Mmmm... cookies

Matt. 16:6

“'Be careful, Jesus said to them. 'Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

As I write this, I am on a food moderation plan.  (I hate the word diet!)  I am not doing it for the sake of how I look, but so that I can have more energy and speed when I run.  Therefore, I cannot hang up a bikini or something next to the refrigerator to motivate me to stick with it.  I cannot post a picture of energy on my cookie cabinet.  I have to resist temptation on my own.

But I like my sweets.  I eat them a lot.  (Boy, it is really hard to write this.)  And you know what is in cookies? and cakes?  and donuts? (I need to stop this.)

Yeast.  I read once that God's use of yeast as a metaphor for sin was appropriate because it is something that grows and spreads.  I am pretty sure God is not against cake (though in my mind, He prefers ice cream.  Heavenly Hash, anyone?), but he uses it as great example.  Once the yeast gets worked into the dough, it has become a part of the whole entity.  In the same way, sin covers the whole being of a person.

The yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees sounded good.  (So do soft pretzels.)  They spoke about abiding the Law.  That should be right, shouldn't it?  They were missing God's heart in the matter.  They were not following the Law for God's sake, but for their own glory.

Today, there are a lot of churches and individuals who claim to have God's favor. They want us to listen.  (Tip one, if you ever hear someone saying "Follow me"- and it isn't Jesus - run the other way!)  There are cults out there that might even sound good (like muffins).  They might even claim to follow Jesus.  But there is a hitch.  Maybe they are not following Jesus as God, but just as a man.  Or maybe they follow a Jesus who requires certain deeds in addition to faith to enter Heaven.  Or the opposite - a Jesus who lets all "good" people into Heaven regardless of their faith. This is the yeast of the Pharisees.  Don't let it work through your mind.  Don't let it spread through your family.

So how do you know?

     1.  You need to have accepted the saving Grace of God in Jesus.  This invites the Holy Spirit to dwell within you.

     2.  You must be in daily prayer so that you will recognize the voice of God.

     3.  You must study and be taught Word of God to know what His standards are.

Follow God and He will not let you down.  Follow man and you will ruin your diet with his cookies.  And you will not appreciate their taste when you see them worn around your middle.

Okay.  Back to my chicken.

The 5-Second Rule

Matt. 15:11

“What goes into man's mouth does not make him unclean, but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him unclean.”

I vacuum every day.  Not every room in the house every day, but some rooms, such as the kitchen receive attention several times a week.  There are 6 reasons for this.  Three are kids, three are cats.  And because I have likely vacuumed for the day, when that middle child drops his (insert food here) on the floor, I usually feel safe telling him to go ahead and eat it.  The 5-second rule in my house extends much longer.  After 3 kids, I have learned that no matter how long the dirt and germs have been there, chances are what jumps onto that cookie isn't going to kill my kid.

Is there still the possibility that said dropped food gathered some dirt on the floor?  Oh yes, quite likely as a matter of fact.  But I have made myself feel better by vacuuming and/or mopping earlier in the day.  Because truly, it won't make much of a difference in his overall health.

The disease that is more troublesome lately has been the name calling in our house.  No one will call out, "Mo-om, he ate a cookie off the floor!"  But daily, hourly, sometimes even by the minute I can hear, "Mo-om, she called me _____" (again, go ahead and fill in the blank here.)

These are more heart issues than body issues.  (Matthew 12:34 You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.)  It is a lot easier to fix the body than it is the heart.

In the passage for today, the Pharisees are once again trying to trip up Jesus.  They seem like tattle tales as they point out that the disciples did not wash their hands before they ate.  Really, Pharisees?  I can see Jesus's annoyance.  They weren't concerned about what they were eating.  They were just looking for a way to make Jesus look foolish.

And in typical Jesus fashion, he turned the tables and pointed out their heart condition to them.

To me, it seems these days that we overly concerned about our outside appearances.  We diet.  We exercise.  We try our best to look good.  

But how much do we work on our inside?  The country is concerned with the epidemic of overweight children.  Are we as worried about sarcastic and disrespectful children?  (If we were, The Simpsons would have been cancelled a long time ago). Even more than exercise programs (which do have some value), I would love to see classes that train children -- of all ages -- in kindness, especially kindness of the mouth.  

Because that's a fruit that will never go bad -- not even after 5 seconds on an unwashed floor.

Compassion

Matt. 14:14

“When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.”

When I think of Jesus coming to Earth, I often think of the pain it must have been for him to cram the Spirit being He is into a flesh-and-bone shell.  I think of how difficult it would be to deal with people who are finite in their knowledge and imagination, where He is infinite.  I think of the many who scorned and spat upon Him (and those who still do) when He did nothing to deserve it.

There was no reason to come here to us, in my mind, than to bring us to perfection.

But he loved and enjoyed us, even in our imperfect state.

Once again, I will draw on my experience as a mother.  Babies are imperfect.  They are completely reliant on their parents to feed them, clean them, and meet their every need.  And they whine about it.  There is no "thank you" uttered in the first year (and often well after that).  We don't take care of our children for the thanks we will get.  We do it because we love them.

Jesus is not waiting for a thank you.  He loves us unconditionally.  And He will always meet our needs.  He wants to do it because He loves us.  That, I think, is what compassion is.  Doing something with no motive but love.

In the story from which this verse is taken, Jesus had just been told about his cousin's beheading. Clearly, he was distraught (Matthew does not specifically say so, but I think so, since He needed time alone). When he came back, there were more than 5,000 people waiting for him.  He did not continue to dwell on what was bothering Him, but he drew himself into the needs of those at hand.  He did not see Himself, He saw the people. So, Jesus told the disciples not only could these people stay, but He was going to continue to care for them by feeding them (spiritually as well as nutritionally).  

It was just because of his love. He felt their pain.  And He was determined to love them through it.

I love his love.  Whenever I feel sad or alone, I usually don't want to talk about it.  How wonderful to serve a Savior who already knows.

Home Sweet Home

Matt 13:58

“And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.”

Jesus was teaching in His hometown. I can imagine his possible excitement at returning to the place where He had grown the first 30 years of His life. He would see friends and family. But He knew the reception He would get. It was a visibility deficiency – they knew Him only as a man and could not see beyond that. They would happily listen to their friend, but not revere their master.

Sound familiar? Isn't that what we want in America? We want our friend, the man Jesus. But we do not want One greater than ourselves. So, that is exactly what He gives us. Notice the verse says that He did not do MANY miracles. They are available for those who are willing to see them.

I don't know about you, but I want to see them.  I expect to see them.  I want to serve my Master because I realize I make a lousy one.  I want Jesus to fill the role He was meant to have.  He's going to tell me what to do, and I may not like it.  It may be painful or uncomfortable.  But I trust that He knows best.

Where is Jesus's home now?  To me, it is in my heart.  I want to welcome Him there.  There, the Holy Spirit will teach, and I surely hope I can be humble enough to listen and recognize His authority in His home.

(Sorry this was a short one.  Just to the point.)