Salt and Pepper to Taste

August 13, 2024July 13, 2024 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

If you look at recipes much, you will find the instructions, “salt and pepper to taste.” As you can figure out, it means to add the amount of those spices to please your pallet. To make it happy, to please yourself.

When I saw this phrase the other day, it reminded me of how people prepare their relationship with God. They add just enough “religion” to make them feel safe. Safe from winding up in hell, they hope! Others want to see their god, so they build idols or allow things of this world to become their idol. Life is so much easier when done God’s way. Some try so hard to do things their way and yet get nowhere. No true happiness, no true life!

Hosea 13:1-3 (MSG)
Religion Customized to Taste

13 ^1-3God once let loose against Ephraim
    a terrifying sentence against Israel:
Caught and convicted
    in the lewd sex-worship of Baal—they died!
And now they’re back in the sin business again,
    manufacturing god-images they can use,
Religion customized to taste. Professionals see to it:
    Anything you want in a god you can get.
Can you believe it? They sacrifice live babies to these dead gods—
    kill living babies and kiss golden calves!
And now there’s nothing left to these people:
    hollow men, desiccated women,
Like scraps of paper blown down the street,
    like smoke in a gusty wind.

Hosea 14:9 (MSG)

God’s paths get you where you want to go.
Right-living people walk them easily;
wrong-living people are always tripping and stumbling.

Just Try It

June 6, 2023June 6, 2023 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

While growing up, I had an aunt that had something for us to eat that I had never put in my mouth before, seemingly every time we went to her house! I think everyone did. I would try my best to resist, but her argument was logical. “How do you know you don’t like it if you have never tried it?” “Because it looks and smells disgusting!” I usually wanted to reply but didn’t. She would insist, “Just try it!”

Some scriptures in the Bible can be a little difficult to understand. I came across one many years ago:

O taste and see that the Lord is good Psa. 34:8a (KJV)

One Sunday morning, we were standing during the worship service. I looked down and noticed a cute infant in front of me. Then I witnessed the child put a set of keys in its mouth. He made a funny face and immediately took the keys out of his mouth. All of a sudden, Psalms 34:8 went through my mind. I got it. I understand now. Like a child puts things in their mouth to know if it is good or not, we can try God to see that He is good.

There is the fruit of the Spirit which is the same as that of God. Love, Joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. This is also the nature of God. His character. You only know if the fruit is good or sour by putting it in your mouth, by tasting it. You can try God and see that He is good and that his nature is good.

It seems as if a lot of people are trying to deal with life and its issues by any other means than having a relationship with God. I was watching a movie recently where people were placing rocks on their abdomens believing and expecting these dead things to help them. Now that takes a lot of faith! I would rather try a living God that knows me and loves me. How do you know you don’t like God? Have you tried Him? Have you tried living according to the word of God? Couldn’t you use more love, joy, peace, etc., in your life?

Modern translations like “The Message” can help us understand certain scriptures. That is one of the values of them. Take Psalms 34:8, for instance:

Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see—
how good God is.

But is it Good?

August 6, 2021August 4, 2021 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

Enriched Bleached Wheat Flour [Flour, Reduced Iron, B Vitamins (Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate (B1), Riboflavin (B2), Folic Acid)], Corn Syrup, Sugar, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Water, Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable and/or Animal Shortening (Soybean, Cottonseed and/or Canola Oil, Beef Fat), Whole Eggs, Dextrose. Contains 2% or Less of: Modified Corn Starch, Glucose, Leavenings (Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Baking Soda, Monocalcium Phosphate), Sweet Dairy Whey, Soy Protein Isolate, Calcium and Sodium Caseinate, Salt, Mono and Diglycerides, Polysorbate 60, Soy Lecithin, Soy Flour, Cornstarch, Cellulose Gum, Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Sorbic Acid (to Retain Freshness), Yellow 5, Red 40.

But is it good?

The above ingredients were a staple in my “Six Million Dollar Man”, metal lunchbox while I was a kid. I loved them! But were they good? They were.

The above ingredients are also some famous lines from the famous movie, “Die Hard”. And they were the subject of Woody Harrelson’s endless search in the movie, “Zombieland.”

In case you don’t know by now; “Twinkies”. But in order to know if they are good you have to taste them.

God understood this principle. He actually wrote, in his number one best seller, “The Bible”, this: Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see how good God is. PS. 34:8 (MSG)

In order to know how good God is, you have try him for yourself. I can tell you how good God is, and I can describe the wonderful delight, joy and comfort of knowing God on a personal level, because I tried him. I have tasted of the goodness of God. I have savored his mercies, his peace, and his guidance as well. In fact going back for seconds and thirds and fourths, and … well you get the point, for more is not a problem. When you have tried God, you want more of God. There is nothing that compares to him and his presence.

Go ahead! Open your mouth and taste.