Gordon Ramsay, eat your heart out

Good morning. Today’s scripture comes from Exodus 4:11-12 (New Living Translation): Then the Lord asked Moses, “Who makes a person’s mouth? Who decides whether people speak or do not speak, hear or do not hear, see or do not see? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go! I will be with you as you speak, and I will instruct you in what to say.”

My wife and I spent the weekend with the singles group from our church at Pebble Beach in a palatial house (a gift) for a leadership retreat. My role was to combine my ministry resources with my culinary acumen and blend it into an interactive team-building exercise in the kitchen. Thirteen single adults were given cash to spend and a 4 ½-hour time limit to plan, shop and work together in the kitchen to prepare a meal. The emphasis for the day was to build camaraderie amongst the leaders.

Before sending them off, I had prepared to show them an episode from “Hell’s Kitchen,” in which the star of the show, Gordon Ramsay, lays into one of the young chefs on the show for making a blunder, but just as I was ready to hit play … my computer battery died. I gave them the Cliff Notes version, telling them there would be no yelling or screaming on my part when one of my would-be chefs blew it on a kitchen task. Maybe we’ll call my version “Heaven’s Kitchen,” in which only friendly tones and encouragement are offered by this kitchen coach.

For the next 20 minutes, I witnessed utter chaos. My role for the day was not to cook the meal, but to simply instruct here and there and give my advice on cooking techniques. I nudged one of the leaders I knew well. “You guys need to pray, or this is going to be a disaster,” I suggested. Sure enough, after the group prayed for direction, peace and calm reigned. Cooperative planning and good decision-making suddenly replaced the bedlam. For the next four hours, the exercise went fairly smoothly, much to the delight of all.

After the meal was prepared, everyone sat down to a wonderful meal on beautifully decorated tables. This was their celebration, and together, we gave thanks for what we had produced. Friendly conversation and laughter filled both tables, as participants shared their learning experiences – good and bad. After we finished eating, we waddled over to the living room to debrief. I reminded the group about the importance of prayer when serving the king. When we pray, we are asking the Holy Spirit to bless our efforts and to guide us to the work that God needs done. He gives us special powers to accomplish things we never dreamed we could do. Prayer removes fear and limitations and empowers us to be creative with humility and great strength.

(FYI, the team-building exercise I designed is called Feast With the King for the church, and Kitchen Coach for the corporate world. I’ll share more about my ideas later. God bless)

How does this apply to my life?

Today’s prayer: Lord, thank you for the empowerment you give us when we turn to you for strength and guidance. Truly, I can do all things through Christ Jesus, who strengthens me. Amen

This week’s reading plan can be found at

Right hearts, right actions

Good morning. Today’s scripture comes from Genesis 42:28 (New Living Translation):

“Look!” he exclaimed to his brothers. “My money has been returned; it’s here in my sack!” Then their hearts sank. Trembling, they said to each other, “What has God done to us?”

Two weeks ago, I started again on a trek to read through the Bible again in a year. (There is a link at the end of this devotional.) When I came to the story of Jacob, his wives, his, concubines and his 12 sons, I was delighted, because Joseph is one of my favorite Old Testament characters. His life story is one of mystery and intrigue. It could be a modern-day drama on the big screen, with murder plots, deceit, sex, thievery and revenge – all the good stuff. Joseph has an amazing ability to keep his trust in God at every travail that he encounters.

At this point in the story, Joseph is second in command of all Egypt, and his brothers have come from Canaan to buy grain to keep from starving during a severe famine. Joseph recognizes his brothers right away and begins to plot revenge, though what he really wants from them is a confession of their dirty deeds some 15 years prior. The storyline goes back and forth, and Joseph even makes his brothers out to be thieves and prepares prison cells for them. Spine-tingling stuff, all of it.

This passage in Genesis is rich with behind-their-thinking scenes. “What has God done to us?” the brothers ask each other. It seems God is, indeed, weighing heavily on the brothers’ minds. I do think God weighs on our minds to fix what we’ve broken. Relationships are important to God, and when our lies hurt someone, God expects, more than anything, for us to confess our sins and seek forgiveness. Lastly, he expects us to change our ways. True reconciliation can’t happen without those three things.

Now, Joseph didn’t become the No. 2 honcho in all of Egypt for nothing. Pharaoh saw that he was a wise man who knew God intimately. That was a combination that Pharaoh admired greatly in Joseph. He plays a cat-and-mouse game with his brothers for one reason: He genuinely wants to know his brothers are repentant for their deeds long ago. He wants to see that their hearts have changed. That’s what God wants from us, too. He keeps putting things in our lives to remind us that we have some confessing and reconciling to do. Jesus said if we’re at the altar ready to drop money in the offering basket, but have a broken relationship that needs fixing, to pull our cash back and go repair the friendship first. God wants right hearts first, then right actions. That’s what Joseph wanted from his brothers, and it’s what God wants from us.

How does this apply to my life?

Today’s prayer: Lord, help me to hear your voice when you call on me to reconcile a relationship. Help me to know what I must do to fix what is broken. Amen

This week’s reading plan can be found at http:/www.oneyearbibleonline.com/january.asp?version=51

Smile when you see a rainbow

Good morning. Today’s scripture comes from Genesis 9:12-13 (New Living Translation): Then God said, “I am giving you a sign of my covenant with you and with all living creatures, for all generations to come. I have placed my rainbow in the clouds. It is the sign of my covenant with you and with all the earth.

My wife and I enjoy being outdoors and seeing God’s creation in all its splendor. Whenever she sees a rainbow, it makes her smile, because she knows God created it for her to appreciate. She always points out rainbows to me. But God is also reminding us of his covenant with us and how much he loves us. That rainbow is God’s promise that He will always be there for us. The cloud formations just kind of go with rainbows.

Like the beautiful, multi-colored rainbow, the world is filled with reminders of God’s love for us. The more we get out, the more we see God’s hand in his creation. That covenant can be seen in all living creatures. When I catch trout in a mountain stream, I do one of two things: I either release it or take it home and prepare it up for dinner. My policy is that if I’m not going to eat it within a day, I release it back into the wild. The joy was in catching it. I absolutely love eating fresh, rainbow trout, and sometimes they’re meant to fill my tummy. God either provided the sheer enjoyment of catching it or giving me the delight of cooking and eating it. Both are fun.

Fishing is one of the things I love doing outdoors. I have all the gear, and sometimes I take it with me on vacations. I’ve been known to pack up my gear and drive two hours to a remote Sierra stream and just commune with nature for a morning. I like the quiet time alone. That mountain stream or lake is my sanctuary. At times I’m totally focused on catching a fish, whereas at other times I look up and see a beautiful mountain setting that makes my jaw drop in awe. My reactions are usually something like, “Wow, Lord, that was really beautiful. Thanks.” Then I stare for a minute. (My wife, on the other hand, wants to capture the moment with her camera!)

The Bible is filled with reminders of God’s desire to relate to us. God makes the same covenant in Genesis with Abram, for the Hebrews. He makes a covenant with David and his descendants. Jesus presented a new covenant, with all people, with his death on the cross. God’s covenant with us is for eternity. We can count on his promises.

So, the next time you see a rainbow, smile, because it’s God reminding you he wants to hang out.

How does this apply to my life?

Today’s prayer: Lord, thank you for rainbows, clouds, and mountain streams. Thank you for your simple reminders of your love for us. Amen

God has already provided

Today’s scripture comes from Genesis 1:29: (NIV): Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.”

Some 6,000 years ago when God created the earth (I’m a young-earth creationist) on Day 1, he knew that people and beasts would be a part of his creation later in the week. He knew that they would need food to nourish them, so he first created plants and fruit for food. God shows his omnipotence early in the Bible to ease our minds of how he would provide for us.

Throughout the Biblical story, God provides for his people. Adam and Eve lived in not just a beautiful garden, but a garden plentiful in fruits and vegetables. (And wasn’t it wonderful that the food was so tasty and not bland! Except for eggplant. What’s up with that, Lord?) When Noah was loading up for his roughly year’s journey on his big boat, God reminded him to bring along seven of certain kinds of animals for sacrifice and eating, as well as seven kinds of birds. Noah had to bring lunch for every animal for a year. Psalms 104:16 says “The trees of the Lord are well cared for …” When John the Baptist was living in the desert, he survived on locusts and wild honey. God has provided for his people from Day 1.

Sometimes, God’s provision will be plentiful, as it was for Adam and Eve in the beginning with the Garden of Eden, and at other times, as with John, the sustenance may not have been exactly what we had in mind, but we survived. During lean times, people learn to get by on less. Perhaps that is the message God wants us to see during such ordeals. Fasting reminds us we can do without food awhile longer than we thought we could. During lent, people sacrifice something that is important to them, such as coffee or chocolate. OK, we won’t go that far.

The point is that when we go through tough times, God knows what will be coming and he has provided for us in advance. We can be thankful for God’s provision before the day even begins because God promised to take care of our needs. It’s that trust part we all struggle with. When the hunger pains cry out from our stomach, we begin to wonder where God is and we start to question God. Why is this happening? What God wants us to do during difficult times is, instead, to ask “Lord, what is it you want me to do? What am I supposed to learn?” Such responses help us to mature and grow in our trust for God’s provisions. He will provide for us what we need to accomplish his purpose for this day.

How does this apply to my life?

Today’s prayer: Lord, before the day even begins, you have already planned out my day and have provided for me. Thank you. Amen.