Gardening for growth!

Growing up in rural KZN, spring time meant tending the ground for planting all sorts of things, mainly mealies.  First the tractors and cattle would plough the fields.  Then we would all go out with hoes and prepare the field further, breaking all the big pieces of overturned soil so that it was workable.  Once that was done we would go to the kraal and get dry cow manure which was spread and scattered over the field.  Finally the planting of seeds would take place and then we'd wait for the rains while at the same time fending off chickens and birds.  I am the master chicken bouncer! 

 Once the crop had grown, then would come the worst job of them all, weeding.  I was hopeless at weeding.  My pile of weeds tended to be half weeds and half mealies, which drove my mother absolutely mad.  Needless to say, my weeding days were short lived.  So I got demoted to watering-canister-master.  It was at this young age I came to realise that if a mealie plant, for example, doesn't grow tall and strong enough, it generally bears useless cob and if the cob is big, it breaks the plant. 

You and I must also tend our hearts and minds to be ready for Christ to plant in us His Word, desires and indeed His heart and Spirit.  If you are reading this though, you most probably have accepted Christ in your life but maybe struggle with growth and intimacy with Him.  Don't beat yourself, growth is possible and so is intimacy.  Here are a few practical things I think you and I must engage in, in order to grow and bear fruit. 

• Romans 12:2 urges us to be transformed by the renewal of our minds. We therefore must train our minds and attitudes to love God and hate sin. Loving God and hating sin is a whole sermon and thesis on it's own so let me break it down by simply saying, we must resolve to do the stuff that makes God smile every moment of our days. Weeding out sin is not simple nor is it easy and one can chop down good crop while weeding out sin but it all begins with our attitudes.
• On a number of occasions, Paul encourages us to pray: Eph 6:18 Phil 4:6 are but a few examples. An old hymn suggests that there are so many privileges we often forfeit, because we do not carry everything to Christ in prayer. Prayer is powerful and keeps us connected with Christ. Prayer helps us grow and is extremely intimate. If you want to see transformation in your ministry, your life, family or any circumstance, prayer is the key to the gates of Gods' heart.
  • Richard Foster has written a book called Prayer which is worth a read.
  • An anonymous writer wrote a book called ‘A kneeling Christian'.... Excellent
  • There is a tiny book called, ‘Praying Hyde' also worth a read.
  • When Joshua was taking over from Moses, God commanded Him to meditate on the Word day and night and not to let it depart from His mouth. Joshua 1:6-9. We will never fully know God but we must still strive to know Him more today than we did the day before. I am convinced that without reading your Bible regularly, you stunt your growth and are in danger of being like a mealie that cannot handle the fruit God desires for you and from you. Bible study notes are very useful and are available left right and centre.
  • Closer to God (Annual release from Scripture Union)
  • If you are younger, they also do a Khula book and a Khula kids.
  • I also go on the web to http://www.ucb.co.uk/ and read ‘The Word For Today.
  • A challenging book is Oswald Chambers' My Utmost For His Highest.
• If you read through the Psalms, you get a glimpse of how David and His co-writers loved God so much that worship was their daily activity. We must worship God because He deserves it and He is worthy of our worship. Read Isaiah 40 and tell me He is not worthy to be worshipped. Worship God simply because He is God. I am biased towards sung worship so my suggestions here are tilting towards that form of worship but it is not the only form of worship, it is but one of thousands of ways to worship. I have found books by Matt Redman to be very practical and excellent for any Christian in pursuit of Gods' heart.
  • The unquenchable worshipper, Blessed be Your Name, Facedown are three I enjoyed and found most helpful and most encouraging.
  • Darlene Czech wrote an excellent book a few years back called, Extravagant worship.
  • It is vital to also read old texts like, Spurgeon on Praise, Brother Lawrence's' practicing the presence of God.
  • The internet offers vast amounts of resources. I visit the worship central website regularly, read and listen to talks on worship. http://www.worshipcentral.org/

The thing about worship is to keep it fresh and exciting.  It is not meant to be boring and the same over and over, so here are a few things you can do:

• Play a CD and worship
• Sit in silence and/or journal
• Rewrite Psalms in your own words
• Paint/draw
• Now and then I'll take an old Hymn book and just read through the words. They are so rich refreshing that most contemporary songs do not hit the same mark.

I'm sure you get the picture. 

• Finally, in Hebrews 10:25 the writer exhorts us not to give up meeting together. Fellowship with Christians, whether at church or for coffee is vital. The Church ( Christian family) is your support network to encourage you when you ‘re down to correct when you go wrong, to pray for you and with you at all times. D. Bonheoffer writes fantastically on community. I'd also urge you to get into a home group/cell group and where possible, have an accountability partner.

Each of the above is a huge topic on its own.   They are also not the only activities one must engage in.  There is mission, evangelism, tithing, discipleship and mentoring to name a few but I pray and am certain that these will spur you on in pursuit of Gods heart.  In the end it's not about a ticking a box to say what has been achieved and what still needs to be worked on but rather about pursuing the heart of God and with everything to shout His glory and bring Him praise and worship for He alone is worthy and intimacy with Him is intimacy unrivalled.

 ‘We worship an...unrivalled, uncontested God of all kind of might and power and glory and awe.  There is none like Him anywhere in all of creation.'   Louie Giglio