As I shared in my last post, one thing Studies in the Sermon on the Mount imparted was the knowledge that I desperately need Jesus. I was also reminded of the importance of putting my old self to death. The self that would take pride in anything I do “on my own” or “by my own strength.” (The quotations are because I do nothing on my own, or by my own strength, just that illusion.)

One other major point D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones brought up was that Jesus did not really teach anything new. “In that ancient law given through Moses there was all this spiritual content. It was the tragedy of Israel that they missed it. Let us not imagine, therefore, that as Christians we have finished with the law of Moses” (196). Jesus revealed the spirit of the law that was already given, the law that was deformed and maladjusted from the spiritual leaders of Israel between Moses and Jesus. For instance, “thou shalt not kill.” “Contempt, a feeling of scorn and derision, is the very spirit that ultimately leads to murder. We may have various reasons for not allowing it to be expressed in actual committal of murder. But, alas, we have often murdered one another in mind and heart and thought, have we not? We have nursed thoughts against people which are as foul as murder. There has been this disturbance in the realm of the spirit and we have said of another, ‘Raca.’ Oh, yes, there are ways in which men can be destroyed short of murder. We can destroy a man’s reputation, we can shake someone else’s confidence in him by whispering criticism or by deliberate fault finding. That is the kind of thing which our Lord is here indicating, and his whole purpose is to show that all that is included in this commandment: ‘Thou shalt not kill.’ Killing does not only mean destroying life physically, it means still more trying to destroy the spirit and the soul, destroying the person in any shape or form” (197).

It makes me want to go back through the Old Testament again and again and search for the truths that Jesus knew intimately. I also would like to live in a place where people followed God’s laws with all of their heart, forever and ever. The problem, at the moment, is that I would not qualify as a resident. Because Jesus died for me, because I claim Him as my savior, his righteousness is imputed to me. I will qualify to live in that place, someday.

In the meantime, there are these potatoes.

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Crispy Seasoned Parmesan Potatoes

Ingredients

2 Clean Russet Potatoes

6 Tablespoons of (Cold) Butter, Thinly Sliced

Seasoning Salt

2/3 Cup of Parmesan

Method

Pierce the skin with a sharp knife all over the potatoes.

Bake the potatoes in the microwave until they’re basically cooked through: cook for two minutes at a time, then flip. Repeat as needed. 6-10 minutes.

Cut the potatoes in half, then create a grid of cuts in the flesh of the potatoes.

Wedge pieces of butter all over the grid.

Sprinkle generously with seasoning salt and Parmesan.

Transfer to a baking pan.*

Put it under the broiler for fifteen minutes or until golden and crispy.

*Note: It’s best if you do the sprinkling on a surface that is not the baking pan because the excess cheese will char and burn and smoke.

Also, pictured is freshly shredded Parmesan cheese, but I have also done it with the cheap grated stuff with delicious results.

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