Good morning! I am excited, seriously excited, about today. This passage of scripture happens to be one of my favorites, and the Chicken Spaghetti recipe that Mitchell is sharing is SO GOOD! Don't skip over it just because you think that you already have a recipe for it. It is Chicken Spaghetti with a twist, and I know you will want to try. I hope y'all have a great study and a fantastic day! My prayer for every reader is that the Holy Spirit will speak to you through The Word and that He will use you today to further the Kingdom of God! Love, Tera
Jesus Institutes the
Lord’s supper
There is so much power and meaning in this part of Matthew,
and I for one absolutely love it. Taking
the bread and the cup isn’t just something we do just because it’s called for
in a service. It’s something we do to
remember Jesus. To remember what He did
for us, that He died for us, and that He loved us enough to do so.
Jesus said “Take, eat; this is My body.” He blessed it and broke it and passed it out
to the disciples. He gave thanks for the
cup and said “Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new
covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” He wasn’t passing these out, merely as
something to eat or drink, but as representation of Jesus Himself. It was meant as a meaning of the suffering of
Jesus on their/our behalf, and His blood that would flow down on Calvary.
Taking the cup and eating the bread should be done with an
understanding and remembrance. It’s how
we remember what Jesus went through for us.
The bread should remind us of the beating our Savior took for us. That He was beaten, pierced, and took the
stripes for our salvation and redemption.
Drinking the cup is an absolute reminder of His blood, His life, that
poured out of his broken body.
His blood flowed for the remission of our sins and made a
new covenant available. His dying on the
cross made this possible. His blood was
shed for many. Not just one, not just
for the disciples, but His word says many.
That means you, me, the whole world!
He let his disciples know, that He would not drink of the
fruit again with them, until that day when they drank it together in
Heaven. I think Jesus looks forward to
the celebration of the Passover in heaven.
The celebration when we all sit with Him gathered at the great
supper.
Jesus also let the disciples know that how well He knew of
the coming situation. He told them, “All
of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night”. He wasn’t condemning the disciples, He was
letting them know that the prophecy of His suffering had happen. I can almost see the look on Peter’s face
when he tried to say he would never deny Jesus.
Jesus knew Peter would fail, and gave him an opportunity to take a look
into his own weaknesses. Peter didn’t
take it, and instead told him “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny
You!” Jesus knew Peter, and us far
better than we know ourselves.
Reflection
Take the cup, eat the bread, and remember your covenant with
the Lord. When He says “take”, He’s
offering. It will not be forced upon
you. He went willingly to the cross, to
make a way to the Father. Take him in,
drink the cup, in remembrance of what he did, and find redemption. He tells us to eat. We have to eat to survive physically, just as
we have to eat of the bread and take in Jesus into our being spiritually, so
that we may live.
CHICKEN SPAGHETTI
3 Large
chicken breasts
1/2 to ¾ of
a pack of angel hair pasta
1 family
size can of cream of chicken soup
1 bushel of
green onion (is bushel the right word? Anyways, it’s a whole lot!)
3 cups of
cheese
1 small can
of chicken broth or chicken bouillon cubes (neither of which are pictured, I’ll
explain later)
“Some”
butter
Salt and
pepper to taste
Dice up the
green onion. If you have a block of cheese,
go ahead and shred it. Cut up the
chicken into decent sized cubes.
Heat your
oven to 350.
Start a pot
of water to boil for the chicken and noodles. I like to salt the water before I
add anything. It really helps with the
flavor of whatever you’re boiling, especially pasta! When it’s boiling, drop in the chicken and
bring to a boil. Pull out the chicken
when finished and set aside to let cool.
Drop the noodles in the same water, and cook till done.
Heat a large
skillet on medium heat and drop in the onions and sauté till soft. You don’t want to brown them, just soften
them.
Once they
are softened, lower the heat, add the whole can of cream of chicken soup and
cook slowly till it is all warmed through.
Once the
chicken is cool enough to work with, chunk it or shred it anyway you want
to. Mine looked like this.
In a large
mixing bowl, add the chicken and soup mixture.
Mix it a little, then start to add the pasta in a little at a time until
it’s an even pasta/chicken/soup combo!
Now add about half of the cheese.
If it seems like its not enough, cheese, add more!
Ok, so
here’s where the chicken broth comes in.
It was at this point I forgot I needed chicken broth. I was a little frantic. Tonya, as she always does, bailed me out by
pulling out these babies right here!
We mixed one
in a cup of water, and the day was saved……Thanks Tonya! Ok, where was I? If it
seems a little thick, you can either A) add some chicken broth or chicken
bouillon cubes mixed in warm water, or B) Use some of the water you boiled the
chicken and noodles in. Don’t be scared
of it, there’s a lot of flavor in there. Get it to a loose, not overly runny
consistency. It’s gonna tighten up in
the oven, remember that. Take a quick
taste and add some salt and pepper if needed.
Once
everything is combined, add it to a 13X9 baking dish and cover the top with the remainder of the
cheese. Just like before, if it’s not
enough, add more! Bake until the cheese
is melted on top, about 15-20 minutes.
This
is my take on chicken spaghetti. Try it
out, and let me know what ya think!
Enjoy!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: MITCHELL SANCHEZ is the husband of 5 years to Tonya, and Dad to 2. He works in the I.T. Department at Education First F.C.U. Mitchell attends Freedom Fellowship in Silsbee, Texas ,where he plays the drums on the Praise Team and serves as Director of the Media Department
