A few days before our wedding, Denalyn and I enjoyed and endured a sailing voyage. Milt, a Miami church friend, had invited Denalyn, her mom, and me to join him and a few others on a leisurely cruise along the Florida coast.
Initially it was just that. Leisure. We stretched out on cushions, hung feet over the side, caught some zzz's and rays. Nice.
But then came the storm. The sky darkened, the rain started, and the flat ocean humped like a dragon's neck. Sudden waves of water tilted the vessel up until we saw nothing but sky and then downward until we saw nothing but blue. I learned this about sailing: there is nothing swell about a swell. Tanning stopped. Napping ceased. Eyes turned first to the thunderclouds, then to the captain. We looked to Milt.
He was deliberate and decisive. He told some people where to sit, others what to do, and all of us to hang on. And we did what he said. Why? We knew he knew best. No one else knew the difference between starboard and stern. Only Milt did. We trusted him. We knew he knew.
And we knew we didn't. Prior to the winds, we might have boasted about Boy Scout merit badges in sailing or bass-boat excursions. But once the storm hit, we shut up. (Except for Denalyn, who threw up.) We had no choice but to trust Milt. He knew what we didn't--and he cared. The vessel was captained, not by a hireling or a stranger, but by a pal. Our safety mattered to him. So we trusted him.
Oh, that the choice were equally easy in life. Need I remind you about your westerly winds? With the speed of lightning and the force of a thunderclap, williwaws anger tranquil waters. Victims of sudden storms populate unemployment lines and ICU wards. You know the winds. You've felt the waves. Good-bye, smooth sailing. Hello, rough waters.
Such typhoons test our trust in the Captain. Does God know what he is doing? Can he get us out? Why did he allow the storm?
Can you say about God what I said about Milt?
I know God knows what's best.
I know I don't.
I know he cares.
Such words come easily when the water is calm. But when you're looking at a wrecked car or a suspicious-looking mole, when war breaks out or thieves break in, do you trust him?
To embrace God's sovereignty is to drink from the well of his lordship and make a sailboat-in-the-storm decision. Not in regard to Milt and the sea, but in regard to God and life. You look toward the Captain and resolve: he knows what's best. by Max Lucado
FRIENDS:
Father, You have asked us in Your Word to "be strong and of good courage," and sometimes we find this very hard. Things in life seem more that we can bear. Wrap Your arms around us and hold us close for we need the courage that only Your Spirit can Give. How comforting it is to know that You will always go before us and that we will never be left or forsaken. In Jesus name, Amen.
~Ezra~
Martin Luther you've heard of. Philipp Melanchthon, probably not. But Luther knew Melanchthon. And Luther was a better man as a result.
Melanchthon was the intellectual of the Reformation. He authored the Augsburg Confession. He was the first to put into writing an evangelical theology.
He was only eleven when his father died, only twelve when his grandfather presented him with a Bible and a Greek grammar. The next fifty years the three were inseparable. Melanchthon's one love was to teach the Word of God.
He didn't just read the Bible, he devoured it. By the age of seventeen he was a faculuty member at the University of Wittenberg. Though he was small of frame and frail of health, he was keen of mind.
And even more important, he was keen of purpose.
He lived to study and teach the Bible. He commanded the respect of Martin Luther. "I was born to fight," he said, "but Master Philipp, he comes along sowing with joy."
The prophet Ezra was the Philipp Melanchthon of his day.
Ezra was the second of three key leaders to leave Babylon for the reconstruction of Jerusalem. Zerubbabel was first. Then Ezra and then Nehemiah. Zerubbabel reconstructed the Temple, Nehemiah rebuilt the walls, and Ezra restored the worship.
Any person who has tackled the task of presenting the Bible to people will find a friend in Ezra. He was a student. He was an interpreter. In fact, the clearest Old Testament reference to exposition is attributed to Ezra. He was the head of the Levites who "read from the Book of the Teaching of God and explained what it meant so the people understood what was being read" (Nehemiah 8:8).
Don't you appreciate that last phrase, "and explained what it meant so the people understood...."? Don't you appreciate the person who can take the Word and reveal it for your life?"
Perhaps you can do that. If so, stay faithful. There is no higher task.
Perhaps you have a teacher like that. If so, be grateful. There is no greater friend.
FOOD:
Zucchini Lasagna
Ingredients:
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp olive oil
4 cups chopped zucchini
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
16 oz ricotta cheese
2 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
2 eggs whites
2 - 26 oz jars tomato or pasta sauce divided
1 – 16 oz package lasagna noodles (can use no boil ones)
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
Preparation
In a sauce pan sauté the garlic in oil. Add zucchini, basil, oregano. Add 2 cups of the tomato sauce. Simmer 5-10 minutes. Meanwhile combine ricotta cheese with parsley and egg whites. Set aside. To assemble lasagna, pour some of the tomato sauce onto the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Lay a flat layer of 4 lasagna noodles, then ½ of the zucchini mixture. Sprinkle with 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat a layer of 4 lasagna noodles, then top with the ricotta mixture. Add the third layer of noodles, the remaining zucchini mixture, and the remaining mozzarella cheese. Top with more tomato sauce. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until sauce bubbles.
FUN:
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