"Men who are occupied with the restoration of health to other men, by the joint exertion of skill and humanity, are above all the great of the Earth. They even partake in divinity, since to preserve and renew is almost as noble as to create."---Voltaire
I just love preserves. Of course, I don't get to partake of them as much as I'd like because they're harder to come by then, say jelly or jam (a message within itself, indeed!). But, as I was preparing to make myself a peanut butter and pear preserve sandwich earlier today (if you live in Nashville or the surrounding areas, there is a great Amish market in Guthrie, KY), I thought about the process that fruit must go through in order to be...well, preserved.
Contrary to some of my friends' beliefs, I actually do cook/bake (and enjoy doing so), but I don't think I've ever made preserves (at least alone and with serious intent). I've watched and semi-participated a few times, but until now, I've never really cared enough to pay much attention. Perhaps if I had a long time ago, I would have spared myself a lot of, as one of my friends calls a well-known pop artist, "unnecessarily necessary" lessons (in the spiritual/emotional/relational sense).
Anyway, according to eHow.com, here are the steps:
- Prevent the darkening of fresh fruit by soaking in ascorbic acid before preserving. Add 3 grams of acid to a gallon of water and soak the fruit, draining the fruit before using. Use smaller quantities of lemon juice for the same result.
- Freeze fruit as it is (unsweetened) or in sweetener for use in pies or as fruit fillings. Use a simple syrup made from sugar and water or add sugar directly to the fruit.
- Freeze individual fruits like berries on cookie trays until frozen and pack in freezer bags. This makes it easy to use small amounts of the fruit at a time or to eat as a healthy snack food.
- Use glass freezer jars, plastic freezer containers or freezer bags for quality fruit preservation in the freezer. These specialty containers maintain product integrity under freezer conditions.
- Preserve fruit as jam, jelly or preserves. Jam has pieces of fruit and preserves have whole fruit. Jelly is filtered and clear.
- Follow the jam and jelly recipes that accompany purchased pectin. Pectin comes in liquid or powdered form to firm up fruit products. Fruits such as apples, blackberries, crab apples, grapes and plums contain enough natural pectin that added pectin is not necessary.
- Can fruit packed in a light, medium or heavy syrup. Light syrup has 1/ 2 cup of sugar for every 4 cups of water; a very heavy syrup has equal amounts of sugar and water.
- Cook apples, pears or peaches in a heavy pot on the stove for a tasty fruit sauce. Allow the sauce to brown slightly for a sweet, buttery version. Freeze the fruit sauce in freezer bags or containers or process in canning jars.
- Hot pack or cold pack fruit properly to preserve in pint or quart jars. Raw pack or cold pack the fruit into clean jars, pour hot syrup over the fruit and process. To hot-pack the fruit, add the raw fruit to the hot syrup, reheat to boiling, and pack the hot fruit and syrup into jars and process.
- Use a food dehydrator to dry fruit as individual fruit slices or as fruit leather. Store the dried fruit in airtight containers and store in the freezer as a precaution.
Okay, now for those of you who love to be in the kitchen, maybe you've always wondered how to make them...and now you do. But for those of you who are waiting, thinking, "Shellie, what could this possibly do with your devotional thought?" thanks for your patience. There's a method to the madness. (Luke 21:19)
During this entire election campaigning process, I have been pretty quiet (on the devotional tip), and while I have already voted and am at peace with my decision, I will still use the writing platform that God gave me responsibly by saying this: However you vote, just make sure that you do, and as you do, I want to encourage the importance of the following scripture:
"'Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a treeis knownby its fruit.'"---Matthew 12:33 (NKJV)
In this context, fruit is defined as "the consequence of some effort or action". For any Christ follower, faith (along with love) should be the foundation of our daily journey (Hebrews 11:1 & 6), but ALL SCRIPTURE is to be used for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training. (2 Timothy 3:16) Therefore, we cannot leave out the fact that God gave us the power to investigate (a sound mind---2 Timothy 1:7); that he has commissioned us to test spirits because there are MANY false prophets in the Earth (1 John 4:1) and, as the lead scripture points out, we should exercise discretion...so that we might be preserved (bookmark that).
Discretion: the power or right to decide or act according to one's own judgment; freedom of judgment or choice; the quality of being discreet; circumspection; the ability or power to decide responsibly.
Synonyms: attention, calculation, carefulness, deliberation, discernment, foresight, forethought, good sense, heed, maturity, observation, precaution, tact, thoughtfulness, watchfulness, wisdom.
What I fear that a lot of people---people who go to church, read the Bible and love the Lord---have lost sight of is the fact that faith and discretion actually go hand in hand. You do not have to forsake one for the other. As a matter of fact, it would be a travesty if you did.
I love how the Message Version translates the biblical definition of "faith":
"The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It's our handle on what we can't see. The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd."---Hebrews 11:1-2
God pointed out to me a long time ago, that "blind faith" is one of the "God gossip game" tactics that I was taught that was dead wrong. God knows the end from the beginning (Revelation 1:8). All he wants us to do is trust that and follow as he leads. (Proverbs 3:6) That is where faith comes in, but there is nothing "blind" about it. Sure, because we are made up of both flesh and spirit, it can be a bit challenging submitting to what's right...what's best...giving up what we can see for what we can't (Galatians 5:16-17), but the truth (John 8:32) is that you can "see" in light and God is light. (2 Corinthians 4:4) It's when you choose darkness that things get all bleak and crazy. (Luke 11:34) I say that to say that I just think that it's time that we stop being so emotional that we aren't logical; so religious that we aren't spiritual (in the GODLY way); so traditional that we aren't practical and progressive. (2 Corinthians 3:18) I mean, how can God do a new thing when we are always fighting him on it? I mean, he can (Luke 1:37), but I'm sure it would be a lot easier on him if we would be open to it...if we were not always pouring new wine into old wine skins. (Matthew 9:17)
That said, I think that when the Word tells us about the Fruit of the Spirit, I fear that, in our daily walk, on all levels, there are several that we, either through ignorance or rebellion, overlook:
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law."
As it relates to this message, let's look at some synonyms for "self-control"; an attribute that is not talked about as much, but is (or at least should be) evidence of the Holy Spirit living within us: balance, constraint, discipline, DISCRETION, poise, restraint, self-government, sobriety, stability, STRENGTH OF CHARACTER. If you claim to be a Christian, there should be evidence of "balance", "discretion", "stability" and "strength of character" in your life. AND, you should also be able to, through the power of the Holy Spirit, discern who has these same traits. How? Well, the Bible makes it pretty clear how you can tell a man/woman of character:
"Do not lie to each other. You have left your old sinful life and the things you did before. You have begun to live the new life, in which you are being made new and are becoming like the One who made you. This new life brings you the true knowledge of God. In the new life there is no difference between Greeks and Jews, those who are circumcised and those who are not circumcised, or people who are foreigners, or Scythians. There is no difference between slaves and free people. But Christ is in all believers, and Christ is all that is important. God has chosen you and made you his holy people. He loves you. So you should always clothe yourselves with mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with each other, and forgive each other. If someone does wrong to you, forgive that person because the Lord forgave you."---Colossians 3:9-13 (NCV)
Ironically, the NKJV describes the 12th verse as "The Character of a New Man". When you are a man of character, it's not about what you say, but what you are; not just what people hear, but what they see. 1 John 3:18 says that we are not to love in word or tongue, but in deed and truth. This is the sign of a man/woman of character. I know it was a long intro, but this is where the message actually begins.
A couple of weeks ago, I was having an email dialogue with someone about our love for "dogs". She loves underdogs, while I seem to have a weakness for strays. However, through the unction of the Holy Spirit, I told her, "But at the end of the day, they are both 'dogs' and one definition of that word is 'to make an investment and not get a return'." I think what God was trying to show us both on a grander scale is that far too many people fall for "love", in any form or relational type, that is in "word and tongue" rather than in "deed and truth". And, when they do, what they are doing is often giving what's sacred to something that is not deserving. (Matthew 7:6)
Deed: something that is done, performed, or accomplished; an act; action or performance in general.
Truth: the true or actual state of a matter; a verified or indisputable fact, proposition, principle, or the like; honesty; integrity; truthfulness.
Again, all scripture is designed to work together (that's why you must take the Old with the New---Matthew 5:18), yet, unfortunately, it would seem that a lot of us do "love" like we do faith. In faith, it would appear that many of us tend to believe whatever comes out of someone's mouth just because they say they are a Christian (and don't let them be a popular one---Luke 6:26-Message), or can attach some scripture (or church membership) to their platform, forgetting (or ignoring) that we are called to have a sound mind, and that we've been warned that there will be false prophets whose mission will be to deceive, even the very elect. (Matthew 24:24) When it comes to love, we also seem take people simply at their word, neglecting that the scriptures say that we should not go by word, but one's deeds...one's truth.
When was the last time you asked yourself if you were "performing" love to the people you claim to care about; the people you are yoked to? (2 Corinthians 6:14) Is it a "verified fact" (confirmed as to accuracy or truth by acceptable evidence, action, etc.) that those around you can call you a loving person? Have you asked yourself these same questions as it relates to the kind of "loving" that you are receiving/accepting from your "yoked up crew"? Do they merely say that they love you, or do they go a step further by showing it?
While I was in my prayer time this morning, one thing that I felt the Holy Spirit tell me was that while I pray for love, I pray for protection, I pray for provision, I need to pray more for preservation, especially now.
Huh?
Look it up. In the Bible, first.
"Oh, love the Lord, all you His saints! For the Lord preserves the faithful, and fully repays the proud person."---Psalm 31:23 (NKJV)
"You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah."---Psalm 32:7 (NKJV)
"He shall abide before God forever. Oh, prepare mercy and truth, which may preserve him!"--Psalm 61:7 (NKJV)
"Hear my voice, O God, in my meditation; preserve my life from fear of the enemy."---Psalm 64:1 (NKJV)
"You who love the Lord hate evil!He preserves the souls of His saints; He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked."---Psalm 97:10 (NKJV)
"The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore."---Psalm 121:8 (NKJV)
"Keep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked; preserve me from violent men, who have purposed to make my steps stumble."---Psalm 140:4 (NKJV)
"The Lord preserves all who love Him,But all the wicked He will destroy."---Psalm 145:20 (NKJV)
Now, I would like to say that I easily and immediately humble myself every time I get words of wisdom, but the truth is, I don't. (Keep prayin' for a sistah!) When I first read these scriptures, I was like, "I mean, that's pretty much the same thing as 'protection', right?" I love that God doesn't expect anything from me that he is not willing to give. I praise him for his "on call" patience, grace and mercy (Hebrews 4:16) because after reading the definition of "preserve", I realized just how much I needed all three of them! Indeed, synonymous is not exactly the same.
Preserve: to keep alive or in existence; make lasting; to keep safe from harm or injury; protect or spare ; to keep up; maintain; to keep in perfect or unaltered condition; maintain unchanged; to prevent (organic bodies) from decaying or spoiling; something considered as being the exclusive province of certain persons; keep in safety and protect from harm, decay, loss, or destruction; to keep up and reserve for personal or special use.
(Side note: OK, for all of my "I don't ever want to spank my child(ren)" friends, do you see how sparing the rod is actually NOT preserving the fruit of your children, but spoiling them?---Proverbs 13:24, 22:15, 23:13, 29:15. Okay, I'm gonna move on...)
For a moment, I sat in awe. Just recently, I was telling a friend mine that I can understand how you can get bored with religion (a man made thing---Ecclesiastes 1:9), but GOD??? How can you possibly get bored with him? Just when I receive one lesson that blows my mind, he comes with another! How amazing, how life-altering...how God that at this stage in my life, in this country and world's political/economical state, in my purpose, God would impress upon me to pray for preservation; to pray that I be "reserved for personal or special use". AMAZING!
It also helps me understand why I spent years being rejected, why I have never really "fit" in the cliques of any kind (in hindsight, PRAISE GOD!), why some things I begged for I got a flat out "no" and some things I didn't think I wanted/needed turned out to be the greatest of blessings. Through it all, God was preserving me. (Romans 8:28) Ain't it a trip how so many of us want to be his "special" people (I Peter 2:9) and yet still want to blend in with the masses? (Matthew 22:140 Just this week, I was telling one of my "love brothers" that I don't want to be treated by men---shoot, people for that matter--- like the mall (anymore). You can get the same top, all sizes, at the mall. I want to be treated like a boutique. You get it here, or you don't get it at all! (And I only want to attract the kind of "clientèle" that are discerning enough to know that!)
What I really love about this revelation is that it ties in wonderfully with the instructions on how to make fruit preserves. For those of you who just want to get the spiritual, and not the cooking side of the lesson, reread Step 5:
"Preserve fruit as jam, jelly or preserves. Jam has pieces of fruit and preserves have whole fruit. Jelly is filtered and clear."
You can pretty much find jams and jellies anywhere because while they may have some fruit in them, there are also a lot additives and their fruit is not whole, which makes them easier to "mass produce" (yet another message within itself). Oh, but to come up on preserves? Fruit that is whole? Now that is harder to come by...that is something special!
Now scriptures like, "Blessed are those who keep His testimonies,who seek Him with the whole heart!" (Psalm 119:2); "With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!" (Psalm 119:10); "I cry out with my whole heart; Hear me, O LORD! I will keep Your statutes." (Psalm 119:145), and even scriptures like, "Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." (Ephesians 6:11-13); "For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all." (James 2:10), and "And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell." (James 3:6) make so much more sense!
Whole: comprising the full quantity, amount, extent, number, etc., without diminution or exception; entire, full, or total; containing all the elements properly belonging; complete; not broken, damaged, or impaired; intact; uninjured or unharmed; sound.
Why does God want us to pray for preservation? Because in it, yes, there is protection, but there is also a mission to keep us reserved for his special use. Several times this year, the Holy Spirit has pointed out to me that love, joy, peace, etc. are not FRUITS of his Spirit but FRUIT. They are not "chopped up" or "filtered" like some kind of spiritual jelly or jam to be spread whenever/wherever. He is not love without kindness or goodness without faithfulness. He doesn't promote joy without peace or love without self-control. He is the WHOLE thing.
A big part of this journey in life is to get us to the same place. If you have accepted the Holy Spirit into your human trinity (I Corinthians 6:19) yes, he dwells within you, but just look around at your life, your relationships, your goals, your emotions...yourself. Would you use the word "whole" to describe any of these areas...or have you settled for having/dishing up a little "fruit" mushed up with some additional additives...is it easier to "serve yourself up" in pieces rather than whole?
This week, as things shift in the political world, I encourage you to also pray for preservation from a protection standpoint, but also in the areas of being "maintained", "unaltered", "prevented from decay"...and "reserved for personal and special use". It's miraculous what happens when you realize that God wants to preserve you because he sees you as special, and it's awesome what you begin to see (in the spiritual realm), when you accept that with wholeness of (spiritual) fruit comes many blessings...that setting you a part is not necessarily setting you aside from what you desire, but for what he desires for you (Ecclesiastes 3:11, Ephesians 3:20); that a WHOLE heart, a WHOLE mind and a WHOLE spirit is just that much sweeter...for the giver and to the partaker.
Sure, it takes a few more steps, it requires a lot more effort, but as a "preserves partaker" myself, it's well worth it...EVERY TIME...no matter what effort it took to get it.
©Shellie R. Warren/2008
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