The Soul Anchor [Hebrews 6:19] - May 1, 2023
Randy and Karen Sowers founded their South Mountain Creamery in Maryland on rented land back in 1981. They took out a loan and bought 100 cows. Today, their family employs more than 75 people on their 2200 acre farm. They also believe in keeping their products additive-free. Their assumption is that selling skim milk with only one ingredient: milk, having skimmed off the cream that rises to the top would certainly be classified as skim milk.
Unfortunately, this recently put the family farm at odds with the Food and Drug Administration which asserted that in order for skim milk to be accurately labeled as skim milk it must have additives. In fact, according to the Daily Signal, FDA regulations make it a federal crime for dairy farmers to call all-natural skim milk exactly what it is—skim milk. Instead, the FDA demands that farmers label additive-free skim milk as “imitation milk product,” because, in the FDA’s mind, skim milk isn’t skim milk unless you add stuff to it. Only the government could say that what comes directly out of the udder of a cow is not milk.
We live in a culture that wants to make everything fancier and healthier. If you doubt me just think of the history of coffee in my lifetime. Then we had decaf and Sanka and then all kinds of specialty brands and lattes and espressos and frappes and macchiatos, and all kinds of other coffee beverages that I don’t drink but that doesn’t mean that coffee isn’t coffee.
When I was young, I always enjoyed seeing the commercials that said, “Kool Aid, fortified with Vitamin C.” I liked Kool Aid growing up but even at a young age I knew that there were better ways to get Vitamin C than adding it to Kool Aid.
Interestingly, some people want to add things to what it means to be a follower of Jesus. They say things like, you’re not really a true follower of Jesus unless you go and knock on doors or give a certain percentage of your income or pray in a specific way or by a certain name. They may say you aren’t really a follower of Jesus unless you attend a specific church (almost always the church they attend).
Quite simply, Romans 10:9-10 says,
“That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”
We should never let anyone, regardless how sincere they may be, say that we are not a follower of Jesus based on their observations - only on what the word of God says. Have you confessed with your mouth that Jesus is Lord? Do you believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead? The word of God says you’re in. It is, of course, important to recognize what an incredible salvation we have. To confess that Jesus is Lord means that not only is Jesus your savior, He is also your Lord meaning that yes, you should be doing EVERYTHING to please Jesus and Him alone with your life. To believe God raised Him from the dead means that like Jesus you are an eternal being and therefore must live like you will be living for eternity. As C.S. Lewis said, “Aim at heaven and you get earth thrown in, aim at earth and you get neither.”
God Bless,
Pastor Frank