The Unalterable Recipe

Since my mum taught me to bake as a child, I have enjoyed making tasty treats to share.  With the rise of the internet it has allowed me to branch out from my trusty Betty Crocker Cookbook and learn to make an array of balanced meals and deserts.  My personal method regarding new recipes is two-fold:  the first time follow the recipe as precisely as possible before making any adjustments, and the second is always try out a recipe before serving it to guests.  Even if I suspect there is too much of one ingredient or not enough of another, I find it necessary to establish a baseline according to the actual recipe so I can know if I have found a keeper or should move on.

One of the greatest compliments as a casual baker is when someone enjoys my offering enough to ask for the recipe.  I have benefited greatly from people sharing recipes with me so I am happy to freely share the love.  Some of the best recipes I have my mother was given by an old lady down the street named Ginger!  I acknowledge people have different cooking and baking styles, but there is one common thing people do:  they ask for a recipe based upon the finished product they enjoyed, and when they receive the recipe feel the need to alter it.  There is no word I am aware of in the English language to describe this curious practice, but there should be.  I am open to suggestions! :)

During a walk yesterday with my wife we discussed this and how people can form opinions about certain ingredients being "good" or "bad."  There are arbitrary amounts we determine to be "too much" or some which seem too little; we make substitutions to cater to our particular tastes and diets.  There is no problem with this!  What I am pointing out is the human tendency to enjoy and want to replicate a finished product but simultaneously want to determine our own way to achieve the same result.  I am reminded of a quote from Leonard Ravenhill, a man greatly used by the LORD known for his praying.  He said, "Everyone wants to have my mantle, but nobody wants my sackcloth and ashes."  People who respected him wanted to be like him, to experience such a revelation of the living God.  They wanted to arrive in a place of spiritual authority like Ravenhill had in a moment when he by God had been brought to this place of humility through years of private prayer.  They liked the end result of a man surrendered to God, but weren't interested to labour in prayer.  Having his mantle given was preferred over following the recipe of surrender to God with perseverance.

If we desire to follow Jesus, He says we need to deny ourselves daily, take up our cross, and follow Him.  There is no shortcut to this complete surrender of our will and choosing to obey Him.  But we are not convinced of this.  So we experiment with various churches, focus in on doctrines of personal interest, buy popular books, and embrace spiritual disciplines others have found profitable--often with little success.  Baking and eating provides insight into our spiritual issues.  Often the problem isn't with the butter made from cows or the sugar refined from cane:  the problem is in our appetites, lack of self control, and unwillingness to submit to God in faith.  The cultures and people of the world bring rich diversity to the Body of Christ the church and Jesus is the Head.  The diets and tastes of people differ, and this is no problem because our unity does not arise from uniformity but from faith in Jesus Christ.

Because of the unique physical bodies we reside in there is a need to alter our diets accordingly:  diabetes, allergies, and intolerances dictate what is safe for us as we employ moderation in eating.  It is fine to steer clear of foods which make us feel ill or don't agree with our constitution.  If we want to follow Jesus we need to follow Him His way.  This life of faith and obedience to Jesus isn't like a recipe we can tweak to improve according to our arbitrary tastes and obtain ideal results.  There is no Christianity without suffering; there is no fellowship or communion with God without prayer.  There is no fruitfulness without faith demonstrated by obedience.  If we desire revival, we must personally embrace it ourselves as we yield to the Holy Spirit.  There is no substitute for Jesus!

The Spirit of Christ

"Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, ¹¹ searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. ¹² To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven--things which angels desire to look into."

1 Peter 1:10-12

We can have this idea those who have received revelation from God have all the answers or insight, but these verses paint a different picture.  Through the prophets in the Old Testament God revealed the Messiah would suffer and it puzzled the prophets who received this divine revelation.  Under the heavy yoke of the Law of Moses the grace of the Gospel was preached yet not understood.  Inspired by the "Spirit of Christ" faithful prophets searched what suffering the Christ would endure, when it would occur, and how it could possibly lead to glory.  For over a thousand years these questions remained unanswered, and this includes angels who minister in the presence of God.

Peter explained these things revealed to the prophets (without their full comprehension of what or when these events would occur) are a ministry to us.  In the Word of God we have testimony of saints who instruct and teach us according to the power of the Holy Spirit who has filled us by grace through faith.  Their reports generated by the everlasting Spirit of Christ now provides understanding how Jesus Christ did suffer on Calvary, was raised the third day, and now is seated at the right hand of the Father making intercession for us.  He is the Lamb of God slain from the foundations of the world (Revelation 13:8) and knew what He would suffer and how it would lead to everlasting glory--not just for Him, but all who believe on His name.

From this passage two things come to mind:  even the partial revelation divinely granted us can be a blessing and preach unalterable truth to generations yet born.  The prophets had no idea of the full extent of what God revealed through them, and there is no possible way to quantify how useful God will make our testimony as we remain true to His Word.  Instead of making complete knowledge our aim (for who can fully grasp the infinite), knowing God trumps all.  The second point is Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life who has sent the Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth.  I am convinced that if Jesus is not the Christ and Son of God He is a devil, deceiver, and blasphemer.  Because He is the Christ, having fulfilled the Law and the prophets, at His name every knee shall bow and tongue confess He is God.

The words of Peter to the council in Acts 4:8-12 is a fitting conclusion of what we know and are assured of by the Spirit of Christ:  "Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: ⁹ If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, ¹⁰ let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. ¹¹ This is the 'stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.' ¹² Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."  Knowing Jesus Christ as Saviour and God-made-flesh won't just transform your life today but for all eternity--for good!

Our Marvelous Creator

Recently I was impressed by the amount of consideration and detail which goes into the customising of a Rolls Royce automobile.  According to a video by Business Insider, there are 44,000 colour options and your customised colour becomes your own.  Expertly handcrafted inside and out, a Rolls Royce is a luxury ride just over 5,000 people purchase a year.  One person had the dashboard to reflect their DNA, and another decided the fibre-optic lighting in the "starline headliner" to match a constellation of stars on the day he was born.  The video went into the effort made to make the stitching of letters and images of roses pop.

When I watched this video, what I found more impressive than the cost of a Rolls Royce was the thought, engineering, and effort put into building a car that reflects the owner.  I can't help but turn my thoughts to the Creator of the universe man can only copy:  God is the One who put DNA in every living cell of our bodies, the One who spoke the stars into existence, has given us His Word, and causes flowers and all living things to grow and reproduce after their own kind.  It would be a joke to suggest a car could create or design itself, and I cannot look at a human being or the ordered, beauty of creation and imagine it accidentally came into being.  Words like design, engineered, work, planning, and expense indicate an intelligent mind, and the living things microscopic and enormous which teem on our planet are infinitely more complex and wonderful than anything made by man.

As I was taking a walk the other day, I noticed a bird feather lying on the green grass.  It occurred to me that when I was a child I would have viewed that feather as a special treasure, picked it up, and taken it home.  I had seen birds before but had never been able to touch one:  to hold and examine the feather closely was fun.  I brushed it across my skin and dropped it to see how it fell.  I noticed how light it was, how the shaft was hollow, the expertly blended colours and how different the fluffy down was from the barbs which stuck together.  As adults we see our child picking up feathers and discourage them:  "Eww, don't touch that!  It's covered in germs!"  But the child has it right.  He recognised the feather of a bird was not grass and that it was special.  Isn't it ironic a person can value a car because of the customised features and work that goes into it yet miss the capacity for such innovation and skill are gifts from God?

Psalm 19:1-3 says, "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. ² Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge. ³ There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard."  The sun, moon, and stars speak forth the glory of God, yet none of them were created in the image of God like a human being.  God has given people the capacity of thought with a will, the ability to reason, love, a thirst for knowledge, and a delight in discovery.  We are notorious for our tendency to worship the creature over the Creator, to be temporarily pleased with a gift rather than eternally celebrating our Creator.  Psalm 8:3-6 says, "When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, ⁴ What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him? ⁵ For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honor. ⁶ You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet..."  Let us never lose the wonder of our great God and Saviour, the One from whom all good things come.  He is the One we should always marvel over.

Doing the Word is Work

One letter can make a huge difference in the meaning of a Bible passage.  If I read the New Testament in Greek there would be little chance of confusing "work" with "word."  I don't always wear my glasses (and maybe I should!) when I read but "ergon" looks nothing like "logos."  While I have been guilty of finishing God's sentences in the past, sometimes I have also been guilty of skimming through scripture instead of carefully reading each word.  When we do this we literally don't realise all the revelation from God we missed.

But praise the LORD, even without wearing my glasses I came upon a passage I have mis-read in times past.  I looked it up in another Bible just to make sure it wasn't a typo!  James 1:21-25 says, "Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. ²² But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. ²³ For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; ²⁴ for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. ²⁵ But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does." (bold emphasis mine)  The engrafting of God's word into our hearts and minds is His work believers must cooperate with.  Both men in Jesus' parable who were building a house heard His words, but the one who obeyed them built a house which would endure on a solid foundation.

We have all seen the reflections of our face in a mirror:  some were cursory glances, to aid shaving, help with applying make-up or styling of hair.  We may check to ensure our teeth are clean or to look for the source of pain.  The person who hears the word but doesn't do it James compares to one who takes a quick look and walks away--taking no action concerning the dry slobber on the cheek, sore ingrown hairs, and severe bed-head.  Being freed from the condemnation of sin and the shackles of Law, we are to work to follow Christ's example to love God and others, to make disciples of Jesus.  Our justification and sanctification is the work of God but we too are to work as Jesus did.  Even as a youth He was about His Father's business.  Having been set free by the Gospel by grace through faith in Jesus, we are blessed as He works in and through our lives.  Without Him we cannot do anything!  We do not earn salvation by working, but Jesus has saved us to do good work (Eph. 2:8-10).

When the Word of God is engrafted into our lives it produces fruit were there was only thorns and fruitlessness previously.  Jesus is the Vine and we are grafted into Him, and the Word is engrafted into us.  We are called to be intentional in seeing the contrast between the perfect law of liberty and the bondage we foolishly place ourselves under, whether it be bondage to sin, legalism, judgment, or tradition under the guise of being more pleasing to God than being led by the Holy Spirit.  No profitable labour happens by accident no more than make-up magically bonds to your face because you slept a bit hard last night or your hair is suddenly presentable without a degree of attention.  Hearing the Word of God is not doing it, and when we have heard it we ought to put it into practice.  The one who is a doer of the work will be blessed in what he does.