Eyes 2 Jesus

How I Make Yogurt

Making yogurt is easy - especially if you do it in a slow cooker, like in the recipe below...

The below recipe makes one gallon of yogurt. This sounds like a lot, but if you consume/bake/cook a lot with it, and/or have a large family, then you'll appreciate the amount. If you do not need so much yogurt, then follow the below instructions, but instead, use two quarts of milk, and a quarter cup of yogurt for your starter.

NOTE: Start this process in the evening, before you make dinner. This way, your yogurt will be ready the next morning, when you wake up.

INGREDIENTS:

- 6 ouces of store bought, active/live culture, plain or vanilla yogurt. (This will be your starter. After your first batch of yogurt, you can use a cup of some of your homemade yogurt as a starter instead.)

- 1 gallon of milk. Pasteurized and Homogenized is fine, but do not use ultra-pasteurized. (I personally suggest whole milk)

HOW TO MAKE YOGURT

1. Pour the gallon of milk into a large crock pot/slow cooker, and turn the crock pot on low. Leave it alone for 2.5 hours, cooking on low.

2. Turn the crock pot off, leave the cover on, and let the milk sit for 3 hours.

3. Use a wisk to mix the yogurt starter (6 ounces store bought yogurt or 1 cup homemade from a previous batch) into the milk.

4. Put the lid on the crock pot, and then fold and put a heavy bath towel over the crock pot to insulate in the leftover heat (leave the crock pot turned off), and go to bed.

5. The next morning, you'll have yogurt waiting for you in your crock pot. Homemade yogurt is thinner than store-bought. Do not mix it, as that can thin it more.

6. Pour the yogurt into a large container, or several smaller ones, cover, and put it into the fridge. Let the yogurt fully cool before using any.

If you'd like to add fruit to your yogurt, put a few cups of chopped fruit (of your choice) into a blender, pour in a bit of honey to sweeten, and blend. Then mix the blended fruit into the yogurt and return it to the fridge to cool back down to fridge temp.

If you'd like a thicker yogurt, then strain the yogurt through a double layer of cheese cloth, letting the yellow whey liquid drip through the cloth, and into a bowl. Do this for an hour or two, and you'll have a thicker yogurt. Straining the yogurt makes Greek Yogurt. Instead of cheese cloth, I use flour sack, which I bought from the dish towel section at Wal-Mart. If using flour sack, use one layer, not two. I wash and reuse the flour sack for many kitchen super-straining needs. I also use it in making seed and nut milks, instead of a nut bag.

If you thicken your yogurt, don't throw out the yellow liquid/whey. Put it in a jar, and keep it in the fridge. It is great for tummy aches. It is also good to pour in on top of dried beans, before you add water, to soak them overnight.

As for the yogurt itself, my favorite way to consume it, is to make yogurt smoothies. I just put some yogurt into the blender, add some frozen fruit, such as strawberries or peaches, some honey, and some pure vanilla extract. Blend and enjoy.

There is also a yogurt drink that I sometimes make, to drink in place of regular milk. I also enjoy making yogurt cream cheese.

Build Your Foundation on the Rock of Salvation

The terms "Christian" and "personal relationship with Jesus Christ" have been thrown around so much, that for many people, they have lost their original savor. What is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? Is it going to church? Is it being a "good person?" Is it via doing certain rituals, or following certain traditions? No, it is so much simpler than that.

"Look! I’m standing at the door and knocking. If any hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to be with them, and will have dinner with them, and they will have dinner with me." -Revelation 3:20 CEB

Let Jesus into your heart and life. Put your faith and trust in Him, and in Him alone.

Why did Jesus Christ come to this earth? He came to pay for our sins. Have you ever broken any of the Ten Commandments? Did you know that Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount that just looking at someone with lust in your heart is the same thing as committing adultery in your heart?

Many people will say I'm a good person. Sure, I've stolen a few paper clips in my time, and I've told some lies, but I've never killed anyone, so I'm good enough for heaven. Don't be so sure. Have you ever felt hatred toward someone? If so, then you are guilty of committing murder in your heart:

"Everyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that murderers don’t have eternal life residing in them." -1 John 3:15 CEB

If you have stolen, lied, lusted after someone, hated someone, loved someone or something more than God, etc., then you have broken at least 5 of the Ten Commandments. Do you really think you'd make it to heaven? Not according to God's Word:

"Don’t you know that people who are unjust won’t inherit God’s kingdom? Don’t be deceived. Those who are sexually immoral, those who worship false gods, adulterers, both participants in same-sex intercourse, thieves, the greedy, drunks, abusive people, and swindlers won’t inherit God’s kingdom." -1 Corinthians 6:9-10 CEB

"That is what some of you used to be! But you were washed clean, you were made holy to God, and you were made right with God in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God." -1 Corinthians 6:11 CEB

Even Mary, the woman chosen by God to be a vessel that would carry Jesus in her womb, was a sinner, and in need of a Savior:

"In the depths of who I am I rejoice in God my savior." - Mary said this in Luke 1:47 (CEB). Only sinners need a Savior, and Mary also accepted Jesus Christ as her Savior.

"This is the message that we have heard from him and announce to you: “God is light and there is no darkness in him at all.” If we claim, “We have fellowship with him,” and live in the darkness, we are lying and do not act truthfully. But if we live in the light in the same way as he is in the light, we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from every sin. If we claim, “We don’t have any sin,” we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us." -1 John 1:5-8 CEB

The blood of Jesus Christ is what cleanses us from all sins. Jesus came to this earth to die to pay for our sins. You see, Leviticus tells us that 'the life is in the blood,' and that it takes spilt blood to atone for sin.

When we choose to truly believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, and to live our lives for Christ, then Christ's spilt blood cleanses us from our sins:

"Come now, and let’s settle this, says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be white as snow. If they are red as crimson, they will become like wool." -Isaiah 1:18 CEB

"God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him won’t perish but will have eternal life. God didn’t send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him isn’t judged; whoever doesn’t believe in him is already judged, because they don’t believe in the name of God’s only Son." - Jesus said this, in John 3:16-18 (CEB)

"Because if you confess with your mouth “Jesus is Lord” and in your heart you have faith that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Trusting with the heart leads to righteousness, and confessing with the mouth leads to salvation. The scripture says, All who have faith in him won’t be put to shame." -Romans 10:9-11 CEB

"There is one God and one mediator between God and humanity, the human Christ Jesus" -1 Timothy 2:5 CEB

"Also, let’s hold on to the confession since we have a great high priest who passed through the heavens, who is Jesus, God’s Son; because we don’t have a high priest who can’t sympathize with our weaknesses but instead one who was tempted in every way that we are, except without sin." -Hebrews 4:14-15 CEB

"Jesus replied, “Why do you break the command of God by keeping the rules handed down to you?" -Matthew 15:3 CEB

"Without question, the mystery of godliness is great: he was revealed as a human, declared righteous by the Spirit, seen by angels, preached throughout the nations, believed in around the world, and taken up in glory." -1 Timothy 3:16 CEB

If Jesus isn't the Lord of your life, then I hope that you will let Him into your heart and life this very moment.

"But God shows his love for us, because while we were still sinners Christ died for us." -Romans 5:8 CEB

Jesus is the way. If you would like to receive Jesus into your heart and life, then let Him know. Pray to the Lord, telling Him that you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, and that you believe that Jesus died on the cross to pay the death penalty for your sins. Tell this to God in your own words, from your heart.

"The wages that sin pays are death, but God’s gift is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." -Romans 6:23 CEB

"You too heard the word of truth in Christ, which is the good news of your salvation. You were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit because you believed in Christ." -Ephesians 1:13 CEB

When you believe on Jesus Christ, you receive the Holy Spirit. You are sealed as a child of God.

If you have accepted Jesus Christ into your heart and life as your Lord and Savior, and you believe that Jesus died on the cross in your place, to pay the death penalty for your sins, and that Christ rose from the dead three days later, and you are ready to let Him lead your life, and you will live for Him, then you are saved, and born again.

You are now a saved Child of God, with the Holy Spirit living within you. Dedicate your life to the Lord, and live for Him. Please get a Bible (I suggest the Common English Bible - CEB) and turn to the Gospel of John. That is the fourth book in the New Testament. If you don't have a Bible, then you can read it for free, online - here.

After you've read the Gospel of John, go on to read Acts, and then Romans. These three books will bring you through the Gospel, the early church, and basic Christian doctrine. After you've read these three, then turn to the beginning of the New Testament, and read it all the way through. After that, read both the Old and New Testaments.

You should also follow the Lord and get baptized in water. A Believer's Baptism doesn't save you. Only faith in Christ saves you. A Believer's Baptism is an outward showing of your salvation. It symbolizes you being born again. When you are lowered under the water, it shows you dying to your old self, and when you are raised up out of the water, it symbolizes you being born again, as a new creature in Christ. This is called a Believer's Baptism, because, according to the Bible, a person is supposed to get baptized after they have believed on Christ. Anyone who was "baptized" before having faith in Christ just got wet - nothing more. You don't need to find a church to get baptized in. Any born again Christian can baptize you in any acceptable body of water - even a public swimming pool.

Find a good, local church congregation to attend. Search in your area for a Nazarene church, Foursquare church, or non-denominational Full-Gospel church.

Immerse yourself in the Bible. The Bible is God's love letter to you. It is also your Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth.