Like Unto Leaven
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“Teach me, O Lord, the way of Thy statutes; and I
shall keep it unto the end. Give me understanding, and I
shall keep Thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole
heart. Make me go in the path of Thy commandments; for
therein do I delight.... Stablish Thy word unto Thy servant,
who is devoted to Thy fear. Turn away my reproach which
I fear: for Thy judgments are good.”
Psalm 119:33-39
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to permeate all the great things and all the little things of life.
Received into the heart, the leaven of truth will regulate the desires,
purify the thoughts, and sweeten the disposition. It quickens the
faculties of the mind and the energies of the soul. It enlarges the
capacity for feeling, for loving.
The world regards as a mystery the man who is imbued with this
principle. The selfish, money-loving man lives only to secure for
himself the riches, honors, and pleasures of this world. He loses the
eternal world from his reckoning. But with the follower of Christ these
things will not be all-absorbing. For Christ’s sake he will labor and
deny self, that he may aid in the great work of saving souls who are
without Christ and without hope in the world. Such a man the world
cannot understand; for he is keeping in view eternal realities. The
love of Christ with its redeeming power has come into the heart. This
love masters every other motive, and raises its possessor above the
corrupting influence of the world.
The word of God is to have a sanctifying effect on our association
with every member of the human family. The leaven of truth will not
produce the spirit of rivalry, the love of ambition, the desire to be
first. True, heaven-born love is not selfish and changeable. It is not
dependent on human praise. The heart of him who receives the grace
“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my
path. I have sworn, and I will perform it, that I will keep
Thy righteous judgments.... Thy testimonies have I taken
as an heritage forever: for they are the rejoicing of my
heart. I have inclined mine heart to perform Thy statutes.”
Psalm 119:105-112
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