UP Church

NOVEMBER 24   

I ACCEPT MY OWN SPIRITUAL AND PHYSICAL PERFECTION

He is a rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.

Deuteronomy 32:4

My body is the temple of the Living God.  It is Spiritual Substance.  I have perfect confidence in my heart that God’s lifegiving Spirit is my life. Since God is my life and God is eternal, my life is eternal.  Therefore I cannot be separated from God, from Good, from Perfection.  If I would renew body, mind and affairs, I must first cause my imagination to rise above them. The supreme Ruler, omnipresent, therefore existing at the very center of my thought, the Christ within me, really has the power to make all things new.

The perfect Life of God now expresses its innate perfection and wholeness.  As the sun dissolves the mist, so does my knowledge of Truth dissolve all pain and discord.  I know the Truth about myself as a child of God and that Truth makes me free.  I am free because the Power of the Living Spirit is my power and it remolds and re-creates my body after the likeness of the perfect pattern of God.  I open wide the doorway of my consciousness to a greater influx from the Divine.  I know that the all-conquering power of Spirit is with me.  I accept my privilege, as a Son, of manifesting the Life, Love, Peace, Strength, Harmony and Joy of God – the Father Almighty who indwells me and incarnates Himself in me, as me.

Therefore, I rest in peace and in the quiet confidence I know that all is well.  It is my sincere desire that the Life and the Love which God is shall flow through me to the whole world.

Taken from “Richer Living” by Ernest Holmes and Raymond Charles Barker

NOVEMBER 23   

MY WORD DOES ACCOMPLISH

The first step that the soul of the faithful man made, placed him in the Good Thought Paradise;  The second step that the soul of the faithful man made, placed him in the Good Word Paradise; The third step that the soul of the faithful man made; placed him in the Good Deed Paradise.

The Zend-Avesta

Since thought is a definite, dynamic, creative, consciously directed and intelligent energy, then I know that a thought of Truth will definitely neutralize a negative argument.  I am on guard to protect my own word by knowing that it is the activity of Spirit through me and as such cannot be denied.  In effective prayer, I realize that a Power greater than I am consciously acts with creative intelligence upon my word.  In this way, I free myself from a sense of personal responsibility, while, at the same time, remaining aware that even spiritual laws must be definitely used, if they are to provide tangible results in my experience.

Believing that there is one Divine Intelligence that governs everything, I affirm that this Intelligence is acting in my mind, causing me to know what is best and to do what is best. I open my mind to new thoughts, new ideas.  And I know that as I do this new experience shall come to me.

I seek to believe with absolute conviction that my word will not return unto me void, and I do this when I realize that spiritual laws execute themselves, just as do others laws of nature.  I know that my word penetrates every unbelief in my mind, casts out all fear, removes all doubt, clears away every obstacle, and permits that which is enduring, perfect and true to be perceived by my mind.

I provide faith, acceptance, and a joyous expectancy that all the statements that I make in my prayers or treatments are not only true but that they will be carried out as I have spoken.  As my work is done with this sense of reliance upon the Law of Good, I know that my word shall not return unto me void but shall accomplish that whereunto it is sent.”

Taken from “Richer Living” by Ernest Holmes and Raymond Charles Barker

NOVEMBER 22   

TODAY I BESTOW THE ESSENCE OF LOVE UPON EVERYTHING

Love worketh no ill to his neighbor therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

Romans 13:10

“The Law of the Lord is perfect” and the Law of the Lord is Love.  We are made perfect in the Law when we enter into the communion of love with one another and with the invisible essence of Life.  Love is the fulfillment of the Law, that is, we never can make the most perfect use of the Law unless that use is motivated by love, by a sincere desire to express unity, harmony and peace.  As the true artist weds himself to the essence of beauty, imbibing her spirit that it may be transmitted to the canvas, or awaken a living form from cold marble, so we must wed ourselves to the essence of Love that we may imbibe its spirit, and, transmitting it, give loveliness to all events.

I desire that everything I think shall be from the heart as well as from the head.  I wish to release kindness and love, sympathy and understanding, peace and joy.  No condemnation, judgment or fear shall go from me to anyone or anything.

Today I bestow the essence of love upon everything.  Everyone shall be lovely to me.  My soul meets the soul of the universe in everyone.  Nothing is ugly; everything is beautiful, everything is meaningful.  This love is a healing power touching everything into wholeness, healing the wounds of experience with its divine balm.  I know that this Love Essence, the very Substance of Life, the creative Principle back of everything, flows through my whole being, spiritual, emotional, mental and physical.  It flows in transcendent loveliness into my world of thought and form, ever renewing, vitalizing, bringing joy and harmony and blessing to everything and everyone it touches. 

Taken from “Richer Living” by Ernest Holmes and Raymond Charles Barker

NOVEMBER 25   

THE LIFE OF THE FATHER IS MY LIFE

When Heaven and Man exert their powers in concert, all transformations have their commencements determined.

The Texts of Taoism 

God could not withhold Himself from me.  That which is He has given fully unto me to enjoy. The life of God is perfect, it is eternal, it is the essence of all things.  That life is God’s gift to me.  Therefore, this fullness is within me, ready to manifest through me as I partake of it.  Since I am self-choosing, even though Divinely endowed, I partake of my Divinity only as I let it through; I am always in the midst of plenty everywhere.  I know that I live in a changeless Reality. I am not disturbed by the passage of time, the movement around me, or the variations of experience through which I go.  Something within me remains immovable and says, “Be still and know that I am God.”

There is no here and there to the Spirit, for both are included within Itself, even as yesterday, today and tomorrow are but passing events in Its unitary wholeness, even as big and little are but outlines.  The manifest universe is an expression of that which transcends time, overshadows eternity, encompasses all form, and remains stable within that which forever flows.

I now consciously draw upon the life which is mine.  I now reeducate myself definitely, by whatever steps I may, to a belief that there is given unto me a fullness of life which is Divine in its origin, eternal in its presence, and always fully available. The life of the Father is my life.  The infinite richness of the Father is mine.  All things which proceed from Him may be mine.  I now claim them.  The act of taking is my right and privilege.  I exercise it now intelligently and in full faith.

Taken from “Richer Living” by Ernest Holmes and Raymond Charles Barker

NOVEMBER 14  

TODAY I SEE HIM REFLECTED IN EVERY FORM, MOVING IN EVERY ACT

Now, when the thought of doing good has arisen in a man’s mind, though the good be not yet done, the good Spirits are in attendance on him.

The Texts of Taoism 

After long meditation and much deep reflection, having passed through the confusion of human experience, Job finally arrived at the conclusion that the Spirit of God was within him and that the breath of God was his life.  We all have traveled this same pathway of experience, the journey of the soul to “the heights above,” and always there has been a deep inquiry in our minds – What is it all about?  Does life make sense?  What is the meaning of birth, human experience and the final transition from this plane which we call death?  Somewhere along the line we too must exclaim with Job, “The spirit of God hath made me and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.”  Nothing can be nearer to us than that which is the very essence of our own being.  Our external search after Reality culminates in the greatest of all possible discoveries – Reality is at the center of our own being; life is from within out.

I feel that my search is over.  I feel that I have discovered the Great Reality.  I am not evolving into it, I am merely awakening to the realization of what it means.  There is but one Life.  This Life I am living.  Today I speak this Reality into every experience I have.  Today I see Him reflected in every form, back of every   countenance, moving in every act.

This is my deliberate choice.  This is my secret desire.  This is the sole ambition of my heart and mind and soul, that I shall walk with God, and walking with God, that I shall so manifest His nature that everything around me shall be blessed.     

Taken from “Richer Living” by Ernest Holmes and Raymond Charles Barker

NOVEMBER 13   

DAILY I DIE TO EVERYTHING THAT IS UNLIKE GOOD

When all desires dwelling in the heart have been quitted, then the mortal becomes immortal; (then) he enjoys here Brahma.

Brihad Aranyaka Upanishad

The Talmud says that unhappy conditions arise when we mistake shadow for substance.  Even the valley of the shadow of death causes no fear when we arrive at the consciousness of the Psalmist who, from the exaltation of his Divine deliverance, proclaimed, “…thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”  The rod and staff of Truth is the realization of the substantiality and the permanence of that which cannot change.

I am believing that we are identifying ourselves with success and happiness.  This is what we are decreeing. This is what Life is doing for us now.  We know that goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives: and we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

We are ever renewed by the passage of the Divine Light through our consciousness.  The revitalizing, regenerative power of Spirit flows from the consciousness of wholeness into our physical organism, and into every objective act when we give the realization of the Divine Presence free passage through our thought.

I know that every apparent death is a resurrection.  Therefore, today, gladly I die to everything that is unlike the good.  Joyfully I am resurrected into that which is beautiful, enduring and true. Silently I pass from less to more, from isolation into inclusion, from separation into oneness.  The perfect Law of Good is operating through me.  Joyfully I accept it.  Joyfully I permit its action in everything that I do.  I know that my recognize of good is the substance of the good which I recognize and I know that this good is ever taking form in my experience.  It is impossible for me to be separated from my good.

Taken from “Richer Living” by Ernest Holmes and Raymond Charles Barker

NOVEMBER 12

I RECOGNIZE MY IDENTITY WITH SPIRIT

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Hebrews 11:1

My knowledge that the great I Am is ever available gives me an increasing capacity to draw upon It and to become inwardly aware of the presence of Spirit.  Through the quiet contemplation of the Omniaction of Spirit, I learn to look quietly and calmly upon every false condition, seeing through it to the other side of the invisible Reality which molds conditions and re-creates all of my affairs after a more nearly Divine pattern. With a penetrating spiritual vision I dissipate any obstruction, remove all obstacles, dissolve all wrong conditions.  Standing still I watch the sure salvation of the Law.

Today I see peace instead of confusion.  I entertain faith instead of doubt.  I feel the impact of an all-enveloping Presence.  I know that there is a power of good operating in human affairs.

I now claim health instead of sickness, wealth instead of poverty, happiness instead of misery.  In such degree as I gain mastery over the sense of negation, whether it be pain or poverty, I am proving the Law of Good.  Every thought of fear or limitation is removed from my consciousness.  I know that my word transmutes every energy into constructive action, producing health, harmony, happiness and success.  I know there is something at the center of my being which is absolutely certain of itself. It has complete assurance and it gives me complete assurance that all is well.  I maintain my position as a Divine Being, here and now.

Taken from “Richer Living” by Ernest Holmes and Raymond Charles Barker

NOVEMBER 11   

THE LAW OF RIGHT ACTION IS OPERATING IN MY LIFE NOW

For then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face unto God.

Job 22:21,26

Right action means that every legitimate and constructive purpose I have in mind shall be successfully executed.  It means that I shall know what to do, how to think, how to act, how to proceed.  I definitely declare that since my word is in accord with the Divine Nature, it actually is the Law of God in my experience, enforcing Itself.  Hence, there is nothing in me or around me which can limit this word.  The power of this Law is with me and the action which results from this power produces harmony, peace, joy and success.

Recognizing that there is but one Power, one Presence and one Life, I so unite myself with this Life that all things become possible to me through faith.  Humbly, reverently, but with complete conviction, I accept the gift of heaven, that life which is complete and perfect, here and now.

I know that in this consciousness of Reality is the supply for my every need – physical, mental or spiritual – and I accept that supply in deepest gratitude. I am thankful that this is the way Life fulfills my needs, through the doorway of my inner self, and I am thankful that I know how to use this perfect Law.  I come to this great Fountain of Supply, in the very center of my being, to absorb that for which I have need, mentally and physically, and I am filled with the sense of the Reality of that which I desire, As I am filled with Reality I permit It to flow into my world of thought and action, knowing that It brings peace and harmony and order all around me.  There arises within me limitless faith in the unconquerable Presence, the perfect Law and the Divine Action. 

Taken from “Richer Living” by Ernest Holmes and Raymond Charles Barker