Some are childishly anxious to know their friend's opinion of them, and if it contain the smallest element of dissent or censure, they regard him as an enemy forthwith. Surely we are not popes, and do not wish our hearers to regard us as infallible! We have known men become quite enraged at a perfectly fair and reasonable remark, and regard an honest friend as an opponent who delighted to find fault; this misrepresentation on the one side has soon produced heat on the other, and strife ensued. How much better is gentle forbearance! You must be able to bear criticism, or you are not fit to be at the head of a congregation; and you must let the critic go without reckoning him among your deadly foes, or you will prove yourself a mere weakling.

C.H. Spurgeon

CATEGORY	CUISINE	TAG	YIELD
Eggs	Arab	Appetizers, Ethnic	1	Servings

INGREDIENTS

1	md	Eggplant
1/4	c	Lemon juice
1/4	c	Tahini (sesame paste)
2		Cloves garlic
2	ts	Salt; or to taste
1	tb	Olive oil
1/4	c	Finely chopped parsley

INSTRUCTIONS

Place eggplant on center shelf in hot oven. Cook until soft, turning often.
Peel off skin while hot. Remove stem and end of eggplant, if firm.
Chop flesh. Put in blender or food processor. Puree. Blend in most of the
lemon juice. Gradually add tahini.
Crush garlic into a paste with 1 teaspoon salt. Add to eggplant. Beat well.
Adjust flavor with lemon juice and remaining salt. Beat in olive oil and
parsley. If using food processor, put about 4 sprigs of parsley into
container. Process until chopped, but still visible.
Place in shallow dish. Garnish with parsley. Serve with Arab bread as an
appetizer.
NOTES : If making ahead, store in a sealed container in refrigerator. Bring
to room temperature before serving.
Recipe by: Kitchens of Eastern Arabia/Suzan Al Gahtani, Hadeed, NC Posted
to MC-Recipe Digest V1 #671 by Creedenite@aol.com on Jul 14, 1997

A Message from our Provider:

“God is in control, and therefore in everything I can give thanks – not because of the situation but because of the One who directs and rules over it. #Kay Arthur”

The people of the covenant in the Old Testament were made up of Israel according to the flesh – an ethnic, national, religious people containing “children of the flesh” and “children of God” [see Rom. 9:6-8; Gal. 4:22-28]. Therefore it was fitting that circumcision was given to all the children of the flesh. But the people of the new covenant, called the Church of Jesus Christ, is being built in a fundamentally different way. The church is not based on any ethnic, national distinctives but on the reality of faith alone, by grace alone in the power of the Holy Spirit. The Church is not a continuation of Israel as a whole; it is a continuation of the true Israel, the remnant – not the children of the flesh, but the children of promise. Therefore, it is not fitting that the children born merely according to the flesh receive the sign of the covenant, baptism.

John Piper