Turning Tasteless Water into Timeless Wine of Gladness

 

 

At 9:00 a.m. (CST) every Shabbat (Saturday, in Greek and American vernacular) Bruce and I watch the internet television show "Dinosauers and Creation" - on God's Learning Channel - with Dr. John Pendleton, a chemist. At the end of his show -- in which he refutes Evolution using Biblical examples in Creation -- he does a "magic" trick. This morning's "trick" utilized three water glasses. Picture three water glasses on a kitchen counter; the one in the middle is empty, the two on each end are full of clear water. When Dr. Pendleton poured the glass of water on the right  into the middle empty glass, the poured water turned rosy red!(which reminds me of the punchline to an old joke.."well, how do it know," but I digress.)  

 

 

Dr. Pendleton explained that this "magic" was a chemical solution he placed into the empty water glass which caused the clear water to turn rosy red. But he didn't stop there! He poured the clear water from the glass on the left into the rosy red water, and the water became clear again. Huh? It's a chemical reaction.

Suddenly, the Holy Spirit imparted to me that this is what happens when we ask Jesus, Yeshua, into our hearts and lives. Omigosh, can you hear me shout??? WOW!!! Here is His example from The Book of John 2 come to life (if you'll pardon the pun.)! Yeshua takes the old, tasteless, dull, lifeless water of our lives (in the spiritual sense) and pours Himself into our 'empty' vessels.  He changes our spiritually lifeless life into a life filled with the wine of gladness! We can then serve others with this wine of gladness!!! It's a spiritually 'chemical reaction.'

 

In 1987, when I received Jesus into my life, I attended one of Christian singer/songwriter, Michael Card's, classes at The Koinonia Bookstore and Fellowship Hall in Nashville. Michael's class was "Christ and the Creative Process." As a brand new Christian, I was introduced to a plethora of new (to me) authors: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and his book The Cost of Discipleship (hence, Eric Metaxas' New York Times Best-Seller, Bonhoeffer) Dorothy Sayres (The Mind of the Maker) C.S. Lewis (Mere Christianity.....) and others. 

 

Jesus turned the lifeless water of my life into this wine of gladness. And my cup runneth over to this day!

 

Below is a link to Michael Card's song The Wedding. Check it out! You'll be glad you did.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrbeiseqjrU

 

Passover April 12, 2014

Friends, Don't ask me why we didn't include the word "presents" under Messiah Songs Ministries. We looked at it so many times we didn't 'see' it. But I digress...

     Bruce and I were invited to conduct a Passover Seder at First Baptist Church Donelson, April 12, 2014. It was a privilege to show -- through the Passover Seder -- the order through which the Holy Spirit reveals Jesus,Yeshua (His Hebrew name) --  and how He brought us (ALL of us - John 3:16;Galatians 3:13) out of bondage and slavery to a cruel pharoah in Egypt (symbolizing this sin-filled world into which we're born because of the sin (nature) of Adam and Eve, our first parents. Selah. We had close to one-hundred people in attendance. It was good to see old friends and make new friends. It was a blessing to share our Passover music!

Please scroll back through my previous interesting, informative blog entries and read about the wonderful way God, the Creator of the universe, shows us Jesus the living Torah. (Zephaniah 3:17.) I share a delicous assortment of Passover foods and recipes for foodies. Praying, Shabbat Shalom (Sabbath Peace) be unto you.

The Feast of Trumpets (blowing of the shofar)

The Feasts of Trumpets

 

 

 

 

Today, begins the celebration of The Feast of Trumpets ( or, shofar, the ram's horn.) The Feast of Trumpets is the first Fall feast on God's biblical calendar. We enter this season following "The Long Summer" as indicated on God's time clock following the Spring feasts which Jesus ( Yeshua, His Hebrew name) has already fulfilled. Scroll down on my blog for more information.

 

  Traditionally celebrated as the Jewish New Year as Rosh HaShanah ("head of the year," in Hebrew) The Feast of Trumpets is essentially a call (the blowing of the ram's horn) to the people of God to gather together as an army of Almighty God!

  There are ten days between The Feast of Trumpets and Yom Kippur known as The Days of Awe. These are days of repentance before God, and a  time of reconcilliation. It's a time when we, as believers in Yeshua, prepare our hearts to enter into our priestly ministry; repenting of anything that might stand in the way of our relationaship with Holy God so we might stand in the gap, interceeding for the nation of Israel and the Jewish people (and all people) who do not yet know Yeshua as their final atonement.

 

   In the Jewish tradition, foods such as apples and honey, even honey cake dried fruit and main dishes sweetened with honey are served during this Feast. These foods symbolize the hope that the coming year will be sweet!

 

  We continue to pray for peace of Jerusalem, knowing there will be true peace only when The Prince of Peace, Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus, the Messiah) comes to Jerusalem.

 

   Until that day, enjoy my recipe for:

 

Honey Cake
3 eggs

1 1/3  cup honey

1 1/3 cup sugar

1 cup strong coffee

2 tsp. baking powder

3 Tbsp. butter

1 tsp. baking soda

4 cups flour

1 tsp. cinnamon

 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan. Beat eggs and honey together. Add sugar and mix thoroughly. Mix coffee with with baking powder, and then add with butter to the egg/sugar mixture. Add baking soda, flour, cinnamon and beat together well. Bake in greased 9x13 pan for 55 minutes.

 

B'tayavon!

( Hebrew for "good appetite!") 



 

 

The Feast of Weeks ( Shavuot, or Pentecost) Leviticus 23:16 with Recipe

The Feast of Weeks

(Leviticus 23:16)

 

WOW! Talk about a Feast! No, I mean, literally "Go... and TALK ABOUT A FEAST!" If you don't know about which biblical Feast to talk, read on and discover how God shows us Jesus, or Yeshua, through The Feast of Weeks, or Shavuot (Shahv-ooh - oat meaning "weeks" in Hebrew.) Then go out and talk about it as we're commanded to do in Mathew 28:19.

 

Why is this feast called The Feast of "Weeks?" Among other reasons, Shavuot occurs seven weeks after Passover. Biblically, the number 7 is the number of completion ( 8, the number of new beginnings). God created Shavuot as the feast which completes the Spring Feasts. Jesus has fulfilled the Spring Feasts (see Chart in my Feasts of Israel Cookbook.) In the Old Testament (Covenant) Shavuot is the day God gave The Ten Commandments (The Law) to Moses on Mt. Sinai. It is on this same day, in the New Testament, God gave the Holy Spirit ( Ruach haKodesh, in Hebrew) to the early believers ( The Church.) This corresponds with God writing the "Law" first on those tablets of stone through Moses. This foreshadows God, the Holy Spirit writing those commandments on the tablets of "flesh" (hearts and minds) of the early believers. Isn't that very cool of God? He has it together, doesn't He. No question mark at the end of the previous sentence because it's a rhetorical question. 

 

Through Shavuot, or Pentecost we are filled with the Holy Spirit and Power. We can see ( through the eyes of faith) God has forgiven us of sins (so we can enter into His presence.) After Jesus ascended into Heaven, He graciously sent us a " Helper." The Holy Spirit leads and guides us into all truth. We must be filled with the Holy Spirit to fulfill our destiny in this world.

 

Historically speaking, The Spring Feasts have already been fulfilled. We're now preparing to enter The Long Summer (The Church Age), a time for gathering souls for The Kingdom of God preparing for The Fall Feast ( beginning with Rosh HaShanah) when Jesus comes back for His Church comprised of Jew and Gentile one-in-Messiah (Ephesians 2:14,15.)

 

Traditionally, the Jews celebrate this feast with eating foods made with dairy products. There are several legendary stories as to reasons why; one being they stayed so long at Mt. Sinai getting those Ten Commandments their milk curdled which resulted a number of ways to eat dairy products - sour cream and cottage cheese.

 

To incorporate both of these delicious by-products I offer you a recipe for Barri's Noodle Kugel from our friend, Barri Mallin, founder of MAASAY YAHDAV (in Hebrew, The Work of His Hands.) I highly suggest you check out www.maasayyahdav.org and contribute to this humanitarian ministry. Enjoy the photographs of Barri's recent trip to Israel.

 

Kugel



 

 The "kugel" which is German for "ball" got it's start among the early Rhineland Jews as a dumpling-like pudding of flour or bread placed on top of their Sabbath (Saturday) stew "cholent" to slowly bake and simer overnight. Over time, the puddings were given their own small pot. Eventually, the term "kugel" came to refer to any baked pudding.

 

Today's kugels are made with noodles, potatoes, rice, matzah and even vegatables. In the UNited States, the best known of these Jewish pudings is the "lokshen" (Yiddish for "noodle") kugel. Noodle kugels are primarily made of egg noodles (although other pastries can be used) and eggs to bind the pudding toge

 

 

Barri's Noodle Kugel



 

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

 

In a mixing bowl, mix together:

 

1 1/3 cup sour cream

1 1/3 cup cottage cheese

3 large eggs, beaten

1/2 cup sugar

5 Tblsp. butter, melted

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

 

In a large  pot of boiling water, bring to a boil until done:

 

1/2 lb. wide egg noodles

dash of salt

 

When noodles are done and drained fold them into the cream cheese mixture until well-blended.

 

Add:

 1/2 cup golden raisins

1/2 cup regular raisins

4 peeled Granny Smith apples, sliced thinly

 

Pour mixture into a greased baking 9" x 13" baking dish. Bake 35 to 40 minutes, or until golden brown and bubbling. It's delicious cold, too!

 

 

B'tayavon!

 



On Passover We Remember

PASSOVER

A FESTIVAL OF FREEDOM

Leviticus 23:5; Exodus 12



As the traditional Messianic song says, " On Passover we remember what the Lord has done. He set the captives free, led them to liberty, and parted the Red Sea that they might walk....."

   Passover is a festival of freedom. Passover celebrates God's deliverance of the Israelites from bondage to a cruel Pharoah in the Land of Egypt. Why did the Israelites want to escape from Pharoah and Egypt? They wanted to be free to worship their God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
   Just as the Israelites suffering under the cruel bondage of Pharoah is symbolic of our suffering under the bondage to sin into which we're born through inheriting Adam's  sin nature, Passover symbolically represents the amazing redemption (bought with a price) wrought by Yeshua (Jesus, His Greek name) on the cross which makes salvation (deliverance) available to all who believe.
   In Exodus 12, God told the Jewish people to a kill a lamb without spot or blemish and apply its blood to the door posts (sides) and lintel (top of door frame) of their home. This is a picture of a cross + (even the cross is a plus-sign:) God told them, "When I see the blood, I will pass over you and your household (Exodus 12:13.) God told them if they would do this they would be saved from the angel of death. Israel (the Jewish people) is God's first-born children. Since the cruel Pharoah would not let God's first-born "go," God sent a death angel to kill the Egyptian people's first born children. Symbolically, following God's instruction, the Israelites painted a cross in the blood of a spotless lamb over their household and they were saved from death. When the spotless (sinless) blood of the Lamb of God, Yeshua, Jesus is applied to the "door posts and lintels" of our houses (hearts) we are saved from eternal death. Then we, too, are free to worship our God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Hallelujah!!!

   Let us celebrate our Passover Lamb, Yeshua, the Lamb of God - who rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, but who will return for us as the Lion riding a white horse today - in a New Covenant context - Jew and Gentile, one-in-Messiah.

   As the Jews said through the ages and sages, " They tried to kill us, they couldn't, let's eat!"

   Here's a delicious recipe for Noodle Kugel. I'll bake and serve Noodle Kugel for dessert after our Passover meal of:

• Pomegranate Lamb
• Yukon Gold Garlic and Rosemary Mashed Potatoes
• Green Beans Almondine
• Sweet Potato Casserole
• Matzah
• Noodle Kugel

PASSOVER NOODLE KUGEL



 

  

You'll Need:

 

1 pound wide egg noodles

5 extra-large eggs

4 cups half -and-half

1/4 cup light brown sugar

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
dash of fresh nutmeg

1 1/2 Tablespoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspon freshly cracked black pepper

1 cup ricotta

1 cup golden raisins

 

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 10 by 13 by 2 1/4 inch baking pan.

 

Drizzle some oil into a large pot of salted water. Cook the noodles for 6-8 minutes, until tender. Drain well.

 

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, half-and-half, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Stir in the ricotta and raisins. Add the drained noodles. Combine.

 

Pour the noddle mixture into prepared baking dish. Place the filled dish into a larger pan filled half-way with water (bain marie, or "water bath"). Cover the entire assembly with aluminum foil. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 45 minutes, or until the custard is just set. Serves 10.

 

B'Tayavon!

(good appetite, in Hebrew)

 

                                          

 

 

Feasting with the Father: Shabbat Shalom...Celebrate the Sweetness of Yeshua...

Feasting with the Father: Shabbat Shalom...Celebrate the Sweetness of Yeshua...:  Celebrate Yeshua!    What I love most about the Shabbat is that God commands us to rest! He doesn't suggest it. He doesn't say,...

Shabbat Shalom...Celebrate the Sweetness of Yeshua... and Coconut Macaroons!



Celebrate Yeshua!

 



What I love most about the Shabbat is that God commands us to rest! He doesn't suggest it. He doesn't say, " Okay, since you're not going to the office today,  go ahead, wash that car, catch up on that laundry, wash those windows and vacuum that carpet. Then sit down and rest awhile.....then, how about that lawn? " No, God actually requires something of us. He requires that we obey His 4th commandment, "Remember the Sabbath Day and keep it holy." He requires we rest and "come away with Him." Why? He requires we rest for our own good. We need to rest! " Didn't God say, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath"( Mathew 12)?  I LOVE this! I love meditating (like a cow chewing its cud) on His Word. Just to spend time with Him is a blessing. And I don't have to feel guilty because I am not "accomplishing a task."; that I am not "getting things done." As much as I enjoy "getting things done," it's a treat to nestle in His loving arms and read His love letters to me. And He wrote them to me....... and you! I pray you get into God's Word today, relax and simply enjoy His company. After all, Yeshua IS our rest, our Shabbat Shalom! Isn't this marvelous!

What goes better with the sweetness of Yeshua than homemade "Cocoanut Macaroons" - one of Bruce's favorite cookies. Enjoy this recipe from "Tempting Kosher Dishes" by B. Manischewitz & Company (c) 1930. I bought this retro cookbook online at least a decade ago and enjoy making dishes from original recipes and ingredients.

 

Cocoanut Macaroons

 

 

You'll Need:

 

5 eggs

1-1/2 cup sugar

1 cup Manischewitz Matzo Meal

2 cups (8 ounces) shredded coconut ( I use Baker's)

2 lemons, juice and grated rinds

 

Directions

 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

Beat eggs well, adding sugar gradually; add and combine remaining ingredients. Drop by tablespoons on cookie sheet, greased and sprinkled with meal. Bake in moderate oven (325 degrees) 30 minutes increasing heat at the last to brown cookies. Makes 24 mouthwatering delights.

 

B'tayavon!