{"id":22808,"date":"2018-04-12T03:30:40","date_gmt":"2018-04-12T10:30:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/?p=22808"},"modified":"2018-04-10T17:07:31","modified_gmt":"2018-04-11T00:07:31","slug":"april-12-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/2018\/04\/12\/april-12-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"April 12, 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cThe voice of one crying in the wilderness: \u2018Prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” \u00a0<\/em>Isaiah 40:3<\/p>\n

The Encroaching Wilderness<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Spring is here, and that means I can finally get busy with the gardening. Getting my hands back in the dirt is such a joy after wintry, gray days.<\/p>\n

But I\u2019m dismayed as I survey the ground. Last year I worked so hard to get all the weeds out, yet they have come back again with a vengeance, choking out any chance for me to add nutrients, or to plant anything new.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the thing about the wilderness. It will always take over anything left untended. Tending gardens is never a once-and-for-all job. You can\u2019t just plant a thing and walk away, expecting it to bring beauty and fruit.<\/p>\n

If a plant is too choked with weeds, it can\u2019t even soak up the water it is given, for the plant\u2019s roots will always be in competition with the weed\u2019s roots. And in a worst-case scenario, if the weeds are left to grow as tall as they would like, they will keep even the sunlight from reaching the plant.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve found that life is exactly the same way. Make no mistake: the wilderness will encroach upon our spirit unless we tend to it. Keep pulling those weeds of sin and unbelief. Keep feeding on the Word of God. Surround yourself with good soil (good teaching) and other plants that will cross-pollinate to bring fruit (be in fellowship and ministry with other believers.)<\/p>\n

Sometimes I am lazy and merely spray my garden with a course of weed-killer. This has the appearance of success, for indeed, soon enough the weeds shrivel and turn brown. But this only kills the current weeds\u2014it doesn\u2019t do anything to the next wave of weeds. This, too, is true of our spirit, for we can fall into a trap of applying a spiritual band-aid, such as going to church on Sunday or reading our Bible for a few minutes, and think to ourselves, \u201cOK, I\u2019m good!\u201d No real work has been done to rid ourselves of the weed\u2019s roots. We have made no confession; we have not repented and turned our back on our sin; we have not forgiven; we have not done what God has asked us to do. The wilderness encroaches.<\/p>\n

Let us get on our hands and knees and do the real work of confession and repentance. Let us keep after the fear, and sin, and bitterness, and anger\u2014and all the rest of the wilderness that wants to take back the ground that was once won in our lives.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaster Gardener, give us eyes to see the weeds right when they show up, that they may not become overgrown or choke out Your good seed. Give us strength to pluck out the really entrenched weeds. Where there is encroaching wilderness, help us to use the tools You have given to beat it back into submission. May You have the victory in our lives. In Jesus\u2019 Name, Amen.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

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