Seasoning The Skillet 12/28/2020

 Good Morning,

Monday arrived once more and I find myself enjoying a very hot cup of  Door County Churro Coffee in two different ways. The liquid in the cup is warming up my insides and the heat from the hot cup feels good on an arthritic old hand. 

This Christmas blessed me with a gift of cast iron skillets of different sizes. It was a thoughtful gift from our nephews. There is nothing like fried potatoes and onions that come from a cast iron pan. Follow that up with bacon and some sunny side up eggs and you have a breakfast, lunch, or dinner fit for a king. 

There is one problem with cast iron cookware though. They can acquire rust in a heartbeat. When I opened the gift and saw the skillets I was thrilled to see what it was. But I also knew that the minute I got home I was going to "season" those pans asap. Each and every time a cast iron product is used it needs to be cleaned and seasoned so it stays rust free and is ready to use on the next go around on the stove. It is important to care for your pans. 

So the thought of the day is this. I want you to liken yourselves to cast iron skillets. We need to stay away from the rust in our lives. Given a foothold on a pan, rust will spread and eventually it will cause damage to the pan or require much, much abrasion to get down to good metal. The rust just eats the cast iron. Now, rust for us is anything ungodly that clings to us in a bad way. Instead of rust, let's call it what it is. It is those sins that we like to keep around. Some of these sins are not known to others, but sooner or later, like rust, they can be seen. It could be filthy talk, porn, lust, drinking too much, greed or anger. This could be a long list that I could write but you get the idea. So as I protect my skillets by seasoning them, I must also (we) must also season our will against sin. The best way to do this is to be in the Word of God daily and to memorize some scripture to help us fight off the temptation when it comes.

Psalm 119:11 I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against You.

I have a permit to conceal and carry a gun for protection. I suggest we all conceal some Scripture to fight off the evil one when he attacks and seeks to "rust up our lives" .

Food for thought ,and by the way. Eggs anyone? 

Marty

How To Season Your Cast-Iron Skillet:

1. Scrub skillet well in hot soapy water.
2. Dry thoroughly.
3. Spread a thin layer of melted shortening or vegetable oil over the skillet.
4. Place it upside down on a middle oven rack at 375°. (Place foil on a lower rack to catch drips.)
5. Bake 1 hour; let cool in the oven