Authentic, biblical Christianity has always been an exclusive religion. This became apparent during the Roman Empire. When the Emperor Alexander Severus heard about Christianity, he placed an image of Christ beside the other gods in his private chapel, just to be safe. The Romans were happy to welcome Jesus into their pantheon. What the Romans couldn’t understand was why Christians refused to reciprocate. If the emperor was willing to worship Christ, why weren’t Christians willing to worship the emperor? Yet the early Christians insisted that in order to worship Christ at all, they had to worship Christ alone. They were even willing to stand up for this conviction by playing “Christians and lions” at the Colosseum.

Philip Graham Ryken

CATEGORY	CUISINE	TAG	YIELD
Grains	Lebanese	Lebanon	8	Servings

INGREDIENTS

4	md	Zucchini
1	c	Long-grain rice
1		Yellow onion, peeled, chopped, and browned
		Salt and pepper to taste
1	tb	Lemon juice
1/2	ts	Allspice
1	ts	Dried dill
1/2	ts	Cinnamon
2	c	Tomato sauce, canned

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Cut the zucchini in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Cook the
rice. Mix the rice with the yellow onion, salt, pepper, lemon juice,
allspice, cinnamon, and dill.
2. Stuff the zucchini shells with the rice mixture. Spread the tomato sauce
on the bottom of a baking dish and lay the the stuffed shells, face up, on
top of the sauce.
3. Cover and bake for one hour at 350F (until the zucchini is tender, but
firm) Serve with a little of the tomato sauce on top.
Posted to Recipe Page 01 Dec 96
From: Gourmet Connection <capco@norwich.net>
Date: Sun, 01 Dec 1996 11:21:57 +0500

A Message from our Provider:

“An active faith can give thanks for a promise, though it be not as yet performed, knowing that God’s bonds are as good as ready money. #Matthew Henry”

Whatever the physical or social or personal origins of the homosexual disordering of our sexuality, none of that would define it as good or “natural” or “normal.” In a world where God is the Creator and Designer of life, “natural” means in sync with God’s purpose and design, not just anything that has physical causes. Having a physical root makes nothing right. Physically-based, aggressive tendencies may lead to violent behavior, but we don’t condone it. Physically-based lethargic tendencies may lead to laziness and neglect, but we don’t condone it. Frenetic tendencies may lead to disruption and workaholism. A gloomy bent may lead to suicidal thoughts. An anxious bent may lead to paranoia. Addictive tendencies may lead to alcoholism or bondage to gambling or deadly smoking. A low frustration threshold may lead to outbursts of rage. Strong sexual desires may lead to lust or pornography or fornication or adultery or polygamy. In other words, in a world where the effect of sin permeates to the roots of nature and disorders all of life, we cannot define as good and natural whatever has physical roots. There must be a higher norm than fallen nature. There are many physically-based abnormalities in the world. Therefore having a physical base or root is not sufficient reason for condoning anything as natural or good.

John Piper

It is a mistake to imagine that prayers must be long in order to be effective and pleasing to God. Martin Luther said: “Look to it that you do not try to do all of it, do not try to do too much, lest your spirit grow weary. Besides a good prayer mustn’t be too long. Do not draw it out. Prayer ought to be frequent and fervent.” It is far better to have ten minutes of concentrated prayer than an hour in which one’s mind wanders from Jerusalem to Timbuktu. A legalistic commitment to duration will inevitable torpedo your prayer life (Kent and Barbara Hughes).

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