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Posts Tagged ‘Faith’

Pocket Gods and Graven Images

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on October 7, 2008| Leave a Comment »

THE SECOND COMMANDMENT
 
Read Exodus 20:4-6.
 
Thou shalt not take unto thee any graven image…(exodus 20:4).
 
A primitive people needed to be thus instructed because they were much given to making idols of a palpable sort. We do not do these things, but whenever we give power to anything but God, we are making that thing into a graven image. For example, we give power to ailments, particularly if it is a favorite ailment. We all know people who say, “My rheumatism,” and they say it quite lovingly. Been with them a long time! Has become a conversation piece! Others say, “My indigestion.” We are making a graven image of these things. It is only when we take power away from them that we can heal them.
 
If you forget God and worship graven images of any kind, you are going to suffer. You can demolish a stone statue; you can burn a wooden one. The way to destroy mental images is to stop thinking of them and giving them power.
 
This commandment goes on to say, “For I the Lord thy God am a jealous God.” Moses does not mean that God is jealous like a man, but that God must have first place. The trouble with many pious people is that they want God to be vice-president, keeping the presidency for themselves. So the Bible uses the word “jealous” in the sense that if you give power to anything but God, you have lost God altogether. You cannot have a percentage of God. Either God is the only power or nothing at all.

It is really about who and what we are putting first in our lives. When we put God first instead of ourselves, we open the floodgates of his power and blessings in our lives. Those miraculous healing waters are always there, but putting ourselves first shuts off the flow. When we put ourselves first we live in the world we created and make ourselves into imperfect Gods. With that, we become exposed to all the human weaknesses of attitude, spirit and behavior. This subjects us to all the negative experiences in life. Let go of all the graven images and all things we put before God and let God be the master of our universe. Then we will live in the universe God created for us and will spend all our days in the garden named Eden.

Putting God first,
Z Gardener

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The Ten Commandments

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on October 6, 2008| Leave a Comment »

The Ten Commandments

 
And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant…and had respect unto them (Exodus 2:24-25).
 
Moses grew up as the adopted son of Pharaoh’s daughter with all the privileges and training of royalty. As the years went by and he witnessed the oppression of his people, he determined to lead them out of their bondage into a better life—their Promised Land. We are told “that their cry went up to God” (Exodus 2:24) and God Himself led them safely through their wilderness. Then at the time of their uncertainty, their moral laxness and emotional confusion, He gave Moses certain basic rules of life, which we still know as the Ten Commandments.
 
The Ten Commandments at their face value are true and valid, but that is only the beginning. If people are going to escape from the continuous strife and struggle of life, they must have something more. So within these commandments he concealed the deeper laws for those who were ready for them. And within those again, he concealed the deepest and highest spiritual teaching for those who were ready for that.
 
In other words, Moses designed these laws of life so that the higher we go spiritually, or the deeper we go intellectually, the more we can get out of them.
“For he who as eyes to see and ears to hear…”. God’s truth is revealed to us as we are prepared to receive it. As we search for truth and higher consciousness (closeness to God), we gain greater understanding of God’s laws. As we gain understanding, more is given to us. It is only through sincere seeking that we find deeper truth and spiritual growth.”Seek, and ye shall find”.

Still seeking,
Z Gardener

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False Allegiance

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on October 2, 2008| Leave a Comment »

THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT

 
Thou shalt not commit adultery (Exodus 20:14).
 
Naturally, this commandment means what it says. The Christian standard of conduct with regard to personal purity will never be improved on. Not to commit adultery is fundamentally important because on it is founded the sanctity of the family. But, of course, there is a great deal more in it than that.
 
One of the most common Hebrew synonyms was adultery for idolatry. In the Old Testament these two words are almost always interchangeable. The worship of false gods was described as adultery. The fundamental idea behind this commandment is to have one God. As you read through the Old Testament, you will find that the idea of the adulterous woman who is unfaithful to her husband constantly means the human soul that is turning away to some other god.


Part of living in the Eden given to us by God entails caring for the garden and nurturing all that is in it. That includes our wives and husbands. Human relationships, like plants and animals require nourishment and attention. If that attention and nourishment is focused one someone or something else, our plants and our relationships suffer. Failure to provide essential care and love causes weakness, sickness and death. Toxic substances kill life and toxic behavior such as adultery kills relationships. it is the emotional equivalent of poison. When we put God first in our lives by following his will, we are immune to such things as adultery. Then the false idols of lust, pride, vanity and ego are put in check and our attention is focused on our Garden and our families.

Focusing in Eden,
Z Gardener

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Expressing What You Are

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on October 1, 2008| Leave a Comment »

THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT
 
Thou shalt not kill (Exodus 20:13).
 
As rules of conduct, the commandments are just such “thou shalt nots” as you see written up, “No smoking” or “No thoroughfare.” But when you get behind the surface meaning, then “Thou shalt not” becomes “Thou Canst not.”
 
So this commandment, “Thou shalt not kill,” is fundamentally an expression of the cosmic law that20you cannot kill, and the sooner you find that out the better. We are always trying to kill. However, this commandment is here to tell us that to think we can kill anything is to lay up trouble for ourselves that will have to be met and wiped out some time or other.
 
No one can kill your character. No one can kill your peace of mind. No one can kill your business, or your reputation, or anything that is yours. You can, but nobody else can. 
 
Many people waste their lives in thinking how they are being hurt, or damaged, or injured by other people; how good they could be, what marvelous things they could do, if it were not for others. So long as you believe that, you cannot progress. As soon as you know that nobody can hurt you, then you are free to overtake any mistakes, and to be and do the thing you want.
Anytime one attempts to violate this cosmic law, they inflict the result on themselves more than the target of their actions.  We must act in harmony with these laws or pay an incalculable price for violating them. He who has ears to hear…

Listening,
Z Gardener

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Raised Consciousness

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on September 26, 2008| Leave a Comment »

THE FIRST COMMANDMENT
 
I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
Thou shalt have no other gods before me (Exodus 20:2,3).
 
Moses lived in Egypt over three thousand years ago, and he led some six hundred thousand people out of Egypt and through the wilderness. That is historical. But, Moses also stands for a faculty in yourself, and the things that Moses did typify your state of mind.
 
The mountain means prayer—the elevated consciousness. We are told that the general public were not allowed to go up Mount Sinai, but that does not mean that certain people were not good enough to go up. It means that if we want to go up the mountain—if we want to raise our consciousness, if we want to get closer to God—we must prepare ourselves by prayer. If we want to go up the mountain, we have to become a high priest spiritually and we must rid ourselves of our faults and weaknesses—otherwise we cannot elevate our consciousness and get our contact with God.
 
Moses had his revelation, and then he realized it as the experience that God and man are one. When he got that revelation, Moses brought back the laws of life, beginning with the First Commandment, as we call it..
 
What is the beginning of the First Commandment? I am the Lord thy God. Our trouble in our religious life nearly always is that we think, “In the beginning Me.” That is very human but is does not get us the revelation that Moses got. After affirming I am the Lord thy God… the First Commandment says thou shalt have no other gods before me.

When we learn to put God before ourselves and our personal perceptions and experiences, we open ourselves to  the higher level of consciousness in which God expresses himself limitlessly in our lives. We clear the channel so that God’s signal comes through. Then we can be close to God and then our prayers are fully heard and answered. The self, and our perceptions of it, is a false god and our preoccupation with it denies our true godliness. The divinity God will manifest through us if we put him first and prepare ourselves with prayer.

Being prepared,
Z Gardener

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Taking Material Steps

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on September 25, 2008| Leave a Comment »

When you set out to solve a problem by means of prayer you should take all the ordinary normal steps in addition. Do not simply pray and then sit down and wait for something dramatic to happen. For instance, if you are praying for a position, you should pray for it as well as you know how each day, and then go out and visit agencies or prospective employers, write applications, or insert advertisements in suitable periodicals.
 
If you want a healing, treat about it in whatever way you usually find to be best and, in addition, take whatever material steps seem to be appropriate.
 
If your business is not prospering, have a checkup to discovery if you are managing it efficiently. If you find weak points, as you almost certaily will, you must correct them forthwith.
 
We certainly cannot expect to go on breaking the laws of the plane on which we live, and expect prayer to compensate for this foolishness.
 

Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might… (Ecclesiastes 9:10).

God has a partner here below in each of us. It is our job to carry out here below that for which we pray above. We can pray for rain to water our gardens, but if we are not tending to it, the rain will be of little use. God will send us what we need in due course and if we make proper use of it our lives will be blessed in the ways for which we pray.

Tending the garden,
Z Gardener

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Final Authority

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on September 24, 2008| Leave a Comment »

And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:
For He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes
(Matthew 7:28-29).
 
It is always so. The message of Jesus Christ is utterly revolutionary, for it turns our gaze from the outside to the inside, and from man and his works to God.
 
He taught as one having authority. The greatest glory of the Spiritual Basis is that  you  begin  to  know. When you have obtained the smallest demonstration by means of prayer, you have experienced something that never leaves you. You have the witness of Truth within yourself, and this is the only authority worth having.

What a precious gift is the ability to know what the truth is. How many times in our lives do we struggle to know what is right and true? Discernment is something for which all the faithful strive. Jesus’ teachings were given to us so that we may know and understand the truth. That truth becomes ours when God demonstrates in our lives as a result of our obedience and faith in him. As we practice those truths, our lives become full of this truth and authority.

Gazing inside,
Z Gardener

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A Rock Foundation

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on September 23, 2008| Leave a Comment »

Read Matthew 7:24-27.

 
Therefore whosoever heareth these saying of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock (Matthew 7:24).
 
One of the oldest symbols for the human soul is that of a building, sometimes a dwelling house, and sometimes a temple. The first thing that has to be done by the builder of a house is to select a sound foundation. On the shifting sands of the desert it is impossible to build anything at all, and so when the desert dweller intends to put up a permanent structure he looks about for a rock. Now the Rock is one of the Bible terms for the Christ, and the implication is very obvious. Christ is the one and only foundation upon which we can build the temple of the regenerated soul with safety. As long as we are depending upon something less than that Rock—upon will power, upon so-called material security, upon the good will of others, or upon our own personal resources—we are building upon sand, and great will be our fall.

How comforting it is to know that our salvation and happiness are not dependent upon our own limited perceptions, abilities and resources. When we accept the will of God and obey Him, all the limitless power of the creator is at our command to help us overcome all weakness, fear and doubt. When we build our lives, both earthly and eternal, on this rock, we can be sure that we will succeed and that nothing can block us from the love of God.

On the rock,
Z Gardener

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Unremitting Vigilance

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on September 22, 2008| Leave a Comment »

Read Matthew 7:21-23.
 
We are all willing to do God’s will sometimes and in some things, but until there is a complete dedication of one’s whole self, there cannot be a complete demonstration. “There is no home for the soul in which there dwells the shadow of an untruth,” said George Meredith.
 
Never is it more true than in the life of the soul that the price of liberty is eternal vigilance. We must not allow any consideration whatever, any institution, any organization, any book, or any man or woman, to come between us and our direct seeking for God. Centers, churches, schools, all fill a useful purpose in providing the physical framework for the distribution of right knowledge, but the actual work must be done by the individual.
 
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven (Matthew 7:21).

Complete dedication of one’s whole self is a tall order! It does not happen overnight, although a decision to dedicate oneself often is instantaneous. Such a decision must be followed by an eternal commitment to obey God’s will in our lives. It is a process of shedding the old human self and manifesting the new godly self. It is a life long pursuit that will fill one’s life with joy, peace and hope. It also ensures that our eternal lives will be filled with the same.

Ever vigilant,
Z Gardener

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Bearing Fruit

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on September 19, 2008| Leave a Comment »

 Read Matthew 7:15-20.
 
If man really were left without a simple practical test of religious truth, he would assuredly be in a sad plight; but happily this is not the case. Jesus, the most profound, and at the same time the most simple and practical teacher the world has ever known, has provided for this need, and has given us a universally applicable test for truth. It is as simple and direct as the acid test for gold. It is the simple question—Does the truth work in our lives? This test is so staggeringly simple that most clever people have passed it over. Truth heals the body, purifies the soul, reforms the sinner, solve difficulties, pacifies strife. There is no such thing as undemonstrated understanding. If you wish to know how you really stand spiritually, look about you at your environment, beginning with the body. There can be nothing in the soul that is not demonstrated sooner or later in the outer, and there can be nothing in the outer tha t does not find some correspondence in the inner.

         By their fruits ye shall know them (Matthew 7:20).

When our religion produces love, light, hope, faith, miracles or joy we can be sure that we are on the path of truth. If on the other hand, our religion is producing anger, hate, darkness, desperation, resignation, judgement or sadness we can be equally sure that we are not on the path of truth. To see the truth in our faith we have to look no farther than the mirror. What are the fruits of our faith?

Being fruitful,

Z gardener

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