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Posts Tagged ‘Spiritual’

A Rock Foundation

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on April 3, 2013| 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.
As the great songwriter said “And so castles made of sand. slip into the sea, eventually”.
May each of us find the true rock upon which to build our spiritual lives so that nothing can shake it. That rock for this writer is God’s truth as manifested in Jesus Christ and his victory over sin and death. “As for me and my family, we will follow the Lord!”
Upon the rock of ages,
Z gardener
 

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Unremitting Vigilance

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on April 2, 2013| 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 and communion, 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).
 
Be ready, do good, never quit and be unremittingly vigilant to live free. For if we do, “I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Unblinkingly,
Z gardener

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Bearing Fruit

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on April 1, 2013| 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 that does not find some correspondence in the inner. By their fruits ye shall know them (Matthew 7:20).
What kind of fruit are we producing in our lives? Does it purify our souls, reform our sinful behavior, solve difficulties or pacify strife. If so, then we are standing on strong spiritual ground. If, on the other hand, our fruits are polluting the soul, leading us to sin, creating difficulties and strife; then we are standing on dangerous spiritual ground.
As we arise anew, forgiven and justified by the risen Christ, let us take Christ’s example so that our gardens of full of good fruit that nourishes, builds, strengthens, cleanses and unifies us. Then we will walk in light and love through the Eden God created for us.
Bearing love,
Z gardener

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The Gracious Will of God

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on March 29, 2013| Leave a Comment »

A tragic mistake that is often made is to assume that the will of God is bound to be something very dull and uninviting, if not positively unpleasant. Consciously or not some persons look upon God as a hard taskmaster, or a severe parent. Too often their prayers amount to something like this: “Please God, give me such-and-such a boon, which I sorely need—but I don’t suppose you will, because you won’t think it is good for me.” Needless to say, a prayer of this sort is answered as all prayers are answered, according to the faith of the subject; that is to say, the boon is not granted. The truth is that the will of God for us always means greater freedom, greater self-expression, newer and brighter experience, wider opportunity of service to others—life more abundant.
 
God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
(1 John 4:16).
Today, let us claim God’s gift of greater freedom, self-expression and newer, brighter experiences. It is our birthright.
Claiming greater,
Z gardener

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The Strait Gate

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on March 28, 2013| Leave a Comment »

 
Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in therein:
Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it (Matthew 7:13-14).
 
There is only one way under the sun by which man can attain salvation, in the true sense of the word, and that is by bringing about a radical and permanent change for the better in his own consciousness.
 
For countless generations humanity has been trying in every other conceivable way to compass its own good. This change in consciousness is the strait gate that Jesus speaks of here, and, and he says, the number of those who find it is comparatively small.
 
Now why should man be so reluctant, apparently, to try to change his consciousness? The answer is that the changing of one’s consciousness is really very hard work, calling for constant unceasing vigilance and a breaking of mental habits. Entering the strait gait is, however, worth much more than whatever trouble or effort it may call for.
 
If you make a qualitative, change in consciousness, which is what happens in prayer, then not only is the effect of that change felt in every department of your life, but it is with you through all eternity, for you never can lose it. Thieves cannot break in and steal.
 
As soon as you obtain this spiritual consciousness you will find that all things indeed work together for good to those who love God.
The answer to all that plagues us is stated in the words above. Brothers and sisters, until we are willing to change our consciousness (the way we think, our priorities and our point of view) we will not escape that which steals our joy and peace.
The bad news is, this is the hardest thing we will ever attempt, and without God is not possible. The good news is that the hard work, vigilance and breaking of old habits will be done with God’s help. Then, and only then, will we rise above that which robs us of our birthright and keeps us from our Edens..
Working,
Z gardener

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The Golden Rule

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on March 27, 2013| Leave a Comment »

 
Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law of the prophets (Matthew 7:12).
 
Here in the sublime precept that we call the Golden Rule, Jesus reiterates that great Law in a concise summing up. This repetition follows upon his wonderful statement of the fatherhood of God. The underlying explanation for the existence of the great law is the fact that we are fundamentally all parts of the Great Mind. Because we are all ultimately one, to hurt another is really to hurt oneself, and to help another is really to help oneself. The fatherhood of God compels us to accept the brotherhood of man, and spiritually, brotherhood is unity.
 
This means that being our brother’s keeper is indivisible form being our own keeper. Until we truly accept the undivided unity of humanity and all of existence, we will be held captive by the illusion of separation. This is the root of all sin, and to live in harmony with God and the universe, we must think, feel and act in accordance with the law on unity. Otherwise, we walk alone blindly through an existence of our own making, instead of the Eden God created for us.
So today, let us embrace the oneness of all things. Then we will see every human as a brother or sister, and all of creation will support our journey.
In unity,
Z gardener

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Largess Unlimited

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on March 26, 2013| Leave a Comment »

 
The most mischievous thing in life is man’s reluctance to perceive his own dominion. God has given us dominion over all things, but we shrink like frightened children from assuming it, although that assuming is the one and only escape for us.
 
Jesus, who knew the human heart, and understood our weakness in this respect, commands us,
 
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened (Matthew 7:7-8).
 
Is not this the Magna Carta of personal freedom for every man, woman, and child on earth? Is not this the decree of the emancipation of the slaves of every kind of bondage, physical, mental, or spiritual? We have no business to accept ill-health, or poverty, or sinfulness, or strife, or unhappiness, or remorse, with resignation. We have no right to accept anything less than freedom and harmony and joy, for only with these things do we glorify God, and express His holy will, which is our raison d’etre.
 
We are to reorganize our lives in accordance with his teaching, continuously and untiringly until our goal is attained. That this attainment, that our victory over every negative condition is not merely possible but is definitely promised to us, finds its proof in these glorious words.
 
With this freedom comes great personal responsibility. This fact is too difficult for some to bear. It requires us to be God’s children in every way. This means selflessness, forgiveness and taking personal responsibility for that which is unsatisfactory in our lives. Many shirk from this awesome responsibility as if it were a prison sentence. Yet the Bible tells us that this yoke is light compared to the self-imposed yoke of negativity, doubt and selfishness.
So today, let us claim this Holy gift and take on the yoke of joy, peace and hope. Then we can see and experience all the goodness life and death have to offer.
Claiming dominion,
Z gardener

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Coming of Age

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on March 25, 2013| Leave a Comment »

If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him? (Matthew 7:11).
We are the children of God; and if children, then sons, and joint heirs with Jesus Christ, as Paul says. At the present time we find ourselves full of limitations and disabilities because we are spiritually but children—minors. Children are irresponsible, lacking in wisdom and experience, and have to be kept under control lest their mistakes should entail serious consequences to themselves.
…That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all;
But is under tutors and governors…(Galatians 4:1).
But when the fullness of time is come, he realizes that it is the voice of God Himself that is in his heart, making him cry: “Abba Father.” Then at last he knows that he is the son of a great king, and that all his Father has is his for the using, whether it be health, or supply, or opportunity, or beauty, or joy, or any other of the thoughts of God.
Well now, there it is. Will we claim our birthright as children of God? The other choices are to stay as children who are tutored and governed, or to ignore our birthright and live as orphans, ignorant of and separated from our God-given destiny?
During this Holy Week, the last days of Lent, is a good time to make the choice. When we claim the rights and responsibilities of our birthright, we can then live in harmony with and awareness of our status as God’s children. Then our old selves can be buried and our new selves will rise up to our true nature. Then, we can celebrate to coming of the light to the world as it dawns in each of our realities. And, then we can walk each day in the Eden that God gave us, and for which Christ gave his life, so that we could return to that garden.
Of age,
Z gardener

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Children of the Most High

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on March 22, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Read Matthew 7:7-11.
This is the wonderful passage in which Jesus enunciated the primary truth of the Fatherhood of God. He says here, definitely and clearly, that the real relationship of God and man is that of parent and child. It is extremely difficult to realize the far-reaching importance that this declaration holds for the life of the soul.
It is axiomatic, of course, that the offspring must be of the same nature and species as the parent; and so if God and man are indeed Father and child, man must be essentially divine too, and susceptible of infinite development up the rising pathway of divinity. That is to say, as man’s true nature unfolds, he will expand in spiritual consciousness until he has transcended all bounds of human imagination. It is in reference to our glorious destiny, that Jesus himself says elsewhere, quoting the older scriptures:
Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken…(John 10:34-35).
What more, is there to know than this? When one truly believes this, one’s life is forever transformed. That life becomes a journey toward God and away from self. This is the reverse of common human reality experienced by most people today. In this rebirth, we are quickened (made spiritually conscious) with a soul, the Holy Spirit, that allows us to transcend our physical, human, self-centered spirits.
It is then that our new life in the Kingdom of God begins and our old life in the kingdom of self is buried (put away). This is where the divine resides in us, and we in it. Therein is the Eden God created, and we were created to populate as Gods (given dominion over).
Lord, let us be the God’s (exert dominion over) of our spiritual kingdoms, so that our physical world reflects the true reality of oneness with God and each other. Amen.
Being one,
Z gardener

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With What Measure Ye Mete

Posted in Good Morning, Uncategorized, tagged , on March 21, 2013| Leave a Comment »

With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again(Matthew 7:2).
If the average man understood for a moment the meaning of these words, they would turn his everyday conduct inside out, and so change him that, in a comparatively short space of time, his closest friends would hardly know him.
The plain fact is that it is the law of life that, as we think, and speak, and, act toward others, so will others think, and speak, and act toward us. Everything that we do to others will sooner or later be done to us by someone, somewhere. Perhaps by someone who knows nothing of our previous action, but for every unkind word that we speak to or about another person, an unkind word will be spoken to or about us. For every time that we cheat, we will be cheated. Every time we neglect a duty, or evade a responsibility, or misuse authority over other people, we are doing something for which we will inevitably have to pay by suffering a like injury our self.
However, it is a poor law that does not work both ways, and so it is equally true that for every good deed that you do, for every kind word that you speak, you will in the same way, at some time or other, get back an equivalent.
The Golden Rule in Christianity and all major faiths is: Think about others as you would wish them to think about you. In the light of the knowledge that we now possess, the observance of this rule becomes a very solemn duty, but, more than that indeed, it is a debt of honor.
The good news is, we determine how we will experience our lives! The bad news is, we determine how we will experience our lives. Whew!
    This writer disagrees with only one conclusion of the writer above. We receive back many multiples of that which we give. Although they are alike in kind, every act ripples out and creates many more effects than the original act. The Bible refers often to a seed bearing fruit and with it, many more seeds. There are, in fact exponential returns from, and effects of our acts.
So, brothers and sisters, plant good seeds in each garden and enjoy bountiful harvests of good fruit in a healthy Eden. Or not, and live within a barren garden or worse, one that bears bad fruit that ultimately overwhelms the gardener and the garden. See you in the Eden we were meant to inhabit.
Planting good,
Z gardener

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