As they sat down to eat, Jesus took the bread and blessed it. Then he broke it and gave it to them. Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. – Luke 24:30-31

I have three brief items in today’s post; Islam, veal rolls, and the road to Emmaus. Enjoy – DEREK:

ISLAM FOLLOW-UP: First, I want to say “thank-you” for some of the excellent, thought-provoking, mutually respectful dialog that has emerged – so far – from yesterday’s post, A Few Thoughts on Islam, Christianity, and the Duke Controversy. Much of the conversation has come one-on-one, in person and via email.

The most important idea I want to keep front and center is the following: I believe that, outside of following Jesus, there is no “religious system” that effectively brings us to the heart of God, to a reconciled relationship with our Creator, and the sure promise of knowing God for eternity. Yes, I believe our Muslim brothers and sisters worship God – but I also believe they will only know God if they make the decision to follow Jesus.

FOODIE-ALERT! Next up: Yesterday was week two of my 2015 “Rebekah gets to pick a new recipe every week” initiative. She chose Involtini di Vitello, which is the Italian cook-book way of saying Veal Rolls.

Long story short, they were sumptuous! Essentially, I pounded the veal to an even thickness, seasoned it, trimmed the mortadella and the Bel Paese to size, inserted blanched asparagus spears, rolled and then tied the layers, rolled the concoction in seasoned flour, fried over a low heat until golden and tender, then made a Marsala reduction sauce before serving with fresh bread, good wine, and new potatoes.

I have to say, something that helps make cooking so much fun is the encouragement I receive from Rebekah. I hear stories about families where meals are taken for granted (and even criticized), and I can’t imagine working hard to prepare fabulous food and then receive no appreciation; no “thank-you;” no “I love that we can enjoy dinner together like this;” no sense that the family is even interested in what goes on in the kitchen.

Check out the “gallery” below for more pictures from the Friday’s Involtini di Vitello.

MEN’S BIBLE-STUDY: I’m pretty sure I’m going to be fleshing this out more in a few days, but this morning’s conversation around the “Road to Emmaus” story inspired and encouraged me in a number of ways.

The most useful line of thought emerged in response to the fact that the two disciples didn’t even recognize Jesus until he broke the bread. How astute are we, we wondered, when it comes to paying attention to what God is up to, all the time and all around us?

We also noted that, had Jesus celebrated the resurrection with a big parade, standing in the city center in glory, for all to see, then it wouldn’t have required any faith at all to believe and to accept him. But no, what we’re involved in requires a decision to live for Jesus; commitment, and faith, and an indwelling of the Holy Spirit; being a disciple constantly requires the investment of our whole selves.

Happy Saturday, friends, I pray that I will see you in church tomorrow – DEREK

the meal prep – with notes: