UP Church

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

NOVEMBER 10   

EVERY ATOM OF MY BEING IS ANIMATED BY THE DIVINE PERFECTION

The Tao cannot be heard; what can be heard is not It.  The Tao cannot be seen; what can be seen is not It.

The Texts of Taoism

The Chinese tell us that Tao (meaning Spirit) produces everything, nourishes everything and maintains everything.  It spreads itself over everything.  It flows through everything and is in all things.  Indeed, being all that is, there can be nothing outside It.  There is a mystical Presence which pervades the Universe, and this Presence, welling up in our consciousness, evermore proclaims Itself as the source and root of all.  The enlightened of the ages have told us that it is this God within us that recognizes Itself, or Himself, in everything we are.

I know that as there is One Mind, and that Mind is God and that mind is my mind, so also there is one Body, that Body is spiritual and that Body is my body.  Every organ, every function, every action and reaction of my body is in harmony with the Divine Creative Spirit.  I have both “the mind of Christ” and the Body of God.  I could not ask for more and greater could not be given.  I now seek to realize the spiritual significance of the One Mind and the One Body.

Every function, organ and cell of my body responds to the magnetic pull of wholeness, of unlimited energy, of prefect life.  As my thoughts are so put in order, all fear, doubt and uncertainty are banished into nothingness.

I live in the One Mind and act through the One Body, in accord with divine harmony, perfection and poise.  Every organ of my body moves in accord with perfect harmony.  The Divine circulates through me automatically, spontaneously and perfectly.  Every atom of my being is animated by the Divine Perfection. 

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

NOVEMBER 9   

SPIRITUAL SUBSTANCE IS MY SUPPLY

The Lord is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?

Psalm 188:6

I know that Spirit fills all space and animates every form, therefore, Spirit is the true actor in everything.  But I also know that Spirit can only act for me by acting through me.  This means simply that God can give me only what I take.  I am conscious that as I daily enter into my Divine inheritance, in my thought and in the Spirit, I am entering into the realm of Absolute Causation and I completely believe that from this secret place of the Most High within me, there shall be projected an objective manifestation of my every legitimate desire.

Hope rises within me and sings a song of joy.  Love goes before me and embraces everything.  Peace accompanies me on my way, while doubt and fear vanish as mist before the light.

Am I really accepting abundance?  Is my thought really animating my experience with plenty?  Am I affirming that Divine Substance is forever flowing to me as supply?

Today I praise the abundance in all things.  I animate everything with the idea of abundance.  I am remembering only the good.  I acknowledge the good working everywhere.  I give thanks that this good is flowing into my experience in ever-increasing volume.  There is that within me that sees, knows and understands this truth, which completely accepts it.  There is good enough to go around.  Therefore I do not withhold this good from myself or others, but constantly proclaim Spiritual Substance is forever flowing to each and all as supply.

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

NOVEMBER 8   

I DEMONSTRATE THROUGH THE PERFECT LAW

And as He thinketh all things manifest, He manifests through all things and in all, and most of all in whatsoever things He wills to manifest.

Thrice-Greatest Hermes

All laws are laws of God.  Whatever Reality is, Its nature is One.  If I wish to demonstrate my good I must faithfully and fervently declare that the Law of the Lord is perfect and that this Law is operating in my experience now.  I believe that it is the nature of thought to externalize itself, to bring about conditions which exactly correspond to the thought. Therefore, I turn resolutely from every sense of lack, want and limitation, and declare the perfect Law, knowing that even though I am dealing with an invisible Principle it will be made manifest in my experience.

Therefore, today I declare that the Law of the Lord is perfect in everything I do.  It will externalize happiness; it will bring every good thing to me.  Today I am inwardly aware that there is a secret way of the soul, there is a secret pathway of peace, there is an invisible Presence forever externalizing itself for me and through me.  Today I believe in Divine Guidance.  Today I believe that underneath are the everlasting arms.  Today I rest in this divine assurance and this divine security.  I know that not only all is well with my soul, my spirit and my mind; all is well with my affairs.   

I sincerely believe that there is a Divine Presence and a Law of Good which attracts every person and everything to me, that belongs to me, and which, flowing through me, reaches out to everything in my life with love, with consideration, in joy and gladness.

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