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THERE IS A MIGHTY BATTLE

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , on November 10, 2014| Leave a Comment »

THERE IS A MIGHTY BATTLE going on for your mind. Heaven and earth intersect in your mind; the tugs of both spheres influence your thinking. I created you with the capacity to experience foretastes of heaven. When you shut out the world and focus on My Presence, you can enjoy sitting with Me in heavenly realms. This is an incredible privilege reserved for precious ones who belong to Me and seek My Face. Your greatest strength is your desire to spend time communing with Me. As you concentrate on Me, My Spirit fills your mind with life and peace.

The world exerts a downward pull on your thoughts. Media bombard you with greed, lust and cynicism. When you face these things, pray for protection and discernment. Stay in continual communication with Me whenever you walk through the wastelands of this world. Refuse to worry, because this form of worldliness will weigh you down and block awareness of My Presence. Stay alert, recognizing the battle being waged against your mind. Look forward to an eternity of strife-free living, reserved for you in heaven.

Ephesians 2:6    And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.

Romans 8:6    The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.

1 John 2:15, 17    Do not love the world or anything in the world….the world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.

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.

These things bear repeating; stay in communion with God, refuse to worry and stay alert. 

Make no mistake, there is a battle going on within each of us for our will. We must be alert and aware of the enemy’s attacks so we can be prepared and turn to God for help. There is no time, or benefit from worrying in the midst of battle (or any other time), in fact it is harmful, dangerous and may be fatal. It also indicates an uncertainty of faith. We must stay in communication with our leader in this battle and in all of life. No army or any individual can be fully effective if they are cut off from their leader.

If we do these things, then our mind will manifest the perfect intersection between Heaven and earth. This intersection is called Eden. And we can live in these heavenly realms of joy, peace and love; even in the midst of battle.

Tasting Heaven,

Z gardener

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RELAX IN MY EVERLASTING ARMS

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , on November 7, 2014| Leave a Comment »

RELAX IN MY EVERLASTING ARMS. Your weakness is an opportunity to grow strong in awareness of My Almighty Presence. When your energy fails you, Do not look inward and lament the lack you find there. Look to Me in My sufficiency; rejoice in my radiant riches that are abundantly available to help you. 

Go gently through this day, leaning on Me and enjoying My Presence. Thank Me for your neediness, which is building trust-bonds between us. If you look back on your journey thus far, you can see that days of extreme weakness have been some of your most precious times. Memories of these days are richly interwoven with golden strands of My intimate Presence.

Deuteronomy 33:27    The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. He will drive out your enemy before you, saying, “Destroy him!”

Psalm 27:13-14    I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.

Michael & Alison Smitherman

The Singing NetSurfers

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

As much as human culture and nature detest weakness, it is only when we have exhausted our human ability and been humbled to the point of submission, do we find true communion with God. It is one of the reasons that we suffer, because suffering drives us away from our selves and toward God. The direction that drive takes is usually down on our knees.

The good news is that our suffering and weakness are not for naught. They teach us all the traits we must develop if we are to live in the Eden that God created for us. Then we can even rejoice in our weakness and pain.

Relaxing,

Z gardener

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SEEK TO PLEASE ME

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , on November 5, 2014| 1 Comment »

SEEK TO PLEASE ME above all else. Let that goal be your focal point as you go through this day. Such a mind-set will protect you from scattering your energy to the winds. The free will I bestowed on you comes with awesome responsibility. Each day presents you with choice after choice. Many of these decisions you ignore and thus make by default. Without a focal point to guide you, your can easily lost your way. That’s why it is so important to stay in communication with Me, living in thankful awareness of My Presence.

You inhabit a fallen, disjointed world, where things are constantly unraveling around the edges. Only a vibrant relationship with Me can keep you from coming unraveled too.

Matthew 6:33    But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

John 8:29    The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.

Colossians 3:23-24    Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive and inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

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.

If we focus on the presence of God and seek to please him (do his will), then everything we need will be supplied to ensure our joy and peace. This is not easy, but the reward is infinite.

Staying focused,

Z gardener

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EVERY TIME

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , on November 4, 2014| 1 Comment »

EVERY TIME something thwarts your plans or desires, use that as a reminder to communicate with me. This practice has several benefits. The first is obvious. Talking with Me blesses you and strengthens our relationship. 

Another benefit is that disappointments, instead of dragging you down, are transformed into opportunities for good. This transformation removes the sting from difficult circumstances, making it possible to be joyful in the midst of adversity.

Begin by practicing this discipline in all the little disappointments of daily life. It is often these minor setbacks that draw you away from My Presence. When you reframe setbacks as opportunities, you find that you gain much more than you have lost. 

It is only after much training that you can accept major losses in this positive way. But it is possible to attain the prospective of the apostle Paul, who wrote: Compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus, I consider everything I once treasured to be as insignificant as rubbish.

Colossians 4:2        Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.

Philippians 3:7-8   But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ.

This is how defeat is swallowed up in victory. Turning to God, and turning things over to God, gives us the ability to see the blessings hidden in pain and to turn them into opportunities and victories. Regardless of the circumstances, God can and will turn any circumstance into a cause for joy and celebration.

This peace is not immediate and the ability to live this way takes practice, commitment to God and discipline. But practiced consistently, it is the key to “rejoicing in all things”.Isn’t that what peace really is?

In peace,

Z gardener

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YOU WILL NOT FIND MY PEACE

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , on November 3, 2014| Leave a Comment »

YOU WILL NOT FIND MY PEACE by engaging in excessive planning: attempting to control what will happen to you in the future. That is a commonly practiced form of unbelief. When your mind spins with multiple plans, Peace may sometimes seem to be within your grasp; yet it always eludes you. Just when you think you have prepared for all possibilities, something unexpected pops up and throws things into confusion.

I did not design the human mind to figure out the future. That is beyond your capability. I crafted your mind for continual communication with Me. Bring Me all your needs, your hopes and fears. Commit everything into my care. Turn from the path of planning to the path of peace.

1 Peter 5:6-7    Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

Proverbs 16:9    In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.

Psalm 37:5 NKJV    Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.

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.

While we humans do need to plan and set goals in our lives, these things will not bring us peace. They may quieten our anxiety about the future with false security that we have it covered. However, it is only in following God’s plans that we open the door to true peace. 

If we make our plans according to God’s will, and subject to those plans to accommodate God’s guidance, then they can be helpful exercises that serves to bring us some comfort. However, comfort in the moment is not peace.

True peace can only be found in sublimating our will and our plans to God’s. Then we can see the Eden God created for us and live in it in peace, joy and hope each day.

Christ’s peace to you,

Z gardener

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I DESIGNED YOU

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged on October 30, 2014| Leave a Comment »

I DESIGNED YOU to live in union with Me. This union does not negate who you are; it actually makes you more fully yourself. When you try to live independently of Me, you experience emptiness and dissatisfaction. You may gain the whole world and yet lose everything that really counts.

Find fulfillment through living close to Me, yielding to my purposes for you. Though I may lead you along paths that feel alien to you, trust that I know what I am doing. If you follow Me wholeheartedly, you will discover facets of yourself that were previously hidden. I know you intimately—far better than you know yourself. In union with Me, you are complete. In closeness to Me, you are transformed more and more into the one I designed you to be.

Mark 8:36    

Psalm 139:13-16    

2 Corinthians 3:17-18    

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 humans as remote controlled airplane kits. God designed us to fly. Yet, unless the plane is assembled according to the maker’s instructions, operated according to the plane’s specifications and powered by the proper energy, it will never fly as it was created to fly.

We are designed to fly; created to be one with God; ready to be assembled into that which God created us to be. When we follow God’s plan, we become the creatures God intended us to be. Then we will discover the real us and the real Eden that God created for us.

Learning to fly,

Z gardener

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REST IN ME, MY CHILD

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , on October 29, 2014| Leave a Comment »

REST IN ME, MY CHILD. This time devoted to Me is meant to be peaceful, not stressful. You don’t have to perform in order to receive My Love. I have boundless, unconditional love for you. How it grieves Me to see My children working for Love: trying harder and harder, yet never feeling good enough to be loved.

Be careful that your devotion to Me does not become another form of works. I want you to come into My Presence joyfully and confidently. You have nothing to fear, for you wear My own righteousness. Gaze into My eyes, and you will see no condemnation, only Love and delight in the one I see. Be blessed as My Face shines radiantly upon you, giving you peace.

John 15:13    Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

Zephaniah 3:17    The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.

Numbers 6:25-26    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.

We are blessed beyond all measure as children of God. However, being blessed does not necessarily mean we feel” the joy and peace of blessedness. To actually experience this blessed state in our reality, we must devote peaceful time to being with God, thinking about God, meditating on God’s love and promise with confidence. 

This confidence does not arise from our goodness nor our behavior (except time spent with God). It arises from our trust in God;’s words of love and assurance. In fact, this confidence does not arise form any circumstance other than our faith and trust in God. All we have to do is accept God’s radiant love of us and return that love in trust and joy.

Accepting God’s peace,

Z gardener

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RECEIVE MY PEACE

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , on October 24, 2014| Leave a Comment »

RECEIVE MY PEACE. It is My continual gift to you. The best way to receive this gift is to sit quietly in My Presence, trusting Me in every area of your life.Quietness and trust accomplish far more than you can imagine: no only in you, but also on earth and in heaven. When you trust Me in a given area, you release that problem or person into My care.

Spending time alone with Me can be a difficult discipline because it goes against the activity addiction of this age. You may be appear to be doing nothing, but actually you are participating in battles going on within spiritual realms. You are waging war—not with the weapons of this world, but with heavenly weapons, which have divine power to demolish strongholds. Living close to Me is a sure defense against evil.

Scriptures to read: John 14:27; Isaiah 30:15; 2 Corinthians 10:4.

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.

Be with God. Wage peace. Live happy.

Now,

Z gardener

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REJOICE IN ME ALWAYS

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , on October 23, 2014| Leave a Comment »

REJOICE IN ME ALWAYS! No matter what is going on, you can rejoice in your Love-relationship with Me. This is the secret of being content in all circumstances.So many people dream of the day when they will finally be happy: when they are out of debt, when their children are all out of trouble, when they have more leisure time, and so on. While they daydream, their moments are trickling into the ground like precious balm spilling wastefully from overturned bottles.

Fantasizing about future happiness will never bring fulfillment because fantasy is unreality. Even though I am invisible, I am far more Real than the world you see around you. My reality is eternal and unchanging. Bring your moments to Me, and I will fill them with vibrant joy. Now is the time to rejoice in My Presence!

Scriptures to read: Philippians 4:4, 12; Psalm 102:27.

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.

 

When will we be happy? We can not be happy in the future because it is not here yet, nor in the past that is long gone. No, the only time possible to be happy is now. There is no way around these facts.

So, will we choose to be happy today? Remember this, happiness is a choice, not a circumstance. Now is the time, indeed! 

It’s time,

Z gardener

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I AM ALWAYS AVAILABLE TO YOU

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged on October 21, 2014| Leave a Comment »

I AM ALWAYS AVAILABLE TO YOU. Once you have trusted Me as your Savior, I never distance myself from you. Sometimes you may feel distance from Me. Recognize that as feeling; do not confuse it with reality.

The Bible is full of My promises to be with you always. As I assured Jacob, when he was journeying away from home into unknown places, I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go. My last recorded promise to My followers was: Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. 

Let these assurances of My continual Presence fill you with joy and peace. No matter what you may lose in this life, you can never lose your relationship with Me.

Scriptures to read: Isaiah 54:10; Genesis 28:15; Matthew 28:20.

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 comfort it is to know there is someone who will never abandon us, lead us astray or hurt us. Every human being will at some time let us down, no matter how much they love us. Only one will always be there for us.

The good news is, that “one” is the creator of the universe and can do anything. So let us love and forgive all those we know, even when they disappoint us or hurt us. And let us turn to God for the perfect love that never fails, fades or falters.

Beloved,

Z gardener

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