It Takes the Stinky Stuff

And he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none.  And he said to the vinedresser, 'Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?' And he answered him, 'Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure.  Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.'" (ESV) Luke 13:6-9

Jesus gives a parable about a fig tree in which an owner had been expecting fruit from it for three years. Exacerbated by the lack of fruit after all this time, he orders the vine to be destroyed. As I read several translations of this passage, I was reminded that it often takes the manure of life to produce real growth in us. As long as we reside in places of familiar comfort to us, we just exist. Producing little for the kingdom. We pray little, confess little, give little, study little, focus little, aim for little. But when trouble hit, it has a way of stirring up our prayer lives, driving us to fasting, compelling us to study, and it realigns our focus on things that truly matter in our lives.
Each of us have been allotted a time here on the earth. And how are we making use of our time? Are we just using up the ground? I don’t want to be guilty of fruitlessness. I don’t want God to grow weary of me just sitting around doing nothing. However, we should be cautious about busyness. Busy schedules are not an adequate measuring stick for fruitfulness.
The vinedresser requested more time in order to do two things.
1. Dig
2. Dung
Digging requires effort and it cuts into something that was hard or solidified and breaks into smaller parts. It separates things. For God to dig us out of those familiar places we’ve settled is uncomfortable. It’s irritating. Dung (manure) stinks. Who wants to endure being broken and being surrounded  by smelling situations?
Don’t be disheartened if you find yourself  encircled by dung during these days. Don’t even become discombobulated by the un-comfortableness of the things being broken down or detached from you. It all has purpose—growth.
Don’t miss the Common English Bible giveaway here.

Joining Word-Filled Wednesday and Winsome Wednesday.

Grow

Babies, plants, animals. Each of them are things that grow. No matter what our age there is always room to grow. Growing can be uncomfortable. Stretching you beyond places of comfort. Expanding your mind. Embracing new ideas. Willingness to try new things. Each of those are required to produce growth. One has to be connected to the source of life in order to produce much lasting fruit. Otherwise, the winds of life easily topple those outward growths. If you are not seeing enough growth above perhaps its best to check the roots beneath. Are you fully anchored in the true sustenance of life?

Joining The Gypsy Mama for 5-Minute Friday. What images does the word grow bring to mind?

Everybody Needs a Stripper in Their Life

What’s your chosen stripper’s name?  Not the one swinging on the pole. Or the one that stimulates your sensuality. Oh no I’m referring to the one that was used as an agent of change in your life.  Strippers come in array of disguises. Just take a look at Joseph’s story in the Bible.

In Genesis 37, we find the story of this young man, who was favored my his father but hated my his own brothers. Joseph was adorned with a special coat signifying the esteemed position he held in his father’s eyes. And if that was not enough, he was a dreamer. All of this contributed to him being put on the strippers’ hit list. For him, his strippers were cloaked in the form of his own brothers. They were determined to dash his hope and kill his dreams so much so that they set a plot to fake his death and secretly sale him into slavery.

But that wasn’t the end of Joseph’s story.  I would imagine that his route from favor to the pit to the place brought about a level of maturity in him that he would have never gained had he not had to experience the heat of his brothers’ vendetta.
Our strippers may not be people but perhaps they are situations like failed marriages, physical/sexual abuse, rejection or disappointments. Regardless of the form the stripper comes in, it’s purpose is the same to render you void of hope, dreams, faith, and identity.
However  your story (and my story) doesn’t have to end there. God can take all of stuff we encounter in this life and work it for our good. Some things like pride, selfishness, and independence gets worked out of us while other things such as perseverance, gentleness, meekness, and love get worked in us. 
Are there some situations in your life that is attempting to hold you hostage and keep you in the grips of pain and despair. If so maybe it’s time you look at from a different perspective, so that you may be able to proclaim the enemy meant for your harm but God worked for your good.

How does your garden grow?

 

Have you notice how easy it is to gripe rather than express gratitude? As I read The Message version of Colossians 3:15 ( Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness.) one day, I kept been drawn to the word cultivate.  It made be think of gardening and how one has to work hard at breaking up the ground before planting seeds. But the work of gardening doesn’t just stop when the seeds are sown but it requires continuous care to keep the weeds from snuffing out the life of the good plants.

Thinking about gardening brings up memories of my grandmother, she meticulously tended and groomed her garden and kept her grounds free of leaves. I often wondered why she was so obsessed with raking the leaves. Back then it seemed like she was out picking up leaves daily even when you could easily count just 5 or 6 leaves floating around.  Persistent and consistent in her watch of the landscape, she did not allow the weeds or leaves to overtake her ground.

Like my grandmother or Big Mama as we called her, I need to be ever on the look out for things that would come to smother out gratitude in my life. It does not take much effort to think of something to complain about but I have to work at seeing the good and expresses thanks for it. Rather easy to take a peek at another person’s garden and get excited about the glitz and glam of their fruit but when is the last time you have examined the good fruit of your ground? Romans 12:6b says, in his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. Have you thought about that grace? I always thought of grace from the perspective of underserved mercy and salvation and that certainly defines grace. But His grace also equips me with certain gifting. Can I be honest for a moment? I am guilty of looking at the gift of others and sizing myself up as coming up short. I so wish I had the gift of gab (as I call it) like my mom or the gift of encouragement like my sister but I was not graced with it. So I can either gripe about it while neglecting my own gifts or I can get about the business of cheering them on while cultivating my gifts.

Are You Growing?

Oh my gosh, I must admit lately I've been feeling like a girl back in grade school working hard to get my A-Z challenge assignments completed. I could never be glad with an incomplete. Gees let's get to my post.

Babies, flowers, and definitely my grass seem to grow so fast. I've been reflecting on those things needed to ensure healthy growth in our lives. Using each letter of the word grow, I discovered some helpful things to help our spirtitual lives bloom.

G-for Ground. The ground or the type of soil we're planting in hampers or helps the seeds sown. Jesus, Himself illustrated through the parable of the sower the impact the ground of our hearts have on the Word in our lives.

R-for Rain. Just as plants require water, we need the rain of his presence to fall upon us. Life has a way of leaving us burdened, burned, and bare. Searching for water sources to quench our thirst leads us to broken relationships, food addictions, alcohol and drug abuse, promiscuity. All promising to quench our dry places but only leaving us more drained and parched than before.

O-for Opportunities and Obstacles. Yes, I did say obstacles. Obstacles and opportunities for growth present themselves in very obscure ways. Trials and tribulations produce (if there is production, there is growth) something within us according to Romans 5:3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us. They help us learn to endure. And endurance develops strength of character in us, and character strengthens our confident expectation of salvation.  So the next time you find yourself facing and obstacle, remind yourself that you have been granted an opportunity to grow.

W-for Weapons. Oh indeed you need some weapons if you're going to grow. Any good farmer or gardener has specific tools that help him cultivate the ground and gather the harvest. And the devil is just like pests are to plants, he comes to infect and ultimately destroy your growth. Therefore, appropriate pesticides(weapons) are needed. Being as gracious as He is, God has prepared  armor for you to wear so that you might stand against the wiles of the devil. 2 Corinthians 10:4 tells us The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. (NIV)

I pray that the ground of your heart is soft and receptive to God. And when you find that you are harden that you'll allow the rain of His presence to make you supple again. When obstacles and opportunities come along, may you not shrink back in fear but fearlessly forge ahead knowing that God is right at your side and that His equipped you with the weapons to overcome.

See what other g-related topics A-Z Challengers are discussing here.