Joy is not just the spin-off of obedience to God, but part of obedience. It seems as though people are willing to let joy be a byproduct of our relationship to God, but not an essential part of it. People are uncomfortable saying that we are duty-bound to pursue joy. They say things like, 'Don't pursue joy, pursue obedience.' But Christian Hedonism responds, 'That's like saying, ';Don't eat apples; eat fruit.'' Because joy is an act of obedience. We are commanded to rejoice in God. If obedience is doing what God commands, then joy is not merely the spin-off of obedience, it is obedience. The Bible tells us over and over to pursue our joy (Psm. 32:11; 37:4; 67:4; Lk. 10:20; Phil. 4:4).

John Piper

CATEGORY	CUISINE	TAG	YIELD
Meats, Dairy		Poultry	1	Servings

INGREDIENTS

3	lb	Cut-up broiler-fryer chicken /
1/2	ts	Salt
1/2	ts	Paprika
1/4	ts	Pepper l0 3/4 ounces condensed cream of chicken soup
1	c	Milk Parsley Dumplings

INSTRUCTIONS

Cut chicken breast halves in half. Arrange the chicken, skin sides up and
thickest parts to outside edges, in rectangular microwavable dish, 11 x 7 x
1 1/2 inches. Sprinkle with salt, paprika and pepper. Cover with waxed
paper and microwave on high 10 minutes. Skim off fat if necessary.
Mix soup and milk; spoon over chicken. Rotate dish 1/2 turn. Cover with
waxed paper and microwave 8 to 12 minutes or until thickest pieces of
chicken are done.
Prepare Parsley Dumplings. Drop by spoonfuls around edge of dish. Microwave
uncovered 6 to 7 minutes, rotating dish l/2 turn after 3 minutes, until
dumplings are no longer doughy.
6 or 7 servings.
From the files of Al Rice, North Pole Alaska.    Feb 1994
From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini

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