When Did We Become Foodies?

We went out to La Bodega to celebrate Brenda's birthday.  La Bodega is a tapas bar in Kansas City.  Brenda read several reviews that gave them five stars.  We were expecting great food.  We got good food.

After several different plates came we started talking about what was lacking.  Our breakdown of the mushrooms in white wine and garlic is a good example of how we judged the food.  There was a stone-ground mustard in the sauce as well as white wine and not much garlic.  We tasted an earthy flavor overall from the mushrooms.  The mushrooms had been cooked in the sauce and had given their flavor to the sauce more than the sauce giving flavor to the mushrooms. 

The problem, we decided was that the dish had a one-note flavor, and that flavor was the earthiness of the mushrooms.  So I asked Brenda what could have been done to make the flavor profile more complex.  "Saute the mushrooms first, in a little butter and garlic," she said.  "That will bring out more flavors from the mushrooms and then use the same sauce but give it a bit more garlic."

There was only one plate with a balanced depth of flavor.  It was goat cheese and a fig coulis (a sauce) spread on toasted bread.

As we were leaving I asked Brenda how we became food critics.  She said it's because we watch Food Network, and in particular we watch the chef competitions.  Brenda pays attention to what the judges say about the food they are presented.  These critiques have helped her learn how to develop depth of flavor in the food she cooks.  Now we're on the hunt for better restaurants.

Can We Build It?

I know how to build a house.  I know the order in which things have to be done and I know a lot of common problems to look for and avoid.  But this week I thought back to the first house we built.  We knew a lot about construction, but we were far from experts.  We didn't even know how much we didn't know. 

I don't know how Brenda & I got to where we look at something we've never done before & say, "Sure we can do that!"  We built our house.  We built our business.  We've done projects for clients that were brand new processes for us.  God has blessed us with insight and revelation to figure out what we need to know as we go.

So here I am looking at something I've never done before and saying, "Sure, I can do that."

I've got a book inside of me that I'm bringing out and putting on paper.  Well, technically it only exists in my head and as ones and zeros on my computer.  I'm going to have to discover the things I don't know and then learn them.  My past attempts at constructing a book never got past kicking around a few clods of dirt, let alone digging a foundation.  But something is different in me.  I've got the footings placed and the framing is going up.  It's going to be lots of work.  But I think I'm ready.

Working Miracles in Jesus' Name

Someone was casting out demons in the name of Jesus when the dicsiples saw him.  They probably said something like, "You can't use Jesus' name to cast out demons--you're not one of us.  We're disciples.  We're the only ones allowed to use Jesus' name." 

They tell Jesus what happened, probably thinking he'll give them kudos for protecting the "Jesus Inc." brand name.  But Jesus says the following:

Mar 9:39 But Jesus said, "Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil of Me.

Jesus says, "Yeah, they can use my name and the power behind it to do miracles.  Even if they aren't my followers (yet)."

I've tended to be more like the disciples and think that the more spiritual I am the more access I should have to the power of the Holy Spirit.  But Jesus says I shouldn't be surprised if I see miracles from people who aren't Christ followers.  I suppose that also extends to Christ followers who are immature or who have doctrine I think is off-base.

In another place Jesus tells about people who prophesy and work miracles in his name without knowing him.  Jesus says they won't make it into heaven even though they moved in spiritual power.  Being known by Jesus and following him is what saves us. 

So if the non Christ followers or immature can work miracles and prophesy I would think that mature followers should have even more of the gifts of the Spirit at work in us.  Sadly, I haven't seen that in my life. 

So I'm on a journey to unlearn my spiritual prejudices and accept the fact that if Jesus knows me I can do the impossible.

Rollin' Down the Highway

God promises a highway through the wilderness in Isaiah 35.  The desert will bloom, the lame will jump for joy.  And the highway leads to Zion, the city of God.

The unclean won't be able to walk on this road.  It will be for "others".  When you say "others" it's not really clear who these people are.  Except we are told they are not "unclean".  And the promise is that even a fool can find his way if he's on this highway.  No Garmin GPS needed.

The ones who walk this road are the redeemed--those bought back from being in hock to their enemies.

This highway was first for the nation of Israel.  It tells of their return from being captives in Babylon.  But "others" gives this promise a bigger meaning.  Those who follow Jesus are also the redeemed.  So we Christ followers should claim this promise as well.

To often I've let my times in the wilderness be all about feeling dry and alone.  I was not even as smart as the fool who stumbled onto this highway.

The promise for us is that the wilderness becomes a place of springs and a place of healing for us.

I'm asking the Spirit to let me see the highway and not get discouraged if all around me is wasteland.  The word of God promises springs of water in the desert.  I'm one of his redeemed so I'm trusting that he will put me on that highway. 

And the fact that those redeemed are "others" and not exclusivel

Rest

Photo by liber(thepoet);, Flickr

Isa 30:15 For thus says the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel: "In returning and rest you shall be saved; In quietness and confidence shall be your strength." But you would not

Hbr 4:11 Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.

Resting on Jesus is a message we heard from Joseph Prince earlier this year.  The Spirit has been speaking to me for years about not relying on my  own works.  But I've only started to hear the past few months.  The drive to do is strong.  That is the desire to do things in an effort to gain favor from God.

God still expects me to do, he doesn't want lazy sons.  But I'm learning to do the things I do because of my rest in him, not because my doing earns me any points in my "God account".

What struck me was the verse in Isaiah is saying the same thing.  The message of resting in God's grace is fully expressed in the New Covenant Jesus gave by his death and resurrection.  But God has been about us resting in him even from the beginning. 

Wisdom From the Foundation of the World

I’m reading Pov. 3 about the value of wisdom.  This verse stuck out to me.

19The Lord by wisdom founded the earth;

By understanding He established the heavens;

I was reminded of the verse in Rev. 13:8 that the Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world.  So the wisdom of God in creating all things includes salvation through Jesus.  

As I read this I get the sense that there is a truth here deeper than I can understand in words. You see, I've always thought of wisdom and salvation as separate. I know my salvation is settled when I was 4 years old. You know the standard question: "If you died tonight do you know where you'll go?"   I never worried about that.

So when I read in Proverbs all the cool things you get when you ask for wisdom, I always thought of it as seeking how to live better. It seemed to me like a way to keep me on the straight and narrow and avoid the immoral woman that Proverbs talks about. That woman drags you to hell, and I didn't want that. So wisdom, to me, was an intellectual reason to keep the law and follow the rules.

But God knows I can't follow the rules. It doesn't matter if I'm saved or not. I'll break the law even when wisdom tells me that it's a stupid thing to do.

So I need mercy and grace. And the sacrifice of Jesus "from the foundation of the world" means that my need of grace is built into the system of the universe. Wisdom isn't something I add on to my salvation to make me live right. Wisdom is grabbing hold of Jesus' sacrifice for the power it gives me to be a son of God. And sons of God are heirs to his Kingdom. Sons of God have authority and power.

Wisdom is living by the Spirit of Jesus.

Word for 2012 in Review

Mine: adj.  That which belongs to me.  This was my word for 2012.

It's one of the first words we learn to say.  Spend time with most toddlers & you'll hear this word spoken with passion.  Parents work hard to teach the concept of "sharing" because no one likes to be around a selfish brat.

So why did I choose such a selfish word for myself?  It comes from Deuteronomy 29:29-- "The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever."

The past several years I've picked words that did little for me.  So I'm pleased and somewhat surprised that this year's word had such an impact on me.  Perhaps the power of this word came from the fact that it wasn't a "motivational" word like the previous words I chose.  Those words had the power of New Year's resolutions--they were my efforts to change or improve some area of my life that was lacking.

The word "mine" was rooted in a quest for revelation.  I wanted to learn what God has given to me--what is mine.

If I wrote out everything God revealed to me I would bore you all and take more time than I can give.  But the word that sums it up for me is "grace".  I've known the concept & doctrine of grace as written in the Bible.  I've studied it and taught about it.  I believe in salvation through grace by faith.  But knowing and possessing are two different things.

Knowing grace didn't keep me from feeling like I need to do good things & religious things to earn God's favor.  Knowing grace meant that when I fall short of good I felt unworthy to talk to God.  Knowing grace was better than not knowing grace, but it fell way short of possessing grace.

The Holy Spirit talked to me about grace through the parable of the prodigal son.  What I realized was that neither son truly knew the grace of his father.  The younger thought he'd have to be demoted to a servant to come back home.  The older thought that his faithful service earned him favor.

 What the father said to both his sons was, "Everything I have is yours."  Somewhere along the line of going through this year I learned to possess this promise.  It is grace.