Cookie

I will have to admit that the last thing any of us probably needs right now is another cookie.  At my house we had 7-layer cookies, red velvet cookies, ginger cookies, and fudge (I guess that is cookieish).  Way too many carbs, but they were sure good!

During the holidays I was watching a cooking competition, and the theme involved cookies.  One of the contestants was baking gingerbread men using a cookie cutter.  He carefully cut out the shapes, but as he looked at them he said, "those gingerbread men look like Leprechauns!"  As the judges looked at his cookies, one of the judges did something interesting.  He turned the gingerbread "man" upside down and found the problem with the whole thing.  The cookie cutter, and the cookies, was actually a reindeer shape.  The contestant had used the cutter upside-down!

So ... lessons from this cookie?  I can think of at least three!

1. As we are immersed in the holidays, it is easy to get off-track.  We see the events, the glitz, the glitter, and we become pretty disoriented.  We are in a confusing mess, trying to keep up with people, places, emotions and our feelings about everything.  The Christmas story says ... stop!  Stop and observe Joseph as, amid great confusion and personal sacrifice, he follows God ... "and he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took Mary as his wife ...  and he gave him the name Jesus (Matthew 1:24-25)."  Amid the confusion and mess, follow Jesus.

2. Laugh at your mistakes.  That's what happened on the cooking show ... they all had a good laugh.  It is interesting to reflect on how the judge knew what might have happened.  I'll bet he knew because he had done the same thing before.  You are doing life among other people who have messed up too!  Romans 3 reminds us that we have all sinned and that none of us can claim righteousness, except through Jesus.  Laugh at your mistakes, (people ... stop taking yourself too seriously)  recognize them, and walk away.  I bet the cooking show contestant won't make that mistake again!

3. Finally, we face an enemy that is telling us that "this" is all there is, that "we" are just like we are, that this "upside-down" world is the way it is supposed to be.  The story in 2 Kings 6 takes place in Dothan.  The king of Aram has sent soldiers to surround Elisha and his little band.  Elisha's servant goes out in the morning and sees the enemy army has surrounded them and says, "Oh no, my Lord ... what will we do?"  Elisha responds, "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them."  Then Elisha prays, "Open his eyes Lord, so he may see!"  God, who knows us and this world, has come into the world to turn it right-side up!  See God's work, His forces and His blessings, happening right in the midst of this messed-up world!

Don't let your fears, the demons that want to block your vision, the lies of your feelings, the deception of the enemy and the facade of overwhelming force, divert you from allowing God to turn your world right-side up.  It is how God rolls!  Have a cookie and smile!  Randy