Daily Devotionals
Friday, January 19, 2024 (Ashley)
I’ve recently jumped on the sourdough “breadwagon”
… anyone else?
I love so many things about COOKING
The preparation, the creative outlet it provides, the strategy in what needs to be used up and when, you name it, I most likely enjoy it.
But BAKING?! Baking is another monster in my opinion. There are so many rules and calculations, little room for error, and let’s not forget about all the dishes!
With all of the time consuming steps of BAKING sourdough bread, you can imagine my surprise as I’ve taken quite a liking to it!
Each loaf seems to bloom with improvement but when I first started, I found myself wondering which step was causing the problem?
•Was the starter wrong from the get-go?
•Did I not tuck and fold correctly?
•Was the rising time off?
•Is it the temperature in my house?
•Did I not proof it properly?
The truth is… I had no idea where things were going wrong but somewhere along the line, they were! This reminds me of something I recently learned about King Soloman. Remember King Soloman? I wrote about him last week and how God not only made him the wisest king there ever was and ever will be, but he also blessed him with an incredibly wealthy and comfortable life… Well, here is something I did not know
“In Solomon’s old age, they [his foreign wives who worshiped other gods] turned his heart to worship other gods instead of being completely faithful to the Lord his God, as his father, David, had been.” 1 Kings 11:4
Scripture goes on to say…
“The Lord was very angry with Solomon, for his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. He warned Solomon specifically about worshiping other gods, but Solomon did not listen to the Lord’s command. So now the Lord said to him, “Since you have not kept my covenant and have disobeyed by decree, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your servants.” 1 Kings 11:9-11
Much like my bread, somewhere along the line, things went wrong for Solomon and he most likely had no idea when… It’s probable that it was one “little” sin at a time, each one pulling him further and further away from the Lord. Even though he was full of wisdom, his lustful desires led him to temptation and ultimately sin that pulled him away from God.
This same principle applies to all of us today. We may have strong faith in one area but we also have great weaknesses in another. This is where the enemy and temptation love to strike!
So be on guard!
Challenge your sin!
Present it to God and ask for his strength in resisting it!
I don’t know about you but every time I am reminded that God already knows our sin and loves us anyways, it brings me a comfort that I cannot explain. This comfort is grace and this grace does not exist so we sit in our sin… it exists as a way out of our sin.
Praise God for this!
Have a beautiful weekend, Ladies.
Ashley
… anyone else?I love so many things about COOKING
The preparation, the creative outlet it provides, the strategy in what needs to be used up and when, you name it, I most likely enjoy it.But BAKING?! Baking is another monster in my opinion. There are so many rules and calculations, little room for error, and let’s not forget about all the dishes!
With all of the time consuming steps of BAKING sourdough bread, you can imagine my surprise as I’ve taken quite a liking to it!Each loaf seems to bloom with improvement but when I first started, I found myself wondering which step was causing the problem?
•Was the starter wrong from the get-go?
•Did I not tuck and fold correctly?
•Was the rising time off?
•Is it the temperature in my house?
•Did I not proof it properly?
The truth is… I had no idea where things were going wrong but somewhere along the line, they were! This reminds me of something I recently learned about King Soloman. Remember King Soloman? I wrote about him last week and how God not only made him the wisest king there ever was and ever will be, but he also blessed him with an incredibly wealthy and comfortable life… Well, here is something I did not know
“In Solomon’s old age, they [his foreign wives who worshiped other gods] turned his heart to worship other gods instead of being completely faithful to the Lord his God, as his father, David, had been.” 1 Kings 11:4
Scripture goes on to say…
“The Lord was very angry with Solomon, for his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. He warned Solomon specifically about worshiping other gods, but Solomon did not listen to the Lord’s command. So now the Lord said to him, “Since you have not kept my covenant and have disobeyed by decree, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your servants.” 1 Kings 11:9-11
Much like my bread, somewhere along the line, things went wrong for Solomon and he most likely had no idea when… It’s probable that it was one “little” sin at a time, each one pulling him further and further away from the Lord. Even though he was full of wisdom, his lustful desires led him to temptation and ultimately sin that pulled him away from God.
This same principle applies to all of us today. We may have strong faith in one area but we also have great weaknesses in another. This is where the enemy and temptation love to strike!
So be on guard!
Challenge your sin!
Present it to God and ask for his strength in resisting it!
I don’t know about you but every time I am reminded that God already knows our sin and loves us anyways, it brings me a comfort that I cannot explain. This comfort is grace and this grace does not exist so we sit in our sin… it exists as a way out of our sin.
Praise God for this!
Have a beautiful weekend, Ladies.
Ashley
