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Listen while you read: "In The Garden"1 (Lyrics) |
Philippians 1:6 – Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. (KJV)
Suffering through many storms, accidents, and illnesses of life, my friend's twenty-year-old Joseph's Coat rose bush presented itself beaten down by life. It no longer bore the fruit of its purpose. With precision, my friend's husband performed plant deliverance. With an arborist's skill, he pruned, cultivated, fed, and watered the aging bush. After a few years of tending, the bush became healthy and began to produce its variegated pink and yellow blossoms again.
Christians are much the same. For many reasons, we may become spiritually malnourished and weakened in our faith. We begin to wither, so we aren't producing abundant fruit of the Spirit. We wonder why we aren't seeing answers to prayer, or there is no joy in our service to others. When that happens, we are reminded of the need to get back into God's Word, to confess our sins, and to pray for restoration. The beauty of renewal is that God, like the arborist, will prune, cultivate, feed, and water us through His Word until we are spiritually healthy and thriving again.
Through prayer, God can turn the withering Christian back into a healthy one. As the sunshine appears in the sky each morning, we rediscover His purpose, and once again begin to bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Oh, joy! We can be productive again at any age. To practice love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, powered by Jesus, is answered prayer. Perhaps, we scale back, but our spiritual energy flows, and our purpose is restored.
Prayer: Dear Lord, renew our zeal for You, and draw us into close fellowship. What comfort it is to know that You will restore us to Your loving service! What confidence in You it is to know that, like the rose, we can bloom again with purpose in old age!
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Tuesday, May 30, 2023 – In Cuba — Ask the Lord to show each pastor how their church should be reaching out to their community to share the gospel and how to help those who are in the most desperate circumstances. Pray for those who are discipling new Christians, helping them to learn to trust and obey their Saviour. Pray these new Christians learn to make prayer and obedience to Christ a priority.
A Difficult Situation update: "Update May 29, 2023. Thank you for all your prayers. Please continue to pray for both S, and J."
Amen, Karen.
A great word for today, Karen.
Lovely inspiring post, Karen. Thank you and God bless!
Thank you, Karen. May we all respond to God like that rosebush.
Thank you, Karen, for sharing this devotional with us. Blessings.
Thank you, Karen.
That is a new thought for me that through prayer God can turn a withering Christian into a healthy one, a good one.
Blessings.
Thank you, Karen, for your devotion and the visual it created in my mind. Lately I feel I am going through the motions again and your devotion will help me get on the right path of communion with Jesus again. Blessings.
Hi Karen,
True words indeed. There are so many old people who do so much work for the church, even in old age they are given enthusiasm and strength by the Lord.
Thank you for writing.
As a Rose, blooming where I am planted, in MY old age, I sure smiled when I read your Devotional. Thanks for a lovely metaphor. While I believe we ALWAYS see an answer to prayer, it’s just sometimes the answer isn’t what we wanted – I am grateful for your inspiration today.
I do enjoy your writing! Thank you for sharing in such a meaningful way.
This one is going to my niece so she will find new meaning in her rose pruning. It will be awhile yet but spring is here, and I’ll be thinking of your words when my garden needs some pruning. Thanks.
Hi Karen,
Another very good devotional today with heartfelt meaning and lasting effects. I remember hearing long ago this saying: “When we feel far from God it’s not because He moved away from us, but because we moved away from Him”. Thank you for sharing.
Good morning young lady! Your devotional was just for me. I came to faith in Jesus during the Jesus movement in the 70’s, and what a ride. Life, marriage, family, commitments… have slowly at times lessened the WOW of coming to Jesus. These past few years where the commitments and obligations have lessened, God is teaching, showing, refreshing my walk again. Just this week I listened as two young men shared how Jesus saved them. Oh, how hungry I became again! Hungry! Just like your story of the “old” rose bush being renewed. God is again creating a hunger for just Jesus, not the stuff we have added to salvation, only Jesus.
Thank you for helping us as we stumble our way into heaven.
Very meaningful
And love the story of the Rose bush.
Dear Karen,
Thank you for the devotional and your prayer.
I pray for a memory that God’s Holy Spirit will keep my memory from going down fast with older age.
Thank you very much.
I pray for you in continuing to write and all of your life.
Dear Sister Karen, Your Devotion is such an encouragement, especially now, sensing God’s cutting and pruning. He is the Vine, I am the branches. Surrendering all to Him, wanting and waiting to bare good fruit.
Amen to your Prayer!