Sunday Writing... WEEDING THE GARDEN... 9-2-18

Good morning!

Today's writing is about "WEEDING THE GARDEN" just as the title says.  It draws a comparison between gardening and our lives.  It describes how we are to live a sanctified life, what that means, and why we do it.  Find out how to "walk by the Spirit."

Blessings on your Sunday,
Jan
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Today's Devotional

 "WEEDING THE GARDEN"

by
Jan Andersen

If you’ve ever had a garden, you’ve probably also had to deal with weeds.  Even in the desert there are undesired plants that pop up in yards and gardens.  Especially when you enrich the dirt with fertilizer and till the soil, making it good for growing your produce, the weeds also thrive.  If left alone, sometimes those weeds can become so hardy that they choke out the plants you wanted to thrive.  That’s why you carefully weed your garden, to allow the nutrients and water to go to the desired plantings so they can produce the wanted crops.

God plants the seed of faith in Jesus in our hearts by His Holy Spirit at our baptism.  We must tend and nurture that faith and He will make it grow and thrive.  It is through that faith by grace that we are saved.  Evidence of that faith can be seen by the fruit it produces, our good works and sanctified living.  It is also what we do to thank God for his merciful forgiveness of our sins.

There are all kinds of sins or “weeds” in our lives that can choke out the desired good fruit.  Even if we fill up our hearts with nutrient-rich sermons, devotions and Bible readings, the brambles of sin can still creep in and take over if we don’t carefully weed that garden.  Thorns and thickets of greed, envy, slander, jealousy, adultery and the like abound in this world.  When we focus all our thoughts on these things instead of God, we allow their seeds also to be scattered in the soil of our hearts.  If we feed those weed seeds, they can take root and grow so thick and tall they even block our view of God altogether and totally consume all of our attention, as in obsessions and addictions.  They will crowd out our fruits of the Spirit such as love, patience, kindness and so forth.  We must pull out the dandelions by their roots without disturbing the good plants, living by the Spirit and crucifying the fleshly desires.

Galatians 5:16-25 ESV  But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.  If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.

Dear Father, Master Gardener, help us to carefully weed the garden in our hearts so that we may produce the fruit of the Spirit, giving witness to our faith in Jesus Christ, our living water who gives us eternal life with you in heaven.  Thank you for forgiving us when our weeds return, helping us discern the briars from the beautiful bounty, and for turning us back to you for help in our times of need.  May we remain faithful until the final harvest and join You in heaven with your Son and Holy Spirit, three in one.  Amen

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Song:

BEAUTIFUL THINGS

Gungor

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"Unless we know the difference between flowers and weeds, we are not fit to take care of a garden.  It is not enough to have truth planted in our minds.  We must learn and labor to keep the ground clear of thorns and briars, follies and perversities, which have a wicked propensity to choke the word of life."

-Clyde Francis Lytle-

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Prayers are lifted up daily you by the Devotional Writers 

  and the Monthly Writing Staff of Women's Focus Ministries.

Blog Writers:

Jan Andersen, Sandy Billingham, Carol Steficek,   

 Brother Thomas Ukwute, Jody Ward,  Karen Bennett, 

Bre Miller, Cathy Friberg, and  Corinne Mustafa

Occasional Contributors:

Kathy Bireley,  Lynda Kinnard, Mary M. Wilkins,

Terri Baker, Beverley Napier, Kelly Dobyns

Glenna Williamson,  Shelly Keith, Amie Spruiell,
Lisabeth Lipp,  and Nandita Bhatnagar