[Wednesday's Devotional] - Yeast

Yeast To make bread you need yeast.  The yeast feeds on sugar, producing carbon dioxide which makes the open crumb texture of the bread.  This takes time and if it doesn't happen, then unleavened bread is result.  The Jews at the Passover had no time to wait for their bread to rise before they escaped the wrath of the Pharoah on their way out of exile in Egypt, so their bread did not rise.  The Jews use unleavened bread as a potent symbol of the urgency of the danger that faced them. Ever after, unleavened bread was the centrepiece of the Passover Meal commemorating God's intervention in the life of the Nation of Israel. Jesus uses the illustration of yeast as a picture of the Kingdom of Heaven. (Matthew 13:33) Given the right conditions of warmth and moisture, yeast has the capability of doubling the size of the dough and gives a light and airy texture.  But first the yeast needs to spread evenly throughout the dough and be left alone in humid conditions to do its work. The word of God can move through his people in a similar stealthy way with amazing results. I don't know if you have ever tried to make bread or done any yeast cookery?  When I have tried I have often been disappointed at the dense texture of my bread because it did not rise enough.  Analysis of what I did reveals either that the water I put the yeast into was too hot, and killed it, or I didn't feed the yeast with enough sugar, I disturbed the yeast during the rising period, deflating it, or I didn't leave it long enough in a warm enough place. If we use this analogy, it is perhaps not surprising that we feel disappointed that the Kingdom of God is not spreading as quickly as we would like.  I wonder if we are doing anything that inadvertently curtails the growth of the Kingdom? Thank God for this homely illustration of the spread of his Kingdom and ask him to show you if there are ways you are holding back the spread of the Kingdom of God. Mairi Mowbray   Twitter Website Copyright © 2017 St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email as a subscriber to the Daily Devotionals Our mailing address is: St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church 1a New Street Rugby, Warwickshire CV22 7BE United Kingdom Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list Want to be added to our mailing list? - sign up here!