Green Grass

The grass is greener where we water it the most, but the fields of wickedness have shallow roots and are filled with weeds!

To understand our spiritual walk and the times we live in, we must first come to an understanding that the words of the prophets are timeless and apply today just as they did in the days of old.

Are we watering the grass of righteousness, or the fields of wickedness? If you want to answer that question for yourself then just pay attention to which seems greener. If the ways of the world and feeding fleshy desires has greater appeal to you, then you are watering the wicked fields. But if service in obedience to the will of God is more important, then the pursuit of righteousness is the greener pasture.

Psalm 23 tells us, 1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

This proclaims the green weedless pastures of righteousness.

If we as Christians have a desire to live a righteous life to the best of our ability then we water the green pastures spoken of in the 23rd Psalm.

If we (any or all of us) have a greater desire to feed our flesh, then the fields of wickedness becomes our goal.

The Bible is full of verse upon verse telling of what we as Christians should look like to God and the world. Jeremiah chapter 2 verses 2&3 describes how we should desire to appear before our God and to the world.

2 Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the Lord; I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown.

3 Israel was holiness unto the Lord, and the firstfruits of his increase: all that devour him shall offend; evil shall come upon them, saith the Lord.

If our desire is to have this image to our Creator and those that observe us, we will find the protections that come with it. But, just as Israel, we fall into judgment.  In verse 19 God, through the words of the prophet, reveals to us some of what we can expect when we fall away.

Jeremiah 2:19 Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord God of hosts.

In Matthew 6:24 we are taught, No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

Serving God or serving yourself are the only choices we have! NOTE: in serving ourselves, we are actually serving Satan! Yep, that’s what I said—if you are not serving God then you are serving Satan! PERIOD! 

For some strange reason many Christians have a false thought in their mind that there is a middle ground available.

This middle ground is a great deception, a snare laid by Satan to trap Christians. And so far it has been very productive for him, and in turn many Christians have been productive for him.

What we often do in actuality is make excuses, those excuses are intended to cover up weakness in some area. Any of these sound familiar?

“Oh, I was tired and in a bad mood.”

“I was hot and uncomfortable.”

“I wasn’t being myself.”

“It hurt.”

“Well, he/she cut me off. Or, he/she needs to learn how to drive.”

“I was having a bad day.”

And the timeless classic, “It just happened.”

I could go on and on but I’m sure y’all get the idea. Failure is just that—failure! We all fail; some more than others. But what we do after we realize a failure tells a lot about who we are and our walk with God. Do you realize when you fail? Do you feel bad when you fail? Do you repent and ask for forgiveness when you fail?

Or do you make an excuse for the failure?  David said his sins were always before him. Are our sins always before us? Do our sins haunt our souls? This exercise in self-awareness tells a lot about where we are as Christians and in our walk with God.

Do we point a finger at someone or something else and try to blame it or them like school yard children?

My mother had a saying that echos through the channels of my mind and has as long as I can remember. When I was playing the blame game, mom would say “seems like everyone’s out of step but Willy.” Boy, sometimes that would make me so mad when she said it, but she was always right! I would be blaming everything else but me, when it was me all along! Isn’t that true for most of us at times? (Thanks Mom. Willy is staying in step!)

So ask yourself this, how long have you been saved? If that answer is more than just a very few years, then I have a litmus test for you. Do you feel the need for those feel-good sermons and teachings more often than not? Or do you prefer those sermons and teachings that convict and teach you of where your shortcomings are?

Here is what I’m driving at. If you go to Sunday school, and the Church service wanting a feel-good sermon or if you are agitated when the preacher preaches a hard sermon that convicts you, then you are still a baby Christian and have not grown in your walk with God. But if you are tired of those “milk” messages and teachings and want more depth of learning (Strong Meat), ref. Hebrews 5:14 14 — But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil, then you are growing in your walk with God.

Shouldn’t growth be our goal? We are always God’s children, but we must grow!

If we don’t then we are resisting God training up His child!

Father, I ask that you quicken all your children to have a desire to grow in your Holy Word and in their walk with you.

In Jesus name I pray, and for the Glory of your Holy name’s sake, and in the name of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Kenneth Kellar
A Man Called by God to Teach & Disciple