In our last devotionals we discovered that there are two leavens that
are detrimental to our soul:
1. "Herod's leaven", refering to
people who rely solely on their own prowess, living like atheists even
though they may attend church.
2. "Pharisee leaven", refering to
religion, where man will try to reach heaven on his own efforts instead
of trusting solely on God.
Yes, both of these leavens are quite
similar, as they resist the influence of God's Holy Spirit. The real
leaven, the "Kingdom's leaven", goes against both of these two
attitudes.
Jesus' disciples were affected by these as well. When
Jesus warned them about these false leavens, they thought He was
referring to the fact that they had forgetting to bring bread. They were
more concerned about what they lacked than what God could provide. They
had an improper foundation (See Mark 8:13-16). No wonder Jesus
exclaimed: "Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not
understand? Are you heard of hearing?" (Mark 8:17, NIV)
Right
after Jesus had fed the 5000 people, the Bible records, "They didn't
understand what he has done at the supper. None of this had yet
penetrated their hearts." (Mark 6:52, NIV).
Why couldn't they
understand?
Because they were too focused on their lack instead
of simmering in the abundance of their Heavenly Father.
Jesus
wanted his disciples to experience the supernatural and make that their
norm, relying solely on our Father.
How many times don't we fail
in this aspect as well?
How many times don't we become
disgruntled when we leave a grocery store and find out we have forgotten
something? One forgotten item makes us completely miserable; but
meanwhile we have an abundance of provisions!
Or another example:
A teacher is assigned a "bad" class. His first thoughts are: Why me? I
don't deserve that!
I like to buy several books at the same time
from a discount bookstore. If one of my ordered books is sold out, and
when I get my package and discover I am missing a book, why do I all of
a sudden want to read that missing item?
Why are we so focused on
what we don't have instead of rejoicing in the abundance that our Father
provides for us?
Interestingly enough, when I wrote this
devotional I had no illustration in mind for it. I didn't worry, for I
knew my Father would provide. And He sure did!
My family and I
were driving on the Blue Mountain Parkway in North Carolina. Our fuel
tank was almost empty, and there are no gas stations to be found on the
parkway. It's as if they were forbidden to be there!
We stopped
at Craggy Gardens as planned, right next to four bikers. I exclaimed out
loud: "Perfect, we can ask them where to find diesel. I'm sure they will
be able to help us." And they sure did: "Black Mountain would be your
best bet," they told us. "It's only 32 miles from here!"
The
problem was that our remaining fuel range was only 40 km... Which
translates to 25 miles!
One of the bikers told us they world pray
for us. We certainly appreciated that.
After we explored the
Craggy Gardens, a note was found on our windshield from our biker
friends: "We found out Ashville is closer . . .About 20 miles. Yeah!
Have a safe trip!"
Right then and there we started to pray:
"Thank you Father for your abundance that you provide to us. We will not
linger on what we don't have, but on your abundance. Thank you for
leading us."
As my wife drove towards Ashville, our fuel range,
which registered 40 km at Craggy Gardens, began to go up. Once we
finally reached a gas station, our range was at 70 kilometers! God
always provides! No need to linger on our lacks any longer!
Are
you running out of gas? Rejoice, as this will be your opportunity to
discover the abundance of our Father.
Rob Chaffart
Kingdom Leaven. Do we Truly Believe? Part 6
Today's Bible Verse:
"Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not
understand? Are you heard of hearing?" (Mark 8:17)
Kingdom Leaven. Do we Truly Believe? Part 6
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