Good evening brethren and Happy Sabbath! Just a reminder that services in Hickory will be at 10:30 AM tomorrow followed by a chili social. Services in Charlotte will be at 2:30 PM followed by our annual men’s chili cookoff.

A good recipe

I spent a good part of this morning working on my chili for tomorrow’s contest. I tried something a little different last year and while it was okay, it really wasn’t what I wanted (apparently no one else wanted it either because I lost…).

This year, I’m going back to my tried and true recipe. It’s a proven winner, literally. Even if no one else likes it, I know I like it and I hope to have some leftovers to enjoy after the contest is over.

All the right ingredients

A recipe contains two things: ingredients and instructions. While instructions are important, if you don’t have the right ingredients, whatever you’re making won’t turn out right. You can substitute some things, sure, but it just won’t be the same.

For my chili, I like to use high quality ground beef and as many organic ingredients as I can. I have to confess that it’s not 100% organic, but I do feel there is a big difference in certain things, and the organic versions are worth the money. Which ones you ask? Wouldn’t you like to know…

The best result

From a faith perspective, we are given a recipe of sorts as well. We know we must develop the fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). You might think of these as the ingredients. In 2 Peter 1:5-7, we’re given what we might term instructions on what to do with them on the ladder of faith.  

You might come up with other scriptures for this analogy, but you get the point. When we use good, biblically based recipes, ingredients and instructions, the results will be fantastic and worthy of an awesome award indeed!