Roast and Gravy

 

Ingredients

1 CAN CREAM OF MUSHROOM WITH ROASTED GARLIC SOUP

1 CAN BEEF BROTH             

1 ENVELOPE ONION SOUP MIX

3½-POUND ROUND ROAST

2 TABLESPOONS PLAIN FLOUR

1 TEASPOON SALT

½ TEASPOON PEPPER

2 TABLESPOONS OIL

Directions

STIR FIRST 3 INGREDIENTS TOGETHER IN A 5½ QUART SLOW COOKER.

SPRINKLE ROAST EVENLY WITH FLOUR, SALT, AND PEPPER.

IN A LARGE DUTCH OVEN BROWN ROAST EVENLY.

TRANSFER ROAST TO SLOW COOKER.

COVER AND COOK ON LOW FOR 8 HOURS.

REMOVE ROAST AND SLICE.

SKIM FAT FROM GRAVY AND WHISK.

SERVE OVER ROAST.

Tweetable: Why not add this as your main Sunday dish? 

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When Life Falls Apart - Martin Wiles

I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. Romans 7:19 NLT

 

Everything was going well, until . . . it didn’t.

 

Carlton appeared to have it all: a good job, a loving wife, great kids. Everything seemed to work in his favor, until they moved to a different city close to his brother-in-law—who was a drug addict. One day, in a moment of temptation, Carlton’s brother-in-law offered him a little cocaine, and Carlton took it. He was hooked.

 

After that, things went downhill quickly. Carlton couldn’t get enough of his new friend. He loved him so much that he spent his entire paycheck to get more time with him, leaving his family with no money for bills or groceries. His wife worked part-time, but her income only made a dent in the household expenses.

 

Even Carlton’s paycheck couldn’t cover his desire for more. So when he needed more but didn’t have the money, he robbed two stores, each in a different county. The police quickly apprehended him and incarcerated him. But, after all, he wasn’t a career criminal, just a good guy traveling a druggie trail.  

 

Through Carlton’s up and downs, his wife and kids loved him. He eventually reformed . . . somewhat . . . but now and then, he found himself returning to his old friend. Unfortunately, Carlton’s life ended tragically one night when he ran off the road and wrecked. I performed his funeral and watched his wife and family grieve over his death. Years ago, life had fallen apart for them and Carlton, and it never came back together. 

 

I had known Carlton for many years before his addiction. He was a good guy who allowed an addictive substance to ruin his life and the life of his family. But I’m no different. Nor was Paul. Paul was a believer and a great missionary, but he struggled to do the right thing. According to his own confession, he often failed to do the good things he intended to do.

 

Because of our sinful nature, we can do unimaginable things. God understands our sinful nature—but doesn’t excuse our actions. The first step toward healing entails confessing our sins and turning away from them. Then, we must forgive ourselves so that we can get on with life and God’s plan. One slip-up doesn’t make us failures or mean God can’t use us anymore. But if our sin becomes an addiction, we may need professional help.

 

We also need to forgive others who find themselves in untenable situations. Except for God’s grace, we could be where they are. I could be Carlton. We can pray for them and support their recovery from failure—without enabling them. Love doesn’t always mean agreement or approval.

 

When someone’s life falls apart, ratherthan gossip about them or turn your back on them, help them put it backtogether. After all, that someone could be you.

 

Prayer: Father, lead us to those we can help reassemble their lives. 

Tweetable: Where do you turn when life falls apart? 

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God’s Secret about Love - Martin Wiles

I was chosen to explain to everyone this mysterious plan that God, the Creator of all things, had kept secret from the beginning. Ephesians 3:9 NLT

My parents often instructed me to keep what I knew a secret—but not God’s secret about love.

Growing up as a pastor’s son, I was often privy to information I couldn’t share with my friends. Church information. Some good; some not so good. Whether they should have or not, my parents talked openly about church affairs in my presence. Perhaps they thought I didn’t understand. Maybe they supposed I’d keep it a secret without them telling me to. I knew about tough decisions, troubling situations, and church members who secretly drank, smoked, chewed, cursed, and visited places they shouldn’t have. I accepted this knowing and keeping secrets as the norm.

While secrecy was part of the preacher’s house, it seems a bit strange that God would keep secrets, but Paul says he does . . . or at least did. The big one was that at some point, Jews and Gentiles would stand on equal footing before God. Though the Old Testament told of a time in the future when Gentiles would be saved, most Jews never imagined God would consider them equals. 

I’m glad I live when God’s secret has been revealed. I’d hate to live with no means to approach God. And since I’m not Jewish, I’d have a difficult time making my way to God.

God plainly revealed the secret after Jesus’ resurrection. Before he ascended back into heaven, Jesus commissioned his followers to spread the story of His love and the offer of forgiveness to all people—Jew and Gentile. Those who accepted would stand on equal footing before God. By the way, this was always God’s plan as he made known at points along the way in the Old Testament. Some just had a difficult time believing it. 

Prejudice or racism will cause us to ignore the truth, even when it stares us in the face.

God’s church has no room for racism. If God welcomes all equally, we can do no less. Every person has been created in the image of God—a sin-marred image, but one there, nevertheless. And just below loving God with all our being is his command for us to love our neighbors as ourselves.

What are some ways you can share the message that God loves everyone?

Prayer: Father, thank You for loving and accepting all people equally. 

Tweetable: Do you accept all people equally? 

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No More Segregation - Martin Wiles

For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when . . . he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. Ephesians 2:14 NLT

At the time, I didn’t understand what no more segregation might entail.

As a child, the only color differences I knew were the ones my parents taught me. When I was in the fifth grade, our family moved to Jackson, Tennessee. For the first time, I had a person of color in one of my classes.

I didn’t understand the word segregation—I may not have even known it—nor had I ever wondered why people of other colors and races didn’t attend my school. In the 1960s, my hometown was a hotbed of racial tension, but I didn’t understand why. I simply knew the National Guard was called in, bricks were thrown through car windows, certain areas were under curfew, and several local college students had been killed. I knew the town had a bowling alley, but little did I know the owner refusing to let people of color in had started the riot that would eventually lead to a book entitled The Orangeburg Massacre. The city had built a wall of separation. 

Prior to Christ’s coming, Jews and Gentiles were also segregated. Most Jews considered Gentiles beyond saving. But Jesus shone the love of God the Father for all people. He went to the rejected, the scorned, the shunned, and the avoided. He taught that God loves all people equally.

Fortunately, I grew up in a home where my parents and grandparents taught me to love all people. Color wasn’t important, nor was social standing. God created them all: red and yellow, black and white. They were all precious in his sight.

Only people see the differences that divide us in reality: skin color, race, class, culture, and economics. Since God loves all, regardless of any of the preceding, we should as well. I’ve made that my life’s goal and taught my children to do the same. 

If Christ loved so much that he would die for all people, how can we possibly love any less?

Let God’s love for you break down any walls of segregation you’ve built.

Prayer: Father, may we see all people as You do: worthy of love and capable of doing great things in Your kingdom. 

Tweetable: How can you help break down walls of segregation? 

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Ritzy Chicken Casserole

 

 

Ingredients
2 SLEEVES OF RITZ CRACKERS

1 CAN CREAM OF CHICKEN

1 CAN CREAM OF MUSHROOM

1 CUP SOUR CREAM

½ CAN CHICKEN BROTH

2 TABLESPOONS BUTTER

4 to 6 CHICKEN BREASTS (COOKED)

Directions

CRUMBLE ONE SLEEVE OF CRACKERS IN THE BOTTOM OF A GREASED CASSEROLE DISH.

DRIZZLE HALF OF THE MELTED BUTTER OVER THE CRACKERS.

MIX CHICKEN WITH SOUPS, SOUR CREAM, AND BROTH.

POUR OVER CRACKERS.

CRUSH REMAINING CRACKERS OVER CHICKEN MIXTURE AND DRIZZLE REMAINING BUTTER ON TOP.

BAKE AT 350 FOR 30 to 40 MINUTES.

Tweetable: Why not add this casserole as your main dish? 

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Pronounced Good - Martin Wiles

Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good! Genesis 1:31 NLT

 

I wanted to be pronounced good, but many didn’t.

 

Near the end of my elementary school journey, the unthinkable happened. I knew I couldn’t see well, but I didn’t think anyone else knew. However, my teacher did. I suppose my getting up from the back—where I always sat because my last name began with W—and slithering down the aisle to see what the teacher had written on the blackboard gave it away. My eyes were terrible. She notified my parents, they gave me a home test, and then they took me to the eye doctor—who made the fatal pronouncement: “You need glasses.”

 

I’ve known children and teens who wore fake glasses because they thought they looked good. In the 1960s, no one did this. Young folks didn’t want glasses because their friends would call them “four-eyes.” Contacts weren’t an option, so I had to get the dreaded glasses to see things clearly. Sure enough, many of my friends called me “four-eyes.” That and other labels I received because I was skinny and non-athletic hurt. Some of the sayings I remembered years later.

 

Margaret knew pain like mine. She was a little on the overweight side. I suppose her classmates thought she ate too much—and perhaps she did—but they showed their insensitivity by calling her fat, a stigma that stayed with her until she became an older adult and finally chose to change her eating habits and undergo weight-loss surgery. Even at retirement age, she still remembered the names. And I remember the little jingle, too, that students called those who were overweight: “Fatty fatty two by four, can’t get through the kitchen door.”

 

Thankfully, God doesn’t give labels such as fat or four-eyes. When He finished His work of creation, He pronounced it good. This included the humans He had made. He even went a step further and created us in His image. This makes us different than animals.

 

Low self-esteem doesn’t have to haunt us—nor do the names or labels others give us. God says we are good because He made us. He is our Creator. And on a more personal note, He is the heavenly Father of all who acknowledge His Son as their Savior. 

God doesn’t make junk. We may wonder why God created us as we are, but a reason exists—even if we never know it.

 

Eventually, I learned to see myself as God sees me. Margaret did, too. And so can everyone else who has been labeled with a self-esteem-lowering tag. We’ll look at others through different lenses when we view ourselves as God does. We won’t see faults and flaws, but someone loved by God—and someone whom we should love.

 

Learn to pronounce others as good—and then treat them accordingly.

 

Father, we thank You for making all things good, including us. 

Tweetable: Do you know your identity in Christ? 

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Outside In - Martin Wiles

Don’t forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. Ephesians 2:11 NLT

Sometimes, we must live without others’ acceptance--outside in. 

My family and I were always outsiders. Not because we were weird, unsociable, or had bad habits but because we hadn’t been born and raised in the town where my father pastored. Most others in the church were lifelong residents and related. Oh, we were loved and appreciated, but if it came down to it, they would forego our preferences because we were outsiders. Blood was thicker than water.

As a pastor, my family faced similar scenarios. We loved church members, and they loved us, but in the end, we were outsiders. We hadn’t been born there, and when the Lord called, we would leave. Their mentality was understandable.

Gentiles—anyone who wasn’t a Jew—were outsiders too. God chose the nation of Israel as his special people and gave them rules, regulations, and ceremonies. The Gentiles weren’t part of the community unless they became a Jew in practice. The division between Jew and Gentile remained for thousands of years until after the church’s birth. But in Christ, no distinction exists.

If I’m considered an outsider by God, I’ve chosen to remain separated from him. We can be insiders any time we choose by simply acknowledging his Son’s death and resurrection and accepting his forgiveness. Because God gives us the opportunity to become an insider when we don’t deserve it, we should do the same for others. We can erect any number of walls to keep people out of our lives, but God wants us to let them in.

Being an outsider means missing out on things the insiders enjoy—love, understanding, membership privileges, forgiveness, kindness. God breaks down the wall of separation, and we should too.

Are there outsiders in your life who you need to invite in?

Prayer: Father, help us to love and include others as You do us. 

Tweetable: Do you ever feel like an outsider? 

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No-Good Credit - Martin Wiles

God saved you by his special favor when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this. Ephesians 2:8 NLT

No-good credit. No one wants that.

Credit. The amount of money a particular lending institution is willing to loan me because they believe I’ll pay it back. Perhaps I’ve borrowed from them before, or they have checked my borrowing record. Credit cards have a credit limit. If my charges exceed that, they may honor my purchase, but I will pay a penalty. And everyone has a credit rating—a calculated number based on someone’s borrowing and repaying history. A low rating means I can’t borrow money, or if I can, I’ll pay an exorbitant interest rate. Credit is something we build based on past borrowing behavior.

If I’m timely with repaying my loans, my credit line increases, and my credibility with lenders rises. Not so with God. He issues no credit limit based on our current or past behavior. Our sinful nature kills our credit line, and good works can’t resurrect it. We can’t pay our sin debt, and because of that, our spiritual credit rating is the pits. We may repair our credit rating so lenders will risk lending us money again, but we can’t restore credit with God.

Fortunately, the credit picture with God isn’t all bad. What we can’t do for ourselves, God did for us. He won’t issue us credit personally, but he will give us Jesus’ credit rating.

Jesus has an excellent credit rating. Perfect. Sinless. Pure. Righteous. Spotless. He completely obeyed his Father’s plan. All we must do is ask, and God will credit his Son’s righteousness to our account. This allows him to forgive our sins, see us with his Son’s righteousness, involve himself in our lives, and grant us eternal life with him. 

Are you trying to get credit from God through some other means than Christ? God has only one way of approving our credit: our faith in Jesus.

Father, thank You for Your wonderful grace that allows us to be forgiven and cleansed.

Tweetable: How's your credit with God? 

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Western Style Rice Skillet

Ingredients

1½ POUND GROUND CHUCK (BROWNED AND DRAINED)

½ TEASPOON SALT

1 PACK ONION SOUP MIX

1½ CUP WATER

¾ CUP UNCOOKED RICE

1 16-OUNCE CAN TOMATOES (UNDRAINED)  

         1 CAN ENGLISH PEAS (DRAINED)         

1 CUP SHREDDED CHEESE

Directions

MIX ALL INGREDIENTS EXCEPT CHEESE IN A SAUCEPAN.

SIMMER FOR 15 MINUTES.

STIR TO MIX WELL.

POUR INTO A BAKING DISH AND TOP WITH CHEESE.

BAKE AT 350 DEGREES FOR 1 HOUR.

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