Daily Encouragement Net - Encourage one another daily (Hebrews 3:13)
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Tuesday, June 14, 2005

"A Well-Watered Garden"


"The LORD will guide you always; He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail" (Isaiah 58:11).

Our gardens are well-watered right now due to recent thunder storms in our area.  Across the road from our home you can practically see the corn growing before your eyes. The Lord has provided the natural resources for plant life.  In Isaiah the analogy is given that as God's children we be as a "well-watered garden" to the "sun-scorched land".

Yesterday I had a meeting with a group of Christian businessmen and one of them used an illustration concerning keeping steers together out on the Great Plains. He explained that you can either build fences to keep them in or you can provide a deep watering hole with sufficient water and they will stay near the source of water.

He shared this as an analogy concerning our outlook toward ministry. As we view our service for Christ and our spiritual impact on others we can either focus on building fences or digging wells.

Some churches or Christian organizations use their resources to build fences. I last worked for a para-church organization that was very much like this. In this view other churches and similar ministries are seen as competition or a threat to their existing work. A great percentage of energy and resources are spent in just building and maintaining fences.

Or we can focus on digging wells and providing the life-giving water that people desperately need in the "sun-scorched land" we live in spiritually. That's how I want my life and ministry to be like and encourage you likewise regardless of what type of ministry you have. If our life and ministry is as a "well-watered garden" we will draw others in and make the impact upon others that God has called us to do.


Be encouraged today,


Stephen C. Weber

Note from Brooksyne:  I can picture in my mind an oasis in the dry and hot desert land when I read our text today from Isaiah.  I can also see those who've been searching their entire lives for answers that will only come from having a personal relationship with Jesus.  Because God has redeemed us from a life of utter hopelessness we are like that oasis in the desert.  May we be His hand extended reaching toward those needing a drink from the "springs of living water" where the supply is inexhaustible and it is available to all who will drink.

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Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission; and the King James Version.

Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and I make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and to prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."

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