Corn Bread Muffins

 

Ingredients

2 CUPS MARTHA WHITE CORNMEAL MIX

1 EGG

1 1/3 CUP BUTTERMILK

¼ CUP OIL

2 TEASPOONS SUGAR

Directions

MIX ALL TOGETHER UNTIL BLENDED.

COOK IN GREASED MUFFIN PANS.

BAKE AT 425 FOR 15 MINUTES.

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Rehearsing God’s Word - Martin Wiles

Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Deuteronomy 6:7 NLT

Rehearsed materials tend to stay around longer. For the final two weeks of school, I required my middle school language arts students to rehearse what they had learned during the year. The final exam would cover the entire book, so I wanted to ensure they remembered all the concepts. As we encountered new ideas along the way, I reminded them of concepts we had already learned. By rehearsing material from previous chapters, they had a better chance of transferring that material from their short-term to their long-term memory. The grades revealed that some should have rehearsed a little more.

Rehearsing is essential with much of what we do. Those who plan to sing at church rehearse. Professional singers rehearse. Playing sports requires rehearsing before games.

Rehearsing is also a part of our Christian experience. God told the ancient Israelites to rehearse his commands. Not only were they to know them personally, but they were also to teach them to their children by rehearsing them daily in every situation. Rehearsing would lead to remembering.

Rehearsing God’s Word is essential and commanded by God, but we still have to choose to do it. God won’t force us to learn his Word. As a child, I was required to memorize various Bible verses, along with the books of the Bible. Children in my father’s church practiced sword drills, which entailed a contest to see who could locate a book of the Bible quicker. But as an adult, the choice is mine.

Rehearsing God’s Word forces us to meditate on it. What is on our minds, we will think about often. God will bring his Word to our conscience when it is embedded in our memory. This is beneficial when we’re tempted. God’s Word reminds us of his requirements and his ability to help us fend off my archenemy.

Rehearsing God’s Word also aids when we’re questioned about what we believe and why. When his Word infiltrates our hearts, we’ll be prepared to give an answer to the curious and to the skeptics.

Don’t let anything keep you from rehearsing God’s Word.

Father, thank you for your Word that calms my fears, lifts my spirits, and strengthens me for any circumstances I might face. 

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing. No one escapes life's hurts, but we can move beyond them to hope and healing. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

Getting the Big Head - Martin Wiles

Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with the staff, and water gushed out. So the entire community and their livestock drank their fill. Numbers 20:11 NLT

Henry was a close friend of my father’s, but they were different. Dad was quiet and reserved; Henry was outgoing and comical. Dad held post-graduate degrees; Henry never made it out of college. Dad held no position in his state denomination, while Henry had moved up in the ranks. Dad was a relatively unknown pastor. Henry was known by most and had served for many years as the parliamentarian for his denomination on the state level. But Henry never got the big head. Regardless of how important the people were whom he hobnobbed with, he remained the same old Henry. He must have known that getting a big head can push us away from God and others.

Moses forgot how to be humble. God had chosen him to lead the Israelites from Egyptian slavery to the Promised Land. He also gave him the power to perform miracles. One was striking a rock with his staff. When he did, water gushed out for the thirsty people. But on this occasion, God told him to merely speak to the rock. Moses, full of himself and angry at stubborn people, hit the rock instead. God doesn’t appreciate orneriness and politely informed Moses he had forfeited his chance to lead the captives into the Promised Land.

The Bible doesn’t use the word big head, but it does use the word pride—and they’re identical. When pride infiltrates our lives, life becomes about us. Initially, Moses wanted nothing to do with the assignment of freeing the captives, but as time moved on, he thought more of himself than he should.

Pride leads us to distrust God, causing us to make poor decisions. No inherent power resided in Moses’ staff. Trust in God made the staff work—along with anything else God told him to use. Many of my poor decisions have been selfish and made in a moment when I failed to let God guide me.

God has a way of shrinking our heads when they get too big. He shrunk Moses’ by taking away the privilege of living in the Promised Land. He’s used various methods on me as well. But God isn’t in the head-shrinking business because He’s mean. He simply wants us to trust in him instead of in ourselves.

When your head gets too big, let God remind you about who you are without Him.

Father, remind me daily that I am nothing without you. 

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing. No one escapes life's hurts, but we can move beyond them to hope and healing. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

Wrong Place at the Right Time - Martin Wiles

A passerby named Simon, who was from Cyrene, was coming in from the countryside just then, and the soldiers forced him to carry Jesus’ cross. Mark 15:21 NLT

Daily, thousands, perhaps millions, of people are at the wrong place at the wrong time.

As I listen to the latest news headlines while eating breakfast, I hear about many of them. Some are seriously injured while others are killed. A police officer is shot. A motorist is involved in a life-altering accident. Some board a plane only to have it crash or be blown up by terrorists. Others are the victims of robberies or murders.

Apparently, Simon of Cyrene was one of them. Minding his own business, hobbling in from the countryside, he is accosted by Roman soldiers leading Jesus to Calvary to crucify him. By this time, Jesus struggles because of the persecution he has endured. Rather than fooling with his inability to move faster, the soldiers enlist someone to carry the cross for Jesus.

But, then again, perhaps Simon wasn’t at the wrong place at the wrong time. Just maybe, he was at the wrong place at the right time. Cyrene is located in modern-day Libya, so it’s possible Simon was an African man coming to worship during the Passover celebration. Although he worshiped the Jewish God, this experience of carrying Jesus’ cross likely led him to faith in the Messiah. By shouldering the cross, he would have touched the blood of Jesus and probably Jesus himself. Though his experience wasn’t pleasant, Simon was where he needed to be.

God has a habit of placing us in what appear to be the wrong places at the most inconvenient times. Later, we discover these times and places are just where we need to be to learn essential lessons that propel us forward in our spiritual growth. From God’s perspective, there is never a wrong place or a wrong time. He guides our steps and forms our image after his, just as the potter does the clay vessel. As with Simon, if we’re perceptive, he’ll put us exactly where we need to be.

Don’t fear the events of the day. Instead, trust God to put you exactly where he needs you so you can experience all he has in store.

Father, give me faith that you will place me exactly where I need to be. 

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing. No one escapes life's hurts, but we can move beyond them to hope and healing. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

Corn Chowder

 

 

Ingredients
1 TABLESPOON BUTTER

             
1 CAN POTATOES (DRAINED AND SLICED)

1 CUP DICED HAM

2 CUPS MILK

1 CAN CORN (DRAINED)

1 CAN CREAM CORN

1 CAN CHICKEN BROTH

SALT/PEPPER

Directions
COMBINE IN CROCK POT.

COOK ON LOW FOR TWO HOURS.

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing. No one escapes life's hurts, but we can move beyond them to hope and healing. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

Fruit Inspector - Martin Wiles

You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Matthew 7:16 NLT

What looks good outwardly can occasionally disappoint.

I’m not a fruit inspector—at least not by profession. But I do inspect fruit before purchasing it. When selecting apples and oranges, I look for bruises or soft spots. If I’m buying a bag of Irish potatoes, I make sure there are no rotten spots. Bananas can’t be bruised or overripe. Some fruit, however, can trick me.

I recall buying one bag of black grapes. They had all the appearances of being ripe and sweet, but when I plopped the first one in my mouth, I was met with an unpleasant taste. Sourness. And, unfortunately, the entire bunch was identical. Since grapes don’t ripen once removed from the vine, I threw them away. I’ve purchased a few watermelons and cantaloupes that also fooled me. Unlike grapes, however, they continue to ripen, so if I’m patient, I’ll eventually experience a good taste.

Jesus instructs us to be fruit inspectors, whether we get paid for it or not. Just as some fruit appears to be ripe but isn’t, some people seem to be Jesus’ disciples but are actually false teachers—wolves in sheep’s clothing.

Jesus’ admonition reminds us that we can deceive others. Through our actions, emotions, words, and attitudes, we portray our identity, but we can also disguise our identity by those same means. When we curtail them to fit a particular situation or display certain ones when around specific people, we define ourselves as someone particular—genuine or hypocritical.

God knows our hearts. We do, too. We may succeed in fooling others about our true identity, but in our hearts, we know whether we’re being true to our inner selves. So does God. That’s why he pricks our conscience when the two don’t match up. He doesn’t want us leading others astray, nor does he want us fooling ourselves. We must inspect others’ fruit, but also ours.

Cultivating our vines through spiritual disciplines so we’ll bear more fruit that’s ripe, sweet, and delicious is vital. When others inspect us, we should want them to find abundant good fruit, but we don’t want them to discover hypocrisy.

Make sure the spiritual fruit you’re producing is sweet to others’ taste.

Father, may the fruit I produce show others that I am your child. 

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing. No one escapes life's hurts, but we can move beyond them to hope and healing. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

Forgiveness—God’s Business - Martin Wiles

I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin. But I do not excuse the guilty. Exodus 34:7 NLT

Forgiveness is never easy, but when it involves the death of an unborn child, it becomes incredibly challenging.

A pastor friend in India shared a disturbing story with me. Hindu fanatics carrying pistols, rods, and knives entered a church, attacked the pastor, his seven-month pregnant wife, and their daughter, and then tried to set the wife on fire. Fortunately, the family escaped. Less than a month later, my friend emailed to tell me the wife’s unborn child had died in her womb—a result of injuries received during the attack. Now she has a forgiveness decision to make.

Throughout the Bible, God portrays himself as a forgiving God. While he has standards and will punish those who stubbornly break those standards, he is more than willing to forgive those who recognize their sins and run to him for help.

God never holds our past against us. I have a past, you have a past, all God’s creations have a past. We can’t erase it; we can only deal with it. I’ve known a few people who wouldn’t come to God for forgiveness because they thought their past was too sordid for him to forgive. Forgiveness is God’s business, and no sin in our past is greater than his ability and desire to forgive it. He willingly and joyfully forgives anything we ask him to.

Understanding why God can forgive makes it easier to request his forgiveness. If his forgiveness is based on our ability to compensate for the wrongs we’ve committed, we’ll never receive it. But God’s forgiveness is based on Jesus’ work on the cross, not our righteousness. Since Christ was perfect—and since his work on the cross was too--God can forgive any and all sin without violating his holy nature. The only condition is that we ask and believe.

God’s forgiveness has no limit—other than the limit we place on it by not asking. When Jesus told Peter, the disciple, that he should forgive someone seventy times seven times if they asked, Jesus offered what represented a limitless number. God operates the same way.

Believe God can forgive any sin you’ve committed. Then get on with serving Him.

Father, I thank you for your willingness to forgive when I come to you in repentance. 

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing. No one escapes life's hurts, but we can move beyond them to hope and healing. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.