What a beautiful time of year this is. The cold, starkness of winter has been replaced by the warm, budding growth of summer. And with this change of seasons, for many will come the inkling to plant gardens. Some will be busy choosing just the right flowers and vegetables to plant; while still others will be plotting out the perfect location that will provide the optimum sun and shade for their gardens. This, of course, will be followed by the inevitable work of cultivating the soil, planting the seeds and preparing for the upkeep and general tender loving care that goes along with a well tended garden. As the season progresses, there will be the efforts to ensure that the gardens receive the right amount of water and nutrients to enhance their growth and before you know it little sprouts will begin to appear; which inevitably leads to pruning, weeding and watching out for all of the unwanted pests that naturally invade gardens, if left unattended.
It is amazing how similar this process is to that of our growth in the Lord. To begin with there is a wonderful truth in the fact that our spiritual lives need to be planted and tended just as a garden does. A garden does not simply appear out of nowhere full of lush, delicious vegetables or beautiful, healthy flowers; anymore than our spiritual lives suddenly produce the virtues, characteristics and traits that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has called us to develop in our lives. Just as we must make a decision to plant a vegetable garden in order to enjoy its harvest, we must also make a decision to plant our spiritual garden. Further, we must seek the Lord’s direction and guidance as to what we are to plant there and be willing to tend to it with complete diligence. In John 15:1,2 our Lord and Savior revealed the importance of our spiritual growth, when He told us: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. There are so many wonderful things that we can grow in our spiritual lives. For instance, how about the Fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:22,23 … love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control? How about growing a crop of compassion or several rows of encouragement? Perhaps a whole bunch of forgiveness and mercy; and maybe some lush long runners of gratitude, honesty, edification, hospitality and perseverance. Let’s not forget some stalks of servant hood, generosity, and gracious speech. And remember prayer always makes the perfect border. The following verses list a wonderful assortment of some of Godly virtues and characteristics that we can grow in our spiritual lives: Colossians 3:12-15 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all of these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Indeed, what a beautiful garden we can have, when we plant the Lord’s seeds and tend to them His way. The harvest is abundant. It can nourish not only us but those around us as well.
But we must also remember that when a garden is left unattended many things can and will invade it, reeking havoc with its harvest. There are weeds that will stunt the growth of healthy plants; cut worms, aphids and many other bugs that will quickly invade and destroy the plants entirely or at a minimum leave in their wake a path of diseased, munched, broken remnants of what was to be a rich harvest. We can experience this same thing in our spiritual lives if we’re not diligent in our care and maintenance. If we’re not careful many things will invade and or grow up within it to strangle and destroy the virtues and characteristics that our Lord wants to grow within us.
What condition is your garden in? Have you been diligently attending to it? Or has it become overgrown with weeds of bitterness, resentment, discord, criticism and fault finding or invaded by the cut worms, aphids and bugs of self-pity, gossip, malice, hypocrisy, lust, drunkenness, deceit, disobedience, envy and slander? Now is a good time to make an honest evaluation of the condition of our spiritual gardens. Scripture warns us to rid ourselves of all that would cause our spiritual gardens to lose its abundant harvest. Colossians 3:5-10 tells us: Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.
The good news is, just as there are ways to keep our flower and vegetable gardens healthy and free from all that would destroy them; there are also ways for us to keep our spiritual gardens healthy, lush and beautiful; producing the rich harvest the Lord desires from us. Just as we weed in our vegetable gardens, we too can pull up the weeds that grow in our spiritual gardens. We can rid them of all the unwanted pests that do so much damage by treating them with the Word of God. We can nourish and tend our gardens by being in fellowship with God. We can spend time in prayer, read and study the Bible, listen to Christian music, attend a Bible preaching church, learn God’s Holy Word and His Ways through attending Sunday School classes and Bible studies. We can fellowship with those who love the Lord and seek to honor and obey Him in all things. And we can strive to continually seek to grow closer to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
As we look to this new season and the opportunities that it provides to witness the new growth all around us, may we be filled with the desire through our Lord’s blessing and assistance, to produce the richest harvest ever in our spiritual gardens; and may our prayer for one another be as -
Colossians 1:9-12 …,since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.
Scriptures For Further Study
2 Corinthians 7:1; Ephesians 4:20-32; 5:1-5
Philippians 4:8; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12; 5:12-24
2 Timothy 3:1-5; Titus 2:1-8; 11-14; 3:1-2
James 1:19-27; 2:8; 3:1-18; 4:11-12; 2 Peter 3:18
Colossians 2:6,7
So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
James 5:7,8
Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.
May God bless you as you tend to your spiritual garden.
In His Service,
Leanne M. Dalpe
Fix Our Eyes Upon Jesus
Oh, how easy it is to be distracted from the glory of God, His righteousness, Holiness, Strength, Almighty Sovereignty, Faithfulness and Purpose. We are told in Scripture repeatedly that God is our strength and refuge, an ever-present help in trouble. He will never leave us nor forsake us. He knows our tomorrows, our hearts, our thoughts and our ways. He is our Shepherd, who makes us lie down in green pastures, leads us beside the still waters and restores our souls. He guides us in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Oh, what an awesome God we serve!
Why then are we so easily distracted from these truths by life’s circumstances and trials? Perhaps it’s our focus. Our hearts and thoughts become swept away into the whirlpool of our adversities, instead of keeping our eyes fixed upon Jesus. It is amazing how often my response to trials and tribulations is just like that of the disciples in the boat with Jesus on the sea of Galilee. Scripture notes in the Book of Matthew that ‘without warning a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat.’ I don’t know about you but many of my most difficult circumstances have come ‘without warning’ and felt like ‘a furious storm’. I have been hit by the ‘waves’ sweeping over me and thought for sure that I was going to drown. And just like the disciples, I have cried out in panic to Jesus in my fear. I have not checked my vision or focus. Instead, I react based upon what my eyes see and my senses feel; rather than filtering my circumstances through the truth of God’s Holy Word. Just think for a moment about the disciples; what they saw was a furious storm, waves sweeping over the boat and Jesus was asleep. That’s earthly vision for you - it’s realistic, sees what is happening, assesses it’s potential consequences and then - reacts. The disciples failed in that moment of time to see with Godly vision. Jesus may have appeared to be asleep, but our God neither slumbers nor sleeps. He is Sovereign. Therefore, although things may hit us without warning, we can rest assured that nothing catches God by surprise. And as for those waves that will surely capsize our boat, leaving us to drown - Scripture tells us: “ But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, “You are my God.” My times are in your hands;…Psalm 31:14,15.
Heavenly Father,
Please help us this day to keep our eyes upon You, to remember Your truths, to proclaim Your faithfulness, and to fear no evil, for though art with us. We love You, O Lord. We praise Your Holy Name and thank You for reminding us of Your Glory. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfected of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12:2
NIV
What is my point in all this you might ask? We had very little control over much of our circumstances. We couldn’t fix the car, make a repair station appear, charge the cell-phone, change the time I had received pain medication, or make it last longer, fill a prescription on the highway or contact the person who was coming to our home while we were still stuck on the highway hours away. We didn’t have control over any of those things, but we did have a choice in how we dealt with them. We could get upset, frustrated and angry, all of which would accomplish nothing more than make a difficult situation even more trying. Or we could make the best of it. We could remember that the Lord was with us. He knew exactly where we were even if we didn’t, and He knew our needs. There was no detail of our circumstances that escaped His knowledge and we were in His Hands. Somehow, focusing on all those truths helped us as we struggled through our circumstances. It didn’t make them disappear. We made that trip not knowing if or at what point the car might completely break down, or exactly what the outcome would be. But truly trusting in the Lord removed the heavy anxiety of it all.
Just as we can find ourselves in the breakdown lane in our vehicles, so too, we can we land there in our Spiritual lives. And just like with our cars, sometimes we see the smoke while the car is still running, we see the gas gage flashing but can’t seem to find a nearby gas station, or sometimes the problem happens suddenly with a flat tire or broken tie rod. Perhaps in your life right now, you or someone you know is sitting in the ‘breakdown lane’ of life and just can’t seem to get running again. It’s a hard place to be. As you look at your circumstances, you can feel helpless, lost, scared and alone. But the key is to realize the difference between what we ‘feel’ and what is ‘truth’. of the matter is, as long as you belong to Jesus Christ, you may feel all of those things but in Christ we are never lost or alone and our circumstances are never larger than our God. It may not be well with my circumstances, but it is well with my soul. We choose our thoughts, actions, and attitude. In this case, we chose to honor Jesus and trust in His ways. What will you choose today?
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