LESSONS FROM GROW, EAT. AND SAVE GARDENING CLASSES

Today marks a year since the start of the Gaza / Israel war. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called a security briefing after the government meeting marking the anniversary of the October 7 attacks, an Israeli official tells The Times of Israel.

At the same time, "The French-U.S. proposal for a ceasefire to end fighting in Lebanon remains on the table, with parties continuing to work on it, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said.

So far, Israel's military offensive in the Gaza Strip has killed at least 41,909 Palestinians and wounded 97,303 since October 7, 2023. The number killed in israel or the allies working with israel the number of deaths has not been fully clear.

Today, Hamas' armed wing attacked on Monday Israel's Tel Aviv with a missile salvo, the group said in statement, with the Israeli military saying sirens were sounded in central Israel.

While events are being held to mark the first anniversary of the Middle East conflict, let us pray that God will draw all together to be our brother's keeper and stop the war.

Rosa Parks once said, "To bring about change, you must not be afraid to take the first step. We will fail when we fail to try.”

On a local front to help food security, the GROW, EAT. AND SAVE GARDENING CLASSES have started another free eight-week class. Week two of these garden classes has just passed, and the students are loving the classes.

Things are looking great, at the garden with 64 students doing their part to produce the perfect environment for vegetable growth. We started the practical side of the classes on Thursday, October 3, 2024, and you could feel the love.

We are now moving into the cooler season if you love gardening. This time of the year, you can grow broccoli lettuce, onions, beets, sweet potatoes, and much more from the seed level in your garden.

There are many wonderful lessons in caring for a garden.

1. In the laws of God in nature, effect follows cause with unerring certainty. A dedicated gardener's reaping will testify to what the sowing has been. On the other hand, a slothful worker will be condemned by their own work. The harvest bears witness against them both.

2. As it is in the physical caring of a garden, so it is in spiritual things: the faithfulness of every servant of God is measured by the results of their work. The character of the work, of those who serve God, whether diligent or slothful, is revealed by the harvest. It is thus that the destiny for eternity is decided.

3. In the physical garden, every seed sown produces a harvest of its kind. So it is in the physical and spiritual life. If you sow seeds of compassion, sympathy, and love; we shall reap what we sow. Every characteristic of selfishness, self-love, self-esteem, and every act of self-indulgence, will bring forth a like harvest. He who lives for self is sowing to the flesh, and of the flesh, he will reap corruption.

4. "In the cultivation of the soil the thoughtful workers will find that treasures little dreamed of open up before them. No one can succeed in agriculture or gardening without attention to the laws involved. The special needs of every variety of plant must be studied. Different varieties require different soil and cultivation, and conformity to the laws regulating each is the condition of success."

5. "The attention required in transplanting—so that not even a root fiber is crowded or misplaced—the care of the young plants, pruning, and watering, weeding and controlling pests, not only teach important lessons concerning the development of character, but the work itself is a means of development. Cultivating carefulness, patience, attention to detail, and obedience to law, imparts a most essential training. The constant contact with the mystery of life and the loveliness of nature, as well as the tenderness called forth in ministering to these beautiful objects of God’s creation, tends to quicken the mind and refine and elevate the character. The lessons taught prepare the worker to deal more successfully with other minds."

"God destroys no man. Everyone who is destroyed will have destroyed himself. Everyone who stifles the admonitions of conscience is sowing the seeds of unbelief, and these will produce a sure harvest. By rejecting the first warning from God, Pharaoh of old sowed the seeds of obstinacy, and he reaped obstinacy. God did not compel him to disbelieve. The seed of unbelief which he sowed produced a harvest of its kind. Thus his resistance continued, until he looked upon his devastated land, upon the cold, dead form of his first-born, and the first-born of all in his house and of all the families in his kingdom, until the waters of the sea closed over his horses and his chariots and his men of war. His history is a fearful illustration of the truth of the words that "whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." Gal. 6:7. Did men but realize this, they would be careful what seed they sow.

As the seed sown produces a harvest, and this in turn is sown, the harvest is multiplied. In our relation to others, this law holds true. Every act, every word, is a seed that will bear fruit. Every deed of thoughtful kindness, of obedience, or of self-denial, will reproduce itself in others, and through them in still others. So every act of envy, malice, or dissension is a seed that will spring up in a "root of bitterness" (Heb. 12:15), whereby many shall be defiled. And how much larger number will the "many" poison be? Thus the sowing of good and evil goes on for a time, but there shall be a day of harvest.

Liberality both in spiritual and in temporal things is taught in the lesson of seed sowing. The Lord says, "Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters." Isa. 32:20. "This I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully." 2 Cor. 9:6. To sow beside all waters means a continual imparting of God's gifts. It means giving wherever the cause of God or the needs of humanity [p. 86] demand our aid. This will not tend to poverty. "He which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully." The sower multiplies his seed by casting it away. So it is with those who are faithful in distributing God's gifts. By imparting they increase their blessings. God has promised them a sufficiency that they may continue to give. "Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom." Luke 6:38."

As you go through your day, remember, how far you go in life depends on you being tender with the young, respectful, patient, and kind with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, respectful to the earth, and even using your hands to grow your own food from the earth. Most of all, be tolerant of those who are weak and work with those who are strong. 

If you are blessed through this message, share it, and may the goodness of God go with you. 

Have a wonderful day.

By GARDEN MINISTRY