My dad sometimes got exasperated with me. He sometimes got exasperated with me and, looking back, I can’t say I blame him. After all, while his passion was to nurture life within his precious gardens, mine was to kick back with a good book. While his burden was to do things well, mine was to do them with the least effort possible. I’m sure I didn’t make much of an employee on those days I accompanied him to job sites.

For a number of years much of dad’s work was done on a rich man’s estate not far from here. I remember a day when he brought me along to help him plant some flowerbeds. He dug the holes and I dropped a flower into each one, then pressed the soil back around the roots. When all had been planted, he left me to water while he turned his attention to other matters.
I took the hose in hand, gave everything a quick spray, then got my book from the truck and settled against a tree to catch up on some comics. Sure enough, he soon hauled me back to the flowerbed to water it all again. “I told you to water everything well and I expect you to do it. Do it again, and this time do it right!”
I guess I learned a lesson that day, though in retrospect it was rather an obvious one. I learned that you can’t just give freshly-planted flowers a quick spray in the heat of a Canadian summer and expect them to take root. Rather, you need to give the soil a deep soak. If you don’t, the sun will quickly dry the ground, the roots will be scorched, and the flowers will die.
The Bible often draws spiritual lessons from the natural world and there is one for us to gain here. Had dad failed to correct my negligence, it would have been no surprise when we returned the next week to find that those flowers had withered and perished. And there would have been no need to speculate on the cause of death. We would have known that because we failed to water the flowers, we failed to nourish them and give them any chance to grow.
And in much the same way, there are many Christians who do not grow spiritually precisely because they go unnourished. They may hope for life and health, they may hope to thrive and to bloom beautifully, but they cannot because they will not avail themselves of the means God provides. They do not pour over the words of sacred Scripture, they do not labor in prayer, they do not exert effort in being faithful to worship and serve in the local church. They may dabble in these things—their eyes may flit over the Bible, their mouths may recite a few memorized prayers, their feet may occasionally lead them to church—but they do not commit to them, they do not give themselves to them, they do not take full advantage of God’s provision.
Had I failed to water the garden, I would have had no cause to be surprised when I returned to find the ground dry, the roots parched, the flowers withered and faded. And if you, my friend, fail to nourish your soul, you have no cause to be surprised when your soul feels dry, when your faith feels parched, when you seem only to whither and fade. For the God who is so eager to give you his sanctifying grace, tells you how you can expect to receive it, the means through which he pours it out upon you. It is for you to receive, to drink deeply, and to thrive.

(To that end, you may enjoy my book Knowing and Enjoying God which shares quotes from a host of Christians on how to grow in your faith and develop a rich relationship with God)

Blessings to you on this fine day.

(Yesterday on the blog: When God’s Blessings Flow)
Hey Christian, Don’t “Quiet Quit” your Faith
Have you been hearing the term “quiet quitting” as much as I have lately? Here the term is applied to the Christian faith. “Quiet quitting the Christian life is the third soil that Jesus speaks of: those who bear no fruit because of the cares of the world, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desire for other things. Or as we might put it today ‘everyday life’.”
Can I Be Angry with God and Be Holy?
I’m very much with John Piper on this one.
How the 5 Solas Do More Than Respond to Catholicism
Michael Kruger: “Some misunderstand the 5 Solas as merely a response to Roman Catholicism and nothing more. In other words, they are viewed as a time-bound, historically conditioned set of affirmations that are largely applicable to a era that is long gone. It is precisely here that I want to offer a bit of pushback.”
Evangelical and LGBT+ Ally
Joe Carter shows how some terms so contradict one another that they can’t both be claimed by the same person.
Playing Home
You may identify with Glenna here. “There is something carved into the deepest layer of who I am that longs for a life that’s realer than this. That lasts longer. That means more, that hurts less.”
Television’s boundary-smashing pioneer turns 100
Al Mohler: “Norman Lear reached his 100th birthday this week, happily surrounded by his large family. That’s a remarkable achievement, but the real story here is not that Lear turned 100 but that he changed the world.”
Flashback: Why We Must Emphasize A Pastor’s Character Over His Skill
Of all the many qualifications laid out in the New Testament, there is just one related to skill (he must have the ability to teach others) and one related to experience (he must not be a recent convert)…What fits a man to ministry is not first accomplishment or capability but character.

The Lord gets his best soldiers out of the highlands of affliction. —Charles Spurgeon

Good morning. Grace and peace to you.

Today’s Kindle deals include a selection from Crossway.
(Yesterday on the blog: A Corporate Confession of Sin)
Does God Read Every Thought?
John Piper was asked whether God knows our thoughts. “The short answer is yes, but what’s really important, as I have thought about this, are the implications of that answer, and they are many and really significant.”
The Wisdom of Avoiding Strife
“Conflict is hard. By ‘conflict,’ I’m referring not to everyday disagreements, but to the sort of disagreements that look like knock-down, drag-em-out fights, that turn people into enemies of one another. The book of Proverbs refers to such situations as ‘strife.’”
The Kingdom of God Bible Storybook” Now Available from Lithos Kids
A faithful retelling of the story of God’s kingdom from Genesis to Revelation. Fully illustrated Old and New Testament volumes for ages 2 to 11. (Sponsored Link)
Could Jesus Come Back Tonight?
He sure could!
Trusting Visible Giants to Our Invisible God
“David was victorious over Goliath because he trusted the invisible God with very real and visible and impending problems. But remember this! It is easy to look at someone else’s successful battle, after the fact, and take for granted the outcome.” Isn’t that the truth!
Lyman Beecher’s Prodigal Son: The Story of a Runaway Who Came Home
“In a family of pastors, Charles Beecher (1815–1900) was the black sheep.” Obbie Tyler Todd tells about how he ran away from the Lord and how he returned.
Sex and Christ Crucified
“In our culture, sexual relationships are where Scripture seems most contrary to the majority opinion, and the majority opinion affects us more than we realize.” Ed Welch explains.
Flashback: Get to Know Yourself
To know myself, I need to look outside of myself. My best assessment of self does not come from within but from without. It does not originate with me but with God.

Everyone, almost, can be thankful in prosperity, but a true saint can be thankful in adversity. —Thomas Watson