Go Ahead and Try

Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. Romans 6:12-13

 

In a Star Wars movie Yoda says…”Do or Don’t Do. There is no try.” Such good advice. No middle of the road. Sometimes for God we just have to try. To give it our best. The Holy Spirit is all about encouraging us to be holy—righteous—to not sin. Present your bodies as a living sacrifice—holy. Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. Romans 12:1. No one, except Jesus, is sinless. We can try—but we are only human and eventually we fail—sometimes miserably. Go ahead and try. God may reward your efforts. David noted that God tried people’s hearts and wants them to be pure—upright. Since I know, O my God, that You try the heart and delight in uprightness, I, in the integrity of my heart, have willingly offered all these things; so now with joy I have seen Your people, who are present here, make their offerings willingly to You. 1 Chronicles 29:17. He went on to pray that his son, Solomon, would have a perfect heart and build the Lord’s Temple. See 1 Chronicles 29. God gave Solomon the wisdom for which he prayed—and Solomon did build the Lord’s Temple, but he wasn’t perfect. Continue reading in 2 Chronicles. As a rich old man he lived to please himself, not God. Are you living to please God? Do or don’t do. The choice is yours.

 

Prayer ~ Holy Spirit, please give me the grace to live righteously, in a manner that honors God. May I be rewarded with joy and peace as I dedicate my life—moment by moment—to You.

 

Friday’s Feast at the Lord’s Table

Fresh is always best. I’m not much of a farmer…or gardener—although I do give some effort to growing a few things. At one time I thought I wanted to live on a farm—forever.  Not so much now. This spring I planted some Yukon Gold potatoes that had sprouted in my garage. With the early heat of the summer the new potatoes were ready for harvest last week and they were surprisingly great. I made my favorite potato salad with them for a family gathering. Yum!

 

Fresh Potatoes

My Favorite Dilly Potato Salad

8  fresh medium potatoes, boiled, chilled and chopped

6 hard-boiled eggs, chilled, chop 5 in small pieces;
   reserve 1, sliced for garnish

1¼ cup, or more, mayonnaise with olive oil

4 small dill pickles, chopped finely

½ cup pickle juice

1 rib of celery, chopped finely

1½ Tbsp fresh dill, chopped or 1 Tbsp dried dill

1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped or ½ tsp dried thyme

Freshly ground salt and pepper

¼ tsp dried mustard

¼ tsp celery seed

Paprika, sprinkle for garnish

 

Place chopped (in bite-sized pieces) potatoes, eggs, pickles and celery into a large bowl. Combine the  mayo, thyme, celery seed, mustard, and dill. Mix in salt and pepper to taste. Add enough of the pickle juice to make the dressing a smooth, but not runny, consistency and enough to coat all the potatoes evenly. Sprinkle the salad with paprika and top with sliced hard-boiled egg. Chill for several hours or overnight.  

 

© 2015 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.

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

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