I've been reading a few good books recently - Disappointment With God by Philip Yancey and God At War by Greg Boyd. These books were both challenging to read in their own rights. DWG deals with a painfully honest question - where is God when trouble comes? Yancey objectively asks and examines this question by interviewing people who have lost their faith because God did not "show up" for them when they felt He would or should. I think this an important issue to consider. Many people among us believe that if they meet some undetermined level of faith and pray hard enough, God will rescue them from difficult situations or tough times. This belief is reinforced each and every time they hear a testimony crediting God with pulling someone out of the depths of some kind of depravity or trouble. The jarring reality (to them) comes when God doesn't seem to do the same for them in their time of need. What is going on? DWG takes the reader inside the mind of someone who is going through this struggle, then searches scripture to see what expectations we can have of God when we are hurting. Good stuff.
I'm still in the beginning chapters of GAW, but I'm enjoying it. Most of you who know me have heard me talk about the Patrick Mead lesson series by the same name, and this book is his source material. Be warned - this is not a Yancey-style easy read. Boyd's main goal is to disprove the classical Christian view that God is in full, total, and ultimate control of everything that goes on, and that He has a purpose in all things. Boyd eschews this view in favor of what he calls a "warfare worldview," which supposes that there are free-acting spirits with power that can and do oppose God. Since this idea flies in the face of mainstream Christianity, Boyd writes in a scholarly level of detail to give credibility to his theory. This makes GAW read like a textbook some of the time, but it is compelling nonetheless. I am inclined to agree with Boyd's theory. There are too many intellectual roadblocks involved with trying to find "God's good will" in the evil acts of evil men. Better to believe that there is a real enemy with real power to effect our world. We know Satan has control/dominion over this earth, as we are told multiple times (Jn 12:31, I Jn 5:19, Mt 4:9, among others), so why wouldn't he have the ability to fight against God's people with real power? I can discuss this at length in another post if anyone is interested.
I've been thinking about some of the rules and laws we Christians impose on one another. It seems to me that a law of love ought to have the opposite effect. We should understand that we are free from law and rules but bound by something stronger - a love that compels us to sacrifice and bend over backwards to serve others. Last year's journey through the Daily Bible rammed home a very important point to me - the New Testament is not in any way, shape, or form a rulebook. Leviticus is a rulebook, and it reads like one. I'll bet the bones Ezekiel saw raised weren't as dry as Leviticus is. Why, then, do we treat our new covenant like the old one men already failed at? How many man-made regulations and procedures do we hold people to and defend to the point of separation, all in the name of a God who came to earth to free us from such things? I've heard of an interesting test for our "laws," and it makes sense to me. If you were able to read the New Testament as though you had never seen it before and had no previous teaching or influence of any kind, would you infer from your study that your rules should apply? Try this with all aspects your religion. By the way, absence of permission for an action does not mean that action is wrong. If it did, we might need to reevaluate staff ministers, church buildings, and elders elected by the congregation. Try it out - it's just another part of "working out your own salvation."
Do you remember the time I devoted an entire post to the practice of chopping/grinding beef at home? Today I found this article, which supports my theory with some exhaustive research. Notice how pale that store-bought patty looks? Grind your own meat, people.
Tiffany and I have recently taken up attempts to eat in a more healthy manner in preparation for our summer vacation. Generally, this means cooking meals out of her litany of South Beach Diet cookbooks. Surprisingly, most of the entrées don't taste like "diet food" in the typical sense. The meal plan is mostly devoid of carbs and sugars, but you get to eat hearty meat-and-veggie style meals which fill the stomach. Am I ready to abandon 12-layer lasagna (we'll get to that one later), pancakes, and hearty, delicious burgers forever? Of course not, but as lean eating goes, the meals in these cookbooks are more than bearable. Plus, you trip across a gem every now and again.
I love lamb. No, not the cute and cuddly versions which generally accompany Western paintings of Jesus. I'm talking lamb meat. Succulent and flavorful with wonderful texture and mouthfeel, lamb is truly awesome. Last night, we prepared lamb meatballs from the aforementioned South Beach cookbook. Actually, I adapted the recipe to a meatball application - the original called for leg of lamb. I'm sure the leg would have been delicious, but these meatballs were out of this world. They were hearty, full of flavor, and very filling all by themselves. I plan to use them (sans mustard) in future spaghetti applications as well. They'd also be incredible mixed with dill, feta, and cumin and made into Greek burgers. Kroger sometimes offers quality ground lamb for half price, so keep your eyes peeled at the grocery store and buy that stuff up when it's on sale. Store it in the freezer until it's time to cook.
Lamb Meatballs
Ingredients:
- 1 lb ground lamb
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1 tbsp parsley, minced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced (a microplane zester is great for this)
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme, minced
- 1 tbsp fresh rosemary, minced
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp freshly cracked pepper
- 2 tbsp EVOO
- Dijon Mustard, to coat
In a large bowl, combine lamb, egg, parsley, garlic, thyme, rosemary, salt, and pepper and mix with fingertips until combined. Try not to squish the meat. Form meat mixture into decent-sized balls-You should get 5 or 6 meatballs out of the mixture.
Preheat the oil a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add the meatballs with plenty of space in between. Cook the meatballs on one side for three or four minutes, or until a nice sear develops. Using tongs, flip the meatballs over and sear for another three or four minutes. If you want to be really fancy, braise the meatballs by tilting the pan slightly to the side so that the oil and juices pool. Using a spoon, pour the hot oil over the tops of your meatballs.
Once the meatballs have developed a good sear, coat them in dijon mustard, move to the oven, and bake until they hit an internal temperature of 160, about 10-12 minutes. Remove the meatballs and allow them to set for five minutes so that the juices redistribute.
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