GREAT Morning Beloved!

Discover the Power Within You -The Great Choice

This weeks’ selection from “Discover the Power Within You” is so full of wonderful information, I could probably make many Lessons from it. But we are working our way toward Palm Sunday, so, maybe another time.

So, let’s start with a question or two…and you know I love a good question…What’s your attitude? What thoughts, things, ideas are you most interested in?
Do you even know?

Well, we ARE discussing Jesus’ ministry and when we want to know what someone believes, we often look at what their philosophy is, and so it’s a good idea to study their speeches.

To understand the philosophy of Jesus, we only need look at his Sermon on the Mount. This is the only sermon that Jesus gave that was written down, and it is possible that it was actually prepared, because it is well detailed & organized.

Why is this 8-verse prose/poem so important? Because it is a general summation of what Jesus is about…what he was trying to present to the people during his ministry.

We’re talking about the religion OF Jesus, not ABOUT Jesus. This version of Christianity is a transforming guide, not telling us what to do & not do, as in the Hebrew Bible, the ‘old’ testament; “Thou shall not…Thou shall” but showing us how to be, how to think.

The Beatitudes are a series of attitudes of being, states of mind…not theology but simple, direct teachings
They begin with blessed—to bless is to confer prosperity upon, to enrich.

You will be Blessed if you “condition your mind to the full acceptance of these attitudes…it is all the good that will come to you if you understand & live by these attitudes of BEING”

Let’s look at the Beatitudes and look at them from a different view:
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. This is asking us to set aside our habits of thought, our views and prejudices, to release anything that can stand in the way of finding God.

Butterworth re-states it this way:
I am open and receptive to the inflow and the outpouring of all there is in God.

Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. Many people will not bother to learn the Truth until driven to do so by sorrow or failure. Sooner or later we all will discover the Truth about God…some of us must be driven to do so. This speaks of our ‘spiritual 2×4’s….we all have had them to some degree, me included.

Butterworth’s version:
I am grateful for challenges that lead me beyond my extremity to God’s opportunity.
(Sometimes I don’t feel very grateful at the time my ‘growth opportunities’ are presenting themselves!)

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. This is the Key to Life-Jesus’ message reduced to 1 sentence; earth here means manifestation of expression, it is the result of a cause. A cause has to be manifested or expressed before we can know anything about it. This is the Law of Cause & Effect…all causation is mental. So here this means to have dominion over the outer experience, over our conditions of life bringing them into harmony & success.

Butterworth’s version:
I am in tune with God – that which is God-inspired and God-directed shall prevail.

Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled. Righteousness – right thinking on all subjects, what you think in your mind you will produce in your experience…as within, so without. And we can only act where we are, so BE present!

Butterworth’s says it this way:
I seek with all my mind and heart, and I shall find.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Be merciful in thought, you will receive the same treatment that you mete out—do onto others; think onto others.

The Butterworth’s version:
I keep my thoughts centered upon only those things that I want to see manifest in my life.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. God is all around us, recognize God as the only Cause, only real Presence, only Power….Our 1st Principle.

Butterworth’s version:
I see the world, not as it is, but as I am, and I am in spiritual unity with God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons and daughters of God. Prayer is the only thing that changes one’s character, peacemakers are those who bring true peace in their own souls. As long as there is fear or resentment or any trouble in your heart, it is not possible to obtain much.

The word ‘Man’ comes from a Sanskrit word meaning ‘to think’….that is what these Beatitudes are all about…what and how we think.

I like this…
I am a child of God and I act like one. I am a radiating center of peace and love.
(peace begins with me)

Blessed are they that have been persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. God’s will for us is harmony, peace & joy…these are obtained via right thoughts=righteousness; we ‘persecute ourselves’ via those same thoughts. We are not punished for our sins, our mistakes; but by them…
Butterworth’s version:
In my quest for truth, I press on past my humanity to a deepening awareness and an increasing releasement of my potential divinity.
What we get out of a situation is a direct result of our thoughts as we go through it.

Epictetus (epic teetus said: “It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.”

Charles Fillmore reminds us: “God’s greatest gift to (hu)man(s) is the power of thought, through which (we) can incorporate into (our) consciousness the mind of God,”

‘Ye are the salt of the earth‘, we determine what our world is like, we flavor it like salt flavors our food. It only takes a handful of dedicated disciples to change the consciousness of the world, the flavor….we have seen this swing the opposite way with the nationalist movements throughout the world

But we can do our part to flavor our world. Jesus tells us to:
“Agree with thine adversary quickly”, remembering that the adversary is not the person or situation that stands before you, but your reaction to or your feeling about it… We can’t always control what happens to us. But we can control what we think about what happens – and what we are thinking is our life at any particular moment.” This is part of our ‘free will…we have a choice…always!
We can ask – “Is this event for us?”

Not ‘why is this happening to me, but what can I learn?’

Think of a time when you found yourself in the drama or an adversarial situation and were able to change your perception and experience a state of peace. It’s proof that YOU CAN DO IT!

“Thoughts and feelings held in mind produce after their kind.” This is the Law of Mind Action, or Unity’s Third Principle.

How does this apply to this week’s topic? Do our thoughts “create” our reality, or does how we see our reality create our experience?

The glass isn’t half full or half empty… the glass is refillable.
“Blame is not useful. Polarization is not useful. Bitterness and negativity are not useful. What’s useful in these perilous times is deep thought and dialogue. What’s useful is a willingness to speak from our hearts, to say out loud what we hunger for, what we’re willing to live for, and what it is we can no longer abide.”

— Jan Phillips in No Ordinary Time

Emmet Fox -we “must make each and every day a spiritual Sabbath by knowing and doing all things in a spiritual light.”

This is what we do here…show you to YOUR LIGHT. I am here to call you higher…to ask you to think.
All day long the thoughts that occupy your mind are molding your destiny for good or not; the whole of your life experience is but the outer expression of inner thought.
That choice, our free will, lies in our choice of thought – our lives are the result
I know there are some here who have an issue with the Bible; but we at Unity look at it as a manual for the growth of the soul, especially when we look at it through the eyes of metaphysics.
We are told in Proverbs 4:7 “With all thy getting, get understanding”
That is what Eric Butterworth is attempting to aid us in his ‘breaking down the law’ as Jesus is asking us to do in this Sermon, so we can shine our light
‘We are the light of the world’ so let your light shine…let your spirituality show.
Put feet to your prayers
Mahatma Gandhi tells us: “To believe in something, and not to live it, is dishonest.”

We are the activity of God, if we do not do as we claim we believe, then that God activity dies.
So, let your light shine. “What you are speaks so loudly that one cannot hear what you say” … Emerson