Responsive Reading: James 1 : 17, 18; Ephesians 4 : 11-15

17.     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.

18.     Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

11.     And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

12.     For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

13.     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:

14.     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;

15.     But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.

1. Proverbs 12 : 28

28     In the way of righteousness is life; and in the pathway thereof there is no death.

2. Psalm 16 : 5, 6, 11

5     The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot.

6     The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage.

11     Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

3. Isaiah 38 : 1-6, 9, 16-19

1     In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live.

2     Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the Lord,

3     And said, Remember now, O Lord, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.

4     Then came the word of the Lord to Isaiah, saying,

5     Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years.

6     And I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria: and I will defend this city.

9     The writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick, and was recovered of his sickness:

16     O Lord, by these things men live, and in all these things is the life of my spirit: so wilt thou recover me, and make me to live.

17     Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.

18     For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth.

19     The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day: the father to the children shall make known thy truth.

4. Acts 9 : 36-42

36     Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas: this woman was full of good works and almsdeeds which she did.

37     And it came to pass in those days, that she was sick, and died: whom when they had washed, they laid her in an upper chamber.

38     And forasmuch as Lydda was nigh to Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent unto him two men, desiring him that he would not delay to come to them.

39     Then Peter arose and went with them. When he was come, they brought him into the upper chamber: and all the widows stood by him weeping, and shewing the coats and garments which Dorcas made, while she was with them.

40     But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down, and prayed; and turning him to the body said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes: and when she saw Peter, she sat up.

41     And he gave her his hand, and lifted her up, and when he had called the saints and widows, presented her alive.

42     And it was known throughout all Joppa; and many believed in the Lord.

5. Ephesians 4 : 1-7

1     I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,

2     With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;

3     Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

4     There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;

5     One Lord, one faith, one baptism,

6     One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

7     But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

6. Philippians 2 : 12 (work)-16

12     …work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

13     For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

14     Do all things without murmurings and disputings:

15     That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;

16     Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.

7. II Timothy 1 : 7-10

7     For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

8     Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;

9     Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,

10     But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:

8. Revelation 22 : 14

14     Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

9. Romans 8 : 28

28     And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

1. 200 : 11 (Life)-12 (to 1st ,)

Life is God, and man is the idea of God,

2. 63 : 5-11

In Science man is the offspring of Spirit. The beautiful, good, and pure constitute his ancestry. His origin is not, like that of mortals, in brute instinct, nor does he pass through material conditions prior to reaching intelligence. Spirit is his primitive and ultimate source of being; God is his Father, and Life is the law of his being.

3. 202 : 3-5, 17-23

The scientific unity which exists between God and man must be wrought out in life-practice, and God's will must be universally done.

The days of our pilgrimage will multiply instead of diminish, when God's kingdom comes on earth; for the true way leads to Life instead of to death, and earthly experience discloses the finity of error and the infinite capacities of Truth, in which God gives man dominion over all the earth.

4. 516 : 4-12

The substance, Life, intelligence, Truth, and Love, which constitute Deity, are reflected by His creation; and when we subordinate the false testimony of the corporeal senses to the facts of Science, we shall see this true likeness and reflection everywhere.

God fashions all things, after His own likeness. Life is reflected in existence, Truth in truthfulness, God in goodness, which impart their own peace and permanence.

5. 487 : 3-12

Life is deathless. Life is the origin and ultimate of man, never attainable through death, but gained by walking in the pathway of Truth both before and after that which is called death. There is more Christianity in seeing and hearing spiritually than materially. There is more Science in the perpetual exercise of the Mind-faculties than in their loss. Lost they cannot be, while Mind remains. The apprehension of this gave sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf centuries ago, and it will repeat the wonder.

6. 376 : 10-16

The pallid invalid, whom you declare to be wasting away with consumption of the blood, should be told that blood never gave life and can never take it away, — that Life is Spirit, and that there is more life and immortality in one good motive and act, than in all the blood, which ever flowed through mortal veins and simulated a corporeal sense of life.

7. 550 : 15-24

Error of thought is reflected in error of action. The continual contemplation of existence as material and corporeal — as beginning and ending, and with birth, decay, and dissolution as its component stages — hides the true and spiritual Life, and causes our standard to trail in the dust. If Life has any starting-point whatsoever, then the great I am is a myth. If Life is God, as the Scriptures imply, then Life is not embryonic, it is infinite. An egg is an impossible enclosure for Deity.

8. 260 : 13-7

Science reveals the possibility of achieving all good, and sets mortals at work to discover what God has already done; but distrust of one's ability to gain the goodness desired and to bring out better and higher results, often hampers the trial of one's wings and ensures failure at the outset.

Mortals must change their ideals in order to improve their models. A sick body is evolved from sick thoughts. Sickness, disease, and death proceed from fear. Sensualism evolves bad physical and moral conditions.

Selfishness and sensualism are educated in mortal mind by the thoughts ever recurring to one's self, by conversation about the body, and by the expectation of perpetual pleasure or pain from it; and this education is at the expense of spiritual growth. If we array thought in mortal vestures, it must lose its immortal nature.

If we look to the body for pleasure, we find pain; for Life, we find death; for Truth, we find error; for Spirit, we find its opposite, matter. Now reverse this action. Look away from the body into Truth and Love, the Principle of all happiness, harmony, and immortality. Hold thought steadfastly to the enduring, the good, and the true, and you will bring these into your experience proportionably to their occupancy of your thoughts.

9. 289 : 1-6

Truth demonstrated is eternal life. Mortal man can never rise from the temporal débris of error, belief in sin, sickness, and death, until he learns that God is the only Life. The belief that life and sensation are in the body should be overcome by the understanding of what constitutes man as the image of God.

10. 324 : 7-18

Unless the harmony and immortality of man are becoming more apparent, we are not gaining the true idea of God; and the body will reflect what governs it, whether it be Truth or error, understanding or belief, Spirit or matter. Therefore "acquaint now thyself with Him, and be at peace." Be watchful, sober, and vigilant. The way is straight and narrow, which leads to the understanding that God is the only Life. It is a warfare with the flesh, in which we must conquer sin, sickness, and death, either here or hereafter, — certainly before we can reach the goal of Spirit, or life in God.

11. 249 : 1-11

Let us accept Science, relinquish all theories based on sense-testimony, give up imperfect models and illusive ideals; and so let us have one God, one Mind, and that one perfect, producing His own models of excellence.

Let the "male and female" of God's creating appear. Let us feel the divine energy of Spirit, bringing us into newness of life and recognizing no mortal nor material power as able to destroy. Let us rejoice that we are subject to the divine "powers that be." Such is the true Science of being. Any other theory of Life, or God, is delusive and mythological.

12. 496 : 9-19

We all must learn that Life is God. Ask yourself: Am I living the life that approaches the supreme good? Am I demonstrating the healing power of Truth and Love? If so, then the way will grow brighter "unto the perfect day." Your fruits will prove what the understanding of God brings to man. Hold perpetually this thought, — that it is the spiritual idea, the Holy Ghost and Christ, which enables you to demonstrate, with scientific certainty, the rule of healing, based upon its divine Principle, Love, underlying, overlying, and encompassing all true being.