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Archive for January, 2009

A Smile Is An Investment

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on January 16, 2009| Leave a Comment »

           Most people feel intuitively that the simplest things in life are the most important, or, if you prefer, that the most important things in life are found to be the simplest. This is a very profound discovery. What is more important to us than breathing, for instance?
 
Another simple thing that is of great moment is a smile. A smile affects your whole body from the skin right in to the skeleton, including all blood vessels, nerves, and muscles. It affects the functioning of every organ. It influences every gland. Even one smile often relaxes a number of muscles, and when the thing becomes a habit you can easily see how the effect will mount up. Last year’s smiles are paying you dividends today.
 
           The effect of a smile on other people is no less remarkable. It disarms suspicion, melts away fear and anger, and brings forth the best in the other person – which best he immediately proceeds to give to you.
 
A smile is to personal contacts what oil is to machinery, and no intelligent engineer ever neglects lubrication.
 

Rejoice evermore (1 Thessalonians 5:16).

A smile may appear to be an outward expression but it actually comes from the inside. A true smile is more than just having our lips turned up on the ends. It is the result of expressing (pressing outward) an inner joy, love, peace, understanding or other positive feelings or thoughts. Obviously, if these mental or spiritual states do not exist in us, we can not sincerely express them outwardly.

But even when we h ave none of these feelings inside we should still smile. Why? Because it is a great tonic and will help make us and others feel better. It is still a good investment. So, even when we don’t feel like smiling, we should do it anyway. Then we will find ourselves creating inward feelings that we can then show as a true smile. The smile becomes the pathway for positive feelings to come into our hearts. Remember, we are instructed by God that “this is the day the lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it”.

In joy and gladness,

Z Gardener

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The Consecrated Life

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on January 14, 2009| Leave a Comment »

           Of what does the consecrated life consist?

 
Your life is a consecrated one when you are ready at all times to do the will of God – when you are willing and anxious that God may be fully expressed through you, through your thoughts, words, and deeds, during every hour of the day.
 
You are not concerned with the question of results. Results belong to God.
 
Here am I; send me (Isaiah 6:8).

When we consecrate ourselves to God being fully expressed through our thoughts, words and deeds, we must give up some things. Vanity, pride and ego must take a back seat to obedience, selflessness and outgoing love. We must release our desire to manage and control every action and every outcome in our lives. We have to be willing to allow God’s will to flow through us and to follow God’s will where it directs us. In short, we must become a servant. Giving up up this control is very difficult and the desire to exert our will over our world is a basic human instinct we must overcome. When we do these things we rise above all human limitation and weakness while becoming the conduit for God’s will in the world. Then we are capable of accomplishing anything and then we experience God’s peace and joy. All things are possible to those who love the Lord and obey God’s will.

Seeking servitude,
Z gardener

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Tail Wags Dog

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on January 13, 2009| Leave a Comment »

          Man controls his own life. The Bible says that God has given him “dominion over all things,” and this is true when he understands the Truth; and the Truth is that our outer conditions – your environment – are not cause; they are effect. You are not happy because you are well. You are well because you are happy. You do not have faith because things are going well. They are going well because you have faith. You are not depressed because trouble has come to you, but trouble has come because your realization of the Truth had first fallen off.
 
The secret of life then is to control your mental states. To accept sickness, trouble, and failure as unavoidable, and perhaps inevitable, is folly, because it is this very acceptance by you that keeps these evils in existence. Man is not limited by his environment. He creates his environment by his beliefs and feelings. To suppose otherwise is like thinking that the tail can wag the dog.
 
If you have been thinking that outer conditions are stronger that you are, say to yourself: “Tail wags dog” and immediately reverse the belief.
 
… who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth? (Galatians 5:7).

Understanding this truth is essential to exercising the dominion God gave us in the way intended. It is a tough one to accept for most people. To understand this truth, we have to accept personal responsibility for the condition of our lives. But as God told Joshua, “be strong and of a good courage..turn neither to the left nor to the right..and ye shall prosper”. When we dedicate ourselves to controlling our mental state, we are on the path to controlling our environment. Then we will be able to exercise dominion over all things for our best good and the good of the world around us.

Taking responsibility,

Stan

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Praying With A Feather

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on January 12, 2009| Leave a Comment »

           Years ago many devoted preachers and Sunday School teachers were fond of telling people to “pray hard.” Well-meaning as this advice was, it was mistaken. I often tell people to pray “soft,” which of course, means gently.
 
          I do this because I know that the more quietly and gently we pray, the better results we get. In prayer, as in many other activities, effort defeats itself. More than once I have said to my congregation, “Pray with a feather – not with a pickax.”
 
Always pray gently, and especially if you have a good deal of fear, or if your difficult y seems to be a very important one.
 
For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee (Psalm 86:5).

The essence of prayer and in fact all communion with God is not physical. Think of it this way. If one grips a golf club too tightly it will lower your score, or if one presses too hard on a writing instrument it will make their handwriting worse. Also, both tend to indicate an insecurity or lack of  practice and confidence. So it is with spiritual matters. The harder we pray the more we grip the club. When our we practice our faith each day, do the spiritual exercises of prayer and communion and become comfortable with our spiritual selves, our faith is strong and prayer becomes effortless. It is when we lack faith or when we try to force God into our limited physical understanding that we tighten and grip and feel the need to swing harder. To paraphrase Teddy Roosevelt, “pray softly and carry a big faith, and you will go far”.

Touching him softly,

Z gardener

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Shack or Palace?

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on January 9, 2009| Leave a Comment »

          There is no use in merely saying that everything will be all right. Thinking rightly, of course, means putting God into all your affairs and expecting him to change them. For example, if you are living in a shack it is not any good pretending that it is a palace. Cheap optimism is never spiritual. Realize that you are living in a shack, but claim the Presence of God to guide you to something better.

 
Teach me the way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path … (Psalm 27:11).

         Cheap optimism, besides not being spiritual, actually blocks us from understanding our true state of affairs. If we do not have a clear-eyed view of our reality, then what we seek from God will be wrong. We will be unable to ascertain the things for which we need help. We will not be able to confess and ask forgiveness for the real issues that cause our problems.  It is like the man with a blindfold touching an elephant’s tail and thinking it was a snake. 

         When we understand our true reality and face the facts of our lives with uncompromising clarity, then we are in a position to seek and get God’s help. So, let us look around ourselves and take an accurate accounting of our reality. Then, God will open a path for us to the “something better” he has planned. Then we can seek forgiveness, experience repentance and think rightly. Then God will deliver us to a better place of joy and peace.

In clarity,

Z gardener

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An Experiment

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on January 8, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Try this experiment today. Select one particular thing in your life that is not going well and you wish to make right. Next consider the matter in the light of your knowledge of God and of prayer. Realize that this thing cannot remain inharmonious or negative once you know the Truth about it. Realize that you are now knowing the Truth and claim that the divine Power in you is now healing the condition completely and permanently.
 
Then give thanks. Remember that praise and thanksgiving are the most powerful prayers of all.
 
The next day, repeat your thanksgiving, until the answer comes.
 
In between prayers you must keep your thought right concerning the problem. This is vital. All-day-long guiding of your thought cannot fail to bring your demonstration.
 

My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the Lord (Psalm 104:34).

Believing that God is answering our prayers is easier when things are going well in our lives. Unfortunately, it is precisely when things are not going well that faith is most important. In such times, it is much harder to exhibit joy and gladness and to accept that he is working for our best good. The key to overcoming this problem is to count our blessings, thank God for them and adopt an “attitude of gratitude”. This creates in us a pathway to faith through the thickets of fear and doubt.

When we express our thankfulness and adopt a grateful spirit, we recognize and affirm all the blessings God has already given us. We also remind ourselves that we have a basis for faith. This also creates a mindset that under-girds and reinforces our faith. Even in the toughest of circumstances, if we lean of God for our strength and surrender to God’s will, the Almighty will give us peace and open our eyes to the joy and gladness in our lives. Then we can more easily believe and accept that God is answering our prayers.

Faithfully,

Z gardener

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When –

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on January 7, 2009| Leave a Comment »

             When your knees are knocking together, and you do not know which way to turn – think of God and His goodness.

 
When prosperity seems out of the question – give thanks for God’s abundance.
 
When you want peace of mind – dwell upon the Presence of God.
 

When your health is under par – speak the healing Word.
 
When you need inspiration – browse through the Bible.
 
When the situation seems to need a miracle – remember that nothing is too difficult for God, and the He is performing miracles every day.
 
I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee (Joshua 1:5).

Here is a brief recipe for a wonderful day in the garden God gave us. Each day let us wonder in God’s goodness, be thankful for God’s blessings, accept God’s presence, speak healing words, read the Bible and expect God’s miracles.

In expectation,
Z gardener

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How Much Can God Do?

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on January 6, 2009| Leave a Comment »

           The Bible tells us that God can heal us, that He can deliver us from our destruction, that He lifts up the weak, that He leads and guides us. But just how much can God do? Well, God can do almost anything. That may sound strange to those who have been taught that with God all things are possible. But there are some things that God cannot do, and it is fortunate for us that this is true.
 
God is a God of love and rules by principle, and because this is so, He cannot change His nature. He cannot break divine law. He cannot bring disease, or suffering, or lack.
 

He is always the loving Father, ready to hear and answer prayer.

 
How much can God do? He can bring heaven here and now – not by breaking the law, which is impossible to God – but by fulfilling it.
 
Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law (Psalm 119:18).

God could do anything, but because God is a just and loving creator, there are some things God won’t do. Just as a responsible parent disciplines their children, God will not let us wander from the path without trying to correct our wandering. God will not abandon us, put more on us than we can bear or break his promise to us. God will not grant our prayers that would harm us, nor deny prayers essential to our welfare. God will never forsake or abandon us. God also will not forgive our sins until we confess them and repent. Yes, we play a part in our relationship with God. Just as any child plays a role in their relationship with their parent, we have a job to do in manifesting God’s will in our lives. And just a a child, when we obey, love and respect God, all things become more harmonious and filled with God’s love, power and potentiality.

God can,

Z gardener

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Stake Your Claim

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on January 5, 2009| Leave a Comment »

            In the gold rush days, prospectors went out in the mountains in search of the yellow metal. Often the task was long and arduous with little to show for days of struggle and privation. But when a find was made, the prospector would stake his claim so that others would know that that particular discovery belonged to him. Of course, some claims turned out to be shallow veins of ore and worth little, while other claims eventually made their owners fabulously wealthy.
 
In metaphysics, we often speak of claiming our good, and it is one of the surest ways of bringing the good we desire into our lives. If we want health, then we have to claim every day that divine Life brings well-being to every part of our body. If we want prosperity, then we claim every day that God is the giver of every good gift, ready to supply our every need.
 
Whatever it is we wish to bring into our life, we stake our claim to it.
 
Of course, we often claim negative things for ourselves without fully realizing it. Every time we say, “My cold,” “My headache,” “My indigestion,” we are claiming those things for ourselves. What one claims for himself he will eventually bring into his life.
 
Affirm your divine kinship. All that the Father hath is ours – if we will stake our claim to it.

Let us today claim our divine kinship to God along with all the joy and gladness that goes with it. Let us look forward to “our” success, health, peace, communion and strength this year. Let us remember that God has ordained a wonderful life for us, and that  life is waiting on us to to make it a reality. Let us be ever mindful that out thoughts and feeling are our choice, and that what we say, do and think expresses itself in our lives. Let us love fully, feel intensely and worship joyfully to the God from which all blessings flow. Then we will all experience the peace that surpasses all understanding.

Claim staked,
Z gardener

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