Friday, November 22, 2019

Is God’s Promise to Israel also to You?


Meditate on these words today and accept the change that God can make in your life.
And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. Ezekiel 36:26

What a great promise! A new heart—tender, responsive. A new heart would be like Christ’s heart. Loving, compassionate, considerate. The new spirit will surely be an infilling of the Holy Spirit.
Read this text in context. God is talking about when He will bring His people back into the land of Israel. That is what has been happening for the last seventy years.
Therefore, give the people of Israel this message from the Sovereign LORD: I am bringing you back, but not because you deserve it. I am doing it to protect my holy name, on which you brought shame while you were scattered among the nations. I will show how holy my great name is--the name on which you brought shame among the nations. And when I reveal my holiness through you before their very eyes, says the Sovereign LORD, then the nations will know that I am the LORD. For I will gather you up from all the nations and bring you home again to your land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. Ezekiel 36:22-25.

This is exciting. We may all want “a new heart” and that promise is given to us as we ask, like David did…Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. Psalm 51:10. This promise in Ezekiel is for the Israelites who have been scattered around the world. Now they are coming back to their homeland…back to the Promised Land of Israel…back to God. May He bless them as they turn their hearts towards Him. Will you turn your heart totally to God and return to Him along with the Jews?

A clean heart will renew our relationship with the Lord…and with others around us. What a great “gift” at the beginning of this Christmas season. Good relationships.

Prayer ~ Lord God, Bless Your people, Israel. We rejoice in their homecoming and the fulfilling of Your prophesy. They are Your people.

Daily Bible Reading: James

Friday’s Feast at the King’s Table

Runzas                 In honor of Barry on his birthday!                                                 
For the dough:
1 1/4-ounce packet active dry yeast
3 tablespoons sugar, plus a pinch
4 large eggs
3¾ cups bread flour, plus extra for kneading and rolling
12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) salted butter, softened, plus more for the bowl
2 teaspoons fine sea salt

For the filling:
1 pound 85 to 90 percent lean ground beef
Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large sweet onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme (or 1½ teaspoons dried)
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary (or 1½ teaspoons dried)
8 ounces baby spinach or 2 cups finely chopped cabbage

Make the dough: Combine 3/4 cup warm water (approximately 110 degrees F), the yeast and a pinch of sugar in a large mixing bowl and let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes. Add 3 eggs, butter, 3 tablespoons sugar, and the salt whisk to combine. Add half of the bread flour and beat with a wooden spoon for about 3 minutes. Add the remaining the remaining flour and mix well. The dough will be a little sticky. Let rest 15 minutes. Knead the dough to develop the gluten until it feels tight and smooth, about 5 minutes. Transfer the dough to a lightly buttered bowl, cover and let it rise for 1 hour at room temperature. Then chill in the refrigerator, 1 to 2 hours or overnight. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide it into 8 or 16 even portions, depending on the size of runzas you want to make. Roll each one into a ball and leave on the counter, covered loosely, to warm up, about 30 minutes.

Make the filling: Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the beef, season with ¾ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper and cook, breaking up the beef, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer it to a bowl. Heat the olive oil in the skilled and cook the onion over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until light golden brown, about 15 minutes. Add the garlic, thyme and rosemary and cook 3 minutes. Add the mixture to the bowl containing the beef. Without cleaning the skillet, add another 1 tablespoon olive oil. Saute the spinach or cabbage over medium high heat until wilted and the excess liquid has evaporated, about 1 minute. (You may just cook the spinach or cabbage in the microwave briefly.) Chop or snip the spinach with scissors, then add it to the beef mixture and set aside to cool. (The filling can be done a day ahead of time. Refrigerate until ready to use.)

Roll out the dough: Flatten a dough ball on a heavily floured surface and roll out into a 3-by-5-inch rectangle, or smaller if using 16 portions of dough. Fill the runzas: Spoon ½ cup (1/4 cup for smaller runzas) of the beef filling into the center of the dough rectangle and wrap the flaps over it, pinching to close. Flip the bundle over in your hands, gently forming the runza into a fat football shape. Set the runza seam-side down on a parchment lined baking sheet (or you can oil the sheet). Repeat with the remaining filling and dough balls. Let the runzas rise about an inch, uncovered, about 45 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Whisk the remaining egg and 2 tablespoons water to make an egg wash and brush it thinly over the tops of the runzas. Bake until golden brown, 25 minutes. Serve hot.

For a variation on the filling try minced steak, chopped mushrooms and Swiss, cheddar or Monterey jack cheeses.  

Happy Birthday, Barry!
© 2019 Text and photos by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.
Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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