A Little Leaven

The analogy in the Bible concerning leaven has a great deal to teach us. Leaven ferments with the ingredients in bread to help it to rise. On the day of Unleaven Bread during the Passover season in Israel, the women baked their bread without yeast. In fact, they cleaned every nook and cranny in their home. Then they poured the swept up dust on communal fires in order to remove all leaven that may have floated through the air and landed on furniture, rugs and behind items on the counters. For a whole week, they concentrated on keeping their home leaven free. Why was God so concerned about leaven?

Well, in 1 Corinthians 5:7-8 Paul exhorts us to get rid of the old "yeast" by removing the deeds of the flesh within us. 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. Jesus, our Passover Lamb, sacrificed his life for our sins (Romans 3:25; 1 Peter 1:19). The least we can do is to make a clean sweep of all unrighteousness within our body and soul and give the Holy Spirit a clean Temple, unspotted by the corruption of sin in our life.

How many of us could stay sin-free for seven full days? It is possible, 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). 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. This 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 life (Matthew 13:33-34).

Jesus 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). Unleavened bread reminded Israel that God brought them out of Egypt and set them free in spirit as well as physically (Exodus 13:3). Bible Teaching can also be considered leaven. Jesus told the disciples to beware of the leaven in the teachings of false prophets (Matthew 6:11-12; Galatians 5:9).

In today's world, people open their mind to the teaching of anyone who tickles their ears! They do not search the scriptures to see if what the teacher said is true, but they swallow it hook, line and sinker. They have no discernment and they gullibly embrace anything that sounds good without ever searching the context and customs behind the verses quoted. This allows preachers to take verses out of context, isolate them and make a false doctrine out of them. Since it sounds good, undiscerning Christians fall for the deception.

It is important for us not only to know what we believe and to be able to defend it or share it as God gives us the opportunity; but we must also know why we believe it. Not just because the preacher said so, but also because we see the doctrine clearly spelled out in the Word of God. We have a multitude of physical and online helps in our modern society, and we all have at least one Bible in our home. Knowing what the Word teaches will enable us to discern when someone twists a Bible verse to back up their deceptive, intended meaning.

The Feast of Unleaven Bread is only one of God’s Old Testament commemorative feasts. Each of them also has a connection to New Testament events. The Bible clearly tells us the shadow of meaning in them for us today.

THE SPRING FEASTS are related to the First Coming of Jesus Christ:

•Passover - The Sacrifice of Jesus Christ to pay for the sins of all humanity (Exodus 12:13, John 1:29).

•The Days of Unleavened Bread - The removal of sin from the lives of converted, repentant people (Exodus 12:15, 1 Corinthians 5:7-8).

•Pentecost - The "first fruits" harvest, the coming of God's Holy Spirit upon the converted Saints (Leviticus 23:10-14, Acts 2:1-13).

THE FALL FEASTS relate to the Second Coming of Christ:

•The Feast of Trumpets - The Return of Jesus Christ (Leviticus 23:23-25, Matthew 24:30-31).

•The Day of Atonement - The final judgment and sentencing of Satan after his removal as "the god of this world" (Leviticus 23:26-32, Revelation 20:10).

•The Feast of Tabernacles - The first 1,000 years after The Return of Christ in which the harvest of salvation will truly begin (Leviticus 23:33-36, Revelation 20:2-4).

•The Last Day - The 8th day of the Feast of Tabernacles picturing the resurrection of all those who did not have an opportunity to hear (physically and/or spiritually) the Gospel in all the ages prior to the millennium (Leviticus 23:39, Revelation 20:5,11-15).

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 life to remove even the most infinitesimal traces of sin. We give You honor and glory in everything we think, say and do.

Thought for the Day:

Any conformity to worldly influence acts like leaven and corrupts our life until we are totally perverted.

Happy Jesus' Birthday 2012

Read: Matthew 1:18:25

“I will also appoint him my firstborn, the most exalted of the kings of the earth.” – Psalm 89:27

The fledgling church of the New Testament did not consider the birth of Jesus as significant as His resurrection. In fact, only Matthew and Luke wrote about it briefly. We have no exact date for Christ’s birth. Therefore, the first recorded celebration did not transpire until a few centuries after His birth. Then, in the year 336 AD, the Catholic Church enmeshed the celebration with a Pagan holiday occurring on the date of December 25^th.

No matter what date we choose to celebrate His birth, the fact remains that Jesus, who is the Word of God, and who was with God and was God, came to live on the earth (John1:1). He took on the nature of a servant, and lived a humble life (Philippians 2:7). He dwelt among us, and eventually willingly gave His life to pay the penalty of our sins and to allow us to live with Him now and for eternity (John 1:1,14). One day, possibly very soon, He will return as the King of kings and the Lord of lords (Revelation 19:16).

Christmas is the day to remember the Nativity of Christ. The commercialism, which puts families in debt and makes them desperate to provide the latest toys for their children, detracts from the joy of the day. Stringing popcorn and cranberries, making gifts for one another – no matter how impractical or unattractive, spending time as a family to read the Christmas account (Matthew 1:18:25; Luke 2:1-19), sharing a special meal with family and friends, taking a walk in nature, playing a board game as a family…these are treasures that will remain in our memories forever. The gift of our time is the most valuable commodity our children need from us.

Jesus never told us to celebrate His birth, but to remember His death. We commemorate His sacrifice for our sins by regularly observing communion (1 Corinthians 11:24). Since His death, our focus is now on His imminent return. Due to the fact that Christians heralded the return of Christ for centuries of time, people now dismiss it as irrelevant and impossible to ever happen. Atheists adopt slogans such as “Keep the Merry. Dump the Myth" and "You know it's a MYTH. This season, celebrate reason."

However, all of their unbelief does not negate the fact that Jesus did come and is coming again. The false prophets who claim to know the date of His return anesthetized the world into unbelief, so that people actually scoff at the thought that He will ever return. Jesus said, “No man knows the hour or the day” (Matthew 24;36), but the fact remains that He is certainly coming again, on a day and at an hour when we least expect Him. When He does, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Philippians 2:10-11).

If you are interested, here are a multitude of verses proclaiming His eminent return (Matthew 16:27, 23:39, 24:27-42, 26:64; Mark 8: 36-38, 13:26-37, 14:61-62; Luke 9:26-27, 17:28-30, 18:8, 21:25-28; John 14:1-4; Acts 1:11, 3:19-21; 1 Corinthians 1:7, 4:5, 11:26, 15:23-24; Philippians 1:10, 3:20; Colossians 3:4; 1 Thessalonians 1:9, 2:19, 3:13, 4:15-5:4, 5:23; 2 Thessalonians 1:7, 2;1, 2:8; 1 Timothy 6:13-16; 2 Timothy 4:1-2, 8; Titus 2:12; Hebrews 3:7, 9:28, 10:25; James 5:7-9; 1 Peter 3-5,13, 2:12, 4:13, 5:4; 2 Peter 1:16, 3:3,8-10; 1 John 2:28, 3:2; Jude 1:14, 21; revelation 1:4,7, 3:11, 16:15, 22:12, 20-21.)

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, Your mother Mary cherished the events of your life and pondered them in her heart (Luke 2:19). May we do the same thing, especially at this season of the year. We will rejoice with the angels and shepherds (Luke 2:20) over your first advent to the earth and look forward to your soon return for Your Bride. May everyone we love and cherish come to this saving knowledge in their lives as well, so they too will join us in Your presence for eternity.

Thought for the Day:

Celebrate Christ in Christmas with a heart full of gratitude for all He does for us every day.