SWORD OF THE SPIRIT                                                                                              1019

“A Cake Unturned”

 “Ephraim is a cake not turned.”-Hosea 7:8

Imagine the unpleasant taste and texture of a pancake burned on the bottom and chalky, gooey-doughy on the top. This is the displeasing image conveyed by our reference Scripture as the Lord describes the Northern kingdom of Israel as ‘a cake unturned’.

In disobedience to the Lord’s commands, Ephraim mixed with the pagan cultures of the land that they occupied. When the Lord your God cuts off before you the nations whom you go in to dispossess … take care that you be not ensnared to follow them…Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do. You shall not add to it or take from it. (Deuteronomy 12:29-32) Ephraim blended their faith with local pagan customs and like a cake unturned became unfit for service.

As I reflected on this devotional I was reminded of Mardi Gras which occurred this week. In a tradition with roots from pagan customs, people from all walks of life and faiths seek to indulge their flesh appetites to the maximum in the days leading up to a holy time of fasting and abstinence (Lent). One has to question whether this is a hypocritical practice for those who profess to be Christian—are they like a cake unturned? Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. (Romans 13:13-14)

We see it every day – people who profess to be born again Christians with their words or clothing apparel behaving and acting in a totally opposite manner, like a cake unturned. They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work. (Titus 1:16)

We would be remiss if we did not examine ourselves in light of this Scripture verse. Am I like a cake unturned? I wear my faith on my sleeve so to speak. What have I said or how have I behaved that did not live up to the faith I profess in Jesus Christ?

We must always be on guard against conforming to and compromising with the norms of this world that God commands against. Just because abortion is legal, should I tolerate it or work to eradicate it? The Ten Commandments are not suggestions that remain valid only as long as society deems they are. We must not allow our Christian faith walk and church practices to blend with the world such that their integrity is compromised—like a cake unturned. What fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness…Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord; Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. (2 Corinthians 6:14–18; 1 Peter 2:11).

By the mercies of God may we present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. May we not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of our minds. (ref. Romans 12:1-2)