Trust all is going well on your
side of the world. For the most part we
are doing fine, combating high temperatures and trying to keep the garden in
shape is the main requirement right now with us.
Have some more cucumbers fresh
from the garden and Carla took down more zucchini to work this afternoon; still
waiting for my fresh tomatoes so I can have my sandwich.
The vegetables are actually
doing pretty good, just hope they continue to stand up to this high heat – 101
as of this writing and increasing.
Animals are either finding shady
spots outside or residing in the cool house near a register. As am I.
Mathew 16:5-6 And when his
disciples were come to the other side, they had forgotten to take
bread.
6 Then Jesus said unto
them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the
Sadducees.
And
Verse 11-12 How is it that ye do
not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should
beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the
Sadducees?
12 Then understood they how
that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the
Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
We are taught to, and must,
respect authority, without rule of law and those that both create and enforce
it, we would have utter chaos, as is being demonstrated all over the world and
particularly in the Middle East right now.
However, just because they are
in authority doesn’t mean they are in line with what the Bible says, as can be
demonstrated by many laws, in even America, today.
Then, of course, you have those
that abuse their authority and even if the law is impartial and doesn’t conflict
with God, their actions do not.
But in this case Jesus is
talking about leaders of the Jews. Men
who have been entrusted with the spiritual well-being of God’s chosen people –
and they have failed God.
How does something like that
happen? Why did these men, who had
attained such a powerful position, lead their people astray?
Did they start out that
way? Were their hearts at one time
focused on God rather than themselves?
Is this the way their predecessors lead the people and they just
continued in their place?
How can we keep from doing the
same thing?
Mathew
22:29 Jesus answered and said unto
them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of
God.
This of course wasn’t the first
or last time Jesus chastised these leaders for not knowing the Word of God. How did that happen? That was their job; that was their
responsibility.
Unfortunately, they appeared to
have rested on their laurels and position to teach others. Had they read any of the things Jesus showed
them, or had they just taken someone else’s word for it?
When we come to Jesus a lot of
things are ‘thrown’ at us; verses, doctrine, experiences of others – so much so
it is difficult to sift through it all.
Well-meaning people may give us
in accurate information. Others are
giving us information that is critical to our life in Christ. Others preach traditions that were condemned
by the Jesus and the Apostles.
Friends and family will often
find fault in our conversion and try to get us to deny Christ; or find fault
with the organization in whose church we found Christ as our Savior and try to
make us change our minds.
So many people get caught up in
the personality of the ‘preacher’ who may or may not be a true representative of
God – that is how cults get started.
We have to discern the truth
through all of that ‘noise.’
We must trust someone,
especially when we are young in Christ.
Many churches have set up a discipleship program so that the new
Christian can learn about living for Christ and not go down a wrong path.
New Christians need good
examples; they need fostering just like any new babe. While this indeed is a generality, most of us
need that time to be seasoned in the Word and understand how to properly
dedicate ourselves to God.
I remember when we had a church
potluck shortly after I was saved. There
was an older gentleman setting across from Carla and me; you could tell he was
well respected. It turned out he was the
former Pastor who had retired.
Members of the youth group were
responsible for the liquid refreshments, milk, juice, water and coffee – they
offered this man coffee, and he replied, ‘No, I am saved.’
It took me back. I know that this church preached against the
abuse of alcohol, smoking, dancing and other things that could lead a person
away from Christ, but this was the first I heard anything about coffee.
It took me a couple of moments
to realize he was joking with the young lady; they would not be serving it, and
especially to everyone I KNEW had been saved, if it was forbidden.
No one had to explain that to
me, figured it out all by myself.
However, it opened up a dialogue in my mind. I cannot believe everything I am told or hear
about living for Christ. If it sounds
off, I needed to research it.
There were a several people in
the church that I soon realized were grounded in faith. The first was the Pastor. I asked him so many questions, he listened
and answered, many times using the Word of God to show the truth.
The Pastor’s wife taught me it
was okay to question those that spoke from the pulpit – where I came from you
didn’t dare. We had a very well know
evangelist preach one night. I had some
questions about how he interpreted the scripture he preached on.
I went to her and she said, she
also had some questions and would be studying the Bible to see if he was
correct.
God doesn’t shut our minds off
when we accepted Christ, in fact He gives us more insights and truths –
particularly when we desire to grow more in our faith and study His Word.
Many of the lessons I learned in
that little church have been with me all my life. Many of the messages preached from the pulpit
were life changing for me. The men and
women of that church were generous with their time and love.
But I cannot rely on those
messages, now. Not because they were not
accurate or correct, but because if that is all I choose to live my life by, I
can either go astray on my own or be led astray.
While I can remember part of the
messages, my mind plays tricks on me – 50 years later – and when I double check
my sources before I write or study, I find that I may have remembered
wrong. I must always check so I am not
leading others astray.
I often wonder when I read the
chastisement of Jesus to these leaders if they had read the text but didn’t
continue to study it.
Did they rely on their past
understanding and may have been many years since they had actually read the
Scriptures?
People do that you know, they
read something 20 years ago and that, and their memory of that, is what they
teach.
It is telling that when Jesus
challenged them that they didn’t ask him which Scriptures. Had they done so they would have had a
sincere interchange with Him instead of trying to trap Him.
And as many who did understand
came to accept Him as their Savior, so could have they.
We have a responsibility to our
fellow Christians to not lead them down a path that will veer them off God’s
path.
We know that there are many
Christians who do not believe exactly as we may believe on certain issues. However, the basics are still there:
The Scriptures are written by
men, as directed by the Holy Spirit; it is infallible. It is
the Word of God and a direct link to understanding who He is and what He wants
of us.
There is but one God in three
persons; The Father who is responsible for all Creation; Salvation through
Christ’s sacrifice as a mediator for us; a Holy Spirit that is here to guide,
direct, teach and comfort us is a key point.
God’s love and direction for us,
the need to be a servant to Him, not for salvation but for love and
sanctification and many other things can be agreed on.
There may be things we are in
disagreement over, such as dietary restrictions, or methods of worship, or even
the day of the Lord’s Sabbath – as long as the intent is not to change the
salvation message they are not necessarily harmful – however, we must be very
careful.
Some of the restrictions and
requirements of some church organizations are manmade legalisms and we were
cautioned about them by Jesus and the Apostles.
When wrong doctrine becomes a
‘law’ for a Christian then the Christian has been given a leavening that will
hinder their growth and service for Christ.
We don’t want to be guilty of
doing that ourselves. We don’t want to
rely on messages, readings or lessons given years ago that we may not remember
all the fine points about.
We want to continue growing in
our Christian life, studying, listening to our leaders and comparing that with
God’s Word.
As a Christian we are as
responsible as a Pastor or teacher to insure our lives are dedicated to the
proper discernment of the Word and leading others in its truth.
2 Timothy
2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God,
a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of
truth.
May our counsel to others be
based on God’s Word, not on our own thoughts so that we avoid introducing
leavening in the pure heart of the believer.
Later, Art :-)
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