CHRIST IS IN ME AND I AM IN CHRIST

  CHRIST IS IN ME AND I AM IN CHRIST

If CHRIST is in me, He is wherever I am.

In my day to day life, in the mundane activities and as I reach out to people, CHRIST is revealed through me. Then I will be the salt of the earth, bringing the best out of people. I will create thirst for the LORD in the hearts of individuals. 

If I am in CHRIST, I will be wherever He is! 

Where is CHRIST now? He is seated in the Heavenly places far above all principalities and powers of darkness. He is above all authority on earth!

I will have a spiritual mind to understand the spiritual realm.

Thus I will be a light in the world. I will have no fear of anything.

I will act with authority against the forces of darkness to live victoriously.

I will use the authority in JESUS to set others free from oppression, bondage and fear of evil.

 "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?
 It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.
 You are the light of the world. 

A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 

Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, 

and it gives light to all who are in the house. 

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works 

and glorify your Father in heaven.

Matthew 5:13-16

Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 

 do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: 

  that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, 

may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 

  the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; 

that you may know what is the hope of His calling, 

what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 

  and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, 

according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ 

when He raised Him from the dead

 and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 

  far above all principality and power and might and dominion, 

and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. 

  And He put all things under His feet, 

and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 

  which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

Ephesians 1:15-23

 If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; 

and where I am, there My servant will be also. 

If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.

John 12:26

 I am the vine, you are the branches. 

He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; 

for without Me you can do nothing.
John 15:5

Is CHRIST IN you?

Are you IN CHRIST?

If so, you will live your life victoriously

as SALT and as LIGHT!

Sharpen Your Knife 

 Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, 

lest anyone fall

 according to the same example of disobedience. 

For the word of God is living and powerful, 

and sharper than any two-edged sword, 

piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, 

and of joints and marrow, 

and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 

And there is no creature hidden from His sight, 

but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him 

to whom we must give account.

Hebrews 4:11-13

The Bible, the Scripture, is the Word of GOD. 

When you study the Scriptures sincerely and diligently, it convicts you of sin. You woudn't even know the condition of your soul unless the Holy Spirit reveals it to you by conviction through the word of GOD. As you respond and take the necessary steps to walk in obedience, you will carry a clear consceince before GOD and man. Then you have nothing to hide from GOD and as you surrender your life to Him and trust Him, you will enter into His rest. This is a necessary experience in your spiritual walk. From this place of rest will come the guidance, wisdom and power to live victoriously and serve effectively! 

For though we walk in the flesh, 

we do not war according to the flesh. 

  For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal 

but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 

  casting down arguments and every high thing 

that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, 

bringing every thought into captivity 

to the obedience of Christ, 

  and being ready to punish all disobedience

 when your obedience is fulfilled.

2 Corinthians 10:3-6

In the process of sharpening a knife, you will initially feel the roughness, 

as the blunt edge of the knife passes through the sharpener.

As you keep sharpening, the rubbing of the edge of the knife

against the sharpener becomes more smooth!

Your spiritual knife is sharpened when

 your mind is renewed and you are walking in obedience to GOD 

with a clear and a clean conscience.

To do this, you may need to strive with your own mindset

and any rebellion in yourself until your soul is completely yielded to the Truth!

Then there is no striving in your praying and ministering to others.

There is no striving and no lengthy arguments in teaching the word of GOD!

You will live with authority just like using a sharp knife

as opposed to a blunt one!

We must purposefully correct every mindset and thought in ourselves to walk in obedience to the word of GOD and to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Then we can walk in all authority to command obedience to rebellious spirits, sicknesses and powers of darkness through prayer and proclamation.

 for He taught them as one having authority, 

and not as the scribes.

Matthew 7:29

The LORD JESUS lived, taught, walked and worked with such authority

 because of His absolute obedience to His Father.

A life of obedience will display a life of spiritual authority!

As you walk under the authority of the word of GOD

and the leading of the Holy Spirit,

the LORD will bring conviction in the hearts of your hearers

and punishment to disobedient spirits.

The LORD will also confirm His word with acoompanying signs.

 And they went out and preached everywhere, 

the Lord working with them and confirming the word 

through the accompanying signs. Amen.
Mark 16:20

 Are you a fruitful tree?

What seeds are you sowing in the garden of your mind and your heart?

 

What seeds are you sowing into the lives of people?

How can you be a tree that bears good fruit?

 "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
Matthew 7:15-20

 Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.
James 3:12

What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.
Romans 6:21-22

 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches."
Matthew 13:31-32

The Kingdom of GOD comes into our heart when we accept the LORD JESUS into our life and commit our life to Him. It is like the mustard seed sown in our heart!

 I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
John 15:5

If your life is yielded to GOD,  you are like a tree that is planted in GOD's vineyard and that is bearing good fruit. You cannot bear good fruit without being connected to the LORD JESUS. The end of your life on earth will then continue in heaven as eternal life. 

But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.
James 3:17

The wisdom that comes from the Holy Spirit results in good fruits.

What is good fruit?

 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
Galatians 5:22-23

Faith, meekness and self-control in ourselves, love, joy and peace through our relationship with the LORD and patience, kindness and goodness towards others - these are the characteristics of the fruit of the Spirit that is Love.

 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, And he who wins souls is wise.
Proverbs 11:30

The life of a righteous person who lives by the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, is like a tree of life that influences other souls towards salvation in CHRIST.

Bearing fruit to GOD 

Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another--to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God.
Romans 7:4

Just as a wife bears her husband, children, we bear fruit to GOD.

The children resemble the husband because they are his and they are of him.

When we are in intimate relationship with the LORD, the fruit we bear would be the characteristics of CHRIST because it is of the Spirit.

The spiritual fruit we bear is of Him, to Him and for others.

It glorifies the LORD and blesses others.

 Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.
Ephesians 5:1-2

To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified."
Isaiah 61:3

What is good seed?

 Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness, while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God.
2 Corinthians 9:10-11

Good works, kind gestures including generous giving, are like sowing good seed. They bear good fruit not only in your life, but also in the lives of those who are recipients of these blessings, as their hearts are filled with thanksgiving to GOD and prayers for you. Thus, the fruits of righteousness increase, bringing glory to the LORD! 

Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account.
Philippians 4:17

Fruitfulness a must 

He also spoke this parable: "A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, 'Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?' But he answered and said to him, 'Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.' "
Luke 13:6-9

The LORD expects us as His followers to bear good fruit in this life. If we persist in not bearing fruit despite the many opportunities He gives us, our life on earth will be cut off. 

And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
Matthew 3:10

Fruitfulness is a result of GOD's blessing

Nevertheless He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good, gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness."
Acts 14:17

 So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth."
Genesis 1:21-22

So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."
Genesis 1:27-28

More fruit 

Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
Hebrews 12:11

 "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
John 15:1-2

Pruning is painful for the tree, but it causes it to bear more fruit in due time. The LORD chastens His children so that they may bear more fruit. Chastening may come in the form of losing a job, friends being cut off from your life, inability to partake in activities you enjoyed because of ill health, programs you planned, strangely hindered supernaturally and so on. 

Pray for fruitfulness 

 For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask ... that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;

Colossians 1:9a-10

The above is a meaningful prayer that we should pray for ourselves and for others: LORD, make me, make  ---,  fruitful in every good work. 

Is your fruit seasonal? 

 Now in the morning, as He returned to the city, He was hungry. And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, "Let no fruit grow on you ever again." Immediately the fig tree withered away. And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, "How did the fig tree wither away so soon?" So Jesus answered and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' it will be done. And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive."
Matthew 21:18-22

If your attitude is, "I will do it in my time", you are like the fig tree mentioned in the above parable which the LORD caused to wither away.

But if you are living in absolute obedience to the Holy Spirit, your faith will be powerful enough to move mountains! Your faith will move that mountain of selfishness and enable you to promptly obey the leading of the Holy Spirit. Thus your life will display GOD's power and glory.

These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots;
Jude 1:12

Selfishness and the lack of the fear of the LORD will make us unable to bear fruit in season and out of season.

 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.
2 Timothy 4:2

We should be ready to serve the LORD in any way, anytime He requires.

In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
Revelation 22:2

In heaven, the tree of life is not seasonal. It bears fruit every month! 

A life that is totally connected and yielded to the LORD is like a tree that is blessed and  flourishing. A life that is selfish, not serving the LORD and others sacrificially in all seasons, is like the fig tree that whithered when JESUS cursed it!

Bearing fruit in heat and drought

 "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, And whose hope is the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit.
Jeremiah 17:7-8

It is easy to bear good fruit when things go well for us. When we go through suffering and trials and worldly temptations, we can bear the fruit of love only if we are strongly connected to the LORD JESUS and deeply rooted in His word. Then we will be overcomers!

 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."
John 16:33

He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.

Psalm 1:3

 The Tree of Life

Then the Lord God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever"-- therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.

Genesis 3:1-24

Man was not to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He was to enjoy the fruit of the tree of life and live a spiritual life in communion with GOD.

The temptation to eat the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil was from the devil. His motive that caused him to fall from his position with GOD, was imparted also to man - "You will be like GOD, knowing good and evil." Man was enticed to step on the pedestal of pride which caused his fall. This broke his relationship with GOD. He lost his peace and immediately experienced shame, guilt and fear. Rather than walking with GOD, he hid from GOD his Creator!

We have inherited the sin nature and continue to crave for the fruit fromthe tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. The fruit from the tree of life is love.

We need to overcome this situation to have access to the tree of life.

We tend to steer our lives according to the selfish way of our soul, but as believers, we must yield our will to the Holy Spirit.

 Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.
James 1:12-1

Selfishness desires fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Once eaten, the fruit makes us self- conscious and self-centred. This leads to feelings of shame, guilt and fear.

The solution is, another tree!

 "If a man has committed a sin deserving of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain overnight on the tree, but you shall surely bury him that day, so that you do not defile the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance; for he who is hanged is accursed of God.
Deuteronomy 21:22-23

 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"),

Galatians 3:13

The LORD JESUS carried His cross to Calvary and He was crucified on it. He was nailed to the tree and hung on it.

 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.
Genesis 6:5-6

 He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities.
Isaiah 53:11

The LORD, being pure and holy, had to go through the most unpleasant experience of seeing, hearing and knowing all the obscenities, vulgarities and evil that come out of wicked and perverted minds. That was the cup that was so difficult for the LORD JESUS to drink. At the garden of Gethsamane, He made the decision to drink it for the sake of you and me.

The cross of CHRIST gives us the picture of the curse that came out of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He took the curse of sin upon HImself by carrying the cruel cross and being nailed to that cross.

The cross of CHRIST also is a picture of the tree of life! The blood that flowed down the cross, washes our sin away, releasing forgiveness and freedon from guilt, shame and fear. The perfectly pure Son of GOD, changed the cursed tree into a tree of blessing. JESUS hung on the tree of the cross and through His intercession, changed the cross as it were, into the tree of Life! The cruel cross became the wondrous cross! By His immense love He took our punishment for sin upon Himself, and now releases blessing and life to those who come to the cross in repentance. 

Therefore it is only the cross of JESUS that bridges the gap between the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life. He is the  Resurrection and spiritual Life to all of mankind who are dead because of the fruit from the cursed tree.

How do we overcome?  We overcome, by repenting and returning to our first love - the LORD JESUS.

 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember then from what you have fallen, repent and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. Yet this you have, you hate the works of the Nicola'itans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.'
Revelation 2:4-7

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Knowledge of Good and Evil

... and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, "Where are you?" So he said, "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself." And He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?" Then the man said, "The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate." And the Lord God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." So the Lord God said to the serpent: "Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And you shall eat dust All the days of your life. And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel." To the woman He said: "I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you." Then to Adam He said, "Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat of it': "Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return." And Adam called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them. 

The guilt of unclean thoughts and deeds causes us to hide from GOD, spoiling our relationship with GOD. We can give excuses, blame others and try to cover up. None of these things will help.

The only way to overcome this knowledge of evil is to go to the cross of CHRIST. As we linger at the foot of the cross and pour out out heart to the LORD, there is cleansing, release, deliverance and victory! The Holy Spirit cancels the lie and the uncleanness with the truth of the pure word of GOD. 

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil can be likened to the soul of man. The tree of life can be likened to the spirit of man. All knowledge should be brought into subjection to  our spirit that has been revived by the Sprit of the LORD, to separate the good from the evil and the false from the truth. We have the capacity and ability to make decisions in life, because we have control of our soul that consists of the will, intellect and emotion. 

It is so important for us to study, meditate on and memorise Scripture, to overcome the knowledge of evil in this world. We need to have more knowledge of GOD and the truth of His goodness than the knowledge of the devil and his lies and evil works.

Copious news and especially opinionated information crowding our mind affects our soul. It can create 'pride and prejudice' and cause us to have strongly biased views that can cause devision in the home and in the Church.

So let us beware of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you have a craving for knowledge that is more than what you can bring before the LORD and submit to Him, you must deal with it. You must discipline yourself to limit watching and reading even news to only what is necessary for prayer and intercession. The more information we gather, the more time we must spend with the LORD in prayer.

A soft answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger. The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly, But the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness.

Proverbs 15:1-2

 Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that "all of us possess knowledge." "Knowledge" puffs up, but love builds up.
1 Corinthians 8:1

We are responsible to the information we receive and need to handle and deal with it correctly, beginning by taking it to the LORD in prayer. If not, it will puff us up and make us prideful and also poison our soul causing wrong attitudes. Therefore all knowledge that we receive should be processed through prayer into love.

 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Romans 12:21

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 FRUIT TREES

What kind of a tree are you?

 Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth"; and it was so.
Genesis 1:11

Just like the different kinds of fruit trees which carry the specific seed in the fruit, the LORD has made each one of us with specific skills, talents and personalities to bear fruit for the LORD.

 And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Genesis 2:9

And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."
Genesis 2:16-17

Fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was poison to the soul.

Isn't it so even now? There is more knowledge of evil than good. Lies, deception, perversion and violence are rampant in the media, flooding the minds of adults and children. Once you know something, you know it and it will affect your soul. You cannot 'unknow' that. It sticks in your mind and is able to change your attitude towards people and GOD. 

The cursor on your screen can be your curser if clicked on the wrong spots!

Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?" And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.' " Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; 

The devil continues to offer fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, to people everywhere through the various media. Even when one looks for the knowledge of good, evil pops up to corrupt the mind! Fruit from this tree continues to open the eyes of innocent ones to more and more evil while blinding them to the truth revealed in and through GOD!

 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. So the servants of the owner came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?' He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' The servants said to him, 'Do you want us then to go and gather them up?' But he said, 'No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn." ' "
Matthew 13:24-30

Like sowing seeds in the ground, we receive information into the mind by seeing and hearing. Our mind is exposed to many things good and evil that we don't choose to receive. We can of course choose to weed out the evil and unedifying thoughts. Meditating on good thoughts is like puposefully planting them in the heart, watering and caring for the seed. The truth of the word of GOD is good seed that should be planted in our heart and watered by meditation, memorisation, prayer and obedience.

 Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man."
Matthew 15:17-20

The serpent of old, the devil, still deceives people into eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, doesn't he? He says to the innocent, "click here; click there; watch this; listen to that; you need to know..." Then he prompts those people to share that evil fruit and to scatter that garbage by talking to others about it, passing it around and forwarding it on all kinds of media. 

 For your obedience has become known to all. Therefore I am glad on your behalf; but I want you to be wise in what is good, and simple concerning evil.
Romans 16:19

 "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.
Matthew 12:33-35

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Progressing in Love 

The Love Machine

Adam, Mark and Gracie teach us how to progress in love!

This story can be used for a skit or a puppet show!

Click on the link and enjoy!

 https://docs.google.com/document/d/1b5ySqRJ6wFhTTJCzMtEhyQ2_BfWGDq-GxTbq7vWmZaI/edit?usp=sharing