salvation

Purging Religious Yeast

The first book of Corinthians writes in a figurative sense about “yeast” when it says:

Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast – as you really are. For Christ, our passover lamb, has been sacrificed. – 1 Corinthians 5:7

From an old post on the blog “Finding the Motherlode” the author poses a theological discussion on the nature of religion. Religion (religious thoughts, rules, ways and means), the author writes, is selfish. It stems from self and revolves around self. This selfish sense of “religion” is present in all of us and like a speck of yeast, it is very difficult to spot and remove. Some examples of this sense of “religion” that we should be warned of:

  • Religion is when I try to make something happen before God has ordained it.
  • Religion is doing all the right things for all the wrong reasons.
  • Religion is saying Hallelujah before having the faith to say Amen.
  • Religion is saying “Yes” to God without saying “No” to ungodliness.

I think I have a sense from where the author is coming from and I offer up an example from another blog which studies the works of James and the warning “Faith Without Works is Dead.” This selfish notion of religion is in saying and doing things that are biblically advisable but not really making the effort to make it happen. That in itself is a contradiction. It’s in the contradiction that we find the “yeast” in our lives.

But if a brother or sister is naked and may be lacking in daily food and any one of you say to them, Go in peace, be warmed and filled, but does not give them the things the body needs, what gain [is it]? – James 2:14-15

This is a tough brand of yeast for me to purge from myself as I am faced daily with many homeless and poor individuals on the streets, all of whom are begging for their meager living. I usually pass them up knowing that a smile or a good word is not enough to fulfill their bodily needs, as the Bible demands. Finding ways of fulfilling my obligations to the poor is a lifelong challenge that faces me and possibly many others.

Like I said, once you recognize what yeast is in your life, it’s really, really hard to figure out how to remove it. It takes work and it takes sacrifice. As in the promise of salvation through Christ, we are challenged by Corinthians to prepare and make ourselves “new” (a new batch without yeast) to meet Christ’s sacrifice.

Getting What You Need

Like the Rolling Stones song that goes: “You can’t always get what you want…” We have to remember daily through our disappointments and shortcomings that

Faith in God will not get for you everything you want, but it will get for you what God wants you to have. The unbeliever does not need what he wants; the Christian should want only what he needs. – Vance Havner

This rings some truth in many ways. We don’t always have what we want, which contrary to common wisdom, is a good thing. The trick is in paying close enough attention to the things we do have. These are our blessings. This is what the saying “count your blessings” is all about. All our needs are laid out before us for the asking. All the needs for the moment have already been provided for us. It is up to us to be thankful and to recognize this throughout our moments of disappointment and want.

Perhaps you may want a better job, or a bigger pay raise. Maybe you want more recognition for your labors at the office. Maybe you want to win big money in the lottery or in a casino. The important question is however, what will become of your life if these moments or events never come into your life? Chances are very good that you will still go on living and breathing. The important thing is that you don’t imprison yourself in the cycle of “wants”.

There is a parable I recall from Max Lucado’s book: “Traveling Light”, about a man who in a bad turn of the stock market lost overnight his entire fortune and savings. When asked of his situation, he replied: “I lost everything“. A colleague and close friend of his then asked “Have you lost your faith?”; “No,” he replied. “Have you lost your character?”; “No,” he replied again. “Have you lost your salvation?” his colleague quizzed once more. “Why, no.” To which his friend replied: “Then it appears to me that you have lost none of the things that matter.”

The friend is a wise one. Indeed, when you think about it, what really matters in this life? God doesn’t look at the number of cars you own, the brand name labels on the clothing on your back, the money in your wallet or bank accounts and assets or even the fanciness of the home you live in. God looks at your heart.

1 Samuel 16:7 – “The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

That is where all of us should begin to look… at the inside and all of the needs that originate from that place within. When we look there, we circumvent the slavery of “wants” and materialism that takes us places, but eventually takes us nowhere. Having better things, more things or any things doesn’t increase the value or the worth of our inner being. Take some time to focus on the needs that we have to make our inner beauty shine and pray for them.

“Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully.” – 1 Peter 5:7 (AMP)

In the long run, if you focus on putting these anxieties on the Lord, you’ll find that “You can’t always get what you want… but if you try sometimes, you get what you need.” (Rolling Stones) Search through your countless blessings and look for the needs that have been answered… most evidently at the right time, place and situation. You may surprise yourself when you do.

In This Place

Dear Lord,

In this place where I am, this situation I am living, I find peace. I know you have led me here, through time and troubles; through good times and bad. There is much work to be done, but I have faith that you will stick by me and see it all through. I have no fear because I don’t have to do this all alone. I have my family. I have my friends. Most of all, I have you.

Let those who sling their arrows, or spit in my face find peace in their own lives. It is not out of intentional hatred or angst that they seek to harm me; they have simply mistaken that something I do or something I have done stands in their way. With you nothing stands in the way. With the faith of a mustard seed, as you once inspired the gospel writers to pen, one can move mountains.

Let others who find their way to this place find peace and contentment in their lives. The Lord is my shepherd. there is nothing I shall want. There is nothing I shall want. I must focus on that because until I do, I am enslaved to something that has no meaning outside of this world. I will remember the Lord.

For those of you reading this, give thanks. Give a thought. Give a prayer. Remember that you have all this… and Jesus too. Greater victories have been won in the name of the Lord… and salvation is here now and forever because of that one single victory on a cross, on a hill, in a distant land that may as well be the soil under your feet. Meditate and bring yourself to this place – this place where I am – and find peace.

God Bless and have a wonderful, blessed day.

Stumbling Along

Recognize

Everyone who comes to know Jesus stumbles because of him. He fails to meet our wrong expectations. He calls us to do impossible things or to become something we think we could never become. This is his way of teaching us how much we need Him. He breaks us to pieces so that he can put us back together in His image. -Michael Card

Renew

The rule is this: Christians are people who remember their own weaknesses and failure. They are under reconstruction. So they offer hope and forgiveness to people who fall and who need Jesus’ healing grace and hope. -Donald M. Joy

Revive

1 Corinthians 1:20-31
2 Corinthians 4:1-12

Commentary

1 Corinthians 1:20-31 – I found this passage oddly confusing, but the last part gelled it together: “…For this world in its present form is passing away.” It’s all temporary. To remember the way we were when Jesus calls us is important because that status (no matter how terrible or difficult it may have been) holds a key to the hope of our future: For all that we have, reflect as if we do not have it. For all that we lack, think not of our deprivation. Whatever status we are in is only temporary in the grander picture of eternity.

2 Corinthians 4:1-12 – A nice passage about how our own resurrection is through our dependency and our tie to Jesus Christ. We are in need of Jesus’ saving grace and hope. We are totally and completely dependent on Him for salvation.