Day 138 "A little leaven has kept many from heaven."

Day 138 Matthew 16:5-12 Now when His disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. Then Jesus said to them, “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.” And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “It is because we have taken no bread.” But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, “O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread? Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up? Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up? How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread?—but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Before my first wife Dawn (now residing in heaven), and I were married, I ran around with two different groups of guys: one was a pretty bad bunch of bikers and drug dealers, the others were good-old-boy cowboys that liked to drink hard. Neither group was very good for a guy like me because I was a follower seeking a place to fit in and be accepted. However, I knew all of it was wrong; I just wasn't confident enough to say no. Therefore, whichever group of guys called first, I would hang out with them and, of course, participate in whatever they were doing as long as any pain or hurt was limited to me and no one else. A little less than a year after our marriage, Dawn and I both realized that I needed to be away from these folks (especially the bikers) in order to not participate with them. Their influence was very strong, and they were even becoming violent as I retreated from their grip. Therefore, we rented a home in a very private, secluded neighborhood, changed our phone number, and I stayed away from all of the old hangouts, and the strategy worked. You see, the only way I could be strong enough to not partake of the leaven of my so-called friends was to completely distance myself from their influence. My wife helped me and encouraged me to do so. Why? because she loved me; the bikers, however, hated her for it. Why? because they wanted to control me. Jesus is warning the disciples very much in the same way to be watchful of the leaven of the world, for it wants to control you. The world will do everything it can to get its hooks in you, to grab hold of you and never let go, and sometimes we need to take drastic measures to break that hold, for it is a hold that will lead unto death. A few years ago, a young man in our Church was killed when he passed out from drinking too much and was hit by a car as he lay in the road. He had made a commitment to Christ and was trying very hard to follow God, yet when his friends called, he couldn't say no, after all, one of his buddies was getting married. And now he is no longer with us. As we ministered to his friends, we heard many of them blaming God and not the world, but as we had been reminding them, God did not cause him to drink, the influence of the world did, and that is what led to his death. The consequences of leaven have long been underrated especially for believers; we say we’re not hurting anyone but ourselves; however, the reality is we are hurting everyone we have ever met or ever will meet. It's always bigger than what we can see, is it not? Daily Prayer: Father, help us to see the bigger picture, to understand that everything we do affects far more people than we realize. Show us the leaven in our lives God, and give us the strength to avoid it. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. "A little leaven has kept many from heaven." Pastor Gene Burroughs