THE BATTLE FOR YOUR GARDEN
There is a very real spiritual battle that is going on in
the life of every Christian and it revolves around your spiritual
"garden," which is the ground
of your heart. The enemy is constantly seeking to overtake Believers'
lives by planting the wrong kinds of seeds within them. He does this
through thought
injections that are designed to create wrong images in their minds. As a
soldier in the army of the Lord, it is your responsibility to vigilantly
guard
your heart and mind with the Word of God. This will keep the weeds out of
your garden and ensure that the seed of God's Word grows up in your life
to produce
an abundant harvest.
Every day, Christians are barraged with images, words and suggestions
that try to sway them away from the truth of God's Word. Whether it is a
news report
that glorifies the work of the enemy, an ungodly television show or even
a billboard that promotes an ungodly lifestyle, there is no escaping the
fact
that we live in an environment that is determined to plant the wrong
seeds in us. But God has given us His bag of seed that we must plant in
our hearts.
It will grow healing, deliverance, financial wealth, joy, peace,
happiness and all kinds of promises from God.
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The key to making sure your garden stays "weed-free" is to
guard it. You must continually keep scriptures before your eyes, in your
ears and coming out
of your mouth. Satan is on a mission to try and dominate your life and
all he does to accomplish his goal is get you thinking about his
suggestions. Though
they may sound good, don't take the bait.
It is critical that you become a custodian over your thought life and
refuse to accept the enticement of the devil. Adam and Eve fell prey to
his schemes
in the Garden of Eden because they failed to guard what God had entrusted
to them. Satan showed up in the form of a serpent and made a suggestion
to Eve.
His question, "Hath God said...?" planted a seed of doubt in
her mind as to the validity of God's instructions to her and her husband.
Although God had
already told them that if they ate the fruit of the tree of knowledge of
good and evil they would surely die, Satan challenged God's Word. Isn't
that what
he is doing today in the lives of Christians? God has said one thing, and
he comes with a contradictory statement to try and get us to doubt or
question
whether or not God's way is best.
Unfortunately, Adam and Eve succumbed to the temptation of the devil.
Once they "took" his thought injection, they began to be moved
by their emotion, noticing
that the fruit looked good and appealed to their hunger cravings at the
time. Their feelings led them to act in a way that separated them from
their connection
and fellowship with God. Their decision to disobey ushered a curse into
the earth. They allowed the devil to pollute their garden simply by
accepting his
thoughts.
You may be wondering how you can avoid being infected by the enemy's
thoughts. Although you may not be able to stop the thoughts from coming,
you don't
have to accept them when they come. The Bible gives clear instructions on
how to handle ungodly thoughts when they show up. Second Corinthians
10:4,5 says,
"(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through
God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and
every high
thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing
into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." Your
weapon against negative
thoughts is the Word of God! When those suggestions come to your mind,
open your mouth and confess God's promises in faith. This is what it
means to capture
your thoughts and cast them down. There is no thought or imagination that
can stand against the Word. It is the final authority in your life.
Don't ever get slack where guarding your heart is concerned for the
issues of your life flow out of it (Proverbs 4:23). Be a good custodian
over your thought
life and feed your spirit the Word of God on a continual basis. When you
do, you will protect your garden and see the promises of God become a
reality
in your life.