DECEMBER 08

To Fulfill the Promises of God

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

Matthew 1:20b-23

Trust. It is what all relationships are built from. At any point, a promise is made it must be followed up with action. It must be followed up by completion. If not, the integrity of the relationship is at stake. All vulnerability and transparency become insecurity and fear. 

When the Old Testament was finished it would be 400 years until God would speak again through Jesus and the New Testament writers. 400 years Israel waited for God’s promises to come true; For God to act and complete all that he said. Insecurity and fear developed as people wondered if God had forgotten them. They wondered if they were abandoned to live under the cruelty of Roman authority forever. But they kept up their traditions and retold the stories of old that demonstrated the faithfulness of God. When Jesus finally came, he became the fulfillment of everything God ever said. Trust was restored and the relationship between Israel and God would be forever changed.

This is often how we approach God. We wonder if life will get better or if he really is active in our lives. We wonder how long we must wait for him to come and finish what he started. But the entrance of Jesus into the world means that all things are coming to a close. All sin and evil are dealt with as God patiently waits for the full number of his people to come to faith. God’s faithfulness often feels long because he is slowly redeeming the faithlessness of his people. 

Spend an evening this week creating something fun in the kitchen. You can choose a family favorite, or if you are needing ideas, follow the recipe below for Gingerbread Molasses Sandwich Cookies. This could also be a great chance to love those around you by making an extra batch or two to take to your neighbors, co-workers, teachers, or friends.

Gingerbread Molasses
Sandwich
Cookies

prep time

20 minutes

cook time

6 minutes

total time

26 minutes

servings

33 cookies

ingredients
for the cookies

– 3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
– 1 cup granulated sugar (plus more for rolling the cookies)
– 1 large egg
– 1/4 cup molasses
– 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
– 2 tsp baking soda
– 1/2 tsp ground ginger
– 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
– 1/4 tsp ground cloves
– 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
– 1/4 tsp ground allspice
– 1/4 tsp salt

for the filling

– 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
– 3 cups powdered sugar
– 2 Tbsp vanilla extract
– 3 tsp milk or cream
– pinch salt

directions
for the cookies
  1. Preheat oven to 350F.
  2. In a stand mixer or with electric beaters, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (1-2 minutes)
  3. Add the egg and molasses and combine until smooth.
  4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, spices, and salt.
  5. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in 2 batches, mixing between each addition. Mix just until fully combined.
  6. Using about 1/2 Tbsp of dough, roll each cookie into a ball and then roll it in more granulated sugar. Place the balls on cookie sheets spaced about 2 inches apart to allow for spreading. You should get about 66 cookies, which will make a total of about 33 sandwich cookies.
  7. Bake for 6 minutes. Don’t be tempted to bake any longer than this, or they will be crunchy and not chewy! They will look puffy and a little pale when they come out of the oven but they will shrink down as they cool.
  8. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet until firm enough to move to a baking rack. Allow to fully cool before filling and assembling.
for filling
& assembly
  1. Add all of the filling ingredients to a bowl and using the back of a fork, combine everything until a smooth, stiff frosting forms. You can also use a stand mixer for this, if you prefer.
  2. Take a generous amount of the frosting (about 1 Tbsp per sandwich) and dollop it onto one of the cooled cookies. For neater cookies, try to get the filling placed in the center of the cookie. Take a second cookie, and gently press together until the filling is squeezed to the edge of the cookies.
  3. Cookies will keep for several days at room temperature.

recipe from theviewfromgreatisland.com