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1 Peter 5:8
Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
After every wedding comes a marriage. And that is when the real work begins!!
I remember before we were married fifty years ago, Ken and I were so much in love. We believed nothing could get in our way; we loved each other so much. We were typical kids who believed two could live as cheaply as one, promised each other we would never argue or fight.
We believed we would never argue about the toothpaste tube or who did or didn’t put the toilet lid down or who makes the bed. We were warned about these little things but we knew we would never let these little things get in our way.
But that was before we learned about chocolate cake. It soon became his recipe vs. my recipe. For us, chocolate cake was the cause of many an argument.
Before we married, Ken lived on his own for a couple of years after high school. He waited for me to grow up and get old enough to marry. In those few years, he picked up habits and also, a recipe for a chocolate cake which he claimed was his favorite. He called it “Beat ‘n Bake Cocoa Cake.”
As a new wife, when we married, I brought many of my own habits and recipes with me. I had loved to cook and bake since childhood, and had many recipes and cookbooks I’d collected. One of my recipes was also for a chocolate cake. My recipe was called “Wacky Cake.”
To me, the recipes were identical. To him, he was particular and wanted only his recipe to be used. He swore he could tell the difference between his recipe and my recipe.
Over the years, the recipe cards on which our original recipes had been written have disappeared. I’ve learned to make a chocolate cake we both like. Does it matter if he calls it “Beat n’ Bake Cocoa Cake” or if I say it is a “Wacky Cake?” Nope! If you were to do an internet search, even more names come up for this same recipe. Names like “Day Before Payday Cake,” “Vinegar Cake” or “Depression Cake.”
What matters isn’t the name of the cake. What matters is how we allowed something as small as a cake recipe to come between two people who promised to love, honor and cherish each other until the day we die.
It might sound like a simple disagreement between two young people, young in years and young in their marriage, but it wasn’t. I let this fester in my heart for years. I let it bother me that my husband wouldn’t just accept my recipe and let me do it my way.
Then one day I saw it for what it was. I was allowing something as simple as a recipe to be used by the enemy to come between my husband and myself. I allowed a tiny bitterness in every time he wanted me to make a cake with the name of his recipe and not use the name of my recipe.
There was a valuable lesson to be learned in a simple chocolate cake. Any little thing can be used by the enemy, satan, giving him a foothold to begin destroying, stealing and yes, even killing a marriage.
I had allowed satan to have a little hold where none should have been. So, I asked God where else had I allowed satan in?
I needed to know more about how satan tries to steal, kill and destroy our marriage. By reading and studying the Word of God, I learned how the enemy deceives, deludes, defrauds, lies, and manipulates me.
There are many verses in the Bible that speaks to the deception through the enemy.
· Matthew 4:1 the enemy is called a Deceiver/Accuser.
· Ephesians 2:2 he is known as the prince of the power of the air.
· Revelation 12:9 he is portrayed as a dragon
· Job 1, he is the adversary.
· Matthew 4:3, he is the tempter.
· Matthew 13:19 he is the wicked one.
· John 10:10, the enemy comes only to kill, steal and destroy
Just as a single cake recipe may have many names, we have many names for the enemy. Don’t be confused. The enemy is dangerous and he only has one agenda, to cause us to sin. Sinning is a separation from God. We sin and the satan laughs at the result.
But God!
We children of God have this promise from the Word in 1 John 5:18 “We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and evil one does not touch him.”
WACKY CAKE -or- BEAT N BAKE COCOA CAKE
1 1/2 cup Flour
1/4 cup Cocoa powder
1 cup sugar
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1 Tbs Vinegar
1 tsp Vanilla
5 Tbs Vegetable oil
1 cup Water
This is a one-bowl cake. It may even be mixed in the pan you are going to bake it in. But I prefer mixing it all together in a bowl and pouring into a greased 9 x 9 pan. Bake at 350° for about 30 minutes. Use a toothpick to determine doneness, if you aren't sure.
This cake is moist and delicious. No need for frosting. If you can't stand a plain chocolate cake, just dust lightly with powdered sugar. It makes a pretty presentation.