If you looked closely at Part I, you saw how Jesus purifies us through our relationship with Him and growth through His Word. You saw how we all become filled with joy as we find wonderful communication between Him, the Vine and us, His branches. Come spring, after a bit of pruning here and there, all of our gardens should be getting ready to produce, but first...

Have you examined your soil or your newly plowed ground? Have you been careful about where you have begun planting those seeds? Jeremiah 4:3 says... For thus saith the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.

A fallow garden is uncultivated, but our Lord is in the refining business. And when it comes to our Christian walks, he begins the refining process from the moment we are attached to His vine. But if we are not easily managed then what?

Let us consider just what the Lord said to the men of Judah and Jerusalem when He said, “Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.” What He was stressing there was the importance of serving the Lord in truth so He can cultivate our gardens appropriately with a good combination of spirit-filled potting mixture for the planting of His good seed. (His good seed is HIS WORD.)

But the heart that is not humble is like ground, which may be improved by the plowing of it, but is still fallow and overgrown with weeds.

Oh yes, weeds... those ugly weeds. We all have them don’t we! Weeds are the every ground’s NATURAL product. God is not looking for something NATURAL out of us though. We are supposed to be seeking after a SUPERNATURAL or spiritual garden... a place prepared for the spiritual sowing of his Word. Yet, we still have those weeds. So what must we do?

If your heart and my heart are right before the Lord, it becomes workable, easily managed and flexible. But it tells us in Jeremiah 17:9 "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" We can all become fooled by how spiritual we think we are but the Lord must continually show us our depravity. Asking God to clean our natural corruptive hearts daily will help us.

We also need to be ever aware of the Climate and Condition of our hearts while spending time in private devotions. Just knowing that HE is always there for us should help us be more willing to be there for Him! Isaiah 55:6-11 (Verses 6 and 7) Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

Let us try to remember to:

• Seek the Lord first every morning
• Forsake the ways of the world and unrighteous thoughts that we carry around with us
• Return to the Lord if we have strayed (He is always willing to abundantly pardon)

(Verses 8-11) For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

We cannot always know the climate of God, but our gardens still need preparation for any kind of weather, because His promises are to send us His WORD as we study, pray, and fellowship with Him. None of these will return unto him VOID.

God wants to water our gardens with the dew of his living water (the Holy Spirit) so He can bless our spiritual gardens. I have said this before, but it is always worth repeating -- God can accomplish so much in us and through us if we just let Him. When we study, we are showing ourselves approved to God. When we fellowship we are showing God that we have a desire to be amongst His people. When we pray we are in steady communication with Him.

James 5:17,18 says Elias (Elijah) was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit

Elias believed in the power of prayer. We too must believe in the power of prayer regardless of who we are!!! Elias was a man no different than any of us. He had an imperfect garden and yet he prayed earnestly (and with intense prayer). What did God do? He heard and answered that prayer. INTENSE and EARNEST PRAYER is required of all of us.

Take a moment to ask yourself the following questions.

• Have I worked diligently to keep my ground pliable and easily managed for the Lord?
• If I have begun sowing seeds for the Lord, where am I casting them?
• What do I do when I discover weeds in my garden? Do I dig them up, ignore them, or just hope they will go away someday?
• Am I satisfied with the climate and condition of my heart? If so, what advice can I give others? If not, what can I do to make improvements?
• Why is prayer so important for me and others?

God wants to bless our gardens. Are we going to give Him the chance to do so? It is really up to us.

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