Taste And See That The Lord Is Good
1. Savor The Taste
My daughter has not closed on a house yet, so they are still living with us and we are getting so attached to the grandchildren. Little Lici comes to me in the mornings and says, "I want sometin' eat." And many times she continues, "...and cho-cate milk." I love to watch her eat. She is small and I enjoy seeing her get the nourishment she needs to grow. Another reason is that she savors every bite. She puts the food in her mouth with her little fork, and then she often closes her eyes and looks like she is letting the taste and texture of the food fill her mouth before she chews and swallows. The tiniest smile comes to her face as she sits with her closed eyes. I often eat just out of habit, and I rush through my meals. Watching Little Lici eat makes me want to slow down, really taste my food, and enjoy my meal. How many things in life do we do by habit, and not really take time to enjoy? How many times does the Lord do something for us that we take for granted, and we don't savor those moments? Our verse for our new devotionals is, "O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him." (Psalm 34:8)
2. God's Word Is Sweeter Than Honey
When I have a hard time going to sleep at night I will get up and taste a little honey. That usually helps me go to sleep, and sleep better. (It has something to do with melatonin.) We have so many types of processed sweets, but in Bible days honey was a sweet treat. Exodus 16:31 tells us that the manna God fed the Israelites in the wilderness was like wafers made with honey. I can remember my grandfather going through the yard and woods with his Y shaped twig, dowsing rod, or divining rod, to locate the honey in nearby trees. I am not sure how that works, but he had jars of honey in the pantry. My Dad used to give us a little honey and lemon for a sore throat or cough. I have also read that honey can be used for burns and to fight infection. I always look for honey bees in my garden and I never used anything that will harm them. The longest Psalm in the Bible is Psalm 119 and it is verse after verse about God's Word. Psalms 119:103 tell us, "How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!" Just as honey is sweet and so useful, God's Word is also sweet to us and our guidebook for life. When the Lord points out a verse to me it is just like a sweet bit of honey to my soul. Just yesterday I was stressed over a situation and in my reading God showed me Proverbs 16:33, "The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD." They cast lots to make decisions, and we can do what we think is best in making our decisions, but "the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD." This verse gave me the peace I needed and reassurance that the Lord is still in control and everything is still in His hands. When I take time to read and meditate on my Bible reading, and savor it, then it really is sweet to my soul.
3. Jesus Is The Water Of Life
One day last week I heard a little pecking at the door and sure enough Lici wanted someone to open the door for her. I could see through the glass that she was drenched, from the top of her head all the way down to her shoes. "What happened to you?" I asked. "I don' know" she answered, grinning from ear to ear. "How did you get so wet?" She replied the same way, "I don' know." Andrew followed her outside and they ended up at the empty water bucket that stays filled for the dogs. She had poured all of the water over her head. As she came back in I picked her up and carried her straight to the tub, washed her hair, and let her play in the bubbles. It was a hot day and I guess she needed cooling off.
Water cleanses. Water refreshes. Water is a necessity of life. We are looking today at the woman at the well. Jesus offers to us the water of life. He is extending His invitation to you today. "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price." (Isaiah 55:1)
"9 Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.
10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?
12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?
13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." (John 4:9-14)
"Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water." (Hebrews 10:22)
"And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely." (Revelation 21:6)
And so sad to say, that those who reject this Water of life will regret it throughout eternity.
"And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame." (Luke 16:24)
4. Jesus Is The Bread Of Life
Not only does God give us the sweetness of honey in life, and the refreshing of water, but He also sustains us with our daily bread. You may have prayed as a child...
"God is great, God is good,
Let us thank Him for our food.
By His hands, we are fed,
Give us Lord our daily bread."
Jesus taught the disciples to pray, "Give us this day our daily bread." (Matthew 6:11) He wants us to pray daily, and depend on Him daily, but we also see in Proverbs 30:25 that it is wise and good to prepare and be ready with food. "The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer;" Also in Proverbs 10:5 we read, "He that gathereth in summer is a wise son: but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame." When I was growing up we always had a garden and I helped Mom can and freeze the vegetables for winter. In reading these verses and finding some of the grocery shelves empty recently, I felt like I should buy a little extra to store away. Then, when our neighboring county brought another mask mandate, I felt even more compelled to stock up on necessities. I had such a hard time wearing masks last winter and it will help me to have food and supplies on hand, if we are required to wear them again in the stores.
In John 6 Jesus fed 5,000 with five loaves of bread and two little fish. He is able to provide our daily bread and we can put our trust in Him. In the same chapter of John, Jesus explains that He is the Bread of LIfe. I am so thankful for my Savior! God has been so good to me!
"33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.
34 Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.
35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
41 The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven.
42 And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven?
43 Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves.
44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.
48 I am that bread of life.
49 Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.
50 This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.
51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." (John 6)
5. Taste That The Lord Is Gracious
Years ago I was driving to work one morning, praying that the Lord would show me what to write for the next devotional. It was a beautiful morning and my car windows were partially down and I heard a rooster crowing. God said to me, “Roosters still crow.” I started thinking about Peter. Jesus could have told him that he would deny Him before morning, but He added, “Before the cock crow.” That must have been a terribly long and fearful night, and then Peter heard the rooster crow. And he went out and wept bitterly. Somehow he made it through the day, and I really doubt he slept much that night as he waited for the morning. Then, the rooster crowed, and it was a fresh reminder, and I believe he wept again. I believe tears filled his eyes every time he heard a rooster crow. One day he decided to go fishing. I think that he couldn’t hear any roosters out on the sea. After they toiled all night and caught nothing, Jesus was on the shore with fish and bread on coals of fire. He said to them, “Come and dine.” He wanted to restore that fellowship with Peter. And later Peter was able to say, "If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious." (I Peter 2:3) When God spoke to me that morning, He was telling me that there are some things that remind us of our faults and failures. Those reminders stay with us, just as the roosters still crow. But, God is gracious and forgiving and He still wants to have fellowship with us. If you have strayed away from the Lord and cried bitter tears, let me tell you today that He still loves you. He is calling to you, “Come and dine.” Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.“ (Revelation 3:20) "And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” (Revelation 22:17)
6. Honey In The Rock
Since I began typing these devotionals last weekend, I have been singing the song, "Honey In the Rock" in my mind. The second verse begins, "Have you tasted that the Lord is gracious?" This comes from our verse in I Peter 2:3, "If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious." We could also go to Deuteronomy 32:13 to find that in God's loving care to Jacob, He gave him honey out of a rock. Many times in our lives we may feel like we are stuck "between a rock and a hard place", as the old folks used to say. Well, our God is good and He can give us honey out of the rock. "He made him ride on the high places of the earth, that he might eat the increase of the fields; and he made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock;" This song was written by Frederick A. Graves back in 1895. I really enjoy singing the old songs and hymns.
Honey In The Rock
1. O my brother, do you know the Savior,
Who is wondrous, kind, and true?
He’s the Rock of your salvation!
There’s honey in the Rock for you.
Refrain:
Oh, there’s honey in the Rock, my brother;
There’s honey in the Rock for you;
Leave your sins for the blood to cover;
There’s honey in the Rock for you.
2. Have you tasted that the Lord is gracious?
Do you walk in the way that’s new?
Have you drunk from the living fountain?
There’s honey in the Rock for you.
3. Do you pray unto God the Father,
“What wilt Thou have me to do?”
Never fear, He will surely answer,
There’s honey in the Rock for you.
4. Then go out through the streets and byways,
Preach the Word to the many or few;
Say to every fallen brother,
There’s honey in the Rock for you.
7. Work, Eat, And Drink, It Is A Gift Of God
I enjoy reading the Bible books in order, verse by verse, chapter by chapter because I feel like I learn more that way. When I am reading several chapters consecutively I often notice thoughts, or words and phrases, that are repeated. God also opens my eyes to see ideas that correspond with the devotional topic I am using at the time. So, each time I read through a book of the Bible I come away with more than I saw the last time. I just finished reading Ecclesiastes, and because our theme is, "Taste And See That The Lord Is Good", I noticed several verses that were very similar about eating and drinking.
"There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God." (Ecclesiastes 2:24)
"And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God." (Ecclesiastes 3:13)
"Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion." (Ecclesiastes 5:18)
"Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry: for that shall abide with him of his labour the days of his life, which God giveth him under the sun." (Ecclesiastes 8:15)
In each verse, in a little different way, King Solomon tells us that it is good to eat and drink and enjoy the good of our labor. The part I want to focus on is that last part of each verse...
"... it was from the hand of God."
"... it is the gift of God."
"... which God giveth him: for it is his portion."
"... which God giveth him under the sun."
God is so good to us! And to be able to work, and enjoy life, eating and drinking, is a gift of God! I started working when I was in high school, and many others did, too. Now, everywhere I go I see signs that say, "Now Hiring". It is sad that so many of the young people today are not learning the value of working, to enjoy having money to spend. It will be hard for them to one day face reality if they are depending on hand-outs and charge cards. Having a job is not a punishment, it is a gift of God.
8. A Bad Taste
We have looked at tasting the goodness of God, and of His Word, and His mercy and grace. I want to close our series on a different kind of taste. Have you ever eaten something that left a bad taste in your mouth? My sense of taste is sensitive and if I eat something that has mustard in it, it leaves me with a bad taste because I don't like mustard. Sometimes a good taste can turn bad, as we see in Revelation 10:9 & 10. "And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey. And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter." There is another taste that may have started out good, but it immediately turned bad. God prepared all His goodness in the garden of Eden for Adam and Eve, but they chose to taste the forbidden fruit. No matter how good it may have tasted at first, it was not worth the destruction it brought to the earth and every person that followed. "And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat." (Genesis 3:6) Don't fall for Satan's lies and taste that which you know is sin. It may seem good in the beginning, but the results will be very bad. Because of our sin, Jesus suffered and died to pay for our sin. This is our last example. "But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man." (Hebrews 2:9) Because Jesus was willing to taste death for me and you, we can have everlasting life. In this case, the taste which seemed bad, was actually good in bringing us salvation.
