Taste and See....

Now I don't know about you, but have you after tasted something for the very first time and became immediately addicted to the taste of it....well, it happened to me some decades ago when I tasted ice cream for the very first time. Since that fateful day, I have ALWAYS had a insatiable craving for ice cream. In fact, it is the one aisle in the grocery store that my wife has forbidden me to visit alone. Otherwise, I come home with a half dozen or so varieties of ice cream and ice cream treats that keep my waistline bulging and my blood sugar count in the stratosphere.

And that's the way it is with sin (not that eating a bowl of vanilla ice cream is a sin)...Sin, whatever it is, teases you with a taste and before you know if, you are hooked. Yes, our adversary, the devil, knows exactly what he is doing...that's how he got his hooks into Eve. He tempted her with how good the apple looked, but he hooked her when she took the first bite.

Isn't that the way it always is...you didn't intend to become an alcoholic, but when your high school friends teased you about being a chicken if you didn't take a drink, you did! And then one sip led to a whole bottle of beer which lead to a fifth of whatever was the cheapest at the ABC store ...and before you knew it that one sip had sealed your fate as an alcoholic. Or remember that first "joint" you were offered in college that lead to some wild trips, being spaced out on some exotic drug...now years later, you know you never reached your full potential because you were always "high".

I could go on and on with the "tastes" we have all taken that have led us away from serving and following Jesus as we strive to make a difference in this world. But this I know, you can't beat the taste of sin until you turn away from it...much like I do when I avoid the frozen food aisles where they place the ice cream in full display. It is only then, once you commit to look forward from your addiction,  that you can taste something better.

Psalm 34, verse 8 has the taste we should be looking for as it reads, "Taste and see that the Lord is good. How happy is the person who takes refuge in him."  Yes, once we have tasted the joy that is found in our great and mighty God, we can replace the awful taste that sin has left behind and we can come to know the sweet joy that belongs to each of us who profess to love the Lord.

So what taste of sin is holding you back from tasting all the goodness that the Lord is waiting to provide? Turn and flee from sin and then, take refuge in the mighty arms of a loving God who only has your best interest at the center of His heart.  He is waiting for you to decide that the taste of His joy is FAR GREATER than the taste of any sin...but you will never know the great joy He gives until you take that first taste....only then can you become addicted to a righteous and holy God who loves you so much that He was willing to die for you so that you could once again belong to Him for all eternity...now that's got to taste pretty sweet!!!!

Tasting the joy that is Jesus...Living for His gain,

WPQ

Poem for the day....

We go about our daily lives

Giving in to the taste of sin...

Which leaves us lost, without hope

When our world comes crashing in.

But God has set a better plan

One we each should follow

If we want to live a life fulfilled

Instead of one that's hollow.

Yes we should turn away from sin

To follow in crucifixion...

And let the Lord takeover

Our prone to sin addiction.

 If  we want to know the sweetest taste

The taste that forever brings....

 Joy and peace and everlasting love

Is found when we serve our KING!!!!

Oh, Taste and see that the Lord...HE IS GOOD!!!!

WPQ©August 2018