Matthew 7:17-19 NLT 
'A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire.'
Working on the garden continually reminds me that everything in nature is connected in some way. The cuttings from the mower provide a useful mulch that nourishes the grass. They also draw down the birds. Each morning as I gaze out upon the lawn, I draw pleasure from its patterned finish, reflect on the work required to produce that finish, and recall the thoughts that God woke within me as I walked up and down, mowing. These thoughts are the fruit of my desire to encounter God. I assume I’d have missed them, had I neglected to create space for God in my day.  
It is often difficult to make time for God. It’s not just the demands life places upon us but, as many discovered this year, it is our own hard-wiring that is difficult to manage. We like being busy. 
Manually mowing the lawn takes about 40 minutes, time I make available to the Master Gardener to nurture me, a plant in God’s garden. I choose not to dwell upon myself but to look to the Lord.  
The first Christians saw themselves as the evidence for a way of life that was truly other-worldly. They were citizens of heaven. They were recognised as such for they generously supported and encouraged those among whom they lived. In times of difficulty, such as plague, it was the Christians who offered support when others abandoned the plague’s victims. My daily contemplations invite me to consider what sort of fruit I want to grow. 
QUESTION: Does your life have regular patterns in which you seek God?  
PRAYER: Creator of the universe, may I produce what you want me to produce. 

Released on 17 Sep 2020