Gardening Themed Scripture Meditations—topically organized series and stand-alone meditations

Over the years we have posted a number of gardening themed meditations on scripture and spiritual matters. Some are topically organized series, while other are stand-alone meditations. They are collected here for your use, with very short summaries of what they address.  May God bless you through them 

I.                          Series

John 15 Series:

John 15:1--Growing God's Joy  

John 15:1--On the other hand...

            God’s joy as we grow in Him

The disappointment we cause by failing to be fruitful & God’s gracious response

John 15:1--Don't fire the Gardener

            Trusting God through tough things

John 15:2--unfruitful branches, part 1      

John 15:2--unfruitful branches, part 2  

            Pruning is motivated by God’s love

            Pruning happens when we fail to heed God’s directions

John 15:2--Pruning Part 1--What is Pruning?    

            The agricultural bases of pruning

 John 15:2--Pruning Part 2--We All Need Pruned     

 John 15:2--Pruning Part 3--Removing Obstacles to God's Light

   

We all need pruned at some point/in some way

            Getting into & reflecting God’s light

 John 15:2--Part 4--Pruning Through Adversity     

 John 15:2--Part 5--How to Respond to Pruning Through Adversity

  

            God lets us go through tough stuff to remove obstacles to fruitfulness

Looking forward to fruitfulness, looking for the lesson(s), dealing with emotional reactions, remembering God’s loving nature & purposes

 John 15:2--Pruning through Counsel    

            The necessity of good counsel

John 15:3--More about Pruning

            Pruning through the Word, pruning does not result in perfection

Composting themed 

Series one

What we can learn about the Christian Life from Composting--Part 1--The end product is greater than the sum of its parts 

            We produce more good in community than we do separately 

What we can learn about the Christian life from composting--Part 2--Good things come from humble ingredients 

            God draws the most from the least 

What we can learn about the Christian Life from composting--Part 3--the ingredients must be transformed by something beyond themselves

            We need God’s inputs to achieve all the good he created us for

What we can learn about the Christian life from composting--Part 4--We have to go through tough stuff, but God gets us through

We have to go through tough stuff to reach our full potential, but God gives us ways to get through it (prayer, perspective, and serving others) 

Series two:

             Another insight from composting--Utility

                        We are saved and sanctified in order to serve

            Another insight from composting--Transformation

                        We have to let God transform us to do all the good he created us for  

            Another insight from composting--Beyond the dramatic

                        Living out our faith/purpose in the mundane

            Another insight from composting--Multiple fruits

God will produce multiple kinds of good from individual acts of service, so get busy, ask the Spirit for His help, and make yourself available to His insights  

            Another insight from composting--Credit where credit is due

               

            How to respond to God’s blessings

Isaiah 5:1-2 Series:

Introduction

God calls us to Him   

            God’s invitations to intimacy

Fruitfulness sometimes requires hardship

We must sometimes go through tough stuff to reach the fruitfulness God created us for 

            Healthy responses to "compaction."

                        Loosening up so God’s seeds can grow to full fruitfulness 

            Getting rid of "stones"

                        Dealing with imbedded obstacles to fruitfulness   

            The good stuff comes from God

                        We must accept God’s inputs to be fruitful 

            Protecting fruitfulness 

                        Recognizing and avoiding sin and temptation to sin

            God is looking for fruitfulness 

                        We are saved to serve  

 

The parable of the Mustard Seed (Matthew 13:31-32)

 

Learning from the Mustard Seed--part 1--Surrendering to transformation

 

            We must let go in order to be fruitful; some ways to do so 

 

Learning from the Mustard Seed--Part 2--Extending beyond ourselves in love

 

We must move beyond where we are 

 

Learning from the Mustard Seed--Part 3--Trusting in God's providence

 

            Trusting that God will get us what we need to bear the fruit He wants

 

Learning from the Mustard Seed--Part 4--being open to blessing on multiple levels

 

            God will do more, different, and better than we expect  

 

Fruit from Weeds Series: 

 

Fruit from weeds--Insight 1--it’s much better to prevent weeds than to have to pull them

            Fruit from weeds--Insight 2--Don't put it off 

            Fruit from weeds-Insight 3--Start with the biggest weed

Fruit from Weeds--Insight 5--Don't get discouraged, stay focused on what's right in front of you, and enjoy what you can

Fruit from Weeds--Insight 6--Enjoy it

Fruit from weeds--Insight 7, One weed at a time

Fruit from weeds--Insight 8, Its easier to weed well-tended soil and it’s easier to pull one weed after you have pulled another

Even weeds can be redeemed       

What we can learn about being productive Christians from a garden hose

What we can learn about being productive Christians from a garden hose: Serving our true purpose

What we can learn about being productive Christians from a garden hose: Being connected to the source

What we can learn about being productive Christians from a garden hose: Problems that limit productivity

What we can learn about being productive Christians from a garden hose: solutions to those problems

What we can learn about being productive Christians from a garden hose: Accepting Humble Circumstances

“Good soil” and the parable of the sower (Matthew 13:4-9, 18-23; Mark 4:3-9, 13-20; Luke 8:5-8,11-15) Series

 

Becoming Good Soil: The Process of Becoming Fruitful

            Dedication, transformation, amendments, patience   

Making "Good Soil": Matthew 13:8, Mark 4:8 & Luke 8:8

 

         Increasing in godliness incrementally, over time

More on making "Good Soil"; Matthew 13:8, Mark 4:8 & Luke 8:8

            Enrichment comes from God; Acting on God’s blessings 

A prayer for "Good Soil": Luke 8:4-8, 11-15 

Learning from the Laodiceans (Revelation 3:14-22)

Lackluster crops & Laodiceans--Part 1--blocking the Son

lackluster crops & Laodiceans--part 2--Recovering from Mistakes

Lackluster crops & Laodiceans--part 3--Turning mistakes to the good

Being rooted in God  

What We Can Learn from Dandelions—The Importance of Being Rooted

            The importance of being deeply rooted in God 

Growing Our Roots

            How to become more deeply rooted in God 

What we can learn about God from Rain

Appreciating Rain

Parallels between God’s blessings and rain

More about Rain  

              Parallels between how God moves in our lives blessings and rain

Praying about rain

            Receiving & responding to God’s blessings 

II.         Stand-alone meditations

            Gardening Bible Study: John 15:1-17

            John 15:1-17 annotated—What this scripture tells us to do  

Wisdom is a Lot Like Compost

            The parallels between wisdom and composting 

Confession is a lot like weeding

Confession also seems to be a lot like composting

            The process of turning spiritual weeds into powerfully good things

Prayer, Compost & Composting

            Intercessory prayer & the process of praying

What we can learn from Mark 4:26-32 (the parable of the seed growing by itself)

Gardening Bible Study: Jeremiah 17:5-8

Planning the Garden

                        Maximizing our individual fruitfulness & coordinating our gifts with others

  Filling in the Spaces

            Planting seeds of godliness in the midst of our day-to-day activities

Making the Most of Odd Minutes

             More on growing godliness in the midst of our day-to-day activities

What Can We Learn from Our Tomato Plants?

            How we can be transformed by God’s care and our response

Unexpected Fruit from Long Dormant Seeds

            God works over time in ways we cannot anticipate 

What we can learn from our okra: we are blessed so we can yield blessings

            

A Gardener's Prayer

            A prayer for individual fruitfulness, based in the realities of gardening 

Cutting Back the Grasses

            Gaining by abandoning  

Digging Through the Dirt

            Removing things that get between God and us 

Pornography is Like an Invasive Plant

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