Gardening for Jesus
Scripture: “But the Israelites did not drive out the people of Geshur and Maacah, so they continue to live among the Israelites to this day.” Joshua 13:13
Observation: The Israelites take out the people living in the land, but didn’t completely wipe them out like the Lord had told them to do. The people continued to live amongst the Israelites. They drank from the same watering holes, lived in the same towns, and intermarried with the people. God did not want this, but the people of God did not carry out His orders fully.
Application: I helped my friend, Jeremy Koenig, remove some bushes from his yard. The roots had grown strong and deep. They intertwined with each other and had become very strong. He actually broke four different shovels trying to get these roots out of the ground. In the same way, God desires for us to root out all of the sin in our lives, but so often we compartmentalize our sin and let some of it linger. We hide it and put it away, but it remains with us. God desires for all of it to be gone, but we keep just a little back and it remains with us to this day. Eat continues to pop up from time to time, just like a weed that is not taken out at the root. I must look at the roots of the sin in my life and do some serious gardening.
Prayer: God, may you open my eyes to the roots of sin in my life and may I be a vigilant gardener for you. Amen!
