Unity Church Of Clearwater

God sees us “without the masks” of seeming personality flaws, physical defects, past mistakesand present limitations. God see us as beautiful, worthy, and beloved. God sees us as inherentlywise, whole, wealthy, and wonderful. In the midst of all the moods of life and all the “disguises”we may wear, we can see others with eyes of love just as God sees us as we truly are: miracles inthe making. No matter how good our “get ups” might be, God sees through the appearance to thereal self of each of us, endowed with infinite possibilities. Through all the outer changes, that neverchanges!

I am an idea in the Mind of God. I let God’s idea express in me and as me. I am what I think. I am daily changed into a likeness truer to God’s image of me. God’s world is the real world. In God’s world I am loved as I really am. In God, I live, and move, and have my being. In me, God lives, moves, and has expression as my real Self.

God is with you now and has always been with you. Alone in the wilderness, the patriarch, Jacob, declared this realization: “Truly, the LORD is in this spot, although I did not know it!” (Genesis 28:16). God is nearer than the breath you are breathing. Rahab, woman of Jericho, also realized the omnipresence of God, declaring the God of the Children of Israel to be “in heaven above and on earth below” (Joshua 2:11). Later, in Psalm 139, King David sang: “Where can I hide from your spirit? From your presence, where can I flee? If I ascend to the heavens, you are there . . . . If I fly with the wings of dawn and alight beyond the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand hold me fast,” and rejoiced, “You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother's womb . . . . My very self you knew . . . . when I was being made in secret” (Psalm 139:13-15). Wherever you are, God is, softly whispering in your soul: “I am here with you, I will never leave you. I have always been with you, all along.”

Jesus taught that it is natural for a good shepherd to leave the ninety-nine sheep in his fold in order to rescue one little lost lamb. Well versed in the Torah, surely Jesus knew the story of the brave little donkey who wisely turned from the angel in her path, though it was invisible to the prophet Balaam. By grace, we learn intuitive wisdom through animals. We all know the story of Daniel in the lions’ den. By grace, we learn gentleness through animals. When Jesus entered Jerusalem, He fulfilled the prophecy by riding on the unbroken colt of a donkey. By grace, we learn receptivity through animals. Even the prophet Jonah, who thought he could hide from God’s mission for him, prayed from the belly of the “big fish” and was delivered safely to the shore. By grace, we learn that God works through animals. This Sunday, we will spiritually “swim with the dolphins!”

“I open my eyes, greet this new day, take a deep breath, and as I pray, I give thanks. I know that I am blessed. So, I expect the best. Right where I am, just as I am, all that I want, all I desire is now waiting here for me. The universe conspires to insure my happiness. So, I expect the best. I expect the best from every passing moment, every single day, I’m loving my life, living my dreams, losing my fears, spreading my wings, feeling alive, anticipating what the future holds for me. I can’t wait to see what’s going to happen next. I expect the best!”

I trust in Spirit as my “GPS” – God’s Positioning System – and my journey is safe and sure. Traveling through a seeming “desert” in life, I am led to “oases” in God’s presence. I take the high road on my journey, for it is the way of joy and healing. Even when I cannot see the path before me, I know that God is with me, every step of the road ahead.

Let me be pure of heart, and see only God – only good – when I look upon others. I remember that what I am seeing is what I am being. So, instead of taking offense, I bless. If others point out my faults or disappoint me humanly, I learn not to take it personally. We are all growing. Seen through the eyes of divine love, we look divine!

I am a spiritual newcomer. I no longer stand in the shadows of former expectations of me. I make room for new Self-understanding. I release everyone else’s vision of who I should be, and I find my way home. I know that I can take my own road and feel a freedom I have never known. I am unlearning what was never true and unbecoming what I never was. I am coming home!

“Only say the word” (Matthew 8:8), said the Centurion to Jesus, knowing that his servant would be healed instantly through Jesus’ spoken word of faith. The great tradition of positive affirmations in Unity follows this same line of thought. Take a deep breath and speak these affirmations, inspired by Florence Scovel Shinn, author of the New Thought classic: Your Word Is Your Wand: “Divine Love, through me, now dissolves all seeming obstacles and makes clear, easy and successful my way.” “I stand steadfast, immovable, giving thanks for my seeming impossible good to come to pass.” “I now stand aside and watch God work.” “Nothing is too good to be true. Nothing is too wonderful to happen. Nothing is too good to last.” We now affirm with you: Your word of faith is your magic wand, for your word is God in action!

The Sanskrit word “yoga” has the literal meaning of "yoke," from a root word meaning “to join,” “to unite,” or “to attach.” In a way, “Unity” has the same sort of meaning. We might even think of Jesus as the great “Yoga Master,” for He taught: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for your selves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light" (Matthew 11:28-30). I affirm that I rest in the center of my being, I release tension with each breath and inhale joy and enthusiasm effortlessly. St. Paul wrote of spiritual discipline like “training” the body. I affirm that with energy, courage, and determination, I steadfastly practice the discipline of physical and mental poise. Like Jesus, Paul referred to the body as a temple. I now claim that I am deeply connected to heaven and earth, for my body is a temple of the living God. I radiate health and happiness from the core of my body te

I am a Child of God and God is Love. God cannot fail, so I cannot fail. Suffering and pain are not God’s will. God’s will is good and only good, for God is Love. God is my Healer, God is my Savior, God is Love – mighty in the midst of me. Getting “even” is not the way to win. The way to win is by loving more, for God is Love.

Throughout the Bible, we read of the subtle power of small things. In I Kings, the prophet Elijah sent his servant to look for a rain cloud seven times. At last, the servant said he saw a little cloud as small as a man’s hand coming up from the sea. Elijah told him to hurry, because the rain was coming. Sure enough in only a moment, “the sky grew dark with clouds and wind, and a heavy rain fell.” Proverbs speaks of the wisdom of tiny ants, the cunning of tiny hyraxes making their homes in rocky crags, the organization of migrating locusts, and the agility of lizards, making their way into kings’ palaces. Jesus taught that the tiny mustard seed could grow into the largest of plants. Though only a youth, David the shepherd boy was able to conquer the mighty Goliath. Therefore, let these words of Lisa Firestone’s be our prayer today: “Though I be small, God, give me the grace to be love’s beacon while I’m in this place. Help me be all I can for the human race. Use me, Spirit, though I be so very, very small.”

Jesus, our Wayshower, taught us how to pray with and for one another. He said: “This is how you are to pray: Our Father in heaven” (Matthew 6:9). Therefore, whatever we affirm for others, we also claim for ourselves. Whatever we claim for others, we also affirm for ourselves, for we are all children of the same Father – the same Sustainer-Creator, Source. We are one in Spirit. Jesus said, concerning His beloved followers: “I pray for them . . . . And I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth . . . that they may be one” (John 17:9,19-21 ). St. Paul, inspired by the Christ, wrote: “We always give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you . . . . We do not cease praying for you” (Colossians 1:3-12). Jesus, our Master, lovingly revealed that we would come to know that true prayer requires no intermediary: “On that day you will ask in my name, and I do not tell you that I will ask the Father for you. For the Father himself loves you” (John 16:26-7).

On the journey of Life, Jesus – the Great Example – goes before me and shows me the way. When the road seems long and winding, steep and rough – Christ, the Wayshower, makes my way straight and smooth. The I Am – the Christ indwelling each and all – is the only way, the truth, and the life. The Christ – the I Am within me – is my Wayshower, my saving grace.

The Book of Jonah is a classic example of a soul trying to escape following through with divine guidance. God told him to go to Nineveh and preach the word of God, and he got on a ship and went in another direction, instead.  I learn from the story of Jonah and resolve instead to follow God’s guidance.  In the words of Daniel Nahmod’s beautiful song (“Inside (to Find My God”): “I will leave this world as it is, go inside to find my God. Inside there is peace, inside there is joy, inside there is more than enough. I will leave this life as it is, go inside to find my God. Inside, there is peace, inside there is joy, inside there is sacred love.”  I go first to God, and then take outer steps (head to my “Nineveh”) if and as God directs, and I am delivered.

Even if a “flood” of seeming troubles appears in my life, I call it a “cleansing.” When I “go with the flow,” challenges always bring me to a higher place. When I pray for a sign, God sends me a sign – the promise of inner peace. I give thanks for the rainbows that can only come through the blessing of the rain.

This lesson speaks to the heart: it is taken from the Book of Psalms and from the lyrics to a song by Tom Kimmel. The title says it all: “No One Gets to Heaven If Anybody Else Is Left Behind.” “How many say of me, ‘God will not save that one,’ But you, LORD, are a shield around me; my glory, you keep my head high” (Ps. 3). “No one gets to heaven if anybody else is left behind.” “You, LORD, give light to my lamp; my God brightens the darkness about me” (Ps.18). “There is a light when we need it the most.” “You will show me the path to life, abounding joy in your presence, the delights at your right hand forever” (Ps. 16). “There is a way through this world if we keep this in mind . . . .” “Some had lost their way in a barren desert; found no path . . . . In their distress they cried to the LORD, who rescued them in their peril, guided them by a direct path” (Ps.107). “No one gets to heaven if any body else is left behind.”

At the core of Jesus’ ministry in the gospels is the goal of “getting free.” Imagine the impact of His words when He read from scripture with unmistakable conviction: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me . . . . He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives . . . to let the oppressed go free” (Luke 4:18). His words help me to get free as I accept His timeless teachings. The Christ Spirit indwelling me now sets me free from oppression. I claim my identity as a person of faith; therefore, I can no longer be bound by negative beliefs. I am getting free of worries and fears by knowing this Truth that sets me free from past limitations. I no longer walk as a slave to circumstances. I dwell in my Father’s house, and I am free, I am unlimited, right here and right now.

Jesus taught about spirituality as an “inside job.” It’s not what I eat that makes me pure; what’s “eating me” must be purified. My spirituality is an inside job. It’s not rituals and religious practices that make me holy. My spirituality is an inside job. Jesus said, “people do not pick figs from thornbushes, nor do they gather grapes from brambles . . . . from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks” (Luke 6:43-5). I have to be the change I want to see in the world. My spirituality is an inside job. Jesus said that when we pray, we should go to our “inner room, close the door” (Matthew 6:6) and pray to our Father in secret, and our Father who sees in secret will bring forth the manifestation accordingly in my life. If I want to change my world, I have to change my mind. My spirituality begins with me; it is an inside job!