The Springs

Favorite Recipes

February 11th, 2009

The Following recipes are used in our kitchen and are very popular with our groups.

Baked Oatmeal
7-10 People
1 cup Brown Sugar
1/8 Cup melted butter
2 eggs
3 cups of oatmeal
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup milk

Bake at 350 for about an hour

It is finished cooking when brown on top and not gooey in the middle.

#1. It’s Not About You
#2. The Punisher
#3. Better Then Any Gang Out There
#4. Fight for What is Right
#5. Would You Leave Your Family?
#6. Do You Love Me?
#7. Break Me
#8. Where Does Wisdom Come From?
#9. Don’t You Kneel
#10. I Will Wash Your Stinky Feet
#11. Wrestling with God

– Kyle Ford

#11 Wrestling with God
Read: Genesis 32:24-32

“I’m gonna kill that crazy woman!” Brad grumbles to Erika after he slams the screen door shut. “She just wants me to be her stupid slave!” Brad and his mother have always had a great relationship, but ever since he turned thirteen he feels worked to the bone. All he could think about was all the “better” things he had to do.

Sound familiar? As a teen, your parents may make you feel taken advantage of. All the babysitting and snow shoveling that they could do, but they have you do instead. The problem is that all these chores and responsibilities form us into the men and women we are meant to be. Brad may have a huge future in welding, but he won’t have the work ethic he needs without his mom teaching him responsibility. Erika may have a great future taking care of orphans with no place to go, but she won’t know how to take care of them without all the babysitting she does for her younger siblings.

Control is regularly seen as a negative and shame driven motive, but the story you read about Jacob shows a loving and powerful God using control in a different way. Instead of complaining about all the faults Jacob has, or just letting him figure things out on his own, God believes in Jacob and wants what’s best for him.

God uses the fight and the struggle to make Jacob a better person and He does the same thing with us. No matter what you’re going through right now, God will be there and will use it to mold you into the person you are meant to be.

The God of Scripture puts struggles and responsibility in your life… but not to hurt you, only to make you stronger.

#10 I Will Wash Your Stinky Feet
(And ask for nothing in return)
Read: John 13:1-17

While walking home from getting groceries at the grocery store a couple of blocks down the street, Joan watched in amazement as both of her daughters, Carrie and Anna, fought over the bags of goodies. The funny thing was that it wasn’t who got the goodies, but rather who got to carry the bags for the other person. Joan just could not stop smiling at the generosity that her daughters were exhibiting. “Girls, what’s the deal? Why are you fighting over such a thing?” Joan asked, bracing herself for whatever possible crazy answer could come out of her daughters’ mouths. “Well, whoever carries the bags gets their chores done by the one who doesn’t carry anything. I don’t want to do chores, mommy!”

You may laugh, but this is exactly how a lot of us think of doing things for others. We may say that we are doing things for the other person, but we are actually doing it for ourselves. When Jesus washed his disciple’s feet, he did it for them and them alone. There was nothing for him to gain by washing their feet. It was only reserved for the servants and yet he chose to do it. By washing their nasty feet, he made himself lower than the people around him. There was no mail-in rebate for him to collect on. Nothing that could give him another motive for doing it except that he loved them. “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.” (Philippians 2:5-7, NIV)

One thing that comes with growing up is seeing that life is not all about us. Once you gain this understanding: people will like you more, you will become better at a job, and your relationship with God will grow in the process. The thing which is not like the rest of the world and will not help you in any extra way except for growing closer to God is when you step down and do things for other people that require nothing in return. That is what an unbelieving world will see that’s different about you. That is what true love is all about.

#9 Don’t You Kneel
(There’s only one who deserves that)
Read: Daniel 3

“Oh, that lead singer is so dreamy!” Kayla exclaimed, longingly. “I would give anything just to talk to that boy. I can’t even think of anything else when I look at him!” Agreeing whole-heartedly with Kayla’s remarks, Amy looked longingly into the eyes of the man singing on the stage. After the song ended, this dream-boat they were drooling over started to speak. “I want to remind you all why we are all here tonight. Jesus Christ died for our sins and that is why we sing.” Kayla and Amy stood speechless. They had forgotten that they were at a praise and worship event.

What do you think would have happened if Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had the same attitude that Kayla and Amy came into the praise and worship event with? King Nebuchadnezzar had built some very amazing things while he was king. They could have very easily given in and lost themselves in praise, but that would have meant turning their backs to God and ruining His plans that He had for them. One of the ten commandments that God gave the Israelites was “You shall have no other gods before me.” (Deuteronomy 5:7, NIV) If they had bowed down, Nebuchadnezzar would have never known the one true God.

So often we get caught up in serving other things (most often ourselves) that we forget that God is the only one worthy to fill that spot in our lives. Videogames rule our lives, computers rule our lives, our friends rule our lives; the only one who should ever rule our lives is God. No one will ever even come close to comparing to Jesus Christ! Give Him all the glory and only then will God be able to use us.

#8 Where Does Wisdom Come From?
(And can I possibly be smart?)
Read: 1 Kings 3:1-15

Chris never thought that things would come to this. After four failed classes and a ton of groundings for his poor grades, he was starting to think that he would never be good enough to do anything. “I’m just such an idiot!” Chris cried while lying on his tear-soaked pillow. “Why can’t I just be like that guy Solomon I read about today? I bet he would never have problem with failing classes.” It’s just too bad that he didn’t look deeper into the story that he read before he started another night of crying himself to sleep.

Solomon was a very intelligent person, but if you look closely at the story of how he got that way, you will realize that all Solomon did was trust God and God gave him all that he needed and more. It wasn’t that Solomon was smart apart from God, but because God saw that Solomon loved the Lord, He gave Solomon the wisdom that he needed and more. The writer of Psalm 119 backs up this idea when he writes “Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are ever with me. I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes. I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey your precepts.” (Psalm 119:98-100, NIV)

There was a long period in my life where I felt like Chris did. Everyone around me kept telling me that I wasn’t worth anything through their actions and I believed them. When I came upon the Psalm 119 passage, I felt so blessed by it because for once in my life I felt smart if I followed God’s commands and read my bible. Now, this does not mean that we will be able to instantly pass every class, but it does give us a push to listen to God’s leading and stay close to Him through reading our bibles. Later on in the Psalm 119 passage, it states “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Psalm 119:103, NIV) If God’s Word is as sweet to us as that psalmist stated, than God will give us the wisdom that we need and you can indeed be smart!

#7 Break Me
(Use Less of Me & More of You)
Read: Genesis 37 & 39-42

Jesse Schwartz and his gang of baseball buddies played a rousing game of kickball every Tuesday, but this game was different. Jesse was about to leave his buddies to spend another summer teaching baseball to underprivileged children. “Just see if you can catch up to me before I make it to home plate!” Jesse remarked as the pitcher was about to pitch him the ball. WACK! Everyone was amazed as the ball went whizzing past all of the other players. As Jesse rounded the bases, he could feel his knee give out and eventually it led to him collapsing on the ground. “Why me, God? Why me?” cried out Jesse as he realized that his summer was over.

Just as God temporarily stopped Jesse from doing what he was supposed to do, He temporarily stopped Joseph from doing what he was supposed to do. Why does God do this? Because He loves us and realizes that we cannot grow closer to God without learning to do things through Him and not from our own strength. “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I lie in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20, NIV) The prison time that Joseph went through taught him how to rely on God and therefore grow in his relationship with Him.

I recently went through a situation like Jesse’s where God got my attention by breaking my ankle. It was hard to step aside at first, but I slowly learned that I was doing things through my own strength instead of relying on God’s strength. Just remember that God is not only your best option, He’s your only option to true greatness. Complete submission to God is the only way we can be the people that God wants us to be.

#6. Do You Love Me?
(Then Make it Right)
Read: John 21:15-17

More than anything, Melissa wanted to be loved by God and follow Christ. The problem was that she had done so many things that went against God that she thought there was nothing she could do to counteract that. “God, what can I do? I’ve done too many bad things to get back to you!” It was then that she heard a voice tell her, “Do you love me?” Something inside of her made her know who’s voice that was and answered, “Yes, Lord”. The divine voice made then made one last statement before it left. “Then listen to me and do what I say.”

The campfire scene that is laid out at the end of John shows us an amazing part of who God is. In case you don’t remember, Peter was so embarrassed that his leader was going to be killed that he told three different people he did not know Jesus (John 18:15-18, 25-27). The cool thing is that Jesus gave Peter three opportunities to make things right, the same amount of opportunities that he failed with. Peter then went on to start and lead the church, being an amazing man of God.

Just like Peter found out, and hopefully Melissa will too, God doesn’t call it quits on us. Instead, He keeps giving us windows to grow and then tells us what we need to do when we succeed. Peter did a great job “feeding the sheep” by leading the church and I know that God has something totally amazing for you, too. Just look for those windows of opportunity and jump through them with all that you have.

#5. Would you Leave Your Family?
(Even if it was for God?)
Read: Genesis 12:1-5

“I don’t know if I can do this!” Jacob cried out to God. “If I follow you, that means I’ll have to give up everything else I’ve ever known.” Jacob lived in a Muslim town in Iran and he now had to fear for his life if he accepted what the missionary was saying. “Why would you do this to me if you love me? Shouldn’t this be easy?” Jacob paused for a second and realized that it shouldn’t be easy. If it was easy, he wouldn’t be able to stay so strong and stick with his decision.

Abraham had a difficult choice to make that was similar to what Jacob had to decide. God called him to leave his friends and family, all he has ever known, in order to have a relationship with God (vs. 1). If Abraham (at that point he was called Abram) had stayed where he was, the false gods that were in that land would have prevented him from knowing the true God. But, because Abraham trusted God, God gave him everything that was promised to him. (Genesis 13:14-17)

You may never have to leave everything you know in order to follow God, but He will give you something that you have to give up in order to focus on your relationship with Him. The question is: what you are going to do when God calls you to give up that thing? Are you going to give it to God and trust Him to provide what you need, or are you going to fight Him and want to do things your way? I would encourage you to pray right now for God to reveal what he wants you to give up. It might be cutting back on video games and using that time for devotions, or it might be not going out for a sport in order to trust God more. Whatever it is that God tells you to do… DO IT! I would not lie to you; God blesses those who trust in Him just like He did for Abraham. It may not be in land or popularity, but He will give you all that you need.

#4. Fight for What is Right
(There’s Conviction in the Air Tonight!)
Read: 2 Corinthians 11:23-27

“What’s up with Karen lately?” Mary asked her friend Wendy after noticing Karen sitting at her lunch table praying. “It’s like she doesn’t even care what people think of her anymore. She just does whatever she wants to do.” Noticing the same thing, Wendy, noticing the same thing, agreed. “It’s social suicide, that’s what it is. I don’t know what goes through anyone’s mind when they decide that it’s ok to be a religious freak.” Mary agreed with her friend’s comment, but there was still something inside her that admired Karen’s guts. She thought that maybe next period she would talk to Karen about what she believed and why she was so dedicated to it.

Karen, in the story, knew something that Mary and Wendy didn’t. Karen knew that it was important to stand up for what you believe in and it didn’t matter what other people thought of that. Actually, after seeing Karen’s boldness, Mary became more open to learn about what made Karen different than everyone else. 2 Corinthians 11:23-27 is the Apostle Paul’s list of all the things that has happened to him since he started following Christ. He was proud of all of those things because that meant that he was following what God told him to do. Following God may not be easy, but it’s what needs to happen in order for us to be the people that God wants us to be. “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then we will be able to test and approve what God’s will is. His good, pleasing, and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2, NIV)

If you were to make up a list today of all the things that have happened to you because you became a Christian (like Paul did), how long of list would it be? Would you even be able to list anything? It’s not often that we look at the bad things that have happened and wish that there were more, but I’ve been thinking lately about how we should. Today’s culture will tell you that everyone has there own way and everybody’s right, but that is not what the Bible tells us. It is because of this that we will go through struggles for our faith. Just stand strong, be bold and courageous in a loving way, and the Lord will be with you.

#3. Better Than Any Gang Out There
(We Belong to God’s Family)
Read: Romans 14:7-8 & 1 Corinthians 12:12-13

“What up, yo?” Damien asked, greeting his good friend Bruce. “We missed you at the party last night, man.” Shrugging his shoulders as cool as he possibly could, he answered, “Yeah… the gang and I had our own fun last night. Those crazy Bloods were after us again.” After Bruce mentioned the gang, Damien started to notice the bruises all over him and wondered why in the world his friend had joined that stupid gang. “Hey, what’s with the scars? I don’t know why you even joined that stupid gang. I sure don’t have any ‘friends’ that would beat me up and leave me with cuts and bruises!” Offended by his friend’s comment, Bruce exclaimed “Hey, that’s my family you’re talking about!”
Everyone has an urge inside them like Bruce did that yearns for something/someone to belong to. The cool thing is that God understands that urge and has given us the perfect answer to it! At the end of Romans 14:8, Paul tells us that we belong to God. In order to fulfill our need to be needed by other people, God has given us the church so that we would belong somewhere that is a whole lot healthier than joining a gang. In fact, 1 Corinthians 12:12 tells us that the people in the church make up one body. The cool part about that is everybody has a part and everybody is needed. “…The parts of the body that we think are weaker are the ones we really need.” (I Corinthians 12:22, God’s Word Translation)

Now, what happens next? Is there anything that we can take away from these verses that can help you as you go about your day? We are all important members of the church and you can have a powerful role, no matter how small you are! There is nothing like feeling needed and appreciated, so get involved in your church any way that you can. Even if it’s as little as helping someone out every once and a while or looking for those people that need to be welcomed by someone. I would encourage you to ask your parents or your pastor what you can do to help. Also, remember that you belong to God, so stay close to Him and follow what He says and you will be able to feel the joy that comes with being needed and belonging to something. “If one part of the body suffers, all the other parts share its suffering. If one part is praised, all the others share in its happiness.” (I Corinthians 12:26)

#2. The Punisher
(God punishes those He loves)
Read: Proverbs 3:11-12 & 13:24

“I really wish that my parents would just get off my back about the whole Kevin thing,” Cindy complained to her friend Alexis. “I mean, I told them I was sorry and everything. Sometimes I think that my parents hate me. They just want to make me suffer.” Surprised by Cindy’s comment, Alexis corrected her by saying, “Umm… no. Sorry, but you’re wrong on this one. I so wish that my parents cared enough to protect me and make sure I was doing things right. My parents are so busy doing other things that they just let me do whatever I want. You are so lucky and you don’t even know it!”

Has there ever been a time in your life where you felt like Cindy did and just wanted your parents to get off of your back? Ever feel the same way about God? If so, one thing that we learn from Proverbs 3:11-12 is that God doesn’t punish us because He hates us or wants to ruin our lives. On the contrary, it is because He loves us so much that He disciplines us and helps us to get back on track. (vs. 12) Also, Proverbs 13:24 shows us that if your parent is disciplining you for doing something wrong it is because they love you. It doesn’t necessarily mean they are going about it in the right way, but if they make any mistakes it is because they are human and not because they hate you.

I would encourage you, as your parents are disciplining you, to thank them for loving you enough to do so. It will send them flying through the air doing somersaults (I know, I tried… it was pretty cool looking) and will make your life a little better since it will show them that you are taking what they say to heart. If your parents are more like Alexis’ parents, I would also encourage you to go to them and ask them about that. I doubt that any parents truly hate their children; they just don’t understand exactly what you need. Also, please remember that no matter what your parents do or don’t do… they love you and more importantly that God loves you enough to protect you and make sure that you are doing things the right way!

#1. It’s Not About You
(God will overcome our faults)
Read: Exodus 4:1-12

“I don’t know if I can do this.” Jamie exclaimed while talking to his football coach after practice. “I’m not really much of the leader type. I mean, wouldn’t one of the other players be a better captain than me?” Dave, Jamie’s coach, replied “I don’t want any of the other players to be captain, I want you. Just have faith in yourself and you’ll do great.”

Have you ever had a situation like Jamie’s where God called you to do something, but you didn’t know if you could do it or not? Moses sure had those feelings a lot while God called him to save his people, but God had a little different of an answer than Dave gave Jamie. Whenever Moses told God that he wasn’t good enough, God basically said “Yup, you’re right. You can’t do it… but I can.” (vs. 11, for example) God’s answer to Moses was to show him all those miracles (vs. 2-9) so that Moses would understand that He would take care of everything. You will hear many times people tell you to believe in yourself, but God tells us not to put so much trust in ourselves but instead to believe in Him and that the only way that we can truly trust ourselves is to rely on God for everything. “Trust the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5)

Right now, if you can, pray to God and ask Him to help you through the situations that you are going through. If you aren’t going through anything like that at the moment, save this passage for later and maybe think of some people that could use some encouragement while they go through struggles. Maybe a friend or family member is struggling with thinking that they can’t do anything right and you can be the one to help them through it. Good luck, and remember that it’s not about you… it’s all about God!