garden

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Laborers In His Garden

May 12, 2025May 5, 2025 krisshetter

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.”  Colossians 3:23-24

In my own sanctification journey, I thought that I’d come to a good place to not have to work so hard at doing God’s work. When my mom died last year, I was suddenly given the role as faithful steward in caring for my dad. A new “garden” had been planted for me to tend.

There’s quite a lot of weeding and tending going on right now in this new garden. The Holy Spirit allows me plenty of opportunities to go backwards in my journey. Seemingly endless doctor visits, hours long emergency room trips, and being the mental keeper of all the various issues he has at this time. On top of it, I did the one thing I never wanted to do but realized we had to do – place my dad in a short term health facility while he receives ongoing medical treatment.

God rarely seems to give us these more difficult tasks to perform alone. He has blessed me with wonderful family and friends who have pulled on their gardening gloves as well. An opportunity to make this a community garden filled with love, compassion, humility and service.

Each day, after tending this garden I give thanks to the Lord for all He has given and shown me. I give thanks for the friendly staff at all the places, even when things don’t go as planned. I give thanks for the knowledge He gave me about His character – that He would never leave me or forsake me. Thanks for the Holy Spirit teaching me patience, kindness and compassion. And I give thanks for each opportunity to share the Gospel and God’s Word with my atheist father.

You may recall I wrote a few weeks ago that during Covid I sought the advice of a Christian counselor in answering the question: How do I honor my mother and father who have rejected me?

I never dreamed He would answer my question with the great responsibility He has now gifted me. He gave me baby steps to steward my new self, given through faith in His Son. He planted forgiveness and love in me to tend.

“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’” – Matthew 25:21

My friends, on this journey we are never done in our gardens until our last breath. Until then we are to plant the seeds with our children, grandchildren or the children at our churches. We tend to our gardens by helping others see the weeds growing in their lives – and we ask them to help us in turn.

We may even need to spray for those pesky bugs in our midst. Pastors, teachers, and elders who try and introduce words counter to the truth of God. And we join together to celebrate the harvest. Friends, families, and acquaintances who ask to be baptized in the Lord Jesus Christ.

In my favorite “go to” book of the Bible, James, we are reminded to be faithful stewards of God’s garden. Faithful doers of the Word so that the Word is not forgotten, in ourselves and in others to come.

"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do."  James 1: 22-25

Jesus lamented the lack of garden laborers in Matthew 9:35-38 when He said, “The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few.” The Lord is signing up people like you and me for the most important job in the history of mankind. People who know the Word, who have experienced His presence in times of trial, people who are obedient to His Word.

It’s time to gather your tools and get to work.

bible study, Christian, Christian Church, christian encouragement, christian men, Faith, Jesus Follower, Uncategorized

A Promised Return

January 9, 2021January 7, 2021 krisshetter

The desert and the parched land 
will be glad;the wilderness will 
rejoice and blossom. 
Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom;
it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,
the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;
they will see the glory of the Lord,
the splendor of our God.
Isaiah 35:1-2

It was only just recently that I heard the concept of a “return to the Garden.” I mean I’m quite familiar with the promise of eternity but I just never made the full circle of an opening of the guarded Eden gates.

These past few weeks as myself, Todd and Madison have been reminded of the many promises of God, I keep hearing the word I have heard for more than a year – “obey.” With each promise there is a covenant agreement. God is sure and trustworthy about His side of the covenant. But we “mule-like” humans struggle to hold on to God tightly and sign at the bottom line. I wonder if it really just boils down to that little bit inside of us that doesn’t fully believe.

On March 26, 1997, San Diego Sheriff’s deputies discovered the bodies of 39 members of the group, Heaven’s Gate. The home where the bodies were found is just a stone’s throw from my own home. If you don’t recall their beliefs, I’ll give you a brief summary. The leaders, using the Bible and science fiction works by Robert A. Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke convinced their followers that extraterrestrial beings were clearly mentioned in the Book of Revelation. And the comet Hale-Bopp, was the sign for them to give up their early bodies and hitch a ride to the heavens. They twisted a lot of theology to meet their beliefs.

Sometimes when I’m talking about the concept of Jesus, salvation and eternity I think about those Heaven’s Gate souls and wonder if I sound just as crazy to non-believers. I shy away from talking about God and loosen my grip on Him. Of course, one of the large differences is that God never asks us to speed up the date and time of the end of our days here on Earth. And we have been constantly assured that we cannot know the hour of Jesus’ return.

But that return is definitely promised. And if we believe that God is the creator, the sovereign LORD overall, then we must also believe in our return to the Garden.

The prophecy from Isaiah in 35:1-2 was written as a message of hope for the people of Jerusalem. It’s likely the Assyrians had ravaged all the nearby cities and had made the roads too dangerous on which to travel. The people, as Warren Wiersbe says in his commentary, “Were cooped up in Jerusalem, wondering what would happen next.” Sound familiar?

He goes on to write that the faithful were praying continuously to God for hope and relief. And God answered their prayers. As He had done so many times before and since.

“The time has come,” he said. 
“The kingdom of God has come near. 
Repent and believe the good news!”
Mark 1:15

How many jokes have we seen and heard related to this verse? And yet it is surely true. Jesus himself makes this statement. I heard an evangelist pastor say once, “I don’t know when Jesus is returning and we will see the Garden again, but the time is certainly nearer than it was yesterday!”

It’s said that the new Garden will be even more magnificent than the first. And although that sounds wonderful, I’ll be joy-filled just to be able to have my name written on the list to enter any type of garden God has for me.

Each day I am here on this Earth is another day to hold on tightly to God’s promises and obey and believe. Each day we are here is another gift God gives us to step out of our comfort zones, out of our cooped up lives and work on putting just one more name on that list.

I hope you have enjoyed these 25 Promises of God through the Book of Isaiah. Please join me for our next series titled, “Pray It Till You Make It!” It’s a focus on praying to be the people we know God wants us to be and watching the transformation work He does in us!