Peace
Deep inside you is a place of infinite calm where you can retreat from the cares of the world, where you can find reassurance of God's presence in your life and of God's power to bless you.
Take time to find this place. Make time, if you must, but find it. The center of peace lies in your inner self, awaiting your recognition and beckoning your entrance into its enfolding warmth and love.
How very dear this center of peace must have been to the Psalmist. "He leads me beside still waters" (Ps. 23:2). "Commune with your own hearts – and be silent" (Ps. 4:4 RSV). "I will both lie down and sleep in peace" (Ps. 4:8). These words stand as eternal testimony of the calm in which all of us are centered.
In this place of stillness, inharmony ceases, sadness is wiped away, and hatred is turned into love. Here, in this quiet place within, God assures us: Peace, My child. I am forever with you.
How do we enter this center of peace? How do we find the still waters within?
Jesus said that "the kingdom of God is in the midst of you" (Lk. 17:21 RSV). We do not find our peace in the things of the world around us. We find it only within, in the center-most part of our own inner selves. Looking outside of ourselves is looking in vain. Only within is there peace or hope of peace.
When we find the center of peace within, we find power. We find strength for the activities of the day. We find renewal of our bodies and minds. We find substance for our daily bread. There, in the stillness, is where the blessings of God begin, for there in the stillness is God, the giver of all good gifts.
Where is the source of the power that lights your electric light? Is it in the filament that glows when you press the switch? No, the source is not in the lightbulb. Neither is it in the switch nor in the power line.
Follow the power line. Do you find the source of the power in the transformers? No, it is not there. Do you find it in the huge turbines at the base of the dam? No, it is not there either.
Is it in the falling water that rushes over the spillways of the dam and drives the giant turbines? No, not even in the rushing water.
The rushing water, the turbines, the transformers, the power lines, the switch, and the lightbulb all give evidence of power expended. But where is the power? What is it that causes all the electrical activity, from the dam to your lightbulb, which brightens up your room at night as though it were high noon?
Behind the dam is a vast lake of still waters. Here, in the stillness of the depths of this lake, is the power. Only in stillness is there power.
In the peace and calm of your inner self is power. As you enter the stillness of your soul for a time each day, you find all the power you need to renew yourself for the activities that lie before you. Follow that power line to its source. Move inwardly in your consciousness to the stillness at the center of your being.
Push the switch that turns off your attention to the things of your outer world. Go in, over the power lines of concern for daily situations, and leave them behind. Pass through the transformer of your thinking mind that turns God-ideas into human pursuits, and put it behind you. Go past the great dam and turbines of your feeling nature, where the waters begin to flood into consciousness as thought and feeling. There you find the still waters of the Psalmist.
You have found the infinite calm, the center of peace.
Here you commune with your Lord. Here you are renewed for the tasks of living that lie ahead of you. Here you find your daily sustenance and substance. Here you are replenished in the power of God. Here you are assured that every need is being met.
Once you have found this place of infinite calm within you, trust, as the sheep trusts the shepherd. Your need is God's assurance of fulfillment. When you have communed with God beside the still waters, go knowingly into life, trusting in the eternal promises of God.
You are a child of God, and God is your Creator. Trust in God's love for you.
Go often to the center of peace within.
Trust. Be at peace.
Prosperity
Chapter 10 - July 2010
The Dynamic Laws of Prosperity
"Systematic giving opens the way to systematic receiving." Catherine Ponder
This month we read about tithing. This seems to be a hot button for many of us, no matter what side you fall on. Eric Butterworth approaches tithing from the standpoint of the Law of Giving and Receiving. What most people fail to notice is the order of that law. It is giving and then receiving.
There is always controversy over what is a true tithe. Does it have to be a full 10% to be a tithe? That is a line which will not be drawn here. The more important point is that you must give to receive. And whether it is 10% or some other amount, the intention is more important. A tithe should be for the support of God's work. Catherine tells us, "Giving must be done in a certain way: through the consistent sharing of your tithes with God's work and workers at the point or points that you are receiving spiritual help and inspiration." Whether that is the church of your choice, a minister, licensed teacher, spiritual counselor or practitioner, giving in this manner allows for the uplifting of humankind.
There are many get-rich-quick schemes out there but they usually fail because they are based solely on getting-not on giving. They have no spiritual foundation, thus do not acknowledge God as the Source of all good in our lives. The ancient cultures intuitively knew that giving, sharing, and putting God first financially was the first step to permanent, enduring, growing prosperity. Because when you put God first financially, you open your mind, body, and affairs to the goodness of the universe; to its infinite life, love, wisdom, power, and substance.
Prosperity is more than money. Catherine always tells us, "You are prosperous to the degree you are experiencing peace, health and plenty in your world." So how prosperous are you?
It is also important to remember that giving is more than just money. Stretton Smith's 4T program says it is sharing of your time, talents, and treasures. Time, nowadays, is a valuable commodity, especially to your church. So find somewhere to volunteer. Sharing your God-given talents like music, children's ministry, or even marketing are so important in your spiritual home. And before donating an item to the church make sure it would be a treasure to them. For example, an outdated organ is not a real treasure, if the church has to find a place to recycle it.
The Bible says:
"We obligate ourselves to bring the first fruits of our soil and the first fruits of all fruit of every tree, year by year, to the house of the Lord; also to bring to the house of our God, to the priests who minister in the house of our God, the firstborn of our sons and of our livestock, as it is written in the law, and the firstlings of our herds and of our flocks; and to bring the first of our dough, and our contributions, the fruit of every tree, the wine and the oil, to the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God..." Neh 10:35-37
Give liberally and be ungrudging when you do so, for on this account the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake." Deut 15:10
"And he said to them, ‘Pay attention to what you hear; the measure you give will be the measure you get, and still more will be given you.'" Mar 4:24
"...give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back." Luke 6:38
"Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." 2 Cor 9:7
Unity says:
"In your spiritual quest, you are seeking to establish yourself in an unitative relationship with the divine flow. You can never really achieve this level of consciousness until giving becomes the main thrust of your life." Eric Butterworth, Spiritual Economics
"When you realize that you can give a tithe to God, you are rich though the tithe be a very small one." Lowell Fillmore, New Ways to Solve Old Problems
"By the act of tithing, men make God their partner in their financial transactions and thus keep the channel open from the source in the ideal manifestation in the realm of things." Charles Fillmore, Keeping a True Lent
"Tithing can be a way of getting into a giving consciousness, but it is not a substitute for a giving attitude." Eric Butterworth, Spiritual Economics
Practices
• Consider this quote from Catherine: "Giving must be done in a certain way: through the consistent sharing of your tithes with God's work and workers at the point or points that you are receiving spiritual help and inspiration." Do you agree? How important is it to you to give in a certain way, i.e., to God's work? Why do you think Catherine speaks so definitely about this? Does it change how you see and practice tithing?
• Make a commitment to start a tithing practice. If you just can't begin with a full 10%, start somewhere. Try 2% for a period of 2 months. Lay out a plan for yourself of how you can incrementally increase your tithing with a goal of 10%. Notice when, and in what ways, prosperity shows up. As you give, do you feel you have given up anything? At what point? What have you gained, and at what point? How do you feel about tithing under Catherine's definition, vs. giving to any other worthy charity (i.e., the Humane Society)?
• Consider the passages quoted above. Select one, perhaps one with which you are less familiar, and meditate on it. How does it challenge your thinking? If not, what resonates with you? Take the most powerful phrase and repeat it throughout your day. Journal about any difference this makes in your day, and how you can carry this forward.
• With your prayer partners, bless together all of your tithes as they go out. Share with each other how this process has worked.
