Book Review by Aaron Cerda
Last year I reviewed a delightful book by Fran Rogers called Two Full Plates. If you missed that review I would highly encourage you to go back and read it. You can find it here. The Garden of God’s Word is another fine book by author Fran Rogers. Mrs. Rogers is a wife/caregiver to her husband of over 50 years, as well as a mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, When someone of this stature sits down to write a book, we would all be wise to read it. On a personal note, I read Mrs. Roger’s books slowly (much slower than I read most books) because I want to absorb every word written by this dear saint.
As I sat down to read this book (the first time around) I was immediately struck by the chapter titles. The table of contents lays out a very clear trajectory for what lies ahead. The chapters outline the course which you will read for the next hour or so. It is there that we discover that Rogers will be leading us to discover that scripture Informs, Reforms, Transforms, Conforms, and allows God to Perform His work through us. In other words, to quote the author,
God, through His Word and His Holy Spirit, has done all the previous work ~ informing, reforming, transforming, and conforming us, so that He may perform His own work through us.
This is the message of
The Garden of God’s Word — That the Word of God is sufficient to not only inform us of what we ought to believe and how we ought to behave, but it is also sufficient to equip us for this life as we are changed by its words into that which God has promised to complete in us. Mrs. Rogers doesn’t leave room for the ruggedly individualistic Christian who believes that he can reap the blessings of God’s word by sitting alone however, and she gives a wonderful explanation of how the unity of the body is achieved by participating in the life of the Word together:
This is the means of unity in the whole body; as each member studies, learns the truths, and joins in like mind and spirit to portray the image of Christ that is seen there.
As with Two Full Plates, The Garden of God’s Word is written in the wonderfully affectionate manner which you would expect to read from a dear friend. I would encourage everyone to pick up a copy of this extraordinary short book, grab the warm beverage of your choice and take the time to pour over this book as if you were reading it from a longtime friend.Take the words in this book seriously- there is a lot that we have to learn from Fran Rogers as she magnifies the glory of God by unfolding the wonderful garden that is the Word of God.
You can find The Garden of God’s Word at Amazon. The book is available in both paperback and ebook formats — both of which are very (VERY) reasonably priced.
God's Grace ~ God's Glory! 
This article was very well written. 😃 Great job!
Is there any systematic theology detectable in the book? Does any of the writing have a reformed, or dispensational flavor to it?
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Not dispensational, reformed in the sense as the review states, of how God works to inform, reform, transform and conform us to the image of Christ.
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That’s good. 😃
But what I was meaning, is there any indication of a reformed perspective in a doctrinal sense?
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Joe, I appreciate your questions. I am not a theologian, but write from the perspective of one who has experienced the power of God through His Word and Spirit in my life. This little book in the series Little Books About the Magnitude of God was begun seventeen years ago, with the thoughts of how He forms His own truths and the life of Christ within us as His children. He performs the work in us by His grace and receives all the glory. You might want to go to the Amazon page and read the description, chapter headings, the introduction and preface. Other reviews there might help. Thank you for your interest. Fran
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Thank you for your kindness, and your kind answer. You are a really great example of God’s love in a person.
God bless you and your family. 😃
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Lee, sorry about the name. My husband’s name is Joe, and our daughter’s name is Lee. I sometimes confuse the names. 🙂 The Lord bless you, your family and your ministry.
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Aww, that was really sweet of you. I don’t mind what you call me though. I’m just thankful for you being nice to me.
We’ve visited before, and I know that you and your husband are senior citizens, and you have a lot of wisdom.
I appreciate you.
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All wisdom is found in and through our Lord Jesus Christ, a gift to all who are His.:)
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Good review of your book Fran.
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The Lord has blessed us with some good readers, like you. We have other books if you are interested. The PDFs we share for reviews are the formats used for our paperbacks and are better reading than the Kindle editions you get from Amazon. Have a blessed worship and sharing of the Word tomorrow. Fran
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I’ll keep that in mind for future reviews Fran!
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Anytime.
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Ordering my copy today!
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Lilka, I am blessed that you desire to read this work of my heart for God’s Word, and pray that you will be blessed by reading it.
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I have no doubt of it. You are a wise woman with a heart for God. My copy is on the way!
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Thank you. Blessings.
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