Does the Bible say to “Ask Jesus into your heart”?

There are sayings and expressions that people use without even thinking about what they are saying. Expressions such as; “I’m so hungry I could eat a horse”, or “I’m starving!”

If we are being honest, no, we are not starving and if we were, eating a horse is not what we are thinking of doing!

For many years, I have heard the expression that people need to “ask Jesus into their hearts”. The same expression is sometimes phrased, "Ask Jesus into your life", or "Invite Jesus into your heart".  

Personally, I can’t find this in the Bible. Instead, I find that the Bible says, "…Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” (Acts 16:31)  

Romans 10:8-13 says nothing about 'inviting Jesus into your heart': “But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): ⁹ that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. ¹¹ For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”^{[c] 12} For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. ¹³ For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

So, where did we get the idea that people need to “ask Jesus into their heart”? I think that the idea comes from several religious tradition, that don’t come from the Bible, handed down through well-meaning teachers. Anglo-American Puritans and evangelicals in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries used the phrase “receive Christ into your heart,” or something like it, with some regularity.

Another one of these religious traditions taught that we have a ‘door to our heart’ that has a latch on the inside but not on the outside.  We are taught that Jesus Christ is knocking on the outside but cannot come in unless we unlatch the lock from the inside of the heart.  The Bible teaches no such thing.   

Where else does this idea come from? It also can be seen in stained glass set beautifully in church buildings. I personally think that some of this comes from people seeing either of the two allegorical paintings of Jesus Christ standing at the door knocking painted by William Holman Hunt or the one painted by Warner Sallman.

What about Revelation 3:20?  ”Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.

“Doesn’t that refer to the ‘door of our heart’?” I say, “No”. Take time to read the context of Revelation 3:14-22. The door mentioned is the door of the church of Laodicea; not a reference to the door of the heart or the door of your life or about salvation. It means to dine, that is, take the principal (or evening) meal or fellowship with the Lord.  

Religious songs are another source of this wrong teaching; songs we sing simply because we like them. In other words we have theology totally based on the words of the song even if they are not scriptural.  

One of these songs is called; "Come Into My Heart, Lord Jesus" which says; "Into my heart, into my heart; Come into my heart, Lord Jesus." This song is sung as people are given the opportunity to "Invite Jesus into their hearts".  

Some scriptural references are misinterpreted because of tradition. Some people will quote passages like Ephesians 3:16-19 “ that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, ¹⁷ that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, ¹⁸ may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— ¹⁹ to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”

But it doesn't say ‘ask Him into your heart’; rather it is says; “that He would dwell in your heart by faith”.

Some will say; “But what about John 14:23; “Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.”

It says, “We” will come and make “our” home with him. I would say this is speaking of the triune nature of God and it is the Holy Spirit who dwells in us when we surrender our lives to Jesus.

Referring to Jesus, Colossians 2:9-10 says “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; ¹⁰ and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power”

When we surrender our lives to Jesus, we are filled with the Holy Spirit; who is fully God as a member of the Trinity and a representative of the Father and the Son.

Acts 2: “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

Acts 4:31 “And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness”

Acts 13:52 “And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit”

Ephesians 5:18 “And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit”

Acts 9:17 “And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

Jesus, after He completed His work here on the earth, went to be with the Father.

Romans 8:34 “Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.”

Hebrews 10:11-14 “And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. ¹² But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, ¹³ from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. ¹⁴ For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.

John 14:12-17 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. ¹³ And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴ If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.¹⁵ “If you love Me, keep My commandments. ¹⁶ And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— ¹⁷ the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.

John 14:26  “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”

John 16:7-15 “Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. ⁸ And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: ⁹ of sin, because they do not believe in Me; ¹⁰ of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; ¹¹ of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. ¹² “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. ¹³ However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. ¹⁴ He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. ¹⁵ All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.”

The Bible simply says that we are to believe or trust the gospel message that Jesus paid for our sins by His death on the cross, and that He was buried, and that He was resurrected from the dead.  

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes...” (Romans 1:16a). 

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

We Receive Christ Through Faith
"By grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast" (Ephesians 2:8,9).

Just to agree intellectually that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He died on the cross for our sins is not enough. Nor is it enough to have an emotional experience. We receive Jesus Christ by faith, as an act of the will.

Receiving Christ involves turning our wills and lives to God and trusting Christ to come into our lives to forgive our sins and to make us what He wants us to be. The Bible calls this "repentance". What that means is to "change the way you think"; in other words, go another direction- with our thoughts, words, actions; with how we live our lives.

God will only give eternal life to:

1.   Those who are sorry for their sins.

2.   Those who are willing to turn away from what the Bible calls sin.

3.   Those who put their complete trust (have faith) in Jesus Christ and what He accomplished through His death, burial, and resurrection.

When We Receive Christ, we will experience a “New Birth”

So, how do you do you receive Christ?

1.   Stop trusting in your own efforts to please God and begin to trust in what Jesus Christ has already done.

2.   Ask God to forgive you for your sins.

3.   Ask Jesus to take His rightful place as Lord and Savior of your life.

4.   Turn away from whatever the Bible says is sin. NOTE: This is only possible after you have made Jesus the Lord of your life.

You can do this right now by praying (speaking to God) in your own words like this:

"LORD JESUS. I WANT TO STOP TRUSTING MYSELF AND WHAT I CAN DO AND START TRUSTING IN YOU AND WHAT YOU HAVE ALREADY DONE WHEN YOU DIED ON THE CROSS FOR ME. I KNOW THAT I AM A SINNER AND I AM SORRY FOR MY SINS. I ASK YOU TO FORGIVE ME. AND I INVITE YOU TO COME AND BE THE SAVIOR AND THE LORD OF MY LIFE. BY THAT I MEAN STARTING RIGHT NOW, YOU WILL BE #1 IN MY LIFE. I WANT TO TURN AWAY FROM EVERYTHING THAT YOU AND THE BIBLE CALL SIN. I TOTALLY COMMIT MYSELF TO OBEYING YOU; EVERYDAY OF MY LIFE. THANK YOU LORD JESUS"

This new life will continue to grow by:

·        Spending time each day; throughout the day praying and worshipping God.

·        Spending time reading the Bible which is His Word

·        Spending time with other Christians at church, Bible studies, and fellowships.

·        Spending time sharing with others who yet don’t know how they too can get right with God.

"Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved

Is That A Barn Swallow?

Many years ago, I worked for a general contractor who had the habit of showing up after a subcontractor made a mistake and hadn't been able to fix it prior to his arrival.

And, most of the time, if he had not seen it, it would have been fixed by someone prior to signing off on the project. This would include everything from a ding in a wall, to wrong paint color, a poor miter cut in a piece of molding, or something not being completed on time.

And, wouldn't you know it, it would be the one thing or area that he would notice as he walked on the job site as he asked; "What happened here?", or "Who did this?"

Needless to say, it would be an embarrassment to the sub who had made the mistake and no matter what he would say, it sounded as though he was making an excuse. 

In time, we as subs found a "trick" that would help us with this problem. We discovered that the general loved wildlife; especially birds. And all we would have to do to distract him (temporarily until the repairs could be made) was to point towards something and ask; "Is that a barn swallow?"

IMMEDIATELY his attention would be focused on whatever direction we had pointed. Usually this would be followed up with a "maybe I'm wrong…" as he feverishly looked to see what we had seen. 

Usually this was enough to distract him and, because he had a short attention span, was enough to redirect him to another area so that the sub could correct the mistake...or cover it up until he could get to the repairs.

In the entertainment world, they call that "sleight of hand" which is a cleverly executed trick or deception. It takes fine motor skills and is used to entertain or manipulate. It is associated with close-up magic, card magic, card flourishing and stealing.

It also can be used to point out the faults of others in an attempt to draw attention somewhere else.

Basically it is a way of saying; "I need you to look over here so that you can't see what I am doing over there."

I have also observed it being used in the church. This includes areas such as sexual sin, addictions, or other habits. By drawing attention or pointing out something that someone else struggles with, we draw attention away from our sin(s).

Sometimes it is a way to distract others until we can deal with an area that we are struggling with. Unfortunately, it is oftentimes used because we have no intention of changing or fixing the area of sin we struggle with.

We do this by categorizing sin into sins that are "bad" or "understandable" and sins that are REALLY bad. In other words, sin we do and sin that "those people do..."

And it’s damning as it separates us from "them" and takes away any hope that their sin is even forgivable. Oftentimes this hopelessness is dealt with by legislating morality in an attempt to feel better about whatever it is that they struggle with.

But the problem is that we may be fooling others, but we are not fooling God; the One who calls sin "sin".

AND WE NEED TO SEE IS FOR WHAT IT REALLY IS; A SLEIGHT OF HAND!

The Bible also tells us:
“You didn’t think, did you, that just by pointing your finger at others you would distract God from seeing all your misdoings and from coming down on you hard? Or did you think that because He’s such a nice God, He’d let you off the hook? Better think this one through from the beginning. God is kind, but He’s not soft. In kindness He takes us firmly by the hand and leads us into a radical life-change.” (Romans 2:3-4 MSG)

The Bible also tells us that

"No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it." (1 Corinthians 10:13 NKJV)

In other words, just because we haven't done what "they" do, it levels the ground and tells us that we too have the potential of giving in to the same sin! Yes, even THAT sin!

I love how Jesus backs this scripture up by saying;

"You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart." (Matthew 5:27-28NKJV)

Jesus goes right to the heart and lets us know that ALL of us sin; and that He knows it and is not distracted by our attempted sleight of hand by pointing out someone else’s' sin which we deem as worse than our sin.

In other words; "...all (of us) have sinned and fall short of the glory of God..." (Romans 3:23 NKJV). 

And EACH of us will have to deal with our own sin and hopefully receive the gift of salvation knowing that Jesus paid for ALL of our sins. That is unless someone wants to pay for their own sin which equals an eternity in hell until it is paid off.

The main problem is that we forget (those of who have been forgiven) that we didn't fix our sin problem; Jesus did!

“It wasn’t so long ago that you were mired in that old stagnant life of sin. You let the world, which doesn’t know the first thing about living, tell you how to live. You filled your lungs with polluted unbelief, and then exhaled disobedience. We all did it, all of us doing what we felt like doing, when we felt like doing it, all of us in the same boat. It’s a wonder God didn’t lose His temper and do away with the whole lot of us. Instead, immense in mercy and with an incredible love, he embraced us. He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ. He did all this on his own, with no help from us! Then He picked us up and set us down in highest heaven in company with Jesus, our Messiah.” (Ephesians 2:1-6 MSG)

The real truth is, no matter what sin it is that is in our life, God loves you and me so much that He doesn't want to leave any of us in our sin. 

His grace is available for each of us to reach us, and change us, and to lift each of us out of our sin(s) or any situation...

IF you will turn to Jesus with all of your heart. The rest, He will give you the power and the ability to say "no" to sin through His Holy Spirit.

Rather than using sleight of hand.

The Message (MSG)

Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

New King James Version (NKJV)

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

One-Handed Quandary

This past hockey season I was given a new name. Apparently, "Tommy O" wasn't meeting an unwritten requirement that I needed a nickname. 

For years it had served me well to personify me as a hockey player, artist, pastor, and my youthful disposition. And it also simplified things as some people struggle to pronounce my last name.

The newest name given to me by numerous players is "Tommy One-Hand". Although given to me by teammates, I knew that it had stuck when players from the opposing team called out this to me as I skated past their bench.

"Tommy One-Hand" is making reference to the fact that I have a 'bad habit' of sometimes  (usually) having only one hand on my hockey stick instead of keeping two on it at all times.

I tried to dismiss this by saying that even Bobby Orr sometimes skated coast to coast with the puck using only one hand on his stick. They responded; "Yeah, but then he scored a goal!", dismissing my logic.

The only reason it is a problem for other players is because they believe that "two hands on the stick" is the only way to play. Most of them had this drilled into their heads by coaches who also deeply shouted this mantra to their players.

I'm not sure when I started doing this, but I know that it helps me reach my stick out further in an attempt to steal a puck from another opposing player. One hand on the stick allows freedom of movement and speed; even in close quarters. 

I find that this way I can use a shorter stick when playing forward and still poke at a puck, instead of using a longer stick (which I use when playing defense). 

So, it really is debatable whether using one hand vs two hands is a 'bad habit' or not.

Even Laura Stamm (power skating coach from New York) agrees with me; 

"For 27 years I have been battling hockey people who maintain, Two Hands on the Stick, Two Hands on the Stick. The battle still looms large, because too many coaches still teach players to keep two hands on the stick at all times. Wrong! For one thing, the stick belongs on the ice, where the puck is. Secondly, by keeping both hands on the stick, players are forced to swing the stick high in the air, and from side to side (pitching hay) when skating fast." (www.laurastamm.net)

I know that they are correct and that working on my stick handling would improve my skills. Or at least would help them feel better. 

But, as I said, it is a long habit that is ingrained in my game. And habits can be hard to break; even if one knows that doing so would (could) improve things in their life.

Some say that it takes twenty one to thirty days to break a habit. And that it takes at least sixty six days to form a new habit to replace the old.

So what do we do with other habits that are debatable on whether or not there is need to change them? Habits such as going to bed early or staying up late? 

Habits of what to eat or not to eat? Or what to drink or not drink? Or whether coffee should have cream or not? Or Tea should be sweetened or not? And whether or not it should be caffeinated or not caffeinated; as well as how naturally they should be processed?

Habits such as where to place your hands on the steering wheel? And how many hands should be on the wheel?

Habits regarding how quickly or slowly you are supposed to go up and down stairs? 

Habits of whether or not you should cut your grass? Or how often you should cut it if you are so inclined to do so?

Habits of whether you hold a door open for someone?

Habits such as whether or not you use a spoon and fork or just a fork to eat pasta? Or whether you put catsup or ketchup on your fries or just mustard on your hotdog?

Habits such as whether or not you have to cheer for the home-team or can you go with one that is from a state you don't live in or have never even visited?

Habits such as washing dishes as you cook or after the meal?

Habits such as whether or not you fold up your newspaper after reading it; placing it back in the correct order? Or if it's even OK to read the news in printed form, or does it have to be online? How about printed books vs tablets?

Have you realized yet that many habits we have are really simply preferences; based upon what was drilled into your head by your "coaches"?

The Apostle Paul addressed this in the fourteenth chapter of Romans. He had observed that many people were divided on what was acceptable regarding their diets. He addresses it head on and doesn't state which diet is the correct one to follow.

He isn't talking about the sin of what they ate, but the sin in judging someone else for what they did or didn't do. He's trying to get them to obtain a new habit of allowing others to have habits that may be different from theirs; knowing that each of us will give an account to the ONLY One whose opinion really matters.

Paul wrote; 

"So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way." (Romans 14:12-13)

Although Paul was specifically giving instruction regarding food, his instruction can be applied regarding how we accept differences or preferences or habits of others. Again, Paul isn't talking about sin, but preferences. Yes, it is Ok to challenge habits that are sinful.

Paul wrote:

"Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another." (Romans 14:19)

Let's give each other the freedom to keep only one hand on the stick if they so desire.

"Buried Halfway Up My Hubcaps in Mud"

The plan was pretty simple: Take the day off and head to the family cabin in Wisconsin with Cathy and a load of furniture and some other items. 

I also needed to reinstall a sign that I had removed in the fall to re-carve and paint the lettering, and then apply many coats of lacquer to make it last for another twenty five years or so. Afterwards, we would go to a local restaurant to eat lunch and then head home.

Other than that we had no real agenda. We both had been working way too many hours with no end in sight and thought that this would be a good way to spend the day together.

We spent the ninety minute drive listening to an old sermon that boosted our faith. After the message was done, we discussed how the Lord had used that message in our lives (individually and as a couple) over the past thirty some years. 

We arrived at the cabin full of faith and ready to face the challenges of life. Little did we realize how quickly it would be put into action.

For some reason, the weather at the cabin always seems to be a couple of weeks behind the weather in Minnesota so it didn't surprise us to see that there was still some snow on the ground and ice on the lake.

What did surprise us was that the driveway, which appeared to be solid (like in Minnesota), was actually in process of having the frost go out of it. This was a fact that would have been nice to know a few minutes earlier...

I put the truck in reverse and started to backup into the driveway so that it would be easier to unload the truck.

As soon as the rear tires were five feet on the driveway, Cathy noticed that the tires were starting to spin a bit.

Because it was on the North side of the property, I reasoned that's it must just be ice and proceeded to continue to back up another five feet. At this point the front tires also started to spin. Cathy suggested that I go forward; I reasoned that if I continued backwards a bit further I could get a longer runway to head over the ice.

Because I am persistent, I continued to attempt to drive forward and backwards not realizing that it wasn't ice, but mud, because of frost leaving the ground. Again, this was a fact that would have been nice to know a few minutes earlier...

In record time I buried the truck up halfway up my tires in wet mud comprised of clay and sand and my attempts to drive it out only made things worse.

Cathy and I got out to assess the situation. Cathy suggested that I drive while she pushed. I showed her the mud-covered side mirrors and said that I wouldn't suggest that we try that option. 

Instead, we changed out of our shoes into the boots that we had brought just in case the soil was wet and made a scavenger trip to the surrounding cabins (and ours) to look for wood to place under the wheels; rationalizing that this was no different than getting a vehicle out of snow.

After we rounded up some materials, and placed it under the vehicle and tires, I got in and attempted to drive out. 

This only seemed to irritate the soil as it pulled us into its grip even deeper like it was made of quicksand. Bobby Goodson's team (of the Discovery Channel's "Swamp Loggers") had faced nothing of this magnitude as very quickly we were even deeper in the mud. 

Cathy recalled that her brother had also gotten his truck stuck in the exact spot one year ago. I concluded that it was time to stop and ask for help. 

I called a local towing company who came over and used their tow truck to pull us out of the mud onto the blacktop on road just ten feet away. After hooking us up, it took him less than a minute to pull the ruck out of the mud.

I thanked him as I paid the bill for his promptness and because he changed his plans to come over fairly quickly.

I looked at the truck as Cathy looked at me. She said that she appreciated that I had not gotten upset. I told her that this was our adventure and made reference to the sermon that we had listened to on the way up to the cabin.

I also said that now it looked like a real truck as together we observed our truck that was clean on the ride up and was now covered in mud that was two inches thick.

I wasn't upset in any way; I had simply misjudged the situation and deducted that the driveway was more solid than it was. I thought that I was on solid ground, not "quicksand" mud.

It made me think of what other areas of my life was I also misreading the solidness of my ground...

The old spiritual hymn professes that on Christ the solid Rock I stand, but am I truly standing on Christ and Christ ALONE? I deduced that the only way to really find out how firm my ground was is to go through the trials of life. It is then and only then that I see whether or not my anchor holds and whether or not the ground holds under the weight of life.

I am glad that in this "test" I was able to respond in faith that He would come to my rescue; that I would get out. I am grateful that once again the LORD was faithful:

I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what He has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the Lord. (Psalm 40:1-3 NLT)

I'm not sure where you are at today or how buried you are as you attempt to get yourself unstuck.

My advice to you is to simply stop and ask for help. There is One who is so very much interested in your situation and is available to help you. He WANTS to help you no matter what you did to get yourself in your current situation.

He simply wants you to acknowledge the reality of your situation and cry out to Him. And He will help you and get you once again back on solid ground.

He's waiting for you to ask Him... 

The Solid Rock by Edward Mote

1.   My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

Refrain:
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand.

2.   When darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.

3.   His oath, His covenant, His blood
Support me in the whelming flood;
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my hope and stay.

4.   When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh, may I then in Him be found;
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.

al dente

"cooked so as to be still firm when bitten".

At the risk of being corrected, I will instruct all of you eager readers as to how to cook pasta…I say risk because every cook and chef across this world of ours has an opinion as to how to correctly cook pasta. 

And each one thinks that he or she is correct.

I press on...

1.) In a large pot, bring 4 quarts of water to a rolling boil; 

2.) Add salt and bring to boil again.

3.) Add package of pasta to boiling water.

4.) Stir pasta until all of the pasta is submerged.

5.) Bring to a rolling boil again.

6.) Cook pasta for approximately 10 minutes; stirring frequently.

7.) When pasta is al dente remove from heat.

8.) Pour pasta into colander and drain water.

9.) Serve.

Al dente means that the pasta is not overcooked; for that would make it limp, gummy, and hard to chew. 

Al dente means that the pasta is cooked perfectly with a bite. The pasta has gone from a dried, hardened posture to one that is pliable, flexible, and open to receive a sauce. Ora di mangiare! (time to eat).

 

Pretty simple procedure: Boil water, place inflexible and dried product into the boiling water until it flexible and open to receive something to make it better. 

Most of us who cook never really over-analyze this process or ponder it for that matter because it is the necessary process pasta must go through...

So, challenge accepted! I will ponder or should I say chew on this process...

Did you ever notice how closely this describes the process we sometimes goes through to bring real change in our life? And yet, when the process happens in our life, we see it as something strange that is happening to us. 

We start off in some areas of our lives; stiff, ridged, inflexible, and seemingly impervious to receiving good things in our life.

So, we are placed in "hot water" and the heat gets turned up...until all around is turbulent; or least it seems that way as we try to contain the rolling surroundings that seem to be spilling out everywhere. 

Salt is added to preserve, season, and bring flavor, but we can't see the value because it often comes in the form of tears and other times stings as it is poured into our gaping wounds.

The long process seems like an eternity as we are tossed to and fro trying to make sense of it all...yearning to get out of our circumstance...as the relentless waves continue their (seemingly) merciless agitation.

"What is going on?!?" We cry out to a chef whom we cannot see...wondering why He has walked off and left us alone to take another ride on this furious wave.

And as quickly as the process seemed to come on, it ends as we are removed from the pot as the hot water is drained and we breathe a sigh of relief.

"What was that for?" We ask without realizing that in the process we have been changed into something different than we were before. 

We've taken on a new posture; where we were once stiff, ridged, inflexible, and seemingly impervious to receiving good things in our life…we are now flexible and pliable and able to receive life.

Yes, it was longer then we would've liked, but it really wasn't too long (not overcooked). The timing was just right for what was necessary to change us into one who could be used by the Chef as He intended; as He purposed from the time that we were made.

"Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you." (1 Peter 4:12).  

"Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing." (James 1:2-4)