Here we commemorate the greatest and deepest demonstration of true love the world has ever known. For God looked down upon sorrowing, struggling, sinning humanity and was moved with compassion for the contrary, sheep-like creatures He had made. In spite of the tremendous personal cost it would entail to Himself to deliver them from their dilemma He chose deliberately to descend and live amongst them that He might deliver them. This meant laying aside His splendor, His position, His prerogatives as the perfect and faultless One. He knew He would be exposed to terrible privation, to ridicule, to false accusations, to rumor, gossip and malicious charges that branded Him as a glutton, drunkard, friend of sinners and even an imposter. It entailed losing His reputation. It would involve physical suffering, mental anguish and spiritual agony. In short, His coming to earth as the Christ, as Jesus of Nazareth, was a straightforward case of utter self-sacrifice that culminated in the cross of Calvary. The laid-down life, the poured-out blood were the supreme symbols of total selflessness. This was love. This was God. This was divinity in action, delivering men from their own utter selfishness, their own stupidity, their own suicidal instincts as lost sheep unable to help themselves.

Phillip Keller

CATEGORY	CUISINE	TAG	YIELD
Eggs, Dairy			6	Servings

INGREDIENTS

1 1/4	c	Chocolate-wafer-cookie crumbs
4	tb	Unsalted butler; melted
3	lg	Egg yolks
3/4	c	Sugar
3	tb	Cornstarch
1/4	ts	Salt
1 1/2	c	Milk
1	tb	Unsalted butter
1	ts	Pure vanilla extract
1/2	c	Heavy cream; plus additional for garnish, (optional)
3		Ripe bananas
1/2	c	Finely chopped pecans

INSTRUCTIONS

CRUST
FILLING
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Crust: Combine cookie crumbs and melted butter in a small bowl. Press
mixture over the bottom and sides ola 9-inch pie plate.
Bake crust in center of oven for 7 minutes. Cool completely on a rack.
Filling: Beat egg yolks in a heavy medium-size saucepan. Mix in sugar,
cornstarch, and salt; stir in milk. Add butter and cook over medium heat,
stirring constantly for 5 to 7 minutes, until butter is melted and mixture
is bubbling and thick.
Remove pan from heat and stir in vanilla. Transfer custard to a glass bowl
and press a piece of plastic wrap to the surface. Chill for 2 hours.
Assembly: Whip heavy cream to stiff peaks and fold gently but thoroughly
into chilled custard. Peel and slice 2 bananas and arrange over bottom of
crust. Spoon filling over bananas. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate
for at least 6 hours.
Before serving, remove plastic wrap. Peel and slice remaining banana and
arrange slices around the perimeter. Sprinkle the center with the chopped
pecans and garnish with whipped cream.
Happily Busted w/ no CATS! <barbra@theoffice.net> 1998
Recipe by: Sheila Lukins U.S.A. Cookbook - Bon Appetit
Posted to MC-Recipe Digest by Barbra<barbra@pipeline.com> on Mar 01, 1998

A Message from our Provider:

“Let Him therefore send and do what He will. By His grace, if we are His, we will face it, bow to it, accept it, and give thanks for it. God’s Providence is always executed in the ‘wisest manner’ possible. We are often unable to see and understand the reasons and causes for specific events in our lives, in the lives of others, or in the history of the world. But our lack of understanding does not prevent us from believing God. #Don Fortner”

I contend that many Christians want to speak to others about the Lord but do not for fear that the observable, daily sin in their lives is too contradictory for them to witness….If God does not use sinners as His witnesses, there will be no human witnesses, since there are no perfect people…This does not change the fact that the more Christlike our lives, the more convincing our words about Christ. We need to do what we can to eliminate any sin that makes our words look inconsistent. But while attempting to do that we must be convinced that we cannot delay our witnessing until we reach sinless perfection. Otherwise, we would never share the gospel! Part of the beauty of our message is that God saves sinners, sinners like us.

Donald S. Whitney