Devotions Archive Archive: 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 Search Archive Print This Article God's green thumb Sunday, December 14, 2008 Isaiah 61:1-2, 10-11 The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners, to announce a year of favor from the Lord and a day of vindication by our God ... I rejoice heartily in the Lord, in my God is the joy of my soul; for he has clothed me with a robe of salvation and wrapped me in a mantle of justice, like a bridegroom adorned with a diadem, like a bride bedecked with her jewels. As the earth brings forth its plants, and a garden makes its growth spring up, so will the Lord God make justice and praise spring up before all the nations. Gary Smalley, a wise marriage counselor, writes: Imagine your life as a large vegetable garden. Each type of vegetable represents one part of your life ... carrots are your relationship with your mate, cucumbers are your relationship with your children, lettuce your career, green beans your extended family. The tomatoes are your friends, etc ... You won't have a very satisfying garden unless you plant several vegetables ... if any one or two of them is in the pits, the overall results can be helped by those that are doing better.* God has used this principle of diversification with great success. He identifies each of us with a unique fingerprint, unique DNA, a unique history and a unique personality. We are all his children, and each of us is his special child. So as Jesus comes, he comes to each one of us differently. In this beautiful passage of Isaiah (which Jesus read to the people of his home town when he came out as Messiah), God lists many "vegetables" he will use to feed us and love us and make us grow: Glad tidings Healing Liberty Release Year of favor Day of vindication Hearty rejoicing Joy of my soul Robe of salvation Mantle of justice Diadem Jewels Justice Praise God knows my name, he knows everything there is to know about my needs, and he has every tool he needs to communicate with me, love me and keep me with him forever. How will He love me today? You know? I can leave it up to him. It won't get any better than what He does. I'm glad to be growing in his garden. Lord, you bestow on us a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. We will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor. *Gary Smalley, Making Love Last Forever, pp. 76-78 "; Add      Edit    Delete