Category: Bible Bite

...To what shall I liken the kingdom of God?
  It is like leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of wheat flour or meal until it was all leavened (fermented). Luke 13:20-21 [AMP]

I love to make bread and I know that only a small amount of yeast (leaven) is needed to make a large quantity of dough rise.

Yeast is often used in Scripture to denote a bad influence, but there seems no reason for taking that away from this example Jesus is using. The point is that a small quantity of yeast makes moves throughout a much larger mass. So, with the kingdom. yeast works quietly and unseen, and the kingdom works through Christ’s influence on people’s hearts, not in anything merely external and visible. It is worth noting that yeast works from inside: it cannot change the dough while it is outside. But it is also important that the power to change comes from outside: the dough does not change itself.

Everything we need from the Lord is deposited in us when we accept His Son as our personal ‘Sin Bearer”. We must allow ourselves to be changed from the inside out; that process, when we listen and apply what God is revealing to us, is one that results in nothing less than an outward demonstration of that work through fruit.

And that servant who knew his master’s will but did not get ready or act as he would wish him to act shall be beaten with many [lashes].
  But he who did not know and did things worthy of a beating shall be beaten with few [lashes]. For everyone to whom much is given, of him shall much be required; and of him to whom men entrust much, they will require and demand all the more. Luke 12:47-48 [AMP]

This is a very important passage in the Bible. We might be disturbed by the thought that someone who sins in ignorance will be punished. But we must keep in mind that there is no such thing as absolute ignorance.

For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So, they are without excuse.

Romans 1:20 [ESV]

Additionally, our very ignorance is part of our sin. The emphasis is on the fact that the beating is light (few lashes), but we should not minimize the importance of doing God’s will. As a follower of Jesus, I must make every effort to find out what God’s will is and do it. Everyone is accountable.

And [Jesus] said to His disciples, Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious and troubled [with cares] about your life, as to what you will [have to] eat; or about your body, as to what you will [have to] wear. Luke 12:22 [AMP]

Only aim at and strive for and seek His kingdom, and all these things shall be supplied to you also. Luke 12:31 [AMP]

I know I have been quiet the last few days but that has been because the focus has been on sending off Bella on her 9 month missions trip. We are here in Georgia spending two days meeting the rest of her team and their parents. Tomorrow we say goodbye for awhile.

This has been a special time and today I needed the Words the Lord gave me above. I have nothing to worry about as we release Bella into the care of the Lord (psst- He had her the hold time but let’s keep this moment) and face my aim on seeking God’s Kingdom. Not only for Bella but for us; for me!

I will miss my first born girl but I am so excited for her!

And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.” Luke 12:11-12 [ESV]

I love this encouragement by Jesus to the disciples. During Jesus’ ministry and the building up of His church, I am sure there was special intervention by God in the situations where the disciples would be in front of religious leaders and authorities. I am not sure that this is an easily transferable expectation of the Lord in every circumstance I might find myself in…however, I have direct experiences where I walked into a tough situation and prayerfully considered what the Lord would have me say. There are specific memories I have of walking away very emotional about what the Lord provided and helped me through in that circumstance. Those experiences were extremely faith-building.

An example of when I have petitioned the Holy Spirit to teach me what I should say is this last month when I led our church congregation in communion. I spent a lot of time praying that what the Lord had laid on my heart to say would be used by Him to glorify Himself alone in that moment. In the simple couple of words I said, I know that God was using what He laid on my heart to draw attention to Himself; that He would use it in spite of my failures and weakness.

I am so thankful for this provision when the Holy Spirit provides it.

“I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! Luke 12:4-5 [ESV]

At first glance this passage looks super scary but this is Jesus speaking to His disciples about the Pharisees. We have been saved and justified by this same God. So, when I read this, I am comforted to know that the only One who can cast me into Hell is the same One Who has promised everlasting life with Him in Heaven.

When I look at my life here and think about what I have ahead, I have nothing to fear except one thing…the fear of disappointing my Father in Heaven. It is in His Son that I am redeemed but I still must inhabit this carcass here on earth that is susceptible to the evil ways of this world. Ergo, I must cling to the shins of my Father by immersing myself in His word and prayerful anticipation of His return!

I got a little lazy with my posting so you are going to see a bunch of posts follow this one; to catch up. With the exception of a few, these will mostly be Bites as I have had a busy week leading up to school starting and Bella heading off on her Missions trip.

“Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.  Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.  Therefore, whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops. Luke 12:1-3 [ESV]

If there is one thing as human followers of Jesus, that can tear down the reputation of our witness, it is hypocrisy. What I have realized in my walk is that our ‘Old Man’ can show up and decimate an upright walk. This is why the ‘New Man’ (the new creature) must put death the ‘Old Man’ everyday. Some days I am better at this than others.

Being in God’s Word each day has a way of grounding your ‘faith perspective’ in a such a way that when the Holy Spirit inside of us speaks/warns/admonishes, we hear it.

Luke 11:23 [AMP]
He who is not with Me [siding and believing with Me] is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me [engage in My interest], scatters.

I’ve been continuing in Luke and reading about Jesus casting out the ‘dumb’ demon. Jesus was speaking against those who witnessed this casting out and accused Jesus of working with Beelzebub and was explaining how preposterous this accusation was.

This verse towards the end of the encounter was impactful to me. It essentially means that you can’t have one foot in the world and the other pointed toward Jesus. It just doesn’t work; you are in fact against Jesus if you operate this way.

He also says that if we are not working to gather those into His Kingdom we are in fact scattering. This is a big deal. That passive Christian who says, “You know, evangelism just isn’t may thing…” should be careful about what this verse is implying about that statement.

I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs. Luke 11:8 [ESV]

Jesus was telling this little parable about a person who has a visitor come in the middle of the night but the host has no food for the weary traveler. So, the host goes to his friend’s house to ask for several loaves of bread to feed his guest. Jesus says that the answer from within the house is ‘no’, that the whole family is asleep.

Jesus then says that this friend will finally give the host what he wants and more…not because he is his friend but because the host is persistent. The whole context is persistence in prayer.

The lesson is clear. We must not play at prayer, but must show persistence if we do not receive the answer right away. It is not that God is unwilling and must be badgered to answer. The whole context makes it clear that He wants to give. But if we do not want what we are asking for enough to be persistent, we do not want it very much. It is not mild prayer that is answered.

My time in actual devotions was short today as I continued my preparation for leading the church body in communion tomorrow.

My passage was Luke 10:38-42. This is a very interesting conversation between Jesus and Martha after she had invited Him into her home to teach to those who were with Him. Martha had a sister, Mary who lived with her. While Jesus was teaching, Martha was running all around trying to finalize all the preparations for hosting all that were in her home. Rather than help Martha with all of these preparations, Mary was sitting at the feet of Jesus listening to His teaching. Martha was so frustrated with Mary not helping her that she went to Jesus to get His help in petitioning Mary to help her – Jesus’ response was priceless.

“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

Luke 10:41-42 [ESV]

I literally chuckled to myself when I read this but after thinking about what Jesus was saying, I became quite convicted about what I let come before my time at the feet of the Lord (in my quiet time with Him each day). “One thing is necessary, and Mary has CHOSEN the good portion…” There is no doubt that what Martha was doing was important but listening to the Lord was more important still. It will be awfully hard to say ‘Yes’ to that other thing that is vying for my time before my time with the Lord in His word each day.