We need accountability. Left to our own devices, we will soon devise or succumb to all kinds of evil. As Christians we know that we need other believers to hold us accountable to the standards of Scripture. Passages such as Ecclesiastes 4:12 remind us that “a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” The Bible tells us that “iron sharpens iron” (Prov. 27:17) and that we are to “stir up one another to love and good works…encouraging one another” (Heb. 10:24-25). Life is far too difficult and we are far too sinful to live in solitude. We need community. We need accountability. And God has anticipated our need by giving us the local church as the primary means of this accountability.

Tim Challies

CATEGORY	CUISINE	TAG	YIELD
Seafood, Grains		Seafood	2	Servings

INGREDIENTS

1		Small octopus, about 1.5 lbs
1/2	lb	Finely chopped onion
2		Tomatoes, skinned and choppe
2		Cloves garlic, chopped
4	tb	Olive oil
1	oz	Pine nuts
6		Fresh basil leaves
1		Small glass white wine

INSTRUCTIONS

Clean the octopus.  Heat oil in a saucepan and saute the onions. When they
become transparent, add the garlic and tomatoes. Cook together for a few
minutes, then add the pine nuts and the octopus; cook over high heat for
another 2 or 3 minutes.  Pour in wine, cover pan, and simmer gently until
the octopus is cooked (the small ones will cook in less than 10 minutes.
Just before cooking is completed, add basil leaves and salt and pepper to
taste.  Serve with rice.
From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini

A Message from our Provider:

“Religion is external, faith is internal.”

Indeed, the more sanctified the person is, the more conformed he is to the image of his Savior, the more he must recoil against every lack of conformity to the holiness of God. The deeper his apprehension of the majesty of God, the greater the intensity of his love to God, the more persistent his yearning for the attainment of the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, the more conscious will he be of the gravity of the sin that remains and the more poignant will be his detestation of it... Was this not the effect in all the people of God as they came into closer proximity to the revelation of God’s holiness?

John Murray