Consider the Wild Flowers

Wild Star Lily (Star of Bethlehem)

Consider how 

the wild flowers grow. 

They do not labor or spin. 

Yet I tell you, not even Solomon 

in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.

Luke 12:27 NIV

This verse was given during the Sermon on the Mount. I am not a Greek scholar, but from all the English translations, it appears that this is in the imperative form as a commandment.  In the recording of Matthew, just a few verses prior to this one, Jesus commanded us to "Look at the birds of the air."  I have always enjoyed both bird watching and listening to their songs. I have also enjoyed the wild flowers in my garden, as much as those that I have planted. So, I decided, since my previous post was on gardening for vegetables, I would share some of my wild flowers over the years that God has given to me to consider.



 Although the Morning Glories can be a bit pesky, as their vines tend to take over the surrounding plants and garden, I love to see them in the morning. I have two varieties in my garden: the purple and also the white with a purple stripe inside. If you look closer at the left picture, it shows how the butterflies benefit from this wild flower.  I have been blessed with many wonderful creations of God in my garden.



This is a picture of the Bittersweet Nightshade. The flowers are absolutely stunning with their purple petals and yellow tips. They grew around

the birdhouse. By the time it came back the nextyear, they had taken over as you can see. The final picture is of the berries, which although they may look like cherries or tomatoes (which by the way, they are in the same family with tomatoes and potatoes) they are actually quite poisonous.  So, we'll just have to enjoy their beauty.

Here are some radon pictures of the wildlife enjoying my garden.

One of many squirrels

An Opossum

A Honey Bee

A Grasshopper

A Beautiful Butterfly

A Caterpillar

A Bumblebee

I Have Come into My Garden

I have come into my garden, 

my sister, my spouse... 

Song of Songs 5:1

My posts are generally of a spiritual nature, but I have decided to share with you a little of what has been going on in my personal life - more specifically, in my garden.  In 2013, I got an idea from some frugal website about making your own compost bin out of a garbage bin. So, I went to Menards, (a popular low cost hardware store in the Midwest) and got a good deal on a garbage bin. Then, I preceded to drill holes in the sides and on the bottom.  Over the years, I've tried to be diligent to throw in all my fruit/vegetable peelings, ashes from my fire pit, dead leaves, even occasionally shredded papers and dead plants. It has provided me with several years of natural fertilizer and good soil.

Early in this spring, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, I decided I needed to be a bit more diligent and start more container gardens. I was able to repurpose a storage bin and plant radishes and brocolli. I didn't realize how fast radishes grow, but they came out so quickly, I have already harvested the first batch and planted a second one which you can see growing. That is also a tomato plant that I planted at the one end of the second picture.

Then there is my other raised bed. It has been faithful over the years to give me some good vegetables. The parsley you see in the far corner, is from a year or two ago. The spinach is doing so well, and I planted some carrot seeds and I cannot wait to see them come up.  There are also onions that are sprouting, another tomato plant and a cucumber plant coming up.

If you are needing something to do this year to get you out of the house, I recommend a garden. Not only is it therapeutic to be working in the soil and outdoors, but it is financially helpful to have your own groceries growing out of your yard. And it gives you such a sense of satisfaction when you are reaping the harvest that you planted.

In Earth as it Is In Heaven

Don't Trust Your Heart

And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying, "Speak unto the children of Israel, and command them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a thread of blue: and it shall be unto for a fringe, that you may look on it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them; and that you not follow after your own heart and your own eyes, which lead you astray: that you may remember and do all My commandments, and be holy unto your God." Numbers 15:37-40 (Auths Trans)

Three times a day, Jewish men recite the words of the Shema: Hear, Oh Israel the LORD is our God; the LORD is One. This is the central prayer of Judaism and is made up of three paragraphs. The first is taken from Deuteronomy 6, the second from Deuteronomy 11 and the last is from the above portion found in Numbers 15.  This was the very first Hebrew text I learned, when I started learning Hebrew more than 20 years ago. I was always intrigued with the phrase: and that you not follow after your own heart and your own eyes, which lead you astray... because this is completely contrary to what people often tell us.


All my life, I have been told by well meaning people, "Trust your heart." "Follow your heart" and other such phrases. But King Solomon said exactly opposite of this. He exhorted: He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso waketh wisely shall be delivered. Proverbs 28:26  The prophet Jeremiah tells us why we shouldn't trust our hearts: The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? Jeremiah 17:9

But many will argue, "That is Old Testament. Jesus came into our hearts and we can trust our heart." However, Jesus Himself taught the same thing that the Old Testament writers declared. He said, "For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out o fthe evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgement. For by thy words shalt thou be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. Matthew 12: 34-37 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: these are the things which defile a man. Matthew 15:18-20  These words echoed another proverb from King Solomon: Keep thy heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life. Proverbs 4:23

Our mouth only reflects whats in our hearts. If we fill our hearts with evil, then that's whats going to come out.  The Apostle James, who was also the Lord's brother, stated: Out of the same mouth proceeds blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? Let him show out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. James 3:10, 13 During the sermon on the mountain, Jesus said concerning our speech: But let your Yes be Yes; and your No be No; for whatsoever is more than these comes of evil. Matthew 5:37  The Apostle Paul exhorted the Ephesians: Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace to the hearers.  Ephesians 4:29  And in writing to the Corithians, the Apostle Paul, used a quotation from a Greek poet named Menander, from his play called Thais: Be not deceived; evil communication corrupts good manners. 1 Corinthians 15:33

Instead, we must surrender our hearts to the Lord and allow Him to lead us by His Spirit. This is what is means to Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, all of your soul, and all of your might.

Faith Comes by Hearing

The Word of the LORD

 Hear oh Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all of your might. And you shall love your neighbor as yourself. Deut 6:4

Jesus said, If you love Me, you shall keep My Commandments. John 14:15.  So many people, today, want to live a modern, secular lifestyle, but still wear the title of a Christian. They are no more than the pagans or heathens who worship an idol or false god. He that loves the world, the love of the Father is not even in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is of the world and the world will pass away, but He that does the will of God shall abide forever. I John 2:15-17 They that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.  II Timothy 2:19

How can we possibly live the life God called us to live? No matter how hard we try, it always seems to be a bit out of our reach. The Apostle Paul told the Romans in chapter 7 how whenever he would try to do good, evil was present and he would fall short. But God provided a way for us to walk in His ways. It is not by our works, but through faith.  The just shall live by faith. Habakkuk 2:4 Not by works of the law. For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. Eph 2:8-9

Faith is a revelation.

By faith, Abel offered a more excellent sacrifice unto God...Hebs11:4 How did Abel know what to offer in sacrifice to God? It came by revelation. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. Romans 10:17

I have often heard whole sermons from the text: (As it it is written, I have made thee (Abraham) a father of many nations,) before Him Whom he believed, even GOD, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were. Romans 4:17.  Now to hear preachers preach, the verse is taken to mean Abraham called those things that be not as though they were, but if you read this according to its context, Abraham believed in GOD WHO calls those things that be not as though they were.  

I believe this is where the deceitful lie came up in the 80' and 90's to "Name it and Claim it".  And this lie gave birth to the prosperity doctrine that took over many televangelists and people in the church world. One televangelist who was very much a propagator of this lie recently came forward and made a public confession and repented of his part in this.

But lay that aside and this is still a powerful portion of Scripture.  Abraham believed in HIM - in the very One Who spoke, “Let there be light.” And there was light. Gen. 1:3  When God speaks, nature obeys. For He spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast. Psalms 33:9  And why does nature obey? It is because nothing can stand before the Word of God. And when we surrender ourselves to the Word of God through faith, the will of our flesh can no longer stand before the Word of God. It must obey.

So, when God says, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all of your might. And you shall love your neighbor as yourself." It is not that you have to figure out how to work this out on your own.  You have to recognize that He has given the Word and by faith, you can walk in the fulfillment of it. When Jesus commanded the paralytic to "Take up his bed and walk", the man could not naturally do this in himself.  But because Jesus is the Word, the paralytic's body had to obey the commandment of God.

Jesus said, "If you abide in Me, and My Words abide in you, ye shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you." John 15:7 The key here is ASK.  In my lifetime, I've heard countless believers COMMAND the Lord. I have often heard preachers tell the devil where to go and what to do.  I believe that commanding the devil certainly comes with a level of authority and relationship with the Lord, but more often the devil doesn't move because that man or woman is operating in a spirit of pride and not in sincerity and a true walk with the Lord.

I have heard so often in the ministry of Brother William Branham, he would pray, "Father, I ask that the devil leave this person."  I don't remember many times hearing him COMMAND the devil to come out.  There's something about humility that causes the heart of God to be moved.

God wants us to ASK.  How often did Jesus say, "Ask"?  As a child when I would want something from my mother or father, I knew if I walked up and said, "give me this" or even "I want that", I probably wouldn't be as likely to be given it, unless I asked, "may I please have that?" It is a level of respect and we as children of God often mistake our LEVEL of respect and think of ourselves more highly than we ought to think.  Oh how often I have proved the Lord by following His simple command: ASK AND YOU SHALL RECEIVE.  Just the other day, after searching high and low through my house for something, I stopped and prayed, "Lord, this is so insignificant, but You promised, SEEK and you shall find. I have been seeking and I'm asking You to help me find." I hadn't even finished my prayer, before the Holy Spirit directed me to look in a drawer and there it was.

He just wants us to take Him at His Word and He'll take us at our word.  A good friend of my mother's, Mrs. Dot Bell once told me: "I'm nothing. He's everything. But when Everything takes hold of a willing nothing, something good is bound to happen."

The Way of Truth

My Hiding Place

Fulfilling all of the Torah

Prophet of Prayer