Humble Grace

…do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us? But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, "GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE." Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. James 4:4-7

This same scripture…God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble…is repeated in 1 Peter 5:5. In other places in the scripture it has similar connotations…Psalm 138:6 where God regards the lowly and in Proverbs 3:34 where grace is given to the afflicted. But God being opposed to the proud and giving grace to the humble is a much different issue. Proud people don’t have much room for God in their lives, so it isn’t any wonder that God is opposed to them, while humble people easily submit themselves to God and are accepting of others—so it makes sense that God showers them with His grace, His unmerited favor. Can we take a lesson for ourselves from those scriptures? Humble yourself before the Lord. It is dangerous not to be humble before the Lord. Remember the story of pharaoh and Moses—Let My People Go. But pharaoh wouldn’t humble himself before the Lord…and the Lord God asked him… How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me? Let My people go, that they may serve Me. Exodus 10:3. Do you have room for God in your life? Can you humble yourself before Him?  

Training Tip – Your child’s self esteem is linked to your verbal and non-verbal acceptance of them. Do you esteem your child highly? If so, that child will place a high value on himself/herself—even before they go to school. So how do you build their self-esteem?

·         Accept your children as they are. Are they athletic, mechanical, scholars, outgoing, or introvert? Whatever their characteristics no one is perfect or the same as someone else. Accept each child for what they are, not worrying about what they are not.

·         Don’t push their development or rush them into activities beyond their level of maturity. Children who are not forced to grow-up quickly have a better self-image.

·         Discipline the child in love—praising the good behavior. Somehow preventive discipline, like praise, works better than punishment. When there is misbehavior, let the child know that you are rejecting wrong behavior—not them. Find the discipline method that works for your child (time-out/spankings) and use that when necessary. Be consistent, reasonable and fair. Don’t show favoritism. God—in His infinite grace—doesn’t show favoritism (Romans 2:11). 

·         Encourage one another. Once again, find your children’s best character traits and skills and encourage them in those areas.  

Lord God, I humbly submit myself to you…my family, my goals and my dreams—may they all be yours. Your family, your goals and your dreams for us.

 

Friday’s Feast at the Lord’s Table

Come dine with us for an adventurous international meal at the Lord's Table. Sushi is a family favorite—at home and in restaurants. My daughter-in-law Melissa’s favorite is Spicy Shrimp Rolls. Some of you may not know that not all sushi is raw. This one uses cooked shrimp. 

Spicy Shrimp Sushi Roll

Ingredients
Sushi:

• 1/3 cup seasoned rice vinegar
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cup short-grained sushi rice
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 4 sheets toasted nori (dried seaweed)

Fillings:
1/2 regular cucumber, seeded and cut into matchsticks

• 1/2 firm-ripe Hass avocado, peeled, thinly sliced lengthwise, sprinkled with lemon juice
• 8 large cooked shrimp, peeled and cut in 1/2, lengthwise
• Fresh mango, sliced thin (may be used as garnish on top of roll instead of as filling
• Spicy sauce – mix the following:
• ¼ c mayo
• 1 Tbsp Sriracha hot chili sauce

Dipping Sauce: Soy Sauce and wasabi paste to taste

Equipment: Bamboo sushi mat 

Directions

For the rice:

Mix together vinegar, sugar, and salt. Set aside.

Rinse the rice with cool water; drain. Put the rice and water in a medium saucepan with a tight fitting lid. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to very low and simmer, tightly covered, until all the water is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Remove the rice from the heat (don't uncover), and set aside for 10 minutes.

 

Fluff the rice with a fork and transfer to a large bowl. Add the vinegar mixture and toss with a wooden spoon. Spread the rice out on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Let cool—fan if you prefer it to cool faster. Cover the rice with a damp towel.

To assemble sushi rolls:

Place the sushi mat with the slats running crosswise directly in front of you on a clean work space. Lay a sheet of nori shiny-side down. Lightly moisten fingers with water, and evenly press about 1/4 of the rice onto the nori, with 1 1/2-inches uncovered at the far edge. Line up the fillings about an inch from the closest near edge, evenly across the rice. Beginning with the near edge of the mat, tightly roll up the nori, rice, and fillings with the spicy sauce into a cylinder. Firmly tug on the rounded mat over the roll as you pull on the far edge of the mat to tighten the roll. Open the mat, dab unsealed edge of nori with a bit of water and roll the sushi forward to seal. Transfer the sushi to a plate and cover with damp paper towels. Repeat with remaining rice and fillings. Cut each sushi roll, crosswise, into 8 pieces with a sharp wet knife. Arrange each roll on a platter. Serve with a small bowl of soy sauce and wasabi paste for dipping. [Adapted from a Television Food Network recipe.]

All scripture quoted from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) unless otherwise noted.

© 2013 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.