E-pistle for February 15, 2013
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E-pistle
FreeWay Foundation February 15, 2013
Developing a personal devotional life
(Proverbs 2:1-11)
Dr. Curt Scarborough
I. What Should I Do?
1. Read the Bible, v. 1
- receive God's words
- treasure God's commands
2. Meditate on the Word, v. 2
- incline my ear to wisdom (listen)
- apply my heart to understanding
3. Pray – v. 3
- cry out for discernment
- lift up my voice for understanding
4. Study God's Word, v. 4
- seek spiritual wisdom as for silver
- search for spiritual wisdom as for hidden treasure
II. What Are The Benefits?
1. Understand the fear of the Lord (reverence)
2. Find the knowledge of God (intimacy)
3. Understand righteousness (right with God/man)
4. Understand equity (fairness, unprejudicial)
5. Understand every good path (toward destiny)
6. Preservation: safety: protection (security)
III. What Is The Source Of These Benefits?
1. GOD, vs. 6-8
Somethin' from the oven
Dr. Curt Scarborough
When you put your home on the market to sell, the real estate agent will tell you to bake bread or cookies
because the aroma of fresh baked items permeating the place if a plus when prospective buyers come to view
the house. I suppose the homey scent helps trigger the impulse to "sign on the dotted line." Maybe that advertising
slogan is right: "Nothin' says lovin' like somethin' from the oven, and Pillsbury says it best!"
As ministers of the word, we are well-advised to serve up hot, fresh-baked bread to our congregations. My
text focuses our thoughts on "Somethin' from the Oven." Jesus said, "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a
woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour and worked it in bread dough" (Matthew 13:33).
RECEIPE FOR BREAD
Bread, often called "the staff of life," can be made of wheat, rye, oats, or corn. It can be made even tastier
by adding nuts, raisins, cinnamon, or icing. The basics of a bread recipe are few and simple: flour (ground grain),
water, and yeast. Just mix these ingredients together to produce dough and wait for it to rise. Then pop it into a
hot oven, and bake it until your mouth waters!
So, it is with the Bread of Life which we preachers prepare and serve to hungry people. The flour is the Word
of God. The water is our liquid prayer . . . tears shed as we prepare to preach. The yeast represents the leavening
power of the Holy Spirit. These elements produce the "dough" that rises as we allow time for the process. The oven
is our heart and mind, and the heat is the presence of God warming the ingredients with inspiration and revelation.
BAKING THE BREAD
Although we refer to Isaiah 61 as Jesus' first sermon text (Luke 4:18ff), it is not. Before He spoke in the
Synagogue, the Lord preached to the Devil in Luke 4:4, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every
Word of God'" (Deuteronomy 8:3).
Only one miracle of Jesus is recorded in all four gospels: the feeding of the 5,000. In John 6, that miracle is
connected with Jesus' claim to be the "Bread of Life" (v. 35). Just as Jesus instructed His disciples when confronted
with a hungry multitude, "YOU give them something to eat," He commands us to feed our hungry people.
Note the parable in Matthew 24:45-47 that refers to a faithful, wise servant. The servant is blessed because he
gives the household food at the right time. But before meal time . . .before dinner is served . . . food must be prepared.
And that takes time and effort. PASTORS, PLEASE NOTE! The apostles gave themselves continually to prayer and
the ministry of the Word (Acts 6:4). It wasn't the MAIN thing; it was the ONLY thing! Continually means unceasingly,
without interruption. Impractical and impossible? Not if the church has enough "deacon-servants" doing other
ministry tasks.
SERVING HOT BREAD
The woman in the text (Matthew 13:33) could represent a pastor-teacher, whose role is to bake and serve the
Hot, fresh bread. The minister's most foundational task is to mix the flour from many crushed, ground grains of
Truth with salty tears of intercessory prayer and the living, moving yeast-like activity of the Holy Spirit to form the
Dough. That's sermon preparation, and it takes time and effort to form God's message into a worthy loaf of bread.
This loaf is Christ's body in the world (John 6) . . . spiritual food for starving souls. Just as Christian are to be
"poured out wind," we also are to be "broken bread" (See Philippians 2:17 & II Timothy 4:6,7).
WHAT KIND OF BREAD IS SERVED?
1. Moldy Bread – contaminated, corrupted, harmful, dangerous. Sometimes the bread
served contains impurities, even poisonous substances.
2. Stale bread – old, tasteless, unattractive, unappetizing. Sometimes the bread served
is last month's left-overs, or last year's. Sometimes almost inedible bread is dragged
out of the dusty pantry, and served cold on Sunday morning.
3. Half-baked Bread – like Hosea 7:4-8, sometimes the bread served is underdone . . .
half-baked . . . needing more time in the oven of God's presence.
4. Fresh Bread – probably most often the bread served is safe to eat, bland but
nourishing . . . sort of like the slices used to make a cheese sandwich. It's okay,
but nothing to write home about!
5. Hot Bread – not too often, but occasionally, the bread served is "somethin' from the
oven!" It smells delicious; it's warm and tasty; it makes a person's mouth water!
Once you've tasted hot bread, there's no mistaking it for any other bread.
What made Jesus' teachings and sermons so unforgettable and dynamic? They were hot from the oven!
He spoke with authority (Matthew 7:29), not with a second-hand revelation which quoted ancient authorities.
Jesus commended Peter's great confession (Matthew 16:17) because he received the truth directly from the
Father, not from other men. What do we rely upon in our bread baking? Commentaries? Others' sermons?
Computerized concordances? These may help occasionally, but should we not rely directly upon the Source
of the Word, the Holy Spirit?
CHRISTIANS ARE BREAD
When I was a boy, one of my favorite gospel songs was "Bringing in the Sheaves." That song speaks of
the field of lost person needing to be harvested. Too often, however, we've been content to bring in the sheaves
and to fill the grain elevator (the church) with bountiful harvest. Grain in the bin does not accomplish its purpose
on earth. In addition to plowing the fields, sowing the seeds, and harvesting the grain, we need to see ourselves
as millers and bakers . . . grinding the grain into flour and baking the flour into bread to feed the starving multitudes.
"Life is a grindstone, and whether it grinds a man down or polishes
Him up depends on the stuff he's made of."
--Josh Billings
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