Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem
A current fad on TV is the Cooking Contest on the Food Channel. The contest starts with four aspiring chefs, and using the ingredients found in their baskets, they have to create an appetizer, an entree, and a desert. The chefs are eliminated one at a time, and the one left standing gets a nice prize...perhaps enough to provide seed money for his own restaurant or catering company.
The trick is that the contestant has to use EVERYTHING in the basket, no matter how bizarre. If any item is left out, or merely placed on the plate as a garnish, it is almost automatic that the chef will not be going into the next round. And so, they have to figure out a way to include Gummy Bears in the appetizer, Pig Feet in the Entree, and Okra in the Dessert!
The judges are particularly unkind as they grimace and wince their way through the judging process. The HAVE TO EAT IT to JUDGE IT! LOL! One by one, the "losers" thank the judges and shuffle off the set, fighting back tears.
A brick made of soupy clay is not going to hold up under the weight and stress of architecture. Neither will a simple pour of concrete into a form. Modern bricklayers and masons insert reinforcing bars of steel throughout their structure to hold it all together. The recent bridge collapse at FIU shows what happens when the proper binders, reinforcements, and supports are not used.
The bridges of Rt. 3 near my home are being replaced, as the old ones needed too much repair. They have been working on it all winter, to prepare for the infamous "Cape Cod Traffic" that will begin in the Summer. However, NO steps in construction can be skipped to save time. The grading and compacting of the soil, the erecting of the concrete forms, the network of rebar to reinforce the structure, and the careful pouring of the concrete (and NOT if it is "too cold to pour") have taken all winter. Meanwhile, as this is going on, the commuter traffic of folks who live on the South Shore, but work in Boston, rumbles and thunders overhead.
Like the aspiring chefs, the Hebrews were being compelled to create a product without the proper ingredients. Like the bridge at FIU, the incorrectly made bricks would fail, possibly causing a tragic loss of life. And like the bridge on Rt. 3, the work must be done and the quota adhered to despite the hardships imposed by weather, humans, or materials.
Nobody should ever be forced to make "Bricks Without Straw".
Come and Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.
May the strength of God pilot us, may the wisdom of God instruct us, may the hand of God protect us, may the word of God direct us. Be always ours this day and for evermore.
(St. Patrick)
God Bless America!
Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.
This Symbol Represents Christians in The Middle East, who desperately need our Prayers.
Hallelujah and Amen
ML/LTOS