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Trust in and rely confidently on the Lord with all your heart and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. [In all your ways know and acknowledge and recognize Him, and He will make your paths straight and smooth [removing obstacles that block your way]. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord [with reverent awe and obedience] and turn [entirely] away from evil. It will be health to your body [your marrow, your nerves, your sinews, your muscles—all your inner parts] and refreshment (physical well-being) to your bones. Proverbs 3:5-8 AMP
English Ivy
What do you think of when you see English ivy? Do you imagine the idyllic English countryside with homes that look like gardens? I imagine sitting in a quiet serene garden, reading a good book and sipping a cup of tea.
Sounds lovely, right? Until I started reading on English ivy today. It is listed as one of the ten most “hated plants”. It is a plant that multiplies quickly (great ground cover, right?!) and sends out runners, quickly smothering anything in its path – moving past the ground to trees, bushes and even structures.
It can suffocate the life out of what was once alive. It can bring destruction to what once was deemed as solid and firmly established.
But, it’s beautiful! It can’t be that bad?
The rootlets will burrow into masonry, eventually weakening them to the point of collapse. On wooden siding the dense cover retains moisture, which causes fungus and decay, while the rootlets pry apart siding and eventually rip your outer walls apart.
As a ground cover, the quick growth and dense cover shade out native plants and suppress their growth. In tree canopies, the enormous weight of the Ivy will eventually topple each tree. The rootlets burrow under the bark, causing fungus and decay while creating opportunities for disease to enter.
It can be an invasive garden intruder that can permeate all in its reach. It’s beauty reveals nothing of its true nature.
What is my life and my heart consumed with?
In our faith journey, we need to check and see where our hearts are aligned. More specifically, we need to look where our time and energies are spent – aside from our work day and family care-taking obligations.
Where my heart is aligned will determine the landscape of my life. If my heart is aligned with Jesus, it will eventually infiltrate every corner and crevice of my life.
Which lens do I want to use in this life? One that is through the ways of this world or through the ONE who breathed this world into being?
People are known in this same way. Out of the virtue stored in their hearts, good and upright people will produce good fruit. But out of the evil hidden in their hearts, evil ones will produce what is evil. For the overflow of what has been stored in your heart will be seen by your fruit and will be heard in your words. Luke 6:45 TPT™
Will I allow my life to be overcome by a hostile takeover or will the cry of my heart change the entire landscape of my life?
The picture of ivy here is destructive and consuming; it suffocates life. It’s the picture of allowing the enemy a foothold (Ephesians 4:27).
So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.
That, however, is not the way of life you learned 21 when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. “In your anger do not sin”[d]: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4:17-32 NIV (emphasis is mine)
[This post talks more about this passage.]
One of my favorite devotionals is Sparkling Gems From The Greek Vol. 1: 365 Greek Word Studies For Every Day Of The Year To Sharpen Your Understanding Of God’s Word, by Rick Renner. It is exactly as the title states it. It is a rich way to expand your understanding of the Word, as you are able to look back at the original language and its intent! Renner explains “foothold” or “place” in such a way that you don’t miss anything Paul was trying to communicate in Ephesians. (I encourage you to click on the link below and read the entirety of this entry – it is THAT good!)
The word “place” is the Greek word topos. It refers to a specific, marked-off, geographical location. It carries the idea of a territory, province, region, zone, or geographical position. It is from this word that we get the word for a topographical map. Because the word topos depicts a geographical location, this lets us know that the devil is after every region and zone of our lives — money, health, marriage, relationships, employment, business, and ministry. He is so territorial that he wants it all. But to start his campaign to conquer all those areas of our lives, he must first find an entry point from which he can begin his campaign of unleashing his devilish destruction in our lives.
-Rick Renner, Sparkling Gems from the Greek, August 18
As much as we are told not to allow the enemy a foothold, we are also instructed on where to focus our thoughts and how to stay in the place HE directs. “The enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy” (John 10:10) (ivy destroys and kills), but when we allow the Lover of our souls, the Author and Creator of life to nurture and breathe life, it can’t help but change EVERYTHING!
Become intimate with him in whatever you do, and he will lead you wherever you go. (Proverbs 3:5-6 TPT™) (emphasis is mine)
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Thank you for the beautifully put together prayer. Yes Lord, reveal all the dead spaces to me and fill them with your Spirit of burning in Jesus’ name!!
This has been my life’s verse. I love the way this verse was expounded upon with comments from Rick Renner. May we, the church, live this truth so that the Glory of God and His kingdom comes on earth in each of us and through us. Amen
Just read the articles and prayed the prayers. I have truly been blessed. It also reminded me about the fact that I have to keep praying for others.
We are all God’s children. I am hungry for more of God. God bless you.