helpful testimonies

Joyce Voysey

With all the current dialogue about same-sex marriage, the testimony which begins on page 173 is, for me, a significant contribution to the debate.  Not that marriage is in any way mentioned.

How about this on page 204: “It was God’s job to compensate me”.  When this man was assured that his job was to go “about my Father’s business”, this was the satisfying message he and his wife accepted as being true and in accord with Principle.  He “plunged back into work, free of the burden of selfish thinking.”  He had been haunted by “me” oriented questions and so had been discouraged.

So, here is the end of June, and as Julie has said, the book isn’t finished yet.  On to Proverbs.

Can we trust God?

On page 166 we have a paragraph which seems to echo a thought from last week’s Lesson-Sermon, (title: Is the Universe, Including Man, Evolved by Atomic Force?).  The passage is from I Tim. 6:20, “...keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called.” 

The echo that I find in the testimony reads: “The possibility that I could be God’s child was so appealing and comforting.  But spiritual and perfect!  If God exists, if He’s spiritual and is infinite good, then it must be true.  But I wasn’t sure about trusting God.  Being in college, I wondered if there was anything left to trust, since I was discovering how much human knowledge is inherently faulty.”

The writer’s Christian Science friend did for her what Michelle Nanouche’s recent blog post* suggested – she “sang her song to her” – she recognised her true identity.  The outcome, of course, was healing and devotion to the Science of Christianity.

*See Michelle Nanouche CSB, Christian Scientist – MY BLOG http://www.michellenanouchecsb.com/4/post/2013/06/i-would-sing-your-song-to-you.html

 

Joyce Voysey

Free from any evil influence

Beginning on page 158, we have the recounting of a healing of an eating disorder which involved a young girl’s extraordinary loss of weight.   It is told by the girl’s mother. This arresting statement stood out to me: “So I continued to pray, recognizing that our daughter was actually God’s child – always perfect, pure, and free from any evil influence” (my emphasis).  How good to see this truth pointed out.  And how clearly we are shown the mesmeric effect this error claims to affect, when we read of the breakthrough on page 159: “Suddenly one morning, our daughter woke to discover that her face and body were returning to normal.  She was also herself mentally and said she felt as if she had awakened from a dream.  She was happy and free for the first time in a year.” 

Joyce Voysey

Thirst for spiritual things

by Joyce Voysey

I love this bit on page 59 of Healing Spiritually (it’s a testimony of healing of deep depression and suicidal feelings): “For the mental torment to have been ended would have been “heavenly,” a long-for release.  But it would not have given me a real sense of heaven…”  This is a remarkable testimony, especially the lessons, on overcoming selfishness and sensualism, gained along the way.

Wow!  Here’s how to learn about God

Who is your teacher?

Joyce Voysey

The testimonies in Healing Spiritually are telling me of the shaky nature of human knowledge; the inaccuracy medical predictions and assessments.  Judith Hepburn’s testimony (p. 50) confirms this, giving both the medical nurse’s view of treatment of the sick and the Christian Science view: I became convinced that medicine is not a science but a compilation of opinions.

I have the impression that the early healings in the book came about through the person’s understanding gained through reading Science &Health, i.e. without the help of a Christian Science practitioner. There is a BIG emphasis

A different perspective on knowledge

by Joyce Voysey

Turning again to page 41 of our book: “The education I had received in secondary school taught me to believe that a parasite is responsible for the (malarial) fever, and that if the disease is not arrested through the use of drugs, death may result.  But through the understanding I gained from my study (of Christian Science), I realised that such knowledge is the ‘forbidden fruit’ spoken of in Genesis, which God warns man neither to eat nor touch, lest he die (3:3).  It is a knowledge that leads to bondage and destruction.”

I have read many insights which use similar reasoning, but this one really hit the mark

Meeting our different needs

from Joyce Voysey

June is here bringing with it a new book to read/study: Healing Spiritually.

As I read the first testimonies I thought, how can I comment on this book?  Everyone is reading the same stories; surely they will have the same responses.  Then I came to this on page 41: The education I had received in secondary school taught me to believe

Divine Spirit

Last month we noticed that "spirit" entered the story in the book of Acts quite a bit.  I'm sure readers will enjoy Elise Moore's helpful article from The Christian Science Monitor dated May 31, 2013,

Testimony Meetings - Healings today

It’s really great to be reading “Healing Spiritually” again.  It’s such a treasure trove of uplifting healings.  And I’m grateful to have them so thoughtfully arranged in four sections:

1.      Finding a path to spiritual healing;

2.      Healing and guidance in every stage of life;

3.      Gaining control over the unexpected; and

4.      Christian healing throughout life.

These are followed by “an invitation to learn more.” 

 

I know of a couple of recent Reading Room visitors who just love this book

An inspiration to the whole field

Joyce Voysey

We come to Paul’s adventure on the eastern Mediterranean Sea in being taken from Caesarea to Rome to be tried before Caesar.  Graphic details delight us, as does Paul’s consciousness that God is in control of every event of his career.  Didn’t he say that the ship should not have left Crete because there would be “much damage, not only of the lading and ship, but also of our lives” but also, when that damage actually came to pass he predicted that there would be no loss of life, though the ship would be lost.  As it turned out when they hit (i.e. were shipwrecked) on Melita (Malta), where they spent three months and where Paul healed snakebite and the fever and “bloody flux” of an important man’s father.

And so on to Rome.