Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘Faith’

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

Read Full Post »

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

Read Full Post »

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

Read Full Post »

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

Read Full Post »

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

Read Full Post »

Your Heart Follows Your Treasure

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on February 13, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Read Matthew 6:16-23.
If your consciousness is right, that is, if you have a good understanding of God as the loving Source of your boundless supply, you will always be able to demonstrate whatever money or goods you may require. You cannot want for anything when once you truly realize that in divine Mind demand and supply are one. And, on the contrary, until you do realize this, you never will be really safe from want. In the long run, no one can retain what does not belong to him by right of consciousness, nor be deprived of that which is truly his by the same supreme title.
If you are looking to outer, passing, mutable things for either happiness or security, you are not putting God first. If you are putting God first in your life, you will not find yourself laboring under undue anxiety about anything, for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also(Matthew 6:21).
On this day, the beginning of Lent, let each of us look into our souls and our hearts to find those things that still need to be addressed if we are to follow God’s will and live in the Eden God created for us.
 
And, during this Lenten season let each of us redouble our efforts to care for the needy, lift up the fallen and stand up for the oppressed. Let us be an example of the light that came into the world as we search out the darkness within us. Then, when Easter comes, may we all arise with the resurrected Christ in light; so that we may walk with God in love, hope and peace each day.
 
Looking in,
Z gardener

Read Full Post »

From Within Out

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on February 12, 2013| Leave a Comment »

But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking (Matthew 6:6-7).
The sixth chapter of Matthew presents the doctrine of the Secret Place and its importance as the controlling center of the “Kingdom.” It is the essential factor of the teaching of Jesus Christ. You are a king, Jesus says, the ruler of your own kingdom. When you know the truth of being, you are the absolute monarch of your own life.
It is very significant that Jesus should call your consciousness the Secret Place. It is obvious that nothing has any real significance but a change of policy in the Secret Place.
A distinguished Quaker some years ago said: “In my youth we discontinued the distinctive Quaker costume and certain other usages because we realized that people who were far from really caring for our Quaker ideas were joining us, nevertheless, for the sake of the educational facilities they could obtain so inexpensively for their children, as well as other advantages of our membership. It was so easy to style oneself a ‘Friend,’ to purchase and wear a coat without buttons or collar, and to interlard the conversation with a grammatical peculiarity, while leaving the character completely untouched. It is so easy to buy and wear ceremonial garments, to repeat set prayers by rote at certain times, to use stereotyped forms of devotion, to attend religious services at prescribed periods—and to leave the heart unchanged.”
When we change our consciousness, our experiences and outer world changes as well. When we pray, our consciousness must be engaged or our prayers are mere words. Mindless repetition and empty gestures will not connect us to God. Only when we charge our prayers with feeling and consciousness will they accomplish communion with God.
 
So today, let us put our entire consciousness into our faith within, and we will witness the demonstration of God without.
 
Feeling God,
Z gardener

Read Full Post »

How Do You Feel?

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on February 11, 2013| 1 Comment »

Really there are only two feelings that a human being can have, namely love and fear. It is generally supposed that the kinds of feeling we may have are legion, but this is an illusion. All other feelings, so-called, will turn out upon analysis to be either love or fear.
What about anger? Well, anger is really but fear in disguise. In chemistry we occasionally find the same substance occurring under completely different appearances. For example, black lead is exactly the same substance chemically as a diamond, different as they look. They are said to be allotropic forms of carbon. In the same way, anger, hatred, jealousy, criticism, egotism, are but allotropic forms of fear.
Joy, interest, the feeling of success and accomplishment, the appreciation of art, are allotropic forms of love. The great difference between the two feelings is that love is always creative, and fear is always destructive. It is for us to decide which of these two feelings shall hold sway in our lives.
God is love; and he that dwelleth in God, and God in Him (1 John 4:16).
The only question we must answer is “which one will we feed; love or fear”? When we dwell in God, we follow God’s will and feed love. When we dwell in ourselves, we follow our own will which often feeds fear.
    Today, let us open our hearts to God’s will and flood our lives with love, and all the joy, hope  and peace that accompanies it.
Feeding love,
Z gardener

Read Full Post »

He Used To Demonstrate

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on February 8, 2013| Leave a Comment »

           People often say that when they first came to the knowledge of truth it seemed that miracles happened almost every day. Negative conditions of long standing disappeared. Then, they say, sort of slump seemed to set in, since which they have never been able to do so well.
Now why should this be the case? The explanation is that what demonstrates is an expansion of consciousness. With an expansion of consciousness our conditions must improve. When people first learn of the omnipresence of God, they experience such an expansion. Then the tendency is to rest upon the first knowledge acquired, and to make their early realization serve over and over again. This will not do. It is only today’s realization that will demonstrate, never yesterday’s or last year’s.
God is not the God of the dead, but of the living (Matthew 22:32). E
Each day we must expand our consciousness if we are to expand our demonstration. Motivation is the same way. That is why daily prayer and consistent communion with God are required if we are to continue to grow in faith, knowledge and demonstration.
Just as in every other aspect of life; yesterday is gone and tomorrow is yet to come. So, we must live in the present, and we must grow our consciousness in the present. When we know and follow this truth, our peace, joy and faith will grow each day.
Just today,
Z gardener

Read Full Post »

Unload That Camel

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on February 7, 2013| Leave a Comment »

           Jesus said, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God(Mark 10:25).
The simile used by Jesus was a graphic one for his listeners. In those days every important city was surrounded by a wall for defense. There would be a large gate in the wall and this would be closed at sunset and placed under an armed guard. There was usually, however, a low wicket gate known as the needle’s eye, set in the big door. When a laden camel arrived after sunset the only way it could get in was to be unloaded of all merchandise, whereupon it would squirm on its knees through the needle’s eye.
Unload your camel if you want to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. You do this, of course, not by getting rid of conditions in themselves, but by getting rid of your sense of dependency on them. Very often you will find yourself so glad to be without a lot of that merchandise that you will never put it back.
How much baggage do we carry that prevents us from entering God’s kingdom. Some of those bags are our possessions; some are negative thought patterns and some are habits and actions. Whatever is preventing us from living in joy, peace and hope needs to go. They are our enemies and are the impenetrable walls that keep us out of the that Eden God created for us.
So today, let us unload all the baggage that keeps us from the presence of God here below and forever in heaven. Then we can walk in love and light each moment of each day.
In light,
Z gardener

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »