Peach Cobbler Dish

This afternoon the boys were all piled in my room napping.  A house of quiet.  What to do, what to do.  Should I nap myself?  Read?  Blog?  Do laundry?  No, no, no, and  no.

Well, partly no.  I guess I did keep the laundry going. 

I went into the kitchen and got a half a pot of coffee going.  There are so many good things about an afternoon brew.  It makes it feel like Christmas.  The sound of the coffee perking and the smell make me happy.  While it brewed I filled the sink with hot soapy water.

I spent a few minutes loading dishes and wiping the counters.  Probably an entire sink of hot soapy water is not necessary for this task, but again, something about the hot bubbly water makes me feel happier and cleaner.

After a quick ten minute pick-up I sat down in my chair with my Bible.  I lit a special candle I've been waiting to enjoy.  The kind that seems extra special so you almost don't ever want to use it because then it will be gone.  That is the one I chose.

In a nutshell, this is what I chewed on.

You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God.  He is not the God of the dead, but the living.

The Pharisees have seated themselves in the place of Moses.  They say things and do not do them.  They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger. 

They love the place of honor.

But, the greatest among you shall be your servant.

In the last days, the love of most will grow cold.

You blind men.  You strain out a gnat and swallow a camel.

You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside it is still dirty.  The inside is full of robbery and self-indulgence.

You blind Pharisees, first clean the inside of the cup and the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.

For you are like a white-washed tomb.  On the outside you appear beautiful, but inside you are full of dead men's bones and all lawlessness. 

Outwardly you appear righteous, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

(Mt 22-24)

I remember my youth leader teaching on this passage when I was in Junior High.  She told us a story of the peach cobbler she made one evening.  It was hot out of the oven and ready to eat.  She opened the cabinet and pulled out her crystal bowls.  There was a dead cricket inside one of the bowls.

It was dirty on the inside and needed cleaning so it could hold the good stuff.

So many thought provoking thoughts in these passages.  The one that is the most sobering?  In the last days, the love of most will grow cold.