Thank You for Your many blessings, Father. All the goodness of life surely comes from You. You deserve the praise. Where would I be without You? Lost, most assuredly. But only because of You I am found!
Matthew 16:5-12 (<<click the green)
A show of hands – who likes dinner rolls? Some people probably know this but one batch of dinner rolls – and most recipes I read yielded 12 rolls – takes only 1 package of yeast. (My wife says she buys yeast in bulk, and for her, a package equals 1 tablespoon.) So if she was following a recipe I read online for classic dinner rolls she would use 2 cups of flour and 1 tablespoon of yeast. Proportionally that is not much yeast. You’d need 32 tablespoons to total 2 cups. So a little yeast goes a long way. It greatly impacts the other ingredients to bring us those scrumptious dinner rolls – mmmmmmm!
In rolls, yeast is wonderful – not so much if it refers to “deceptive [spiritual] teaching”. Jesus warned the disciples to be wary of the “deceptive teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” The same applies to us today. A small amount of deception can permeate an entire ministry. The truth can become tainted if just a small amount of falsehood is introduced into the whole.
We are encouraged to not swallow everything we hear or read hook, line, and sinker. Paul commends the “people of Bereans” for as “they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth.” (Acts 17:11)
We are fallible. We can make mistakes. Even people we trust as spiritual leaders can deliberately lead us astray. Be diligent! If something doesn’t sound right, check it out! And if your spiritual leader takes offense? Then maybe it’s time to look for another spiritual leader, it makes no difference who he or she might be.
Lord Jesus, help us to be discerning. Help us to be diligent in searching the Scriptures day after day to see if we are being taught the truth. Amen.
May 30th, 2018, Wed, 9:54 pm
