Any gardeners out there waving a white flag of surrender yet with all this rain we've had? Sure makes it hard to break up that fallow ground and get new seed into it so you can have an abundant harvest later on this summer. I used to have a nice garden plot years ago and really enjoyed getting out and working it. 

 I found it to be therapeutic like many of you may do as well. And while I don’t mind hoeing out weeds occasionally, I soon discovered that to neglect the task had negative consequences on my 'fruit-producing' efforts. You simply cannot let weeds overtake a garden bed. You also will discover over time that it helps to keep adjoining grass and fields next to your garden mowed down short. Allowing those weeds to ‘go to seed’ create more work and frustration for you for obvious reasons. IYKYK. 

 I bet you can see a spiritual lesson coming from that word picture. ;- ) 

 The parable of the Sower that Jesus taught is a familiar one that has so much valuable truth woven through it. (Matt. 13; Luke 8; Mark 4). It’s about a man who went out to ‘sow some seed’, with the ‘seed’ being the ‘word of God’. Jesus even made the statement that if we failed to understand this parable, it would be impossible to grasp any of the other parables. (Mark 4:13). I suspect that has something to do with what we read there about how when the disciples (those who had turned to Jesus with their whole hearts) were alone with Him and asked for understanding. He explained that to them, it was given to know the mysteries of the kingdom and His word. (10-11). That one statement alone should not be lost on us. 

 Another point I want to bring to our attention is found in Matt. 13 and it is the parable of the wheat and the tares. You have a man who has a field of wheat growing and we are told that ‘while men slept, an enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat’. (25). In that particular story, no attempt was made to uproot the ‘bad seed’ as it would be dealt with accordingly at some point in time. 

 So much of what we read in the scriptures though has a theme to it that many in an agrarian society would be familiar with as God has much to say about ‘sowing and reaping’. Paul touches on this theme as well in multiple places suggesting that with God’s kingdom, we too go out to sow the seed of the gospel. And ‘while one man plants and another waters, it is God who gives the increase’. (1 Cor. 3:6-7). That should be self-explanatory. 

 Did you know that many of the things that God has and utilizes, Satan has a counterfeit of that as well? Or at best, he tries to mimic what God has and does. Satan also has seed to ‘other gospels’ out there as he can disguise himself as an ‘angel of light’. (2 Cor. 11:14-15). We are told he is quite effective in deceiving the ‘whole world’ as well. (Rev. 12:9; 1 John 5:19) So how does he do it? 

 He sows seed. Bad seed. Seed that seems so innocent at first, but when left on its own and/or ignored, it too, germinates and takes root and grows. It also bears fruit, bad fruit that eventually goes to seed as well. 

 You probably don’t need me to tell you that ‘temptation’ often begins...with a ‘thought’. A seed, or word picture that can just come out of nowhere...as if...the wind just blew it in and it conveniently landed in your mind (thought life). Have you ever noticed how tree lines grow conveniently under fence lines or power lines? Want to guess why that is? What often lands on those wires or fences and just drops poop that contains...seed? 

 I bet you have read as well, in that parable of the Sower, what the ‘birds of the air’ represent, yes? (Luke 8:5,12) In that case those ‘birds’ (demons) come to snatch God’s word that was sown into our hearts, lest we believe it and are saved. Birds can also deposit seed as well, but before that seed reaches our hearts, it has to first land in our thoughts or minds. And here is where we get involved and the battle begins. 

 In the same way that one man plants seed and another waters so that God can give increase, Satan does the same. And here's a 'news-flash' for us all:  Ignoring him does not work.  We are commanded to 'resist' him. (James 4:7)

 Seed is sown to produce fruit and as you hear me say often, fruit matters. In fact, bearing much fruit (good fruit) is how we glorify our Father in heaven and show ourselves to be disciples of Jesus. (John 15:8). And what happens to every tree that does not bear good fruit? It gets cut down and thrown into the fire. (Matt. 7:17-19) 

 Have you ever been sitting somewhere just minding your own business or maybe listening to someone speak, even in church, of all places. And out of nowhere, an attractive person walks by and all of a sudden this ‘image’ or ‘suggestive thought’ just lands in your thinking pattern as to how nice they look and before you know it, you are having inappropriate thoughts that are sexual in nature playing out in your mind? 

 Where do you think those came from? And more importantly, what do you do with those thoughts? No doubt, some of you may quickly dismiss them...even shaking your head and ‘rebuking the devil’ (resisting him) and then...the thoughts go away. For others, who secretly or even unknowingly have a spirit of lust hidden in their hearts that they have never truly repented of...may not be so quick to dismiss those thoughts; or as Paul advises, ‘bring into captivity... to the obedience of Christ’. (2 Cor. 10:5). In fact, if you read that passage, it ties in to this subject of ‘spiritual warfare’ and how we are to ‘bring into captivity...EVERY thought”. Are you familiar with that passage? It’s one of those that seems great in theory, but impossible to do. I mean...how many millions of fleeting thoughts bombard our mind daily, if not hourly? 

 But back to our person who has yet to repent of lust and they actually welcome such thoughts. They entertain those thoughts and allow them to remain and settle in. I mean, what’s the sin in thinking about it, right? We ‘all have bad thoughts’, right?  Can I just tell you that while I do agree with that, having bad thoughts is not a ‘sin’.  What we do...with those thoughts is what tells the real story. ( you might spend some time reading/meditating on James 1:13-15 today.) 

 What we allow and welcome into our thought life eventually works its way into our hearts. And it is what lies within our hearts, that defile us. (Mark. 7:21-23). But once those things that defile our hearts are removed, then it is up to us to keep those ‘weeds’ out and we do it by ‘giving no place to the devil’ and ‘bring into captivity, every thought to the obedience of Christ’ as God gives us grace to resist the devil. (Matt. 12:43-45; Eph. 4:27; 2 Cor. 10:5; James 4:7) 

 So what seeds do you allow to remain and germinate and work their way in to your heart? 

 I’m going out on a limb here, but if a random thought about a human being dismembered and then grilled slowly on your smoker before being served up on a dinner plate would make most of us gag. (‘going out on a limb’ may not have the best expression to use), I doubt that is something you would dwell on, unless of course, you were demonized and had a spirit of cannibalism dwelling in you. 

 But what about if you have spirit of resentment or bitterness residing in you. Ever notice how easy it is for you to be offended or hurt? And all it takes is one cross look or snippy comment made by someone (even someone close to you) and before you know it, you are seething inside and this drama plays out in your head how that person always is rude to you, or doesn’t really love you or appreciate you, blah, blah, blah. Or better yet, how many times has a spouse walked in to a room and their counterpart blows up on them before they even had a chance to say or do anything? I think we all can relate to that ... something...was ‘playing out in their minds’ before you ever entered the room. 

 I never realized how susceptible I was to allowing those ‘little foxes’ (yesterday’s post) to work their way in to my thought life and dictate how I was going to feel or act or behave throughout the day. I mean...talk about having a ‘hook in my head’ ...I may as well been ‘asleep’ given all those ‘tares’ I was allowing to be sown into me. 

 But not anymore. I don’t know that I have experienced more freedom in this one area since I came to learn how to abide in Christ. I mean...it has been life changing. Prior to being aware of His abiding presence, my thought life was not nearly as guarded and protected as it is today. And you know what one change alone aided the most in this new freedom and victory? It was turning off the TV set. That one device alone was like having a giant combine circling me whenever it was on and think of that combine discharging tons of ‘bad seed’ into my ‘field’. You do realize you don’t have to be watching ‘bad programming’ for ‘bad seed’ to be sown. I mean, let’s be honest...all it takes is one glance or scene from a show or commercial even, to ‘activate’ things inside us that should not be there. You know what I’m talking about here. 

 And the one single change I have  discovered when it comes to abiding in Jesus is that there seems to be a ‘control’ on the amount of those thoughts that I contend with on a daily basis. Prior to abiding in Him, it was like that combine...or a flock of birds flowing overhead ‘pooping’ on me all day long. Now, those thoughts are ‘singular’ and the moment they land, it’s as if the Holy Spirit points it out and then ask me, “What are you going to do with that one?” Because that reveals quickly, what is in my heart. And if I truly love Jesus more than anything, I find it rather easy to ‘resist and cast out’ that which is not pleasing to Him. Grace...is what enables and empowers me to do this. You might say it has enabled me to remain in...'my right mind'.  Life changing, I tell you.  See you tomorrow?