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Archive for February, 2015

Five Ways God Uses Problems In Our Lives #5

Posted in Uncategorized on February 27, 2015| Leave a Comment »

The problems you face will either defeat you or develop you – depending on how you respond to them. Unfortunately, most people fail to see how God wants to use problems for good in their lives. They react foolishly and resent their problems rather than pausing to consider what benefit they might bring. Here is the fifth way God wants to use the problems in your life:

5. God uses problems to PERFECT you.

Problems, when responded to correctly, are character builders. God is far more interested in your character than your comfort. Your relationship to God and your character are the only two things you’re going to take with you into eternity. We can rejoice when we run into problems – they help us learn to be patient. And patience develops strength of character in us and helps us trust God more each time we use it until finally our hope and faith are strong and steady.

Romans 5:3-4 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.

Here’s the point:God is at work in your life – even when you do not recognize it or understand it. But it’s much easier and profitable when you cooperate with Him.

Michael & Alison Smitherman

The Singing NetSurfers

I will sing to my Lord as long as I live, I will sing

praise to my God while I have my being.

Think of when we were small children and faced with walking across a log bridge to get where we needed to go. Oh, how we wish we didn’t have to walk across it. Will I fall, will it break, is there another way to get across, why does this have to be the way  to the other side? Yet, when we have crossed it once, with nervous fear tingling in our bodies, we were at once more confident, braver and stronger for the crossing. Then, when we had to cross it again we were sure it would hold, hopeful that we could do it without falling and each time it became easier.

So it is with handling problems the right way. How could our faith increase, our hope be assured and our character strengthened had we not faced the bridge and crossed it once.?How could they increase without the need for perseverance, and how would we develop strong character, hope and faith unless we had to cross it many times?

You see, it is only through facing and overcoming problems that our faith and character are perfected. As much as we like to avoid facing problems, without them we would never truly become the creatures God created us to be. So, what do we prefer, temporary and imperfect comfort for our bodies here or eternal and perfect communion with God?

Praise God from  whom all blessings flow. For it is his good pleasure that we become his children.

Bridge walking,

Z gardener

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Five Ways God Uses Problems #4

Posted in Uncategorized on February 26, 2015| Leave a Comment »

God uses problems to PROTECT you.

A problem can be a blessing in disguise if it prevents you from being harmed by something more serious. Last year a friend was fired for refusing to do something unethical that his boss had asked him to do. His unemployment was a problem – but it saved him from being convicted and sent to prison a year later when management’s actions were eventually discovered. “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good.”
You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. Genesis 50:20
Many stories have emerged after the 911 terrorist attack of people who were supposed to be in those crumbling infernos, but were stuck in traffic, left their keys home or suffered car problems. They were having problems that kept them from being there when the towers came down. They all remarked how they would never forget the problem that saved their lives.
Many times problems are in our lives to serve as road signs; warning of danger ahead. Living in the fast lane can cause health problems that say to us, “warning, slow down, danger ahead’. If we fail to heed the signs our problems present to us, then we will find ourselves with increasingly greater problems. relationship could die.
Let look into our problems for God’s signs to us. There are not happening because God hates us, they are there because God so loves us that he gave us his son to save us. We need to analyze our problems so we can heed God’s word and save ourselves. It is God’s desire that we live in the Eden he created for us. But we must do our part also.
Reading signs,
Z gardener

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Five Ways God Uses Problems #3

Posted in correction on February 25, 2015| Leave a Comment »

God uses problems to CORRECT you.

Some lessons we learn only through pain and failure. It’s likely that as a child your parents told you not to touch a hot stove. But you probably learned by being burned. Sometimes we only learn the value of something – health, money, a relationship – by losing it. It was the best thing that could have happened to me, for it taught me to pay attention to Your laws. (Read Psalm 119:71-72)
As humans, we tend to do that which we want to do unless doing so causes pain, discomfort or some other negative result. When we are engaging in activity that is bad for us, or takes us away from God, we will continue to do so unless the pain is greater than the pleasure we receive.
It is only when undesirable behavior causes us problems, that we begin to change that behavior.  It is said that there is no learning unless it changes our behavior. So, when a course of behavior, thinking or feeling is accompanied by problems that seem to increase or worsen, it is a signal from God that a course correction is due.
Those who correct course in those circumstances are the ones who escape the storms. They survive and make it to port. Those who continue to sail into the storm do not. That is what a loving God would do to save those he created, so they can join him in the home port, Eden.
Clear sailing,
Z gardener

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Five Ways God Uses Problems #2

Posted in problems on February 24, 2015| 1 Comment »

God uses problems to INSPECT you.

People are like tea bags – if you want to know what’s inside them, just drop them into hot ever water! Has God tested your faith with a problem What do problems reveal about you? When you have many kinds of troubles, you should be full of joy, because you know that these troubles test your faith, and this will give you patience.
 
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,  because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. James 1:2-3
Anything living that is untested does not advance to its next stage of development. just as cells adapt and improve to cope with stress and other harmful things, so does the human spirit improve when tested. A tree that is never bent by the wind grows brittle and is subject to fall at the first breeze. yet the sturdy live oak is the most durable of trees precisely because it has been tested mightily by the wind.
So, when trials and tribulations come our way, sometimes it is merely to the build strength, perseverance and patience we need to become the child of god we are created to be.
Against the wind,
Z gardener

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Five Ways God Uses Problems

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged on February 23, 2015| Leave a Comment »

The problems you face will either defeat you or develop you – depending on how you respond to them. Unfortunately, most people fail to see how God wants to use problems for good in their lives. They react foolishly and resent their problems rather than pausing to consider what benefit they might bring.

Here is one of five ways God wants to use the problems in your life:

1. God uses problems to DIRECT you.


Sometimes God must light a fire under you to get you moving. Problems often point us in a new direction and motivate us to change. Is God trying to get your attention? Sometimes it takes a painful situation to make us change our ways. (Read Proverbs 20:30)

Change is seldom easy and many times undesired. That is why God sometimes uses our problems to point us in a new direction. If we are following the wrong path, no matter how well we do it or how comfortable it is, we will not get to the right place. That is when a course direction is required. Unless our course becomes hard or uncomfortable, we will tend to stay on it. When we view our problems as opportunities for improvement, they no longer appear as problems but as possibilities for a better way.

Problem solving,

Z gardener

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COME TO ME AND REST

Posted in faith, hardship on February 20, 2015| Leave a Comment »

COME TO ME AND REST. I am all about you, to bless and restore you. Breathe Me in with each breath. The way just ahead of you is very steep. Slow down and cling tightly to My hand. I am teaching you a difficult lesson, learned only by hardship.

Lift up empty hands of faith to receive My precious Presence. Light, Life, Joy, and Peace flow freely through this gift. When your focus turns away from Me, you grasp for other things. You drop the glowing gift of My Presence as you reach for lifeless ashes. Return to Me; regain My Presence.

Matthew 11:28-29         “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

Michael & Alison Smitherman

The Singing NetSurfers

amduo@bellsouth.net

I will sing to my Lord as long as I live, I will sing

praise to my God while I have my being.

How much would we give to be able to grasp and keep light, life, joy and peace? While we can not grasp it, it is always available to us by simply clinging to God’s hand. Anything else we try to grasp by our own efforts will only be a false substitute for focusing on God.

Make no mistake, the way will be steep and narrow. Yet the journey will teach us that which God intends us to experience in order that we become the very best person we were created to be. And as long as we cling to God’s hand, the outcome is always assured; that we will arrive in our Eden to rest and live a life there filled with light, love, joy and peace.

In his hand,

Z gardener

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SEEK MY FACE

Posted in help, peace, power on February 19, 2015| 1 Comment »

SEEK MY FACE, and you will find not only My Presence but also My Peace. To receive My Peace, you must change your grasping, controlling stance to one of openness and trust. Ask My Spirit within you to order your day and control your thoughts, for the mind controlled by the Spirit is Life and Peace.

You can have as much of Me and My Peace as you want, through thousands of  correct choices each day. The most persistent choice you face is whether to trust Me or to worry. You will never run out of things to worry about, but you can choose to trust Me no matter what. I am an ever-present help in trouble. Trust Me, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea .

Psalm 46:1-2          God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea.

Michael & Alison Smitherman

The Singing NetSurfers

I will sing to my Lord as long as I live, I will sing

praise to my God while I have my being.

To paraphrase Shakespeare, “To trust, or to worry?’ that is the question. Other questions just as important are “To grasp and control, or to be open and to trust?’ These are the questions we face each moment of our lives. The decisions we make regarding those questions will determine whether we live in peace or in worry. The key to this is to seek God’s presence and to give God’s spirit  control over our thoughts, priorities and our decisions. This of course is difficult and requires us to be open to and trust God’s will, God’s power and God’s desire for our best good.

This one thing I know, that God is always there with abundant strength to help us in times of trouble. I know this from thousands of personal experiences in which trusting God provided the only help that would save me. Even though with all my grasping and controlling, my earth had given way and my mountains had fallen into the heart of my sea. Even then, openness to God’s spirit, and trust in God’s power protected me and lifted me up with the peace that surpasses all understanding.

In the refuge,

Z gardener

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BRING ME YOUR WEAKNESS

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , on February 18, 2015| Leave a Comment »

BRING ME YOUR WEAKNESS, and receive My Peace.  Accept yourself and your circumstances just as they are, remembering that I am sovereign over everything. Do not wear yourself out with analyzing and planning. Instead, let thankfulness and trust be your guides through this day; they will keep you close to Me.

As you live in the radiance of My Presence, My Peace shines upon you. You will cease to notice how weak or strong you feel, because you will be focusing on Me. The best way to get through this day is step by step with me. Continue this intimate journey, trusting that the path you are following is headed for heaven .

Numbers 6:24-26           “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”

Michael & Alison Smitherman

The Singing NetSurfers

I will sing to my Lord as long as I live, I will sing

praise to my God while I have my being.

This is not to say that we should not analyze, plan and work hard to get through our days. It does mean that we should focus first on God’s presence and being in harmony with God’s will. And when we are in communion with God, walking God’s path, then we will have true peace about ourselves and our circumstances.

This also does not mean that we will become perfect or live in a perfect world. It means we will live in perfect peace, regardless of what the world throws at us. This is living in Eden.

In peace,

Z gardener

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I Am Renewing Your Mind

Posted in Uncategorized on February 17, 2015| Leave a Comment »

When your thoughts flow freely, they tend to move toward problems. Your focus gets snagged on a given problem, circling round and round it in attempts to gain mastery. Your energy is drained away from other matters through this negative focus. Worst of all, you lose sight of Me.

A renewed mind is Presence-focused. Train your mind to seek Me in every moment, every situation. Sometimes you can find Me in your surroundings: a lilting birdsong, a loved one’s smile, golden sunlight. At other times, you must draw inward to find Me. I am always present in your spirit. Seek My Face, speak to Me, and I will light up your mind.

Romans 12:2          Do not conform any longer to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Michael & Alison Smitherman

The Singing NetSurfers

I will sing to my Lord as long as I live, I will sing

praise to my God while I have my being.

What a precious gift is a moment in physical time. How much would one give for just a few more when facing death or when embracing a loved on who is departing? Treasure each moment as the miracle of beauty, sensation and awareness that it is. In physical reality those moments  are the things of which we have an absolutely  finite number.  Even one is more precious than wealth, and then it is gone.

The past is a memory and the future, but a dream. It is in the present that we live, decide and shape this precious moment; and all the future moments for eternity.    Be fully in each moment, enjoying the awesome physical wonders around us. But more importantly, yea critically essential, be always focused on the spiritual miracles that are God with us in that moment. 

When we focus our attention on the present with God, he will enlighten our physical world without and our spiritual world within.  And when we share one of those moments in prayer for, or helping another, we have given our most valuable earthly gift, our finite moments in physical time.  When we get it right, t hen Eden will be the garden we inhabit.

Renewing focus,

Z gardener

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The Safest Place to Be

Posted in Uncategorized on February 12, 2015| Leave a Comment »

A young man was worried about paying for his final year of college. A benefactor, hearing of the young man’s plight, sent a note through the mail that said, “Don’t worry–you will graduate.” In the midst of his dire financial circumstances, the young man failed to remember a principle: When a person with power and resources speaks, the results are certain.

The disciples of Jesus discovered this truth when Jesus directed them to cross the Sea of Galilee and a storm arose. The disciples were in great fear, forgetting it was Jesus who said they would “cross over to the other side” (Mark 4:35). They were in the center of God’s will while experiencing threatening circumstances, forgetting that God’s will is the safest place on earth to be found. One with power and resources had said they would arrive on the far shore, and they did.

The next time perilous circumstances arise in your life, remember that no circumstance shall keep you from fulfilling God’s will.

Isaiah 54:17   “No weapons formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from Me,” says the Lord. 

Michael & Alison Smitherman

The Singing NetSurfers

I will sing to my Lord as long as I live, I will sing

praise to my God while I have my being.

What does it mean to have safety. Does it mean we will be free from danger or peril. In the physical world we may think so. But true safety, the certainty that we will arrive at our true destination, may mean facing very perilous circumstances. But we are assured that following God’s will is the only way to ensure our true safety.

When, by following God’s way, we find ourselves facing danger or trouble, we can feel totally safe because God, the only true power, has got our backs.

Backed by God,

Z gardener

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