Apple Butter and the Church

Then they that gladly received his word were baptized; and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. Acts 2:41

The apples are in, here in the Carolinas, so apple butter is in the making. It's really quite simple when you have the right tools. I use a crank apple peeler. I can crank out a 1/2 bushel of apples in about an hour. Try hand peeling that many and see how long it takes. And I have a large turkey roaster that holds my apples. It will cook a 1/2 bushel of apples into apple butter while I sleep. The next day, all I need to do is put it in the jars. The apple peeler will take out the core, peel the apple and slice it into rings all at the same time. I use a large variety of apples so the mixture brings out the best apple flavors. Winesaps and Cameos are my favorites. I also added Mutsu, Golden Delicious, Fuji, and maybe a Gala or two. Add a little apple pie spice and sugar, a few splashes of apple cider and the apples have a new purpose, the makings of great homemade apple butter.

I was thinking about how we tell the kids about the salvation transformation with pumpkins, taking out the yucky stuff and putting the light inside to shine through the smiling face. That put me to thinking about apple butter and the church. Apples have a core with the seeds. The seeds contain a cyanide compound. It won't hurt us to eat the seeds. A person would have to eat a tremendous amount to cause harm but our mothers told us apple seeds were poison. We take out the core before we make apple butter.

We have a core that has to be removed before we can become a Christian. That core will kill us if left inside. You know I'm talking about our sinful heart. We have to allow Jesus to cleanse us of our sins if we want to be saved. That's the first step in becoming part of a church. Just as a rotten apple would spoil the whole batch so an unsaved person will spoil the witness of the whole church.

The appearance of an apple has to change before it becomes apple butter. The peel has to be removed. To leave it on would add a tough consistency to the butter.  It has to become soft, sweetened and spiced to have the right smell and taste. It needs to be cooked on low for several hours to get the tenderness and consistency needed to create great butter.

What do you think we might need to be a great church? With salvation our tough exterior will come off. We become the tender-hearted, loving person that desires to be like Jesus. We become part of a church where we can become that sweet odor of God to the world. Our lives are spiced with the truth of God's word. We are warmed to the things of God. We mix with others who may be of other races and cultures to create a wonderful mix that is able to reach out to a lost world, telling them, once, we too were lost but now we're saved. Once, we too were tough guys who didn't need help. Once, our attitudes stunk, but with Jesus we have a new life and a new attitude and a new purpose.

Apple butter is the best a mix of apples can be. Just put it on a little homemade bread and see how delectable it is. Apple butter on a foundation of homemade bread, that's another analogy in the making. Got it? The church on our foundation, Jesus Christ the Bread of Life.

Be the church sitting strong on our Foundation, Jesus Christ, to a lost world who is searching for truth and purpose.

Blessings.

Gail

Hey Kids

Apple butter can be as easy as pie. If mom has an apple peeler ask if you can help crank. 

Wash and peel about 12 apples.

If you don't have an apple peeler, have an adult peel the apples. 

Slice the apples into small pieces with a plastic picnic knife. 

Place the apples in a crock pot.

Add about 1 cup of apple cider, juice or water.

Add 2 cups of sugar (optional)

Stir in 2 1/2 tsp of apple pie spice.

Place the lid on the crock pot and turn on low overnight. Stir once in awhile, especially in the morning until the apples have cooked down to the consistency you desire.

Sterilize 4-6 jelly glasses (1/2 pint jars)

Spoon apple butter into glasses.

Bring to a boil in a water bath and boil 5 minutes.

If you don't have a water bath, place several table knives in the bottom of a large pot. Place the jars on top of the knives so they don't touch the bottom of the pot. Cover with water and boil the same way as with a water bath. 

Faith In Action

When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. Mark 2:5

On the communion table in front of the pulpit at our church is a little church with a slot in the top, originally for offerings. We use it to put in names for prayer. It reminds me of the Jews who stick their prayer requests in wall in Jerusalem. Hopefully that little church bank reminds us to bring those names before Jesus in prayer.

Four men carried a paralyzed friend on a mat to Jesus. Because of the crowd, they could not even get the friend through the door. So up on the roof top, they removed some of the tiles and let their paralyzed friend down where Jesus was teaching. Jesus, knowing the faith of all five men, declared that the paralyzed man’s sins were forgiven him. The scribes who were watching all this take place thought Jesus blasphemed by claiming to forgive sins, since God is the only one who can forgive sins. They did not have faith to believe Jesus was the Son of God. Jesus went a step farther. He asked the question whether it is easier to forgive sins or tell a person to get up and walk. Then he told the paralyzed man to get up, take his bed and go home. Immediately the man obeyed, walking out through the crowd with his folded mat. Wow! What a scene to witness! The people all declared they had never seen anything like that before.

I’m wondering what the five men had tried to do for their friend before they brought him to Jesus. Had they taken him to warm mineral spas? Had they massaged his legs? Had they tried to stand him up and help him walk to strengthen his legs? Had they taken him to their religious leaders? Regardless of the things they tried, their faith in Jesus was the only thing that worked.

Do we have friends and family that are paralyzed by sin? What have we tried? Talking to them, trying to convince them to change? Taking them to rehab? Talking them into going to church? But have we really done the only thing that matters? Have we urgently taken them to Jesus in prayer? Yes, ultimately it is our friends and family who have to desire Jesus’ forgiveness, but our prayers are part of the process too. Let us fall on our knees before God for our families and friends, our churches and communities, our nation and our world that Jesus would be moved to forgive us and heal us of all our sin. By the way, the wall in Jerusalem where the prayer requests are placed is called the Wailing Wall.

Are there prayer requests you would like to share? Has God answered your prayers? Would you like to give praise for God's goodness to you? Why not use the comment space to share?

Blessings,

Gail

The Sharp-shinned Hawk

 www.utahbirds.org

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. II Timothy 3:16,17

I heard the call the sharp-shinned hawk this morning. The kids ran out on the deck to look for it. They watched as the hawk called from the top of a tall poplar. Then they suddenly ran back into the house. “What’s wrong?” I asked.

“We heard something way off that sounded weird.”

“Maybe it was the mate calling.”

“No, it was different.”

“Well, sometimes the call of the female sounds a little different.” They went back outside. This time there were two hawks in the top of the tree, watching the open ground and woods around them. The kids watched until the hawks flew off together. Then they needed to know more. They searched their bird book to find when hawks nested. They wanted to know if they were just here for the winter or were they permanent residents. The more they learned the more they wanted to know.

Who would have thought that listening and watching hawks on a cold Saturday morning would have caused so much interest in learning? I don’t know how the knowledge the kids gained from researching hawks will help them, but if nothing else it helped research skills and it was fun. I often find that listening and watching for what God is doing will cause me to search the scriptures to find words of comfort, of peace and instruction.

Lord Jesus, may my eyes be open to the things You are doing in my life, my church, and my community. May it cause me to search the scriptures to know more about You and how I fit into Your plan. Help me to be obedient to those things You are willing to show me. In Your name I pray. Amen.