May 2022 week 1
Wednesday
A Pinch of This
Lesson Objective: To understand that we sometimes are missing a small but essential ingredient for success.
Scripture: Matthew 17: 19-20 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?
20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
When one reads recipes in a cookbook the recipe is usually straightforward with exact measurements for each ingredient to be used, However most times while the end product might be ok it is never as good as what your grandmother may have cooked or baked. No matter how hard you try you cannot get the great flavor that you may be seeking. You begin to wonder why and question if you are missing something. You wonder what it is. Then you remember that while you were in the kitchen or when you asked your grandmother for her recipe she simply said a pinch of this and a pinch of that. You will never know what a pinch of this or a pinch of that is until you do it yourself and you cannot really explain it to anyone else. It is the same in life. The little things in life can make a real difference in how we obtain success in reaching our goals. To really find out what a pinch is one has to sit in the kitchen and watch grandmother. The same in life we have to surround ourselves with Christian friends whom we can watch and learn. Look for the little things that will make a difference.
Thought for the day: Is there something small but essential that you may need to add to the spice of life.
Tuesday
Trust the process
Lesson Objective: To remind ourselves of the need to really trust and obey
Scripture: John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
In life we look at the processes necessary to be successful in reaching a certain goal. In this we find certain variables and other factors that do not and cannot be considered variables. Most would say that an example is that 99.9 if not 100% of success comes from hard work. Other factors may come into play but hard work cannot be substituted. In the example from yesterday of the bread, there are several variable factors that can cause the bread to taste different such as adding sugar or adding fruit or deciding rather to use milk or water depending on the type of bread that one is cooking but the one item that can never be substituted is flour. Without flour there is no bread. It is the same for the process or recipe for reaching heaven. There are many variables but the constant is Christ. As we go through the journey of life we must keep Christ the main thing or the process will not work. We must have complete trust in Christ and not take our eyes off of him for he is the light that allows us to see our way out of darkness into the marvelous light.
Thought for the day: Life presents us with many variables but what is the constant rock in our lives.
Monday
Trust the Process
Lesson Objective: To remind ourselves of the need to really trust and obey
Scripture: And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.
Bread is one of my favorite food. I enjoy eating bread with peanut butter and jelly as well as just eating plain bread. I even try banana and peanut butter sandwiches. I purchased a bread-making machine because I wanted to try and cook my own bread. Good idea but one problem. I have only once found a recipe that comes even close to having good results for me. A recipe is a process and for some reason or another, I have not been able to really follow the recipe and get a good loaf of bread. I have come to the realization that I just do not really know how to follow the recipe. I do not follow the process. Life is quite similar. God has given us a recipe (process) to follow and for some reason, we oftentimes do not follow the process as instructed either thru disobedience or not actually trusting the process and doing things as we prefer. There is nothing wrong with the bread recipe for it has resulted in excellent results for many but there is something that I am doing wrong. I have to stop and reread the recipe to find my mistake. Thank God I still have time to get it right.
Thought for the day: Remember God has given us the recipe in the Bible. It is up to us to follow it correctly.