“Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ, our passover is sacrificed for us” (1 Cor 5:6-7; KJV). Leaven or yeast is used here to compare the power of sin with leaven. We have been justified or made righteous in God’s sight, by the sacrifice of Christ at the cross; he redeemed us or paid the price for our sins (Rom 3:24).

But we do still sin (1 John 1:8)?  Just a tiny bit of sin, if it is not rooted out, can cause a huge amount of damage to us and others. A woman added leaven to 3 measures of meal and the whole of the meal became leavened or affected by the yeast (Luke 13:21). Jean makes our bread at home and we calculated that she adds 1 part of yeast for every 320 parts of finished baked bread; that yeast is powerful stuff to be able to cause that whole loaf to rise. Jesus warned of the leaven of the Pharisees which is hypocrisy; they taught the law but did not obey it (Luke 12:1). They leavened the whole of Israel with their sin. As children of God, sin damages our fellowship with him as there is no sin in God (1 John 1:5). Sin clogs the channels between us and God. Sin also hurts our relationships with each other.

Ask God to show you sin in your life, be quick to repent and ask God’s forgiveness for your sins; he will forgive (1 John 1:9). As we deal with sin in our lives, we can walk closer and closer with God and enjoy more and more of the full life he lives. Don’t get condemned, this is something we all have to grow in; but the results are wonderful. Remember God loves you where you are but he calls you up higher to grow in him. 

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The other day I was reading in the eighth Psalm and verse 5, where king David wrote about man, that God has: “crowned him with glory and honour” (KJV). Well none of us are earthly kings or queens so it’s nice to think that we can still wear a crown. However, I got thinking about CROWNS and realized that the Bible actually contains a lot of verses about crowns.

King Solomon taught about wisdom that she will give us a: “crown of glory” (Prov 4:9). In Psalms it is recorded that the Lord: “crowneth the with lovingkindness and tender mercies” (Ps 103:4). Wow, crowns of glory, honor, beauty, loving kindness and tender mercies.

Let’s take a look in the new Testament. If we love God and stand up under tests, trials and temptations we will receive: “the crown of life” (James 1:12). The apostle Peter, in addressing leaders in the church, promised them an eternal reward: “the crown of glory that will not fade away” (1 Peter 5:4). God has saved a crown of righteousness for Paul and all of us as Christians that we will receive at the second coming of Jesus or when we meet him at our physical death (2 Tim 4:8). If we live for Christ and endure the pressures and sufferings of this life, we will reign with Jesus in the life to come (2 Timothy 2:12).   

Praise God. I don’t know about you but that sounds better to me than having a worldly king or queen’s crown.

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P.U.S.H until something happens. I saw this on a sweat shirt and liked it. This doesn’t mean we have to keep asking God for the same thing over and over again. Once we have asked, we stand in faith, believing, praising and thanking God for what we have asked for until we see the victory in the natural with our eyes.

“Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them” (Mark 11:24; KJV). What this mean is that when we pray, we must believe that we have received the answer to our prayer, even though the actual manifestation in the physical realm may not appear immediately but may take some time. However, in the interim, we must stand and maintain our faith because: “faith and patience inherit the promise” (Heb 6:12).

As I was thinking about this it reminded me of the story of the paralyzed man and his 4 friends who wanted to bring him to Jesus so he could get healed (Mark 2:3-12). As you know, they couldn’t get into the house where Jesus was teaching because of the crowds but they were determined and full of faith. They let their paralyzed friend down through the roof. The apostle Mark wrote (Mark 2:4): “so when they had BROKEN THROUGH, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay”. They had to work hard to break through the roof, and they weren’t about to give up till they got him to Jesus.

The woman with the issue of blood, described in the gospel of Luke the physician, (Luke 8:43-48) pushed through a huge crowd to get to Jesus; driven by her faith. In her condition she would have been regarded as unclean and could have been stoned for being out amongst people with a bleeding condition.

How determined are we as Christians to seek Jesus, or pray and believe till we get results? Again, in Luke’s gospel, (Luke 11:10) we read: “For every one that asketh receiveth”. I encourage you to be persistent and don’t give up but pray in faith until something happens, until the expected result manifests.

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Check out our web site ( www.onthewayinlove.com ) for information on our book: “On the Way: Basic Christian Training”, including how to purchase it and also to see more encouraging Bible based blogs. Please recommend our book to others. 

“Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Cor 10:31; KJV). “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men” (Col 3:23).

It’s easy to separate our spiritual life from our daily activities but really if we are walking in the spirit the two are intertwined. We don’t have to be in church to be led by the Spirit. According to these verses everything we do should be done as an offering to the Lord whether its washing dishes, closing a business deal or singing in the choir.

The apostle Paul exhorted us not to follow the ways of the world around us but to renew our thinking with God’s word so that our lives glorify God (Rom 12:2). As Christians we should be setting an example to the world in the workplace, with our families and in everything we do. Are we on time at work and church? Do we go the extra mile, do our lives breath integrity? Do our lifestyles and our children bring glory to God? Are we known for love in action?

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matt 5:16). If we approach our day to day tasks as something done for God it won’t go unnoticed.   

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(1 John 5:14; KJV) "And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask anything according to HIS WILL, he heareth us”. In this verse we read that we can make any request; as long as it is in accordance with God’s will. This means that we need to find out from the word what God’s will is. If we find that something is definitely God’s will, then we can pray with confidence that our prayer will be answered.

However, the apostle James warns us that if our prayers are selfish and greedy prayers they may not be answered (James 4:3). Having checked our motivation for praying, we need to follow this other instruction found in John’s gospel about prayer that we must ask in the name of Jesus. “And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it” (John 14:13-14).

The apostle James wrote, in his epistle, that: “yet ye have not, because ye ask not” (James 4:2). God wants us to ask him for what we need, because he delights in giving us the desires of our hearts (Ps 37:4). Find his promise for your situation and trust God today. “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them” (Mark 11:24).

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