Psalms 92:12-15: The godly will flourish like palm trees and grow strong like the cedars of Lebanon. For they are transplanted to the Lord’s own house. They flourish in the courts of our God. Even in old age they will still produce fruit; they will remain vital and green. They will declare, “The Lord is just! He is my rock! There is no evil in Him!”

Ephesians 4:11-15: Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do His work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.

Paul tells us that Satan can appear as an angel of light in order to deceive people. You will know when something or someone is having an influence in your life if something happens or is said that forces you to make a decision. However, ask yourself one question before you decide. “Will this decision draw me closer to Christ or move me away from Christ?” We’re told in Proverbs to guard our hearts with all diligence. Satan loves to use people and situations to test our “root system.” If we don’t know what the Lord’s will and purpose for our lives are, or we don’t know what the Word of God says about such decisions, then we leave ourselves prey to be deceived and led astray.

Young trees have tender roots that pull nourishment from the earth beneath them. Large trees will have roots that grow at least to the edge of its longest limbs. The roots that are buried deep in the earth do more than provide the nutrients; they also keep it from being moved in a windstorm. Paul teaches us that Christians have been planted in Christ and placed under the leadership of His church for their spiritual growth and protection. The Lord has provided a safe place for believers to come and thrive so that they can become strong enough to withstand the temptations and the lies of the enemy out in the world. Paul uses the term “wind of doctrine” in his writings. This suggests that Satan’s lies and/or man’s lies will try to sway or move us away from the safety of God’s covering. Even so, we must remain planted in Christ.

Our heavenly Father has placed us in Christ just like He placed trees in the earth—so that we might grow up in Him and live a life of abundance. Since we’re in this world, but not of the world because we’re in Christ, we’re able to produce spiritual fruit. We shouldn’t produce works of the flesh in our walk with Christ. Throughout the Bible, we’re instructed to dwell in the house of the Lord and to partake of His goodness, not of the world’s sinful pleasures, in order that we might grow up. If we struggle to develop a “taste” for the Lord, we will fail to see His goodness, will remain weak and vulnerable to the doctrines of men, and will be swayed from the truth.

There is one final thought I want to share with you that is the very key to your spiritual growth and protection. Satan loves to prey on people who rely on their intuition or “gut instincts” when it comes to discerning people’s motives and agendas. Guarding our hearts might protect us from people we don’t trust. However, Jesus was betrayed and denied by those who were closest to Him. Therefore, we must invest time in God’s presence and in His Word so that He might protect and keep us from greedy or vile people whose only motive is to rob us of our peace and faith in Christ.  —submitted by Pastor Asa Dockery, US