For as the earth brings forth its bud, as the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations. Isaiah 61:11 (NKJV)
Every day as I walk through my yard I stop at several spots as I go about my day. Have the daffodils come up yet? Are there new leaves on the plant I recently transplanted or pruned? Are the seeds growing?
I have a sense of hope and suspense as I wait to see the new growth. The Amaryllis bulbs put out leaves, and then after the leaves are gone and forgotten, the flowers of August spring forth. The beans seem to burst through the soil, and grow so fast that they almost unfurl their leaves as I watch. Other seeds are much slower, and I sometimes forget about them until I discover little leaves and buds between the faster growers.
* * *
The Lord God watches our progress as we grow in His garden. He plants seeds of righteousness in our lives; righteousness, or holiness that comes only from our God and Savior Jesus Christ.
We cannot obey Him on our own, for we fall short of conforming to the commandments and statutes of the law, mind, and will of God. Thank God that He loves us so much that He provided a way for us to be righteous through Christ Jesus! Such love is praiseworthy!
God made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NIV)
The Lord trains us to be godly in our behavior as we obey Him. The Holy Spirit prompts us to do what we should. Sometimes growth in obedience to the Lord is fast like the bean plant. Other times it is slow. But praise the Lord, He does not forget us like we might forget some bulbs or flower seeds. He carefully nurtures each leaf and bud, encouraging us to be more like Him as we try to be patient with others, or to drive at the speed limit even when we’re running late. He corrects us and directs us in the way we should grow. We want our growth to be pleasing to our Master Gardener, just as we are pleased when our plants grow as desired.
Dear Lord, Thank you for the righteousness I have in You. Help me to become more like You so that my life will bring praise to You. Amen.
###
For Gardening information on seed propagation, see “Seed Propagation” under the tab “In the Garden— Gardening Articles.”
Scriptures marked NKJV are taken from the NEW KING JAMES VERSION (NKJV): Scripture taken from the NEW KING JAMES VERSION®. Copyright© 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scriptures marked NIV are taken from the NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (NIV): Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ®. Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™. Used by permission of Zondervan.
Thank you for joining me! I hope and pray that you’ll be touched by God in a special way each time you visit. Blogs post every other Thursday and are archived for your convenience. (Scroll down for the archives if you’re on a phone or other small screen.)
Hi everyone! I’m so excited to reveal this special book I’ve been working on for months. His Broken Treasure is a 31-Day companion devotional to the historical romance novel Murmur in the Mud Caves by Kathleen Denly.
We’ve all felt broken or unvalued at times, but His Broken Treasure helps take readers deeper into the themes of Denly’s Murmur in the Mud Caves and remind them how treasured they are by the One who matters most. These thirty-one days of devotionals will ask readers to consider:
- Unconditional Love
- Our Purpose
- True Strength
- Shame, Guilt & Forgiveness
- Adoption
- & more!
Designed to allow concurrent reading with Murmur in the Mud Caves, each section of His Broken Treasure is labeled with the chapter of the novel that it addresses. Reading this devotional will help you more easily recognize the beauty in God’s broken treasures.
Visit Kathryn Breckenridge’s website at https://kathrynbreckenridge.com and Kathleen Denly’s website at https://kathleendenly.com
His Broken Treasure and Murmur in the Mud Caves are available for purchase as both an ebook or a paperback on Barnes & Noble. Coming soon to Amazon and many other vendors.
Kathryn Breckenridge 