DO YOU RECOGNIZE YOUR LITTLE CHILD WHEN HE COMES CRYING ABOUT A ‘BOO BOO'? SURE YOU DO. THE REASON IS, THERE IS A RACE OF YOU IN THEM. HOW MUCH OF JESUS IS IN YOU? WILL HE RECOGNIZE YOU WHEN HE COMES?

O TASTE AND SEE! SCRATCH CAKE…TO GO WITH THE VANILLA SAUCE FEATURED LAST WEEK. YUM. YUM. A TASTE OF OLD FASHIONED GOODNESS. PASS THE ICE CREAM…ENJOY!

Hearing the accounts of those who actually saw Jesus after His Resurrection, it's astounding that at first observation, He was not recognized. Don't you wonder?

Mary Magdalene didn't recognize Him at the tomb; The men on the road to Emmaus didn't recognize Him until they break bread with Him [Lk.24:13-35]; the disciples who went fishing, Peter, John, James and Andrew didn't recognize Him on the shore. Were they looking for Him? Or did they think it was all over?

In Matthew 25, there is an account of ten virgins. "Now five were wise and five were foolish. They were all awaiting the arrival of the Bridegroom. The foolish took their lamps, but took no oil with them. The wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps."

NOTE: (I pray that TJIFA Readers and those whom you love will heed the warning of this parable, given to us by Jesus Christ, and will be equipped, prepared and waiting for that most excellent Day when the Bridegroom returns. The time for preparation is NOW! Not after the SHOUT is sounded.) TER.

When the Bridegroom was announced, they all rose up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish virgins asked the wise for some of their oil. The wise refused them because they said that they didn't have enough for themselves and for the foolish virgins. The wise virgins advised the foolish to go and buy some oil. While the five foolish virgins were out buying oil, the Bridegroom came. Those who were ready went in with Him to the wedding and the door was shut. "Afterwards, the other virgins came also, saying Lord, Lord, open to us! But, He answered and said assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you."

There is a stunning similarity between these two situations. The similarity being alluded to is the inability to recognize that to which you should be familiar. The disciples and Mary were all familiar with Jesus, yet, they failed to recognize Him.

The act of waiting speaks volumes about the participant. Many scriptures command that we wait on the Lord. When you are asked to wait on an event, you must know something about the person, thing or event that you are waiting for.

When I was young, my mother would give me bus fare before she left for a job. She told me where to meet her, what time to leave the house, what time to catch the bus and where she would be when I arrived.

I felt so good when she told me to meet her on the corner across from the drug store, and we would have a milk shake together. What a treat! I'm on my way. All I could think about was that big thick milk shake and sitting on the high stool with my mother.

I waited. And, I waited. Half and hour passed. Maybe her bus was late. I waited about twenty minutes pass the time that she told me that she would be there.

There were so many people, and they all seemed to know where they were going, but, I didn't recognize any of them. I went into the drug store and looked around. No Mother! Where could she be?

I began going over what she had said when she told me to meet her right here. Carefully I retraced her instructions. All of a sudden, I understood beyond a shadow of a doubt that, I WAS LOST! Oh No! How could I have been so ignorant? Think! Think!

I remembered that my Mother told me that if I ever got lost or took the wrong bus, I could get on the bus and show them the transfer and explain to them and maybe the bus driver would assist me. So, following her instructions, I presented the bus driver on the other side of the street with the transfer. Guess what? It was the same driver that brought me to the spot where I was sure I was supposed to be.

When I arrived at the point that I was supposed to have been at least two hours before, the first person that I saw…MY MOTHER! She was standing at the bus stop where I was to have arrived, a stern, concerned look on her face that melted when I jumped into her arms, crying.

I told her that I had gotten turned around and was waiting for her on the wrong corner. I can only imagine that my Mother waited and carefully had scanned EVERY bus, looking for her daughter. Question: Did she tire of waiting? Did she decide that the time was too long so she would give up? Did I give up waiting? Did I decide to go with anyone else since my Mother wasn't on the corner that I chose?

I knew one thing about my Mother, and that one thing made me correct my apparent mistake because I knew that my Mother would NEVER go back on her word. I waited as long as I did, because my Mother was worth waiting for.

In the parable of the ten virgins, we are given to wonder about the foolish virgins. The wise virgins evidently knew enough about the Bridegroom to prepare for the wait. The foolish virgins either didn't know the Bridegroom, or they didn't care enough to be prepared. In either case, recognition plays a key role in the process of waiting for the expected end.

I knew and recognized my Mother's words. When she didn't show up on the corner on which I steadfastly graced, I knew one thing . . . I was lost! Recognition is crucial. If my Mother or I had decided to go off with someone other than the person for whom we were waiting, neither of us would have been satisfied, because we both longed for the other's company.

Mary Magdalene couldn't be comforted by the Angels, or by the person whom she perceived to be the Gardner. She longed for the Jesus with whom she had become familiar. She would only recognize "the dead body" of Jesus. When she was confronted by the Resurrected Lord, she pleaded with Him for the dead Jesus. He had to correct her and show her that it was He. When He called her name, she recognized Him.

The men, who walked and talked with Jesus on the road to Emmaus, didn't recognize Him until He broke bread with them. The foolish virgins only recognized Him when He shut the door and forbade them entrance to the wedding feast.

When will you recognize Him? Recognition of who He is and what He has done, and is coming to do is crucial. It has nothing to do with the outward appearance, the clothes you wear or the position that you have acquired in this life.

CHRIST IN YOU THE HOPE OF GLORY. You will recognize your name when He calls, and most assuredly He will recognize you. "Watch therefore for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming."

Swoosh. Swoosh. Swoosh.
Civil Rights.
Human Rights.
Women's Rights.
Children's Rights…Swoosh!
Prayer in school.
In GOD we Trust.
The Pledge of Allegiance.
The Flag…Swoosh.

There's a new SWEEPER in town.
He's dipped His broom in a bucket of Blood.
He's pulled back the rug.
He's exposed the under pinning of sin.
His Broom is like a knife.
No! It's like a two-edged sword.
It's piercing.
It's dividing.
It's discerning.
It's cleansing, making whole.
It's forgiving, and setting FREE!
Swoosh.

Come out from under the rug.
Everyone knows that you're undercover.
Come out of the closet.
Everyone knows who you are.
Come and give your life to the only One who can sweep you…

FRIDAY'S WORD: Recognition; rec*og*ni*tion- noun: when used as a verb, to recognize; identify as previously known; take notice of; acknowledge, especially with appreciation

IN THE MIRROR:
One question caught my mind this week after hearing more disheartening news of so many lives being needlessly lost. "Are we praying?"
Listen to Jesus' words in John 17:21:"That they all may be one ;as thou Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hath sent me."
I wouldn't try and guess what primarily characterizes you as a Christian, but would like to suggest challenging you on this week to see if we cannot pull away from our perhaps, ‘regular' prayer life, to see if we cannot pray as Jesus when He prayed for a world that would be certainly lost without Him.
"For we are His workmanship. . ."(Ephesians 2:10)
Prayerfully think about it. God Bless You! S.L.C.

2 sticks of butter (softened)
2 cups sugar (granulated)
4 eggs
1 cup milk
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 ½ tsps. Baking powder
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:
In large mixing bowl, beat butter until fluffy.
Gradually add sugar to butter.
Add eggs one at a time (beat one minute after each egg, do not over beat.)
Add flour mixture alternating with milk until batter is smooth.
Add vanilla stir in well.
Makes enough batter for one tube pan, one sheet cake, two nine inch pans, or two square pans.
Cook at 350 F for 70 minutes in tube pan.

NOTE: THIS CAKE CAN BE ICED WITH YOUR FAVORITE ICING OR YOU MAY WANT A TASTE OF OLD FASHIONED HOME MADE FLAVOR BY SLICING THIS CAKE, THEN POURING THE VANILLA SAUCE FROM LAST WEEK'S "O TASTE AND SEE." YOU'LL ENJOY THIS DESERT WITH SOME VANILLA ICE CREAM, OR FRUIT COCKTAIL.
GREAT TASTE...TER.