Faith-bearing Seed for the Soul
"While the earth remaineth,
Seedtime and harvest
....shall not cease"

Genesis 8:22

YABUTS in My Garden!

Every spring when I go out to till the soil in my flower garden, to my dismay, it's full of what I call "yabuts". Let me explain.

About five years ago I was helping my husband on one of his remodeling jobs that he did for a bank. I noticed some neat looking ground cover, unlike any I'd ever seen before. It was at the side of the repossessed house he was replacing the roof on. My first reaction was to take a start or two for my flower beds. Then the thought came to me that it wasn't mine to take, nor did I know if it was something that could be poisonous. But I overcame those "pious" thoughts with, "Yah...but, it's not REALLY stealing...and after all, the house doesn't belong to anyone but the bank right now, and I'm sure they wouldn't care." So I took a few starts and planted them in my flower garden.

During the the first year, I saw nothing. I thought the plants had died, but as it warmed up...WOW! They were all over the place! I decided I'd better thin them before they got into all the places that I didn't want them. At first I just pulled the tops off, but that seemed to make them flourish all the more. As I began to pull them out at the root, I discovered a root system unlike any I'd ever seen on a plant before. They had been growing underground secretly all the while and had wrapped themselves around the roots of all of the other plants, ready to snatch away all of their nutrition. I pulled and pulled, and thought I had them all removed, only to find that a week or so later, THEY WERE BACK stronger than ever. That was five years ago. I've put weed killer on them, dug them out, and every year, I have to do it all over again. The sad thing is, they have now started growing in the lawn. How I regret not listening to the Lord's gentle warning.

When we were in Florida I saw some of the same kinds of round ground cover, so I asked one of the residents what they were. I discovered that I had planted WEEDS in my garden. They are known as dollar weeds!

Has the Lord ever tried to warn you about some sin or something that wasn't in His will, only to have you answer Him with a "Yah, but"....? Most sin comes into our lives when we desire our own will more than we desire listening to the gentle conviction of the Lord. So we justify it to ourselves, and we do it. Like that dollar weed, we might not immediately see the  devastating results that it will produce. The sin is busy building its root  system, wrapping itself around the good in our lives, making itself ready to zap the life out of our spirit. Before we know it, it overtakes us and we frantically pull and tug at it to remove it from our lives. However, it is only through the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ, that we are able to overcome.

Revelation 12:11

They defeated him (the enemy) by the blood of the Lamb, and by their testimony; for they did not love their lives but laid them down for him.

Psalm 44:2

"They did not conquer by their own strength and skill, but by Your mighty power...."

Think about it...we all have that sin that so easily besets us. Paul, in Hebrews 12:1 tells us to strip off anything that holds us back, and especially those sins that wrap themselves so tightly around our feet and trip us up. Had I not wanted my own way...had I laid down my self will rather than saying..."Yah...but" I wouldn't have the weed problem in my garden, would I?

Romans 12:21 LB

Don't let evil get the upper hand but conquer evil by doing good.

Romans 13:13-14 (Emphasis mine)

Don't spend your time in wild parties and getting drunk or in adultery and lust, or fighting, or jealousy. But ASK THE LORD JESUS CHRIST  to help you live as you should, and don't make plans to enjoy evil.

I John 1:8-9 LB

If we say that we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves, and refusing to accept the truth. But if we confess our sins to Him, He can be depended on to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong.

The Godly are planted in the Lord's garden.

Psalm 92:13

For they (the godly) are transplanted into the Lord's own garden and are under His personal care.

According to Hebrews 12, we can expect some "weed pulling" because He loves us...and He doesn't want any "yabuts" destroying our growth.

Lord, we come to you confessing those wrong choices that we have  made. We ask You to forgive us and to help us overcome by Your blood that was shed at Calvary for our sins. Cleanse us we ask, in Jesus' name.

Amen

Rooted and grounded in the love of Christ Jesus,

Marlene JuHaros,

TexasSower

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which will grow--perhaps it all will."

Eccl. 11:6

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