Learning

Should have known better.  Got up, late this morning after a rough night, feeling punky.  So I decided to take it easy and not make any hard decisions or try and get much done.  However, there was a large basket of tomatoes that needed working up – I told Carla I would do it tomorrow.

As the morning progressed to early afternoon I was feeling better, not great, but better.  Those tomatoes were calling and I figured I could at least do them.  So I started on them, hot water bath, cold water bath, peeling them tomatoes, cutting them a couple times and then into the food processor. 

I needed 13 cups of puréed tomatoes – I had more than enough to double the recipe, so I did.  I added two cups of lemon juice to the mix – and then realized – I only needed ONE cup.  I don’t know how many times I read the recipe, I knew better, yet measured too much.

Just before Carla left for work she went out and scoured the tomato patch to come up with another 20 lbs of tomatoes.  She got them, some not as ripe as we needed, but better than having pizza sauce that tasted of too much lemon.

Now I am waiting for the sauce to thicken, and sterilizing the jars so when it IS ready, I can get right to canning – I hope.  I was smart enough to carefully measure the rest of the ingredients and placing them in a separate dish so I didn’t add too much.

It is sure smelling good in the kitchen! 

2 Peter 3:18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.

Being a Christian is an ever changing process.  Hopefully that change is within us.  The older I get the more I realize that I can never begin to learn enough. 

I was thinking yesterday as I was praying for my grandchildren on their first day back to school that I am glad I don’t have to do that any longer.  The memorization, the ever changing classes during the day where you have to adjust your focus and keep alert in the classroom.  Then the homework to take home and study so you are ready for the next test in 4 or 5 or 6 different classes.

It is all I can do anymore, to focus on one thing at a time.  I used to pride myself on being able to keep several projects in the air at one time, now I am fortunate if I can keep one semi-moving.  Learning is an active verb, you can’t do it by osmosis, or at least I can’t, I have to be engaged in the process.

It would be nice to say there is nothing new for me to learn about God, I know it all now.  Then, hopefully, I would be living a life that was perfect.

We know that doesn’t happen, of course.  Just as our grandchildren get out of class what they put into it, so we receive from God what we search out.  His Word needs to be studied and meditated upon.  As we search His Word we find new things each time – usually because we either passed over it without realizing it, or we were not ready for the truth it offered the prior times we read a passage. 

Then, of course, there is the understanding of the Holy Spirit that we may need a specific word for the circumstances we are going through – or in preparation for something that is just around the corner.

I also use commentaries and devotionals to help me get things in perspective, better understanding the Word of God through the experiences of others.  But it all comes down to my studying of God’s Word, even when we have heard from others about their experiences or their ideas on a passage we need to confirm their message for ourselves.

James 2:19  Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

If we just listen to others and base our faith on their say so we are no better than the demons that know there is a God and know they will one day be accountable.  We must base our walk with God on His Word, testing other’s opinions to make sure they line up with God’s Word. 

We know that satan can twist God’s Word to make it appear to say something it was never intended to say – and it can sound believable if we do not place it in context with God’s Word. 

To be effective in our walk with God, we must spend time with Him in prayer AND in reading His Word.  The more we read the more, studying it and applying it to our lives, the more we realize how wonderful He is, and how miserable the world is – and how much they need our witness for God to come into their lives.

God has given us so many tools to help understand who He is and how we can serve Him.  He has given us the creation that shouts of His power and majesty, His Holy Spirit that can lead us and help us discern right from wrong, His Word to give us historical facts and promises of Who He is and what He wants to do for us, and a mind that can put it all together and make the decision to follow Him.

He wants us to grow in Him, to be able to spread His Gospel in confidence as a servant that knows God, loves Him and wants to share his faith in God with others.

So, while I may not have to catch the bus, or walk to school every day, I still must study and learn, it never stops.

Later, Art :-)