Spiritual Battle II

"Put on the full armor of God" (entire, complete) "so you can take a stand against the devil's schemes." Ephesians 6:11

I must anticipate that the devil is going to send lies my way and is going to try and discourage me. Each piece of armor protects me and compliments the other pieces. If one piece is missing, I am left vulnerable to the devil's attacks.

(vs.13) "Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand." Paul repeats the reason behind putting on the full armor of God—to stand—"and after you have done everything, to stand." I am not supposed to equip myself for defence alone. God wants me to continue the ministry Jesus began on earth: spreading the gospel. While I'm doing this work, however, I should expect the devil to try and stop me. He doesn't want God's message proclaimed, and he doesn't want me to continue following Jesus' commands either. So Paul says, "and after you have done everything," (defended the gospel, been obedient to God, offered your life as a living sacrifice to God, kept the faith, fought off the devil and his schemes) "to stand." We are to be victorious in this battle. Not just survivors, but conquerors. Not standing there with tattered armor and our helmets falling off—but with our sword raised, our shield held fast, ready for the next battle. This victory is impossible on our own, but we're not called to fight on our own. God is in each piece of armor, going before us in the battle.

Spiritual Battle

Ephesians 6:12 "Our struggle is not against flesh and blood"

Sometimes I become distracted by what's going on around me in this physical world—and understandably so, the world is where I live, and I must survive. It's all about priorities and perspective. I can get very distracted by physical needs or desires: do we have enough money? When is the reno going to be done? We're sick with colds, again?! All this is cleaning must be done!

I need to recognize this: my struggle is not really against these things, but against the devil's schemes to throw me off course in following my heavenly father, and to distract me away from what's really important and eternal in His kingdom.

I Cor. 15:50 "I declare to you, my brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does perishable inherit the imperishable." We must clothe ourselves with what's spiritual and everlasting; Jesus Christ, Himself.

Chicken Chow Mien & Chop Suey

Craving Chinese food has led me to come up with this healthful alternative to take-out chow mien. This recipe takes a bit of time—probably 45 minutes—but it makes LOTS, great reheated for lunches....

Hope you try it out for yourself.

Karina's Chicken Chow Mein & Chop Suey ------ makes approx 5 ½ Cups

Ingredients:

255 gr Oriental Egg Noodles (Equivalent to 3 pkgs of Mr. Noodles)

1 Chicken Breast (Optional)

2 Med Carrots

1 Celery Stalk

1 Onion

1 Red Bell Pepper

3 Cups Bean Sprouts (1 small package)

1 small head of Broccoli

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

½ C Water

2 TB Cornstarch

2 TB Soy Sauce

2 TB Fish Sauce or 2 TB Oyster Sauce, or 1 TB of each

1 TB Chicken OXO

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

1. Prepare vegetables (keep each separate from each other); slice carrots and celery into small medallions, fine chop onion, chop bell pepper, and chop broccoli into small pieces. I like to do this earlier in the afternoon and keep the prepared vegetables in the fridge—one less thing to worry about when I'm ready to COOK)
   
2. Heat wok with a bit of oil and place chicken breast in to cook. Once partially cooked, remove chicken and cut up into small pieces and continue cooking until cooked through. Remove chicken pieces from wok. (I use frozen chicken breast, which is why I cook it this way. If you have thawed your chicken breast beforehand, you could cut it up right away and cook it like that.)
   
3. Boil noodles in a pot according to the package directions. Once cooked, drain them off, and blanche them in ice water to completely cool and stop cooking process.
   
4. Add a bit more oil to the hot wok and begin frying cooled egg noodles. Cook them until slightly golden (about 5 minutes). Remove from wok.
   
5. Begin stir frying carrots and celery. Once partially cooked, add onion and bell pepper, and finally broccoli. Stir fry until barely tender—still slightly crunchy.
   
6. MAKE SAUCE:
   

   Combine in a small bowl:
   

   ½ C Water
   

   2 TB Cornstarch
   

   2 TB Soy Sauce
   

   2 TB Fish Sauce or 2 TB Oyster Sauce, or 1 TB of each
   

   1 TB Chicken OXO
   

7. Add bean sprouts to the vegetables in the wok and heat through.
   
8. Make a well in the center of the wok, and pour half of the sauce into the wok, stirring constantly as the sauce will thicken rapidly.
   
9. Remove half of the vegetable stir fry and add the noodles and chicken back into the wok.
   
10. Make another well in the center of the noodles, and pour remaining sauce in, doing the same as before to thicken sauce.
    
11. Return reserved vegetable stir fry into the wok.