“Ray Amos – A Cake Not Turned – Hosea 7:8”

From March 5th, 2019

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Rev. Ray and Pat Amos

Hosea 7:8

“Ephraim, he hath mixed himself among the people; Ephraim is a cake not turned.”

Today is Shrove Tuesday. It comes from the old English custom of using up all the fattening ingredients in the house so that people were ready to fast during Lent. The fattening ingredients that most people had in their houses in those days were eggs and milk. A very simple recipe to use up these ingredients was to combine them with some flour and make pancakes! We will have pancakes this evening at the Amos house. For us it really isn’t to get rid of fattening ingredients, but today is just a good day to have pancakes.

There are not many references to pancakes in the Bible; but I am reminded of the words in Hosea. Because of their unfaithfulness, God’s people were described as a cake that hasn’t been turned. It is burned on one side, and not done on the other. Tomorrow begins the season of Lent. It is a time for a spiritual self-examination. If we were a pancake, would our lives reflect that we were half-baked Christians?

Don’t just give up something for Lent for the sake of giving up something for Lent. Let’s truly begin to get rid of the things that are a hindrance to our faithfulness to Christ. For some of us it is time for the pancake to be flipped (to repent of some things) so that we can be wholly the Lord’s.

It’s been a long time since I have heard this hymn: “Give of your best to the Master; Naught else is worthy His love; He gave Himself for your ransom, Gave up His glory above. Laid down His life without murmur, You from sin’s ruin to save; Give Him your heart’s adoration; Give Him the best that you have.”

Grace and Peace, Rev Ray (3/5/2019)