That’s Just Too Easy
My
wife and I love gardening. Not the work so much; but, the reward of all
the beautiful flowers, foliage, and hardscape which creates an
environment that enriches our lives.
Hard
work is the vehicle through which our appreciation and nurturing love
is fully comprehended. If all we had to do was just snap our fingers and
‘poof’ it was done; our adoration wouldn’t be as intense and real.
That’s just too easy.
This
is often how Christians expect their salvation experience to be.
Thinking, “Now I live on Easy Street. God will take care of everything.”
Many unwilling to put in the necessary work to realize maturity in sanctification.
And
do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing
of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and
perfect will of God. (Romans 12:2)
Consider this:
Without Jesus our lives are like barren ground full of windswept ways
and hail beaten hardships that soils our souls. Barren and desolate
until Jesus cultivates the ground preparing our hearts to become fertile
lands.
I
will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take
the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. (Ezekiel 36:26)
Satan’s Perversion
Satan
prefers you to live a life blown about by the winds. Luring mankind
into a copycat garden full of thistles and poisonous plants. A crowed
and hostile environment seeking your destruction. Fighting to hold your
ground and constantly striving to reach the sunlight to survive.
that
we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about
with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning
craftiness of deceitful plotting, (Ephesians 4:14)
And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. (2 Corinthians 11:14)
Satan’s
garden is built on deception. Poison ivy has beautiful fall colors,
bears fruit, and blooms. That still doesn’t make it a pleasant
houseplant. It is best left out of the garden growing wild. Satan plants
the seeds of deceit, designed to lead you astray.
When
anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then
the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This
is he who received seed by the wayside. (Matthew 13:19)
There
is ample room in the badlands of Hell’s ways. Answering to no-one,
responsible for nothing, spreading seeds of deception in desolate desert
sands. Is this really the easy way? That’s just ‘too’ easy.
Enter
by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that
leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. (Matthew 7:13)
Satan
lies because he wants to convince the world that being a Christian is
no fun, useless, too much hard work, lonely, boring, and complicated.
Satan’s lies make it seem that following him is the easiest option. That sinning is more fun and rewarding. If it feels good just do it. That’s just ‘too’ easy.
You
are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want
to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the
truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks
from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. (John 8:44)
Breaking Ground
Jesus
must plow under our old man ways and plant the seeds of faith to be
nurtured and tended together. The road to sanctification is a mutual
journey taken with our Master. Realizing that it is not left up to Jesus
alone. That’s just too easy.
knowing
this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin
might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. (Romans 6:6)
We
are tethered together, spiritually yoked with Jesus as He guides us on
life’s quest. Yes! Jesus will clear the path; but, we must be rooted and
committed to serving our Savior. This is a garden we grow together that
matures into an abundance of contentment, joy, peace, happiness, and
love.
Take
My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My
burden is light. (Matthew 11:29-30)
Jesus
is the Living Water vital to our growth. Refreshing us all the way down
to our roots establishing a firm foundation upon which we grow.
but
whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst.
But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of
water springing up into everlasting life. (John 4:14)
Prayer
is the sunshine of His love. It is in this symbiotic relationship
between God and man that we bask in the light of His covenant blessings
as we bloom in the maturity of His redemptive promise.
For
the Lord God is a sun and shield; The Lord will give grace and glory;
No good thing will He withhold From those who walk uprightly. (Psalm 84:11)
There
will be cloudy days and storms along the way. Look at these times as
opportunities for growth, as we are strengthened in our resolve to stand
against the wiles of the enemy.
Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. (Ephesians 6:11)
Correctional Pruning
Inevitability
there will come times of severe pruning as we branch out in our
self-will. Chasing fleeting rays of light promising to fertilize our
fruit that withers away. Teaching us to turn around, doing an about-face
to endure the correction found in the Master’s blade. Severing the sin that ruins the beauty in our blossoms and the virtue of our fruits.
As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. (Revelation 3:19)
The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever. (Isaiah 40:8)
The
Master’s hallowed blade is kept clean and sharp to make swift and
skillful surgical cuts to shape us into an integral component within His
garden.
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 15:2)
For whom the Lord loves He corrects, Just as a father the son in whom he delights. (Proverbs 3:12)
The
garden is His sanctuary in which we all dwell together. A church of
individuals with separate identities and duties. Some will be the roses
of exhortation, oak trees of wisdom, flagstone paths for
serving/ministering, or the vines of evangelism.
And
He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists,
and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the
work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all
come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God,
to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of
Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and
carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in
the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in
love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ (Ephesians 4:11-15)
Each of us has a function and is vital
to the health of all who grow in the garden. It takes all of us to
complete the landscape into a forever Eden, perfect and pure.
from
whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint
supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does
its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. (Ephesians 4:16)
If
all we had to do is to throw open the garden gate and plant ourselves
into a row of church pews, we would only serve to be a waste of
resources; a useless fig tree unwilling to bear fruit. We each bear fruit for the nourishment of others within the body of Christ.
Now
the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry. And
seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He
would find something on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but
leaves, for it was not the season for figs. In response Jesus said to
it, “Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.”And His disciples heard it. (Mark 11:12-15)
I can guarantee
you, that if you do your best to be firmly rooted in the gospel of
Jesus, you will bear fruit. Others will see your fruit and taste the
goodness of God’s love. Do your part by serving Jesus and you will see
the harvest rewards of His covenant promises fulfilled.
He remembers His covenant forever, The word which He commanded, for a thousand generations, (Psalm 105:8)
by so much more Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant. (Hebrews 7:22)
The Simple Truth
Religion
has just gotten way to complicated. We have theologians who theologize
each others theology. Religions making rituals, and rituals for the sake
of being ritualistic making religions.
Religions
have not learned from the past and continue to serve different gods for
different times and seasons. Religion has a god whether good or evil
for every lust of man. Some religions are even tolerant to Satanic
religions and evil ways.
The
world in all its efforts to accommodate everyone with everything in
total ease and acceptance for anyone to believe, do, and act, as the
moral majority calls law; has made spirituality severely complicated.
Satan loves it this way because it makes the belief in Jesus seem too
simple and archaically stupid.
The simple truth is: It really is ‘just that easy’ and ‘just that simple.’ Just believe in Jesus!
Satan is the one who says,“That’s just too easy.” Jesus says, “It’s just that easy.”
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. (John 14:6)
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. (John 11:25)
Pray Now!! Pray this simple prayer to trust Jesus as your Savior:
“Lord
Jesus, I am a sinner and I need a Savior. Right now I will turn away
and repent from my sin and accept you as my Lord and Savior. I trust and
believe that You are the Son of God, my Lord and Savior for my
salvation, I know and believe that You died on the Cross and rose again
from the grave to pay for my sins. I thank you for saving me. Amen.”
