The Garden

   I had a friend over the other day and we were walking through the backyard.  She noticed an area of my yard that stood out, looked different than the rest of the yard.  As we walked closer she realized it was a separated area, set apart.  It was the garden.
   If you know much about a garden, you know it takes much care and time to produce good fruits and veggies.  You must spend much time taking care of it.  You have to water it, weed it, keep out the pests, etc. It is not something that can be left alone and be expected to produce anything of value.
   This is so symbolic of our Christian lives. We must look different than everyone around us. We can't blend in.  We must be set apart.  We must take time to water and feed our souls with the Word and prayer.  We must know our enemy and his tactics and keep him out with the armor provided for us.  Otherwise, we just look like every other person around us who has not been given the Spirit of the Living God.
 **Romans 12:2-"Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think."
   If I were hopeless, why would I be drawn to someone else who appeared hopeless?  If I was lost, why would I ask for directions from someone else who appeared lost?  There has to be differences between the children of God and those who haven't taken on His name.
   I am an ambassador/representative for God.  Being an ambassador, I have to represent whatever my cause is.  If I was a pharmaceutical sales representative I would more than likely wear a name tag with my companies name and logo, pass out business cards and try to sell my products. I would have to be educated on the products I am selling.  I would have to study and get my hands on all the info I could. And to whom would I be selling them to? Those who needed my products and who could put it to use.  I wouldn't go to pharmaceutical conventions and try to sell them these items.  I would go to those who needed them.
   This is similar to my representing God.  I must wear His name well.  I must study His word and know it so I could share the good news.  I must tell people about the goodness of God and the hope that He offers. I want people to look at me and see Him,  not only because I say I am His but also by my actions.  I must look different from the hopeless, the lost.  If, in fact I have faith in the Almighty God who created you and me, how can His goodness not flow from me?
**Colossians 3:17-"And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus..."
   Understanding and knowing that, what do your actions say about you?  Do you look like everybody else?  Do you blend in? Are you in pursuit of fleshly pleasures?  Consumed with your desires rather than God's?  I believe that when you have an intimate relationship with God and spend time in the Word and prayer He penetrates your heart and changes your desires to His.
   Faith without works is dead!  Did you really hear that? Faith without works is dead! Going to church on Sunday is not going to get you into Heaven.  Just as giving birth to a baby doesn't make a woman his mother.  There are women that are all the time giving birth and then tossing the baby to the side to pursue their desires rather than the needs of the child.  This is not a mother. Sure, he may have come from her body, but it is the actions produced from her undying love of her child that proves she is his mother.  Just as our undying love for the Father should also produce actions that say we are His children.
**James 2:17-"So you see, faith by itself isn't enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless."
  With all that said, I want to encourage you to get intimate with your Maker.  Just as I have to be intimate with my husband to produce his offspring/something of him, we cannot produce anything of the Father apart from Him.  We need that intimate relationship with Him to know His heart and desires.  I challenge you to pray for the vision and heart of God.  But, don't take that challenge lightly.  If you dare pray for it, mean it.  Then, be ready for the action that it stirs in your heart.  You cannot see the problems of this sin infested world and claim you are His representative and not want to change the situation.  Get ready friends! Together we change this world!
**Matthew 5:13-16-"You are the salt of the earth.  But what good is the salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again?  It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless.  You are the light of the world-like a city on a hilltop cannot be hidden.  No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father."