WM realizing a two year dream. 03/27/2010

1 Comment

 

       Our Leadership Team has dreamed for two years of launching our website for First Baptist Women.  We are thrilled that we can now be available to you 24/7.  Through our Contact Us page and the First Women Blog Center you can become part of the Team.  Please  come to the site often and take advantage of the opportunities we offer.  We want to hear from you, but most of all we want to be a blessing.
       Tomorrow  we are offering the newest edition of Essence.  I hope you will pick one up at the Welcome Center.   Below is a copy of my article.  There are many passages in God's Word that speak to planting, growing, and bearing fruit.  Read more about fruit bearing in Proverbs 11:30, Galatians 5:22-23, John 15:4-5, and Hebrews 13:15.

Spiritual Gardening.
       Springtime has come to Ohio. Many of us are watching the green shoots that have broken through the ground with their promise of blooms to come.  Eager gardeners are planting seeds in indoor trays and cups to give the plants for their summer gardens a head start.  Spring is a natural time to plant and an excellent opportunity to encourage growth.
            Spring is also a good time to jump-start our spiritual gardens!  There is something about saying goodbye to the harshness of winter, and welcoming the signs of spring that triggers in many of us, a desire to start fresh in our personal lives. 
            What fruits do you desire to produce in your life?  Ephesians 5:9 says, “The fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth.”  The character of God is comprised of goodness, righteousness, and truth.  It is out of these seeds that the fruit of the Spirit will be produced.
            Abiding in the Spirit germinates goodness in our lives.  The original language implies more than “being good”.  It actually is having the character that will produce good actions.  It is zealous goodness, which as it matures will thwart evil.  The second component of the Spirit is righteousness.  Righteousness is God’s character.  The only One who is Right and Just has freely imputed His righteousness on us.  All who receive the gift of salvation through the finished work of Christ on the cross are righteous. A fruit bearing life must recognize its origin in the righteousness of God.  The third quality of the Spirit is truth.  God’s Word is truth.  As Truth takes over a believer’s life it will be manifest in a life of integrity.  Truth that is sowed in the life of a Christian will discern truth, shun evil and reject falsehood, while spreading seeds of truth in the lives of others. 
            Just as we toil in our home gardens to gather a good harvest, we also need to toil in our spiritual lives to bring forth fruit.  Tending godly seeds that will grow and bear spiritual fruit requires hard work
            To encourage growth, soil needs to be prepared.  Just as we make ready our garden plots, we must fall on our knees and prayerfully prepare our spirit by rooting out weeds of neglect, inaction, bitterness, anger, falsehood, and ingratitude.  Only when the “soul” is ready, can the righteous seeds prosper.
            After the seeds take root, we must feed and continue to weed.  In order for the fruits of the spirit to be produced, our spiritual nature needs to be nourished from God’s Word and acknowledge God’s showers of blessings upon us.   There also needs to be diligence in keeping our “soul” free of weeds.  Spiritual seedlings will not thrive among the thistles and unfruitful weeds that seek to crowd into their lives.
            Gardening for the purpose of gathering fruit will include sacrifice of time and energy. It may also include personal sacrifice.  Just as flowers and vegetables have to be cut back in order to become more beautiful or fruitful, God often requires that we undergo pruning and  trimming in order to produce the best fruit.
            There is great joy in a fruitful life.  May God increase our joy as we diligently tend our spiritual gardens to produce fruit that remains for all eternity.

 

Comments

Kathy

04/17/2010 13:03

Great job Barb. I now have my new-old computer and I was able to bring up the web site quickly. You have done a wonderful job! I am speaking on gardening to the MTM next month. Maybe I should just read what you have written. :) Not really but what you said was great.

Thanks for all you do.

Reply

Leave a Reply