Standards and the Spirit

Do you hold to certain standards or do you just follow the Spirit?  John the Baptist did both.  He held to a standard of not drinking alcohol and he was filled with the Spirit from the time he was in his mother’s womb.  The angel prophesied, “For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink.  He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.” (Luke 1:15)  Notice the connection between being free from the influence of alcohol and being filled with the Holy Spirit.  Paul makes the same connection in Ephesians 5:1: “And be not drunk with wine in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,”  Many unsaved people are dependent on alcohol for relaxation and fun.  Saved people rely on the filling of the Holy Spirit for joy, peace and love.  Which one are you?  If you want to be filled with the Holy Spirit you must give up relying on alcohol.  Follow the example of John the Baptist.  Do not drink wine or strong drink.  Be filled with the Spirit and you will be full of joy, peace and love.  Standards and the Spirit.  Be great for God!  Think about it!      

Sourdough Christians

Jesus said to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, Sadducees and Herodians.  Paul warned the Corinthians and Galatians about leaven.  Most Old Testament sacrifices were to be free of leaven.  Before the Passover there had to first be the Feast of Unleavened Bread when all the leaven in a Jewish home is removed.  Leaven is a symbol of evil everywhere in the Bible.  But it does make bread taste good.  My grandfathers were both bakers of sorts.  My father’s father made donuts every Saturday for his friends.  Wonderful cake donuts that made the bag greasy from the lard.  Boy, were they good!  My mother’s father had gone out West as a young teenager and he always had a small dish of sourdough on the stove for his sourdough pancakes.  He also kept apple cider down near the furnace until it got a little “nippy”.  Fermentation makes baked goods and beer and wine taste good.  But fermentation can be dangerous.  In baking, the yeast live cultures are killed, so they don’t continue the process of decay.  In alcohol, they can make you intoxicated (drunk).  Why did Jesus work so hard to warn His disciples about leaven?  I think it was because it works secretly, but permeates the whole loaf with it’s inflationary effects.  Evil works in a similar manner.  It usually starts as fun, daring, exciting, pleasure.  But it results in pain, hurt, guilt and loneliness.  In other words, sin always produces a hangover.  “Go now, pay later” is the Devil’s way.  “Pay now, go later” is God’s way (financially and in so many ways).  The wonderful thing about God’s way is that Jesus paid for all our sins, so we can enjoy the blessings of salvation.  We then begin to discipline ourselves for godliness by paying before we enjoy.  We learn to discipline ourselves with our time, money, relationships and work.  God sent a “Matzoh” Savior so we could be “Matzoh” people.  Jesus is the sinless Son of God.  We now are forgiven sons of God.  Don’t be a sourdough Christian.  Be a “Matzoh” (unleavened bread) Christian through faith in Christ!  Think about it!