Cake Fail

While browsing on a friend's site this morning I was reminded of an anecdote from my past I thought I'd use in today's post.

Once my first cousin,Clayton, was coming over for dinner. I was young and single, living in an apartment alone and not the most accomplished cook at that point. I had decided to make a bundt-type of cake for dessert. The problem was: at the last minute I discovered the only bundt pan I owned was a microwave bundt pan! At this point, I already had the batter made and ready for the pan. And, he was going to arrive in about a half hour. I figured there was nothing to do but to try to bake this thing in the microwave. So, I nuked it for several minutes. When it came out, I thought with great relief, "SUCCESS!" It looked AWESOME! When Clayton arrived, we laughed about the whole thing....until I cut the cake, which by now had begun to sort of....sink. Yep, you guessed it! What looked pretty on the outside was doughy and yucky on the inside with a crunchy, inedible crust on the outside.  What mortification!!

Now, where did this whole thing go wrong?

• First, it went wrong because I did not plan ahead.  I knew I had a bundt pan, but did not remember it was only for use in a microwave. (In fact, I had never used it before!)
• Second, it went wrong because I used wrong methodology to finish/cook the cake.
• Third, it went wrong because I judged the outcome based on the initial appearance.

Of course, there are life lessons to be learned here.  There are times in life when we find ourselves "in a pickle".  Sometimes, that pickle is of our own making (as was the case with my cake fail).  Other times, it is not.  Regardless, we have to choose how to proceed.  There are usually two choices:  the right one and at least one wrong one.

The "wrong way" seems oh, so seductive!  "It won't matter if I compromise my values just this once!"
When we choose wrong methodology, we always end up with unsatisfactory results.  Even when things "look good" or it seems we've "gotten away with it", we never do.
We can do a whole series of "rights", but if we finish with a "wrong" the whole cake can fall (and often does).

There is a way that seems right to a person, but its end is the way that leads to death.

Proverbs 14:12 (NET)

Another way to put it is like this:

The right thing, done the wrong way, leads to a bad end.
Or,
It is never right to do wrong, in order to get a chance to do right.

All true words of wisdom, no matter how you slice it!  ;)

Father, You have shown us by Your Word how to live.  The problem is we often don't want to live according to Your precepts.  We fall for the devil's "work-arounds", "short-cuts" and other deceptions because they appeal to our sinful natures.  Keep us, Lord, walking in paths of obedience, truth and wisdom, as we seek to walk...resplendent!  In Jesus' name, amen. 

Oh Sugar! Pass the Salve!

Warning:  Painfully, blatantly transparent post ahead!

One of the truths God has pounded into my soul along the walk is this:  we Christians all have different pitfalls as well as different spiritual gifts.  I was thinking about this this morning as I threw the rest of a delicious pecan pie into the trash can.  It nearly killed me. One of my peculiarities is that I hate to waste food.  This was woven into the very fabric of my soul by my mother, who was born in the throes of the Great Depression, the daughter of a Depression Mama.  My grandmother, Ma, used to beg to take tomato sandwiches with us in a cooler when she went with our family on vacay.  Such are my roots.

This otherwise altruistic and "good" tendency runs headlong into my sugar addiction, a snare Satan uses to undermine my otherwise (thank you, Jesus!) excellent health.  To some, pecan pie (basically, sugar) is not sin. To me, it can be ... and usually becomes a trap.  Of course, the pecan pie was merely the "trap of the week"...

It's hard to find the glory in temptations, but I submit to you that glory is there.  Look at today's passage with me, Romans 12:3-8 (NET)

3For by the grace given to me I say to every one of you not to think more highly of yourself than you ought to think, but to think with sober discernment, as God has distributed to each of you a measure of faith. 4For just as in one body we have many members, and not all the members serve the same function, 5so we who are many are one body in Christ, and individually we are members who belong to one another. 6And we have different gifts according to the grace given to us. If the gift is prophecy, that individual must use it in proportion to his faith. 7If it is service, he must serve; if it is teaching, he must teach; 8if it is exhortation, he must exhort; if it is contributing, he must do so with sincerity; if it is leadership, he must do so with diligence; if it is showing mercy, he must do so with cheerfulness.

In those individual, unique traps Satan sets for us lie opportunities to glorify God by resisting temptation.  Another piece of beauty is that these temptations keep us humble.  Let me share with you my own "humble pie" this morning, a glimpse into my own warfare story.  I believe we tend to idolize people or to think more highly of them than we ought to think.  I also believe we tend to idolize ourselves, thinking more highly of ourselves than we ought.

As a child, I accepted Christ and then re-affirmed my commitment to Him as a teen.  From there, I did my best to follow Him.  However, I was proud, very, very proud.  I tended to look on others with a certain amount of disdain, as opposed to compassion.  As I tried to do everything "by the Book", this condition became worse and worse.  And, the very worst part?  I had no idea it was happening.  I was totally blind to my own sin.

The Lord used a series of devastating experiences to open my eyes to my idolatry, my self-exaltation, my pride.  This sin continues to plague me, although due to my history with Him, thankfully I am somewhat more aware of it now.  My sinful pride was and is the flip-side of my spiritual gifts.  That's the way it usually is, which is why Paul began to talk about gifts of the Spirit in the same breath as he spoke about humility.  (Sort of like my sugar addiction/saving food conundrum)

Examples:  if you have the gift of mercy, beware that you don't become an "enabler".  If you have the gift of teaching, make sure you don't neglect the exercise of that knowledge, the service which should flow from increased illumination/revelation.  You get my drift.  If we carefully look at our own "gift bag", we can probably find our corresponding weak spots.  This is what Paul means by "sober discernment".

These should produce in our lives humility, the meekness that can only come from Above. The other night, Easter Sunday, I watched again The Passion of the Christ.  In the context of how He allowed men to do what they did to Him, I marveled that He "opened not His mouth" (Isaiah 53:7).  He did respond to questions from the Sanhedrin and from Pilate, the most honest/earnest seeker of them all on that dastardly day.  But, to Herod, that pompous buffoon, He said nothing.  The King of the Universe! The Creator of all that was made!  He humbly said nothing.

I'm still learning about humility, as those closest to me know.  Humility is the soothing salve that heals the burns inflicted by the fire in my soul.  As painful, horribly painful, as the "burns" I've received over the years have been, I am so, so thankful for them!  They served to shine a laser beam on my dreadfully prideful heart.  They increased my "sober discernment" about myself and changed the way I view others.  As Paul reminds us all, "we belong to each other."

Do we really want to be more like Jesus Christ? It is a fearful thing to open our hearts a crack, to let the Holy Spirit flay your heart open and expose things He wants to root out of there...to allow God's balm of humility to seep in.  Oh, but I exhort you, Christians, to do it, even as I daily exhort myself.

As we close in prayer today, pray along with me a prayer of St. Augustine of Hippo:
"Lord Jesus, let me know myself and know you,
And desire nothing, save only you.
Let me hate myself and love you.
Let me do everything for the sake of you.
Let me humble myself and exalt you."

Amen.

Source:

http://saintaugustineacademy.com/saint-augustine-of-hippo-facts-prayers/

Running From ...

Good morning,

Are you a student of history? World history?  Your history?  I have relatives who love to study geneology.  Why?  It gives them insight as to who they are, when they learn about those from whom they sprang.  Unfortunately, sometimes, we ignore our history and the lessons it tries to teach us.  We have all learned things from our parents, family members, teachers or acquaintances.  Some of them are profitable; others are not.

Paul was pointing out to the Corinthians at the beginning of chapter 10 that they needed to learn from the negative examples set by their forefathers generations ago.  As the saying goes, "Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it."  There are times that we make choices to do what we know is not beneficial to our Christian walk.  We fool ourselves into thinking, "Oh, it's just a small thing."  or "Just this once won't matter."  But, it does.  We may not see the long-range results immediately, but no action is without corresponding consequence.

Our focus this morning will be on 1 Corinthians 10:11-14 (The Message version):

11-12 These are all warning markers—danger!—in our history books, written down so that we don’t repeat their mistakes. Our positions in the story are parallel—they at the beginning, we at the end—and we are just as capable of messing it up as they were. Don’t be so naive and self-confident. You’re not exempt. You could fall flat on your face as easily as anyone else. Forget about self-confidence; it’s useless. Cultivate God-confidence.

13 No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; he’ll always be there to help you come through it.

14 So, my very dear friends, when you see people reducing God to something they can use or control, get out of their company as fast as you can.

People, especially young people, are susceptible to pride.  They believe that they are "untouchable", that they will be immune to the traps of various sins, that they are "better" or "stronger" than their ancestors.  And so, they dabble in sin.  Before they know it, they are totally ensnared, trapped, taken captive.  Sin will take you farther than you want to go, make you stay longer than you want to stay and make you pay more than you want to pay.  As Paul said in verse 12, let the one who thinks he is standing pay attention so that he won't fall down.

Humility about our weakness is essential to living a discipled life, to walking the resplendent walk. Anytime we are beguiled into believing that our successes, our strength comes from any other source than Jesus Christ, we are committing idolatry.  When young, I used to think that "idolatry" was a bunch of people bowing down to some little statue.  That is a very narrow and dangerously naive definition.  Idolatry is anything that draws a person farther from his or her relationship with Jesus Christ.  An "idol" can be a "good" thing, under ordinary circumstances.  But, if it is allowed to assume a place only meant to belong to Jesus, then it should be repositioned, at best, and avoided at worst.

A couple of examples:
1.  There are people who worship their children or spouse or girl/boyfriend or pet.  (Today is National Dog Day!  Love ya, Charlie!)  Oh, if you asked them, they would say, "That is ridiculous!"  But, look at how they interact with their loved ones. The question is not: "Does their devotion go beyond what is normal?"  The question is (as it is with all idols), "Is this relationship coming between me and my Savior?"  Jesus wants to be #1 in our lives.
2.   How do we spend our time?  Someone said once, "You can look at someone and see what she loves, because she lavishes both her time and resources on that beloved person or thing."  Well, whoever said that said it much more eloquently than I just did; but, you get the drift....

Let's be honest in our self-examination, Folks.  Are we worshipping any idols?

If you are like me, you want to cling frantically to your idols with statements like, "I just can't help myself!  I just can't resist!"  "Nonsense," says Paul.  In verse 13 he says, "Don't think you are some special case!  There is no temptation out there that hasn't already occurred many times over to other people.  With every temptation, God in His faithfulness will provide an escape hatch for you.  Take it!"  I'm both glad and devastated that this verse is in the Bible.  It knocks all my excuses right out from under me.  (Dang it!)

Then,  Paul gives his best strategy for dealing with temptations and idolatry.  RUN!  Yes, get away from the source of temptation.  Recovering alcoholics stay away from liquor or beer.  Recovering smokers do not keep cigs nearby.  Dieting people do not keep "Frankenfood" within reach.

The best example/application of this "running strategy" is from the life of Joseph.  He found himself alone with his master's wife, somewhere there on the homestead, while the master was on a business trip.  She made a move on him, and he ran outta there.  In fact, he escaped so quickly that she was left holding his outer garment.  (See Genesis 39:6-12).

It may seem that some "idol" has got it's claws in you, got a hopeless hold on you.  But, God is faithful.  He will rescue you, if you call out to Him.  He.Is.Faithful.  (vs. 13)  He gives us His "God-confidence."  Sometimes, we need earthly help to break the grip of some idol, and that's okay.  God provides for us help in the form of other believers, programs, counseling, deliverance, etc.  Some addictions and spiritual bondages are so very strong that spiritual intervention of another is needed. That's what the Body of Christ is for, to help each other in times of great need.  You may not be "the runner" concerning some particular idol, because it may not now have a hold on you.  But, you may be called to be "the sanctuary", the place of refuge and peace.  You may be called to embrace the desperate brother or sister who is running to you for help.

In closing, let's consider the personal testimony of Paul, whom we so admire, from his second letter to the Corinthians.  2 Corinthians 12:7-10 (NET) - -

Therefore, so that I would not become arrogant, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to trouble me—so that I would not become arrogant. 8 I asked the Lord three times about this, that it would depart from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is enough for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” So then, I will boast most gladly about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may reside in me. 10 Therefore I am content with weaknesses, with insults, with troubles, with persecutions and difficulties for the sake of Christ, for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdWGLm4zxEA

Father, there is no temptation chasing us that You cannot overcome.  May we run from our idols, and straight into Your loving arms of refuge.  "Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit", says the Lord! (Zechariah 4:6)  In the name of Jesus, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, amen.