Good Morning,
"But relative to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah) and our gathering together to meet Him, we beg you, brethren. Not to allow your minds to be quickly unsettled or disturbed or kept excited or alarmed, whether it be by some pretended revelation of the Spirit or by word or by letter [alleged to be] from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has already arrived and is here. " [II Thess. 2:1-2] As we see the day of the Lord approaching we need to be more careful concerning what we allow in our mind and heart. We can't afford to be disturbed by all that is going on in the world. Listen again to the importance of what we let in our minds. "But take heed to yourselves and be on your guard, lest your hearts be overburdened and depressed (weighed down) with the giddiness and headache and nausea of self-indulgence, drunkenness and worldly worries and cares pertaining to the (business of) this life and lest that day come upon you suddenly like a trap or noose." [Luke 21:34 ] In order to remain fruit-bearers during harsh seasons we have to keep our mind stable. "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 4:19] When we let worldly worries, cares pertaining to this life, deceitfulness of riches, and the lust of other things stay uppermost on our minds, we end up with unsettled, disturbed, alarmed, and an excited thought life, which when not dealt with will lead to overburdened and depressed hearts. One thing leads to another. This chokes the Word and causes the fruit to spoil. Choke means to strangle completely; to drown or crowd out. When your mind wanders off onto those other things it drowns and crowds the Word out of your heart. All of us have allowed the Word to be strangled out of us at one time or another in our Christian life. Yet, we cannot afford to do this anymore, we need to sharpen our skills as we see the day of the Lord approaching.
"As you have therefore received Christ, even Jesus the Lord, so walk (regulate your lives and conduct yourselves) in union with and conformity to Him. Have the roots of your being firmly and deeply planted in Him, fixed and founded in Him, being continually built up in Him, become increasingly more confirmed and established in the faith, just as you were taught and abounding and overflowing in it with thanksgiving." [Col. 2:6-8] Roots are the means of growth, it represents stability, steadiness and strength. It brings security, regardless of the environmental circumstances. Just like the the roots of trees, we are to be made firm and certain, fixed and established by the water of the Word and keeping out the pesticides of worldly worries and cares pertaining to living at the same time. "Blessed are the ones who trust in the Lord and whose trust is in the Lord, for He will be like a tree that spread out his roots by the river: and he will not fear when heat comes; but his leaf shall be green. He will not be anxious or full of care in the year of drought, nor will he cease yielding fruit." [Jer. 17:7-:8] Let's keep our roots going down in His Word and let the Word take root in our heart and we will not be moved by anything other than God and His Word. "So don't throw it all away now. You were sure of yourselves in the beginning. It's still a sure thing! But you need to stick it out, staying with God's plan so you'll be there for the promised completion. It won't be long now, He's on the way; He'll show up most any minute!" [Heb. 10:36-37; Message]
"Guarding the mind"
Love,
Pastor D.
Daughters of Z 