January 9 / Seeds of Spring

INTRODUCTION: Planting Your Garden For a Fruitful Harvest
What our journey will look like:

DAYS 1-2: Introduction

DAYS 3-6: Preparing the Soil
Using the Gospel of Luke, we will take four days to prepare the soil of our hearts to receive the truth.

DAYS 7-40: Planting and Tending Your Garden
1. Each day will begin with a passage from Ephesians, a SEED OF TRUTH.

2. In PLANT THE SEED you will be given one "seed" from that passage, one scripture, to plant in your heart that day. Intentionally direct your thoughts to that verse and adjust your thinking and your heart to see your day and the people in your life through the eyes of that verse.

3. Submit yourself to that truth and plant that seed deep within your heart.

4. In WATER THE SEED, complete the suggested exercise or activity to help you "plant the seed" and work out that truth more fully in your life. "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves" (James 1:22).

5. In BEAR THE FRUIT, a nugget of truth for the day will be highlighted. This is the fruit that should come from planting and watering the truth in your heart.

6. Finally, use the truths in Ephesians to direct you in your prayers. "And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us" (1 John 5:14).

Read Ephesians 3:14-19.

“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭3:14-19‬ ‭NASB‬‬

As you begin...take a few moments to prepare your heart before beginning this study, like you might prepare a garden before you plant in the spring. Ask God to open your heart to receive the seeds of truth He desires to plant in your heart during the next 40 days. May He cause those seeds to grow into healthy shoots, mature plants, and then into an abundant harvest. Don't be afraid to ask Him for His help to hear His voice and to give you the grace you need to follow in the steps He asks you to take. The Lord is going to bring forth a beautiful garden of His character in your heart! Get ready - spring is here! May your heart be filled to overflowing with the fullness of the Lord!

Praying for you,
Laurie

Unless otherwise indicated, scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway.