Good Morning Garden

Read Matthew 5:33-37.

Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths.

But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, Nay; for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil (Matthew 5:33,37).

Swear not at all, is one of the cardinal points in the teaching of Jesus. It means, briefly, that you are not to mortgage your future conduct in advance; to seek to fix your conduct or your belief for tomorrow while it is yet today. Rather you are constantly to keep yourself an open channel for the pouring out of the Holy Spirit into manifestation through you.

Of course, Jesus does not mean that you are not to enter into ordinary business engagements. Nor does he mean that the ordinary oath administered in a court of law is inadmissible. These things are matters of legal convenience. The Sermon on the Mount is a treatise on the spiritual life, for the spiritual life controls all the rest.

If we are to follow God’s will in all things, then we can not bind that will by our own oaths regarding our behavior. If we are to pour out our self-centered human spirit and fill ourselves with God’s holy spirit, then we must empty ourselves of self-will. This is impossible if we swear to a do something based on our own understanding at the time.

Speaking truth,
Z gardener

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It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a miting of divorcement:
But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeh adultery (Matthew 5:31-32).

We are told that in those days divorces were granted by the rabbinical law on the most trifling grounds. Married people who were not getting on together as well as they would have liked, were prone to run away from that problem by obtaining an easy dissolution. Now we understand that no permanent happiness can be obtained in this way. As long as you are running away from your problem, you will continue to meet it in a new guise at every turn in the road.

Just as in running from one business position to another, without first having brought about a charge in consciousness, we find ourselves but repeating the old conditions in a slightly different form, so, as a rule, people who divorce freely are apt to finish up as dissatisfied as they began. The general rule in Truth is, fight out your problem where you are, with prayer.

The general rule is still good for all conditions in life: Do not try to divorce or amputate the inharmony, but let it dissolve away of itself under God’s guidance.

Every human that ever lived had to deal with disharmony in their relations at some time. Facing that disharmony is never pleasant and resolving it usually requires sacrifice on the part of all involved. However, failure to address and resolve the conflict always results in further damaging the health of the relationship.

Watering the garden,
Z gardener

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And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell (Matthew 5:29-30).

The soul’s integrity is the one and only thing that matters. And so Jesus insists that positively no sacrifice can be too great to insure the integrity of one’s soul. Anything that stands in the way of that, must be given up.

Whatever is standing between us and our true contact with God—a sin, an old grudge left unforgiven, stark greed for the things of this world—must go. Such things, however, are so obvious that at least the transgressor is aware of them; it is the subtle things like self-love, self-righteousness, and spiritual pride that are most difficult for the self to exercise.

As humans, we naturally want to think that we can make ourselves do the right thing. Surely we don’t have to cut off our hand to keep it from stealing! The unfortunate truth is that without God’s spirit in us, humans are incapable of doing the right thing. Even when we overcome obvious weaknesses, we then face the more complex types of wrong behavior that comes from a false spiritual superiority.

Seeking sacrifice,
Z gardener

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Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart (Matthew 5:27-28).

In this unforgettable paragraph, Jesus stresses the master truth, so utterly fundamental, yet so unsuspected by the world at large, that what really matters is thought. People have always been accustomed to suppose that as long as their deeds conformed to the law, they have done all that can be reasonably expected of them, and that their thoughts and feelings are their own business. But the type of thought that we allow to become habitual will sooner or later find expression on the plane of action.

The logical consequence of this fact is very startling. It means that if you entertain covetous thoughts for your neighbor’s money, you are a thief, even though you may not yet have put your hand in the till. The adulterer at heart is corrupting his soul even though his impure thought is never expressed on the physical plane. Lusts, jealousy, vengeance, mentally entertained, carry the soul’s consent, and this soul-consent is the malice of sin.

Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life (Proverbs 4:23).

There is nothing more important to our understanding of how humans tick and our spiritual development than the words just read. The next most important is that the words we speak are the manifestation of these thoughts and are the next step to thoughts becoming deeds.

Seeking mastery to bring Eden,
Z gardener

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By coming to terms with the adversary in the first place, that is to say, by getting our thought right immediately concerning any difficulty, we incur no “costs” and the transaction remains a simple one.

Suppose that you find yourself sneezing. If you say: “There, now, I have caught cold again; I am in for it!” and then proceed to dwell upon the thought that you have caught cold, you are giving the trouble the opportunity to dig itself into your mentality. People often indulge in quite a meditation upon colds. Instead, if at the first moment that the possibility of catching cold occurs to you, you immediately reject it and affirm the Truth, the whole thing will be over in a short time.

Or perhaps upon opening your morning mail you find a notice informing you that your bank has failed. Many people in such a case would saturate themselves with the thought of ruin by rehearsing every kind of difficulty that might come. However, the proper thing to do, immediately upon becoming aware of the news, is to turn to God—your real support—and refuse to accept the suggestion of trouble as binding; literally drive the thought of loss, fear, and resentment out of consciousness. If you do this, working steadily until peace of mind is restored, you will presently find that in some way or other the trouble will disappear. Either the bank will speedily recover itself—and there is no reason at all why one person’s prayer should not save the bank and the fortunes of thousands—or, if this is not possible, you will find your loss equalized in some other way.

…whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Romans 10:13).

Applying these truths is one of the hardest aspects of mental self-control. When faced with trouble, it is very difficult for humans to refuse any thought of fear, harm or problems. In fact, without faith it is nearly impossible. With faith it is doable but still difficult.

Seeing blessings,
Z gardener

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Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee;
Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift (Matthew 5:23-24).

Indignation, resentment, the desire to punish other people, the desire to “get even,” the feeling “it serves him right”; all these things form a quite impenetrable barrier to spiritual power. Jesus says that if you are bringing a gift to the altar, and you remember that your brother has anything against you, you must put down your gift and go make peace with your b rother; when you have done that, your offering will be acceptable.

Jesus builds up this tremendous lesson in the Oriental tradition. He says first that whoever is angry with his brother shall be in danger; second that to be hostile to another, is to be in grave danger; and finally that to hold so low an opinion about a fellow creature as to consider him outside the pale, is to shut ourselves off from any hope of spiritual fruit while we remain in this state of mind.

Note carefully that the King James version of the Bible here makes a serious error, which has been corrected in the revised version. It interpolates a phrase not in the earliest manuscripts and makes Jesus say, “Whoever is angry without a cause; which is a manifest absurdity. No sane person gets angry without what he deems to be a cause. What Jesus said was that whoever is angry with his brother under any circumstances is in danger.

Anger is poison, literally and spiritually. The desire for revenge is acid and resentment is rust. When angered, our bodies produce chemicals that prepare us to fight or flee. These chemicals are harmful. When we stay in an angry, resentful or vengeful state, these chemicals poison our souls, bodies and our minds. They are harmful to our bodies and fatal to our spirits.

Live love,
Z gardener

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What of the man who is conscious of considerable moral imperfection, perhaps of the habit of grave sin, and is at the same time sincerely desirous of spiritual growth? Is he to relinquish the quest for spiritual knowledge until he has first reformed his conduct? By no means. As a matter of fact any attempt to improve himself morally without spiritual aid is foredoomed to failure. The thing to do is to pray regularly and to throw the responsibility for success upon God. The man must carry on, no matter how many times he may fail. Let him keep affirming that God is helping him, and that his own real nature is spiritual and perfect. In this way moral regeneration and spiritual unfoldment will go hand in hand. The Christian life does not require that we possess perfection of character, or else, which of us would be able to live it? What it does require is honest, genuine striving for that perfection.

…he that is perfect in knowledge is with thee (Job 36:4).

Each of us will fall short of moral perfection each day of our lives. Fortunately, this does not cut us off from God’s grace nor does it prevent us from living in our Edens. So long as we are determined to live according to God’s will, recognize and confess our shortcomings, ask forgiveness and recommit ourselves to travel the path of God’s will, we will find our gardens and the peace, joy and hope that lies therein.

Seeking perfect knowledge,
Z gardener

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Read Matthew 5:17-20.

If anyone were so insane as to suppose that the knowledge of the Truth of Being could put him “above” the moral law, in the sense of authorizing him to break it, he would speedily discover that he had made a tragic mistake. The more spiritual knowledge that one possesses, the more severe is the punishment which one brings upon oneself by any infraction of the moral law. The Christian has to be very much more careful than other people. Indeed, all real spiritual understanding must necessarily be accompanied by definite moral improvement. A theoretical acceptance of the letter of Truth might go with moral carelessness (greatly to the peril of the delinquent), but it is impossible to make any real spiritual progress unless you are trying your very best to live the life. It is impossible to divorce true spiritual knowledge from right conduct.

For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:20).

There is no getting around the requirement for right conduct on the part of believers. Yes, there is forgiveness and reconciliation. Yes, we can repent and through right action demonstrate our faith. Yet, in the end, we must always strive to be the best person possible and keep a pure heart. And yes, as believers, we are held to a higher standard of conduct and thought. If we are to receive and manifest God’s limitless power and grace in our world, then we must also demonstrate the thoughts, words and deeds that ensure this great power is used as God intended. The result of doing right is joy, while the wages of sin is death. This is serious business and should be taken seriously. Do we want to live in the Garden or East of Eden?

Z gardener

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Read Matthew 5:13-16.

In the fifth chapter of Matthew are recorded some of the most powerful pronouncements of Jesus.

Ye are the salt of the earth…Ye are the light of the world (Matthew 5:13-14).

It is possible, and, in fact, only too easy, to accept these vital principles as being true; to love the beauty in them; and yet not to put them consistently into practice in one’s own life; but this is a perilous attitude, for in that case the salt has lost its savor, and is good for nothing but to be cast out and trodden underfoot.

If you make every effort to practice the teachings of Jesus in every department of your own daily life; if you seek systematically to destroy in yourself selfishness, pride, vanity, sensuality, self-righteousness, jealousy, self-pity, resentment, condemnation, and so forth—not feeding or nourishing them by giving in to them; if you extend the right thought loyally to every person within your ken, then you are worthy to be called the salt of the earth.

If you truly live this life, then not only will you make your own demonstration, in the quickest possible time, but you will be, in a very positive sense, a healing and illumining influence on all around you. You will be a blessing to men and women in remote places and times, men and women of whom you have never heard, and who will never hear of you—a light of the world.

Putting the principles discussed above into practice in every aspect of our lives is the most difficult part of our spiritual development. It runs contrary to every human instinct. Yet each day we do very difficult things to earn a living, raise our kids, keep up our homes and lawns and many other things. If we apply the same will, work and time to following the word of God, we would be well on our way to putting God’s word into practice. And how much more we will receive for our efforts than getting a paycheck or getting the kids to school on time or keeping up our homes. In fact, if we do this, all of our earthly efforts will be ensured and we will be able to live each day in the Garden God created for us spreading light and joy in our lives and in the lives of everyone.

Working on manifesting God’s word,
Z gardener

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