Taste and See
Psalm 34:8 (ESV) Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! The other week I had a couple new dining experiences. Usually I keep food pretty close to the chest. I know what I like, and I generally stick to that (I mean, it hasn't steered me wrong so far, so why change, right?). Becky and I went out for dinner at our favorite little local sushi place. It's partly a favorite because we have become friends with the manager there. He is super nice and fun, and we have just connected (and he refers to me as the only pastor who comes to get sushi there). He has shared with us some extra things before, even things he was working on and not on the menu yet. So this night he asked us, "Have you ever tried fish belly?" If you're like me you are automatically thinking....nope and nope, I'm good! So we tell him we haven't and he gets all excited and says, "Let me bring some out and show you how to eat it!" So he goes back and returns a couple minutes later with what looks like canned, wet, slimy cat food on some rice on top of seaweed paper (I'm not being judgmental, just calling it like I see it). Everything in me is looking at this and thinking, "Don't do it Brian! This could only lead to your death, or at the very least all night vomiting!"). So I tried it. Ate a couple bites of it just to make sure. Final conclusion...although some people may like it this was not for me. Later that same week we had a company take Becky and I out to a nice dinner at a nice fish restaurant in Newport Beach (I always like it when other people take me to nice restaurants). Anyway, they see that there is octopus on the menu as an appetizer and they say, "Would you guys like some of this? I'm going to order it for the whole table." "Ugh," I thought to myself, I don't want to eat octopus. I have heard how chewy and rubbery it can be and I just don't want to. So the appetizer is brought to the table and they slide the plate over to me and I cut a piece off. Mind you, I like to stay within my wheelhouse of food. Octopus is NOT in my wheelhouse. I look down and can tell it is the tentacle and see some of the suction cups. (Maybe some of you just threw up in your mouth right now and some of you are salivating at the thought of a good octopus appetizer). So I take a bite and intentionally chew it, not just try to swallow it quickly and get it out of my mouth. To my surprise, it was actually really good. Honestly I would eat it again (if someone else wanted to pay for it). David, the great king of Israel, is writing Psalm 34. It was at a point where David was on the run. Why was he on the run? David had been anointed the new king of Israel in place of Saul. The only problem is, Saul is still alive...and king! And he's not looking to give that position up any time soon. (You can read all about it in 1 Samuel starting with chapter 8 and reading through to the end). So David has been chased by Saul, threatened by Saul, had a spear thrown at him by Saul and narrowly missed him. It's probably been more low points than high points for David and his relationship with Saul and calling by God to be king. Enough hardship to wonder why David doesn't just stop one day and shrug his shoulders and cry out, "God, what is up with this? Is that what it means to be chosen and anointed by you? Is this what a life looks like for someone who is called by you to serve you?" But David doesn't do that. In fact, Psalm 34 is specifically written by David about the time that he hid from Saul in the midst of Israel's most fierce, dishonorable, atrocious enemies - the Philistines. It's gone from bad to worse to unbelievable for David. And in reflecting on this David implores us to "taste and see that the Lord is good!" I don't know about you, but I had to back away from my computer for a moment. Stopped typing. Stopped thinking, "what should I write next?", and just sat in that moment. How on earth can David arrive at such a conclusion and statement? How? Because David has seen the faithfulness of God. He has experienced it. He has seen God rescue him time and time again. He has been following God's lead and God's provision and been overwhelmed by God's love, even in the midst of deep adversity. Taste and see that the Lord is good! I think of it like a nice glass of ice water. On any given day it is good. But on a hot summer day, when you have been working and laboring hard in the heat and sun, and you stop for a break...how refreshing is that glass of ice cold water now. Sometimes, maybe, our adversities make the blessings that much better (but, that's another devotion for another time). David's encouragement, his challenge, his urging is for you and I to taste and see that the Lord is good. Maybe you are in a good spot with God. Maybe you have figured out your wheelhouse, you are comfortable, you know how everything works, and you're just fine with that. Great! Just make sure that you are in the place where God wants you, and not that God is in the place where you want Him. Maybe, for others, you have felt a slight tug or pull, an urging to do more. Maybe you're a little less satisfied with God right now. Maybe you're just going through the motions of being a Christian. Maybe you've stopped tasting of the goodness of God. I can tell you one thing that's not a maybe - you need to taste and see that the Lord is good! There's no maybe about that! Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him. So how can you taste and see the Lord is good? Eat, get connected, take action! First, start with His Word. Take time to read it, to sit with it, to think about it, to apply it. It doesn't do you or anyone else any good to prepare a delicious meal then just let it sit there and not be eaten. God has given us His Word, He has revealed Himself to us there, so that we would taste of it. How often should you taste of God's Word. I don't know, how many times do you eat during the day? How many cups of coffee do you have in a day? How many hours do you spend watching TV or playing games on your phone or other devices. All I'm saying is we all have room in our lives to spend in God's Word. You may have to move some of the less important things around. But I guarantee you will never fully taste and see that the Lord is good without being faithful to reading and studying His Word. And second is just as important - spend time with other believers. Attend Sunday morning services. Maybe it's at West Cypress Church, or maybe at another church. Be faithful to be there. Be a part of a small group Bible study. It's there that friendships are grown and rooted deeply, where we are not only encouraged by others, but also sometimes challenged by them. There is a great joy in tasting to see the Lord is good in the context of community. There's something special about gathering together with friends over a feast. I know this pandemic has caused a lot of isolation, and that for the moment, due to health reasons, some cannot be there in person. I'm thankful and grateful to hear the stories of people gathering virtually, to feast together on how good God is. And I wrap this up with this thought - not only did David taste and see that the Lord is good, he turned around and encouraged others to do the same. As you become more satisfied in the Lord, my prayer is that you would also become more inviting to others to come to taste and see that the Lord is good. -Pastor Brian
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The Blessing of "Sticktoitiveness"
Proverbs 3:3–4 (ESV) Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man. Have you ever taken one of those car rides? You know, the ones that could be ten minutes or ten hours long. And when you get to your destination, you sit back and wonder, "How did I get here?" I mean, you know how you got there. You drove. You were in a car. You were in the car. But you don't recall any details. No specific turns stand out. No details at all. All you know is you got from point A to point B without incident, and that's a good thing. For these devotions, I write about what I feel the Lord is trying to say to me. You get my heart, my interaction with the Lord. The things I wrestle with or that tumble through my mind wondering what this might mean and how do I live it out. But sometimes....sometimes....sometimes you read the Bible and it seems like nothing stands out. Nothing grabbed your attention. You didn't feel the Lord tugging at your heart, soul, and mind at any given point. If you've never been there, that's great. If you're like me, there are times when you read the Bible, but like that car ride, nothing stood out. I'm here to tell you that's ok. That's how this last week has been for me. (to be fair, even the verse quoted above wasn't part of my daily reading, but a verse I looked up to remind me and you about remaining faithful) It's ok to read the Bible and not have the "A-ha!" moment. It's ok to read your Bible, finish reading and wonder, "What did I just read?" It's ok to lose the details. It's ok to just read the Bible. But don't give up reading. Don't think, "Well, I didn't get anything out of it so why bother even reading it?" Don't quit on God's Word. Why? Because there is a blessing in sticktoitiveness. Although nothing may stick out now, it can become very real and good later. The details you think you missed now might make sense in an hour, a day, a week or a month. Even as I write this, I am thinking of different verses I have read in the past that make sense now (and yes, these just came to me, not planned - that's how God can make His Word timeless).
Certainly there are things we can do to hinder or enhance our understanding as we read the Bible. But for now the point is this: don't give up! Keep at it. Keep pushing through. Keep being faithful to reading God's Word. It will do it's work, just maybe not in the timing you want it done. If you want more evidence of the benefits of being faithful to God's Word, just read through Psalm 119 every once in a while. Sure, it's 176 verses...but each of those verses remind us of the timeless benefits and blessings of being faithful to God's Word. In the end, as you push through the doldrum days of reading sometimes, you will have those "A-ha!" moments more and more. His Word will lead and guide and remind you more and more. You will be blessed to be a blessing more and more. And that is the blessing of sticktoitiveness. (By the way, in case you were wondering, sticktoitiveness is really a word. I typed it incorrectly and my spell check gave me the proper spelling - I learn something new everyday) -Pastor Brian Exodus 13:17–18
When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, “Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt.” But God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. And the people of Israel went up out of the land of Egypt equipped for battle. (ESV) Fear is a funny thing. There are so many classified fears, that we have come up with phobia names for them: Syngenesophobia – fear of relatives, Linonophobia – fear of string, Zemmiphobia – fear of the great mole rat, Papaphobia – fear of the Pope, Anatidaephobia – fear of being watched by a duck, Geliophobia – fear of laughter, and Arachibutyrophobia – fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of one’s mouth, to name a few. (Yes, these are real fears and phobias. And yes, the website I looked them up on had a picture of each fear, just to scare the living daylights out of someone who may have one of these fears. I've chosen not to add the pictures just in case one of these hits home with you). We may laugh at some of these. But just because we don't experience it, doesn't mean they aren't real. And sometimes these fears drive people to do unhealthy things. Or worse, they keep them from experiencing and living a full life. Over the years I've realized how many of the decisions I make are driven by fear. Maybe not a fear of string or peanut butter or the pope, but fear of other things. Fear of letting people down. Fear of driving people away. Fear of people not liking me. Fear of messing up or failure. This verse reminds me how much God understands. As God is rescuing Egypt from years of mistreatment and slavery, He knows that the last thing Israel needs is to see the Philistines at war. Upon seeing them, and war, they might just decide that it is much better to remain a slave in Egypt. And I get it. Egypt was miserable, terrible, awful. Always being looked down on and treated as second class people. In fact, not even that. They had no worth but to be a slave and work for the Egyptians. But what they had there was known. They knew exactly what to expect. If they got out and saw wars and fighting and other awful things, they might turn around and stop following God, and go back to the comfort of their known misery. That is not the life God has created them for. So God takes them a different way. A longer way, but one where they won't be discouraged by war. Now, to be fair, as Israel leaves Egypt they will wander in the wilderness another 40 years (because of their disobedience and unwillingness to follow and trust God). And all along the way we hear them complain: "We can't drink this water, we should just go back and be slaves," "This miracle bread that appears on the ground every morning isn't enough; we should go back to Egypt and be slaves." Over and over and over and over. They couldn't see the future or hope that God was leading them into, so they just wanted to go back to a miserable life they knew and understood. They didn't trust God. So often I think Christians have a hard time fully following God. We struggle with the concept that all God offers is enough. We continue to dabble in old sins and habits that brought us "comfort" in the past. And yet, as the Bible declares, Jesus has rescued us and set us free from these sinful habits and actions. Why go back to them again and become a slave all over again? I love how Paul writes this truth so powerfully to the church in Galatia: For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. (Galatians 5:1; ESV) So how do we trust God and follow and leave fear in the dust? Look at the last part of this verse. How does Israel leave Egypt? The answer - equipped for battle. They went out ready to face the unknown, ready to face an enemy, ready to fight for the freedom God has secured for them. Here are some things that are helping me overcome my fears, how I am learning to live a life of faith equipped for battle, how I am learning to triumph over bad habits. 1. Prayer. I'm asking God for help, for direction. Yes sometimes, even when I feel like I have His answer, I still ask another 2 or 3 or 500 times just to make sure this is where God is leading (okay, maybe there's still some fear there but I'm learning). 2. Friends. I gather friends around me whom I trust and know that they have a heart to seek after God in all things. I bounce ideas and leadings off of them and seek their response and wisdom. And I seek their prayers in it as well. 3. God's Word. I am committed to reading from it almost every day. It doesn't have to be a bunch of chapters and pages. just enough to get an understanding, to be familiar with God and His ways more and more. So when it comes to decisions and making the right choices, I can always go back to His Word and make sure my actions are in line with His call on my life and living in faith. What's holding you back? What fear might be keeping you from following God with ALL your heart, soul, mind, and strength? What is the "slavery" in your past that keeps luring you back and keeping you from following? More important than that, how will you face each day equipped for battle, faithfully following God into things unknown? They way may seem longer, it may be unknown, but God will lead you to a place where you are most satisfied in Him, and He is most glorified. The Greatness of Grace
Genesis 45:25–28 (ESV) So they went up out of Egypt and came to the land of Canaan to their father Jacob. And they told him, “Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt.” And his heart became numb, for he did not believe them. But when they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. And Israel said, “It is enough; Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.” Sometimes I get angry when I read things. Usually when I glance at news headlines, I see some of the mistreatments or injustices taking place around the world. Sometimes it is over things people post on social media, or the way we respond by attacking one another in the responses. Sometimes I get angry when I read the Bible. No, really....I do. And it's not a "good" angry. Not one of those angry at an injustice or mistreatment of others. Not angry at people who are rebelling against God or trying to downplay His greatness. No, unfortunately it is one of the "dumber" angries. The selfish angries. The angries where God gently comes in and gives a reminder of how much I really need Him. The passage above is near the end of the story of Joseph in Genesis. If you're not familiar with the whole story, you should really take time to read it. The entire story can be found in Genesis chapters 37-50. Basically, Joseph is hated by his brothers, so they sell him into slavery, and come back to tell their father that Joseph has been killed by a wild animal. I know, right! That's something to be angry about. But it wasn't that. As I read this passage I got angry. Angry because the brothers told their father "Joseph is alive" and that he is a ruler in Egypt. And I thought, "Wait a minute! Why don't you tell your dad what really happened? These guys need to confess to their crimes! They intended to kill their brother, then sold him into slavery, and have lied to their father for years about it and.....and....and.....they don't have to confess the truth to their father!! It's not fair! It's not right! Where is the justice!!!" See what I mean...dumb angry. But it was at that moment God stepped into my heart and mind and reminded me of grace. Take a deep breath in and out really slowly then say that word again.....grace. It was God's grace that reminded me I don't always confess every single thing I have done wrong. It was God's grace that reminded me that I'm not the one in charge here. It was God that whispered in my ear that morning, "Brian, my grace is big enough to cover you and to cover this situation...I've got it all under control." It was God's grace that reminded me how desperately I need God's grace in my life. And as I sat pondering all these things and letting God work in my heart and mind, I was reminded of an old song we sing in church: Marvelous grace of our loving Lord Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt Yonder on Calvary's mount out poured There where the blood of the Lamb was spilt Grace, grace, God's grace Grace that will pardon and cleanse within Grace, grace, God's grace Grace that is greater than all of our sin I recently read an article that talked about how Jesus never used the word grace (It's really true, I checked. In fact the word grace is only used three times in all the Gospels, and all those are in John chapter one writing about Jesus). But it is also true that Jesus didn't need to speak the word "grace." He lived it, embodied it, displayed it, and gave it out. If you don't believe me, ask the people who had demons cast out, the centurion whose child was healed, the woman caught in adultery and thrown at his feet, the tax collectors and sinners he had dinner with, the lepers he physically touched, and on and on and on. We could go on and on talking about God's grace, but let's wrap it up with this: Where do you need God's grace right now? How do you need to be overwhelmed by the love and mercy of our great God and Savior? Take another deep breath in and out slowly and stop right now and just tell God: "God, I need your grace in my life here....." Second, like Jesus, as we are filled and overwhelmed by God's grace, where are some changes you need to make to be a more gracious person? What is one thing you will start doing (or stop doing) in order to live out God's grace to those around you? Don't worry about the how or if it's possible. If God's grace is greater than all of our sin, His grace is also greater than our failures and inadequacies to live out His grace for others to be blessed. I'll close with this lyric from Rich Mullins song, "Let mercy lead": Let mercy lead, let love be the strength in your legs, and in every footprint that you leave there'll be a drop of grace..." Go in grace and be a blessing to others as you enjoy the greatness of God's grace. - Pastor Brian |
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