A farmer went out to sow his seed.
As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path;
it was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up.
His disciples asked him what this parable meant.
Those along the path are the ones who hear,
and then the devil comes and takes away
the word from their hearts,
so that they may not believe and be saved.
How do I begin to be a woman of substance, and let God's word have 100 fold harvest (maximum impact) in my life?
2. Protect Your Heart
The devil takes away the word in order that I may not. . . Luke 8:12
BUT Jesus (the word) came in order that I may. . . John 10:10
That is MY WORD and it's not up for grabs!
The time to move on a word is NOW.
My thoughts this week as I've pondered the scripture:
Let me start by saying that my favorite comment all weekend was "That is MY WORD and it is not up for grabs!" Simply because it met me right where I am and where I have been for a while now. I have not always been here. . . instead I allowed the devil to come and steal what was mine. It's sad, I know...but true. I've grown tired of that. It's mine and he can't have it anymore. Did you hear me? MINE!
His word is MINE!
I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. John 17:14
His life is MINE!
And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 1 John 5:11
His spirit is MINE!
We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 1 John 4:13
His wisdom is MINE!
If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. James 1:5
His promises are MINE!
Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. 2 Peter 1:4
His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 2 Peter 1:3
I'm sick and tired of the devil taking what is mine. I want to have life and have it abundantly! Therefore, in order to protect my heart I have determined not to be a wimp any longer. I will stand up and claim what is mine.
Another thing that came to mind this week as I pondered ways to protect my heart was the garden that we planted (TWICE) this year. Yes, we had to plant our garden twice. My husband spent the time to till the soil, buy the seeds and plants, and plant them. The children and I helped. It was a good day. We always enjoy spending time together doing our garden. The next day my hubby went out to finish up some things that were left undone the day before. Much to his surprise all of the plants were gone! Our two dogs had hopped the fence around the garden and dug up everything that was visible. The corn seeds were all that was not bothered. . . only because they were still underground and could not be seen yet by our "sweet" dogs.
Before we spent anymore money or time planting, we had to make sure that our fence would protect our garden. We did not want to take the chance of losing everything again, not to mention what my husband would do to my children's dogs. It would not have been a good thing for that to happen again.
How are you protecting your heart? Are you determined not to let the devil steal from you anymore? Is your fence in good shape? Or does it look like this. . .
Ruined! Do your walls need rebuilding? Does the enemy have free access in your life? What are the walls of ruin in your life? Prayerlessness? Lack of discipline? Procrastination? No time with God? Moral compromise? Lust? Jealousy? Pride? Rebellion? Indifference?
What is it going to take to begin the reconstruction? I think time in the word and prayer is where we must start. Remember to treasure the Wonder. Then confront the enemy and tell him to get lost. Get tired of it. Realize that, in Christ, we have won the battle and start acting like it.
It just so happens that my pastor shared how to be prepared to fight the enemy this past Sunday. Our church has started a prayer wall where someone will be praying for our church 24 hours a day. His warning was to be prepared for battle because this is the last thing that the devil wants us to be committed to. He will stop at nothing to prevent us from being a Spirit filled church. The message was taken from Ephesians chapter six.
First, we must understand what God expects. Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Eph 6:10 Notice whose power we are to be strong in? In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. Romans 8:37 Time in His word and prayer will definitely teach us whose team we're on. Secondly, we must know our enemy. Pastor says we have 3 enemies. Enemy #1 is self. If we don't submit to God's word we can really get ourselves into a lot of trouble without any help at all from the devil. Enemy #2 is the world system. And enemy #3 is the devil. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8 We need to be able to recognize him in order to stand up against him. Thirdly, we need to understand the equipment that we have to fight with. Ephesians 6:14-20 there is the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the gospel, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spirit, prayer, a watchful eye, perseverance, supplication, and bold speech concerning the gospel.
Then the pastor shared this verse. . . Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, "In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out." Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. (One day) the evil spirit answered them, "Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?" Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding. Acts 19:13-16 Then this week I found this verse. . . The seventy-two returned with joy and said, "Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name." He replied, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven." Luke 10:17-20
So, I leave you with this, the devil knows Jesus, and Paul, but does he know you and me? Is your name written in heaven? Mine is. And I'm going to protect what is mine. It's MINE and he can't have it. With God's healing I'm gonna stick to the task of rebuilding my walls. And He will restore to me the years that the swarming locust have eaten Joel 2:25
As Beth puts it, "Let's make the devil sorry he ever messed with us."
Join me next time with Expect the Test.
6 comments:
NO the devil can't have me either. I'm determined to live for my Jesus and spread his gospel in any way I can get it out there.
I love ya
Beverly
Treasure the wonder. Guard it and grow it now so that when temptation arises (and it will) you'll have an anchoring in his Word.
I've been hearing so much of this in my preparations for my upcoming study "Anonymous" this Fall. God is speaking so deeply and clearly to my heart through Alicia's writing and speaking.
It's taking root, and I'm excited to see how God is going to grow me in this time. Forward focus. Only forward.
peace~elaine
Hey REgina,
Thanks so much for your comment on my blog and for wanting to link to mine...I'd be honored.
Wow! I loved this post. You stirred my heart in more ways than I could comment on because it would take too long!
At my Faculty retreat (I teach at a Christian school part-time) this week, the speaker reminded us that reading your Bible every day, praying everyday, having a quiet time everyday, all were not the goal. They are the means to the goal...the goal is a better relationship with Christ! I so often think that if I would read my Bible ewveryday I would Be there. Wrong that is the starting point of getting there!
I can't wait to meet you in person on the 26th!
Pamela R.
Oh, Regina!! My heart leapt reading this after the weekend I had. This is an absolutely AWESOME post!! I was at the Simulcast, and I love that you are taking time to share your thoughts on each post.
"He will stop at nothing to prevent us from being a Spirit filled church"
Satan will stop at nothing to prevent me from being a Spirit filled person, as well...you'll understand if you read my post today. I know silly stressful circumstances shouldn't affect me, but they do...but thankfully I did keep pressing God's word, "love is not provoked" into my heart and He came through!!
I do know one thing...if we hadn't had this stressful event, we wouldn't have paid the $9.95 it cost to get WIFI in the hotel to find a medical clinic for my hubby yesterday, and I wouldn't have been able to be encouraged by your post today. So for that, I consider all my trials JOY...because your words have produced a "spring" of JOY and PEACE in my heart today.
God bless you my dear sister.
Regina---what a powerful MESSAGE! My-My! Whew! I feel like I've just been in church! (I can see now this Bible Study is going to be goooood)
My favorite CD to play when I am house cleaning is one of TD Jakes, "Woman Thou Art Loosed". It is POWERFUL! There is a song that says "I'm goin' into the enemies camp and take back what he stole from me...I'm takin' it back-takin' it back! It is full of powerful annointed songs of worship and praise and it is some MIGHTY fine house cleaning music... because while I am 'cleaning my physical house'....HE's cleaning my spiritual house!
I enjoyed this post!
We were privileged to see Beth's Simulcast here in K.C. too. It was wonderful. Your post is a great reminder and the picture of the walls is a wonderful visual.
Blessings,
Nancy
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