By -
Psalms 38-42

Read these now at www.bible.com or with the BIBLE READER to the left
of this post.

RECIPES.

I'm on my way to a graduation now, for my lovely cousin whom I love so
much. I'm looking forward to the fun and family... and of course, the
food!!

My family is full of great cooks, and I wish I could have half the
cooking abilities they have. Some people say that cooking is all about
the recipes, but I have to disagree. I'm a horrible cook, and it's
mostly because I just don't like to cook.

You might be wondering what he HECK I'm talking about, and no, I'm not
just ranting about how bad my cooking is. All of this recipe stuff has
something to do with the devotion today.

In the Psalms in today's reading, there were a few things that stuck
out to me. First, they all had this recipe, if you will, that shows us
how to be forgiven. Of course, Jesus wasn't our sacrifice back then,
but it's still the same God.

First in the recipe, tell God your sins.

Psalms 38:3-4
My whole body is sick because of your judgment; I am
deprived of health because of my sin.
For my sins overwhelm me; like a heavy load, they are too much for me
to bear.

Then, tell God that you need Him, and ask for help.

Psalms 38:15
Yet I wait for you, O LORD! You will respond, O Lord, my
God!

Psalms 38:21-22
Do not abandon me, O LORD! My God, do not remain far
away from me! Hurry and help me, O Lord, my deliverer!

Once you're saved you can't be silent. You have to proclaim the works
of God!

Psalms 39:2
I was stone silent; I held back the urge to speak. My
frustration grew;

Psalms 40:3
He gave me reason to sing a new song, praising our God.
May many see what God has done, so that they might swear allegiance to
him and trust in the LORD!

All of these things can be summarized into one verse:

Psalms 40:17
I am oppressed and needy! May the Lord pay attention to
me! You are my helper and my deliverer! O my God, do not delay!

I'm not saying there is an exact formula or recipe for being a
Christian. That would be pretty silly. Cooks don't follow an exact
recipe every time. Do they?

These verses, these steps, they're always open for interpretation.
But regardless of what "recipe" you use, you have to care about the
steps you take. You have to put effort into it.

I'm sure if I put some effort and truly tried to cook well, I'd get
the hang of it. But if you don't care about the recipe, if you don't
care care about the finishing product... your cupcakes are going to
taste horrible.

I think it's the same for Christianity. You have to put some effort
into following Jesus, but if you do, the ending result (ETERNAL LIFE)
will be amazing.

I think that's about it. I'm getting lonely, email me at carlygaile@yahoo.com or comment below with anything you have to say. That's all for now!

Peace.

Comments

Granny said…
Your recipe for following God sounds easy enough!
June 13, 2010 at 8:31 AM
Carly said…
WOO HOO! Maybe I'll write a cookbook!
June 15, 2010 at 8:17 AM
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