Taste-Tested and Approved

I see lots of recipes on social media – yummy-looking desserts, casseroles, crockpot meals, dips, and the one that caught my eye this morning: white bean chicken chili. I may try that one soon. If my family likes it, I may even pass it on. But not until I’ve served it and it gets the thumbs-up – especially from Joy. I can’t imagine sharing a recipe I’ve never tried first. I wouldn’t recommend a doctor I’ve never seen or a church I haven’t attended or a book I’ve not read. If you get any kind of recommendation from me it’s only because I’ve tested it out and found it to be good.

That is why my messages are all about the Lord. As David said, I have tasted and seen that the Lord is good (Ps 34:8 ). I have found Him to be satisfying in every way. When I need help – and I need it a lot – He is my Helper (Ps 54:4). When the enemy attacks me Almighty God is stronger than my foe (Gen 17:1-2). When I am weary He is my Strength (Ps 19:14). When I fall into sin He is faithful to forgive me (Ps 99:8 ). When I am lonely He is with me (Jud 6:12). When I have a need I go to the Lord who provides (Gen 22:14). When the world is dark and full of evil I look to the Light (John 8:12). When I am sick I trust in the Lord my Healer (Ex 15:26).  When chaos is all around me I run to the Lord my Peace (Jud 6:24).

And when I need counsel or wisdom or just need to know what is right I know where to go because I have tested His words and they are true (John 17:17). The Bible is as sure and powerful as the One who spoke it – the God of truth (Ps 31:5). I can tell you that He is a Faithful God (Deut 7:9) because He has always been faithful to me. I can recommend Him to you without hesitation because He has proven Himself to me over and over and over again. He is the God of my Life (Ps 42:8 ).

If the white bean chicken chili shows up on my page you can know that I have tasted it and it is good. But more important than a recipe, I want to share God with you because He is everything to me. Oh, Beloved, I pray that you will taste and see that the Lord is good. I highly recommend Him.

Hebrews: Examing the Hard Stuff

And so we come, in our study of Hebrews, to one of the hardest passages in the Bible. Let me remind you where we are in this message: “It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace” (Hebrews 6:4-6).

If you’re wondering where I’ve been the past two weeks, it is dealing with life issues and researching this passage. Here is what I’ve discovered: There is more confusion around these words than coherence. These are people who were never saved to begin with.  Or, they were once saved and became so hardhearted they drifted or walked away. In either case, there is no assurance of salvation and eternal life. So who’s right?   In today’s devotional, we’re going to define some terms. It’s not important that you know the original Greek words, but that you understand them as the original author did. This may be a little dry, but hang with me, we’ll put it all back together later.

Impossible: the word combination negates the power to accomplish a task. Because we know He has infallible power we can reason that the task is not impossible for God.

Once: once for all; what is done is eternally valid and never needs to be repeated.

Enlightened: to illumine; spiritually imbue with saving knowledge, to instruct, inform, teach.

Tasted: to come into existence: to prove to be – implying the partaking and enjoying of the experience.

Gift: a thing given

Shared: sharing/participating in (by context: sharing in the Holy Spirit)

Fall away: to fall beside a person or thing; to slip aside; to deviate from the right path (by context to fall away from the true faith and worship of Jehovah God).

Brought back: renew, restore; to renew that he shall repent (only appearance in Scripture)

Public disgrace: to make a public example in a bad sense, to expose to public disgrace.

What do all these words and terms mean together?  That’s the next Hebrews devotional. Stay tuned . . .