When I married Ken, I couldn't cook.  Anything.  Remember, I told you that in my family, when I was growing up, if you were reading a book you didn't have to do any housework.  Reading was considered the most important work that a child could do.  I read constantly.  A no-brainer.

The first thing I attempted to cook was Jello.  But the instructions seemed stupid to me.  Boil water, add Jello powder, put it in the refrigerator.   Why boil the water if you were going to put it in the refrigerator?  It made no sense.  So, I mixed the Jello powder with water and stuck it in the refrigerator.

It sat in the refrigerator until it molded.   I learned something.  Instructions may be important.  Boil the water, you get Jello.  Don't, you get mold.  I learned to make Jello by following the instructions.

It's the same thing with directions in the Bible.  Follow the instructions, you get peace.  Don't, and you get mold of the soul.  God knows how things are going to turn out.  But there are steps involved that you can't skip or get out of order.  Step one, step two, step three…

l.   Recognize that you sin and you can't fix the past.  It's done.  You did it.
2.  Repent.  And I'm not talking about being sorry.  Repent means you aren't  going to do those things        any more--or anything else that isn't in the instructions for making Jello.  God's plan.  Not yours.
3.  Ask for forgiveness.  Recognize that your sins were paid for by God's sacrificial Lamb.  Jesus.
4.  Give the rest of you life, all of it, to Him.  Of course this means that you may not know what happens next in God's recipe for your life.  But it will be alright.  "Thy will be done" means just that.

Now you know how to cook.  Don't skip steps.