As I was going through some things on my desk, I came across a short devotional I had torn from a booklet dated last September 14th.

As I reread it, I realized why I had saved it. It was because it so caught my interest at the time, I wanted to share a few thoughts about it with you.

I know most of the women will know what I mean about using a ‘recipe’ to prepare a certain dish. Sometimes they are quite simple and sometimes complex. And, if we get too far off and start substituting ingredients, often we have a total ‘flop’ or at the very best, something that vaguely resembles what we had planned to make.

Having said that let me share some of the thoughts I had when reading my devotional. It spoke about a set program of worship in our Sunday morning services. You know…like a recipe for a church service.

It would include a pastor, choir, organist, scripture reading, hymns sung, and a pastoral message from the pulpit. And of course, there would be announcements, and there couldn’t possibly be a service without prayer and usually in closing a benediction.

I’m not saying that all of that is necessary for a church service. Services can be much simpler and just as meaningful to those in attendance.

And there is also communion when we receive what we call ‘the Lord’s Supper’. We do this because communion was begun in the upper room when Jesus had his last supper with His disciples. And as we partake, we are seeking forgiveness of our sins and remembering how Jesus died for us as atonement for our sins. 

Various churches of different denominations and in different parts of the world may vary to some extent the type of service. Now there are more and more contemporary services, but the message from the Scripture is usually the focal point. (Or so it seems to me). I’m old and like the traditional service but I don’t want to impose what I like on others. And I would think God is more interested in the hearts of those in attendance than the structure and formality of a service. I could be wrong…it wouldn’t be the first time.

I was especially impressed with the author saying we are doing similar things in our worship as the early Christians did. Perhaps they didn’t meet in sanctuaries like we do. But there are many similarities.

First of all, there was within the early church a feeling of fellowship. I hope that is what we find in our churches today. That warmth of fellowship binds a congregation into a family of believers and from that feeling emerges a caring that extends to each other and reaches outward to others.

Through the scriptures we hear God’s word and learn of His love and forgiveness. We are offered challenges to grow in faith, to grow in love and forgiveness to others, to acknowledge God’s gift of salvation and as we grow in faith our lives change and our interaction with others also change.

In the church of the Bible, change was also taking place…sometimes for the good and sometimes, just like us, they were slipping and moving away. There was a need for forgiveness then and we still stand in need of God’s forgiving love.

And I guess lastly, just as we partake of Holy Communion, I think the early church did so also. It becomes a time of remembering Jesus sacrificial death and a time of acknowledgment of our own sins. And most of all, it is a time of asking for forgiveness and recognizing that we can move on with hope in God’s grace as revealed through Jesus, the Christ.

Just as when I set out to make a cake or perhaps I try a recipe for a new pasta dish, I need to follow that recipe if the outcome is to be a dish that those to whom I serve it find it delicious. If I get too eager to change the recipe and add items that somehow cause what could have been something really good to become a dish that usually results in lots of leftovers and no requests for that recipe.

I think what the author of the little devotional I read had in mind when he used this illustration is that there is a ‘recipe’ for walking in God’s way and following His will.

And, I also think, that when we digress and often taken other paths, we might find that what results is also ‘failure’.

Following God’s way and trusting His guidance leads to peace in spite of troubles we might encounter. There is a sense of strength that comes when we lean on God and trust His way.

Finally, it is up to us. What ‘recipe for life’ will we choose as we make our journey through life? God stands willing and waiting to guide us safely. 

Recipes we try might fail us, but there is a certain promise that we can rely upon. And that is God’s promise that He will never fail us and is with us always.