The Better Bread

Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:23-24 (NKJV)

The Jewish observance of Pesach (Passover) has very special meaning to Jewish people worldwide. The holiday, referred to as the festival of liberation, usually coincides around the time when Christians celebrate Easter and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Pesach commemorates the tenth and final judgment God had to make against Egypt for its refusal to free the nation of Israel from their slavery. Two things factored into their freedom; (1) the blood of a lamb was to be applied on the tops and sides of the doors of homes; (2) and that no leaven (yeast) was to be used in their cooking. The blood of the lamb would turn away God’s judgment (Exodus 12:12), causing the angel of death to Pass over that home, sparing it.

The Jews’ freedom was so imminent that there would not even be enough time for their bread to rise. The night before their freedom God had commanded them to eat the unleavened bread with belt fastened, sandals on their feet and staff in hand. They were to eat it in haste (Exodus 12:11).

Leaven in Scripture is portrayed as sin and corruption. The Apostle Paul gives a word picture of it as a corrupting influence. As a small portion is able to rise a whole lump of dough (1^st Corinthians 5:6-8, Galatians 5:9), so a little sin, left to sit ferments and corrupts hearts and minds. It will eventually affect our relationship with God, and each other, keeping it from working to our fullest good.  

 Before Pesach arrives, a Jewish household scrupulously works to rid itself of every aspect of leaven. The children are included in the lesson of finding and purging every trace. It is called Bedikat Chametz, The Search for Leavened Bread. They will go throughout the household by candlelight, with feathers and wooden spoons to brush and scoop every evidence of leaven, from the pages of every book to the cracks in the floor, so thorough is the cleansing! Ten items of leaven are hidden throughout the household to be found. If only nine are found, the search continues until all ten are accounted for. All the items, including feathers and wooden spoons, are burned the following morning (Burning of Chametz).

A Jewish child beginning Bedikat Chametz, 

(The search for leavened bread).

Unfortunately, being freed from the slavery of sin doesn’t mean we no longer sin. Sin remains a problem that will be only be done away with when we leave these current bodies. While we cannot have full freedom from sin, we have full freedom from being enslaved to it. That is, we have the Power of Christ in helping us to choose not to sin. Before that, overcoming it in righteousness was not an option. If you have put your trust in Christ, now it is.

Anxieties, sinful thoughts, and desires will be with us throughout our lifetimes and can manifest themselves like little bits of leaven, that if left unchecked will work into our lives and grow into sins that will choke our spiritual growth.

I always know when I have leaven fermenting in mind and soul. I have to hide it. Leaven creates bitter bread, full of mold and weevils.   

Jesus is the Bread of Life, whose righteousness He tells us to consume (John 6:53-54). No leaven needed, for He is the Better Bread which fully satisfies the hungry soul (John 6:35).

Ken

The Profoundest Pronoun

Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” Then the Jews said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you will raise it up in three days?” But He was speaking of the temple of His body. John 2:19-21 (NKJV)

I once read an account of how a dying man told his family God would raise him from the dead three months after he died. Three months after his death his family had his body exhumed, fully expecting their loved one to be returned to them alive. 

The story sadly related them tapping on the casket with a shovel handle and calling to him to come out. He never did. The family left the cemetery that day with the finality of his death in their hearts as the cemetery personnel reinterred the man’s mortal remains.

What is so incredible about today’s verse is in His speaking of His bodily resurrection from the dead, Jesus said, “I will raise this temple [His physical body] up.” The Power behind the Pronoun is not merely a reflective radiance of the Profound God, it is the exact nature and essence of the Father. If Scripture tells us God raised Jesus from the dead (Ephesians 1:20, Acts 4:10) and Jesus said “I,” will do it, then it appears there is a mutually symbiotic relationship with God the Father that cannot be readily explained away nor denied. In spite of what critics may say that Jesus never made any references to Deity, He in fact did, in this instance, and John 10:30-33, 17:5, Luke 22:70-71 to name a few. There are also the testimonies of credible eyewitnesses (John 1:14, 2^nd Peter 1:16-18, Revelation 1:13-18).

Everything we believe about the Deity of Jesus of Nazareth revolves around the central and historical event of His resurrection from the dead. If this hub of evidence is removed the wheel of Christianity flies apart and it becomes just another religion of rules and regulations.

Even though many centuries have distanced us from that first Resurrection Morning, Jesus Christ, the Profoundest Pronoun, continues to be as powerfully alive now, as when He first stepped out of that tomb. He who says I am the only way anyone can come to God, condescended to us to join us to redeem our fallen race. This personal interest in us is about to culminate in Eternal Triumph. This same Jesus will return for those that have put their trust in His redemptive work (Acts 1:10-11). 

The One that said, “Behold, I am coming soon,” will do so, first for His church, then a second time to rule in a righteous reign eternally on the throne of His ancestor, David (2^nd Samuel 7:16). On that day we who are alive will rise to meet Him in the air, and none in the grave who have trusted on Him for the forgiveness of their sins will leave the cemetery disappointed. They’ll leave it in the flash of the eye to an eternity beyond description! Christ has risen. Christ has risen indeed. And so shall all who have believed on Him, living and dead. What a comfort that is (1^st Thessalonians 4:18). Happy Resurrection Day.

Ken

Anywhere on the Bus

That the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel, Ephesians 3:6

Anywhere on the Bus

Those of us old enough to remember the early American Civil Rights Movement will remember Rosa Louise Parks. On December 1, 1955, Parks, who was black, refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama bus to a white male.

In accordance with Southern “Jim Crow” laws at the time, Parks was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. She was fined $14.00, plus court costs. Her case was appealed but was denied. However, her quiet and courageous act would become the premier event that began the American Civil Rights Movement and was instrumental in bettering racial relations nationally.

 

 

Rosa Parks arrest by the Montgomery, AL, PD, 

December 1, 1955

In the early church there was a lot of bigotry by Jews toward the Gentiles. Jewish belief had always been that any association with them made them ceremonially unclean. As far as any Jew was concerned, no Gentile sat at the back of the bus, they weren’t even allowed on the bus.

Paul’s preaching of the gospel to the Gentiles is one of the main reasons Jewish leaderships were always so annoyed with him. Jealousy was the other (Acts 13:45, 22:21-22).

Paul was simply not one who was ahead of his time in not being ethnically challenged. He was one sent, and he went, to the non-Jewish world because God saw the Gentiles worthy of inclusion in His plan of redemption. Paul allowed any cultural or personal prejudices to die away and to let the love of Christ rule his heart. With that, a great harvest was reaped of new believers into the household of Israel. In Yeshua, Christianity is fully Jewish.

Thank God Paul walked in the Spirit, realizing, that ethnically speaking, Christ’s blood was thicker than religion. His blood was the Supremacy of a new and personal Second Covenant, offering full acceptance to we Gentiles. His atoning blood was and is the only thing powerful enough to defeat the satanic realm and open the veil for us into the holy presence of our Father in heaven. Because of Christ not only are Gentiles now allowed on the bus, but praise the Lord, we can sit wherever we want.

Ken

Higher Ground

Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. Matthew 7:24-25 (NKJV)

Have you heard of the amazing engineering feat and preservation of the Cape Hatteras Light Station? The station was completed on the Outer Banks of North Carolina in 1870. Originally built a safe 1,500 feet from the Atlantic Ocean, by 1970 weather erosion had left the station just 120 feet from the ocean’s edge with only a matter of time until its foundation's collapse and destruction.

After much debate it was finally decided to relocate the 4,830-ton lighthouse and its buildings to higher ground, transferring them on a rail system and moving them 2,900 feet inland.

 

#1The rail system that moved the lighthouse and it's buildings.

#2The 2900 ft track to the new location. The lighthouse is in the upper LH corner of the photo, waiting to begin the move.

Through February, March, and April of 1999 the Principal Keepers Quarters, oil house, cisterns, and sidewalks were relocated, and by July 9, the lighthouse was safely placed on a new foundation of steel-reinforced concrete, brick, and up to 2 feet of rock. The lighthouse continues to serve as a navigational aid and is currently maintained by the U.S. Coast Guard.

        

The Cape Hatteras Light Station today

Jesus speaks of the sure foundational strength He offers. Even when storms come His foundation holds and keeps us from falling. If sand does encroach, He will move us to higher ground.

Jesus didn’t say, “I am one of many paths to God.” He said, “I am the only way,” (John 14:6). If that sounds too inclusive to your ears, what else could you expect to hear in a statement made to be absolute truth from the Person who says He is? To say truth is subjective (your truth in comparison to mine) is to say an untruth. It’s either true or it isn’t. If you’re Superman, the truth of the Law of Gravity may be subjective, but for we mortals a red cape won’t help us fly after leaping from the window of the Daily Planet. Jesus is either God in the flesh or He's not. Both cannot be true.

So, is what Jesus said, recorded by many historically credible witnesses, true or not? If it isn’t true, you’ve got nothing to worry about. If it is true, then He wasn’t lying, and He’s neither a liar or a lunatic. 

So-if He was not a consummate liar, and not plainly insane, then the only other choice is He is who He claimed to be, and that would be--Lord. If He is who He claimed to be then everyone, both small and great, must give an account of themselves to Him (Revelation 20:12).

What will be the defense of people who reject Him as the Truth when they must face Him and He asks for a reason?  “Your belief that you’re God is just YOUR truth,”?  Sorry, my caped crusader, how far do you think that one’s gonna fly?

But, if you need a foundational stone to set your life on, He can be your Chief Cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20). Even if you’ve put your trust in Him and storms have eroded your ground a bit too close to the waves for comfort, He will move you to higher ground. You can trust in all He's promised.

A wise man, woman, and even child building their foundation on this Rock will find it can withstand anything Satan can throw against it. Let your heart trust in that. Doing that is true wisdom. Why not ask Jesus to become your sure foundation of trust and hope? What have you got to lose? It is wisdom that will raise you to higher ground. 

Ken

A Sure Anchor

This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. Hebrews 6:19-20

I’ve had the opportunity to tour one of the most famous American battleships still afloat; the Iowa Class USS Wisconsin, BB-64. Commissioned in April of 1944, she is still commissioned, though in moth balls (reserved fleet), in Norfolk, VA. Today she serves as a floating museum that is open to the public.

The ship has a beautiful silhouette, but can be both Beauty and Beast. She has a kick that would make any navy approach with caution. Her nine 16-inch naval guns can launch a one-ton armor piercing shell at a target 22 miles away. What fascinated me the most on my tour were the two huge anchors and chains on the bow of the ship. The two anchor chains are each 1000 feet long with each link weighing 120 lbs. apiece. Each anchor weighs in at an enormous 15 tons.

When we consider the majestic power of the Creator of everything, it’s no wonder the writer of Hebrews speaks of Him being an anchor to our souls. Anchors hold and stabilize a vessel and keep them from drifting. There’s no one like Him in power, might or glory causing King David to ask of Him, “What is man that You consider him?” But He does consider every one of us. The Lord is an anchor that holds our little ships in Him as we lie in earth’s port of call. As He holds us, He enters behind the veil into the Holiest Place, before God the Father, interceding on our behalf (1^st John 2:1).

Some of our ships do suffer some losses in the spiritual battle we fight on the high seas of life, but let us rest assured that none are damaged without His knowledge and concern. As mighty as the anchors and chains on the Wisconsin seem, they pale in comparison to the mighty holding power of our anchor Christ Jesus.

I’m speaking from experience, here. He’s been my anchor through some unbelievable typhoons. Wherever we sail in life and whatever port we find ourselves, when He is set as the anchor of our Hope, we can be sure He will always be immovable. But more than that, as the Psalmist says, He remains individually mindful of all the typhoon tossed. With an Anchor like that, who can move us? Many may try but none will prevail. Even the demons believe that and shudder with fear (James 2:19).

Ken

Enemy's Advantage

The weapons we fight with [spiritually] are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 2^nd Corinthians 10:4-5

When Satan and many of the angels who followed him rebelled against God, war was declared.  Evil has been unrelenting in its efforts to win that war ever since. Throughout the millennia and up to the 1960s, the Christian church was, at times, referred to as the church militant. The term described the continuing conflict between good and evil and the role of the church in that fight.

There’s been no shortage of people throughout the ages, within the church as well as without, whose aims were to undermine the power of the Holy Spirit as the Restrainer through the presence of the church (2^nd Thessalonians 2:6-7). Evil has never called a truce and never will.

When an opposing force halts its engagement for any prolonged time their enemy will use the calm to their full advantage. They will resupply their materiel and munitions and strengthen and encroach their lines against their enemy, taking advantage of their neglect.

A lull occurred when many mainline denominations in an effort to not offend began rolling over to voices resistant to inferences of battle, words like warfare, weapons, and even the shedding of blood, under the Old and New Testament redemptive systems. In many churches that included the blood of Christ shed for the redemption of mankind. Even my own denomination’s newer hymnals excluded the old and favored hymns of Onward Christian Soldiers and Power in the Blood as being too brutal and violent.

The Apostle Paul was keenly aware of the spiritual warfare being waged in heavenly places. In his letter to the church at Ephesus he penned a battle imagery. Being a prisoner of Rome, he was chained 24/7 to Roman guards, and was well acquainted with their military equipment. He likened it, metaphorically, to the whole armor of God. (Ephesians 6:11-17).

Satan doesn’t prowl around like a toothless police dog but like a lion. Lions are known for their stealth and power to kill. Coming unarmed upon a lion in the wild will mean the odds of survival lie with the lion. Any lull we may create with Satan will be used to consolidate his agenda: to kill, steal, and destroy. He was a murderer from the beginning (John 8:44).

That we will meet that lion is not a case of if but when. He’s constantly on the prowl and will get around to sizing us all up for a quick meal. Jesus never said to lay down and play dead when spotted. We are not ordered to standdown but to standfast in His power, prepared with the Whole Armor of God.

Throughout the Old Testament, Christ is revealed as the Angel of the LORD. He is the Leader of a righteous and mighty host (ref the Angel of the LORD). When it’s dark and a flare goes off above you, and all hell can throw at you is raining down, look over and see the Captain of the Lord of Hosts in the trench next to you (2^nd Corinthians 10:3-4). He will be with you through it. He is with you now. We can only put our hope, faith, and trust in Him. He declares He has received ALL Authority in heaven and earth (Matthew 28:18, Ephesians 1:20-22) and with it comes all POWER. Power to overcome all things.

There is continuing warfare being fought by the kingdom of darkness against God’s Kingdom of Light. Believer or nonbeliever, whether we like it or not. Satan’s aim is to destroy us all. Be vigilant and never give the enemy the advantage. Our weapons are not of this world, but divine with Christ’s power to demolish satanic strongholds. He shut the mouths of the lions for Daniel (Dan. 6:22). Don’t standdown. Standfast. Keep your armor bright.

Ken

Envy and Out

For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. James 3:16 (NKJV)

There are many areas of life that are potential powder kegs to our Christian walk, but in my experience, envy is the match that lights them. It’s that driving ‘the grass is always greener’ force that is the number one reason our first two earthly parents fell into original sin. Satan said God was holding out on them, implying, and lying (John 8:44), that God was doing so out of jealousy. Envy moved Adam and Eve to put that match to the fuse of their rebellion. Envy was the motivating factor in Lucifer’s downfall (Isaiah 14:14).

Envy are feelings of discontent and resentment. Envy plays out in longing for other’s possessions, which usually leads to the fuse being lit by animosity, bitterness, and finally unrestrained anger, either in verbal or physical aggression. Envy results in suffering, warfare, theft of property, both nationally and humanly speaking, and desires to have what does not belong to us. Envy is the poster-child of ingratitude.

With all the physical fallout that can be seen with envy it’s easy to deny we even deal with it a little bit. But do you ever see a sharp car you wished you were driving, someone’s boat you wish was yours, another man’s woman, or another woman’s man you think would be a better fit than your current model? I have and still find myself struggling with those feelings at times, yet I refer back to 2^nd Corinthians 10:5 and tear down every elevated place or thing that is a barrier to my relationship with Christ, taking captive every thought in obedience to Him.

Remember, it’s not a sin to be tempted. The writer in the Book of Hebrews says our Lord Jesus was tempted in every way, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15). The problem comes when we hold a jealousy in our hearts that can be likened to holding a little bird. It’s at first soft and innocent, pleasantly deceptive to the touch, but as we hold on to it, it grows into a bird of prey that bites and devours us in our relations with others and the Lord Jesus. The sin comes in nursing it.

When we find ourselves holding that innocent little bird of jealousy and resentment, we can open our hearts and let it fly, allowing the Lord Jesus to take it captive. Becoming a slave to Christ in obedience brings true freedom. It sounds counterproductive, but it’s true. Whom the Son makes free is free indeed (John 8:36). When that bird lights, envy and out is the right move to make. Turn it loose and let it fly.

Ken