ACIM and the Bible
Through the non-dual teaching A Course in Miracles (ACIM), Jesus is teaching today the same principles that he taught 2000 years ago in the Bible, as recorded in the Gospels. Enjoy these inspirational Bible verses and ideas from Jesus and ACIM to deepen your understanding of Christ's teachings.
Giving
What Is True Giving?
Who Is Jesus?
Jesus is the Holy Son of God, along with you. He came to earth to be a Witness for his Father’s Love and to teach Forgiveness. The name Jesus brings associations such as Peace, Miracles, Love, and Healing. His teachings were full of parables and stories which helped those with the ears to hear to understand what he wanted to say about God and about the nature of our Salvation. God is good!
God has many helpers, but “…Jesus is for you the bearer of Christ’s single message of the Love of God. You need no other. It is possible to read his words and benefit from them without accepting him into your life. Yet he would help you but a little more if you will share your pains and joys with him, and leave them both to find the peace of God. Yet still it is his lesson most of all that he would have you learn, and it is this:
There is no death because the Son of God is like his Father. Nothing you can do can change Eternal Love. Forget your dreams of sin and guilt, and come with me instead to share the resurrection of God’s Son. And bring with you all those whom He has sent to you to care for as I care for you.” ACIM, C-5.6:4-12
“This sacred Son of God is like yourself; the mirror of his Father’s Love for you, the soft reminder of his Father’s Love by which he was created and which still abides in him as it abides in you. Be very still and hear God’s Voice in him, and let It tell you what his function is. He was created that you might be whole, for only the complete can be a part of God’s completion, which created you.” ACIM, T-29.V.4
“The name of Jesus is the name of one who was a man but saw the face of Christ in all his brothers and remembered God. So he became identified with Christ, a man no longer, but at one with God. The man was an illusion, for he seemed to be a separate being, walking by himself, within a body that appeared to hold his self from Self, as all illusions do. Yet who can save unless he sees illusions and then identifies them as what they are? Jesus remains a Savior because he saw the false without accepting it as true. And Christ needed his form that He might appear to men and save them from their own illusions.” ACIM, C-5.2
“Follow Him as He asks you to and you will see within yourself, the Way the Truth and the Light that Jesus showed himself to be. ‘They will do greater things than these.'” John 14:12
All glory unto the Father, forever and ever. Amen.
Holy Spirit, the Teacher
THE HEALER, THE COMFORTER, AND THE GUIDE
“These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” John 14:25-27
“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.” John 14:15-17
What Is the Holy Spirit?
The Holy Spirit mediates between fears and the love of God. His function is to bridge the gap between your fears and the love of God. Forgiveness leads to God, through the grace that God has given the Holy Spirit, His gift to everyone who turns to Him is Love. When you cross the bridge that He provides he will carry your fears to the truth, to be dispelled before the light of God’s love.
The goal the Holy Spirit’s teaching sets is to relinquish all scraps of fear and return you to the love of God. Sights and sounds must be translated from the witnesses of fear to those of love. And when this is entirely accomplished, forgiveness has achieved the only goal it has in truth. For forgiveness, as the Holy Spirit guides it to the outcome He sees for it, becomes the means to go beyond itself, to be replaced by the eternal truth.
If you knew how much your Father yearns to have you recognize your Holiness, you would not let His Voice appeal in vain, nor turn away from His replacement for the fearful images and fears you have seemed to make. The Holy Spirit understands the means you made. And if you offer them to Him, He will employ the means you made for exile to restore your mind to where it truly is at home.
The Holy Spirit calls to you, to let forgiveness rest upon your fears, and be restored to sanity and peace of mind. Without forgiveness will your fears remain to terrify you. Accept your Father’s gift. It is a Call from Love to Love. The Holy Spirit is His gift, by which the quietness of Heaven is restored to God’s beloved Son. Would you refuse to take the function of completing God, when all He wills is that you be complete?
The Holy Spirit is your Guide in choosing. He is in the part of your mind that always speaks for the right choice (peace), because He speaks for God. He is your remaining communication with God, which you can interrupt but cannot destroy. The Holy Spirit is the way in which God’s Will is done on earth as it is in Heaven. Both Heaven and earth are in you, because the call of both is in your mind.
The Voice for God comes from your own altars to Him. These altars are not things; they are devotions. Yet, if you are not in peace, you must have other devotions. Your divided devotion has given you two voices. This is what Jesus meant when he said that you cannot serve two masters. Thus, you must choose at which altar you want to serve. The call you answer now is an evaluation because it is a decision. The decision is very simple. It is made on the basis of which call is worth more to you.
Would you be hostage to fear or host to God? You will accept only whom you invite. You are free to determine who shall be your guest, and how long he shall remain with you. Yet this is not real freedom, for it still depends on how you see it. The Holy Spirit is there; although He cannot help you without your invitation. And fear is nothing, whether you invite it in or not.
Real freedom depends on welcoming God’s love, and of your guests only the Holy Spirit is real. Know, then, Who abides with you merely by recognizing what is there already, and do not be satisfied with imaginary comforters, for the Comforter of God is in you. And with this choice you make together with the Holy Spirit you see your sinlessness, your everlasting Comforter and Friend beside you, and your way secure and clear.
The children of light cannot abide in darkness, for darkness is not in them. Do not be deceived by the dark comforters, and never let them enter the mind of God’s Son, for they have no place in His temple. When you are tempted to deny Him remember that there are no other gods to place before Him, and accept His Will for you in peace. For you cannot accept it otherwise.
By following the right Guide, you will learn the simplest of all lessons: By their fruits ye shall know them, And they shall know themselves.
You can find further inspirational reading in the book:
The Mystical Teachings of Jesus
With inspirational Bible verses and answers from the Christ via A Course in Miracles, The Mystical Teachings of Jesus is a dialogue of clarity. Compiled and edited by David Hoffmeister, this reference/meditation book illuminates and inspires! This book is available in hard copy or eBook versions.
The Means to Salvation: Forgiveness
Jesus taught that all of us hold within us the power of Forgiveness. He also taught that as we learn to Forgive and extend that gift to our brothers, we give ourselves the same gift that he gave to us.
“But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. And he arose, and departed to his house. But when the multitudes saw it, they marveled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men.” Matthew 9:6-8 of the Bible
“Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.” Matthew 18:21-22 of the Bible
Jesus taught that the Kingdom of Heaven lies within. He also said that he was in the Father, and that the Father was in him.
“And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” Luke 17:20-21 of the Bible
“From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Matthew 4:17 of the Bible
“Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake.” John 14:10-11 of the Bible
He taught us that Christ dwells within us. We are not separate from God or Christ. We are not separate from each other. Such is the law of Love.
“And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.” John 17:11 of the Bible
“I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.” John 14:18-21 of the Bible
The Way to Eternal Peace, Happiness, and Joy is the Way to the Kingdom of Heaven within.
“If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.” John 15:10-11 of the Bible
Jesus spoke to us of the beam in our eye that blocks our vision and distorts our view. Another word for this block is “judgment.”
“Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.” Matthew 7:1-6 of the Bible
As we judge others, we are judged. Jesus came not to judge the world, but to teach Forgiveness. He did this only by being a demonstration of perfect Love.
“And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left. Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” Luke 23:33-34 of the Bible
“Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” Luke 6:37-38 of the Bible
He did not ask us to profess in his name by word. He asked us to be a demonstration of the Love of Christ. Only this is a true Witness.
“And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.” Luke 6:47-49 of the Bible
Jesus knows the Truth about You.
“You are the light of the world.” Matthew 5:14 of the Bible
When you give your heart and mind to God for Christ, you will also know the Truth about yourself and about your brother. Jesus taught that the highest commandment is that we give to God the loyalty of our minds. The commandment Jesus taught was to Love each other with the Love of Christ. This is to obey the first commandment perfectly. No one can serve two masters. Love and judgment cannot exist together.
“And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:30-31 of the Bible
“A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.” John 13:34 of the Bible
“No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other.” Matthew 6:24 of the Bible
The Way out of judgment, the Way to Heaven is through Forgiveness.
“Forgive, and ye shall be forgiven.” Luke 6:37 of the Bible
Jesus taught not that sin deserved punishment, or that punishment is justified. He taught us to look beyond our limited thinking, to go beyond what the body’s eyes see… to see with the eyes of Christ. “Let thine eye be single” means to see without judgment.
“The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness.” Luke 11:34 of the Bible
“Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye?do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? Do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Matthew 5:43-48 of the Bible