Pulling the Weeds of Life

I enjoy working outside when the weather is nice, but my least favorite outdoor chore is when I have to pull weeds. I have tried using both commercial and homemade weed killers, but nothing really does the job like getting down on the ground in the dirt and pulling the weeds by hand.

There is nothing fancy about it. You have to get in the dirt and extract the weeds from the roots. If you don't get down deep enough, they will just grow back.  When I was pulling the weeds in my yard last week, I thought about how weeding applies to our spiritual lives. We must take time to examine ourselves (2 Corinthians 13:5) and weed out things in our lives which hinder us. The Bible also tells us to lay aside every weight and sin (Hebrews 12:1). That means things are going to come up that we will need to weed out.

There are many things that can become weeds in our lives. The first thing that came to my mind was the weed of unforgiveness. This one gives us a lot of problems. I have also had problems with this one myself at times.  I have said many times that we need to be good at forgiving quickly. Unforgiveness can take root quickly in our lives if we don’t deal with it immediately. When there is an issue that we haven’t either asked forgiveness or received forgiveness from someone, it can totally choke out our relationship with God. That’s why we need to constantly weed this one out.

There are other things that can become weeds in our lives. Greed can be another where we value money over anything else. The Bible tells us that the love of money is the root of all evil. (1 Timothy 6:10) Isn’t that something we see a lot in America today? That’s a whole blog in itself.

Lust and sexual sin can be another weed. I know this isn’t very comfortable to talk about but when you don’t deal with these types of weeds, the roots get deeper and can get out of control. Sexual sin is something that people like to keep as a secret but it ain’t a secret if God sees it. The more you feed lust the more it takes of you. It’s sad how people think they control it but the deception is that it controls them the longer they go without weeding it out.

Weeding isn’t fun but it is necessary in the life of a believer, and it is a constant task we must be diligent in doing.  We can't ever think we've got it made.  None of us are perfect so we must keep weeding and make sure we keep out the things that will hinder our relationship with God.

So how do we "weed" our lives?

1. Stay in communication with God.  Talk about it and let Him talk to you.  
2. Don't ignore the weight and sin that need to be weeded out.  
3. Constantly examine your life so you are vigilant about any weeds.
4. Ask advice of someone you trust.  

Weeding takes effort.  There is no easy way about it.  Just as it is with chores in the yard around your home, you want to maintain it.  We have to do the same thing about our spiritual lives.  

Your mind is a garden

Your thoughts are the seeds

You can grow flowers

Or you can grow weeds.

Does It Matter How Many People Pray?

Here in my local city a 10-year-old boy was swept into a storm drain and severely injured. He is now in intensive care with no brain activity. It is a tragic story and a nightmare no parent should ever have to go through. Since the boy was injured, there have been many requests for prayers.

That made me wonder...does it matter how many people are praying? Does the number of people praying influence God in any way?

I often see on social media when people will request for "prayer warriors" to pray for a need.  So, does this make any difference to God?

Jesus never mentioned any numerical requirement for giving prayers a better chance of being answered.  In one passage Jesus did say:  "For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them." (Matthew 18:20)   If you read that again you will also see that this doesn't guarantee an answer - only that Jesus will be there.  

There is also a passage in 2 Corinthians 1:11 which says:  "Joining me in praying so that, when God answers, God will be glorified in answering many prayers."  This would indicate that praying together helps but not a guarantee that God will answer in your favor based on that.

God doesn't need us to "tip the scales" in prayers in order to force him to answer us.  There are no numbers which will pressure God to answer.  While prayers of others are good and needed, it shouldn't be where my need got 199 people praying and someone else only had 25 people praying so I get mine answered.  That's not how it works.

If God wants to answer, it really only takes one prayer of faith.  James 5:16 tells us that "the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much."  Answered prayer is a result of our faith connecting with God's will, not the number of people praying.

We shouldn't think that the chances of God's response is based on the number of people praying about a matter.  That isn't found in the Bible and can lead us to think the wrong way about how God works.  

So, should we ask others to pray with us?  Absolutely.  There are times when we are weak or in situations where we don't have the strength to pray effectively on our own.  For instance, when we are sick, the Bible gives a specific template about what a believer should do.  James wrote "is anyone among you sick?  Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord and the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven."  (James 5:14-15)

There is power in prayer, not in numbers.  

  

60 Things About Being 60

Today I am 60.  Wow...that doesn't even look real to me.  It certainly got here quicker than I ever imagined.  As I look back on my life today, I have come up with 60 things I have learned over the course of my 60 years of living.

1. Life is short. 
2. Being kind costs you nothing. 
3. You can’t change the past but you can change you. 
4. Marry the person you can’t live without. 
5. We make too much of our lives about high school.  
6. I wasted too many years seeking my dad’s approval. 
7. Someone’s opinion of you doesn’t mean they are right 
8. There are always three sides to the story. 
9. God is real 
10. Being related to someone doesn’t make them family. 
11. Some people will never let go of your past. 
12. Funerals are for the living. 
13. Everything happens for a reason but many times we don’t know what that reason is. 
14. Don’t loan money to relatives or church people. 
15. If people gossip to you about others they probably gossip to others about you. 
16. Write things down. 
17. Like the person you are. 
18. Take time to sit in silence. 
19. Look for reasons to be kind to others. 
20. Don’t worry about things that haven’t happened yet. 
21. Technology is great when it works. 
22. If you are in a one-sided relationship, you need to let it go 
23. People will let you down but not everyone will. 
24. Actions mean more than words. 
25. Love people without judgment. 
26. Doing nothing changes nothing. 
27. Sometimes you get on your own nerves. 
28. Being a superstar at work will only get you more work. 
29. We spend a lot of time waiting. 
30. Don’t talk about extra money around your house or car. They will want some of it. 
31. It’s okay to have a day when you do nothing. 
32. Learn to be content. 
33. Trust God and leave the results to Him. 
34. Rolling your eyes can get you in trouble. 
35. You don’t need to post everything on social media. 
36. Life isn’t always fair. 
37. Pain is a part of life. 
38. Be quick to forgive. 
39. Don’t brag. Nobody cares anyway. 
40. Get good at being patient. It will constantly be tested. 
41. The older you get the faster the rest of the world gets. 
42. You can’t make people do what you want them to do. 
43. Bad things happen to good people. 
44. People can be annoying. 
45. Some days you wake up with something hurting for no reason. 
46. Enjoy nature. 
47. You can’t live in the past or the future. 
48. De-escalate conflict if possible. 
49. Don’t let the bad days defeat you. 
50. Worrying and preparing are two different things. 
51. Follow your heart but bring your brain too. 
52. Don’t overthink things. 
53. Be willing to adjust to change. 
54. Share your experiences with others. 
55. Use sunscreen. 
56. Everyone will not like you. 
57. Put down the phone. 
58. Don’t live in fear. 
59. What goes around comes around and goes around again. 
60. You can’t stop getting old.