Mmmmm…Apple Pie! Or Is It?
What a beautiful day, Father! I’ve been in the office for most of the day, but I love looking out the window where wildlife and sunshine abound. All praise to my Creator God!
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It has officially begun! Zucchini season is upon us – at least in Ohio! Now that I’ve lured you in with that beautiful piece of pie in the picture above, you’re probably wondering, “What in the world does zucchini have to do with apple pie?!”
Well, my friend, let’s set the record straight…that is not a picture of a scrumptious-looking apple pie. That is a picture of a zucchini pie. It is so delicious! It looks like apple pie, it tastes like apple pie, and if no one gave you the heads up you’d eat the whole thing thinking it was apple pie!
And I’ve not just read about it…I’ve experienced it – and on more than one occasion. So far this year, we’ve had seasoned zucchini spears cooked in the air fryer, we’ve eaten an entire Zucchini Chocolate Cake, and a wonderful round of zucchini fritters with one of our last meals. Now I’m just waiting for Karen to have the time to put together one of those Zucchini “Apple” Pies – I brought home another zucchini after my meeting at church tonight!
Zucchini is a pretty unassuming fruit (surprisingly, it isn’t a vegetable!). It’s unassuming because it’s not really much to look at. Its long thin cylinder shape is not elaborate or showy, as in appearance or style. It is modest, plain, simple, unostentatious (or understated), and unpretentious.
Maybe you think you don’t have much to offer. You may think that you’re just a basic person – no bells or whistles, just a plain Jane or an average Joe…the zucchini of humanity. The world looks at you and doesn’t really know what you can do. It sets limits on you. It holds you back.
But the Master Creator, now He – because He made you and knows you inside and out – knows just what you were created to be and sets you free! If we will but allow Him, giving ourselves over to Him, He can take what we think is mediocre and unassuming and make it spectacular! He can do amazing things with us. Things that would never even possibly dream of.
We might think we’re an unassuming zucchini but God can make us into an amazing slice of heaven!
He has made everything beautiful and appropriate in its time. He has also planted eternity [a sense of divine purpose] in the human heart [a mysterious longing which nothing under the sun can satisfy, except God]—yet man cannot find out (comprehend, grasp) what God has done (His overall plan) from the beginning to the end. Ecclesiastes 3:11 AMP
Aug 10th, 2023, Thurs, 3:16 pm
Like and Love
Father, thank You for the blessings of a good day. May our time together be an even greater blessing! Amen.
Romans 12:9,15-16 (<<click here to read the passage)
One of the biggest challenges in life, especially if we are striving to be serious followers of Jesus, is to love each other. Here the Apostle Paul makes that point very clear.
Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. v9 NLT
Jesus first placed emphasis on this when speaking to His followers in John 13:34,
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” NIV
Now I admit that over the years I have struggled to like some of the people I have worked with. Some people I have been just naturally drawn to, while others, for whatever reason, have not been drawn to me. Sometimes those over me have made it difficult for me to like them. I felt that I couldn’t live up to expectations. In one instance, someone hired me, and the other high-ranking person didn’t seem to approve of their decision to do so. That and a bunch of other reasons made it hard for me to like some people.
Now this may sound strange, though we didn’t see eye to eye and some of their actions caused me to not like them very much, I tried very hard to love them – quite often that was because of prayer. Saying things like, “God, I don’t understand why they want to make my life difficult. Honestly, I don’t like them but please help me to love them, like You love them.”
God answers those kinds of prayers if we are open to Him and willing to follow His leading…and He answered mine.
The thing is although some people may not be close to you, it’s not really that difficult to fulfill Paul’s directive in verse 15.
Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. NLT
Or as another translation puts it,
Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. NIV
Our goal as followers of Jesus is to live in harmony with each other.
We must be open to learning and growing. Honestly, our pride can readily get us into trouble. We mustn’t hesitate to associate with people from all walks of life. Many are just looking for someone who cares, someone who will listen.
Lastly, Paul stresses… And don’t think you know it all!
That’s a big part of learning and growing too. God can work through us to impact the world around us if we will just open ourselves to His example and guidance in our lives.
Aug 9th, 2023, Wed, 5:09 pm
Anomalies Anyone?
Oh, my, Father, I am in slow mode this evening! After a very active day, my body is putting up a bit of a fuss. Help me to hone in on You, leaving everything else behind. Amen.
Romans 12:14,20 (<<click here to read the passage)
Are you aware that the Bible has quite a few anomalies? First, an anomaly is defined as something that deviates from what is standard, normal, or expected.
Verse 14 is one example of an anomaly.
Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. NLT
And a few verses later there is another.
“If your enemies are hungry, feed them.
….If they are thirsty, give them something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap
….burning coals of shame on their heads.”
For a moment, think about how the world would respond to these commands. When we think about those who persecute us – our enemies – the standard response is not to bless them. The normal response is not to pray that God will bless them. And we most certainly should not be expected to feed them or give them something to drink if they are hungry or thirsty! …right?
It might be easy for some to look at, especially the last passage, and think, “Well, Jesus didn’t say this…this is Paul… If Jesus had said it…maybe I’d think about it…”
Jesus is quoted as saying in Luke 6:27-28,
“But I say to you who hear [Me and pay attention to My words]: Love [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for] your enemies, [make it a practice to] do good to those who hate you, bless and show kindness to those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. AMP
Hmmm…now what? I think we can all agree that our world is replete with, full of, packed and stuffed, bursting and overloaded with hate. When it comes to those who oppose us, think differently than we do, look differently than we do, or take a different viewpoint than we do – philosophically, politically, or Scripturally – love is most assuredly not the first word that comes to mind and is definitely not our first response. …and in that we are wrong…plain and simple.
You may disagree with me, but when on that final Judgement Day we stand before our Lord and Savior…what will we have to say then?
“But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you.” – Jesus, Luke 6:27-28 NLT
Aug 8th, 2023, Tues, 8:22 pm
Hospitality or Entertainment?
A full day is coming to a close, and with all the directions my brain has gone, I would ask, Father, that You would reel it in close to You. May I clearly hear Your word. Amen.
Romans 12:13 (<<click here to read the passage)
Reading through the note on this particular verse…I had to pause. It spoke of a pretty clear black-and-white division between hospitality and entertainment, and I beg to differ!
The note states, “Entertaining focuses on the host. The home must be spotless; the food must be well prepared and abundant; the host must appear relaxed and good-natured. Hospitality, by contrast, of people focuses on the guests’ needs, such as a place to stay, nourishing food, a listening ear, or just acceptance.”
I’ve spoken of the years that Karen and I were able to host an open house for our churches prior to Christmas. They were absolutely wonderful events! One year, in particular, it was standing-room only! The rooms where our guests ate and socialized were spotless. Karen put out a wonderful spread with plenty for all – it wasn’t fancy, but it was very tasty, festive, and filling. Karen was focused on everyone enjoying themselves and her love for people clearly showed.
The setting and the pieces and parts don’t necessarily determine whether it is entertainment or hospitality – I’d say it was a combination of both! Those events were looked forward to and well-spoken of by all. There was great interaction on every front that I was a part of, and I would wander from cluster to cluster, room to room, interacting with all in attendance.
Karen was exceptional at organizing a time together that, as my Life Application Study Bible defines hospitality, we were able to focus on our guests’ needs, such as a comfortable place to interact, nourishing (and yummy!) food, a listening ear, and…acceptance of one and all.
Yes, it can happen around a dinner table where the main dish is canned soup, but it can happen at a well-organized gathering, as well, when love is at the heart – and in the heart of those opening their home to loved ones. The thing is, as the Apostle Paul said,
Always be eager to practice hospitality. NLT
Or as The Message puts it,
…be inventive in hospitality.
And what started this whole train of thought?
Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. v9 NLT
Aug 7th, 2023, Mon, 7:28 pm
The REAL Real Thing
Father, I would ask that You enable me to focus on You and not on myself. More of You, and less of me. Amen.
Romans 12:9-13 (<<click here to read the passage)
Back when I was a wee lad, in the early 1970s, one of Coca-Cola’s biggest ad campaigns, ever, hit the airwaves. Their all-encompassing slogan was ‘It’s the Real Thing’. The initial catchy song, I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke, was eventually reworked as I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing and became over-the-top popular. The commercial involved young people from all over the world gathered on a hilltop in Italy singing the song ending with, “It’s the real thing…”
Coke’s then brand manager, Ira C Herbert, heralded it as a new direction that “responds to research which shows that young people seek the real, the original and the natural as an escape from phoniness.”
It boded well for Coca-Cola, but I don’t think they cornered the market on understanding that young people – for that matter all people – seek those things. Honestly, I believe those desires are stronger than ever in the world in which we live!
The first part of verse 9 in the Amplified Bible reads,
Love is to be sincere and active [the real thing—without guile and hypocrisy].
The pointed notes in my Life Application Study Bible states,
Most of us have learned how to be courteous to others – how to speak kindly, avoid hurting their feelings, and appear to take an interest in them. We may even be skilled in pretending to show compassion when we hear of others’ needs, or to become indignant when we learn of injustice. But God calls us to real and genuine love that goes far beyond being hypocritical and polite. (emphasis mine.)
Real love isn’t some haphazard response to others. It’s a concentrated effort on our part. If done for maximum impact, it requires a great investment of resources on our part – it demands our time, money, and personal involvement.
It is our responsibility to work to these ends which Christ has set before us. But, as we spoke of last time, the Body of which we are a part can accomplish much more than we can all by ourselves. People are searching for love – the real thing, and we know just the place where it can be found.
Lord Jesus, may we be diligent in spreading – sharing – Your abundant love. Amen!
Aug 6th, 2023, Sun, 7:02 pm