Jesus
stated in a parable that the Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast that a woman mixed
into a large bowl of flour until it is worked all through the dough. He points
out that the leaven permeates every square inch of the dough.
Jesus
also reminded the disciples at the Last Supper that He was offering His body as
unleavened bread – a sinless offering for the atonement of our sins (Luke
22:19; 1 Corinthians 11:24).
Then,
He mentions that we should beware of the leaven in the teachings of false
prophets (Matthew 6:11-12; Galatians 5:9). This allows preachers and teachers to
take verses out of context, isolate them and make a false doctrine out of them.
Paul
exhorts us to get rid of the old "yeast" in our life by removing the
deeds of the flesh within us (1 Corinthians 5:7-8). He specifically noted the
leaven of malice and wickedness.
Then
he contrasted the bread without leaven, as the bread of sincerity and truth. He
encourages us to live like a fresh batch of dough made without yeast -
unleavened bread – without sin.
Yeast
is good for bread when you want it to rise. However, it is a negative aspect
when we relate the leaven to sin in our life. We do not want sin to permeate
every square inch of our soul (Matthew 13:33-34).
If
we live one moment at a time with our focus on Jesus and not on the
circumstances and people around us (Isaiah 26:3), we can actually live free of
sin's bondage for our entire lifetime.
Prayer:
Lord
Jesus the type and shadow in the Old Testament that relates to actual events in
the New Testament is amazing. Thank You for giving us confirmation of
everything You anointed the authors to write.
Help
us to live without the leaven of sin in our life. Remind us to sweep even the
corners of our soul and flesh to remove the most infinitesimal sin from our
life. We want to give You all of the honor and glory in everything we think,
say and do.
Thought
for the Day:
Jesus,
our Passover Lamb, sacrificed His life for our sins (Romans 3:25; 1 Peter 1:19);
therefore, the least we can do for Him is to make a clean sweep of all
unrighteousness within our body and soul, in order to give the Holy Spirit a
clean Temple, unspotted by the corruption of sin in our life, in which to dwell.
