As some of you might have gathered, I currently am working in a supermarket, it’s not what I’d planned to be doing at this stage of my life, but it appears to be God’s plan at this moment in time.
One of my jobs is working in the bread aisle. The thing that has struck me is just how many types of bread there are; you have, sliced, unsliced, white, brown, seeded, unseeded, gluten free, low protein, rye bread, sourdough, soda bread, fruit bread, potato bread and all vary in size, taste, colour, texture and density (some being so dense they could land you in A&E if you dropped them on your foot).
Naturally this has made me look at Matthew 4 v4 where Jesus says:
“It is written: “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
For me God has given us a priceless gift in the form of the Bible, sixty-six books containing history, prophesy, poetry, laws, and letters of instruction. All of which we as Christians believe have been inspired by God Himself. This is a book we need to have our noses in more than any other as believers and to literally feed on those words that have come out of the mouth of God.
So why should we spend time reading and meditating on those very words of God? One reason that has become quite clear to me of late is so that we will not fall victim to false teaching and teachers that have been in existence for as long as the church has, leading so many astray and continuing to do so.
That is why I get so concerned when I hear some high profile ‘teachers’ and ‘pastors’ (I use these titles advisedly) saying things like ‘I refuse to read the Bible so that I have something to teach;’ ‘Jesus didn’t do any miracles as God, but as a man submitted to God. So, we could have an example we could follow’ (denying the authority of scripture and the divinity of Jesus) and publishing books entitled ‘You need more money’ (The dreaded prosperity gospel). Put simply these are wholly unbiblical and we need to discern Biblical truth from error and in turn expose and flee from such teachings.
From time to time you will see these sorts of unbiblical teachings are creeping into our churches just like a wolf in sheep’s clothing (Matthew 7 v15). Before you know it, another gospel is being preached which is nothing to do with what Jesus saved us from by His death and resurrection (the hell of eternal separation from God) but says that God just wants you can have your best life here on earth. Let me just say that in my Bible it teaches that in this world we will have trouble, but Jesus has overcome the world and that victory is only found in forgiveness of sin through His death and resurrection.
As I said at the start, I have come across a mind-boggling variety of breads as part of my job, but there is one thing I know Jesus is the only bread of eternal life. So, get into God’s word more and more so that we will be able to discern what is God’s truth and what is not.
If you don’t know where to start, I have found the following Youtubers very helpful: Frank Turek (Cross Examined), Alan Parr (The Beat), Alisa Childers and Melissa Dougherty.
Image credit: Gensa Hub via Unsplash
