Tabikha Bil Houmus (chicken And Garbanzo Stew)

God is our all-sufficient Creator and Provider. In the first of the Ten Commandments He says, “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Ex. 20:3). Yet with addictions, we are revealing the fact that our hearts are bowing down to something we believe God cannot provide. The alcohol and drugs are not the essence of the issue. The problem is a heart that worships other gods. Maybe it’s the god of pleasure or the god of love or the god of acceptance or the god of peace or the god of control. You see, the problem is not outside of us. It’s not ultimately at the liquor store or on the Internet. The problem is within us and the booze and pornography are only satisfiers of deeper idols within our hearts. The problem is not the idolatrous substance. The problem is a passion in our heart that is wrongly satisfied with a false god (Concept adapted from Ed Welch, Addictions, p. 49).

Randy Smith

CATEGORY	CUISINE	TAG	YIELD
Meats, Vegetables, Grains	Libyan	Chicken, Libyan, Sephardic	6	Servings

INGREDIENTS

3/4	lb	Dried garbanzos, chickpeas
		1 1/2 cups
1	T	Vegetable oil
2	lb	Potatoes, peeled & quartered
1		Onion, chopped fine
1/2	c	Chopped flat leaf parsley
		rinsed and drained
1		Chicken, 3 lbs. cut in 8
		pieces
2		Cinnamon sticks
1/4	t	Pepper
1	t	Salt
2	c	Water
		Pomegranate seeds, for
		garnish

INSTRUCTIONS

Soak the garbanzos in water overnight. Drain, peel off and discard the
skins. Put all the ingredients except pomegranate seeds in a heavy  pan
and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 1  hour or
until chicken is tender and garbanzos are cooked. Garnish  with
pomegranate seeds during the season when available. Serve warm  over
rice.  Recipe by: Copeland Marks -- Sephardic Cooking Posted to
JEWISH-FOOD  digest V97 #106 by Nancy Berry <nlberry@prodigy.net> on
Mar 28, 1997

A Message from our Provider:

“In the sentence of life, the devil may be a comma–but never let him be the period.”

Nutrition (calculated from recipe ingredients) ---------------------------------------------- Calories: 227 Calories From Fat: 30 Total Fat: 3.3g Cholesterol: 0mg Sodium: 834.2mg Potassium: 797mg Carbohydrates: 43.8g Fiber: 3.9g Sugar: 11.1g Protein: 6.2g

A few years ago at a Christian bookseller’s convention, with several thousand people present, one Christian group did a survey asking people to define the gospel. A hundred people responded. Those who sponsored the survey looked at the responses, and only one out a hundred qualified as an adequate description of the gospel. People think that the gospel is having a warm relationship with Jesus, or asking Christ into your heart. Those things are important, but that is not the gospel. The gospel has a clear content that focuses on the person of Christ, the work of Christ, and how the benefits of Christ are appropriated into the Christian’s life by faith.

R.C. Sproul

“Oh Lord, don’t give me what I deserve, but give me what I need. Don’t remove the discipline, but discipline me in kindness and grace. Let not the rod be a sword, but let it be the stern hand of a loving Father that wants to turn me from my rebellious ways and make me more like Yourself. I bring none of my goodness to you, but plead on behalf of my littleness. I want the blessing of Your rebuke, but I fear the billows of Your anger. I trust You as my Father. Please correct me, change me and restore our relationship.”

Randy Smith