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GUACAMOLE DEVILED EGGS



15 hard boiled eggs

1/2 small red or sweet onion, chopped

1/4 C. chipotle mayonaise

1/4 C. real mayonaise

1 8-oz vacuum package prepared fresh guacamole (not guacamole dip)



OR make your own guacamole with 2 mashed avacados, garlic, salt, jalapeno and juice of half a lemon (about 1 T.)



[make your own chipotle mayonnaise; add some dried, powedered chipotle peppers to mayo, with some cayenne for extra heat if you want it]



Peel and halve eggs. Mash yolks with pastry blender. Add remaining ingredients. Fill egg white halves. Sprinkle paprika on top or cayenne if you like it zippier.



These are pale greenish from the avacado. You can make them greener for St. Patrick's Day with food coloring.

I heard an interesting broadcast tonight on the way home from work. The voice was familiar, but I'm just not sure who it was, but the message was really one of those that made me go hmmmm.



The point of his very short message was powerful. We've heard such a bunch of warm, fuzzy Resurrection Morn messages. We've heard incredible messages about the incredible imagery of the Crucifixion. It was a horrible, gruesome day. But what about the Resurrection Day itself? His message brought back powerful memories.



Helena & I were part of the Polish National Catholic Church, an offshoot of Roman Catholicism, associated through consecration with the Old Catholic Union of Utrecht. Because of the ethnic roots of that denomination, there were some very interesting services included one that was chant and response. The title translated was "Bitter Lamentations". Many of the younger members who did not understand Polish had never heard the litany translated into English. I was blessed to be a part of the Music Commission of that denomination during the initial translation of the litany and was able to introduce a "beta" version to our home congregation. When the people heard the incredible word picture offered by that litany, they were stunned. Even some of the older second generation Polish-Americans heard the litany in a new light, hearing concepts that they'd never really "heard" while singing very deep and moving Polish poetry. People wept and wanted more. They were exposed to the raw, visceral nature of the Passion of our Lord. Many wanted to learn more. Many asked about where to read more about the life of Christ. And into the Word we went! That's an awesome thing for people who had never had exposure to the joy and power of His written Word. And it was the beginning of an awesome era in that congregation's life.



Easter, however, only had inklings of power attached to it. Yes, the tomb was empty, Yes, He was alive. Yes, He was risen. Some of the music through the ages has given great imagery of the risen Lord, the majesty, the awe, the warm and fuzzy feelings closer to that of the most valuable player at the Superbowl. Perhaps it was my own dissatisfaction with the energy, but it always seemed as though people were more concerned about the ham or roast and the lilies about the altar, or the pretty dresses and hats than about the events of the Lord's Resurrection Day.



The teacher evoked all sorts of things in my imagination. Can you imagine for a few minutes being in Jerusalem during the week-end of that fateful Passover, especially on that Friday? Earthquakes, long dead people walking the street, a supernatural occurrence in Matthew 27 that tears the foot-thick curtain in the temple from top down, exposing the Holy of holies to the view of any in the holy place. There was an event that caused darkness to literally cause an early night in Jerusalem. Was it an unexpected eclipse? An empty storm without wind or rain, but just darkness? Does it matter?



This was an extraordinary day that was an enormous shock to that city. The ground shook beneath their feet. Dead people known to the populace were now walking the streets, talking, sharing. The Temple sewing team was called for an emergency repair session the likes of which had never been recorded. And this unexpected darkness thing. People were convinced that God was up to something. If He truly lived in the Holy of holies, had He just rent His garments in divine grief? Were the visitors from Abraham's Bosom sharing a different view of the Resurrection?



Their world was rocked! Their next days and weeks were impacted by incredible events. I believe that we have lost the impact of those events. We don't talk in hushed awe about the ways in which God impacted the world then OR now! Why? Do we take Him for granted? Do we read or ponder those amazing things? Have I become lazy or complacent in my awe of Him? Am I so busy in my work-a-day world that I too often miss the things that ought to rock my world?



I remember hearing Sandi Patti's rendition of "Was it a morning like this?" I remember hearing Ray Boltz' "Watch the Lamb". I remember my lower lip quivering like a little kid and hot tears filling my eyes. I decided that I was not dead inside and that the severity of the days that those songs depicted had made me revisit the world shaking reality of Jesus' sacrifice for me and that I would do my best never to lose that awe again.



Read the four descriptions in the Gospels. Put them together in your own mind and re-experience the Resurrection. Let it change your life...again.

A few topics back (<URL url="http://zionfirefriends.com/index.php?showtopic=1967">Evangelism, Part 3), I mentioned the relationship between the fruit of lips (better translated "calves of lips"). God brought me back to that word again today.



Bishop's sermon was about "Seed Warfare", and started in Genesis 3:15 with God's proclamation that the snake would bruise the heel of the woman's seed, but that the Seed would crush the head of the serpent. Seed Warfare is profound and prolific. Because of the CEC's stance against abortion (seed warfare, or warfare over the womb, as he called it today), we must guard ourselves and our children/seed even more. The evil one prowls about, seeking what seed he might devour. Watch and pray!



The gospel reading today was that great passage about the fig tree that wasn't bearing fruit, even after three years (Luke 13). Then at the offertory time, came the exhortation (offertory sentence):
<QUOTE author="Hebrews 13:15-16">

Hebrews 13:15-16 Wrote:Through Christ let us continually offer to God the sacrifice of

praise, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his Name.

But to do good and to distribute, forget not; for with such

sacrifices God is well pleased.

God began to speak to me about fruit in a way that I'd not heard from a pulpit anywhere. When I think of fruit, I think about a bowl or basket on the table, full of apples, oranges, pears, peaches, berries, and so much more of His bounty, set as a beautiful feast before me. It was as though God was asking, "But what is fruit really for?" Hmmm.



My mind began to pull things back from high school and college biology classes from so very long ago. Fruit is really all about reproduction, not provision for another species! "Think about the implications of that," I heard Him whisper. My mind raced. The real purpose of that apple was for the big apple tree to make little apple trees. The big walnut tree to make little walnut trees. The raspberry bush to make more raspberry bushes. Each fruit-bearer was taking God's command to Adam and Eve very seriously, to multiple and inhabit the earth. If we only ignore ivy, kudzu, bamboo, or peppermint, they will take over any space afforded them and with kudzu, maybe the world.



Squirrels, birds, bears, monkeys, and other creatures great and small consume the fruits that we might conclude that Father in His marvellous plan had provided for their sustenance as well as for reproduction of the fruit-bearer. After consuming them, the seeds migrate with the consumer to be deposited perhaps miles away from the original plant. Some seeds survive floating across oceans to plant themselves on distant shores. It's amazing when you think of it, another marvel of His design.



The fruit was not created or designed strictly for my pleasure or the nourishment of other consumers. It was designed to become a new creature. This has to do with any offspring including food animal young. Cows are not just beef, calves are not just veal; nor is the cow's sole purpose to provide cream for my coffee or milk for my cheese! God's first intention for calves was that they become mature cows and bulls and produce more calves.



Specifically with the fruit of plants, the fruits are also amazing designs, but they are truly designed to die in order to create life. The sugars in that apple were intended to fertilize the ground around the seeds in the core and to provide moisture and nutrition during the first months of the seedling's growth. Just as Jesus taught that the kernel of wheat had to die in order for the new stalk and head of grain to appear, so the apple or walnut has to lose its nature in order for a new tree to begin life.



If fruit is really about reproduction more than consumption by harvesters or predators, can we consider for a moment all the admonitions we've heard about bearing fruit? Even the verses about the fruit of the spirit take on a new meaning when we realize that fruit is there for multiple purposes, but primarily to provide nourishment for others or to establish new life. One goal of our Christian walk is to develop fruit, and especially the fruit of the Spirit. We were taught what those fruit were so that we could recognize them as we discovered them in ourselves and in others (so we could be good "fruit inspectors"). We were taught to expect God to develop them in us, but we were not taught much about the purpose of the fruit. Yes, the names of the fruit certainly give us the outworkings of the fruit, but what is the purpose?



We can describe apple, orange, lemon, almond, calf, lamb, or chick, but we are usually too blind to see God's other intended purpose for those fruit. Yes, they are created to sustain us and to bless us with amazing taste experiences, but the primary reason for their creation was that they might die to self, nourish the seeds within, and beget yet another generation of their kind. I don't give much thought to that and don't ever recall a conversation over the dining table about it.



What then is the purpose of fruit in our lives? Spiritual fruit and fruit of the Spirit are my two primary focal points here. For me, after my session with the Lord this afternoon, fruit in my life takes on a whole new meaning. Am I producing delectable aromas that would entice a world-weary soul to come find out what this aroma of life is? Am I producing visible fruits that are a delight to the eye, again drawing attention to what God has done? The apple tree is never complimented on what nice apples were produced, and yet a good tree will bring people back year after year and week after week while apples are in season. It just keeps producing apples so long as the tree is well tended and the ground is not worn out.



Let us tend our soil so that good fruit grows week after week, month after month, that others might smell and see and ultimately taste and realize that God is exactly Who He says He is, and that they might give their lives to Him. For us, that means preparing our soil and guarding our souls in order to produce fruit that points people to Him and does not glorify us. This is surely a death to self, self's agenda/ideas, and a commitment that He will increase.



Will that juicy apple be a symbol of evangelism for you, with your next bite?

This the audio record of an online seminar given on <URL url="http://www.thepraisedancelife.com/">http://www.thepraisedancelife.com/ the site of Jocelyn Richard.



Biblical Pageantry Thursday, February 25, 2010

<URL url="http://www.divshare.com/download/10670160-477">DivShare File - BiblicalPageantry2-28-10.mp3



This is an expansion of the article found here:

<URL url="http://zionfirefriends.com/index.php?showtopic=148">http://zionfirefriends.com/index.php?showtopic=148

Today is March 2, 2010, and today I heard one of the three most powerful sermons that I've heard in my 35 years in Christ. And it was not preached on Christian radio or even by a minister!



Glenn Beck delivered an incredible sermon this morning. It was only about 12 uninterrupted minutes long, but it was a definite wow. It started with a caller who was deeply disturbed about events and looming crises in the national life of the United States of America. She was shaky of voice and close to tears. He asked her "one of those" questions. You know them, the ones that you're reluctant to answer because you're sure that no matter how you answer it won't match the point that the asker is seeking. He pushed her hard. "Who ARE you?" She hemmed a bit. I'm not trying to quote her directly (sure wish I could get a transcript or recording of the show, but they're not available). "Well, I love my country." "No, that's how you feel, who ARE you?" "Well, I pray a lot for my country." "No, that's something that you DO. Who ARE you?!?"



What a question, and the soliloquy that followed was amazing. I've heard similar points made for most of my Christian life. I have a bishop who talks about this, too, but in a different way. Beck finally answered the question for her. "You are a son or daughter of God!" He went on to preach a powerful message about know who we are and the ramifications of knowing Whose we are.



I've heard and taught about imperatives and emphases. His powerful point was the difference between <SIZE size="1">(knowing) that I'm a son of God and knowing that I'm a son of God. It's so much about understanding what it means to be God's kid, and truly "getting" the reality that there are powers and authorities and gifts that come with the title.



Imagine discovering that you were the long lost son of a king and that you were suddenly the heir apparent. There have been all sorts of books and movies on the theme, but none of them really explore what it means to have your word become reality. If the crown prince breathes a wish, someone makes it happen.



This is not about name-it-claim-it theology or any formulaic thing and it's very definitely not about anything having to do with self. It is about recognizing that God loves us and has empowered us to do exploits in His name, to affect changes in people's lives and even in the governments around us. Prayer is something that we do, but often we pray weak prayers or we pray for things without actually expecting God to move in response to our prayers. Confident prayers, not arrogant prayers. Earnest prayers, not presumptive prayers.



And the same with our actions. I believe with Beck, that while we pray to God, and while we wait with anticipation on Him, we don't lay back and play dead waiting for Him to act. He has invested in us in enormous ways. His Holy Spirit is amazing, and too often goes untapped as a bottomless reservoir of power.



Perhaps our prayers and the actions need to change. What would happen if we prayed and expected that Father would answer and would include us as a physical, actual part of the answer, an actual hand or foot of Christ here on earth, to accomplish the will of Him Who created us!



Harold Hill proclaimed it years ago. King's Kids! That was a cute thing. I still have my pin somewhere. I AM a King's kid. I know, however, what it means to be a son of God. It's a legal term with huge implications. I am an heir apparent with an amazing array of powers and authorities that come with the label "son". I'm still learning how to walk in that power and give all the glory to Him. How can I walk powerfully without calling attention to myself? It's easy to answer but hard to live the answer. He must increase and I must decrease. If people see things that I do and see Jesus, I wielded the power and authority well. If they only see me, I need more practice.

I've made both these recipes and each is good.



Henzi's Seed Bread



1 pkg yeast

1 T sugar

1-1/2 C. bread flour

1-1/2 C. whole wheat flour

2/3 C. rye flour

1/2 C. cornmeal

1/2 C. unprocessed bran

1 tsp. salt

1/3 C. golden raisins

1/3 C. chopped pecans or walnuts

1/3 C. sunflower seeds

1/3 C. poppy seeds

2 T. caraway seeds

1 C. warm milk

4 T. honey

1 T. oil

1 egg



Add all dry ingredients, then wet one for bread machine. For hand baking, start with liquids first then work in the dry. After kneading 10 minutes, proof for 1-1/2 hours or until doubled. Put in loaf pan and rise till double, another 45 minute or so. 350 for 40 min. or until loaf browns. Makes one loaf.



Simple Seed Bread - 1 loaf

1-1/2 C. Water

2 T. fruit juice concentrate (apple is good)

2 T. honey

1 tsp. salt

1 ts. baking soda

1/4 C. gluten flour

1/4 C. sunflower seeds

2 T. sesame seeds

2 T. flax seeds

4-1/2 C. whole wheat flour

1 pkg yeast.