When God Says it’s Time (Part two of the journey):

Reading Scripture, we come across many verses about God’s desire, and his purpose to make us new, better people, led by His will. I’d like to share a little bit of how God has been ministering to my heart recently.

One of the things I love to do is gardening. I love to water the plants, take care of them, and appreciate the fruits of my labor. It fills me with joy when I have a beautiful garden. But today, I want to focus on the importance of how we should be planted and cared for so that we can flourish, in the right season, in the garden that God has prepared for us. We should be letting God rip out the weeds that suffocate our growth, and have the discernment to recognize the daily distractions that are invested in bringing us down. What keeps us from living a life of abundance? What keeps us from experiencing the good, perfect and pleasing will of God in our lives?

I’d like to invite you to spend some time with me in the Word, where Jesus teaches us the importance of being born again and stepping into His life – one that makes us new!

John 15:1-5

I am the Real Vine and my Father is the Farmer. He cuts off every branch of me that doesn’t bear grapes. And every branch that is grape-bearing he prunes back so it will bear even more. You are already pruned back by the message I have spoken. Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can’t bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can’t bear fruit unless you are joined with me. I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relationship is intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing. 

When I am planting my garden, I always make sure I am not planting anything in “old soil”. When I say “old soil”, I am referring to soil that has not been treated and prepared for new plants. I know the importance of analyzing the soil and inspecting its condition before planting. Many times I find soil that is ridden with mildew, debris, or roots that I know will hinder the growth of anything I plant. Beyond that, it’s important to read the instructions for each plant before placing it in the ground. Each seedling requires specific conditions in order to flourish. The process of preparing the soil, digging, ripping out the weeds/roots, and treating the soil with the right nutrients isn’t always fun – but it is always necessary. There are many types of soil, and if it’s not properly treated and balanced, any new plants will die. 

The church is like a budding field, full of gifts and talents. It’s a place where we are planted and are planters, we are cultivated and are cultivators, destined to bear fruit and glorify the name of the Lord through the gifts and talents he has given us. Renovate Church is a field that God has prepared so that the body of Christ can be planted, and we can be grafted together onto the one true vine, Jesus. Together, we can flourish and bear the fruits of the Spirit. 

Just like there are different types of soil, there are also different types of seeds that grow, flourish, and die in different seasons – that produce fruit at the right time (Psalm 1:3). In the same way, not all seeds and plants grow at the same pace. For example, a while back, I planted a bunch of marigolds – all in the same soil that I had treated and prepared. Some grew more than the others. Some had only started to sprout when others had already begun to bloom. The soil was fertile and the seeds began to grow, but none grew at exactly the same pace. However, this doesn’t mean that the seeds which took a longer time to grow were any less important than those that were already blooming and spreading sweet fragrance. 

God is our farmer. He prepares the land and plants us in fertile and sound soil. He provides the proper nutrients and food for our daily growth. The Holy Spirit prunes us and reveals to us what is suffocating and impeding the new seeds from growing and producing good fruit. Jesus is the gardener that takes care of the garden. While we are fragile in his hands, he strengthens us to spread his sweet fragrance – sometimes even moving us to another part of the garden that he has prepared so that we can experience further growth. 

Romans 12:1-2

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

To be born again means that we need to learn everything all over again. We need to walk differently than we walked before. We need to have the identity of God. We need to love, serve, have compassion for others, and put others in front of ourselves. We need to look deep inside of ourselves and evaluate all of our motivations. We need to have no shame in re-starting our walk with God no matter how many times it takes. We need to be willing to be vulnerable and ask for help from others. David was a man after God’s own heart – not because he was perfect in his walk with God – but because he always came back, searching and finding the altar. He had a mind that had been renewed. Let’s walk like David. Let’s be men, women, youth, and children after God’s own heart. Renewing our mind, walking anew in Life, and always searching to spread the sweet fragrance of Christ. 

2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old has gone, the new is here! 

We know that each season of the year brings certain benefits to the crops. I’d like to highlight here the unavoidable adversity that we will encounter. There are winter storms with snow that weighs down tree branches, and stormy winds that break those branches and even topple the strongest of trees to the ground. It is during these winter months that the trees and plants can receive their most important nutrients and strength – they are strengthened even during the times when it seems they are dying. This is exactly like us. We receive the nourishment and strength necessary when we are on our last leg. 

We may lose our jobs. We could lose a loved one. Our marriage may be falling apart. But, if we are in Christ, he consoles and comforts our hearts. We know we are never alone. We have a community that loves us so that we can grow together, being strengthened and strengthening each other. Friends become family. To walk in newness and life is to know that we don’t have all of the answers, we don’t know everything, but we have hope for what is to come. Renovate Church was born in God’s heart. He is calling us to a personal relationship. Loving each other as we love ourselves, spreading His sweet fragrance, and glorifying God through the gifts and talents He has given us….Let’s Be Made New!

Marione Guthery is a home designer, a mother of two, is bilingual, and, above all else, is a faithful servant of God. She has been involved in multiple ministries throughout the church for many years, including hospitality, prayer teams, and women’s ministries. Through her writing, she plans to share the visions God gives her for Renovate, and for the Church as a whole, in hopes of blessing as many people with God’s work as possible.