J. Allen said, "A man’s mind may be likened to a
garden, which may be intelligently cultivated, or
allowed to run wild; but whether cultivated or
neglected, it must, and will, bring forth. If no
useful seeds are put into it, then an abundance of
useless weed-seeds will fall therein, and will
continue to produce their kind." It has been said, "We
are what we think; as we desire, so do we become! By
our thoughts, desires, and habits, we either ascend to
the full divine dignity of our nature, or we descend
to suffer and learn."
These statements agree with the Word of God which
says, "as a man thinketh, in his heart, so is he." Out
of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. When
we have seeds of faith planted deep in the 'little
earth' of our hearts, we will see a good harvest and
reap God's promises. The garden of our heart must be
given to the Lord and as we cooperate with His will,
He will water the seeds and give the increase. We must
cultivate His character as we plant our fields to be
pleasing to the Lord. It does no good to plow the
fallow ground, if good seeds are not allowed to be
planted within.
Once we have received the Word of God, we must be
careful to yield to the Lord and keep our hearts
right. There are many who have not submitted to the
pruning of the Father and weeds of doubt, oppression,
self-will, or other attitudes have choked out the good
things which the Lord wants to produce. The mind is
the feelings, thoughts, emotions, and desires of the
heart, and must be cultivated with godly wisdom. We
are to have the mind of Christ and let our minds be
renewed by His great power and wisdom.
The wisdom of the world cannot produce spiritual
maturity or growth, but only leads to a spiritual crop
failure. Whatever we plant into our minds will
continue to reproduce, after the kind of seed planted.
Everything we need has been given us by our Lord for a
victorious walk with Him, and that we might be
fruitful in the right season.
Our thoughts towards others are also to be good, and
we are to strive to speak words that give good
impressions of others, as we seek to do good toward
all men. By spoken words, we either give a good or bad
impression of others. It has been said that a half
truth is a whole lie, yet many times Christians
believe and receive half-truths. When repeated, the
bad seed can cause harm in not only the life of the
one who spoke it, but also in the lives of others. We
are to guard our minds and pray that the words of our
mouth and meditations of our heart will be fixed upon
the Lord in all things.
When we choose Jesus and His ways, we receive the
fruit of the Spirit which is cultivated in our lives.
It all begins with love, as all the fruit of the
spirit operate through love and are the attributes of
our Savior. We notice that fruit is a "singular" word,
as all the characteristics of the Lord comes with His
love, and will be made manifest in hearts as Jesus is
allowed to be Lord of all. He will tend the garden of
our heart when we break up the fallow ground and yield
to His spirit in our lives. The love of Christ in our
hearts will result in a bountiful harvest.
Isn't it good to know we have everything needed to
produce spiritual fruit which is pleasing unto the
Lord? May our heart's desire be to let other see Jesus
in us, as we witness of His great love and salvation.
Blessings In Christ,
Jo Ann Kelly © 2006, 05
J. P.'s Inspirations
jpkelly@usit.net
