Via Christa: Via Christa Life: Sermons: Edna Lister’s Sermons, 1965.

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Edna Lister’s Sermons, 1965

Loveliness and Beauty
Edna Lister outline, February 7, 1965, Tacoma, WA. Matthew 12:38-50.

“Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah: For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and, behold, a greater than Jonah is here. The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here. When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walks through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he finds it empty, swept, and garnished. Then he goes, and takes with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation. While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him. Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee. But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? And who are my brethren? And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.”–Matthew 12:38-50.
From the time Jesus opened his ministry, the Sadducees had sent temple spies to follow him, seeking information that they could use to condemn him. They never ceased hounding him, trying to trap him from every angle. They hindered him from the start.
Jesus taught in parables for two reasons, to keep the temple spies from knowing exactly what he meant, leaving them confused by their interpretations, and to unveil the mysteries, which he must unfold for his disciples. Working according to a precise plan, he knew that he had little more than three years in which to train twelve men to carry on his work of ascension of consciousness, which he founded 2,000 years ago, and which grows greater year by year.
He always unfolded the mystical meanings of what he had taught in public at night, after the crowds were gone. Thus, a chapter may seem to be a mass of unrelated facts and thus, so many interpretations abound.
“The scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah: For as Jonah was in the whale’s belly three days and three nights, so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, a greater than Jonah is here. The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.”–Matthew 12:38-42.
To understand this text, you need to relate all these scattered statements, and integrate them into a whole. Jesus answered the scribes and Pharisees with the story of Jonah, then immediately mentioned the queen of the south and Solomon in the same verse to confuse them with historical facts. Later, he unfolded the mystery to his disciples.
The queen of the south represents the Love principle, as desire, arising in consciousness to mate with Solomon, who symbolizes Wisdom. Thus, intuition and illumination open the Christed “I AM” consciousness. The love of Jesus the Christ, which brings the glory of oneness with all beauty, is love. Loveliness is the full illumination of Light.
The story of an evil spirit illustrates something from the outside possessing a soul. For instance, some husbands possess their wives, mothers may possess their children, and brothers and sisters may possess each another. Yet you can neither possess another soul, nor may you allow it.
You must stand free and illumined to have Power use you. You cannot be weak or demanding, but must be positive, dynamic, under a brisk, vital, alert love, the servant of all Power.
Turn on the heat! Otherwise, the Power you release is so diluted, it goes just across the street, not being strong enough to vitalize, project or to heal. Love is a power. Love is the substance of which beauty is made.

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The Good Shepherd
Edna Lister outline, February 14, 1965, Tacoma, WA. John 10:1-20.

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers. This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them. Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father. There was a division therefore again among the Jews for these sayings. And many of them said, He hath a devil, and is mad; why hear ye him?”–John 10:1-20.
As a young man, Jesus had traveled all over the world before he returned to Judea to take over his cousin John the Baptist’s ministry of preaching the advent of the kingdom of heaven. Jesus was about thirty-one years old when John baptized him, at the beginning of Pontius Pilate’s governorship of Judea.
After the baptism, Jesus retired from public activity and remained secluded until the Baptist was betrayed into Herod’s hands and beheaded. His other cousins, James and John, were searching for him. When he returned to Capernaum, he chose his disciples, and immediately began to train them to carry on his work. Often, when a Gospel states that Jesus “left” his disciples, he went to the inner realms. He could ascend his body with his consciousness even then, and seemingly disappeared.
During the forty days and three temptations in the wilderness, Jesus had chosen between acknowledging himself as the messiah for whom the Jews were waiting, or to walk as a son of man, alone, knowing where he had to go and what he had to suffer. His sacrifice was to follow the Via Christa, the Way of Christ, to establish the New Jerusalem. For this reason, we know that God cannot fail or allow evil to win. Although you cannot see the way ahead, you know what the end shall be. Your confidence in God is supreme.
The Parable of the Good Shepherd presents three salient facts about spiritual responsibility: I am the door of the sheep. My sheep know my voice. I lay down my life for my sheep. Jesus explained the parable, but the disciples were still foggy about its meaning. Some followers said, “If you are the messiah, tell us plainly.” Yet his vows did not allow it. They had to learn to recognize his voice and follow of their own volition.
Everyone has sheep. Your sheep are your creations of imagination, thinking and desires, your creative tools. “I am the door of the sheep.” Even God cannot force anyone to follow Him as His Begotten Son. You must hear His voice, and accept the “one door” to His fold. “My sheep know my voice.” Every time you call the name of a sheep today, you call to every sheep of similar degree and kind out there. Yesterday’s sheep also come running to you. Some are black-faced, but do you repudiate them? You do, if you say, “This is not mine. I didn’t create it. I do not deserve this.”
Your creations are always with you. Repudiating them does no good. You may forget your sheep, but they follow you when you open the door, and enter again. Thus, you must acknowledge the law, “Only my own can come to me.” To say, “I lay down my life for my sheep,” is surrender to be the servant of all Power. You surrender opinions about, prejudice against and blame for, and “I will. I won’t. I can’t.” All these are partly black sheep. You must call them back to melt, dissolve, and absorb them into Light.
Jesus was always able to portray God as exciting, to make the kingdom of heaven thrilling. It is wonderful, filled with limitless glory and beauty. You can “take up your cross” and really follow. Life is your cross of ascension. “My yoke is easy” because Love cushions you when you love with the love of God without self. “My burden is light” because it’s a joy to serve, to watch for the relief and release.
Who is the agent of Power? From what Source above, with no barriers? As Isaiah said, “Here I am Lord. Send me.” In this principle, you may have confidence: Your every decree shall come to you. Call your sheep. Send forth good words. Broadcast and fill your world with white sheep. Remember to call your black sheep “good.” When you wave your wand of love, lo, all false sheep fade into Light.

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Dividing the Inheritance
Edna Lister outline, February 21, 1965, Tacoma, WA. Hebrews 1:1-7, 2:6-8.

“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high: being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son? And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him. And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.”–Hebrews 1:1-7.
“What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man that thou visitest him? Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands: Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him.”–Hebrews 2:6-8.
Formerly, God spoke to our fathers though the prophets. In these days, He speaks to us by His Son. God’s Voice releases vastly greater Power and consciousness is raised since He has spoken to us through His Son. Integrate this with Jesus’ declaration that we shall do the works and greater than he did.
As St. Paul said, we are joint heirs to the kingdom of heaven, which is like a trust fund, so great and limitless that we cannot overdraw the account. Yet receiving this inheritance is subject to certain conditions. For example, according to the terms of a will on earth, sometimes one must live in an old house to inherit it. It is the same in heaven: You must “dwell in the house of the Lord forever,” now and forever. If you do not use the interest from your account, it reverts to the Universal Bank. Then your income shrinks.
The house of the Lord represents consciousness of God. What are the individual bonds within the inheritance? All the attributes and virtues of the Source: Honor, loyalty, integrity, wisdom, love, compassion, mind, power and substance, joy, surrender and obedience. The first requirement is responsibility being responsible for the upkeep on the inheritance. This requires acceptance of truth, surrender of self, such as fear, doubts, opinions and prejudices, and obedience to principles.
How do you contact your inheritance? Daniel prayed while in the lions’ den, and broke through all barriers from earth through heaven to the Source. He saw only Light, and was conscious of Light only. There were no lions as far as Daniel was concerned.
“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.”–Philippians 2:5. Only one thing is wrong when you cannot contact my inheritance: You lack contact with the one Mind, which was in Christ Jesus. Your inheritance is always good.
Science has mapped the different spheres and ceilings around earth, which grow hotter as they ascend: the atmosphere, troposphere, chemosphere, ionosphere, mesosphere and exosphere. Each has a different temperature range and a ceiling. They call the ceiling between the atmosphere and troposphere the sound barrier, which creates a boom when jets break through it. It is the last of the seven gates of illusion of which the Hindu writings speak. Your inheritance is as great as you can think it to be. Yet, your payable-on-demand drafts on the Power are too small. Your prayers usually lack the fervor to reach the Source.
“What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man that thou visitest him? Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands: Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him.”–Hebrews 2:6-8.
As you reach up to God, He reaches down to you and you may experience an explosion of illumination, glory, ecstasy and rapture in the Light. This is your inheritance!

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What are Angels?
Edna Lister outline, February 21, 1965, Tacoma, WA. Acts 23:8, Psalm 91:11-12, Matthew 24:30-31.

“The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees confess both.”–Acts 23:8.
“He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.”–Psalm 91:11-12.
“And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”–Matthew 24:30-31.
According to one history, Jesus and the disciples journeyed from Jericho to Bethany. Nathaniel walked closely beside Jesus, discussing the relationship of children to the kingdom of heaven and the part parents played in it.
He asked when and how they were to teach children as guardians when Joseph Caiaphas, the high priest and a Sadducee, did not believe in angels. How were they to teach children about heavenly ministering angels? Jesus taught him the history, and explained about the orders of the angelic hosts, which are a separate order of created beings, entirely different from the orders of those creations that take on flesh.
Angels are not members of the group called the Sons of God, nor the glorified souls of humans, who have passed through the mansions of the soul. Man travels through the angelic orders in soul initiations, but never becomes a member of the angelic orders. Angels are servant messengers of the Most High God. The angels that Jacob saw ascending and descending the ladder, were taking initiations through their own orders. Angels are protectors, lest you dash your foot against a stone. To gain their full protection, you must give up earth’s “that’s impossible” and accept God’s “possible.” Accepting is easy, but giving up is hard. Mix everything in life, the people and experiences, with joy, and declare, “This is good. All is good. Let there be Light.”
Make sure that your prayer pattern follows your soul’s needs. For instance, saying, “I am doing so much better,” is following an old pattern. I’m doing so much better than what? Compared with the past? Compared with God? Your goal is ascension for more love, Light, Power and life. Anyone can measure up on the outer, to worldly standards. On the inner, it takes time and space for the full life of a soul to show.

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Healing the Unclean
Edna Lister outline, February 28, 1965, Tacoma WA. Matthew 8:1-4, Luke 17:11-19.

“When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. And, behold, there came a leper and worshiped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.”–Matthew 8:1-4.
“And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.”–Luke 17:11-19.
Ash Wednesday opens Lent, which is the period of sacrifice of self, not of things. Since Twelfth Night, you have come through a period of soul searching to discover exactly where the last of earth-taints are in your life. Where do you search? You can go wrong in only three places, in your creative tools of desire, thinking and imagination. You know what old pictures you still build and remove them. You know where your thoughts betray you, and you surely know the depth and height of your own desires.
What plans have you for your future ascension into the state of perfection, where you can count on yourself to hold steadfastly? How do you plan not only to control imagination, thinking and desires, but to conquer their old runaway betrayal of the soul?
This story of the ten lepers healed, and the one who returned, gives us the key. Jesus told them first to “tell no man.” The lesson is that after you have had a miracle, you are open to challenge. Maintain silence and do not give anyone the chance to tear down your high vibration. If you talk about a miracle in the first person, you challenge the law, which returns to you as the temptation to doubt and fear. If you give in, the miracle will fade and the former condition will return. Hold your silence before men and offer praise before God.
“And it came to pass, as [Jesus] went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.”–Luke 17:11-19.
Jesus and his disciples were traveling to Jerusalem and passed through a town on the border between Galilee and Samaria. The disciples, who were still adhering to their religious opinions and prejudices, would not have anything to do with a Samaritan, who was an outcast.
The lepers were Samaritans and thus were considered to be as Gentiles, who remained apart according to law, and cried for help. The disciples did not want Jesus to tarry, but he stayed and healed them. Yet later, only one, the Samaritan, returned to praise God and worship in gratitude. Praise is protection. To withhold praise impoverishes the soul. Praise brings soul to sovereignty over self. Without praise, only self is sovereign, not soul. You must choose between soul and self.
When you let the self take over, you sell your soul stock short, and if you continue, someday you will not have enough left to pay you dividends. Senility begins with a lack of gratitude and praise for what you have. Senility results when too much soul substance is is wasted and mind fails the body.
Soul conquering requires rigid discipline of the self and unconquerable devotion to the principles of honor, loyalty and integrity. Praise, under all conditions, whether perfection, delays, or adverse. Praise weathers any storm. You can always last one day longer than the tempest.
Praise awakens your flaming imagination, burning desire and unconquerable devotion to principle as honor, loyalty and integrity. God cannot fail. God is triumphant forever and will outlast all His creations. You can last with Him.
You can stand and comprehend; you can conquer. As a soul, you are a flame and a fire. Keep the fires burning, like the tenth leper who returned, though praise, praise, praise. Triumphantly declare, “I have become a conqueror!”

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What is a Messiah?
Edna Lister outline, February 28, 1965, Tacoma, WA. John 4:5-14, 12:32-36.

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What is a Messiah?
Edna Lister transcript, February 28, 1965, Tacoma, WA. Ruth Collord, scribe. John 4:5-14, 12:32-36.

“Then cometh he [Jesus] to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour. There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”–John 4:5-14.
The mantle of messiahship is the golden robe of the 33rd Degree. Each has woven a part of his mantle, a piping on the collar, a cape. Some weave it to the fingertips, decide they have given too much and unravel it to the elbows again. This sermon deals with Jesus’ personal teachings. He had just come to observe the Passover in Jerusalem and hadoverturned the tables of the money-changers in the temple. He trained his disciples all the way through to the end.
“I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. This he said, signifying what death he should die. The people answered him, We have heard out of the law that Christ abideth for ever: and how sayest thou, The Son of man must be lifted up? who is this Son of man? Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light.”–John 12:32-36.
You, too, will be lifted up, but you must lift evil first. If you think you are working here, wait until you get to heaven, where “retirement” is a bad word! This chapter is all about water and the spirit. Earlier Jesus had said to Nicodemus, “Unless one is born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God”–John 3:3. This verse relates personality and principle; he deals with the soul and ascension.
Jesus had traveled two or three days from Capernaum to Sychar in Samaria, near Jacob’s well. He was tired and thirsty, and sat by the well. “There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.”–John 4:7-10.
Jesus is referring to the spiritual identity with a source from God. The well of life is within you. You have no Light unless you breathe. Do you believe this? Jesus gave this woman her Godlike identity. She asked him why she had to go to the temple in Jerusalem to worship. He said the location did not matter, but you must worship in spirit and in truth. The spirit means soul. Worship God as personality and principle. This is the first time that Jesus admitted he was the messiah. When he told her that he knew she’d had five husbands, she called him a prophet, but he said anyone can be a prophet.
The Jews believed that the messiah would take over the world when he came. A messiah is a prophet, priest and king. Jesus was also a prince of the house of David. He had the mark of the ruling class. At least sixty self-proclaimed messiahs had plagued Judea, and all they had was an earthly lineage. The authorities put them to death as troublemakers.
You must ascend to have a messianic message. Three quarters of your humanity is submerged. Only one quarter of you is visible, and you must keep a close watch on your submerged part. You may breathe spiritual breath and the Light with every breath you draw. When you work on teaching the Light, that Light, which contains all the Mind, Power and Substance, works on your cells. You become that which you desire. You are gods, messiahs in the making as you ascend. The more you surrender to the Power, the nearer you come to the Light.
The will of God for you is all perfection. You must choose the well of living water that is your Source. Take one deep breath and talk to God, saying, “I am ready to be used.” That is the secret. You must surrender your whole body to be the living ensample of God. First, you must give God a chance to heal you. To do so, you must erase whatever taints you have and transform them. This is another great power of being. What are your declarations for healing? Will the Light and Power of God become the living water within you? You have not over-visioned a goal for yourself, but have under-visioned all your life. It is never too late, just too soon.
“He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.”–John 14:12. Every promise the Master made is true. “Greater works shall you do” if you are ready to do the work. What will you do to possess this pearl of great price?

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Faith Works
Edna Lister outline, May 2, 1965, Cleveland, OH. Matthew 21:19-22, 28-32.

“And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away. And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away! Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.”–Matthew 21:19-22.
“But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work today in my vineyard. He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went. And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not. Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.”–Matthew 21:28-32.
Intellectuals are calling ours “a society in a dilemma.” Wherever we turn, we find a heavy problem. No one can foresee what the results of any given decision may be. Everyone is in bondage to some kind of fear until personal fears are magnified into world fears.
Improvements in communication and transportation have made us a neighborhood without making us a brotherhood. We are fast learning that we must be our brother’s keepers, or we will destroy ourselves. We have permitted the forces of secularism and materialism almost to destroy our faith. A soul’s capacity for faith diminishes as world opinions and ideas leave God out of the equation entirely. Worship of worldly opinions causes people to conform to secular humanism, and worship of material things causes faith to shrink.
Shekinah glory no longer fills the sanctuary. No pillar of cloud leads us by day or pillar of fire by night. We hear no fluttering of angels’ wings over us, see no miracles. No exultant praise fills our temples, and no mysteries are revealed. Prophesied for the end of this age is a series of events that will be as short and sharp as they are swift and sure. Veil after veil will be lifted as we walk along the pathway of greater revelations. The Light of prophecy sheds a brilliance, limited only by temporary shadows imposed by the lifting of evil from earth.
Where does faith orgiginte? From where does it come? The “from where” must mean right where we stand this very hour, of course. Faith holds onto the knowing that it shall attain every goal for happiness that each chooses. Yet fundamentally, everyone is seeking security, contentment, serenity, peace and all other virtues.
“And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away. And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away! Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.”–Matthew 21:19-22.
The story of the barren fig tree epitomizes this lesson. Jesus withering the fig tree symbolizes wiping out all evil. Saying to the mountain, “Be cast into the sea,” refers to lifting all burdens, as in “Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee.”–Psalm 55:22. “Cast your burdens on me, and I will make them Light.” Finally, to create and bring forth all your heart’s desires, you must ask in faith. “And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.”–Matthew 21:22.
We have learned that the purpose of Creation is to express, to give. If life has no purpose, you live a useless, miserable existence each day. You must have a goal, and your purpose is then to reach it. Once found, you put your faith in the goal, give it your devotion and must serve it. Is it a goal just for you, competition in the world, pushing your way through to be the first one there? Oh no.
When you, as a creator, descended from your heavenly place above, you gave up your position, exactly as you do on earth when you move from one city to another. If you want to return to your place, you must earn it again. Achieving your goal means sacrifice, surrender of self and, the greatest of all, devotion to that goal.
“A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard. He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went. And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not.”–Matthew 21:28-30. The story of the two sons explains that not everyone who starts first finishes first. Failure results from indifference. Everyone has opportunities to forge ahead, if they hold steady.
We are all swimming in the River of Life. The weak and indifferent laggards are along the shores, backwashes and stagnant places, but regularly, the river sweeps them back into the mainstream. Prayer keeps us all afloat. Every prayer for those who are struggling draws someone into the sparkling waters again, though they may have been delayed.
I must be my own “first one through.” My first call must carry me through the first time, without blame, regret or slipping backward. My faith unconquerable takes me through any problem the first time I pray. Faith is my justification, my glory, my triumph. My prayer of unwavering faith breaks through any barrier.

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Faith Works
Edna Lister transcript, May 2, 1965, Cleveland, OH. Elizabeth Barnes, Irene White, scribes. Matthew 21:19-22, 21:28-32.

“And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away. And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away! Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.”–Matthew 21:19-22.
“But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work today in my vineyard. He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went. And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not. Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.”–Matthew 21:28-32.
Society is in a dilemma of secular materialism, leaning to science, denying the Power of God or that Jesus is the only Begotten Son of God. The world must face the truth that the Power of God exists. People magnify their personal fears into world fears. World trends have made us a neighborhood, but not a brotherhood. Yet, you take yourself along with yourself, day and night, wherever you go, so be sure to bring your loyalty to God and personal integrity with you.
History reveals many who were the first to bring through an idea—souls such as Washington and our Founding Fathers, Gladstone, Disraeli, Marie Curie, Churchill, the Buddha, the astronauts, etc. Everyone with a new idea, who breaks through the barrier of “the way things are,” suffers for it. People who have a goal are purposeful. Without a soul purpose and goal, a man is lost. To reach any goal, you must be the first to bring a through a new idea for yourself.
Jesus taught the lesson of the barren fig tree because everyone is a fig tree in potential. Each has come through a barren state, some mental block to success. You must break through the barrier of self’s barrenness to access the vast soul potential within you that is not yet bearing fruit. Each of the Elect is a creator, begotten by and descended from God. We have been thrown from the Garden of Eden and are earning back our place by good hard work.
In life, you experience periods of progression and regression. When a tree bears no fruit, you must uproot it. This is symbolic also of old emotions, ideas, beliefs and idle words. You must center yourself and focus on a goal, which in this case is returning to your original state. You are building a mansion in the sky. Never let go of your overall goal to attain any short-term goal.
You are building your road back home after what seems like eternities in the wilderness of consciousness. For every little surrender of the self, you are working on the inner to promote soul growth, earning back your position in heaven. You are breaking through the barrenness of self to those potential soul qualities within. Only your own weaknesses keep you from attaining. You cut your own vibration with idle words, and soul taints.
You may even destroy your own creative prayer molds just as you fill them to overflowing. Yet you do not waste one moment in guilt. Instead, quicken your consciousness until you break through, and ascend in consciousness. Lift the past. Forget the past, and move forward, reaching toward the mark of the high calling of God.
Any idea you receive from the source of all ideas carries the power of that source with it. Release the Power. Declare, “Here I am, Father! Please shoot the Power through me to fill this mold. Let it come to pass.”
Do not waste time denying that you have a pain or any other hindrance. Break through the current circumstances now! Ascend in consciousness to a new concept of where you are going. Give the goal all your faith, all your service, and serve no false gods on the side. When God puts a new heavy task before you, He says, “Child, no one out there can take away this beautiful form you have created. The substance is Christlike. It comes together again, and no one can tear it down. It will come together again.” God has already poured out the substance for your miracle-molds, and you cannot ask for anything too big. You can be the first one through with prayers for everything.
When you pray a prayer for release of Power to gather some politician or public figure into the Light, declare them good, even if the news says they are black. Surround them with a sphere of Light every time you pray, no matter how dark they appear to be. Some people pass away under a cloud of hatred. Your task is to surround them with love, for the Light to heal them on the inner. You can be the first one through. Lifting the darkness of earth is a wonderful goal.

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Eternity is Mine
Edna Lister outline, May 9, 1965, Cleveland, OH. Psalm 27.

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Eternity is Mine
Edna Lister transcript, May 9, 1965, Cleveland, OH. Elizabeth Barnes, Irene White, scribes. Psalm 27.

“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident. One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple. For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock. And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the Lord. Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me. When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek. Hide not thy face far from me; put not thy servant away in anger: thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation. When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up. Teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies. Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty. I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.”–Psalm 27.
We have all yearned, under the vibration of Mother Love, to reach a higher standard of illumination. Mother love is a brooding, yearning love and compassion for the world. Mother love and eternity are the same. Mother love forms into time. Father Wisdom forms into space, and love moves out as faith. God used faith as the substance of creation, so the Father moved forth as faith as well.
You need space in which to pray, to ascend in consciousness, which is not crowded with everyone around. And you need both time and space in which to create. All principles must act as one to create a time and space continuum. To create, you must fill the space with love, for it does not fill itself—so pour love into it. This is one interpretation of mother love acting as faith.
Mother love comes in three types—emotional sympathetic-sentimental, intellectual-mental, and spiritual-universal. Emotional love never gets together in time and space, wrong place. A time is appointed for everything. When you wait on the Lord, you do not blunder, so wait to do it at the right time.
Spiritual universal mother love is balanced in both time and space and thus always knows the exact right time to do everything. Mother love is God’s perfect timing. An intellectual know-it-all love challenges everyone and everything, saying, “I won’t put up with” this or that, which constantly throws them off on timing and spacing. When you use universal timing and spacing, life and your affairs flow smoothly because God is behind you.
Are spiritual mothers doormats? Only a sentimental mother is a doormat—she gives, then forgets the giving, and no task is too hard or too long to her universal Mother love. Having done all, you stand, and create the perfect timing under the grace of God.
Declare, “I stand under the Light in my Father’s house while I wait on the Lord. I look up into the Light now, waiting, hearing, and listening to the Lord.” Set your conscious mind to doing things out here, while your inner soul waits on the Lord.
You must stand, and plan your timing and spacing for tomorrow. Do the next thing next if life interrupts you, and the delay will not throw your timing or spacing off-track. No matter what the interference, accept it with mother love, and with no resentment. God may say, “You must change your schedule, for the world needs this lifting now.” And having done all, you stand while knowing that God will work it together for good.
Timing holds you under the protection of universal mother love, keeps you from doing something at the wrong time, and puts you in the right place at the right time. The great principles of Love and Wisdom express as time and space while you release the Power under compassion.
You can use everything that comes to you in the school of experience as rungs on the ladder to climb higher. Mother love asks nothing for itself. It gives everything it has, and is always in the right place at the right time, because it lives under universal timing, which matches universal spacing. Mother love knows when to withhold a word at the right time, wastes no time, and holds no opinions or prejudices.
In Mother love, you can remain serenely confident, and having done all, you stand and watch all things work together for good. You’ll be in the right place, knowing the right prayer. The right words will be put on your lips.

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Appreciation is a Love Affair
Edna Lister outline, May 16, 1965, Cleveland, OH. Revelation 3:11-22.

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Appreciation is a Love Affair
Edna Lister transcript, May 16, 1965, Cleveland, OH. Elizabeth Barnes, Ruth Johnson, Irene White, Ross and Virginia Whitehead, scribes. Revelation 3:11-22.

“Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.”–Revelation 3:11-22.
Appreciation means “to put a value on anything or person, to use the thinking function to evaluate, to prize, to esteem.” To cherish means “to be tender, to watch over, to love, take care of the person.” To cherish someone is to appreciate them, and brings love into the meaning the meaning of appreciation. You can cherish something that is objective, as well as a person, but you cannot cherish anything that you cannot love.
Appreciation is a sensitive awareness of soul values and a discriminating discernment of acceptable moral values. You cannot appreciate without understanding, nor can you love “nothing” or something that you do not value. You need an object of love, either an abstract idea or a personalized expression, and you cannot love either without an appreciation of what they stand for. Appreciation is a definite part of your soul’s infolding to God.
All these nuances color your love affair with God, and it must be a passionate love affair with God. Otherwise, a coldness taints your love, because it is not love enough. Even otherwise honorable people sometimes have been cruel to others, and later claimed their honor drove them to it. To be in love, you must be in love with and devoted to an idea, an object, an organization, or a person. Worldly love is a self-love, a love turned inward. Yet you need something exterior to your self to love.
Repudiation of a remote God sitting on a distant throne sent millions to worship God as mere principle, devoid of personality. They also threw out every idea of divinity related to Jesus as Christ. They call him a “good” man but forget that Good is God’s hidden name on earth. These people miss the mark of full appreciation of God.
God creates through divine cosmic breathing, exhalation and inhalation, which requires a tremendous creative tension between the Father and Mother, masculine and feminine aspects of God. “Good” is dual, not threefold. Good is either absolute, one with God, or merely relative, as the various types of good we see in the temporal world, in time and space. <
The first chapter of Revelation paints a picture of Jesus the Christ immediately after he ascended to the Father. A “son of man” describes a person having the attributes of substance and appearance as human form, God as personality. This lifts the image of God as personality into the beauty of God as a person.
The two-edged sword symbolizes two rays of Light, Love and Wisdom, which equal justice. “Having the keys of hell and death” means Jesus Christ has the power to hold earth until it can be cleansed. The “seven stars” represent the seven churches of the Revelation, and the lampstands are their congregations and their levels of consciousness.
This passage from the Revelation mentions two promises, mystically called the “promises of Melchizedek.” The sixth promise, “I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go out no more,” is given to the creators in Philadelphia, the sixth church of brotherly love, which represents creative Power.
“Unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.”–Revelation 3:14-16.
The seventh promise is to the Laodiceans, the worshipers before the throne, the inheritors of the Love of God. The seventh church in Revelation represents love for and worship of God. How do you escape lukewarmness? The love of God takes you to the “high place” in consciousness for true worship of God as the Light of all that is. You must defend the truth that is in you, but not by arguing, telling how much you know, or spouting opinions or prejudices. Many people who open their mouths reveal nothing more than their ignorance.
“I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.”–Revelation 3:18.
First, to be rich, you must buy gold that has been tried in the fire. Second, white raiment means to be clothed in purity. Third, you must anoint your eyes with eye salve of praise. Buying gold and white raiment comes under the law of wisdom. Wisdom is the gold of earth. Gold is yellow, signifying that it holds all the attributes of wisdom. Wisdom on earth is tried by fires of adversity on earth. Wisdom is the builder, and can build the form in the mold you choose.
The golden Christed religion of love teaches loyalty to God and integrity of soul. Wisdom is the stairway up the mountain to God. You must keep moving or someone coming up from the rear will shove you off. Pay attention only to the Voice of God. Permit no one and nothing must to affect you. It’s never crowded at the mountaintop, the summit. So, keep climbing and keep your gaze lifted to God.
White raiment symbolizes purity of heart, mind and purpose. The shame of nakedness alludes to the desire body that exposes every desire, worthy and unworthy. Your hidden desires and selfish will always shows through, exposing your lukewarmness, which just talks and thinks about surrendering self.
So, you must put on white raiment, and use it as a robe of purity to cover the transgressions of others, to cover their nakedness. Love and cherish them instead of self-righteously judging them. A cherishing attitude, a true and just love makes it easier for the other fellow to go on. Let him keep his pride. This does not mean that you must cover the transgressions of an unrepentant soul or live with evil. You cover transgressions, yes, but need not assume obligations that you cannot keep.
Power stands at the door, knocking. To personalize it, you must let it in to fill your endocrine glands with energy. To sup with means to take in, to assimilate. Reach for the stars! If you are low in energy and vibration, break through the ceiling to open the mental body lotus centers. Then God’s Power takes charge.
Third, anoint your eyes with eye salve, which is praise of God. Look at everyone and everything with eyes of the mind, as soul vision. See all the unborn miracles waiting to come forth under faith. Praise starts faith into action.
Your eyes will tell you if you are appreciative enough and in love with God. If you need glasses, you are short on praise, which is appreciation verbalized in the spoken Word. Praise everything, even the worst people. Remember that God or other people may not always praise you. Say, “Though You slay me, yet will I praise Thee.”
If disappointments strike, praise God. Declare, “This is good!” Praise God because He is God. We are going home to God and taking the world with us, like the tail of a comet. Love is timeless and spaceless. You are always in the right place at the right time, in the right frame of mind, with the right words. Self-pity is heavier than lead, the most burdensome emotion.
Love is timeless, measureless and works as appreciation, which entices you into a love affair with God. Now is always the right time and this is the right place to love, which makes you unconquerable. Self-centered love is “too tired, too weary” and too self-satisfied to be in the right place at the right time.
The sixth and seventh promises go together. You cannot have God’s name until you sit on your own high soul throne. You cannot be a pillar in the temple until you are securely in the high temple. The throne is the higher creative centers of the brain—the nerves, endocrine glands and gland-like structures—wide open and fully functioning. It takes a thousand burnt offerings to open them, and only praise can swing the doors wide.
Love is your space ship, your orbiting satellite. Praise is your jet engine, faith is the fuel, and appreciation is your ignition switch. Without gratitude for what you have, you cannot start your praise engine. The faith of God, working as you, is inexhaustible, so you never need to stop to refuel. The faster you go, the more fuel you have.
God is all the words you can use when you praise and declare it good, which is God’s most potent name. God is all beauty, success, strength, glory, wisdom and love. Every name is His when you call them on yourself.
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock.” The Power of the living God is knocking at the door. Reach for the stars to open your door to God. God is Light, the vibration above all material creation. You belong to God, so declare, “My new name is Light!”

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What is Nonresistance?
Edna Lister outline, May 23, 1965, Cleveland, OH. Matthew 5:38-42, John 15:12-24.

“Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.”–Matthew 5:38-42.
“This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. These things I command you, that ye love one another. If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me. If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloak for their sin. He that hateth me hateth my Father also. If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father.”–John 15:12-24.
Resistance is “opposition to some force or object, to another or to others.” Nonresistance has two phases, unresisting or irresistible. Resisting includes opposing, fighting or hating, begrudging, blaming and resentment when someone wants your coat or forces you to walk a mile. Being unresisting is being a weak worm, a doormat, one who hardly dares to breathe for fear of offending. Such a person has no life of his own at all. Self-pity takes over and leads to martyrdom.
Why give up your cloak? Why turn the other cheek? Why walk two miles? You are supposed to learn the lesson the first time you turn your cheek. Keep out of such a position, which means to avoid the appearance of evil. Be still and wait. Seek first the kingdom. Jesus taught so many admonitions about this. If someone wants to argue, give him the first word and the last. Why should you give up your cloak or walk two miles? So you can make certain that you hold no grudge, resentment or blame. Always give more.
Nonresistance is the greatest law of all, the secret of all success. Nonresistance is not a passive attitude. When you live by nonresistance as Jesus taught it, no one dares to touch you. Stand steadfastly. Irresistible nonresistance is the most aggressive law on earth, for it never stops pushing. Nonresistance is a challenge to all enemies of Light. If Jesus had not walked among us, we would know nothing of sin. He emphasizes “love one another” in this chapter. His whole message is one of love. To love enough comes from being filled with devotion to something.
How do you become irresistible? Some say that you must learn to concentrate on the love of God. Concentration is a self-centered act of will, which is not the way to be irresistible. Concentration must ascend into determination to give beyond the “coat” and the “mile.” Determination becomes an impulse of soul, the fire of the soul in action, which takes you to the Mount of Transfiguration. You receive your new pattern of life on this mountain top of the soul, no longer afraid of standing naked or unprotected, no longer afraid of the Light.
You live by honor, loyalty and integrity. You give more than you are asked, yet remain strong, not imposed on. Irresistible love uses you. Beauty takes charge, covers others’ transgressions and never leaves them naked in sin.
Your love invokes the irresistible Power of the universal law of nonresistance, and it moves through you, bursts through your body-sheath as strength, health and compassion, and forms protective rays of repulsion around you. This is the place where what you ask for is given unto you.

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What is Nonresistance?
Edna Lister transcript, May 23, 1965, Cleveland, OH. Elizabeth Barnes, Irene White, Ross and Virginia Whitehead, scribes. Matthew 5:38-42, John 15:12-24.
“Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.”–Matthew 5:38-42.
“This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. These things I command you, that ye love one another. If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me. If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloak for their sin. He that hateth me hateth my Father also. If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father.”–John 15:12-24.
Resistance is opposition to some force or object. People oppose anything they think will make them less in any way. Most people are so full of their own resistance, they have no idea of what others are trying to tell them. Nonresistance is the greatest law of physical expression. To live by this law is not weak, but powerful. When you wait upon the Lord and someone pins your ears back, you learn your lesson so it does not happen again. You may hold no resentment when someone asks something outrageous of you. Instead, you eliminate your internal conflict.
Nonresistance is dynamic, but a spineless “worm” attitude invites resentment. Meeting the demands “out there,” beyond your physical body, without taking the vibration into your aura, is best. This is exercising nonresistance, compounded of the glory of God, working for you. You must have a spiritual anchor above to know security, and need devotion to a Supreme Being of Light to whom you go in confidence. You are forever insecure if you do not acknowledge the Source Overall.
You have no excuse to feel cowed or hurt because someone is always hurting you. Only the little self feels hurt. The choice is yours, and free will is a constant challenge. When you finally get sick of seeing the little self hurt, look your criticizer in the eye and wait. About the third time he begins to belittle you, stare at some small freckle or mmark on his face and watch him squirm and run. The Power of nonresistance opens the door and does the work when you let it. No one has a right to push you around, yet you’re supposed to cover the other fellow’s transgressions. Under the law of nonresistance, you may not expose his transgressions by telling the world how wrong he is. You need not critique his flaws—that’s his task, so let him do it.
Jesus Christ is the only teacher who has said, “Ask in my name,” so use his name. This is the only verse where the Master said, “Anything you ask in my name,” the Father may give you. Ascend in consciousness from the resistance vibration. Do not resist people or experiences, but love and draw them to you. One Power operates through and uses you, and you contact this Power according to your measure of faith. Wait on the Lord continuously in devotion and praise. Stop arguing. Let the other person have the last word as well as the first. Let the glorious power of nonresistance take charge.
Resistance is opposition to some opposing force or limitation. You get into real spiritual quicksand on this law of heavy, mundane resistance For example, you may obey the law of giving, but resent the other fellow’s lack of gratitude, which creates a small resistance that can quickly grow large. Nonresistance is responsible for a lot of confusion. It can support a doormat idea—a worm-like weakness that collapses as it’s compressed. Nonresistance is a great principle, a support to love, wisdom, honor, loyalty and integrity as you express these powers.
Nonresistance is the most powerful law of expression—even faith is rooted in it. Any person who lives by the law of nonresistance, as Jesus did, is powerful, able to examine every thought, choice and word to prejudge its value. Nonresistance never stops pushing while expressing the serenity of its Power. If you find yourself in a situation where the other fellow must slap your cheek, turn your other cheek and have him slap that, too, so you can remember not to land in the same situation again. Consider why you might need to turn the other cheek. In today’s slang, people say, “Watch out or you’ll get your ears pinned back!” meaning you must learn all earth’s lessons whether you like them or not. l
Psychology teaches that you can’t be mentally or emotionally whole while carrying a load of resentment and remain healthy. Being unresistant is like a loosely coiled spring—floppy—it makes you an easy mark, which invites trouble. Nonresistance reflects God’s shining through you, and your devotion to the Source. A man who does not recognize his Source is a man without a soul anchor. God gave us all these abilities and wants us to use them—but not to gratify self.
Concentration never take the soul to God, but has made skull-bumpers of many. Concentration is the first step, but as you ascend in consciousness under surrender to all the Light-as-Power, you give up self, which creates a quickening. So focus your attention on God, and enter your closet to pray with the Master.

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Your Soul Accomplishments
Edna Lister outline, May 30, 1965, Cleveland, OH. Matthew 14:24-33.

“But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. Then they that were in the ship came and worshiped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.”–Matthew 14:24-33.
Before these events Matthew describes in his Gospel, Herod had just given Salome the head of John the Baptist. His disciples told Jesus when they heard about it, after John’s followers had buried his body. Immediately, Jesus went by ship to a desert place, apart.
Whenever people heard that Jesus was near, they followed him on foot, out of the cities. Jesus was touched by compassion for them and healed their sick loved ones. When evening came, the disciples wanted to send them back home, into the city for food. Instead, Jesus increased the five loaves and two fishes and they were left with twelve baskets to share. They had fed 5,000 men, including their women and children.
Then Jesus “constrained” his disciples to go by ship before him, which means he used a mild but persuasive influence on them. He was firm, but final. When you are constrained, you are obliged to conform, but through loyalty, not force. He wanted his disciples to leave for the farther shore that evening, while he returned to the mountain, the high place in consciousness, to pray and complete his vigil for John the Baptist. He planned to meet them later.
A storm blew up and their boat was being tossed about on the sea. In the middle of the night, they saw Jesus walking toward them across the water. They thought he was a spirit, a ghost, and feared him. He said, “Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.” Peter was always brash, and he was fully sold on Jesus. He wanted to walk to him, and said, “Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.” Jesus answered him with one word, “Come.” Peter’s faith was sublime, as long as he looked up in consciousness. He saw only Jesus, as Daniel saw only the Light in the lions’ den. The difference here was in the quality of their faith. When Peter wavered, he cried, “Lord, save me!”
Peter’s faith had grown as he watched and participated in the feeding of the 5,000. He held a new conviction. He saw the stature of a man, God-high. He focused his attention on Jesus’ stature, and he had a new goal. As long as he centered his attention on his newly realized stature of Jesus, he remained afloat, walking on water. When his attention flagged, he sank.
Your lifeline of Power always moves along your line of attention, and the Power follows. When your attention sags into aches and pains, for instance, the Power line follows, and flows into the aches and pains to nourish and sustain them. When you center your attention on needs, you have more needs, a “miracle of needs.” Any increase from the invisible to the visible is a miracle. This is how you can increase the aches and pains into ever larger miracles of pain. Power is always working miracles of increase. What are you feeding with your increase of the five loaves and two fishes? Your faith conditions your loaves and fishes. What quality and quantity of faith is yours?
Producing a miracle involves three factors: First, you must have a goal. Second, you need sufficient depth to your conviction. Third, the quality of your faith and the quantity of your love is critical. The goal is to be God-high as you follow the stature of the Christ. How high is God? Do you want to be God-high? You may believe in someone else being God-high, yet not be willing to do the hard work necessary to become God-high yourself.
Your conviction must be to center your attention steadfastly and unwaveringly. You cannot succeed if you blow hot or cold. You scatter the Power if your attention wavers in intensity. You are constantly focusing your attention on something, from birth to transition. Since Power concentrates wherever you focus your attention, you have a miracle there. If you focus your attention on nothing, you have a miracle of nothing. When you center your attention on the stature of Christ in you, God-high, your soul will accomplish a God-high life.
The quality of your faith and quantity of your love must be exceptional. Your faith stretches your soul, and your love sends the substance to fill your creative prayer molds. Remember to constantly send up more praise, for praise carries your gifts of faith and love upward to God.
Do you believe, in faith, that God is? Do you believe, in full faith, that a man can be God-high? Are you now convinced that your soul can accomplish anything? Do you center your attention on what you want? Become enraptured with God, enthralled with the stature of Christ and his beauty. Be enthralled with life itself, always with twelve baskets left over to share.

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Your Soul Accomplishments
Edna Lister transcript, May 30, 1965. Elizabeth Barnes, Irene White, scribes. Matthew 14:24-33.

“But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. Then they that were in the ship came and worshiped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.”–Matthew 14:24-33.
John the Baptist and Jesus were cousins, but as close as brothers. When Jesus heard of his cousin’s death, he took his disciples away, but the multitudes had followed them. John’s death at the hands of Herod had upset everyone, for John was popular and well-loved. Jesus was compassionate with the great throng because he knew that sometimes principle, law, is not enough—in times of trouble you also need love and compassion. So, having compassion on them, he worked with them all day healing them and their sick loved ones. By evening, everyone was hungry, so he fed them of the five loaves of bread and two fish with twelve baskets of leftover bread and fish remaining.
After Jesus had cared for everyone, he sent his disciples ahead of him by ship while he sent the multitudes home. Finally, Jesus went apart to pray, and while he was praying a storm that had been brewing blew up while the disciples were in the midst of crossing the Sea of Galilee. Jesus knew their ship was in danger of being swamped, so he went to them, walking across the waves.
The men were frightened because they were far from a safe haven onshore, and knew how strong the crosscurrents could get; their danger was very real. All Power comes from the invisible Source of All Light, including the kinetic power you have or the universal Power you can access. The Power will go to wherever you fix your attention, so if you focus on your needs, they will increase.
Jesus knew all this and had taught his disciples these laws, but they had not seen them in action, at least not in a situation like this. Their fear drove everything from their minds except survival. Jesus was calm and unhurried as he walked toward them, and they marveled. In calming them, he used a persuasive force just firm enough to get the results they needed. Peter, who later came to represent perfect faith, still needed proof and asked for it. The Lord told him to come and a miracle happened—Peter walked on water until his faith slipped and he needed saving again.
Three different factors are essential for you to be able to conquer—first you must have a definite goal. Second, you must have a focused attention backed by an abiding conviction that you will succeed. Third, you need a sufficient quantity of love that is invincible in its quality.
Your consciousness of the realm of miracles must be God-high. How high is God? Ask yourself, Do I want to be God-high? Do I want to be perfect? If you do, you seek ways to do it, not ways to get out of doing it. You choose whether you can see your goal, or miss the mark because of laziness or lack of attention. Remember, if you pay attention to worldly needs, they will grow. When you contemplate and entertain the ugly thoughts, the doubts and fears, you dilute God’s Power as it moves through you. Power will go wherever your attention is centered, so hold your attention on a high goal of ascension and healing, and feel the Light surrounding you.
The prophet Daniel is a perfect example: He dared to enter the lions’ den, but had to keep his attention completely focused on his goal. The quantity of his love was perfect, and the quality of his love was supreme. Daniel surrendered so completely to God that he did not know there was anything in the world but God. His attention was wholly focused on the Light. Daniel was a finished product of surrender, plus the perfect quantity and quality of the love of God.
You must love God enough. Turn on a super-heat in your soul to love God more every hour of every day. Lots of people think they want to walk the path to God. The quality of their love may be there, but not in the quantity that counts. Center your attention on the goal of being God-high—if you slip, start at the beginning and return to it. Have the soul conviction that you can reach the God-high goal. From this high point you can speak words of wisdom, do acts of compassion, all while being able to stand against the darts of the enemy and a world that wants to drag you down.
What are you doing with the love of God that is moving through you? Focus your attention on the God-high goal. Do you dedicate praise-time each day for something you want increased? The miraculous Power follows the line of your attention, and increases whatever you center your attention on, wherever it is. Ask yourself, Do I really want to reach that God-high stature? Keep reaching until your praise increases the quantity and quality of your love to supreme perfection. Then God-high stature is your soul’s great accomplishment.

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Life: Detriment or Glory
Edna Lister Pentecost outline; June 6, 1965, Cleveland, OH. Ephesians 3:9-21.

“And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, According to the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of Him. Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory. For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.”–Ephesians 3:9-21.
What you get from life depends upon three things—the measure of your love of God, the measure of your faith of God, and the measure of your surrender of self to become the servant of all Power.
In all religions, every man is his own boss, free to choose what kind of boss he will be. If ninety-five percent of a man cannot believe or accept, his remaining five percent stands little chance of practicing the Presence of God. 1
Each of life’s detriments can become the highest point of illumination, or it can be the lowest weakness. “Choose you this day whom ye will serve.”–Joshua 24:15. You must choose between then serve either God or self. If you choose to serve God, you will earn a crown of glory. Should you choose to serve the self, you will earn a martyr’s crown of thorns.
The powers of God have been working since the dawn of time to fashion us into perfection. So, “This one thing I do now,” I recognize one thing only. I am having a love affair with Power. I now know the breadth, the length, the depth, the height of God’s love.
It’s time to recognize a few facts. God has done all He can for me. It’s high time I take responsibility for myself, or at least to cooperate with God. Psychology has taught me self-determinism. Love teaches soul-determinism, which is so far above self. I may choose self-power or God’s Power as me.
Faith has become my conducting rod of Power. Love plus faith creates a reliance, a zeal, a fervent constancy in my conduct. I cannot dislike detriments. I cannot dislike anything—all my worst favorites are now turned into beautiful assets of glory.
I surrender, speak the Word, and let God do the work. “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.”–John 5:17. When I fold all love, all faith into a conviction of God’s glory, the result is so great that nothing can stand before it. We have built a today on the deathless and abiding zeal of two women, Carrie Chapman Catt and Lydia Pankhurst. They were ready to give up their life for their ideal, the suffrage movement.
A man who was facing failure because he’d had no business for nearly a month during the Great Depression, decided to give God a chance. He knew only one thing, and while not a student of religion or particularly religious, he declared, “This is the greatest month of my life.” He quit sub-letting his mind to the world and its ideas of failure. He then enjoyed more business during the rest of that month than he had for the three months previous. God hadn’t changed, but he did. He turned on the heat under his love and faith until they measured up God-high. He became his own spiritual boss.
During the 1920s, a superintendent of Baldwin Locomotive Works, an American manufacturer of steam engines and cars, traveled to France when his firm had sold important machines to the French Government. The largest, most important engine had broken down, and the needed spare part was unavailable because it was hand-made. He had no time to wait for a replacement part to be shipped. They had informed him that no payments would be made, and no more sales unless he supplied the part at once. This man had no psychological, physical or metaphysical fix, just God was left.
He put on his hat and went to a movie. He surrendered to Spirit and let Spirit work. His subconscious mind got involved in the movie and off the engine track as he watched. He let go so God could do the work. In the middle of the movie, he heard a voice say, “Look on the scrap heap.” He jumped up and rushed to look. Sure enough, he found a discarded part, the exact duplicate of the one he needed. He had it cleaned and polished, and sent it on time. He folded his love and faith into one, surrendered to God and invoked the Power.
When you give up self for Power to use you by declaring, “This is good,” you face death of the old. The new life of glory moves in and possesses you. Your old martyr’s crown turns into a jeweled crown of glory. Your all-out conviction that the Father does the work causes wings to grow on your crown, and your soul soars.

1 The Practice of the Presence of God is a collection of the teachings of Brother Lawrence (born Nicholas Herman), a 17th Century Carmelite monk. Compiled by Father Joseph de Beaufort, it includes letters, as well as records of his conversations. The basic theme of the book is how to develop awareness of God’s presence in your life.

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Life: Detriment or Glory
Edna Lister Pentecost transcript, June 6, 1965 Cleveland, OH. Elizabeth Barnes, Ruth Johnson, Irene White, scribes. Ephesians 3:9-21.

“And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him. Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory. For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.”–Ephesians 3:9-21.
The only gift you can give to God is your lifting of some darkness to be changed into Light. Have you given enough love and compassion to the world, to the ones of darkness who need your love and compassion?
Three dimensions form your measuring rod of life—What is the measure of my love? What is the measure of my faith? What is the measure of my surrender to become the servant of all the Power of God? The faith of God must possess you; to be so, you must achieve complete love and faith, with no variation, no turning down the heat. Only by the faith of God can you surrender to the point of perfect balance. Your surrender of self must equal the faith and the love of God.
No outer principality or power can make anyone bow his knees and kneel where he does not want to. You can become your own boss. You choose what kind of boss you are, rigid, soft or balanced. As the boss, you choose your religion and determine how to achieve a balanced life. Offenses against God and man are detriments. As the Armageddon continues, we shall have detriments, but they can become glories and take us as high as we desire to go. Choose how you will manage your spiritual life.
To conquer means you can wear a crown of glory, if you do not have too many deductions. Unfortunately, many people operate with 95 percent doubts and fears and only 5 percent of the Power of God’s presence. What is your measure of faith and love? How surrendered are you to be possessed by the Power?
Since the beginning of time, God’s Power has sought to make man perfect. Civilization itself has caused man to ascend in consciousness. Science has made our outer lives almost perfect when it comes to convenience—think what we have in the way of worldly, material comforts. People used to complain about doing dishes, now it’s the dishwasher, but they still complain.
The power of my love—Have I been a witness to the breadth of my love? My personal love is never enough. I increase it by adding the Love of God wherever I go. If I detour to dislike anyone or hate something, I repudiate love. Do I love God more today than I did yesterday?
The length of my love—Love is like a circle. When I return to the circle’s beginning, where am I? Has my love grown to its eternal length? Or must I make the same old vows in the same old ditch of self?
The depth of my love—Can another scratch my love’s surface and find brass? Solid love cannot be scratched, marred or touched. If someone hurts me, the scratch on my surface has no depth. God never knows that He’s been insulted. Only “little me” can be hurt.
The height of my love—I must grow a head taller than he who slings the insults. I remember to say the magic words, “This is good,” and mean it. I let him be as insulting as he likes. What has he to do with the Power, length, depth and height of my love? If I do not accept an insult, how can I be hurt?
You can either wear a crown of glory or be a martyr. What do you do with the substance God sent you? You choose every hour, moment by moment. Offenses will come if you have outside interference, but you must continue choosing to build upward strength.
We are working today to build a solid foundation in politics. Carrie Chapman Catt helped to open doors for the women of America. In England, they nearly stoned Lydia Pankhurst to death for her suffrage work. These women started their work for women with an idea, a goal. They knew they had a mission and the intestinal fortitude to fulfill that mission.
You face death every hour to the old conditions in life and the self, and your surrender gives you space to grow. Fill this space with faith, love and Light. Do not sublet your mind to the world’s ideas, prejudices and opinions, or you are not in charge of your life. “This is good! This is the greatest month I ever lived!” These statements evict the sublessors from your holy temple, your mind. Be your own boss spiritually and you will be your own boss materially.
If you really want to free your mind to receive the answers, get the subconscious mind out of your hair by involving it in positive creative activity. One man had to design a new pattern for a hand-carved wooden part. Within a few years he distributed more than 30,000 of his patterns in the U.S.
How do I surrender? I pray for the love of God and the faith of God. I position myself to receive the right answers to my prayers.
The same Power of God has worked for you from the beginning of time. Fall in love with God so much that you become fully surrendered and have the faith of God. Instead of condemning your self for past mistakes, move with the love of God. If you are busy or perhaps in prayer and the doorbell or telephone rings, the sound cannot ripple the mirror surface of your mind, if you are the boss. Instead of losing patience, you remain serene, high in consciousness and encourage others to do so also.
Let your children grow up with crowns of stars on their heads as their crown lotus centers unfold. This starry crown is real. Detriments can be your exaltation and glory. Everyone has the same thin skin. Put a shield of mother blue around your loved ones to protect them.
You are at home and in charge when you choose to have Jesus the Christ dwell in your heart by faith. For it is he “of whom the whole family of heaven and earth is named.” The only way to be “strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man” is to be possessed by the love of God, to be “rooted and grounded in love.”
Do you use your reactions to the world as your measuring rod of life? Where are your eyes and ears? If you use your faculties as though they were God’s eyes and ears, He shields you with Light and you are “able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.”
This becomes your crown of glory, “to know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge.” You grow wings of soul as you are “filled with all the fullness of God,” becoming a creator with God “through all ages, world without end. Amen.”

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Your Bargain With Life
Edna Lister outline, June 13, 1965, Cleveland, OH. 1 John 5:1-10.

“Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth Him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments: and His commandments are not grievous. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one. If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which He hath testified of His Son. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made Him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of His Son.”–1 John 5:1-10.
“Whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.”–1 John 5:4.
“For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.”–1 John 5:7-8.
A bargain is an exchange of favors, a mutual agreement. It takes two to make any bargain or contract. A bargain also means to get something cheaply, something marked down in price, to haggle or to cheat. So we may consider a bargain from a high or a low viewpoint.
How do you bargain with life? You can do so just one way, you must agree and adjust to life itself. You can agree and adjust to life in only one way also, by believing that Jesus is the Christ. Your covenant, your contract with God, is to believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and that everyone can be born of God. Just a promise to be good, to do better, to ask for another chance does not make a bargain with God.
No one can bargain with God. The law is the law and everyone must follow it. God says, “Child, do you love Me enough to declare My creations perfect, and that all else shall follow? If you love Me, you can accept.” While you cannot bargain with God, you can make a covenant with God. The only way to make a covenant with Him is to stand and love Him enough to accept all His promises.
Your bargain with life demands that you sign in every hour on the hour to prove that you are alive and alert with the life of God, that you accept all His promises. This demands a certain alert awareness. You watch and listen for you must hear when the adversaries knock at your door. You must be ready to agree and adjust. To do this means sacrifice, the giving up of self to live by soul.
To live by the tenets and principles of soul requires fervent prayer and praise. Ascend in consciousness to live in the crown of your head, your prayer room, your altar room of Light.
You are born of God, which means a new body filled with new life. New ideas, new excitement and new love of God are all signs of a new covenant with God on the inner, and a new bargain on the outer, based on prayer, praise and gratitude. Your new prayer covenant is far above the old duty form of prayer, which says, “Oh, I get up at six in the morning to pray and meditate.” Offer God joyous prayer, right off the top, all the time.
You take three steps in prayer. First, tune out all earth noises. Then tune out all sounds waves. Finally, tune out all earth’s thought waves, the noise of the collective “world mind.” Now you are ready to tune in on the high frequencies in the golden silence. Words are too feeble to express this prayer. Here, time fits into space. From conscious prayer, your life in God and Christ must become an unconscious prayer. This is the vital life pattern inscribed for us to follow. You still use conscious prayer, but your life must be an unconscious prayer.
Three bear witness on earth, Spirit, water and blood. Let us explore the mystical meaning of this. Spirit is new soul substance sent from your star of Oversoul to fill your creative prayer molds. Your choice is whether to let self or soul use this substance when you need a miracle. Your faith is your connecting line, and your praise turns on the switch.
Water symbolizes emotions, and the flowing River of Life. Agree with God that love is the answer, and adjust to your fellow man that “This is good!” By not blaming, you waste no time. You always have room for the needed additional Power to fill you. Your love is firm and brisk, not squishy or sentimental.
The blood represents the red ray of the Son’s Power, which is compounded of a balance of Love and Wisdom. Three bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit. The Father of Wisdom is the stable strength of spiritual illumination. The Word holds the soul records of all lives, and the pictures that accompany them. The Holy Spirit represents the Christed substance of the white Light of the Christ. This is all Power, all Substance and all Mind as one, which melts and dissolves anything and everything not like unto itself.
Here you find what your bargain with life, of agreeing and adjusting with life, has given you. You have tuned in on all God’s attributes through the golden silence. You have contacted all the potential powers of your own souls. Your bargain of life, which is your covenant with God, opens the way for full transfiguration and ascension to receive the crown of life. You know a higher rapture, a growing ecstasy. You have a witness within you, the shining radiance of soul beauty!

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Your Bargain With Life
Edna Lister transcript, June 13, 1965, Cleveland, OH. Elizabeth Barnes, Irene White, scribes. 1 John 5:1-10.

“Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth Him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments: and His commandments are not grievous. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one. If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which He hath testified of His Son. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made Him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of His Son.”–1 John 5:1-10.
A bargain is an exchange of favors based on a mutual agreement. It takes two to make a contract, and one party cannot get very far if the other party does not agree. A bargain is also something marked down in price. When you say, “I found a bargain,” you’ve bought something for very little. Bargaining means to haggle on its high vibration, or to cheat on the low side. How can you bargain with life? You cannot change life, people, families, or what they say. A bargain must be a personal agreement. To agree with and adjust to life is the only bargaining power you have.
John, in his first Epistle, says that we must believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. You do not have the honor of God, unless your honor stretches to suit the less than worthy out in the world. If honor is of God, it is an integrity of soul that cannot be touched. It is loyalty to God.
Mathematics is based on certain immutable principles of God. Just so must we be loyal to God’s principles—to wisdom, love, faith, truth and the good. You are in a position to bargain with God only if you are faithful to your honor, and loyal to principle, untouchable and immovable in the Light. To declare that Jesus was the first Begotten Son of God means that you know he holds the Scepter of Power, given him by the Father. He said, “Ask in my name.” Only Jesus said this.
Your bargain is with life itself, with God the Father. You cannot bargain with the Godhead, which is utterly unthinkable. God looks at the soul who demands that law change and says, “This is law, and it cannot be changed.” So, you make and must sign your covenant with God. Fortunately, He is an understanding Father. You can depend on the elastic power of His beneficence. Your covenant with God is that you can be born again through Christ consciousness. Declare, “I am born again daily, with my feet placed on the path.”
You have all this beauty when you agree and adjust with God and with life. You will not find it easy to assume your responsibility, to keep your bargain with life. Watch, look, listen, and be ready. You lose time only when something comes and bang! you shoot with both barrels before you know what you are doing.
Fulfilling your bargain requires that you’re always on the job. Check in and punch the time clock every hour on the hour. Make sure not to lose the contract papers for your bargain with life; your only lockbox is praise and prayer. No chains, no barrier can withstand you, if you praise and pray and sing until Light has dissolved the barrier. The full Power of God can do it in an instant. For example, Daniel’s praise and prayer in the lions’ den went to the Source, and burst every ceiling and barrier. You have the same ability to listen to the laws of God. Never think in terms of evil. Live by the loyalty and integrity of God. Ascend in consciousness and live by the higher creative centers in the golden bowl, your head. Ascend to your high altar, your contact point of true contemplation.
First, close out earth’s noises as you move up, zipper your body in a cloud of blue light, and access your faculty of closing out earth noises. Second, close out sound waves. This is the hard one. Finally, you close out thought waves instantly by praising God with high statements. Move up, zippered up in a blanket of Light. Close out the subconscious world mind. In the golden silence, time fits snugly into space, and you are then set for success. Words are futile here. You have touched the golden silence in an instantaneous act and are there. You create a particular method to make such a condition available instantly. The Light is around you.
To use what God endowed you with, you have to coordinate your imagination, thinking and desires, your open sesame to great Power that comes from above. On earth, you bear witness to spirit, water, and blood, which are symbols for pure spiritual substance that becomes what you declare. Every time you turn to God, He breathes more Spirit into you. Light refills your Oversoul Star. If it’s a new task, you can breathe enough new Spirit to make clear your way. It melts, dissolves and absorbs antagonism.
Water symbolizes your emotional life, which can color the River of Life moving through you. Emotions can trip you, if you can say something negative. Water bears witness to you. The “blood of the lamb” is mystical, the symbol of the Master’s Power for miracles. It energizes the water whirling, mixing with blood to make a miracle. The Word bears witness, and holds the record of your life, a record of every word in Hall of Records. The books must balance or debt piles up for transition, the death of the body.
The most powerful, glorious act is to make your bargain, look into face of an enemy and say, “I think you’re wonderful.” Be pleasant, take the wind from their sails. Never let anyone know they have even impressed you. Your bargain with life works for you, as you give up self for the white Light of the Christ that you invoke upon every place. It contains all the substance you need for your creations. You have formed a pattern of glory for yourself when you make a covenant with God.
Agree and adjust with the world; stand, put your attention on God. Hold others under a covenant with God, and this is the victory that overcomes the world, even your faith. On this path, God becomes the most important focus in your life. When you sign a covenant with God, you become your own witness. Some of the beauty of God possesses you when you become the witness before the world.
Call down a shaft of fire on the evil and go up in the Light. God wants all evil healed. Work from this premise. Once a day, return to the fundamentals: Plant your feet on the ground and say, “One God, one Light everywhere. I’m in it. I can’t get away from it. Wherever evil is, let its practitioners be thrown into a confusion of tongues. Let the Light take charge. God is working everything together for good!”

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The Golden Fleece
Edna Lister outline, June 20, 1965, Cleveland, OH. Judges 6:7-22, 6:36-40.
“And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord because of the Midianites, That the Lord sent a prophet unto the children of Israel, which said unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of bondage; and I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all that oppressed you, and drave them out from before you, and gave you their land; and I said unto you, I am the Lord your God; fear not the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but ye have not obeyed my voice. And there came an angel of the Lord, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour. And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? but now the Lord hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites. And the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee? And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house. And the Lord said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man. And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, then shew me a sign that thou talkest with me. Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my present, and set it before thee. And he said, I will tarry until thou come again. And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out unto him under the oak, and presented it. And the angel of God said unto him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth. And he did so. Then the angel of the Lord put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the Lord departed out of his sight. And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the Lord, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord God! for because I have seen an angel of the Lord face to face.”–Judges 6:7-22.
“And Gideon said unto God, “If Thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as Thou hast said, behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that Thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as Thou hast said.” And it was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water. And Gideon said unto God, “Let not thine anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once: let me prove, I pray Thee, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew.” And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.”–Judges 6:36-40.

The golden fleece 1 is the subject of two Greek myths: The cloud goddess Nephele begged a favor of Hermes (Mercury) to save her two children from Athamas, the King of Orchomenus (modern Boeotia in Greece), her former husband. Athamas had fallen in love with Ino, a sorceress who hated his children by Nephele, a son, Phryxus, and a daughter, Helle.
Hermes chose a magic ram with a golden fleece from the heavenly flocks, and gave the ram to Nephele for her children. She put them on the ram, telling them to hold tightly to each other. As the ram flew east to the sea, Helle failed to hold tightly enough and tumbled into the sea at the Hellespont (named for her), now called the Dardanelles. The ram reached Aeetes’ kingdom of Colchis, on the eastern shore of the Black Sea, where he safely landed the boy Phryxus.
On king Aeetes’ advice, Phryxus sacrificed the ram to Jupiter, and gave the golden fleece to Aeetes, who placed it in a consecrated grove, in the charge of a dragon that never slept. Jason was Phryxus’ cousin, through his father, Aeson, king of Iolcus in Thessaly. Aeson had been supplanted by his brother Pelias. When Jason came of age, the goddess Hera appointed him her champion and ordered him to kill Pelias, who has insulted her.
Jason confronted the wily Pelias, who agreed to give him the throne if Jason retrieved the golden fleece. The king wanted the fleece because it had come to symbolize magical rescue and protection. Jason’s voyage with the Argonauts and their many adventures is one of the great collections of heroic myths. Jason’s quest for the golden fleece would have failed without the aid of king Aeetes’ daughter, Medea, a mighty sorceress.
All orders of knighthood during the Medieval era descended from these heroic legends. They represent our soul initiations, even today. Gideon’s entire story in the Book of Judges illustrates initiations excellently. He was the son of an ordinary man of the tribe of Manasseh, who had the usual sense of unworthiness, which is good unless carried too far.
The first step is to reach balance between inferiority and superiority. Read Kipling’s poem "If" 2 on the subject. Gideon made sacrifices of a kid, cakes and broth to be found worthy in body, mind and spirit.
Both Jason and Gideon represent man’s evolution from creature to creator consciousness. Ino represented evil, while Nephele symbolized Light. Phryxus and Helle represent the positive and negative aspects of the rational soul. The golden fleece represents the Light of illumination and full soul ascension of consciousness. Gideon’s sacrifices—the kid, the unleavened cakes and the broth—symbolize body, mind and Spirit. Gideon’s fleece represents faith.
Gideon had scouted the Midianite camp under cover of night and heard a man telling of his recent dream: “And when Gideon was come, behold, there was a man that told a dream unto his fellow, and said, Behold, I dreamed a dream, and, lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian, and came unto a tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it, that the tent lay along. And his fellow answered and said, This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel: for into his hand hath God delivered Midian, and all the host.”–Judges 7:13-14.
Before the battle, Gideon ordered his men, “When I blow with a trumpet, I and all that are with me, then blow ye the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and say, The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon.”–7:18. The battle was a rout, in favor of Israel. Gideon had to pass three initiations to overcome his fear. The first test was offering the kid, the cakes and the broth. The second initiation was testing the wet fleece on dry ground. When Gideon wrung out the fleece, the water in it filled a bowl. This was the water of Spirit.
The third initiation was keeping the fleece dry while it lay on wet ground, which symbolizes moving up in consciousness from emotion to the golden Light of love and compassion. This initiation has also come down to us as the Quest for the Holy Grail. In the golden silence you must learn the nature of true love and compassion to receive the Chalice of Comprehension.
Finally, after proving God for yourself, comes the action. Moses began the action of freeing Israel from its 400-year bondage in Egypt and wandering 40 years in the wilderness. Yet because he had broken the law at Meribah he was forbidden to enter the Promised Land, so Joshua led the tribes across the River Jordan. Once they had crossed the Jordan and felt safe from Pharaoh, their greatest fear, all the petty irritations, complaints and quarrels began to surface again. Life is a series of stops, starts and advances with the same old family and friends.
Israel was destined to start again after Gideon called himself the least of his father’s house, of a poor family in Manasseh. The Lord commanded him to cast down the altar and cut down the grove sacred to Baal. He had to act secretly because the worshipers of Baal would have killed him has they known what was planned.
Gideon called the tribes and 30,000 men answered. Then the Lord spoke and said that was too many, and to send home all those who were fearful and afraid. Twenty-two thousand men left, all those who were filled with opinions, prejudices, doubts and fears. These men had yet to finish their initiations for fear on the 22 Yetzirah Paths to spiritualize the appetitive soul. Ten thousand men remained who were high in consciousness and could hold to that height without fear. These men were unafraid, but they lacked fervency, being filled with complacency.
The second test, to see who lapped water versus who used his hand, was proof that never being afraid is not enough. Indifference to danger is no good; ou have to be alert and alive to your environment. Three hundred men remained alert and poised, and they passed. They drank water from their hand, while standing ready to respond to their surroundings immediately. Even while they quenched their thirst, these men observed everything going on. Not one of them was filled with complacency or self-satisfaction.
Then the Lord sent Gideon and his servant to spy on the Midianite camp in the valley below the armed guard of Israel. They overheard one soldier telling a frightful dream that his friend interpreted as the Lord’s wrath smiting Midian through Gideon’s sword. In the darkest hours of the night, Gideon led his three hundred men to surround the enemy camp. They blew their trumpets, held their lamps and swords high, shouting, “The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon!” The Midianites were completely routed—they ran away in fear.
You can do anything when you have spiritualized your identity with God. All initiations on fear serve to test and to build your faith. God allows you time to prove to yourself that He’s there for you. Never dash off after receiving what you think is your first order, but check and recheck. Return to Him to ask, “Father, have I really heard Your voice?” To be free of self surrender your self to His Light. Lay self on the altar for a mystical “three days,” which can mean three hours, three days, or three weeks. “Wait upon the Lord” to make certain you’re on your Path of Destiny the soul’s way, not the fate line that treadmill of self. When the same idea sticks with you consistently and will not go away, you can be sure it’s an order that the Lord has spoken.

1 Thomas Bulfinch. "The golden fleece," The Age of Fable: or Beauties of Mythology, Review of Reviews Company, New York, 1913.

2 If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same:
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings,
And never breathe a word about your loss:
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!
–Rudyard Kipling

The Golden Fleece
Edna Lister transcript, June 20, 1965, Cleveland, OH. Elizabeth Barnes, Ruth Johnson, Irene White, scribes. Judges 6:7-22, 6:36-40.
“And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord because of the Midianites, That the Lord sent a prophet unto the children of Israel, which said unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of bondage; and I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all that oppressed you, and drave them out from before you, and gave you their land; and I said unto you, I am the Lord your God; fear not the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but ye have not obeyed my voice. And there came an angel of the Lord, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour. And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? but now the Lord hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites. And the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee? And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house. And the Lord said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man. And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, then shew me a sign that thou talkest with me. Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my present, and set it before thee. And he said, I will tarry until thou come again. And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out unto him under the oak, and presented it. And the angel of God said unto him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth. And he did so. Then the angel of the Lord put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the Lord departed out of his sight. And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the Lord, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord God! for because I have seen an angel of the Lord face to face.”–Judges 6:7-22.
“And Gideon said unto God, If Thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as Thou hast said, behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that Thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as Thou hast said. And it was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water. And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once: let me prove, I pray Thee, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew. And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.”–Judges 6:36-40.
The legend of the Golden Fleece: 1 Greek king Athamas had grown bored with his wife, Nephele and had taken Ino, the sorceress daughter of King Cadmus, as his second wife. Ino wanted her own son to succeed to the throne, and hated her stepchildren, especially Phrixus. Realizing that her children were in grave danger because of their stepmother’s jealousy, Nephele prayed to the gods for help. Hermes sent her the winged ram Chrysomallus, whose fleece was made of gold. The ram snatched the children up and bore them away eastward on his back. As he was crossing the strait that divides Europe and Asia, Helle slipped from his back and fell into the water and drowned. They named the site for her: Hellespont, the Sea of Helle.
The ram safely landed Phrixus in Colchis, a country on the Black Sea, ruled by King Aeetes. In gratitude to the gods for saving his life, Phrixus sacrificed Chrysomallus at the temple of Zeus, then gave the precious Golden Fleece to Aeetes, who placed it in a sacred grove under the watchful eye of a dragon that never slept. Zeus placed the ram Chrysomallus in Aries as its constellation.
Jason, the heir to the throne in Greece, had been usurped as a child by his half brother Pelias, yet courageously returned to regain his kingdom. Pelias said that Jason must first undertake the quest of the Golden Fleece, which was the rightful property of their family. Jason assembled a crew of fifty of the noblest heroic young men, including Hercules, Orpheus, Castor and Pollux, and Peleus, to sail with him on the ship Argo. After a voyage of incredible perils, the Argonauts reached Colchis, where King Aeetes agreed to give up the golden fleece if Jason would yoke two fire-breathing bulls, and sow the teeth of a dragon, from which would spring up a crop of armed men. The goddess Hera had intervened for him by making princess Medea fall in love with him.
Medea gave Jason a charm to sprinkle on his weapons that made him invincible for the day of his ordeal and helped him steal the fleece that night by charming the sleepless dragon that guarded it. Jason, Medea, and his crew managed to return the golden fleece to Greece. The ram with the golden fleece is a symbol of protection and all glorious things. Zeus put the ram’s fleece in the Aries constellation. The fleece is protection. The fleece became a symbol of everything wonderful and protective. The golden fleece and Holy Grail are synonyms of the protective powers of God over the world. The two fleeces represent the thirty degrees of Masonry, a great initiation symbolizing soul ascension. Man must ascend through all stages of created evil, to the Mount of Transfiguration.
The chalice that Jesus used at the last supper was an ordinary goblet from which each disciple sipped after the meal. It was not a tall chalice, more like a cup. They left it on the table; later the form of it was ascended to become one again with the Idea: This was the ancient Holy Grail. When the time was right, heavenly emissaries placed its form in the hands of Joseph of Arimathea before he went to England. He brought the Holy Grail to the Round Table where it became the symbol of the Holy Quest. With the passing of Arthur Pendragon, the Grail was again ascended from the physical.
You take three sets of 33 Degrees under the twelve Labors of Hercules. The second group presents most of the stumbling-blocks in your path. Be more wary and increase your praise when you have conquered, for only praise will take you through these 33 Degrees. Praise is the only thing that starts faith, the fuel on which you run. Praise is your eye salve, and eye trouble results from a lack of appreciation and gratitude.
Orpheus went with Jason and the Argonauts for harmony; his lyre symbolizes this. When you cleanse all past-life toxins from the medulla oblongata, the opened mental body lotus petals form your golden fleece. The pineal body lotus has twenty-two petals, and an eleven-petaled lotus lies above each ear. As you learn, these lotuses become whirling buds, sparkling like crystals. The thousand-petaled lotus sits about three inches above the head. The petals are delicately-shaded blue on the intuition side and pale yellow on the illumination side. Lotus petals can freeze under spiritual misuse and become a cap over the head, the cause of brain tumors.
As you open the illumination petals they curl under and fold upward. This takes you to the, Mount of Transfiguration, where you stand on the golden fleece until you stand in the golden silence. Do not weaken the petals or snuff their Light. The stirring up of the eleven-petal lotuses in turn will reawaken the petals of the sixteen-petaled crown lotus that had been awake in your past. The crown lotus has eight intuition petals and eight for wisdom.
The golden fleece appears as a halo that represents the heart of the crown lotus. When the soul expresses negatively, it becomes like the head of Medusa Gorgon, a thousand snakes. The golden fleece represents desires, will and imagination, and misusing these faculties is “Medea dividing the golden fleece” into a trinity of perdition. When you are three-headed, you can amputate one but it grows again because it is receiving female procreative nourishment. Orpheus’ lyre represents the ark of the mother and music, which is harmony. You can only raise the creative centers to balance by raising desire to mate with will.
In opening spiritual vision, everyone goes through the silver-gray fields where they hear about and talk about truth. In the fields of color, you may still use force and your voice may become coarse and raucous at times. Yet this is the point of “doing,” where you begin to act on your thoughts and talk. When you ascend, what you see becomes the golden fields of the soul’s silence. As you become, the voice of silence possesses you. As you go out at night, the Master may walk toward you across the silver fields, but you can go directly to the golden silence.
At times, when you allow earth to drag you down, you plod through the gray fields first because you let the world tear down the substance of your path to the golden silence, and have to rebuild it. If you are not willing to plod, you dangle, going nowhere. Are you willing and desirous to be all the beauty required to become the golden fleece?

1 Thomas Bulfinch. “The golden fleece,” The Age of Fable: or Beauties of Mythology, Review of Reviews Company, New York, 1913.

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The Oracle Speaks
Edna Lister outline, June 27, 1965, Cleveland, OH. Hebrews 5:12-14, Colossians 1:9-18.

“For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”–Hebrews 5:12-14.
“For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.”–Colossians 1:9-18.
An oracle deals directly with an inner Source of knowing, has “eyes to see with” and sees, has “ears to hear with” and hears. The metaphysical world lies just beyond our fingertips, our field of view, yet people are usually too busy “feeling” (reacting) to do any “seeing” (acting).
Science measures the cell, molecule and atom to quantify and define them, then looks out and beyond to see how they fit into the whole. An oracle looks within the outer and the beyond, then waits for the explanation to come in an intuitive leap. History is full of stories about people who’ve used their eyes and ears above and beyond their outer physical purpose. Those who have benefited from such farseeing and supra-hearing have often called them saints and builtshrines homoring them .
However, using plain imagination as spiritual seeing is dangerous because it’s all too easy to fall into illusion and delusion—seeing things you’ve made up, exaggerating ideas already in your mind or conflating the image of one thing with another. Most people use mere imagination, which is too intellectual and worldly. When you turn imagination up, using the eyes of your mind, imagination becomes the soul vision of the seer. The vision of the oracle is compounded of both spiritual seeing and hearing, balanced through soul knowing.
In past ages, oracles spoke from hidden places, behind veils, within pillars, through statues to cover their personality. An oracle couldn’t be effective if their identity was known, if someone could say, “Oh, that’s just Joan.” The oracles of the ancient age had the power of mystery. Hypnosis, mesmerism, suggestion and brainwashing all operate on a high vibration of Power—but they are the same whether used for a high purposes or low.
“For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”–Hebrews 5:12-14. In these three verses, Paul described their indifference. People have not changed much in 2,000 years. Those who should have been teachers and oracles have remained babes on milk, with little to no spiritual discernment.
The text from the Letter to Colossians lists four requirements for ministers: Walk worthy, increase knowledge, strength through power with joyfulness through translation, and being redeemed. In the Old Testament, you often find the statement, “Thus saith the Lord: It shall come to pass.” Later you find, “And it came to pass.” Something happened between these two statements. That “something” includes desire, decision and action. Desire is the key the path of action: Am I eager enough? Have I enough confidence? How can I do it? Desire for enough life will do the work because the Father, whi is the life within you, responds immediately. He is waiting for you.
Next, you need decision. It’s not enough to hear about it, talk about it, or think about it. You must act and do it. Something happens the instant you decide to act—challenges come from the outside, from every direction. All your old debts due are presented for payment, one by one. You cannot go any further without paying your debts, but you have no more credit. People offer alibis for this, making such claims as, “I never had any trouble till I met you,” or, “Everything seems to be conspiring to stop me.” All this and more happens because you have reached your high place of contact with potential power. At this point, every principle of God goes into action to work through and as you.
You must find perfect integration of heart, mind and soul, speedily. Never send the cleaning lady to answer the front door or you’ll discover your way to the silence. Send an angel to answer the door and phone. Permit no frustration or resentment, but lift it all onto a cloud continent of Light. Send the new good you to handle interruptions. Only a greater release of Power can wipe out your soul debts.
How strong is God? How strong can you become, not only in courage and faith, but physically? Two girls once carried a heavy trunk from the attic down three flights of stairs to save it from a fire. The next morning, they could not budge it. A man and his son were cutting firewood in the forest. A log rolled onto his son, and the man lifted it to free his boy. It took three men and a block and tackle to lift that log the next day.
All things are created in the invisible before they become visible. “By him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.”–Colossians 1:16. All things were created by the Son as the Word, and all things were created for him.
The same potential Power that holds planets and galaxies in place is waiting to use you. What do you see and hear spiritually? Are you an oracle in speech and action?

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The Oracle Speaks
Edna Lister transcript, June 27, 1965, Cleveland, OH. Elizabeth Barnes, Ruth Johnson, Irene White, scribes. Hebrews 5:12-14, Colossians 1:9-18.

“For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”–Hebrews 5:12-14.
“For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.”–Colossians 1:9-18.
In the ancient world, the oracles taught that seven living, self-subsistent, ever-active hypostatized powers were evolved out of the unrevealed Godhead from the world of Emanation. These are concepts as powers to which the Greeks attributed real identity. First were the intellectual powers, Nous, the mind, the Logos, the reason; Phronesis, the thinking power, and Sophia, or wisdom. The second was the active or operative power, Dunamis, which is might, accomplishing the purposes of Wisdom. Third were the moral attributes, Dikaiosune, holiness or moral perfection, and Eirene, inward tranquility. These four deal with earth, the three falling into the four. The intellectuals had to have the four ways of dealing with the elements of earth, air, fire, and water on earth. These were among the teachings of oracles in fabled Atlantis and ancient Egypt.
An oracle is supposed to have direct communication with an inner Source, one who has eyes to see with and sees, one who has ears to hear with and hears. An oracle sees and hears in the metaphysical world, behind the scenes, beyond the fingertips. Oracles were not always women, many were priests. Oracles were usually invisible, hidden because they spoke for the divine. They spoke from among the pillars of Egyptian temples so their voices echoed and sounded sonorous. An oracle is an agent of God who has permission to speak for God.
People are usually too busy with this world to do any seeing beyond, so they see only the physical results of inner action. You see and hear with your brain cells, the inner eye sees, the inner ear hears. Using technology, scientists can now see within a cell, a molecule, or an atom, then extend their vision to galaxies at the fringes of the universe. An oracle looks within the outer, and beyond using the vision of the soul. History books are full of those who have seen and heard, and people and have built shrines and created religions for them.
You would be only a creature if not for your God-given imagination and other creative faculties. People often use imagination as insight in the intellectual world, to write fiction or to invent a machine for example. Yet danger accompanies the use of plain imagination, for you can easily fall into illusion, seeing made-up things, or delusion, exaggerating things that already exist in your mind.
Turned upward, using the eyes of the mind that was in Christ Jesus, imagination becomes soul vision. The vision of an oracle is compounded of spiritual seeing and hearing, balanced through obeying law and knowing the truth. An oracle in ancient days could be feminine or masculine, but they were hidden behind a curtain or veil, unseen by the public to cover their personality. In today’s business world, people are always saying, “Oh, I know him,” but to have authority, the mystery must be hidden. People may use hypnosis, mesmerism, brainwashing and the power of suggestion for high or low purposes, but all these facets are degrees of the same high vibration of Power. You can lift people and situations into the Light, even someone who says of you, “Oh, that’s only Jane!”
“For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”–Hebrews 5:12-14. Paul was telling this group about their indifference. People have not changed much in 2,000 years. They should have been teachers and oracles, but were still babes on milk with no discernment. Under vision, when you have become an oracle, you have this faculty. If you are living by integrity, you know when you have missed the mark.
In his Letter to the Colossians, Paul outlines four requirements for minsters: “Walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him…increasing in the knowledge of God…strengthened with all might…according to His glorious Power, for all patience and long-suffering with joy.”
“The Father…has translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption.” Throughout the Old Testament we read, “Thus saith the Lord, it shall come to pass.” Later we read, “And it came to pass as spoken.” Something happened between these two passages. Desire, decision and action make things happen. Is this Path easy? Am I eager enough? Have I the confidence to do this? The Master, who said, “Use my name,” is the only teacher ever to have said this.
First you need desire, with no indifference. Just one simple desire will do the thing, but desire for what? Desire for enough life will do the work. The Father responds immediately; He is waiting for you. It is not enough to hear about it, talk about it and think about it. Do one thing today to show you have a burning desire to do something. Choose to act. If you desire more life, you need more action. Ask, and act. Something happens the instant you decide to get into action, challenges come from the outside, all bills for old debts are presented at once. Right now, life presents you with an invoice, and you must pay your debts.
The minute you look up, the Power possesses you, goes into every corner, and touches every person you have invested your self in. You are then presented with the bill for this invested soul substance. All you need do is say, “Father, here I am. Let us settle this now. I ascend now, with no more blame.” Move into the Light and pay your debts by lifting them into the Light now!
Stop holding a grudge, and using the wrong words that cause you to stumble. “I never had any trouble until I met you! Everything is stopping me!” Why? Why? Why? Because you have now reached the high place of contact with all your potential powers, where every principle of God goes into action to work through you, as you. Taking a chance on this is silly. Clean this up and lift it into the Light now.
You must speedily find a perfect integration of heart, mind, and soul. You cannot send the “hired help” to answer the front door when your new found silence calls. Send an “angel” to answer the door, the telephone. The new good person you have become must handle the interruptions, without frustration, resentment all lifted. Only your added release of Power can wipe out debts.
How strong is God? How strong can you become, not only in courage of faith, but physically? Two young women carried a heavy trunk down a flight of stairs and onto the lawn to save it from a fire. The next morning they could not budge it. A man and his son were cutting wood and a log fell on the son. His father lifted it to release him, but the next day it took three men to lift that same log. God creates all things in the invisible world before they appear in the visible, physical world. The same powers that hold a small planet together in its orbit hold galaxies in space. The same potential Power is waiting to use you. What do you see and hear spiritually? Are you oracles in speech and action?
You are redeemed, delivered from darkness to translate your life into the glory of the living God. The love of God will cover every transgression. Do not be emotionally touched or affected by anything but the love of God. To someone who pins back your ears, say, “You are so beautiful today, and I love you.” You are seeking to integrate heart, mind and soul. Fix all your attention on the Light, and enough Power will flow through this physical body to fill the need.
Father, we have touched the fringes of Thy glory, and communed with Thee. We shall go forth today with a broader concept of our identity with Thee.

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Comprehension as Recompense
Edna Lister outline, November 7, 1965, Cleveland, OH. John 1:1-17, Luke 14:12-14.

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Comprehension as Recompense
Edna Lister transcript, November 7, 1965, Cleveland, OH. Elizabeth Barnes, Margaret Pratt Doan, Ruth Johnson, Irene White scribes. John 1:1-17, Luke 14:12-14.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him nothing was made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness; and the darkness did not comprehend it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own did not receive him. But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in his name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John bore witness of him and cried out, saying, This was He of whom I said, He who comes after me is preferred before me, for he was before me. And of his fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”–John 1:1-17.
“Then said [Jesus] also to him that bade him, “When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompence be made thee. But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.”–Luke 14:12-14.
At first, comprehension and recompense appear to be unrelated. Yet, they reshape the relationship of the outer to the inner. Recompense means “to repay, to make up for a loss, to take in or grasp something given in return.” Recompense also means “payment for services, to give or to get compensation.” You can relate all the conflict associated with recompense to the amount and timeliness of payment. World conflicts center on recompense and pay.
“Then said [Jesus] also to him that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompence be made thee. But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.”–Luke 14:12-14.
You do not simply ask people to dinner to obligate them to you, for this is manipulating to get. You receive no heavenly credit for such. Think of the immensity of meaning behind the idea of recompense. People established unions to get. People establish families to get.
Consider the vibration of the spoken Word people release when they say, “He doesn’t return my love. They do not value my work. What I got wasn’t worth what I paid. My effort is wasted.” People do not realize what curses they speak in such idle words.
Every word you speak is the Word of God going forth. The words you speak become your form, your recompense, which is a universal law. However, no law is yours unless you accept it, and you must accept it before it can become yours, although all laws apply to and affect you. You are born of Spirit and of the Word, and the Word is good. The Word is God going forth, and it becomes color, tone, number and the form you create with your words.
The concept of recompense is as great on the outer as comprehension is on the inner. We now release the vibration of comprehension into the world of debts, payment and getting. We are establishing a new orthodox religion, so we cannot afford to fall down on recompense.
Nothing but what you have made demands about can hurt you. Thinking you have not been getting what belongs to you, is possession. Stop being hurt about what you cannot avoid, and pay the bill. You have paid the bill of recompense in full when someone forgets you entirely.
To comprehend means to “take in, to understand, the all-inclusive capacity for understanding.” Yet comprehension is not yours until you put it into action. Comprehension is an act, and the world’s greatest need today. The main difficulty is in comprehending your identity and security.
People need to identify with something, and best is to identify with something greater than self. Unless they identify with God, they remain insecure, and their lack of stable identity causes them to criticize others. They criticize to hide their own doubts and fears about their inadequacies. When you feel adequate and secure, you do not see the other fellow’s inadequacies. Only a lack of identity with God can cause you to feel inadequate. Your failure to establish your identity with your Source causes your trouble.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him nothing was made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men.”–John 1:1-4. Light, in the beginning, was the Word. This was true then and is still true now.
The Word, God’s creative Word to live by is, “I accept.” You have received lavishly according to your faith. Accept the fact that you are responsible for your words, including your idle words.
“As many as received him, to them he gave power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.”–John 1:12. Your identity is your relationship with God. Accept the Son by receiving him. Right now, Light is filling your brain cells with new life and form, if you hold to this idea and accept it. This is true for as many as can receive it. Otherwise, the opinions you form leave no room.
The nearer one is to the animal kingdom, the more he criticizes and repudiates. This is a holdover of the creature’s instinctive behavior, and a reason for war and conflict. God cannot just wave a wand and heal them. God’s spiritual Power is increasing while so many people stand still. You may not half-accept, speak from both corners of your mouth or play put-it-off.
“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”–John 1:14. Have you received grace for grace?
Faith, courage and steadfastness are among the greatest gifts God has bestowed upon you, and they must rule your life. You receive according to your faith and your identity with God, as you stand in the Light. When you accept, you are His sons and daughters consciously. Declare, “Here I am, Father. Please cleanse me, fill me and use me until everything is cleansed for Your use.” As you declare the glory of the Word, you become all beauty in expression.
Your thinking can be louder than another’s idle words. Someone must make a stand to deny the repudiation. You are God’s sons and daughters. Declare it “Good, good, this is good.” Stand in the Light of “I accept,” and do not move from the Light. Hold eternally to the Light, declaring, “I ascend.”
“Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” to establish the fact of the full Power, glory and wisdom of the Source until comprehension takes charge. Otherwise, you just settle in a basement room.
Relationships have three phases. Unless people follow the social standards, society accuses them of being “unorthodox.” Orthodox comes from the Greek orthodoxos “having the right opinion,” from ortho- “right, true, straight” + doxa “opinion.”
Soul seeks the orthodoxy you find in your unity as a son or daughter with Jesus the Christ, who is your eldest brother. Everyone stands upright and established in this new orthodox religion. Undoubtedly, you will step on others’ toes. Yet you will also witness for God, with the essence of God shining through you.
Relationship is threefold. You have one relationship with things and personalities on the level below you. You have another relationship with things and people on the same level as you. Finally, you have a relationship with God, who is above you.
Your relationships to things and to organizations often become muddled. People animate organizations, thus, organizations often draw hatred. You can too often become entangled in them. Things, possessions, are all right until you allow them to possess you.
Your relationship with God is the most important. As a group devoted to prayer, we are just beginning to learn how to put people, organizations and things on cloud continents of Light for God to take care of them.
If someone falls flat in an area of earthly recompense, you can still honor God’s Power and Substance. He saw to it that you all came here with everything you need. Recompense enters into your relationships with people as well. You cannot be hurt emotionally by anything unless you expect to be short-changed.
Everyone incarnates to gain experience. You choose, within limits you set by your previous choices. Sometimes you repudiate a choice you have made, which may hurt another. For example, when divorce breaks a home, it is always painful. Yet even when a child leaves your home, you still have all the love your son or daughter brought to you from heaven.
God loans children to you. They are not your possessions. Stop being hurt by experiences and rehashing them. Others will never forget that you have drained all joy from their memory of you. You pay the bill of recompense when someone forgets what you have done. Yet you may pick it up again in a new experience later.
Your relationship with God is very different. Do you half-pay, or pay your devotion to God and obedience to law in full?
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”–James 1:17. Your reward is an upsurging of faith if you hold fast to the Light eternally. Courageous faith gets you into action when you speak the Word and mean it. Declare that you hold fast to the Light, and let the Word go forth. What you choose sets your degree of support, courage and steadfastness. These are three of the greatest gifts that God can bestow on you.
You may face two detriments at this point. Repudiation may take hold of you, or you may begin to question and ask why. Conquer repudiation, for it cuts off your spiritual life.
Self’s first tendency is repudiation when someone blames you or heaps criticism on you. Your repudiation cuts off the influx of spiritual life. The adverb why belongs to repudiation, and incessant questioning is another form of repudiation that results in soul ulcers, spiritual paralysis and starvation. Only self gets hurt or offended. If you persist in grieving about the hurts or nursing resentment about the offenses, you create an ulcer on your desire. Revenge and pay-backs are all related to recompense.
If you say, “I have reached the end of my rope,” your rope wasn’t very long. When you think you are doing too much, you are cutting off God’s Power, which is always ready to move through you. “Ye are gods.”–John 10:34. How much Power will you accept as your reward and recompense from God? This glory is yours to draw on, to open doors and smooth your path, to perform miracle after miracle.
To comprehend is an act of beauty, of letting God use you. Comprehension is the illumination power of certain words to enlighten the mind. God is doing business in the same place, and is doing greater works through us than ever before. The Power is so great today that it rebuilds us moment to moment.
Are you rolling around in a wheelchair with a half-paralyzed desire? You are gods, creators, and when you have confidence in that, you trust your heavenly Father in whom is no variableness neither shadow of turning. God’s full Power is ready to move through you for you to express fully. This is your recompense for loving Him. His limitless life is opening doors for you.

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Your Divine Inheritance
Edna Lister outline, November 14, 1965, Cleveland, OH. Ephesians 1:3-7, 1:10-11, 1:17-23.

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Your Divine Inheritance
Edna Lister transcript, November 14, 1965, Cleveland, OH. Elizabeth Barnes, Margaret Pratt Doan, Irene White, scribes. Ephesians 1:3-7, 1:10-11, 1:17-23.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.”–Ephesians 1:3-7.
“That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will.”–Ephesians 1:10-11.
“That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.”–Ephesians 1:17-23.
To say that God is everywhere evenly present and available is a metaphysical principle. Yet thinking that all you must do for healing is to make statements is unrealistic. First, rid yourself of all your guilt complexes to be free. For untold centuries people have believed that they must use many words to make petition prayers, as if God were deaf or ignorant. Metaphysicians, in turn, used statements of principle repeatedly, scorning petitions. If you could combine all those petitions and statements with the psychological pronouncements of Freud and Jung, you could pave a broad highway to the moon.
The truth is, you are going home because God has no intention of losing even one of His creations. He will enfold all personalities and their soul substance someday. “The fulness of times” means forever, which is just how long it will take to complete the operation. Beauty of soul is the glory of God, which you create in doing something, whether you use fancy words to describe it or not. Even the ugliness of downright evil will be absorbed when the individual has used up his share of soul substance. Yet the substance people have used in evil will be redeemed in the eternal fires. The life sparks will burn “forever,” if necessary. Forever is the duration of an intensely lived experience; thus, it can be years or minutes.
Everyone is going home. The “righteous” people, the earnest and loving souls, lay the foundation for the return. God hears and applies every word that issues from their mouths. He applies all people’s faith, and nothing is lost. He does not allow a hair of your head to fall to the ground without notice. He applies all that you do and say to someone out there who needs it, and as a vibration to lift the darkness. He has and will continue to use the words of all Christians and religious to break up the dark crystallized substance and return it to Light. They have not wasted their critical words, for God has used them as a means to shatter evil.
The world needs a new fourth dimensional religion of ascension for the Golden Christed Age, a dimension in which you see with the inner eye of mind and soul. Seeing the fourth dimension with physical eyes is impossible, for it is based on belief. Base your religion of Christed Ascension on, “I shall be as perfect as my Father in heaven is perfect, right now.” You cannot wait for “someday” or excuse the instinctive traits of so-called human nature. God is everywhere evenly present and available now, so be ready to declare it.
Every word you utter is registered in your soul records. You incorporate everything you have seen, heard or done into the neurons of your midbrain. You have a record of every experience, and must clean up all the harm your idle words have done. Practice your new religion by stepping out on faith and conquering on new and higher levels. Yet when you say something like, “He can’t help it. It’s only human nature,” you are looking down your nose on someone else.
Stop wasting time looking at human nature and the truth of appearances. You, as a part of God, as a creator, are going to know the truth of reality, and will register that absolute truth first. Every time you say, “He doesn’t know any better,” you teach yourself and your listeners to ignore the facts. Then, when criticism comes, you wonder, “Did he mean me?”
“Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”–Matthew 5:48. To be “as perfect as my Father in heaven is perfect” is invisible as an act or state of being. You cannot see it or feel it. You are either eye-minded or inner-minded. Where you focus your attention, outer or inner, dictates the set of opponents you meet. You have all created difficulties that you then must overcome. When the words and actions of those who annoy, hurt or offend you no longer bother you, you have taken steps up to great accomplishments.
You write your own soul records and vows, which are your petitions and promises to be better. Declare, “I AM one with God.” Let the Light go forth, wiping out idle words, and what you have done under human nature, which is creature nature. Each must clean up his own soul records. Were it not for God’s mercy, some people’s stupidities would have wiped them out long since. You must overcome great difficulties in life and relationships. When you say, “Let there be Light,” the Light shines upon this darkness.
Man has built foundations in science, psychology, metaphysics, philosophy and mysticism. Yet being as perfect as your Father in heaven is like stilt-walking on a bumpy foundation of religion, metaphysics and psychology. You have less difficulty when you stop trying to make others think you are perfect. Until then, they act as your initiators, in a competition to appear more perfect. The fellow who is kicking you makes you reach for the stars. Reaching for the stars is important because that’s how you climb. Sometimes you really need a good kick in the rear.
Family serves as your agitator, your speedometer, your measuring rod. They make you come through, and shove you up into the next higher class. To disturbers of your peace, say, “I think you’re wonderful.” The shock stops their speech. Go to your Father, and cling to Him. Say, “Father, I know that when I stand in Your Light, You will work everything together for good.” Do this until your enemies become your footstools. This is where redemption, predestination, and dispensation enter. To redeem is to “give something for” what is coming to you. Give love. Redemption is a perfect mechanism for circumventing someone who is trying to force you to act according to their demands.
“Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.”–Matthew 5:25. God allows you to circumvent evil, to short-circuit it right there. So you can redeem all your scattered soul substance. This is your inheritance, your identity with God, safe, secure. Act as who you are and claim that identity. Declare, “I want to be all in one with You, Father, as You created me. I want to claim my inheritance. Please show me the way, Father.”
To unfold your divine inheritance, you first establish your identity with God, proving that your soul is ascendant over the self of you. Your identity with God is your soul safety. Second, you claim your inheritance, but to do so, you must gather your soul substance together in one place. Ask God to show you the way to Him, and combine all your declarations and statements into one great claim. When you awaken in the morning, breathe deeply to be sure that enough of you is in the body to make it through the day. Gather your soul substance and say, “Father, here I am, ready to serve You today.” Third, make some sort of contact with God. Go higher and say, “Dear Father, please open Thou my eyes to see Thee and my ears to hear Thee.” This is how to do something to get yourself into operation.
Predestination is your destiny with God. He has predestined you to return to Him, from the beginning. Your destiny is more than a goal, being also a state of consciousness in which you must live now. Your inheritance includes alertness of mind and health of body. How silly to think you can run out of time with God. He never left anyone out. Tell Him, “I may be limping, Father, but here I am. Please cleanse me and let me try again.” He will not allow even one life spark of your soul substance to be lost. To think about going to the Father, but not to go, is pointless. Ascend in consciousness until you can see the Light, and know you are there. Declare, “Father, move over! Here I am to do this.” Nothing happens until you put effort and enthusiasm into it. You must knock, seek, and go after it.
A dispensation is “an orderly arrangement of affairs; a system of revealed commands and promises regulating human affairs.” Have you done this? How do you unfold your intelligence? You have all the attributes and potentialities of your Creator. You are a part of God. The question is, how well do you represent Him? Paul said, “Ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.”–Ephesians 1:13-14. You must praise your purchase price to be possessed by the Power of God.
You have to purchase yourself from the slave holders, those whom you serve when you work too hard and too long for the world. How often do you hear, “I’m so tired of working for someone who does not appreciate me.” Can you imagine what would happen is God felt that way about you? When the greatest hindrance comes along, some people plan their whole day to be overworked. If your attitude is “I’m doing too much, and I’m not being paid for it,” you are not serving God or praising Him.
God calls you to a certain place because He wants you to release the Light there. Your attitude must be, “I am the only one in this area who can take care of the Light here.” Once you are suitably impressed with the glory of being called to serve God, you will not think to turn off the Light, to sit dumb in the dark. The Power of God is so magnificent that you can barely take it in. Stand on this truth to collect your inheritance, and you may do so wherever you choose to stand steadfastly. Your foundation is Light. Where you make your stand is your degree, your “holy ground.” To rejoice, praise the Father and thank Him. Wherever you are is your holy ground, your place of ascension. Health of body and alertness of mind fill you when you hold loving compassion for the whole world.
Do not hold the wrong attitude toward daily hindrances. Instead, declare, “Thank you, Father, that I am the only one who can take light here!” The glory of being called puts you in the place where Light is needed. God’s Power is your inheritance. You are a servant of the Almighty, so ask God to put Light on what bad expected to do. Call it holy ground wherever you are. Praise the Father that you stand on holy ground. Praise is your purchase price from the worldly slave holders, the bondage on the outside, in the material world. Praise God to buy yourself back from the world.

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Truth as Eternal Beauty
Edna Lister outline, November 21, 1965, Cleveland, OH. Psalm 27.

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Truth as Eternal Beauty
Edna Lister transcript, November 21, 1965, Cleveland, OH. Elizabeth Barnes, Margaret Pratt Doan, Irene White, scribes. Psalm 27.

“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident. One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple. For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock. And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the Lord. Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me. When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek. Hide not thy face far from me; put not thy servant away in anger: thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation. When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up. Teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies. Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty. I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.”–Psalm 27.
Everything depends on God’s Light, strength, and dependability. Only by taking action can you ascend in consciousness into the Light, to enter the high place. This is not a settling into comfort or a conscious mental intellectual act.
You must really be focused on thinking of God to touch your own shaft of Light. Reach for the stars while you bring together all your scattered parts, subconscious, conscious, and super-conscious portions of mind. Then you can declare how much you love and honor Him. Gathered in one place and of one accord, you make your covenant with the Father. True love has no yesterday, no past, only Light. True love wipes out everything but itself.
This Psalm is deeply mystical. In it, God tells us, “Seek My face.” The psalmist says, “Hide not Thy face from me.” This Psalm is important to me because when Senate Chaplain Peter Marshall 1 asked me to speak in the Senate Chapel, the Bible on the podium was open at Psalm 27.
Psalm 27 contains great truth. “Wait, I say, on the Lord” is a scientific formula of truth. Any scientific formula you make is truth, but that truth will endure only as it stands the test of time. It depends on facts, established on both principle and experience. Facts are like ingredients. What could work well in a laboratory may not work as well out in the world.
The Christ sent all formulas of truth, from Abraham on down, and Jesus taught his disciples all the truths and formulas of truth that he had come to earth to reestablish. These formulas must work every time, not five out of six times. They must work for years, decades, centuries, forever. They have stood the test of time and worked for thousands of people, for thousands of years. Jesus had to modify the high mystical truths to fit the low grades. When based on principle, truth will always work on all levels.
Yet, you ask, why does this rule not always seem to work? The greatest of all formulas is to “Ask anything in my name, believing, and ye shall have it.” One is healed, but another isn’t. Why, people ask, doesn’t it work for me? A mathematical example is that two plus two equal four, but first you have to know how to add. Some people are incapable of making 4 + 4 = 8. You must awaken the brain cells to function and comprehend how these formulas work.
The speaker’s words in Psalm 27 do not give illumination, but strike like little bullets of truth. The words have not done the illuminating, but arouse and awaken awareness of the Light. You cannot force anything into anyone’s brain cells. Light does the work. In many cases, it takes the prayers of several persons just to break up the hard ground, just to expose the rocks of pride. You do all that preparatory work, then someone comes along and drops the seed, the right word that takes root.
No leader or teacher can make a healing happen. They can prepare the way for the miracle. When you slip or fall in consciousness, you can exclaim, “The Lord is my Light and salvation. Of whom shall I be afraid?” Instantly, you ascend into the Light.
The people who say that it cannot be done, beat you with clubs of “can’t do it.” Yet evil keeps working through the sons of Ishmael and Belial, doing evil. The “good people,” who are weak, deny the strength of others. Supposedly “good” ministers defend the communists and tell their congregations not to resist.
You cannot afford to draw your skirts aside and pretend this is not your battle. The ones who fight the war are the ones who will receive the credits for putting evil on the run. God has not withdrawn from this conflict.
“In the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; in the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock. And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me; therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.”–Psalm 27:5-6.
Did you ever have to give up your worries and trouble to go out and be joyful? One woman had been through a more than year-long bout of childhood illnesses with her son. He was ill again, and with a very high fever. Miles from a town or a doctor, with no transportation, all she could do was to pray. Like Peter, who tried to walk across the waves to the Lord, she believed, but…Then, she held her child up to God, and for the first time in her life, she really surrendered her will to Him, and cried, “Lord, help me!” The room faded out as the Light actually poured down into the room and swirled around in every direction. It seemed to last for hours. One shaft of Light held steady over her son. He fell asleep and awakened in two hours, fever free.
This describes the pavilion, the tabernacle of the Almighty. When you can get this hot and bothered about God, He will wipe out war. How close have you come to having such a miracle? How deep is your joy? How high is your praise? Most prayer formulas do not work because they do not have enough heat in them.
Your share of the measure of God’s Light, strength and dependability is in direct proportion to your fervor in believing to see God’s miracles and work. You have seen the beauty of the Light in the sky and heard the celestial music as Power descended from heaven. How high did that beauty send you in praise of God?
What is the measure of your strength? Fitness experts speak of muscle tone. In fact, we measure all forms of strength on the vibration of tone. The A chord of beauty represents strength. You can reach the A chord on a vibration of praise and joy. The chord will resonate from your crown down to your sacrum, to register full strength. You will stand in Oversoul’s I AM consciousness, innocent and weeping for joy.
No one out there has any power over you, unless you give it to them. You are surrounded in a mother-blue cushioning aura of light. When you stand in Light, you become the greatest miracle that can be. No matter the crucifixion, physical, emotional or mental, when the pain reaches the highest peaks, praise and pray and thank God, saying, “This too shall pass away under the power of love.” Someone who cries, “I can’t take this anymore,” just runs into a ditch. They came all that way through the crucifixion, only to quit at the last moment. They will only have to take the entire initiation over again.
When the pain is so great, climb into the Light of the tabernacle. Go up in consciousness for the members of your family. This is reaching your high point, your beautiful point of dependability on God. Ask questions, “What is my rock of faith? What is the one thing I seek? Is my one desire to dwell in the house of the Lord forever?”
He will hide you in Light, but first you have to ascend in consciousness to Him. When the Power is so great that it closes out the world, you have entered the secret place of His tabernacle. Job said, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him.” So, “Whom shall I fear” on the outside? Who on the outside can tell you that you will never be able to do something? If you permit this, you are enjoying your misery.
You can put anyone to flight if you stand and look at them. You do not have to be afraid of anyone. “I had fainted.” Do not let darkness get inside your mind. You do not have to suffer or let people stir you up. Consider the source and ignore what you can. Act as if you are untouchable and immovable. When the pressure gets to the extreme point, “wait upon the Lord” for God’s dependability.
Evil is falling of its own weight. The Power of God is bringing evil down. Evil’s propaganda is wearing thin enough to see through. God has held the stars in their courses. The faith of a jellyfish operates through only two brain cells. Three great plans remain to finish evil, and you work through them.
“When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.”–Psalm 27:8. The Face of God runs away in every direction. Melchizedek and Jesus the Christ are walking the earth. To see them, you must accept that they are here and look for them. Accept the beauty of the here and now. Accept the God of all wisdom who bestowed upon you the mind that uses your brain cells.
The measure of the rock of faith that you stand on must include the complete giving up of self and praising God. Praise the lacks and flaws of your families. Love them in spite of what they do or fail to do. Ascend in consciousness, into the sanctuary in which you are hidden, up into the Light. Go up in consciousness and stay there.
God will wipe war from the face of the earth when you lift all your fellow men. “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.”–John 12:32. You can lift only as high as your surrender is capable of sending you., so lift harder and higher!

1 Dr. Peter Marshall (1902-1949) was a Presbyterian minister, who served as Chaplain of the U.S. Senate, from 1947 to 1949.

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Truth as Common Sense
Edna Lister outline, November 28, 1965, Cleveland, OH. Ephesians 4:1-15, John 14:6.

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Truth as Common Sense
Edna Lister transcript, November 28, 1965, Cleveland, OH. Elizabeth Barnes, Margaret Pratt Doan, Irene White, scribes. Ephesians 4:1-15, John 14:6.

“I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; but speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.”–Ephesians 4:1-15.
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”–John 14:6.
What is common sense? Does everyone have the same type of common sense? Can everyone live by common sense? These verses are pregnant with the reasons for why and why not.
Common sense is the dividend you receive by accepting your experiences as your own creations. You could be anywhere and know that you have earned everything that comes to you day by day. When you accept your responsibility, you have started your Path of Ascension. You are the sum of the tests you have flunked. In this age, you must earn your missing credits and get your degree.
God sent you to earth with all the equipment you need to gain experience. You have had many experiences through your many lives. This life is the sum of everything in your soul records. You came with part of your computer brain fully functioning. Some faculties were already open, and you need to open others under the supervision of your parents. This is why you come to certain parents.
As the experiences come, you take all the spare parts and bits and wire them together to build a greater computer in your brain. This time you came with your largest brain hardware ever. The switches to faculties and capacities are not necessarily open when a child is born. Outside experiences will open them.
Common sense is the distillation of your experiences and is thus built into your computer brain at birth. In each life, you can choose to clip and save experience coupons 1 to redeem when you build your next body. You fail to clip your coupons when you do not learn from your experiences. You usually clip your coupons when you have your nose rubbed in it. Every experience feeds new information into your computer storage banks.
Unfortunately we too often create a few handicaps, too. You meet no greater detriments than these three ills—opinions about, prejudices against, and blame for, which act like viruses. Openness about your opinions is the breeding ground for intolerance, pride and arrogance. Prejudices against fosters and becomes repudiation. Every rejection on the outside is born of a stumbling block inside. Thus, you fail to agree and adjust, or to agree with the adversary quickly. It’s like coating everything with sand, gritty.
Blame for is the breeding lab for self-pity, and is the secret reason one will not take on responsibility for lifting family or the world into the Light. One great treatment works on blame: “I AM the prisoner of love. I AM the prisoner of Light. I AM therefore the prisoner of the Lord.”
We have one Light, one Father and one life in all and through all. This Light must shine on your common sense as one Lord, one faith and one baptism. This will not work physically, emotionally and mentally unless you have based it in the spiritual, which is being the prisoner of love, Light and the Lord.
When you become the prisoner of love, you have one law and one Light. You then can easily declare, “This is good. Let there be Light. Let the Light shine through this. Let the Light shine through this person.”
So you do have one Father when you are the prisoners of the Light. Faith is complete acceptance of God as both personality and principle. Jesus said “our Father” seventeen times in Matthew. He treats the Father as a being who neither slumbers nor sleeps.
You are baptized by the Power and the Light of the River of Life. Faith is your rod of Power, the conductor of the Light. Look through the body until you see the fire, and the seat of the soul. When you look through the mists of Light and see the fire, you are baptized anew.
Propagandists and atheists have infiltrated the colleges and universities. Yet you still have control. You can turn your back on it and refuse to listen, saying, “I believe in God.” The world is getting better. God is in His heaven. To those who talk of propaganda, say:
“That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive.”–Ephesians 4:14. Fourteen, the number of this verse, is the number of choice and separation from darkness.
Ultimately, every soul must accept two things. You are created in the image and likeness of God. All that you can stamp with your name and number, as the River of Life flows by, must be Light. Second, you are absolutely capable of awareness, recognition and conviction. I am aware that I am a daughter of God. I can feed information into my computer terminal brain and get the right answers. The Power goes forth as Light to illumine all persons, no matter what. Mankind has just touched the fringes of opening these faculties.
When you become aware, you seek to let go of the old. You become aware of all captivity. The minute I say, “This is Good. Let there be Light,” the Master has led all captivity captive by taking over my old captivity to idle words. You can ignore the bad days because the Light absorbs the bad every day until it dies of malnutrition. Darkness dies when you are a prisoner of the Light, when you are really aware.
Recognition informs you that you have a computer brain and must use it. For years you have taken in metaphysical laundry, scrubbing and cleaning up after others. When you do so, you are lifting darkness from the world.
A great sin is to speak a word, think a thought or emote an emotion that can separate Mind, Substance and Power, which as one, is Light. When you misuse a word and emote it, you separate Mind, Substance and Power, which creates a debt of force that only you can lift.
When you pray and say, “Let the Light and Power of the living God melt and dissolve this darkness,” you weld your lines of Light to the Source. Your weld will not hold if you misuse Power. The Power goes out as force when you use idle words. Then you are forced to redeem it through the body as pain. It is not evil, but a reaction of force from the self.
As you redeem force for the self, you also do so for the world. You may not say, “This is good! This is lifting!” then blame the other fellow, or you create more force that you must lift. If you stand, captive to the Light, the Light goes through you to fill an auric sphere about you. You can know that you have this cushion of Light. This aura of Light saves you when you “almost” have an accident.
When you are aware, you experience marvelous illumination on the recognition of your need to lift some spiritual debt without it touching you. Every mystical order has its version of the “burning sands of the desert” initiation, which deals with recognition of reality.
When you think God is being hard on you, you have foot trouble, meaning you lack some element of understanding. You can see the object of the lesson, if you do not waste time but go up in consciousness and ask the minute you need help.
You do this because you love God. He would not give you such things to lift if He had someone else to do the job. The rewards for humility and love of the Lord are riches, honor and life. This is the promise.
How much love does it take? Until you wake up and suddenly know that you have finished the burning sands of the desert. Ahead you see the Mount of Transfiguration and the Mount of the Lord.
“Father, open Thou the eyes of the world. Give us, O God, the fortitude to desire to stand, the love that we may stand captive, to release the Power to lift the world. Let the Power go forth to the world, to our loved ones, to be aware of Thee, O God. Give our dear ones the chalice of conviction, O Lord.”

1 To clip a coupon means “to separate a coupon from a bearer bond. A bearer bond contains no ownership information and the physical bearer is presumed to be the owner. The bond contains physical coupons that must be clipped in order to receive the interest payments. Bearer bonds have not been issued in the United States since 1982, and thus clipping has become a less common activity, applying only to long maturity bonds issued before then.”

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Life, the Soul’s Laboratory
Edna Lister outline, December 5, 1965, Cleveland, OH. 1 Kings 3:1-15.

“And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh’s daughter, and brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of the Lord, and the wall of Jerusalem round about. Only the people sacrificed in high places, because there was no house built unto the name of the Lord, until those days. And Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of David his father: only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places. And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar. In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee. And Solomon said, Thou hast shewed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. And now, O Lord my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in. And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people? And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment; behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days. And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days. And Solomon awoke; and, behold, it was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered up burnt offerings, and offered peace offerings, and made a feast to all his servants.”–1 Kings 3:1-15.
A laboratory is a place for research, for the mixing of different combinations, watching what will happen, and experimenting. Life is a laboratory where you spend one-third of your experimenting, inspired by either curiosity or boredom.
Life is a great school of preparation, but for what? Unless you hold a definite belief in a Supreme Being—God—then nothing seems greater than the self to you. You find little or no reason to prepare if you think you have nothing to prepare for, since you feel you are good enough as you are. This results in utter selfishness. Whether culture or a person denies God or Jesus the Christ, it universally and generally repudiates all responsibility. With no check on your moral life, deterioration sets in.
The body needs contact with something greater than the self, or you merely exist as an animal, a zombie, in rock-like static state. With only a physical focus for life, the body drives the existence through the creature urges of eating, mating, and sleeping.
Prayer must be the basic ingredient in your life’s laboratory, and its product is faith. Once your prayer starts simmering does as a culture in a laboratory, it goes on working for you, day and night. To cover all my life’s needs, I must mix every other ingredient into my basic prayer. To know what to mix, I must analyze my prayer and think high thoughts. Yet this is not all I must do. A prayer, high or low, is still a prayer, something I am asking God to do or to give me.
Prayer of any kind works at every level. You can set the vibration to the cold, cool, lukewarm or hot setting. Thus, prayer can be powerful or powerless. All the questions you ask cannot find the answer as to why some prayers seem to work, but others produce no results. Change your prayer vibration to change your results.
St. Augustine’s mother had a hard time raising him as a boy because he was constantly in trouble. He wanted to go to Rome, but she prayed that God would keep him at home. Finally, he went to Rome where he met St. Ambrose, who aroused his faith.
The Father did not answer his mother’s prayers. She had tried dictating to God, thinking she knew best. She wept, wailed and all but hated God for failing her. Yet, her prayer did work in another way. She only wanted protection for her son and that he be good. Yet, St. Augustine later became one of history’s greatest “way-showers.”
So, you must do something to make prayer work for you in the right way. The story of Solomon’s thousand burnt offerings illustrates this. Mount Gibeon was a high place, where the devout had made burnt offerings long before Solomon built the first Temple in Jerusalem.
The high place represents your higher creative center in the head, where you make a thousand burnt offerings of self, which are figuratively one thousand days of burning the dross of self from the soul. This is how to shift your path from self-control to soul-conquering.
You ask, How long does this take? Do I receive any results for trying? The strength of your prayers is working day and night. If you ignore the flops, and keep on keeping on, one day you will be victorious. Do I receive a reward? Yes! “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.”–John 15:7.
You cannot pray amiss if you have made a thousand burnt offerings to open the petals of the crown center to illumination and intuition. Solomon needed to know how to rule Israel, so he kept making burnt offerings until they numbered a thousand. Hold fast to God consciousness, without questioning or entertaining conflicts, to complete your burnt offerings and earn length of days.
Symbolically, the Tree of Life is the spine, through which the creative fire rises to the crown center in the head, to open your door to the Master. As you make that full contact, you earn the rewards of humility and fear of the Lord, riches, honor and long life. Ask yourself, Am I the kind of person who is willing to be made over, to be transformed? Am I someone whose prayers God can answer?
One moment of fervent, rapturous praise is better than two hours of armchair meditation. Like Solomon, you can open your eyes of wisdom to the riches of His glory, to comprehend the vastness and greatness of His Power. Let prayer work for you—set your vibration on high.

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Life, the Soul’s Laboratory

Edna Lister transcript, December 5, 1965, Cleveland, OH. Elizabeth Barnes, Margaret Pratt Doan, Irene White, scribes. 1 Kings 3:1-13.

“Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh’s daughter, and brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of the Lord, and the wall of Jerusalem round about. Only the people sacrificed in high places, because there was no house built unto the name of the Lord, until those days. And Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of David his father: only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places. And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar. In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee. And Solomon said, Thou hast shewed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. And now, O Lord my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in. And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people? And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment; behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days. And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days. And Solomon awoke; and, behold, it was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered up burnt offerings, and offered peace offerings, and made a feast to all his servants.”–1 Kings 3:1-15.
Today is so great and I have so much to give you that I am nearly bursting with the glory of it. I would like to tell you of the vastness of the Computer Mind of God, of what goes on behind the scenes for even the smallest of miracles. People ask, “Why am I here? What is the meaning of life?” They feel suspended, open to all suggestions because they have no answers to these questions.
Laboratories are places of experimentation where you try things out. You must accept earth as a great experimental school of preparation, which implies that something lies ahead of you to prepare for, but what? You cannot answer these questions without some belief in God as a Father, and Jesus as the Only Begotten Son. Without a belief anchored in God above, people repudiate responsibility. Assuming responsibility is moral growth, according to a “more and more” plan for living and developing. To seek escape from responsibility leads to senility, dementia, catatonia, all conditions that we will wipe out when psychiatry makes the Bible its foundation.
Stock your laboratory of life with the basic ingredients of principle. You fill your beaker of consciousness three quarters full of faith, add other ingredients, and make a product called character. Faith releases God’s Power with nothing left out. What are you going to produce in your laboratory of life? Your product is prayer. You get nothing without prayer that produces, yet prayer is no good without action. The Master gave us the key: Joy. Life is a process of alchemy—you learn to turn the base metals of experience into the pure gold of love and joy.Add a pinch of joy to your alchemical retort, and something stirs inside you. Add another pinch of joy, your prayer mixture begins to bubble, so put in more joy. Keep adding joy until it bubbles actively. If it lacks sparkle, it isn’t going to sell. Most people add just enough joy to suggest a miracle. Praise gives prayer that sparkle, and opens the great Source of faith.
You can produce a divine fragrance from this laboratory called life, but you need to be super sales agents to put your product over as a success. “Prayer is the soul’s sincere desire, uttered or unexpressed.” Increase your soul expression in your uttered words, for they are what your thoughts are. A producer says, “I know God can do anything,” and speaks words selling the kingdom of heaven, and the glory of God. Keep adding words of praise, joy, and faith to your life. You can put the fire out with just a few idle words. Prayer may not be selfish, but you can and must use it as a basis for lifting the world, with no demands for yourself.
Prayer can change the words on others’ lips into Light when you pray that the Light will go forth, that he will have compassion, and express all good, all love. A bad curse is a prayer on that degree. Declare that a curse is changed to a higher degree. How could you gain your crown if you had nobody out there for whom to pray? Prayer is thought formed on whatever degree you speak your words. If your words are negative, you will get what you send out because your results must conform to your words. Keep your alchemical retort filled with love and praise.
Solomon went to the high place at Gibeon and offered 1,000 days of burnt offerings, which means 1,000 days of offering up self. Mystically, it symbolizes the nerve endings in the 1,000-petal lotus of the crown bursting into flame when you pray.
You can be what you visualize. Sacrifice the little self and give your soul a chance. Nobody can infect you, touch you, interfere with you. No outside power can get inside your aura to hurt you unless you say, “He hurt me,” or “This is one of those days.” Who is in charge of your day? Declare Light and Light refills your aura.
If you must deal with a disagreeable person, don’t say, “Here it comes again,” or “This will be one of those days.” A demanding boss is a polisher, as family is a polisher. Submit to the polishing to become gloriously free. You may feel rubbed raw, but lift to gain your rewards for living after the divine pattern. The more you lift, the more the Father gives you to lift. Put your burnt offerings on the altar every day, accompanied with your joy and praise. Make the sacrifice of self, blame, hate, and repudiation into peace offerings. This is the glory, the Divine Pattern when you desire to make your thousand days of burnt offerings.

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Invisible Powerful You
Edna Lister outline, December 12, 1965, Cleveland, OH. 1 John 3:1-4, Ephesians 6:18-20, Romans 8:37-39.

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Invisible Powerful You
Edna Lister transcript, December 12, 1965, Cleveland, OH. Elizabeth Barnes, Margaret Pratt Doan, Irene White, scribes. 1 John 3:1-4, Ephesians 6:18-20, Romans 8:37-39.

“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.”–1 John 3:1-4.
“Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; and for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”–Ephesians 6:18-20.
“Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”–Romans 8:37-39.
What is the temperature of your love today? Have you put in extra special effort, honestly spent any time contemplating the Power inherent in this joy season? Praise God’s Power. You cannot afford to leave it to chance. God’s Creation is beautiful and you witness its glories daily in the skies, the colors of nature, the greenery of trees. Yet God wants to see more beauty and personality in the faces of His children, for it has not yet been revealed what we shall be.
The truth survives in legends and myths, even when history buries the philosophies and religions that birthed them. People need more contact with divine personality and beauty in their lives. Unless your love increases every day, you are not keeping up with science, which is already doing the greater works. When Christians start doing the greater works of Jesus, we will have no more wars.
God must do this through us; otherwise, He would have to destroy earth and start again. He can wipe out the hatred and evil only as our desires and expressions of love let Him use us. Christianity, in the main, is still in the dark ages, while science is doing the greater works. So, take out your measuring rod: Have you released more of God’s Power this week?
You have to sign your covenant with God every day of the week and twice on Sunday. Your God-given mental and soul faculties make you usable by God’s Power. Most souls only think they are awake. The invisible Power is you, according to how many of the soul faculties you have opened and developed for that Power to use. To develop the one hundred-forty-four soul faculties, you must also develop the corresponding soul virtues, called powers.
Set your goal to tenfold more than you think you can accomplish so you can accomplish what you set out to do. If you plan to accomplish twenty years’ work in one year, set your goal for ten thousand more than you think you can do. Jesus the Christ is your sponsor before the Father’s throne. “Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he [Christ] is pure.”–1 John 3:3. Those of us who know him endeavor to live up to him to the best of our abilities.
“Whoever commits sin also transgresses the law, for sin is the transgression of the law.”–1 John 3:4. The Father is using evil to consume evil, to shatter it. The Father sends every new curse into the old evil to shatter both the curse and its target. Thus, Light is denuding evil of its power. This is what God is doing today, but whom is He using today? The descended creator gods let earth get into this mess, and it is up to us to clean it up now.
Discipline begins in the nursery, where you stop a child’s bad behavior before it become his life’s expression. While you may pay a debt for interfering with another, remember that evil, crime, and war can exist only where discipline is lacking. Parents can and sometimes do pay their child’s debts past childhood, and thank God they can do so through their love. Love nurtures and sustains the invisible, powerful you.
“Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; and for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”–Ephesians 6:18-20. The only boldness in speech that you may practice is to witness for principle, and the tenets of your religion. To be an ambassador of Light means that you are under an obligation to live up to the laws that your Sponsor laid down.
Sin is the transgression of law. Today, some ministers actually do not believe that Jesus is the Christ. They do not understand that he is the Only Begotten Son or what that even means. Without faith, they have lost the tenets of the mysteries—in some quarters even denying that God exists—in His place they have raised up fetishes of self.
Some say that Jesus was a good man; others say that he was merely a man. Now some say that he was only a legend and never lived at all. Thank God that legends have a way of surviving. The myths live on when the philosophies are barren, and the truth lives when legends are retold.
Many metaphysicians do not believe in the personality of God, but in principles only. They utterly ignore the fact that whatever exists here must first exist in the Source, including personality. In fact, you have only one means of communion with your Source—God speaks as personality, through personality to personality. How can you deny personality when you use personality to do so? I believe that God is a personality as well as principle. He walks in the garden of earth at eventide, and is a personal Father to me. You must bear witness to what you believe. I bear witness to the fact that Jesus ascended.
It’s time for a new crop of messiahs to come to earth, men and women who have an exceptional message, such as giving up the self to nurture the soul. And why not? Consider the new cults that would have us believe that science holds the power overall.
St. Paul prayed that God would make him an ambassador in bonds so that he could open his mouth and speak boldly. The kind of religious bond you have depends on your choice, and you are free to choose. I believe Jesus is our sponsor, who has bonded us. Under honor, when someone sponsors you, you have an obligation to make good. Always seek to live up to your sponsor’s opinion of you.
To speak boldly is to witness principle. As an ambassador in bonds, you are given the authority to speak boldly as you ought to speak. This does not mean that you can tell a person just what he is doing wrong and walk away, scot-free. You owe a debt for forcing an unwanted truth upon him. People are odd; they do not want to be lost, but they really do not want to be saved.
The mysteries of the only begotten Son impose a heavy burden to remain in constant contact with God. When God said, “Let there be Light!” and “This is good!” He gave us our mandate to take on the sponsorship of those younger than us. To accept the Son opens the Gates of Light.
Most people believe that they can, by being saved, enter the gates into heaven by riding Jesus’ coat tails. Acceptance of Jesus as the Christ puts a line of Light up to the laws that he, as our sponsor, laid down for us to follow. This is the first glimpse of the fact that a Source greater than self does exist, and something greater than being the self for us to do.
The world knows you not. “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”–1 John 3:2. You are ambassadors in bonds. So often you struggle to be a certain way for some people, and struggle for so long that when they suddenly say that you have changed, you are now just like what you have worked so hard to become that you are shocked. They may, however, tell you that you are not at all like what you have worked to become.
The greater part of life is invisible, and nearly all activity occurs unseen. No one can see a telegraph as it travels through a wire electrically. Invisible images travel through the air to appear on your television screen. You cannot see a voice, yet you know it is there from observing the results.
Laws are an invisible element of life, and each must all accept some things on faith. What do you believe? Jesus said, “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.”–Matthew 28-20. Do you accept this? I know that Jesus the Christ is the first and Only Begotten Son of God, and that he walks on earth today in a desire body that is visible to those who truly know him.
I believe that there is an invisible soul seed of life that ripens monthly, and in that seed, you are reborn. If science can bring the seeds of life together to produce a fertilized egg, think what you can do with your God-fertilized soul seeds.
Scientists in the field of physics said they had to start over again when Einstein published his theory of relativity. Yet some Christians still say, “I’ve got to see it to believe it.” The things you believe are provable, but you must do more than just to say so. Bear witness to the truth without offending others or making a mock of God. When people say they don’t believe in God because you cannot prove that He exists, you can challenge them right back. Say, “Who can disprove God or the invisible reality? Who can disprove that Jesus the Christ is the only begotten Son?”
Science has succeeded in building machines to measure the activity of the subconscious mind. Therefore, they believe in the existence of the subconscious mind, which is invisible, but whose activity is measurable. The corresponding portion of soul, the appetitive soul is invisible, but it acts through the subconscious mind. As the servant of the conscious rational soul, the appetitive soul runs the metabolism to balance the physical body and mind through the brain.
How well the embodied rational soul directs the subconscious mind to do its work is up to you. It is your choice. The subconscious acts on your orders or lack of them. It does what you picture for it to do. Out in the world, people watch the news, imagine the battle lines, the horrors of war, fill their subconscious minds with it, then have bad dreams. How can you expect to rebuild a decent body at night when you feed it a diet of nightmares? You are the chief controller of your subconscious mind, so close the door and lock it! You do your heaviest work at night, so never fill your subconscious mind with garbage during the nightly news. It cannot carry out healing orders if you fill it with the horrors of war and crime.
As an ambassador of Light, you are obligated to accept the tenets of your religion. You can do all the greater works that Christ could do and greater. You can set your subconscious mind like a clock. Every afternoon, declare, “Let my subconscious mind be open to receive the Light. Let this Light go to all schools, offices, factories, stores and places of business. Let the Power fill their minds with beauty until they have no time for war. Let a sheath of Light surround them so their homes will mean something new to them. Let old things from the past, such as repressions be gone. Lord, please make my conscious mind be clean as a mirror. Let all darkness be turned into Light and glory.”
The Master said, “He who has seen me has seen the Father.” The prayers of the Elect are invoking Light throughout the world daily. This planet, which was dark, is becoming one of the brightest. This is how the beauty of God’s Light can make visible this invisible, powerful you, made in the image and likeness of God. This is how to change everything into all good. When others see you, they will see the Light you let shine through invisible powerful you.
“I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the Love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”–Romans 8:38-39. Learn to function enough life. As an ambassador in bonds, you live up to Jesus’ sponsorship. Your bonds are the love of God, the expression of your joy. As ambassadors for Christ, we are ambassadors of Thy glory, Lord.

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Edna Miriam Lister
1884 – 1971
The original Christian Pioneering Mystic,
Platonist philosopher, American Idealist, Founder, Society of the Universal Living Christ, minister, teacher, author, wife, and mother.

References

Brother Lawrence. The Practice of the Presence of God.

The Oxford English Dictionary: Compact Edition, 2 vols. Oxford University Press, 1971.

The Holy Bible. King James Version (KJV).

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