Daily Devotional

One day I pulled out my Betty Crocker Cookbook. I took off the thick rubber band that held all the pages together. A couple pages floated to the floor. It is worn, torn, and stained. It contains all my recipes from the 70’s. I remember, as an inexperienced cook, how carefully I followed the recipes...most of the time. Yes, there were more than a few times I hurried through the recipe...not taking care with the measurement of ingredients. Also, there were a few times I improvised. The results were disastrous when I did not follow the recipe. Too spicy, too bland, to gummy. Ugh. I learned that the recipe gave me the result I desired, only if I followed the directions carefully.  

Did you know that God’s Word has recipes? Yes, it does! Throughout the Bible you will discover His recipes.

The recipes in the Bible clearly describes the success we can expect when we obey Him, keep His commandments and give our whole heart to Him as the one true God!

Notice a recipe for success from the Old Testament, speaking of Hezekiah, king of Judah, 2 Kings 18:6-7 says, “For he held fast to the Lord. He did not depart from following him, but kept the commandments that the Lord commanded Moses. And the Lord was with him; wherever he went out, he prospered.”

Here is the wonderful recipe from the New Testament that results in Salvation! Romans 10:9, "that if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”

The Bible also warns us of the failure that will come to us when we do not follow His recipe. In the Old Testament, the Spirit of God was speaking through Azariah to Asa, king of Judah. 2 Chronicles 15:2 says, “The Lord is with you while you are with him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.” Also, in Proverbs 14:12, “There is a way (recipe) that seems right to a man, but in the end, it leads to death.”

As you read through your Bible, watch for these recipes.  Are you going to follow God’s recipes?  

PARENTS:
1.Bake some cookies with your kids and talk about God’s recipes. Draw their attention to recipes for salvation. Romans 10:13, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”  John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Explain that people try to use their own recipes for salvation. They may try to work hard to be perfect, or worship another god….but it will all fail. You must follow God’s recipe to succeed.
2.To bring home the above point make a batch of cookies that will fail. Do not follow the recipe, add something strange to it. Add too much salt or put pickles in the dough. Then point out the Bible clearly warns what will happen if you don’t follow His recipe.
3.Explain to your kids that the Bible is full of recipes for life. Explain to them an example of when you followed God’s recipe and an example when you did not.  

"English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers."