Blooming Like a Garden

 

Human beings are slaves of whatever entity we obey: either Almighty God or the god of this world - Satan. Allowing the devil to entrench us in sin leads to destruction both now and for an eternity in the lake of fire (Romans 6:16).

Instead, we enjoy life so much more as slaves of God in obedience and holiness. This allows us to live in the Spirit rather than in the flesh, since God's Spirit abides within us (Galatians 5:15-25).

Whoever does not have God's Spirit does not belong to Christ (Romans 8:9). Yet, as we totally surrender our humanity to Christ, He saves us and adopts us into His family (Ephesians 1:5).

Satan continually attempts to draw us away from God through our body and soul. He trips us up with a single temptation. Then, it is easier for him to tempt us in the future to follow his will for us.

Yet, Christ in our spirit gives us a way to escape temptation (1 Corinthians 10:13). As we ignore Satan's lies and keep our mind on Christ, we are not tempted by his fiery darts and lies.

Our thoughts and emotions affect the decisions of our will. The decisions of our will determine our behavior, which motivates every area of our life: financial, relational, emotional, spiritual, physical, etc.

When we walk by the faith of Christ in us rather than by our human reasoning, we avoid so many of life's pitfalls and live in a serene and victorious existence (2 Corinthians 5:7).

God gives us a free will both to choose His salvation; and then to choose to live in His will, rather than to follow Satan's or our own plans for our life.

By submitting to God's Spirit within us, we reap the blessings of His will. He sanctifies our soul and fills our spirit with His power, so that, as His Body, we bloom like a spectacular garden (Romans 12:1-2; Jeremiah 31:12).

Prayer:

Father God, we want to present our bodies to You as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1), to do Your will and to live in Your ways all the days of our life. Teach us to submit to the leading of Your Holy Spirit and draw us ever closer to Your presence within us.

Thank You for Your Spirit, who abides in our midst and fills Your house with greater splendor and glory than Solomon's Temple (Haggai 2:4-9). Remind us that, as Your Body, we are perfectly joined together with Jesus, the chief corner stone, into Your dwelling place (Ephesians 2:19-22).

Thought for the Day:

As we walk in God's Spirit, joined together by His love, we bloom where He plants us in His garden. - 2 Corinthians 2:15

Fertile Soil

Read: Mark 4: 14-20

In the parable in Mark 4:14-20 the farmer sows the seed of the Word of God. The seeds fall on four types of soil: upon the path, among the thorns, within the rocks and then on the good soil. The main emphasis of this parable is that the seed needs a place to send down its roots. If the ground is hard, thorny or rocky, there is no room for the roots. Only in the garden of prepared soil can the plant take hold and grow to full maturity.

Unless people avail themselves of the spiritual food provided in every Bible teaching, evangelical church they will wither up and die like the first three seeds in this parable. This is why these churches also offer Wednesday and Sunday night Bible studies, as well as extra classes for men, women, children and youth on Sunday mornings and during the week. The only way to withstand the winds of adversity or the scorching trials and temptations we encounter in this life is to have our roots sunk deeply into spiritually fertile earth.

Jesus said that we know His disciples by their fruit. If people are to produce fruit, they need good, rich, tilled, fertilized soil. Many churches are barren wastelands with nothing nutritious to offer the Believer. They focus on providing glitz and glitter to attract people, and then they supply only spiritual junk food, rather than wholesome provisions.

Once we receive God’s Word with conviction and repentance, we are ready to receive the proper nourishment. God raises up an army of teachers with every generation - those who faithfully sow the seeds of the truth of God’s Word. Find a Bible teaching, evangelical church, prepare your soil and start blooming.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, cause a hunger to blossom in our soul to search for and to find a disciple-making church. Provide us with teachers who share Your Word after seeking You in prayer. Lead us to a caring and loving fellowship of Believers. Even in these end times, please keep a remnant of these spiritual places where we can go and feast upon Biblical principles and in turn bear much fruit.

Thought for the Day:
A true relationship with the Living and Holy God is not a one-time event or a single prayer. It is a lifetime commitment.