Tending the Lord's Garden

Leanne Dalpe • June 17, 2018

Tending the Lord's Garden

Tending the Lord’s Garden

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 The cold, starkness of winter has been replaced by the warm, budding growth of summer.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

Marriage God’s Way (Part 5) ~ Listener Questions ~

By Leanne Dalpe • September 20, 2021
Here are some questions from the broadcast, 'Marriage God's Way' to help you slow down and focus: Do we consciously determine to have a time of rest? Are we comfortable in quietness? Do we need constant stimulation? Do we sit down to eat dinner together with out distractions?....

Fix Our Eyes Upon Jesus

By Leanne Dalpe • July 19, 2018
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

Stuck in the Breakdown Lane

By Leanne Dalpe • July 3, 2018
Stuck in the Breakdown Lane At one time or another each of us has either driven by someone or been that ‘someone’ whose car has broken down, leaving them or us disabled, waiting for help while sitting in the “Breakdown Lane”. If it has happened to you, then you know how it feels. For most of us this inconvenience does not usually bring out the best in our dispositions. If we are not careful our behavior and attitude can without question be anything but a Christ like example to those who have the ‘blessing’ of being with us during our roadside ‘breakdown’. It doesn’t help that most of these breakdowns seem to happen when we are heading to important appointments, on our way to pick up our children, heading to a wedding, sight seeing on vacation or making our way home with a trunk full of soon to be ‘not so frozen’ groceries on the hottest day of the year. There are so many things that can bring about this unwanted experience; everything from an overheated engine, broken fan belts, broken axels, flat tires, running out of gas or just about anything that can go wrong with an automobile. What do all these things have in common? They are the unexpected detours and delays in our otherwise ‘perfectly planned out schedules and lives. Just think about the last time you or someone you know experienced one of these unexpected breakdowns. You had made your plans for the day. You knew just where you were going and what you want to do. You probably even figured out your time schedule; when you would arrive, what you would do, how long it would take you and about what time you’d arrive back home, all safe and sound; fully satisfied in the accomplishments of the day. Never for a moment did it enter your mind that your vehicle might break down and leave you sitting frustrated by the side of the road; while all your perfectly laid out plans quietly slipped away. But, the truth is it can happen to anyone. No matter how well maintained your vehicle is, no matter how carefully you drive, we just never know if we will be the next one to be side-lined into the breakdown lane. As a matter of fact, my husband and I experienced this very thing on a return trip home from a hospital. And as we would say, “It came at what would appear to be a very unfortunate time.” My husband had just driven two and a half hours to pick me up at a hospital on the boarder of Rhode Island to take me home for recuperation. It turned out that this took place on a Friday which happens to be one of the busiest days on the highways. So, before we chose the “best route” home, we carefully listened to the radio and the traffic reports. It turned out that every highway that we could possibly take was jam packed and as we were not familiar with the area that we were in, we chose one of the highways and decided to just make the best of it. We weren’t driving very long when I noticed my husband keeping a more than normal, visual look out in the rearview mirror. Wondering what was wrong, I glanced out the side mirror to see smoke billowing out of the back of our Tahoe. My husband made his way over into the break down lane and then over even further onto the grass so that he could look under the hood and see if he could find out what was wrong. It was a hot, humid day which didn’t make for great comfort for either of us. And we could both feel that sick feeling in the pit of your stomach when we realized several things. To begin with we really weren’t familiar with where we were and even if we did call for help from family or friends it was going to be hard for them to find us, besides the distance they would have to travel. Further, my husband’s cell-phone was running out of power and the charger was in his business truck not our car. This made usage of the cell-phone a very precious limited commodity. We also remembered that my husband had an appointment with a friend scheduled to take place at our house in a matter of hours, not to mention that the pain medication I had received at the hospital to help with the long trip home had been administered too early in the morning by accident and was quickly wearing off. After giving the car a little while to cool down we drove it ‘still billowing smoke’ off the next exit where the only thing in site was a convenience store. We pulled in, my husband purchased water, poured it into the radiator, and found it leaking out at about the same rate he was pouring it in. At that point we agreed our best bet was to continue on our way with extra bottles of water in tow and hope to make it somewhere near home; where at least if we called anyone for help, they would have some sense of where we were. We did make it home with the car after several more stops and a lot of prayer. I still can’t tell you ‘why’ we had the car problems on that particular day when we were hours away from home in an unfamiliar area, ‘why’ the cell-phone was not properly charged, ‘why’ the charger was in the other vehicle, ‘why’ there was a mix up in when I received the pain medication, ‘why’ I didn’t have anything with me for the pain but a prescription yet to be filled, “why on such a hot day, a Friday full of traffic, there were no auto repair stations still open, ‘why’ we had someone due at the house, but no way to contact them; another words there can be a lot of ‘whys’ and very few answers. 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?