Scripture Cake

I use to have a cake recipe that listed the ingredients in terms of Bible references. The recipe might have listed “2 of Job 39:14” instead of asking for 2 eggs, with the entire recipe written like this. While it was fun to look up the verses to determine what the ingredients were, we threw away the recipe as well as the cake.

I always thought it would be fun to write other recipes using Scripture verses, but never really tried to do it. In the long run, it was a lot more work to make the cake than if it had been written like a regular recipe, and some of the references were vague. So what, then, would be the advantage of writing a recipe in Bible verses?

I think that if I were to write such a recipe the only purpose would be to boost my own pride. It may give me an attitude of accomplishment for something done in my own power: proof that I knew enough Scripture, or at least how to find enough Scripture, to complete such a task. But a prideful heart does not serve God’s kingdom, even if the task does use the Bible.

There have been many times when my pride has hindered my ability to be used by God, whether in an organized ministry or an everyday opportunity. I must constantly remind myself that all ministry is ineffective if I don’t first turn it over to God. He has called me to plant seeds and to water them, not to make them grow. (“I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.” 1 Cor. 3:6). Sometimes, He may ask me to be present at the Harvest, but when that happens, it is not my doing, but His.

Is it wrong to use Bible verses in a recipe? I do not think so. I do have another recipe that includes Bible verses in the instructions, but they are used to tell the Easter story. I have used this recipe to teach my children. This is a much better application of Scripture in a recipe.

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Tim 3:16-17)

A Prejudice Against Pride

I tend to be a very prideful person. It comes from being a descendant of Adam and Eve. I do not always let that pride show in my actions and attitudes, but it is there. It is there when I decide that I am going to eat the extra snack that I know I shouldn’t eat. It is there when I decide that I am going to take that last box of whatever off the grocery store shelf even though it is obvious that someone else is shopping for the same item. It is there when I decide that I am going to spend an hour reading instead of doing housework. And most assuredly, it is there when I decide to ignore God.

Oh, I often convince myself that I am not choosing to ignore God, I simply do so unintentionally. Yet, I am still ignoring Him and that is a choice. A choice motivated by pride. One of the many places that God warns us about pride comes from a teenage girl blessed beyond her wildest imagination and still humble in her reaction.

“His mercy extends to those who fear Him,
from generation to generation.
He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
He has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones,
but has lifted up the humble.” (Luke 1:50-52 NIV)

These words were part of the celebration that Mary had with her relative Elizabeth after learning that she would be the mother of God’s Son. She had been chosen because of her humility, and her humility stayed in tact throughout the ordeal. Mary does not point out that God has lifted up the humble as a way of false humility, but as praise to God for what He has done for her and was doing in her. Through humility, God extended His mercy towards her.

The most convicting part of Mary’s song is the reminder that God knows when we are proud in our inmost thoughts. See, that is often the only place that my pride can be seen. But it is still there. That is what false pride is – our inner-most thoughts of pride surfacing as humility.
It is my desire and my goal this year to seek God in all that I do, to eliminate pride in my innermost thoughts by focusing on God and not on myself. This blog will show my heart. A heart that hopefully will become more and more pure as I become more and more like my Savior.