Good Morning Garden

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As you take steps of faith, depending on Me, I will show you how much I can do for you. If you live your life too safely, you will never know the thrill of seeing Me work through you. When I gave you My Spirit, I empowered you to live beyond your natural ability and strength. That’s why it is so wrong to measure your energy level against the challenges ahead of you. The issue is not your strength but Mine, which is limitless. By walking close to Me, you can accomplish My purposes in My strength.

2 Corinthians 5:7 NKJV       For we walk by faith, not by sight.

Galatians 5:25       Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

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.

Just as the child who overcomes their fear and leaps into their father’s arms in the pool, we must make the spiritual leap of faith each day. When we see God’s arms and know he will catch us, then we are seeing God as the child sees its physical Father.

But how can we see something that clearly when we can not see it at all? We must look with our hearts and our souls. And we must look with our faith, which is the true belief in things unseen. The best way to improve our spiritual sight is to practice it in everything. When we accept our weakness and instead acknowledge God’s strength, then we see through God’s eyes, and God becomes as real as our earthly Father. And we see clearly his outstretched arms and know they will always catch us.

In his arms,

Z gardener

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YOU ARE MINE FOR ALL TIME–and beyond time, into eternity. No power can deny you your inheritance in heaven. I want you to realize how utterly secure you are! Even if you falter as you journey through life, I will never let go of your hand.

Knowing that your future is absolutely assured can free you to live abundantly today. I have prepared this day for you with the most tender concern and attention to detail. Instead of approaching the day as a blank page that you need to fill up, try living it in a responsive mode: being on the lookout for all that I am doing. This sounds easy, but it requires a deep level of trust, based on the knowledge that My way is perfect.

Psalm 37:23-24      If the Lord delights in a man’s way, he makes his steps firm; though he stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.

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 would you live if you knew with absolute certainty the statement above is true? What would you do differently today and every day? Why not put your faith to work and live today as if God were sitting next to you.  Live today knowing that nothing could happen that God wouldn’t turn to a blessing.

Well, it is true, and if we have faith and live according to that faith, we will prove to ourselves and everyone else that God is indeed in control, and that we can and should rejoice in all things. Then our lives will become the Eden that God created for us. And nothing, above or below can separate us from his love, peace and protection.

Being God’s,

Z gardener

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The world around you seems to spin faster and faster, till everything is a blur. Yet there is a cushion of calm at the center of your life, where you live in union with Me. Return to this soothing Center as often as you can, for this is where you are energized: filled with My Love, Joy, and Peace.

The world is a needy place; do not go there for sustenance. Instead, come to Me. Learn to depend on Me alone, and your weakness will become saturated with My Power. When you find your completeness in Me, you can help other people without using them to meet your own needs. Live in the Light of My Presence, and your light will shine brightly into the lives of others.

Galatians 5:22       But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness.

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.

And this is very hard to accept, that the only thing we can totally trust is God. Every attribute of ourselves, every other human and every human contrivance will let us down and/or fall short of what we truly need. It is only through God that we can be sure to find true peace, comfort and power over all.

The good news is that all we have to do is stay in communion with God and to trust God enough to follow his will. Now this is also hard, but it absolutely certain to succeed. And that success will allow us to live in Eden with God in light, love, joy, peace, kindness, patience, goodness and great power.

Resting radiantly,

Z gardener

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As long as Jesus is one of many options, he is no option.

As long as you can carry your burdens alone, you don’t need a burden bearer. As long as your situation brings you no grief, you will receive no comfort. And as long as you can take him or leave him, you might as well leave him, because he won’t be taken half-heartedly.

But when you mourn, when you get to the point of sorrow for your sins, when you admit that you have no other option but to case all your cares on him, and when there is truly no other name that you can call, then cast all your cares on him, for he is waiting in the midst of the storm.

Matthew 11:28      Come to me, all of you who are tired and have heavy loads, and I will give you rest.

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.

In the midst of every storm, God is waiting to carry us through. We must look for him there, trust him and follow him to safe harbor. At every stage God will comfort us and provide for us if we let him.

Trusting him,

Z gardener

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Jesus tells us . . . “When you pray, pray like this. ‘Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come.'”

When you say, “Thy kingdom come,” you are inviting the Messiah himself to walk into your world. “Come, my King! Take your throne in our land. Be present in my heart. Be present in my office. Come into my marriage. Be Lord of my family, my fears, and my doubts.” This is no feeble request; it’s a bold appeal for God to occupy every corner of your life.

Who are you to ask such a thing? Who are you to ask God to take control of your world? You are his child, for heaven’s sake! And so you ask boldly.

Have you invited Christ to be King in your heart? Your place of employment? Your home?

Hebrews 4:16         Let us, then, feel very sure that we can come before God’s throne where there is grace.

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 is the basis for boldness? Is it not the strong belief and assurance that such an attitude is well founded, appropriate and something to be expected? That is exactly how God expects us to come to him in prayer. If we truly believe we are children of God, would we not come boldly to him, as a child approaches a parent. If our faith is strong and our hearts ruled by God, then we have every assurance and belief that such boldness is well founded.

So, let us give our hearts to God and boldly seek God’s blessings in all we do, think or say. Then God’s kingdom will come and we will live in God’s kingdom, in Eden with God.

Boldly believing,

Z gardener

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You want to make a difference in your world? Live a holy life:

Be faithful to your spouse.

Be the neighbor who acts neighborly.

Be the employee who does the work and doesn’t complain.

Pay your bills.

Do your part and enjoy life.

Don’t speak one message and live another.

People are watching the way we act more than they are listening to what we say.

Matthew 5:16        You should be a light for other people. Live so that they will see the good things you do and will praise your Father in heaven.

It is our actions that make a difference in the physical world, and our actions that demonstrate the condition of our spirituality.

We can say all we won’t to say, yet if our actions do not reflect those words, they are for naught. When we live our philosophy and our faith, they speak louder than any words.

So, if we want to live in Eden, we best be about the business of acting in ways that reflect God’s love and his will in our lives and the physical world around us.

You know, love God, love thy neighbor, help the least among us, etc.

Wholly Holy,

Z gardener

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Where is there in our praying a time for us to listen to what our heavenly Father has to say? In our praying, like in our worship, we seem to feel that if we are not saying something or doing something we are getting nothing out of it.
We need to have some time in our day when we can be still and allow the quiet presence of God to surround us in such a way that even His slightest whisper will sound in the depths.       

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.

One of our greatest gifts from God is also one the biggest obstacles to communing with God. Our sensory perception brings to us every sound, smell, touch, sight and taste. Yet it is this ever present flood of our physical senses that can block that still quiet voice, the spiritual voice of our father and creator.

It is in our spiritual or metaphysical perception that we truly communicate with God. There we find God waiting for us. He speaks to us in our spirits, thoughts, feelings, understandings and realizations. He reaches out to us through our obedience, faith and forgiveness. Therein abides the most powerful force in our lives, yea even the universe. But it is a small quiet voice in this wilderness of sight, sound and sensation.

Therefore, let us seek the quiet, still places in our souls and in our world. And infuse it into in our hearts, minds, spirit and will. Let us tune our mind to the spiritual. Even amidst the noise and haste, we can find that inner quietness where God is. Then, like an unstoppable silent tide, let God’s power rise through us, envelop us, empower us and lift us up to God. There, we truly become the children of God that we were created to be. There we live in Eden. 

Being quiet,

Z gardener

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