SPEAK TO THE ROCK NUMBERS 20:2-13

Bobservations: April 29, 2012

I usually marvel when my wife is baking. What seems to come naturally to her is really the result of years of doing it. Her recipe cards are nearly worn out, with frayed edges and fading ink; especially the ones she has used over and over again. While the years have taken a toll on the cards, the resultant cookies, meat dishes, appetizers, and desserts remain steadily consistent. Each time the recipe is followed, it becomes more and more familiar to her mind, her fingers, and her nose. Even a simple omission of ingredients can ruin the dish, or make a cookie inedible. (Thankfully, in nearly 40 years that has only happened once or twice that I can remember.) Listening to ads on TV, or reading them in magazines would have us believe that new & improved is always better. I recall once when her cookie recipe called for one thing, and a new and improved substitution was made. The texture changed, and the taste was merely similar to her usual batches. While it was still good, one might argue that it was a different cookie. Following Gods Word can be a similar undertaking. The more we follow it, the more familiar it feels to us. Ultimately, society is fickle enough to tempt us to change Gods recipe. But afterwards, the new and improved version feels different, and we should therefore expect different results. The world does not like to feel guilty. It seeks to do one of two things: either alter Gods Word sufficiently so that guilt is side-stepped, or change it enough that guilt is avoided by a new and improved recipe for salvation. In one case we are desensitized to sin, and in the other, a new religion is established! Gods path to heaven is still faith-based. As it was with Moses and the Patriarchs, so it is today. Mans tendency is to follow other men. So God gave us His only begotten Son to follow His example. Recipe: I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me Jesus said. (John 14:6) Result: Taste and see that the Lord He is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in Him. (Ps. 34:8)