiate with the speed of spiritual light, they blend with creative Mind (called by Jesus “heaven”), and that which I ask for is done.

I affirm: “The illuminating power of Truth awakens and quickens my consciousness, and I discern clearly.”

The Sabbath
4th Sunday.

Read Mark 2:23-28; 3:1-6.

The true Sabbath is the consciousness that we have fulfilled the divine law in both thought and act. The sabbath is a very certain, definite thing. It is a state of mind that man enters or acquires when he goes into the silence, into the realm of Spirit. There he finds true rest and peace. The seventh day means the seventh or perfect stage of one’s spiritual unfoldment. Man had become so lost in the darkness of sense consciousness that he could not save himself, so the Saviour came. When man lays hold of the indwelling Christ, the Saviour, he is raised out of the Adam consciousness into the Christ consciousness. He then enters the seventh stage of his unfoldment, where he finds sweet rest and peace.

The Sabbath as an institution was established by man. God does not rest from His work every seventh day, and there is no evidence that there has ever been a moment’s cessation in the activity of the universe. We do not quarrel with our brother over the observance of the Sabbath. If he says we should worship God on the seventh day, or on the first day, in either case we acquiesce. Not only do we do God’s service in praise, song, and thanksgiving on the seventh day and the first day, but every day. In the true Sabbath our mind is turned to God every moment, and we are ever ready to acknowledge His holy presence in our heart and life. “The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath.”

I affirm: “I rest in the consciousness of the true Sabbath, and my heart is filled with joy and satisfaction.”

The Idea
23d Day, Monday.

Read Luke 5:141.

In the Scriptures ideas are symbolized by fish. An idea is the original, primary, or unlimited thought of Being: in God-Mind, the eternal Word or Logos. In the idea are involved all the potentialities of that which is to be evolved through man. The idea itself becomes the evolving power through which it makes itself manifest.

Ideas are catching. We are all heavily charged with ideas. When ideas are released they spring forth and pass from mind to mind, being “recorded” as they fly; when they are expressed the whole race is lifted up–because true ideas are charged with the uplifting Spirit. We bring divine ideas into manifestation by making ourselves one with them, becoming conscious of our indwelling Christ Mind and our oneness with the Father.

As the son is to the father, so is the idea to the mind. Mind is one with its ideas, so the Father–God-Mind–is one with its offspring, the idea–the Son. Mind is coexistent with its ideas, and there is continual interaction and communion. The Father and the Son are one–are coexisting, interacting, and intercommuning in will and purpose. It was from the grand idea of divine life that Jesus healed the sick and raised the dead.

Spiritual inspiration in me is an inflow of divine ideas; activity of a spiritual character; understanding that comes from God. It is the inbreathing of Spirit. The breath of God infused into me has endowed me with super-life. “He breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Spirit.”

I affirm: “In the presence and power of the Christ idea in me, I proclaim my perfection.”

Healing
24th Day, Tuesday.[B]
Read Matthew 9:14-38.

Health, real health, is from within and does not have to be manufactured in the without. It is the normal condition of man, a condition true to the reality of his being.

The first step in all spiritual healing is the using of faith, and the next step is to become open and receptive to the stream of healing life. Spiritual healing restores to perpetual health because it erases the error thought and cleanses the mind.

Through the exercise of faith and our word, our spiritual quality is fused into unity with the power of Christ, and the healing is marvelously accomplished.

It is said that the early Christians, before going forth to do their mighty works, commanded the new life in Christ to come forth and to imbue their consciousness with its healing potency to such an extent that it would flow through them and heal all those to whom they ministered.

They discovered that when they repeated over and over the most powerful prayer Jesus ever uttered, the Lord’s Prayer, the hidden Christ within each one of them was called into action. They further discovered that the fifteenth time they realized the prayer the waters of tribulation as well as all manner of diseases began to subside, and that their realization lifted the consciousness of those who were asking their help. All tribulation and disease dropped away.

Experience proves the power of words to bring health. In healing myself, I talk to my body, repeating necessary denials and affirmations. This raises my consciousness to spiritual reality where all healing power originates.
[B]
I faithfully affirm: “Through Jesus Christ, God’s vitalizing energy floods my whole being, and I am healed.”

Peace
25th Day, Wednesday.

Read Matthew 5:14-40.

“Still in thy right hand carry gentle peace, to silence envious tongues. Be just, and fear not: Let all the ends thou aim’st at be thy country’s Thy God’s and truth’s.”
–Shakespeare–

The great thought waves that move the world are set into action by deep thinkers. Peace and understanding of spiritual realities arise in the mind when it has made the inner contact. When we know the work of Spirit in transforming mind and body, we shall see that the crushing of personal ambitions releases spiritual ideas of far-reaching influence.
Jesus went back to the very source of all discord, and showed how all resistance and antagonism must cease. He did not stop to argue whether the cause was just or not, but He said, “Agree with thine adversary quickly”; “If any man would go to law with thee, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also.” To the mortal mind this seems like foolishness, but Jesus spoke out of the inner wisdom that knows that it is dangerous to allow any kind of opposing thoughts to form in consciousness. He knew that the universal law of justice would adjust all matters, if men would trust it and cease fighting mentally for their rights. This is accomplished by bringing the Christ, the Prince of Peace, to bear in all our affairs. “My peace I give unto you.”

I praise God for the peace of my own higher self. I rejoice and am glad in the possession of the Holy City within. With my inner vision I see the gates open wide, and holy peace pervades my consciousness.

I affirm: “My mind is stayed on Thee, and I rest in Thy peace and power.”

Heaven
26th Day, Thursday.

Read Matthew 13:24-53.

God idealized two universal planes of consciousness, the heaven and the earth, or more properly, “the heavens and the earth.” One is the realm of pure ideals; the other, of thought forms. God does not create the visible universe directly, as man makes cement pavement, but He creates the ideas that are used by His intelligent “image” and “likeness” to make the universe. Thus God’s creations are always spiritual. Man’s creations are both material and spiritual, according to his understanding.

Jesus, of all those claiming intimate acquaintance with spiritual things, gave heaven definite location. “The kingdom of God is within you.” This kingdom is now ready. “The fields . . . are white already unto harvest.” The conditions are ripe. But only those come in who are willing to exchange for it their ideas of earthly possessions. Every earthly link must be broken, every mortal love crucified. This is the way Jesus entered this kingdom, and His way is the way we must all employ.

Heaven is everywhere present. It is the orderly, lawful adjustment of God’s kingdom in man’s mind, body, and affairs; it is the Christ consciousness, the realm of divine ideas, a state of consciousness in harmony with the thoughts of God. Heaven is within every one of us; a place, a conscious sphere of mind, having all the attractions described or imagined as belonging to heaven.

I realize that faith in Spirit and the ultimate dominance of the good in me will restore me to the heavenly consciousness from which I descended.

I affirm: “Heaven within is one perfect harmonious life, substance, and intelligence, and I rejoice.”

Principle
27th Day, Friday.

Read John 5:19-47.

Principle and Truth are one. Divine Principle is Truth in a universal sense, or as it pertains to Elohim God. Satisfaction comes to us as we live according to Principle.

Universal Principle, the over soul of this planet, was working its way into expression through Jesus. The same work that Jesus accomplished is being accomplished by all men–though perhaps very slowly.

To demonstrate Principle, keep establishing yourself in certain statements (affirmations) of the law. The more often you present to your mind a logical and true proposition, the stronger become the inner feeling of realization.

As the principle of music moves through tones, so does the principle of mind move through ideas. Therefore God, as Principle, moves through the expressed thought of Divine Mind.

The mind of each individual may be consciously unified with Divine Mind through the indwelling Christ. By affirming at-one-ment with God-Mind, we eventually realize the perfect mind which was in Christ Jesus.
“Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who, existing in the form of God, counted not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men.”

I affirm: “Principle is Truth. I know the Truth, and the Truth makes me free.”

Miracles
28th Day, Saturday.

Read Matthew 14:15-36.

The first miracle in our consciousness is the transforming of the water of thought into the wine of thought, through introducing into the consciousness some of the “angels of God,” or true ideas.
In reality miracles are events that take place as a result of the application of a higher law to certain conditions.

God never performs miracles, if by miracle is meant a departure from universal law. Whatever the prophets did was done by the operation of laws inherent in Being and open to the discovery of every man.

By the power of his thought Elijah penetrated the atoms and precipitated an abundance of rain. Jesus used the same dynamic power of thought to break the bonds of the atoms composing the few loaves and fishes of a little lad’s lunch–and five thousand persons were fed.

Science is discovering the miracle-working dynamics of religion, but science has not yet comprehended the dynamic directive power of man’s thought. All so-called miracle workers claim that they do not of themselves produce the marvelous results; that they are only the instruments of a superior entity.

Jesus said, “He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also.” As I go on in the exercise of spiritual faculties I shall strengthen them and understand them better and I shall cease to talk about anything as miraculous.

I affirm: “The clear unclouded mind of Jesus Christ dominates all my thinking, and I discern the omnipresent laws of Spirit.

The Overcomer
5th (Passion) Sunday.

Read John 20:19-31.

An overcomer is one who recognizes the Truth of his being and is renewing his mind and body and affairs by changing his thoughts from the old mortal beliefs to the new as he sees them in Divine Mind. He is one who demonstrates the divine law, not only in surface life but in innermost consciousness. Spiritual power, mastery, and dominion are attained by the overcomer. “He that overcometh, I will give to him to sit down with me in my throne.”

The way of overcoming is, first, to place one’s self by faith in the realization of sonship, and secondly, to demonstrate it faithfully in every thought and act. One of the laws of mind is that man becomes like that with which he identifies himself. Christ is the one perfect pattern. Everyone desires to overcome all errors. Each should, therefore, be wise and identify himself with the Christ.
No external condition or circumstance can hold man in bondage when he makes mental contact with God.

It was to the overcomer that Jehovah spoke when, through one of the old prophets, He said, “I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten.”

We have many blessings. Begin to praise God for the abundance of all things; your words will crack the omnipresent ethers, and good will flow to you from every direction.

The work that I have to do as an overcomer for the world is to help establish a new race consciousness, a new heaven and a new earth, “wherein dwelleth righteousness.” By being true to my highest understanding of Truth, I never swerve to the right nor left for any reason.

I affirm: “I am an overcomer, through Jesus Christ and I rest in the realization of His grace and power.”

Patience
29th Day, Monday.

Read Hebrews 11:17-40; 12:1-6.

Patience is a state of mind that beholds the world from the harmony of the Christ Mind, a freedom from personal thinking. It is an attitude of mind characterized by poise, calmness, and a quiet restful trust, especially in the face of trying conditions. It has its foundation in love. “Great peace have they that love thy law; and they have no occasion of stumbling.”

The first requisite in the development of patience is spiritual understanding. The larger our vision of life, the more freedom we feel, and we are spared the friction and frettings that come to those who are centered in personality.

Whether one is patient or not depends on his view of life. If he is selfish and self-centered and lives in a material world, bound by his own interests, he lacks the qualities that go to make up patience.
We may take the gift of patience and make use of it. We may receive it by faith, and then work it out in every department of our being by daily practice of Truth.

Patience gives self-control. We unfold the capacity to direct our behavior in right ways, a result of spirituality.

I realize that I am feeding my consciousness on divine patience. When my thoughts are in harmony with divine law, they develop my body into God’s beautiful, indestructible temple. “Let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith.”

I affirm: “The serene, calm, trustful Spirit now accomplishes all the desires of my heart. I rest in peace.”

Divine Judgment
30th Day, Tuesday.

Read Luke 6:37-49.

Human judgment is the mental act of evaluation through comparison or contrast. Intellectual man always judges his fellow man. Divine judgment is of spiritual consciousness. When we awaken to the reality of our divinity, the light begins to break on us from within, and we know the Truth; this is the quickening of our judgment faculty. This faculty may be exercised in two ways: from sense perception or spiritual understanding. If its action be based on sense, its conclusions are fallible and often condemnatory; if on spiritual understanding, they are safe.

The judgment faculty discerns Truth and balances the faculties in righteousness. In the Scriptures judgment is often applied to the action of Divine Mind in its work of judging, especially to the experiences that come to man through the working of the law of justice. Man redeems this faculty by placing it in the Absolute, by declaring and realizing that its origin is in God and all its conclusions are based on Truth. This gives a working center from which the I AM begins to set our thought world in order.

I do not judge others as regards their guilt or innocence. I consider myself and how I stand in the sight of the Father. I begin reform with myself. The judgment seat of Christ is within me, and a judging, or discerning between the true and the false is going on daily in me as an overcomer; I am daily reaping the results of my thoughts and my deed.

I affirm: “My judgment is just, because I seek not my own will, but the will of the Father.”

Spiritual Substance
31st Day, Wednesday.

Read Matthew 13: 3-9, 18-23.

There is a kingdom of abundance of all things, and it may be found by those who seek it and are willing to comply with its laws. Substance exists in a realm of ideas and is powerful when handled by one who is familiar with its characteristics.

Spiritual substance is the source of all material wealth and cannot suffer loss or destruction by human thought. It is always with us, ready to be used and to make the consciousness potent and fertile. In this connection Jesus said, “I have meat to eat that ye know not.”
Just as the earth is the universal matrix in which all vegetation develops, so this invisible Spirit substance is the universal matrix in which ideas of prosperity germinate and grow and bring forth according to our faith and trust.

I know that any seed words that are planted in omnipresent Spirit substance will germinate and grow and bring forth fruit “after their kind.” Just as the farmer selects the best seed for planting, so I must choose the words that will bring forth the rich harvest of plenty.
To gain control of Spirit substance I grasp it with my mind; that is, lay hold of the idea back of it. Right thinking is necessary in using my mind constructively to bring about right results.

I affirm: “Divine substance flows in all its fullness into my consciousness and through me as prosperity into all my affairs.”

The Atonement
32d Day, Thursday.

Read John 17:1-26.

Jesus played a most important part in opening the way for mankind into the Father’s kingdom. This was accomplished by His overcoming the belief in death.

Atonement means the reconciliation between God and men through Christ. Jesus became the way by which all who accept Him may “pass over” to the higher consciousness. We have atonement through Him. “Christ . . . who his own self bare our sins in his body upon the tree, that we, having died unto sins, might live unto righteousness; by whose stripes ye were healed.”

The whole race was caught in the meshes of its own thought and, through drowsy ignorance, would have remained there had not a break been made in the structure, and the light of a higher way let in.

If you were held in the meshes of a great spider web, and someone made a hole through which you could pass, you would go where the hole was and would make your escape that way. Jesus made this aperture in the race thought and thus threw open wide the door into the spiritual realm.

His Christianity had a living God in it, a God that lived in Him and spoke through Him. It is a religion of life, as well as purity. Men are to be alive; not merely exist half dead for a few years and then go out with a sputter, like a tallow dip. Christ’s men are to be lights that glow with a perpetual current from the one omnipresent energy.

Declaring my unity with this power, I affirm: “The redeeming word of Jesus Christ, ‘I am the resurrection, and the life,’ makes me whole and perfect.”

Mount of Transfiguration
33d Day, Friday.

Read Matthew 17:1-13.

Transfiguration is always preceded by a change of mind. In transfiguration, ideals are lifted from the material to the spiritual.
Going up into the mountain to pray means an elevation of thought and aspiration from the mortal to the spiritual viewpoint. When the mind is exalted in prayer the rapid radiation of mental energy causes a dazzling light radiation from all parts of the body, and especially the head.

Even our so-called physical body reveals a radiant body, (which Jesus referred to as sitting on the throne of His glory), which interlaces the trillions of cells of the organism and burns brightly. Jesus gave His disciples a glimpse of His radiant body when He was transfigured before them. “His face did shine as the sun, and his garments became white as the light.”

He was very advanced in spiritual consciousness and was developed to a larger degree than anyone else in our race. But we all have that body of light, and its development is in proportion to our spiritual culture. Jesus did not go down to corruption but, by the intensity of His spiritual devotions, transformed every cell into its innate divine light and power. When John was in the spirit of devotion Jesus appeared to him and “his eyes were as a flame of fire; and his feet like unto burnished brass.” Jesus lives today in that body of glorified light in a kingdom that interpenetrates the earth and its environment.

Jesus is my Way-Shower. In His name I affirm: “My mind and body are radiant with the light of Spirit, and I am triumphant, glorious, splendid.”

Transmutation
34th Day, Saturday.

Read John 2:1-11.

Transmutation–“The conversion of one element into another.”–Webster.
In consciousness transmutation is a changing in action and character to conform to spiritual standards. It is well said that the mind is the crucible in which the ideal is transmuted into the real.

Jesus said that all power was given to Him in heaven and in earth. He manifested His power in a small way by multiplying a few loaves and fishes to feed more than five thousand persons. In various other instances He demonstrated that He had an understanding of the transmutation of substance. He raised His flesh body to an energy level far higher in potential life and substance than any reached before. We see that not only the mind but also the body is affected in the process of developing out of the natural into the spiritual.

The leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod (Mark 8:15) represents limited thoughts. When we attempt to confine the divine law to the customary avenues of expression and scoff at anything beyond, we are letting the leaven of the Pharisees work in us. When the mind is raised up through affirmation to God’s omnipresent substance and life, we are not only fed, but there is a surplus. This is the teaching of Jesus, and it has always been exemplified by His faithful followers. I realize that through the law of transmutation every error thought in my consciousness is transmuted into its spiritual correspondence.

I affirm: “Spirit in me is transmuting my body into pure spiritual substance, and my soul rejoices.”

Palm Sunday.
Read John 12:12-50.

Palm Sunday is the Sunday preceding Easter. Jerusalem, the Holy City, symbolizes within us the habitation of peace, possession of peace, vision of peace, abode of prosperity within us.

In man Jerusalem is the abiding consciousness of spiritual peace, which is the result of continuous realizations of spiritual power tempered with spiritual poise and confidence. Jerusalem symbolizes the great nerve center just back of the heart. From this point Spirit sends its radiance to all parts of the body.

Jesus symbolizes our I AM identity. His going up to Jerusalem means our taking the last step in unfoldment preparatory to the final step, when the personality is entirely crucified and the Christ triumphs.

Jesus riding the ass into Jerusalem means the fulfillment of the time when the spiritual I AM within us takes control and lifts all the animal forces up to the spiritual plane of mastery, purity, and peace.
When the I AM takes charge of the body a new order of things is inaugurated. The vitality is no longer wasted. Through high and pure ideals the whole consciousness is raised to a higher standard.
The hosannas of the rejoicing multitude and the spreading of their garments and branches of trees before Jesus, represent joyful obedience and homage that all the thoughts in one’s consciousness give when an error state of mind is overcome. “Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.”

In the name of Jesus Christ I affirm: “The Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus dwells in me, and I am made perfect.”

The New Race
35th Day, Monday.

Read Revelation 21:1-7; 22:1-7.

“These things shall be! a loftier race
Than e’er the world hath known shall rise
With flame of freedom in their souls,
And light of knowledge in their eyes.
“Nation with nation, land with land,
Unarmed shall live as comrades free:
In every heart and brain shall throb
The pulse of one fraternity.”

The time is ripe for the advent of a new race, the advent of the spiritualized man. This will be brought about, not by a miracle or the fiat of God, but by the gradual refinement of the man of the flesh into the man of Spirit.

The true overcomer is qualifying himself to become a member of this superrace. It is well for such a one to cultivate the childlike spirit and let go of all tense striving, even for spiritual things. In the realization of protecting, providing love, all the strain of fear and anxiety will be removed and life in abundance will then find easy entrance into the consciousness, bringing strength and health and eternal youth and life.

Spiritual harmony in man depends largely on the right relation of the inner and the outer realms of his consciousness. Expression is the law of life. Whatever is expressed becomes manifest. I realize that as an overcomer, I am working also for the whole world, establishing a new race consciousness, “new heavens and a new earth.”

I affirm: “The redeeming law of God is awakening with me, and I am a new man in Christ Jesus.”

[/B]The Fire of God
36th Day, Tuesday. [/B]
Read Acts 2:1-21.

Fire represents the positive, affirmative state of mind, as opposed to the negative or watery state.

The fire of God (Holy Spirit) is the Word of God in action. It burns out the dross of negation in consciousness, and reveals Christ. Tongues of fire represent the illumination of thought, in demonstration of Spirit’s presence and power. The flame of fire symbolizes the light of intuition that burns in our heart.

While the light of intuition (flame of fire) burns in our heart, there is no loss of substance. In thinking there is a vibratory process that uses up nerve tissue, but in the wisdom that comes from the heart this “bush” or tissue is not consumed. This is “holy ground,” or substance in Divine Mind. When man approaches this he must take off from his understanding all limited thoughts of the Absolute (“put off thy shoes from off thy feet”).

Spiritual fire is a symbol of the destruction of evil and error. The fire of Spirit never ceases its life-giving, purifying glow. In it all error is burned up in consciousness and the purified man then manifests this “fire” as eternal life.

I have the assurance that I shall not be left partially cleansed, that the purifying work will be complete. “Our God is a consuming fire,” also He is life, love, substance, power, intelligence, Truth.

In the name of Jesus Christ, I affirm: “The Holy Spirit flares its cleansing, purifying flames throughout soul and body, and I am made whole and perfect.”

[/B]Holy Communion
37th Day, Wednesday. [/B]
Read Luke 22:1-23.

“And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it; and he gave to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body, And he took a cup, and gave thanks, and gave to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; for this is my blood of the covenant.”

The first step in drinking of the blood and eating of the body of Jesus is to resolve this whole Scripture back into the primal ideas. The only way to appropriate these ideas is through the very highest activity of mind as in prayer.

The benefit of taking Holy Communion is the establishing of our acceptance of the Christ whose coming we celebrate within our mind and heart. The bread used in the churches symbolizes substance, which we consider the Lord’s body, a body of spiritual ideas; and the wine used symbolizes His blood, which we consider life, or the circulation of divine ideas in our consciousness that will purify our mind and heart and renew our strength, freeing us from all corruption, sin, and evil, and bringing forth in us the abundant, unlimited life of God. Through the appropriation and assimilation of the substance and life in our own consciousness, we blend our minds with the Father-Mind and there is a harmonizing of every fiber of our body with the Christ body, which is life and light. As our mind and heart are cleansed of untrue thoughts and beliefs, and as we feed on living ideas, our body takes on the life and light of our divinity, and eventually will become living light.

I affirm: “God’s pure life and substance are constantly renewing and rebuilding His holy temple, my body.”

Gethsemane
38th Day, Thursday.

Read Mark 14:32-42.

Gethsemane is symbolic of the struggle that takes place within the consciousness when Truth is realized as the one reality. It is a condition that man works through when he recognizes that God is all and that he must be willing to sacrifice all for God.

There are always deeply rooted error thoughts stored away in the subconsciousness, and on their own account they come forward to crucify the new unknown power, the so-called imposter, the in-dwelling Christ. The Christ is presumably captured by these thoughts, which try to carry out their aims in the darkness of the subconscious mind. But error can kill out only error. The Christ itself may be held in obscurity for a while, but it cannot be done away with. That which died on the Cross when Jesus was crucified was the personality; the Christ resurrects itself from the very depths of the subconsciousness, and error is hanged on the gallows it prepared for the doing away of the newborn spiritual ego.

This breaking up and passing away of old error states of mind and making ready for the new is a process in soul evolution of all those who are faithfully following Jesus. In all systems of thought concentration and spiritual attainment, the will, the executive faculty, plays the leading part. Therefore I prepare my consciousness for the reception of these new ideas. I say with Jesus, “Not my will, but thine, be done.”

I realize that new inspiration is flowing steadily into my consciousness as I affirm: “Old error thoughts are passed away. I am a new creature in Christ.”

Crucifixion
39th Day, Good Friday.

Read John 19:1-42.

Jesus’ crucifixion on Calvary was a final step in a work that had been going on in Him for thirty-three years, and when He arose He was entirely free from the carnal mind with all its limitations. He had overcome all the carnal tendencies which He had taken on that He might free the race from its bondage.

The word crucifixion means the crossing out in consciousness of certain errors that have become fixed states of mind; it is the enactment by a master of the final extinction of carnal mind, the giving up of the whole personality in order that the Christ Mind may be expressed in all its fullness. This is represented by the crucifixion of Jesus.

Calvary means “the place of a skull.” The carnal mind has appropriated the brain and its skull and it is here that the final battle is fought. Every time we give up error there is a crucifixion.

The three days Jesus was in the tomb represent the three steps in overcoming error. First, nonresistance; second, the taking on of divine activity, or receiving the will of God; third, the assimilation and fulfillment of the divine will.

I deny the self that I may unite with the selfless. I give up the mortal that I may attain the immortal. I dissolve the thought of the physical body that I may realize the spiritual body. This is a mental process with a physical effect.

I affirm: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.”

Resting in God
40th Day, Saturday.

Read Isaiah 11:1-10; 12:1-6.

After Jesus’ crucifixion He was laid to rest in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. Jesus represents the expression of the I AM identity.

Arimathea represents an aggregation of thoughts of lofty character, a high state of consciousness in man. Joseph represents a state of consciousness in which we improve in character along all lines. We not only grow into a broader understanding but also we increase in vitality and substance. We are resting in God, and at the same time gathering strength for the power of greater demonstrations to follow.

A degree of cleansing, a wiping out of sense consciousness has been accomplished. By mentally reviewing our experiences, we recognize that nothing is really destroyed, but rather transmuted. Through faith we take stock of the progress we have made and find that we are getting a consciousness of radiant substance and of a higher life. Nothing is lost. When sense consciousness is raised to a higher plane all that belongs to it is saved with it.

In reality the invisible cannot be seen, touched, or comprehended by the outer senses, yet in this realm a great and mighty work is being accomplished.

Today I realize that the leaven that “leaveneth the whole lump” is the Truth. The word of Truth within me is not idle, but quietly spreading from point to point. This process will continue until my whole consciousness is vitalized by the Holy Spirit.

I affirm: “I rest in the consciousness of eternal life and strength, and I am made perfect.”

The Resurrection
Easter Sunday.

Read John 20:1-18.

Easter is the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus. Its inner meaning and spiritual significance is the awakening and raising to spiritual consciousness of the I AM in man, which has been dead in trespass and sin and buried in the tomb of materiality.

“I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.” The resurrection is the raising up of the whole man–spirit, soul, and body–into the Christ consciousness of life and wholeness. This Jesus did. The tomb could not hold His redeemed perfected body temple. Resurrection is accomplished by the quickening power of the Holy Spirit.

Every time we rise to the realization of eternal, indwelling life, making union with the Father-Mind, the resurrection of Jesus takes place within us. All thoughts of limitation and inevitable obedience to material law are left in the tomb of materiality.

Jesus was born into the race thought so that He might reconstruct it in conformity with the divine law. He thus became our Way-Shower, our Saviour, our Helper.

Today the light of Truth is illumining my mind, and I rise up in the majesty of my divine sonship and proclaim myself to be the child of the Most High, free from all belief in sin, sickness, and death.

I affirm: “In unity with Christ I realize that I am resurrected into the life, light, and power of God.”

Learn, grow, love, heal, laugh and pray…

Life is meant to be good!”