GUARD THE GARDEN OF YOUR HEART
Our hearts are like a garden in which the fruit of the Spirit should be growing: love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and self-control. (Gal. 5:22-23)
But the attitudes we had in our old life are also there, trying to crowd out the beautiful fruit God wants. Every day we are tempted to give in to anger, pride, jealousy, fear, worry, selfishness, and evil speaking. Think of these as little foxes that are trying to steal the fruit from our lives.
God’s Holy Spirit is grieved when we let these little foxes run through our garden. In Ephesians 4:30-32 He says, "And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you."
We need God’s help every day to keep these fleshly attitudes out of our lives. Whenever we catch ourselves speaking in anger or pride, we need to confess that sin to Him and ask Him for full victory so that we do not continue to fall into that sin. Gradually God will give us victory over the fear and worry and jealousy we have felt, but only if we acknowledge those things as sin and confess them with an attitude of repentance.
Jesus is speaking to us today, calling us to Himself as we read in Song of Solomon 2:14-15. "O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely. Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes."
Our Lord loves to hear our voices raised in praise and prayer. But when the little foxes run through our lives stealing the fruit of the Spirit, we neglect reading God’s Word. Prayer is uncomfortable because we are out of fellowship with Jesus. We know we have grieved the Spirit of God, and we don’t feel like praising Him even in church. The little foxes, the habits of the old life, have stolen our peace and joy.
May the Lord help us to guard our hearts carefully and refuse to let the habits and attitudes of our old life crowd out the fruit that should be growing there.
GUARD YOUR HEART
Little foxes seem so harmless
when they race across the ground.
But not when they eat the garden,
when they hide among the vines.
When they eat the grapes and berries,
they’re like thieves who hurt our lives.
Little faults may grow in secret,
careless words we speak in haste.
Tangled growth will choke the fruit out
and our lives will go to waste.
Little foxes, careless habits
drain our strength and eat the fruit.
Are we bearing fruit for Jesus,
confessing every sin to Him?
Don’t tolerate the little foxes.
Quickly deal with every sin.
You can be a fruitful garden.
Keep your heart pure within.
© Rosemary Watson 2007
rawatson31@cox.net
Our hearts are like a garden in which the fruit of the Spirit should be growing: love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and self-control. (Gal. 5:22-23)
But the attitudes we had in our old life are also there, trying to crowd out the beautiful fruit God wants. Every day we are tempted to give in to anger, pride, jealousy, fear, worry, selfishness, and evil speaking. Think of these as little foxes that are trying to steal the fruit from our lives.
God’s Holy Spirit is grieved when we let these little foxes run through our garden. In Ephesians 4:30-32 He says, "And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you."
We need God’s help every day to keep these fleshly attitudes out of our lives. Whenever we catch ourselves speaking in anger or pride, we need to confess that sin to Him and ask Him for full victory so that we do not continue to fall into that sin. Gradually God will give us victory over the fear and worry and jealousy we have felt, but only if we acknowledge those things as sin and confess them with an attitude of repentance.
Jesus is speaking to us today, calling us to Himself as we read in Song of Solomon 2:14-15. "O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely. Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes."
Our Lord loves to hear our voices raised in praise and prayer. But when the little foxes run through our lives stealing the fruit of the Spirit, we neglect reading God’s Word. Prayer is uncomfortable because we are out of fellowship with Jesus. We know we have grieved the Spirit of God, and we don’t feel like praising Him even in church. The little foxes, the habits of the old life, have stolen our peace and joy.
May the Lord help us to guard our hearts carefully and refuse to let the habits and attitudes of our old life crowd out the fruit that should be growing there.
GUARD YOUR HEART
Little foxes seem so harmless
when they race across the ground.
But not when they eat the garden,
when they hide among the vines.
When they eat the grapes and berries,
they’re like thieves who hurt our lives.
Little faults may grow in secret,
careless words we speak in haste.
Tangled growth will choke the fruit out
and our lives will go to waste.
Little foxes, careless habits
drain our strength and eat the fruit.
Are we bearing fruit for Jesus,
confessing every sin to Him?
Don’t tolerate the little foxes.
Quickly deal with every sin.
You can be a fruitful garden.
Keep your heart pure within.
© Rosemary Watson 2007
rawatson31@cox.net
posted by Rosemary @ 12:00 PM
<< Home