{"id":22650,"date":"2018-03-20T03:30:04","date_gmt":"2018-03-20T10:30:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/?p=22650"},"modified":"2018-03-16T14:27:07","modified_gmt":"2018-03-16T21:27:07","slug":"march-20-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/2018\/03\/20\/march-20-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"March 20, 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201c\u2019For I know the plans I have for you,\u2019 declares the Lord, \u2018plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.\u2019\u201d <\/em>Jeremiah 29:11 NIV<\/p>\n

Sticking to the Recipe<\/strong><\/h2>\n

One of my favorite things in life is to enjoy a yummy dessert. Homemade or store bought, I will eat it and most often enjoy it. However, although I love to cook, baking is not my favorite activity. In my experience with baking, you need to be precise. The product doesn\u2019t turn out very well if I estimate the amount of ingredients\u2014I must measure accurately. Sometimes the temperature of the ingredients even affects the outcome. Most times when I take on a baking project, it does not end well. I either overcook, undercook, or get the ingredients wrong. Although there are perfectly wonderful recipes, I try to rush the process and modify the recipe so that I can get to the good part…the eating! In my opinion, baking takes too much time and effort. I guess I\u2019d rather not invest the time in doing it right when there are delicious items for sale at the nearest grocery store.<\/p>\n

I see a similarity here with living the Christian life. We have this amazing \u201crecipe book\u201d for life\u2014the Bible\u2014that has been given to us by our loving Father. He inspires and instructs us with all the ingredients and instructions to follow in order to end up with a beautiful outcome that honors God and allows us to peacefully enjoy our days until it is time to be with Him. But what do we do? We change the recipe! We switch up the directions that He has provided us and make up our own rules. Maybe sometimes we just alter the recipe a little bit, or we try to rush things, thinking it won\u2019t affect the outcome that much, but at the end of the day, it tastes bad! We didn\u2019t stick to the recipe. We rushed things instead of waiting on the Lord\u2019s timing, and we must ask Him for forgiveness once again for not following His plans for us.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s not rush the recipe God has for our lives. Let\u2019s invest the time gathering all the correct ingredients for success with the direction He provides in His Word. The end result will be a sweet aroma (and hopefully a sweet taste!) to our Lord.<\/p>\n

\u201cFather God, please forgive us when we stray from the recipe and try to do things our own way. Your way is always best and we want to honor You by sticking to the plans You have for us. We ask you to help us, in Jesus\u2019 Name. Amen.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

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