GARDEN TIME

The spring garden catalogs and magazines are arriving in my mail box daily.  Today it is unseasonably warm for the North East area where I live, even in Kansas the weather man is predicting 50-60 degrees today!…in JANUARY!  In my mind, this brings memories of past warm winters followed with LOTS of summer insects and weeds of unusual size!

As I was pondering on these things, it occurred to me that our hearts are like gardens….we choose what we “plant” in our hearts by the words we think and speak, the sounds we hear and what we see. We are the architect of hearts.  No wonder God said we should “guard our hearts!”.

Philippians 4:8

New King James Version (NKJV)

Meditate on These Things

⁸ Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

When I lived on a farm in Kansas I had a garden.  It was bordered on the north and west sides by evergreen trees, the south end by the Butler building and on the east side by a tall evergreen hedge.  Although, it was by our driveway, it was not visible and lots of people referred to it as, “Karen’s Secret Garden”.

I inherited it from my mother-in-law.  When my in-laws moved into town in 1989, we moved into the main farm, where they had lived.  My father-in-law had built the house in 1958. My mother-in-law had not been well and so, the garden was overgrown and scraggly.  Over the years, under my care, it evolved into the lovely garden of my dreams! There were flowing shrubs,two flowering Crab Apple trees,a large Pine tree, a Red Bud tree and a Pecan Tree. In the middle was a small pond with a waterfall.  It was surrounded by stone I had carried from the rock pile and laid in a pattern to provide a small area for a tiny table, a couple of chairs and a bench. With the help of two of my sons, I put down mulch on the pathways and stepping stones throughout the garden to separate the flowers from the herbs and the vegetables. 

I loved my garden, even though it was a LOT of hard work…for two and maybe three weeks of Spring Beauty!  It was so beautiful… until the wheat harvest came in mid-June!  No matter how hard I tried to keep the weeds out, during those three-four weeks of harvest…the weeds just came up from nowhere and would overtake my garden!

One year, I thought I would conquer this weed thing.  I spent a lot of money on special garden treatments that would, “stamp out weeds”… then laid new mulch on top…and thought I had beaten the weeds!  The garden was extraordinarily lovely that year.  The day after harvest, I went out and surveyed the area…WEEDS had popped up and the garden looked just as bad as in previous years!!! 

In great dismay…. I sat down on the garden bench and cried.  How could this be??? I had worked so hard to get rid of the weeds….Through my tears, I began to ask GOD…why??? I had worked so hard to make it beautiful…why did the weeds have to grow????  I poured out my heart to HIM and then I waited…it seemed like a long time. Then, as I was looking at a towering pigweed, I heard a quiet little voice,

“That’s how I feel when I look at my people”

Instantly I saw in a vision, the LORD Jesus looking out a glass window.  I could see tears in his eyes as he surveyed the whole earth from this heavenly window. I felt so ashamed.  Here I was complaining about a garden and He was thinking about the souls and hearts of His creation! 

I thought, LORD, what can I do?  I am just a farm wife, a 4-H Leader, the mother of three sons in the middle of the nation…I don’t even have a college education…

He said, “Bloom where you are planted.  Seek me and I will teach you.”

In the Holy Bible it is written, that when we seek GOD with all our heart, we will find Him.  He is only a prayer away and He desires us so much more that we desire HIM!  HIS mercy, grace, peace, joy and perfect Love are available to us…Jesus is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to know salvation through HIM….HIS cross…His blood shed for our sins and His resurrection for our eternal life with Him…ONLY BELIEVE and you shall be saved!

When the Apostle Paul was beaten and put into prison in Philippi, an angel came and rescued him and the jailer asked Paul:

Acts 19

²⁹ Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. ³⁰ And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
³¹ So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” ³² Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. ³³ And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized. ³⁴ Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household.

What can we do???

Spiritually Speaking...we, as a nation appear to be at a "Crossroads".  Some TV Ministries are saying that we are in or at least approaching, what is called,  "the end times",  and God is judging America for our sins.  Surely, as a nation, we have drifted away from the moral foundations of our Founding Fathers!

I don't think that God is judging individual believers in Christ Jesus, because Christ Jesus has already been judged for our sins.  We have been bought and paid for by the Blood of Jesus shed on the cross.  However, there is something called the law of sowing and reaping.  There are consequences for things we do, as individuals and, also as nations.  

Recently, Messianic Rabbi Jonathan Cahn has been on various TV programs promoting his new book.  A very compelling book entitled,  "The Harbinger".  He writes about the parallels between things happening in America and things that happened to ancient Israel.  Israel, before its destruction as a nation,  received nine harbingers, prophetic omens of warning. The same nine  harbingers are now manifesting in America—with immediate ramifications for end-time prophecy......

Taking these things into consideration, along with the National Presidential Debates....the state of our economy and those in authority over us.....WHAT can we do?

My husband taught a Bible Study last year and became very interested in "End Times". He has studied extensively the books of Daniel, Revelation, the Prophets, chapter 24 of the Gospel of Matthew and books by leading Christian authors concerning the "Last Days".

Recently, his heart has been drawn, back to Daniel, especially chapter 9, where Daniel, while in captivity prays for his people.  As he was wondering, "What can we do to keep God's favor and protection, because we have certainly gone astray from God's precepts?"  He felt led by the Holy Spirit to write a prayer for our Nation based on the prayer of Daniel.

If you would like to join us in prayer for our Country, please pray this prayer with us:

Prayer for the United States

O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him and who abide in Him, we as a nation, the people of the United States of America, have sinned and have committed iniquity against You.  We have turned from You and have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts, and by not heeding Your commands – that we love You with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, and that we love each other as we love ourselves.

O Lord, all righteousness belongs to You, but to us as a nation, shame of face for turning from Your precepts and Your commands.  We have failed to obey Your voice.

You have endowed to this nation since its inception a multitude of blessings, which include:  prosperity, freedom to speak our mind, and freedom to practice our faith.  But, we have strayed from You and forgotten that You are the source of all these blessings.  We have ignored Your protective hand upon us and have become, in our own hearts, self-reliant and self-important.  We have elected leaders who, in their hearts, do not consider Your counsel or command, and have no recognition of Your divine provision of these blessings upon us.

Yes, the United States as a nation has transgressed against You and has departed so as to not obey Your voice.  Therefore, the hedge of protection You have provided for us is in danger of being removed.  You have sent us harbingers to warn us to turn back to You and to heed Your commands, in recognition of our iniquities as a nation.  We have departed from You and have forgotten Your truth – that You are God, and that You rule in the kingdom of men and give to whom You will.

And now, O Lord God, who created our nation and has blessed us, we come to You this day and acknowledge that we as a nation have sinned against You by not obeying You, or considering You in our hearts.  We ask that You forgive our nation for its iniquities and help us to turn again toward You.  We ask that You raise up Godly men and women to rule our nation, who will not forget You and who will seek Your counsel in leading our nation to greatness once again.  We do not ask these things because of our own self-righteousness, but because of Your great love and mercy.

O Lord, hear us.  O Lord, forgive us.  O Lord, act and do not delay for Your own sake on behalf of this nation which You created to obey your voice, and to be blessed and be great, and to be a friend of Israel.  We, your people whom You have called, ask these things of You, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen.