Ephesians 2:10 | For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
How did God craft you with your purpose in mind?
What talents/abilities did He give you?
What personality traits do you have?
Jeremiah 29:11 | For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.
What promises does God make His people (you if you’re His follower) in Jeremiah 29:11?
Do you believe these promises? Why or why not?
We are continuing our journey as growing disciples who are shaped and pruned by the Master Gardener –
John 15:1-2 | I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.
There’s no better place to narrow in on how the Master Gardner works than in the very gardens He created. We’ll travel through four of the main gardens seen in Scripture this month, starting in perhaps the most famous garden of all. In these gardens, we’ll see how disciples are refined by the Father as we’re prepared to “go” or be used by Him.
The first garden takes us back to the very beginning. Just after Genesis one’s account of creation, the first garden is made by God for mankind–
Genesis 2:8 | Then the Lord God planted a garden in Eden in the east, and there he placed the man he had made.
Read MorePsalm 139:23-24 | Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.
Spend some time praying this prayer in Psalm 139. Then answer these questions:
What did God show you about your heart?
What did God show you a
John 10:10 | The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.
How does God’s ‘pruning’ of us lead to a life that is rich and satisfying?
What does He take away to make this possible?
Why is taking away these things necessary?
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 | That’s the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty. God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.
Solomon sums up how God’s people should live in Ecclesiastes 12. What is his instruction?
How are Solomon’s instructions connected to God’s purpose for you?
Isaiah 45:9-12 | “What sorrow awaits those who argue with their Creator. Does a clay pot argue with its maker? Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying, ‘Stop, you’re doing it wrong!’ Does the pot exclaim, ‘How clumsy can you be?’ How terrible it would be if a newborn baby said to its father, ‘Why was I born? or if it said to its mother, ‘Why did you make me this way?’” This is what the Lord says— the Holy One of Israel and your Creator: “Do you question what I do for my children? Do you give me orders about the work of my hands? I am the one who made the earth and created people to live on it. With my hands I stretched out the heavens. All the stars are at my command.
Read MoreJeremiah 18:1-6 | The Lord gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, “Go down to the potter’s shop, and I will speak to you there.” So I did as he told me and found the potter working at his wheel. But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so he crushed it into a lump of clay again and started over. Then the Lord gave me this message: “O Israel, can I not do to you as this potter has done to his clay? As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand.
