Blooming for Christ
Growing Godly Intimacy
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Blooming for Christ is not something that you talk about; it is something that you do. We balloon for God. As we blow up in Christ, we blow out into other people’s lives for the Lord. Then, the Holy Spirit blows the breath of life into what we are doing because what we are doing is a way of expressing godly love. God makes it blossom and grow. God is the only one who can do this. It is crucial for Christians to realize inside ourselves that we can do nothing apart from the Lord. We do not make the seed grow. God’s concepts are so awesome and so powerful.
God has blessed me with multiple triads for different situations or circumstances in life. I like to call them my Peter, James, and John. Those were the intimate co-laborers with Christ, though he had other disciples as well. I have learned to walk in silence and seek God in my planning. This helps me to stay focused and let God lead. God will supply the seed to the sower, and will multiply what that seed produces (2 Corinthians 9:10). Who will get the glory? God is glorified; he guides us, and we must never stop growing into whatever is spiritually germinating or sprouting for our next assignment.
While God is planting seeds, so is his enemy. We must be aware of who is planting what in our gardens. Whether weak or strong, we must be vigilant as we work for the Lord. God created each of us for a purpose and implanted a mission the enemy wants to deter. Guard against allowing someone to superimpose thoughts. Others can unknowingly misdirect you with comments or suggestions.
Germination is the part of the growth process when a seed transforms into a young plant or a seedling. It sprouts its own roots, stems, and leaves. The sprout needs to be sustained and nurtured. All seeds need moisture, oxygen, and the right temperature to germinate or grow. If the seed gets too much water, it becomes soggy and rots. If it is not protected from a scorching sun, it could burn. However, when the conditions are right, it thrives with small shoots; it sprouts. Our growth in the Lord must not become stunted, scorched, or rotten.
We all need nurturing, and sometimes that is manifested in dreams. God has many ways to talk to us to help us grow. For me, a dream is a conversation with God.
A Conversation with God
In a long, interesting dream, I was at an outdoor event attended by a large group of people. I do not generally enjoy festivals or crowds of people. We visited vendors when I would rather have explored other sites. However, I waited while they did those things. I listened to comments of passersby and vendors about how long I had been in that one place despite all that was going on around me. Yet, I waited for the people with whom I had attended.
After standing around waiting for them as they did what I did not want to do, we got something to eat. I left for a moment. When I returned to the table, they were gone, their places cleared, and my place with food was just as I had left it, not even covered with a napkin.
After not eating the food, and after going off by myself at this festival-like event, I happened upon a youth event outdoors in front of my home church. It spread the whole block of the church’s property. I took pleasure in seeing adults who were children when I was there. The youth sponsor was nurturing the children of today and doing so with enthusiasm and genuine care. She was smiling and satisfied by spending time doing what she was doing.
Even while dreaming, I found myself talking to God and asking him what a certain thing meant. There I was, actually having a conversation with God throughout the dream experience without having negative feelings or thoughts. Whatever I was hearing people say, whatever I was doing, whatever I was watching, I was having a conversation with God at the same time. I did not want to let the dream go until my Almighty God answered what I was asking. Then, I kept going, one situation after another connecting in the same environment.
Eventually, I was lying there, and I felt like I was awake. I felt like I was asleep at the same time. I was just having the conversation with God...
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About the Book
Spiritual growth and a plant’s growth cycle are not different. Like the balloon plant, Christians grow in stages. Our spiritual timeline begins once we accept Christ. Then a seed germinates into a young plant that eventually blooms and shares faith experiences, which reproduces more faith and spreads seeds according to God’s plan. Finally, the plant develops into a mature Christian who is God’s harvester in preordained gardens.
In the conclusion of her discipleship trilogy, Reverend Barbara A. F. Brehon shares scripture, wisdom, and a plant lifecycle comparison to gently move believers toward the light of the Lord in their respective growing seasons. Through her guidance, believers will learn how to strengthen their faith and sow seeds that encourage new believers and others to bloom where they are planted, clarify and fulfill their divine purpose, and grow intimacy with the Lord, who refines the mission.
Blooming for Christ is an enlightening guide that offers scripture and insight to help believers grow closer to God and please the Lord in all seasons of life.
About the Author
Rev. Dr. Barbara A. F. Brehon was born and raised in Norfolk, Virginia of the late Richard T. Fields, Sr. and Jerlean W. Fields. As a child, Dr. Brehon found joy and inner peace at her home church, not understanding what it meant to serve the Lord. In her early thirties, she accepted God’s call sitting on a beach at a retreat with the Young Adult Ministry. Later, while attending seminary, she recognized her call to equip believers, which is like being a spiritual body builder.
God has majestically interwoven her reading specialist and theological training into creatively sharing his Word for his glory. Laboring for personal intimacy with the Lord, her passion is to help others grow closer to God. She encourages others to recognize their God-gifted purposes and to enjoy the abundance of life in the love of the Lord.
Currently retired and residing in rural Tappahannock, Virginia, Dr. Brehon serves as visionary servant leader of Favored by the Father Ministries (a church without walls) and associate pastor of the Beulah Baptist Church. She is also serving in her second year of a three-year term as moderator of the Southside Rappahannock Baptist Association and Its Allied Ministries, made up of thirty-five churches in Essex, King and Queen, and Middlesex counties in Virginia.
Dr. Brehon preaches and teaches God’s Word whenever and wherever called to serve.
Blooming for Christ completes a discipleship trilogy that includes Reach Me with SMILES: A Handbook for Developing Disciple Makers and Beyond Discipleship to Relationship: Developing Intimacy with the Lord. Each resource offers practical, biblically sound approaches for personal and corporate spiritual growth and are available on her website, www.barbaraafbrehon.com.