Tag: garden

Gardening Faith: Growing While We Wait for Jesus

On By Ed AlgreenIn Accept Jesus NOW, Acknowledge God, All have sinned, Awesome God, God Cares For Us, God’s WordLeave a comment

DATE POSTED
Saturday, May 24, 2025, and I was blessed to be at Mariposa at Hunter Road, San Marcos, TX when God inspired me to prepare this devotional. My Footnote will tell you how to find and read any and all episodes that I have shared over the years.

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
Read James 5:7-12 in your Bible or click on it to read it online in the New Living Translation (NLT).

APPLICATION – as inspired by the Holy Spirit
With everything being done quicker and quicker these days, there is probably not a better time to be reminded about being patient. Microwavable speeds and Instant Pots in cooking. Supersonic speeds in our military jets. Instant results from medical procedures like blood tests, MRI’s, CT Scans, X-Rays, etc. So, a believer may tend to believe that after accepting Jesus as Lord, you may awake next morning in heaven! Well, guess what, that is so very near what God might do, for only He knows the date of His Son’s return to earth to take away His bride, the church (believers). However, what it seems like the Holy Spirit is teaching us through His servant James is, how we are to act, and what we are to do while we wait for the day we are taken out of this world and into the presence of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We may sing that wonderful old hymn, that never grows old, ‘When We All Get To Heaven’, a favorite of mine, and although that is THE most wonderful day a believer could fix their eyes, heart and mind on, we must believe that Jesus has a plan for our lives while we wait for that day. Let’s be reminded that idle minds could very easily be the workplace of the evil one!
Being from a farming environment, James used an example that the students of his ministry could immediately identify with. And while farming is still a viable example today, I beg you to think of relevant examples in your particular lifestyle and use it as an example to remind you of how productive, or non-productive, you become while you wait. My wife and I recently planted a very small garden, so this farming example is very relevant at this time! Here’s how I could explain it in light of the teaching by James:
–> We added a bag of miracle-grow soil to our gardening spot – For this little garden had been sitting nonproductive for several months with just weeds making their home there. So, we had to prepare the ground. This teaches me that as we prepare to share the love, and new birth found in Jesus, we may want to develop a relationship with the person, or people we feel may need to know Him as Lord. Prepare the ground for the Gospel.
–> We planted our seeds – all the while considering how much space that each particular vegetable would need to grow as the sed caught and the plant matured. In a church setting the method of evangelism stays pretty consistent, but as you survey those to whom you hope to minister, your consideration of their circumstances, education, religious background, and more, may all be varied. So, the Holy Spirit may use various methods in helping you establish a relationship of trust with the prospect first, before inviting them to know your Jesus. Also remember that many times you may plant the seed of faith into someone, but others may witness and celebrate the harvest!
–> Daily nurturing of the new plants – hydration, food (fertilizer), keeping external interference at bay – bugs, weeds, etc. Remember, no blossoms or fruit may show for days or even weeks, yet it is important to provide nurturing, if you expect to see fruit/vegetables at some point. Just as your salvation experience probably didn’t occur without some prior prompting by the Holy Sprit, so it might very well be with the prospect you are praying for and hoping to evangelize. Nonetheless, encourage them and root for them in every step of their walk with Christ.
Notice that all of the above steps teach us patience, as James genuinely reminded us in today’s Scripture. There is never an instant planting to harvesting ratio. Should I have opened the pack of seeds and let them empty on to the unprepared ground, then sat in front of my television each day and then expect to go out and harvest my vegetables, my wife would probably have admitted me to a, insane asylum! James is teaching us that while we wait for the BIG Day for all believers, the day that we see the face of Jesus together with His Father and the Holy Spirit, we must be about our Father’s business. Try fertilizing the soul with nuggets from God’s Word each day. God wants us to flourish in our Christian walk, so that we might be a fresh, growing, productive disciple for the Kingdom while still here on earth. For the unbeliever that may happen across this devotional, or that may be in search of hope from our Creator, please read my FOOTNOTE carefully and consider the helps provided. I have a second page to this blog also, ‘To Know Jesus’. please consider reading through it and the various Scriptures provided to help you understand how to change your life. This is my heart’s cry as I write each of these blog posts.

PRAYER
Dear Jesus, I am reminded that Your garden here on earth is very similar to my vegetable garden. Seeds for some people/plants are newly planted, and we patiently wait for them to grow above ground where they may be seen and recognized by onlookers. Some are growing slowly but need nurturing/encouraged along the way in order to make good, healthy and life sustaining plants/believers. While some are bearing fruit, for which we give You thanks, for only You can truly energize and nurture our plants and believers. Thank You Lord for not only being our Creator, but our sustainer, encourager, strength and everlasting hope while we wait for our time to join You in Heaven. To God be the glory! AMEN!

FOOTNOTE
If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please take advantage of the information provided on my page ‘To Know Jesus’. Alternatively, consider speaking with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. One of God’s servants will pray with you and offer help and encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. If you would like to read more of my devotionals or subscribe to receive a daily email containing each new devotional, please visit NuggetsFromGodsWord.org. Friends, I encourage you to find a Bible teaching church home near your residence and attend as frequently as possible. Get to know God and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk while you make every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider being a part of that while also growing in your faith as you worship with fellow believers!

Strive for Perfection, Just as Christ is Perfect!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Bold Confidence, Chosen by God, Christian, Faith, Follow Jesus, God’s Word, Imitator of Christ, Listen to the Word of God, Obedience, Reflecting Christ, Righteousness, Share God’s Word, Victorious LifeLeave a comment

Scripture: Matthew 5

OBSERVATION (What is God saying here?)

48 But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect. Matt 5:48 (NLT)

APPLICATION (How Can I apply what God is saying here to my circumstances today?)

At the conclusion of a chapter devoted to telling us how to live a true Christ-like life, Jesus tells us that we are to strive for perfection like the only perfect One – Himself. I feel like there are several things to consider here:

  1. In Character: When we continually sin and just shrug it off to excuses like: “Well I’m sorry, after all I’m just human” or “It’s OK, I know that God will forgive me”or “Well, there’s always another chance for me to try and do this right”, then I believe that we are giving in to being a child of this world and accepting the pitfalls and weaknesses of this world rather than placing our faith solidly in the hands of the almighty and striving wholeheartedly to be like Him. Let’s aspire to be as much like Christ as possible. He will see our sincerity and help us through our human flaws;
  2. In Holiness: In striving to be more like Christ, we will find that love for, and service to others, become a priority in our lives. God showed mercy and love even to those who hated Him and chose to fight against Him. Look at how He healed the soldier in the Garden of Gethsemane. Let’s remember that we are chosen by God to carry His love into this sick world and represent Him in all of our interaction with sinners.
  3. In Maturity: Christ-like maturity doesn’t happen instantly. Just like we expect more from a teenager than we do from a child, or more from an adult than we do from a teenager because of the years of maturing into adulthood, so it is as we study God’s Word, learn more about Him and how we can become more like Him. We should be showing signs of maturing more and more each day. Friends, we don’t mature into adulthood strictly by what we learn in school – we learn it from our everyday living. So it is with maturing as a Christian – don’t depend solely on what you may learn from a weekly sermon. Get into the Word (God’s book of instruction) and learn daily what it is that God is teaching you that day to help you mature in Him.
  4. In Love: We must seek to love others with the same love that Christ loved us. He gave His life for us, while we still hated Him, while we plotted to kill Him, while we spat in His face and mocked Him. We weren’t deserving of His love, yet He gave it all to show His love for us. That’s the kind of love we must have for those that we come into contact with daily.

Christ calls us to rise above mediocrity and be perfect even as He is perfect. When we strive for this perfection we stop accepting anything less. One day we will be perfect, just as He is perfect!

PRAYER (With God’s help, what am I going to do differently today because He said it?)

Lord Jesus, I acknowledge that I serve the only perfect one. My desire is to daily grow to be, or mature to be, more like You in every way. This means that I am striving to also be perfect. This requires my daily time on Your Word and my ultimate desire to overcome the things of this world that will distract me in every way possible. However, I have the confidence in knowing that I serve the only One who could give me the strength, wisdom, desire, boldness and power to overcome the sinfulness of this world and strive for ultimate perfection in You. Please give me a constant desire to be more like You so that others may see Jesus in me and want to also know You. thank You for providing such an example for me to follow and mature in.

Who Is Your Serpent?

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Christian, Faith, Getting Along, God Cares For Us, God our Helper, Obedience, Our Help comes from God, Pleasing to God, Righteousness1 Comment

SCRIPTURE Studied: Genesis 3-4

OBSERVATION (What is God saying here?)

1 The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”2 “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied.3 “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’”4 “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman.5 “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.” Gen 3:1-5 (NLT)

APPLICATION (How Can I apply what God is saying here to my circumstances today?)

God provided a perfect world for Adam and his family to live in. He provided everything they would need to eat, and the beautiful garden/atmosphere in which to enjoy life. Although it is tough for us to recognize this today, but God has also provided everything we need today to feed ourselves, and He has also given us the beauty of this earth to enjoy. God established commandments/rules for Adam and his family to follow, much like we find in God’s Word today for us to follow. Adam’s family wasn’t satisfied with all that was provided, so Eve chose to follow what a serpent told her to do. Cain, out of jealousy for his brother Abel, and out of spite for the correction handed to him because of his giving to God, killed his brother. This is not much different to what we do today. Like Eve, we would rather listen to our daily horoscope or a palm reader, rather than looking into God’s Word for answers to our problems. Like Cain, we quickly find someone else to blame our actions on, and we will quickly eliminate anyone that stands in our way of progress or success. We may not murder, but we gossip about, or try to disqualify the individual in order to lower the acceptance of that person in the eye of the one we are trying to please. As in the day of Adam, God still provides everything we need today, and He has given us His book of instructions to follow. We often tell our child that we can give them direction from the advantage point of experience. In God’s Word we can read story after story about experiences such as this one today that shows us what happened when God’s commands were not followed. We have the advantage point of the experiences detailed in the Word, but like in Eve’s situation we allow some serpent to lead us instead of God and His Word.

PRAYER (With God’s help, what am I going to do differently today because of what He said here today?)

Father, I realize this morning that I may try to cover up my deeds to those around me, but You know my inmost feelings and the desires of my heart. You know all about the ‘serpents’ that I allow to rule my day and guide my thoughts and actions. Please may You find me useful in Your kingdom and therefore constantly looking for ways to overcome the evil one. I must take this life very seriously, because You have only given me one chance to walk this road. May I not wander from the path You have established for me and may I always seek Your favor to overcome the ‘serpents’ that will seek to destroy me, my family, my church family and those that I love. You are greater than all the situations that I may face today, please be my guide, protector and lord so that I may stay focused on You and Your desire for my life. May You receive honor and glory for all things accomplished through me today!