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Archive for February, 2013

Mental Assent

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on February 28, 2013| Leave a Comment »

When you give your mental assent to any idea, good or bad, you associate yourself with that idea and you incorporate it into your consciousness—to the extent that you realize it. When you read a passage of Scripture you will, if you assent to it mentally, incorporate it into your life to that extent.
This law, of course, works the other way too. If when you hear or read of some piece of injustice or cruelty, you approve it mentally by thinking that “it serves him right,” you are associating yourself with that deed, and making it a part of your own life, even though you do not speak a word. It is the mental assent that counts.
Give your assent only to Truth.
For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my numbers, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity….So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God…. (Romans 7:22, 23, 25).
Regardless of the fact that we may ascribe to a certain theology or morality, if we give mental approval to something contrary to that theology, then we are not practicing what we believe. That mental approval is more critical than our “beliefs”.  In fact, it will override our “beliefs” and undermine them and our ability to follow our beliefs. In biblical language this is called a stumbling block. Such mental assent will trip us and make us fall from our true path.
So, when our selfish human spirit is causing us to mentally accept something contrary to our faith, we must turn to God in thought, word and deed. Then we will rise above our selfish wrongness and discover selfless rightness (righteousness). Then we must follow that path to find the garden God created for us.
Seeking rightness,
Z gardener

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Common Sense Vocabulary

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on February 27, 2013| Leave a Comment »

When you apply a certain word to God, it must bear the same essential meaning as it does when you apply it to man—otherwise it has no meaning at all. When you say that God is Love or Intelligence, or that He is Just, these words must mean substantially what they mean when applied to human beings. The love of God must be essentially the same that we know as the love of the mother for her children, or the love of the artist for his creation, purified and increased to infinity, of course.
Many people say that God is Love, and at the same time maintain that He visits finite sin with eternal punishment. They claim that God is just, and yet maintain that people living today are suffering disabilities for a sin supposed to have been committed by Adam thousands of years before they were born.
The truth is that God is Love and Intelligence; and that He works with perfect wisdom and perfect justice to all, at all times, in the ordinary and correct meaning of these words.
…God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5).
He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is Love (1 John 4:8).
Good and upright is the Lord… (Psalm 25:8).
It doesn’t get any clearer than this. God is love and love is all you need.
Being love,
Z gardener

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Cash That Bill

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on February 26, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Within you is an inexhaustible source of power, if you can but contact it. That power can heal you, and it can inspire you by telling you what to do and how to do it. It can give you peace of mind, and , above all, it can give you direct knowledge of God. That power is scientific prayer. There is no problem that prayer cannot overcome and no good thing that it cannot bring into your life.
This is the message of the whole Bible. It was summed up by Jesus when he said,
…the kingdom of God is within you (Luke 17:21).
This truth was dramatically illustrated by an incident in real life. The body of a tramp, clad in rags, was discovered near a lime kiln where he had evidently crept for warmth. After the autopsy his clothes were torn up to be put into the incinerator, and sewn into the lining of the trousers was a bank note for a large amount. Unquestionably the original owner of the suit had had it sewn in there for safety, and for some unknown reason lost track of it.
Consider the situation! This poor hobo had sat down many a time to lukewarm coffee– and all the time he was sitting on a thousand dollars. People may have plenty of money and yet be hobos for health or happiness or spiritual experience. Riches do not become wealth until they are realized. Cash your bill at the Bank of Heaven and make it productive.
But my God shall supply all your need… (Philippians 4:19)
To realize our spiritual wealth we must commune daily with God and live spiritually, as well as physically. So long as we are focused  on the physical and limit our daily communion with God, we will not be able to fully access our spiritual power.
So today, if one is feeling tired, stressed out and at wits end; then quit depending on wits and begin depending of God. This does mean lip service. It does mean thinking, feeling and acting in harmony with God and in obedience to God’s will. It works.
Cashing in on God,
Z gardener

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Seeking and Finding

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on February 25, 2013| Leave a Comment »

People are very apt to find what they seek. You have noticed that people who go about looking for trouble, practically always find it. The popular proverb,“Listeners seldom hear good of themselves,” is an example. We also know people who love to say that they never have any luck. When things seem to go against them, they exclaim triumphantly, “Wouldn’t you know it?—that is what always happens to me!”
Now, such a mistaken person needs only to alter this habit and he will automatically alter his life. It is often difficult to get such people to make this alteration, but if they do the result is never in doubt. Spiritual law says that it is never too late to mend, and that when we seek God’s help we find it.
Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth;for I am God, and there is none else (Isaiah 45:22).
That which we look for is that which we see. Two people riding down the same stretch of road may see two different worlds. One could be angry and seeing nothing but bad, while the other could be happy and see nothing but good. The only difference is their point of view.
Look for good, look for love, peace, faith and hope; in short, look for God. When we look for the best, search in earnest and follow God’s will, we will find our best good. That is living in the garden, the one for which we were created.
Looking for God’s good,
Z gardener

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What Is Your Act?

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on February 21, 2013| Leave a Comment »

People are to be judged by their actions. We sometimes hear it said, “His conduct is bad but at heart he means well”; but this is nonsense. In the old-fashioned phrase, “handsome is as handsome does.”
The bad-tempered person cannot possibly have a “heart of gold” as is sometimes charitably said. A bad-tempered person has a mean, selfish heart and should get busy and change it without delay.
One who loves does not seek his own advantage. Love acts the part, and anything else is hypocrisy.
…be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you (Ephesians 4:32).
The outward expression (acts) of a person invariably mirrors the inward expression (character) of the person. Express means to “press out”. That which we press out is always a function of that which we impress (press in) to ourselves.
Therefore, let us press into ourselves the true character of God which is love. Then, everything we press out will have the nature and character of love…tenderhearted, forgiving and selfless.
Impressed with love,
Z gardener

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Your Daily Visit With God

Posted in Good Morning, tagged on February 20, 2013| Leave a Comment »

We all know that it is God alone who is our peace—although nearly all of us tend to forget it from time to time. We forget it when we begin to neglect our daily visit with God.
Now, when you think that you are too busy for your daily visit, let me ask you frankly, what wonderful thing are you doing that is more important? There is nothing that you could possibly do with that time that would bring you greater benefit than perfect peace. As a matter of fact, if you have something very important and urgent to do, your visit will make that very important thing go through much more easily and successfully.
Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace… (Job 22:21).
There is nothing more important each day than our communion with God. Unity with God, each other and our creation is the key to life in Eden.
If sin is separation then peace is communion. Each day let us realize our unity with God and everything in creation. Then we can walk each day in peace, hope and love .
Just a closer walk with thee,
Z gardener

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The Middle Wall of Partition

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on February 19, 2013| Leave a Comment »

For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall or partition between us (Ephesians 2:14).
This is not only one of the most beautiful texts in the Bible, but one of the most important. Consider what it says. First, that God is our peace; next, that not only are we and God one (all spiritual teachers say that) but that it is He who has made us one. We are one because that is the nature of being since He has made us that way.
Then the inspired writer uses a figure of speech. He reminds us that when we lost our sense of unity with God, it is exactly as though a wall was built between God and ourselves. When that happens communication is broken and we are no longer one in consciousness, until, of course, the wall is pulled down.
In any difficulty the one important thing is to have the temporary wall of partition pulled down, and to let God do it—for only He can.
Brothers and sisters, separation from God (and one another) is, in this writer’s humble opinion, the basis of all sin. Sin is separation, or more specifically, the illusion of separation. Yes, separation from God, but also separation from each others and even ourselves. For we, and all of creation are indivisible. When we operate under the illusion of separation, we defy God’s truth that we are all one, and that we are one with everything. There is no separation except in our sensory perception.
When we originally separated ourselves from God in Eden, mankind committed the original sin. We have been trying to unify with God ever since. The “Good News” is that through the risen Christ, we are unified with God once again. The east gate is open once again and Eden awaits.
So today, let us rise above the false sense of self and separation. Let us embrace the unity of God, humankind and the universe itself. As we embrace unity, we will walk in Eden, once again unified with God, each other and the whole of creation.
Indivisible,
Z gardener

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The Fourth Man

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on February 18, 2013| Leave a Comment »

When Nebuchadnezzar sent out his decree that everyone in his kingdom should bow down and worship the golden image that he had erected, there were three men who refused to obey. These were Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, Hebrew officials in the province of Babylon.
Nebuchadnezzar called them before him, and they bluntly told the King that their God would deliver them from the fiery furnace to which they would be consigned, but even if God did not deliver them, they would still serve Him and Him alone.
Nebuchadnezzar had the three men thrust into the fiery furnace, and the heat was so intense that it slew the guards who threw them in. Then, as he looked in upon the three faithful Hebrews, Nebuchadnezzar was astonished to find a fourth man walking in the flames with the other three. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego walked out of the fiery furnace without blemish or scar.
So it is when we hold steadfastly to God, and give all power to Him. He sends his messenger to deliver us from our furnace of fear and frustration. Then do we know that nothing shall by any means harm us.
Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him… (Daniel 3:28).
Many times, standing upon our faith will mean facing what appears to be certain destruction. Sometimes it will mean taking huge risks and standing up to insurmountable odds. But, just as the three Hebrews had the faith to face death and were delivered, we too will be delivered when we refuse to abandon our faith.
This does not mean that we should blindly adhere to some set of doctrines or a particular faith without thoughtful reflection. Nor does it mean we should place ourselves at risk to prove our faith.
It does mean that we should be willing to stand on our faith when the world tries to force us to reject it. When we do, we will have God’s angels at our side and we will find the Eden God intended us to inhabit.
Standing on faith,
Z gardener

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Rough Road

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on February 15, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Everyone on the spiritual path has found that it happens occasionally in the early years—and not often then—that he suddenly finds himself almost or quite unable to pray. Often it seems that he cannot get any sense of contact with God. This naturally depresses him and sometimes leads to greater fear and almost to despair.
Now, these severe reactions are not necessary, once you know that everyone goes through them.
This trouble is caused by overdoing. You have been praying too long or too hard, or you have been giving too much time to spiritual work exclusively, instead of having other interests in your life too. It is really a condition of staleness and psychological congestion. The medieval mystics called these times“seasons of dryness” and suffered severely because they believed them to be sinful.
The remedy is not to struggle, but to know that this dryness will surely pass, and your spiritual joy return. If you cannot pray, do not try, but think,“God is so good that I need not pray; he will take care of me anyway.” (Of course, this itself is a wonderful prayer.) On a long motor tour, it sometimes happens that you come upon a piece of rough, bad road. For hundreds of miles the going has been perfect, but now you are shaken and bumped badly, but you do not worry, because you know for certain that it will only last for a few miles. Indeed, there is probably a notice saying “Pavement ahead.”
…weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning (Psalms 30:5)
In all our times and all our seasons, our ups and downs, our highs and low, we will find our best good if we stay true to God and on the path of God’s will. Even when we feel no communion with God, we must remind ourselves that God is ensuring our welfare regardless of our sense of closeness or separateness.
If we will reaffirm our faith, act accordingly and still our worried hearts, God will be there until we again are able to embrace God in full communion. Remember God’s promise, “I will never leave you or forsake you”. Then, walk in peace with joy knowing God’s love is all around, in all seasons.
In God’s season,
Z gardener

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The Single Eye

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on February 14, 2013| Leave a Comment »

If you pray for yourself in the right way every day, you will find that the minor things of life will gradually fall correctly into place of their own accord without any trouble on your part. Contrast this with the usual method of trying to get everything right by separately organizing a thousand petty details, and you will appreciate how wonderfully the new spiritual basis sets you free. If therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light (Matthew 6:22).
The eye symbolizes spiritual perception. Whatever you give your attention to, is the thing that governs your life. Attention is the key. Your free will lies in the directing of your attention. Whatever you steadfastly direct your attention to, will come into your life and dominate it. If you do not direct your attention consistently to anything in particular—and many people do not—then nothing in particular will come into your life except uncertainty and suspense.
If the Glory of God comes first with you, and to express His Will becomes the rule of your life, then your eye is single and your whole body, or embodiment, will be full of light.
As we focus inwardly on our darkness during Lent, we await the coming of the light at Easter. Yet, even with the light, we must have our eyes open and focused to see it. Just as with the light, we must also focus our eyes on the darkness that remains within. For only when we recognize the dark, can we truly experience the light.
So today, let us focus our eye singly upon the coming light and the darkness that will fade upon it arrival.
In focus,
Z gardener

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