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I retreated to my greenhouse for a few hours yesterday.
It was cold outside, and gray clouds hovered over our area all day. But, inside my little hobby greenhouse, it was a comfortable sixty-five degrees.
The 'Snow Princess' Lobularia and Wave petunias gently perfumed the air. My geranium seedlings have started to show true leaves, and the citronella cuttings have taken root. It is always such a quiet, welcoming atmosphere.
Working with my flowers has always been a prayer closet for me.
I often ponder how clearly God shows Himself through His creation.
I'm busy propagating plants and sowing annual flower seeds this time of year.
In other words, I am preparing for the future. The years I spent working in local garden centers have proven valuable now that I can work for myself. I don't necessarily need to 'think' about what to do; I instinctively do it.
"Unless Your law had been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.
I will never forget Your precepts, [how can I?] for it is by them You have quickened me (granted me life)." Psalm 119:92-93 AMPC
We all agree that the times we are currently living in are troubled. The current weather patterns across the United States mirror a human narrative. Extreme wind advisories, tornadoes, and brutal winter weather have pummeled virtually every state.
As I observed these current events, a memory popped into my mind...
Several years ago, a missionary visited our church.
He served in a country where it was illegal to hold church services or even own a Bible.
With tears in his eyes, he told the story of a particular village where a man happened to have hidden a Bible.
The citizens were so hungry and desperate for God's Word that the man tore out individual pages. Each household was given one page of the Bible. They memorized it, then traded with their neighbor for the next page. Eventually, each family knew an entire book of the Bible by memory.
I had to ask myself: What if someone stormed into my home today and took away every Bible in the house. What if the Bible and study tools were no longer available online or from any other source?
How much of God's Word do I really know from memory?
Could I survive spiritually on what I have read and memorized this far in my Christian life? Could I effectively share my faith and lead another into a relationship with Jesus Christ with no physical reference to point to?
"Then faith is by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Romans 10:17
Sobering, isn't it?
It may be time to reprioritize.
"In the beginning [before all time] was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself." John 1:1 AMPC
"God's word is alive and working and is sharper than a double-edged sword. It cuts all the way into us, where the soul and the spirit are joined, to the center of our joints and bones. And it judges the thoughts and feelings in our hearts. Nothing in all the world can be hidden from God. Everything is clear and lies open before him, and to him, we must explain the way we have lived." Hebrews 41: 12-13
It grieves me that the modern-day Church primarily regards God's Word as nothing more than an ancient history book on which we loosely base our faith.
We gravitate to the latest best-selling Christian author to use as our small group study.
Instead of spending quiet time alone with our savior and allowing God's Holy Spirit to be our teacher, counselor, and comforter, we seek feel-good messages from charismatic speakers.
Am I speaking a stern message? Yes, but desperate times require desperate measures.
However, there is good news. We still have hope. His name is Jesus Christ.
"He stripped all the spiritual tyrants in the universe of their sham authority at the Cross and marched them naked through the streets."
Colossian 2:15 MSG
Our Savior has already done the hard part. Now it is our turn, my Friends.
Our families, states, and country need Christ's Bride to stand up.
The only way the world around us will ever change is when we enter God's presence through His Word daily. And from there, we must live it out in our day-to-day lives.
Tomorrow can only be promised if we have prepared for it. God's Holy Spirit can not bring to our remembrance what we have not taken the time to learn.
We are in this together. We are family.
Today is our day to turn the torrential tide the enemy has raged against us.
We will win because Jesus already has won.
We are not home yet; there is work to do.
As a gardener digs into their spring garden with joyful anticipation, let us dig into God's Word in reckless abandon. Let us study, learn, and remember the precepts found in the greatest story ever told.
Stay strong, my Friends,
Our latter days shall indeed be our best days.