A Hot Sauce Thought

My Pastor and Mentor whom I was came to know Christ under wrote the following post regarding the Holy Spirt. He serves as a missionary in Europe and is a spiritual hero to me. The article is taken direcly from his weekly thoughts titled Coffee Stains.

Hope you enjoy.

Hot Sauce! I like hot sauce—my wife doesn’t like it as much as I do. When we pastored in Paris there was a lady in the church from Cameroon who made a hot sauce that I loved. The only thing was that when I ate it, I sputtered fire like Puff the Magic Dragon. Once I doctored my meal with half a teaspoon of the concoction and it nearly killed me. So, I tried a fourth of a spoonful. The results weren’t much better. Finally, I touched my fork gingerly into the sauce then mixed it into the food until I got the right taste and warmness. A Little Mix-up One day I had used a spoon to dip the hot sauce and laid it on the table. My wife was at my right and when desert time came, somehow my spoon got mixed up with her dessert spoon. Suddenly I heard an exclamation, “I think I got this cake too hot!” Phyllis had a very surprised look on her face. I was also surprised. How could a cake be too hot? You don’t put hot sauce in cakes. Then it dawned on me ... ah, she got my spoon and ... Well, I don’t have to tell you, I got a good laugh. She accused me of doing it on purpose but that wasn’t true. I certainly would have done it on purpose if I had thought of it, so I guess that’s nearly the same thing when you consider the state of my heart. All this brings up a very good question: “Why put hot sauce on food anyway?” The short answer is—it’s good. My theory is that you appreciate food more when you have to sweat and suffer a bit to consume it. And a good sauce brings out the best in food, just like salt does. It gives it impact. It probably even kills tapeworms—or at least antagonizes them. A little “hot sauce” wouldn’t hurt some Christians. I’m talking about something to spice them up. They go to church and they’re bored. You have to hold a mirror in front of their face to see if they are breathing. They read God’s Word and they’re bored. They pray in between snores. They’re heading for heaven and they’re bored to death about it. They’re serving Jesus and frankly, to them it’s about as exciting as mashed potatoes without salt, pepper, or butter (that’s known as a diet). God gave us His Spirit to bring us alive—heavenly hot sauce if you’ll pardon the metaphor. Jesus told those who loved them that they would receive power when the Holy Spirit came upon them and they would be his witnesses. When someone has been eating lively hot-sauce you can tell. Their face gets red; they sweat; and they ask for refills of Dr. Pepper or Diet Coke. When a person is really filled with the Spirit you can tell. He wants to talk about the Lord Jesus; he wants to praise Him. He wants to serve Him. There’s some spice about him. It’s deeper than just a taste enhancement. It’s about who he is at the core of his being. Could I ask you a question: Could you use some “hot sauce” in you life. Here’s some advice from God’s Word: "I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it." (Ps. 81:10, KJV) He filled the disciple’s mouth with power on the day of Pentecost: “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” (Acts 2:4, NIV). Then they began to preach to the crowd in a language understood by everyone and the results were astonishing. “Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.’ “With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation." Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.” (Acts 2:38-41, NIV) Heavenly hot sauce anyone? Written my Missionary David Porter