2022: Taste and See That the Lord is Good

“Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.”
– Psalms 34:8 [NIV]

I am a Protestant, but I think I might be a little Catholic. Have you ever noticed how Catholic priests kiss the Bible? There are times where I feel the urge to embrace my Bible.

Once, my wife and I went to Ruth’s Chris Steak House with a gift certificate. It was not just a meal but an experience. The steak was served on a steaming plate, succulent and juicy. The sides were like meals in themselves. The desert was a culinary delight.

If you met people in your church that had never been to Ruth’s Chris, you might describe to them the delight to your taste buds. They would believe you and could even imagine in their minds how the steak looked. You could even get them salivating, but if they never went and tried it for themselves, they would never really know how good it was. Furthermore, they would get no nutrition. Such is how it is with the Word of God.

I believe in teaching and preaching; I do a little of it myself. If you rely on your pastor or Sunday school teacher for all your spiritual food, you are on a starvation diet. No one can exist on one or two meals a week. Many church people know about God, but they never really know God. It is second-hand knowledge. Sound Bible teaching always makes people hungry enough to go and find out for themselves.

There have been times in my Christian journey where I just needed a word from God. As I read my Bible, a verse would almost jump off the page at me. I may have read this verse fifty times, but this time it goes from the Logos, written Word, to the Rhema, the quickened Word of God. It gives me what I need, and it is all I can do to keep from hugging my Bible.

The Bible is a supernatural book, and we can never understand it without the help of the Holy Spirit. That is why we can read a verse many times, and then one time, the meaning explodes in our mind. You will never have that supernatural help if you don’t read the book first.

We live in a culture that is increasingly hostile to the Gospel. Cultures, by nature, always try to conform you to their precepts. How do we resist this? “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…” (Romans 12:2a [NIV]). The Word of God is the only thing that can renew your mind and protect you from the spirit of this world.

2022 is an excellent opportunity to get into God’s Word. I have read through the Bible every year I can remember. That never made me perfect, just better than I was.

In 2022, taste and see that the Lord is good.