There's ketchup in my Fruit Loops! a word on disernment and dedication

        I recently was getting my son ready for school so quickly that I forgot to look before I put the first food I could reach in my mouth. He had left part of his cereal uneaten, and I was fortunate to be the benefactor of his poor appetite. For medical reasons I won't go into I had also given my son some ketchup which he happily spooned down before getting on his bus. I hadn't noticed that some of the ketchup had dropped into his uneaten cereal when I took a huge bite into my breakfast surplus. Yes, as the title clearly states, my needless desperation resulted in me eating ketchup flavored breakfast cereal, and I ate it all!
        The LORD gave me two revelations as I wondered what motherhood had turned me into. The first thing that GOD did after laughing at me (he does that you know) was tell me that I should have looked in before I dug in. This is a word concerning discernment. While it may be rude to look a gift horse in the mouth, it is wise to consider the giver. I should have thought about the fact that my careless elementary school student might have gotten creative or simply sloppy. I didn't stop to consider where my "gift" was coming from.        
         People of GOD, we don't have to take whatever is being given to us without considering the giver and the implications.  Some people are giving us "gifts" that are intended to remove us from our purpose, distract us from the work of the enemy, or even poison us with what the Bible calls a little leven also known as yeast. Some of us are walking around with spiritual yeast infections from taking gifts that caused us to rethink the truth of God's word. Is anyone gifting you information that really is gossip? Is anyone gifting you with a phone number that you know will put you in danger of sin? Is someone gifting you an opportunity that could cost you your integrity? Before you "dig in" look at who is giving the gift. The Bible says not to believe every spirit but to try the spirit by the Spirit of GOD to see if it is right or not.  In other words look into your bowl of cereal before you eat it.  Stop, look, and listen. It just might save your spiritual and physical life.
        Now you might wonder why I continued to eat that extra special ketchup cereal.  The answer is that I wanted the cereal so bad that I was willing to bear the occasional taste of ketchup. Was I crazy or just dedicated? I am not going to address the crazy, but GOD did address the dedication. So many times in life I've found myself being reminded by GOD that time and chance happen to everyone. Christian or not everyone has bad days and everyone has problems that they spend their lives working through. To put it in context of breakfast, everyone has ketchup in their cereal. Can you tell where this is going? If any of us are to truly live for Christ we have to be willing to live through the tough stuff that comes with it. Yes you will be called out by those who disagree with you about salvation. Yes Satan is after your life and the life of anyone else you might try to bring salvation to.  Yes there will be some societal difficulties because you believe in following God's code of ethics and society does it differently. Yes people are going to judge you and try to stop you from talking about Jesus. Yes you will be ostracized by those who feel uncomfortable around you. Yes you may end up in jail. Yes you may be beaten and yes you may die.  If those things are in your cereal, will you walk away from the cereal that is your heritage in Christ?  Jesus told his disciples that if they wanted to follow him they would have to take up their cross. Once again going back to breakfast, if you want the cereal turn up the bowl.  Today consider asking GOD to help you to  discern what is in your cereal and if you should eat it or move on to some other bowl.