When we come to Jesus and confess by seeking His forgiveness for our sins and repent by deciding to turn away from the specific sinful behavior in our lives, we are forever forgiven and cleansed at the cross by the blood of Jesus Christ. Our sins are removed from our hearts like weeds uprooted from a garden. Therefore, the more we weed and clean out our gardens, the more room there is in our hearts for God’s love to grow, take deeper root, and bear fruit within us.
We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. 1 John 4: 16-18
The more we KNOW God, His word, His character, and His love for each of us, the more we will believe who He says He is.
The more we BELIEVE who God says He is, the more we will trust Him with our hearts, our own lives, and the hearts and lives of our loved ones.
The more we place our TRUST in God, the more we will be able to surrender to Him.
The more we SURRENDER to God and place in His hands, the more authority and priority He will have in our lives.
Ultimately over time, Christ will become first in our lives, and we will become second. The Word tells us in John 3:30, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”
As we SEE God working in and through our lives, the more we will experience His sovereignty and faithfulness.
As we EXPERIENCE His sovereignty and faithfulness, the more we will be able to walk by faith.
As we are able to walk by FAITH, the more our spiritual gifts, talents, and abilities that He has placed within us by the power of the Holy Spirit will show forth and bless others.
As we BLESS others with the gifts He has placed in us, the more He will bless us for our obedience.
As we are OBEDIENT to the Holy Spirit’s leading and directing in our lives, the more we will find joy, peace, and fulfillment in our purpose and eternal calling; consequently, we will be bearing good fruits of righteousness for the Kingdom of God.
For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, declares the LORD, and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile. Jeremiah 29: 11-14
Have you decided whether you want Christ to be the center of your life?
Have you confessed and repented of all your sins?
Have you placed everything that belongs to you in His hands?
Do you seek scripture and prayer for answers to your unanswered questions?
Have you asked the Holy Spirit to lead you to greater insight and understanding of His Word and plans for your life?
Have you made yourself available to do whatever He calls you to do?
Today, Friends, let’s run into the arms of our Heavenly Father and may it be the sweetest place of eternal revelation as our hearts beautifully grow in His perfect love, bearing good fruits for all to see.
My Father is gloried by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. John 15:8
From my nest to yours,
Chris
chriswilliamsblog.com 
“As we are able to walk by FAITH, the more our spiritual gifts, talents, and abilities that He has placed within us by the power of the Holy Spirit will show forth and bless others.” Beautiful! This line so resonated with me today. It is faith in action too. Great to meet you!
love the reminder of God’s grae and love, and how we are in good hands with Thy Will Be Done and the power of the Holy Spirit. I think we forget how loved and cared for we are, and God’s immense blessings and promises He will never leave or forsake us. Thank you for your faithfulness and for pointing us to where we need to be always. Blessings!
I love the pruning analogy. I grew up SORT OF helping my Dad in the garden with his various trees, plants, and vines, so I always feel happy to think about God doing the same to my own life. It takes a lot of devotion and care to have a healthy garden!
Such a great reminder as it is time to weed my garden (in more ways than one). So often I forget that the weeds are obstacles that shade out what God has planted in me and they are so easy for Him to remove if I just let him. Thank you Chris for such an excellent and insightful post!
I love the way these traits walk out one on top of the other! We are such building blocks of his character, beautifully put friend! Love this friends, so good to see you Sunday! We should get coffee soon!?
This is brilliant. I loved how you talked about weeding our hearts to give God and His love more room to grow in us. I recently had to weed my garden and often find myself being reminded of this valuable lesson.