yeast

I have a confession: I eat yeast. Literally, I do eat yeast - it's in my bread and I'm sure other food items. But I also spiritually eat yeast. Maybe you're unfamiliar with this analogy from Exodus.

Exodus 12:19 (NIV) For seven days no yeast is to be found in your houses. And whoever eats anything with yeast in it must be cut off from the community of Israel, whether he is an alien or native-born.

There are two ways to look at this time of Passover when yeast is not allowed in Jewish homes. Literally, the tribe of Israel was to have no yeast in their homes during the Passover season. Spiritually, we find that yeast is an analogy for sin.

I eat yeast. Daily. Yes, I'm a Christian. I am not a I-go-church-so-I-am-a-Christian either. I really and truly believe that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, my Savior. I know that He died on the cross to pay for my sins that I was indebted for; a debt I could not pay. Through His pure sacrifice, my sins (your sins) were paid for.

However, that does not mean that it's ok to sin. Not at all. Every time I sin, I put Christ back on that cross. I push those nails in further, I gash his side deeper, I pressure that crown of thorns in further.

I believe that people often look upon sin and Christians in two ways: 1. Christians don't sin and 2. Christians are hypocritical because they sin and hide it.

Of course #1 is ridiculous - Jesus' death in no way makes us perfect here on earth. We are perfected through Him through death.

And #2 is right. Christians often hide their sins. Mostly because they don't want non-Christians to say things like "oh Johnny is a Christian but he gets drunk. This Christianity is bunk." I think the best way to deal with our sins is to be open about them. Not flaunt them in any way but be real about our struggles.

I struggle with cursing and taking the Lord's name in vain. I could make the excuse that I grew up with that language (which I did) but that doesn't excuse the behavior. I have made strides since I repented initially about cussing. But I stub my toe or get hurt and "&*%" or I'm impatient while driving and "%&*(&" just flows out of my mouth.

That is my "biggest" sin issue of late. There are more and I'm not trying to hide them, but I also feel my sins are personal and I don't want to put them out there for judgment online.

Now, having shared my sin issue, please don't look down upon me. I try. I really do.

Our pastor at church said this past Sunday that we need to keep yeast out of our homes so that we do not accidentally eat it. Meaning, I need to keep sin so far away from my life (my heart) that it doesn't accidentally slip out of my mouth. So that when I stub my toe or someone cuts me off in traffic, my first thought isn't "%$^&" but "oh no!" or "wow, I hope they don't wreck driving like that."

How do we keep sin so far away that we don't accidentally stumble upon it? We pray. We have accountability partners (which I don't have, unfortunately but I do have Big A). We pray. We practice. We fail (sorry, but it does happen). We try again. We try again. We pray. We tray again. On and on.

Will I ever be done with this sin? I hope so. But if not, I'll keep trying.

How can I pray for you? Do you have "secret" sins (remember nothing is secret from God) that I could be praying about?