July 2002

"And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful." Mark 4:18-19

We want the Word of God to be fruitful in our lives otherwise we will wither away and die.  If there are ‘weeds’ also planted in the soil of our heart then these weeds can keep the Word from becoming fruitful.  But sometimes we don’t always recognize the ‘weeds’ in our lives as being weeds.  If we learn to live a certain way for so long we get used to seeing the weeds.

When a plant grows up with weeds around, it may appear to the casual observer that the weeds are actually protecting the plant.  They appear to be protecting it from the wind and the heat of the sun.  When in reality they are choking the plant and keeping it from receiving the nourishment that it needs.

People, in the same way, can think certain that things in our life may actually be good for us.  We can think that about ourselves also if we don’t have an accurate understanding of the Word of God.  It’s so important we have a solid understanding of God’s Word so we don’t become deceived by well-meaning people, or by our own lack of knowledge of the Word.  We need to grow in knowledge and understanding of God’s Word so we can recognize weeds as weeds!  Have you ever looked at a garden and not been able to tell which ones are weeds and which ones are plants?

Deliverance from the weeds in our lives can sometimes be a scary thing because the familiar is gone.  But what we thought was protecting us might actually be killing us by choking off the nourishment we need to survive (And not only just survive but flourish!).

Notice it’s not the ‘riches’ and the ‘things’ that choke the Word.  It’s the condition of the heart.  It’s the ‘cares,’ the ‘deceitfulness,’ and the ‘lusts’ that choke the Word.  Someone once said, ‘it’s not wrong to have things but it’s wrong for things to have you!’

Let’s search our heart and ask God to reveal any areas of our lives that needs to be weeded and then not be fearful when those are removed!