“James, the half-brother of Jesus, gave this admonition: ‘Receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls’ (James 1:21, ESV). God’s Word is intended to be an implanted seed. Our hearts are the soil. As his Word is buried within the fertile furrows of our inner selves, new persons begin to emerge.”- Max Lucado
“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but it finds none. Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order.”- Matthew 12:43-44 (ESV)
Max Lucado continues Chapter 4 of Tane Your Thoughts with the second angle. Hence, Max counsels, once you uproot the devil’s deception, quickly replace it with God’s truth.
2. Uproot and Replant. In Matthew 12, Jesus described a demon who had been cast out of a person. Although the demon roamed about in search of a new home, it never finds one. As a result, it returns to its former place of residence. The demon finds the place spotlessly clean, but vacant. Because while the person tidied up the place, that person failed to replace the old furnishings with new.
Hence, that person possesses just enough religion to feel unhappy. An exterior appearance with little to no inward power. The result? A haunted heart. Therefore, Max counsels:
“To clean out the old is wonderful, but to usher in the new is essential. Replacing them with the truth is vital. The implied command of Christ is to ‘fill the house.’ To refurnish our hearts with the gospel. To decorate our walls with Scripture . . . ruminate, meditate, contemplate, and fixate our thoughts on his truth.”
In conclusion, Max observes, the Eastern concept of meditation stresses that we must empty our minds. However, Pastor Lucado cautions, an empty mind is not a tamed mind.
Today’s question: How do you witness God’s Word as an implanted seed in your life? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Vitamin C for the inner person”