Inside Persective - August 2014
My Dear Family in Christ,
Ever precious greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ!
By the grace of God, the Greenhouse grounds are
magnificent during the summer. It was an especially cold winter, and for that
reason, many things bloomed late. The late bloom caused a unique situation where
all of the plants bloomed at once! So everything is at its peak and the variety
and colors are spectacular!
It is a blessing to be able to sit back and enjoy all
of our hard work and take in the view of the garden in full bloom. The heavy
labor of the season is behind us. As the summer winds down, our days consist of
routine maintenance and simpler things like light weeding, etc. But it’s funny,
no sooner had this year's flowers bloomed, and there we were, talking about and
planning for next year’s improvements, and how we want the garden to look next
summer! And no matter what the topic of discussion is about the Greenhouse, we
always make all of our decisions concerning the grounds-no matter how far away
they may be- with the end in view.
Back in 2008 when I started this job- the grounds were
“without form and void and darkness was upon the face” of the Greenhouse. When I
got there, I immediately began to pray, and the Spirit of God moved upon the
face of the Greenhouse grounds! Year after year, I labored, sweating with great
joy because I worked by faith, with the end always in view.
I resisted the comments of others as I moved plants
from here to there, reshaping this area and that. I can distinctly remember
being told by Tony, the man who hired me-who has since passed away-“you can
never grow anything there, don't even try.” I responded, "Maybe I can't, but the
Lord can!" To which he promptly replied, "Yeah, right!"
At that time, I had a picture in my mind of what I
wanted the grounds to look like. I knew it would take six or seven years to get
there, and so I toiled against all odds. Even in the face of opposition, in rain
and in snow, whatever, I travailed by faith with the end in view. Today, that
picture in my mind from 2008 is a reality! I wish Tony could see it now. To God
be the glory; the grounds are a shadow of the Garden of Eden in the midst of a
dark prison. People walk by everyday and constantly say, "How did you get the
garden like this? Everything is so big and colorful. Look at the grass!" They
say, "It's so green and perfect!" I tell them that it is a direct answer to
prayer and that it is the Lord's work; but they don't believe me. Believe what
they will, I know that the Lord answers my prayers, and thus, by faith, I do
everything with the end in view.
Nothing in our garden has happened by chance; what was
done with every square inch of the grounds has been well thought-out in advance.
Sometimes, on a rainy day June-bug (remember him J) and I will get flower books
and dream. We toss back and forth this idea and that, and think about how we can
improve the garden, always with the end in view.
It is written, "Let us be glad and rejoice and
give honor to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His bride hath
made herself ready. And to her it was granted that she should be arrayed in fine
linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
And, He saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the
marriage supper of the Lamb." (Rev.19:7-9)
When we place our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, we
are justified and our sins are forgiven. Yes, we receive the imputed
righteousness of Christ as the gift of God. However, from that moment on we must
begin to work on our “wedding garment”. Our wedding garment consists of our own
acts of righteousness (works) that we do as believers. Our goal should be a
magnificent wedding garment with spectacular colors that will please our
Bridegroom as we work prayerfully, by faith, with the end in view.
Even if you have had a compromising start to your
Christian walk, it is not too late to repent, refocus, and start afresh today!
Labor beloved, sweating with great joy, while picturing the smile of your King
in your mind. Begin now to plan and make all of your decisions concerning your
future place in the Kingdom to come, with the end in view. Toil against the
odds, travailing by faith and resisting the comments of others in spite of all
opposition. Nothing is by chance, so we must think through every square inch of
our walk, which is being formed into our wedding garment, deed by deed. One fine
day, that picture you have developed in your mind will become a reality, when
the Lord sees how you have prepared yourself for Him; pure, holy and blameless,
always having had the end in view.
I John 2:28 teaches us that some believers will have
confidence at the Lord's coming, while others, sadly, will be ashamed at His
coming. Have you ever thought about that? I Corinthians 3 declares that some
believers will have all their works burned up as worthless, but they themselves
will be saved as through fire! Beloved, it is a fearful thing to fall into the
hands of the living God with your whole life having amounted to nothing for
Christ. Imagine being found naked when all is said and done?! (2Cor.5:3)
Precious one, the Lord is
coming, are you living by faith with...
"THE END IN VIEW?"
JOYFULLY IN JESUS
LOVE PHILIP