Ingredients for Cheesy Potatoes and Green Bean Casserole...check
1 dozen eggs for Deviled Eggs...check
Pecan Pie Ingredients...check
As you can see, I am preparing for Easter dinner and it's all about the preparation. Making out the menu, going to the store, cleaning the house, setting the table, and cooking the food. I am in the midst of preparing a feast!
Every year, for 25 years our church, performs a drama production called "The Living Last Supper." It is a depiction of Leonardo da Vinci's famous painting come to life but with the timeless story of the life of Christ told by the Apostle John. We went to the performance last night and as I was watching it, I began to think about the preparations it took for that meal so long ago...
There had to be someone to get the upper room ready for the Passover Feast. The account in Matthew says that the disciples were told to "Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, "The Teacher says: My appointed time is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house." So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover. (Matthew 26:18-19) Little did the disciples know that when they purchased the ingredients for their passover meal just what they were preparing. The bread which symbolized Christ's body that was soon to be broken for mankind. (I Corinthians 11:24, NIV). The wine which symbolized the blood of Christ shed for the forgiveness of mankind's sins. (Matthew 26:28) The Lamb, the perfect sacrifice, sinless, and that which was slain from the creation of the world. (Revelation 13:8, NIV) Yet the disciples did as they were told and performed this age old ritual that God had commanded them to do in Exodus 12. It wasn't until later that they realized the full implications of just what they had prepared.
And how about the women who were preparing to anoint the body of Jesus after his death? Mark 16:1 (NIV) says: "When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus' body." Luke 24:1 says: "they took the spices they had prepared" and Luke 23:56 says: "then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes." I always thought it said they BROUGHT the spices to the tomb but the word is BOUGHT, the women had to go through some kind of preparation to extract the oils and make them ready to use. Little did those women realize that there would be no physical body in that tomb to anoint. Hallelujah!
My mentoring challenge for us today is this... Are we preparing not only for the celebration of Easter but for the eminent return of Lord and the meal we will soon enjoy with Him? The Bible says in Revelation 19: 6-7, (NIV) "Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready." Sounds like preparation doesn't it? "Then the angel said to me, "Write: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!" And he added, "These are the true words of God." Revelation 19:9, NIV What a feast we will enjoy that day and we only say: "Come Lord Jesus!
For those who may be diabetic or on Lo-Carb diet. Here is a great Pecan Pie Recipe:
Crust:
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup almond flour (or use all almond flour)
4 Tablespoons butter, melted
Mix together and pat into a 8" pie shell
Filling
3 beaten eggs
1 cup Splenda
1 tsp. vanilla
2 Tablespoons melted butter
1 cup sugar-free maple syrup (Walden Farms makes one with no carbs!)
1 1/2 cups pecans either chopped or halved
Blend filling together and add to pie crust bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until set.
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