Prayer – Lord Jesus, I hear Your word and plea for
obedience. I want Your blessing…so I will listen and obey. I hear…the time is
near.
Meditate. Listen to
God’s words and obey.
Jesus stressed the importance of obedience…and that
obedience shows love. Love given and love received. Additionally, to love Jesus
is to love His Father…our Heavenly Father.
If you love me, obey
my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate,
who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The
world cannot receive him, because it isn't looking for him and doesn't
recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will
be in you. No, I will not abandon you as orphans--I will come to you. Soon the
world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Since I live, you also will
live. When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and
you are in me, and I am in you. Those who accept my commandments and obey them
are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them.
And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them." Judas (not Judas
Iscariot, but the other disciple with that name) said to him, "Lord, why
are you going to reveal yourself only to us and not to the world at
large?" Jesus replied, "All who love me will do what I say. My Father
will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them. Anyone
who doesn't love me will not obey me. And remember, my words are not my own.
What I am telling you is from the Father who sent me. John 14:15-24
Disloyalty is disobedience. How often do we try…and try…to
obey and just can’t? Then again have you ever willfully disobeyed one of God’s
commandments? It is human nature…or maybe it could be called fallen nature,
since after Adam and Eve disobeyed, they hid from God and had to be covered
with animal skins to cover their sin. In His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7)
Jesus talked about how thinking the evil was the same as doing the sinful act.
Even in the Old Testament we see shame from sin.
Lord, you are in the
right; but as you see, our faces are covered with shame. This is true of all of
us, including the people of Judah and Jerusalem and all Israel, scattered near
and far, wherever you have driven us because of our disloyalty to you. O LORD,
we and our kings, princes, and ancestors are covered with shame because we have
sinned against you. But the Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though
we have rebelled against him. We have not obeyed the LORD our God, for we have
not followed the instructions he gave us through his servants the prophets. Daniel
9:7-10
Are you looking for God’s blessing? Are you willing to
listen and obey?
Verse of Salvation ~ While Jesus was here on earth, he
offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could
rescue him from death. And God heard his prayers because of his deep reverence
for God. Even though Jesus was God's Son, he learned obedience from the things
he suffered. In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he
became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him. Hebrews
5:7-9
Friday’s Feast at the King’s Table
I’m on a gluten free-granola kick right now. It is a very
satisfying snack or dessert—topped with kefir or yogurt. You can add just about
anything you like in the way of dried fruits or nuts.
Hearty Granola
·
4
cups old-fashioned rolled oats (use certified gluten-free oats for
gluten-free granola)
·
1 ½
cup raw nuts and/or seeds (I used 1 cup chopped pecans/walnuts/almonds
and ½ cup pepitas)
·
1
teaspoon fine-grain sea salt (if you’re using standard table salt, scale
back to ¾ teaspoon)
·
½
teaspoon ground cinnamon
·
½
cup melted coconut oil or olive oil
·
½
cup maple syrup or honey
·
1
teaspoon vanilla extract
·
⅔ cup dried
fruit, chopped if large (I used dried cranberries, raisins, and mangos)
·
Totally
optional additional mix-ins: ½ cup chocolate chips or ¾ cup coconut flakes
1.
Preheat
oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a large, rimmed baking sheet with
parchment paper. (Alternatively, if you've lots of time, pre-heat to 250 degrees to bake for 1 hour 15 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes.)
2.
In a
large mixing bowl, combine the oats, nuts and/or seeds, salt and cinnamon. Stir
to blend.
3.
Pour
in the oil, maple syrup and/or honey and vanilla. Mix well, until every oat and
nut is lightly coated. Pour the granola onto your prepared pan and use a large
spoon to spread it in an even layer.
4.
Bake at 350 degrees until lightly golden, about 20 to 25 minutes, stirring halfway (for
extra-clumpy granola, press the stirred granola down with your spatula to
create a more even layer). The granola will further crisp up as it cools.
5.
Let
the granola cool completely, undisturbed (at least 45 minutes). Top with the
dried fruit (and optional chocolate chips, if using). Break the granola into
pieces with your hands if you want to retain big chunks, or stir it around with
a spoon if you don’t want extra-clumpy granola.
6.
Store
the granola in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 to 2 weeks, or
in a sealed freezer bag in the freezer for up to 3 months. The dried fruit can
freeze solid, so let it warm to room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes before
serving.
© 2023 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All
rights reserved.
All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless
otherwise noted.
New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale
House Foundation.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream,
Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm.
Books by Mickey M.
Hunacek
Available as e-books or paperbacks at Amazon.com
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