All I ever learned about making empanadas I learned from Jose
If you ever hang around Freedom Life Church in Kissimmee, Florida long enough (www.freedom-life.org) you’ll find out that amongst the deacons in our church we have a mighty man of God whose name is Jose. In the years Dan and I have had a privilege to learn many things from him one of them is how to make an empanada. I don’t pretend to be able to make them as good as him or come anywhere close. But I think in every department he’s ever been in they’ll have an empanada fund raiser, and those things sell like hotcakes. Jose is an awesome man of God.
As you all know I grew up in the heart of Ohio, and before coming down to Florida I had never really had Spanish food. I would have told you that Spanish and Mexican have to be the same in their food choices. I had never heard of an empanada or what I’ve called them for years is a meat whoohee.
Many of you are probably wondering where I’m going at with this. But I promise you I do have a point.
All too often I’ve seen the body of Christ as segregated as it can get. Really did we get out of high school because there are cliques all around? I’m not saying it’s wrong to have a few good friends, but I am saying that you have to explore out of your circle. Jesus is coming back for one bride. He’s coming back to a united body. We have to stop looking at race, color, and denomination. We must realize that within every life there is a wealth of knowledge and if you allow yourself you could be amazed at what those around you can teach you.
Philippians 1:27 in the Message Bible it says, “Meanwhile, live in such a way that you are a credit to the Message of Christ. Let nothing in your conduct hang on whether I come or not. Your conduct must be the same whether I show up to see things for myself or hear of it from a distance. Stand united, singular in vision, contending for people's trust in the Message, the good news, not flinching or dodging in the slightest
before the opposition. Your courage and unity will show them what they're up against: defeat for them, victory for you—and both because of God. There's far more to this life than trusting in Christ. There's also suffering for him. And the suffering is as much a gift as the trusting. You're involved in the same kind of struggle you saw me go through, on which you are now getting an updated report in this letter.”
We must focus on bringing unity to the Church.
In one of my books, yet to be published, I made an analogy that had to have been by the Holy Ghost because I’ve used it often when talking to people. But the analogy is that people in your life is like a patchwork quilt. We each give each other a piece and take someone else a piece. It makes up your quilt of who you are. Sometimes people give you a piece that you think may be too small or too big. Sometimes you may not like the piece. But it’s beautiful how God brings all those quilt pieces together and makes it into what is you. He forms it and fashions it. You have to be okay with what it looks like because somehow someway it all goes together.1 Corinthians 12:12 in the Message Bible it says, “You can easily enough see how this kind of thing works by looking no further than your own body. Your body has many parts—limbs, organs, cells—but no matter how many parts you can name, you're still one body. It's exactly the same with Christ. By means of his one Spirit, we all said good-bye to our partial and piecemeal lives. We each used to independently call our own shots, but then we entered into a large and integrated life in which he has the final say in everything. (This is what we proclaimed in word and action when we were baptized.)
Each of us is now a part of his resurrection body, refreshed and sustained at one fountain—his Spirit—where we all come to drink. The old labels we once used to identify ourselves—labels like Jew or Greek, slave or free—are no longer useful. We
need something larger, more comprehensive.”
Church we have to begin to value one another in the body. We all have unique giftings, abilities, callings, and talents. We need each other to get all the work done we need to get done. One of us doesn’t have all the answers, but when we’re united working for the kingdom, we’re working for the ONE that does. So though I don’t speak Spanish (though many people think I do because of my last name. . . it’s Italian, no habla espanol), though my culture is much different from Jose’s.
I can still learn from him. He‘s taught me a lot in the years I‘ve been here, and he does make a darn good empanada.
As you all know I grew up in the heart of Ohio, and before coming down to Florida I had never really had Spanish food. I would have told you that Spanish and Mexican have to be the same in their food choices. I had never heard of an empanada or what I’ve called them for years is a meat whoohee.
Many of you are probably wondering where I’m going at with this. But I promise you I do have a point.
All too often I’ve seen the body of Christ as segregated as it can get. Really did we get out of high school because there are cliques all around? I’m not saying it’s wrong to have a few good friends, but I am saying that you have to explore out of your circle. Jesus is coming back for one bride. He’s coming back to a united body. We have to stop looking at race, color, and denomination. We must realize that within every life there is a wealth of knowledge and if you allow yourself you could be amazed at what those around you can teach you.
Philippians 1:27 in the Message Bible it says, “Meanwhile, live in such a way that you are a credit to the Message of Christ. Let nothing in your conduct hang on whether I come or not. Your conduct must be the same whether I show up to see things for myself or hear of it from a distance. Stand united, singular in vision, contending for people's trust in the Message, the good news, not flinching or dodging in the slightest
before the opposition. Your courage and unity will show them what they're up against: defeat for them, victory for you—and both because of God. There's far more to this life than trusting in Christ. There's also suffering for him. And the suffering is as much a gift as the trusting. You're involved in the same kind of struggle you saw me go through, on which you are now getting an updated report in this letter.”
We must focus on bringing unity to the Church.
In one of my books, yet to be published, I made an analogy that had to have been by the Holy Ghost because I’ve used it often when talking to people. But the analogy is that people in your life is like a patchwork quilt. We each give each other a piece and take someone else a piece. It makes up your quilt of who you are. Sometimes people give you a piece that you think may be too small or too big. Sometimes you may not like the piece. But it’s beautiful how God brings all those quilt pieces together and makes it into what is you. He forms it and fashions it. You have to be okay with what it looks like because somehow someway it all goes together.1 Corinthians 12:12 in the Message Bible it says, “You can easily enough see how this kind of thing works by looking no further than your own body. Your body has many parts—limbs, organs, cells—but no matter how many parts you can name, you're still one body. It's exactly the same with Christ. By means of his one Spirit, we all said good-bye to our partial and piecemeal lives. We each used to independently call our own shots, but then we entered into a large and integrated life in which he has the final say in everything. (This is what we proclaimed in word and action when we were baptized.)
Each of us is now a part of his resurrection body, refreshed and sustained at one fountain—his Spirit—where we all come to drink. The old labels we once used to identify ourselves—labels like Jew or Greek, slave or free—are no longer useful. We
need something larger, more comprehensive.”
Church we have to begin to value one another in the body. We all have unique giftings, abilities, callings, and talents. We need each other to get all the work done we need to get done. One of us doesn’t have all the answers, but when we’re united working for the kingdom, we’re working for the ONE that does. So though I don’t speak Spanish (though many people think I do because of my last name. . . it’s Italian, no habla espanol), though my culture is much different from Jose’s.
I can still learn from him. He‘s taught me a lot in the years I‘ve been here, and he does make a darn good empanada.
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