Warm cookies and home

I was watching the movie "The preacher's wife" with Whitney Houston and Denzel Washington the other day. Denzel was an angel sent to help out a struggling pastor. When Denzel would shake the hands of different people in the film you could see that he had an immediate effect on those who were "touched". I believe the line in the movie was "It kind of reminds you of warm cookies and home". I tried searching the net but was unable to locate the exact clip to make sure of the quote but no matter. The point is that there was a feeling of warmth and peace that was felt whenever he touched another person.

I was reminded of that line when I attended what I refer to as our "cheatin' church" last night. We first started attending Victory Christian Center on Friday nights in 2002. During that time, we had gone back home to Shreveport Louisiana and attended my in-law's church Glad Tidings Assembly of God. They had been experiencing a revival for an extended period of time. The worship we experienced there was so powerful and the presence of the Lord was unprecedented. We traveled back and forth to Shreveport on the weekends for several months. We were so addicted to the feeling of warmth and satisfaction we received while attending those services. The level of intimacy we achieved with the Lord left us wanting more and more. But the practical aspect of gas prices, physical exhaustion, and the cares of daily living just made this difficult to maintain. We prayed for a solution. It was at this point that we found cheatin' church. VCC offered a Friday night renewal service and they were open to anyone attending without the pressure of trying to steal you away from your commitment to your home church. We found an oasis where we could recharge ourselves in the Lord and be refreshed for the ministry we would do within our own community. We attended faithfully for several years. Currently, we find we go back when we find that we are running low and need to return to our first love.

Well last night was one of those times. My relationship with Christ is okay but I have been missing that close touch. So David and I purposed in our hearts that we would travel the extra miles .... take the extra time .... and overcome every distraction. Can I tell you? It was worth every effort! Since the church leadership in this church is familiar with hosting the presence of the Lord, they had already bathed the house in prayer. You could feel the oil of His presence soaking into every crevice of the house. The minute you walked over the threshold you could feel the peace that only Christ can offer. It is a peace that wipes away every tear and lifts every burden that would weigh you down and keep you from His purposes. As we sat in their coffee shop awaiting the service, you felt like you were welcomed into your grandmother's kitchen. The lady behind the counter chatted about the Lord and shared her own personal journey in Christ. It was like sharing family stories. As we walked into the sanctuary, the greeters at the doors hugged you like you were long-lost cousins who they had not seen for quite awhile. They were so excited that you had come home to visit them. While sitting in our seats awaiting the music to start, we were greeted by another sister in Christ. She not only had a welcoming smile but she also shared an answer to a question that wasn't even asked. God was working without effort. It was as if the body of Christ was working like a well-oiled machine. When the praise and worship team started to play and sing, it felt as if you were invited to listen along to their own personal jam session. They were worshiping and you just got to go along for the ride. Everything seemed to flow without effort or stress.

As I was dwelling on this today. I heard the Lord say that you only get warm cookies from people who are willing to go in to the oven. When cookie dough initially goes into the oven it tastes pretty good but it lacks a certain cohesiveness. The eggs in the cookie dough are what cause the ingredients to bind to one another. Eggs that are not cooked properly can cause you to feel nauseous and ill at ease. Each individual ingredient is independent of the other. Dry flour doesn't really taste all that great but if you mix it together with sugar and butter .... well now we're on to something. Then we need to add some heat.  Heat and cooking causes the ingredients to draw closer to one another. To become so intertwined that you cannot tell the difference between one ingredient from the other. That is what trials in this life are all about. That is what becoming transparent before the Lord is all about. We yield ourselves to the will of God so that He and we become one. We wrap ourselves so completely in Him that those looking on cannot tell which is Him and which is us. It is at that point, that when we touch other people's lives, they will be like those people who were touched by the angel, Denzel, and they will get a sense of warm cookies and coming home.

Are we brave enough to say ..... Preheat it to 350 degrees please?