Left Behind – The Kids, Book 1 Chapter 3: Lionel Washington’s parents had moved him out of the inner city of Chicago when he was six years old. His mother, Lucinda, had been a reporter for the Chicago office of Global Weekly magazine. When she was promoted to bureau chief, the family could afford to move to the suburbs. They were among the first blacks to live in their Mount Prospect neighborhood.
Now, seven years later, thirteen-year-old Lionel was having trouble deciding where he fit. When he visited his relatives in Chicago, or when his other relatives visited him from the South, his cousins criticized him for “losing your blackness. It’s like you’re white now.”
Book 1: The Vanishings – Lionel, the liar
It was nice to live in a neighborhood where he didn’t have to be afraid to ride his bike anywhere or run with his friends, even after dark. And Lionel enjoyed having more things than he was used to having when he was smaller. His cousins, probably to cover their jealousy of his nicer clothes and shoes and the fact that his parents had two cars, called him “rich boy” and “whitey” and said he might as well not even be black.
Lucinda Washington was a no nonsense woman. She had become a well-paid executive with a leading news magazine in the country, despite her being black and a woman. She laughed when her nieces and nephews teased Lionel. “He’s as black as you and always will be,” she said. “Now you just go on and leave him alone.”
Still, Lionel didn’t like it. No way did he want to give up what he thought was a better and safer life than he had known. But neither did he want to be different from his relatives. There were a few other black kids in his junior high, and none of them went to his church. His older sister, Clarice, went to Prospect High School, and his younger brother and sister, Ronnie and Talia, were still in elementary school. That made him feel all the more alone at his school.
Acts 20:13-27 Goodbye my friends 13 But we, going ahead to the ship, set sail for Assos, intending from there to take Paul on board; for so he had arranged it, intending himself to go by land.14 And when he met us at Assos, we took him on board and came to Mitylene.15 Sailing from there, we arrived the following day opposite Chios; and the next day we crossed over to Samos; and the day following we came toMiletus.16 For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus so that he would not have to spend time in Asia; for he was hurrying to be in Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost.
17 From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called to him the elders of the church.18 And when they had come to him, he said to them, “You yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time,19 serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials which came upon me through the plots of the Jews;20 how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and from house to house,21 solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.22 And now, behold, bound by the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there,23 except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me.24 But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.
25 “And now, behold, I know that all of you, among whom I went about preaching the kingdom, will no longer see my face.26 Therefore, I [g]testify to you this day that I am [h]innocent of the blood of all men.27 For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God.
In the Bible dark often represents the evil in our world. Have we humans gone too far in the dark to ever get out of it? No. But the answer would be yes if Christ hadn’t come and died for us and then rose again to live for us. Why do so many people stay ignorant of the real answers to life? Here’s why: – Ray
And He called the twelve together, and gave them power and authority over all the demons and to heal diseases.2 And He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to perform healing.3 And He said to them, “Take nothing for your journey, neither a staff, nor a [a]bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not even have [b]two tunics apiece.4 Whatever house you enter, stay there[c]until you leave that city.5 And as for those who do not receive you, as you go out from that city, shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”6 Departing, they began going [d]throughout the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.
7 Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was happening; and he was greatly perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead,8 and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the prophets of old had risen again.9 Herod said, “I myself had John beheaded; but who is this man about whom I hear such things?” And he kept trying to see Him.
10 When the apostles returned, they gave an account to Him of all that they had done. Taking them with Him, He withdrew by Himself to a city called Bethsaida.11 But the crowds were aware of this and followed Him; and welcoming them, He began speaking to them about the kingdom of God and curing those who had need of healing.
Five Thousand Fed
12 Now the day [e]was ending, and the twelve came and said to Him, “Send the crowd away, that they may go into the surrounding villages and countryside and find lodging and get [f]something to eat; for here we are in a desolate place.”13 But He said to them, “You give them something to eat!” And they said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless perhaps we go and buy food for all these people.”14 (For there were about five thousand men.) And He said to His disciples, “Have them [g]sit down to eat in groups of about fifty each.”15 They did so, and had them all [h]sit down.16 Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed them, and broke them, and kept giving them to the disciples to set before the[i]people.17 And they all ate and were satisfied; and [j]the broken pieces which they had left over were picked up, twelve baskets full.
18 And it happened that while He was praying alone, the disciples were with Him, and He questioned them, saying, “Who do the [k]people say that I am?”19 They answered and said, “John the Baptist, and others say Elijah; but others, that one of the prophets of old has risen again.”20 And He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered and said, “The [l]Christ of God.”21 But He [m]warned them and instructed them not to tell this to anyone,22 saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and be raised up on the third day.”
23 And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.24 For whoever wishes to save his [n]life will lose it, but whoever loses his [o]life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.25 For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself?26 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.27 But I say to you truthfully, there are some of those standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”
The Transfiguration
28 Some eight days after these sayings, He took along Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray.29 And while He was praying, the appearance of His face became different, and His clothing became white and[p]gleaming.30 And behold, two men were talking with Him; and they were Moses and Elijah,31 who, appearing in [q]glory, were speaking of His departure which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.32 Now Peter and his companions had been overcome with sleep; but when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men standing with Him.33 And as [r]these were leaving Him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three [s]tabernacles: one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—not realizing what he was saying.34 While he was saying this, a cloud[t]formed and began to overshadow them; and they were afraid as they entered the cloud.35 Then a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My Son, MyChosen One; listen to Him!”36 And when the voice [u]had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent, and reported to no one in those days any of the things which they had seen.
37 On the next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met Him.38 And a man from the crowd shouted, saying, “Teacher, I beg You to look at my son, for he is my [v]only boy,39 and a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly screams, and it throws him into a convulsion with foaming at the mouth; and only with difficulty does it leave him, mauling him as it leaves.40 I begged Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not.”41 And Jesus answered and said, “You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.”42 While he was still approaching, the demon [w]slammed him to the ground and threw him into a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the boy and gave him back to his father.43 And they were all amazed at the [x]greatness of God.
But while everyone was marveling at all that He was doing, He said to His disciples,44 “Let these words sink into your ears; for the Son of Man is going to be [y]delivered into the hands of men.”45 But they [z]did not understand this statement, and it was concealed from them so that they would not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this statement.
The Test of Greatness
46 An argument [aa]started among them as to which of them might be the greatest.47 But Jesus, knowing [ab]what they were thinking in their heart, took a child and stood him by His side,48 and said to them, “Whoever receives this child in My name receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me; for the one who is least among all of you, this is the one who is great.”
49 John answered and said, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name; and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow along with us.”50 But Jesus said to him, “Do not hinder him; for he who is not against you is [ac]for you.”
51 When the days were approaching for His [ad]ascension, He [ae]was determinedto go to Jerusalem;52 and He sent messengers on ahead of Him, and they went and entered a village of the Samaritans to [af]make arrangements for Him.53 But they did not receive Him, because [ag]He was traveling toward Jerusalem.54 When His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?”55 But He turned and rebuked them, [[ah]and said, “You do not know what kind of spirit you are of;56 for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.”] And they went on to another village.
Exacting Discipleship
57 As they were going along the road, someone said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go.”58 And Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the [ai]air have[aj]nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”59 And He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.”60 But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.”61 Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.”62 But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
My Cheesy Brown Rice from 50 Years Ago – Georgia Mossholder
I invited some new friends over for dinner about 50 years ago then was dismayed to learn that they were vegetarians. Oh my! That was way out of my expertise! I dashed to the library, found a vegetarian cookbook, and copied down a casserole recipe. I chose it because I figured it had to be good since it had lots of cheese which I thought at the time would satisfy any protein requirements. I never get tired of this dish and personally could eat it every day of the week. Nowadays I usually tweak the recipe to suit my own taste. It often depends on how much cooked rice I have on hand and what’s in my cupboard at the time. I like the flavor best with black eyed peas and sometimes make do with the smaller can of chilies but I prefer the 7 oz. size. Left overs? I heat them up in a skillet with some melted butter. Yum!
CHEESY BROWN RICE
INGREDIENTS:
3 or 4 Cups cooked brown rice 1 large onion chopped
15 – ½ oz. can black eyed peas, or black beans or kidney beans, rinsed
One 7 oz. or smaller can green chilies, chopped (your choice)
3 or 4 cloves of garlic, minced (your choice as to how many)
Black olives- about a third of a 303 size can, sliced into crescents
8 oz. ricotta cheese thinned with yogurt or milk so it’s spreadable
¾ pound shredded Monterey Jack cheese
½ cup to 3/4 cup or more of shredded sharp cheddar.
Garnish (optional) 1 or 2 Green onions, chopped
Preheat oven to 350˚
Mix together the rice, beans, garlic, onion and chilies in a bowl.
Grease or butter a 9 x 13” casserole dish and prepare the four layers:
rice/bean/chili/garlic mix
ricotta cheese
the sliced black olives followed by the jack cheese
Final layer of rice/beans mix.
Bake 20 minutes, sprinkle cheddar cheese on top, then bake 10 more minutes or until cheese is melted and a bit browned.
