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A couple of decades ago when I was elected to conduct the services of my branch Church of Christ, Scientist, as First Reader, I remember looking forward to my new upcoming responsibilities and also wondering what my purpose would be as a First Reader. I knew I wanted to serve God and my fellow man, and I knew I wanted to witness church growth.

One aspect of the By-Law outlining the duties of the Committee on Publication (see Mary Baker Eddy, Church Manual,  Art. XXXIII, Sect.

Christ Jesus gave his disciples—and his followers today—clear instructions on how to heal as he did. For example, when his disciples asked why they had failed to heal a boy of a severe illness, whom Jesus subsequently healed, he answered: “This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting” ( Mark 9:29 ).

In the Bible, two fishermen, Simon Peter and Andrew, had worked all night fishing, but their nets came up empty. In the morning, Jesus, relying on the wisdom of his heavenly Father, God, said to Peter, “Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught” ( Luke 5:4 ).

When I moved into temporary accommodation from a house I had lived in for over twenty years, I suddenly began to experience feelings of homesickness, loss, and deep regret for having made the decision to leave. At times, this felt overwhelming.

When your loving, tender, caring parents share with you from an early age their trust in God, that trust marks you for life. And at some point that trust can become your own.

Soon after my girlfriend accepted my proposal of marriage, it suddenly occurred to me with great gravity that we would need a place to live after we were married. To a young man preparing to embark on such a big change in his life, this, momentarily, seemed daunting to say the least.

A powerful prophetic vision is conveyed in these words from the Bible: “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them” ( Isaiah 11:6 ). The “little child” is associated with the advent of Christ, the expected Messiah, which was fulfilled in the birth of Jesus.

In the Preface of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures , which sets forth the divine Science of Mind-healing that Jesus practiced, Mary Baker Eddy wrote, “Future ages must declare what the pioneer has accomplished” (p. vii).

“Time is a measurement of variation,” I heard during a television show on which the cosmos was being discussed. Physicists on the show were considering the possibility of time travel.