Matthew 13:30 ICB

Let the weeds and the wheat grow together until the harvest time. At harvest time I will tell the workers this: First gather the weeds and tie them together to be burned. Then gather the wheat and bring it to my barn.

In the book, that was Yesterday, A History of Sisters, by Tillie Wilson and Alice Scott, they chronicle that Central Oregon was once covered with bunchgrass and it was good for grazing cattle. Around 1910, a homesteader wanting to plant wheat brought in wheat seed that was contaminated with a noxious weed known as cheatgrass. By 1916, the wheat failed, but it is estimated that 9 million acres of Central Oregon are now covered with the problematical cheatgrass. One stalk can have up to 5,000 seeds, and it burns like tissue paper, not an especially good attribute in wildfire country. It didn’t take much for cheatgrass to get a stronghold and take over.

The night after I read about the infestation of cheatgrass, my poor husband was ripped from his sleep by me screaming, “Get out! GET OUT NOW!” I was dreaming about opening a little shop, and two of my nieces were helping me get ready to open. I, being unaccustomed to wearing high heels, slipped and landed harshly on my back side.  I said to my one niece, “Well, that’s embarrassing!” She replied as she turned to show me a mark on her own back side, “It happens!”  I told the pair that I was going to pop out of the store to buy some flowers to brighten our day.

As I returned with a beautiful bouquet, I stopped to write on a cute little chalkboard, “Flowers are a lovely gift no matter who buys them.”  As I set the flowers on the counter, we heard a supernatural scratching on the board and it read, “even from me?” As I warily I looked at the two girls, we heard a disembodied voice speak the same words. Immediately, the walls went dark and began to press in on us.  I defensively had the two girls stand behind me, and it was then I began to shout, “Get out now!” My commands in the dream manifested in my husband’s reality, and I was brought out of the dream by his strong arms protectively around me. I told him, “The devil was trying to get me.”  He responded, “Well, he’s not getting in here!”  And I know my husband was right.

Romans 8:11 says, “The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you.” Since the gift of the Holy Spirit resides within me, I know I can rely on Him and immediately prayed, “God! You are welcome here, and if you’re not from God you MUST go out the door NOW!”  Then I prayed for the two nieces that were in my dream, turned on worship music, and fell back asleep to dream about the surprising news that Mrs. Walton was going to have another baby (as if I was watching tv.) In the morning, I was left pondering why I had that dream. Was I subject to subconscious weed seeds? Similar to the Oregon cheatgrass, in Matthew 13: 24-30, Jesus warns us that we will be existing alongside weeds and sometimes they will be hard to recognize.

“Jesus told them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. 27 The owner’s servants came to him and said, Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from? 28 An enemy did this, he replied. The servants asked him, do you want us to go and pull them up? 29 No, he answered, because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time, I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”

There is an advertisement for a movie that the second I see it, I shut off the tv.  I don’t need to be assaulted by an easily recognized weed, because the world is full of hard to see cheatgrass.  Since the world is also full of God’s glory and creation, I’m not saying walk through your days frightened and paranoid because Deuteronomy 31:6 assures us, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”  Still, I am saying, be aware and guard your ears and eyes.

When in doubt, open your Bible.  1 John 4:1 says, “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”  Just like you give milk in your fridge the sniff test, give thoughts, ideas, and really everything, the Jesus litmus test.  As a wise man once said in Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” And remember, You DO have the power to send the devil OUT THE DOOR NOW!