I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Tuesday morning, the 21st of January, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We start in the Gospel of Mark 8:15. This is Jesus speaking to the disciples: 

“Then He charged them, saying, “Take heed, (be careful) beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”

Leaven is another word for yeast. Now I looked up in the Oxford dictionary the literal meaning of the word “yeast”. What is it? It is a microscopic, single-celled fungus capable of converting sugar into alcohol. That is what yeast is. The Lord says to you and me this morning, be careful of the influence of the world system in your life. Look out for the Pharisees. They are not serving God, they are actually agents of the world system. I spoke to an alcoholic, you can speak to any alcoholic and say how did you start and they’ll tell you, this one drink. 

Many, many men and women, some listening to this message now are hooked on pornography. How did it start? Well somebody said I want to show you something on my device, and it was exciting and that is where it started, now you can’t stop. What about adultery? A man doesn’t just wake up in the morning and say, “I am going to have an affair today.” No, he starts off with a relationship that appears to be innocent but that woman is not your wife, sir. She belongs to somebody else. You have no right at all to get involved with her. And madam, that man is not your husband, he belongs to another lady. You have no right at all to get involved with that man. 

Gambling - gambling is on the increase, and it starts off innocently. You normally start off by winning but you always end up losing. I know men who are hooked on gambling who have gambled away their very homes and their wives’ jewellery, hoping to make it just with one more spin of the dice. Let us not do it today. I want to pray for you this morning:

Father God,

I am praying for somebody this morning, maybe a young person who is tempted to experiment with something that they know is not of God. Lord, please help them turn away and walk away from that thing and never to go back again. I am praying for those who already are involved. Lord Jesus, set them free today, because if the Lord sets them free, they shall be free indeed. 

I ask this is Jesus name, 

Amen.

God bless you and have a wonderful day,
Goodbye.