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Bluebeard Draws the Line

May 24, 2013 by zgardener

 
We make spiritual progress by putting God into every corner of our lives. Most people on the spiritual path are willing to give God a generous portion of their lives, but there is often one little corner where they do not wish the divine Light to shine.
 
Bluebeard, you remember, kept open house, with the exception of one little room – and there he drew the line. His current wife, or any of the neighbors could go all over the premises and welcome, until they came to that one little room, the Bluebeard chamber, that was forbidden. Yet that one little locked-up room contained the tragedy of the house.
 
The contents of the Bluebeard room need not be anything that we usually call horrible. There may just be selfishness, laziness, spiritual pride, or any of the more “respectable” but very deadly sins. There may be an old grudge or bitter remorse.
 
Open every door of your soul to God. Have no place where the light of His presence does not shine.
 
The secret things belong unto the Lord our God… (Deuteronomy 29:29).
Only when we shine the divine light in every aspect of our lives can we find the peace that surpasses all understanding. What rooms are we keeping locked away from God’s light and forgiveness?
Unlocked and open,
Z gardener
 

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God Says Now

May 23, 2013 by zgardener

 
God’s time for your demonstration in now. The time God wants you to be healed is now. The time God wants you to be in your true place is now. The Bible says that the day of salvation is now.
 
God is ready the moment you are. There is nothing to wait for except the changing of your own consciousness. People often make the mistake of saying, “I know my demonstration will come at the right time.” But the only time to be harmonious and satisfied is now. The time to be happy is now and the place is here. Did not Jesus say, The kingdom of heaven is at hand, and by this he meant close by.
 
Do not keep yourself out of the Kingdom of Heaven by inventing postponements, but change your consciousness now, for it can all happen in a moment.
 
…that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed (Romans 13:11).
The only thing holding us back from living in Eden is us. If we are truly ready for our demonstration, we will change our consciousness now. Happiness, satisfaction and peace are near to us, and all we must do to abide in them is draw near to God.
Change the mind to change the world.
Ready now,
Z gardener
 

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The Spiritual Basis

May 22, 2013 by zgardener

The Spiritual Basis
 
One is on the Spiritual Basis or he is not, for there is no half-way house in this.
 
You are on the Spiritual Basis:
 
If you definitely give all power to God, in the most literal, practical, and matter-of-fact sense of the phrase.
 
If you really believe that prayer can do anything.
 
If you really believe that your happiness and well-being are vitally important in the eyes of God.
 
If you realize whatever ideas and beliefs you accept must be expressed in your surroundings, and in all your relationships and activities.
 
If you try to see the Presence of God everywhere.
 
If, in short, you understand that you are in a mental universe, that things are thoughts, and that one’s life history is fundamentally the expression of his belief about God.
 
Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you (James 4:8)
Thoughts are things, and are more powerful than bullets or words. Everything created by mankind, wrought by mankind or caused by mankind was first a thought. God created everything that was created in the same way. As children of God, we can create no other way. Even our perception of reality is thought, as is our sensory experience of reality. Thoughts are more powerful than “reality” itself.
So, what we believe, see, realize and give power to, all arise from, and have their existence in, our thoughts. Understanding and living according to this reality is living in the spiritual basis. This is where we find our Edens that God created for us, and in which he waits for us. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.
Drawing nigh,
Z gardener

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May 21, 2013 by zgardener

Our Deliverance
 
And now the Word of Truth is represented as addressing you with an authoritative assurance that your prayer will be answered, that is some way or other – not necessarily in the way that you expect – you will be rescued from your difficulty.
 
Surely He shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with His feathers, and under His wing shalt thou trust: His Truth shall be thy shield and buckler. You are to have no apprehension, for your protection is now assured in one of those illustrations from everyday life, in which the Bible abounds. The mother hen, at the slightest threat of danger, gathers the little chicks under her wings, covering them “with her feathers”; thus does God shield you from all danger once you have elected to trust Him. His truth shall be thy shield and buckler. It is the knowledge of the Truth about God and man that makes the demonstration.
 
Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. The arrow that flieth by day and the destruction that wasteth at noon refer to any difficulty of which you are consciously aware. It is, so to say, a daytime problem. The terror by night and the pestilence that walketh in darkness, on the contrary, imply something that, unknown to you, is working in your subconscious mind. Modern psychology has shown that most of our difficulties have their roots in the depth of the subconscious. These are indeed terrors of the mental night and pestilences of the darkness.
Fear, anxiety and other forms of apprehension demonstrate a lack of faith that God is protecting us and ensuring our best good. As easy as it is to let these emotions control us in times of hurt, when facing fearsome situations and even heartbreak; God’s word is clear. “Do not be afraid. Rejoice and give thanks for all things.”
 
Being thankful,
Z gardener
 

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May 20, 2013 by zgardener

Our Fortress
 
Read Psalm 91.
 
Observe that the poem opens by announcing the irresistible power of prayer. Then in order to bring home the fact that this law applies to us, and that by no possibility could we be an exception, it now changes over to the first person and makes us say “I.” It compels us to voice the I AM.
 
I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. The Lord means God. How can knowledge be a presence? Secular knowledge, which is intellectual, cannot; but the true knowledge of God is an actual experience – not a thing of the head, but of the heart – and this is indeed a Presence. As a general rule, people contact this Real Self only vaguely and occasionally. Then, if they pray regularly, the gleams of intuition gradually strengthen into a definite sense of the Presence of God.
 
In Him will I trust. However worried or depressed you may be, however full of doubts and misgivings, still the fact that you are praying means that you have at least enough faith for that. The faith to go on praying in the midst of doubts about results is the tiny grain of mustard seed that Jesus says is sufficient for practical purposes. Declaring in Him will I trust means that you have now determined to trust by ceasing to worry and fear. This is the legitimate and spiritual use of the will.
When we trust in God, we become one with God and serve as an open channel for God’s will to manifest itself in our lives. This is when we will be able to rise above worry, fear and anxiety: in communion with God and protected in God’s fortress.
 
Trusting God,
Z gardener

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The Shadow of the Almighty

May 17, 2013 by zgardener

 To abide under the shadow of the Almighty means to live under the protection of God Himself. Eastern people, and especially those with a desert background, such as the people of Palestine, look upon the sun as a danger, even an enemy, from which they need to be safeguarded. Shade is sanctuary, or safety – “the shadow of a mighty rock in a weary land.” The exhausted traveler sinks down in the shade for his long-sought rest.
 
God is called “The Almighty” in order to impress us with the fact that He really is All-mighty, and can therefore overcome our present difficulty, no matter how big it may seem.
 
…for with God all things are possible (Mark 10:27).
 
Consider, however, that the promise is made to “him that dwelleth.” If we only run into the Secret Place now and again, we can scarcely be said to dwell there. God will come to our rescue whenever we pray, but if we seldom think of Him, we may experience difficulty in making our contact in an emergency. By means of daily meditation we dwell in the Secret Place.
It is this writer’s prayer that each of us seek this dwelling place in the shadow of God’s love. When we find it, and abide in it, wherever it may be, it will be the Eden God created for us.
Seeking Eden,
Z gardener

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Take God As Your Partner

May 14, 2013 by zgardener

Why not organize the business of living in a big way? Why creep along, as some people do, from one tiny stepping stone to another, instead of striding out boldly? Why be content with poor health, uninteresting work, or restricted conditions, when many other people have already risen above these things?
 
There is a way out of limitation that never fails. It is this, take God for your partner. If you will really make God your business partner in every department of your life, you will be amazed at the quick and striking results that you will obtain. Of course, if you want God to be your partner, you will have to include Him in every corner and every phase of your life.
 
Most people would be thrilled to be able to go into partnership with some great industrial or financial magnate; they would feel that their future was assured. But here is a partnership with Infinite Wisdom and Infinite Power awaiting you.
 
I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing (John 15:5).
When we put God’s will before our own, we take God as a partner. Then, like any good partner, we must fulfill our part of the partnership agreement. Our part is to diligently and intentionally follow God’s business plan for our lives. This is not easy and will be a life-long project. Failure will be met along the way. But, if we stay the course, return to the path when we stray and never quit, we will have the opportunity to live in peace, joy and hope.
Striving to abide,
Z gardener

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I Am That I Am

May 10, 2013 by zgardener

 
And… there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud…(Exodus 19:16).
 
These are dramatic expressions of the change of consciousness as we move away from the common things of life to the higher things.
 
In these days of the Exodus, the conditions of the outer world answered very quickly to man’s thoughts because people believed it was possible. Moses took his people across the Red Sea by the power of thought, and he was able to do that because in those days people believed in the power of thought. They believed that God could take them across the Red Sea dry shod, and He did.
 
Moses had the true knowledge of God from his father’s people, the Hebrews. It was the historical mission of the Hebrews to teach that God is not a limited, corporeal being, but incorporeal, infinite, divine mind.
 
Moses saw clearly the unity of God and man, and the unity of man and man. He got more than a flash of what we call the cosmic consciousness. That was his illumination. Then he realized that he must give this to humanity.
It occurs to this writer that our consciousness is the manifestation of the “I Am” in humans. It is God’s consciousness manifesting itself in the material, historical world. Each human birth is a new bud of God-consciousness sprouting through the veil into sensory physical existence; allowing true communion between God and the creation. It is God’s way of living in the material world.
This communion is realized when, as infants, we first become self-conscious beings; opening the door to become God-conscious beings who recognize their true nature as children of God. That’s when we become one with God, and when we can say as a  child of God, “I truly know who I Am”.
I Am,
Z gardener

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THE TENTH COMMANDMENT – God’s Abundance for Your Need

May 7, 2013 by zgardener

 

Thou shalt not covet…any thing that is thy neighbour’s (Exodus 20:17).

 
There are several phrases concerning coveting. You are not to covet your neighbor’s house, nor his wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his cattle, nor anything that is his. Much of the evil in the world is caused by wanting something to which one is not entitled. Moses knew what covetousness does to us in what we call today the unconscious or the subconscious.
 
Coveting affects the soul of man. Even if your coveting never leads you to take anything that does not belong to you, it undermines and ultimately rots your soul. It shuts you off from God. Why? Because to covet something means that you do not understand the Law of Being. You do not understand that whatever you are getting or lacking is the out-picturing and expression of your consciousness. Until you understand that you cannot be saved.
 
There is not anything in the world that you ever conceived of that God has not got in abundance. God’s supply is infinite, and to envy someone else because he seems to have more is to deny your own contact with God.
To recognize and accept God’s limitless abundance is not an easy task. Firstly, it means that any sense of lacking comes from within us and is basically arises from our separating ourselves from God. That usually occurs when we want something that is not according to God’s will. Secondly, it places the responsibility for correcting this on us. When we place God’s will over our own and follow God’s will, everything we need will be supplied. Lack occurs when we seek our will in opposition to God’s.
So today, let us be grateful for that which we have and for that which we do not have. Then our gratitude will rise, lifting us and all around us into the Eden God created for us.
Rising,
Z gardener

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THE NINTH COMMANDMENT – The True Witness

May 6, 2013 by zgardener

 

 
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor (Exodus 20:16).
 
First, the obvious meaning is very important although it is only the beginning—do not tell lies about people
 
We have to apply this principle of not bearing false witness right throughout our lives. It is very important to practice because whatever you say about another person will happen to you, yourself. If you lie about another person—that is an unpleasant word but I am using it because is the right word—someone will lie about you. Jesus says so in the seventh chapter of Matthew, verses one and two:
 
Judge not, that ye be not judged.
For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
 
However, the fundamental meaning of this commandment, “Thou shalt not bear false witness,” Is that you always express what you are. You cannot be one thing and express another. Emerson says, “What you are shouts so loudly that I cannot hear what you say.” We are always witnessing to what we are. So again, “Thou shalt not” really means “You cannot”—you cannot permanently bear false witness.
 
The true witness is the full expression of God’s man. You will be bearing true witness to your neighbor when you are regenerated in soul. What does regeneration mean? It means the building of a new soul, not correcting the old one. When you change the soul, automatically the flesh changes, the skin changes, the blood vessels and the nerves and the bones change. But regeneration must begin with a change in the soul, not with anything in the outer world.
 
When we really know these things, we shall be bearing true witness.
 
Once again; not without, but within.
Looking in,
Z gardener

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